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While technically not a costume drama (1940’s though, close enough), it does have the same feeling to it. Usually, that genre doesn’t fare well with me, but this movie did a decent job not to repel me from the get go. That doesn’t mean it sits totally comfortably though, mostly pacing and not enough story (for the current two full hours running time, that is) are the downsides for this movie. Also, a lot of this true love feeling you’ll have to take for granted, never revealing any backstory on Keira Knightley and James McAvoy characters, and why they belong together.
Taking it for granted might have something to do with the narrative though, which has some nice twists too it, but as a whole movie, it fails to live up to its rave critic and user reviews.7-.

A strange breed of trying to merge real life documentary with reality show, but with the obvious fantasy elements it just can’t fuse together. Also on the drama side, they’re trying the same trick (drama inside the drama), and again it doesn’t work. The narrative isn’t something new either, so that leaves just the story. But using only plain logic, the plot is easy to figure out, and the tension doesn’t hold, even though you could call the subject controversial (or maybe just inside this movie ?).
If you go to watch Eva Mendes, she’s a bit over the top, and not really fun to watch. It’s actually the whole movie doing that, and might be funny to watch if it was a comedy, but for a drama, it just doesn’t do the trick.6½.

Also known as the US title War, it pitches Jet Li against Jason Statham, in a pretty ordinary action flick. If you expect nothing from it (as in martial arts extravaganza a la Jet Li), it’s pretty okay. That’s mainly because the martial arts section wasn’t in an overly innovative mood for this movie. And even then, video clip director Philip G. Atwell would have ruined those anyway with faster cut sequences I’ve ever seen. I’m actually thinking he cut away 75% of those scenes, literally flashing our eyes with epilepsy inducing cuts, thereby effectively reducing eye candy to nigh zero.
We can skip the acting part, nothing to say there. That leaves the story, being pretty basic, but having still a twist at the end I found enjoyable.6½.

Another successful horror weekend, as Saw IV slashes the biggest slice of box office for itself. Third sequel tortures some $32.1 million together, only a few points weaker than last years Saw III.
Landing at number 2 is a Steve Carrell starring comedy Dan in Real Life, snickering in only $12.1 million. Dropping two spots at 3 is 30 Days of Night, as the dark days only gather $6.7 million (and a steep 58% drop). At 4, The Game Plan holds on for a fifth week, with $6.3 million and a favorable $77 million cume. Rounding out the top 5 is Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? with $5.7 million in its third week.

Your typical low budget vengeance thriller, with Pierce Brosnan as the bad guy, while Gerard Butler and Maria Bello play the oppressed couple. What should’ve been a tense thriller (as the trailer made it out to be), somehow lacks immediate or intense threat in the atmosphere.
For its budget, it’s quite okay though (strangely, only had a TV premiere in the States), and seeing it once isn’t that bad, even though I guessed all the plot twists in advance.7-.

Remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, now in a contemporary setting, but seemingly less scary. It’s basically your average predictable thriller, lacking depth of character or psychological impact. Even the scares aren’t that well executed. As a failed product in its first run, rewrites and reshoots didn’t really help it either. Creative editing seems to work, but overuse of it actually disturbs the flow. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig do their best, and Jackson Bond proves himself as a cute talent on his first outing on the silver screen, but that alone can’t make this movie surpass the ordinary.7-.

The trailer certainly sounded suspenseful. Using the titular character’s name (played by George Clooney) as the movie title means they’re not gonna play the modesty card, and heightens the expectations.
But, it’s all a bit overblown. Drama has to be found in the subtleties, usually some subtext in the dialogue, were you have to figure out the meaning and background history yourself. And even then, there’s no follow up, nothing really fleshes out characters. Suspense dies down due to slow pacing, and not so many story twist (at least, not the ones you haven’t predicted yourself). Also, many misplaced musical cues (always too early) cause the false feeling of suspense.
Still, Clooney does his dark moody character routine (yes, the same one he’s been doing for more than a decade), and figuring out his character is at least one way to spend the two long hours.6½.

