in the land of women (2007)

Usually romantic comedy movies like this have the problem of the actors being way too old for their roles. Adam Brody has the opposite problem; he looks like he blends in with the high schoolers around him and it's tough to picture him as a 26-year old (even if he actually is). The movie also compounds the problem by not giving us enough motivation behind anything Brody's character does. Despite that, the movie has a few "nice/interesting/cute" moments and even with the family of blondes to carry the show, the film just suffers from a lack of depth.

bridge to terabithia (2007)

to be fair, i was movie hopping and only saw half the movie. i walked out before all the fun stuff really started but i'm not sure i missed much. the weird voice used by the female lead, annasophia robb (who looks just like a young keira knightley), bothered me too much. and i felt i was a bit too old for the story. but i've heard good things about the film; which is nothing like chronicles of narnia -- in a good way.

here's an interesting article from slate about the movie: what bridge to terabithia still teaches us.

saved! (2004)

ten minutes into the movie, i thought we were heading into "classic" territory as saved! skewed the lifestyle of teen jesus lovers accurately and with great humor. any film that hinges on a virgin sleeping with her gay boyfriend in order to cure him sounds good to me. mandy moore is great, macaulay culkin is great, jena malone is pretty good. classic territory. then when the "message" starts to get in way of the satire, the movie goes downhill pretty quickly. but still worth viewing for the first hour or so.

brick (2005)

take all the conventions of a traditional film noir detective story but set it in a modern day (dingy) high school. clever right? it might be overly clever. the styling of this film is excellent, the acting isn't too bad, and everyone takes their roles -- and the stylized dialogue -- very seriously. you still kind of wish more happened though. it's an interesting idea but not exactly a great movie.

the good shepard

matt damon seems too young to be playing a father; especially a middle-aged one. robert de niro did a good job directing, but some of the movie was a bit confusing and most of it was just okay. it's topically about the beginnings of the c.i.a. but devolves into how being an agent can ruin your personal life. no duh.

i'm not sure if this "human element in movies" is worth it anymore. for movies like this, i'd rather spend time with how the c.i.a. was actually formed, get some interesting stories, and learn some lurid details; instead they always insert some crappy story about an unloved wife (honestly, who would ignore angelina jolie for 30+ years) and a creepy kid.

one of the actresses in the film, tammy blanchard, looks JUST like judy garland. blanchard played the young garland in a 2001 tv movie. the resemblance is astonishing.

rocky balboa

what'd you expect? it's rocky. i don't recall rocky talking so much, or that he was so prone to making speeches, but it's enjoyable as any of the classic rocky films. the only big problem here was that the fight scenes sucked. half way through the final match, the editing gets weird and they start to interlace the boxing with flashbacks, scenes from earlier in the movie, and it's all just very distracting.

charlotte's web

who didn't deeply love charlotte's web as a kid? i guess it's odd that all these children would end up in love with a spider but the power of fiction is strong. so, how hard was it to make a spider -- an icky scary creature -- lovable on-screen? well, it's easy if you rely on using julia roberts' familiar voice. roberts' was able to make charlotte more comforting than scary. not big surprises here, but no huge triumphs either. just a direct live action adaptation of a children's classic.

fog of war

interesting and well made, but a bit dull. i mean, it's interesting in historical context and as a film -- basically just an interview with robert mcnamara -- but you really have to know the period and the crises to really get everything out of the film. i'm not that well versed in mcnamara's legacy so it was educational to be sure, but also tepid at times.

enron: the smartest guys in the room

while superb documentaries are being made these days, (some) people are trying to do too much with them. stop the ironic music, titles, and random shots of random things. it doesn't make sense. keep the "art" out of it and just gimme the information; especially when dealing with something complex like the enron scandal. after getting the gist of what happened, the documentary quickly devolved into a bad television biography.

stranger than fiction

to be fair, i hate will ferrell; also, i only watched the back half of the movie. tragically, i watched the second half. even then, i did enjoy some of the little fight club type of screen tricks, some of the individual shots were very nice, and maggie gyllenhaal was less annoying than usual. the central conceit of the film is a great idea but executed to make people feel warm and fuzzy; which i hate.

