MOVIE REVIEW: 127 HOURS

Whenever I read a book I always wonder, “Would this book make a good movie”? But when I read Between a Rock and a Hard Place, the true story of Aron Rolston, the young outdoorsman who gets trapped at the bottom of a canyon with his arm pinned beneath a rock, it never even crossed my mind. What kind a movie could it possibly be? Well, director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) figures out how to pull it off, turning 127 Hours into one of the better movies of the year. The movie does however, completely hinge on the outstanding performance of James Franco. Go figure. Franco is an actor who has never really done anything great (he’s Harry Osborn in the Spiderman series). That is of course, until now.

Franco plays Ralston, a geeky guy whose obsession isn’t video games or computers, his obsession is the outdoors. An engineer by profession Aron dreams of making his living as a guide and when we meet him, he’s home from work and packing up for a weekend to be spent under the stars and sun, wandering endless, remote canyons all alone. He’s confident in his abilities, perhaps with good reason, so he doesn’t bother to tell anyone where he’s going. Yet even an experienced hiker, with a head full of survival knowhow, can’t prepare for everything.

We spend a few moments with Aron, before he’s trapped, as he races across the wilderness on his bike. On his way out towards solitude he’ll encounter two pretty hikers. They’ll invite him to a Scooby Doo theme party, and fantasizing about what it might have been like if he’d shown up is one of the many things that’ll keep him going during his long imprisonment. Most of the movie is spent there with him, trapped beneath a rock, for 127 hours. The only thing on screen is Franco’s Ralston, with no one to talk to, nothing to do but sit and struggle and despair. Somehow, Ralston never gives in to panic; he’s too capable, too smart. That doesn’t mean, however, he has a way out. Stuck there all alone for nearly a week, Aron will have plenty of time to think of everything he did wrong. The Swiss Army knife he failed to pack, the Gatorade bottle he left in his truck, the phone call from his mom he didn’t answer. Eventually he’ll have a choice to make. By the time he makes it, it’s almost not a choice, just a final desperate act to survive at any cost.

Another filmmaker may have wondered away from the one place, and the one character but it would have been a mistake. I’m sure he realized James Franco’s Oscar worthy performance was good enough to keep the focus on him for almost the entire movie. Boyle attempts to find meaning in Ralston’s predicament, and he does. What has he done to find himself in this place? Ultimately Aron admits, everything. “The rock” he says, “has been waiting for me”. We get to experience what it would be like to have to make the gruesome life and death decision and then we watch him carry it out. You must see it once but I promise, you will not want to see it again.

The real Aron Ralston

For MISSION TO HAITI click "April" in the Archives

Rekonnesans~Reconnaissant~Gratitude  Photo by SB

MOVIE REVIEW: LET ME IN

Let Me In was not what I expected but I loved it anyway. I thought I was going to be scared and I was so looking forward to it. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved when a movie scared me to death; shaking at the edge of my seat, my heart bounding fast inside my chest, my breathing would get quick and shallow. It doesn’t happen much anymore – not in the movie theater anyway;)  I think the last time I was really frightened  at a movie was in 2002: The Ring. Never-the-less, Let Me In is an excellent movie. Its use of mood and atmosphere along with its straight-forward approach to the subject matter makes for an eerie product that manages to crawl under your skin.

This is a thoughtful and intelligent remake of the Swedish horror film; Let the Right One In (2008). Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) takes on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, an exceptional piece of work by the way, and turns it into something much better than '08 version. It’s not that the original isn’t good; it’s good. But the remake is better. How often does that happen? Sadly, almost never. Lucky for us, we have an opportunity to see a movie that quietly but expertly gives us a masterful study of loneliness that spares nothing in its depiction of the need for blood and belonging.

Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Road) lives with his mom (Cara Buono), an overly religious woman with a drinking problem. We never see her face in focus, emphasizing Owen's sense of being alone - clever. He is small for his age, relentlessly bullied at school, sometimes brutally. For comfort he heads out into the freezing night and hangs around the empty playground of his apartment complex. Alone, until one night a girl and an older man move into the apartment next door. Soon the girl, Abby (a remarkably talented, relative newcomer, Chloe Moretz – Kick Ass), joins him in the cold dark, barefoot, impervious to the elements. "We can't be friends," she warns, but to a boy as alone as Owen, such caution is futile. He craves companionship of any kind, and in Abby, as unusual as she might be; he thinks he might have found some. When Owen asks if she will be his girlfriend, “I’m not a girl” she replies. But that’s OK too. Abby encourages Owen to stand up for himself at school, with the implication that, should he need it, she can help him. This is a relationship of horribly wounded people willing to look past each other's imperfections - that's putting it mildly in Abby's case. Smit-McPhee and Moretz do such an outstanding job of getting that across in their performances, I think it’s fair to say, this movie would not work without them.

The vampire element is underplayed here - it's given obligatory moments of ghoulish bloodletting, but never really viewed as a true threat or supreme evil. Instead, we are supposed to view the horror of the real world as seen through the eyes of these children and marvel at how they could possibly survive. In fact, Let Me In is one of the best, boldest coming of age statements ever. It centers on the angst that drives the pre-adolescent, the uneasy feeling of being an outsider and alone in your nonconformity, and then highlights its harmful consequences. Emotions are expressed in an overflow of blood instead of inane psychological bullshit and that's what makes this film brilliant. Let Me In is one of the better films of 2010 but unfortunately has a very limited audience. Go see it fast. I don’t think it will be in the theaters for long; not bloody enough for teenagers and to plodding for the average moviegoer.

THE HAITI NECKLACE

In Port-Au-Prince there is an orphanage run by a man named Wilner St-Fort. Once an orphan himself, he began to take care of some of Haiti’s street kids. A Haitian orphanage is no more than an open lot that may or may not be surrounded by cement walls. With little if any, sanitation or electricity, they provide precious sense of belonging and security for the children. The struggle for basic survival is constant because food is so expensive and money so scarce. Dire before the earthquake, the situation is unimaginable now. Some months ago, my relief team in Haiti received a desperate call for help from Wilner. While at the orphanage, Wilner asked if I would buy a necklace or bracelet made by the kids. Inspired by their industry, I arranged to take back to the U.S. a large supply of jewelry created by children from several orphanages. All the money raised from selling these necklaces and bracelets goes directly to providing food, medication, educational material and shelter for some of Haiti’s most vulnerable children.

