The Man From Nowhere

This film from South Korea surprised me, it was much better than I initially anticipated.  The acting was highly mediocre, especially by the police, of which there was one particularly bad stand-out whom I can only assume was meant to be the comic relief.  This movie could definitely have done without him, his bad "comic" acting was jarring and terribly distracting every time he was on screen.  Otherwise, my only real criticism is that at times I had trouble understanding the plot - were there two Chinese gangs in Korea vying for the drug trade?  Or was there a Korean gang pretending to go into the drug trade with the Chinese when they really just wanted to trade in illegal organs?  Or was everyone trading in illegal organs with drugs on the side?

Carnage

The premise of this 2011 Roman Polanski movie could be summed up in less than ten words - "two couples arguing in an apartment".  But when the two couples are Jodie Foster & John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz & Kate Winslet the film turns into so much more.  Of the four, I have to say that Reilly really stole the show - his performance was precisely hysterical.  All the characters had a very relatable trait about them, in either a "that is me" or "I know that person" sort of way.  The movie moves a little slow, as expected from a film in which the extent of the action is four cast members talking in an apartment, but it gives the dialogue and personality a canvas on which to shine.

Immortal Beloved

This movie is to Beethoven what Amadeus was to Mozart.  Except less awesome.  The story of Beethoven, told through flashbacks, and focusing on the mystery behind his secret love.  A little confusing at times, since the flashbacks jumped around and two of the leading ladies looked identical haha but an interesting peek at the incredibly talented composer.  But I am jaded, as I am so in love with Amadeus that this film in comparison was simply mediocre.  Perhaps if I had seen it before the other then I would have enjoyed it more...

The Dark Knight Rises

This movie delivered.  It was a different sort of beast than its predecessor, The Dark Knight, but no less memorable.  It was even more dark and gritty, and it was much more introspective with more thought and less action.  I am not sure yet whether I would say this final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman legacy was better or worse than his previous films, just different.  Stronger in some areas, and weaker in others.  But I am sure most everyone can agree, no evil villain can beat Heath Ledger's Joker.

But even putting Joker aside I was disappointed with Bane, primarily because I could only understand what the Sean Connery-sounding Tom Hardy was saying about 70% of the time.  But man did Hardy bulk up for that role!  Anne Hathaway was a very pleasant surprise, I thought she would be too "sweet" to play the role of Catwoman but she seriously kicked butt and was totally believable.  Also appreciated her cat-like qualities without her needing to literally dress like a cat (with the "ears" appearing as a by-product of her goggles).

And it goes without saying, but I will anyway, that the acting was fabulous, the visual effects top-notch, with Nolan pretty much being awesome as usual.  But bear with me in the need to point out that no one, not even Bruce Wayne, can get from remote Uzbekistan to Gotham in less than two hours.

Bride Wars

Yes, I admit it.  As I share every new movie I have watched with you, I have to cop to watching this one.  But it is almost as though I don't have to bother with a post, I imagine you know what I am going to say.  So as much as I love Anne Hathaway, let's sum the movie up with one word: dumb.

P.S.  Next post teaser - Anne totally redeems herself with The Dark Knight Rises!!!

Goon

Not sure what motivated me to watch this movie.  Think I was aiming for something brainless I could tidy my apartment and fold laundry to, and in that case this movie delivered.  However, if you plan on using all your attention and focus to watch a movie, this would not be the one to choose.  I think I could tolerate it because I was using less than 25% of my brain to watch it.  Any more than that, and you might start to twitch uncontrollably.  Seann William Scott is far from the finest actor, and this is one of the most un-fine movies I have ever used 25% of my brain to watch.

Michael Collins

My love of Liam Neeson is what brought me to this movie, and my love for Liam Neeson is what got me through it.  A concept that just barely held my interest, about the formation of the Irish Free State, for me this movie was a little ponderous.  But then again, who doesn't love a story about the "underdog" fighting for freedom?  This film co-starred Julia Roberts (random!), Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman(in a typical grumpy un-likable role), and keep an eye out for a young Jonathan Rhys Meyers in one of his very first roles.

New Year's Eve

Nothing good to say about this movie.  I am not even going to go down the laundry list of celebrities who make an appearance.  You want to know how bad it was?  It was actually worse than the similar multiple-story-lined, "all-star cast" overloaded Valentine's Day (which was done by the exact same Director and Writer).  Blech.

The Amazing Spider-Man

This movie was awesome.  So much better than the Tobey Maguire/Kirsten Dunst version.  Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone put them to shame with this vastly superior version of essentially the same movie.  I also hear from my comic-book-reading peers that this latest version is more true to the comics, especially in relation to details surrounding Peter Parker.  My favorite difference?  How this most recent Spidey film was not nearly as cheesy as those of the past.  It felt more real, the characters more relatable.  (Although it was odd how Stone's character literally only wore mini skirts and boots the entire movie.  I really really wanted there to be a shot of her closet with the skirts/boots lined neatly in a row... haha)  Great, fun, entertaining, comic-book-hero movie!

 

Brave

Pixar's newest movie is a bit of a disappointment.  Don't get me wrong, it is exquisitely beautiful in its CGI animated magic, but at this point we expect that in a Pixar film.  What we also expect is a story that goes above and beyond your average children's film, and in this movie we just don't have that.  Several characters are introduced, and then essentially cast aside when they could have been developed and put to so much more use!  The witch, the evil bear, even the father.   The story centers around a young girl and her mother, and to be perfectly frank it simply was not enough.  The doors were there, the characters primed and ready, but no one was allowed to walk through.

Magic Mike

There is not much to say about this movie, other than the obvious - it had some pretty dazzling eye candy, and anything other than that doesn't matter.  You are not going to see this for the plot.  You are not going to see this for the acting.  You sit through those things just to make it inside Xquisite - the Tampa strip club run by Matthew McConaughey and populated by the likes of Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Matt Bomer.  Fancy dance moves, creative costumes, and abs to die for are the reason to sit through this movie, and not much more.  But do you need more?  ;)

In Darkness

Man, I have been so bad at this in recent weeks... here I am, after a long absence, with another seven-or-so movies piled up awaiting their very own post.  Here, in rapid fire, we start:

This was an odd week for me, watching two Holocaust movies within two days of each other (previous one being my previous post, on Bent)  This 2011 Polish film tells the true story of a man who hid Jewish refugees in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied Polish city of Lvov.  To be honest, it was not quite as dramatic as I thought it was going to be, considering the subject matter.  In other words, I was never as emotionally involved as I could have been - the emotions were there on the surface based on basic content, but I didn't grow any attachment to the individual characters.  There were missed opportunities in this film, but even despite that the story managed to hold its own and engross me in it's tale of courage and survival.