Factotum 8/10 stars Matt Dillon as the eponymous man of many jobs. He's a slacker of a type we don't see very often: thoughtful, weary, slow-moving, deep-thinking. He'll eventually be distinguished, assuming he lives long enough. He goes around getting menial job after menial job, often getting fired on the very same day that he was hired. It's funny and touching and entirely true to the spirit of the book it was based on, by Charles Bukowski.

Stay 7/10 is an ambitious and odd mystery/thriller starring Ewan McGregor and (yes!) Ryan Gosling. It's twisty-turny and intriguing, playing with and unsettling previously rock-solid notions of identity and cognitive reality, at its best reminiscent of a waking ketamine nightmare, but doesn't end up making a lot of sense. McGregor as an American never genuinely convinces (though his yellow trousers are excellent) whereas Gosling is excellent at the kind of character he plays here - menacing, enigmatic, dynamic - relentlessly pacing the line between charismatic and insane.

Breakfast at Tiffany's 5/10 - everyone knows what this is. I didn't like it at all and I can see why people took offense at Mr Yunioshi. Holly reminded me of Phoebe out of friends, and is almost as irritating. And who the fuck cast George "Stiffboard" Peppard? We're supposed to believe that he's a writer - a Bohemian writer!? The least crazy "crazy" party (yeah why not leave ALL the lights on?) in the hisory of filmland is thrown. Nobody has realized it's the sixties now. Bloody hell. I always thought Tiffany's was a diner or something. Turns out it's a massive Jewellery store. They don't even have breakfast there. Wait, how could they? It makes no sense. Maybe it's a metaphor.

Poltergeist 9/10 is more like it! At least there's some special effects and stunts in this one. It's said in the dialogue that the mother, Diane, is 31 and the daughter, Dana, is sixteen. How does that work? She started a family when she was fifteen? If she's a stepdaughter that's never mentioned. Anyway Dana's already at it, teasing the builders and knowing about the Holiday Inn (expert misdirection by Dana saves her from what could have been a nasty lecture on promiscuity and/or contraception). The dog's name is E-Buzz! What?! Whose idea was that!? There's lots of glib humour in this that I really like and, though it doesn't have the stark raw horror of The Exorcist or the grandiosity of The Omen, Poltergeist holds its own through that familiar Spielbergian domesticity and an abundance of giddy shocks and scares.

The Missouri Breaks 7/10 even though it was only slightly above average, reminded me how good Westerns can be and how much I like watching even mediocre ones. This one would be that were it not for it's two showboating stars (Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando - two very non-Western actors). Nicholson leads a gang of horse poachers and Brando is the 'regulator' hired to stop them. Nicholson plans and schemes, and slides into a prickly relationship with the rancher's daughter, Brando does grunting and mumbling instead of acting and Little Todd (poor Randy Quaid, always the tragic figure!) - gets drowned in a river.

Open Range 8/10 is another Western along more classic lines but also set in Montana: Kevin Costner (also directing) and Robert Duvall are proper cowboys: honest freegrazers who make the mistake of grazing their cows on grass that's too near to Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). The climactic gunfight is one of the biggest and best in Western (maybe even cinema!) history.

The Quiet American 8/10 is a very good adaptation of a Graham Greene novel starring Michael Caine and (ahem!) Brendan Fraser. It's set in French Indo-China/Vietnam in nineteen fifty something and there's a lot of war, reporting, espionage, old-fashioned politeness and simmering love rivalry going on.

Toy Story 8/10 was always one of my least-liked Pixar films. Andy the kid is a horrid little wretch. I want to throw ALL his toys into the sea then watch him cry. Sid the "bad" child has much more going for him. Woody is a reactionary and a coward and not very likeable or identifiable. I suppose it doesn't help that I don't like Tom Hanks or children at all. The humans look fucked up in this film. And the dog runs funny. The finale is pretty good. I saw a home-made clip on Youtube once that bleeped the "falling" out of Buzz saying "This isn't flying, this is falling with style" and omitted "with style", so it was like, "This isn't flying, this is f*cking!"

Shooting Dogs 9/10 tells the story of the 1994 Rwandan genocide from the point of view of an old missionary priest (John Hurt) and a young English teacher (Hugh Dancy), who are both British. Anyone who still thinks that humanity isn't doomed should see this film, Hotel Rwanda or either of the Shake Hands with the Devil adaptations.

The Girlfriend Experience 6/10. This film doesn't have a proper plot. It's "about" very rich people who pay a top-end escort for company and sex. It turns out that such people are all deeply unpleasant after all (QUELLE SURPRISE). She tries to have a "proper" (i.e. not paid for) relationship with a guy who's even more of a dickhead than her clients. Ho-hum!

Tenebrae 5/10: "One is made all the more aware of the director's [Dario Argento] inability to match visual flair with anything worth watching" (Philip Strick, MFB)

Dressed to Kill 6/10 is an unremarkable end to a sometimes great series: Universal's updated Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. It's a feeble story about printing plates being stolen from the Bank of England... and that's all I can remember about it.

Kick Ass 8/10: A super violent super hero film where an average socially awkward high school student with no fighting abilities decides to become a super hero known as Kick Ass. His first attempts to fight crime end with negative results, but he encounters a father daughter super hero duo known as Big Daddy and Hit Girl, who have super ninja assassin skills and are not afraid to use it.

Kick Ass - 8/10. Lots of funny scenes from the beginning to end. What stands out though, is the ass kicking foul mouth little girl.

How to Train Your Dragon - 8/10. I would've given this a 9/10 but the I don't like how whiny and wimpy Hiccup/Jay Baruchel sounds. Even though I didn't see his face, I can still picture him as he was in She's Out of My League. I would've preferred seeing/hearing Michael Cera. The voice acting wasn't that impressive overall for me, with the exception of Gerard Butler. But I did enjoy the storyline, comedy, scenes and 3D. Lots of good stuff in here. I don't get why they all sound Scottish though.

The last two movies i watched???

Bill & Ted!!!

I watched these two adventures for the first time.
The first one,
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was great.
Made me laugh out loud watching what the historical figures get up to.
The second one,
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey wasn't AS good.
But it was still kinda fun.
I liked the bit where they challange the Grim Reaper.

Avatar - 9.9 - 10. Just finished it and have to say one of the best I've ever seen. Such a beautiful film and how cool would it be to visit that planet (if it were real). Overall great great movie watch it if you have not.

Surrogates 6 - 10. Pick it up from Redbox worth the dollar but bout it.

Blind Side 8 - 10. Very touching movie well worth watching.

Kick Ass: Nicolas Cage being tolerable? The little sister from (500) Days of Summer kicking serious ass? McLovin' as a supervillian? This movie has it all and then some extra on the side. The advertisements DO NOT do this movie justice. I've heard the red band trailer is better, but I didn't catch that one. Very much worth a watch if you're into highly stylized, ultra-violent movies. 9/10

The Losers: This movie was basically like watching the A Team before the A Team movie came out. It was still cool and had some fun moments, but don't go expecting anything too amazing. The scene with Bradley Cooper going into the corporation while listening to Journey is brilliant. 7.5/10

That's exactly my thought about him. Spoiler: He didn't have to die though. Can't wait for the sequel.

Iron Man: 10/10. Better than any Marvel sequel to date, but I still dont see why Terence Howard had to make way for Don Cheadle.

District 9 - two out of five stars

I really did not like District 9. I love science fiction movies that make you think. I seek out movies that help you see real life from a new perspective. I usually like brutal action movies. And I really tried to like District 9.

About the only things it had going for it were a few humorous moments and a single decent action scene.

District 9 completely failed to present a single likable character. The acting was atrocious. There were no surprises or suspense; seriously, there could not possibly be a spoiler for this movie because it is so obvious. Most of the cinematography was wretched; as much as I have liked this style in other movies I hope noone ever does it this badly again. The dialogue was dull and poorly delivered. And somehow the violence managed to be both gross and boring at the same time except in one short scene.

Second opinion from my wife ... zero out of five stars.

In summary, District 9 might be a decent way to pass some time if you have nothing else to do.

Tooth Fairy--- 7 out of 10

better than expected, worth watching if for nothing else Billy Crystals role as the fairy Armourer and Julie Andrews as the head fairy godmother is a crack up, make sure you watch the credits.........

Well, speaking of movies that make you think... I just saw Avatar and if there ever was a movie that hit you over the head with it's themes and morality lessons... not to mention flagrant display of techno-bling, Avatar is it. I mean, it's all good and pc cheerleading, but it screams Cameron from beginning to end and the story is tired as can be.

How to Train Your Dragon (3D) - 9/10. While somewhat predictable, the story was pretty much everything you want in a computer animated children's film. The characters were well-conceived, and the humor was very modern and relatable. Also, there were dragons. Lots of different types. It made it fun. I did find the visuals to be a bit here and there at times, though.

Baraka - 9.5/10

Great movie. Kind of made me wonder what the point of it all is at times though. Stunning picture quality! Watch this on Blu Ray

Kill Bill - 7/10

Decent movie to turn your mind off to, but why on earth does anyone find Uma attractive?

Ferngully - 8/10

Yay cartoon avatar! This was a childhood favourite and I had to watch it again.

Dawn of the Dead(2004) - 8/10

Love this movie! Great zombie flick. The scene where the girl gets the chainsaw through her shoulder still makes me absolutely cringe.

Before the Fall – 10/10

Whatever you must do to see this movie, do it. This is the most incredible movie I have seen in a very long time. It is a 2008 movie with the original title of Tres Dias, and has been renamed Before the Fall for American audiences. It is a Spanish movie set in a small village in Chile, and the version we saw has English subtitles.

There is not any way possible for me to convey the breathtaking suspense of this movie. I imagine that if Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock could see this movie together, they’d probably both look at each other and say, “Holy shit, this is one suspenseful motherfucker of a movie!”

The incredible premise of the movie explains all you need to know: the world learns that a meteor near Earth has broken into several planet-busting pieces, and all of humanity only has three days left to live before impact and the total annihilation of all life. During the ensuing global chaos, a prison breaks down near a small Chilean village, and a horrible serial child-killer escapes and makes his way back to the village that caught him and ended his spree several years earlier. And he wants brutal revenge on the family of the boy that turned him in. The family knows he’s coming, and the adults try to prepare to defend their isolated home out in the sprawling countryside while making the decision to NOT tell the children that the world is ending and that a madman is on his way.

The unbelievable dichotomies in this movie are so juicy that you won’t be able to turn away. On one hand, there’s all the drama associated with the impending apocalypse, and all the tragedies associated with a total breakdown of society while this poor family is trying to hide and disguise everything going on around them from their children. The kids clearly notice all the goofy lights in the sky, the odd pillars of smoke rising from the nearby village, and the fact that TV and radio reception is fucked up, but the adults somehow maintain the illusion that everything is perfectly normal. And then on the other hand, there’s the weird situation of people fighting a killer with tooth, nail, and claw for their very lives while knowing that they’re all expected to die anyway within three days.