Peter Berg has come a long way, since his sympathetic doctor character in Chicago Hope, where he also picked up the camera in his spare time. Now fully acclimated in Hollywood, and a few action flicks under his belt (and some more writing and producing credits), he’s ready to pair up with quality producer Michael Mann.
Result is a hard-hitting gritty action/drama with a current thematic war atmosphere that uses mostly simplistic plot devices, but is effective all the way. It lacks the character depth usually synonimous with Mann, but somehow, this movie is in a different category and doesn’t really need it. It’s entertaining all the way and suspense is pumped through the roof. A marvelous introspective end scene is just the topping on the icecream.8-.

Thriller directed by James Wan, who churned out something deadly already this year (Dead Silence). Along with his previous cult hit, Saw, that was pure horror. Now comes a drama-like thriller actioner, starring Kevin Bacon. The first half is pretty solid, seems to have story and depth, but the second half is really over the top. Losing sight of the characters’ depth and just bloody gore. Direction style keeps it fresh though, with camera angles and movement keeping the thrill going on.
If you don’t take this movie too seriously (I even chuckled near the ending), this movie is just fine.7+.

Most people remember the Farrelly Brothers from their movie There’s Something About Mary (already 9 years ago). This movie is in the same category, in both type of humor, pacing, and story unfolding (and of course, also stars Ben Stiller). Basically, it means you’ll probably like this movie just as much. There are some hilarious moments, but it’s still a bit predictable and sometimes the pacing lets down. Overall, it’s a great comedy, but not one of the best.7½.

The title really leaves nothing up to imagination, but the gun-toting extravaganza on screen is quite inventive, and is mostly the heart of the movie. Story doesn’t seem to kick in till a bit later, but even if it was not really needed, it’s a nice addition. Mostly it’s stylish violence combined with a bit of humor. Quite a bulls-eye for a popcorn-happy flick.7½.

The third installment of asian martial arts inspired action movie starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan again, also with Brett Ratner behind the camera again. While story was never a strong point in this series, this movie is absolutely totally NOT about story. In fact, they had to hire a second script supervisor, telling the first one the discrepancies and continuity errors were there for a reason.
Mostly of course, to jumpt to the next action sequence, but it still boggles the mind why any script supervisor wouldn’t enter a catatonic psychosis with this script.
So then it’s all about the jokes and action ? Yupz, very much so. And in fact, I did laugh a few times, while Jackie does his usual acrobatics. If you can live on that alone, this is the movie for you. But from me, it get’s a just below average grade.7-.

An a-typical fairy tale for adults, with very un-Hollywood-like unpretentious style more reminiscent of independent pictures, hence putting the mid-high budget to better use. While lately fairy tales are uninspired rehashed cliches made for kids, this is the opposite. This one has exceptional storytelling, with a varied screenplay taking you to all places without wreaking havoc to the overall flow. Characters are wonderful and well-cast while special effects don’t become overabundantly present.
Extra kudos to Matthew Vaughn (who dropped out of X-Men 3 only a few weeks before principal photography), as he makes metaphores come to live on the silver screen. The more obvious (and hence, predicatble) story elements are bathed in the subtle sweetness, and so all is forgiven. If you want your heart melt for 2 hours, this is the one for you.8½.

The Rock reigns the box office again, this time in an PG rated sports comedy The Game Plan. Change of pace from action dude to father of a little girl hasn’t done everyone well, but it seems to catch on for Dwayne Johnson, handily taking in $22.95 million.
With a smaller audience, the R rated The Kingdom has to settle for the runner-up spot with $17.1 million, which is a barely satisfying result for this Peter Berg directed Jamie Foxx vehicle.
Meanwhile, last week’s number one Resident Evil: Extinction, drops to the third spot, having about 66% of the viewers die, leaving an $8 million take. Good Luck Chuck drops just as many spots, now at 4 with $6.2 million.
Rounding out the top 5 is the well-received 3:10 to Yuma in its fourth week with $4.2 million and some possible awards buzz going around.

Coming from The 40-Year Old Virgin writer/director Judd Apatow, comes another romantic comedy. Unlike Virgin, this one seems to build upon a more realistic type of sweetness at its core, while following a pretty unsurprising story line. This movie has to have it more from lengthy dialogue instead of the usual punchlines and/or idiocy, and it seems to make a difference (though other people will think it more boring this way). Even then, Katherine Heigl is a beauty and acts well (far different than the drama role in Grey’s Anatomy), while the sometimes obnoxious Seth Rogen can play the sympathy card.7½.