Eleanor the Great — Scarlett Johansson’s Graceful Directorial Debut

Eleanor The Great

Directed by: Scarlett Johansson

Written by: Tony Kamen

Starring: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Rita Zohar

Release Date: September 26, 2025

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great stars June Squibb in a heartfelt, funny, and deeply human story about grief, friendship, and finding meaning late in life. A quiet triumph that proves Johansson may be as good behind the camera as she is in front of it.

The Story of a Lonely Heart Finding a New Purpose

Eleanor the Great stars the remarkable June Squibb as Eleanor, an elderly Florida retiree whose tranquil routine is shattered by the death of her lifelong best friend, Bessie (Rita Zohar). With no reason to stay, Eleanor impulsively decides to move back to New York City to live with her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht).

Lisa, overwhelmed by work and ill-equipped for long-term cohabitation, quickly begins searching for assisted living options. But that tension is just the prologue — the real story begins when Eleanor meets Nina Davis (Erin Kellyman), a journalism student grieving her own mother’s death.

At a local community center, Eleanor finds herself mistakenly invited to a Holocaust survivors’ group. Though she isn’t a survivor, she begins retelling her late friend Bessie’s stories as her own — an act of kindness that slowly becomes a dangerous lie once Nina decides to feature Eleanor’s “story” in a college thesis and, eventually, on television with her father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

A Story That Could Have Been Sitcom Fodder — But Isn’t

What could easily have devolved into a farcical sitcom about mistaken identity instead blossoms into a film full of grace, humanity, and forgiveness. Johansson and writer Tony Kamen resist the urge for cheap laughs or tear-jerking manipulation. Instead, they find beauty in vulnerability — the quiet, everyday courage it takes to confront loss, loneliness, and the lies we tell to feel less alone.

When Eleanor’s secret is inevitably threatened, the film doesn’t seek to humiliate her. It extends compassion — to her, to Nina, to everyone just trying to hold onto meaning in a world that keeps taking things away.

Scarlett Johansson Behind the Camera

For her first film as director, Scarlett Johansson proves surprisingly understated. Her touch is light, her pacing unhurried. There’s no ego here, just a sincere focus on the story and the people within it. Having grown up surrounded by filmmakers, Johansson understands that directing is as much about listening as it is about control.

Eleanor the Great isn’t a flashy debut. It’s quietly confident, generous toward its cast, and deeply human — the kind of work that signals Johansson could have a serious second act as a filmmaker if she continues down this path.

June Squibb and Erin Kellyman: A Friendship for the Ages

The movie’s heart belongs entirely to June Squibb and Erin Kellyman, whose chemistry feels effortless and real. Their friendship — tender, funny, and unforced — anchors the movie emotionally.

Squibb, fresh off last year’s wonderful Thelma, is a revelation once again. She refuses to play Eleanor as a caricature of an old woman acting young. Instead, she finds humor and strength in dignity, crafting a character full of curiosity, regret, and warmth. Kellyman’s naturalism complements her beautifully, resulting in one of the year’s most touching onscreen duos.

The End of “Old People Acting Young” Jokes

Years ago, The Simpsons killed the tired trope of “old people acting young” with one perfectly barbed gag: Dame Vanessa Redgrave saying, “I’m going to haul ass to Lollapalooza.” That moment symbolically buried a cultural trend — and perhaps made room for stories like Eleanor the Great.

Now, filmmakers like Johansson are crafting stories that respect aging characters. We’re seeing that older women can be funny, complex, and vitalwithout becoming the butt of the joke. June Squibb’s late-career renaissance stands as proof that maturity and emotional intelligence are cinematic assets, not liabilities.

Final Thoughts: A Beautiful, Unflashy Triumph

Eleanor the Great is a small film that earns big emotions. It’s about the lies we tell not to deceive, but to connect — and how empathy, not punishment, offers redemption.

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut may not reinvent the wheel, but it reminds us why storytelling matters. And in June Squibb, it gives us a heroine for the ages — wise, fallible, and beautifully alive.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

Movie Review Sing 2

Sing 2 

Directed by Garth Jennings, Christophe Lourdelet

Written by Garth Jennings 

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon

Release Date December 22nd, 2021 

Sing 2 is a synergistic brand extension for the Sing I.P owned and perpetuated by Universal Pictures and the animation brand Illumination whose previous brand extensions include Despicable Me and The MinionsI.P. The goal of Sing 2 is to maximize the visibility of the known I.P Sing into a viable franchise for future capitalization. Box office tracking thus far indicates that Sing 2 will be a quick win for Illumination, well above their budget pain point. 

