Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 1/30/09 New in Town (PG)Starring: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, J.K. SimmonsDirector: Jonas ElmerFormerly titled “Moonlighting in Miami,” and “Chilled in Miami” this is really like “Bridget Jones” moves to “Fargo” with disastrous results. Trying to be Capraesque, the producers unwisely hired a Danish director who actually has the actors pause to wait for the howls of laughter (which never come). Perhaps something … Read More »

“Happy-Go-Lucky,” Mike Leigh, and Hitchcockby Gil Mansergh At first glance, British-born movie directors Alfred Hitchcock and Mike Leigh couldn’t be more different. Hitch is known as the “Master of Suspense,” and is famous for scary and psychologically upsetting films like “North By Northwest,” “Vertigo,” “The Birds,” and “Psycho.” Leigh is best known for realistic, working class dramas like “Secrets and Lies,” “Vera Drake,” and “Naked.” Hitch worked out every detail … Read More »

The Dark Knight “The Godfather of Superhero Movies By Gil Mansergh The Dark Knight is a remarkably creative movie which transcends its superhero genre. There are many reasons for why this film is so successful, but a great part of its success is how it resonates with the audience. For if you were to assemble society’s darkest fears into one bundle, that group of primal fears is at the core of … Read More »

IRONMAN By Gil Mansergh A squad of HumVees is patrolling a desert road somewhere in Afghanistan. In the third vehicle, uniformed soldiers share the ride with a nattily-dressed, mustachioed man sipping single malt Scotch over ice cubes from a crystal glass. Anyone who sees the covers of Time, or Newsweek, or Fortune magazines would instantly recognize the face of Tony Stark, CEO of America’s most important weapons company and a gazillionaire playboy … Read More »

SLUMDOG MILLLIONAIREBy Gil Mansergh With the awards season in high gear, the “small” movie getting most of the buzz is “Slumdog Millionaire,” the story of Jamal (Dev Patel), a teenaged Mumbai tea server who is a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” “Slumdog” is a movie of contrasts. Filmed in the streets and countrysides of India, it has a distinct Bollywood influence with sounds … Read More »

BOLT By Gil Mansergh There are a couple of historically interesting bits in the opening and closing credits for “Bolt,” Disney Studios’ entertaining new 3-D animated film for families of all ages. The first is a clip from the eighty year old Mickey Mouse cartoon “Steamboat Willie” where the iconic mouse whistles a jaunty toon as he steers his ship down the river. Then the camera pulls back, the animation continues, and … Read More »

Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 1/23/09 Inkheart (PG)Starring: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim BroadbentDirector: Iain SoftleyWhatever magic made German author Cornelia Funke’s children’s book be translatedinto over thirty languages, isn’t evident in this confusing mish-mash of characters from Middle Earth, Kansas, OZ, and Greek mythology. Brenden Fraser tries hard and Helen Mirren seems to be enjoying herself, but this may be due to the fact that the … Read More »

GRAN TORINOByGil Mansergh Walt Kowalski is an assembly-line worker who helped make the Ford Grand Torino muscle cars in the 70’s, and one of them sits in show-room condition under a tarp in the garage of his Detroit home. He’s been retired for a decade now, and since his wife died recently, and he doesn’t get along with his two sons or their kids, he spends most of his time sitting … Read More »

Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 1/16/09 Defiance (PG)Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa DavalosDirector: Edward ZwickThe director is famous for films with message and a mission (“Glory,” Blood Diamond,” “The Last Samurai”), and this story of “Jews who fought back” against the Nazis is no exception. The truth is that the two Belorussian brothers portrayed in the story did save 1,000 fellow Jews from both the Nazis and the … Read More »

Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast New Releases 1/9/09 Bride Wars (PG)Starring: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Kristen Johnson, Bryan GreenbergDirector: Gary WinickThe concept is that the wedding industry, with all it’s “traditions”(many of which were made up by advertising agencies), will be easy to lampoon, but, this film has so many product placements it makes you wonder if the filmmakers had a registry (with suggested prices) to solicit the various “gifts” they highlight onscreen. … Read More »