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Freedom Writers: Above average "inspirational teacher" genre in the same vein as Dangerous Minds, Lean on Me, Stand and Deliver, etc. I really didn't expect much (knowing how tired this genre is), and at first it looked like it was going to be the same-old, same-old...but I'm glad I stuck with it. Hillary Swank plays Erin Gruell, a real-life high school English teacher whose students - Long Beach wrong-side-of-the-tracks wash-outs, essentially - learn to take responsibility for their lives and to realize that they are not alone in this big, bad world. This isn't one of Hillary Swank's better performances - she just does the same sweet smile thing whenever a student does something good - but the cast that plays her students is universally strong. B+.
Strangers with Candy: I never got into the Comedy Central series, but the movie is a trip! A 47-year-old high school dropout/ex-con/ex-prostitute/ex-druggie/possible bi-sexual moves back home with her parents (including a comatose dad played by Dan Hedaya) and enters the school science fair in an attempt to make daddy proud. Her efforts may be thwarted, however, by her couldn't-give-a-shit science teacher (Stephen Colbert, playing his usual schtick), and by rival classmates who treat her like shit and who try to steal her team's ideas. Okay so it's pretty stupid, but it's less offensive than the usual Adam Sandler crap and, if you're in the right mood, it'll make you laugh. B-.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: The most audience-friendly entry in the series, this one opened to strong box office receipts in Summer 1986. As usual, the Star Trek gang get involved in timely world issues (in Star Trek V it was the search for God; in Star Trek VI it was Glasnost); this time it's about the environment. They must go back in time to modern-day San Francisco to transport two humpback whales to the future, all in an effort to answer the call of a destructive probe that sends a message only the humpbacks (extinct in the 23rd century) can answer! Along the way, Spock deals with "colorful metaphors" (profanity), Kirk gets a girlfriend (Catherine Hicks), and Chekhov has a run- in with Cold War-era Naval soldiers who don't know what to make of this "Ruskie." It's fun and one of the better entries in the series...even though the whole time travel angle does require some serious suspension of disbelief, even by Star Trek standards. B+.
The Illusionist: A bit of a letdown. Edward Norton plays Eisenheim the Illusionist in 19th-century Vienna. In a performance to a crowded theater that includes the Crown Prince (Rufus Sewell) and his bride-to-be Sophie (Jessica Biel, who just gets better-looking with age), Eisenheim realizes that Sophie is his long-lost childhood sweetheart, and that their happy reunion threatens the sinister plans of the Crown Prince. A murder occurs and Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti, who steals the show) is brought in to figure out which parts of Eisenheim's amazing act are true magic and which parts are merely...an illusion. Some good music, costumes, and camerawork...but what frustrates me to no end is that unlike The Prestige (which is far superior), we never learn what makes these tricks work. C+.
HS
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