Kung Fu Panda (2008, U.S.)

Po, a panda voiced by Jack Black, is chosen as the Dragon Warrior (the protector or the village), even though he's overweight, has no skill at martial arts, and is completely hopeless.

For a kids' film, it was pretty good. There was actually quite a bit of laugh-out-loud parts, and the voice talent was undoubtedly good. It also had a sweet message about being able to do whatever you put your mind to. Good movie for kids.

Rating: 3.5

Belle de jour (1967, France)

Only the French, I'm telling you. Catherine Deneuve, who I have to say is a very good actress, is a young woman who is in love with her new husband but frigid in bed. So while her husband is at work, she ends up spending her afternoons as a prostitute while staying chaste in her marriage.

Obviously this was supposed to be a commentary on women's desires and how psychological traumas can pervert these desires. Not a bad concept, but I think it could have been executed better. Then again, maybe it was just dated.

Rating: 2.5

Passengers (2008, U.S.)

So Anne Hathaway has never been my favorite, though I am quite fond of Patrick Wilson. I think Netflix might have recommended this one to me.

Claire is a therapist counseling the survivors of a plane crash. The survivors remember an explosion that the airline says didn't happen. When the passengers start disappearing, Claire is determined to find out what happened. She's helped by Eric, one of the survivors who she begins a romance with.

This was actually pretty good in terms of mystery and suspense, in a very slow-building, creepy way. I can't compare it to anything without giving the whole thing away, but let me just say your skin will be crawling by the end. Not bad!

Rating: 3.5

The History Boys (2006, UK)

In 1980s Yorkshire, a close-knit group of gifted boys works their way through school, sport, and sex, all trying to get into Oxford while enjoying their education. This film is a character study with an ensemble cast, which is pretty ambitious if you ask me. However, the group was very good, and you could really believe they really were a bunch of school boys who'd known each other forever. The group dynamic was fascinating, probably the best part of the film.

It was at times sad and at times funny, but it was always real. Triumphs, disappointments, and above all the ennui of the smartest, most charismatic guys you've ever seen trapped in a stifling, uncreative educational system. The only real support they get is from an aging teacher who sometimes touches his students inappropriately; the strangest thing is that he doesn't seem ill-intentioned, and they all like him anyway. Like I said, interesting characters.

Rating: 3.0

Gia (1998, U.S.)

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. Angelina Jolie is brilliant. Here she played Gia Marie Carangi, a top fashion model from the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am not the kind of person who cares at all about fashion; I'm not the kind of person who condones drug use, wild behavior, or promiscuity; but I found myself really caring about Gia, her life, and her career. I don't know if it was Jolie or Gia or what, but her personality was larger than life. She didn't just come off the screen, she exploded off the screen.

The writing must have been very strong, because the pacing was very good for a biographical film. Gia wanted to live life to the fullest, but she didn't really get the love and support she needed, and she turned to drugs instead. The most powerful part of this film was the ending, when Carangi was in the hospital dying. (She died in 1986 at 26 of AIDS.) It was so vivid and heartbreaking, seeing this great celebrity languishing all alone.

This was an incredible film. The tone was dark. It had a gritty, realistic feel. And a 23-year-old Angelina Jolie was already in control of her incredible acting talent and absolutely breathtaking. Costumes were perfect. And from what I've read, it was pretty historically accurate too. All in all, a winner.

Rating: 4.0

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002, UK)

To be honest, I can't really write a good review of this film because I was halfway asleep (or maybe something else...) when I watched it.

However, I did really enjoy it. I've never read the book, but the film had a very good combination of history and adventure.

The thing I remember most clearly is the sets. The prison was especially well-done, I thought.

I think I better watch this one again!

Rating: 3.5

Legends of the Fall (1994, U.S.)

There just aren't enough movies made about World War I. It's a good thing that the ones that are made are quite good. Legends of the Fall is a bit melodramatic, but it is still a wonderful story. It mixes pieces of war movies, classic westerns, family sagas, and romances. If it comes off a bit melodramatic and times, that's okay. After all, it is a very ambitious film.

They used several very interesting narrative devices. To begin with, I liked that the narrator was a character who was only on the margins of the plot, rather than one of the primary players. To supplement this narration, they also used letters written to and from various characters, which was quite effective. They also used something I would call a flashback, for lack of a better term. To give an example, Tristan gets noticeably upset and frustrated when he tries to free a cow trapped in barb wire. Even though they never show the scene again, it is clearly meant to remind the viewer of the scene where his brother is trapped in barbed wire during the war. These scenes are very well done.

I've always found Aidan Quinn to be a competent but unremarkable actor, and most of the other actors fell into this same category as well. Then there's Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt. They steal the scene from anyone they ever work with. Hopkins is an imposing patriarch, and Pitt completely embodies the magnetic, troubled middle brother. Even if the film was awful (as it could have been if the rest was the same as the cheesy final scene), they'd redeem it. Wow.