 

You can follow my work in Haiti by clicking on "April" in the archives of this blog and at http://ourmissioninhaiti.blogspot.com/
(click on the link "Our Mission In Haiti" on the right of this page)

Thank you for your help and support,
Cory Gould

MOVIE REVIEW: MACHETE

Did any of you see Grindhouse in 2007? In his collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez introduced a mock trailer for a fake movie called Machete starring his cousin, shockingly unattractive, veteran character actor Danny Trejo (Desperado, Con Air) as an intimidating Mexican day laborer. Now, as a tribute to excessively violent, low-budget, ‘70s exploitation films, that ‘coming attraction’ has become a testosterone-fueled movie that will appeal only to those of us with strong stomachs and a very warped sense of humor.

Although not to be taken seriously, the minimalist plot revolves around Machete (Trejo), a badass ex-Mexican Federale who is seeking revenge against the vicious Mexican drug lord who killed his wife and daughter. Within the opening minutes, he lops off the heads and limps of a dozen gangsters guarding the kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal). Left for dead, Machete recuperates and flees over-the-border to Austin. He is coerced under threat of deportation to accept $150,000 from double-crossing Booth (Jeff Fahey) to kill conservative, intolerant Texas Senator McLaughlin (Robert De Niro), who denounces illegal immigrants as “parasites” and enjoys driving with sadistic, rifle-wielding Von (Don Johnson), shooting unarmed Mexicans they find sneaking into the country. But it’s a set-up and when he’s identified as the would-be assassin, Machete’s only allies are his brother (Cheech Marin), a very funny and less-than-pious priest, and Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), the proprietor of a taco truck and leader of ‘the Network,’ the underground resistance. Then there’s half-clad and always in stilettos, Sartana (Jessica Alba), a luscious Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent, and the drugged up and slutty, April (Lindsay Lohan), Booth’s spoiled daughter (not much of a stretch). Mix ‘em all together and you get murder and mayhem.

Granted, writer/director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, From Dusk Til Dawn and Spy Kids) and his co-director/longtime editor Ethan Maniquis are only minor league Quentin Tarantinos, but they assemble enough absurd, offensive, over-the-top, politically incorrect conventions – like bigoted hombres, naughty nurses and fabulous naked bodies (where did she pull out that phone from?!) – to score as a well-done, late-summer diversion. And they’re already planning two sequels.

So for an intentionally junky, grade-B movie, on a scale from 1 to 10, Machete is a campy, slice-and-dice 7. And I don’t have to be a betting woman to suggest that men will like this R-rated guilty pleasure much more than women.

WARNING: This movie is more offensive than it sounds!

One of the unforgettable images from Grindhouse

MOVIE REVIEW: The American

Those who believe they would be happy watching George Clooney do nothing for two hours can now test that theory. Anton Corbijn’s The American is all Clooney, all the time, with the actor in nearly every scene, almost always looking glum. Why so serious? His character, Jack, is an assassin who hides out in Italy after a botched job in Sweden results in a dead bystander. Jack’s boss gives him a cell phone and information about a safehouse. But the killer-for-hire tosses the phone into the sea and holes up somewhere else, weary of the lifestyle and reconsidering his future.

Corbijn’s second film (the first - 2007’s Joy Division biopic, Control) opens with Jack, a naked woman, and a stiff drink—followed by a burst of violence that rather shockingly interrupts the serenity. You first imagine the protagonist as a stateside Bond or a sexier Bourne. But instead, this is more like Clooney’s Moon: Adapted from a Martin Booth novel, The American has a whole lot of nothing going on, except for Jack’s paranoia. He reluctantly accepts the friendship of an inquisitive (and, it turns out, quite insightful) priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and visits the world’s best-looking prostitute (Violante Placido). Jack also agrees to one last assignment, in which he must fashion a weapon for Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), a mysterious and ridiculously well-trained sniper who has a different hair color in each of her scenes. But Jack is suspicious of them all, as well as anyone who dares give him a second glance.

Of course, there wouldn’t be a movie if Jack weren’t occasionally right—but there still isn’t much of one. Ironically, Corbijn, predominantly a music-video director, uses very little music here, a tactic that’s initially mesmerizing when combined with long, artful takes of snow-covered landscapes, ancient Italian villages, or surreally lit tunnels. But, like a soccer game that ends in a 0-0 tie, the silence is eventually snooze-inducing no matter how many different ways Clooney manages to look pained in his self-inflicted isolation. (And, for the record, Clooney does an admirable job with the material).

Bonacelli and Placido inject some life into the story—the former with the priest’s charm and remarkable read on Jack, who tells strangers that he’s a magazine photographer; and the latter with her hotness, particularly in one of the steamiest sex scenes you’ll see this side of an R-rating. Even watching Mathilde assemble a gun is more exciting than seeing our hero brood. The American closes on a high note, with an action/sad-face sequence that involves an inventive kill, some Western-worthy sharpshooting, and a chance for Jack to finally escape it all. It’s a satisfying end to the inertia, as much for the quality of the movie itself as the knowledge that your marathon of checking your watch is almost over (and I don't wear one!). Skip it.

The Unlikely Relief Worker - The 2 of Me

Me and my family, June 5, 2010 (Conrad, Jake, my husband Rich, and Alex).

