Street Kings

I felt like this one left a lot on the table. It had a big cast, Forrest Whitaker, Common, Hugh, Laurie, The Game, Keanu Reeves, The guy from Northern Exposure/Sex and the City, The Human Torch, Jay Mohr. Well, a bunch of people I recognize, anyway. There were some definite off notes, but there was lots of misdirection as well. I also liked the tone that it ended up with, though it had me worried on more than one occasion. I felt like with a little bit better acting (even Nicolas Cage instead of Reeves would have made a difference, much less somebody like Ethan Hawke or Ryan Gosling, not to mention the numerous losers in bit roles) and some better direction, maybe the addition of an overarching theme, this could have been Training Day or something close to it. Instead, it was more like Training Day 2 Electric Boogaloo. Not straight to video, but it might as well have been. But, it entertained me. Whitaker, Laurie and Common were very good and I like them. So there.

Vantage Point

This one was ok, but not great. I liked the idea of viewing the events from several differnt points of view. I also like the idea of the good guys choosing not to make retaliatory strikes against the evil guys. Those things appeal to me. I liked the cast. But, it was a bit overwrought at times. And there were moments of lameness. But, it wasn't terrible and I enjoyed myself.

Horton Hears a Who

I liked this one a good bit. It was funny, I laughed aloud more than once. Olivia laughed aloud a lot. It maintained is Seussian feel. It avoided the cheap shot of letting the bad guy get beaten up a the end, with Horton being magnanimous all the way to the end. Just good stuff. It also celebrates the value of all people, regardless of their size or power or whatever. I enjoyed it. The bridge scene was probably one of my favorites. Another one I will enjoy watching again on cable.

Last Holiday

There wasn't anything terribly wrong with this. It was probably the same genre as Mad Money but it was not quite the same stupidness to it. Queen Latifah is fun and I like watching LL Cool J, who can't help but be cool. I also liked Gerard Depardieu. Easy, non challenging. Not much there, but not offensive.

The Bank Job

I liked this a lot. First of all, it was a heist film. I like heist films. And while the robbers in this film are not particularly adept, it still had the cool factor of Confidence or Snatch without the high gloss of The Italian Job or Ocean's Eleven, all of which I liked, but, truth be told, the less glossy I like more. Second, the film takes place in England, which means lots of British accents. Always a plus for me, added value, if you will. It starred Jason Statham, whom I like quite a bit, from The Italian Job and Snatch. It also saw a very good performance by Keeley Hawes. She did a fantastic job as Statham's wife, in love with her man and frustrated about his burglary. The story was based on actual events, which lended a cool feel to it. All things considered, a very good movie I look forward to seeing again.

Be Kind, Rewind

I liked this one too. It was a good weekend for movies. It was not the simple, kinda stupid movie I expected it to be. It was about community and gave a little hout out to the value of community and the value of old neighborhood stores, even though they are doomed to change. I like Mos Def a lot, even though he usually plays himself. I also like Jack Black as himself when he has good material to work with. The Fats Waller bit was good here, and there were several cool shots, indicating Michel Gondry's participation in the project. I did not like Mia Farrow's small role, but other than that, it was all good.

Definitely, Maybe

Well, here's the thing. When Ryan Reynolds isn't doing things like Waiting, I really like him. I thought he was good here. I also thought Isla Fisher was good. I like her, too. The story was interesting. I liked thinking about Abigail Breslin in the movie as being Olivia's age. I could imagine her doing some of that stuff. Not all of it, but some of it. I liked the way the story was told. I liked the connections to the Clinton campaign. I liked the ending. Maybe it was facile, but I enjoyed it. And, I thought Isla Fisher was very good, as was Reynolds, as was Elizabeth Banks. Enjoyable, easy movie.

