Sunshine

Oscar winner Danny Boyle has really established himself as a visionary director who can successfully dabble in the most disparate genres (he’s tackled existential dramas, horrors, love stories, and now science fiction).

In Sunshine, a crew of 8 is sent on a mission to detonate an enormous nuclear bomb at the center of the Sun, as our star seems to be dying, an event that would spell death for everyone and everything on Earth as well.

While I was at first a little incredulous of the viability of such a mission, listening to the commentary by the scientist that the production hired to ensure the highest level of believability helped assuage my uneasiness, while at the same time raising my appreciation of the movie as a whole.

The screenplay is well written and the characters developed enough to come through as three dimensional.  The acting is good on the part of the whole cast and the visual effects are top notch.

A lot of eye candy is also provided by Cillian Murphy (if he suits you), the hunky Cliff Curtis, the handsome Troy Garity and Hiroyuki Sanada, and, towering above all, the gorgeous Chris Evans.

Grade: 8

RED

I watched RED as a double feature with fairly low expectations but it turned out to be quite entertaining.

The rather original plot revolves around a group of retired former spies for whom the government has now very little use and, apparently, even less trust.  What follows will force them to pick their trade’s tools back up and band together in order to survive.

RED was originally a short lived comic strip, which explains its occasional tongue-in-cheek tone and the rather unlikely series of events unfolding on screen, and if one accepts those premises, he won’t be disappointed.

The best thing about RED is, unarguably, its eye-popping, all-star cast: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, and Richard Dreyfuss all seem to have had one hell of a good time making this movie, and it was nice to see the gorgeous Karl Urban out of his Lord of the Rings costume – let’s hope we’ll see a lot more of him in the future...

Overall, it’s a fun caper for a light night of entertainment.

Grade: 7

The Social Network

David Fincher’s latest project analyses the origins of the tremendously successful phenomenon that’s become Facebook.  He shows us the kind of life its inventor, Mark Zuckerberg, lived on the Harvard campus shortly before he came up (or pilfered) the idea for the social network that would make him the youngest billionaire ever.

Jesse Eisenberg portrays the fast talking, fast thinking computer wizard so brilliantly he’s not only guaranteed to earn an Oscar nomination for he role, he’s even buzzed about as a possible winner, and with good reason.  The very sexy Andrew Garfield portrays Zuckerberg’s original business partner, while the incredibly talented (and hot) Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker, of the Napster fame, who became Zuckerberg’s biggest supporter early on.

Finally, the very handsome Armie Hammer plays Zuckerberg’s enemies, the Winklevoss twins, with the aid of such refined visual effects wizardry you’d never even know the same actor played both parts.

The whole cast is able to shine, however, thanks to the wittiest screenplay in years, a work that should, by right, land Aaron Sorkin on the podium on Oscar night.

The movie itself is currently the favorite to win Best Picture as well, and given its quality I’d recommend it to everyone, even just to get a glimpse of the life of the man who now knows so much about all of ours...

Grade: 9

Wedding Crashers

One of those typically light summer movie concoctions, Wedding Crashers manages to be both funny and original.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn sure make for a good comedic team as they refine their wedding crashing skills in order to land free meals, entertainment, and, most of all, women.  Little do they know that a chance encounter is about to change both their lives forever.

Both Wilson and Vaughn, two actors I’ve always appreciated (and find very cute), do a good job, as do Rachel McAdams and the gorgeous Bradley Cooper, but it’s the legendary Christopher Walken who gives the most eccentric performance.

Overall, a very enjoyable comedy that I would recommend, especially given that this type of movie isn’t always that satisfying.

Grade: 7

A historic moment

On Wednesday, 22nd 2010 President Barack Obama signed into law the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which forced gays and lesbians serving in the military to keep their sexuality and private lives hidden or face discharge.

It’s a long video, but a good speech:

Easy A

A refreshingly funny comedy about the high school years, Easy A succeeds where many similar movies fail, moving beyond the dumb frat-boy jokes and the annoying girlie crushes.

Emma Stone plays Olive, a nice girl who ends up paying a price that gets higher and higher simply for being too altruistic.  Stone is absolutely great in this role, and I cannot but root for her cachet to keep growing.