It’s just a mind-blowing, intensely powerful movie experience.

I enjoyed the hell out of District 9. I loved the fact that the main character was pretty much spineless scum through most of it. It was fun watching his back bone grow for me. And well, the Pig Of Death will forever stand out in my memory as a great improve fighting move.

Sherlock Holmes - 6.5/10
Entertaining, but below the threshold of what I would consider worthy of $12. Good thing I saw it on a plane for free. Though the excessive extrapolation of tiny clues was amusing, I found this to be just another Hollywood Star Vehicle. Amateur CG animation.

Big Fish - 9/10
Tim Burton's best film besides Nightmare Before Christmas. Full of imagination and great storytelling. Maybe it struck a nerve with me, as I constantly think about becoming a father, but I was totally into everything this film had to say.

Dear Kick-Ass,

I want my money back. You sucked. I love violent movies, I thrive on them, and I love good comic-based movies. This ranked worse than Daredevil. The main actors were so annoying that I left to go pee. Four times. On purpose. Twice I didn't even have to go, I was just irritated. Pre-pubescent girls spouting foul-language and shooting men in the heads from atop their shoulders could have been awesome. However, your movie sucked. So it wasn't awesome. I don't want to give you any stars. Just on principle because I think Kick-Ass was that stupid. it's like the producers of Glee, Elektra, and National Treasure joined forces with the crew of Idiocracy.

Adios,
Noodle

Sherlock Holmes. The new one with Robert Downey Jr.
Boy was this a total bore and a huge letdown. The plot developed too slowly & needed edited better and I would rate it a 3/10. It was a Guy Ritchie Film BTW.

(Glad it was almost free from good old Netflix).

Blind Side. Loved it way more than I expected. Hard to believe it's a true story, it was so touching and nicely portrayed. Gotta say I'd give it an 8 outta 10. Interesting view of wealthy white southerners, and Sandra Bullock was wonderful. The actor who played her young son in it was a hoot!

Rachel Getting Married. Harrowing and gritty movie about a young woman who leaves rehab to attend her sister's wedding. Her background story is delivered in little snippets that flow naturally. I like that. Exposition in a film is always a tough maneuver. Anne Hathaway is very good in the role of the young woman. At turns she elicits great sympathy but also anger as real addicts do.

The rest of the cast is mostly unknown to me, but they are wonderful in their supporting roles. I'll rat it 8/10.

Mystic River 8/10 is a solid crime/mystery drama full of top actors doing very good work. Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney all do unspectacular but rock-solid acting leaving the histrionics and granstanding to Tim Robbins and Sean Penn, who won best lead and best supporting Oscars respectively. The story's compelling if somewhat contrived; thankfully director Clint Eastwood managed to steer clear of the trite sentimentality he's often prone to indulging in.

The Beyond 4/10 - video nasty #11. I'm slowly coming to realise that most of the video nasties, especially the Italian ones, are pieces of shit. The Beyond is fairly standard Lovecraft-inspired zombie horror from Lucio Fulci who had previously made the best zombie film so far, another nasty called Zombie Flesheaters (in which you see a zombie fight a shark - for real. Not a real zombie but an actual real-life, alive shark) so I had reasonable hopes for this film. They were dashed within minutes: it's extremely tedious and the effects are utterly appalling. You haven't ever seen tarantulas eat a man's face so badly as here.

Inside 8/10 would have definately been a nasty if the BBFC hadn't lightened up. It's a French horror from 2007 in which a deranged woman tries to steal a pregnant woman's almost-born baby right out of her stomach. This isn't for the feint-hearted. The blood-letting on display here is copious, very convincing and shown in great, lingering, close-up detail. People die more horribly in this film than anything else I can immediately bring to mind, though the tone is slightly lighter than something like Hostel and the context isn't as wretched so (for me as least) it wasn't QUITE as hard to watch.

Blood Feast 3/10 is video nasty #12, made in 1963 apparently on a budget of less than twenty five thousand dollars. I can believe that. It's more of a joke than a proper film, even if it supposedly was the first ever splatter (not slasher) film. Look to Night of the Living Dead for how to make a good, frightening horror film (and kickstart a genre for that matter), not this awful, crass waste of time.

Back to the Future Part III 10/10 does absolutely EVERYTHING exactly right. If BTTFPII was as good as this and the first, this would be the best film trilogy going; as it is it comes a close second to the Godfather trilogy. As ever there's huge lapses of reason and logic and, I guess, time travel but if you care about all that perhaps you should watch Primer instead.

Toy Story 2 8/10 is a lot of fun - more so than the first probably, since the little bastard Andy isn't in it as much. New character Jessie is almost as irritating as Woody but Woody himself doesn't seem as bad away from all the other (better) toys who are, in this sequel, trying to rescue him. Their adventures on the street, in Al's Toy Barn and so on are easily the best thing about this film. I'm looking forward to Toy Story 3 but I can't think how it's going to end, unless lots of time passes and Andy (the college-age Andy seems much more tolerable) ages and ends up passing all the toys onto his grandkids. That's the only feasible "out" I can envisage for the franchise but somehow it doesn't seem likely.

Bay of Blood 4/10: nasty #13. Italian. Was supposed to be an important influence to the slasher (not splatter) genre, particularly Friday the 13th. The resemblance is duly noted, as is the fact that both films feel like the opposite of entertainment (which is a CHORE or even a PUNISHMENT) to a modern audience.

Anywhere But Here 6/10 seemed like it was going to be a female equivalent to This Boy's Life at first but it was not to be. It's similar to that brilliant film only in that it's a coming of age story in which a mother and child make a road trip across America. In This Boy's Life it was Ellen Barkin and Leonardo DiCaprio who ended up in Concrete, Washington; in Anywhere But Here it's Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman ending up in Los Angeles. It's a film clearly aimed at simple-minded and easily pleased females; anyone else won't get much out of this at all.

Mutant 3/10 is another shitty horror film that wasn't even a nasty. Two brothers on a road trip get lost and waylaid by rednecks and then... I guess a monster kills some people, probably. NEXT!

How to Train Your Dragon 9/10 - whoever said this is for adults as well as children is bang right. It's exhilerating as well as endearing, and never patronising. No surprise that the guys responsible also did the most surprisingly good Disney animation of recent years, Lilo & Stitch, and you can see the same distinct stylings in the design of the slick black Night Fury dragon. This is the best of the non-Pixar CG animations by a long way.

Naked Lunch ?/10 is one of those WTF (What The Fuck) films. The main guy is Robocop before he got killed doing some bewildered, very reserved and quiet yet effective acting. Amity Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) cameos as an urbane drug dealer of crazy pretend drugs made out of massive insects. It's the 1950s and somehow, for some reason, the setting shifts to Morocco. Ian Holm shows up and somehow, for some reason talks different words to those that his mouth is saying. Typewriters attack and kill other typewriters. Everything is very sombre and serious and everyone acts like they're in a dour film noir. After about 40 minutes it became absolutely impenetrable. I wish I could have got into it better than I did; I'm really glad that there are films like this and minds capable of making them, and I only wish I could understand and enjoy them more than I'm currently able to.

Why Did I Get Married: 8.5/10 - I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. Nice story, even if it was a little predictable in a spots, but, for the most part, there were very good plots twists.

Avatar 6/10

It's a decent movie. The story's old and tired, but, at least, it was a story that, no matter how many times you see it, you can still get into. Visually, though, it was a pretty rad flick.

Sherlock Holmes 9/10

I understand what some people are saying about the cliches present in this movie, but, honestly, I kind of expected that out of a Sherlock Holmes movie. I really enjoyed this rendition of Sherlock Holmes. The scenes between him and Watson, alone, makes this a very watchable movie, in my opinion. I found their interactions to be very believable, intelligent, and witty. One of my favorite movies I've seen in a long time.

Kick-Ass 3/10

Refer to noodle's post above. I feel pretty much the same way about this movie.

Moon ??/10

I just finished watching this about 20 minutes ago and I'm not sure how I feel about it, yet...

I mean, I feel like I just watched a really good movie. The story was highly intriguing, the acting was superb, the graphics were incredible, and overall it seemed to have everything a really good movie should have. The problem is that I'm left wondering a lot of things. Spoiler: Why were they using clones instead of robots? They clearly have the technology to have robots do that job if they can create the likes of GERTY. More importantly, if they're going to use clones, why give them false memories and make them believe they had led a life that they didn't? That really doesn't make sense to me.What did Sam do once he got to Earth? I kind of want some closure...

Perhaps the viewer is meant to be left wondering these things. Perhaps that's the point of the movie and I missed it somewhere along the line. I really think I'll have to watch this movie again before I can make a call here...

To Punk of ages, re Moon: Spoiler: I don't agree with your reasoning that if they could make Gerty, they could make a robot cabable of doing Sam's job. Gerty's a clunky old-fashioned robot and it was Sam's job to do tricky intricate stuff only a person could - my interpretation was that it's set in a future where cloning technology has taken off and been perfected but robotics is still pretty primitive, hence Gerty and those semi-autonomous trucks that gather all the moon stuff outside.

Centurion 8/10 is like if the first battle in Gladiator had been extended to fill up the whole film. A film of proper Roman brutality and bloodshed. It's a few years AD and Roman forces are trying to push north through Britain to occupy the whole island. Opposing them are the Picts, who use guerilla warefare and sneak tactics agains the Romans' superior technology. It's really good to see a rock-hard Roman general get drunk, lead a massive barroom brawl, then get back to soldiering the next day - all the while bantering with his men and doing proper modern swearing.

Bicentennial Man 8/10, A.I. Artificial Intelligence 8/10...
I still can't choose between these two. After ten years, give or take, A.I. seems somehow more credible but also more distant, vague, abstract and more whimsical and dreamlike. Bicentennial Man is warmer, more tangible, funnier (if you can take Robin Williams), a lot more coherent and watchable and eventually more humane. You can see Bicentennial's ending a mile off (well, a half hour off) but that doesn't stop it being very effective, affecting and satisfying - on a narrative and emotional level if nothing else. A.I.'s ending is weird and daring and for those reasons should be applauded but I don't think I'm alone finding it difficult to properly engage with. The film's initial concept is Stanley Kubrick's but the movie's execution is recognizably Spielberg, up until the ending which seems like more Kubrick than anything he really did do when he was living. Re acting, David (Haley Joel Osment) does the only acting I really like in this film. Everyone else takes a back seat to the boy robot which I suppose was the intention, and necessary. Similarly Williams is the main draw for Bincentennial, and he makes a fine robot; but the real unexpected treat of this film and its moral anchor is assured, mild-mannered man of the world Sam Neill as the family's patriarch.

Freeway 8/10 wasn't quite as spectacular as I had remembered and the ride is bumpier but young Reese Witherspoon still gives an unblinkable performance as a disadvantaged teenager who refuses to become a victim of Kiefer Sutherland's psychotic but ostensibly respectable killer. Things get very out of hand very quickly - but remain a lot of fun - as the film turns into an all too literal metaphor for Little Red Riding Hood.

