Wake Wood (2010)

At a glance:
An emotionally gripping, gory and scary film about a grieving couple who get an opportunity to spend three days with their recently deceased daughter

Our review (with spoilers):
A couple grieving over the loss of their daughter gets an usual opportunity: the chance to be with her again for three days. Such is the way of life in the small towns of horror – the inhabitants often have a deep dark secret that they have agreed to hide. In this town, the locals know a way to extract the life force from a recently deceased corpse and then use that to reanimate another one. Louise (Eva Birthistle) and Patrick (Aidan Gillen) ask that their daughter Alice (Ella Connolly), who died suddenly when she was mauled by a dog, be brought back. There are just a couple of problems: one, as you might imagine, it’s going to be pretty hard for the couple to let her go again when those short period of grace expires. And two, that’s going to be irrelevant, because the couple has not abided by the rules of the ‘game’, and the consequences will be disastrous.

The film combines the heartfelt grief that accompanies the loss of a child with a moody, scary horror/slasher vibe. It’s rare that a film can be so tense in the build-up, yet actually deliver on what it promises – and this one does. Plus, it’s got one of the best finales I’ve seen in some time – scary, funny, calculating, and just self-referential enough to make everything that came before it that much more fun.

Finally, the acting across the board is extremely solid. It’s the full package – a horror movie that will appeal to a wider audience (as long as that audience can handle a bit of gore).

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"With deliberate echoes of classic Hammer horror, this moody and inventive thriller gets under our skin with its deeply personal plot, which pays as much attention to horror as emotion."
- Rich Cline (Shadows on the Wall)

 

Winter’s Bone (2010)

Movie quotes:
Sonny: Maybe they'll share some of that with us.
Ree: That could be.
Sonny: Maybe we should ask.
Ree: Never ask for what oughta be offered.

At a glance:
Authentic locations don’t make up for the feeling that this is a film meant to marginalize and compartmentalize backwoods culture for the sake of drama

Our review (with spoilers):
In the backwoods of Missouri, Re (Jennifer Lawrence) is struggling to keep her family together. She looks after her two young siblings because her mom is in a zombie state and her meth-cooking dad has gone missing. Her dad’s disappearance takes on greater importance when Re finds out that he put up the house as his bond and they stand to lose everything if he does not show up for his court date. This sends Re on a desperate search for him among distant, suspicious and menacing relatives.

Winter’s Bone feels authentic, which is no small achievement, but is this truly a realistic glimpse at backwoods culture? To me, this is an important point. If this is a true representation of life in small town / clan, it’s worthwhile to view. But if it merely dour, depressing, and indeed stereotypical just to prove that it can be, it’s a waste of time. There’s no denying that the locations are realistic, but I wonder if the personalities are. If so, in the backwoods of Missouri, no one ever smiles. Likewise, there are times when logic and reality is swept aside for the sake of drama and conflict. Characters do, at times, seem to take action to make the storyline more interesting. Why the sudden reversal of character for the woman who first has Re beaten badly just because she shows up at Thump’s house for the second time (she is still not a threat), then suddenly decides to solve everything and provide a semi-happy ending?

Writer Debra Granik is talented, but she lives in Washington DC and is not part of this world. While watching I was reminded of Prizzi’s Honor for some reason. I know that was a comedy and this is dead serious, but it has the same pigeonhole feel.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Winter's Bone is one of those movies that can't quite make a distinction between profundity and plain old bleakness."
- Stephanie Zacharek (Movieline)

 

The Resident (2010)

At a glance:
Hilary Swank’s class, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s menace, and Brooklyn Bridge locations slightly lift a typical stalker thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
Juliet (Hilary Swank) breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and moves into an old but luxurious apartment, offered at a discount price by the seemingly sincere and innocent Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, a Javier Bardem lookalike). Max’s creepy uncle August (Christopher Lee) lives down the hall. August looks foreboding and Max seems harmless, but you’ve got to watch the quiet ones. Soon, it becomes evident that Max is obsessed with Juliet and moves freely in and out of her apartment, sometimes when she is away, and sometimes while she sleeps.

The Resident is beautifully photographed and underlit to good effect, except for some of the latter stalking scenes in the walls of the old building, where it’s a bit too dark to see anything at times. Shadows cast by the night sky weave sinuous tentacle of darkness into the apartment, helping the early scenes in the film to build tension. Swank is solid, and the rest of the cast is more than competent. Morgan in particular goes from innocent to evil just by changing his expression. Lee is great as always, but his role is little more than a cameo.

I don’t watch a lot of this genre of film, so I always feel at a loss to make any kind of a comparison, nor can I get a feel for what fans of the genre will think. Personally, I liked the early use of the Brooklyn Bridge locations, but I thought the buildup was much better than the payoff, but that’s because the payoff was very typical of this type of film. I felt like it was competently executed (killer stalks woman through dark area) but had little new to offer. The resolution, in particular, has been done many times before, in slightly different variations (Juliet is trapped and feverishly smashes a window, presumably to escape, before the killer catches her. The killer then enters the room and longingly gazes out the window in what is known as the ‘wait to be crept up on’ pose). It must be difficult to create something original when so many of these types of films have already been made. Also, there was a lost opportunity to focus on the killer’s dislike of technology. He mentions that he’s not part of the Twitter crowd, and this becomes evident when he spends hours in Juliet’s apartment and completely ignores the bright message on her computer stating that there are new (security) videos to view. I also must mention a weird use of flashback early on in the film: after 20 minutes, the director rewinds the entire film in fast motion to show us some hidden plot points. It seems too soon for a refresher course, although I’m sure any memory-challenged goldfish in the audience will appreciate it.

