Leap Year (2010, U.S.)

This was one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in a long while, probably because there was more wit... even the slapstick parts were witty.

Basically, Anna (Amy Adams) has a perfect little life. She stages apartments for a living and her boyfriend is a successful cardiologist. However, it seems like they're never going to get married. So she takes the initiative and flies to meet him at a conference in Ireland, the land of her ancestors, where there is a tradition that a woman can propose to her man on one day only—Leap Day. A series of things goes wrong, and somehow she ends up stranded in the middle of nowhere on the coast of Ireland, where she enlists the help of pub owner Declan.

Hilarious antics ensue, and Declan and Anna inevitably fall in love. Duh! I was surprised to find that critics tore this apart, calling its plot recycled and other horrible things. There was great situational comedy, lots of witty jokes, and wow was Matthew Goode fabulous. I've always found Amy Adams hilarious, but Goode stole the show. His performance was so subtle but he had my friend and I giggling out loud the whole time. You have to believe that he's a coastal Irish lad, though he's really from Devon!

Irish scenery speaks for itself. Beautiful.

The only thing I really didn't like about it was how conveniently-ever-after it all ended. Of course, that's not unusual for a romantic comedy, but really. An upscale American girl and a down-on-his-luck Irish guy? We end with them starring dreamily into each other's eyes as the sun sets, but where will they live? How will they make their money? What happens when the credits roll? Anyhow.

Rating: 4.0

Sherlock Holmes (2009, U.S.)

I loved this movie. I don't know much about Sherlock Holmes, so I don't know how true this was to the original characters. But it was wonderful on its own. Above all, it was absolutely laugh-out-loud funny. There was also an excellent mystery that had all the appearance of being rooted in fantasy but having a perfectly realistic explanation.

There was great chemistry between the cast. Robert Downey Jr. has never been my favorite, but he was great, especially with Jude Law as his sidekick. And Rachel McAdams is one of the most underrated actresses of all time. Usually her performance is really subtle, but here she was so over the top, exactly what the role called for.

I haven't seen too many films lately where the scenery or special effects really stood out, but this was definitely one. Victorian London popped off the screen like it was filmed 150 years ago and yesterday all at once.

Hans Zimmer = brilliant composer. Enough said.

Loved it!

Rating: 4.5

Veronica Guerin (2003, U.S.)

Cate Blanchett is one of my all-time favorite actresses. No matter what part she's in, she's brilliant. This was no exception. She shone in the true story of Veronica Guerin, an Irish reporter who exposed the Dublin drug trade in the mid-1990s. She carries on through threats, a gunshot to the leg, and a beating, determined to clean up Dublin society. She's ultimately murdered in 1996.

Veronica Guerin obviously had to be a fearless, determined, and admirable woman, which Blanchett conveys well. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be sometimes convoluted and not fast-paced enough for the subject. Perhaps most Irish viewers familiar with the subject would have followed better that doesn't change the pacing.

Overall I found it educational, a great performance for Blanchett, but just too slow.

Rating: 3.0

Intermission (2003, Ireland)

This film begs comparison to Crash in that it follows the lives of a group of Irish men and women whose lives intersect in the most unlikely and also likely ways.

It was seamlessly pieced together, almost like a dance. Parts were laugh-out-loud funny, parts were touching, parts were hard to watch. The writing was very strong, as was the performance of a great ensemble. I would recommend this one.

Rating: 3.5

Brothers (2009, U.S.)

This is the kind of modern war film that there should be more of. I think that they really failed in marketing this one, however. While they made it seem like a movie about two brothers in love with the same woman, that was nowhere near the truth.

Instead, it was about the psychological damage done to a good soldier who was taken prisoner by the Taliban and forced to do unspeakable things, things that he couldn't tell anyone about—not his wife, not his superiors, and not his brother. Tobey Maguire did an absolutely brilliant job of portraying a man whose control is unraveling. It was an interesting contrast to his brother, an ex-con who spends his time trying to hold his brother's family together, for little thanks and a mountain of accusations. Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman are two of the most talented actors I can think of, and they were wonderful too.

And of course, beautiful score by Thomas Newman. That man has a gift.