Q: The Winged Serpent 8/10 is a low-budget monster movie from 1982 inspired by earlier Japanese monster films and inspiring in turn the 1998 Godzilla remake. The film features the best helicpoter shots of Manhattan I've ever seen, bar none, as the camera emulates the POV of the flying beast. All the street-level scenes look totally authentic to the location and, knowing writer-director-producer Larry Cohen's reputation, were probably shot unofficially, on the fly, with no permission and with real crowds instead of extras. The scope and scale of the story is WAY out of proportion to its $1.2m budget but it works brilliantly by keeping up a quick pace throughout and efficient use of its monster.

Iron Man 2 - 9/10
A really, really fun flick. Robert Downey Jr. delivered more of his likable-asshole performance. But in this one, he's shown to be much more vulnerable than he is in the first movie. Lots of other fun stuff that I won't spoil for y'all. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Period.

"Trucker"
 

I loved the dynamics of the relationship but the ending left me wantin some solution.

I love these movie threads because I usually watch a new DVD every night at bed time.

The last good movie I saw was The Lovely Bones and that movie, in my opinion is 10/10.
I often judge the quality of a movie by how many times it makes me teary-eyed.

Now I'm glad I never went to see it in the theaters because I wept through the entire movie.

Legion -- 2/10

As someone who really digs the whole Archangel/Apocalypse/Badassfest, I found this movie utterly boring, and felt it really took itself far too seriously. Anyone else feel differently? Maybe there's something I missed!

---------- Post added at 02:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

Shutter Island -- 8.5/10

I really dug this movie. Visually, cinematically, really cool. Visceral, but sometimes kind of over the top . . . I loved the "flashback" scenes. I don't know if it's my love of the book that may have helped up the ol' score.

shutter island 8-10
the lovely bones 9-10 ,awesome
edge of darkness 8-10

Iron Man 2
3 1/2 out of 5.

Not as good but not bad at all. It really served more as a true prequel to the Avengers than the first Iron Man.

Also comic fans - stick around after the credits.
Non-comic fans - ask your comic fan friends Spoiler: why a hammer in the desert was worth sticking around after the credits for.

I was geeking out huge, my GF was like "I don't get it".

I watched Ondine with Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda, on pay per view before it opens in theaters.
It's everything I look for in a movie 10/10.
Absolutely beautiful.

Get Him to the Greek 6/10

I laughed a lot, but in the end I was laughing at the same damn things I was laughing at in every other Jud Apatow movie, just set to a different (not great) story...

It's fine if you'd like to see another movie that will make you laugh your ass off at cock joke after cock joke, but don't expect much more.

to Honesty: did you watch pay per view Ondine online or via your TV? If online, can you give some details? Thanks.

The Mist 9/10 is an excellent modern horror with plenty of monsters, gore, scares, suspense and above-average acting. The story, which is both not what it seems and refreshingly simple and gimmick-free, comes from Stephen King and the film's directed by Frank Darabont who had previously seen success with the 1994 adaptation of King's story The Shawshank Redemption.

A River Runs Through It 6/10 is a pretty tedious early 90s family saga from Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt. In that respect it's a little like Legends of the Fall, except no Anthony Hopkins doing big stroke acting, no Elliott from E.T. and no WWI sequence in which Pitt goes feral and manually kills a lot of enemies. Not much fun at all, in fact, and doesn't feel as epic as it should: even the funnest part of this film, which is the two brothers racing down rapids on a little boat, isn't a lot of fun.

Blindness 7/10 poses the question: what if everyone went blind for no reason? Then acts out the awful consequences in squeamish detail and total solemnity. Unluckily for us but perhaps luckily for everyone in the film, the ragtag band of blindies that the story is about features two of Hollywood's most prosaic and dullest actors, Mark Ruffalo and Julianne Moore. What a couple they make! Anything that comes out of either of their mouths sounds like the start of a lecture, and it often turns out to be just that, most often shittily moderated to make it sound like a suggestion instead. Mark Ruffalo's type, particularly in Blindness but elsewhere too, is the educated middle-class guy who definitely does think he's better than everyone else, despite huffy and dismissive protestations to the contrary. Snooty and and snide and sneering and so SMUG, always ready to stifle a laugh or a derisive smirk at all the stupid, little, ridiculous shitheels that surround him all day every day and don't use throwaway words like "etymologically" over breakfast (as he does in Blindness). Neither Ruffalo or his wife are capable of genuine humility or humour which could account for why this film's so dour why you're likely to side with the baddies for a while, and why the last quarter of the film feels so detached and unreal. The fact that this pair are probably more like what people might really be like in a situation like this as opposed to what characters are like in movies makes the film a gruelling experience but an unusually credible-feeling, Danny Glover and his little radio notwithstanding.

Four Christmases 6/10. Because of BS but necessary high-concept plot contrivances a young urban couple, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, have to visit both of their fathers and mothers, all of whom live apart, on Christmas Day, when they (the couple) would prefer to be on holiday in Fiji, like they have been for the last three years. The fathers are Robert Duvall and Jon Voight and the mothers are Sissy Spacek and someone else. Slightly funny comedy, including slapstick, happens at each house. In between, the couple falls out over what they want from each other and the future. By the end, after Reese has been handling HUNDREDS of different infants throughout, and is exposed to A WHOLE CASTLE of them at one point, you can guess what happens. A one-idea seasonal comedy like this will rarely score very high and this isn't an exception (Bad Santa is all I can think of that is), but it isn't TOO bad - it's not Deck The Halls. Questions: Why does Reese look so haggard in this film? Watching her wasn't as pleasant as I expected. Why wasn't any comedy made about the ridiculous height difference between her and Vince except on the poster? Why did Jon Voight bother, for the sake of a couple of lines? Is he afraid we'll forget about him if he doesn't regularly pop up and pretend to try to act like he did in the old days? (We won't forget about you Jon!)

The Emperor's New Groove 9/10 is almost my favourite Disney animation even though I just saw it for the first time. If I enjoy it as much when I watch it again it's getting 10. It's the lightest and fastest-paced one I can remember with a simplified, stylized and somewhat abstracted geography consisting of just three elements (palace - village - jungle/river) in which all the action takes place. Much of the story is about getting from one place to another, characters' dialog and their motivations are concerned with places other than those they are in and this sort of setup makes for an addictively compelling yet easy-to-follow narrative. A young child could see this and get a lot of enjoyment out of it. The opposite of this can be seen in other fairly recent Disney features such as Atlantis: The Lost World, Treasure Planet and of course all three Pirates of the Caribbean films (all seven and three-quarter HOURS of it), in which there's an overblown quest with lots of locations and characters - all of whom have individual allegiances and motivations - which the audience is expected to remember, and care about. Nobody cares about that. They just want to see Johnny Depp saying funny stuff, Keira Knightley looking nice and Orlando Bloom being a dick. As POTC shows step by step how to do it WRONG, The Emperor's New Groove should serve as a touchstone for original Disney stories - animated or otherwise - of how to do it RIGHT.

I watched it on my TV, comcast.
It cost me $9.99 but was totally worth it.





I liked The Mist too, but I'd give it 7/10.
A River Runs Through It, same 7/10. I love that sort of dry adult drama.

Exit Through The Gift Shop 10/10

I couldn't write a review that'd come to close to giving this movie/documentary the credit it deserves. Avoiding the insane amount of reviews and hype that come along without any Banksy project is no feat but I faired well enough to enter the theater with any expectations or clues as to what the film was about. Yeah, it's a documentary by Banksy about the birth of street art but essentially it's the life story of a guy that took it upon himself to capture all of this culture from it's inception onward. It's hilarious, insightful and generally enjoyable. If you've ever felt anything about art then go see it.

Climate of Change 7/10

Nice and poignant but too much like every other climate change movie I've seen. Learned a bit about strip mining but I'd have been bummed out had I paid to see it.

William Vinent 5/10

I'm sure James Franco did the best he could with such material but he was so mechanical, the film was shot so annoyingly with such little depth of field and the overall story delivered nothing. It was interesting enough but I wouldn't see it again.

Metropia 7/10

While the movie is worth seeing for the visuals alone, the story was critically flawed and failed to deliver. I found it no surprise that the director spoke to no end about the animation process but hardly at all about the writing process. Juliette Lewis is just as beautiful in person as ever but hardly so in the film.

Sex, Drugs & Rock & Roll 7/10

Hilariously funny and entertaining throughout. Very well played.

My Own Love Song 9/10

Before this movie I'd have bet my life savings that there'd never be a Renee Zellweger movie I'd ever enjoy or want to watch more than once but she along with Forest Whitaker, Madeline Zima and Nick Fucking Notle delivered incredible performances. Add a soundtrack chocked full of new Bob Dylan tracks and it's a no-brainer.

A Brand New Life 10/10

Easily some of the greatest child acting I've ever seen. This movie stands entirely on the brilliance of the performances and it's really quite incredible. So much about life, love and loss is communicated through these young actors.

Dream Home 8/10

I don't like horror movies but the incredibly artful murders were quite brilliant. I've never laughed so hard or seen a mid-coitus couple murdered as artfully as when an erect penis is severed via sword and continues ejaculating while the resulting bloodspray lands across her back like a money shot...

...

Thanks!
I just watched the trailer, it looks awesome.


I saw Innocence (2004) 10/10
Maybe one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen.
The commentary by the filmmaker is wonderful as well, she's an amazing person, Lucile Hadzihalilovic.

Fist of Legend (Jet Li) - 7.5/10

Great fight scenes in this one!

District B13: Ultimatum - 9/10

So the story is pretty weak, and the dialogue even weaker. But hot damn there is some serious martial arts and insane displays of agility in this movie. The two guys in this just blow my mind. I rewound several parts of this and watched them over and over.

Robin Hood - 4/10

NOT what I expected. Detracted from popular legend that made Robin Hood cool. Really, really slow pacing and a bunch of other stuff that I won't bother get into. The only thing they got right was King John was still a major douche. But I hear this film is the first of a series, in which case, it would make a lot of sense.

I give it 8/10.

I liked the reimagination. I always found the "popular legend" of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men too heavily romanticized - I feel the same about many Victorian-era movies.

I also didn't find it slow - the exposition was well timed, and well executed. Sorry, but comparing it to movies like Clash of the Titans, which skipped character development and plot exposition entirely, just to give you a 90min formula action flick, to be a complete waste of time. I reckon Scott timed it this perfectly at 140mins.

And John is not the only thing they got right. Excellent acting throughout, a great "new" villian in Godfrey (Mark Strong ftw), some great vistas, and nice taut battle scenes made this a good movie for me.

I watched The New Daughter 6/10.
Not a terrible movie but it's geared toward teen girls of divorced parents.
I found it boring.


Also saw Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal. 10/10
A documentary narrated by young Dakota Fanning. Very informative & beautiful.