Rating: 3.5

The Lucky Ones (2008, U.S.)

I stumbled across this movie when looking for Rachel McAdams projects. Apparently, it was pulled after only a one week limited release. I think this is an absolute tragedy, because this film is incredible.

Three soldiers have been wounded in Iraq. Two are coming home on a 30-day leave, and the third has finished his third (and last) tour of duty. They're stranded in New York because of a blackout and decide to drive cross-country to get to their final destinations.

The tagline says, "Sometimes losing your way home means finding yourself," and this captures the feel entirely. The three think they know what they're coming home to, but they don't. Colee (McAdams) is fascinated with the country, wanting to stop and sight-see everywhere she goes. This emphasizes her lack of a home. TK is worried about his ability to be sexually intimate after a groin injury, and he ends up finding emotional intimacy instead. And Cheaver has made great sacrifices for his country, but his greatest sacrifice is for his son. The various reactions of people they run into around the country—from the hero worship to the political anti-war comments to the cruelty of college girls mocking the wounded Army girl—are really an interesting representative sample of the real American sentiment, I think. Wonderful.

I've always found Tim Robbins to be a good actor, if not one with an overwhelming presence. I thought this was the case in this film, where his quiet, older nature didn't dominate the other two characters. The same can be said for Michael Peña, who is an actor with lots of unharnessed potential. He was one of my favorites in the ensamble of Crash, and he's just as great here. And of course, I adore Rachel McAdams. She is good in every role she takes, whether as a romantic lead or a solitary Iraq War veteran or a Mean Girl. Aside from being an incredibly talented actress, she has a beautiful face that looks vulnerable open and makes you want to stare into her eyes and memorize her face. Or maybe it's just me... I think I'd want to look like Rachel McAdams if I could look like anyone!

Anyway, I think this film is an amazing, amazing film about modern war. I liked Stop-Loss in its depiction of the effect the memory of war has on men's psyches. But I thought this was almost more poweful in its depiction of the effect of returning from a war to a home from which they've been long absent. It is really, really a shame that this had such a limited theatrical engagement. Everyone should see this film.

Rating: 4.0

Get Smart (2008, U.S.)

I've never seen the TV show Get Smart, so I can't really judge it as an adaptation. There were some funny parts that had a definite 1960s taste to them, and they actually carried over fairly well to the modern movie. I gather that a lot of the gadgets they used, such as the famous shoe phone, came straight from the series.

Steve Carell is terribly funny. Sometimes I really don't like the movies he's in, but when he's given a role that isn't in one of those lowbrow comedies, he's great. And he makes a wonderful Maxwell Smart. The rest of the cast was okay, but nothing spectacular. Anne Hathaway underwhelmed, as usual. (Especially disappointing, considering she does have great talent in there.)

The plot was a bit murky and hard to follow, but then considering it's a spoof of the espionage genre, perhaps that makes sense. All in all, a pretty entertaining flick. Not the best thing I ever saw, but still pretty good.

Rating: 3.0

The Valet / La Doublure (2006, France)

How very French. A wealthy man is cheating on his wife (a majority shareholder in his company) with a supermodel. A valet proposes to his girlfriend, and she says no. And then the wealthy man hires the valet to pretend to be with the supermodel, in order to fool the wife.

It was really rather entertaining, as only a comedy of errors—and a French film—can be. All of the characters are very well developed and continue to develop throughout the film. However the "happily ever after" just doesn't work out in a way that makes any sense, which rather killed the movie for me.

The score was composed by Alexandre Desplat, who is one of my favorite composers. Strangely, I believe this is the first French film I've seen that he's composed the score for. But it was truly wonderful. Very upbeat and great fun.

Also, I'm getting quite fond of Gad Elmaleh. I need to see some more of his work.

Rating: 3.0

Adam & Steve (2005, U.S.)

This really could have been a great movie. But it wasn't. Two guys meet each other in the 1980s and have a very unfortunate one night stand. They meet again 20 years later without recognizing each other and fall in love. They have to deal with all kinds of gay-bashing in addition to their complicated feelings for each other. Realizing that they met all those years ago only makes things worse.

There are a lot of the kind of jokes I don't like—fat jokes, bathroom-type jokes, and even some gay jokes, which is especially odd considering that the movie is seemingly pro-gay. I did like that they tried to make movie that portrayed gay marriage in such a positive way, but they just made it too lowbrow.

The absolute best, most wonderful thing about it was an extended scene where a bunch of gay men dressed up in jeans, flannel, and cowboy boots and hats and did an extended country western dance. Priceless.