Sometimes I wonder how I end up wherever it is that I am. If someone told me a year ago I was going to be in Haiti, living in a tent with bugs and rats, in sweltering heat and humidity, I’m pretty sure I would have told them they were crazy; out of their minds. But here I am, recently returned from Haiti (for the second time), where I lived in a tent with bugs and rats and sweltering heat and humidity. I was also living without all my creature comforts and I have and enjoy many. I love my morning coffee; first thing, one teaspoon of sugar and half and half. It’s all I think about when my brain wakes up in the morning and for some reason, it’s hard to come by in Haiti. I love my skin products, my hot showers with clean water, my personal trainer and my concierge. I love my beautiful bed and my Frette sheets. I thank G-d every night because I am very grateful for my life. I also thank my husband. Frequently, I’ll turn to him at night and say, “Thank you for buying me this bed – I LOVE it!” And you can be sure, that little list I just gave you only scratches the surface. I’m spoiled. And to top it all off, it’s impossible to look good in Haiti. It’s a perpetual bad hair day and I always look dirty, hot and sweaty - not a good look.
The other me (April 14, 2010).

The Haiti thing is hard to explain, even for me. I can give you a lot of reasons: It’s a small country so it seems possible to affect a change, no matter how minuscule. It’s close. Unlike Africa that can take a day to get to, Haiti is a 3 ½ hour plane ride from New York. And I can do what I love to do more than anything else in the world and do it under the most challenging conditions imaginable – that’s appealing. But the truth is my passion for Haiti is more like any other passion or love; it is a mystery. The instrument that beats inside my chest that always mystifies me, directs my course. I can’t really explain it but I am driven, compelled by some inexplicable force, to help these people. It’s lucky for them but probably not so lucky for the other people in my life. It’s a difficult situation. Would it be right or fair if I simply said, “OK, I’ll just forget it”? I’m sure that is what a lot of people are hoping for.

Haiti is not the first time I have been captured by something. I think everyone who knows me knows my passions run pretty deep. My mothering, my need for cleanliness and order (makes 'Haiti' even more puzzling), my devotion to my friends, my devotion to my patients; are just a few examples of how committed I can be. How far can I go? Do you remember when my youngest son was sick? I’m quite sure the word “ferocious” and “obsessed” comes to mind. For better or for worse, it is my nature.

ILLNESS/WELLNESS

Why do we all respond differently to illness? Why do we all respond differently to treatment?

Because each person comes with all their unique history; everything that has made us who we are. On a very deep cellular level as much as we are all the same, we are all very different. Otherwise everyone would respond the same way to the same treatment and that is simply never the case. Regardless of what we have or how we go about treating it, it will always come down to understanding who we are, understanding stress and understanding our lifestyle. This is true with every illness. Deep down, we know this. Our heart breaks and our heart breaks. Something irritates us, and our body becomes irritated. When something in our life is difficult to swallow, it can become difficult to swallow. We "feel" something and somehow that gets processed. It either works its way out or it works its way in. When it works its way in, our body reacts. It's a perfect reflection, a barometer. How long does it take to get to that place where we understand this? It can take many lifetimes.

Bringing Art To Kola

Go to OUR MISSION IN HAITI: http://ourmissioninhaiti.blogspot.com/

MOVIE REVIEW: SALT

Although not in the same league as the Bourne Identity, Salt has the same espionage/superhero atmosphere that made the movie so appealing. Suspension of disbelief is needed for both, but for Salt, you really have to park your brain at the door. Not such a bad thing. But what Salt lacks in coherence it makes up in sheer force. You might not know why Salt is doing what she’s doing, but you know while you’re watching that Jolie knows. Australian director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, The Bone Collector, Patriot Games) and the very impressive and always beautiful, Angelina Jolie, make a very entertaining, fast moving spy thriller that’s over before you know it. And for all of Jolie’s fame and over exposure, she can still be convincing and she can still deliver a kick-ass performance. That’s always the question…right? Can we forget she is Angelina Jolie; married to Brad Pitt, mother of six kids, ex-wife of Billy Bob Thornton, Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, heavily tattooed and John Voight’s daughter. To her credit, you can.

The film evokes one of Russia’s most famous urban legends. Several movies and a bunch of 1960s TV shows revealed that the Russians found American citizens with Russian ties, trained them at secret spy camps and planted them in the U.S. as deep cover sleeper agents that could be utilized when the time was right to bring down the United States. Two of my favorites from this genre are the old Charles Bronson, Telefon (1977), and the Kevin Costner-Gene Hackman thriller No Way Out (1987).

Written by Kurt Wimmer, Jolie stars as one of the CIA’s top field agents, Evelyn Salt. Her career is thrown into turmoil when a Russian defector Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), walks into CIA headquarters and claims that a Russian double agent is about to assassinate the Russian president when he visits the United States. That agent is Evelyn Salt. Salt doesn’t stick around to be locked up until the matter of her loyalty is straightened out. She escapes in an awesome sequence at CIA headquarters that Mission Impossible man Ethan Hunt would envy, followed by a dynamic combination foot, car, truck, and motorcycle chase in Washington, DC. Her chief pursuers are her CIA boss who believes she has been framed; Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and the counterterrorism agent Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who cannot afford to believe anything until he has concrete evidence. I’ll say no more. Go see it. It’s good fun; not rocket science but who cares.

p.s. The term “suspension of disbelief” was coined by poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor in 1817. It describes the need to believe a premise which you would never accept in the real world. In genres such as fantasy and science fiction, things happen in the story which you would not believe if they were presented as fact. In more real-world genres such as action movies, the action routinely goes beyond the boundaries of what you think could really happen. In order to enjoy such a story, the audience engages in this phenomenon. It is a semi-conscious decision in which you put aside your disbelief and accept the premise as being real for the duration of the story.

Movie Review: INCEPTION (with a little Twilight, Predators, The A Team and The Kids Are All Right)

In case you were wondering where I’ve been, let me explain: It’s not that I have been staying home, avoiding the movie theater, it’s that I have been incredibly uninspired. From the time I reviewed Toy Story 3 (which I loved), I have seen: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Predators, The A Team and The Kids Are All Right. I could not bring myself to review any of them. I'm a busy woman and none seemed worth the effort. The Kids Are All Right was alright but what can I say, I was not inspired and if I'm not...I'm not. Luckily for me, this is all just for fun.