I watched a new DVD called Surviving Crooked Lake (2008) 5/10
Story of 4 teen girls that go off into the wilderness and get lost.

It was quite boring.
Geared toward kids who like survival shows. Not my cup of tea.

Shrek 4 - 3/10

A tired, embarrassing rehash of everything that at one point made the Shrek series enjoyable. The funny moments are completely overwhelmed by awkward references to the other movies and sad attempts to recapture the mix of child-friendly fun and wry adult humor that made the first movie so enjoyable. Unless you absolutely HAVE to see the rest of the series, just wait until it shows up on netflix, so at least you effectively get it for free.

Shrek always was a dislikable grumpy green sad bastard and all his films are garbage. Why would anyone, let alone kids, like him? I think everyone watches Shrek just to see Donkey being stupid and funny, and they wish Shrek would fuck off forever.

The Wicker Man - 2006 version - 5/10 isn't a complete failure as some have suggested. There seems to be a contingent of the otherwise film-savvy public that seizes any opportunity to slate Nicolas Cage. It's almost as if people don't think that, after more than 20 years as a leading man, he's yet proved himself a credible talent on his own merits as opposed to his useful Hollywood family connections that surely helped him to start off with but that are now academic. Time and time again, throughout the 90s and beyond, he has succcessfully carried pictures large and small, usual and unusual. He's undeniably a star - one who's not afraid to push himself and take risks; that's why he gets the benefit of the doubt re: dodgy stuff like this Wicker Man remake. The film is not good. Some parts are unintentionally hilarious when they should be frightening and some bits are downright shit. Things like that are only apparent when the film's in the can and it's too late; and it's clear that Cage thinks he's doing, and is really trying to do good strong work here. He's hung out to dry by a silly script and a misguided approach to the whole thing. Even though this is a remake of a horror classic, there were ways to make it less mad than this: Cage and the movie have been accidentally sabotaged by a very poorly thought-out narrative full of ridiculous incident handled with such po-faced gravity that it's mostly a fun ride and the hundred minutes go by faster than you expect.

The Incredible Melting Man 4/10. I've decided not to watch any more nasties, or old and probably shit horror films until I'm next a) unemployed or b) imprisoned. Life is too short to waste time on this nonsense if seven or eight hours of the day are already taken up by real-life, mandatory nonsense (work). The Incredible Melting Man is about an astronaut who is exposed to the rays of Saturn's rings during a normal space flight somewhere (or something). Upon returning to earth he starts to melt. He also has got super-strength powers. For more than an hour he blunders about damaging and killing people pretty much by accident, and roaring. The fact that he melts seems completely unrelated to the fact that he's a murderer. The victims don't melt or turn into anything - they just die. When the man's not about (which is for a LOT of the time) the film turns to broad, bad, old-fashioned comedy to fill the down time. Some kids practice smoking then play hide and seek. A leering pervert-photographer tries to grope his nubile model. Old couple Harold and Helen try to steal lemons at night. The end is an anticlimax, even though more deaths happen, which tries to rip off Night of the Living Dead and reminded me of the location for the splendid climax to White Heat ("Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"). The very, VERY end however, which has the Incedible Melting Man scooped up and dumped in a bin by an unwitting janitor, who just thinks he's mess on the pavement, did bring a wan smile to my face - but that was partly because I knew the film was ending.

Appaloosa 8/10 is a good-looking, and good generally, western with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen - who are partners in this despite what the poster implies, with them facing off as if they're about to do a duel. Their enemy is Jeremy Irons and the bit of tail that's highly likely to get in the way, cause some friction or be kidnapped is Renee Zellweger - whose unattractiveness fits the period perfectly, because almost all Wild West women in real life were mangy dogs like her. This is a western with all the elements that make the genre great - a nasty rancher, rock-hard lawmen, endless expendable baddies, a train, hostiles, a Wild West touring judge, gun battles, saloon standoffs and loads more. When things could scarcely get any better they do, when Lance Henriksen shows up half way through! Has Ed Harris done westerns before? I can't think of one but he acts like he's been doing them his whole life- and he co-wrote and directed this too! Mortensen is fine as always, and frequently amusing, as the mild-mannered sidekick, but his unconvincing facial hair can be distracting.

The Cat Returns 7/10 is a charming and slightly infantile, and very fantastical, Studio Ghibli animation in which a girl, Haru (Anne Hathaway), gets involved with some cats and has some adventures in their land. The cats' political situation is not straighforward: there are cats both inside and outside of the "Kingdom of Cats". Before long the Kingdom cats try to take Haru Kingdom-side via the cat equivalent of extraordinary rendition because, apparently, the Cat Prince wants to marry her. But what's this? The Cat Prince is actually away (at war I think) and his father the at-first cool Cat King (voiced by Tim Curry) tries to cause trouble in ways I've forgot now. Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle and a camp Elliott Gould provide supporting voices in the English dub.

Martyrs 8/10 is a French horror from 2008 and it's a very VERY tough watch. I had thought that Inside was pushing things like this about as far as they were ever likely to go; Martyrs moves the goalposts sufficiently that the former now seems like a bit of harmless throwaway fun. As a genre generally horror seems synonymous with fun and a lack of solemnity is often expected. Scary but unreal thrills, black humour, heightened and/or unreal situations and characters, and comic relief are staples. Martyrs chucks all that in the bin and manages to be thrilling, exciting, scary, compelling, nasty in a new and transgressive way and truly, really, horrific - without any irony. It never underestimates the audience, the narrative is unpredictable throughout, it never cheats, and no punches are pulled and the audience is never EVER given any time or space in which to feel safe, or catch their breath. It's definately a contender for that "too painful to watch twice" list.

The Informant! 6/10 was not as funny as I had hoped after seeing the trailer. Of course Matt Damon was good and it's always a pleasure to watch him but the Soderbergh style and the stupid music grated. This reminded me a lot of Shattered Glass, in which Hayden Christensen was the man trapped in a web of his own lies, and which was a better-told tale than this.

Some more that I watched this past month but don't want to/don't know what to write about:

Bruno 7/10
Poison Ivy 6/10
Cemetery Junction 9/10
Away We Go 6/10
Milk 8/10
Flightplan 7/10
The Mummy 6/10
Hud 8/10

MacGruber - 10/10 for a comedy that's geared towards college-age males. I think most females will find this band of comedy to be stupid, but my friend, brother and I laughed our asses off throughout the movie. I laughed so hard that I had to catch my breath several times and was borderline aching from all the laughter. I'm still chuckling when I think about some scenes. I will never look at a celery the same again...

Despite my fairly harsh review of Shrek 4, I don't feel that way about the other movies (particulalry 1 and 2) at all. 3 and 4 are pretty much moneygrabs without much soul, and I don't have any interest in watching or owning them, but I have no issue with seeing 1 or 2 once in a while. They're nothing immensely special and I think they're quite a bit better than how you describe them.

Good Hair 10/10
Chris Rock did a great job with this documentary. I think every black woman in the US should see this movie. It's always nice to see things you know, but never really think about being discussed. Then again, anyone who has ever had a question about a Black woman's hair should watch it, too. More than enough educational moments, with just the right amount of humor (it was done by Chris Rock - and even if you don't like his stand-up, you might still very well enjoy this movie).
Plus, it's kinda sweet he did the whole thing for his young daughters.

Ok I'll modify what I said: Shrek's first two films are just slightly better than garbage but that's thanks to all the other characters not Shrek. Shrek's got to be one of the worst leading characters in the history of the pictures, he's all the opposite things of what that should be. He doesn't even want to cause trouble and mischief like the Grinch.

Prince of Persia 3/10
Ugh. Just ugh. As if Jake Gyllenhall in the title role wasn't bad enough, you get to endure his accent. It's not an American accent, it's not a fake British accent, it's definetly not an Arab accent. It's just a fake indistinguishable accent. And it annoyed the crap out of me for most of the movie.

The plot, well lets just say if you think you know what's going to happen next it probably is exactly what will happen. Predictable? Just a tad.

The Sands of Time are neat. So let barely use them. Good call :confused:
The Sands of Time effect did look cool though.

The only, and I do mean only reason I'd recommend seeing PoP is for the reason I went to see it. The GF wanted to go see Sex and the City 2, and so I dropped her off with a friend and went to PoP (this easily brought it up from a 2 to a 3).

Sounds about right.

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People 7/10, fine.

The Cider House Rules 5/10 BLLEAAUUAAUUAARRRRRRRGGEH! is the sound of being sick and my way of illustrating much you might vomit during and after watching The Cider House Rules - if you weren't lucky enough to sleep and snore through the whole movie. It is offensively sentimental and romantic, and manipulative too. The story concerns orphans, abortions, apples, a war, King Kong and other old things like that which used to happen but probably don't anymore. Not in themselves boring but when combined and made into a shitty bullshit story by these particular actors, writers and crew, very very boring indeed. Croaky Michael Caine's accent is all over the place, sounding like a cross between Kermit the Frog and James Stewart and the fact that he won Best Supporting in 1999 (over Tom Cruise and Jude Law!) is a joke. The good things about it are: the scenery, and Charlize Theron, look nice. The set decoration's also nice. Paul Rudd's in it. Unless I've been woefully obtuse and managed to misunderstand the entire last third of this film, it feels like the film is inviting us to regret the imminent death of a quite awful man (Delroy Lindo, whose self-professed "business" is the cutting of other apple-pickers with his knife) who raped his own daughter! Was that acceptable in the olden days? Sorry, what? Did he think it's fine to do that because it wasn't one of the acutal rules like "don't smoke in bed" and "don't go on the roof to eat your lunch"? Isn't "don't make your own daughter pregnant by raping her" one of those unwritten Cider House Rules that everyone knows already and it sort of goes without saying? Fuck you Delroy, you're the bad guy and everyone who isn't glad you're nearly dead is as bad as you are.

THX 1138 6/10 was too abstract, sparse and vague for me to get much enjoyment from. It starts off being interesting and ends up with the white-suited characters wandering around completely white sets. It reminded me of that bit in Willy Wonka where the boy gets sent via television. Things do get a bit more interesting towards the end (there's motorbikes and a modified Lola T70) but still, it's not a very good way to spend the future.

Where the Wild Things Are 9/10.

The Killer Inside Me 7/10 Who's the vilest, most heinous, inhumane movie villain you can think of? Chances are s/he's several rungs below this film's protagonist, Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), on the ladder. I don't often have to deliberately and determinedly look at a the opposite side of the screen to where the action is happening in a scene. It's the adult equivalent of peeking through one's fingers or hiding under the seat. The Killer Inside Me is a very talky and convoluted film noir based on a notorious crime novel by Jim Thompson - how talky this film is, especially in its fat middle, is it's biggest downfall. The thick Texas accents everybody speaks with sound very nice and authentic but it makes what they're saying hard to understand and consequently the twisty-turny plot is too easy to lose track of. This film illustrates perfectly the reason I watch with subtitles at home so people interested in seeing this film but not used to hearing Lone Star State drawlings should probably do likewise. Casey's intensity and his strange high-pitched voice make him ideal for playing this sort of character. There's some good action, extremely black humour and an ending that I can only describe as being profoundly troubling.