I would love to see Swank get a role that flexes her acting muscles next time, rather than just her muscle muscles.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Any ambiguity and suspense is frequently stripped by writer/director Antti Jokinen's signposting of every upcoming twist and turn. This is epitomised by a supposedly revelatory and overlong flashback sequence that occurs just half an hour into the movie and contains big snippets of scenes we've already witnessed!"
- Ben Rawson-Jones (Digital Spy)

 

The Other Guys (2010)

Movie quotes:
Terry Hoitz: No, I don't like you. I think you're a fake cop. The sound of your piss hitting the urinal, it sounds feminine. If we were in the wild, I would attack you. Even if you weren't in my food chain, I would go out of my way to attack you. If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freaking EAT you! And then I'd bang your tuna girlfriend.
Allen Gamble: OK, first off: a lion? Swimming in the ocean? Lions don't like water. If you placed it near a river or some sort of fresh water source, that make sense. But you find yourself in the ocean, 20 foot waves, I'm assuming off the coast of South Africa, coming up against a full grown 800 pound tuna with his 20 or 30 friends, you lose that battle, you lose that battle 9 times out of 10. And guess what, you've wandered into our school of tuna and we now have a taste of lion. We've talked to ourselves. We've communicated and said 'You know what? Lion tastes good, let's go get some more lion'. We've developed a system to establish a beach-head and aggressively hunt you and your family and we will corner your pride, your children, your offspring.
Terry Hoitz: How you gonna do that?
Allen Gamble: We will construct a series of breathing apparatus with kelp. We will be able to trap certain amounts of oxygen. It's not gonna be days at a time. But hour? Hour forty-five? No problem. That will give us enough time to figure out where you live, go back to the sea, get some more oxygen, and then stalk you. You just lost at your own game. You're outgunned and out-manned. [pause] Did that go the way you thought it was gonna go? Nope.

Terry Hoitz: Your farts aren't manly.
Allen Gamble: Are you serious?
Terry Hoitz: They sound like a baby blowing out birthday candles.

At a glance:
The Other Guys exploits the cop buddy template to produce some really big laughs, led by the deadpan delivery of Will Ferrell and the raw anger and frustration of Mark Wahlberg

Our review (with spoilers):
Two bumbling cops are teamed up, seemingly just so they can argue all the time. Allen (Will Ferrell) is happy to stay behind a desk and actually volunteers to do the paperwork for the flashier copy buddy teams. Terry (Mark Wahlberg) wants to get out there and be a star, but he’s burdened by his big mistake: while on duty at Yankee Stadium, he shot Derek Jeter, costing the Yankees the World Series. Through a complicated set of circumstances, Allen and Terry latch onto a case that could make or break their careers.

This is a gloriously mismatched buddy teaming. Ferrell gets into a serene nerd zone, while Walhberg is bottled up and seriously angry. If you know a little about Wahlberg’s past, you know that his anger is not acting – it’s behaving – and it feels genuine. And against Ferrell’s comedy deadpan, there’s something hilarious about it.

I don’t think I’ve laughed as hard in months as I did when Allen trumps Terry’s Lion Eats Tuna story with his long soliloquy detailing how he and his school of 800 pound tuna will stalk Terry’s Lion pride back up onto land using jury-rigged kelp to get oxygen. There is also a hilarious scene where Allen and his wife Sheila (Eva Mendez) compare their anal-centric how-did-they-meet story with the supposed anal-centric plot of You’ve Got Mail.

The Other Guys is not perfect. Like many comedies it cannot sustain that high laugh level, and when it gets serious in the second half, that isn’t nearly as much fun. But the laughs that are there are huge, and there’s good supporting comedy work from Michael Keaton and Steve Coogan.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It runs out of steam in the final third but The Other Guys is constantly kept afloat by a grand cast that includes Michael Keaton as station captain Gene Mauch and Eva Mendes as Gamble's smoldering wife Sheila."
- Allan Hunter (Daily Express)

"There's a wealth of joyously berserk idiot humour, fusing slapstick and satire, surrealism and stream-of-consciousness improv into what could well prove the funniest movie of the year."
- Tom Huddleston (Time Out)

 

Heartbreaker (2010)

At a glance:
This unique French rom-com farce about a con artist who is paid to break up couples is funny, fast-moving, and a joy to watch from start to finish

Our review (with spoilers):
Movies are littered with compassionate con artists whose hearts are in the right place. Just like the hit men with hearts of gold, these types of people probably do not exist in real life. But I’ve got to admit I have a weakness for the sweet con artists in film. And no one could be sweeter than Alex (Romain Duris). Together with his sister and her goofy husband, their job is to use seduction to break up couples.

