I Wanna Hold your Hand

I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND (1978) - Aug. 31, 2009
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale's first film, about a group of teens who travel to New York to see the Beatles on the day of their legendary appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Hijinks ensue as the girls split up and go on their own separate adventures. It's a bit slow in parts, but it's mostly quite enjoyable. ***

The Final Destination

THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009) - Aug. 29, 2009
Another mediocre installment in the Final Destination series, this one finding the requisite prognosticating teen seeing a series of horrific deaths at a race track. This was presented in "Real D" 3D, which just reminded me how much I dislike this technology, though that was probably the least of this movie's concerns. The series' requisite elaborate deaths just felt perfunctory, though it probably didn't help that the over-reliance on CGI combined with the 3D projection made everything seem exceptionally artificial. The characters were all ridiculously under-developed, even for a Final Destination movie (aside from a reference to one of the side-characters being an alcoholic, there was literally no character development at all), which made it impossible to care about any of them. Suffice it to say, the screenplay is a big reason that this film doesn't really work; David R. Ellis's workmanlike direction is fine, if unspectacular, though the film does a really poor job of sustaining any kind of tension. It seems pretty clear that the presence of James Wong is required to make a decent Final Destination movie -- he directed the first one and the third one, which were the only enjoyable ones in the series. **

Halloween II

HALLOWEEN II (2009) - Aug. 28, 2009
A failure on pretty much every level and tedious almost right from the get-go, this sequel to Rob Zombie's mediocre Halloween remake picks up one year after the events of the first film, with the survivor of Michael Myers' previous attacks (his sister) still pretty messed up. Myers, of course, comes back for more shenanigans. There is really very little that works here -- Zombie's direction is fairly shoddy, and becomes incoherent any time there's any action on the screen. He's also either unwilling or unable to create any kind of tension -- the film is remarkably devoid of suspense. His writing isn't much better -- there isn't a single character worth caring about, and the whole idea of Michael Myers seeing a ghostly apparition of his mother is a complete disaster (and in fact, there's nothing about the portrayal of Michael Myers that feels right). The ending, which I guess is supposed to be creepy, is almost laughably bad. Then there's Brandon Trost's cinematography, which is murky and unpleasant (it's super dark, but not in a good way). I always thought, even when I didn't necessarily enjoy his films, that Zombie had a lot of potential. Not so sure about that at this point. *

House of 1000 Corpses

HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES (2003) - Aug. 26, 2009
Rob Zombie's first film, about two couples who are terrorized by a family of weirdos after stopping at a bizarre roadside museum of curios. The film started out pretty well, and it definitely had its moments, but I found my interest steadily waning as it lumbered towards its increasingly bizarre conclusion. Rob Zombie's direction, which clearly took more than a little influence from the horror films of the '70s, was mostly okay, though his random stylistic flourishes did grow old after a while. **

Cassandra's Dream

CASSANDRA'S DREAM (2007) - Aug. 24, 2009
About a couple of brothers who get embroiled in some serious shenanigans when their uncle makes them a sinister proposal -- and the fallout that ensues -- this was definitely one of the Woodster's stronger efforts in the past few years. While it's not on the level of his classics from the '70s, '80s, and to a lesser extent, '90s, it was definitely really well made and well acted. ***1/2

Inglourious Basterds

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009) - Aug 22, 2009
After the disappointing Death Proof, there was really no where to go but up for Tarantino, and this is definitely a big step up. Though a far cry from what the marketing -- and Tarantino himself -- would have you believe (that this is a "men on a mission" movie), this was a really well made, super talky, and occasionally riveting film. Featuring distinctively Tarantinoian dialogue, there was an awful lot of talking in this film -- it was all quite good, though not quite up to par with his best work (ie. Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction). I was certainly never bored, though, and even at slightly over two and a half hours, it didn't feel long at all. The performances were all quite good (particularly Brad Pitt as the boisterous Aldo Raine, and Christoph Waltz as the sinister "Jew hunter"), and Tarantino's direction was top-notch, as usual. ***1/2

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (2009) - Aug 18, 2009
About a secret, elite group of soldiers who spring into action when a bunch of really dangerous missiles are stolen, this was a generic, dull big summer action movie. As far as this summer's blockbusters go, this was definitely better than Transformers 2, but that's really not saying much. Featuring barely competent direction from Stephen Sommers, the quality of the action (which was plentiful) ranged from meh to terrible (how do you mess up a fight between two super-skilled ninjas? Seriously, how?) The performances were all fine, though only Joseph Gordon-Levitt was able to make any real impact as Cobra Commander -- I think he realized how bad the movie was, and decided to just go hog-wild and make his character as evil as possible. It was pretty sweet. Other than that, I was mildly entertained up to a point, but by the end the surfeit of mediocre action wore me down, and I was getting pretty bored (not Transformers 2 bored, but bored nonetheless). *1/2