Rating: 3.5

Camille (2007, U.S.)

Possibly the most bizarre movie I have ever, ever seen.

Silas is a thief who marries his parole officer's niece Camille. He's not allowed out of the state, but he uses his future wife's uncle's sympathies in the hope that he can use his honeymoon to escape to Canada. Camille has always dreamed of honeymooning at Niagara Falls, and she cheerfully deludes herself into thinking that the honeymoon will change her scummy man for the better.

What follows is the strangest road trip movie of all time. Because Silas and Camille get in a fatal motorcycle accident. That's right, fatal. Camille dies, but she keeps on with her honeymoon. And it's her death that finally pushes Silas in the right direction.

They have all sorts of adventures, running from the police, hanging out with carnies, visiting the falls... Franco and Miller give just the right touch of humor and seriousness to this macabre love story, creating a strangely enjoyable movie experience.

Carolina (2003, U.S.)

This was a very sweet, funny, clever movie about family and finding your own identity. Of course, that identity is partially influenced by your family, but partly you.

It's also about finding (and more importantly recognizing) the things that are good for you. What you think you want isn't always what you really want or even need.

Aside from all the sweetness, it was really very funny. The writing was fantastic, truly. A girl who works on a dating show with a best friend who's a straight Jewish man working as a romance writer... brilliant! And anything with Shirley MacLaine is bound to be a winner. I have never known anyone like that woman for a laugh.

Rating: 3.5

New Moon (2009, U.S.)

Wow. New Moon definitely dominated Twilight in terms of being able to treat it like a serious film. But I think a lot of that is in the director. Chris Weitz must be an amazing guy to work for. Remember The Golden Compass? Based on one of my favorite books of all time, but the script was terrible. Weitz took a bad thing and did the best he could with it, and it truly was amazing—apart from the writing. His directing, combined with some seriously talented (and under-appreciated) actors, made for fantastic drama.

In the beginning, there was a very short amount of time to establish how deep Bella and Edward's relationship is, and yet they defined that clearly. (And, might I add, made Edward look way yummier than should be allowed—more on that later.) In the few minutes she has to interact with the Cullens, in the beginning and the end, all of their relationship dynamics are clear too. I was very impressed with how well the acting conveyed so many small things. Every person on that cast is talented. They have their own moments, but they don't outshine each other. Bella's human friends, the Cullens, the werewolves... they all fit together and play their parts beautifully. (And random note on acting: I've always hated Dakota Fanning's smug little face. And her irritating lack of talent paired with the world gushing about her. And here, she plays the worst of the vampires, and it was all too easy to hate her. But was it as easy for everyone else? Because she didn't do very much acting...)

Special effects—infinitely, infinitely improved from Twilight. The wolf transformations were completely seamless, the fighting realistic. And the wolves looked exactly as they were supposed to—like real wolves, but the size of horses. They also clearly upgraded the diamond skin effect, and when they showed Edward's face in the sun, he looked a lot more like the mesmerizing, beautiful man you imagine in the book. And the fights between the vampires. Wow. They did such an amazing job of showing speed and grace without resorting to cheesy sound effects or stupid jumping around on trees. It was graceful and lethal and fast, all at once. The choreographer must be a genius.

Now at the risk of going all fangirl-ish, a paragraph on chests. One thing that really bothered me, however, was Edward's naked torso. In the book, Meyer describes Edward (ad nauseum) as having a beautifully (her word) sculpted (her word) chest, like a statue. In reality, we're faced with Robert Pattinson's (bless him) scrawny, unhealthy-looking physique. Would it really have been that hard to superimpose said sculpture over the reality? Or for him to eat something and lift a few weights? Take a page out of Taylor Lautner's book, RPattz! That kid is 17 years old (that's six years younger than our favorite grungy Brit), and yet he somehow put on enough muscle to put even the most dedicated health nut to shame. Even one 10 or 15 years older. When he first pulled off his shirt, there was a very audible collective sigh in the audience. We're talking loud. And mostly women old enough to be his grandmothers. It boggles the mind.