"Get Him To The Greek"

3/3.5 stars out of 4. I give it a 3.5 for people who have been really enjoying the Apatowization of Hollywood comedies, like me. The movie is nowhere near as sweet as most of them (like 40-Year Old Virgin, Superbad, Knocked Up, etc.) but still has a surprisingly entertaining and emotional take on old rock star tropes.

For everyone else, a 3, because it still is about emotionally stunted men maturing through misadventurous bonding, meaning you might be sick of that by now. But it is really, really, really funny. And: Russel Brand was literally born to play Aldous Snow. It's the best casting I've seen in years (well, since he originated the character in Sarah Marshall, anyways).

Spoiler: It also has what I think must be the most disturbing sex scene since Irreversible.

Twilight 1 and 2 - both get 2/10

Words can not describe how bad these are!! The only thing that earns this movie and points is due to the dedication wolf boy put into bulking up, its very impressive.

The main vampire guy is such a freaking whiny emo baby. And the girl is not any better. "You cant break up with me!!!!" Dear lord give me a break!

Repo! The Genetic Opera - 8.5/10

Sweet Gravy on Potatoes was this ever awesome! I loved the singing in it! I hope they make another one in the same style as this. Rock Opera to melt faces!!

Spartacus (1960) - 7.5/10

Really enjoyed this one. The only reason it does not get higher marks was due to it not being choreographed as well as modern films. Seeing as this was done in 1960, it is still fantastic.

Edge of Darkness - 6/10

Meh, it was okay. Mel Gibson was kind of hard to take, he had this cheesy accent and it felt all over the place. When his daughter screamed to be taken to a doctor gave me goosebumps though, that was the best part of the movie. I liked the premise, but it could have been executed far better.

---------- Post added at 08:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:50 PM ----------

Shrek 3 - 4/10

Wow, this movie was really bad. There were probably 6 scenes that I found to be funny. So in total for that 80 min movie I might laughed 6 times, and not a good hard laugh at anything.

Avoid!!

Splice: If it was possible..oh hell, it is possible...-5/10

Avoid this disaster of a movie at all costs. A complete and utter waste of $12 and it's two hours of my life that I'm never going to get back.

The Blind Side -- 2.5/4 stars

This movie was OK. Nothing too bad, but nothing good either. It was incredibly generic and didn't take any risks. The script and plot were completely unimaginative and the movie was totally predictable, even scene by scene. The big black guy that played the poor big black guy was so annoying. All he did was look at the camera sad for 2 hours. Sandra Bullock's character saved the movie from being flat out bad. There was some mild emotion in the movie but most scenes were so generic and cookie cutter that I was actually cringing. This movie has no more soul than an after school special. How it got nominated for best picture is beyond me.

Dark City - 8/10

Really cool movie! Kinda like the Matrix before the matrix was the matrix! ha.

The Chronicles of Narnia 2 - 7/10

I really did not like the first one, I found it to be far to "kiddy" for my tastes. This one was far superior.

Snake Eyes (1998) 6/10: Nic Cage runs about an Atlantic City casino trying to find out who's done murders and caused all sorts of trouble that night.
The Mask of Zorro (1997) 8/10: Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins run about 19th century Mexico stirring up anachronistic anti-colonialist sentiment. The governor isn't pleased when trouble - by the name of Zorro - comes knocking!
Labour Pains (2009) 5/10: Lindsay Lohan pretends she's pregnant to get special treatment at work. As the fib snowballs, she gets into more and more teeth-gritting hilarious trouble!
The Mummy Returns (2001) 5/10: Brendan Fraser and his knockabout gang of himself, some other blokes, a plucky young lady and probably a traitor get wind of an ancient treasure(s), and unexpectedly manage to tumble into a whole den of silly trouble in a desert somewhere.
The Scorpion King (2002) 7/10: having failed to properly fit himself into the plot of the above film, The Scorpion King tried for his own story, with much more success, the following year. The Rock is a far more valid and appropriate hero than dangling nonentity Fraser ever could hope to be, and in this film he's up against a barrage of almost relentless trouble in the ancient world.
Robin Hood (2010) 6/10: not nearly enough trouble in this rude, uninvited update of the legend starring Russell Crowe doing a sickening accent in the title role.
Starman (1984) 8/10: guess what happens when aliens answer Voyager 2's golden phonographic disk in the 80s by sending Jeff Bridges to visit Earth? Clue: it involves no small amount of what I like to call trouble!
Life as a House (2001) 8/10: Hayden Christensen is an trouble-prone teenage spoiled rotten pseudo-rebel who isn't happy about having to spend the summer with his father, Kevin Kline, who wants to build a house on the edge of a cliff.
Alfie (1966) 8/10: stone the crows! There's trouble in store for cheeky Cockney Michael Caine (Alfie), who can't stop knocking up the bloody birds in bleeding London in the fucking 1960s, when everything was OK no matter what.
Planet Terror (2007) 7/10: the most trouble that EVER happened in a motion picture happens in this one. Really. To say any more would risk spoiling it.
Deadgirl (2008) 6/10: bad boy + shy boy + dead girl = trouble x heaps!
The Goat (1921) 8/10: The grandfather of trouble, Buster Keaton, is mistaken for dangerous murderer Dead Shot Dan, and excellent chases ensue.

The Book of ELi (2010) 8/10 I really enjoyed this movie. Much more than I thought I would. I was expecting another "I am Legend" but this was not like that movie at all. I really enjoyed the story and the way the movie was shot. The tone of the whole movie was awesome. Denzel Washington was great in this movie. This is his best since "Man on Fire" in fact I liked this better. My only complaint is I think the story could have used a little more background about how the world ended up the way it was. Nice to see Jennifer Beals again too.

DB

Just saw the A Team tonight, and holy hell, that movie is awesome. Great summer action flick, which does a wonderful job of being true to it's TV roots while taking it to a whole new level. 5/5.

Antichrist 4/10

Summary: A couple lose their young son when he falls out the window while they have sex in the other room. The mother's grief consigns her to hospital, but her therapist husband brings her home intent on treating her depression himself. To confront her fears they go to stay at their remote cabin in the woods, "Eden", where something untold happened the previous summer. Told in four chapters with a prologue and epilogue, the film details acts of lustful cruelty as the man and woman unfold the darker side of nature outside and within.

Comment: Well, it was rather a strange film and if you want to see Willem Dafoe's or Charlotte Gainsbourg genitals up close, then rent this film. But, the last 30 minutes of the film are disturbing.

I really like Casey Affleck and I want to watch this but I can't find it anywhere with its limited US release :(

The Horse Whisperer (1998) 8/10. Look at Robert Redford. When he was younger he would have been perfect for John Galt: his face really has always been the one without fear or pain or guilt. He could never be a baddie or anyone of seriously questionable integrity (think how miscast would he have been as Michael Corleone, as was Paramount's first intention); that is part of the reason of why Spy Games didn't really work. On screen he's the angel alongside Paul Newman's devil, and parallels have been drawn between his career and Brad Pitt's. I think I'd cast a young Redford over Pitt in most roles because I find him warmer and more genuinely likeable. Pitt is always affable but not, it often seems, simply for the sake of being pleasant; he just is that way by default and as likely as not he has an agenda you don't know about. One can't help wondering what Pitt's angle is. Anyway, The Horse Whisperer is a film starring and directed by Robert Redford in which he helps a young girl (Scarlett Johansson) and her horse (Pilgrim) to get over a bad riding accident. Most of its one hundred and seventy minutes is a pleasure, and seldom drags, thanks to the two leads and quite a brilliant horse. A lot of the film seems to have been shot at the "magic hour" and the weak horizontal sunlight playing across the Montana plains and Redford's aged, calm and calming features is a sight to behold. Sam Neill is usually the best thing about any film he's in but here he and his character are outclassed by everyone else. Kristen Scott Thomas plays the adult female lead, she's about the only element of the film that has dated, being a grossly stereotypical 1990s film woman whose career has gotten in the way of her family.

Watchmen (2008) 8/10 is a strange one in many ways. Such a credible and serious and mature film - based on a comic? Such a budget spent on a film that really is only for adults? Such a hallowed and precious property given the respect it (apparently) deserves - by a studio that has the clout to make it happen? Make no mistake, I do think this is a good thing. It's just pretty surprising. Films like this one, Harry Potter, Beowulf, Where the Wild Things are and (surely!) Inception show that Warner Bros is stubborn head and brawny shoulders above the rest of mainstream Hollywood when it comes to optioning the right projects in the right way using the right talent, and so giving non-stupid people what they want. For those that know about and like the source, Watchmen must almost be almost too good to be true; I don't know about or like the source and, watching Watchmen at home I feel slightly jealous of those who do. The super-dense, labyrinthine and schizophrenic narrative must make almost complete sense to those familiar with the book (it makes roughly 60% sense to me) and the visual and aural extravaganza must merely be the icing on the cake. Not really believing in or identifying with the lofty concepts and ideas that seem to somehow hold up all the strings of narrative, and not being very receptive to superhero/comic films except Spider-Man, my enjoyment mostly comes from the film's chaotic yet believable rendering of the nightmare 1980s, various efficient and well soundtracked montages and all the stinging, sadistic, and finely staged violence.

Secondhand Lions (2003) 6/10 is a silly, fluffy, light, heartwarming 'drama' with minimum drama, a perfect watch for a Sunday evening. No effort required whatsoever. It stars Robert Duvall, Haley Joel Osment and Michael Caine (being American again but better this time than in The Cider House Rules). It's the early 1960s and Osment has been dumped by his no-good mother at the house of his two batchelor uncles and charged with finding their treasure. As expected: bonding happens. A Lion (ONE lion, not SOME LIONS) gets bought. In by far the best scene of the film, Duvall brawls with some young greasers who try to steal his food.

The Falls (1980) 8/10. Yesssssss! Finally finished The Falls. At last. It's three hours seventeen minutes of meticulously, painstakingly created absurdist nonsense. It's probably not something you'll be able to watch in one sitting unless you're an unusually patient and docile idiot savant. Not being one of those, I divided it into about thirteen 15-minute sized bits. It still took about three months. There's no characters in the traditional sense, no story and no real meaning - just still photographs, supposed 'stock footage' and a voice-over telling us about one of 92 people, each of whose names begin with the letters F-A-L-L and all of whom were affected for better or for worse by the Violent Unknown Event.

The A-Team 10!/10

Oh, yeah, that's a bolded 10 with an exclamation point!

