December 2011 - In Review

Am I catching up... well not really. Here is the batch from December with a few notes on each.


Worth Watching
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) [9/10]
It is pretty close between this one and Contagion for the best of the month. This was a pretty good comedy starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, and Marisa Tomei with a minor role by Kevin Bacon. This is how all romantic comedies should be made, check this one out.

Contagion (2011) [9/10]
Films like this one just make me more of a germaphobe. Directed by Steven Soderbergh with another stellar cast of Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, and Kate Winslet. I read a review where one of the actresses said that Soderbergh called them up, said I have a small role for you, I'll have everything set up, just come out for a week and shoot your scenes. For a movie about a plague with a lot of stars there is no telling which one will get knocked off, pretty cool.

Moneyball (2011) [8/10]
There was something about Brad Pitt's character that wasn't a perfect fit for me. I thought it did a great job acting but I don't know... on the other hand Jonah Hill was amazing, I didn't know he was capable of anything more than crappy comedies and won't know if he'll ever get a role this good again. It really pisses me off that Plummer beat him for the Globe and Oscar because Beginners really really sucked, but we'll get to that. I loved seeing some play Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington, hilarious. If you don't like sports films, don't dismiss this one, it has little to no game time scenes, it is about the science behind statistics and a very interesting film.

Drive (2011) [8/10]
The more I reflect on this film the more I like it. Ryan Gosling stars as "driver," which reminds me a lot of the 1978 film The Driver, that I watched in action movie month last June. The film stars the same, a driver hired by criminals to get away from the scene and out run the cops. Like the 1978 film we start to see "driver" wanting to have more in his life than just driving, but unlike the original this one becomes a very bloody action film half way through. Be warned this one is not for everyone.

Buck (2011) [8/10]
An Oscar shortlisted documentary about "The Horse Whisperer," I know what you are thinking... "man that sounds awful.... and boring." On the contrary it is one of the best documentaries I've seen this year. It has the perfect mix of telling us about what Buck Brannaman does, and his background. It is only 88 minutes and edited very well because I was never bored. Don't overlook this one it you like documentaries, it should have been nominated for an Oscar.

Great Muppet Caper, The (1981) [8/10]
My favorite Muppets movie, better than the original, better than the Manhattan one, better than Tresaure Island or Muppets from Space. My daughter has watched this one at least 4 times now and the storyline is easy enough for her to follow. Not as man good cameos at the original but Charles Grodin is pretty good as the bad guy.


Just Average
Super 8 (2011) [7/10]
I struggled with giving this one a 7 or an 8 and I settled on a 7 because it just wasn't great. I thought Elle Fanning had the best performance, but struggled to really find any other stand out performances. All in all it was a pretty cool sci-fi film and would be good to watch with kids in the 11-16 range.

TT3D Closer to the Edge (2011) [7/10]
A documentary that had no real shot at an Oscar, but not one I wanted to dismiss. Shot in 3D, but I would imagine the majority of the viewers will see in without the 3D. It is about the "Isle of Man" TT [Tourist Trophy] motorcycle race. With 237 deaths in 102 years it is easily the most dangerous race in the world. Once considered a world championship, but because of safety it is no longer a championship event, meaning that racers do this just for the glory. The documentary follows Guy Martin, it takes a little time to get used to the thick British accents, to don't think you have to understand everything Guy says, the narrator [Jared Leto] will straighten you out.

Bill Cummingham New York (2011) [7/10]
Another short listed Oscar documentary that did not get a nomination. This one is about Bill Cummingham the writer for the fashion section of the New York Times. A very interesting individual this character study documentary won't teach you much, but will show you a pretty unique and interesting individual.

True Romance (1993) [7/10]
Directed by Tony Scott, and written by Quentin Tarantino, starring Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Samuel L. Jackson, and James Gandolfini [Tony Soprano]. If that isn't enough stars to get you interested then I don't know what else you need. Written by Tarantino between  Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, so you can imagine how much cursing and killing you are in for.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) [7/10]
I've definitely avoided this one because I dislike Hugh Grant, but that hate has been fading for some time now, so it was a good time to finally watch this one. I actually found Andie MacDowell to be much more annoying that Grant in this film. Best part... Mr. Bean [Rowan Atkinson] was the priest.

