Mao's Last Dancer

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: The true story of Li Cunxin (Chi Cao), who was taken away from his family as a boy in Moaist China, to train at the Beijing Dance Academy, and later recruited to the United States where he was accused of turning his back on China, and denied re-entrance to his homeland. Meanwhile, in America he becomes an acclaimed ballerino.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda Schull, Shuang Bao Wang, Madeleine Eastoe, Aden Young, Chengwu Guo, Wen Bin Huang, Camilla Vergotis, Su Zhang, Gang Jiao, Ferdinand Hoang

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This film is so beautiful, its beauty can only be properly expressed in French with tears in your eyes. So here goes... C'est beau! (sniff-sniff)

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: There's one musical cue that's kind of funny, although I'm not sure it's deliberately funny. You see, the film takes place in the 70s, so for authenticity's sake, they have no choice but to cut to disco music once in a while.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I predicted what they were going to do, I knew it was gonna make me cry, and I still cried, full on tears, both eyes.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This is the kind of slow and important film that the Academy goes crazy over. The only thing it has going against it is that I like it, too.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: After watching Bruce Greenwood play very straight and very powerful men, in both Dinner for Schmucks and Star Trek, it is fascinating to see him pull off a man who is obviously gay, but in no way flamboyant. Joan Chen is delightful as the dancer's mother, with touching moments of both anger and joy. And it deserves a mention that Chi Cao, who is an amazing professional ballerino, but has no acting experience to speak of, makes you believe that you are watching a documentary, and not a scripted movie.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Despite a few passing moments that are pointlessly showy, Bruce Beresford's directing is impressive both in the flawless coverage of the numerous ballet numbers, and in the little touches, like making the film negative look like grainy stock footage, straight out of the 70s and 80s, when he shows us the date of each sequence.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Obviously, it's a true story and a tear jerker. My only complaint is that for those of us that know structure, there are a few moments which feel like they're approaching the ending but then don't, which makes the film feel momentarily longer than it is. But all is forgiven, as the last 10 minutes are worth the wait.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/maos-last-dancer/10014074/trailers

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Cold Souls

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Actor, Paul Giamatti (Paul Giamatti), finds out that there is a technology by which you can extract your soul from your body, and decides that he should try that so that he can play the role of Uncle Vanya without having to feel any of that heavy pain.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Katheryn Winnick, Lauren Ambrose, Armand Schultz, Boris Kievsky

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! First of all, the premise is illogical. If you don't want to feel the pain of another person, you shouldn't extract your soul, you should quit acting . But more importantly, I don't think the filmmaker understands the soul's role in vitality; i.e, that without one, you're a motionless vegetable, who's usually considered to be dead.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Maybe if you're not sleeping AND you have a very esoteric sense of humor.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: No. But if you had any understanding of what a soul's purpose was before you saw that movie, that will be completely erased. Just in case you still see it, I've taken the liberty of printing Merriam-Webster's definition here for your future reference. "Soul: The immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life."

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Of course it will. Don't you know that when a movie is boring and pretentious and has an out-there concept it means it must be brilliant? This is the kind of movie that award givers don't want to admit they don't get, for fear that it will make them look stupid. But pretending to get it is a lot more stupid to me.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was expecting Being John Malkovich, in which an actor playing himself takes on the role of John Cusack, and that of Cameron Diaz, and that of Catherine Keener, and he's so good, that you completely forget that you're actually watching John Malkovich. In this film, Paul Giamatti acts more and less animated, but regardless of whose soul he's wearing, he still always acts like Paul Giamatti.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I blame the director for the lack of versatility in Giamatti's performance, mostly because we know he's top notch and could've done anything she asked him to do.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The script is disappointing, mostly because the rules of what a soul can and can't do to your personality are never established, so the fun in the concept is completely missed. Also, the characters regularly make choices that go against who they are, and what they know to be true. For example, Paul Giamatti tells the soul extractor that what he's proposing is crazy. And not five minutes later, he's letting him extract his soul. Then, the soul extractor (David Strathairn) confesses that the Russians he works with are dangerous, and not 5 minutes later he gives Paul vital (traceable) information about who they are and how to find them. Even the soul mule (Dina Korzun), who knows first hand how dangerous her bosses are, betrays them without thinking twice, which leads me to believe that maybe they're not that dangerous after all.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/cold-souls/36222/trailers

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The Proposal

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When a powerhouse publisher (Sandra Bullock) finds out she's getting deported back to Canada, she blackmails her assistant (Ryan Reynolds) into marrying her for the Green Card. Because she's a beeatch!

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Malin Akerman, Oscar Nunez, Denis O'Hare, Aasif Mandvi

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This movie makes you wanna kiss somebody.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: It's funny how, in romantic comedies, relationships are so much cooler than in real life. I guess real life relationships would be cool, too, if you never had to find out what happens to you after the first three days.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It makes me cry to know that no matter how many sweet movies I go see, in my real life, the a-holes I encounter never turn out to have a heart. You know who you are... Oh, no wait, you're too full of yourself to know that you don't have a heart. Well, rest assured, we know who you are.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Best night scenes to take place in full daylight. Thank you, Alaska. You are a very confusing place. But at least now I understand why you pick such strange leadership. You haven't had a good night's sleep since last winter.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Cliche alert!!! Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds have great chemistry... But they actually do. And Oscar Nunez gets laughs just for showing up. (You'll know what I mean when you see it.)

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I love that Anne Fletcher's career is thriving! What would I love more? To see more than one woman director thriving at a time. One scene I was particularly impressed by was the naked collision scene. Spoiler alert!!! (Not really-- it's in the trailer) She manages to show all the movement and action of naked people accidentally walking into each other, without showing any of the nudity. I sat for several moments wondering how she pulled it off so well. When I see it on DVD, I'll make a point to pay closer attention.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Peter Chiarelli does a nice job setting up a story that seems impossible to justify. Sure you have to ignore a couple of realities, like the sexual harrassment lawsuit Reynolds could have filed and won, but the one thing I had a hard time overlooking-- and I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm stereotyping-- was Sandra Bullock's personality. Because I have never met a Canadian that wasn't nice.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-proposal/30250/trailers

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