Mars Needs Moms

MARS NEEDS MOMS (2011) - Feb. 22, 2012 (Second Viewing)
Yep, good times!  I'm definitely baffled at the critical/audience reaction to this film, because it's a lot of fun.  I can only chalk it up to mo-cap fatigue, which I totally get, but it's too bad that this film had to be the fall guy for mo-cap's overall mediocrity.  ***1/2

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE (2012) - Feb. 19, 2012
About the further exploits of the Ghost Rider -- this time trying to lift his curse by saving a young boy from having his body taken over by the devil.  Though it's a step up from the original, that really doesn't take much.  It's hard not to be let down by this, since this seemed like the perfect material for Nevaldine/Taylor to really run with, but for the most part this felt woefully generic.  There was one amazing scene in which Nicolas Cage questions a guy while struggling to keep himself from turning into the Rider -- this was exactly the kind of inspired madness that I was hoping for when I heard that Nevaldine/Taylor were making a Ghost Rider movie, but it was sadly the only memorable scene in the whole film.  The movie also squandered a couple of pretty great supporting actors -- Idris Elba was saddled with a bizarre French accent, and Ciaran Hinds was a bit too restrained as the devil.  Meh.  It was basically entertaining, I guess.  **1/2

Safe House

SAFE HOUSE (2012) - Feb. 17, 2012
A decent enough film about a young CIA agent who finds himself in the care of a of an ex-operative with dangerous information.  Though Daniel Espinosa's shaky, Greengrass-esque direction (which is not the only thing this movie borrows from Bourne) is kind of tiresome, it basically works.  The whole film feels sort of been there, done that, but Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds were both good, and it had its moments.  **1/2

The Big Steal

THE BIG STEAL - Feb. 16, 2012
Thoug not nearly as heisty as you might think given the title (it's not about a heist at all -- it's about the aftermath of a robbery), this was an enjoyable enough film noir about a guy charged with a robbery who pursues the real robber while being pursued himself.  Featuring a solid tough-guy performance from Robert Mitchum, there's nothing particularly special here, but it's well made, entertaining throughout, and short enough that it never gets a chance to over-stay its welcome (71 minutes!).  ***

Fatherland

FATHERLAND - Feb. 13, 2012
An enjoyable enough movie about an alternate 1960s in which Germany won the war, and is the world's biggest superpower.  The film finds a cop (played by the great Rutger Hauer) investigating some murders that turn out to be related to a huge government cover-up.  The film is obviously going for a '70s thriller vibe, but in this case the conspiracy is the fact that the holocaust happened, so the investigation isn't all that interesting because we know all along what the big reveal is going to be.  **1/2

The Woman in Black

THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012) - Feb. 8, 2012
An enjoyable if very routine haunted house movie about a young lawyer who visits a spooky old house, only to find some serious ghost shenanigans afoot.  Of course, he returns to the house multiple times, and even arranges to stay overnight (!), seemingly because he realizes that he is a character in a haunted house movie and decides to act accordingly.  Though the film is very heavy on cheap jump scares, it's quite well made and enjoyable throughout, and is fairly tense in parts.  ***

Miss Bala

MISS BALA (2011) - Feb. 8, 2012
A really well made but exceptionally slow-paced and meandering film about a young woman in Mexico who finds herself an unwilling member of a Mexican drug cartel.  Though Gerardo Naranjo's directorial style -- which exclusively favours long, meticulous takes -- is kind of mesmerizing (and there are some great set-pieces here), the film itself feels a bit too thin for its own good.  Perhaps most pressingly, we hardly learn anything about the film's protagonist, who stumbles through most of the film like a zombie -- the argument could be made that she's shell-shocked, and that this is how person might really react to these events, but that doesn't make her any more of a compelling protagonist.  I was seriously stressed out while watching this movie and thus wasn't really in the right frame of mind for a film such as this, plus the IMAX theatre right below mine was causing an annoyingly incessant rumbling, so I should probably watch this again at some point.  **

Twins

TWINS (1988) - Feb. 6, 2012 (Second Viewing)
A very enjoyable movie about a man, raised in seclusion on a small island, who decides to go to America to seek out his twin brother.  Though it's a bit silly and quite forgettable, both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are quite good and have great chemistry, and the film is definitely pretty fun.  ***

Contraband

CONTRABAND (2012) - Feb. 5, 2012
A decent enough if kind of middling action film about an elite ex-smuggler who's drawn back in for one more big score after his sketchy brother-in-law racks up some debt that he can't pay off.  The film was well made and well acted, and I can't say I've seen too many films revolving around overseas smuggling, but I was kind of losing interest as it went along.  I was always basically entertained, but yeah, it wasn't the best.  **1/2

After.Life

AFTER.LIFE (2009) - Feb. 4, 2012
About a woman who dies, and then finds herself in a funeral home with a funeral director who can talk to the dead.  Or maybe he's just a murderer trying to convince her that she's dead.  The film has an interesting enough premise but just doesn't do all that much with it -- it feels like a short film or like an episode of the Twilight Zone that's been uncomfortably padded out to feature-length.  All of the actors do the best they can with the material, but just don't have all that much to work with (Liam Neeson in particular is completely wasted here playing a character who should have been interesting, but who just comes off as bland).  **

The Guard

THE GUARD (2011) - Feb. 2, 2012
A well made and engaging film about a curmudgeonly small town Irish cop who finds himself working with an FBI agent when some drug-runners decide to import drugs through his town.  Though John Michael McDonagh's dialogue sometimes borders on being a little too stylized and showy for its own good, the film is mostly well made and quite funny throughout.  It helps that Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheedle are both very good, and have great chemistry.  ***

