The movie begins with King Richard the Lionhearted getting himself killed as he and his army, which contains Robin Longstride, played by Russell Crowe, who eventually becomes Robin Hood, as he returns from the crusades by pillaging its way through France.  Now, most of us know that Richard came home through Austria and was captured and held for ransom by an Austrian duke.  But this might be one of the least revisionist parts of the movie, since even though Richard did not come home through France, his, as well as the other crusaders were much more known for murder, rape and pillage theen for their religious endeavors.

Eventually Robin becomes Robin of Loxley, son of Sir Walter Loxley, marvelously played by Max von Sydow,and already promised to Lady Marion, played by Kate Blanchett.
There follows some political intrigue and soe battles between various forces that ends with Robin being decreed an outlaw, and so the folklore can begin  I could be accused here of giving the plot away, but I didn’t think there was one, not much of one anyway.

Usually I see a movie like this to see an interpretation of twelfth century England in this case.  But I’m not sure that’s what I saw  In fact, I didn’t see much of a story, interesting dialogue or historical scenes.  I did enjoy the casting of Oscar Isaac as the quintessential evil Prince/King John.  There are many more important actors in this film: Vanessa Redgrave and William Hurt among them.  None of them play roles we might expect, like Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Little John,  all of which have essentially bit parts.

I found the movie dark, in mood as well as photography and not very interesting.  It might be worth seeing to see some talented actors at work.  The country scenes are nice, but I understand their authenticity is in doubt.  I suppose I could ccall this a costume drama with some violence, or maybe we could compare it to a spaghetti wesstern with not so much violence.  At any rate, comedy, plot and character development, romance are all absent.  No heros either, not even Crowe’s Robin Hood, who comes off to me like a Bret Favre turned political activist.

Script           C
Acting           B
Casting         B
Necessity to suspend disbelief      B
CGI              None, that I noticed
Scenery          B

The movie is about Pitt(Lt. Aldo Raine) and his troops escapades and an SS Colonel called ”The Jew Hunter,” played spectacularly by Christoph Waltz.  Waltz hunts Jews but also is hunting Raine.  Spy intrigue abounds, and much of the movie is about conversations between Col Landa(waltz) and Frenchman, American prisoners, Alda and his prisoners among others.  IO think it important to listen to these conversations carefully, as in most cases nothing is as it seems and the plot is twisting and writhing like a wounded snake.  Landa is insufferably polite, and I bring this up to match with the one thing about the movie I found annoying: gore and humor in the same scenes.  However, if we are to believe the Nazi caricatures in other movies, this is completely in keeping with the Nazi mentality.

I like movies with plots with many twists and turns, and in this case I never knew where the movie was headed.  Every time I thought I had an idea of where it was going, I’d realize “no, that can’t be because….”

There is some action, most of it pretty brutal.  Other important characters include Shoshana Dreyfus, played by Melanie Laurent, a Jew that has at least temporarily escaped Landa’s clutches.  She is introduced in virtually the first scene of the movie.  She and Diane Kruger, as Bridget van Hammersmart, a German actress, turn in very strong performances.

This is a very smart looking movie, and I really enjoyed the apparent legitimacy of the sets.  The movie is in German, French, American, English and Italian.  When there is no confusion about which language is in use, the dialogue is in English.  The subtitles use the very nice device of using color, so there is no difficulty in reading them.

If you like WWII dramas or international intrigue, you can’t really go wrong here.  If you are squeamish or are looking for high society drama, see something else.

Script:  A
Acting:  A+
Scenery:  A
Special Effects:  Aren’t many.
Necessity to suspend disbelief:  Good question.  See the movie and decide for yourself.

I feel we are indeed fortunate to have one of these restaurants in Fargo, in the old Hooters location.  Caso Ramos has a bright interior with painted caricatures of animals and a large waterfall in the dining room.  There is a full bar and their margaritas are already locally famous.

The staff is clearly Mexican in nature.  I didn’t encounter any of then, including El Padrone that was more than barely fluent in English.  But the know enough to get the job done.  A touch I very much appreciated is when they deliver your chips and salsa when you are seated, they just give a dish for the salsa uintil someone can get to you to ask how hot you want the salsa.

When it comes to Mexican food, this is the real deal,  Some clues are their Chile Colorado, Enchiladas Suizas, Tamales and Corn Tortillas as sides.  It’s all vry tasty, always with an aftertaste of corn meal.

Restaurants that are from cultures that use a lot of spices usually don’t do well around here.  I sincerely hope this is an exception.  I intend, against my doctor’s wishes, to frequent Casa Ramos frequently and hope it stays around.

The prices are reasonable.  There is a lunch menu, and lunch for two is about $20-25, excluding drinks.

brother and sister visit their divorced father and his new wife at their isolated cabin.  Already the viewer sees the horror genre devfeloping, but this is not a slasher film.  There is a real story here as well as a lot of symbolism.  A lot of us can, Im sure, identify with the corny cabin and the fear
that comes with lonliness of being alone in the North Woods.  A definite winner in my book. If you like Freddie, he’s not in this one.  If you like to think a little and know the horror is just a vehicle, then I think you’d like this.

Screenplay:  B
Acting:  B
Impact on conciousness: A
Necesith to suspend dispelief: none.

The promotional material for the movie says that the movie is about how we discard our elderly citizens. You could look at the movie that way, but I didn’t.  I felt I was on to Jimmy right away, and that he was spending his later years doing what he wanted to do. But perhaps I waas swayed by his stunning performance(he did receive the Best Actor award for the Festival).  The other charactres in this film were well played and cast as well, and I wasthoroughly impressed by the whole enterprise.  If you’re an action buff, it’s not here.  If you think you would like an extended, thought-provoking episode of The Twillight Zone, for example, then I think you’d like this, but it is a loot deeper.

Screenplay:  A
Acting: A+
Relevance:  A

Originality:  A
Relevance:   A