Obviously, there is a world full of people who love the Twilight movies. I enjoyed the first but the last 2 were so insipid, I could not wait for them to end. I don’t get it. I loved the books. They are hot and steamy and play into some of my favorite subjects: love, longing and vampires. I am totally captivated by the notion of vampires. Ever since I was a young girl, many many years ago, when I saw Béla Lugosi (Dracula) sink his teeth into Helen Chandlers’ neck, I was sold and perhaps, a little tainted. But the Twilight movie series somehow manages to circumvent what the books seem to capture; all the lust and longing, insecurities and competitiveness of adolescents. OK....maybe it's got the competitive thing down.

Predators (staring Adrian Brody) was well acted but a big mess of a movie that has no point and goes nowhere. Although many have tried (Predator 2, Alien vs Predator – Requiem and now this), movie makers have not been able to replicate the campy yet truly scary, 1987 production of Predator. Directed by John McTiernan and written by Jim and John Thomas, the film had the advantage of being unique as well as having Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. How do you top that? A bit of trivia: The original Predator starred Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura. Both went on to become state Governors. Who would have guessed that when the movie came out? Nobody!

The A Team is a movie you couldn't care less about. You never get involved with any of the characters so you never care about what they are doing. It’s actually amazing because there is plenty going on. Some of the dialogue is unintelligible. If I was interested, I would have wanted subtitles even though it's in English - I think.

OK, on to Inception, the latest and very exceptional movie from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), repeatedly screws with you even while it is telling you exactly what is going on. Exposition, often the sign of a weak screenplay, works here and is actually a welcome relief in what would have otherwise been a story too complicated to follow. Nolan, who also wrote the film, has come up with this incredibly fascinating idea: A team of dream infiltrators are able to enter a person’s subconscious to not only steal ideas, but possibly plant one. Because most of the film’s action takes place in dreams, visually, anything is possible. This gives Nolan free range. He has created a visual masterpiece that is also remarkably intelligent and clever.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Cobb, leader of the dream raiders, is so talented you never question the plausibility of what is going on. He is always capable of bringing you right into a movie, no matter how farfetched – a gift any actor would die for. His team, which includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer) an ingenious casting choice, has had some pretty wild adventures, running around in people’s brains looking for an idea that somebody has paid them to steal. Much to their surprise, one of their proposed victims, Saito (the always great but who has now reached new heights of greatness, Ken Watanabe) has actually set them up to see if they are any good.

When Saito is satisfied with what he sees, he hires the team to enter the dreams of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy – Red Eye, 28 Days Later), his corporate rival with the intent of planting an idea in his head that could topple Fischer’s business empire, and consequently, Saito’s competition. Cobb hires a whiz kid architect, Ariadne (Ellen Page), to help design a multi-tiered dream world that will enable the team to implant an idea deep in the recesses of Fischer’s mind. Cobb and company don’t just go into Fischer’s subconscious, they go three layers deep. They find themselves running around inside a dream within a dream within a dream.

At this point in the evolution of cinema, Nolan is blessed in that the special effects he can employ are synched up masterfully with his outrageous imagination. When Cobb walks Ariadne through a dream, explaining the physics of the subconscious, city streets fold upwards and on top of one another in jaw-dropping fashion. When Levitt’s character finds himself in hand-to-hand combat within a dream, he must do so in a weightless atmosphere because he’s flying through the air in a van shooting off a bridge in his sleeping state—or one of his sleeping states, because his body is actually sleeping in a dream. Oh brother, my head hurts.

Cobb is haunted by the memories of his wife, Mal, (the amazing Marion Cotillard, Academy Award winner for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose), who has a way of showing up in the dream world and wreaking continuous havoc. The Cobb and Mal sub plot is infinitely clever and brings tremendous heart to this film.

DiCaprio anchors all of the insanity with a performance that is skillfully grounded and moving. He gets to play an action hero, as Nolan presents sequences that have an almost James Bond/Ethan Hunt-like twist to them. He also gets to play a tragic-romantic figure in his scenes with Cotillard, scenes that contain high-octane emotional strength. He’s an acting marvel for the second time this year (first was Shutter Island).

The supporting cast, including Page and Gordon-Levitt, who performed a lot of his own stunts, are just too good. Also along for the ride are Tom Barringer (who is almost unrecognizable due to the aging process:) and Michael Caine as the man who has taught Cobb all he knows about dreamscapes. Lukas Haas as Cobb’s original dream architect is a character who possibly plays an even bigger part after he physically exits the film.

Inception sounds insane, and it is. But at its core it is simply a good old-fashion heist movie This is one of those puzzle films that’s hard to follow at times, a twisted tale that works. It’s unbelievable to me that Nolan had the brainpower to dream this up. His imagination seemingly has no boundaries. See it and see it in a movie theater. The special effects, and there are many, will loose their impact on a TV screen. Do not see this movie if you are: tired, fighting with your significant other, pre-occupied, drunk or hung-over. You won't get it. Plenty of people walked out of the theater saying "WTF". But if you really pay attention, you will have a lot of fun and be very amazed when you "wake up" at the end.

p.s. The song played to wake the sleeping/dreaming characters in the movie is Edith Piaf’s, "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" ("No Regrets"), one of the many songs Marion Cotillard brilliantly lip syncs in La Vie En Rose. A movie, by the way, not to be missed.

Movie Review: TOY STORY 3

Fantastic! What makes Toy Story 3 so incredible is how this Pixar animated movie elicits so much emotion from the audience. After all, it’s only a cartoon. But for those of us who grew up with Bambi (1942), Walt Disney’s animated feature film written by Perce Pearce and Felix Stalton, we know firsthand, the power of really good storytelling. I’m sure I’m not the only one with vivid memories of Bambi’s mother getting gunned down by hunters. I cried for weeks. Toy Story 3 is not quite in the same league as Bambi but it is good and even adults will find themselves cheering for Woody and his group of toy-friends and cringing at the sinister strawberry scented bear, Lots-O’-Huggin’, voiced by Ned Beatty. And everybody will be scared of the big, stalking, talking baby doll that can turn its head all the way around – creepy.