Shoot 'Em Up

This was somewhat entertaining, though it certainly felt more like satire than an actual action flick. I like Paul Giamatti and he was good here as a terrible bad guy. Clive Owen was also good as a terrible good guy. This was all about guns and violence. Ridiculous things: a carrot was a murder weapon more than once, Owen participated in major gun battles while delivering a baby, having sex, and the standard dropping down the middle of a stairwell, he used a gun to cut the umbilical cord in the aforementioned delivery, he used a gun to make a merry go round turn so that the target on the merry go round would not be so easy a target for Giamatti, etc. Not much funny, not much actual story, mostly just gun battle after gun battle after gun battle. I'm glad I saw it. I won't need to see it again.

Hannah Montana ...

This was not terrible. Ah parenthood.

Semi Pro

This was not a very good movie, it seemed poorly edited, the story was kinda silly. However, it did make me laugh out loud a couple of times and it's not like I was expecting Citizen Kane. Ithought Andre Benjamin was typically good. I thought Woody was believable. I thought Mara Tierney played Abby from ER, which was surprising, I guess I expected more from her. Will Ferrell was good, if he was playing himself. So, over all, it was doable, but not worth a trip to the theater if it was on DVD.

And the Winners Are:

Best Supporting Female Role
Allison Janney, Juno

Best Supporting Male Role
Sam Rockwell, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Best Actress
Elle Page, Juno

Best Actor
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises (I mean naked fighting? Come on!)

Best Film
Juno

Worst Film
The Contract

Best Comedy
Knocked Up

The Beeb Noms

Best Performance by a Female in a Lead Role







Amy Adams, Enchanted






Hope Davis, Charlie Bartlett







Katherine Heigl, Knocked Up






Ellen Page, Juno




Emma Thompson, Stranger Than Fiction

Best Performance by a Male in a Lead Role







Casey Affleck, Gone Baby Gone







Christian Bale, 3:10 to Yuma







Josh Brolin, No Country For Old Men







Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises







Brad Pitt, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Best Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role







Jennifer Garner, Juno







Allison Janney, Juno







Nicole Kidman, The Golden Compass







Amy Madigan, Gone Baby Gone





Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Performance by a Male in a Supporting Role







Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men







Armin Mueller-Stahl, Eastern Promises







Sam Rockwell, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford







JK Simmons, Juno







Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Picture

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Gone Baby Gone

Juno

Knocked Up

Michael Clayton

No Country For Old Men

The Movies (Marchish 07 - Marchish 08)

Thumbs Way Up
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Bourne Ultimatum
Gone Baby Gone
Juno
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
No Country For Old Men
Sicko
The Simpsons

Thumbs Up
300
3:10 to Yuma
American Gangster
Charlie Bartlett
Charlie Wilson's War
Dan In Real Life
Eastern Promises
Flushed Away
Fracture
The Great Debaters
Hot Fuzz
Meet the Robinsons
Mr. Brooks
Pride
Reign Over Me
Stranger Than Fiction
Sweeney Todd
There Will Be Blood
The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Wobbly Thumbs Up
27 Dresses
Atonement
Babel
Beowulf 3D
The Bucket List
Deja Vu
Disturbia
Enchanted
Evan Almighty
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fred Claus
The Game Plan
The Golden Compass
Happy Feet
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I Am Legend
In the Valley of Elah
The Invisible
Just Like Heaven
The Kingdom
License to Wed
Lions for Lambs
The Lookout
Must Love Dogs
Nancy Drew
The Notebook
Ocean's Thirteen
Shrek the Third
Spider-Man 3
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
We Own the Night

Wobbly Thumb
1408
August Rush
The Brave One
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Jumper
Lucky You
Mad Money
Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End
Shooter
Superbad

Wobbly Thumbs Down
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Eragon
The Good German
Hitman
The Last Mimzy
Martian Child
Nacho Libre
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
No Reservations
Pathfinder
Slow Burn
Surf's Up
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Transformers
Zodiac