Chronicle

CHRONICLE (2012) - Jan. 31, 2012
A well made found-footage film about a group of three high schoolers who, after coming into contact with some sort of strange alien artifact, find themselves slowly developing superpowers.  The film provides an intriguingly down-to-earth take on the superhero genre (kinda like Invincible, I guess), and seems to provide a slightly more realistic scenario for what would happen if teens wound up with superpowers (costumes and crime-fighting are somewhat unlikely).  The movie starts out quite well, but then lags a bit in its midsection -- there are probably a few too many scenes of the teens getting into general shenanigans with their superpowers, and even at a very short 84 minutes, the film feels a bit padded out.  However, the film recovers nicely with a finale that is flat-out awesome.  It's easy enough to see why director Josh Trank is now a front-runner to direct a Fantastic Four reboot, despite his relative inexperience.  ***

Kill List

KILL LIST (2011) - Jan. 30, 2012
About a couple of contract killers who find themselves drawn into some increasingly weird shenanigans, this was an odd film that veers into some serious WTF territory in its last act.  The film definitely doesn't unfold as you might expect, starting off more like a drama, turning into more of a thriller, and then finally taking a left turn into WTFville.  I enjoyed it, though I really should have held out for a copy with subtitles -- the strong accents meant that I missed a good chunk of the dialogue.  I definitely wouldn't mind watching it again, if only to see exactly how everything leads into that crazy ending.  ***

Hatchet II

HATCHET II (2011) - Jan. 29, 2012
Continuing right where the last film left off, this one sees a group of hunters heading back into the swamp in an effort to kill Victor Crowley.  Like the first one, this one had a bafflingly low-rent, flat, TV movie-esque style that really did not do the film any favours.  It also eschews anything even remotely resembling tension or suspense.  On the plus side, there didn't seem to be quite as much cringe-worthy humour this time (though there's still a fair amount), and there's lots of wildly over-the-top practical gore effects -- the one thing that this series really seems to have going for it.  Honestly, maybe it's my lack of experience with '80s slasher films, but the appeal of these movies (aside from the gore) just goes right over my head.  Is the gore the sole appeal?  **

Haywire

HAYWIRE (2012) - Jan. 28, 2012
A great spy thriller / action movie from Steven Soderbergh, about an agent who gets double-crossed by her superiors and who sets out to get revenge.  Soderbergh puts his distinctive sense of style to great use here, and combined with David Holmes' perfect retro score makes this a very, very fun film to watch.  Soderbergh also proves to be a fantastic action director, allowing the brutal action to unfold in mesmerizing long takes, and completely exploding the contemporary notion that action scenes need to be cut into oblivion to be exciting.  The film is also stuffed to the gills with great actors, and ex-MMA fighter Gina Carano admirably holds her own -- she's not the best actress ever, but she definitely has a certain amount of screen presence.  Good times.  ****

The Grey

THE GREY (2012) - Jan. 27, 2012
A superlative film about a group of guys who survive a plane crash only to find themselves fighting for survival against the elements and an angry pack of wolves.  Though I was expecting more of a straight-forward thriller, the film is actually quite dark and has a surprising amount of depth, and features some really top-shelf direction from Joe Carnahan (he's definitely forgiven for the mediocre A-Team).  It's also really well acted, particularly (and unsurprisingly) Liam Neeson, who brings a level of gravitas and pathos that I don't think a lot of actors could pull off (or at least not as well as he does it).  Carnahan does a great job establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of dread and forboding, and the film is actually quite tense throughout.  It's pretty great, and it definitely reminds me of why I thought Carnihan had so much potential after Narc.  ****

Vanishing on 7th Street

VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (2010) - Jan. 25, 2012
About a group of survivors who try to deal with the fallout after an unseen, shadowy force makes 99% of the population disappear.  The film starts out quite well, kind of stumbles a bit around the midsection, but then recovers nicely with some pretty tense stuff towards the end.  Though it's no Session 9, Brad Anderson's atmospheric direction is top notch, and the film is definitely worth watching despite some of its shortcomings.  ***

Ironclad

IRONCLAD (2011) - Jan. 24, 2012
A disappointing film about a group of soldiers who try to protect a castle from an evil king.  Though Jonathan English's direction was fine most of the time, he is absolutely terrible at action -- he mostly falls back on quick-cut/shaky-cam laziness, resulting in muddled, unexciting action.  The characters were mostly pretty good, though James Purefoy was oddly bland in the lead role (Purefoy can be an extremely engaging screen presence, so I blame the director on that one).  Brian Cox and Paul Giamatti are clear highlights -- Giamatti, in particular, is clearly having a lot of fun playing a scenery-chewing villain (there's one scene in particular, where he angrily explains why he has the right to be king, that is flat-out awesome and almost makes the whole film worthwhile).  **

Angel Face

ANGEL FACE (1952) - Jan. 23, 2012
A kind of bland film noir about a guy who gets tangled up with a woman who may or may not be trying to murder her parents.  Though the film was decently made by Otto Preminger (whose no-frills direction almost completely eschews the stylistic tropes film noir became known for), it's just never all that compelling, and it definitely overstays its welcome a bit.  **

Everything Must Go

EVERYTHING MUST GO (2010) - Jan 22, 2012
A rare dramatic turn from Will Ferrell, in which he plays a guy who, on the day he loses his job, goes home to find that his wife has locked him out of his house, and all of his stuff on is on his lawn.  The movie is solidly made and features a strong performance from Ferrell, but otherwise is not particularly memorable.  ***