The film is wonderfully unconventional, and it is important that you stop reading right now if you haven’t seen it. It begins as a young woman leaves her obviously inferior fiancé by the pool. She wants to explore Marrekech and he wants to drink in a lounge chair and ogle women in wet t-shirts. She is driven to the dunes by a young man who provides medical supplies for needy children. The chemistry between them is instantaneous and strong. He doesn’t need to say much to get her to realize that her fiancé is not the right man for her. When they explore the desert dunes together and share a first kiss, this appears to be a romance film. But it ends there. Alex has done his job, and is not in this for love. The fiancé will be dumped; his mission is accomplished.

His next client is a bit more complicated. Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln) seem like a perfect couple. By masquerading as a hired bodyguard, Alex manages to get close enough to find out her foibles and fears, and in the process, he is surprised to find that he is falling in love.

Heartbreaker feels exotic if you are accustomed to Hollywood fare; Romain Duris’ scraggly beard and sneering but sincere smile are a welcome change from the leading men of Tinseltown. Light, and occasionally hilarious, it contains action, romance, glamour, and a little dirty dancing. When it ended, I felt I could have just started watching it all over again.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Manages to be such a pleasant little soufflé of a movie that it's hard not to like it on its own terms."
- Ken Hanke (Mountain Xpress - Asheville, NC)

 

Stone (2010)

At a glance:
On one level, Stone is a well-acted film noir about crime, prison, and parole; but beneath, it veers into an obscure sub-text of spirituality, retribution and belief

Our review (with spoilers):
On the surface, Stone has a fairly accessible story about Gerald ‘Stone’ Creeson (Edward Norton), a con  who is trying to get early release by convincing his parole officer Jack Mabry (Robert De Niro) that he has learned his lesson and done his time. In order to facilitate this, Stone involves his sexy, scruple-free wife Lucetta (Milla Jovovich) to seduce Jack. Jack believes in nothing and is eminently corruptible, despite first appearing to be a by-the-book type of guy. While this surface story is playing out, we get to appreciate the solid performances by Norton, De Niro, and Jovovich.

But besides this tale, which in and of itself amounts to an interesting but not outstanding film, there is some kind of obscure religious/metaphysical allegory. ‘Stone’ is a reference to the beginning of life: we begin as a stone and are reincarnated into more complex organisms. Mabry is evil, and/or a non-believer who will be punished for his sins. Stone is there, perhaps, to offer temptation and to deal out the punishment. At least, that’s my quick take on what may have been alluded to. I could be quite wrong, and that always worries me when watching a movie such as this – one that could be called ‘subtle’, ‘obscure’, or perhaps even ‘open to interpretation’.

I really have no idea if Gerald Creeson had a true Epiphany. His actions, or the way our viewing of his actions are manipulated, would lean toward him being sincere. Did he start the fire that burned down Jack’s house? What horrible secret was Jack hiding – or was the horror simply that of a life led in a vacuum of belief?

The lesson here could also be about living and listening. Jack immerses himself in sounds of spirituality – he constantly listens to religious talk-back radio; he attends church; and he reads scripture and drinks heavily with his sad wife (Frances Conroy). He also listens to prisoners all day. But he does not actually appear to hear any of what is being said.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Set up as a familiar noir plot, the film veers off into unexpected places, keeping the audience guessing as to the main characters' motivations well after the credits roll."
- Rob Thomas [Capital Times (Madison, WI)]

Catfish (2010)

Movie quotes:
"They used to tank cod from Alaska all the way to China. They'd keep them in vats in the ship. By the time the codfish reached China, the flesh was mush and tasteless. So this guy came up with the idea that if you put these cods in these big vats, put some catfish in with them and the catfish will keep the cod agile. And there are those people who are catfish in life. And they keep you on your toes. They keep you guessing, they keep you thinking, they keep you fresh. And I thank god for the catfish because we would be droll, boring and dull if we didn't have somebody nipping at our fin."
- Vince Pierce

At a glance:
This documentary explores the hidden secrets behind a Facebook friendship between a New York photographer and an eight year old girl from Michigan

Our review (with spoilers):
Nev, a New York photographer, has a dance photo published in a major magazine. Soon after, he receives a wonderful painting of his photo in the mail. The painting was done by Abby, an eight year old girl from Michigan. Soon Nev is corresponding virtually (through email, Facebook, and Twitter) with Abby, her mom Angela, and her sexy half-sister, Megan. Nev and Megan are mutually attracted and begin an on-line relationship, with both of them looking forward to the day when they can meet. Megan, also a talented artist, uploads a couple of songs written especially for Nev. But an internet search reveals that the songs were written  and sung by somebody else. Soon Nev discovers that all the talk of Abby’s various successful gallery showings were also fabricated. Nev is stunned and angry, but since he is now in the middle of a documentary about the whole situation, he agrees to go to Michigan to find out exactly what is real and what is not.

Soon Nev finds out what astute viewers might suspect: there is only one person behind this ruse that exists: Angela. She did the artwork; she changed her voice to be Megan, and she did the paintings. Nev and crew spend a day with her, and then Nev gently confronts her and gets most of the true story. Angela, her dreams shattered and her life burdened by the care of her new husband’s two extremely retarded twin boys, escaped into multiple personalities and used fragments of herself in her youth to woo Nev.

