Law Abiding Citizen

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009) - Oct. 31, 2009
Though the film gets progressivly sillier and more far-fetched as it goes along and starts to wear out its welcome a bit towards the end, this was a basically entertaining film.  About a man whose family is killed, and who then embarks on what has to be the most ridiculously elaborate revenge scheme ever committed to film, this was an extremely ludicrous but mostly enjoyable film.  **1/2

Southland Tales

SOUTHLAND TALES (2006) - Oct. 28, 2009
A bizarre film about a bunch of characters in Los Angeles in a not-too-distant future in which America is essentially a police state and at war.  A kind of strange mishmash of genres, sort of sci-fi and satire and dark comedy all at once -- I can see why the reviews were mixed, but I thought it was pretty great.  It's sort of ambiguous and weird and quirky, but it definitely worked for me.  Richard Kelly's direction is stellar, which certainly helps.  The performances were all quite good, and the film was just intriguing all the way through.  Good stuff.  ****

Saw VI

SAW VI (2009) - Oct. 27, 2009
Slightly better than the last few films in the Saw saga, this one focused on a smarmy health insurance executive who made the mistake of turning down Jigsaw's request for a procedure that could have cured his cancer, which was obviously not the smartest call on his part.  This one featured another new director who, like the last guy, is bland, but still a huge step up from the flashy hackery of Darren Lynn Bousman.  The film is almost ridiculously low rent -- it's almost surprising that a theatrical release can get away with such low production values, but I guess that's becoming part of the charm of the Saw movies.  All the stuff with the hapless executive was quite entertaining, but I found myself losing interest every time the film cut to Hoffman's shenanigans, with the exception of the scene in which an increasingly shifty Hoffman is on the verge of being found out by his colleagues (Hoffman definitely needs to go -- he's easily one of the lamest villians ever).  **1/2

Paranormal Activity

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2007) - Oct. 23, 2009
About a couple who think that they're being haunted, and who set up cameras to record themselves while they're sleeping, this was a genuinely creepy film.  It's kind of slow and pretty uneventful for the most part, and yet there's something about it that's oddly terrifying.  ***1/2

Them

THEM (2006) - Oct. 19, 2009
A simple but effective horror movie about a young couple who wake up one night to find their home besieged by invaders.  The film was well directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, and definitely did a good job of keeping things fairly suspensful.  Though the first half was definitely more effective than the second, it was still quite enjoyable throughout.  ***

The Stepfather

THE STEPFATHER (2009) - Oct. 17, 2009
Though I haven't seen the original on which this was based, I have to assume that it was better than this.  About the latest family of a killer who goes from family to family, weaseling his way in and then killing them when they don't meet his standards.  The main problem with this movie was that it just wasn't all that interesting, with long stretches in which not all that much happens.  Once it's established that the eldest son of the family is suspicious of the stepfather, the film essentially just spins its wheels without much of note happening for long stretches of time.  The suspicious son, who is essentially the main character, is super bland, which doesn't help matters.  Nor does the fact that the film is ridiculously watered down, even by the usual tame standards of a PG-13 horror film -- when the bloodiest part in a thriller like this is when the main character cuts himself while shaving, you know you've got problems.  Despite all that, the film featured competent (if somewhat bland) direction from Nelson McCormick, and up to a certain point I was thinking that the movie was pretty bad but not outright terrible.  But then there was the ridiculously anti-climactic finale, which had to have been the worst ending I've ever seen for a movie like this.  It was frustratingly bad. Seriously, what were they thinking?  *

Land of the Lost

LAND OF THE LOST (2009) - Oct. 16, 2009
An extremely silly but essentially enjoyable comedy about a misunderstood scientist whose oddball theories turn out to be true, and who winds up traveling back in time with a fellow scientist and a gas station attendant.  The film was fairly episodic, and for the most part just felt like an excuse for Will Ferrell and Danny McBride to do their usual schtick in a high-concept environment, but it was generally entertaining enough, and I chuckled a few times.  **1/2