Of note are also Patricia Clarkson, Amanda Bynes and my beloved Lisa Kudrow, while the eye candy is effectively provided by the lovely Penn Badgley and Cam Gigandet, whose talent is often eclipsed by his striking good looks.

Easy A is a very nice comedy that, while not outstanding, is a pleasure to watch.

Grade: 7

The Town

Ben Affleck’s second effort behind the camera brings us a superb crime caper that showcases his skills as a director as well as an actor.

The story follows a group of bank robbers on whose tracks the FBI is starting to close in.  And while some of the robbers are willing to roll the dice no matter the risks, not all of them are.

Affleck co-wrote a high-octane screenplay that manages to keep the action rolling and the suspense brewing while still effectively developing a rather unlikely love story.

Affleck’s also at the top of his game in terms of acting, turning in his best work to date, although it’s Jeremy Renner who towers above all with a raw portrayal that cements his A-list status.  However, the whole cast shines, proving how good Affleck is as a director.

Hats off to the always handsome Ben Affleck for pulling off the magic trifecta of actor-writer-director on the same movie.  I’m looking forward to his next one.

If you like crime capers, this is a good one for sure.

Grade: 8

Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton’s retelling of Alice in Wonderland has been quite vilified, especially for the uneven results of its 3D version (an unfortunate conversion from the 2D reel as the movie hadn’t been recorded in 3D like, say, Avatar), but I have to admit I quite enjoyed it.

The story still sees Alice falling down the rabbit hole, but this time Alice is a teenager (a quite good Mia Wasikowska) who doesn’t recall her first trip to Wonderland, but believes instead that it was just a dream.

The characters populating Wonderland are still the same, with Johnny Depp as Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as Red Queen towering above all for their virtuosity, but the entire cast does a good job.

As one would expect from Burton, the movie is technically sublime, with wonderful costumes, makeup, and visual effects, and the dark cinematography, a Burton’s hallmark, imbues Wonderland with added pathos.

Furthermore, having seen the 1985 live-action TV version, which showcases an impressive cast and still managed to be one of the worst Family Night experiences I ever had, I can’t but give thanks to Burton for a good retelling of this children’s favorite.

Grade: 7

2012

The latest disaster movie from director Roland Emmerich, 2012 refers to the year when, according to legend, the world will come to an end.  As a consequence, the movie is chock full of visual effects that are quite impressive and, arguably, the best thing about it.

As one would expect, the screenplay isn’t memorable, and character development plays second fiddle to the visuals’ requirements.  However, pretty much all the actors involved do a pretty good job, especially given the material on hand, even though you can feel the interactions as forced here and there.

Unfortunately, there are a few too many typically overblown, C’mon moments that bring down the overall value of the final product, but you gotta know to expect them given both the director and the theme.

Grade: 5

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Because I only knew Joan Rivers as the ditzy lady who made glaring faux pas on the red carpet while interviewing celebrities at awards shows, my opinion of her was quite low.

Through the years, however, I started hearing of how she was the first comedienne to actually break through in a male dominated field, effectively opening the door for the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Kathy Griffin.

This documentary is very well done and clearly illustrates the enduring work ethics of a woman who just can’t bring herself to stop working, for whom there are no topics too taboo, who is well aware of her good fortune in getting where she is today, and who is not ready to give up her crown anytime soon.

In the end, I came away feeling a whole lot of respect for this first lady of comedy.  A piece of work indeed.

Grade: 8

(500) Days of Summer

A sweet and endearing comedy about the pursuing efforts of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who’s unequivocally and desperately in love with Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer is the rare gem amid the rubble.

The supporting actors are perfectly cast as well and even technically the movie is impeccable.

Gordon-Levitt is definitely an actor I hope to see more of in the future, both for his good looks and his performing abilities.

The most notable thing about this movie, however, has to be the originality of the screenplay, which manages to take the most classic of topics - boy meets and falls for girl - and develop it into something that we haven’t seen before.

Watch it.

Grade: 8

I Love You, Man

A rather enjoyable comedy that made me laugh out loud quite a few times.  I would definitely watch more comedies if they were as well written and acted as I Love You, Man.

Paul Rudd is actually very good at toeing the line between the traditional man’s man and a more unusual type of man who feels most at ease in the company of women rather than of men, and has therefore no real male friends.

