March 3, 2010
Breaking Bad: Season 3 (2010) ****
February 2, 2010
Knight And Day (2010) **
This could have almost been an enjoyable action comedy in the vein of "Romancing The Stone" or "The Last Action Movie", but unfortunately, they have seriously overdone the comedy portion, throwing the whole film out of balance. Because nothing is taken seriously, even the action scenes are played strictly for laughs, completely eliminating any notion of suspense. What's left is Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz clowning and unsuccessfully trying to pretend that they aren't on a movie set.
Solitary Man (2010) **
Black Swan (2010) **
Visually interesting, but ultimately disappointing psychological horror movie about a crazy balerina. And while the lesbian sex scene between Nathalie Portman and Mila Kunis is pretty hot, the film is curiously unarousing, probably because there is no nudity.
Robin Hood (2010) **
A serious re-telling of the famous story. Russell Crowe is excellent (as always) and the historical setting is both credible and impressive. But the film suffers from ridiculous anti-French prejudice, which is completely anachronistic considering the actual historical facts. In the film, England is invaded by the French and the Englishmen unite to repel a foreign invasion. But in reality, half of France (the western half) and all of England were then part of the same country, already ruled by the same French-speaking king and the same French-speaking nobility. Even the English peasants didn't speak any English, but a Saxon language similar to modern German. So all those fights between King John, the British nobility and the King of France were basically internal, civil-war rivalries among the same French-speaking compatriots. There is also another historical inaccuracy: Isabelle d'Angoulême (played by 24-year-old Léa Seydoux, last photo) was only 12-years-old when she was kidnapped and married by King John.
Fair Game (2010) **
The story of Plamegate (or how Amassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, CIA agent Valerie Plame took on the Bush's White House and lived to tell about it). Politically, the film is surprisingly free of any ideological bias, only attacking the Bush administration for being liars and manipulators (abusing their power to silence a critic), but never actually suggesting that Saddam Hussein was a good guy who didn't deserve to be overthrown. In fact, the film solidly establishes that Wilson's exposure of the inaccuracies in Bush's State of the Union address certainly wasn't motivated by a desire to prevent Saddam Hussein's demise (which explains why he waited until after the invasion of Iraq to publish his article) and Wilson's hatred for Saddam (and the reasons for this hatred) are stated twice in the film. This is important, because it undermines the Left's argument that Bush shouldn't have invaded Iraq because his WMD case was a sham. The film's implied argument is that George Bush was right to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but he was wrong to invent a sham reason for this war. Stylistically, the film is uneven, rather boring in the first half, but quite compelling in the second half.
Despicable Me (2010) **
Mildly amusing animated farce about a cartoonish villain mellowing under the influence of three orphan girls. Perfectly average in every respect.
127 Hours (2010) **
Well-directed, but uneven drama from Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting", "Slumdog Millionaire"), based on a true story of a hiker whose hand got stuck under a rock in a narrow canyon for 5 days and who had to cut it off himself. A harrowing tale of survival.
Monsters (2010) **
Part science-fiction movie, part horror film and part political allegory about the drug violence in Northern Mexico and illegal immigration along the Rio Grande.
Shrek Forever After (2010) *
Less impressive than the previous installements; basically a cross between "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Xena The Warrior Princess", with Shrek finding out what would have happened if he was never born - his wife Fiona would become an ogre warrior leading other ogres against evil dictator Rumplestiltskin. The 3-D effects are better than in "Alice In Wonderland", but rarely used to maximum advantage. Clever one-liners are few and far between.
Sex And The City 2 (2010) **
Gorgeous outfits, fabulous hair, incredible shoes, fantastic makeup. There is also a story and a few gags, but who cares ? What really counts is the style, the fashion, the attitude and the accessories. And a rich Arab sheik from Abu Dhabi. It's the ultimate chick flick. The only males who will fully enjoy it are gay.
January 1, 2010
The Last Airbender (2010) *
So far, this is definitely the worst film of 2010 - atrociously acted, lamely directed and boring from start to finish. It has cheesy special effects, incompetent cinematography, ridiculous script and lazy editing. A disaster of major proportions, considering that it was made by M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense", "Signs", "The Village"). Even the 3D sucks.
The Tourist (2010) *
A surprising twist ending is the only good thing about this otherwise routine thriller about a mysterious femme fatale (Angelina Jolie) and an innocent American tourist (Johnny Depp) trying to escape from gangsters and Interpol agents. Vaguely Hitchcockian in themes and atmosphere, but curiously uninvolving.
Skyline (2010) *
Routine sci-fi/disaster/action/horror flick about aliens from Outer Space invading Los Angeles and kidnapping people using strange blue lights that attract them like moths to a flame.
Killers (2010) *
An action/comedy/romance/suspense/thriller, which suffers from a serious identity crisis as far as its exact cinematic genre is concerned. It begins pleasantly enough with innocent Katherine Heigl falling in love and marrying a professional assassin. But it ends rather unpleasantly loosing all credibility whatsoever. Basically a cinematic equivelent of a crash and burn experience.
Clash Of The Titans (2010) *
An inferior remake of an already horrible 1981 Greek mythology epic about Perseus and Andromeda. And unlike its predecessor, it doesn't even have any nudity. Not even from beautiful Gemma Arterton. I love Roger Ebert's deliciously sarcastic review of the film. Best bits: "Most of the film involves terrifying battles between mortals and special effects (...) Perseus and his comrades must invade the lair of Medusa. Look at her, and you'll turn to stone! Maybe this explains the high quality of Greek sculpture (...) The struggles with Medusa take place on ledges over a flaming lake of lava far below. She must be beheaded, which Perseus does, thoughtfully keeping the head, which he carries around like the head of Alfredo Garcia. Is that a spoiler? The story has been out since 490 B.C. (...) I like the energy, the imagination, the silliness. I even like the one guy who doesn't have a beard. That's Perseus. From the first moment we see him as an adult until his last scene in the movie, he has the Standard Regulation Macho-Length Stubble on his chin. And in a city where all the men go to Jerry Garcia's barber, he has a burr cut on the short clipper setting".
Alice In Wonderland (2010) *
A disastrous adaptation of Lewis Carroll's immortal classic, literally massacred by Tim Burton and turned into a boring action flick with a finale straight out of "Transformers". Even Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen cannot save this undigestible turkey. Watch the 1951 animated Disney version instead (still the finest adaptation ever, despite all the idiots claiming otherwise) or the 1976 porno version (probably the closest to what Carroll actually had in mind when he wrote the story).
December 31, 2009
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