New York Times chief art critic Michael Kimmelman admits, “all art in some ways is a lie.” But is Marla Olmstead’s art the biggest lie of all?

In this riveting documentary we follow the life of Marla Olmstead, a then 4-year old abstract artist whose paintings sky rocket to fame after her story is picked up by the New York Times.

Director Amir Bar-Lev is invited into the Olmsteads‘ home to document the story of Marla’s first gallery show. But while filming footage in support of Marla’s work a 60 Minutes story airs hypothesizing that her father Mark, who is also a painter, coached Marla while creating the paintings then sold the art as Marla’s.

Once speculation from the 60 Minutes story spreads, as well as additional speculation that perhaps Mark created the paintings from start to finish himself and marketed them as child prodigy art, sales of Marla’s art dry up completely. Mark and his wife Laura begin to receive threatening letters that they are using their daughter to commit fraud. Amir is invited into the home to film one of Marla’s pieces from start to finish to put to rest the rumors that Marla is not the true artist, but Amir is left to wonder if the Olmsteads are being truthful.

Is the young child of a Frito-Lay factory manager and a dental assistant really a world renowned-worthy abstract artist? The Olmsteads look like the all-American family pursuing the American dream until we learn that gallery owner Anthony Brunelli, himself a hyper-realist artist, believes that abstract art is a sham. Was he in on a scheme with the Olmsteads to fool collectors into buying art under false pretenses?

Side-by-side comparisons of several of Marla’s previously created pieces to her Oceans piece which she creates start to finish in a 5-hour video filmed by Mark Olmstead are included in the film so viewers can decide for themselves if Marla’s works are truly her own.

This documentary’s haunting undertone of potential deceit is in itself a masterpiece. It starts off as an innocent film about the happy results of a child’s creative outlet, but is twisted into a dark tale of manipulating collectors with an eye for art out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bar-Lev attempts to be objective about the news that Marla’s paintings are not completely her own, doing his best to disprove the 60 Minutes story with his own footage of Marla in her natural element. He does not compromise the story by blindly sticking to his original objective, but rather takes the time to delve into the truth behind Marla’s creative process.

Special features include art critic Michael Kimmelman’s overview of art and the artistic process, footage of Amir Bar-Lev making the trip to Binghamton and debuting the film at Sundance 2007, the continued blind support of local Binghamton reporter Elizabeth Cohen who wrote the original story which propelled Marla’s works into the mainstream art world, stories from local Binghamton residents who give their opinion on the Olmsteads‘ story, Mark’s showcase of Marla’s paper drawings at age 6 which are very intriguing, and Amir’s thoughts on what the truth is behind Marla’s paintings.

One bucket off for the bitter “something just isn’t right” taste left in my mouth after watching this film.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Lots and lots of Utz Potato Chips add the perfect crunch to this biting documentary.

Some Absinthe to enjoy the ride this documentary takes you on may be in order.

Sometimes being big isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Twleve-year-old Josh Baskin (David Moscow) is sick of not being able to do what he wants when he wants. For his 13th birthday he goes to a fair in New York City and pays his quarter to Zoltar, a fortune-telling game that grants wishes. Josh’s simple request: “I wish I were big.” Zoltar responds that his wish has been granted.

After a stormy night’s sleep Josh wakes up to find out that his wish has, in fact, been granted and he is now a 30-year-old version of himself (Tom Hanks). Josh returns to the fair site but sees that the fair, and the Zoltar machine, are gone. He tries to go home and explain everything to his mother (Mercedes Ruehl) but that interaction does not go well, to say the least.

Josh runs off to find his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton) and convince him that he really is Josh. Billy then helps Josh run away to a scary New York City hotel where he spends his first night away from all his family, friends, and the comforts of home. The news gets worse when he and Billy finally learn how to track down the Zoltar game but learn it will take at least six weeks to get the list of fairs where the Zoltar game is scheduled to appear.

To pass the six weeks Josh gets a job working at MacMillan Toy Company testing toys where he meets Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins) who pursues him as a love interest. Josh finally decides to enter the adult world of feelings and begins a relationship with Susan, falling in love with her and in love with his adult life.

Then the fair list arrives… Will Josh choose his new life with Susan or will he return to his childhood?

