Review: Cadillac Records simply rocks. This movie seems to have it all – a musical dream machine with some of the best acting and singing you will see this year.

Story: Chronicling the rise of blues label Cadillac Records, this rollicking musical charts the emergence of the blues musicians as popular hit makers and leads up to the birth of rock and roll. Focusing on several well-known early blues and rock legends, Cadillac Records mixes issues of race, infidelity, payola, violence and other things – providing a turbulent backdrop for its portrait of an era full of great talent and great heartache. It starts in 1947 when bar owner Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) hires a young blues combo: guitar wizard Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and an edgy harmonica player Little Walter (Columbus Short). This leads to a record deal and the formation of Chess label company. With other musicians such as Big Willie Dixon (Cedric The Entertainer) and Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), the label is rolling nicely down its own track when in 1955 Chuck Berry (Mos Def) walks through the door. Rock and roll is born, taking Chess and his artists to the mainstream. Drug addiction, drinking, women, tragedy and personal relationships – including Chess’ own with a new discovery, Etta James (Beyonce Knowles) – form the core of this engrossing showcase, paying tribute to those who paved the way.

Acting: The ensemble cast that forms the heart of Cadillac Records is brilliant. Wright is powerful and surprisingly musical as the legendary Muddy Waters. Short (Stomp the Yard) is an impressive newcomer as the erratic but supremely talented Little Walter, the Tupac of his time. Brit Walker (“Prison Break”) is particularly compelling to watch, explosive and vibrant as Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters’ chief rival. Best of all is Mos Def, alive and hilarious as the unpredictable Berry. His musical sequences are a highlight and his Berry impersonation really gives the man himself a run for his money. Also standing out is an amusing Cedric the Entertainer as the appropriately named Big Willie Dixon, and Gabrielle Union, fine as always as Muddy’s long-suffering wife. Brody, as the head of the company, is largely unsympathetic as the conniving Chess, but the actor does manage to convey his drive and ultimate concern for the livelihood of his stable of musicians. Then there’s the sensational Dreamgirl Beyonce (who also co-produced) as the inimitable Etta James. She not only sings up a storm with such James standards as “At Last,” she proves she can really act in a couple of rousing dramatic moments.

Direction: Writer/director Darnell Martin (I Like It Like That) manages to bring an energy and informed musicality to Cadillac Records that sets it apart from other movies in the shopworn musical biopic genre. By focusing on a group of artists, Martin manages to give each of her prodigious stars their own moment to shine. Wisely letting the cast do their own singing, Martin manages to get an extra air of authenticity and electricity. Ultimately, Cadillac Records is a stirring tribute to the artists who brought blues and rock into the mainstream, and even through personal tragedy and financial problems, manages to finally get their just rewards. This unheralded 2008 sleeper hit sneaking into theatres just before the holiday crunch is a gem.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.

Review: Frost/Nixon is brilliant, funny, complicated and fascinating. Who knew Ron Howard could make a compelling movie out of a 30 year-old TV interview?

Story: In the summer of 1977, disgraced former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) sat down with British TV talk show host and interviewer David Frost (Michael Sheen) for a series of interviews that Nixon hoped would resuscitate his Watergate-tarnished image, and Frost hoped would lift his own career to another level. While it made for good TV at the time, it certainly didn’t seem likely fodder for a hit Broadway play and now a major motion picture. Peter Morgan (The Queen) wrote the play and adapted it for the screen, turning it into a riveting cat-and-mouse game between these two made-for-television adversaries. Director Ron Howard emphasizes the behind the scenes machinations and all the negotiations between both camps. The off-camera material is priceless, based in large part on speculative research. Whatever the final truth of the story, the film gains its real power from its telling.

Acting: Ron Howard turns to the two original stage stars of Frost/Nixon – a wise casting decision that almost never happens in Hollywood. It’s true everyone, including Warren Beatty, reportedly wanted to play Nixon, but it’s hard to imagine anyone doing a better job than Langella in recreating his Tony-winning interpretation of the infamous Tricky Dick. He has all of Nixon’s mannerisms, vulnerabilities and caginess down pat. Sheen certainly captures the confident nature of Frost but also his insecurities and the realization that this whole enterprise is one big roll of the dice. And the two actors work in perfect concert with one another. Supporting roles are well played, including standouts Kevin Bacon as Nixon’s trusted Chief of Staff Jack Brennan and a hilarious Toby Jones aping the inimitable book agent Swifty Lazar. As key Frost aides and researchers, Oliver Platt and Sam Rockwell do a nice job, as kind of the Greek chorus to the situation.

Direction: On the surface, Ron Howard – better known for his large scale Hollywood productions like The Da Vinci Code and Apollo 13 – doesn’t seem the right fit for this smaller scale drama, but his approach transfers what could have been a flat Broadway screen into a highly cinematic and stimulating two hours. He captures the rhythms of this chess match perfectly and chooses camera angles that catch the sweat behind the cool facades of his two principals. Special mention should go to the beautiful nuanced work of his cinematographer Salvatore Totino. Howard is such a gifted filmmaker, he makes it all seem effortless, easily coaxing two equally superb performances from Langella and Sheen. Frost/Nixon is a first class achievement.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 4 stars.

Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still is a totally uninvolving, completely unnecessary remake – an idea that should have just stayed in the vault.

Story: While the original 1950s sci-fi cult classic pointed to the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war in a timely manner, this The Day the Earth Stood Still is just a rehash. Do we really need Keanu Reeves to tell us how we’ve messed up the planet? In any case, he plays Klaatu, an alien being inside a human body who comes to Earth in a giant sphere to “talk” to our world leaders about our destructive behavior. In fact, he’s the deciding factor on whether to destroy the human race in order to preserve Earth OR give us another chance. Of course, no one is going to let Klaatu speak to the U.N., which leaves the alien no other choice. Until, that is, he joins up with a pretty scientist (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson (Jaden Smith) and sees just exactly how warm and fuzzy humans can be. Oy. It might be too late, though, since Klaatu’s giant robot friend (“Gort” in the original) is already gearing up for his mission to kill and destroy.

Acting: At least casting Keanu Reeves was a smart move. Klaatu’s lack of emotion and few words is right up the actor’s alley; he makes it look soooo easy. Connelly, on the other hand, is making the same mistake she did when she starred in Hulk – playing a brilliant scientist of some kind who is inevitably wasted onscreen. Jaden Smith is kind of an impertinent little snot through most of the movie, who wants Klaatu dead but suddenly changes his mind just at the right moment. And then there’s Kathy Bates, as the Secretary of Defense, who stonewalls Klaatu’s request to meet the world leaders. She nearly ruins the whole thing!

Direction: It’s not that The Day the Earth Stood Still is a poorly made film. Director Scott Derrickson sets the right tone and aptly applies the state-of-the-art special effects when it’s needed – especially when the robot starts to work his particular destructive mojo by unleashing millions of tiny, mechanical bugs who eat through everything. The main problem with this remake is bad timing. The original was creepy and quiet and menacing with its alien takeover theme in a way moviegoers had never experienced in 1951; it hit a chord, which has carried it through its cult status. But to redo it now, when we’ve seen the same kind of movie done in so many better ways, doesn’t make any sense. In trying to keep to the original’s spirit, this Day comes off as derivative, unimaginative and tedious. Should have left it alone, folks.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 1 star.

Review: Doubt may make you question everything you already think you know – which is precisely the point.

Story: Writer/director John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) adapts his Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning play Doubt for the big screen, keeping all the themes that made the original work such a hit on stage. Set in 1964, the film version opens up much of the talky proceedings and sets the action in a wind-swept Brooklyn Catholic school where Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is trying to shake up the status quo and introduce a little more free thinking. These actions cause instant friction with the stern Sister Aloyious (Meryl Streep), who immediately butts heads with Flynn. Significant change already is taking place as the school has admitted its first black student, Donald Miller (Joseph Foster). When mild-mannered Sister James (Amy Adams) suggests that perhaps Father Flynn is spending too much personal time with Donald, it sets Sister Aloysius off on an ill-considered crusade to get rid of Flynn, triggering a battle of morals, will and, yes, doubt in the minds of both the characters and the audience.

Acting: Rather than casting some of his Tony-winning actors from the play, Shanley decided he wanted a blank slate, bringing in a new interpretation to the material. Obvious choice for the taciturn Sister Aloysius is Meryl Streep who, using a slight Brooklyn accent, convincingly tears into the role that won acclaimed actress Cherry Jones a Tony. Streep plays it broadly, and the onscreen fireworks between her and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Flynn are indeed spectacular. Acting just doesn’t get much better than this, particularly for Hoffman, who is amazing as the charismatic priest, walking the thin line between personal conviction and guilt. Adams doesn’t really get the big scenes but portrays Sister James’ hopeful innocence and naiveté with just the right amount of sugar – not too sweet, not too dark. Top honors in the cast go to Viola Davis as Donald Miller’s mother. Taking what is essentially a 10 minute role, Davis will tear your heart out as she desperately pleads with Streep to let Donald stay in school.

Direction: John Patrick Shanley clearly has a personal stake in this material and returns to directing for the first time since his ill-fated Joe vs. the Volcano in the early ’90s. He seems much more at home with this more intimate piece, casting it smartly and using the weather – including the use of a haunting rustling wind – as a key part of the background ambience. Doubt is exactly the kind of traditional Broadway adaptation Hollywood used to do so well, particularly in the ’50s and ’60s, and Shanley smartly doesn’t try to muck it up with any flashy filmmaking tricks. He lets his quartet of superior actors do most of the work, turning Doubt into one of the best stage adaptations in many, many years.

Bottom Line: Hollywood.com rated this film 3 1/2 stars.