Rashida Jones as Rudd’s girlfriend is perfectly cast, but it’s the arrival of Jason Segel on the scene that enhances the action and creates the perfect counterpoint to Rudd’s awkwardness.

If you like comedies, this is definitely a good one to watch.

Grade: 7

2010 according to Jib Jab

It’s the end of the year, and Jib Jab sums up what happened in the past 12 months with their usual flair:

Jib Jab’s 2010

Twilight

Given how much I love the HBO vampire show True Blood and all the success of the Twilight franchise, I really wanted to check this out.  Now, I know that you shouldn’t judge a book from its movie (or TV) adaptation, but from what I’ve seen, Ms. Stephenie Meyer (the creator of the Twilight universe) is no Charlaine Harris (the author of the True Blood books).

Twilight is, fundamentally, a story geared towards dreamy teenage girls who can’t help but fall in love with Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen (and who can blame them??).

The plot: Kristen Stewart’s Bella moves back in with her dad only to be strangely attracted to a group of supposedly elitist loners in her new high school.  Edward belongs to this group and feels drawn to Bella in a similarly strange way.  Naturally, the two start dating after Bella discovers Edward’s big secret (and that of his “family”).  Danger ensues when a rival vampire gang shows interest in Bella as well.

Twilight is, at most, watchable, but it certainly adds very little to the vampire canon or to the motion picture art form in general.  The acting is average: Pattison is fairly good, I can see him having a career beyond this series, but I was unimpressed with Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, who features more prominently in the following chapters, looked downright sheepish.  The supporting cast was ok – although, did super-hot (and good) Cam Gigandet actually have to die so quickly??

The score was average, the visual effects were average, the direction was average, and the screenplay was (you guessed it...) average.  Nothing surprising ever happens and everything is easily foreseen.  Worse yet, you start mentally filling in for what should happen next, as if the story is actually lacking something and your mind is automatically trying to make up for it.

All this brings me back to the opening observation regarding Stephenie Meyer.  While True Blood’s great characters, intriguing locales, and awesome storylines led me to put Ms. Harris’ books on my to-read list, I’m in no hurry to ever even check out Ms. Meyer’s work.

Having said that, I have decided to watch the following chapters in the series because I love vampire stories, I know that the vampire-werewolf rivalry gets center stage later on, and I want to see what the craze is all about.

Furthermore, the eye-candy provided by Pattison, Lautner, Gigandet, Peter Facinelli and Kellan Lutz can hardly be ignored...

Grade: 4

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen’s movies have evolved through the years but, while his latest ones have seen the famed director firmly behind the camera, his neurotic style is still pervasive.

In Vicky Cristina Barcelona his new muse, the sensual Scarlett Johansson, is paired with Rebecca Hall, and they both do a fine job of playing young American tourist friends who fall for the same guy, a brooding Javier Bardem.

The three are greatly supported by Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, and Penélope Cruz, who won the Oscar for her role.  I was actually looking forward to watching this movie specifically to see her performance, as it won her many accolades, but was ultimately underwhelmed.

She’s good, very good, but Best Supporting Actress of the year?  Not when you see who the other nominees were: Amy Adams and Viola Davis in Doubt, Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler.  I haven’t seen the latter, but Adams was great and both Davis and Henson were phenomenally good.  I guess, as is often the case, that 2009 was Cruz’s year, and that the Oscar was hers to lose, for some mysterious reason known only to the wizards behind the curtains.

Now, I don’t mean to disparage Cruz in any way.  She’s a talented actress and she turned in a good performance, albeit a bit too theatrical in my opinion.  I’m just saying that, in my opinion, someone else deserved the Oscar more that year and didn’t get it.  But that, alas, occurs more often than one would hope and the supporting acting categories are often used by the Academy to right a wrong (Judy Dench’s win being the most glaring example here) or to award foreigners, like in this case.

At any rate, the movie is good, with a solid script and interesting character interactions.

Grade: 7

Diary of the Dead

What a disappointment this George A. Romero horror movie has been.  Romero, the heralded director of many zombies movies, serves us a wafer thin plot that’s hardly worth the paper it’s printed on.

