Saw 3D

SAW 3D (2010) - Oct. 29, 2010
Meh.  A decent enough way to conclude the Saw saga, though I'm not convinced that this is actually the end for this series.  Features yet another hapless victim going through a series of elaborate traps while Hoffman's shenanigans unfold in the background.  It was pretty sweet to see Cary Elwes back on the scene, though the revelation that he was working in the background the entire time adds yet another perplexing layer to an already hopelessly convoluted story.  The whole thing was worth it if only for Elwes' entrance, in which he gives one of the better sarcastic slow claps I've seen in a while.  As for the 3D, it was fine I guess, though it really doesn't add much aside from the bits of viscera that occasionally fly at the screen.  **1/2

Super Troopers

SUPER TROOPERS (2001) - Oct. 28, 2010
Though it didn't exactly tickle my funny bone (I don't think I laughed once), this was fairly enjoyable film about a wacky group of highway patrolmen who find themselves in danger of being shut down.  The whole thing was affable enough, if somewhat forgettable.  **1/2

A History of Violence

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2007) - Oct. 28, 2010 (Second Viewing)
Yep, this was just as good as I remembered.  ***1/2

Prince of Darkness

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987) - Oct. 26, 2010
Though not exactly up there with John Carpenter's classics, this was a decent film about a bunch of academics who go to an old church to study a strange phenomenon -- sinister stuff ensues.  Well directed by Carpenter (with a classic Carpenter synth score) the film is kind of cheesy in parts, but also quite tense and fairly suspensful at times.  There are a lot of characters here, and none of them are particularly well developed, but the film is enjoyable enough and never overstays its welcome.  ***

The Lives of Others

THE LIVES OF OTHERS (2006) - Oct. 24, 2010 (Second Viewing)
I originally watched this around when it was first released, and I remember liking it quite a lot, but finding it to be a bit more slow-paced than I’d like. This time the pacing seemed just right. It’s not a fast-paced film by any stretch of the imagination, but the pacing does a really great job of setting a certain tone and giving us time to really care about the characters.  I think there are a couple of things that elevate this film from a good one to a great one. There’s Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s stellar direction, featuring beautiful, meticulously composed widescreen cinematography. The film is really tense when it needs to be, and Donnersmarck does a great job of keeping things intriguing throughout. The performances, too, go a long way towards cementing this film’s status as a classic. Though all the performances are above average, special notice must go to Ulrich Mühe (who sadly passed away shortly after the film’s release) — he gives a really astonishing performance, and is able to say more with the subtle expressiveness of his face than most actors could say with an entire soliloquy.  The film is at times electrifying, at times moving, and always entertaining. It’s well over two hours long but it never outstays its welcome. It definitely takes its time, but it’s all the richer because of it. ***1/2

My Dog Skip

MY DOG SKIP (2000) - Oct. 23, 2010 (Second Viewing)
A heartwarming coming-of-age film about a young boy in the '40s and his relationship with his dog.  Well acted and well made, the film is kind of hokey and unabashedly sentimental, but it's also quite enjoyable throughout.  ***

Paranormal Activity

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 (2010) - Oct. 22, 2010
An effective sequel (or prequel, in this case).  It plays it pretty safe -- it follows the formula set by the original pretty closely, so it doesn't quite have the same impact of the first one if only because there's kind of a "been there, done that" vibe at play here.  But on the other hand, it's pretty damn effective at building and sustaining tension (there were some scenes towards the end that were amazingly suspenseful).  It also does a pretty good job of actually tying in with the first film, and actually adding to the story rather than feeling like a tacked-on sequel.  It's not just a barely-related haunting story, as I sort of figured it would be.  ***1/2

Hereafter

HEREAFTER (2010) - Oct. 21, 2010
Another expertly crafted film from Clint Eastwood, whose hot streak continues.  About a psychic who can communicate with the dead, a young boy whose twin brother is killed, and a woman who is seriously shaken up when she almost dies in the big tsunami of 2004.  The contemplative film unfolds with Eastwood's usual leisurely pace, which absolutely works here.  The movie just sort of washes over you, and it's definitely never boring.  Eastwood's direction is primo as usual, as is Tom Stern's lush, moody cinematography.  I really can't say enough about the Eastwood/Stern collaboration.  Top-shelf stuff.  Matt Damon was quite good as the psychic; in fact if I had one complaint about this film, it's that the Damon stuff tends to be more compelling than the other two plots, mostly because Damon is so good.  ***1/2

Highway 61

HIGHWAY 61 (1991) - Oct. 21, 2010
Unpleasantly quirky and with a cheap, low-rent vibe permeating pretty much every aspect of the film, this was a fairly mediocre movie about a small town barber who winds up accompanying a free-spirited woman on a cross-country road trip.  One of the main problems is that the two leads are both mediocre actors, and neither have much charisma or chemistry together.  It also has that distinctively Canadian quirk to it, which really doesn't particularly work.  I didn't completely hate this film (I was basically entertained, I guess) but I didn't like it, either.  **

Black God, White Devil

BLACK GOD, WHITE DEVIL (1962) - Oct. 19, 2010
The tape I watched (in class) was completely awful and almost unwatchable, plus I slept through much of it, so... NO RATING

