The film is directed by Tom Tykwer, the wicked talented guy who brought us Run Lola Run.  It takes place in Italy, where a woman named Philippa (Cate Blanchett) plants a bomb in the office of a business man who’s money really comes from selling drugs.  Philippa’s husband died from the drugs sold by this man, and as a teacher, has watched her pre-teen students enter rehab for the same reason.  She’s sent letters, made calls to the police, letting them know about this man’s illegal doings, but after more than a year of ambivalence, she takes matters into her own hands.  The bomb is unknowingly removed by a maid, and goes off in an elevator, killing a small family.  Philippa is arrested, and begins interrogations, for which Filippo (Giovanni Ribisi) serves as translator (Philippa, insists on testifying in English).  He falls in love with her and decides to help her escape.

The film is incredibly beautiful.  We’re shown an idealized Italy, that everyone wants to exist.  The problem comes with the story, which lacks the knowledge of where it’s going most of the time.  This is the film’s weakest link as it drags a little, and is somewhat underdeveloped.  At certain points, the plot defies logic, and doesn’t offer any explanation of why.  However, in my opinion, it doesn’t need to.  It’s so stunning to look at, Heaven has a surreal feel, that almost makes it seem like a fairytale.  A gorgeous score, and the somewhat open-ended final scene supports this theory.  For some this is a problem, for most others, they’ll be carried away by the beauty of the piece.

Don’t let the synopsis fool you into thinking this is fast-paced action piece where the two main characters run from the police the whole time.  This is competent meditation on morals, guilt, and what love is worth.  If you enjoy thinking, you’ll be pondering this film for days after you see it.  Ribisi performs well (he’s required to speak Italian much of the movie, but he does well enough that this doesn’t distract).  However, it’s Blanchett who steals the spotlight.  Her performance will shake you to your very core.  This is another piece of evidence for the argument she’s one of the greatest actors of her generation (move over Streep).

Bitchin' Stars: 3.5 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 73% – Cream of the Crop:68%

This is the only trailer I could find, and it makes it look like a retarded kid made the film.  Don’t believe it.

The Gift was released in 2001 and was directed by Sam Raimi.  Since then, Raimi has disappointed us with films like Xena: Warrior Princess – A Friend in Need (Director’s Cut), The Messengers, and Boogeyman 2.  That being said, the plot really wasn’t that horrible, nor was the acting or directing.

The story follows Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), the local tarot card reader and psychic in a southern town, as she’s asked to help the police investigate the disappearance of a local girl (Katie Holmes).  The town is full of seeming psychopaths, played by terrific actors: Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank.  And not-so-terrific actors: Holmes, Keanu Reeves (it turns out he can play a wife-beating redneck really well!) and Gary Cole.

While the film has a supernatural aspect to it, it is mostly a ‘whodunnit,’ that actually leaves you guessing until the very end.  The Gift affords a few good scares, and more than just a little good acting. Check it out when you’re in the mood for something light.

Bitchin' Stars: 2 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 57% - Cream of the Crop: 62%

When I saw Brittany Murphy listed, my mind made an inaudible, ‘Ahhhh’ (Ahhhh in the bad, disappointed way, not like the Ahhhh you make when you see puppies).  But then I continued to read: Toni Collette, Giovanni Ribisi (okay, he’s questionable), Rose Byrne, James Franco (who only won me over last week with his performance in Pineapple Express), Josh Brolin, Marcia Gay Harden, and several others. Then I asked ChaCha what it got on RottenTomatoes and was pleasantly surprised to find out it received 74%. This resulted in a renting.  An ensemble cast like that had to at least be interesting.

The film is made up of several vignettes with simplistic titles like ‘The Stranger,’ ‘The Mother,’ ‘The Dead Girl.’  Each vignette varies greatly in interest (often connected to the acting talent of the main players), although all are disturbing in there own way.  In the same vein as Robert Altman’s Short Cuts and P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia, each seemingly unrelated story ends up being related, in some way or another, to the discovery of the body of a dead girl.  I definitely can’t say that all parts of the film are worth watching, but some definitely are (particularly the section with Rose Byrne).

Writer/director Karen Moncrieff doesn’t have much experience writing or directing (to date, she’s stuck mostly with TV, including directing an episode of Six Feet Under). But still there’s something to her direction, the film definitely has some shining moments.  The Dead Girl failed to achieve it’s lofty ambitions (I’m pretty sure the limited release on December 29th meant she had award season dreams), but deserves respect for it’s attempt at originality.

Bitchin' Stars: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Rottentomatoes: 74% – Cream of the Crop: 63%

Rated R for language, grisly images and sexuality/nudity.