Shutter Island is a film based on the novel by Dennis Lehane, and brought to the  screen by none other than Martin Scorsese.  To me, this was an unbeatable combination.  I love Dennis Lehane (Mystic River; Gone, Baby, Gone); his novels are fast, suspenseful, and well written.  I love Martin  Scorsese; his movies are, well, you already know, right?  His recent pairings with Leonardo Dicaprio have been a pleasure.  They team up again in Shutter Island, a two hour plus film that takes you inside madness and tries to leave you there.

Teddy Daniels is a U.S. Marshall that has been called to Shutter Island, a mental hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of a female patient, Rachel Solando.  Teddy and his new partner, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), arrive on the ferry and begin their investigation immediately.  It becomes clear in no time that Teddy is affected by his surroundings.  The investigation and close proximity to doctors, patients, padded cells, and intimidating brick edifices quickly get to him.  Add in a giant hurricane strength storm, and Teddy is laid up with a migraine and out of commission for the night.  He begins to ponder his own troubles, his own past, with images of his wife (who died in an apartment fire) and images from his time in the war, freeing victims of Dachau.

I wish I could say that this movie was as stimulating as the book was.  I enjoyed watching it, even knowing how it all turns out, and I think Scorsese did a fantastic job creating an atmosphere and a tone.  But I have to admit, the movie was 30 minutes too long.  It definitely bogged down in the middle, and I wonder if the movie would have benefited from trimming some of Teddy’s back-story.  Nevertheless, the film definitely brings the creepy and the payoff in the end is pretty swell.  I would wait for DVD so you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

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It’s Oscar time, so the local theatre has begun it’s one to two week screening of each Best Picture nominee.  Every year I am so grateful to the Oscars and to this theatre for first publicizing these films and second screening them for my convenience.  Crazy Heart is one of those films that I would have never been able to see in the theatre if it weren’t for this annual event.  It’s a small movie with a great cast and fabulous music and I think it deserves all of the attention it has been given.

The film follows Bad Blake, an old school country music star who now plays gigs in small bars and bowling alleys.  He travels around to these gigs in his beat up truck, his own roadie and entourage, and Jeff Bridges portrays him with absolute perfection.  The film opens with Bad arriving at the bowling alley to check out his next gig, then checking into his hotel to finish most of a bottle of whiskey before showing up for his performance.  It’s a sad existence, and I think Bad knows it, but he would never give up playing music and he won’t give up drinking whiskey.  During his travels he meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a small town reporter looking for an interview, and she is somehow able to get him to open up to her and gets more questions answered than she meant to ask.  The film follows Bad as he battles his alcoholism, his bruised ego (as he watches his former protege, Tommy Sweet, reach country music star status), and his best friend’s un-asked for wisdom (Wayne, played by Robert Duvall).

I really loved this movie and especially the music.  It reminds me of the country music I listened to when I was a kid and Jeff Bridges is just so charming when he is on stage.  It’s hard not to like a soundtrack put together by T Bone Burnett.   The tone of the film reminded me of The Wrestler in a lot of ways, but the plot is not really similar at all.  And the film held little gems scatter throughout with it’s casting.  A one night stand is played by an actress in Donnie Darko.  Robert Duvall is adorable as Bad’s bar-owning friend, and the best surprise is who was cast to play the part of Tommy Sweet, and how genuine that character turns out to be.  It’s a great movie, made from real quality stuff, and definitely worth your time.  It will probably get to DVD soon, so be sure to check it out.  The soundtrack is worth a listen too.

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I begin this review with a confession.  I saw Avatar several weeks ago.  Almost opening weekend, to be quite honest with you all.  At first, I just wanted to wait until I had time to mull the movie over a bit in my brain, but then it turned into something else.  I didn’t want to review it until I saw it again.  In 3-D.  I don’t know what that means, but when I did see it, in a series of frustrating events, we all ended up in a 2-D screening, and I guess I just wanted to be well rounded.  Anywho, it’s coming up on the end of January now, so I’ll just go ahead and tell you what I thought of my two dimensional experience.  Maybe the rest can wait and there will just be an update or some such thing.

