The Fly

THE FLY (1986) - Nov. 29, 2011
About a scientist who develops teleportation; he decides to test it out on himself, but a fly accidentally winds up in the chamber with him.  Horrifying Cronenbergian shenanigans ensue.  Featuring a couple of above average performances from Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis (what happened to her?), the film is quite enjoyable throughout, and is the kind of smart sci-fi that we just don't see enough of.  ***1/2

We Bought a Zoo

WE BOUGHT A ZOO (2011) - Nov. 26, 2011
An enjoyable film about a writer who, still grieving over the loss of his wife a few months prior, decides to buy a house that just happens to be attached to a small zoo.  It feels kind of like a minor effort, though it's definitely a step up from Elizabethtown.  Cameron Crowe's direction is solid, and as usual, his use of music is stellar.  It's also quite well acted, particularly Matt Damon (the latest in a string of above average performaces).  It feels a bit long, and a bit slight, but it's quite enjoyable throughout.  ***

Hugo

HUGO (2011) - Nov. 26, 2011
About a boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station, and who finds himself mixed up with a man who owns a gadget shop and his neice.  The man turns out to be Georges Melies, a twist that I, sadly, had spoiled for me.  There's a lot in the second half about the magic of the movies, and about Melies himself, and all that stuff was really good.  It's easy enough to see what drew Scorsese to the material -- the second half is very much a love letter to silent cinema, and to Melies in particular.  But the film runs at a long 127 minutes; it meanders a lot (especially in the first half) and is a bit too slow-paced for its own good.  **1/2

Immortals

IMMORTALS (2011) - Nov. 19, 2011
About a peasant who finds himself embroiled in a battle between two armies, as well as between two rival factions of gods, this was kind of a pleasant surprise.  I really haven't much cared for Tarsem's two movies thus far, so my expectations for this one weren't particularly high.  And though this film wasn't without its problems, it was fun.  Featuring a decent, if somewhat bland leading performance from future Superman Henry Cavill, and a scenery-chewing performance from Mickey Rourke, the film drags a bit in parts but is mostly pretty enjoyable.  The whole thing is ridiculously over-the-top, from the stylized sets and costumes to Rourke's mustache-twirling villian to the overblown action.  But it works, for the most part.  Tarsem's familiar super-slick directorial style actually suits the material fairly well, and the violent action is surprisingly engaging.  ***

Paranormal Activity 3

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 (2011) - Nov. 19, 2011
About more filmed paranormal shenanigans, this time revolving around Katie and her sister as children.  Like the first two, this film is pretty great at building up and maintaining suspense (a camera that automatically pans back and forth on a fan head is actually a fairly ingenious device to ramp up tension).  But it was easily the weakest of the three films -- I don't normally say this, but this movie was too short.  The film really would have benefited from a little more breathing room around the nighttime stuff, and a little more character development.  It felt a little too pruned-down and spare.  It also had an ending which I'm assuming is setting up a sequel, because taken on its own it raises far more questions than it answers.  But for the third installment in a Saw-esque yearly horror franchise, it's actually pretty damn good (Saw was already pretty lousy by part three).  ***

Cafe de Flore

CAFE DE FLORE (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
Featuring a fractured narrative that spans decades and weaves together two seemingly unrelated stories, this was a memorably ambitious film from Jean-Marc Vallee, and one that I'm sure will reward repeat viewings.  Features some very stylish direction from Vallee, who does a great job bouncing back and forth between the two stories.  His use of popular music is also pretty much perfect, and there are some sequences here that are completely mesmerizing.  The film feels a tad long, but that's a minor complaint.  ***1/2

Sleeping Beauty

SLEEPING BEAUTY (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
Uh... that one wasn't so good.  About a young woman who finds herself caught up in a very specialized form of prostitution, where she is presented to the client after having been knocked out by sleeping pills.  Though Julia Leigh's fussy, meticulously composed visuals are beautiful and striking in the context of a two minute trailer, they kind of get a bit overbearing in a feature-length film.  In fact, from the stylized visuals to the affected performances to the theatrical artificiality of it all, the whole film screams "LOOK!  THIS IS ART!"  It's almost comically pretentious.  *1/2