But enough of that. Though on the subject of Jacob, I have to say that Lautner may be a great actor one day. Because I truly believed that Taylor Lautner was Jacob Black. The infectious smile, the physical presence, the bantering, the caring... Incredible. The other two are kind of like that too. Great acting, have I mentioned?

They also stayed pretty close to the book, probably more so than the first installment. I would have liked to see Stewart walking around holding herself together with her arm a bit more, but still, she did a remarkably good job of portraying a girl falling apart because of a broken heart. I especially loved that they used a similar tactic to Meyer's when they showed time passing and Bella not improving. Great stuff. And using the dream where Bella thought she was her grandmother. And certain instances of dialogue and physical behavior... I could go on and on. And probably on some more.

So I will end with one of the most important things to me—music. When I saw the last movie, I mentioned that I hated the use of modern music, which dates the film. However, I've since changed my mind on that stance. There were a few gems in the first movie, but there were even more in this one that really fit the mood and theme. "Satellite Heart" was one of my personal favorites, as was "Possibility." Some of the songs were used quite effectively, while others would have fit perfectly in places they weren't used. It was hit or miss, but (most) of the songs were pretty good. The big disappointment was that there were no more Robert Pattison songs used... and they really would have fit with the quieter feel of this soundtrack. Fingers crossed for Eclipse. The score. Yes. Alexandre Desplat has been one of my favorite composers for a long time, and he didn't disappoint here. When I listened to the score before the movie came out, I wasn't sure how it would work... but it did. Perfectly. He has a gift for matching music to the screen, and even if all of the songs don't really stand alone outside of the movie (though some do, of course), it doesn't matter. Because they enhance the on-screen action wonderfully. (And, much as I love Carter Burwell, I was beyond thrilled that Desplat didn't stick with Burwell's weird electronic suspense-type themes. That was a huge mistake in the scoring of Twilight, I think.)

Anyway, loved it. Can't quite give it 5 stars. Mostly because some stuff was missing. (Like how they tried to make Jake look like a perfect guy—where was him forcing himself on Bella and her breaking her fist on his face?!) That's a specific example, but there are a lot of other things—feelings, actions, lines—that were just missing something. (I mentioned Bella's arm before. That's a good example.) Still, loved it. Did I mention?

Can't wait to see it again. And buy it. And see Eclipse in June! (I can probably wait a lot longer for Breaking Dawn. I shudder to think about that film.) And as another side note, I cannot believe it's been a whole year since I was at the midnight premier of Twilight with Stacey and Hanna. Wish they were here now!

Okay, really done now.

Rating: 4.5

How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008, UK)

I'm not sure why I wanted to watch this movie. I think it's because every time I see a movie with Simon Pegg, I assume it will be the type of movie I hate, and yet I always like it. He is just someone who can pull off the kind of comedy that doesn't appeal to me and make it truly funny. And he can do the good, witty kind too. I like that.

Basically, this is about an irritating English journalist who crashes parties and irritates celebrities. When he crashes the big Sharp's magazine party, he thinks he's going to get it from Clayton Sharp. Instead, he gets a job there. Even though he irritates people, he has a remarkable sense of journalistic integrity. It's only when he gives up that integrity that he can succeed in his career, however.

I liked this movie. It was funny, it cast attention-seeking type celebrities in a negative light, it highlighted the things that really matter in life. Not what I was expecting, but a nice surprise. I'd definitely recommend it.

Oh, and Kirsten Dunst might finally be growing on me.

Rating: 3.5

How To Be (2008, UK)

I gather that this film was supposed to be pretty funny. And although I'm a bit of an Anglophile, it may have just been too British for me, because most of my laughing was in an "Are they serious?" type way.

Art is having an existential crisis, post break-up. He realizes that his family has never shown him much love and he doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. So he hires a Canadian self-help guru to come to London and help him out, naturally.

Pattinson was pretty amazing as Art. He's sensitive and unsure of himself and awkward and an all-out misfit. (Then again, something tells me that this is the really Robert Pattinson, behind the heartthrob mask.)

Of course the ultimate message here was to be who you are and do what makes you happy. It was touching, and sometimes even funny. Just not my favorite movie of all time.

Rating: 3.0