October 27, 2011 | 6:10 pm

Two Jews on Film: ‘In Time’ review

Posted by Joan Alperin-Schwartz (video by Joan and John Schwartz)

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‘In Time’ is a sci/fi thriller written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca)...Maybe that’s the problem. You know what they say about wearing too many hats…

Okay, when the film begins, we discover that we are now in the future….A future where you stop aging at 25…(Guess that put a big dent in the Botox industry). Your mother, sister, grandmother, grandfather etc, all look 25 so it’s hard to tell if you’re hitting on someones mother or daughter. You get the idea.

After 25, you get one free year to live…After that, you have to work for every extra second, minute, hour, day…If you want to eat, have a place to live, you have to pay with ‘time’...Your time. Unless of course, you come from time.

In other words…‘Do you have a minute’ takes on a whole new meaning.

People are now separated by time-zones.

Story continues after the jump.

Everyone has a bar code on their arm that glows green. When you gain time, the numbers go up…lose time, the numbers go down.

Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) lives minute-to-minute in the Ghetto known as Dayton. But one day, everything changes for him. A stranger, named Henry Hamilton (Matt Bomer) gives him a ‘century’. It seems Henry doesn’t want to live anymore.

Unfortunately, the gift comes too late to save Will’s mother (Olivia Wilde). She runs out of time and keels over dead right in front of him. After that, things go from bad to worse for our guy.

Will is unjustly accused of murdering Henry and he’s forced to go on the run…He steals a car and heads for the rich side of town…New Greenwich. Far from the ghetto, the wealthy leisurely stroll down the streeet, covering their bar codes with elbow length gloves and spend their days gambling and looking bored.

Will checks into a luxurious suite (after all time is no longer a problem) buys a hot sports car and goes to a fancy casino where he meets poor little rich girl, Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried). Together the two of them decide the system is corrupt, the world is unfair and they go on a Bonnie & Clyde rampage to change things.

Sounds exciting? Well it’s not.

First of all, when you create a world like Niccols did, you have to explain how and why it all came about. I mean, did the huge pharmaceutical giants just sit idly by while disease and aging was wiped out? Who came up with the idea to genetically alter human beings? I’m sure the religious groups had no problem with it.

Also Timberlake and Seyfried have absolutely no chemistry together. Neither one of them, are very exciting to watch. Looking pretty isn’t enough to sustain this muddled SciFi flick. There are some interesting moments, but unfortunately, the film becomes one big monotonous chase, after awhile.

I did like Gillian Murphy as the timekeeper. Murphy is a by-the book cop, who even though knows that the system sucks, he’s still determined to do his job.

‘In Time’ opens in theaters, Friday, October 28, 2011. This time, John and I actually agree on how many bagels this film should get…Well, almost agree.

October 18, 2011 | 5:54 pm

‘Welcome home Gilad’ video featuring Matisyahu’s ‘One Day’

Posted by JewishJournal

Photo by REUTERS/ PMO/
Handout

We’ve seen the photo slideshow, but for some reason, this unofficial mix to Matisyahu’s “One Day,” just says it all. 

Enjoy.

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October 13, 2011 | 12:09 pm

Two Jews on Film: ‘The Big Year’ Review,

Posted by Joan Schwartz (video by Joan and John Schwartz)

What does a Fork tailed Flycatch, a Yellow Crested Finch and a Pink Footed Goose have in common with Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin? They are all in a new comedy called ‘The Big Year’, directed by David Frankel (Devil Wears Prada).

The Big Year refers to a real life competition where birders (people who are obsessed with our feathery friends) race to see, who can spot the most species of birds, within a calender year.

Sounds exciting? Well if it does, then this is the film for you to see.

When ‘The Big Year’ begins, we meet three very different men…who share the same dream…to win this competition.

Stu Preissler (Steve Martin) is a very sucessful businessman, who founded his own company. Now, Stu wants to retire to his beautiful home in the woods of Colorado with his wife, Edith(JoBeth Williams) Stu’s had it with the corporate rat race. Unfortunately, just when he thought he was out, they (Stu’s business associates, Kevin Pollak and Joel McHale) keep pulling him back in…

Story continues after the jump.

Brad Harris (Jack Black) is a discontented, code-writer (aren’t they all) who hates his job. All Harris wants, is to be the best bird-watcher he can be.