He clearly took a page from the new handheld-camera documentary shooting style that was first successfully employed by The Blair Witch Project and subsequently, and less successfully, by Cloverfield, but didn’t support the gimmick with a well thought out story that justified it.

The plot, if we can call it that [SPOILERS AHEAD, skip to the last paragraph if you really want to watch this crap]: a group of college kids are making a documentary (whose subject I won’t even get into, it’s that dumb) when news breaks of the dead coming back to life to hunt the living.  They take off on an attempt to reach the family of the documentary director’s girlfriend while trying not to fall victims of the undead themselves.  The boyfriend won’t stop filming, with the excuse that the mainstream media can’t be trusted to spread the truth and the truth must be told to the public.

Now, while I may agree with such a point, I certainly would put saving my own life and the life of those around me at the top of my priorities.  So, I would assume, would do anyone sane of mind.  Who would agree to go through an experience like that with a jerk filming every reaction, scare, and misstep?  Who wouldn’t mind having a camera pointed at themselves when the world as you know it has seemingly ended and you have to fight for your own life?  Hardly anyone, I would think.  But these guys go half-grudgingly along with it.

Bullshit, if you ask me.  The very fact that this dude goes around with a camera on his shoulder, which limits your field of vision to what’s right in front of you, while zombies might be coming at you from your sides is ridiculous.  The fact that no one of his friends ever gets fed up enough to react badly to his constant demands for documenting everything is preposterous and, frankly, unbelievable.

When, towards the end, the group is about to enter a house that they don’t know whether is safe or not, and this imbecile tells them to wait while he positions himself so as to get a good shot of them crossing the doorstep, and no one, NO ONE, tells him to F**K OFF, the whole flaky apparatus crumbles miserably under the weight of unbelievability.

And that’s the crux of it.  Movies require the audience to believe what it is watching and hearing.  Good movies don’t make you roll your eyes in your head every five minutes and never let go of that fragile bond they created since the first frames started rolling.  Bad movies, like this one, feel fake and put together with silly putty.

Spare yourselves the aggravation of throwing away a couple hours of your life.

Grade: 2

Quantum of Solace

The latest installment in the Bond franchise and only the second with Daniel Craig playing the titular spy, Quantum of Solace is enjoyable but not as brilliant as Casino Royale, Craig’s first foray into the Bond universe.

The drop in quality, however, is not attributable to Craig’s work as much as to a disjointed script, poor editing and the wrong director.

The script seems to push Bond in two different directions.  There’s his quest to revenge his lost love from Casino Royale, which he denies, and the pursuit of this round’s bad guys.  We are never really sure what he’s pursuing when, and while this might be construed as a plus, adding mystery to the proceedings, in reality it only adds confusion – and false expectations.

The editing is way too choppy to either help understand what’s going on during the action scenes or honor the Bond tradition of vibrant and exciting action scenes in the first place.  Oftentimes the cuts are so short that it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on and the direction doesn’t help either.  Marc Forster, who did a great job on Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland, and The Kite Runner, was probably not the best choice to direct such an action driven movie.  His choice of close ups during action scenes, for instance, contributes to the diminishing understanding of what’s happening on screen.

As I said, Craig is still very good as Bond: rough, tough, focused and lethal, and Judi Dench is excellent as always as M.  However, Olga Kurylenko, this episode’s Bond girl, is “ok” but forgettable, as is Mathieu Amalric as the bad guy.  The lack of a memorable Bond girl is not good, but a weak bad guy is just unforgivable.

Overall, Solace isn’t a complete let down but isn’t compelling either.  Given the financial troubles that MGM, the Bond studio, has found itself in, will Craig, who was all set to start work on a third chapter, ever don the spy’s tuxedo again?  Let’s hope for better results if he does...

Grade: 6

Crazy Heart

The movie that finally brought an acting Oscar to Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart is, overall, a lightweight.  Bridges’ character’s alcohol fueled downward spiral is less heart wrenching than Nicolas Cage’s in Leaving Las Vegas and the latters’ love story is more heart felt as well.

Having said that, Bridges’ Oscar was certainly deserved, since he does an excellent job and he’s a very good actor who never got his dues (this was his first win after 5 nominations).  Maggie Gyllenhaal turns in a very good performance as well.  I’ve always enjoyed her work, and she doesn’t disappoint here.

