“The Karate Kid”

I recently saw the trailer for the remake with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. So I thought I’d take another look at the original. “The Karate Kid,” for those who haven’t seen it, is a teenage version of “Rocky.” And for those who haven’t seen “Rocky,” it’s a story about an athlete who overcomes great odds because of his heart. (Director John Avildsen was behind both.) In “The Karate Kid,” Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) is a New Jersey native who relocates to the suburbs of L.A. and is almost immediately an outcast. He also makes the mistake of falling for a cute blond (Elisabeth Shue) who happens to be the girlfriend of the local teen karate champ, Johnny (William Zabka). As a result, Daniel ends up on the wrong side of Johnny and his buddies from the Cobra Kai dojo. Daniel’s luck changes when, after a particularly bad beating at the hands of Johnny, Mr. Miyagi, (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) his building’s handyman, agrees to teach him karate. Unknown to Daniel, his first lessons involve performing maintenance work around Miyagi’s house, like waxing the cars and painting the fence. Miyagi never lets on that these chores are about building character as much as muscle memory. And once Miyagi reveals that these slow, laborious tasks have a purpose, Daniel’s attitude, and the pace of the movie picks up. We move onto the obligatory training scene (accompanied by mystical Asian-style music) followed by the main event – a face-off between Daniel and Johnny in the final round of a karate competition (accompanied by a power-rock anthem). Now I must confess that everything I know about karate comes from movies, so I could be wrong. But I wonder how far Daniel would actually get in a competition. I can see how the simple motions (like “wax on, wax off”) can translate into defensive moves. But how effective would they really be? And how, in a matter of weeks, could Daniel be ready to compete at such a level? In the end, though, reality doesn’t really matter because you’re along for the ride. “The Karate Kid” also benefits from the believable (surrogate) father-son relationship between Daniel and Miyagi, and a message about learning coming from unexpected places. (Which inspired my tweet: The Karate Kid-Teenager learns karate by performing household chores. And all I mastered with my Sensei was “mow lawn” & “take out trash.” 8 (out of 10) “The Karate Kid” is a good feel-good movie, especially for family viewing. For nostalgia fans, it’s also a bit of a mid-’80s time capsule. Look for Johnny in his Michael Jackson “Beat It” red leather jacket and the Cindy Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” hairstyles. Those two things alone could have been the reason for greenlighting the remake.

“The Karate Kid”

Released: 1984

Rating: PG

Length: 126 minutes

Cast: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove

Director: John Avildsen

Genre(s): Drama, Action, Sports

“Ghost Town”

The reason to rent this DVD, in a word (two, actually): Ricky Gervais, who does another spin on the socially-awkward character he perfected on “The Office.” In “Ghost Town” he plays Bertram Pincus, a dentist who dies on the table during a colonoscopy and is revived, only to discover that he now can see and communicate with dead people. One particular member of his new group of friends is Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a recently-deceased cad who “convinces” Bertram to break up his widowed wife’s (Tea Leoni) pending marriage. And as is the law in the world of romantic comedies, Bertram must eventually fall in love with the widow and she with him. But that’s a little difficult when Bertram is an “anti-people” person who has a gift for saying and doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Gervais himself has a gift for making these cringe-inducing characters watchable. Just as in “The Office,” you’ll watch a scene unfold and think to yourself, “he’s not going to do that… oh please don’t do that” and when does, you think to yourself, “I can believe he just did that.” And that’s the fun part in an otherwise pretty tame romantic comedy. My favorite scene: The dog with bad breath. My tweet, inspired by Bertram’s ability to see dead people: Ghost Town-Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni & Greg Kinnear star in this romantic comedy loosely based on M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense.” 7 (out of 10)

“Ghost Town”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 102 minutes

Cast: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni

Director: David Koepp

Genre(s): Comedy, Romantic Comedy

“Elf”

Around this time of year, there’s an endless parade of saccharine-sweet holiday movies trying to tug at your heartstrings. Fortunately “Elf” is one of the few that won't leave you with sugar shock. Most of credit for that goes to Will Ferrell’s charming portrayal of Buddy the elf. (More on that later) As a baby, Buddy crawls into Santa’s (Ed Asner) sack unnoticed and ends up at the North Pole. Raised by Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) as his own, Buddy grows up to be a misfit who towers over the other elves and doesn’t have their knack for building toys. When he’s told that his real father (James Caan) lives in New York City, Buddy sets off to find his roots. And that’s where the real fun begins. As an actor, Will Ferrell excels at playing clueless characters and Buddy provides him with the perfect conduit to channel his inner doofus. There’s such a wide-eyed innocence about Ferrell’s performance, that you truly believe Buddy is experiencing the City’s “charms” for the first time. And after a rough start in the Big Apple, Buddy manages to win over his stepbrother (Daniel Tay), get the girl (Zooey Deschanel), change his father’s heart and save Christmas. All that earns “Elf” a place on the nice list. Not just because of what the movie does, but because of the way it does it. My tweet: Elf-Hollywood retelling of SNL alum Will Ferrell’s first visit to New York City. 7.5 (out of 10)

Another holiday movie you might enjoy: “A Christmas Story”
Another Will Ferrell movie you might enjoy: “Blades of Glory”

