The Damned United (2009)

This is, quite simply, a really good movie. It's based on the true story of notorious British soccer coach Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) and his rivalry with coach Don Revie, who seemed to have a firm hold on the country's collective affection. The heart of the story, however, is the relationship between Clough and his assistant -- the dependence and taking-for-granted that occurs in every true partnership is fully fleshed-out here.

Interesting story well-told and well-acted with fantastic cinematography. It was full of wit and feeling -- I can barely believe that it was just 90 minutes long.

A

A Christmas Tale (2008)

A large family gathers for the holidays to heal old wounds and create a few new ones.

I kept waiting for answers and none ever came. It was as though I'd just gotten dropped into the middle of an interesting family with all their dramas...and I left them without ever really getting behind any of the masks. This certainly looked like my type of movie, but in the end it just wasn't and that was quite a disappointment.

C

The Big Kahuna (2000)

A one-set piece with two veteran salesmen and a rookie hanging out in a hotel hospitality suite hoping that their invitation to a bigwig will prove profitable.

Kevin Spacey, as one of the veterans, is very weird here. If this had been the first time I'd seen him, I would have to assume that this was a guy with no future. He was over-the-top in a "look at me in my very first live community theater role" way. Danny DeVito, on the other hand, does a quiet, melancholy job as the other veteran -- he's the best thing in this very small movie.

C

Rescue Dawn (2007)

This movie had me asking myself what had ever made me think Christian Bale could act. He's so broad here, it's almost like a Forrest Gump character...but both smarter and more retarded (and, yes, I know that doesn't make sense, but neither does this portrayal). He's like a idiot McGyver stuck in a movie told with little finesse or build.

I did a little research about this movie afterward because I was curious as to what REALLY happened. Turns out that the families of the POWs involved were not at all happy about the creative liberties taken with the story -- considering that the changes only made for a less believable, more annoying story, that was a pretty crappy move.

D

Hart's War (2002)

Pretty decent WWII stalag movie with a black officer accused of murdering a fellow prisoner who happened to be a white bigot. Not everything is as it appears, but there was some real tension and good performances in this rather under-the-radar film.

Maybe it was a bit more self-important than actually important, but at least it didn't feel stale.

B-

Black Dynamite (2009)

Took a while to get into the swing of the thing, but it wound being mostly funny with just a few problem areas.

Playing it straight definitely worked for this bad-ass '70s cop in a crooked world story. I still get the hiccuping giggles that only wind down due to lack of breath if I think about the "frolicking in the park" scene (she frolicks, he just kinda stands there).

B

The Road (2009)

Relentless -- and not in a "oh my gosh, it's hard to take because it's so powerful!" kind of way -- it was just relentless in its sameness. I wasn't horrified by the grey desolation and the cannibal gangs scavenging the land, I was just "enough already" about almost everything.

This just didn't carry any real impact...or maybe it's that my heart is a stone. One of those two.

C-

The Replacements (2000)

It's like Major League -- but football instead of baseball! And not nearly as good!

OK, it's not terrible but it felt cheap and lazy. There were some chuckles, but not nearly enough to make it worth the trouble of walking across the room and sticking it in the DVD player...maybe if it just happens to be on as you're flipping through channels, then it'd be alright to watch it for a while.

C