Morning Glory

A few years ago Rachel McAdams was targeted as the next Julia Roberts due to her excellent performances in the Notebook, Wedding Crashers, and Red Eye. Her selection of movies since then have been mixed with many poor choices.
Morning Glory displays why Rachel McAdams was targeted in the first place. This movie showcases her amazing talent and why she will eventually be the next big thing. The movie is a Broadcast News reboot. It’s the story of an upstart television producer, McAdams, who accepts the challenge of reviving a struggling morning show program. Jeff Goldblum, who is always good, plays her boss.
This is not a chick flick and the critics have not been fair to this movie. Sure Harrison Ford and Dian Keaton are too old to play Morning Show hosts but they have excellent banter together and the chemistry between Ford and McAdams feels true.
The Daybreak weatherman provides laughs as he does a takeoff of Al Roker from the Today Show.

Verdict:
Netflick Broadcast News, which is dated but still good, then go see this movie. This film should pull McAdams out of the pack of Julia Roberts wannabes and put her next to Reese Witherspoon as a major talent.

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer

This documentary is an in-depth look at former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, including interviews with the scandalized, former politician.
I first saw Client 9 in a hotel room while traveling on business. The movie started off slowly so I started to multi task while watching it out of the corner of my eye. As the movie progressed I became totally engrossed with Eliot Spitzer’s story. I didn’t know much about him prior to his scandal but based on this movie he came off a righteous nerd. He made his mission early in his career as a DA to go after shady billionaires on Wall St. Having been raised with a golden spoon in his mouth and zero street smarts Eliott didn’t realize the ramifications of creating powerful enemies and how to defend himself when they decide to come after him. Alex Gibney, director of the well crafted documentary, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, does an excellent job covering both sides of the story. It’s amazing that he was able to get the interviews from players on both sides. The only one missing was Spitzer’s wife.

Verdict:
Must see documentary that will definitely be nominated for an Oscar. Spitzer has his demons similar to Bill Clinton but I learned a lot about Spitzer and I ended up liking the guy.

Saw 3D

Yes I am a fan of this franchise and I had to see the last installment.
This movie centers around Jigsaw's survivors and a self help guru who has made a fortune on his story of survival from Jigsaw. You can pretty much figure out what happens next. I always wonder how they will bring Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) back into the movie because he died many movies ago. He character is the only reason you want to see Saw and he does return in this final version. Someone else returns and I will not spoil it for Saw fans who read this review. This final version was not the best but as a fan I felt it tied up loose ends where when other franchises end there are many questions unanswered. Lets not forget, if it was not for the Saw movies Donnie Wahlberg would not be playing a cop in Blue Bloods right now. He plays the same exact cop on this CBS television series that he did in Saw 2 and 3.

Verdict: For Saw fans ONLY!
Prediction: Saw will return in 10 years just like Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, etc. etc. etc.
Question: My favorite version is the first one. Close second is Saw 3 the one where the doctor cuts open Jigsaw's head.
Which Saw movie is your favorite?

For Colored Girls

I had apprehensions about going to see another Tyler Perry movie. Don't get me wrong, I think he is talented but his movies are predictable and he follows the same blueprint he has discovered that makes money. Throw in some comedy, dress up like a woman, make sure you have some religion and you have a hit.
With Colored Girls Tyler Perry has made his best movie to date. First and foremost this is not Mr. Perry's work so we are off to a good start. Colored Girls was a hit Broadway play back in the seventies. The movie is about various black women and each of their characters is represented in a collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular.
Mr. Perry has done a fantastic job taking this play to the screen. The visuals are rich, the screenplay is melodious, and the acting is top notch. Janet Jackson is fine but it's Kimberly Elise, Denzel's wife in John Q, who deserves an Oscar. She is probably one of the best actresses on the scene today. Whoopi Goldberg is excellent and should get off The View and go back to bringing rich performances to the screen. Loretta Devine, who is always overlooked, should be nominated for an Oscar as well. She gives a funny performance as Juanita. Finally Mrs. Hucktable (Phylicia Rashad) and Thandie Newton round out the cast with Oscar worthy performances.
If Mr. Perry has any chance of winning an Oscar this movie is it. He may be a day late and a dollar short since Precious won awards last year.

Verdict:
Must see! Bring tissues.
Also you will see Janet Jackson with a short hairdo and she looks just like her brother! It was very eerie.

Hereafter

It seems like every year Clint Eastwood comes out with a movie that is worthy of an Oscar. Hereafter comes very close. The movie is a drama centered on three people a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy who are touched by death in different ways. The special effects in the movie are spot on when Eastwood recaptures the Tsunami which is in the first half of the movie. After that the story slowly evolves into a cool movie in which Matt Damon is trying to find a new path in life.
Do not expect to go to this picture and see Clint's take on what happens once you die. Do expect to deal with subtitles. I have many friends who can't deal with that while watching a movie (they don't know what they are missing). French actress Cécile De France is very good and captivating. I expect to see her in additional American movies.
This movie is not for everybody and will probably not win best picture however it is different in the same vein as Grand Torino and is worth checking out once you run out of movies to go see.

Verdict:
Excellent picture for a rainy Sunday afternoon.