For his part, Nev is grateful to find out, and somehow these two people form an unlikely (Facebook) friendship. But the pain in their eyes is unmistakable.

This is a wonderful documentary, created on a very low budget. Based on social media, it makes clever use of Google Earth and Google Maps to augment the story. There is a small niggling factor that this may not be completely what it seems – why did they start filming so early in the story? – but the film-makers swear that it is 100% true.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The great thing about Catfish is the compassion it shows towards everyone involved. It tries to reach an understanding of the truth but without mocking or judging."
- Allan Hunter (Daily Express)

The Presence (2010)

At a glance:
A woman’s idyllic cabin retreat is haunted by ghosts and by her past

Our review (with spoilers):
Imagine the most boring movie ever – just watching The Woman (Mira Sorvino) as she tinkers around by herself in a log cabin with no electricity. She makes tea. She listens to an old Victrola. Every time she uses the outhouse, a dead bird is thrown against it. And just so it isn’t completely boring, there a pale guy watching her all the time. She can’t see him, and he has the pallor of a dead person. We get about 35 minutes of this, until finally The Woman’s Boyfriend shows up, uninvited and unannounced (there’s no boat sound or anything). This is supposed to be a scary moment, I think. They have zero chemistry, but I believe that is by design. Despite this, The Man proposes to her and she accepts, although immediately after, he almost falls down a cliff and she drops and loses the ring while saving him. Things go downhill from there. She suddenly becomes moody and detached. He keeps making food and coffee that she does not ingest. She just wants to work and he would like someone to speak to. All the time, Dead Guy watches and does…nothing! Finally, we find out the source(s) of her mood: she was abused by her father as a child, and now, an evil spirit is whispering things in her ear and she is listening. I’m going to stop right there and not tell more of this plot, as it is making me relive this horribly boring film yet again. Let’s just say a couple more things happen near the end but I congratulate any marathon runner viewer that can make it that far. One thing I will add – and it is my only positive – the ending had a lovely little  - you could almost call it a twist but it is more of a concept revealer – that shows that this idea could have been much more successful if it was filmed with a bit more passion and movement.

Rating: 1 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Woman with personal issues goes to a remote place in the woods somewhere to spend some time alone in the cabin she spent her summers as a child. What she doesn't know is that there is some guy (which we the audience can see) who looks like something between a department store mannequin and crew member of the starship Enterprise haunting the place. He does this by standing and staring or sitting and staring. Maybe about 20 minutes in, or so, he swivels an eyeball to the side. Then about 40 minutes in he becomes less like a mannequin and more like crew member of the Enterprise looking for a way to get back to his ship.

I was intrigued when the movie started and I saw the ghost sitting or standing staring. --Right off the bat; just like that; no preamble; as is usually NOT the case with most ghost stories. "Hmm.....this is a different approach", I say's to myself, "Let's see where it goes". I believe I already told you where it went for 40 minutes."
- Boloxxxi (IMDB user review)

Red Hill (2010)

At a glance:
A classic modern-day western with horror overtones, Red Hill brings an Australian backcountry flavor to the genre

Our review (with spoilers):
This modern day Australian western appears to be ultra-conservative – so much so, in fact, that one begins to suspect there will be a major twist. A small town in outback Australia is cold toward young policeman Shane (Ryan Kwanten) who has recently moved from an unnamed big city to provide a more peaceful life for his pregnant wife. But on his first day, he walks into the middle of conflict. The Inspector, played by a scenery-chewing Steve Bisley, is adamant about preserving the old town values like free use of the land, and is against things like new age business nature preserves. The normal, quiet day turns very serious when a convicted murderer breaks out of prison and heads for Red Hill. The locals all know he is coming back for vengeance, so they arm heavily. But this man, an aboriginal tracker, is more than a match for them, and begins killing them one by one.

The aboriginal man never says a word, is horribly scarred, and kills almost everyone he meets, and thus he seems way too evil – almost like a horror movie star. But there is more to the story, and it’s up to Shane to figure it out. The facts are laid out for him a bit too easily in the end – a signed deathbed confession by one of the perpetrators – but there are enough effective moments in the film that we can forgive director Patrick Hughes his occasional wide brush strokes and clichés.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"If Red Hill isn't quite a classic, it surely is a work of genuine passion for a genre that's unmistakable, and unkillable."
- Marc Savlov (Austin Chronicle)

The Fighter (2010)

At a glance:
Richly textured (with four Oscar-worthy performances), The Fighter is more about dysfunction and less about boxing

Our review (with spoilers):
When a story is common and its circumstances are widespread and shared, it can sometimes feel clichéd. So it is with The Fighter, a film that is more about a dysfunctional family and less about boxing. One family member - here it is boxer Micky Eklund (Mark Wahlberg) - has the talent and the salary, and the rest are hangers-on who scramble to keep their hold on the cash cow, using blood relations and guilt where necessary. Micky has always been tutored, trained, and managed by his older brother Dick (Christian Bale), who once was a boxer of some talent. The highlight of his career was knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard (before eventually losing the fight). Micky’s mom Alice (Melissa Leo) also co-manages, but Micky’s career is dove-tailing, due to bad match-ups. It doesn’t help that Micky has to get his older brother out of fights and drug-related legal jams either. I don’t think the film is clichéd – it is more that the situation is common, but it is told with directorial flair by a perfectly chosen cast.

