Last Holiday

“Last Holiday” asks the question, “Is Queen Latifah sufficiently charismatic to carry a paper-thin story whose every beat will be familiar to all but the youngest children?" Fortunately, the answer is yes.

In “Last Holiday,” Her Grace plays a department store cookware demonstrator who learns that she has an inoperable brain condition. She quits her job, sells her investments, walks away from the man who doesn’t even know she loves him (L.L. Cool J, making me wish I had a more bitchin’ name), and heads to an exclusive ski resort high in the Alps. There, she plans to live her life to the fullest up to the very last moment. This is a comedy, so now you know exactly what will happen. Fortunately, Her Majesty is a charming woman with whom it’s a pleasure to spend 90 minutes. As one nice thing after another happens to her, you can't help but smile along, enjoying the general sense of goodwill the film creates.

Her Majesty gets first-class supporting work from a cast including Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Nouri, Alicia Witt, and the aforementioned Mr. J. Timothy Hutton, as the villainous owner of the department store chain (who just happens to show up at the resort), is note perfect. He’s despicable but not too despicable, evil but not too evil, and he's clearly having as much fun as anyone in the audience.

And this movie is very fun. If you'd like to spice it up, try watching it with a child who will worry about the star's fate, then watch his or her reaction when the inevitable happens. It's a treat, and it's the kind of experience that adds to the warm, comfort-food experience that is "Last Holiday."

The Good Shepherd

Filmmaker Joe McDonald sent me his thoughts on the THE GOOD SHEPHERD. I enjoyed his writing so much that I thought I'd pass it along to you.

Believe the peanut gallery, "TGS" was booorrring: **. I am so glad, in hindsight, that you were so compelled to suggest "Rocky Balboa" when it was "TGS" that I really had my eye on last Christmas.

Matt Damon plays Edward Wilson, a Yale graduate who, I believe, belonged to that same stupid secret society that Bush belongs to that signifies the beginning of a career of puppet-mastering in offices of power and prestige. At the cusp of graduation, Damon is approached by an army general (Robert DeNiro) to help form an organization that creates information and misinformation to assist the war effort during WWII, an organization we have come to know now as the CIA. And so begins a life of seven-day work weeks, talking in crypto-speak, a friendless environment, and alienating oneself from the family Damon loves. When he is approached by the same army general to head a similar peacetime organization to fight the Cold War, gee, how can he resist?

Why did this movie not work? There were no goals in this movie. I needed to see the value of having a CIA during World War II and thereafter. I needed to see Damon achieve a victory during the war that demonstrates his value to such an organization and seeing him get hooked. I needed to see some history and background of the CIA. This could have been soooo interesting. What I saw was the stoic faces, the subtextual conversations, shady characters, and close acquaintances getting killed during the war. I kept yelling at the TV for Damon to ditch the job, dump Angelina Jolie, and find that hot, deaf girl he was dating in college so that he can teach poetry at some northeast prep school like he wants to.

"TGS" looked fabulous visually, the cast is an all-star team of Oscar nominees and winners, the set dec and costumes are second to none. Hell, the screenwriter is Eric Roth ("Munich", "Forrest Gump", "The Insider"). What happened here?! Were all the good parts edited out? Is DeNiro a bad director?

What I do know is that I began to balance my checkbook at the halfway point of this movie. Pass on it.

Kinsey

Liam Neeson stars in 'Kinsey,' but Laura Linney walks away with the picture.

Linney plays Clara, a character who goes from bright young grad student to steady grandmother, and whose life transitions we accept every step of the way.

Don't get me wrong: Neeson is a fine Professor Kinsey, and at no point did I not buy him in the character. It's just that while his character had a more dramatic life than Linney's, hers had a richer inner life.

The movie itself is full of surprises. First, the supporting cast is absolutely first rate. I mean, look at this slate: Timothy Hutton, Peter Sarsgaard, Chris O'Donnel, Heather Goldenhersh (who plays a minor part well, as she did in 'The Merchant of Venice'), John Lithgow, Tim Curry (who doesn't ham it up, for a change), Oliver Platt, Dylan Baker, and Veronica Cartwright, among others. Second, I absolutely expected Curry to twirl his moustache and collude with Kinsey's boss to make life tough on our protagonist: didn't happen. Third, the movie deftly handles its own subject matter, finding an adult footing without veering into sensationalism.

Well done, Mr. Condon. I look forward to seeing your next film.