Body of Lies 3 1/2 stars A solid spy thriller from lighting master Ridley Scott (American Gangster, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down). Russell Crowe is fantastic as fat CIA operative Ed Hoffman who has a serious Arkansas accent and gives maybe the best speech on the war on terrorism I’ve heard. Dicaprio is also strong(man is he coming into his own) and surprisingly convincing with all of the action stuff he has to do. The film does run out of steam toward the end, and the romantic subplot is really unnecessary, but it’s definitely worth a viewing. Also look out for British actor Mark Strong who plays the head of Syrian Intelligence. He was great in RocknRolla, and he’s going to be someone we’ll see a lot more of.Lakeview Terrace 2 1/2 stars Neil Labute made possibly the nastiest film ever about males – In the Company of Men. His follow up Your Friends and Neighbors is equally brutal and seriously unforgiving. This one seems to be caught somewhere between those films and Training Day. It’s fairly silly, not very memorable nor very interesting.
Madagascar 2 2 stars If you liked the first one, you’ll probably like this one. I wish the penguins were in it more. DreamWorks animation will just never be on par with Pixar. I walked out of Kung Fu Panda last summer.
Miracle at St. Anna 2 stars. A real missed opportunity here. It’s probably a bad sign that I didn’t care about anything that was happening or anyone it was happening too. Maybe some bigger stars would’ve helped. Wesley Snipes was supposed to star before he had all of those tax problems. Strangely the opening 15 minutes in contemporary New York is the best part of the movie. Maybe that says something about Spike Lee.
W. 4 stars I really wished Josh Brolin would’ve got nominated for this, but it’s good that he still got a nomination for Milk. It isn’t nearly as rich or dense as JFK or Nixon, but for a President I really disliked, I had a lot of sympathy for him by the end. Elizabeth Banks is great as Laura Bush and James Cromwell is the man as George Sr. One of my top ten of last year.
What Just Happened 2 stars The book is non-fiction. It talks about the aftermath of the disastrous test screening of Fight Club and it talks about trying desperately to get Alec Baldwin to shave his beard before they started filming The Edge. It names real names. It’s about real movies. This movie is all fiction with made up movies, made up players, and absolutely no teeth. The title is exactly how I felt when the movie was over.
Choke 2 stars A huge disappointment. I’ve read three Chuck Palahniuk novels (Fight Club is the only one that has been adapted into a film) and this movie captures none of the wit, tone, or intelligence of his writing. It’s all bubbly comedic music iced with a ridiculous, implausible happy ending. What a waste. And although he’s a fine actor, I think something about Sam Rockwell is inherently unlikable. He’s the definition of slimy on screen.
Changeling 2 1/2 stars If you’re really interested in the story, go rent it. It seemed all too predictable to me. Son is taken, corrupt cops blame mother, mother fights back, cops get punished. Malkovich is excellent though and it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that Angelina Jolie made this and Wanted in the same year. Clint Eastwood made a much better movie this year called Gran Torino.
Priceless 3 stars Leave it to the French to make a good romantic comedy. Audrey Tautou is the complete polar opposite of Amelie, playing a gold-digger who starts a relationship with a poor hotel bartender. It must be said that they went to incredible lengths to glamour her up. Every scene looks like she’s going to the Oscars. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Gad Elmaleh(a tough name to have) is charming as the bartender who eventually starts gold-digging himself just so he can be around Audrey Tautou. Who wouldn’t?
Fireproof 2 stars My first Kirk Cameron film. It’s not terrible or anything. Its heart is in the right place. Kirk Cameron is a decent actor and apparently he and Freddie Prinze Jr. must be long lost brothers as they seem so much alike in voice and mannerisms. It’s the movie they would force you to watch in youth group. Do good things, don’t do bad things. Fight for your marriage, don’t give up on it. Woohoo! One funny story I read was that Kirk wouldn’t kiss the actress playing his onscreen wife so he had his real life wife dress up as the character for the day and he kissed her. Still haven’t watched the Left Behind movies. And Lord willing, I never will.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 3 1/2 stars I know I mentioned this one before, but I wanted to say how much more I enjoyed it the second time around. All of my hang-ups about it being so foreign to Fincher’s other films(Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac) went away and I really saw it for what it is. There are no painful sentimental scenes or big weepy moments, it’s too good for that. It’s a very special film about the brevity of everything. Brad Pitt is not getting enough credit for his performance of a complete life from birth to death. And I love Cate Blanchett. Her talent just shocks me every time. She made this, Indy 4, and the Bob Dylan movie all within the same year. Who else could possibly have done that?