Five Fingers

FIVE FINGERS (2006) - Aug. 17, 2009
A clunky but essentially enjoyable film about a man who gets kidnapped by a group of Muslims while on a trip in Africa, and the interrogation that follows. Though this doesn't seem to have been based on a play, I wouldn't be surprised if the screenplay was originally written for the theatre; it is exceptionally stagey. The movie essentially consists of a series of conversations between Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Phillippe, and though it's always basically entertaining, writer/director Laurence Malkin squanders the tension inherent in the premise, and the movie is never as suspenseful as it's trying to be (or should be trying to be). It definitely doesn't help that Malkin's directorial style is non-existent, and that the low-rent score only serves to remind you that you're watching a low-budget film. The performances are all quite good -- Phillippe, who is saddled with a bizarre Dutch accent that's never really convincing, still manages to give a pretty good performance, and Fishburne gives an expectedly reliable performance (despite also being saddled with an accent, though his is slightly more convincing). **1/2

District 9

DISTRICT 9 (2009) - Aug. 15, 2009
A really interesting and well made sci-fi film about a group of aliens who are stuck in South Africa -- their ship just appeared there one day, and twenty years later they're still being forced to live in a shanty town and being treated like second-class citizens. The film eventually becomes about a hapless government worker who gets infected with an alien virus, and who winds up forming an unlikely alliance with one of the aliens (or "prawns", as the South Africans call them). The film starts off as a faux-documentary, outlining the general situation with the aliens and the corporation that seems to have complete control over them, but then gradually adopts a more traditional narrative. This transition is actually fairly seamless, though my interest did wane ever-so-slightly at first when the focus shifted entirely to the imperiled government worker. The film eventually becomes an all-out action film, and a pretty awesome one at that, with some surprisingly exciting action sequences. The last little bit becomes quite tense, as we wonder if the government worker and his prawn sidekick will be able to pull off their scheme to help out the aliens once and for all. ***1/2

The Sniper

THE SNIPER (1952) - Aug. 10, 2009
A surprisingly well made film about an angry young man who vents his frustration with the world -- women in particular -- by using his sniper rifle to shoot women who he feels have affronted him. Though it's kind of hokey in parts, it was definitely entertaining throughout, and Edward Dmytryk's stylish direction was quite effective. ***

The Hurt Locker

THE HURT LOCKER (2009) - Aug. 5, 2009
About a military bomb squad in Iraq, headed by a leader who seems to take pleasure in putting himself in the most dangerous situations possible, this was a surprisingly riveting, edge-of-your-seat action film. Despite the complete absence of a plot (the movie essentially just goes from one action set-piece to the next) and a long running time of over two hours, the film is completely entertaining from start to finish, and in fact manages to sustain a pretty absurd amount of tension with relatively little down-time. Kathryn Bigelow's gritty, no-nonsense direction suits the material absolutely perfectly, and there are some really memorable scenes here, including what has to be the best sniper battle I've ever seen (even if the rest of the film had sucked, it would have been worth it just for that awesome scene alone). I need to see this again. ****

Hamlet 2

HAMLET 2 (2008) - Aug. 4, 2009
An enjoyably quirky film about a dim-wittedly earnest drama teacher who decides to put on a performance of Hamlet 2 in order to save the drama program at his school. Featuring a really funny lead performance from Steve Coogan (who is almost single-handedly what makes this movie so entertaining), this was sporadically hilarious and always entertaining. ***

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (1995) - Aug. 2, 2009
A by-the-numbers but fairly entertaining action film which is essentially a remake of the first Under Siege, though set on a train instead of a boat. The whole thing feels fairly routine, and there's nothing particularly exciting about it, but it's competent and enjoyable throughout. Plus, it's always nice to watch an action movie devoid of the over-polished slickness that has ruined the genre over the last decade or so. **1/2

Star Trek

STAR TREK (2009) - Aug. 2, 2009 (Fourth Viewing)
Perfection! Honestly, I can't imagine that a better Star Trek reboot could exist. This film just gets everything so right, from the casting to the visuals to the music... all good stuff. 100 percent pure entertainment. ****

Funny People

FUNNY PEOPLE (2009) - Aug. 1, 2009
About a famous comedian who finds out that he's dying and ultimately attempts to rekindle an old relationship, this was another overlong film from Judd Apatow. It was well made and well acted (particularly Adam Sandler, who confirms that he can be a really good actor when he wants to be) and I was always entertained, but the film definitely dragged in parts, particularly the bloated third act. It's too bad, because there's a lot of good stuff here, and so I definitely think that with a bit of trimming (well actually, probably more than a bit) this could have been a really good movie. ***