Big is one of the best romantic comedies of all times. It bridges the gap between our love of being a child but our sense of duty in our adult life. And, its best lesson of all, it reminds us to be a kid at heart no matter how old we are in years. The dialog of this film is brilliant, amusing the audience with Josh’s duality as a boy trapped in a man’s world. A great supporting cast, and beautiful cinematography of the best city in the world for reinventing yourself (New York City) make this a movie worth owning.

Special Features are expectedly lacking since this movie came out in theaters before the DVD was the widespread medium. It boasts the typical features of an ’80s movie pushed to DVD for its fans — a theatrical trailer and the cast credits. No points off for not turning in a homework assignment they never were told about.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Pepsi is Josh’s vending machine product of choice! (Too bad, Coke.)

We should all definitely have a hot fudge sundae with vanilla ice cream and a maraschino cherry on top with Josh and Billy. Yum! And maybe a piece of Kindle cake in honor of the Kindle that basically rips off the handheld comic book idea Josh comes up with in the movie.

Steal the air. Talk hard. Keep the dream alive.

Through the invisible night time airwaves of Arizona, Mark Hunter (Christian Slater) allows his alter-ego pirate DJ Happy Harry Hardon to speak out on such items as girls, music, and the pressures of society on teenagers he cannot bring himself to speak out on during the day due to a severe infliction of shyness. Slowly his fan base builds up, and piques the interest of Nora Diniro (Samantha Mathis) who sets out to unmask Happy Harry Hardon’s real identity.

However, not everyone is a fan of the pirate DJ. Through access to school records he slowly uncovers corruption at the high school he himself attends, and by doing so antagonizes the guidance counselor David Deaver (Robert Shenkkan) and Principal Loretta Cresswood (Annie Ross) into action against his fellow students. Further notoriety and criticism befalls him when fellow student Malcolm Kaiser (Anthony Lucero) commits suicide after calling into the radio show.

By speaking forth words that incite the establishment into interdiction, inspire his generation into united action, and may bring him the girl of his dreams, Happy Harry Hardon has everything to gain… but Mark Hunter has everything to lose.

Pump Up The Volume is a classic story that validates teen angst in a way never before shown, and never since having been repeated. While the movie suffers from a low production budget that included obvious gaffs (a teacher pushing the play button on a radio to stop a cassette, and pushing the pause button to play it; audio/visual not on sync towards the end), some hokey acting by under talented adults, and a lack of stunning visuals… the theme of anonymous voices “crying out in the wilderness” with a message is even more relevant today with the evolution of the internet blog as it was then.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To be like Happy Harry Hardon you need to be both happy and hard. The CANDY CIGARETTES should be able to make you happy and make people think your hardcore without exposing yourself to the possibilities of lung cancer.

It’s entirely possible the vinyl records are worth more than the lives they’re saving, but it sure is fun throwing them.

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is in a bit of a rut with no real life ambitions. He has stalled relationships with his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), his best mate Ed (Nick Frost), and his mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) as well as a stalled career at a local appliance store. Frustrated by this lack of ambition, Liz breaks up with Shaun when he commits the cardinal sin of forgetting to book a reservation for their third anniversary and offering to take her once again to his favorite pub, The Winchester. While Shaun’s relationship with Liz dissolves before his eyes the rest of the world around him happens to slowly become overrun by zombies.

Shaun’s tunnel vision to the utter destruction around him somehow saves him from the hands of the zombies too many times to count. Once he finally notices that zombies are taking over London and has a bit of fun with Ed taking a few of them down he decides he must set out on a crusade to save both Liz and his mother from the undead. And, where’s the best place to go to protect you and those you love from those indiscriminate flesh eaters? Why, the Winchester, of course!

This is, hands down, one of the funniest zombie movies of all time. A fantastic supporting cast, clever fight sequences, unique camera angles, and perfectly understated zombie-to-regular-life comparisons (aren’t we all just drooling drones? yup!) make Pegg and Wright’s film a cult classic.

