2010 ~ The Larsen Film Review

Inception (2010)

Director Christopher Nolan is probably just as famous for Memento as he is for his Batman films. In between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises we get a treat with a film that returns to the style of Memento. A film that can be watched several times before fully grasping everything that is going on.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio [fresh off of an different psychological film: Shutter Island], Ellen Page [Juno], Marion Cotillard [La Vie en Rose and Nine], and Joseph Gordon-Levitt [(500) Days of Summer and The Lookout]. The concept of the film is all about existing in a dream space. Basically the idea that people can enter and share dreams, then inside dreams they can enter dreams. The dream within a dream theory is pretty powerful, and is fully explained over the course of this film. At almost two and a half hours it is a commitment, and I highly suggest that is be watched in a single sitting.

So did I like this or The Social Network better? That gets into a gray area, because they both get the illusive 10/10 for completely different reasons. This is the type of film I could watch again and again. Social Net. is a film that I found myself lost in on first watch, which doesn't necessarily translate into a great second viewing. Nor do I feel that I must pick, since I gave them both 10's. I fully expect The Social Network to win the Oscar, I don't think an action film like this has a chance. If you asked me which I would rather have in my personal collection and would like to go to the theater to watch with you right now... I'd say Inception.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/

One of the last two films on the AFI Laughs left to watch. One of the films I reserved until the end to watch with my wife. Given the number of films I watch there are many I watch on my own, but since this was an old Cary Grant film we had never heard of we expected it to be pretty good.

Turns out this was RKO's biggest blockbuster, and a very popular film in the 1940's. Which is amazing, because I hated it. No really it was hard to watch because the characters annoyed me so much.

Cary Grant plays "Mr. Blandings," a short tempered father of a middle class family, with a wife and two daughters. He works for an advertising agency in New York and lives in a cramped home. Myrna Loy plays "Mrs. Blandings," the wife who is completely non-supportive of her husband and allows her ex-boyfriend from college "Bill" [played by Melvyn Douglas] to hang around. The family buys a dump, and eventually end up building a new house. No one in the family gets along, and the comedy is overshadowed by the bad attitudes throughout the film.

Maybe it was because I saved it, expecting it to be good. Maybe it just wasn't good. I found this to be incredibly over-rated, and was inspired to make a list of the 50 most over-rated films after watching this one.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040613/

I saw this over Christmas with my family, a film I expected to find average at best. I remember it getting bad reviews and was hesitant to even watch it in the first place. I'm very happy I gave this one a shot.

Tom Cruise may have a strange personal life, but I don't know him personally so I try not to be partial when watching his films. It can be hard, but to be honest I can't think of a film he has done lately that I didn't film at least somewhat good. Collateral, War of the Worlds, Tropic Thunder.. all pretty good. So Valkyrie and Lions for Lambs weren't great but it is still a pretty good record lately. Cameron Diaz on the other hand has had some pretty bad performances lately. Bad enough that when it is not just animation voice work I'm very hesitant to give it a shot.

So the film is an Action/Comedy. Cruise plays a secret agent that Diaz gets tangled up with. Much like the movie Killers but with better acting, supporting cast, and plot line [notice I didn't call this a Romantic Comedy].

The action scenes are over the top, but the director almost acknowledges this, plays with it, and makes it fun. Instead of a serious action, we understand this is completely unrealistic and that is ok. Do you question plausibility in a Will Ferrell movie? Probably not. Do you question plausibility in a Nicolas Cage? I do. That is why this movie was different.

Get out the popcorn and enjoy!

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013743/

By far the most interesting documentary I've seen this year. I don't necessarily think that I'm saying that in a good way. After seeing it I bother understand why it is not on the short list for the documentary and why it is so popular.

First off, I knew very little about Joan Rivers before watching this. For those of my generation, think of her as Kathy Griffin's predecessor. You know, the annoying redhead from a couple Seinfeld episodes? Anyways, Rivers is a comedian that thinks she is an actress. She lives a lifestyle all of her own, and this documentary follows her around for a year exposing you to her schedule.

The film is in many ways, sad, pitiful, frustrating, and mainly unbelievable. Not because it was fake, but because it was all too real. Rivers looks like a monster without her make-up, an opening sequence that almost hard to watch. It is one of those films that you can't really put your finger on. Did I like it? It is wrong to like it? In many ways it was little more than a long episode of 60 minutes, obviously there was no real message, but it was a fun watch.

I suggest checking it out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568150/

#85 on the AFI 100 Laughs, this is one of the last three films I have left on this list. A very old talkie making fun of the upper class, or at least that is what I took from it. This one was very hard to follow the comedy, the jokes referenced a way of talking and subject matter that was so dated that I found little to no humor in it.

The film is all based around a housewife of a man in the shipping business. Unbeknownst to his wife, the business is failing, someone she is inviting to the dinner is trying to corner him out. We get to view all of the subplots involving just about everyone at the party. I found none of them to be really interesting, or funny for that matter.

Another confusing "Laughs" entry with a dated film that has all but lost it's humor over time.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023948/

One of the 15 documentaries to make the short list of the Oscar nominations. In direct competition with the higher profile Waiting for 'Superman' this is probably one of the underdogs in the race. Starring Cory Booker who is the current mayor of Newark, NJ and starring in the Oscar nominated Street Fight which documented one of his mayor races. I'm a huge fan of Street Fight enough to give it a 10/10, so it was nice to see he is actually mayor now.