Toy Story 3, like its predecessors, is a tale almost too preposterous and worse, too sappy, to be taken seriously but this is Pixar’s gift; to take a farfetched premise (think Monsters Inc., Cars and Up) and make it believable, engrossing and captivating. Think of all the movies, with all the bells and whistles, that cannot capture its audience (the new Wolfman, Sherlock Holmes, and The Lovely Bones, to name a few).

Although everyone voicing this movie is perfect, no one quite reaches the ranks of Michael Keaton as the Ken doll; the metrosexual, hung-up on fashion, who falls head-over-heels for Barbie. Oh yes, it is love at first sight and he woos her by asking her to move in to his ‘dream house’.

Most important, the plot allows characters to gradually come to terms with the film's overreaching themes of friendship and loss, taking us right along with them on every step of that poignant journey and bringing our heroes (and the franchise) full circle. Most impressive, the movie ends with a surprisingly moving last act that will leave you in tears.

The story and animation are so good, you will love the movie whether you see it in 3D or not. In today’s world of virtual reality-like 3D, Toy Story 3 is technologically, minor league. See it with your family and friends and stay for the credits as you get a glimpse of what life is like for all the toys at Sunnyside Daycare with the new toys in charge – priceless!

Movie Review: The Karate Kid

The first question everyone will ask: “Is the remake of The Karate Kid as good as the original?” The answer is definitely “no” but it is entertaining and will hold the interest of most kids. The second question: “How could they have made this movie as good as the first?” The answer is easy; cut the running time down by 20 minutes to tighten it up- the original is 20 minutes shorter, get rid of the 2 or 3 unnecessary scenes and reshoot the one weak scene (I won’t tell you which scene it is). Then the movie will come close to reaching the ranks of the first; still a favorite, replayed, rented and re-rented 26 years after its release. That’s not going to happen with this one.

Jaden Smith (son of Will and Jada) is very impressive as Dre Parker, a 12 year old boy, transplanted from Detroit to Beijing because of his mom’s (Taraji Henson) job. Jaden commands the screen better than you might imagine and there’s no doubt, he really mastered some serious martial art skills (if you stick around the theater to watch the credits you’ll see some photos of his training). But the real star (other than the breathtaking shots of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China – I’m sure the Chinese Department of Tourism is thrilled!) is Dre’s nemesis, Cheng, played to perfection by newcomer, Zhenwei Wan; a young Chinese actor with no real acting experience. Amazing. The blonde haired, Johnny Lawrence, played the part in the original. Wang is so believable that you will question the photo you see during the credits of the 2 laughing and having fun on the set. Acting is very tough business and there is nothing tougher then playing a villain. All the Chinese actors are fabulous. Dre’s love interest and concert violinist, Meiying (Wenwen Han) is beautiful and talented and you will love watching her dance to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”. Another nice touch is the demonstration of a unique and seldom seen type of Traditional Chinese Medicine called Fire Cupping – interesting.

Jackie Chan is Mr. Han, the new Mr. Miyagi and is much better than I expected as the Kung Fu master and spiritual advisor to Dre. He’s good because he’s content to play into his diminished (though still remarkable) physical capabilities rather than attempt to disguise them. Though predictable, on a modest but legitimate level, the movie works. I’m a big fan of kids movies that promote the notion of facing your fears. How to Train Your Dragon is a better movie conveying this important message but The Karate Kid is good fun for kids and in true Rocky style, will get everybody on their feet cheering for the underdog.

Warning: Parents, be prepared for your kids to come out of the movie theater and immediately start practicing their Kung Fu moves. Move out of the way because there will be no stopping them!

FOR "MISSION TO HAITI" click 'April 2010' in Blog Archive

Movie Review: SPLICE

If you have ever wondered what a creature would look like if you combined the DNA of an insect, bird, reptile, and human, you don’t have to wonder anymore. Splice, the Canadian movie directed by Vincenzo Natali (he directed the sci-fi nightmare, Cube) has done it for us. Natali, along with first time screenwriter Antoinette Terry Bryant, wrote an exceptionally ballsy, strange and very disturbing (although not entirely original) story about two biochemists, Clive and Elsa, played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, so caught up in the “could we” they neglect to consider the “should we”. Lab partners and lovers; they have used gene-splicing to create interspecies hybrids. Their first successful endeavor produces Ginger and Fred, a pair of amorphous creatures that look like slugs that have been exposed to nuclear fall-out. They are used to produce medication that ensures the health of cattle.

Using CGI technology and the beautiful French actress, Delphine Chaneac; the special effects by Howard Berger that create Dren, the monster, are absolutely seamless. She is beautiful and very scary at the same time. Those legs! Strong performances by Chaneac and Polley (Dawn of the Dead) make this movie watchable. Ultimately, it is a cautionary tale as old as the science-fiction movie genre, but it goes places I’m fairly convinced, American audiences are not quite ready for. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

Although some might say Splice is a cross between Species, Alien and Rosemary's Baby; it would be remiss not to put Parenthood in the mix. The movie does not need a big screen (although all science fiction/horror movies work better in a dark movie theater); you can wait for this one to come out On Demand. It clocks in at just under 2 hours but it doesn’t feel it. If you can tolerate the subject matter, it will hold your interest and I promise, you will not be bored. And for those of you who are considering bringing the kids, a heads up; there are 2 pretty explicit sex scenes (and they’re not between Elsa and Clive). Whoa!

For "MISSION TO HAITI" click April 2010 in the Blog Archive

Movie Review: Robin Hood

My obsession with film is not a mystery. When I was very young my dad bought a 16mm movie projector and I spent endless hours in the basement of our house watching old movies. One of my dad’s favorites (and so one of my favorites) was The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Raines. I’ve seen it countless times (more than I’ve seen that other movie) and the image of Robin (Flynn) smashing through the door of the palace with a buck wrapped around his neck and throwing it on the table in front of Prince John (Raines) is indelibly burned in my mind. What Robin Hood remake could top that? The director, Kevin Reynolds’s 1991, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves? It’s almost a comedy although entertaining and it did satisfy all of my rescue fantasies. Alan Rickman; how fabulous was he as the Sheriff of Nottingham. And Geraldine McEwan as Mortianna, his sorceress mother, was a nice touch. Let’s not mention Costner. Accents are not his strong suit. Ugh. It was okay but doesn’t hold a candle to the Flynn version. And director Ridley Scotts’ 2 ½ hour, 230 million dollar production is simply not what it should be and the question I’m asking myself is “why was this movie made”? Is there anyone out there dying to know why Robin Hood became Robin Hood? Maybe there is but I for one am more interested in his archery skills and watching him do his swashbuckling thing in Sherwood Forest.