“Elf”

Released: 2003

Rating: PG

Length: 97 minutes

Cast: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Bob Newhart

Director: Jon Favreau

Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy, Holiday

“Gracie”

From the opening scene in “Gracie,” when 15-year-old Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder) knocks a bottle off the hood of a car with a soccer ball kicked barefoot from 20 yards, it's obvious she’s got ability. Trouble is, hardly anyone notices. Gracie lives in the shadow of her high-school soccer-star brother Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer). But Gracie doesn’t mind. He’s one of the few people to recognize and nurture her talent. So when a tragic accident takes Johnny’s life, Gracie decides to honor his memory by carrying on the family’s soccer tradition. But there is no girl’s soccer team at Gracie’s South Orange, N.J. school. And whoever she turns to for help – from her father (Dermot Mulroney) to her friends, to the coaches and the school board – Gracie only hears words of discouragement. Ultimately, it’s up to her to fight for their respect and the right to play with the boys. As in every underdog-comes-from-behind movie, Gracie gets her shot – both figuratively and literally. This inspiring story is based on the real life of Elisabeth Shue, who plays Gracie’s mom and delivers a valuable piece of advice at a pivotal point in the film. My tweet: Gracie-To earn a spot on the boy’s soccer team, a young girl has to perform gender attitude-reassignment surgery on her critics. 7 (out of 10)

“Gracie”

Released: 2007

Rating: PG-13

Length: 95 minutes

Cast: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Andrew Shue

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Genre(s): Drama, Teen, Family

“August Rush”

I tweeted: August Rush-Young runaway Freddie Highmore is a musical prodigy with a gift for playing the heartstrings. 7 (out of 10) because I’m not a big fan or tearjerkers. They make me feel like I’m being played. This one is no different. But I feel I can (almost) recommend because of the music. “August Rush” is the story of Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore), the lovechild of Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell), a concert cellist, and Louis Connelly (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a rock musician. Louis is out of the picture before Lyla realizes she’s pregnant. And within minutes of Evan’s birth, he’s given up for adoption without Lyla’s knowledge. Eventually Evan ends up on the street. His genius, and my reason for the recommendation, is that Evan hears the music in everything around him. He also has an intuitive affinity for musical instruments. He just picks them up and plays – brilliantly. At first this talent is discovered and exploited by a street musician (Robin Williams). And later it’s nurtured by a kindly pastor (Mykelti Williamson) who helps the young genius get into Julliard. Even still, Evan’s big dream is to reunite his family. And that’s really the narrative backbone of this movie. So if you’re looking to shed some happy tears, August Rush delivers. But for me, the real reward was in the music that goes along with it.

“August Rush”

Released: 2007

Rating: PG

Length: 113 minutes

Cast: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard

Director: Kirsten Sheridan

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Music

Christmas in July - Part 2

My review on Twitter: A Christmas Story-Cautionary tale about the perils of getting what you wish for because it just might shoot your eye out. 8 (out of 10) If you don’t know where the “shoot your eye out” reference is from, you’ve missed one of the all time great holiday movies. “A Christmas Story” is humorist Jean Shepard’s nostalgic take on the holiday as seen through the eyes of nine-year-old Ralphie Parker who desperately wants “an official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock.” While he eagerly tries to secure its arrival, he has to endure the neighborhood bully, a pair of bunny pajamas, his cantankerous father’s battle with their cantankerous furnace and the constant warnings from nearly everyone, including Santa himself, that he’ll shoot his eye out with the rifle. So what happens when Christmas morning finally arrives? Just like Ralphie, you’ll have to wait.

"A Christmas Story"

Released: 1983

Rating: PG

Length: 93 minutes

Cast: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Ian Petrella

Director: Bob Clark

Genre(s): Comedy, Holiday, Adventure

I'll Cry Tomorrow: Catch a Fallen Star

I usually pan for Netflix gold by searching the actors, directors or writers I’ve liked in other movies. By that measure I have no idea how “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” ended up in my queue. I knew so little about the movie that at first I thought it was a thinly veiled biopic about Judy Garland. But the synopsis on the DVD envelope (always worth reading) informed me that it’s the true story of Lillian Roth, another talented singer/actress. But the plot is familiar. Lillian's mother pushes her along from audition to audition. She controls every aspect of her life, keeping her from developing any real relationships outside this show business bubble. As Lillian grows up, she begins to realize what her mother has been doing and decides to take control of her own life. One of her first emancipating steps, marrying her childhood sweetheart, goes horribly wrong when he suddenly dies before the wedding. To ease the pain, she turns to alcohol, followed by a couple of bad relationships which leads to more alcohol, until she ends up on the street. The movie can get a little melodramatic in parts, which is probably just its age showing. Regardless, Susan Hayward's portrayal of Roth, which earned an Oscar nomination, is quite good. And that makes “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” worth putting in your queue today. My review from Twitter: An ambitious stage mother pushes Susan Hayward to the top where a bottle of booze waits to pull her back down. 7.5 (out of 10)

"I'll Cry Tomorrow"

Released: 1955

Rating: NR

Length: 117 minutes

Cast: Susan Hayward, Richard Conte, Eddie Albert, Jo Van Fleet

Director: Daniel Mann

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Biopic