RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

MPAA Rating: R for language and brief sexuality.
Run time: 113 min

You cannot help to feel that Rachel's wedding party is one of your very own relative. Thanks to 'personal' naturalistic documentary style by director Jonathan Demme, you can feel the reality much closer than other film. Demme apply digital camera approach, in the spirit of cinema verite of Dardenne's brother and Cloverfield, it is nice to see that this film didn't drown itself to the common kitchen sink drama with overlong argument and too much tears. Even the soundtrack is the song played inside the film, added the realistic effect intended by the director.

Kym (Anne Hathaway) is having difficulty adjusting to family life after ending her drug rehab since she has to attend her sister wedding, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt). Her arrival and the drama around the wedding cause some uneasy situation and reveal family secrets. Notice the cinematography, it really takes you inside the conflict and some tracking shot is very impressive. Anne surely deserve an Oscar nod, her acting, combined with countless actors and actresses in this film is superb.

If you expect a fixed ending, you will be disappointed, not only this film looks real, it is like real life where problems sometimes just passed by and left unsolved. However it is a nice experience to watch something with near zero special effect and mind numbing action.

CHANGELING

MPAA Rating: R for some violent and disturbing content, and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime: 141 min

You can't help feeling deep sympathy for Christine Collins who just lost her only son, you understand her struggle through Angelina Jolie's brilliant interpretation. I know I always like period films with fine production values. Although not as thought provoking as Gran Torino, Clint's other flick in 2008, but you simply cannot ignore this film.

Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) is a single mother who works at PacTel switchboard, a workplace almost similar to today's communication center. Christine loves her only son, nine-year-old Walter (Gattlin Griffith). All went well until one day, Walter is missing. The police didn't help much, they even invent a fake Walter to cover Los Angeles Police Department's inability and corruption. The fake boy rejected by Christine uncover more secret. At this point, this film sounded like L.A. Confidential.

Meanwhile Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a popular radio preacher ran a campaign against the incompetence of LAPD and found that he and Christine share the same goal. But it wasn't easy, the LAPD force Christine to be institutionalized, during this scene one cannot forget that Angelina have no problem acting with mental hospital as background if you remember Girl, Interrupted.

This story is paralleled with the discovery of children mass grave Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly). It is suspected that one of the boy killed may have been Walter Collins.

These two story mingled in the middle and we see here why the academy gives Angelina Jolie a nod, she acted well as a mother who fought, by tooth and nail, the corrupt LAPD. The ending was an open ending, hinting a slight of hope by Christine in finding her son.

Some directors start young and get tired. Eastwood is only gathering steam. I like the way he direct his movies, he doesn't try to spice up too much, but let things flow as simple as possible with deep meaning.

Sure, the duration is quite long, but for a chance to see what Los Angeles looks like in the 20s, I have no problem with it.