The Sing 2 I.P is being perpetuated further by including the brand of Matthew McConaughey, a well known product who, along with Reese Witherspoon and Scarlett Johannson, has proven to move the needle in the past for Illumination. In this brand extension, McConaughey returns to the role of music impresario, Buster Moon, owner of the Moon Theater. In the initial brand extension, Sing, Buster held a contest to find new talent. In this further brand extension, Buster is looking to take his new acts on the road.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here. 

Movie Review Asteroid City

Asteroid City (2023) 

Directed by Wes Anderson 

Written by Wes Anderson 

Starring Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Jeffrey Wright

Release Date June 23rd, 2023 

Published June 23rd, 2023 

I adore the work of writer-director Wes Anderson. As a film critic with more than 20 years of experience writing about movies, Anderson's work has an unusual appeal for me. I see so many movies that look the same, go for the same goals, demonstrate the same filmmaking technique, and though they can be quite good or not good, the sameness of most of what I see becomes monotonous. Then, along comes a Wes Anderson movie like an alien from another planet. Instead of striving to place his characters in a place we can recognize and identify with them in a typical fashion, Anderson's style creates a surreal reality all its own. 

In his first feature film, Bottle Rocket, the characters were colorful and odd amid a realistic landscape. Since then, The Royal Tenenbaums began a turn for Anderson that led to more and more of a surrealist perspective. Anderson is a fan of artifice, and he brings artifice forward in his cinematography and production design. In his newest, remarkably ingenious work, called Asteroid, the surrealist production design is intended to logically marry the stage and film. It's as if Wes Anderson wanted to adapt a play into a movie but wanted to bring both the play and the movie forward at once. It's an exceptionally silly, funny, brilliant move. 

Trying to describe the plot of Asteroid City is rather pointless. Wes Anderson isn't so much interested in his plot. Rather, it's a Wes Anderson style of comedy, a series of odd, awkward, and often various funny scenes that may or may not be moving forward a plot. On the surface, we are following photographer and family man, Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), as he takes his kids across the country and their car breaks down in the oddball small town of Asteroid City. Luckily, they were on their way here anyway as Augie's oldest son, Woodrow (Jake Ryan), is to compete for a science scholarship. 

Asteroid City is the real star of Asteroid City. At the center of the town, which is made up of, perhaps four locations, is a giant crater where an asteroid landed in 3200 B.C. The town grew up around the asteroid as scientists and military men seek to understand the asteroid. Tilda Swinton is the top scientist and Jeffrey Wright is the military man. Things get crazy when an alien comes to Earth and takes the asteroid. The arrival of an alien causes the town, and all of its visitors, including Augie and his four kids, celebrity actress, Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johannson) and her genius daughter, Dina (Grace Edwards). 

Augie begins a tentative flirtation with Midge, their tiny cabins are right next door to each other, and Woodrow starts a budding relationship with Dinah as they work with their fellow genius kids, played by Sophia Lillis and Ethan Josh Lee to study the alien while also making sure the rest of the world knows that the alien exists, much to the chagrin of the military and their parents. The genius kids also work with Tilda Swinton's scientist to try and determine where the alien went and whether or not the alien is dangerous or not. 

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Vicky Christina Barcelona

Vicky Christina Barcelona 

Directed by Woody Allen 

Written by Woody Allen 

Starring Scarlett Johannson, Rebecca Hall, Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz 

Release Date August 15th, 2008 

Published November 23rd, 2022

Let's address the Woody Allen in the room. Vicki Christina Barcelona was written and directed by a man who has credibly been accused of abuse. It's inescapable that Allen's abuses and his poor response to very public allegations, colors his work. As a critic reviewing a Woody Allen movie in 2022 I have to make a determination. I must decide if I am viewing the art or the artist and how much the artist is reflected in the work. Woody Allen is particularly complicated in this way as his films have all tended to be very personal, reflective of his life experiences and relationships with women. 

Does his status as an accused, very likely real, abuser mean that his art must be shunned? Can we still view the work of Woody Allen and admire it even as we condemn him as a human being? I'd like to believe so but I am not of the authority to make that decision for everyone. I have to accept that if I choose to write about the work of Woody Allen and I find elements that I appreciate, I must accept that someone will take that as some kind of tacit endorsement of Allen. I don't endorse anything about Woody Allen the man but I understand where you are coming from dear reader. 