deja vu

denzel washington is the man. unchanging, unwavering, unlimited. well, actually, he's only unlimited within his limits, thus limited; but you know what i mean. regardless of the movie, denzel is always denzel. stick him in a tight, convoluted (sort of) thriller that moves at a good pace and you get deja vu. it's nothing you haven't seen before -- poetic considering the title -- but it's still decently enjoyable. plus, i can't resist a movie involving time travel or attempted explanations of einstein-rosenberg bridges -- from adam goldberg no less.

for your consideration

hey, i'm in love with christopher guest as much as the next guy -- more probably -- but even i can admit that this effort was weak. perhaps the characters are becoming too familiar, the laughs less uproarious, the concepts thin; something was missing. this is still better than 80% of the crap out there, but many of the laughs fade quickly. fred willard is, as always, the star.

does anyone else think parker posey is on the verge of wasting her career? her turn in superman certainly didn't help her any, and posey is suddenly, incredibly, middle aged (on and off-screen).

fearless

we anticipate jet li's retirement from kung-fu movies to last about as long as jay-z's "time out" from hip hop. having said that, jet li is pretty decent in this movie. of course, the movie itself is just a hodge podge of kung fu cliches (despite being based on a true story) with some not unexpected plot holes and a general lack of exposition. the fight scenes are above average but nothing breath taking. in the mood for chinese? then watch this movie.

kicking and screaming

NOT to be confused with will ferrell's soccer comedy of the same name, kicking and screaming is about a group of 20-somethings trying to figure out life after college. noah baumbach's (the squid and the whale) first film is (overly) clever and has some nice moments but it didn't capture my attention for some reason. the characters are witty, but in a sort of annoying witty way. which is, i guess, part of the point. the structure of the story isn't engaging either.

the only reason i know about this movie is because espn's bill simmons said that it captured the zeitgeist better than singles or reality bites. so i had to see it for a comparison point. it's no reality bites, put it that way.

the last kiss

if zach braff were any less interesting as a lead actor he'd be...i dunno, there's no comparison really. he's just so limp. this about sums it up. i did find "the last kiss" to be more enjoyable than garden state because, for the most part, it captured my attention throughout. of course, it captured it because it made me deathly afraid of marriage and committment but hey, a good horror story is still a good horror story. if only i could re-enact my face for you while i watched this movie. sheer abject horror.

and yes, the main problem i have with zach braff movies is how these bubbly brunettes just throw themselves at him. inconceivable in every way.

gi jane

having never watched the whole thing, i found gi jane to be inspirational, touching, and it left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside. think about demi's career trajectory, from teen queen to striptease to gi jane, how astounding. and to watch viggo before he became strider, fascinating. while gi jane isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination, it sure caught my uninterrupted attention on cable.

jfk

my love for jfk made me sit very attentively through all 3 hours of this movie. i agree with the conspiracy theory so watching the movie was fascinating and cinematically pleasing. sure, kevin costner can't keep an accent to save his life but who cares? "jfk, blown away, what else do i have to say?"

trust the man

the romantic comedy genre keeps on cranking out the same shit over and over again. all you can really expect is a few funny lines that can be used during your own romantic comedy moments. judging by that standard, "trust the man" isn't that bad. there's nothing particularly new or revelationary (and not nearly as purely enjoyable as "the break-up") but it's a solid effort with enough funny moments to make it up for the cheesy romance parts.

world trade center

much more gripping than "flight 93," oliver stone's take on 9/11 was excellent in the first hour. of course, i left just as people were getting crushed by the towers collapsing so maybe the movie took a slightly different tone after the set-up -- i guess i'll never know. it's interesting to watch the movie and think about what the thought process behind "dramatizing" this movie for maximum emotional impact would be like and how fucked up that kind of is. "do we show people jumping off the building? should we zoom in?...."

the illusionist

what the hell has happened to edward norton? what was his last great (or even good) movie? maybe "25th hour?" but that was in 2002. sure he took a few years off but since his amazing high of primal fear, rounders, american history x, and fight club, what has he done? he's gone from must-see to slightly overrated. his latest movie is somewhat clever and entertaining but ultimately, not quite entrancing enough. will the real ed norton please stand up?

while we're at it, paul giamatti's being overused. he's great but now that he's everywhere, he's no longer fun to watch. he's this decade's version of kevin spacey.