A lesser film would have painted the community of Lowell with a dark brush, and it would have been easy to do so. Its rowdy, working-class denizens and depressed post-industrial streets are a ripe set up for the quintessential “escape from the slums” boxing story, but director David O. Russell (Three Kings) sees it through the eyes of a resident–as a raucous, eccentric place to be from. Even a crack house that figures prominently is not so much a threatening pit as it is a sort of overgrown treehouse where the loser kids waste their lives. Micky’s army of sisters, who go by names like “Pork” and “Red Dog,” are part Greek chorus, part West Side Story gang. They, and their mother (Leo, always a highlight in any cast) don’t get along well with their brother’s new squeeze (Amy Adams) but as nasty as they get towards her, she doesn’t buckle. And that’s the great thing about The Fighter–it doesn’t even occur to its characters to be victims.

Of course this is a boxing movie (yes, based on a true story and all that), so there are the requisite scenes of training, injuries, and dramatic underdog matches. But it’s all done with such humor and verve, it never drags. Though it isn’t very showy about it, the editing is some of the best of the year, with sharp cuts that heartily propel the action and even sometimes make nice little visual puns. Wahlberg is nicely low-key as Micky, which may be why he didn’t get a lot of awards attention. It’s a great delight to see Adams and Leo spar with each other, just as it is to see Bale sporting some fantastic cheap M.C. Hammer-esque pants. This is one of those feel-good, inspirational tales that’s also funny as heck. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]

Biography/Drama/Sport

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 3/15/11

Julie & Julia

Some critics have complained that the “Julie” part of the movie wasn’t as strong as the “Julia” story, but apart from the distraction of Eric’s annoyingly loud eating, I thought their story was beefy enough to hold the viewer’s interest. Amy Adams continues to grab and keep my attention, first with Junebug, recently with Doubt and Sunshine Cleaning, and now with Julie & Julia. I see her merging more and more completely with each of her characters. Chris Messina had a great turn a couple of years ago as Ira in Ira and Abby, which I highly recommend to anyone looking for a good New York relationship comedy. And in Julie & Julia he contributes more than just eating with his mouth open; he does his part to portray both the love and tension in their marriage.

Nora Ephron wrote the screenplay for Julie & Julia adapted from the two books “Julie and Julia”, by the real Julie Powell, and “My Life In France”, by Julia Child. Ephron also directs. The direction is fine, but the performances by Streep and Tucci are so seamless and natural, one wonders if she could simply nudge and murmur here and there, and still get the job done.

The stories unfold in alternating fashion. Julie’s life is greatly affected by her connection with Julia and her cooking, but they don’t share screen time together.  Abiding by my strict rule of not reading any reviews prior to seeing a movie, I had guessed that we would see an actual Julie-Julia relationship, but this was not the case. So for me, these stories remained separate, and the film didn’t totally come together as a cohesive whole. This was a bit of a disappointment, as were the bland and anti-climactic endings to each of the stories. These were the deficits for me that distinguished it from a really great movie, and I kind of blame Nora Ephron’s screenplay for not elevating this film to its highest potential. But I still really enjoyed it.

If you like these actors, see this movie. If you like a good comedy, see this movie. If you’re interested in the story of an iconic figure like Julia Child, see this movie. And if you like cooking, see this movie. Even if you just like eating, this movie is a good bet for a wide range of tastes. – [DVD]

Biography/Comedy/Drama/Romance

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 12/08/09

While this second entry in Ben Stiller‘s family-friendly, Mannequin-inspired franchise is certainly calmer and more entertaining than its hyperactive predecessor, it earns points alone for featuring Darth Vader and Oscar the Grouch in the same scene.

It sees Stiller infiltrating the Smithsonian Institute to help his wax figure friends, who have been shipped there, along with the life-giving golden tablet, by accident and are being threatened by an evil pharaoh (Hank Azaria) who wants the tablet so he can rule the world.

Where the first flick basically boiled down to Stiller running around and reacting to special effects, this one benefits in a big way from its inspired new setting and by surrounding Stiller with a truly terrific supporting cast. Such changes seem to have motivated returning director Shawn Levy to keep any truly frantic antics–like the chaos that erupts in the Air and Space Museum–to a minimum.

In fact, the film has a field day with its Smithsonian setting, from the bobblehead Albert Einsteins and bringing the Abe Lincoln Memorial to life, to the way Napoleon hits on Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) and when Azaria uses Archie Bunker’s iconic chair as a throne. In the coolest scene, Stiller walks into the famous photo of an American sailor kissing a white-clad young woman on V-J Day.

But despite the surplus of amusing moments, and though Stiller is the star, the supporting cast is what makes the movie work as well as it does. Azaria is arguably the funniest of the bunch, affecting an amusing Boris Karloff-like lisp as he recruits Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible and the aforementioned Napoleon to his cause and endures them referring to his tunic as a dress.

Not far behind Azaria is the hilarious Bill Hader as a too-cocky George Armstrong Custer who struggles to pronounce Sacagawea’s name correctly, gets a pep talk from Stiller and boasts that his hair “is currency in certain parts of Europe.” Christopher Guest also earns lots of laughs as Ivan the Terrible, as does Robin Williams as not one, but two versions of Teddy Roosevelt.

I liked that Owen Wilson‘s tiny cowboy and Steve Coogan‘s tiny Roman general, who used to be enemies, have become friends. I also liked the way the film develops a romance between Stiller and Adams. Mostly, though, I liked Adams. She’s the best thing here, all full of spunk, spitting out her lines with screwball comedy precision and creating the closest thing the film has to an actual person.

After all is said and done, this is still a family flick, one in which small monkeys slap Stiller silly and a lovable octopus roams free. It won’t win any Oscars. But it might teach you a thing or two about history and maybe even leave you with a smile on your face. Such was my reaction to the sight of Coogan riding a squirrel.- [DVD]

Action/Adventure/Comedy/Family

Rated PG

DVD Release Date: 12/1/09

Sunshine Cleaning

But back to the plot: Rose needs money, and Mac tells her of an opportunity to make good money cleaning up crime scenes. She and Norah partner in this endeavor and as the film unfolds, there is the discovery of meaning in other people’s losses, and the working through of their own losses. Along the way they meet two finely developed characters. One is a woman who works in a blood donor clinic (Mary Lynn Rajskub), and the other is the owner of a supply store, Winston (subtle and yet exquisitely detailed acting from Clifton Collins Jr.). All the actors make excellent contributions to this movie. Jason Spevack is particularly awesome as Oscar. I loved Amy Adams in Junebug, but her acting was a little over-the-top. Here she nails her role with a rich and nuanced performance. Same for Emily Blount.

So that’s Sunshine Cleaning. You should see it. The humor is at times dark, and the darkness is not always humorous, but I’m definitely adding Sunshine Cleaning to my favorites of 2009. The Special Features include a couple of real-life crime scene cleanup workers giving us the skinny on the profession. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 8/25/09