Russell Crowe is, of course, in the title role. Scott wouldn’t have it any other way. They have made many movies together (Gladiator, Body of Lies, American Gangster, A Good Year) and are friends in real life. Crowe can do accents so we can’t fault him on that front. BUT come on, Robin Hood is a fun guy and Crowe’s Robin is not having any fun and that is part of the problem. The movie is long, plodding and humorless. Robin’s adversary is a character named Godfrey played by Mark Strong (the bad guy in Sherlock Holmes). He always makes a good villain but the two are never on screen together (except for the end) and that was probably a mistake. Cate Blanchett, who is plenty beautiful and plenty talented, is not showing signs of either in this film.

The good news: The opening scene is intriguing and got my hopes up. Ridley Scott does good fight scenes (think Gladiator). The last fight scene is great as well (although much too reminiscent of storming the beaches of Normandy in Saving Private Ryan). Danny Houston (son of John and half sister to Angelika) is excellent as King Richard The Lionheart but he gets knocked off very early in the movie. The costumes are fantastic.

You can safely miss this movie or at the very least, wait for it to come out On Demand.

Movie Review: IRON MAN 2

OK, I’m back (for now) reviewing movies. I’m not gonna lie, I was anxiously awaiting the release of Iron Man 2. I loved the first one and it’s not a secret, I’m madly in with love Robert Downey Junior. And in this movie, he does not disappoint. It doesn’t hurt that he is either suited up in gorgeous David August custom clothing or in his new and improved, Iron Man getup. He is fabulous in this sequel as is the entire cast (except Johansson and I’ll talk about her later). Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Crash) replaces Terrance Howard (Crash, Iron Man) as Rhodey and although he is a lot shorter, he fills his military shoes quite nicely. Mickey Rourke, as Ivan Vanko, the crazed Russian convict scientist out for revenge, is just too bad as the bad guy. Awesome. Even without his heavily tattooed body, long, dirty hair and gold rimmed teeth, Mickey simply looks scary – and he is. You will not forget the image of him cracking his lightening whips at the Monaco Grand Prix. By the way, the cockatoo in the movie; it’s his. But the big applause goes to Sam Rockwell as Hammer, the sleazy, two-faced glory monger who finances Vanko. He must have gone to the Gary Oldman School of ‘Villainry’ (I made that word up). He is very reminiscent of some of Oldman’s bad-guy roles (Zorg in The Fifth Element and Carnegie in The Book of Eli). He is great in this and steals just about every scene he's in.

The problem with Scarlet Johansson is she can’t act. She is very beautiful and very sexy in her cat suit but her lack of acting skills comes through even when she’s playing a comic book character. In her defense, her role is ridiculous – eye candy only. To make up for it they gave her the best fight scene in the movie. Most guys could care less if Johansson can act or not. They will all be talking about her when they go home and thinking about her while in bed at night. Who would have been a better choice? Rachel McAdams (Red Eye, Mean Girls). She's smart, almost as sexy and when delivering the line, "Is it dirty enough?" after handing a martini to Stark, it would sound as clever and funny as it was meant to be. Paltrow, as Pepper Potts, is actually better this time around. It’s a meatier role.

Justin Theroux, who does more acting in his life than writing, is responsible for the screenplay (he wrote Tropic Thunder). Jon Favreau directs and also stars in the movie as Happy Hogan, Starks chauffeur, personal assistant and sparring partner. His character was only in a few of the old Iron Man comic books. I can see Favreau rummaging through them trying to find a character he wanted to play. Hogan is actually a perfect choice. As a director, he goes over the top but at the same time does a good job holding this movie, with all its subplots, together. He never takes his eye off the ball: The smart-ass, womanizing millionaire, Tony Stark.

Iron Man 2 is not Iron Man which is probably one of the best superhero movies ever made. But it is entertaining and worth the trip to the movie theater if for no other reason than to see Mickey Rourke walk on to the raceway in Monaco and pull out his whips.

p.s. The first Iron Man has one of the great philosophical and spiritual messages: Sometimes we have to lose our heart in order to find our heart. That plays out literally and figuratively in Iron Man. Iron Man 2 has none of that. BUT, we are always reminded of 2 men who completely lost their way in life and found their way back, better than ever.

MISSION TO HAITI: UPDATE

The top photo is Big and Little Paul loading the 17 year old with the skull fracture into the back of our Toyota pickup. Three days later he is resting comfortably with his mother at the University of Miami 'Hospital'. This is a nice story with a happy ending.

MISSION TO HAITI: POST SCRIPT

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
--Margaret Mead

I am overwhelmed and it is hard for me to contain my tears. It is impossible to have an experience like this and not feel profoundly changed. Over the past few weeks I have witnessed brutal and relentless suffering; most of it senseless, preventable and inexcusable. My heart was and is, constantly breaking. I knew to work efficiently and to capacity I would have to deal with my emotions when I got home and boy oh boy, I am. While in Haiti, I needed to be sharp and on my toes.

One of the many problems in Haiti is that the donated medical supplies, medications and food are being warehoused, hidden and stolen: most often, by those in authority. One of the many objectives of my little team was to find these supplies and distribute them. We were very successful at it. We were also the only local ambulance as well as the acting nurses, medics and even doctors when we needed to be. The only training you need to become a doctor in Haiti is to work in a hospital for 7 years. How scary is that. An anatomy and physiology class would be nice. I am no doctor, not even close, but I am a nurse and there were many occasions, I was all they had.