Jackass 3D

JACKASS 3D (2010) - Oct. 16, 2010
Though essentially more of the same, this was still an enjoyably stupid film about a group of guys hurting themselves and generally doing inadvisable things on camera.  The 3D doesn't really add much to the experience, and some of the segments are funnier than others, but all in all this is far more entertaining than it has any right to be (and kind of hilarious in parts).  ***

Teenage Paparazzo

TEENAGE PAPARAZZO (2010) - Oct. 13, 2010
Though not quite as engaging as Adrien Grenier's last documentary, A Shot in the Dark, this was still an enjoyable film about a 14 year old paparazzi, and the paparazzi/celebrity culture in general.  The film definitely has some interesting insights into the relationship between celebrities and paparazzi, and it's quite entertaining throughout, though it does feel a bit scattershot at times.  ***

Buried

BURIED (2010) - Oct. 12, 2010
A really well made, intense film about a driver in Iraq who, after his convoy is abushed, wakes up inside a coffin.  With only a lighter and a cell phone at his disposal, he has to try to figure out how to get out, with the clock working against him.  The film is almost absurdly riveting, considering that it's set entirely within the confines of a wooden box, and Rodrigo Cortes' assured direction makes a seemingly uncinematic premise abundantly so.  Of course, aside from the filmmaking, the movie rests almost entirely on Ryan Reynolds' shoulders, and he more than rises to the occassion, giving what is almost certainly his best performance.  If the Academy didn't have such a bias against genre films, he'd almost certainly be a shoe-in for a nomination.  Good stuff.  ****

The Firm

THE FIRM (1993) - Oct. 11, 2010
Though not quite as consistantly compelling as the recent Sydney Pollack film I watched (Three Days of the Condor), this was still a fairly effective thriller about a young man who gets hired at a seemingly ideal law firm, only to slowly discover that sinister things are afoot.  At over two and a half hours, there is absolutely no doubt that the film is longer than it needs to be, and it drags a bit in its first half.  But it's definitely never boring, and once the thriller elements start really kicking in, it's actually fairly thrilling.  It's also well acted (Tom Cruise was good, as was a very sinister Wilford Brimley) and well directed -- I may have to reconsider my opinion on Pollack.  My biggest complaint (aside from the overlength) is that Dave Grusin's jazzy, piano-heavy score can be a bit overbearing at times.  ***

Candy

CANDY (2006) - Oct. 11, 2010
A well made if somewhat routine drama about a couple of heroin addicts, and the affect their addiction has on their lives.  There really isn't much here we haven't seen before, but the movie is well made and engaging enough.  What really sets it apart from other movies of its ilk is the refreshingly steady camerawork (there's none of the documentary-style jitteriness we've come to expect from this type of film) along with the better-than-average performances (Heath Ledger, in particular, gives a characteristically great performance).  ***

Bronson

BRONSON (2008) - Oct. 9, 2010
I'm really not sure what to make of this movie.  Kind of reminiscent of a Clockwork Orange in more ways than one, this was a bizarre film about a man who gets sentenced to seven years in prison and winds up spending far, far longer thanks to his fighting and other shenanigans.  Nicolas Winding Refn's stylish direction is a big reason that the film works as well as it does, as is Tom Hardy's crazed and flat-out mesmerizing performance as the titular Bronson.  The film is strange and kind of meandering, but it's definitely pretty compelling from start to finish.  ***

The Social Network

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) - Oct. 8, 2010
Probably Fincher's best film since Panic Room (and definitely the most distinctly Finchery film in its visual style since that one), this was a really compelling movie about the invention of Facebook.  I kind of wish I hadn't read the book that inspired this film, as it did mean that there weren't really any surprises for me, but this was certainly a really well made film with a surfiet of interesting characters -- so the lack of surprises was pretty much a non-issue.  It was also exceptionally well acted -- it was probably one of the more consistantly well acted films I've seen in a while.  Particularly, both Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg were both pretty much amazing in the two main roles.  ***1/2

Mirageman

MIRAGEMAN (2007) - Oct. 7, 2010
More earnest and not quite as comedic as stuff like Kick-Ass and Super, this was an enjoyable if somewhat disposable film about a man who, still a bit messed up a few years after his parents were murdered in front of him, decides to become a make-shift superhero.  The whole thing looks like it was made on a budget of about five dollars, but it works, and there's actually some pretty decent martial arts goodness.  ***

Takers

TAKERS (2010) - Oct. 1, 2010
This actually started off decently enough -- silly and completely cliched, but kind of entertaining.  But not a whole lot happens in the midsection, and at almost two hours the film overstays its welcome by a longshot.  It also doesn't help that John Luessenhop's direction is kind of iffy.  It's decent for the most part, but his over-reliance on the old shakey-cam/quick-cut trope sullies the action, and completely ruins a long foot chase that should have been pretty awesome.  Other than that, the characters were all pretty generic, and no one made much of an impact with the possible exception of Idris Ebla, who deserves way better than this and seriously needs to start making better choices (his last few American films were this, the Losers, Obsessed, and the Unborn.  The man needs to get a better agent if it's not already too late, because he's definitely a good actor).  **