Lisa’s Latest Work On Filmazing.com
June 26, 2008 - About Me | No comments
Thanks for stopping by! You’re probably here because of The Wall Street Journal article. You can contact me through this site and catch many of my videos here, but for the latest news, reviews and interviews, please click on over to filmazing.com. — Lisa
In Theaters: Sex and the City
May 29, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
Friends, fashion, fun, flings, what’s not to like? Die-hard Sex and the City fans will not be disappointed by this two-hour-long episode of their favorite show, from the first notes of the theme song to the closing credits. A lively, lightening quick recap sets the pace and places our four favorite friends, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, in their current settings: Miranda, Steve and Brady are living in Brooklyn; Carrie and Big are madly in love in Manhattan, Samantha has moved to Malibu to manage Smith’s booming acting career, and Charlotte and Harry are happily hunkered down on Park Avenue with their adopted Chinese toddler. Great clothes, interior design, shopping and shoes serve as backgrounds for every woman’s ultimate fantasy, which turns to every woman’s ultimate nightmare, and transitions into what’s ultimately right for our heroines. We’ve never loved them more. Michael Patrick King has basically taken all our favorite things from Sex and the City and given us more, more, more. Four years later, we still can’t get enough. Rated R
In Theaters: Bloodline
May 29, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
If you liked The Da Vinci code, you’ll love Bloodline, a fiercely independent, rough cut documentary about the search for the Holy Grail, and in this case the definition of the Holy Grail has quite a bit in common with Dan Brown’s. British Writer-Director Bruce Burgess travels the world researching the infamous “Bloodline” theory, investigating the Priory of Sion which claims to be guarding extraordinary evidence of the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and their resulting children. In France, with the help of people who have been investigating the theory for years, Burgess comes across clues, tombs and artifacts from ancient Israel that are thought provoking, to say the least. He also cites the untimely deaths of others who pursued the subject. As usual, fingers are pointed at the Catholic Church with a coverup agenda, but the documentary poses many open questions. Bloodline has already stirred up quite a bit of controversy, and will undoubtedly stir up more. If you have any interest at all in the subject, you won’t mind enduring the poor sound, lighting and camera work, and will be entranced by the content. Unrated
In Theaters: The Strangers
May 29, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
Simply put, this is one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. I’m not kidding. I was so tense through this film I wasn’t sure I could sit through it, and I am not easily frightened in theaters. Perhaps it’s the fact that in The Strangers there are no ghosts or zombies, just crazy people in a situation that could easily take place anywhere, to anyone — even to you. Or perhaps it’s writer/director Bryan Bertino’s crack timing. It’s based on a true story about a couple that had planned on spending a romantic weekend at a remote family summer house, but is terrorized by violent strangers. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman play the couple, with a very sad, believable chemistry. These are normal people in an abnormal situation. Whatever you do, see this movie with a friend, and don’t go home alone afterwards. Rated R
In Theaters: How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
May 28, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
That was one long, hot summer, in so many ways. Three generations of Mexican American women in a small Texas town learn both bitter and sweet truths about love, sex and each other over a three-month period. Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera stars as the teenage daughter who carefully orchestrates her first ‘encounter’, Elizabeth Pena is her single mom who finally attempts to get love right and Lucy Gallardo is the sweet grandmother who falls for a used jalopy as well as her driving instructor/gardner. An amusing group of retired, Spanish speaking gentlemen act as a sort of Greek chorus. If writer/director Georgina Riedel only would have cut about thirty minutes of pointless camera lingering, this could have been a sleeper indie hit like Quinceanera or Real Women Have Curves. Instead, Garcia Girls clocks in at a scorching 128 minutes, and feels more like an endless summer. Rated R –LJM
5 Questions for Sarah Jessica Parker
May 27, 2008 - Videos | No comments
The mercurial star of Sex and the City answers five questions about her new, much anticipated film.