Why have I decided to engage with the work of Woody Allen now? Because I think Rebecca Hall is incredible in Vicki Cristina Barcelona and it was her breakthrough performance. She became a mainstay among those who love great acting after this performance. And since my podcast is going to be talking about Rebecca Hall's most recent, incredible performance, Vicki Cristina Barcelona was, for me, an unavoidable corollary. 

Rebecca Hall stars in Vicky Cristina Barcelona as Vicky, a grad student who accompanies her best friend, Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) on a trip to Spain. It's a getaway for the summer but it is also a working getaway for Vicky. Vicky is working on a masters in Catalan Culture and Spain is home to a portion of that culture which has a worldwide spread. Vicky hopes to explore the art and history while Cristina, an actress, is searching for an identity and looking to have fun. 

Vicky can be fun but she's also engaged to be married to Doug (Chris Messina), a steady, stable, investment banker back in New York. The engagement and her academic pursuits limits Vicky's idea of fun. Restless Cristina, on the other hand, has nothing holding her back. Thus, when a sexy Spanish artist named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) approaches them out of the blue and invites them on an overnight plane trip to a small Spanish tourist town, Cristina says yes immediately and Vicky begrudgingly tags along. 

To his credit, I guess, Juan Antonio is remarkably straight forward about his intentions. He is asking both Cristina and Vicky on this trip to show them a good time, enjoy great food, and to have sex. The sex can be one on one or all together, he's not picky. Cristina is charmed by Juan Antonio's bluntness while Vicky at least feigns being put off by the artists come on. Where the movie goes from here is a rather unique journey as each of these three people is forced to confront their conception of themselves, their identity, and their desire. 

As a writer, Woody Allen has a knack for painting his characters into corners and forcing them to confront their situation and determine a way out. Allen lets not one of these characters off the hook easily. All three will be forced to confront themselves in ways that feel true to each. The internal conflicts find physical expression in art, sex, and the everyday decisions these characters make regarding one day to the next, to the future. 

The construction of the plot is nearly flawless as Allen deploys his supporting character brilliantly to highlight the conflicts of our trio of leads. National treasure Patricia Clarkson may have a limited role but she works to provide a complication to Vicky's story that is perfectly timed. Chris Messina's character, Doug, may be merely functional in the plot but Messina infuses the character with life and he's used brilliantly as an example of Vicky's fork in the road. 

Click here for my full length review at Geeks.Media. 

Movie Review: Eight Legged Freaks Starring David Arquette

Eight Legged Freaks (2002) 

Directed by Ellory Elkayim

Written by Jesse Alexander

Starring David Arquette, Scarlett Johannson, Scott Terra, Doug E. Doug Rick Overton

Release Date July 17th, 2002 

Published July 16th, 2002 

I've never been afraid of spiders, well, except for that first Spiderman script to hit the net, that was pretty scary. Other than that though I have no fear of these disgusting creatures. Not that being afraid or unafraid of spiders will affect your viewing of the movie Eight Legged Freaks, I just needed an opening paragraph for this review.

Freaks stars David Arquette, a freak in his own right, as Chris Mccormick. The long missing son of a small town miner who recently passed away, Chris has returned to takeover his dad's mining business in hope of finding the gold his father swore was in those mines. Upon his return Chris once again strikes up a relationship with his high school crush Sam Parker who is now the town's Sheriff. 

It's been over ten years since they have seen each other and a lot has changed. Sam now has two kids a daughter named Ashley played by Scarlett Johannson and a son named Mike played by newcomer Scott Terra. It is Mike who sets the story in motion after visiting a friend who runs a Spider museum (an uncredited Tom Noonan) Mike discovers that the grasshoppers his friend has been feeding his spiders have been mutated by toxic waste spilled into the local creek. Mike soon finds his friend dead and giant spiders are the culprits.

At first no one believes him, no one believes little kids in these situations. Soon however pets begin disappearing, then local residents and finally the town is completely overrun.

The film is a modern take on the cheesy sci-fi of the 1950's and the film’s cheesy effects are a nice touch, making the film more comedy than horror film. The spiders look as fake as they would have in the 1950's. I hope that was what they were going for because if it wasn't then this film has serious problems. Working under the assumption that this was all intentional Eight Legged Freaks comes off as an often funny but plodding movie.

