Adventureland

ADVENTURELAND - Apr. 29, 2011
Meh.  A decently made but only sporadically engaging film about a young man who takes a summer job working at a local theme park.  The movie was well made and well acted, but I was just never particularly into it.  **1/2

Trucker

TRUCKER (2008) - Apr. 26, 2011
A really well made and engaging film about a commitment-shy long-haul trucker who, after her ex-husband is sent to the hospital, winds up with the son she abandonded 10 years prior.  Featuring an above-average performance from Michelle Monaghan, and equally good supporting performances from Benjamin Bratt, Jimmy Bennett and Nathan Fillion (Fillion seriously needs to be in more movies).  James Mottern's direction is quite good, as is Lawrence Sher's impressive cinematography.  There's nothing necessarily new or ground-breaking here (it's a pretty typical low-key indie drama); it's just an all-around solid movie.  ***1/2

Just Wright

JUST WRIGHT (2010) - Apr. 24, 2011
An enjoyable romcom about an injured basketball player who winds up falling in love with his physical therapist.  The film was quite entertaining throughout, though I really wish I hadn't seen the trailer, which is literally like a condensed version of the movie -- it spells out every single plot point right up until the final five minutes of the film.  Even by the spoiler-heavy standards of contemporary trailers, it's pretty ridiculous.  Not that there's anything particularly surprising in the film (it follows the romcom mold to a T) but it's still a bit frustrating.  Aside from that, the movie is solidly made and features a couple of compelling, charismatic performances from Queen Latifah and Common, who definitely have chemistry.  In particular, Common proves that he has more range than people would have probably given him credit for, as he suceeds admirably in a role far-removed from the tough guys he's played up to this point.   ***

Dogtooth

DOGTOOTH (2009) - Apr. 23, 2011
Bizarre, interesting but ultimately kind of a failure of a film, this was about a couple who have raised their three children -- now fully grown -- in complete seclusion, with no contact with the outside world (and, for some strange reason, teaching them bits of information that are blatantly false).  There's no real plot here: the movie begins, we see various odd happenings with the three siblings, then it ends.  A few things do happen, but it's generally just a month or so in the (weird) life of these characters.  The problem is that the characters and their situation are so bizarre, and we're never really given any reason to care about them.  The film does a good job of establishing this strange world that the characters live in, but it doesn't really add up to all that much, because the viewer is kept at a constant arm's length.  The movie was very handsomely made (Thimios Bakatakis' beautiful widescreen cinematography was easily the highlight of the film), and I was into it for a while (it's definitely unique, and pretty effective at establishing and maintaining its own off-kilter universe), but it eventually wore me down.  **

The Resident

THE RESIDENT (2011) - Apr. 20, 2011
A pretty awful horror film about a woman who moves into a seemingly perfect apartment, only to find that her friendly landlord is actually insane and obsessed with her.  Yes, it's just as cheesy as it sounds; director Antti Jokinen does absolutely nothing to elevate this tired material to something watchable.  One of the main culprits is Jokinen and Robert Orr's downright terrible script, which is full of clunky dialogue, cringeworthy exposition, and characters who act like characters in a horror film instead of real people.  The film could have at least been watchable if it were directed with any kind of finesse, but Jokinen's vaguely competent direction, which is sort of okay (I've seen worse, at least), lacks any real sense of tension or suspense.  The movie bafflingly stars Hillary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who are both a million times too good for this dreck.  I can only assume that they both had dumptrucks full of money back up to their houses, because I otherwise can't see any reason they'd agree to be in this movie.  *1/2

The Horde

THE HORDE (2009) - Apr. 18, 2011
A kind of lousy zombie movie about a group of cops who go to a run-down apartment building to get revenge for a murdered friend, only to find themselves in the middle of some serious zombie shenanigans (and forced to work together with the criminals they came to kill).  The film isn't bad per se; it's just aggresively mediocre, with pretty much nothing here we haven't seen before in many other zombie films (and videogames -- there's a pretty strong Left 4 Dead vibe here).  The characters are unlikeable and completely underdeveloped, with the bland actors doing nothing to overcome these deficiencies.  The film is competantly directed but marred by muddy, vaguely unpleasant cinematography.  The whole thing just basically feels like a waste of 90 minutes.  **