And finally, there’s Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson) a very successful contractor, who holds the record of having seen 732 different species of birds in the course of one calendar year. Kenny equates his title to that of Joe DiMaggios’s 56 game hitting streak. Bostick will do anything and everything to hold onto his title..even if it means screwing up his marriage to the lovely, Jessica (Rosamind Pike).

Okay, so to sum up…We have three men who are passionate about birds…lots of male bonding…even some female, male bonding and of course…birds…beautiful, colorful and expressive birds. And I mustn’t forget the incredible scenery. ‘The Big Year’ was shot was shot in Tofino, Osoyoos, Whistler, British Columbia, Upstate New York,Fire Island, Joshua Tree and the Florida Everglades.

Does all that add up to a super funny comedy? Not so much. But the film did make me chuckle several times.

I gave the film more bagels, of course, then John…but we weren’t too far apart. Check out our video to see the final count.

‘The Big Year’ opens in theaters, Friday, October 14, 2011.

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October 6, 2011 | 12:05 pm

Two Jews on Film: ‘Real Steel’ review [VIDEO]

Posted by Joan Alperin-Schwartz (video by Joan and John Schwartz)

"Real Steel" poster

The year is 2020. Things look pretty much the same as they do now…Except in the world of boxing. Humans have evolved to the point where they no longer get excited by watching men and women pummel each other. Score one for us.

What we have instead is ‘Robot Boxing’ which I have to say is…really, really cool…especially the way it’s depicted in this new fantasy, action film, called ‘Real Steel’ directed by Shawn Levy.

First of all, these ‘robot boxers’ aren’t your everyday garden variety robots. These animatronic, mechanical men are over 8 feet tall, made of steel and each one, has his own very unique personality. And wow, can they box.

When ‘Real Steel’ opens, we meet, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) a washed up fighter who finds himself in a world where he doesn’t fit in. No longer a boxer, Charlie makes his living hustling. He travels from one seamy underground boxing venue to the next, scoring fights for his low-end bots that he’s pieced together.

After his last robot gets destroyed at a County Fair boxing match, run by super sleavy ex boxer/promoter, Ricky (the wonderful Kevin Durand) Charlie desperately needs money…not only to buy another robot, but to pay off his gambling debts.

Charlie makes his way to Tallet’s gym and to his girlfriend, Bailey Tallet. Her father trained Charlie back in the day…Now she helps him rebuild his robots and rest his weary bones, whenever he comes into town.

Only this time, Bailey has had it with Charlie and his fighting bots. She’s spent years giving Charlie money and now she’s not only broke but on the verge of losing her gym.

Story continues after the jump.

As fate would have it, Charlie finds out that he’s a father. Backstory moment: After charlie broke up with late girlfriend, she gave birth to a boy, Max (Dakota Goyo). Max is now eleven and the deceased girlfriend’s sister, Debra (Hope Davis) and her wealthy husband, Marvin (James Rebhorn) want custody of him. Got all that?

Charlie, being the wheeler-dealer that he is, agrees to give them Max…for a price…$100,000. Now you can’t really blame him…He doesn’t even know the boy and he desperately needs the money, so he can buy a new robot.

Marvin agrees on one conditioner…Charlie has to keep Max for the summer so he and his wife can go off on their planned Italian vacation. Charlie relunctantly agrees.

Now this arrangement doesn’t sit at all well with Max… The kid feels abandoned by his father and he doesn’t want anything to do with him. And Charlie…well he probably can’t even spell the word…nuturing. He is totally clueless when it comes to being a dad.

‘Real Steel’ is the story of the ‘underdog’...It’s also the story of three abandoned beings…Charlie, Max and Atom, the little robot that nobody wanted that come together and surprise the world and they surprise each other.

This film has brilliantly designed robots, edge of your seat boxing matches…and a robot…doing the ‘Robot’. It’s a movie that will have you smiling way after the credits come on the screen.

‘Real Steel’ is a film for anyone who’s connected to their ‘inner kid’.

I gave ‘Real Steel’ 4 1/2 bagels out of 5. John as usual, had a different opinion. Check out our video to see his bagel score.

‘Real Steel’ opens in theaters Friday, Oct. 7.

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