The Iron Lady : Critics' Reviews

"People don't think anymore," an aggrieved Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) complains to her physician about two-thirds of the way through "The Iron Lady." "They want to be governed by people who care more about feelings than about thoughts or ideas." I do not know if the inclusion of this bit of musing, which the audience is clearly meant to get right behind and cheer on, was intended as some kind of perverse in-joke on the part of screenwriter Abi Morgan and/or director Phyllida Lloyd. But whatever their intention, they certainly do have their nerve.
Because "The Iron Lady," a portrait of the first female prime minister of Great Britain in her Sadly Dementia-Tinged Dotage, her Resilient Days of Early Struggle, and, in its most triumphalist key, her Controversial and Steely Tenure as the Woman Who Politically and Economically Reshaped the United Kingdom, is almost altogether bald in its desire that the viewer not think about Margaret Thatcher, or her ideas, or her actions, and pretty relentless in its efforts to squelch thought while promoting pity, empathy and a little dread.
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That the movie succeeds at all in doing the latter is almost entirely attributable to the acting work of Streep, who is remarkably precise, respectful and frequently quite witty in her portrayal of two of the three above-cited incarnations of Thatcher (the young and oddly hot Margaret is played by plucky Alexandra Roach), and of Jim Broadbent, playing a more hamishe version of Thatcher's husband, Denis, than many who recall Denis' disposition in public life might find probable. Of course, the Denis Thatcher of this film often exists solely in the imagination of Margaret, whose contemporary mental condition, as per the movie -- the present-day segments of which take place during the 2008 Mumbai terrorist bombings -- is deteriorating rapidly. As Margaret sees news reports on the television about the attacks, her mind goes back, not just to the assassination attempt against her in 1984 (also a bombing, in this case, of the Grand Hotel in Brighton), but, of course, to her entire career, from humble beginnings as a grocer's daughter to early political ambitions met with snobbery and sexism to conflicted family life and on. These memories are interspersed with dreary scenes of her life now. Soon daughter Carol (Olivia Colman, looking like she's dropping by on her way to a Mike Leigh film) turns up and is immediately alarmed by her mom's condition. But while Thatcher's mind is going, her defenses, and the indomitability that earned her the nickname that gives the film its title, are still very much in place.
The point being that even an iron lady is, like all the rest of us, only human after all. This message is not being entirely well-received by certain righties, who would like to see Thatcher marry Ronald Reagan in Conservative Oz, or by many lefties, who have a stately figure of Thatcher cracking a whip at some Dickensian waifs on their carousel of history's greatest monsters. Those whose knowledge of recent British political history is mostly informed by new wave music of the '80s (The English Beat's "Stand Down Margaret," Robert Wyatt's "Shipbuilding," and Elvis Costello's "Tramp the Dirt Down," in which the singer imagines himself tending Thatcher's grave, are among the standout protest songs in what is practically a subgenre) are not going to be necessarily persuaded by the largely favorable light the film casts on Thatcher's rule.
Morgan and Lloyd contrive their view of events so as not to tip an ideological hand, which naturally winds up landing the whole thing smack dab in the middle of dominant ideology. Thatcher's rise is depicted to demonstrate that strength of character and savvy application of learning always overcome odds; her standing up to trade unions is pitched as an object lesson in doing the right thing even when it's not the popular thing; her decision to wage war in the Falklands when she's told that the country can't afford a war shows us ... well, come to think of it, I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of that bit, except maybe that a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do, or that Thatcher's special glory was in being given the power to send men to their deaths, and who then exercised that power, or ... I dunno. And her political fall, precipitated by a mistake of personal (what else?) hubris, and carried out by her former compatriots, is ostensibly a bit of ain't-it-ever-thus "Et tu, Brute?" universalist wisdom.
Whew. And much of this material is handled by Lloyd, who also directed Streep in, yes, the ABBA-song musical "Mamma Mia!," with notable maladroitness. A handful of scenes here provide textbook examples of where-not-to-put-the-camera shots, and her use of ostensibly emotion-boosting effects such as slow motion is so arbitrary in most instances that it might as well have been decided by a coin toss. For as much of a mess as this movie is, there are moments in which Streep and Broadbent draw it into a sharp humanist focus. But they don't occur often enough.
Glenn Kenny is chief film critic for MSN Movies. He was the chief film critic for Premiere magazine from 1998 to 2007. He contributes to various publications and websites, and blogs at http://somecamerunning.typepad.com. He lives in Brooklyn.

