Let the Right One In (2008)

An extremely effective story of two neighbor children, both lonely outcasts, becoming close friends. It seems as though the lack of other options is what forces them together, but that doesn't mean that they're not perfectly matched -- giving each other the acceptance and dependence so desperately craved by both.

That one of them is a vampire is, of course, a huge hook -- but it's a testament to the tone and style that what I remember most about the film is the relationship between these two kids, their palpable loneliness, and the way they change into something stronger when together.

B+

Battle in Seattle (2008)

Interesting and fast-moving film about the WTO riots in Seattle in 1999 -- I have no idea how it's possible that I completely missed all reporting on the subject when it was actually happening. It felt like a blindside of brand-new information.

Overall, well-done, but the Charlize Theron's "pregnant woman caught in the panic" storyline (which I'm guessing was inserted FOR her by her husband who wrote and directed) felt gratuitous.

B

The Wackness (2007)

I have a favorable residual feeling about this movie, but I can't really say why, exactly. The vibe was very summer-easy and the main character -- a slacker selling weed out of a wheeled frozen-treat cart -- was kind of charming while still being slightly depressing. I did wonder what the point of the film was a few too many times to put this into unquestioned thumbs-up territory, though.

Hmmm. I guess, to sum up, I'm going with "doesn't really go anywhere or have much to say, but there's enough on-screen charm to make the time spent feel as though it wasn't entirely wasted."

C+

Death Race (2008)

OK -- it's not like expectations were high for a movie about, you know, prison DEATH RACES...but, still, I picked this for my birthday movie because I thought it would be a so silly and over-the-top that it would make us laugh and go "ohhhhh!" in unison.

Nope. The only thing we did together was roll our eyes. Truly stupid.

D

Under the Volcano (1984)

This has been on my "to see" list for more than 15 years -- I put it on there when I first decided I was going to try to see all of the films ever nominated for Oscars in the acting, writing, and best picture categories. I get pretty familiar with the long-term residents of that list prior to viewing -- so I'd seen the poster artwork dozens of times. And, seriously, how cool is the movie being advertised in that poster? That guy looks like a badass and is obviously a lover to boot. Couldn't wait.

Well, what the heck. Instead of a tough guy with a girl in his bed, he's just a dude drunk off his ass in Mexico missing his wife, who ran off with a linen-suit-wearing type. A whiny, excruciating couple of hours. So bad that I started wondering if it'd been written by Don DeLillo -- indulgent, unreal, and terribly long. This is a case where my happy anticipation let me waaay down.

D-

I've Loved You So Long (2008)

A quiet story with some gorgeous acting by Kristen Scott Thomas as a woman slowly returning to the land of family and love after several years of incarceration. It's gentle and believable -- almost haunting.

Loved it.

A-

Traitor (2008)

A decent premise done in by predictability.

C