Christian Bale inhabits his characters, and he’s on top of his game as the crack-smoking older brother. The real Dicky Eklund appears briefly at the end of the film; you can see that Bale would have studied Dicky’s mannerisms to create his own spin on the character. Melissa Leo is excellent again (and almost unrecognizable) as Alice, the dominant mother of ten children. Bale and Leo each bring a very similar energy to their roles. They do not seem to be acting – just living. Each of them won Best Supporting Oscars, and Amy Adams, who is oh so sweet-with-an-edge, was also nominated. Mark Wahlberg is quiet and solid in the lead, surrounding by these tornadoes of passion.

Rating:  3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The ring action in The Fighter is bruising enough, but it's the drama outside the ropes that will leave you reeling."
- Jason Best (Movie Talk)

Black Swan (2010)

Movie quotes:
Thomas Leroy: What's going on?
Nina: [crying] Lily! You made her my alternate?
Thomas Leroy: Well there's always an alternate. Lily is the best choice.
Nina: No, but she wants my role.
Thomas Leroy: Every dancer in the world wants your role.
Nina: No, this is different. She's after me. She's trying to replace me!
Thomas Leroy: Nobody's after you.
Nina: [crying harder] No, please believe me!

At a glance:
Darren Aronofsky creates a nightmarish reality for a perfectionist ballerina played by the lovely Natalie Portman

Our review (with spoilers):
Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina whose technique is virtually perfect. But according to choreographer Thomas (Vincent Cassel), her dancing lacks passion and is as frigid as she appears to be. Her drive for perfection means that she falls short when attempting to let herself go. Despite her shortcomings, she is able to convince Tomas (with her dancing as well as with one moment of aggression) that she is the best in the company, and against the odds she is chosen to be the Black Swan, the lead dancer. This sends her into an even deeper spiral, her drive for perfection pushing her into an area where her life and nightmares are intertwined.

As well as being threatened by her own sexuality and that of others, she has to compete with rival dancers like the free spirit Lily (Mila Kunis), who seems to be friendly but also could be plotting her demise.

Nina’s drive for perfection seems to derive from nature and nurture; her doting, bitter mother (Barbara Hershey) is a sad figure who keeps an extremely close eye on her daughter, sometimes protecting her as if she were still a child.

Director Darren Aronofsky’s strongest talent of many is his ability to create a nightmare blended with reality. He does this again here, as he did in Pi, with his protagonist almost tortured by herself and her environment. Portman is also perfectly cast as the frigid beauty. Aronofsky’s film is captivating because each moment is key – there is no filler, no wasted scenes. Every moment, movement, and word spoken is part of the story.

While the film is hard to watch at times (as is almost all of Aronofsky’s work), it is ultimately accessible and rewarding. This cannot be said of all films that are so dreamlike and artistic.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"You've never seen a movie quite like "Black Swan" before. It's brazen, it's ridiculous, it's magnificent, it's human, it's unique, it's the world at its worst, it's the worst at its best - and this is why it's so weirdly compelling."
- Christopher Smith (Bangor Daily News - Maine)

Heartbreaker (2010)

At a glance:
This unique French rom-com farce about a con artist who is paid to break up couples is funny, fast-moving, and a joy to watch from start to finish

Our review (with spoilers):
Movies are littered with compassionate con artists whose hearts are in the right place. Just like the hitmen with hearts of gold, these types of people probably do not exist in real life. But I’ve got to admit I have a weakness for the sweet con artists in film. And no one could be sweeter than Alex (Romain Duris). Together with his sister and her goofy husband, their job is to use seduction to break up couples.

The film is wonderfully unconventional, and it is important that you stop reading right now if you haven’t seen it. It begins as a young woman leaves her obviously inferior fiancé by the pool. She wants to explore Marrekech and he wants to drink in a lounge chair and ogle women in wet t-shirts. She is driven to the dunes by a young man who provides medical supplies for needy children. The chemistry between them is instantaneous and strong. He doesn’t need to say much to get her to realize that her fiancé is not the right man for her. When they explore the desert dunes together and share a first kiss, this appears to be a romance film. But it ends there. Alex has done his job, and is not in this for love. The fiancé will be dumped; his mission is accomplished.

His next client is a bit more complicated. Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln) seem like a perfect couple. By masquerading as a hired bodyguard, Alex manages to get close enough to find out her foibles and fears, and in the process, he is surprised to find that he is falling in love.