This movie rocks! It is everything I was hoping it would be! Enough said.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 7/10
Proud to Be British (1973) 7/10 and Who Cares (1971) 7/10
Withnail and I (1987) 9/10
Switchblade Romance (2003) 8/10
Finding Forrester (2000) 7/10
Das Experiment (2001) 7/10
The Hurt Locker (2009) 9/10
The Beach (2000) 7/10

Twilight: Eclipse 7.3/10

The third movie in this tetralogy concentrates heavily on the relationship between Edward, Bella and Jacob. I found this section of the plot to be really annoying, just like the all three characters, but let me move on with something interesting. Do you remember Victoria? The red-headed vampire that wants to kill Bella because her mate, James, was killed in the first movie. Well, she has returned (different actress) and this time she has created new born vampire army to take out the Cullen clan along with Bella. Does it work? I am not going to spoil it for you because I am sure you have read the series, but the vampire/werewolf battle against the new born vampires was the best part of the movie.

Knight and Day 3/10

I was underwhelmed with a below average plot with Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz playing Cameron Diaz. Nothing interesting jumps out at me where I would recommend you to watch this film. Wait until it is released on DVD or, just save two hours of your time and skip it all together.

Bride Wars (2009) 4/10. In January of last year film critic Mark Kermode, upon reviewing this film, declared that he would quit his job if Bride Wars was not in his top ten worst films of 2009. He didn't want to be doing a job that obliged him to watch ten films worse than this in a year. (It came in at number 8 so he didn't have to quit.) I can sympathise. Bride Wars isn't textbook bad like some films are: it's not a complete mess and it's not unwatchable. It's just one of those shit films that will probably pass you by unless you're unlucky enough to see it by accident - in which case you'll instantly and completely forget it. The story is: Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson were childhood friends who, when theye were growing uptogether, were both really into weddings. For some reason I don't understand each had their little heart set on getting married at the same place, in the same month of the year. Cynical and transparent plot machinations see them being double booked for their weddings on the same day at the same place! Fucking hell. For reasons that are implicitly obvious for a film called "Bride Wars", featuring brides-to-be warring, this situation is unacceptable. War takes place: proper, awful, real-life war, the likes of which planet earth hasn't seen since Rommel packed away his Africa tunic. Hathaway scatters cluster bombs all over Hudson's blue hair and in response Hudson delegates launch authority of tactical nuclear weapons to field commanders outside Hathaway's house. Mutually assured destruction - sadly - does not occur. Both central characters are deeply, deeply horrible. Those who like them or find their behaviour acceptable are also horrible. If this film has a message - I'm not sure if it really does - it's wholly insidious and destructive. I immediately wanted to go out and do damage to things after seeing it. It's one of those films where, if you ponder - who is this for? Who likes this? Who's laughing at these lame non-jokes? - the answer has got to be: the worst and stupidest people in the world.

Midnight Run (1988) 8/10. Weren't the eighties brilliant? Everyone was rich and constantly smoked cigarettes because it didn't matter, pithy action comedies got their just deserts at the box office, and Robert De Niro wasn't a washed-up old fool. In Midnight Run he's an ex-cop bounty hunter who has to capture and transport Charles Grodin across America in a chase/road movie. There's a lot to enjoy here: De Niro is boorish and belligerant, Grodin is sympathetic and wily and there's plenty of sound comedy relief in the form of bungling gangsters, an inept rival bounty hunter and a brilliant deadpan turn by Yaphet Kotto as a bullish FBI man.

School of Rock (2003) 7/10. I didn't used to like Jack Black at all. He always came across as smarmy, self-aware, hyperactive, and always unpleasant to watch - a dislikeable and unfunny fool. In spite of these sentiments I thought I'd give School of Rock a try and was pleasantly surprised. He's funny and likeable! The children at the school he pretends to teach at bring out the best of him: clearly, he likes children and they like him. The children were obviously picked for musical ability rather than acting ability but children of this age (ten to twelve) are rarely good at acting and it's probably for the best that none of them out-act Black. As well as being fairly natural and fun around kids, re acting, they make him look GOOD.

Saw IV (2007) 5/10, Saw V (2008) 5/10, Saw VI (2009) 5/10. Thank heavens this is over. (post script: although perhaps not, as I've heard Saw VII is imminent - in 3D). The last three Saw films have merged together in my mind now. Rarely have films so preposterous been so boring! The first two or three Saw movies were ridiculous but had neat tricks and twists hidden up their sleeves which were well played in the final act. The last three try to continue the tradition but with no success at all. Surely nobody watches Saw films to see badly-acted police officers bicker with each other about who the killer might or might not be. No, people want to see the insane killing machines go to work on helpless, soft, delicate human bodies - without this kind of spectacle Saw is just a really poor iteration of CSI or whatever. Numbers IV and V don't realise this and spend far too much time amongst the stiflingly boring cops and FBI agents as they try to use their dull wits to figure out who's doing all the mental killing now that original madman Jigsaw is definately dead. Saw VI does better by spending more time on the mashing, crunching and (at last) sawing of bodies by dreadful implements and machines, but there's still a lot of boring shit to sit through.

Despicable me - Quite a few moments where I literally laughed out loud. Quite a few funny moments for both adults and kids. The minions were great.

The Crazies 5-10
Ninja assassin 5-10

Reeker WTF / 10

If you like low budget horror flicks, You'll probably like this one. The effects are well done for it's budget, The acting is cheesy but it's quite suspenseful for it's genre.

Inception (2010) 9/10
***Please note: this is nothing but very general and uncompromising praise, and what I would probably call ridiculous and embarrassing hyperbole if someone else had written it or if it wasn't all true. There are no plot details or spoilers at all. You should feel free to carry on reading it without fear of finding out the slightest tidbit re the film's narrative.***

I just came back from watching Inception and I feel stingy about giving it 9. It's a de facto 10 but a de jure 9 because I have a rule (that Inception has led me to consider scrapping) that says nothing can get 10 on a single viewing. I left the cinema shell-shocked, mindboggled and reeling and now, around two hours after getting home, have only just started to recover. It's similar to my reaction to Avatar but unlike Avatar Inception will still be watched, talked about and revered twenty or thirty years from now. Never have I known a big-budget studio film be as audacious and original as this one (Beowulf probably comes closest). It almost felt like the late sixties and seventies (which, yes I know, I never experienced first hand) when for a short time the studios funded, and took the leash off of, some wildly talented young filmmakers who went on to produce and direct some of the most hallowed and best-loved examples of narrative cinema. If enough people go to see Inception (I think they will), and the gamble pays off, and if we cross our fingers and wait with baited breath - we just might see the worm turn over the coming few years. That rich Hollywood worm with the massive chequebook might come to his senses and turn away from the Michael Bays and towards the Chris Nolans. In other words he might remember that yes, there are smart people who want to watch Inception as well as stupid ones who want to watch Transformers or Twilight. So be smart: go and see Inception as soon as possible to see for yourself what all the goddamn fuss is about.

Inception: 9.5/10

Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Most people will see this film after hearing the three names listed above, but I was hesitant on viewing this film when I read on imdb that it was oscar worthy and Roger Ebert gave it 4/4 stars. Either this movie is really well done or critics like to overhype overproduced films. And lately, I have been disappointed with the movies released this summer because they were remakes of an original or had popular actors attached to the movie just trying to make more money.

Inception has an original story, amazing cast and a super intricate complex idea that worked. I was hooked from the start of the film and understood everything that was presented on screen and I couldn't predict what was going to happen next.

And does it continue to spin or fall? Is he in reality or is he in another dream dimension? And am I in a dream dimension or am I awake writing this review? How am I suppose to know? This is how the movie ends leaving us thinking about the above questions and if I am thinking about a movie/characters/story after the movie is over, which is rare with movies these days, then it did what most movies these days haven't been able to do, entertain and make people think.

Side note: I had slight difficulty understanding Ken Watanabe because he seemed to mumble his way through some of his lines and I am aware English is not his native language, but overall he did an excellent job with his character.

The Runaways 7/10

Unmarked Spoilers about something that really happened ohnoez!

I wanna give it a 10/10 because I love Joan Jett but I can't because the movie is WAY too short. It barely gave Sandy West or Lita Ford any screen time. Hell, It didn't even give them a "Where they are now" text at the end. I rarely say this but the movie could have been 45 minutes longer and been better. It should have given a better sense of time passing, It should have given more screen time to Sandy/Lita. It needed more lead up to Cherie's departure from the band, then a little more time after showing the eventual split a couple of years later. And, umm.. Holy Crap! Dakota Fanning is growing up!

Inception - 10/10

The visual spectacle, the suspense, the complexities of the dream states; I ate up every single minute of this film. Staircase!!

Flags of Our Fathers 3/5

Not a bad movie, but not as good as Letters From Iwo Jima. It wasn't as emotionally engaging.

Well said. I give it a 9.5/10

I was a bit disappointed in The Runaways as well. There was something terribly cliched about the storytelling; only at the end did it feel like it took on any "depth", and by then it was too late. Pity. Still worth a watch because of the solid performances, though.

Hostel Part II (2007) 7/10
Xtro (1983) 7/10
Critters 3 (1991) 4/10
The Simpsons Movie (2007) 6/10
Hellboy (2004) 7/10 and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 7/10
The Beach (2000) 7/10
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) 8/10
The Jerk (1979) 4/10
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) 6/10
Get Him to the Greek (2010) 6/10
Annie Hall (1977) 8/10
Insomnia (2002) 8/10
The Prestige (2006) 10/10
Celebrity 6/10
Law Abiding Citizen 5/10
The Dark Knight (2008) 7/10
Saludos Amigos (1942) 6/10
Alice in Wonderland (1933) 3/10

This movie gets dumped on a lot; I thought it was pretty good as well. No classic, but a solid horror/sci-fi entry from the era.

And Maryam d'Abo was delicious.

City of Angels, 1998.
Soundtrack was delightful.
Story was basic, but told skillfully.
Heartstrings tugged on a number of occasions.
Nicolas Cage made it work.

A very well-done chick flick that left me tearful.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) 7/10. If loads of the best and cleverest horses clubbed together and hired Matt Damon to be their voice, and made an animated film for other horses, it couldn't be much better or more horsey than Spirit. It's more horsey than Seabiscuit, The Black Stallion, National Velvet and Black Beauty - by which I mean it made me want to be a horse much more than those films did - until the film ended at least. Horses on screen have always always ALWAYS been noble and loyal but dull-witted compliant animals that exist to serve and submit to mankind. The best part by far of The Black Stallion was when it and the boy ran about on the beach after the shipwreck without any cares. Then they got rescued and taken to America and Mickey Rooney showed up and spoiled everything. In some ways Spirit is Disney than Disney but quite a lot less fun than that suggests, and executed with a lot less imagination. Some exilerating chases and highly preposterous setpieces make it worth a look.

The Three Caballeros (1944) 6/10, Fun and Fancy Free (1947) 6/10 and Melody Time (1948) 7/10 are all follow-ups to Saludos Amigos (1942) in which several short and mostly musical stories are told in the space of about an hour. During WWII a lot of Disney's creative staff were comandeered by the US government to produce propaganda films; ideas that would otherwise have been left as shorts were stitched together to make these compilation films rather than producing feature-length stories from scratch, which would have taken more man-hours than they had available. There are ups and downs in all of them but highlights include Pedro, Little Tug, Bongo, The Cold-Blooded Penguin Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill.