Special Features

Zombie Gallery: A photo collection of the undead.
TV Bits: Music videos from the film soundtrack.
Trailer: The US theatrical trailer for the film.
Missing Bits:
Funky Pete - A cleaned up version of Pete’s dialog when he’s woken up at 4:00am
The Man Who Should Be Shaun - Simon Pegg using a silly voice for his character
Plot Holes - Answering your questions about what happened to characters during parts of the film
Outtakes - The goofy bits — yaaaaaay!
Extended Bits - Fifteen (15) extended scenes… Wow!
Raw Meat - A proverbial meat pie of the leftover bits:
Simon Pegg’s Video Diary - A behind-the-scenes montage of the film set.
Casting Tapes - Some seriously hilarious versions of my favorite scenes are shown, plus strange things are done with fruit. That’s always funny!
Edgar and Simon’s Flip Chart - The detailed plan of the movie in word form. Booooring! (Skip it.)
SFX Comparison - Very cool footage of how Mary gets that pipe through her stomach, and consequently a hole through her entire mid-section, using green screen and splicing.
Make-Up Tests - Zombie walkers in full costume set to music, including Simon Pegg in full zombie get-up and side-by-side comparisons of CGI zombie eyes versus color contacts (freaky!).
EPK Featurette - A description of the film is given, including an in-depth look at the relationship between Shaun and Ed.

Can we say awesome special features? AWESOME SPECIAL FEATURES! (I knew we could.)

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations

A nice, chewy Guinness really hits the spot when holding down the Winchester fort.

Bacon candy must be consumed while fighting zombies. Mmmm, zombie bacon…

• Commentary: Commentary by Director Matt Reeves
• Featurette: The Making of Cloverfield
• Featurette: Cloverfield Visual Effects
• Featurette: I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s Huge
• Featurette: Clover Fun
• Additional Scenes: Congrats Rob, When You’re in Japan, I Call That a Date, It’s Going to Hurt, Alt Ending #1, Alt Ending #2
• Easter Eggs: Slusho!, Person of Interest - JLVD Video 2, Person of Interest - JLVD Video 5, Person of Interest - JLVD Video 9, Person of Interest - JLVD Video 11, Rack ‘Em & Pack ‘Em, Fighting the X

There has been no announcement regarding a Blu-Ray version of the movie yet, but with the demise of the HD-DVD format it really is only a matter of time.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

From there, the answer to the iconic question of “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” must be answered.

Special Features

One of the best things about Special Features is the inclusion of deleted clips. Unfortunately, because this is the Unrated version, most of the clips are in the movie. Although the “original” ending is included, it became obviously apparent to me that the theatrical ending is in fact the better concluding scene for the film.

There is, however, a hidden gem in the form of The Eli Experience. This is a short film featuring Chris Marquette in his role as Matthew’s best friend Eli Brooks, who aspires to be a film director. The short takes Eli to the REAL Adult Film Convention, where he considers himself a star, and with the help of WWE Wrestler Matthew “Horshu” Wiese (Mule in the film) and Mora Dominguez, stages The Eli Experience with real life convention goers. So what exactly is it? Three words: bait and switch.

While the movie itself would normally garner a full fiver for its superior storyline in being both a drama and comedy… the emptiness of this DVD’s Special Features is hugely distressing.

Popcorn’s Rating:

To show just how far love can launch you to new heights, we recommend Orbit-Jumbo Variety Pack as the craziest snack you can have while watching this movie.

For a movie that continually asks if the juice is worth the squeeze, the obvious recommended beverage is Tropicana Orange Juice.

If there isn’t “more than this” then what’s the point?

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a washed up American actor in Tokyo, Japan filming an ad campaign for Santori whiskey. His lack of understanding of Japanese coupled with his marriage slump leave him feeling alone, depressed, and lost until he meets fellow American Charlotte (Scarlett Johnansson) who is also in a life and marriage slump. Charlotte is in town tagging along with her photographer husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) who is constantly working, leaving Charlotte to fend for herself. Bob and Charlotte it it off in the lounge of the hotel they’re both staying at and begin spending all their free time together. Their friendship quickly develops into something deeper.

Both Murray and Johansson deliver seemingly effortless understated performances as quasi-love interests while Anna Farris, who cameos as an actress vying for the attention of her “favorite photographer” who happens to be Charlotte’s husband John, is fantastically over the top. Coppola keeps us guessing about the friendship-turned-more between Bob and Charlotte: Will they allow their relationship to become physical? Will they remain faithful to their spouses? Is their deep emotional connection alone an act of infidelity?

