Wanted (2008)

Really stupid ("loom of fate" was the best name they could come up with??) but great action.

And, you know, McAvoy.

C-

In Bruges (2008)

Colin Farrell is a real talent, something that's easy to forget sometimes because he has a tendency to coast for a paycheck in American movies. I noted with glee that this is currently barely in the IMDb's "top 250 movies." Probably can't hang in there for long, but the fact that enough voters saw it and loved it enough for it to be listed for even a short time is pretty great.

This worked on several levels - and often managed to do so at the same time. I'd start out giggling (e.g. a scene where a 50ish guy with a lollipop is karate-chopped) and be suddenly sobered by the real emotional twist that came immediately thereafter. The quirk worked and so did the danger.

Also, the little boy's confession list may have been one of the best pieces of writing I've seen in years: "1. being moody, 2. being bad at maths, 3. being sad" - just heartbreaking.

A

Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Really weird movie. Half was inspired and the other half was just out-there odd.

The inspired part had to do with the entire stock of VHS movies at a struggling rental store getting erased and the desperate attempt by the guy left in charge (Mos' Def) and his idiot friend (Jack Black) to fake replacement tapes so they won't be found out. For some reason I never caught, the replacement quickies are termed "swedes" and they become all the rage. Everyone's dying to see these mini masterpieces and they'll line up out the door to lay hands on one.

Now the odd part had to do with the "save the store" subplot and some obsession with Fats Waller and his, apparently made-up, history. The whole neighborhood pitches in to make a ridiculous movie about Fats for some reason I didn't really get and, boy, was it a piece of crap. I just wanted them to get back to sweding.

As a whole, it felt like a first run-through rather than a finished product.

C

Cloverfield (2008)

So, what we're told via official time stamps, is that we're watching a recording that the government has procured which documents some of the mysterious "Cloverfield" case. OK. Cool. But wouldn't the government edit out the first 15 minutes or so of the digital recording since it's just some footage of a lame going-away party? No? Alright, I'll suspend that disbelief. And, anyway, the party breaks up when the building starts to, which is soon enough.

Humongous cool-looking monster (which occassionally drips smaller Starship Trooper-type insect monsters) is destroying Manhattan. We're stuck with a small knot of ciphers who have a video camera and are trying to get to a girl's apartment across town - aka the wrong direction - avoiding monsterettes along the way.

Even though that's about all of the plot, I would still think of it as fairly decent based on the effects and short running time IF the group were in any way believable. But when they're not quipping ("so, this isn't attractive looking?" says guy with gash from almost being torn in half seconds earlier), they're banal ("This is nasty" "It's like a nightmare!").

Oh, Clovey! They're over he-ere!

C-

The Game (1997)

Every so often the whole family gets in the mood to watch a movie together (I've got about 400 or so on VHS), but we can't decide which. Tonight we decided to have random.org choose for us -- and I have to admit it did a better job picking a film for all of us than we usually do on our own.

This was my second viewing and, like so many many "twist" scripts, it's not really worth taking the time to watch it again. Still a cool idea, but all the fun is in the gotcha...and it can't ever get me again.

B- (first time through...probably a C- thereafter)

The Hunting Party (2007)

I really liked The Matador, the last movie Richard Shepard wrote and directed before this one, so I had high hopes.

This fact-based story sure starts off strong: Richard Gere is a gritty journalist whose on-air breakdown was so spectacular that, a couple of years afterwards, it's being shown in journalism school. Although his buddy cameraman has moved on to a cushy studio job, he's pulled back into guerilla reporting by Gere. Jesse Eisenberg, all angst and afro, rounds out the group. Basically, Gere's got a lead on tracking down "The Fox" a war criminal who, despite being high on wanted lists everywhere, doesn't seem to have any trouble evading capture.

The action's exciting, the banter's fun (despite Eisenberg's nattering getting old rather quickly). The biggest problem with the film is that I didn't believe it. Even at the end of the film when they say "this part really happened. And that dude actually existed. And this..." Do I believe the endnotes? Sure. Do I believe what really happened looked anything like what was up on screen? Nah.

C+

Speed (1994)

Third viewing - this time with my younger son, AJ. He loved it, as I predicted (2 for 2!).

For me, though, this time through felt quite a bit more bloated than I remembered. Everything on the bus is terrific. But it takes a little longer than necessary to get there...and, once we disembarked, the movie just refused to end.

Still worth the watch, but I don't think I'll be indulging in a fourth.

B

The Rapture (1991)

Sharon (Mimi Rogers) has a soul-destroying day job as a 411 operator and a soul-destroying night hobby as one-half of a couple constantly on the prowl for others to join them in the bedroom. As she dispassionately looks on while one of her female pick-ups enjoys the ride, Sharon becomes intrigued by her full-back tattoo and can't stop herself from interrupting repeatedly to ask about it. Turns out that noticing the religious-themed inking is the first step in a fast-moving conversion for Sharon. Unfortunately, both the "before" and "after" Sharons are equally disturbing - I didn't want to spend time with either one.

There are some big ideas and compellingly accurate insights about fanaticism here, but it was all told with an attitude of remove, as though the writer had no first-hand experience with true belief. He also didn't seem sure of exactly what happened here himself. Unlike the similarly-themed (and far superior) Frailty, I was left off-balance -- not knowing what had actually happened. I have a hard time being moved when I'm confused.

My overwhelming thought throughout the entire movie was "why does Mimi Rogers mouth keep smearing, stroke-like, to the right?" When the movie in question contains sex addiction, a workplace massacre, and a mystical jailbreak, that points to "less-than-compelling storytelling."

C

The Hidden Fortress (1960)

Basic premise: brave samurai general must get young princess through enemy territory safely, despite being "helped" along the way by two selfish peasants interested only in the monetary gain they'll enjoy if successful.

There's much to like here. The covert escape story is classic (George Lucas used it as inspiration for Star Wars) and Toshiro Mifune is reliably captivating as the general -- he's charismatic and believably frightening. Gary walked through the room at one point and said "easy to see why he was such a huge star."

But, despite the strong story and exciting escapes, the good is nearly undone completely by the speaking voice of the princess (awesome idea to have her masquerade as a mute peasant girl -- wonder if that was in the original script or just a necessary tweak to save the production thousands in aspirin costs) and the annoying hamming of the peasants.

B

Dead Poets Society (1989)

This was at least the third time I've seen it -- but, this time, I had the pleasure of sharing it with my younger son. We were talking and he said something about not really being "into" many movies. So I bet him that I could come up with a movie by that evening that I would guarantee he'd like.

Although the classroom scene where Robin Williams is reading poetry aloud to his guffawing students reminds me a little too much of the math class scene from Better Off Dead to take seriously, the rest of the film is every bit as good as I remember.

Yep. I won the bet.

A-

Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

I wasn't sure it was a good idea to make a third "Ocean's" movie after the debacle that was the second...but damned if the gang don't pull it off! It can't come close to the party that was the first installment, but this is a heck of a lot of fun.

Objectively, I can see that the plot was unnecessarily confusing at times and that it probably benefits from Ocean's Twelve being disappointing. Let me explain that second point: hot high school prom queen gains 100 pounds by the five-year reunion and loses 50 of it by the tenth-year get-together. Those who attended the first reunion think she now looks AMAZING. Those who skipped that one but made it to the second think "what the hell? She looks frumpy compared to last time I saw her!"

B