The supporting cast is good, the screenplay quite solid, the cinematography warm and apt to the film, and the score is good, whether you’re into country music or not.

Grade: 7

Sherlock Holmes

The latest cinematic adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes bears the markings of its eclectic director, Guy Ritchie.

Rich with action and intrigue, well edited, supported by a catchy Hans Zimmer soundtrack, nicely photographed and well written.  
Its strongest suit are, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as his trustworthy Dr. Watson.  Both turn in excellent performances that suit their personas, even though at times.

I kept wondering if the end result would have been better had they assumed each other’s roles.  

Both Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong turn in good supporting roles.  

Notable was the built in sequel-setup-scene, which was so artfully and seamlessly blended into the narrative, it didn’t soil the movie at all.  On the contrary, it was a welcome (and needed) addition.  

To the next one, Sherlock!  

Grade: 8

In Memoriam

Elena Nittardi (1971-2010)

A heartfelt farewell to my beloved cousin Elena, a friend who left us way too soon.

Always smiling, even in adversity, she was a ray of light in the lives of everyone who knew her.

She valiantly fought against an unrelenting and aggressive form of cancer that eventually took her from us.

Goodbye my Dear.  You won’t be forgotten.

In Memoriam

Another series of renown entertainers has left us:

Irvin Kershner (1923 –2010)

While not a very prolific director, IMDb lists only 24 titles to his credit, Kershner directed what is widely considered the best chapter of the Star Wars saga, 1980’s Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Two other famous movies he directed are Sean Connery’s 007 failed comeback Never Say Never Again and RoboCop 2, a lukewarm sequel to a brilliant sci-fi movie.

Jill Clayburgh (1944-2010)

A renown actress who I knew by name but whose work, I was surprised to find out, is completely foreign to me.  Famous primarily for 1978’s An Unmarried Woman, which I’ll have to make a point to watch.

Dino De Laurentiis (1919-2010)

One of the most famous Italian producers of all time, De Laurentiis collaborated with some of the greatest names of Italian cinema, like Federico Fellini (on Best Foreign Picture Oscar winners La Strada and Nights of Cabiria among others), Roberto Rossellini, Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, and Mario Monicelli.

He also left his mark in Hollywood, producing movies like Barbarella, Serpico, Three Days of the Condor, 1976’s King Kong remake, Conan the Barbarian, The Dead Zone, The Bounty, Dune, Year of the Dragon, Manhunter, Army of Darkness, U-571, Hannibal, Red Dragon, and Hannibal Rising.

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t produce the only movie in the Hannibal Lecter series that stands as its pinnacle and actually won the Best Picture Oscar, The Silence of the Lambs, but his resume is still pretty impressive.

Mario Monicelli (1915-2010)

A great Italian director who I remember mostly for his many collaborations with the comedic actors Totò and Ugo Tognazzi.

Obviously not interested in experiencing the slow decline of his health condition, he took matters into his own hands and jumped off a fifth floor window of the hospital where he was staying.  A rebel to the end.

Leslie Nielsen (1936-2010)

One of the most famous comedic actors in the world, thanks above all to 1980’s Airplane! and the Naked Gun series (The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult) I was left speechless to see that his resume listed an astounding 239 titles between movies and television work.

Blake Edwards (1922-2010)

Another one of the great old-Hollywood directors has left us.  Edwards established his name with Breakfast at Tiffany's and solidified it with The Pink Panther, which turned out to be such a smashing success that it was followed by 7 other chapters in the series (although not all of them were very good).

I remember him most fondly for having directed Victor Victoria, one of my favorite movies of all time!!

A Quote By

Longtime Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on gay people:

“These are great citizens. They’re a tremendous resource for us in our great city. I’m very proud of the relationship that I had with them over many years. And it’s really important for us to move forward. These are people [who] have families. These are people [who] work in every sector of our society. They should not be discriminated against in any way whatsoever.”

The Wizard of the Seas

This video is really eye popping!

A Quote By

Rachel Maddow, political commentator and television host of The Rachel Maddow Show:

“If the president cannot win when his party is the majority in Congress, if no one can even conceive of the president winning fights when his party is in the majority, let alone the minority in Washington, then the presidency itself starts to atrophy. It starts to disappear.”