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982) - Apr. 17, 2011
So... what happened to Judge Reinhold? He may not be the most versatile actor ever, but he’s got a fairly unique screen presence, he’s likable, and he tends to give pretty solid performances. And yet his career petered out and all but died after the ’80s, though he has been working consistently since then (mostly in straight-to-video and TV stuff). It’s too bad.  It goes without saying, then, that I liked Reinhold in this movie. I liked Jennifer Jason Leigh, and I liked Sean Penn (who has a fairly small part, but steals every scene he’s in). I liked pretty much all of the actors in this movie, which is good because this is a movie that really requires that you like its characters. It’s pretty light on plot, and is content to just let us spend a year or so with these high school kids and see what they’re up to. It works, mostly because of the strength of Cameron Crowe’s script (his first) and the memorable characters, who do not feel artificial like movie teenagers tend to be, but like real people.  The movie actually reminds me a lot of American Graffiti — both films plotlessly follow a group of high schoolers over a certain amount of time (one night for Graffiti, one year for Ridgemont High), and both films feature feature a pervasive use of rock music on the soundtrack. And yet Ridgemont High works so much better; the characters are more fully realized, and ultimately much more compelling. I enjoyed spending time with this group of people, whereas spending time with the kids from Grafitti had the tendency to get tedious.  ***

Easy A

EASY A (2010) - Apr. 16, 2011
A surprisingly enjoyable film about a girl in high school who finds things quickly spiraling out of control after she starts spreading rumors that she's been doing it.  Featuring solid direction from Will Gluck (who also made another pleasant surprise, Fired Up) and a charming lead performance from Emma Stone, the film was breezy and quite enjoyable throughout.  The movie name-drops John Hughes at one point, and though this wasn't quite on his level, it's definitely an enjoyable film about teenagers that never feels like it's pandering, something at which Hughes was obviously the master.  ***

Scre4m

SCRE4M (2011) - Apr. 15, 2011
Not quite as good as the first two, but a clear step up from part three, this was an enjoyable sequel that finds Sidney -- now an author -- returning home and quickly finding herself embroiled in even more ghostface-related shenanigans (apparently, something like 50% of the people Sidney knows are actually psychopathic murderers).  After the let-down of part three, this film features another memorable opening scene, this time featuring the kind of self-referential winking at the audience that Scream has become known for with a film within a film within a film.  The movie does a much better job than part three of introducing new characters who don't feel completely generic, and also feels decidedly R-rated.  It's not a great film by any strech of the imagination, but for a horror movie with the number 4 in the title, it's definitely better than it really has any right to be.  ***

Scream 3

SCREAM 3 (2000) - Apr. 14, 2011
Meh.  After the surprisingly enjoyable Scream 2, this was actually a pretty significant step down.  Pretty much everything here is inferior to the first two: the opening is ho-hum and far from memorable, all the new characters are super bland, the uneventful midsection drags pretty significantly, and even the violence feels curiously watered-down, as if they were originally going for a PG-13 and only decided to go for the R at the last minute.  The film does improve a bit towards the end, and it's always basically entertaining, but after the above-average first two films, it's a pretty big disappointment.  **1/2

Scream 2

SCREAM 2 (1997) - Apr. 14, 2011 (Second Viewing)
Though this wasn't quite on the level of the original, this was a really effective sequel that was actually pretty close to the first one in quality.  Opening with a really effective and memorable sequence in a movie theatre (which still kind of pales in comparison to Scream's opening scene), the film follows Sidney and her cronies as they get into ghostface-related shenanigans at university.  The film has a number of effective set-pieces (including a really memorable one involving an unconscious ghostface in a car) and manages to introduce some decent new characters.  ***1/2

Source Code

SOURCE CODE (2011) - Apr. 13, 2011
About a soldier who is continually placed in the body of a man who died in a train explosion in an effort to figure out who was responsible for the bombing, this was another above-average sci-fi film from Duncan Jones.  Though the film definitely has more mainstream sensibilities than the more cerebral Moon, I think it's probably just as good.  It definitely takes its Quantum Leap-esque premise and does some interesting and exciting things with it.  The ending is a bit problematic, but aside from that this is a well acted, well made film.  ***1/2

