THE INTERNATIONAL - A rather gripping whodunnit which makes the act of uncovering financial fraud very compelling and genuinely interesting. Bizarrely, this film, which is a slow, methodical, covert mystery, decides to end in an all-out bullet-time set piece where Clive Owen shoots at guys in the Guggenheim. The scene might have worked well in DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE, but this movie is so not an action movie, and ending with a Hollywood blockbuster action set piece is totally inappropriate and ruins the movie's aesthetic.
STATE OF PLAY - Again, another gripping whodunnit involving corporate conspiracy and murder, involving a politician and a sex scandal. It's actually very well done, and highly enjoyable, with good substance, but, for some reason, decides to have a 'twist' that makes little sense, just to give the ending a bit more 'oomph'. But instead of being 'oomph', it's actually just bewildering as it comes out of nowhere and doesn't make much sense or do much for the story (actually it does, but it's so late-game and so poorly set-up, that it just feels tacked on). It's there because the filmmakers simply couldn't work out how to make the end of the movie - a man sitting at a type writer - visually exciting (even though it was), so they put a final "clue" at the end which is wholly unnecessary. Both STATE OF PLAY and THE INTERNATIONAL are very similar films: post-Halliburton movies about corporate conspiracy to milk wars and the public's desire for security for billions of dollars. Both movies have rather low-key guys be Woodword and Bernstein as they uncover the Watergate-like plot and expose the tyrants behind the throne of American democracy. This is fine, but both films are calculating, subtle, and attempt to be realistic - in that they don't have outrageous action sequences. The action is used very lightly, the drama mainly coming from the paranoia of an ever-present, shadow conspiracy with limitless resources. Unfortunately, neither movie understood how to craft the ending and make it visually appealing, since the end of this type of movie is essentially a lengthy court process in the public eye. So THE INTERNATIONAL decides to have it's climax be straight out of a James Bond movie, and STATE OF PLAY tries to just pull a twist at the end. Both of these movies are trying to ape MICHAEL CLAYTON, which is a superb movie, and the end of it is perfectly in character for the movie. It doesn't need a desperate twist, nor a outrageous action scene, it's a small, but powerful confrontation that involves a brilliantly dialogued conversation. Also, Jason Bateman is in STATE OF PLAY.
17 AGAIN - This was much better than I expected. Matthew Perry is very good, and so is Zach Efron. In fact, it's a pretty good movie. It does, at points, truly dive into idiotic sentimentality, but the movie sticks to its premise and works it through, much in the same way as BIG does. In 17 AGAIN, Chandler (as he shall always be known) is middle-aged and hates his life. He gets youthed back to 17, and slowly understands what he has. But it doesn't do it in a heavy-handed way. It works well, and its entertaining. Also, the sub-plot of Chandler's childhood friend's attempt at romance is also well played out. The only really stupid bit is the far too long lightsaber fight, but it's at the beginning, and to be honest, this is quite a fun movie.
I LOVE YOU, MAN - This movie has all the actors doing well. Jon Favreau and Paul Rudd in particular, and they share the best scene in the movie (it involves beer). The movie builds quite well, as Paul Rudd's attempt to find a true male friend starts to implode his life, but it shamelessly decides, after Rudd hits rock bottom, to just have Rudd solve things very easily, and it's a cheap, cheap movie. With just a couple of apologies, everything works out right, and it's a big, fat lie. Unwilling to go through with their story, the filmmakers just wanted to end it quickly on a high note and disregarded all the consequences of the characters' actions. This film really could have been a romantic tragedy, and may have been all the better for it. The problem with romantic comedies (even bromantic comedies), is that they are rarely romantic, and rarely funny. I LOVE YOU, MAN, like most rom-coms, is tepid in both areas, relying on skilled comedians to sell a turkey. Shame. Also, the Lou Ferrigno stuff is just really, really idiotic. Ferrigno is fine, but he's used purely as a "Chuck Norris" type of celebrity gag, and he's overused.