Thumbs Down
The Last Legion
Next
Untraceable
Wild Hogs

Thumbs Way Down
The Contract

Charlie Bartlett

I wasn't sure about this one. I had not heard much about it, but it seemed kind of interesting so I thought I would give it a shot. Turns out, I liked it quite a bit. There were some interesting relationships portrayed, between Charlie and his schoolmates, as school therapist/drug dealer (although in so kind a way it did not seem nefarious or dangerous at all, certainly a different kind of message); between Charlie and his Mom, almost incestuous in its adultness, though never actual physical. She seems to want him to be her husband. Between Charlie and the principal, between the principal's daughter and the principal. All seem to have some startling moments of realism. Turns out the principal was a good teacher and liked it better than being a principal. And was liked better as a teacher. Turns out Charlie doesn't have to be the hero of everything. It was the other guy who wrote the cool play and other people who starred in it. It was other people who led the protest over the cameras. Lots of good stuff here lots of different visions. One complaint I had was the omnipresent lack of realism in school settings in movies. I guess the romanticized/demonized visions that are most often presented are better for storytelling, but I wish someone would give us a vaguely realistic vision of school every now and then. Other than that, I liked this one quite a bit.

Jumper

Well, to be honest, I just don't like Hayden Christiansen. I think he always looks bad, or sullen, or pissy. This movie was the same. I did not like it much. While the action was somewhat entertaining, there seemed to be a lot of the story that got left out. Why were the Samuel L. Jacksons so determined to kill the Christiansens? Why were the Christiansens able to do what they did. Why did Diane Lane appear in the movie at all given her ridiculously underexplained role? Not much here other than some flashy bits and some interesting fight scenes and visuals. Not much to recommend.

The Bucket List

Two consecutive "old" movies. I think this was not as good a movie as Atonement, but my expectations were significantly lower, so I might have liked it a bit more. I suppose it was about how we face death, would you live differently if you knew death was imminent, but I don't think it actually dealt with the issue, choosing instead to spend more time on the humorous interplay between Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, making it more fluff that philosophy. Which is fine, I suppose, though being as it was probably shooting for a bit more I think it missed the mark a bit. I think if it had been a buddy comedy, it would have been better. But, it was ok.

Atonement

I thought this was OK, but not great. I did not find it worthy of all the hype it has been getting. There has been talk about an interesting finish, but I didn't think it was all that remarkable. I like James McAvoy and Keira Knightley, and I thought they gave fine performances, but I was just not brought in by the story. Perhaps it was not helped by the old talking audience that surrounded me, but, I was not particularly impressed.

Untraceable

Not a lot of choices at the theaters I visit this week. But, I like Diane Lane, this seemed like a thriller, so I wanted to see it. It was not any good. If the standard of torture porn is the Saw and Hostel series, I suppose we could call this soft core torture porn. There were some gruesome torture scenes, but they did not take over the whole movie. They were enough to make me uncomfortable with them, though. The story was interesting and it gave me some thought about Free Speech and the nature of allowable content on the internet, but I'm not sure it's point on the matter was cogent enough. I know how I feel about it, but I don't know what they thought about it. While they hinted at the issue, the filmmakers did not actually make a statement of any sort. Not good, but not revolting.

There Will Be Blood

This took a while to digest. It was arty and beautifully made. It was long and fairly slow. But it gave me plenty of time to think. It made me think a lot about Capitalism and socialism. I think Daniel was a kind of paragon of capitalism. He was attempting to be the most inventive, creative oil man in the business so that he could make the most money. Every one else was only viewed in terms of how they related to that pursuit. His relationships with everyone centered around the business and there was nothing else. The conclusion, which I thought was really interesting saw him finally eliminating the last thing that had been gnawing at him, the humiliation he had felt in one of his prior experiences. Then "I'm done." He had finished everything. I thought it was cool. Also, on capitalism and socialism, I think, or at least I am drawn to think by this movie, that Capitalism extolls the importance of the individual, who will be the best, the most creative, the most innovative, who will find the way to better the competition. But, this leads to the exploitation of everyone else when taken to its limits. Noone else matters, only the pursuit of being the best, and, in turn, the wealthiest. Socialism extolls the value of the group, working together as a team for the value of the whole. This can be criticized as eliminating the individual, turning them into faceless masses. However, it places the value on the progression of the whole, which in fact, means every indivdual is important. Everyone has value. It seems paradoxical and I like it. And, I liked this movie.