Rating: 1.5

The Messengers (2007, U.S.)

This movie was shockingly identical to Cold Creek Manor. A family moves from the city (Chicago) to the country (a sunflower farm in North Dakota). They have a daughter (played by Kristen Stewart again) and a younger son. The house is creepy, and something is obviously not right. Then a handyman shows up, and their luck seems to be turning around.

The major difference was that this movie had a supernatural element that the other lacked... and it was awful. It was really creepy, but it was pretty predictable. They used crows pretty well, but at the same time this seemed like a pretty cliché horror tool.

The best part about this movie was Kristen Stewart, of course. She's great at the troubled teen who's made some mistakes but is a great big sister and an honest person. She is also great at acting terror.

Perhaps I would have liked it more if I hadn't just seen Cold Creek Manor. Or if the ending wasn't so cheesy. But too bad, I did, and it was.

Rating: 2.0

Penelope (2006, UK)

This was one of the stranger movies I've seen recently. Christina Ricci is Penelope, a girl whose family is cursed. Consequently, she has a pig snout. She needs to find someone of her own class (rich, of course) who loves her in order to break the curse, but every man who sees her runs screaming from the house. That is until she meets Max, who's lost his family inheritance and goes to meet her because a crooked newspaperman wants a story. Somehow he manages to never see her, and they form a bond. Things go sour, and Penelope runs away from home.

This is a really cute movie about falling in love for what's on the inside and finding yourself despite the interference of everyone in your life. Ricci is adorable—as is McAvoy. And I always, always love Catheine O'Hara as the neurotic mother. Reese Witherspoon, who produced this movie, also makes a brief appearance as a tough girl who befriends Penelope.

Really fun, really sweet. I think it would be a good movie for tweens.

Rating: 3.5

Baby on Board (2009, U.S.)

I have only ever seen one Heather Graham movie that I liked (Killing Me Softly—and that was largely thanks to Joseph Fiennes). This one might have been the absolute worst.

The concept was good. A perfume designer creates a perfume for pregnant women to smell sexy to their husbands. Meanwhile, she and her husband find themselves pregnant unexpectedly. Because of a miscommunication, he thinks she's cheated on him and it isn't his, and they don't talk for the duration of her pregnancy. A large part of this is due to his friend, who is a complete scumbag who cheats on his wife regularly and is exactly the kind of guy you instinctively hate.

Clearly, it's supposed to be funny. But men being stereotypical pigs, sex jokes, fat jokes, and other jokes in bad taste made it a horrible, horrible movie. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Rating: 1.5

No One Can Hear You (2001, U.S.)

I decided to watch this movie because it featured Kieren Hutchinson, a Kiwi actor I've seen once or twice and found quite adorable. It also stars Barry Corbin, a truly iconic actor. Of course, I'm not big into horror, but I figured I'd branch out.

The first night I started to watch it, I had to turn it off. Living alone in a very dark area across from a cemetery is not so bad on a normal day, but horror movies are not a good addition to this scenario. The opening credits are the scariest part. They show someone's darkroom, red light and eerie photos everywhere, while someone whispers, "True love never dies" in a voice that truly makes your skin crawl.

The rest was not so scary. Essentially, a bunch of suburban families with teenage daughters kept being found dead all together, decapitated. It seems to echo a crime that happened 15 years earlier. The local news reporter's daughter fears she will be next. The filmmakers work so hard to make you believe the killer is one person that it's incredibly clear that it's someone else.

It amazes me that a movie can be so horribly written with a completely nonsensical plot and yet still be so incredibly predictable. Terrible.

Rating: 2.0

RocknRolla (2008, UK)

I don't know why I insist on continuing to watch British crime comedies when I rarely end up liking them. Oh way, yes I do. Snatch—Brad Pitt. Layer Cake—Daniel Craig. RocknRolla—Gerard Butler. I'm a sucker for those British men, even if the movie isn't my favorite genre.

I can see why people who like this type of film would like it. It had some pretty extreme shoot outs and disgusting intimations of violence (such as dipping people in pools of man-eating crawfish). There were also some pretty funny lines, but not really my kind of funny.

Mostly I spent the whole movie confused about who was doing what and why, and whose relationships were what and why... and, of course, how sexy Gerard Butler is, even as a gangster!

Even though I'm giving it the same rating as Snatch, I believe I liked it quite a bit more. The twist at the end was especially awesome.

Rating: 2.5

Cold Creek Manor (2003, U.S.)

I've become a huge Kristen Stewart fan recently, so I decided to try out this movie even though it's not my usual fare. I have to say, I was pretty impressed. This movie was creepy.

A couple and their two children move from Manhattan to upstate New York. They move into a house they bought at auction; the previous occupants had gone bankrupt. The father, a documentary filmmakers, begins working on a film about the previous occupants. But weird things start happening in the house. Snake infestations, a dead horse. It is terrifying, especially because you know who is responsible the entire time, yet the family remains clueless.

