Who Killed the Electric Car?

Who Killed the Electric Car?: C

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a documentary film narrated by Martin Sheen and about General Motor's development and subsequent destruction of an electric car in the 1990s. The electric car was called the EV1 and was a zero emissions vehicle that was supposed to be the first car to comply with California's zero emissions mandate. The movie starts by detailing the environmental motivation behind developing the electric car (e.g., smog, gas prices). After providing a sufficient background, the film assigns responsibility for the death of the electric car to some of the following suspects: consumers, car companies, California's Air Resource Board, oil companies, hydrogen technologies, and battery technology.

Who Killed the Electric Car? is not as interesting in 2009 as it probably was when it was released in 2006 because advances in hybrid technology have brought auto makers closer to a 100% electric car. The movie portrays the death of the electric car as a catastrophic event in the Earth's history and that will cause environmental damage for years to come. However, the present day reality is that hybrid cars are on a path to 100+ miles/gallon and, thus, this movie's impact has been reduced. I give this movie a C grade because its importance has diminished but not because it was poorly made. Interestingly, this movie provides a striking illustration of how big corporations can exercise their will independent of environmental concerns and consumer sentiment.

Sex and the City - The Movie - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall

Sex and the City - The Movie: F

Sex and the City - The Movie features Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, and Chris Noth playing their respective characters four years after the HBO series ended. The movie plot brings the four characters together as Carrie Bradshaw prepares to get married.

Sex and the City - The Movie fails to transfer the HBO series's winning formula of concise, cohesive episodes into a full length feature film. As to be expected, the movie catches up the viewer on what each of the main characters have been doing for the last four years. Then, it leads up to a predictable plot changing moment that is very entertaining. Unfortunately, after the plot changing scene, the movie wanders around aimlessly as if it were several random episodes sequenced together. It should be noted that I watched the extended version of the movie which may have embellished the purposeless scenes. Finally, the movie attempted to rely on repeated use of slapstick humor instead of the television series' boundary-pushing satire.

Sex and the City - The Movie was painful to watch and I only finished it because I was too lazy to turn it off and because of a waning curiosity about whether it would redeem itself in the end. It appears that the television series was out of gas and that turning it into a movie was a huge mistake.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: C+

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull stars Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, and Cate Blanchett. The movie takes place in the 1950s and taps into themes from that period.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has all of the tangible qualities of the other three Indiana Jones movies including: comedic banter, mythological riddles, chase scenes, and bad guys seeking world domination. However, the film lacks intangible qualities that the other three movies possessed. Specifically, the movie's character building scenes are too conveniently arranged. For example, the bad guys inexplicably disappear repeatedly so the good guys can talk for a few minutes. What's more, Indiana Jones' motivation for seeking the treasure is weak and purposeless compared to his motivation in the other three Indiana Jones movies (e.g., saving his father's life, saving a village, thwarting Hitler).

Similar to episodes 1-3 of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull suffers from too much reliance on CGI and not enough emphasis on the storyline. The storyline's weakness shows itself clearly at the end of the movie when George Lucas's special effects are put on autopilot and you are left wondering: what, why, and who cares? In sum, the film is entertaining at times but lacks the suspense and urgency that the other three Indiana Jones movies possessed.

W. - Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell

W.: C+

W. is a movie about the life of George W. Bush. The movie stars Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, and was directed by Oliver Stone. The movie's plot centers around a prolonged father-son conflict between George W. Bush and his father George H. Bush.

W. plays to a liberal audience with comical banter that is adeptly delivered by Josh Brolin. W. is not interesting from a historical perspective because during the movie it is difficult to distinguish fiction from nonfiction. Specifically, the White House discussions leading up to the 2003 Iraq war are fascinating but how representative are they of the real discussions? On the other hand, it is intriguing to see how George W. Bush rose to power despite his poor work ethic and colorful background; which makes me wonder if Barack Obama, or anybody else for that matter, would have been elected President had he/she had such a poor work ethic and colorful background?