A Separation

A SEPARATION (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
About a recently separated man who finds himself in trouble when he shoves a woman who had been caring for his father, this was a really well made film.  Though it starts of like a fairly typical foreign film festival type of move -- plotless, with handheld, documentary-style cinematography -- the film gets much more interesting as it goes along, and I was downright riveted for the last hour or so.  The aforementioned documentary-style direction, combined with the uniformly superb performances, makes the film feel remarkably immediate and real.  The movie was filled with really interesting, nuanced characters; there's no good guy or bad guy here -- everyone has their side of the story, and everyone thinks they're doing the right thing.  It's fascinating watching as the almost Rashomon-esque layers of truth get peeled back.  The film also offers a a really interesting glimpse at modern-day Iran.  I pretty much loved it.  ****

The Tree

THE TREE (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
About a little girl who believes that her recently-deceased father's soul has taken residence in a large tree next to her house, this was a kind of iffy film.  Though it was well acted and decently (if blandly) directed, it was kind of cheesy and a lot slower-paced than it needed to be.  It had really worn out its welcome by the end.  It probably didn't help that the little girl in this movie was one of the most annoying children to be committed to celluloid in quite some time.  **

Le Havre

LE HAVRE (2011) - Nov. 12, 2011
A typically quirky, delightful film from Aki Kaurismaki, this was about a shoe shiner who takes in a young refugee from a cargo ship on his way to London.  Everything from the tone to the way the characters act to the directorial style is classic Kaurismaki, and the film is quite enjoyable throughout, if a little slight.  ***

Tyrannosaur

TYRANNOSAUR (2011) - Nov. 11, 2011
About a couple of very damaged characters who strike up a tentative friendship, this was a well made albiet almost impossibly grim movie from Paddy Considine.  Anchored by two very impressive lead performances from Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman, the film had to be one of the grimmest, most downbeat movies I've seen in a while, but it was definitely quite well made (though I can't say I'll ever want to watch it again).  ***

11-11-11

11-11-11 (2011) - Nov. 5, 2011
About a tortured author who travels to Spain when he finds out his father is on his deathbed; meanwhile, he starts seeing some creepy figures and wondering about the significance of the numbers 11-11.  Features some surprisingly decent direction from Darren Lynn Bouseman (though since the only films of his that I've seen are the increasingly abysmal Saw II, III and IV, there's really nowhere to go but up).  Though Bouseman doesn't do as good of a job with the characters/plot as he does with maintaining a general sense of tension and dread, the film is fairly creepy and pretty much entertaining throughout, though it does feel a bit disjointed at times.  I also wasn't crazy about the over-the-top and kind of confusing ending (the film is already quite over-the-top, but the ending definitely kicks it up a notch).  **1/2

Tower Heist

TOWER HEIST (2011) - Nov. 5, 2011
Probably one of Brett Ratner's better movies of late (or ever, not that that particularly takes much, though I don't have quite the same level of hatred for Ratner that many seem to), this was an enjoyable heist movie about a group of workers who decide to steal the secret stash of a Bernie Madoff-esque swindler.  Featuring solid direction from Ratner and good performances from people like Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and an enjoyably smarmy Alan Alda, the film doesn't particularly add up to much, but I can certainly think of worse ways to spend 104 minutes.  The movie does drag a bit in the more episodic midsection, but it recovers nicely with a surprisingly engaging heist sequence.  ***

Dragons Forever

DRAGONS FOREVER (1988) - Nov. 4, 2011
About a mob lawyer and his friend who, while trying to woo a lawyer and her client to help their case, wind up falling in love.  Meanwhile, martial arts shenanigans ensue.  This is definitely Jackie Chan right in his prime, and the presence of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao certainly doesn't hurt.  The film itself is kind of silly, and the overbearing score is a little distracting at times, but it's entertaining throughout, and the action scenes are pretty much glorious.  ***1/2