Heartbreaker feels exotic if you are accustomed to Hollywood fare; Romain Duris’ scraggly beard and sneering but sincere smile are a welcome change from the leading men of Tinseltown. Light, and occasionally hilarious, it contains action, romance, glamour, and a little dirty dancing. When it ended, I felt I could have just started watching it all over again.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Manages to be such a pleasant little soufflé of a movie that it's hard not to like it on its own terms."
- Ken Hanke (Mountain Xpress - Asheville, NC)

The Resident (2010)

At a glance:
Hilary Swank’s class, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s menace, and Brooklyn Bridge locations slightly lift a typical stalker thriller

Our review (with spoilers):
Juliet (Hilary Swank) breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and moves into an old but luxurious apartment, offered at a discount price by the seemingly sincere and innocent Max (Jeffrey Deam Morgan, a Javier Bardem lookalike). Max’s creepy uncle August (Christopher Lee) lives down the hall. August looks foreboding and Max seems harmless, but you’ve got to watch the quiet ones. Soon, it becomes evident that Max is obsessed with Juliet and moves freely in and out of her apartment, sometimes when she is away, and sometimes while she sleeps.

The Resident is beautifully photographed and the underlit to good effect, except for some of the latter stalking scenes in the walls of the old building, where it’s a bit too dark to see anything at times. Shadows cast by the night sky weave sinuous tentacle of darkness into the apartment, helping the early scenes in the film to build tension. Swank is solid, and the rest of the cast is more than competent. Morgan in particular goes from innocent to evil just by changing his expression. Lee is great as always, but his role is little more than a cameo.

I don’t watch a lot of this genre of film, so I always feel at a loss to make any kind of a comparison, nor can I get a feel for what fans of the genre will think. Personally, I liked the early use of the Brooklyn Bridge locations, but I thought the buildup was much better than the payoff, but that’s because the payoff was very typical of this type of film. I felt like it was competently executed (killer stalks woman through dark area) but had little new to offer. The resolution, in particular, has been done many times before, in slightly different variations (Juliet is trapped and feverishly smashes a window, presumably to escape, before the killer catches her. The killer then enters the room and longingly gazes out the window in what is known as the ‘wait to be crept up on’ pose). It must be difficult to create something original when so many of these types of films have already been made. Also, there was a lost opportunity to focus on the killer’s dislike of technology. He mentions that he’s not part of the Twitter crowd, and this becomes evident when he spends hours in Juliet’s apartment and completely ignores the bright message on her computer stating that there are new (security) videos to view. I also must mention a weird use of flashback early on in the film: after 20 minutes, the director rewinds the entire film in fast motion to show us some hidden plot points. It seems too soon for a refresher course, although I’m sure any memory-challenged goldfish in the audience will appreciate it.

I would love to see Swank get a role that flexes her acting muscles next time, rather than just her muscle muscles.

Rating:  2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Any ambiguity and suspense is frequently stripped by writer/director Antti Jokinen's signposting of every upcoming twist and turn. This is epitomised by a supposedly revelatory and overlong flashback sequence that occurs just half an hour into the movie and contains big snippets of scenes we've already witnessed!"
- Ben Rawson-Jones (Digital Spy)

127 Hours (2010)

Movie quotes:
"Did I say the weather is great? Well, it is. Though flash floods potential is still present. There's four-prong major canyons upstream from me that all converge in this 3 foot wide gap where I am. The rock I pulled down on top of me, it was put there by flood. Still, I'd get a drink."
- Aron Ralston

At a glance:
The versatile Danny Boyle tries his hand at filming a one-man story of survival, featuring an entertaining performance by James Franco

Our review (with spoilers):
Aron Ralston (James Franco) is an outdoor adventurer (you know, mountain biker, climber, canyoner, and general risk taker) who lives life for the rush of experience and sees little need to maintain relationships. It’s not that he’s a bad person – he just doesn’t see the value of parents or girlfriends or mates. So when his right arm is pinned benath a boulder while he is canyoning in a remote area, no one knows he is there. He spends the next 127 hours trapped, reflecting on life, and trying to use his ingenuity and limited on-hand tools to free himself.

Danny Boyle stamps the film with his inimitable style, but still allows the story to stand for itself. James Franco delivers an impressive performance. There’s some traction to be gained because this is based on a true story, but it feels too slick and well-lit to be realistic, which makes this more of a film experiment and less of an immersion in real peril. Survivor Aron Ralston is briefly featured at the end of the film.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"As a follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours shows Danny Boyle at the top of his form -- it's not a story many filmmakers would want to tackle, and few would handle it as well."
- David Stratton (At the Movies [Australia])

"It doesn't matter how disarming Franco's single-handed performance is; there is simply not enough dramatic meat on the bones of Ralston's true story to distract us from where it is heading."
- Anders Wotzke (Cut Print Review)

Rubber (2010)

Movie quotes:
"You probably never gave it a moment’s thought, but all great films, without exception, contain an important element of ‘no reason’. And you know why? Because life itself is made up of tons of ‘no reason’."

At a glance:
Rubber twists the crazed killer horror theme by casting a malevolent tire in the lead role

Our review (with spoilers):
A tire awakens in a dump and becomes alive. Starting with baby steps, it soons learns to self-propel. It becomes evident that this tire has only one purpose – to kill everything it encounters. But it also yearns for companionship, and perhaps more – it spares a young woman it initially tried to kill, and instead watches her from a distance.