Several weeks later, I still want to gush.  I just loved this movie.  It’s a futuristic Dances with Wolves, so gorgeously rendered that I caught myself with my mouth hanging open multiple times and scanning the movie screen from corner to corner to see everything.  It’s an action movie, sci-fi, message, romance that just took my breath away.  So many times these high budget, over hyped films end up  a giant flop, but I honestly can’t wait to see it again.  In 3-D.

Ok, so the premise is that a corporation from Earth has traveled to another planet called Pandora where the Na’vi, a humanoid race, inhabit the planet.  The very valuable substance that the humans (called Sky People and aliens by the Na’vi) want to strip mine happens to be located directly under the Na’vi’s home.  Jake Sully is a former Marine who lost the use of his legs and is asked to take his brother’s place in a new program that will allow the corporation to infiltrate the Na’vi colony.  He works with Dr. Grace Augustine, pioneer of the program,  who joined with the corporation as a means to conduct her research.  During the course of the film, Jake meets Neytiri, a Na’vi who teaches him about her culture, her language, and a few other things as well.

I can’t explain everything.  The movie comes in at 2 hours and 40 minutes and a lot happens so I never felt bored.  With this film being such a huge success, it has also become a huge target for criticism as well.  I won’t answer all of it here because I feel that the film answers most of the claims against it without any help, if you  just pay attention.  Anyway, I want you all to go see it.  And yes, I want you all to pay the extra few bucks to see it in 3-D.  I think it will be worth every penny.  Maybe I’ll be able to let you know for sure soon.

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In 3-D:  Totally amazing.  I admit that the live action portions of the film seemed a bit fuzzy to me, maybe because I had glasses over glasses, creating an interesting effect, but the CGI portions of the film were breathtaking.  On the aerial shots I would actually feel my stomach flip.  Also, something small was the coolest part for me: when inside a room looking out, you as the viewer would be looking out through the window glass.  Only 3-D could make that possible, and like I said, it sounds like a small thing, but it was by far the greatest example of how 3-D could enhance the viewing experience.  You could even see the glare and dirt on the glass.  Again, totally worth the money to see.

In 3-D:

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When I heard the description of The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock’s newest starring vehicle, it didn’t sound in the least bit appealing.  I have seen my fair share of heart-warming, come-from-behind sports movies (and even volunteered as an extra in Remember the Titans), and didn’t feel any particular pull toward seeing another.  But the media push was nothing if not persistent, and the more I learned about the movie and the family it is based upon, the more I was drawn to it.  Based on the bestselling book written by Michael Lewis in 2006, the movie follows the Touhys, middle class Republicans, Ole Miss Alumni, and charitable Christians.

Michel Oher was a high school senior with nowhere to sleep when Leigh Anne Touhy saw him walking down the road in the rain.  She invites him home, and as the movie unfolds one day leads to another until Michel becomes a member of the family.  The two perfect biological children, over-achieving daughter Collins and spitfire son S.J., accept him as their sibling like ducks take to water, with only the slightest hint of conflict with schoolmates.  The movie is funny, and captures Michael’s gradual relaxation into his new life well.  I liked that it did not flinch away from the extreme measures taken by Michael and the Touhys to qualify him for, first high school then college, football.  They aren’t pretending that they did not push him, but they are spinning the process to imply it was all for his own good.

Perhaps it was all for his own good.  But the uneasiness that I felt at their methods was the only thing that balanced out that dreaded overdose of touching moments. Overall, it’s definitely worth seeing and if you’re anything like me, you will stay through the credits to see real life pictures of Oher and his family.  Sandra Bullock is a blast to watch as she bosses around everyone she comes in contact with.