Hanna

HANNA (2011) - Apr. 8, 2011
About a teenage girl, raised in seclusion by her father to be an efficient assassin, who is let loose in the world with the ultimate goal of killing the woman who killed her mother.  Though the premise would lead you to believe that this is a straightforward action film, the movie is actually pretty unique and has a very distinctive sense of style.  Joe Wright's stylish direction, along with the quirky script and the Chemical Brothers' effective and memorable score, creates a world that feels refreshingly unique.  There are also some great action set-pieces here, including one that unfolds in a glorious unbroken De Palma-esque steadicam shot.  Saoirse Ronan is quite good in the title role, creating a character who we definitely come to care about.  This film is pretty much the polar opposite of the gritty realism that seems to be de rigueur in the action genre these days; the film has a really stylized, quirky, almost fairy tale-esque vibe that never feels smug or like it's trying too hard.  It's rare to watch a big studio film and feel like you're watching something fresh, something that's actually trying to do something a bit different.  This feels that way.  ***1/2

Hot Fuzz

HOT FUZZ (2007) - Apr. 7, 2011 (Second Viewing)
This was actually quite a bit better than I remembered it being -- and I remembered it being pretty damn good.  Frequently laugh-out-loud funny and featuring some expectedly great performances from Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, this was extremely enjoyable all the way through.  Basically, it's impossible to go wrong with the Pegg/Frost/Wright combo.  ****

Everybody's Fine

EVERYBODY'S FINE (2009) - Apr. 6, 2011
A completely middle-of-the-road but nevertheless solid drama about a father who decides to travel across the country to visit each of his kids one by one.  Featuring expectedly solid performances from Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell as the kids, and a rare not-phoning-it-in performance from Robert De Niro.  I was actually really surprised by how good De Niro was here, considering the quality of his work over the last decade or so.  There's a scene towards the end where he finds out the fate of one of his children that's pretty heartbreaking.  Even in the quieter moments, he manages to take this emotionally buttoned-up character and inject him with a lot of depth and subtlety.  ***

Wish Upon a Star

WISH UPON A STAR (1996) - Apr. 5, 2011
About a couple of sisters who wind up switching bodies when one of them wishes that she could have the other one's life, this was a completely routine but surprisingly enjoyable Disney Channel film.  The film goes everywhere you think it will, but it's engagingly acted (including a young, surprisingly charming Katherine Heigl -- a far cry from her grating performance in last year's Killers) and entertaining throughout.  ***

Defendor

DEFENDOR (2009) - Apr. 4, 2011
Meh.  Well acted (both Woody Harrelson and Kat Dennings give above-average performances) but kind of dull, the film provided a slightly more real take on the "real guy becomes a superhero" subgenre, but seriously drags around the middle.  Harrelson's character, a mentally disabled, self-styled superhero, was definitely interesting, but the villains were kind of flat and the film itself just wasn't that good (the movie was at its best when it focused on the relationship between Harrelson and Dennings).  Also, John Rowley's low-rent score did much more harm than good.  **

Point Break

POINT BREAK (1991) - Apr. 3, 2011
An enjoyable action movie about a young FBI agent who goes undercover in the LA surfing scene to try to catch a group of professional bank robbers.  Though the film probably has more surfing action than actual action, it works.  It probably helps that Kathryn Bigelow does just as good of a job with the surfing stuff as with the action stuff (which is stellar, including a classic foot chase that ends with a moment that has been made unintentionally hilarious thanks to Hot Fuzz).  Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze are both quite good, as is the supporting cast (including a memorable John C. McGinley as the angry captain).  ***

Insidious

INSIDIOUS (2011) - Apr. 2, 2011
Easily James Wan's best film since Saw (and really, his only good film since Saw), this was an effective and kind of terrifying film about a young couple who must contend with some supernatural shenanigans in their home.  Despite a kind of similar premise to the two Paranormal Activity films (and the presence of Oren Peli as a producer), Insidious manages to feel fairly different from those movies with an over-the-top sensibility that is more Drag Me To Hell than Paranormal Activity.  The effective score and in-your-face sound design does a really great job of helping the film build and maintain tension.  All in all this was just a really fun, really well made haunted house movie.  ***1/2

The Lincoln Lawyer

THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011) - Apr. 1, 2011
About a street-smart lawyer who finds himself involved in a case where everything is not as it seems, this was a by-the-numbers legal thriller elevated by solid direction (a little shakier than I would like, but solid nonetheless) and some above-average performances -- particularly a really engaging turn by Matthew McConaughey.  It's kind of delightful (and increasingly rare) to see a straight-forward thriller that isn't aimed towards teenagers.  This is the type of film we saw quite a bit of up until about a decade ago, and I'm really not sure why they went away.  Another bonus of films like this: lots of room for interesting character actors, like Bryan Cranston, Bob Gunton and William H. Macy.  ***