Theatrical Release Year: 2007
DVD Release Year: 2008
Director: Amir Bar-Lev
Starring: Amir Bar-Lev, Anthony Brunelli, Elizabeth Cohen, Michael Kimmelman, Laura Olmstead, Mark Olmstead, Marla Olmstead
Length: 83 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
MPAA Rating:

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.

Popularity: 89% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 2007
DVD Release Year: 2007
Director: Len Wiseman
Writers: Roderick Thorp, Mark Bomback, David Marconi
Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith
Length: 129 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating:

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!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Theatrical Release Year: 2007
DVD Release Year: 2007
Director: Adrienne Shelly
Writer: Adrienne Shelly
Starring: Andy Griffith, Keri Russell, Adrienne Shelly, Jeremy Sisto, Sarah Hunley, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines
Length: 108 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating:

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!

Popularity: 21% [?]