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Capsule reviews of new releases

"Arthur Christmas" — This pleasant holiday treat from Aardman, the British animation outfit behind "Chicken Run" and the "Wallace and Gromit" cartoons, has the old-fashioned spirit of Christmas at heart, spinning a snowflake-light tale with warmth, energy and goofy humor. The movie unveils the vast high-tech enterprise run by Santa to deliver all those presents as his big-hearted but bumbling younger son, Arthur (voiced by James McAvoy), races to deliver a single gift that fell through the cracks. The delightful, drolly funny voice cast includes Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Ashley Jensen. Director Sarah Smith offers a fresh look at the Santa legend with a flawed Claus whose family is as dysfunctional as everyone else's. There are lulls and comic misfires that feel like stocking stuffers thrown in to pad the simple story to feature length, and the manic banter comes a bit too fast for viewers to digest it all. Still, the visual gags will carry youngsters along, while there are plenty of clever wisecracks to keep their parents occupied. PG for some mild rude humor. 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.

— David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"The Descendants" — Alexander Payne makes movies about men on the brink — of a nervous breakdown, of personal or professional ruin and, ultimately, maybe even some hard-earned peace. That's certainly true of George Clooney here. As real-estate lawyer Matt King, he finds everything in his life is in flux and on the verge of collapse simultaneously. This isn't any easier even though he lives in Hawaii, a place that's supposed to be paradise. Clooney being Clooney, though, makes every stage of his character's arc believable, from grief through anger and eventual acceptance, and he gives a performance that's so understated as to appear effortless. Matt's wife, Elizabeth, is lying in a hospital bed in a coma following a boating accident. Matt, who hasn't been the most available or hands-on father, must now take care of the couple's two daughters on his own: 17-year-old boarding school rebel Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and 10-year-old troublemaker Scottie (Amara Miller). Then Alexandra drops another bombshell on her father: Elizabeth was having an affair at the time of her accident. As if all this weren't enough to handle, Matt's enormous family has put him in charge of deciding what to do with the 25,000 acres of pristine land on Kauai that they've inherited from their royal Hawaiian ancestors. Payne's pacing is often so languid that we don't feel the sort of mounting tension that we should. But the story keeps us guessing as to where it will go, and it features some piercing moments of emotional truth. R for language including some sexual references. 115 minutes. Three stars out of four.

— Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

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"Happy Feet Two" — The dancing, singing penguins are as adorable as ever. Yet a couple of shrimplike krill almost steal the show in this animated sequel that sticks to the formula of the original while adding enough variety to give it a life of its own. It helps to have Brad Pitt and Matt Damon voicing the krill with great companionability as they join a vocal cast that includes returning stars Elijah Wood and Robin Williams. Wood's tap-dancing penguin now is a dad dealing with a misfit, runaway son embarrassed over his own lack of rhythm. Director and co-writer George Miller, who handled the same chores on the 2006 Academy Award-winning first film, keeps the focus on penguins in peril while adding an interesting nature-in-perspective angle with the side journey of those tiny krill trying to find their place in a world of bigger, hungrier things. The sequel delivers the key ingredients that made its predecessor such a hit: lovable characters, a rich blend of pop tunes employed in showstopping song-and-dance numbers and remarkable Antarctic landscapes whose bleak beauty pops off the screen even more than in the original, thanks to some of the finest use of 3-D animation since the digital age brought an extra dimension to the screen. PG for some rude humor and mild peril. 99 minutes. Three stars out of four.

— David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"The Muppets" — Jason Segel, Amy Adams and friends deliver a very welcome return for Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and the rest of Jim Henson's creations after a 12-year big-screen absence. From start to finish, the movie is a healthy, dizzy dose of childlike bliss, the songs campy but catchy, the humor corny but clever. Co-writer Segel and Adams play small-town tourists embarking on a quest to reunite the Muppets and save their old Hollywood studio, which is targeted for demolition by an evil oil man (Chris Cooper). Director James Bobin maintains a nimble pace throughout, the story gleefully dashing from song-and-dance numbers to hilarious montages to the sort of precious asides that are a staple of the Muppets, among them plenty of self-aware winks at Hollywood convention. Celebrity cameos, also a Muppet strength, are plentiful but a bit disappointing; after such a long time in mothballs, the Muppets deserve a better turnout of top stars to welcome them back. But overall, the movie's refreshing on every level, a piece of nostalgia so old it's new again, and a breather from Hollywood's 3-D digital onslaught in favor of fur and fuzz. PG for some mild rude humor. 110 minutes, including an amusing "Toy Story" short that precedes the movie. Three stars out of four.

