Category: Movie Reviews

The Good: It was apparent from Pride and Prejudice that director Joe Wright has a real eye for beauty and this is film is no different.  With Seamus McGarvey at the camera and Dario Marianelli’s beautiful Golden Globe winning score, Atonement provides for the most inspiring cinematic experience of the year. 

Atonement also finds itself in possession of one of the most amazing scenes to ever be put on film.  Watch for the moment that the English are on the beach awaiting to evacuate France.  This particular scene is one extended shot, no cuts, and utilizes hundreds of extras, perfectly choreographed with matching choral and instrumental music.  It’s only five minutes long, but it’s truly one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. 

It doesn’t hurt that the acting and writing are top notch as well, but they are overshadowed by the production.

The Bad: This is not a happy love story.  If The English Patient or Cold Mountain made you miserable, then this might not be up your alley.  Tragic romances aren’t for everyone, but when they are as well done as this, I hope that they can still be fully appreciated at the very least.

The Good:  Having not read the book, I cannot comment on the similarities or differences, but I can say that this is a very beautiful and emotional film to take in.  The majority of the story takes place with the boys and their performances were remarkable, even without considering that they were not actors to begin with.  Abadalla and Ershadi also turned in tremendous performances as the father and son struggling to survive in America years later.  Big Kudos go to Marc Forster for difficult but rewarding direction.

The Bad: This is one heavy movie that you really have to be in the mood to see.  The central focus of the film is about the rape of a child, which doesn’t exactly make this the feel good movie of the year.  Bring a box of tissues and get ready to use many.

The Summary: The Kite Runner is beautiful to watch, but tough to sit  through.

The Good: A few months back theaters saw the trailer for a film that looked like The Blair Witch Project on crack.  I don’t even remember the film that came after, but for weeks this little untitled pic was all we film-nerds could chat about.  It didn’t have a title and many people actually thought that the name of the flick was 1-18-08 since that was the only thing listed on the trailer and following poster.  This super-hype was too much for any film to live up to.  But this one does.  This is a scary, realistic-as-you-can-get movie that effectively uses a handheld camera and makes you feel like you are with the friends every step of the way.  There were many moments when my heart was racing and my stomach was turning.  I’ll admit, the jerky and diagonal motion of the camera could have been partly to blame, but there is some really frightening stuff here that should cause this low-budget thriller to make loads of dough.

The Bad: In order to get the kind of story that delivers the right result, the characters have to do many, many stupid things.  While rescuing the one you love isn’t crazy – risking your life and the lives of your friends to get there in an impossible situation involving a humongous monster is.  That being said, I think they could have given us another story line that would have delivered the same effects without the audience constantly saying “yeah right…” 

The Summary: This great little monster movie truly lives up to the buzz surrounding it. 

The Good: Nicholson and Freeman are both very fun to watch together.  Their charisma and talent get them through this dark story with flying colors.  If you are looking for a good tear-jerker that will make you laugh (and you’ve already seen Juno), then this is a great film for you.

The Bad: Due to the content alone, this is a film that skews older.  You won’t see many teenagers fighting to get into the theater, which means that the movie will probably die before the characters.  It should get some decent business on DVD, but if you wait for a few weeks to see it on the big screen – it will be gone.

On a more critical note, this is a very predictable picture.  If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen the Cliff’s Notes version of the film.  This makes the tearful scenes seem manipulated, although still effective. 

The Best

1) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  This extraordinary musical about a murderous barber and his thirst for revenge is one of the best movie musicals to ever hit the big screen.  Burton proves himself to be the perfect choice to direct with this macabre masterpiece. 

Films I hated to leave out include: Lars and the Real Girl, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Charlie Wilson’s War, War Dance, Sicko, Hairspray, No End In Sight, Knocked Up, Across the Universe, Hot Fuzz, and Transformers.

The Worst

The Good: If you are a big musical theater fan then you are already well aware of this production and are probably fond of the Broadway show starring George Hearn and Angela Lansbury.  But even if you are not familiar with this famous show, you are still in for a treat.  Tim Burton has created here a masterpiece that will go down as a musical classic.  The orchestrations are fabulous and the music is well performed by most of the cast, but the look of the film is the key.  Burton is really on his game here and could find himself giving many acceptance speeches this award season.

The Bad: The singers aren’t as strong as they could have been, although this doesn’t hurt the film badly.  While Helena Bonham Carter doesn’t have the powerhouse voice I would have liked, her look and acting ability get her through ok.  Also, the actors playing Johanna and Anthony aren’t voiced by brilliant singers, but that might have been on purpose so as not to make Depp, Carter and Rickman seem out of place.  That being said, the voices and performances of Toby (Ed Sanders) and Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen) steal the show. 

I do think a warning should be placed that this is a very violent film with tons of blood.  If the cannibalistic description of the pic doesn’t make you squeamish then you will probably be more than fine. 

The Good: The first half of the film is absolutely horrifying.  Almost too much so.  The isolation, combined with impending doom makes this a difficult film to stomach at first.  While Smith is charismatic and the relationship with his dog sustains most of the picture, you still find yourself scared silly.  In this regard, the film is very successful.  Also, the special effects with the destruction and isolation of New York are very impressive. 

The Bad: I don’t wish to be the one to give anything away, but the film goes downhill fast after the climactic scene.  Smith’s character slips into a depression and the film follows right behind him.  It’s no longer a fun monster movie, but rather a serious bummer.  While it may be true to the original novel, that still doesn’t make the film fun to watch. 

I don’t want to sit back and compare Will Smith films, but the Zombies in this pic were too similar to the robots in I, Robot, especially in their body movements.  I wish they would have gone with more organic looking creatures, maybe not Romeroesque, but at least something that resembles the humans the creatures used to be. 

Also of note, the trailer has a great scene where Smith is standing between the monsters as they snarl at him.  That scene is nowhere to be found in the film and I found that to be a very distracting omission. 

While there have been many movies with this same basic premise, I enjoyed Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later much more.  It’s just as bleak, but overall it is a much more effective horror flick.

The Good: It appears that Newline spared no expense for the special effects budget of this film.  The look of the film is absolutely stunning and at times a joy to view.  As a lover of polar bears, I especially enjoyed the Kingdom of the Ice Bears and the scenes in the North.  I also found the daemons a very imaginative group of characters.

The Bad: I am still not sure what this story is about.  It’s a mess that makes no sense.  There is something about Dust and the ability to visit other universes, but this is never fully revealed. 
I was quite shocked that the movie is so incomplete.  They left it wide open with zero closure or resolution.  This could be a huge mistake if the film doesn’t make enough money to warrant a sequel.  Time will tell. 
Also, forget about the Catholic church and the controversy they are stirring up.  I didn’t see anything particularly objectionable and wonder if Newline is publicizing their comments in order to bring the film into the public eye.