While writing to you at night, it was virtually impossible to remember everything that happened during the day and for brevity sake, I combined days and I now realize, left things out; important things. I worked with two guys. By now you should know their names; Big and Little Paul. Big Paul is a medic and fashion photographer. Little Paul owns his own construction company and is a carpenter by trade. He is also one of the best drivers I have ever known. To drive in Haiti is a feat unto itself. There are no rules and no laws. It's every man for himself: a life-threatening activity – trust me. But I never even flinched. They are both wild and crazy but fiercely dedicated to helping the Haitian people. There is simply nothing they won’t do and in one of the most dangerous places on the planet right now, they guarded me with their lives. I always felt safe. They are 2 unlikely heroes but they are heroes non-the-less. I feel honored to have worked with them.

I want to share a couple of things that did not get worked in to my earlier blog entries:

Soon after the earthquake, the Haitian government made a plea to its citizens to donate blood. There was a significant response and thousands of pints were collected (whether it was screened properly or not is another story but the blood was collected). When it came time to distribute it, when the clinics were requesting blood and desperate for it; it was nowhere to be found. Big Paul drove around until he found what looked like a door to a refrigerated closet. He opened it with the big key he brought from home; the one at the end of his leg. He packed the blood up in a cooler and got it where it was needed.

Premature births are common in Haiti and during the weeks after the quake they were happening with even more frequency. There are not many incubators in Haiti (I never saw one). But when a baby was born prematurely on Little Paul’s watch, he responded by building one. Using some wood he found, plastic sheets, duck-tape, a light bulb and pieces of PVC piping, he made a fully functioning incubator. Power is inconsistent but the baby was warm when it went on. And when he discovered that the kids in one of the orphanages we were working with were sleeping on the ground with rats, he built and enclosure and secured some Yoga mats for them to sleep on. The structure also functions as a classroom. Kola is one of the few 'orphanages' with a school.

The stories never end and degree of dedication, competence and resourcefulness is something I have rarely seen in my life. I have witnessed dedication and self sacrifice of monumental proportion. Relief workers in Haiti have put their lives on hold and have willingly thrown themselves into a situation that is very close to hell on Earth. It is hot, humid, and the tents where some of them work are not ventilated. There is no sanitation and the smell is overpowering. Drinking water is scarce and good food is nonexistent. There is so much need and never enough supply. Even those who have done relief work in the past, admit, nothing compares to this.

Proud kids at Kola

The incubator
The working conditions in Haiti are unimaginable and yet, I never heard one person complain. To the contrary; the doctors and nurses, the medics and everyone in-between, work 12 to 20 hour shifts without grumbling or whining. While in the ER picking up the 2 critical patients, the doctor who just called it quits on resuscitating the 5 month old, realizing that everyone was traumatized said, “Stop, take a breath, relax for one minute”. He paused for a few moments and then said “back to work”. Amidst all the chaos, he was sensitive to everyone’s needs. He is a remarkable human and although I only met him a few times and only for brief minutes, I will never forget him. His name is Rob (I don’t know his last name). He is meek in appearance, but highly skilled and unflappable.

Rob telling us what supplies he needs to work with any kind of effectiveness. We are standing in one of the few indoor spaces deemed structurally sound.As stories and events come to me, I’ll continue to share. I went to work the minute my plane touched down and some of the first few hours were eventful but a blur. I was shell shocked from the scene at the airport and the ride into downtown Port-Au-Prince. The total devastation is hard to comprehend and the true third-world nature of this country is mind-boggling – especially after a short, 3 ½ hour plane ride. Who knew?

For those of you who don't know, I went to Haiti without a group and without any solid connections. The hospital I intended to work at, Centre Hospitalier du Sacré-Coeur (CDTI), closed the day before I arrived. I knew it was crazy but I felt confident I would be guided to where I was needed the most. Through the grace of God, I was. How fortunate am I.

I want to thank everybody for your support and constant prayers. You're the best. And a special thanks to Ralph, Junior and James, my translators and bodyguards who never let me out of their sight. They also kept my backpack zipped up (I went to Haiti with all my bad habits).

Port-Au-Prince was a city of 2 million before the quake. Approximately 250 thousand are dead. Another 100 thousand or more will die from disease and infection. One million Haitians are homeless. It is a desperate country in need of our constant prayers.

XOXO,
Cory

THE SWEETEST WELCOME HOME

My friend Louises' 5th grade class in Florida. They prayed for me everyday and followed my Mission to Haiti. How sweet is that!
Thank You guys. I always felt your prayers.
Blessings,
Cory

MISSION TO HAITI" 11 +

I am leaving Haiti tomorrow. I have a 2 p.m. flight. I will try to write before I go but I doubt I'll have Internet much longer. There is no more gasoline in Haiti. The truck has just enough to get me to the airport so we had to stop work early. We got as much done as we could, working around the problem with gas and the craziness that has started because of it.

Never mind all that: We got an emergency call from General Hospital. Two critical patients need transfer to the hospital near the airport. General has an emergency room but they cannot handle critical patients. It's 8 p.m. We are on empty. One patient is a 28 year old women with a fractured pelvis, broken leg and multiple lacerations. The other is a 17 year old boy with a fractured skull. That's all we were told. I'll write the rest of this incredible story when I get home.
Me and Little Paul driving around looking for gas.

A beautiful Haitian child

Paul and Alan, the 'overcrowded orphanage' owner, getting the party started They don't know what to make of me

Just a beautiful, beautiful girl and me, sweating.

So sweet but hungry and sad.

This is Mike. He is very proud of the kite he made.

Nightmare in Haiti. The patient on the left, the skull fracture, is covered with a body bag. It's all we had.
The Emergency Room at General Hospital
Moving the 17 year old boy back inside to be suctioned

Big Paul getting the logistics down on how to work this.

It’s odd, writing this entry in the comfort of my home, no worries about power, Internet service or bugs. I’m not squinting, trying to see the screen. I’m not sticky with sweat and covered with DEET and grime. The air smells good and for the first time in weeks, so do I. There are so many things we take for granted. Imagine, a third world country just a 3 ½ hour plane ride from New York. It’s really and truly, unbelievable.