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I was a bit wary about seeing this movie, but tried not to let that tinge my massive excitement.  This book was such a huge part of my childhood; it’s images are burned into my brain and the feelings that I had when reading this book come flooding back to me at the thought of those haunting illustrations. After I heard that Maurice Sendak was directly involved in the film adaptation of his beloved 10 sentence childrens’ book and asked director Spike Jonze to “make it his own”, I was hooked and determined to be there opening weekend.

I was there opening weekend.  The delay in this review is due to my overall disappointment.  I wanted the feeling of dread and excitement that I got from the book.  Instead I got feelings of depression and melancholy with occasional moments of terror lite.  The monsters have been given names and personalities, many of which fit their appearance perfectly. What I liked about the film was the visual aspect.  It was beautifully translated from the page to the screen, and Jonze’s insistence that the monsters remain actors in costume definitely pays off.  Due to technical issues, the costumes remain in the movie, but the faces of the monsters are animated. And I was impressed by the voice cast involved in the film, including James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Catherine O’Hara, and Paul Dano.

I thought the movie would be more hopeful and fun.  It ended up being a look at what it’s like to be a child and the turmoil experienced through growing up at the mercy of the adults around you.  Max runs off to discover that his best traits can be balanced against his worst in an effort to live with the ones he loves.  The movie was touching, but it’s not a childrens’ movie.  It’s a movie about being a child, and that’s an important distinction.

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This movie had a lot of potential but it went in a completely different direction. I had it in my head from the commercials that this was a movie where aliens come to Earth and want nothing to do with us, but we will not let them leave. Completely goes against any alien movie ever made, that I can think of. That is not what the movie ended up being about, it was mostly about a character who was tasked with leading an eviction against a group of aliens and to help relocate them to another area. Then the movie just kind of goes off on its own in some weird plot you never expected.

The movie starts out in a documentary style, which wouldn’t have been bad if it didn’t last half an hour, everything is explained as to how to the aliens came to the planet and it gives you a glimpse at the things that have happened over the twenty year period that they have been on Earth. The aliens, nicknamed Prawns, have been given a patch of land, District 9, which over time becomes a slum and becomes a nuisance to the locals of Johannesburg, South Africa. Things get so bad that the government decides to move the entire group of aliens, more than a million, and they contract Multi-National United to orchestrate the process.

Wikus van der Merwe (yes I got that off IMDB) works for Multi-National United and is designated to supervise the team and get the aliens moved to their new location. His character is goofy and a little over the top. He annoyed me the whole first half of this movie. As he is inspecting the houses for weapons, and other restricted alien items, he is sprayed in the face with an alien liquid. The movie continues being lame for a bit longer and then takes off.

The second half of this movie is pretty entertaining. Documentary style has finally ended and it goes into decent movie mode. This movie has plenty of action in the second half and it pretty entertaining. I was unable to truly like this movie because of the first half. It was just so boring. The second half really picks up but just doesn’t do enough to make it worth while.

I know it is late and all, but don’t waste your money. I would wait for a “rent one get one free” coupon or something, don’t even see it in the $2 movie. Catch it on TNT in a couple of years.

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I have rarely seen a cooler preview than the trailer for District 9.  A military officer interrogates an alien, peppering it with questions about why they are on our planet, if they mean us harm, and how their weapons work.  The alien simply says that they didn’t mean to land on Earth, we’re holding them here, and they just want  to go home.  It’s a novel idea: aliens come to Earth and want absolutely nothing to do with us.

The film is shown mostly  through news footage, security clips, and home videos.  So yes, that translates into shaky camera for those of you with weak stomachs.  Basically, the film centers around a slum in which the aliens (given the derogatory term “prawns”) have resided for the past twenty years.  After landing in Johannesburg, the humans in town have grown tired of dealing with the aliens and have convinced the local government to relocate the slums far outside of the city.