The big flaw of the film is that it is very heavily one sided, enough that if it was sold as an advertisement for charter schools you wouldn't doubt it. It portray charter schools as the absolute solution, and don't get me wrong they really look like a good idea. But this isn't dolphin killing, there is another side. They didn't interview anyone from the public school side. The only time we encountered these people we were told they were hired by Acorn, thugs, or painted them in a really bad light in a heated debate with uneducated responses.

I have mixed feelings about this film because it does actually show a solution to a big problem. The most interesting thing said in the whole thing is that parents are very forward thinking about everything except education. We want new medicine, new electronics, new everything, yet we want our kids to go to school just like we did. The same hours, the same curriculum, the same learning techniques. Why is this? It is a very good point and something I will take away from this film. I'm glad I watched it, but I also really like documentaries, I really don't see how this will pull out a nomination.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515935/

One of many adaptations of the Dickens novel, and a necessary watch after subjecting myself to the awful Disney 3D animated version. Originally titled "Scrooge" in the UK, and on the imdb list way back in 2001, I've been saving this one for 6 months to watch in season.

It was a good idea to watch it so closely to a bad version to fully appreciate it. First off it is amazing how two films with almost identical storylines, even scripts, could be so much different. Full of emotion, and only in black-and-white this film proves to me that acting trumps effects any day. We all know the story of the ghosts visiting scrooge, so it is futile to discuss that in this post.

This is regarded as the best film adaptation to date, and if you can get past the black-and-white it is the one to watch with the family.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008/

A cheap Hollywood remake of the 1999 film with the same title and same directors: Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang. Chun has been compared to John Woo by some, and to me this was an attempt to bring another Hong Kong action director to the US market. Sadly he cast Nicolas Cage who seems to be fueled by nothing but money right now.

I hate to use the cliche for Mr. Cage, that he is unemotional when acting, but nothing could be much further from the truth here. Scenes are grossly unrealistic with endless clips in action scenes, jumps and dives that would break any other mans wrists or ankles. Hey, it is cheap action so I can look past that a little.

I really felt like I was following the bad guy through this movie though. The hitman working his last big job, complicated and killing people with his catch phrase "He's bad for somebody." Instead of "he is a bad guy," so we know he is aware he is providing a service for some really bad people. The movie didn't make sense, he constantly narrates his "rules," then proceeds to break every one of them. I can see how this film might, might, have been better in its original release, but I can't be sure after watching this.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814022/

Only the 2nd film of the year I have given a 10/10 and for many good reasons. Since I expect this post to be heavily reviewed I'll do my best to justify why I really liked this film and am not just jumping on the bandwagon of what everyone says is the best this year.

First off much like a have said in the past, this is one of the few movies I've completely lost track of the time, got lost in the film, and before I knew it, it was over. Second, Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band, so the soundtrack done by Trent Reznor is fantastic. Third, the acting was excellent, the joke I've recently heard is that Mark Zuckerberg plays a great Jesse Eisenberg, I haven't been a huge fan of Jesse to this point. Adventureland annoyed me, and I started to warm up to him in Zombieland. Rooney Mara did so well we will get to see her try and pull off Lisbeth Salander in the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo later in 2011. Supporting roles by Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake were fantastic as well, and might pull in a few awards.

So a little about the film. This is an Adapated Screenplay from the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich, who is the same guy who wrote "Bringing Down the House," which was turned into 21 by thesame production company a few years ago. The film documents the rise of facebook, following the inventor through the development process. Told in flashback were the "present day" is meeting with lawyers determining settlements for co-founders.

Since this was based on a novel I can't knock if for leaving out some controversial issues with facebook over the last several years. Mainly the privacy clause and Zuckerberg's quotes about how we are all stupid people willing to just give away our personal information to anyone. Then of course if the facebook integrating with our phones, other media devices. As well as opening it past the University level to children and adults well out of college. The film did not make him a hero, but seemed to attempt to portray his personality as realistically as possible. It appears to be pretty authentic.

A very good film, that I expect to win many awards. Well worth watching.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/

A strange, slow, interesting, but simple film about a man trying to piece together his past life. Nominated for a Golden Globe for best foreign film, keep in mind that unlike the Oscar Foreign LANGUAGE category, the Globes is a Foreign production category. Meaning that this film which was made in France/Germany in 100% English speaking.

The film starts with Harry Dean Stanton walking around in the desert. His brother finds him and brings him home after collapses at a rest stop. We learn he used to have a wife and son and spend the rest of the almost two and a half hour film learning what terrible events got him to were he is now.

At first your can't tell if he is mentally slow, a mute, insane, or just depressed. All of this is revealed throughout the film but giving much more away would ruin the movie. If you know the plot then I imagine it would be painfully slow because the speed of the film is to give you time to guess what happened. I actually did like the film a lot. I'm not sure it needed to be so long and I'm not a huge fan of how it was summed up. Quite Anti-climatic for such a long film and I can't see watching it twice.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087884/

With Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, this film rounds out a very strong group of Golden Globe nominations in the animated division. Although I gave How to Train... a 9/10 I'm not sure which one I liked better now.

The story is about a villain [Gru played by Steve Carell] who has been outdone by another villain [Vector played by Jason Segel]. Afraid that he is getting too old and still not close to achieving his ultimate villain dream he comes up with a plan to steal the moon. The plan involves using three orphan girls to steal from Vector. Comic relief is provided by the numerous yellow minions that populated 3-D movie commercials throughout the year. As well as his assistant, Dr. Nefario [played by Russell Brand] and his unloving mother played by Julie Andrews.