27 Dresses

OK. I didn;t want to see this movie. I like Katherine Heigl in Grey's Anatomy. I like James Marsden to the degree that I've seen him (Enchanted... and he seems familiar...). I really like Ed Burns. But, I was staying away to prevent myself from the sort of mistake that I make when I go see movies like this or Mad Money. So, I bought a ticket to see The Bucket List, but the projector broke, so they gave us free passes to come back and we could go into another theater right then. The most recent movie that had started and finished in time for me to make my other commitments and that I had not seen was 27 Dresses. So, I went in. I missed the first couple of minutes, but the rest was much better than I expected. I liked the story even though it was fairly standard romantic stuff. I liked all the people I usually like. I didn't think the sister was very good, but the rest were sufficient. I think Heigl essentially played her Grey's Anatomy character, but, I like that character, so it was OK. Not a great movie, but not bad.

Mad Money

This is not a mistake I make often. I have seen all manner of throw-away action flicks. I have gone to them knowing that was what they were. I had a pretty good sense ahead of time that this was going to be throw-away chick flick and, turns out it was. I have a hard time saying I was disappointed, but this was not a very good movie. I like Dianne Keaton. I like Queen Latifah. I thought their performances were about what I thought they would be. Ted Danson was in good form. Katie Holmes was good. But, the movie was not original and I didn't like the way it ended. It seemed too easy. No challenges in the movie and no special effects to make it interesting. It was OK, but I didn't need to see it.

Juno

I liked this movie a lot. I thought there were some really good performances, from Ellen Page, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner. It takes place in Minnesota and for some reason, Allison Janney kinda reminded me of Sheryl. I liked the story. I liked the idea behind it. I like it that everything was not smooth. I loved the music. This became the second movie, I think that I went out and bought the CD immediately upon leaving the theater (the first being Elizabethtown, which though I liked, it was more for Lyndsae). Someone mentioned to me that they thought this movie glamorized teen pregnancy, but I don't see it that way. I don't think there was anything glamorous about it. I also don't think it demonized it either. I think Juno was a "normal" hich school girl, who happened to be pregnant. I thought Page did a great job of pulling this off. I also think Janney and Simmons did a really good job as caring, cool parents. And Garner did a good job as someone who desperatley wanted a child. I thought this was good all around. Some of the best female performances I've seen this year.

The Great Debaters

I liked this movie. It was good in the way that schmaltzy sports movies are good. Which is fine. I thought there were some good performances. Denzell Washington was good. The young debaters were good. I particularly liked the performances of Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker (no relation). I think it is easier to be the radical than it is to be the straight man and Whitaker did it exceedingly well (both of them). I found more in the quiet strength of Forest even though he was a bit of a prig than I did in Washington. I also thought Denzel Whitaker was particularly good in the subtler role. The story was typical, though I found it interesting hearing from Denzel Washington that Wylie had gone undefeated and did not lose any debates and that that debated USC in their finale. Both of those items were changed for the movie. But, having said all of that, I think the reason I liked the movie the most was that it made me think about the lack of debate in our culture. Nevermind that it seems like Academic Forensic societies seem to be on the decline (though that may just be my ignorance) but it seems like there is no real debate anymore. Especially in the political realm. Politicians do not debate, they just share the stage and exchange tag lines and catch phrases. There is no elegant discourse. There are no more Lincoln-Douglas debates. I think it's a shame. Oh well. The movie was good, anyway.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

I liked this movie. I thought the scenery was beautiful and I wanted to go visit Ireland after watching it. I would be interested in seeing this as part of a three-part Irish lesson with Michael Collins and In the Name of the Father. There are probably others that would connect that canon together. I liked hearing about this time period. I don't think I went in with much, if any, knowledge about the period, and I think that caused me to miss some things early. I liked watching the brothers change sides in their battle for freedom, one going from the stay out of the fire intellectual to the fiery revolutionary, the other going from fiery revolutionary to queller of the revolution. I think there is no doubt the movie supports the ideals of Cillian Murphy's character, the younger brother. I found it intriguing that this movie suggests that the IRA began as an effort to form a Socialist Republic of Ireland. I did not know that. A good tragedy. I think I may want to see it again sometime.