Wednesday started out with a few goals; find gas for the truck, find propane for Kola (one of the orphanages we have been looking after) and get to a party at ‘the overcrowded’ orphanage by 2. We discovered that the gas situation is dire as is the situation with propane. Propane is something that makes Haitian lives easier. They can cook with it rather than coal. But it is expensive and since the earthquake many Haitians have gutted their ovens and converted them back to coal. For decades, they have burned trees to make it. They have ravaged their countryside harvesting trees. That’s a whole other story, very telling of this culture. Haitians do not think about the future, just one minute to the next. But this gas restriction is some kind of manipulation by the government. I have no doubt about that.

We got to the party at about 3. One of the great untapped resources on this planet are Haitian children. They are so bright, resourceful and animated (when they have food in their stomachs). They are beautiful, loving and always ready with a big smile despite their dismal surroundings and difficult lives. And boy, do they love to have their picture taken. They love the technology; I snap a photo and they can see it right away. They’re amazed. For that matter; so am I! The children here will have to be moved. They are jammed into a very small space and the conditions are horrific. My teammates will work on it after I leave and it will get done. It will simply take time.

We went back ‘home’ feeling a little disappointed about not accomplishing much but we were resigned to hanging out and regrouping. And I’m not gonna lie, I was worried about having enough gas in the truck to get me to the airport. No one else seemed worried but then again, I’m a neurotic New Yorker and Jewish, no less.

But as I mentioned in my initial post for the day,” hanging out” was not in the cards. We got a call from General Hospital asking us to transport 2 critically injured patients. We race out, tank on E (anyone who knows me knows that never phased me), arrive at General and it starts pouring. The stench there has gotten worse. It hits you like a ton of bricks as you drive in. We pull in front of the ER tent, run in and are struck by the sight of 4 people working hard at resuscitating an infant. I soon found out it was a 5 month old girl, dying from complications of Malaria. The child looked like a newborn – so small. She was gone before we got there but it's hard to stop trying, especially when the mom is standing right there, hands clasped in prayer. It was another one of the many senseless deaths that happen every minute in Haiti. Who can work like this? "Did anyone clock the time of the baby's death" I heard someone shout. How could it possibly matter.

Our patients were at opposite ends of the tent. The woman, a 28 year old, who was in a car accident, was lying on a gurney with her leg splinted with a broomstick. There was a 4x4 piece of gauze covering a deep laceration and her pelvis was shattered. Easy enough to stabilize her and get her strapped onto one of our transport boards. The young boy was another story. He’s a 17 year old who fell 20 feet. His skull was fractured, blood draining from his ears, he was unresponsive and as soon as we began getting him prepared for transport, he began seizing. Everyone starts calling out “Valium, Versed or anything like it”. We got some Versed, someone yells “sharps out” and within seconds his body relaxes. I whisper “shhh” in his ear. “It’s OK. It’s OK, we’re gonna get you out of here and get you help”. I say it in English but kindness and reassurance are a tone-of-voice.

We tie him to a board and rush him out to our pickup. As soon as we get him secured, he vomits up blood and the entire content of his stomach. “Unstrap him”, I said. "Let’s get him back inside and get him suctioned out”. Good thing we took him out first otherwise the woman would have been lying in the back of the truck longer then she had to - and in the pouring rain. Dear God. His face covered in vomited up blood, he has aspirated and it is looking like he might not make it but Big Paul, understanding dignity, takes 30 seconds and wipes his face clean. We suction him, get him intubated, take a few syringes with Versed drawn up in case he starts to seize or wake up, start bagging him and get both patients secured in the truck. Three of us are in the back of this little pick-up (and one of us is no light weight -sorry Paul) with the 2 patients and the rain is coming down so hard it hurts. The woman’s husband is yelling at me in Creole to keep her covered and telling me she wants to turn on her side. I have my translator explain that her pelvis is broken and she can’t be moved. He does not understand why. We drive toward the gate (the area is gated for security reasons) and the security guard will not let us out. “Where is your paperwork” he asks.” PAPERWORK!!” I scream, “ARE YOU @%#ING KIDDING ME??” In a country that throws every piece of paper on the ground, he's asking for paperwork! Somebody jumps out of the truck to go get the ER doctor to try to explain to this idiot we have 2 critical patients that have to get to an adequate facility. One of them will die soon if we don’t. He may die even if we do but at least he’ll have a fighting chance. Twenty minutes of arguing, Little Paul, my teammate (and most extraordinary driver) has to be restrained because he wants to belt this guy. The ER doc is trying to explain, in a reasonable fashion, the critical nature of this situation but we are dealing with people who only understand action and force. We get that gate open but precious time has been lost.

The ride to Miami Hospital (the one near the airport) was wet and treacherous. It was very hard to see the huge pot holes because of the laking effect from the rain. The young boy starts fighting his airway and we need one of those syringes with the Versed. Try finding the medication port in IV tubing in the dark, in a the pouring rain while your truck is bouncing all over the place and while squeezing an Ambu-Bag - t’s not easy. There were a few times during the trip I felt we might lose this kid. “Shhh…hang in there, almost there”, I would whisper. My nose started itching and I ask Big Paul if he would mind if I wiped it on his shorts. My hands were too dirty to touch my face. He laughed. He’s so good to me. We made it. We raced him in and got him on a gurney. This kid was something else. He pulled his airway out, his blood pressure stabilized and his pulse, which had been weak and very thready, got stronger and more steady. He's a real fighter. I’ll probably never know what happens to him but I know we gave him a chance. The woman will be fine.

I bet you forgot about the gas situation. God was watching over us. We were still driving around on empty. On the way home I saw a guy walking around with 2 gallon jugs in his hands. We stop, ask him if it’s gasoline and he said yes. Should we believe him? Little Paul asks him how much water he put in it. He swears, none. We pay him $20.00 American dollars and pour it into our tank. Thank God, we have enough gas to get us home and enough to get me to the airport.

Really and truly, I would love to stay longer but I know I am causing tremendous worry back home. Although I am not sleeping well, I am causing others to lose sleep. It doesn’t seem fair. I’ll be back.