Overall the movie was fun, an appropriate length, and incredibly entertaining while still being tame enough for little kids. I could see taking a pretty young kid to this one because the minions are fun, and the violence is either playful or silly. Wish I could have seen the closing credits in 3D, but 2D is just fine.

Vote: 8/10, KSF: 2/5

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323594/

Not to be confused with Casino Jack starring Kevin Spacey and nominated for a Golden Globe this month. This is actually a documentary from the same year the proceeds the release of the Bio Dramody. With the announcement of the Globe nominations I knew I would want to see the Spacey film, so I was prompted to go ahead and get this one over with.

This is a not-so playful look at the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff who spend years alongside Tom DeLay paying off politicians and pocketing the rest.The fall guy for a lot of political corruption this film lacks in having a resolution to the blood boiling underhanded things it presents. It becomes numbing at some point and is an overload of information, which becomes quite boring. The thing I found the most interesting is the e-mail trail he left behind of his wrong doings. He really had no defense for all of the awful things he had to say.

I hope my mean comments about movies don't come back around some day. Hope I have thick enough skin if they do. Just average, not a bad film, but it didn't appeal to me as much as I had hoped.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1540814/

The first pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, and her follow-up film to The Philadelphia Story. This is the film that spawned a relationship off screen between the two and lead to another 8 films between the two. Winner of an Oscar for writing and nominated for Best Actress for Hepburn, this film on paper sounds pretty good. Watched as part of the AFI 100 Laughs I expected this to compare to one of the couple later pairings, Adam's Rib.

Sadly the film is painfully boring. It started well when the Tracy courts Hepburn, at this point the film is more of a romance. After marriage it was boring, in the romantic comedy phase of the movie, and eventually ends with slapstick comedy that actually put me to sleep.

I can fully see why Hepburn was given the label "box-office poison." Even her acclaimed films I have strongly disliked. 70+ years later awards groups are still trying to find merits in her flops. I don't understand this, and greatly disagree.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035567/

Another round of Oscar Short films. All but Kavi are available on youtube so you are welcome to check them out yourself very easily. The New Tenants won the Oscar, I can't say it would have been my choice, but I think it was a decent choice.

Film: Kavi
Director: Gregg Helvey
Runtime: 19 min
Country: India
Vote: 8/10
Review: The only one I couldn't find on youtube, and bought through the itunes store for $2. This intense short about a child slave in India is difficult to watch. Hard to pick as my favorite because I won't necessarily want to see it again. Powerful and gripping, the 19 minutes go by really fast.

OSCAR WINNER

Film: The New Tenants
Director: Joachim Back
Runtime: 20 min
Country: Denmark
Vote: 7/10
Review: A violent short that starts with a gay guy bitching for about 5 minutes. The storyline isn't bad but I could have done without the intro. Probably meant to be a dark comedy, yet I didn't really find it that funny. Not sure what critics would say about why it deserved the win.

Film: Instead of Abracadabra: Istället för abrakadabra
Director: Patrik Eklund
Runtime: 22 min
Country: Sweden
Vote: 7/10
Review: A Swedish comedy about a 20-something that lives at home and aspires to be a magician. With a sick idea of what emotional reactions he is trying to get from his audience this is an interesting watch. I can see how people would either love or hate it, so I recommend this to only those that like international comedy already.

Film: The Door
Director: Juanita Wilson
Runtime: 17 min
Country: Ireland
Vote: 5/10
Review: An incredibly depressing film about a family that lived in Chernobyl during the nuclear accident in the 1980s. It didn't teach me anything and was just sad.

Film: Miracle Fish
Director: Luke Doolan
Runtime: 17 min
Country: Australia
Vote: 5/10
Review:I found this film almost pointless, when held up against a film like "New Boy" from last years nominees this one was really weak. Telling you much of anything would ruin the surprising plot. Almost disturbing.

I was not impressed with this grouping of short films. The 2008 nominees were all much stronger than this group. I would rank 3 or 4 of them higher than Kavi. Outside of the top two here I didn't feel they were even worthy of nominations. Hopefully next year is better.

This horror film was reserved for after horror month when I couldn't get my project list for the month done. Because of its inclusion on the AFI 100 Thrills I knew I would watch it shortly anyways.

Nominated for five Oscars and winner of best costume design in a black and white film. This story of two sisters played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was almost hard to watch at times. An intense thriller were you just want to just jump in and save the sister but can't. It is frustrating that you as the viewer can't control the situation.

The story goes that Davis' character is a childhood star, her sister [Crwaford] makes it big in Hollywood when they grow up. She writes into her contract with the movie studio that they have to make a film starring her sister for each on starring her. Baby Jane can't act, and her jealousy finally makes her snap. The story then jumps forward to present day were Baby Jane torments her sister for all the pain she believes her cost her.

Creepy and intense, but nothing I want to see again. A just average rating, yet a pretty good film. I would suggest to people that like thrillers but hold reservations for anyone else to see.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056687/

Directed by and starring Goldie Hawn winner of an Oscar for Best Actress, nominated for two more as well as a Gold Globe nomination. This inclusion on the AFI 100 Laughs was a no-brainer.

The film is about a girl who has never fended for herself. Married twice and from a wealthy upbringing, when she has a complete emotional breakdown she turns to the military for a change. Unaware of what she is getting her self into and growing as a person the film was actually quite enjoyable through basic training and the first 45 minutes.

Her reassignment and build up to a 3rd fiance was almost unwatchable though. With incredibly annoying hair that seemed to grow a life of its own through the movie. A plot that seemed to run out of steam and lack excitement. I didn't really laugh at this movie. I'm not surprised that I didn't like it, I am surprised that I did like a portion of it.