There are scenes from before 9/11 and scenes leading up to the 2003 Iraq war but noticeably missing from the movie are scenes from the events of 9/11. Maybe the movie makers found nothing with which to fault George W. Bush during that period.

W. is a mildly entertaining film but relies on a viewer's contempt for George W. Bush. It effectively illustrates how George W. Bush used his determination and faith to overcome his colorful past and become president. However, the movie transitions from earlier to later periods with unexplained gaps in time.

Becoming Jane - Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy

Becoming Jane: C

Becoming Jane is a romantic drama starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen, an aspiring author, who is feeling intense pressure from her parents to marry a wealthy man that can relieve the family of its dire financial situation. James McAvoy plays a poor Irish lawyer who gives Jane a much more lively love interest than the wealthy man her parents want her to marry. Jane's inner conflict over whether to marry for money or wait for true love becomes that center of the story.

Becoming Jane is a period piece set in 1795. It starts off slow and uninteresting because the wealthy man she is being set up with is uber-lame. Specifically, the wealthy man is neither attractive nor scary but instead is simply bland. There is no competition between the wealthy man and James McAvoy's character and, thus, the story wanders without purpose for the first half of the movie.

Becoming Jane finishes strong but takes too long to gain momentum. A strong interest in Jane Austen as a historical person is not enough to make this movie compelling.

Sicko - Michael Moore Health Care Documentary

Sicko: B

There are millions of Americans without health insurance but what about people who do have health insurance, how well are they covered? That is the question Michael Moore attempts to answer in his documentary about the U.S. health care industry.

Michael Moore starts with anecdotal stories from U.S. citizens getting screwed by their health insurance companies. He attempts to explain how and why people get screwed by talking to former employees of large health insurance companies. Finally, he goes to Canada, Great Britain, France, and Cuba where their national governments provide Universal Heath Care (i.e., no cost and same treatment for everyone).

Sicko is an engaging movie because it is interesting to learn how Universal Health Care works in other countries and, specifically, to find out that people in other countries live longer and with lower stress than people living in the United States. What's more, the U.S. provides better health care to Guantanamo Bay prisoners than it does to its own citizens.

Overall, Sicko is a sad story that is likely to make you doubt the reliability of your own health care coverage. Unfortunately, Sicko does not offer any solutions to the problem other than suggesting that Americans getting screwed by the U.S. health system can go to other countries (e.g., Cuba) to get free health care. Further, Sicko fails to examine or highlight situations where the U.S. health care system does work. Aside from a major revolution by the American public, our health care system is unlikely to change anytime soon.

The Dark Knight - Christian Bale, Heath Ledger

The Dark Knight: A

The Dark Knight is a comic book thriller starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart. Batman decimated organized crime in Batman Begins which has provided an opportunity for the Joker to rise up as the savior for organized crime. Unbeknown to both Gotham's organized criminals and to Batman, the Joker has plenty of tricks up his sleeves that will keep everyone on edge.

The Dark Knight is a clever, unpredictable movie that simultaneously builds upon several story lines. Heath Ledger, as the joker, is incredible because he creates an creepy aura of insanity while at the same time exuding intelligence and serving as a worthy adversary for Batman. Harvey Dent is a pivotal link between good and evil that limits the focus put on what can easily be an uninteresting Bruce Wayne character. Finally, Rachel Dawes and Alfred stimulate moral intrigue for Bruce Wayne as he figures out what he wants his legacy to be.

The Dark Knight is engrossing from the opening scene all the way through to its climatic ending. The only thing I do not like about this movie is Christian Bale's overdone Batman voice which is contrived and unfitting of Batman. Unlike Iron Man, the use of special effects are an effective means to end such that they do not outshine the underlying story. I predict that Heath Ledger will win "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" during this Sunday's Oscars.