Now On DVD: Grace is Gone
May 27, 2008 - Film Reviews, New on DVD | No comments
Even if you’re a John Cusack fan, (and who isn’t?), it’s tough to love this belabored, melancholy film about Stanley Phillipps, a working class father and his two young daughters as they deal with the death of their mother, who was recently killed in Iraq. The majority of the film follows Phillipps, a simple man having trouble with his own emotions, as he takes his daughters on a road trip in an attempt to find te right moment to break the news to them that their mother will never return. The score, sparse but haunting, was written by Clint Eastwood. It was released in theaters late last year, at a time when viewers had had quite enough of war and ponderous, heavy, dark films, no matter how moving or well made. Grace is Gone cost an estimated $2 million to make and had high Oscar hopes, but it never made it to more than seven screens, and grossed about $50,080 total. If you’re in the mood for a poignant tear jerker, this is a sure bet. Rated PG-13
In Theaters: The Children of Huang Shi
May 23, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
This is one of those films that could have been held for release until awards season in the late fall. It would have made a legitimate impact and been considered for numerous kudos — it’s that good. The Children of Huang Shi is based on a true story about Japanese occupied China in the late 1930’s. George Hogg, (winningly played by The Tudors‘ Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a British journalist with more courage than sense who sneaks so deep into China he can’t get out. He is taken under the wing of a Chinese rebel leader (Chow Yun Fat), who deposits him in an all boys orphanage to hide, recover from nasty wounds, and, of course, be an authority figure for the boys. Not only does he win their trust and respect, but he takes them on a 600 mile trek through the mountains to safety and wins the heart of a mysterious nurse played by Radha Mitchell along the way. Don’t mistake this for a warm and fuzzy family film. It’s full of violence, tragedy, poverty, drugs and death. But director Roger Spottiswoode has filmed in an epic fashion that profoundly moves you, and helps you realize that the two hours you spend with Huang Shi are two hours tremendously well spent. Rated R
In Theaters: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
May 22, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
THIS is why we go to the movies. We waited 19 years for the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise, and it was worth every minute. It’s uncommon for a film so highly hyped not to disappoint, but from start to finish, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a chain reaction of delightful thrills that explode into total cinematic elation. Harrison Ford is back as the seasoned professor/explorer/adventurer, and Karen Allen returns as his love interest. Shia LaBeouf is new on the scene as their possible love child, and Cate Blanchett struts through, obviously having the time of her life, as a sultry yet deadly Russian scientist. This time around we find our hero in the 1950’s, dealing with malt shops, greasers, nuclear testing sites, South American pyramids and yes, even aliens. You’ll smile at the nods to other Spielberg and Lucas films, from American Graffiti to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and beyond. The entire family, from the five-year-old to the 85-year-old, will enjoy sitting back, suspending disbelief, and escaping from stifling heat, soaring gas prices, and ubiquitous disasters, natural or otherwise. Thank you, Steven Spielberg, for this well-timed and wonderful respite. Rated PG-13
In Theaters: Mister Lonely
May 22, 2008 - Film Reviews | No comments
It sounds like a premise with potential: A Michael Jackson impersonator living in Paris meets up with a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, who convinces him to move to a castle in the highlands populated with other impersonators: Madonna, Charlie Chaplain, James Dean, Abraham Lincoln, the Three Stooges, Little Red Riding Hood, Queen Elizabeth and more. Meanwhile, a group of Latin American nuns become accidental skydiving sensations. Wait a minute–How do the nuns fit in there? That’s a good question, as is “Why didn’t they get clearance for Michael Jackson music before they started filming?” The impersonator, played by Diego Luna of Y Tu Mama Tambien fame, presses the button on his boom box but nothing comes out. He does Michael Jackson dance moves to complete silence. You can’t help but surmise that the filmmakers couldn’t afford usage fees. It’s very odd. As is this film. None of the characters have any semblance of realism, although Samantha Morton, as Marilyn, is about as vulnerable as one can be. The plot meanders, following no particular arc. But then again, that’s the point of the movie. The characters don’t even pretend to be real. Unrated