It had some redeeming qualities but I wouldn't suggest this film.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081375/

A very artistic film that should be watched on a big screen to really be enjoyed. Starring Richard Gere in one of his earliest film roles, he is just 29 in this movie and I've never seen him as anything but old in films before. Alongside Brooke Adams (better known from the tv show Wings) and Sam Shepard, who probably has the most colorful career of the cast, with an Oscar nomination for The Right Stuff and now playing grandfathers in current films including Brothers. The director Terrence Malick is well known for artistic films like The Thin Red Line and The New World.

The film is simple. Gere's character gets in a fight working at a mill, to avoid repercussions he goes on the run with his girlfriend Adams and sister Linda Manz (a teenager and the narrator). They end up finding work in Shepard's character's fields, then plot to become owners of the land.

The film is very slow, but also short. In The New World I found in painfully slow to the point that the movie was just boring. In this film I though it very artistic. Since the runtime isn't that bad at only 90 minutes it doesn't seem that slow either. It isn't great and not really deserving of any awards, and I can see myself completely forgetting what this film was about in a year or two since it was lacking in any real memorable scenes. Not a bad watch if it is on any of your lists.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077405/

A film that has been on-and-off the imdb top 250 for many years, yet somehow always misses the Jan. 1st inclusion in my static annual listing. It is poised to be on at the end of this month for the 2011 edition and is also on several other lists I'm working on. Directed by Kar Wai Wong who also did the film I found awful, Happy Together, and the film I found average, Chungking Express. This one actually stars one of the main characters from Happy Together, Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Alongside Maggie Cheung, better known for her role in Hero with Jet Li.

The film starts with Tony's character looking for a room to rent, he answers an ad to find that Maggie's character just took the apartment. The owner renting the room sets him up with her neighbor and they end up moving in on the same day as new neighbors. They are both married and their spouses travel a lot for work. Then they both come to the conclusion that their spouses are having affairs they form a friendship consoling each other. They even act out scenes of their spouses breaking the news of the affair to each other.

Personally I couldn't really tell if they were having an affair themselves or were just being cautious about their friendship being misconstrued. The film was boring, and I especially don't like romance films centered around affairs, especially the painful side of them, and this film is full of pain and heartbreak which is not something I desire to watch. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone just looking for an interesting foreign movie to watch Infernal Affairs or Hero if you really want to see these two stars perform.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118694/

Down to just five comedies to finish the AFI 100 Laughs I've finally gotten around to watching these again. This one really stars Tom Ewell a business man in New York City that just said good-bye to his wife and son. The premise of the movie is that since the time of the Indians the dominant male in the family has sent his family north to cooler weather in the summer while they stayed home to work [or hunt].

The title comes from the time span a doctor in the film says that men get tired of being tied down in marriage and when the most men cheat. so with the family gone, men around him being immoral, and Marilyn Monroe moving in to the apartment upstairs; we witness the battle Mr. Sherman has with his conscious.

The film has its funny moments. Personally I found it kind of stupid to make it look like it was so hard to have a little self control. The dope couldn't make it a single night without his wife before getting drunk, smoking, and inviting a woman into his apartment. And he was supposed to be trying? Yeah, I get it, that is the joke of the movie and why it is funny. I was also surprised at the lack of acting Monroe was supposed to do. It really was a one man show. Her lines were few and far between and she still headlines the cast and credits, no surprise. How dim was she that they had to limit her so much?

Whatever, it was just ok, not bad for this list and has the famous skirt seen from the poster. Which was much shorter and less revealing in the actual movie than I have seen in highlights before.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048605/

By far the worst film I have seen this year. This retelling of the Charles Dickens classic story completely panders to the usage of 3D, while failing to provide any substance.

The classic story which has the three ghosts: Past, Present, and Future are meant to show Mr. Scrooge when he changed and how things used to be. The condition of the people around him that he is hurting. What will happen to him if he doesn't change. Pretty simple, amazing that Disney could get it so wrong.

The CGI was so bad in this film that I wouldn't be surprised audience members got sick. The scare factor is so high that I don't know who their target audience is. Kids can't see this one, if would give them nightmares, the story lacks so much substance that adults couldn't possibly fidn it worthwhile.

First off the ghost of Christmas Past doesn't really teach him anything, I'm sorry but showing him the school he used to go to was pointless. The Ghost of Christmas Present had the most incredibly annoying laugh and just showed him people talking bad about him. The Ghost of Christmas Future just chased him around. Scrooge learned nothing about the Christmas spirit, all the ghosts did was scare him straight. Like a shape up or you are going to hell. I strongly disliked this film and would suggest it be avoided completely.

Vote: 1/10, KSF 5/5

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067106/

Part two of the Jean de Florette biopic. I have to tell you now that if you don't want the ending of the first film spoiled you better not read this review yet. It is hard to talk about a sequel without divulging the outcome of the first film. This film actually isn't on any of my lists, I just really felt I needed to see this to complete the film.

The first film ends really sadly. Jean dies from a rock hitting him in the head when using dynamite to try and blast a well for his family. His daughter Manon then witnesses the Soubeyran's (neighbors) unplugging the spring before her and her mother have even moved out. Manon now lives on the land with a herd of goats, Ugolin becomes infatuated with her and you can tell that she will somehow get her revenge.

