Reviews

As a hockey fan who also happens to love movies, the two combined made seeing "The Rocket" a must for me. It was playing only for a week in a tiny theater in NYC so I saw it the day after it opened. I was surprised to find out that it had been out awhile and only just arrived here two weeks ago.

Roy Dupuis is a tower of dignity as Maurice Richard. I don't know what Richard looked like in real life, or what he was like, but Dupuis is a terrific actor, a great skater, and he cannot be faulted for anything. I have to admit that although I have naturally heard of Richard, I did not know much about his life and struggles, but now I am very interested in reading up on him. I was lucky enough to have seen three games at the Montreal Forum, which is where he would have played and have an enormous amount of respect for the tradition of the Canadians. They are still to hockey what the Yankees are to baseball, even though they are not always a playoff team. But its men like Richard that have created that tradition.

The whole movie is very well done and it was nice seeing current NHL players in small parts. It is a better movie than all the other hockey movies I've seen (not that there are that many to choose from) and that includes "Slap Shot" which I love since its hilarious but its not even close to this, as far as the story it tells about a real stand-up guy, facing many obstacles and playing the greatest sport in the world. Hats off (since no one wore helmets back then..) to all involved. 10/10.

The animation was fun. Looked dated but it was probably supposed to. When she arrived in Times Square it was funny. For about 45 minutes it was very funny and very clever. It did not stay that way. It became the very thing it was making fun of so the beginning and the end were like two separate movies for me.

I do think that Amy Adams is extremely good and has enough talent and screen presence to keep the movie intact even when things go slightly corny. If she's not real good, the whole thing pretty much can fall apart.

James Marsden is also very good as Prince Edward. Having seen him in this and in "Hairspray" I am beginning to think I should be a fan. What was a little funny to me what that one day last summer I saw him in Central Park, and then he had that scene in Central Park when the guys on bikes run over him...

Went with several family members, all female, and they really loved this a lot. I cannot quite join them in that sentiment, but I did enjoy it more often than not. I could have done without Pip, completely. A little too cutesy for me, really. 8/10.

"The Queen" is an interesting look at the election of Tony Blair as British Prime Minister followed by the tragedy of the accidental death of Princess Diana, and how the two events effected the Royal Family and the whole country of Britian.

Blair is looking to 'modernize' British politics, which has already placed him at odds with the Queen. He shows her the proper respect even though it seems the thing to do rather than a heartfelt, genuine gesture. He's not much on protocol either and has suggested that everyone in the cabinet be on a first name basis. He gives every appearance of being a real person, whose wife does not know or care how to act in the presence of Royalty and drops an 'f-bomb' not twenty feel from Her Majesty.

Blair was elected in may 1997. In August of that year, Diana died. She was already divorced from Charles, so no longer a Royal. Its never stated by anyone, but the divorce was obviously quite an embarrassment and Diana's public life after wards even more so. No regret or emotion over her death is felt by the Queen or Prince Philip, but Prince Charles is devastated, and to a lesser degree of course, so is Tony Blair. Subsequently, the Royals offer no response of any kind, which is viewed more harshly as the days go by. Since 'there is no precedent' and standing firmly behind the fact that she was no longer HRH, the Royals are steadfast in their belief and stand their ground. Prince Philip and the Queen Mum seem to have the only views that the Queen can hear; she has only proverbial 'yes-men' surrounding her, and all that tradition of honor and dignity, and the belief that she knows the Brits better than anyone and what they expect from her and, more importantly, what they don't expect. Tony Blair finds himself in the difficult position of wanting to enlighten the Queen while having to respect her title. She's oblivious to the fact that Diana was deeply loved, apart from her marriage, and he knows she's making a mistake. Prince Charles is seen as something of a simp and never confronts his Mother about his wish for a public funeral - that's left largely to Tony Blair to do. She's none too pleased with him but one day realizes he's right. She's finally able to bend without breaking. The Queen makes a public statement, expressing a lot of emotion while actually showing none at all.

Helen Mirren is an actress I've enjoyed in several movies such as "Some Mother's Son", "Greenfingers" and "Calendar Girls" and of course she's very good in this movie. It appears as though its an easy part to play and you're not exactly stretching every acting muscle you've got so I can't quite jump on the she-has-to-win-the-Oscar bandwagon, although I suspect she will. Lately it seems all you have to do is portray a real person. In the fifties, playing a prostitute got you one. Times change. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the scene in which she finally breaks down long enough to cry. Mirren is seen from behind, and I always think an actor can cheat by not having to be shown shedding any real tears. Either that or the director finally gave up hoping for the ideal shot and caved in by request. After I thought about it I realized that by not seeing her cry was the perfect way to show her crying, as its consistent with the 'stiff-upper lip', stone-face image seen by the public.

I also enjoyed Michael Sheen, who I just saw in "Blood Diamond" a couple of days ago. He also merits awards attention. James Cromwell and Sylvia Syms are very good, too, although like I mentioned before, underplaying seems less impressive, especially when everyone is doing it.

The thing I got to most out of was the that the events showed all angles, and the difference between feeling what you want to feel about anything and what you think you're supposed to be feeling. The fact that the Royals only viewed Diana in terms of how she effected them and their legacy seemed grossly unfair, both to her and to themselves. She was a remarkable woman and the world lost a real treasure when she died prematurely.

8/10.