Muppet Christmas Carol, The (1992) [7/10]
Michael Caine stars as Mr. Scrooge. I highly suggest watching this one with a kid rather then letting them watch this by themselves. The ghosts of Christmas past can be pretty scary, especially the ghost of Christmas future. My daughter liked it, but we only watched once since it was a little scary.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) [6/10]
Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford star as a couple of cowboys that fight an alien invasion. Made on a $163M budget and grossing $174M would not be considered a sound investment. A wimpy 6.2 on imdb and a boring storyline made this a good popcorn and beer movie, but not one you will remember.

Change-Up, The (2011) [6/10]
Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman star in a typical body swapping fantasy comedy. Bateman is a married man with two kids and a stressful job, Reynolds is a single actor who has lost the respect of his father and can't really get any respectful roles. The two not only see how difficult their friends life is, but see the error in their own lives. Cuter than I thought it would be, a somewhat fun comedy.

Pride and Prejudice (1940) [6/10]
Winner of an Oscar for Art direction, but watched because it was on the imdb top 250 in 2001. Good enough to not want to put it in the "avoid" group. But it is a dated black and white time piece. Not one I would recommend because the 2005 remake was pretty good, watch that instead.

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) [6/10]
I struggle with getting the "comedy" of foreign films sometimes. Add to that, Germans are the funniest people, I'm German so I can say that... The plot reads funnier than the actual film. Centered around Alex, the film starts by explaining the East German way of life in the 80's before the wall came down. Alex's mother has embraced the communist view and when she sees her son at a rally against the communist she faints and goes into a coma. While in a coma the wall comes down and Germany is reunited. Alex spends the rest of the film making her think things never changed. The title comes from the Lenin statue being removed by helicopter that Alex has to make another lie about. In the 1001 movies book and nominated for a golden globe, it was just ok.

Avoid Watching
Amacord (1973) [5/10]
Avoid might be a little harsh, a film by the great Federico Fellini that won an Oscar. Silly, long, and really more for classic film lovers. Check out La Strada or La Dolce Vita before committing yourself to this one.

Guard, The (2011) [5/10]
Brendan Gleeson was nominated for a Golden Globe for his leading role. Also starring Don Cheadle and Mark Strong, this British comedy about a racist cop was really not funny at all. I didn't think it deserved a Golden Globe nomination, nor do I think it was snubbed by the Oscars.

Russian Ark: Russkiy kovcheg (2002) [5/10]
A film recognized for the fact that is was made in a single shot rather than for its storyline. An incredible film that makes its way through the Russian Hermitage Museum but is very boring. The final "scene" is of a ball with dancing and an orchestra, good luck staying awake through that 20-30 minutes with little to no dialogue.

Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) [4/10]
Thanks to an Elton John song this received a Golden Globe nomination. They made back almost triple their budget so it would have to be called a success. It is just a kids movie though, I really dislike it, but there wasn't much to really like.

Beginners (2011) [3/10]
The fact that Plummer won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Supporting Actor with this horrible movie makes me want to give it a 1/10. The plot jumps around and the main characters present a story that is just rubbish, I don't care about Ewan McGregor's character and Mélanie Laurent didn't bring anything exciting to the film either.

Hesher (2010) [3/10]
I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt films, and I thought that having Natalie Portman also would make this really good. Instead you get a story about a wreck-less misfit that should really have been locked up for some of his actions. He becomes the influence for a young boy and the film is kind of difficult to watch at some points.

Margin Call (2011) [2/10]
BOOOOOOOOOOORING. Seriously the acting made this film seem very realistic, great screenplay. But when the subject matter is boring, uneventful, and jumps from star character it star character is it really worth your time. Don't be fooled by the great cast, it is a bad movie.

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