— David Germain, AP Movie Writer

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"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1" — "Laughable" probably isn't the word the filmmakers were aiming for, but there it is; laughter, at all the wrong places. The fourth movie in the freakishly popular girl-vamp-wolf love triangle series is so self-serious, it's hard not to cackle at it. The dialogue is, of course, ridiculous and the acting ranges from stiff to mopey. But moments that should be pulsating with tension are usually hilarious because the special effects are still just so distractingly cheesy. This latest installment has yet another new director: Bill Condon, a man capable of both panache ("Dreamgirls") and serious artistry ("Gods and Monsters"), little of which you'll see here. The first of two films adapted from the final book in Stephenie Meyer's series (with part two coming next year), this serves as a placeholder for the ultimate finale but is jam-packed with developments in its own right. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire beau, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), marry in a lavish, romantic outdoor ceremony. Bella's childhood best friend and the other man in the equation, werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), stops by as a gesture of goodwill. Finally, Bella and Edward can have sex, the thing she has wanted all along but he has been reluctant to do for fear that deflowering her will, you know, kill her. And he may have been right. He impregnates her on the honeymoon and the resulting hybrid spawn threatens to destroy her from inside. PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, sexuality/partial nudity and some thematic elements. 117 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

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The Polar Express

"The Polar Express," Chris Van Allsburg's beloved children's book, published by Houghton Mifflin, captures the pure spirit of the holiday season. It is a time of wonder, of enchanting discovery, of boundless fascination.

The inspirational tale will become even larger than life with the theatrical release of "The Polar Express." The movie, from Warner Bros. Pictures, stars the Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis. And now, fans of "The Polar Express" can take home a little bit of the story's magic with exclusive gifts from Hallmark Gold Crown stores.

"'The Polar Express' is such a classic Christmas story, it seemed appropriate that Hallmark Gold Crown stores, a traditional holiday destination, serve as 'The Polar Express' headquarters," said Greg Raymond, vice president of license acquisitions at Hallmark. "The one-of-a-kind Hallmark collection truly brings the classic story to life."

In the movie, a young boy who wants to believe in Santa, no matter what the doubters say, is given an unexpected train ride to the North Pole. When the train reaches its destination, Santa himself materializes and offers the boy whatever his heart desires. In the end, the boy learns that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Fans can feel the excitement of the movie with items from Hallmark's collection, such as an authentic reproduction of the bell Santa gives the boy as the "first gift of Christmas."

Also available in the collection are copies of "The Polar Express" book, Keepsake Ornaments, photo frames, gift-wrap, a tea-light holder, stocking holders, greeting cards and partyware. The variety of gifts in the collection will delight even those not so familiar with "The Polar Express" story.

"Hallmark has a long history of celebrating warm holiday traditions and these traditions are perfectly in sync with what 'The Polar Express' symbolizes," said Karen McTier, executive vice president of domestic licensing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "Now filmgoers can take a bit of the movie magic and enchantment home with them."

Hallmark Hops Aboard 'The Polar Express'

From May 13, 2011 "The Polar Express," Chris Van Allsburg's beloved children's book, published by Houghton Mifflin, captures the pure spirit of the holiday season. It is a time of wonder, of enchanting discovery, of boundless fascination. The inspirational tale will become even larger than life with the theatrical release of "The Polar Express." The movie, from Warner Bros. Pictures, stars the Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis. And now, fans of "The Polar Express" can take home a little bit of the story's magic with exclusive gifts from Hallmark Gold Crown stores. "'The Polar Express' is such a classic Christmas story, it seemed appropriate that Hallmark Gold Crown stores, a traditional holiday destination, serve as 'The Polar Express' headquarters," said Greg Raymond, vice president of license acquisitions at Hallmark. "The one-of-a-kind Hallmark collection truly brings the classic story to life." In the movie, a young boy who wants to believe in Santa, no matter what the doubters say, is given an unexpected train ride to the North Pole. When the train reaches its destination, Santa himself materializes and offers the boy whatever his heart desires. In the end, the boy learns that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. Fans can feel the excitement of the movie with items from Hallmark's collection, such as an authentic reproduction of the bell Santa gives the boy as the "first gift of Christmas." Also available in the collection are copies of "The Polar Express" book, Keepsake Ornaments, photo frames, gift-wrap, a tea-light holder, stocking holders, greeting cards and partyware. The variety of gifts in the collection will delight even those not so familiar with "The Polar Express" story. "Hallmark has a long history of celebrating warm holiday traditions and these traditions are perfectly in sync with what 'The Polar Express' symbolizes," said Karen McTier, executive vice president of domestic licensing for Warner Bros. Consumer Products. "Now filmgoers can take a bit of the movie magic and enchantment home with them."   http://articles.atat.ro/hallmark-hops-aboard-the-polar-express_85377.html    please open my other link