Casey Bats Again (1954) 6/10, Donald Applecore (1954) 7/10, Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952) 6/10 were all Disney shorts included on the Melody Time DVD and were all pretty forgettable. Donald Applecore is worth a look because Donald shoots nuclear bullets (that cause proper nuclear explosions) from a helicopter at the chipmunks who rob his apples. A chicken eats one thinking it food and lays a nuclear egg. Donald picks it up then gets blasted into a crater so deep you can't even see or hear him from the bottom of it. HA!

Toy Story 3 (2010) ?/10 - this should probably be a 9 but I can't properly assess it because of a bawling baby who was sitting behind me in the cinema, making me miss some lines, and the fact that I completely missed about five minutes for a toilet break.

Aladdin (1992) 8/10
Man of the Year (2006) 5/10
Network (1976) 7/10

Splice (2009) 6/10 is a biological horror film set in the near-future world of genetic engineering. Hotshot bio-scientists Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley have had so much success as a husband and wife team that they've been given total freedom by their rather slack bosses to do whatever they like for their next project. The result is a quite remarkable human-animal crossbreed that grows very quickly and starts fucking everything up bigstyle while still seeming human enough (the creature was played by a real actor) that you don't just want it to be killed like any old moster. Sympathy for the thing is enhanced by the two arrogant scientists not being very likeable from the outset (he, because he's played by Brody, more than her).

Inglourious Basterds (2009) 8/10 is the best thing QT has done since Pulp Fiction but I found it a bit too talky and sometimes pretentious. The good bits are really good though and I wanted to like it more; the fact that I didn't has more to do with my own failings than the film's.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley (2006) 8/10 is a Ken Loach film about Republican paramilitary (and later political) action in Ireland in the 1920s. The British Empire at that time was in control of the entire island of Ireland and embittered English soldiers fresh from the savagery of First World War trenches brutally oppressed the Irish civilian population. In this completely one-sided but very enjoyable film a bunch of brave Irish young men join the IRA and start to fight back. The story combines shows the big, overall paramilitary and political machinations alongside the affecting personal story of a young man (Cillian Murphy) who was about to quit Ireland for London to become a doctor but changes his mind to fight for his country's cause, with shattering consequences.

Festen (aka The Celebration) (1998) 9/10 is a low budget Danish film, one that supposedlyadheres to the 'Dogme 95 Manifesto' which dictates that that films be as natural as possible in every way: handheld camera, available light, real sound etc. A wealthy patriarch is throwing a party to celebrate his 60th birthday at his large country house for all his family and friends. During the course of the celebrations and meal, dark, damaging secrets emerge and wayward family members, guests and even staff get totally out of control on drink and violence. This is filmmaking at its rawest and most riveting and it's surprisingly accessible so anyone half-tempted shouldn't let the film's avant-garde image and reputation (which is mostly bullshit) put them off.

Requiem for a Dream (2000) 9/10 is a tough watch but less so if you know what's coming, and it's totally worth it anyway. Ellen Burstyn's hallucination scene where the TV show comes into her apartment is magnificent.

The Time of the Wolf (2002) 7/10 is a post-apocalyptic drama set in France directed by Michael Haneke. So don't expect a barrell of laughs - or even a single one. There's some horrible stuff in here and not much relief - Haneke likes to really rub the abject misery he's created right into the face of his audience so, for example, there's one scene lasting minutes just of a wretched woman wailing and wailing in foreign over the tiny grave of her newly dead child. Surely one of the most grating sounds there is, and the director knows it and wants you to hear it for a long time. People fight, trick, betray and abuse each other constantly and from start to finish I had a clear sense that this is in all likelihood as accurate a representation of what the end of the world will be like as any I've seen.

The fourth kind, 95 minutes I'm never gonna get back!

Casablanca (1942) 10/10
The Pledge (2001) 8/10
The House of the Devil (2008) 7/10
The Avengers (1998) 3/10
Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957) 7/10
Woodstock (1970) 7/10 (yes all THREE AND A HALF HOURS of it!)
House of Sand and Fog (2003) 6/10
17 Again (2009) 6/10
Home on the Range (2004) 8/10

Despicable Me - 7/10
The Other Guys - 6/10
The Expendables - 8/10

Machete: 8.5/10

Based off a 10 second trailer within DeathProof, this movie lives up to the hype. If you are uncomfortable with large quantities of violence, nudity or body parts flying in different directions, then you might want to skip this film. Basically, Machete is about a super angry Hispanic Federale betrayed by the Mexican government now surviving in the United States where he gets into a difficult situation and initiates a revolution within Texas.

Side note: Jessica Alba and Lindsay Lohan get naked, not together, but in different scenes.

Salt 7-10 ,EXPENDABLES 8-10!

The Graduate 4/10 - Maybe this was a big deal back in 1967 when it was produced, but now it's so dated, and Hoffman's character is so immature and whiny, that it's almost unwatchable. Halfway though, I turned to Seamaiden and asked if Hoffman goes insane at the end of the movie, and she replied to the effect that we might! It's hard to believe that his character was supposed to have graduated college, because he's such a little boy, someone tells him no, and the next five minutes are filled with him whining, "Why? Why not? Why can't I" However, it gets the 4 rating cause of one great scene in which Hoffman is lying on a raft in his pool, while his parents swim around him, bugging him to ask out his lover's daughter. Talk about suffocating!

The Informant 8.5/10. Matt Damon plays a highly intelligent, very quirky con man.
Layers upon layers of story, I found the end to be very surprising (maybe I'm
slow).
Damon is hilarious in this role, as well. He's turning out to be an actor with a lot
of range (Bourne, Talented Mr. Ripley, Rounders, and now this).

In the last 7 days...

RoboCop: 7/10
Really enjoyed it, silly older movie but entertaining.

The Running Man: 8/10
Even by today's standards, I enjoyed it. But, I loved the original book, too.

Commando: 7/10
Goofy as all hell... great one liners but Bennett's mustache brought it down a bit.

Beverly Hills Cop, I & II :7/10
Silly, entertaining, Judge-Reinholdy-goodness. Fun one-liners.

Resident Evil (original): 8/10
I have a girl crush on Milla. But, that said, the movie was still great. I judged this one by the graphics that were available at the time, so I liked it.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse: 7/10
I liked this one a little less. Max/Nemesis wasn't developed enough and some of the characters were highly annoying.

Resident Evil: Extinction: 8/10
This one was better again, in the character focus on Alice and her experiences. I liked it.

Captivity (2007) 3/10 - SPOILERS - is a limp horror with Elisha Cuthbert clearly trying to take advantage of the Saw series' surprisingly consistent popularity. Cuthbert plays Jennifer Tree which is an awful name for a main character. It's a joke name. Are real people called Tree? Anyway Jennifer Tree is some sort of model who is abducted in the film's first few minutes. Apparently a criminal baddie madman has seen her on television and wants to do ghastly things to her. So he kidnaps her ridiculously but with remarkable ease and takes her somewhere that's supposed to be a warehouse or a basement but it just looks like a generic film set. So far so good. As Ms Tree is a fairly nondescript, vapid and dislikeable character, we couldn't be blamed for expecting (hoping even) awful things to be done to her, just like in Saw or Hostel. But oh no - we have it wrong. Unfortunately Tree IS the hero, and we were supposed to like her and hope that she will get away. So she doesn't get hurt at all. The worst things that happen to her are that she blasts her horrible little dog with a shotgun and she gets forcefed some liquified human remains. Regardless of quality (which is universally poor) there is just not enough content here for a half hour TV show let a lone a proper feature film. Scenes take far longer than they need to and everything's done with such a slapdash lack of effort that it's not surprising to learn that the film was shot in Russia by a crew who spoke no English. What IS surprising though is the pedigree of its creators: director Roland Joffé, who twenty years prior was making films like The Killing Fields and The Mission; and writer Larry Cohen, for better or worse an absolute stalwart of maverick genre cinema for over forty years. How and why they came together to make this sorry sack of shit is anybody's guess.

Anchorman (2004) 4/10 is a purile and tedious, mostly unfunny comedy, quite the worst I've seen so far from Judd Apatow's (occasionally funny) comedy making machine. The setup sees a female news reporter (alarmingly unattractive Christina Applegate) trying to muscle in on the anchoring gig of legendary newsman Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell). Almost all of the -intended- humour is based on Burgundy and his cronies (Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd and someone else) being OUTRAGEOUSLY sexist towards their new colleague. But because they are such brainless buffoons she generally gets the last laugh by doing nothing more than behaving like a normal rational human (albeit a frighteningly haggard one). The stuff being offered for laughs here is in the main a very broad, base and sometimes unbelievably obvious gutter-level humour: for British equivalents think Little Britain or Catherine Tate. The Hangover was a fairly broad and at times very base blokey comedy but it had some originality and a caper plot and a hint of cleverness that's completely missing from Anchorman. Observe and Report similarly features a deluded and crass idiot as its protagonist and is a film that does everything right that Anchorman does wrong. Apart from simply having an actor who can act, and is funny, playing a properly written character, Observe & Report has a wild dangerousness that's totally refreshing when you watch it. By comparison Anchorman's a cardboard cutout - all about boorish sex jokes, silly cameos from people who should know better, and a lot of baffling non sequiturs which were presumably once jokes of some sort but have long since had their meaning AND funnyness squashed out of them by larger-than-life Ferrell and his insufferable friends.

Just Cause (1995) 5/10 is a boring and silly legal drama with Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne; the only reason for watching it is a frightening, hyperkinetic and frankly showboating bit part by Ed Harris.

The Illusionist (2010) 7/10. This film's lack of dialogue grated on me before long, as one has to guess and infer what's happening, but the animation style is nice to look at (except for where conspicuous and jarring 3D models are used).

Disclosure (1994) 7/10 - SPOILERS - is a preposterous drama/thriller with added sex and Michael Crichton techno trappings starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore. She's his new boss at a high-tec computer firm and after a late-night fumble in which he doesn't finish what she starts, she alleges sexual harrassment. The allegations and corporate intrigue rumble back and forth via Donald Sutherland for the film's duration, until he finds out that the company intends to hang him out to dry because the controversy surrounding him is threatening a merger that's about to take place. Thankfully and brilliantly the story requires Douglas to access an actual real life virtual reality computer system in order to find some evidence that will exonerate him. Michael Douglas and the VR sequences are the reason for watching this film and they are totally worth the wait. His inevitable vindication and Demi Moore's spectacular fall from the top are the icing on the cake.

The Omen (1976) 8/10 gets busted down a point on latest viewing. It's a silly story well told but it's not at all scary and I really can't remember ever having been scared by it even as a child. When you think about The Shining or The Exorcist it seems pretty tame.

Gimme Shelter (1970) 7/10. Concert.

Hart's War (2002) 6/10. Earnest.

Inception (2010) 10/10. Cerebral.