A beautiful soundtrack matches beautiful cinematography of both the colorful Tokyo nightlife and the muted and serene Zen gardens of the day life. The sequencing of the movie feels a bit off and problematic at times, as if not enough footage was filmed to make the movie feature length, so the story seems slightly incongruous if you pay close enough attention (or watch it 50 times like I have), but the incongruity does nothing to change the flow of the story.

Special features include in-depth and hilarious Behind the Scenes footage in Tokyo with the cast and crew, the entire Bob Harris segment on “Matthew’s BestHitTV”, the City Girl music video featuring nighttime footage of Tokyo, several deleted scenes (the scene with Bob and Charlotte in their respective beds could have stayed in the movie), a conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola in which Sofia confesses that the movie wouldn’t have happened without Bill, and the theatrical movie trailer.

Slight spoiler: If you wear earbuds and turn up the sound really loud for the end scene you can hear part of what Bob says to Charlotte.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

Best served with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — two great tastes that taste great together, just like Bill and Scarlett!

Love Is Elementary shows Daniel (Liam Neeson) as he loses his beloved wife, Joanna. Daniel is not alone in his loss though, as his stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) is also dealing with the passing of his mother and a growing fondness for a girl at school who apparently does not realize he exists.

Love Rocks On with aging music legend Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) and his long time manager Joe (Gregor Fisher). When Billy Mack attempts to regain fame and fortune, he does it from the remake of a love song. The journey for artistic redemption is long and hard… but luckily for Billy he does not travel it alone.

Love At Work intertwines Sarah (Laura Linney) with Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) in one of the most common examples of love and its place in our lives. Of course, with all things work related, love is as well… although this love is complicated not by work at all… but rather by love of a different kind when Sarah’s brother Michael (Michael Fitzgerald) unintentionally hurls the proverbial monkey wrench into the inner workings of the heart.

Love As A Second Language proves once again that not only does love know no boundaries, but its language is universal. When Jamie (Colin Firth) finds his girlfriend shagging his brother, he leaves for the coast of France to finish working on his novel. His first meeting with Aurelia (Lucia Moniz), who is the housekeeper, leaves one to wonder what these two could possibly have in common… but decidedly proves that love will always find a way.

Love Lasts A Lifetime showcases the undying nature of love, irregardless of the trials it may be put through. Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) live the lives of a couple whose flame has dimmed and the chill is in the air. Of course, Harry decides that he needs to be warmer and enters into a flirtatious relationship with Mia (Heike Makatsch). It’s when that flirtatious relationship is taken a bit far do the fires threaten to burn down the house… and the love that fills it.

Love Is Awkward when John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page) meet on the set of a film where they are serving as body doubles for a pair of actors in a number of love scenes. Building from that first, naked, introduction is a tale of innocence in a world that has long ago lost its own.

Love American Style proves the love is redder on the other side of the pond. Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall) is tired of stuck up English women, and instead travels to a classic American bar in Michigan where he meets Stacey (Ivana Milicevic), Jeannie (January Jones), and Carol-Anne (Elisha Cuthbert) who are instantly entranced by his cute English accent and take him in. The fireworks however really start when Harriet (Shannon Elizabeth) comes home…

Love And Politics is both a statement on love between Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant) and his secretary Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) and a statement on one’s love for their country… and some of the insane things we will do for such love. Standing up to bullies in the form of the US President (Billy Bob Thorton) and going to such great lengths as to carol on command are just a few of the things to prove the power the emotion holds over us… and that thick thighs are indeed heavenly.

Forbidden Love, could there be such a thing? Mark’s (Andrew Lincoln) love for Juliet (Keira Knightley) is such a case. What is seemingly all too familiar, Mark cannot openly reveal his feelings for the woman who has just married his best friend. He is left to anguish alone with the pieces of his heart in his hands, or is he?

Although boasting an English A-List cast, the true gem of this movie is the simplicity in the message it tries to convey. Love Actually is… all around. For that reason, I think this is the most romantic movie of them all.

Popcorn’s Rating:

There is only one snack befitting a movie that opens and closes with real people giving real hugs… Hershey’s Hugs, 13-Ounce Bag (Pack of 4).

When will the bad guys learn that John McClane just won’t die?