Also watching is a group of observers – an audience living in the desert, without food or water, who are given high-powered binoculars so they can watch this ‘movie’ as it unfolds. After a full day without food, their minder tosses them a cooked turkey to fight over. Soon, all are dead from food poisoning, except for one wheelchair-bound stalwart who seems wise to the motives of the movie creators.

To say Rubber is an original film would be a vast understatement. Starting slowly, it looks like it will strive for an ‘artsy’ approach. But this supposed ‘homage’ to the ‘no reason’ which is a part of all great films is also a semi-serious horror parody. Never has a movie been more dedicated to being self-aware. Rubber subtly and not-so-subtly takes shots at sheepish audiences, horror films, and actors. It doesn’t say much for your typical action/horror hero when they can be replaced by a steel-belted radial.

Rubber is not hilarious, nor is it perhaps as inciteful as it thinks it is – it’s brimming with self-satisfaction, and seems to be laughing as it tells its joke. But any flaws are amply covered by its exhilarating originality.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's an inventive, silly film when it hits a demented stride, supplying a fascinating blend of bloodshed and ludicrousness, making for a memorable romp with a most improbable killer."
- Brian Orndorf (BrianOrndorf.com)

The Town (2010)

Movie quotes:
Doug MacRay: I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can never ask me about it later, and we're gonna hurt some people.
James Coughlin: ...Whose car we takin'?

At a glance:
Ben Afflect directs and stars in this effective Boston-based bank robber tale

Our review (with spoilers):
It’s difficult to take an action film about four tough guys from Boston who rob banks and meld it with elements of poetry, beauty, and love, but actor/director/co-writer Ben Affleck accomplishes this. He casts and directs himself as Doug, the gang leader who is all shades of gray. He has no qualms about stealing from banks and vans, but he tries to do it without hurting anyone. At the same time, he tolerates Jim (Jeremy Renner), whose violent fuse seems to erupt every time they pull a job. There are good reasons why Doug tolerates Jim. In fact, the hallmark of this script, where characters sometimes seem to be out of character, is the care in formulating a reason for this. For example, after the first bank job, Doug protects the bank manager, Claire (Rebecca Hall) from the harassment she would endure if Jim is allowed to pursue that loose end. Doug goes much further than that, and soon he and Claire are in a serious relationship.

Pursuing the thieves is a relentless FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm), who is a tough guy in his own right. The script presents a series of mini-battles and conflicts between Adam and Doug, Doung and Jim, Doug and Claire, Doug and Fergus (Pete Postlethwaite, playing a local tough guy), and Doug and his incarcerated father (Chris Cooper, in a small but effective role). This is a stellar cast, circling around a solid performance by Affleck, who proves that his earlier directorial success with Gone Baby Gone was not a fluke.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"In lesser hands, the central relationship might not have worked; but Affleck and Hall make it completely believable, adding to the texture of this classy thriller."
- David Stratton (At the Movies)

Please Give (2010)

At a glance:
Writer/director Nicole Holofcener expertly creates characters that portray the difference between caring, pity, and indifference in this gentle New-York-based comedy/drama

Our review (with spoilers):
Wonderful slice of life dramedy about Kate and Alex (Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt), a middle aged couple  who live quite nicely by buying furniture from the children of recently deceased New Yorkers. Kate’s got a conscience, however, that is being exposed by her incessant profit-taking. It isn’t helped when she and Alex buy the next door apartment and have to deal with the ‘direct’ elderly woman (Ann Morgan Guilbert) who lives in it, along with her very different twenty-something daughters.

There are poignant moments as well as some laugh out loud ones in this gentle drama. Keener and Platt are both wonderful, but it was especially great to see Guilbert (who started her career long ago as Millie Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show) still going. There also good supporting work from Rebecca Hall, Elise Ivy, and Sarah Steele. This is my first acquaintance with writer/director Nicole Holofcener, and it was a pleasant one.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Nicole Holofcener, who writes the most interesting female characters in the movies, delivers another dazzling role to her muse, Catherine Keener, in Please Give, a delightfully dry dramedy about guilt."
- Roger Moore (Orlando Sentinel)

Red (2010)

Movie quotes:
Marvin Boggs: Why are you trying to kill me?
Frank Moses: Like why would I be trying to kill you?
Marvin Boggs: Because last time we met I tried to kill you.
Frank Moses: That was a long time ago.
Marvin Boggs: Some people hold on to things like that.

At a glance:
Bruce Willis recreates his standard action hero role, this time as a ‘retired’ CIA agent pulled back in by a major US conspiracy, in this lighthearted and fun, but ultimately hollow, action film

Our review (with spoilers):
Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), a  retired CIA agent, survives an attempted assassination, pulling him back into the action. He drags along old buddies Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren (yes, as a machine-gun-wielding assassin) and Brian Cox. Also dragged into harm’s way is Frank’s new girlfriend, Sarah (Mary Louise Parker). They face a CIA gone rogue, led by a talented, dedicated agent Cooper (Karl Urban). Let’s face it: Willis has been playing slight variations on this same role for more than a decade. With his bald top and chiseled face, he hardly seems to have aged. He’s good at this one character, so as long as you only have to see him play it every couple of years – and the script, thank goodness, doesn’t take itself or him too seriously – he’s a pleasure to watch. But the film is made to capitalize on genre combined with star quality – there is no strong underlying message, so it is a hollow film.