I Am Legend

I liked this movie. Lyndsae went in with the impression, from others who had seen it, no less, that it was "sad" and expected a drama. It was no drama. I call it a horror film, though Lyndsae would put it in Action. It is a remake of The Omega Man. It is a big budget Will Smith feature. It is not future Cast Away. I think I would call it a zombie movie? Maybe? Anyway, I enjoyed it. There would some good thrills, some make you jump moments. I tried to nail down what the point was, but had trouble. Was it science is bad? Not exactly. Was it science is great? Not exactly. It echoed some of the sentiment of Charlie Wilson's War, be careful what you wish for, or, don't assume the outcome you desire will turn out to be good in the end. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I like Will Smith and I thought he was good.

Water Horse: The Legend of the Deep

I enjoyed this movie. I talked with Olivia on the way home about why I liked it, even though parts of it were sad and why sad movies can be OK. It touched on some themes that I think are important. It talked about the importance of wonder and faith, the belief in things that can't be seen or seem fantastical. I think that kind of thing is important. It talked about guns and war being a bad thing, and about how they can rip families apart. And it talked about how raising things and helping them grow often means letting them leave when they get older and stronger, a resonant note for a parent watching his child become more and more independent. So, some good themes touched on. I loved listening to the accents and so did Olivia. Having said all of that, I think there were some pieces that were left loose. I think the editing was poor. I feel like we jumped around in the story and some things were assumed that were never said or hinted at. But, even so, I would still call this one enjoyable and fun, even if it is sad at parts.

Sweeney Todd

Perhaps I shouldn't be impressed when people who make their living in the theater arts can carry a tune. Nevertheless, I thought Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman, and Helena Bonham Carter were all really good in this film, in no small part due to their singing abilities which, while not spectacular, and maybe not as good as the adolescents and the kid, whom I suspect of being stage folk, were good, solid work. I liked this movie quite a bit. I guess maybe I liked the music, which I was not familiar with, but I liked the movie as well. A bit dark, yes, but I enjoyed it. I thought Cohen was very good in his small role. I thought Depp was very good in his consuming hate and need for revenge. I thought Bonham Carter was very good in her spot as well. I liked her By The Sea song. I liked her wry wit. I thought Rickman was good as athe lothario who was, in fact, enamoured. Lots of good roles played by good people (did not like the adolescents so much, but the kid was very good). Bloody, but good.

Sicko

This movie made me ill, as Michael Moore's films often do. It was very good. How in the world is it possible that we don't have universal health care in this country? It seems like an obvious thing. One of the things that this movie does not do as much as, say. Farenheit 9/11 is point fingers. It does levy some blame on congress people who got paid for by the drug companies, but I don't think it demonizes them quite as significantly as it could have. The climactic trip to Cuba was tearjerking, as were some of the DVD extras. This is a very good movie. I wish it had had more resonance among the people who make decisions.

The Contract

This was a straight to DVD relese that starred Morgan Freeman and John Cusack. Morgan Freeman is some kind of assassin and John Cusack is an ordinary Joe charged with bringing him into the law. Seems like a decent rental, right? Wrong. This was terrible. I think they spent all of their money on Cusack and Freeman and none on anybody else, including the writers. Bad story, ridiculously bad acting by almost everybody, including a couple of mail-in jobs by the leads, I think there was nothing redeeming about this at all. Blech.

Charlie Wilson's War

This was good. I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman was good. Tom Hanks was good. The story was good. I have read in some places that it opened the door for criticism of current policy and identified some blame for the Taliban, but it did it obliquely enough that it could be missed by someone who wasn't interested in seeing it. I think that is probably fair. However, I think it notable that this story about the "heroic" defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by the Afghan rbels armed by the US turns out to be the beginning of the Taliban regime and all of its fallout. I appreciated Hoffman's role in identifying the potential dangers caused by this action. And, I think it was not totally obvious. The story was good. It was fun at times. I liked it a lot.