In this quadquel to the original Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is a detective for the NYPD and things with his family are not great, particularly with his daughter Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is not speaking to him and is going by her mother’s maiden name. McClane is called in to pick up Matt Farrell (Justin Long), a bumbling kid who helped an unknown group to hack into the FBI (using a Mac, of course!) for some quick cash. McClane is instructed to bring Farrell from New Jersey to FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. but while at Farrell’s apartment they encounter French terrorists who are trying to kill Farrell. McClane and Farrell narrowly escape despite an explosion inside Farrell’s apartment set off by his computer. They arrive to FBI headquarters where Farrell learns that many other hackers in the country have been killed in explosions set off by their computers (watch out for that Delete key!).

The most important plot device in this film is technology in the hands of The Bad Guy. The mastermind behind the French terrorists, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), who himself is not French, uses the fire sale technique to create nationwide panic: transportation, finances, telecommunications, and major utilities are taken offline so that people are basically disconnected from each other, left without basic necessities to live, and are sent into fear for their safety. McClane and Farrell work with Deputy Director Miguel Bowman (Cliff Curtis) of the FBI to try to solve the mystery of who is behind the fire sale and why he is intentionally causing this widespread panic.

McClane and Farrell have great chemistry together, but Justin Long (Farrell) does tend to overact his part. Also, the plot of this entire movie is completely reminiscent of the original Die Hard, right down to the key characters. The only major differences are that the movie takes place in more locations than just inside of a skyscraper and there is more sophisticated technology involved to take down an entire nation rather than just a building.

The action sequences are amazing, the gun fights are spectacular, and McClane’s monologues are hysterical. You may see the ending coming from a mile away, but it’s worth the ride. One pet peeve I personally have is when movies show technology as eye candy, as if doing mundane tasks like transferring funds from one bank account to another is somehow exciting and intriguing to watch, but if you can get past that one little detail this movie is totally worth your time.

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendations

A good nail biter movie deserves to be enjoyed with Newman’s Own popcorn — with extra butter, of course!

The queen of kindness and goodness is in a pickle.

Jenna Hunterson (Keri Russell) is a waitress at Joe’s Pie Diner with a special talent for making delicious pies. She hates her jealous and controlling husband Earl (Jeremy Sisto) but learns she is pregnant with his baby. She refuses to tell Earl about the baby and plans to run away from her life by winning first prize of $25,000 in a pie baking contest.

When Jenna goes to get her first pre-natal check-up she learns that her life-long doctor has gone into semi-retirement and now Dr. Jim Pomatter (Nathan Fillion) will be caring for her. She makes it very clear in that visit that she is not happy to be having the baby. Dr. Pomatter is a bit odd to her from the start but the two begin a strange affair where Jenna continues to refer to Jim as Dr. Pomatter.

Jenna confides in Old Joe (Andy Griffith), a curmudgeonly man who owns the diner and no one seems to like but her. Whether she wants it or not, Old Joe picks up on the fact that she is pregnant and having an affair and advises her to make a fresh start with her life.

Jenna does a bit of narration throughout the film to her unborn baby. Because she’s not looking forward to having the baby the dialog is often pretty rude and hysterical. That baby will definitely need therapy in later life if Jenna ever shares her thoughts during the pregnancy when the baby is older. The film is a bit slow paced in parts. It seems a good 15-20 minutes could have been cut from the film without changing the story progression. The quirk factor is high (which, to me, is a bonus!) and the ending is worth the wait, but there is nothing particularly intriguing or innovative about this film. The scenes showing Jenna’s daily pie creation with narration of what the pie is supposed to represent are definitely the very best part.

Special features include commentary by Keri Russell and producer Michael Roiff, a funny and insightful overview of the film given by writer/director Adrienne Shelly and the rest of the cast, Keri Russell’s closer look at Jenna, and a segment explaining pie as a character in the film. The segments are basically just rehashed, cut up from one set of interviews, and are pretty much skippable (unless you just can’t get enough talk about pie and unwanted babies).

Buttery’s Rating:

Recommendation

What snack would hit this movie’s spot? Why, pie, of course! May I suggest the favorite of Cheryl Hines? Cherry pie!

Old Joe recommends a tall glass of water — NO ICE!