The supporting characters, most notably Doug E. Doug and Rick Overton, provide the film’s best laughs. But of course the movie’s best asset is the spiders, and when they aren't onscreen the film suffers. Eight Legged Freaks isn't bad but it's far from great. The spiders, while totally cheesy, are very funny. Unfortunately, they do wear out their welcome after the first hour or so. Simply, I liked this movie but I won't be seeing it again.

Movie Review: Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel (2019) 

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck 

Written by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson Dworet 

Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Scarlett Johansson

Release Date March 8th, 2019 

Published November 9th, 2023

When Captain Marvel was released in 2019 it managed to beat the hype of being just the latest entry in the smoking hot Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brie Larson came into full movie star form playing Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. Larson’s chemistry with the cast was off the charts, the direction was kinetic and exciting and as a puzzle piece in the long term planning in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was an incredibly satisfying fit. On top of all of that, it was just a great action movie.

Now, with The Marvels debuting and Captain Marvel back on the big screen as part of her own superhero team, it's the perfect time to reflect back on Carol's unique introduction to the MCU. With the Marvel Universe in flux, a lot bad press surrounding the most recent movies in that cinematic universe, it's nice to be reminded just how good Carol's introduction to the MCU really was.

Brie Larson stars as Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, aka Vers to her fellow Kree Warriors. When we meet Carol she has been training as a Kree Warrior with a mysterious and forgotten past for several years. Flashes of memory keep popping up in her dreams but the pieces don’t fit. With the aid of her mentor and commander, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Vers attempts to keep her memories at bay while focusing on her training and managing her remarkable abilities.

After meeting for the first time with the Kree ‘Great Intelligence,’ Vers gets her very first mission. Under the command of Yon-Rogg, Vers will go to an alien planet and rescue a Kree spy in the midst of a Skrull controlled planet. The Skrulls are a race of dangerous aliens, the greatest foes of the Kree, who have the disturbing ability to morph their features into those of anyone they see down to a DNA level of mimicry.

In her first mission, Vers is captured and her memories are accessed and she is forced to confront her past. When she eventually makes her escape, her only way out is a Skrull escape pod programmed to go to Earth. Here, Carol will be forced to confront her true identity as she battles the Skrull leader Thalos to keep him from retrieving technology created by a figure from Carol’s past, Dr Lawson (Annette Bening), tech that could change the course of the war between Kree and Skrull forever.

Along for the ride, and discovering aliens for the first time in his career is Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson). Captain Marvel may be the origin story for Carol Danvers but it also provides a little more of the origin story for the future leader of Shield and the man behind the Avengers’ initiative. Captain Marvel is set in 1996 and the picture we get of a young-ish Nick Fury is pretty great. Baby-faced rookie Agent Phil Coulson is another standout treat.

The chemistry between Brie Larson as Carol and Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury is off the charts fantastic. These two actors have a comfort, familiarity and ease that would be more expected of actors who had worked together for years rather than having never met before. Larson and Jackson have a comic connection that never fails to charm and when it comes time to fight that same natural chemistry increases the fun and excitement in that arena as well.

Captain Marvel was the first major big screen release for the indie darling director duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and they proved themselves more than ready for the spotlight. The action is exceptionally captured and exciting, the special effects are flawless, the script is tight and focused and the character work is some of the best in the MCU. Much of this can be traced to the steady creative hands of Boden and Fleck.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media 

Movie Review Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Directed by Jon Favreau 

Written by Justin Theroux 

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson

Release Date May 7th, 2010

Published May 6th, 2010 

Star power is that intangible quality that can turn even a bad movie into a brilliant one. Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean without Johnny Depp, Independence Day without Will Smith or any of the Ocean's 11 sequels. Star power can drive any movie to brilliance without the audience ever realizing that what surrounds the star is mostly a giant mess.

Iron Man 2 is not exactly a giant mess, but imagining it working without the incalculable star power of Robert Downey Jr is impossible.

When last we saw Tony Stark he was revealing himself to be the superhero Iron Man in his usual ostentatious fashion. Since then, Tony has run about the world privatizing world peace in our time. And boy is he ever aware of his power. Called to testify before Congress, Stark has no trouble humiliating Senators with his ever present wit and tech.

Even as his pal Major Rhodes (Don Cheadle in the military garb once worn by Terrence Howard) is called to testify against him, Stark flips, dodges and eventually walks out to cheers and applause.