Through interviews with various historians, economists, and journalists, you get a foreshadowing of horrible events to come.  Sharlto Copley is Wikus Van Der Werwe, the agent placed in charge of the relocation operation, who watches his plan spin quickly out of control.  The aliens have endured years of terrible treatment and though most happily sign their eviction papers, there are still a few aliens (including Christopher and his son) who are intent on going home and have been trying to do so for two decades

This movie was so shocking in it’s stark brutality.  Made as a statement on apartheid, the elements of hate and ignorance are amplified and combine with the violence shown throughout made the film a bit hard to watch.  There were touching moments, just not enough of them for this ever to be a happy movie.  All the same, I really liked this movie.  I enjoyed the ending, leaving just enough questions unanswered to keep you wondering.

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I first heard of this movie in a commercial.  It wasn’t even a trailer; it was literally a commercial that lasted 15 seconds and ended with the announcer declaring, “There’s a twist ending you won’t believe!”  So I had to go see the full trailer for myself, and couldn’t see what the big deal could possibly be.  There are three couples featured prominently in the trailer.  How difficult can it be to figure it out?

The movie stars Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich as newlyweds Cliff and Cydney on their Hawaiin honeymoon.  They plan to spend a portion of their honeymoon hiking an island trail to a hidden beach on an isolated portion of the island.  Early on the trail they meet up with Nick and Gina (Timothy Olyphant and Kiele Sanchez) and the two couples start to hike the  trail together.  Along the way they discover that there is a manhunt underway for a man and woman who are stalking, torturing,  and killing hikers on the islands.

This movie seems pretty straightforward.  I had a very hard time coming to a final opinion on this film.  All I can say is that you will think of every possible twist.  The correct answer will occur to you, it is impossible for it not to.  Now, to completely contradict myself, there is no possible way for you to figure out what the twist ending will be.  I know that makes no sense, but isn’t that a perfect reason to see the movie?  The only way for you to understand what I mean is to see it for yourself.

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I was actually excited to see this movie.  The previews looked cute, and I love Gerard Butler (still haven’t seen 300, but Phantom? Hello, ladies?). I knew not to  expect more than the typical romantic comedy, with the plot plainly laid out in a two and a half minute trailer.  Butler’s misogynistic Mike is going to help  uptight Abby (Katherine Heigl) land the man of her dreams by teaching her how to play the dating game.

Abby is the producer of a morning news show, co-anchored by a married couple, and slipping in the ratings.  Her boss makes the highly unlikely decision to hire Mike, a man with a local cable access program that tells “The Ugly Truth” about the relationships between men and women.  Hired for a weekly segment to boost ratings, his antics quickly become an attention grabber and he appears on Abby’s show daily.  As Mike helps Abby loosen up and manipulate her handsome new neighbor into a relationship with her, Mike realizes he’s been falling for her the whole time.

My problem with this film is not its predictability.  If you go into it know what to expect, it can be comforting to know there will be a happily ever after.  What I found highly disappointing was the lack of cleverness.  The jokes fell flat, the “shocking” behavior was crude, not funny.  This could have been a better movie, but how many people really expected it to be?

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I didn’t give a lot of thought towards this movie when I heard about it. “Ah, just another romantic comedy with the chick from Grey’s Anatomy”. My wife wants to see it, so whatever, and we go. It was actually good. I enjoyed the movie the whole way through. Katherine Heigl handles comedy very well and Gerard Butler did a great job of pulling off the “typical male” role.

The movie is about Abby (Katherine Heigl), a producer of a morning television show that is torn between good ratings or good content. Abby is against going to new lows to get the viewers and tries hard to keep things tasteful. When the ratings plummet the boss brings in Mike (Gerard Butler), the host of a public access show titled The Ugly Truth. These two characters clash from the beginning but Abby finds that Mike may have the knowledge she needs to land the dream guy.

Typical story, the two hate each other then they become friends while she pursues another guy and then they find out they really like each other. LAME! Not really, they keep it interesting with Abby and Mike’s one liners and crude humor. They take it to the edge but don’t take it too far to where it is uncomfortable, well… there was that one time.

Not a lot to this movie, simple story, lots of humor, and worth the watch. Can’t say go see it in theaters unless you need a date movie. I consider it a rental (Netflix) or something for HBO.

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