Archives for February 2015

Those of us who love Irish legends and folklore will simply delight in the telling of this fanciful tale of fairies, magic, and the unseen spirit world which lies just beneath us and sparkles all around us. Brendan Gleeson is the voice of the dad, Conor, whose little boy, Ben (David Rawle), looks just like him. Conor’s young wife is pregnant with their second child who is due at any moment. Mom (Fionnula Flanagan) tells her son stories of selkies, part seal and part human, who live in the ocean most of the time, but can live on land for a while as well. She tells of a giant who boldly strode the sea in his seven-league boots, but was cursed with such sorrow that he cried the ocean full of his tears and now is turned to stone beside the ocean. There are fairies who live below ground, and are unseen by most, but they are pursued by the wicked witch and her coven of owls, and unless the fairies can hear the song of the selkie, then they, too, will turn to stone and their winsome … [Read more...]

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or press down its tongue with a cord?” (Job 41:1) The biblical reference is quite intentional, but what's not completely clear is how the symbolism of the great and legendary fish is the essence of this story, which is actually a lot more like Job and hardly at all like Jonah. Kolya (Aleksey Serebryakov) is an independent Russian and proud of it. He lives on the same little seaside farm that his father and grandfather did and now he's raising his son, Roma, there. But he's divorced, and the pubescent Roma and his stepmother Lilya (Elena Lyadova) don't get along so well. Not only that, Kolya is struggling against an eviction notice from the arrogant mayor of their little town who covets his property to build a seaside resort. The mayor has arranged for the local government to exercise their right of eminent domain and take over Kolya's property. There's monetary compensation, but Kolya doesn't figure that it's nearly enough, … [Read more...]

This has the feel and the ingredients of a made-for-television movie. It's written by a first-time screenwriter. The interest depends on predictable plot twist, the performances are barely adequate, the action is telegraphed beforehand, and the good guys win in the end – though not without some struggle. The difference is that we have a real A-list star, Jennifer Lopez, though admittedly her film career has been a bit uneven (everything from the high of “Selena” to the low of “Gigli”). Since she is also the executive producer, it's not difficult to imagine her instructions to the director: I want to look sexy all the time and I will even do sex scenes, but without actually showing anything; I will be an attractive and competent professional who is also a great mom; and I will endear myself to my audience by trying to forgive my philandering but remorseful estranged husband. Oh, and I will succumb to a moment of weakness, because I’m human, but the consequences won't really be my … [Read more...]