Watching on TV in Russia is Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a man that Tony Stark is not aware has a connection to his father. Vanko's own father was in business with Tony's late father, together they invented the very arc reactor that Tony now uses on a smaller scale to keep him alive. Vanko's father was banished before he could reap any rewards and Ivan wants payback.

As for Tony, while he seems to be having a great time, he is growing ever weaker. The arc reactor is slowly killing him and if he cannot find a new power source he and Iron Man are finished. Keeping this fact from his longtime assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his new assistant Natalie (Scarlett Johannson) is only a minor subplot meant to keep the ladies busy.

Plot aside, Iron Man 2 is about attitude, it's about cool and it's about big time action. Taken on these terms it is impossible not to enjoy. Robert Downey Jr has perfected the swagger of Tony Stark and found the sweet spot between ego and hero. Arrogance is his stock and trade but Downey's ability to make us part of the joke and not the subject of his arrogance is the paper thin difference between charisma and just being a jerk.

Jon Favreau's direction is mechanical and somewhat perfunctory but he knows how to keep his massive special effects under control while allowing RDJ to carry the weight of the movie with his persona. It may not be anything remotely related to artfulness but Favreau knows how to make Iron Man 2 what it is supposed to be, Robert Downey Jr’s magnum ego opus.

Iron Man 2 is not a work of art, it's not major cinema, its hardcore popcorn entertainment in the most joyous sense. Downey and Favreau and their cohorts deliver what fans want of Iron Man's big swinging ego, massive explosions, and inside baseball allusions to the planned Avengers movie, by the way, stay through the credits.

Movie Review: The Spirit

The Spirit (2008) 

Directed by Frank Miller 

Written by Frank Miller 

Starring Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson

Release Date December 25th, 2008 

Published December 24th, 2008 

The Spirit began as an insert in the Des Moines Register newspaper. Noticing the popularity of comic book superheroes the newspaper syndicate behind the Register and several other papers across the country launched their own comic book hero. They turned to in house artist Will Eisner who quickly turned out The Spirit. Fifty some years later The Spirit has been turned into a post-modern comic book movie in the hands of comics master Frank Miller. The adaptation is nearly as slipshod as the original creation was rushed.

Gabriel Macht plays The Spirit, a dead cop returned to life by his arch enemy as an experiment. The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) invented a potion and used the dead cop's body as a guinea pig. It worked, turning the cop into an unkillable but still human, crime fighting hero. Of course the Octopus dosed himself with his creation as well and as we join the story the two are in a futile, unwinnable battle of knives, guns and other such murderous implements that only serve to slow each other down. The Octopus however, has a plan.

He seeks an ancient vase that contains the blood of a human god. That blood will make him all powerful and finally able to kill the Spirit. Complicating his plan is a woman from The Spirit's past named Sand Serif (Eva Mendes). She is seeking a different ancient box with a different treasure when she comes to possess the vase. Will she give it to the Octopus or will she reunite with the Spirit? It's not as dramatic question as you might think.

The Spirit is filmed in the exact same black and white with color elements style as Sin City. In fact, it is fair to say that The Spirit is entirely derivative of Sin City. From the look to the hard-boiled dialogue to the timeless setting, The Spirit apes almost every aspect of Sin City minus the skilled direction of Robert Rodriguez. Before you try and correct me comment section, I am aware that Frank Miller's comics work inspired the look of Sin City, but that doesn't change how Miller brings nothing new or fresh to The Spirit.

Frank Miller learned direction at the side of Robert Rodriguez and you can definitely see Rodriguez's influence in The Spirit. Unfortunately, that's all you see. Miller brings no innovation, no new wrinkles whatsoever to The Spirit. Miller phones in the look of The Spirit, copying every aspect of Sin City. Without the cool of Sin City we are left with a pretty lame story of a bland undead cop and an over-acting Sam Jackson that wears through the camp appeal really quick. Gabriel Macht is so non-descript that his name is nearly forgotten before the credits roll.

The sight of Sam Jackson in ninja garb and a Nazi uniform loses its humor fast, choking under the weight of Jackson's scene chewing. Jackson has chewed the furniture before but never with such vigor as this. It could be campy fun but Jackson is far too earnestly snarling that the camp factor goes out the window and the just plain bad quickly takes over.

