Drive (2011)

This thing looked so ‘80s but felt completely new. Such a simple, unadorned movie about lots of bad guys and a single good driver who gets in deep, but nowhere near over-his-head.

Gosling is stoic and sexy and Carey Mulligan is worth the trouble.

B+

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Oodles of charm and cleverness. They did a really good job wrestling down the sprawling Scott Pilgrim volumes into a sharp and funny movie. This even cured me of my Michael Cera-fatigue.

I really, really liked this.

A

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)

I love me some Nic Cage. I think he brings every ounce of himself, even to the fluffiest of roles. There's some worth to this film; it's not throwaway and it doesn’t even fit squarely in the “fluffy” category. It has great effects, lots of humor and good action.

The problem -- and it’s huge -- is the “star” Jay Baruchel. This kid is a talentless non-presence with an annoying vocal delivery. I kept thinking of how much more fun this would’ve been with almost ANY other actor of his age in the role. He single-handedly ruined it. I probably would’ve gone with B+ if Baruchel wasn't there to snivel and shrug his way through all of his scenes.

C

In a Better World (2011)

I love a film that can capture youth in a believable way. Few films get a real hold of the angst and drama and “this is too much to bear” that comes with being 10-16. There is nothing I could be offered that would make me willing to return to that age.

Though the youth feel fully-drawn, the story is so much more than a coming of age drama. It’s bigger than that, in both an emotional and a global sense, and so powerful. If I had to boil down the moral I'd say that it's "we must look out for each other." Nah. Though true, it's just far too simplistic to paste onto this movie as though it could be summed up in a sentence.

A-

Brotherhood (2011)

Frat prank involving a convenience store theft goes really wrong when a pledge gets shot. So how will they get out of this?

The movie felt waaaaay long even though it came in at less than an hour and a half, probably because it was all a variation on the same theme: a tug-of-war between the “WE HAVE TO GET HIM TO A HOSPITAL” guy and the rest of the brothers who were only concerned about covering their own asses. As it’s apparent that this particular chapter of the fraternity should’ve been shut down for several violations -- assholery abounds and disgusts -- I was never conflicted about what I wanted to happen.

This winds up being one of those “if that one dude was gone...everything would probably work itself out” movies. Effective but annoying.

C+

TiMER (2010)

WOW, I liked this a lot.

Basic premise: everyone’s got a soul mate (apparently no one would consider choosing forever-singledom in the future) and you can get a little countdown device implanted in your wrist to let you know the day you’ll meet them, provided your one-and-only has also got a timer. It’s almost like arranged marriages but fate’s the arranger and fate’s never wrong...or something.

Really smart look at how people live their lives when dating’s kind of moot...always knowing ahead of time whether the relationship’s gonna last. Totally original and great and sad and silly and wonderful.

A-

Limitless (2011)

There was way too much STUFF on the screen. It was like the director was in love with Fight Club and wanted every single scene to be an homage. If they would’ve just held back and peppered the screen with extras when he was on NZT, the drug that heightened him, that would’ve worked so much better. Also, if people on the drug can think better/smarter/faster, why the hell don’t any of them lie low?

Just too much and too easy to pull apart.

C

Attack the Block (2011)

Super little movie about Estate punks coming across a crash-landed alien, killing it, and then spending the rest of the night dealing with the bigger, meaner aliens that follow. They wind up having to seek help from a nurse they mugged earlier in the evening - and I really liked the understated way that the “if you just get to KNOW your neighbors...” moral was handled.

The effects were obviously done on a smallish budget, but they were simple and they worked. It was clear that everyone involved threw themselves into the film, resulting in a smart and believable story. I walked out happy & satisfied.

B+