The film is quite boring and slow to be honest. The not-Hollywood ending of Jean dieing was different, and I liked it. In this one though they have to make everything right. It isn't until the end of the film when some things are revealed that I really got into the film. It was a nice climax and in retrospect made the film overall pretty good. Obviously you have to see Jean de Florette to understand and enjoy this movie.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091480/

Out on dvd this week I watched the film version of the TV series that made Mr.T famous, and no you won't here "I pity the fool." I unfortunately think I unknowingly watched the extended cut as well. Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel this action film was honestly a waste of time.

We start with a 20+ minute intro action scene that shows the four men coming together to make the team. In the process we get to see some fantastic unrealistic stunts including a helicopter shutting off, free falling, then turning back on and doing a flip. They are so proud of this little cgi stunt that it is on the commercials on tv right now.

Cooper once again backs up that his role in The Hangover was a fluke, and that Zach Galifianakis made that movie. His acting is bad, and I start to get annoyed with looking at him by the end. This goes right along with his role in All About Steve. His grilfriend that couldn't commit to the relationship is now the same person in charge of keeping the A-Team in line. Played by Jessica Biel, I'll not be mean and just said I didn't care for her performance and that she has done better. Neeson's quality acting is out of place and it makes it even more phony when coupled with the rest of the cast. I will say that Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was a nice replacement for Mr.T though, I never watched the show so I don't really understand Sharlto Copley's character as a mental patient in comic relief.

This is one of those action films you have to wade through to get to one like Red. I highly suggest avoiding this one. Yes they left it wide open to make many more sequels.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429493/

Just announced as a Golden Globe nominee in a dieing category of Best Comedy/Musical (who still watches Musicals?... enough for being recognized as a category...). RED stands for Retired-Extremely-Dangerous.

Bruce Willis plays a retired CIA agent that has a peculiar budding relationship with a telephone representative for a company that handles some sort of pension check he receives. When his life is threatened he kidnaps her for fear she is also now a target. Mary-Louise Parker who is more of a television star with shows like Weeds and The West Wing does an excellent job balancing comedy in this action film. Comments about this still not being her worst first date, and her handling of interaction with John Malkovich and Helen Mirren was really good. Malkovich plays Willis' friend that is also retired CIA, but incredibly paranoid. Mirren plays another agent friend that lends support. With Morgan Freeman also in the cast it isn't that big of a surprise that this film is getting some recognition.

It does deserve credit, and was a pretty good action film. Like Romantic Comedies, good action film are hard to weed through to find one worth your time. This is one of them. There's not much cursing or blood and guts so it is acceptable for a PG-13 audience. Check it out!

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245526/

Nominated for a Golden Globe in 1988, this duology directed by Claude Berri remains his crowning achievement.From the title I expected this film to be a romance about a girl named Jean, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was far from the case.

The film includes star of 1953's The Wages of Fear, Yves Montand, as well as Gérard Depardieu, better known to me for his role two years later in the film Green Card, which won the Golden Globe for best Comedy/Musical.

The film is about an Uncle and Nephew, Montand and Daniel Auteuil, who decide to change crops. They come to the conclusion that the land that their neighbor has is more suitable and plot to purchase it. After an untimely [forced] death of the owner, Jean and his family move in. The Uncle/Nephew then go to work making the man fail.

It is a sad film and we see signs of failure and success. I really enjoyed the acting and the plot was compelling. The only flaw, which really isn't much of one, is that you have to watch the sequel. Made basically right after this film, and intended to be seen at a "part 2," the story is very incomplete without it. A pleasure to finish several imdb top 250 lists for me.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091288/

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg star in an over-the-top comedy about police action films. The film is full of stars with cameos from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Derek Jeter, and with minor roles from Eva Mendes, Rob Riggle, Damon Wayans Jr., and Michael Keaton.

As with any Ferrell movie there are a number of jokes that I did not find funny, but there are also a lot of very funny parts and situations. Hey that is comedy. The movie was a lot of fun, the best running joke for me was Wahlberg learning ballet, art, and other talents to make fun of kids in his neighborhood growing up. The film seemed to have a message about Ponzi schemes and how even when caught these bad guys get away.

A fun, sometimes stupid, but entertaining movie. One of Ferrell's better films mainly because of Wahlberg. I would suggest it with reservations.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1386588/

Sarah Polley stars in a film about a tragedy in a small town involving a school bus wreck on a snowy morning. Polley plays the only survivor that has to deal with the parents attempting to put together a lawsuit against the town. Ian Holm plays the lawyer, hired by Polley's father, trying to assemble the parents into a class action suit.

The film is sad and slow and incredibly cheesy. We get constant flashback to the kids before the accident. We sit through interviews with parents, the bus driver, and teachers like we are watching an episode of Law & Order. The film becomes an analogy between the Pied piper of Hamelin and the lawyer/father, with annoying narration by Polley herself.

I can see why this slipped out of the imdb Top 250 back in 2003. It was nominated for two Oscars for Director and Screenplay and won numerous awards at film festivals. I would not recommend this movie.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120255/

The American Film Institute spent a decade creating Top 100 lists from American Cinema, the 100 Thrills, Passions, Laughs, Cheers, All-Time, Villains, etc. But they also started something new at the turn of the Century. They started releasing a top 10 American Films of the Year starting in 2000. This is one of the films on that inaugural list. Two months later it was also nominated for two Oscars. Laura Linney for best Actress and also for Best Screenplay. It didn't win either. It is also one of the last three films on my imdb Top 250 from 2003 and 2004.