If you can figure out why Scarlett Johannson is in this movie you are a better man than I. Johannson is the biggest star in the cast and yet she is at best the fourth lead in the movie; playing second fiddle Jackson and his bellowing and gesticulating. Johannson remains the most appealing element of The Spirit but her choice of roles is monumentally puzzling.

The Spirit is a lame knockoff of Sin City with all of the style and none of the appeal of that modern classic.

Movie Review: The Nanny Diaries

The Nanny Diaries (2007) 

Directed by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini 

Written by Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman 

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Alicia Keys, Chris Evans, Paul Giamatti 

Release Date August 24th, 2007

Published August 23rd, 2007  

In an interview with the New York Times, directors Robert Pulcini and Sherry Springer Berman, the husband and wife team behind American Splendor, told a reporter that they really wanted to direct a mainstream Hollywood feature. Immediately, after reading that, I knew the movie was doomed. Trying to make a mainstream Hollywood movie is to fail at making a mainstream Hollywood movie. Immediately you link yourself to an almost untenable template of cliches and perfunctory scenes. Throw in a dull romantic subplot and you get the supremely disappointing The Nanny Diaries.

Adapted from the terrifically catty bestseller by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, two real life, former New York Nannies, The Nanny Diaries stars Scarlett Johannson as Annie. An aimless college grad, Annie longs to get into anthropology. For now she is content to get out of her mom's house. When Annie meets 4 year old Grayer (Nicholas Art) she saves him from a collision with a careless jogger and is immediately offered the opportunity to become his nanny, though she has no child care experience whatsoever.

Sensing an interesting anthropological opportunity to observe the customs and mores of upper east side New Yorkers, Annie accepts the job and finds herself in an ugly world of consumption and child neglect. Grayer's parents, who Annie refers to as Mr. & Mrs. X (Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney), treat their son as an inconvenience, as a pawn, and as a status symbol.

Grayer's plight forces Annie to commit beyond her anthropological interests and try and find ways to protect the poor kid from his awful parents. Tacked onto this plot is a romance between Annie and a guy she calls Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans), a nickname she uses to keep him at a distance, a tactic that fails miserably after just one date.

What is lacking in The Nanny Diaries is the kind of catty insights and snarky wit of the book by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. The film adaptation is a spineless version of the book that tries to go for heart strings instead of the funny bone and misses both quite badly. In their attempt to make a mainstream Hollywood comedy, directors Sherry Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini dull their sharp edges to appeal to a broader audience.

Someone should have told them that you can't please everyone no matter how bland and inoffensive you might be. Bland and inoffensive is certainly a good description of The Nanny Diaries which, though the parents played by Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti are truly awful people, the film refuses to judge them too harshly. Linney is almost sympathetic in her sadness, while Giamatti is off-screen too often for us to judge him much at all. Mr. X is a surface bastard with seemingly no motivation for his bad behavior.

The one element of The Nanny Diaries that works is Scarlett Johannson who plays the role that is given to her to the best of her abilities. Though hampered by a role that should be a little smarter, funnier and more biting and insightful, Johannson is, at the very least, charismatic and that goes a long way to improving an otherwise dismal movie. It's a shame that Johannson's romance with Chris Evans' Harvard Hottie never really sparks. The romantic subplot exists only to break the monotony of the dreary family plot and for that we are thankful. Unfortunately, the distractions are brief and Johansson and Evans never find that elusive romantic connection.

The Nanny Diaries lacks the spine to really tear into these awful parents and instead is understanding to a ludicrous extent. The actions of these parents is akin to emotional abuse and yet by the end we are to believe that young Grayer has hopes for a bright happy future without his nanny for protection. The film needed to be edgier, more judgmental, with the kind of catty insider perspective that made the book a beach read phenomenon.

Spineless and forgettable, The Nanny Diaries is a real disappointment. When independent directors like Sherry Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini move into the realm of the mainstream the hope is they won't bend to mainstream conventions but will bend convention to there artistic will. That doesn't happen in The Nanny Diaries and the result is a movie that tries to please all audiences and ends up pleasing few.

Movie Review: The Prestige

The Prestige (2006) 

Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan 

Starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johannson, Rebecca Hall, Andy Serkis 

Release Date October 20th, 2006 

Published October 19th, 2006 

Director Christopher Nolan's short career has been quite exceptional. His debut feature Following showed off a clever, if not accomplished young director. His follow-up Memento however, went beyond clever and into the realm of sheer directorial genius. Nolan came back to earth a little adapting the Icelandic thriller Insomnia for American audiences, showing that he is better off developing his own material.