THE SOLOIST - Robert Downey Jr plays a troubled journalist and Jamie Foxx plays a schizophrenic homeless cello prodigy. This movie is an actor vehicle for these two. The whole movie is there to show off their acting chops by giving them big speeches and a gamut of emotions and a movie all about their thoughts. Unfortunately, it makes the mistake of not actually having a story or characters worth caring about. DOUBT is an actor vehicle with a compelling, subtle, yet powerful story, THE SOLOIST is not. It's dull, boring, and cliche. Yes, the actors are good but then it's Robert Downey Jr and Jaime Foxx. RDJ was good in WEIRD SCIENCE for Chrissakes. Of course he's good here. But the film is just bland.
GRAN TORINO - This movie is astonishingly good. A modern-day Western, with a totally perfect ending. The movie is a true, powerful, moment in the lives of the characters and it's such a shame this is Eastwood's last role, because he's wonderful, and when he sings at the end, it'll break your heart. Brilliant movie, that's just simple storytelling. Nothing fancy. A completely mundane premise taken to beautiful extreme.
WATCHMEN - Good film, poorly told. Too loud, too loving, and too stupid. But that's all in how it was told. What was there was gold.
STAR TREK - Stupid film, brilliantly told. Very exciting, engaging, and charismatic, despite it being unbelievably average and contrived.
CHANGELING - A well-crafted, intriguing film with a great supporting cast and antagonists that help create a compelling protagonist in Angelina Jolie. Some of J Michael Straczynski's writing ticks are still too obvious and superficial, but it's extremely slight and the movie is very exciting indeed.
GHOST TOWN - A good return to classic comedy in which the main protagonist is actually unlikeable yet still compelling, Ricky Gervais is a rare talent like Bill Murray or Charles Grodin. Unfortunately, despite his wonderful performance, Gervais is stuck in an awfully bland movie that is formulaic and insipid. Lacking any insight at all, Gervais' fine performance is wasted.
LAST CHANCE HARVEY - A somewhat pleasant romantic drama, but unfortunately, lacks any real impetus or resolution. It has almost no story to it, and it never feels like this is truly Harvey's last chance for love.
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN - A dull, insipidly shallow Disney movie that is written with terrible cliches and contrivances. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson however, is wonderfully entertaining because that's just who he is. Thankfully, he's on screen for so much of the movie, the movie becomes palatable purely because of him.
THE HANGOVER - A base, vulgar comedy that, while quite genuinely funny at points, lacks any substance at all. Setting itself up as a 'comedy mystery', it fundamentally has no plot or purpose, and is far too shallow and poorly constructed to be rewatchable. It is funny for the most part though.
BIG MAN JAPAN - Working on good faith, the film is enjoyable but slow for the first 90 minutes, then it ends with a very bad joke and forgets to have an ending or story. An insulting waste of everyone's time.
SEVEN POUNDS - Will Smith's latest attempt at desperately trying to get an Oscar. It's unfortunate because he's a very accomplished actor and just needs to be given a good film. This movie acts like it's a suspenseful mystery about love and redemption, but is confusing because it is so terribly obvious. It also makes an amateur mistake - hiding the protagonist's desire is idiotic as the film has no spine and appears to be a bizarre melange of scenes. Which is what this is. It struggles desperately for a point, only to reveal a dull, boring point that you already new from the trailer and never gives you a reason to care. It is a poor vehicle for actors; it traps talented actors with the promise of a wide range of emotional suffering but grants no context to those scenes, so the actor's tears seem unnecessary and insincere.
UP - Pixar are geniuses. From the opening six-minute cartoon PARTLY CLOUDY, to the fantastic end duel, this film is unbridled joy and wonder. Tip top filmmaking.
FROST/NIXON - An entertaining, interesting film of political cat and mouse. Unfortunately, in the wake of George W Bush, Richard Nixon appears saint-like and much of the teeth of the story dissipates. Granted, one can understand that at the time this was important, but today, it seems somewhat unimportant. The film makes its case very well, and is indeed very intriguing, but it is ever so slightly distant simply because GW Bush is a far worse Nixon who has gotten away with it.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - A rollicking rollercoaster movie that uses World War 2 as a romantic ficitionalized setting to have outrageous black comedy and gripping drama. Possessing a large cast of nothing but wonderful characters, the chief villain, Landa the Jew-Hunter steals the show away from wonderful characters like Aldo Raines the Apache, The Bear Jew, Hugo, and Lt Wilcox. Incredible fun.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA - Okay, this didn't come out this year, but I saw it this year and I have to say that it is a masterpiece that, when watching it, demands your full, unbridled attention. Wow.