They send their children home to protect them, and as the suspense builds and it becomes clearer to them what's going on, my skin just kept crawling. The final confrontation is something else—although very cliché, as it occurs at night during a thunderstorm.

Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid are very good actors, and the chemistry and marital tension between the two was great. And of course, Kristen Stewart was fabulous. Christopher Plummer was very convincing as an old, senile man. But it was Stephen Dorff, who I've never even heard of, who stole the show. He played very sketchy white trash to a T.

I wish I remembered the music more clearly, because I noticed later that the director also composed the score. Interesting.

Anyway, this is a great movie if you want to be super creeped out!

Rating: 3.5

Ring of the Nibelungs (2004, Germany)

This was definitely an interesting movie. It's based on the Norse myth that inspired Tolkien to write Lord of the Rings, apparently. (One notable difference, however, is that women play a much more prominent role in this film.)

There were some very interesting elements here. Star-crossed lovers, dragons, magical helms, deception, sword fights. It has some very dark, obviously Norse concepts. For instance, the hero slays a dragon and bathes in its blood, which makes him invincible in battle—at least everywhere the blood has touched.

I really liked it on one level. As I said, there were some very interesting elements, and it's just the kind of thing that Lord of the Rings fans or fans of Arthurian myth would enjoy. I really loved the music too. It opened with something that sounded almost like modern Scandinavian pop. Then it had a lot of beautiful slow songs and impressive epic songs. However, overall it was overly melodramatic in a lot of places (perhaps partially because of some overacting), and some plot points just didn't connect well.

It might be worth trying, if you're interested in this type of thing. Very neat, but overdone.

Rating: 2.5

Hook (1991, U.S.)

I am a huge Peter Pan fan. I like the old Mary Martin version, I like the Disney cartoon version, I like the 2003 version (with Jason Isaacs as Hook!), I like Finding Neverland... I just love Peter Pan. I've never seen Hook, however. (I remember something about it being inappropriate for children, and I wouldn't have been allowed to watch it.)

On one hand, I thought the concept of this film was pretty interesting. Peter Pan finds something worth leaving Neverland for, grows up, has his own children. On the other hand, I don't think that scenario is consistent with the Pan character. And even if it was, I don't think he ever would have become a high powered corporate executive. Because of this, none of the rest of the film fell into place.

I did love Maggie Smith as Granny Wendy, and the concept of her becoming a rescuer of orphans. She was great. However, I've never really cared for Robin Williams, and I didn't like his Pan. And while I do like Dustin Hoffman, he just isn't a hook, like Cyril Richards or Jason Isaacs. Lastly, the Lost Boys just aren't the loveable, adventurous, stereotypical boys they are in other versions, with the exception of one or two of them. Mostly they were a rude mass, rather than adorable individuals.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the music. The whole time, I kept thinking it sounded familiar. This is usually a good sign that I know the composer. However, when it sounds this familiar, it's usually a good sign that John Williams did the composing. Well, surprise surprise, he did! Which explains why it sometimes sounded like the mischievous music from Home Alone and sometimes like the more mystical themes from Star Wars. Still, it was pretty good music for Neverland. (Though nothing can touch the score written by James Newton Howard for the 2003 version.)

To summarize, my general reaction to this movie was "Eh." A swing and a miss for Spielberg, I'd say.

Rating: 2.5

Speak (2004, U.S.)

I feel like I am always saying this, but anyone who underestimates Kristen Stewart is an idiot. I have never seen this more clearly proven then watching this film, in which she plays a high school freshman who was raped. She can't speak about it, and becomes selectively mute. Meanwhile, her friends turn against her, her parents don't understand her, her teachers either pick on her or don't notice her.

The range of emotion Stewart portrays, from sheer joy with her friends, to terror, to emptiness, to courage, to a million other infinitesimally different ones, is beautiful. Her face is just incredibly expressive. It's just as interesting to watch her face as she walks down the street as to watch scenes where more action happens. I could rave about her performance forever.

The various devices the filmmakers use to tell the story are artfully employed. The mixed use of flashback and first person narration voiceover is very successful in painting a haunting picture of the mental condition of a traumatized girl. So too is the use of tree symbolism, although the whole "healing through art" thing is rather overdone in film, if you ask me. Lastly, the music was lovely and understated, setting just the right mood.

This film took a very painful subject and made it accessible to teenagers. It was heart-wrenching without being cliche. It was moving, especially because the main character was the perfect balance of fragile and strong.

I would strongly recommend this film. Especially if you want to see a 13-year-old with as much talent as a classically trained, middle-aged woman.

Rating: 4.0