One-liners

Catching up on some recent viewings:

NOTHING BUT A MAN (B+) - Tight drama from 1964, the height of the civil rights movement, offers up a powerful tale of a black man quietly raging against the system.

BELOVED (B-minus) - A sloppy quasi-musical that's not much more than a series of vignettes, though some of them are lovely and even emotionally powerful, but Chiara Mastroianni just can't carry this effort from Christophe Honore ("Ma Mere") that took me three sittings to get through. (It's 140 minutes long.) Paul Schneider ("George Washington," "Away We Go") sneaks up on you with a valiant effort to save it all.

2 DAYS IN NEW YORK (B) - I couldn't love it or hate it. Julie Delpy serves up a smart script, but where its predecessor, "2 Days in Paris," was sharp and fresh, this sequel is just a little too self-aware and a bit too Woody Allen. Chris Rock is fun, but her visiting French family gives him little to play off of.

30 BEATS (C) - What should be a steamy summer sex romp struggles to work up a sweat.

SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (B) - A classic farce apparently hasn't worn well and just didn't wow me with its verbal zip.

THE MAGIC OF BELLE ISLE (D) - Awful -- sappy and treacly -- in so many ways. Is this what I'm missing on the Hallmark Channel every night?

Speaking of one-liners, there's this, from "Beloved":

"Some people lord over your life. So why does it take so long to understand that freedom is the worst offense in love? Since Jaromil died I'm different. It's as if I've disappeared, too. The person I was with him disappeared. I'm a stranger to myself. ... Being in need is no fun. ..."