Enough about why I watch it. This is a brother and sister drama centered around the brothers emotional issues; Terry played by Mark Ruffalo. After their parents die in a car wreck Sammy, played by Laura Linney, is left to take care of her brother. The children are now grown up and are both pretty screwed up. Terry can't handle the small town and lacks direction and Sammy is a single mother who works at the bank and lacks direction with relationships.

Matthew Broderick plays the new bank boss and Rory Culkin plays Rudy, Sammy's son. The film is an emotional mess. All of the characters have major flaws, and there is little to no resolution in the film to any of this. This is also the point of the film, life isn't easy and Hollywood doesn't have to make life look perfect all the time. I had trouble leaning either way on this film, and 6/10 seemed the most appropriate. I probably would have given it a higher rating if I would have seen it when it came out, but it just good acting in a forgettable movie.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203230/

The nominees from the 2009 Oscars (all released in 2008) for live action were a little more trouble for me to get a hold of this time around. The 2007 and 2008 Shorts were all released as a collection by Magnolia films. Starting in 2009, and again this year, they started releasing all the live action and animated short film nominees as a single theatrical film. Problem is they stopped putting out dvd's. After waiting over a year I finally found them all at the itunes store, and was able to get all of these, and next years [look for a post next week].

So like the animated nominees from 2009 [HERE] I have listed them in descending order, from favorite to leave favorite. Toyland: Spielzeugland won the Oscar, but I would have picked Auf der Strecke.

Film: On the Line: Auf der Strecke
Director: Reto Caffi
Runtime: 30 min
Country: Switzerland
Vote: 9/10
Review: My favorite by far. The story is about a man who works the security camera at a department store. He has fallen in love with an employee there, and since they take the same train home; he times leaving work so that they take the same one home every day. After a tragedy involving the girl and her brother that he could have intervened in, they begin talking. "Is he going to tell her?" is all that I could think about, it was gripping and interesting. All that you can ask for from a short film.

Film: The Pig: Grisen
Director: Dorthe Warnø Høgh
Runtime: 23 min
Country: Denmark
Vote: 8/10
Review: The simplest storyline. Man goes in for surgery, after an extended stay in the hospital he only has the painting on the wall for comfort. When the vacant bed in his room is filled, the picture mysteriously comes down. Turns out the family was offended... the family of a blind man was offended by a painting the man couldn't see. An interesting film about tolerance, I can see how some people would find it boring. I really liked it though.

Film: New Boy
Director: Steph Green
Runtime: 11 min
Country: Ireland
Vote: 8/10
Review: I actually saw this one at a film festival in Fort Worth. To this day, it stands as the only short film I have ever seen in the theater before getting a nomination. It was also the only one of the five that I could find on youtube instead of having to purchase on itunes. The film is about an African boy that is the new kid in class. He just moved to Ireland we learn through tragic events. It is sad and heartwarming. A little too short to be my favorite, but it was my favorite at the festival so I was happy to see it included (I picked it for the win, and was wrong two years ago).

OSCAR WINNER

Film: Toyland: Spielzeugland
Director: Jochen Alexander Freydank
Runtime: 13 min
Country: Germany
Vote: 6/10
Review: A German film centered around World War II and concentration camps. Instant winner when it comes to the Academy.. even if it wasn't good and incredibly confusing. I actually watched it twice and I still couldn't put it together. Basically a mother tells her son that the neighbors are leaving for Toyland and that he cannot go. In reality they are being shipped off to concentration camps, and the boy sneaks off from his mother, and onto a train. All to pull off an elaborate swap to save the neighbor boy?

Film: Manon on the Asphalt: Manon sur le bitume
Director: Elizabeth Marre & Olivier Pont
Runtime: 15 min
Country: France
Vote: 6/10
Review: Manon gets into a wreck with a car. She is dieing on the street while the ambulance is arriving. Instead of reflecting back on her life, you know her life flashing before her eyes... she instead of thinking about how all her friends and family are going to coup with her dieing. Not a bad concept, but depressing, and in some ways incomplete.

Surprisingly I gave all 5 at least a 6 out of 10. Pretty good bunch actually, they all were at least average and three out of five I felt were worth watching. Hopefully next years are as good!

Shrek "4"ever after, the 4th movie in the series that won't go away. Hey, at least they are keeping Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz busy so there are working less on crap like Norbit, The Love Guru, and Charlie's Angels.

This one was a rebound for me from the 3rd film, another 5/10, that was still the worst in the series. It really seems more like something I would watch on television and not in a theater. I'm sure we will see this on a family channel soon enough, maybe the 3D would have added something, but I doubt it. A big pro is that it has a low kids scare factor 2/10. Besides being ogres and witches they are not really scary and there are very few scenes that would be unacceptable for little ones.

The storyline is that Rumpelstiltskin finds a way to con Shrek into handing over the kingdom. Shrek now has to reverse the contract by falling in love with Princess Fiona again. It is kind of a cute storyline, but remains just for kids. It has definitely lost the double entendres that made the first film so special.

Vote: 5/10, KSF: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0892791/

Films like this remind me that I am not a student of film. I never studied it and I could care less about how fluid the film was or the social commentary, or whatever metric that doesn't add up to an enjoyable and interesting storyline. The fact is, this movie was dull. The elements of slapstick comedy do not find in well with the seriousness and romance. We have multiple tangled affairs and no real main character.

I don't like hopping around following different people if there is no central theme and storyline. I'll take Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion over this one any day.

I really don't have much more to say, this was a struggle to finish and motivate myself to get through. Good luck if you are watching it to complete a list.

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031885/

Wow am I lost. Does anyone remember details from a movie they saw a decade ago? I started writing this blog to remind myself of all the movies I watch. I don't see how anyone will understand what is going on in this movie without the first six films even a little fresh in their minds.