Bolt (2008) 8/10. Charming.

Sky High (2005) 8/10. Gratifying.

Whisper of the Heart (1995) 8/10. Reticent.

Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) 8/10. Cute.

Final Destination 3 (2006) 5/10. Dumb.

The Nanny Diaries (2007) 7/10. Sweet.

Barry Lyndon (1975) 8/10. Long.

To Kill a King (2003) 7/10. Worthy.

The American: 5/10

This film is not a typical super fast on the go assassin film like The Bourne Series, but an observation at the life of one assassin: isolated and friendless. Unable to trust anyone or get involved in serious intimate relationships (if it happens, the other party ends up dead), the main character receives instruction from head boss and follows through with the plan while traveling through Italy. Throughout the film, the audience will question every character’s motive and determine if the main character will live or be killed by another assassin.

Side note: The American is open to interpretation and has limited dialog while we view the Italian country side.

Centurion: 7.5/10.
The Atlantic Film Festival is on in Halifax at the moment, and this was our first of three this weekend. The synopsis is basically this (from the AFF website): We both liked it, it had a good story and the acting was good. Think of it as sort of a King Arthur (Clive Owen, Keira Knightly) meets Gladiator (Russel Crowe). Lots of shots of misty forests, and snow covered mountains, against which, the arching blood fountain from a decapitated head is caught in bleak contrast. Did I mention the decapitations? Heads go flying everywhere!

the taking of pellam 123!

i don't know what made me watch that. it's not what i'd usually go for.

:(

3/10

Easy "A": Emma Stone rocks (see also: Zombieland, Superbad) and I have every hope this movie will be the first of many solid efforts coming from her. I also hope that she doesn't pull a Lohan post Mean Girls...but that's another question entirely. This movie is funny, witty and engaging, especially so if you're a fan of John Hughs' 1980s efforts. Olive's parents are perfectly cast, get great lines and deliver on them 100%, and the supporting cast otherwise does a solid job. This one really rests on Stone's shoulders, though, and she pulls through with style.

My only real complaint about the movie is how tacky and one dimensional the "villains" are in the form of a gaggle of crazy fundamentalist Christians obsessed with virginity and piety. I like making fun of fundamentalists as much as anyone else, but for some reason by the end of the movie, I found myself getting increasingly irritated by the caricature instead of laughing at it. This is a fairly minor irritant, though, and your mileage may vary.

9/10, unless you hated Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Buelers Day Off, in which case, you may want to skip this one

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010) 9/10 is Michael Cera playing something close to his usual character in a fun and unreal video game inspired world, in which he must fight guys in the style of a Street Fighter fight in order to win the affections of a hot girl (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) he likes. After seeing the trailer I was sure I would hate the film, having found out that it's based on a comic and also being sick and tired of Cera. But I read some positive reviews and thought I'd give it a try. That was totally the right thing to do because it's a really silly and fun picture filled with little details and things and moments that are just right, and clever but are never too obvious or in your face. Hilarious performances by Brandon Routh, Chris Evans and Kieran Culkin.

The Town (2010) 8/10 is a Boston-set bank heist crime film starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner. The gang grew up and live in what's said to be the bank robbery capital of the world, where the skills are passed down father to son like. Everything is solid: it successfully treads what seems like a tricky line between reasonably real-feeling blue collar drama and thrilling, unrealistic action spectacle. The characters aren't just there to push the story along and they are generally well acted - even Ben Affleck comes across reasonably. Please don't misunderstand: I didn't particularly like his performance - he isn't convincing - in this film but I didn't want harm to befall him either. The best scenes outside of the action are when he and Renner are bantering back and forth. Renner's character is such an asshole he makes Affleck look less bad by association, which I suspect was exactly the intention. The story is pretty compelling and throws up a few new tricks, and the action scenes are pretty well handled.

He's Just Not That Into You (2009) 5/10 is a safe, dumb romantic comedy with an ensemble cast comprising of Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson and Justin Long. WHEW! What a long list of people! I expect the romantic entanglements between them all will turn out to be different than what they seem at first. This is well-made and has a reasonably capbably cast but it isn't a good movie - it's cynical and manipulative and aims at a pretty rotten and stagnant audience who will have presumably lapped this shit right up and felt very good about it afterwards. Sharp-featured married couple Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Connelly are having trouble 'cause HE'S met Scarlett and SHE'S a bitch and has found his cigarettes! Her DAD died of lung cancer! (what part of that didn't HE understand?) HE blamed the fag pack and ashtray on BUILDERS but when she questioned the foreman (Luis Guzman) HE DENIED IT TOO! Meanwhile Ginnifer Goodwin is having a string dates that all have had the gall not to call her afterwards. She needs help from womaniser Justin Long who can help her to decipher that tricky code male men use when they say and do EXACTLY what they mean. Jennifer Anniston and Ben Affleck are a couple and there's something about a boat. Drew Barrymore has the horriblest shittest storyline in which the only male contact she can get - other than from the fawning, simpering homosexuals at her work - is via phone, text, email, gooseberry, shitspace and shitbook and all the rest of that bullshit. (HER THING IS THAT ALL HER DATES ARE NOT FACE TO FACE BECAUSE HER LIFE IS SO BUSY AND MODERN). Ben Affleck's was the likeablest character in the film until the very end when he threw his long-held conviction out for no reason at all. Kris Kristofferson has a heart attack. The End.

Pi (1998) 7/10
The Night of the Hunter (1955) 9/10
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) 8/10
The Ring Two (2005) 5/10
Robocop (1987) 9/10
Monsters Inc (2001) 8/10

Going the Distance (2010)
Justin Long and Drew Barrymore star. A romantic comedy centered on a guy and a gal who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between New York and San Francisco to see one another.

I saw this on a date night with the wife. I like Drew, and Justin is OK as well, so I went in open-minded. It was actually a pretty decent flick. I laughed in a number of different places, mostly due to supporting cast antics.

Overall, 7 out of 10.

So I have been acting like a Will Smith fan.

I Am Legend - 9/10
The Pursuit of Happyness - 8/10

Let Me In 8.5/10

Is a remake of the 2008 Swedish film, Let The Right One In, worth watching? Did they stick to the original story? I received my answers as I was watching the remake of a two-year-old film, which didn’t need to be remade, but since the original was barely seen by American audiences, they wanted to share their story with us. The remake follows the same format as the original, a boy is being bullied at school by a kid who is being bullied by his brother so he takes his anger out on the quietest kid in class, which happens to be Owen(in this version, Oskar in the original). A young “girl” and her “father” move into the apartment next door and an unusual friendship along with a series of events occur between the two 12 year olds that bond them for life.

This film does not include two sub stories, the first involving the middle aged drunks that hang out at the bar and his short stay at his father’s for the weekend.

The Social Network (2010) 9/10 is the film about Facebook. Thanks to its heavyweight writer and director, Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher, and a cast that can deliver Sorkin's hundred mile per hour conversations this is a film that's far cleverer, funnier and just better than any film about any technological or computer-based theme should be. There's a rowing race scene halfway through set to Trent Reznor's demented reworking of Greig's In the Hall of the Mountain King that I've heard critics wail about - don't listen to them. My eyes were out on stalks almost and it provides a welcome break from the nosebleed-fast dialogue. Main cast is supported brilliantly by Andrew Garfield as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's buddy Eduardo Saverin; Justin Timberlake playing ambitious but hollow and insecure internet entrepreneur Sean Parker; Armie Hamer as both Winklevoss buffoons; and Max Minghella as their cohort Divya Narendra.

Easy A (2010) 9/10 is a high school movie that seemed to be better-received than they are usually so I checked it out, as I like high school movies that are both well-received and not so. If they are that's just icing on the cake. Whoever said that Easy A is good is bang right, it's the best high school movie since Clueless and that film is as old now as its protagonist Cher Horowitz was then. Part of what made Clueless wonderful was the fact that main character Cher Horowitz was instantly likeable even though she was a rich brat and went to a school full of vapid idiots, and was more or less one herself. It's a character we should have hated and wanted to see fail but because of the lines she got and the way Alicia Silverstone played it - warm and deceptively intelligent - we couldn't help liking her. The hero of Easy A is Olive Penderghast and she too goes to high school in California, but instead of a Beverly Hills school for the super-rich it's a state school in unglamorous Ojai, way out in Ventura County (this - thankfully - doesn't stop everyone from looking as attractive as we expect of an American high school movie). Olive's not a cheerleader and she's not a geek or some new girl from the east or any other cliche like that - she's just a girl who one day lies to her best friend about losing her virginity at the weekend, and things snowball. Soon she's labelled as the school harlot and everyone - boys and girls - is suddenly far more interested in her now than they were before. Thanks, one can presume, to a fantastically but not stupidly liberal California upbringing by her excellent and hilarious parents (Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson), Olive has a very relaxed, unselfconscious outlook on school life and takes everything with a pinch of salt. She She's pretty much bulletproof to the usual highschool nonsense, which is true to a large extent, which is why she doesn't really give a shit what the kids think about her. She knows how fickle high school is and she knows it won't last forever anyway. Such a constitution should make her a heronie/role model to real high school kids in the audience and will make her likeable to older people watching. This is the high school kid that's quickly matured past highschool bullshit but can still join in and have a laugh with it - mostly for her own amusement. Things only get a bit serious and out of hand once non-students start to be affected by the story's events. Emma Stone playing Olive is the tentpole of the film and makes the job look easy; the supporting cast has an easy time of it for the most part and do well and mostly convince, the writing's smart and funny and the direction's handled well. A lot of clever stuff is done with sound, music and background things that make me want to see it again already. There's a lot of irony/postmodernism and references to previous teen movies that might grate some people but not, of course, a fan of the genre.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) 8/10. A 3D CG film about owls that can speak, fight with WEAPONS and have their own hokey legends and lore? Count me in! This film overflows with light fantasy/scifi cliches, and the Australian accents are difficult to get used to, and the story's been done so many times I fell asleep in the middle, but you've never seen it done with OWLS before and slow-motion has rarely been so awe-inspiring.

Trainspotting (1996) 6/10
Street Trash (1987) 6/10
The Elite Squad (2007) 8/10
Hot Fuzz (2007) 6/10
The Navigators (2001) 8/10
Food Inc (2008) 9/10
Hunger (2008) 9/10
Knight and Day (2010) 6/10
Agora (2009) 8/10
Matilda (1996) 7/10

Paranormal Activity 2 Thumbs down (I'm glad I didnt pay to see it. A couple of scares due to loud bump noise to an otherwise bland movie filmed with security cameras.)


Frozen Thumbs up (I'm glad I did not see this in the cinema as it was one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. I had to watch it in segments due to the level of anxiety I felt from viewng it.



Case 39 Thumbs Up (Suspenceful, well done)


Ip Man Thumbs Up (The story of the founder of Win Chung -Spelled many ways-)


Devil Thumbs Down (I don't know why he keeps going with a character in the movie explaining the plot by telling a story from his grandmother)