In Time

IN TIME (2011) - Oct. 29, 2011
A suprisingly bad movie about a future society in which time is the new currency -- people stop aging once they hit 25, at which point their clock starts ticking.  This is a society in which the poor are segregated from the rich, and in which the poor get poorer with little chance for escape, while the rich get richer with more time than they know what to do with.  You can just feel writer/director Andrew Niccol elbowing you in the ribs; "kind of like our society, right?  RIGHT??"  No, this is not a subtle film, but even setting aside its ham-fistedness, it's just not that good.  It feels pretty clunky, without all that much narrative momentum driving it forward, and without much chemistry between the two leads.  It's surprisingly shoddy, especially coming from a director as talented as Andrew Niccol.  *1/2

Assault on Precinct 13

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976) - Oct. 28, 2011
Classic John Carpenter.  About a group of cops, criminals and civilians who must defend a small, nearly abandoned police station when a large, angry gang descends upon it, determined to kill everyone inside.  Featuring typically assured direction from Carpenter, including some really nice widescreen cinematography, the film does a great job of ratcheting up the tension and has some memorable set-pieces.  It helps that the characters are all quite good.  Definitely impressive stuff considering that this was only Carpenter's second film.  ***1/2

Point Blank

POINT BLANK (2010) - Oct. 25, 2011
An absolutely crackerjack thriller about a nurse-in-training who finds himself caught up in some serious shenanigans revolving around corrupt cops when his wife is kidnapped.  Featuring stellar direction from Fred Cavayé, who keeps things moving at an absurdly fast pace and directs the action with the sure hand of an old pro (despite the fact that this is only his second film) -- there's a foot chase here that has to be one of the more thrilling chases I've seen in a long time, and many other sequences that are edge-of-your seat thrilling.  And seriously, I cannot say enough about how awesome the pacing is in this movie.  The movie strikes the perfect balance between action and down-time, with plentiful action that never feels overwhelming.  The film also does really efficient job of developing the characters and getting them to a point where we care about them without spending too much time doing it.  Good times.  ****

Tucker and Dale vs Evil

TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL (2010) - Oct. 22, 2011
About the shenanigans that ensue when a group of partying teens mistake a couple of good-natured guys for murderous rednecks, this was a well made and sporadically hilarious send-up of slasher movies.  Like the best horror comedies, the film manages to poke fun at genre conventions without smugly winking at the audience; even if you've never seen a slasher movie, you can still enjoy this film.  Tyler Labine and Alan Tudyk were both quite good and had great chemistry, and the film was solidly directed by Eli Craig.  Though the first half was probably more enjoyable than the second half, the whole film was definitely quite entertaining throughout.  ***

The Three Musketeers

THE THREE MUSKETEERS (2011) - Oct. 22, 2011
A gleefully dumb but fairly enjoyable retelling of the story of the Three Musketeers.  The film definitely has its problems; for one thing, it has some pacing issues and at 110 minutes, is probably a tad longer than it needs to be.  I'm also really not sure why this movie needed four different villains, which left a couple of them on the thin side.  Plus, the final action set-piece is a little overblown, and definitenly goes on longer than it needs to.  But ultimately the movie is silly, fluffy swashbuckling fun.  Paul W.S. Anderson knows exactly what type of movie he's making and goes for it with gusto -- this is a film that features four guys taking on forty, and that culminates with a battle between two airships.  The film knows exactly how silly it is, and just tries to be as fun as possible.  Anderson's action direction, aside from being a little bit slow-mo heavy, is admirably old-fashioned, with nary a handheld camera in sight.  ***

The Thing (2011)

THE THING (2011) - Oct. 15, 2011
Well, there was pretty much nowhere to go but down from John Carpenter's original, and that's definitely where this prequel went.  About the group of Norwegians (and some Americans) who initially uncover the thing before it makes its way over to the camp in the Carpenter version, the film was decent enough, but it never really rises above the level of a mild diversion (and certainly, doesn't even come close to the '80s version).  I think bland is probably the best word to describe this movie -- Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.'s direction is bland (particularly when you compare him to Carpenter), the score is bland, the characters are bland (Mary Elizabeth Winstead is fine in the lead role, but she is just not a compelling presence at all... bland), and the very CGI looking creature effects are bland.  There are definitely some decent moments here, but... meh.  **1/2