I will "re-review" this in June when I rewatch the entire series the month before the final chapter is released. Until then I have to critique the fact that the director does a horrible job catching people up in the story.

If you ever watched LOST you know that they take 2-4 minutes every week to give you the necessary background to follow the episode. They assume that the audience did watch the previous episodes, but do not require them to have memorized the details. Harry Potter movies have never ever done this. Why? Don't you realize these film won't be able to stand on their own even twenty years from now because of this?

I'm not quite sure I understand what was going on most of the time, and since this is a part one there isn't any conclusion at all. I'm sure I will like it a lot better when I know what is going on, but this was crap. 3/10 on its own, maybe an 8/10 since the acting was good next year... until then... if you decide to watch this one you better know what happened in the last 6.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926084/

In 1994 Ken Burns released a 19 hour documentary about the entire history of baseball. I watched the entire thing this past summer, reviewed HERE. To my surprise he released a "10th inning" continuation to the series, originally airing on PBS the last week of September. The "Top" of the inning is a 2 hour documentary about baseball from 1992 to 1999. And the "Bottom" of the inning is an hour and a half documentary on baseball from 1999 to 2009. I will discuss them in two parts, since they are quite different in my opinion.

So the top of the inning actually features a lot of different stuff. It talks about the Latin influence on the game, the strike of 1994, and how Cal Ripken, Jr. saved the game. OK, saved the game might be a little far, how about restored America's faith in baseball. I thought the top of the tenth did a great job talking about a lot of different teams. If went into the Atlanta Brave's dominance over their division, the Marlins run from the wild card spot to the World Championship. It went into the Diamondback vs. Yankees, and had a great feel of covering the entire league's development.

The bottom of the tenth was another story. The White Sox, Phillies, and Cardinals all won World series this last decade. Rather than talk about 10 different teams winning in a 10 year span we focused on the Yankees and Red Sox. By focus I mean this was all about the Northeast, sorry midwest, have you heard of this game called baseball yet? I found it almost offensive that it had such a narrow scope. Sure there was a lot about the steroid era. A lot of time on the Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa home run race. But the focus was all on the Red Sox coming back from a 3-0 hold in the ALCS to win 8 straight to their first World Series in almost a century. I get it, it was important. I just thought that once again, just like the EASTERN sports Network [ESPN] the whole focus was on east coast sports, forgetting everyone else.

This is still very much worth watching, and something that my kids will probably enjoy 10-15 years from now when the 11th inning comes out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link(s):
Top of the Inning: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1738421/
Bottom of the Inning: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1777725/

With the announcement of the Oscar Documentary Short list, a list of the 15 finalists to get one of five Oscar nominations, I have started to look into watching these films. This one, considered by a few to be a front runner at the award this year, is one of the few already out on dvd.

The film is about an amateur film maker who followed street artists around. A man with no real ambition to create a film, but that was more obsessed with filming everything he saw. He starts by following around some pretty amateur graffiti artists, with little talent, and moderate levels of trust. As he learned more and more about this underground group of self proclaimed artists, he learned of an actual artist who made graffiti art famous.

His name is Banksy, and even if you don't watch this film you should check out his website to see some of his work. He is famous for painting on the Gaza Strip and pulling some complicated stunts, including hanging his own artwork in some of the most famous museums in the world.

The concept of turning the documentary back on the eccentric and nutty French-man that eventually becomes a fraud was pretty fun. Will this film get a nomination? I don't think so. The academy likes to pick films that actually make a positive impact on society and have a good message. Although a fun watch, I don't think this makes any sort of statement. See for yourself, it is not even an hour and a half long.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587707/

Sometimes simple drama, character studies can be the most interesting films of the year. Ebert seemed to think so when he saw this one at a festival, liked it so much, and featured it in his own festival later that year in Chicago. Another one that I happened across at the library, and one of Ebert's top 10 films of the year. Upon finding it I was actually very interested in it and excited to watch it.

The story is simple, it is about a Pakistani man who owns and operates a push cart in downtown New York City. He wakes up in his small single room apartment in the middle of the night. Travels downtown, gets to the warehouse, cleans and stocks his push cart, then drags it through the city to his usual corner. It is an interesting look at a lifestyle completely foreign to me, and made the first part of this film very interesting.

The film never fully explains the mans story. It is short, with a runtime of 87 minutes, and never makes an emotional connection with the audience. Maybe this is the point, but the film seemed to detour to an almost romance. Things don't work out, as usual for this man, and his existence stays about the same through the course of the film. I guess I wanted more, I wanted some better conclusions and plot development. The acting was authentic, and the story compelling at time. I can't see suggesting it because the build up in my own head about how good this was going to be saved it from being really boring.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464105/

I've noticed myself hating on Pixar for no reason lately. I think people are tired of seeing them win everything. Personally I get annoyed because my favorites (like Ratatouille) get less recognition than the ones I didn't like (Up or Cars). Before watching this one I watched and reviewed the two previous films in the [now] trilogy again.

I have to honestly say that this is my favorite in the series. It is now my favorite for the Animated Oscar and I'm on the Pixar bandwagon this year. The plot and storyline were well developed. The moved the story forward to the toy's owner, Andy, growing up and leaving for college. It is attic, charity, or trash for the toys, and after a mix up it is an adventure to stay together.

I loved it, it was a great sequel in an era where sequels are weak at best. As for the Kids Scare factor, there are some moments that the villain toys at the daycare would scary little ones. It was definitely made for those that have grown up with Toy Story 2 to watch, so the maturity level needs to be higher.

