Saturday, January 29, 2011

Love and Other Drugs (2010)


I found myself unusually engrossed in the relationship Jake and Anne had. Anne gave a great performance that was raw and attractive.

The Tourist (2010)


It was fun, and kept me guessing to the very end.

The King's Speech (2010)


Very well acted, from the pompous performance by Geoffrey to the growing-into-majesty by Colin, there's a lot to see here.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)


Maybe if you read all the books you were totally engrossed in this film, if so, congrats. For me, I felt that after Harry Potter and the Half Baked Plot (a.k.a. Half Blooded Prince), they needed to do a lot to make up for the time I wasted on that movie.

This one started out fast paced and exciting, so I had high hopes. Sadly, they were dashed shortly after the scene, never to be brought back again. Needs a lot more magic to appeal to non-book fans, I think.

The Company Men (2010)


I loved it! I enjoy corporate drama and think there should be a whole subset of films geared toward this (similar to courtroom drama). This movie delivered. Tommy Lee Jones' evolution through the film was great. Characters stagnated as they should have, grew when they needed to and delivered an engrossing film of boom and bust only to raise a beam and start building it all over again.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Junebug (2005)


I've had a growing love affair with Amy Adams for awhile now, and I've always enjoyed a great low-budget film. Amy and Junebug delivered, not to mention the art too--which I really enjoyed. It was funny, but not hilarious, charming but not gaudy and real but not tacky.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Fighter (2010)


I want to punch something. Maybe it's all the familial drug use during the first half, and the low-income family scenes, but I was annoyed by the start of the movie. Staying the course, as I often do, and now I feel rewarded. In the last three minutes my heart rate was up, and I nearly cheered.

Parts they got right include an accurate representation of the characters (at least, according to the last few minutes of showing the real people that inspired this movie).

Parts they could have done better? Well, I love Mark, he's a great actor. I like most of his movies. Here, when he's not in the ring, he's almost dead on his feet, with Christian dancing around him. I didn't like the imbalance of energy.

Amy... WOW. Incredible... comparable to Elizabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas. Raw, confident, enthralling.

In retrospect, I have to give it to the writers and directors... they likened the pace of the movie to the pace of Mickey's fights. With the bell rung, and the championship title won, I think I can respect that.

And finally, to be cliche: watch it till the end, it's a knock out.

Black Swan (2010)


If Stanley Kubrick directed a ballet, Black Swan would be it. For some, that could be a good thing, for others not so much. This didn't work for me.

Unstoppable (2010)


I'm not often on the edge of my seat throughout an entire film, but this one had me biting my nails.