And there are, of course, those stock tricks used that we’ve seen before and will seen again. For example: Joe (Morgan Freeman) is approached by an assassin. In the next scene, Moses is talking by phone to someone at the home and we see Freeman’s nurse in tears. Moses’ face seems to show sorrow (well, as much sorrow as Willis’ face is able to emote, anyway). Later, we find out that Joe turned the tables and killed the assassin, and, I assume, disappeared. Why was his nurse crying, then?

Later, we see a very brief scene of Cooper at his home, checking on his sleeping children and wife. We know that the purpose of this scene is to establish that Cooper cares about his family and that means they will be placed in danger later, probably by Moses. Bingo! Finally, Victoria (Mirren) is blasting the vice president using a machine gun on a tripod. Cooper sneaks up from the other side. We see the machine gun must be still firing, because bursts of light are coming from where it is obscured by a parked car. Immediately, veteran movie watchers know this means when Cooper comes around to the other side of the car, the machine gun will be automatically firing in unmanned mode and Victoria will be long gone. Bingo!

Watching John Malkovich, one of my favorite actors who is capable of so much more - play such a broad caricature of a drugged-addled conspiracy nut is a little painful at times. Helen Mirren with a machine gun is almost as wild as the machine-gun-wielding height-challenged woman standing on the bar wearing negligee in Total Recall.

Rating: 2.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The winking, self-reflexive tone mutes any possible emotional investment."
- Robert Levin (Film School Rejects)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

Movie quotes:
Wallace Wells: If you want something bad, you have to fight for it. Step up your game, Scott. Break out the L-word.
Scott Pilgrim: Lesbian?
Wallace Wells: The other L-word.
Scott Pilgrim: ...Lesbians?

"You made me swallow my gum! That's going to be in my digestive tract for seven years!"
- Gideon Gordon Graves

Stacey Pilgrim: I mean, did you really see a future with this girl?
Scott Pilgrim: Like... with jetpacks.

Envy Adams: You are incorrigible.
Todd Ingram: I don't know the meaning of the word.
[Text on screen]: He really doesn't.

At a glance:
Michael Cera is wonderful as a neurotic nerd who fights like a video game character against the evil ex’s of his new girlfriend

Our review (with spoilers):
Extremely original film, that obviously feels faithful to the source graphic novel, about a nerdy bass player (the inimitable Michael Cera) who has to fight seven of his new girlfriend’s ex’s if he wants to be with her. Complicating things are his other current high school girlfriend, his band members (which also include an ex-girlfriend), and his gay room-mate, with whom he shares a tiny apartment, a single bed often filled with his room-mate’s boyfriends. Fights, music, and characters are enhanced by words describing the sounds or by on-screen captions. In some ways, it is almost a perfect film: geared toward a young audience, but accessible and vibrantly enjoyable to anyone., with too many funny and memorable lines to remember.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Some might see it as a great hipster parable, a postmodern epic for the Nintendo generation; I think it's simply a triumph of dizzying cinematic style, and it never misses a beat."
- Josh Hurst (Christianity Today)

Inception (2010)

Movie quotes:
Cobb: For this to work, we'd have to buy off the pilots...
Arthur: And we'd have to buy off the flight attendants...
Saito: I bought the airline.
[Everybody turns and stares at him. Saito just shrugs]
Saito: It seemed neater.

At a glance:
An imaginative core concept is weakened by the need for endless exposition and stock Hollywood action sequences

Our review (with spoilers):
Around 87 percent of the registered critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave a favorable review to Inception. They didn’t have a problem with the endless exposition necessary to explain the rules of its singular dream universe – and that’s great. I wish I felt that way too and had enjoyed this dream more. I wanted to love this film, since it was directed by Christopher Nolan (who has helmed some of my most favorite films like Batman Begins and The Prestige), but I just could not connect to the emotions of the narrative.

The story in brief: Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a professional dream extractor: one who enters and navigates the dreams of another to find valuable secrets. Due to a personal tragedy, he has been separated from his children. To get back together with them, he must do one last big extraction, so he assembles a crack team. This is a trendy, diversified cast: Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and even Pete Poslethwaite (in a small role). It is DiCaprio’s emotional journey that must carry the film, and for me, I find his acting shallow.

There is an endless parade of exposition in the film; characters are constantly having conversations merely for the purpose of outlining this alternative universe for the audience. A little exposition is often necessary in fantasy / sci-fi, but in this film it is used throughout its lengthy running time of 2 ½ hours. Nolan tries to jazz all this talk up with a lingering bass beat in the background, but you can’t fool me.

Rating: 1 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The dream logic of Inception -- which deals, like Nolan's far more intriguing Memento, with the architecture of memory and the nature of reality -- is stymied by a clunking script, crammed with expository exchanges and urgent blather."
- Steven Rea (Philadelphia Inquirer)

"Mixes arcane talk about dreams with traditional action sequences resulting in strange and ineffective hybrid."
- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (Spirituality and Practice)