The Children

THE CHILDREN (2008) - Oct. 13, 2009
A really effective horror movie about two couples who go to a secluded house around Christmas with their children.  It quickly becomes apparent that a strange illness is affecting their kids in a very sinister way.  The director does a really good job of establishing and sustaining tension, and in fact the whole thing is quite well directed (and somewhat Kubrickian in parts, with at least a couple of overt nods to the Shining).  Good stuff.  ***1/2

Capitalism: A Love Story

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (2009) - Oct. 9, 2009
An almost absurdly boring film about why Michael Moore thinks capitalism is a flawed system. Although it actually starts off fairly well, the repetitive nature of the film along with the emphasis on sermonizing over actual human stories eventually completely wore me down. I was almost ridiculously bored by the time the movie finally lumbered to its conclusion (at just about two hours, the film felt WAY overlong). In fact, when it became clear that the movie was wrapping up, I could feel my heart start to beat faster -- the notion of being able to leave that theatre was quite exciting to me. This movie has definitely confirmed that I hate Michael Moore; not because of his politics, but because he is a hack filmmaker. He's all style, with seemingly no knowledge of stuff like pacing or storytelling -- he's the Michael Bay of documentarians. All he cares about is getting his message across, which invariably happens within the first half hour or so. After that, it's like listening to the same song on loop over and over again. 1/2*

Year One

YEAR ONE (2009) - Oct. 8, 2009
A kind of shoddy and not particularly funny comedy about a couple of guys who wind up wandering through a few biblical stories. Most of the humour is pretty lame, and while there are a few funny parts (which are pretty much all in the trailer) it's generally just not that funny. Jack Black and Michael Cera do their best and definitely have good chemistry, but there's only so much you can do when the material is this mediocre. The movie sort of kept me entertained, though there were a bunch of times when I was starting to get bored. Was this really directed by the same Harold Ramis who directed Groundhog Day? **

The Day the Earth Stood Still

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008) - Oct. 7, 2009
A really well directed film about the fallout that ensues when a mysterious alien comes to Earth. The performances, with the exception of a somewhat grating Jaden Smith, were really good (particularly Jennifer Connelly) and Scott Derrickson's stylish and effective direction did a good job of maintaining tension. The special effects were also pretty impressive -- this was definitely a good-looking film. The movie sort of falls apart a little bit if you over-think it, but that's really a minor complaint. ***

Trick 'r Treat

TRICK 'R TREAT (2008) - Oct. 6, 2009
Featuring four interwoven stories that take place in the same town on Halloween night, this was an entertaining if somewhat overrated Halloween anthology film. The strategy to intercut the stories rather than tell them one at a time may not have been the best choice, as the individual segments never really come together in a meaningful way (other than the occasional intersection of the characters) -- it kind of feels like the director wanted to take everything he likes about horror movies (ie. slasher films, ghost stories, monster movies, vampire movies, etc.) and cram them all into one film. It feels kind of incongruous at times. It's definitely entertaining and well made, it just seems like the director was trying a little too hard to make the ultimate Halloween movie. ***

Crossing Over

CROSSING OVER (2008) - Oct. 4, 2009
Sort of like Crash but for immigration policy instead of racism, this was similarly heavy-handed but quite well made and entertaining throughout. Featuring a bevy of above average performances from people like Harrison Ford and Ray Liotta (though special mention must go to Cliff Curtis), I'm really not sure why the critical reception was so overwhelmingly negative -- there's definitely a lot to like here, from Wayne Kramer's sure-handed direction to the uniformly superb performances. ***

Zombieland

ZOMBIELAND (2009) - Oct. 5, 2009
A really fun movie about a group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse, who travel across the country in the hopes of reaching a supposedly zombie-free theme park. Well directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film is kind of thin on plot, but it's so enjoyable that you don't even really notice. It helps that the characters are all really good (it's always nice to see Woody Harrelson on the big screen; Jesse Eisenberg was just as good as an unlikely survivor of the zombie plague) and the film is quite funny throughout (particularly a hilarious cameo by Bill Murray, playing himself). As far as zombie comedies go this isn't quite on the level of Shaun of the Dead, but it's actually surprisingly close. ****