Any questions about Nolan as a great director however, were answered when he took his first shot at the blockbuster brass ring, directing the franchise kickoff Batman Begins. One of the best films of 2005; Batman Begins raised the profile of Christopher Nolan and raised the stakes on his future success. His latest picture, The Prestige, became an instant buzzmaker with his involvement.

The Prestige, starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians, is a worthy effort for a director who is still feeling his oats as a major auteur. Clever and accessible, The Prestige is just smart enough to be a Christopher Nolan movie and just thrilling enough to be considered mainstream popcorn entertainment.

In turn of the century England magic is big business on the isle. Prestidigitation, legerdemain, and simple flim flammery are so popular that stages are eager to snap up the latest trickster. Into this world of con-men and showbiz folk, come two young men eager to learn the trade. Rupert (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred (Christian Bale) broke into the business together as audience plants for a hack magician (Mickey Jay in a minor cameo).

Their job is to wait patiently in the audience until volunteers are needed. They then eagerly head for the stage to take part in a very important trick. They are to tie the magicians assistant, Julia (Piper Perabo) who happens to be Rupert's wife, tightly and watch as she is lowered into a water tank and locked inside. The trick is that the magician will make her disappear.

The trick is pretty basic, the knots aren't very tight, the lock is tricked, Julia's escape is assured, though were something to go wrong the stage manager, Cutter (Michael Caine), is side stage with an axe. One night something goes horribly wrong. Unable to untie an overly elaborate knot, tied by Albert, Julia drowns. This begins a rivalry that is far more than professional jealousy.

Blaming Albert for his wife's death, Rupert saves his revenge for his ex-friend's first solo show as a magician. When Albert goes for his signature trick, catching a bullet from a tricked gun, he unfortunately picks out a disguised Rupert who fires a real bullet that takes two fingers from Albert's hand. The rivalry devolves from there to stealing tricks, trading women, one woman, Rupert's assistant Olivia (Scarlett Johannsen), and trying to one up each other with more and more complicated and dangerous illusions.

The magic of The Prestige however, is in the storytelling. Christopher Nolan, working from a script written by his brother Jonathan, toys with the time and space of his story in unique and often surprising ways. The movie begins with Albert in jail for having committed a murder. Then we are flashed back to Albert and Rupert's beginnings, as described above, and back and forth between the journals of both magicians, each written at the height of their rivalry.

The non-linear storytelling keeps us off balance for much of the picture, as in a good magicians trick; your looking one way as the trick happens the other way before being revealed and fooling you. The magic of The Prestige is not the staged theatrics which Nolan willingly explains and demonstrates, the magic is in the quiet misdirection and sleight of hand in the storytelling and direction.

Not all of The Prestige works. There are moments when you will easily be able to see what is coming next, the little sci fi twist late in the film is telegraphed, but the payoffs even on the most predictable twist are stunning and well crafted. The ending of The Prestige will confound some audiences but for those who have paid attention its a terrific jaw dropper.

Magic is big on the big screen this fall. The Illusionist starring Edward Norton has been one of the hottest indie features of the fall. Now The Prestige with an all star cast and a rising star director arrives with a whole lot of buzz and delivers a thrilling piece of magical storytelling. While the films shifting timeline can be confusing from time to time, it is essential to Nolan's way of telling this story. In demonstrating the magic of film-making, the ability to craft your own time and space, he honors real magic.

Adding to the prestige of this story is one sensational cast. Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johannsen and Michael Caine are exceptional, that you know. What you may not know though is just how brilliant David Bowie can be. Showing up almost unrecognizable as the legendary inventor Nikola Tesla, Bowie dazzles us with a deft turn that steals a few very good scenes.

Christopher Nolan is unlikely to win awards with movies like Batman Begins and The Prestige but that is certainly not his fault. Both films are sensational works that deserve award consideration. But, Nolan is fighting an academy mindset that is against anything that appeals too young or too mainstream. You can forget the academy ever giving a fair shake to something like Batman Begins, simply out of bias toward it's source material.

But most shockingly, even a period piece like The Prestige, no matter how ingenious and well crafted, will never earn awards attention. It's a thriller, with youth appeal, and a young, unproven cast. The academy may not love The Prestige, but you just might. This is simply a terrific film, who can't enjoy that.