Vote: 9/10, KSF: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435761/

I'm not sure how to describe why I didn't like this movie. I didn't hate it, and the cast was likable for the most part. I just thought that rather than have plot holes they just decided to tell us nothing. We don't know why they are on a mystery planet. We don't know why they are being hunted, other than to "learn"... really?!?

The film has a good cast with Adrien Brody, Topher Grace (That 70's Show main character), Laurence Fishburne, and Alice Braga. I thought that they were miscast though. Brody as an action hero? Grace's character was not realistic at all, and his storyline ended dumb.

The action was fun, the explosions were big, and I had zero expectations from this movie. A 6 is generous, and would be worth checking out if it came on tv.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1424381/

Nominated for the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and one of Eberts favorite films of 2008, I happened across this film at the library and since it was fairly short I gave it a shot.

Let me start by saying that there are some opinions expressed in this documentary that can easily be argued as not the approach our country needs to take. They place blame on our financial crisis on this that might not necessarily the main reason. They do however NOT blame China, and address that our fear in China is exaggerated but somewhat realistic.

This film is all about the national debt and how the National Budget is dangerously high. No matter how you slice it, we are spending the next generations money, and we are sinking into a financial hole that we may never get out of.

Almost a horror film in some ways because the stark reality that our kids might be broke and that we will not have Social Security in 50 years is pretty scary. I enjoyed the film, and will leave it up to you to decide how realistic all of these problems really are.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963807/

This film makes Brokeback Mountain look like a G rated film. It opens with a sex scene that made me walk out of the room. I waited for it to end to come back in, then had to decide if I should even bother watching the rest of the film. The Asian couple are then looking for a waterfall and get lost, they break up and go through this strange relationship throughout the film. Sleeping around to get back at each other, laying around their slum apartment most of the day.

I really failed to understand the point of this movie. There are even scenes were we just watch a waterfall in silence for several minutes. Some scenes are in black-and-white, other in color, usually when the leading actor is in a good mood. I think film students have put this film on a pedestal for its usage of color. I can't seem to find merit anywhere else.

Part of the filmspotting forum's top 100 films of all time, I'm starting to wonder if that list has any merit. You have been warned.

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118845/

Oops, I didn't know what I was getting into on this one. I'm sure I would have avoided it if I would have known that Megan Fox was in it. Sadly Josh Brolin and John Malkovich were not enough to make this film good. With an estimated $47 million budget and only grossing $11 million in three months at the box office, I would call it a pretty big flop. I'm not sure how
Jimmy Hayward makes a jump from directing Horton Hears a Who! to directing this film, and I'm not sure we will see him do it again soon.
Based on a comic book about a cowboy brought back to life by Indians is far from making sense. Not that this is the most extreme stretch that this film makes, but it gives you a taste of just how bad it was.

This outlandish action film really doesn't deserve to be discussed much. Malkovich was a pretty good villain and saved this film from being a 1.

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075747/

This is the emotional war movie I expected The Messenger to be. A film that breaks your heart then drags you through a families misery. It is a difficult film to watch but some great acting from a young cast. Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire are husband and wife. Just before heading back to Afghanistan, Maguire picks up his screw up brother [Jake Gyllenhaal] from prision where he has just been released on parole.

While Maguire is gone, Portman and Gyllenhaal become emotionally attached. Not necessarily in a sexual way, but he is there to fill a father role for the kids, and console her. I have to be vague and it is hard to go into detail about why I liked this film so much without spoiling it. It was nominated for two Golden Globes, but one was for a U2 song that played during the closing credits. So it basically had a single credible nomination for Tobey Maguire's performance.

Although difficult to watch, I really enjoyed it. Not a lighthearted film though.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765010/

An Italian epic film about a village in Sicily. An autobiographical film following three generations of the Tornatore family. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore and focusing mainly on his fathers generation, this film was very long and hard to stay interested in.

Nominated for a golden globe, in a foreign language category that the more I watch the more I feel is much much weaker than the Oscar category. The film seems to lack direction as it wanders through the decades, it becomes difficult to tell exactly where we have progressed to. To top that off I was not impressed with Francesco Scianna's acting. The director is famous for his film Cinema Paradiso, and this almost seemed like a nomination to make up for that film.

That probably isn't fair, but the fact is that there were some really good foreign films last year and this was not one of them.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1081935/

This winner of 4 Oscars in 1984 was the final film for me to finish several imdb lists (2004 and 2005 top 250 to be exact).Best picture nominee in the 1984 Oscars that lost out to an emotional film featuring a retired astronaut, Terms of Endearment. This film was nominated for 8 and won all of the non-acting awards, like Effects, Editing, Music, and Sound.

It is almost a film in two parts. The first half focuses on a group of pilots in the desert trying to break the sound barrier. It then transitions on to America int he Space Race. The tie-in is that the first astronauts consisted of pilots, and several of the first were also part of the effort to break the sound barrier.

The film is somewhere between biography, drama, adventure, and epic. This is obviously loosely based on factual events, we really don't get emotionally vested in any of the men in particular, and it is loaded with action and adventure as these men do what not other man has ever done.

I had reservations about making this a 9 or 10. There are too many 80's cheesy moments to make it a 10. The lack of getting emotionally involved kept this out of my 9 range. It really was good though, and has a fantastic cast, namely with Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, Sam Shepard, and Fred Ward. I liked it a lot more than "Terms..." and am sure that I would have been pulling for it to win almost 30 years ago.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/

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