Up In The Air (2009)

This is a practically perfect film. George Clooney doesn't act condescendingly didactic, Jason Reitman isn't chained to a set of irritatingly affected Diablo Cody characters and is able to set just the right airy tone, and Sam Elliot makes a cameo appearance. Touching script too. Wonderful! 10/10.

Robin Hood (2010)

I have no idea why this bombed in the theaters. It was fantastic! I love Medieval settings and this had the perfect mix of adventure and history. So much fun to watch. 8/10.

House Of Cards (2013) [TV Series]

I don't write about television on my blog, but I'm making an exception.

House Of Cards is now available on Netflix to stream. It's their self produced series starring Kevin Spacey, part of their foray into original content. It's Amazing! Spacey plays Congressman Francis Underwood, and the series is about sausage making... or rather the inner workings of our federal government's leadership. I'm talking Congress, The Executive Branch; likely the Judicial Branch will even come into play at some point. It's dark, it's gritty, and it relishes the sadism of power. This is how DC works. The backstabbing, the power plays, the vengeance. It's the government as rotting corpse, draped with the American flag.

Cleverly written with subtle double meanings, foreshadowing, and character revelations, not to mention Kevin Spacey occasionally breaking the fourth wall to great effect. And that's just the pilot episode! David Fincher's black eye truly lends itself to the subject matter. Old Monk hand Jeff Beal turns in a perfectly toned score. The acting? Unspeakably good. They even threw in a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Witness For The Prosecution, simply to allude to .

Brilliant. Watch it. Now. 10/10.

Dredd (2012)

Dredd was awesome but I didn't like it. Let me elaborate.

Awesome: The most honest single comic book adaptation I've ever seen. This film was completely accurate to the source material. Unlike the 90's Stallone adaptation where Hollywoodization abounded, I couldn't pinpoint a single thing in this film that wouldn't have happened in the comics. It was dark, ultraviolent, and unapologetic. We never see Dredd's face. His dialogue is to-the-point, almost monosyllabic. The sets, the non-distracting camera work. I could go on.

I didn't like: The ultraviolence. A sure sign I'm getting old is I just can't stomach the unrelenting violence in action and emotion abounding in this film. This is a personal taste, a subjective one. The only thing is, that's the essence of the comics. The unapologetic, impersonal, unrelenting execution of the law of Mega-City One. So bravo for the filmmakers in their unflinching translation.

Now for the sake of disclosure, while I am logging this in my list as 4/10 for personal subjective reasons. In an objective light, such as when discussing the merits or demerits of a work of adaptation, I will give it a resounding 10/10. If you read the Judge Dredd comics and recall wondering what it would be like to actually see it? You're in luck.

The fact that someone finally made a movie based on a comic book and yet restrained themselves from changing whatever they damn well pleased... it pleases me.

Cosmopolis (2012)

Based on a novel by Don Delillo concerning a billionaire businessman's trek through New York City in a limousine, this David Cronenberg adaptation was very good. I liked what I could grasp of it. However, all the existential stream-of-consciousness metaphors would have been easier to take with more Cronenbergian body horror involved. I guess he's graduated from that side of his filmmaking. Too bad, as it was my favorite aspect of his auterism.

I could decipher some of the dialogue and actions of the characters, but I'm afraid I'm too often lost with these kinds of writings. As far as film adaptations of idealistic novels go, I prefer non-figurative styles like Cloud Atlas. Nothing preachy, just a series of events and interactions that have higher related meaning. Too often novels/films like Cosmopolis simply seem pretentiously didactic. However I did finish the film feeling mentally stimulated.

Robert Pattinson surprised me by proving he's not a totally awful actor. He managed to not look completely out of his league with the other heavy hitters, though he still seemed to struggle on occasion.

Overall I liked it, which I primarily credit to Cronenberg.

 7/10.

Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010)

"...cannot be unseen."

Beyond The Black Rainbow perfectly encapsulates my favorite kind of horror and/or sci-fi film: atmospheric, visually stunning, synthesizer soundtracked, dystopian psychedelia. Being a fan of these types of movies that came out of the 1970's and early '80s, I'm thrilled to have seen such an homage. I imagine that if David Lynch made a THX1138-like movie with the texture of Stanley Kubrick, this beautifully horrifying film would be the result. Not to mention influences from Cronenberg to Kenneth Anger.

I'm not going to give a plot summary, as the film is extremely slow and mostly atmospheric, and the plot is slightly vague. However a definite narrative is there. I think there are also definite metaphors regarding the selfish Baby Boomer generation and their treatment of their Gen-X spawn. Not to mention the nature of true evil.

I absolutely loved this film. Watch in high-def if you can.

10/10.

Skyfall (2012)

Sam Mendes came pretty close to ruining the newest James Bond outing a couple times. It seemed as if there might have been some kind of battle behind the scenes to make it either a classic superficial Bond film, or one of his characteristic weirdo/twisted character study dramas. The combination was barely pulled off in this case. Javier Bardem's Mendes-esque bizarreness and the long takes during his scenes were pluses as they made him an even more personally threatening and creepy villain. However, exposing Bond's bout with age and weakness was a kind of disheartening turn. In the last two he was such a steely killer that exposing his frailties felt like a betrayal. I understand they've been trying to take a different approach to the franchise since Craig's casting, but this time around they may have taken it a bit too far. Things did manage to slowly grow back to normal by the end though, with Bond's cool veneer shining again.

I'm also adding a full point to my rating because of Roger Deakins' amazing cinematography. I was in complete awe of the Shanghai tower scene, not to mention all the quality dusk/night shots. The Cohen brothers are fortunate to have him on call for their films.

Altogether it was an enjoyable Bond film, but for different reasons than the last two. 7/10.

The Hunger Games (2012)

3/10. In a dystopian society, two children from each of twelve districts are sent to a ruling capitol to play in "The Hunger Games", a survival match to the death where there can be but one victor. To protect her sister, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to play.

This film had the biggest opening weekend gross for a non-sequel ever when it was released. It piqued my interest because of this fact. I thought I should check it out, for cultural relevance's sake. Hadn't seen any trailers, but I had an idea basically what it was about.

Saw it... didn't like it.

I didn't like it for two reasons:

First, the direction by Gary Ross. Specifically, his decision to use the deliberately-shaky-handheld-extreme-close-up shot favored by the last two Jason Bourne movies' Paul Greengrass. Only Gary Ross takes it to an all new, highly annoying level. Imagine the shakiest parts of the car chase scene from The Bourne Supremacy, multiply it by a shaky factor of two, zoom in to just their faces, and use this recipe when people are having a conversation or simply walking. Now use it for over half the movie. This should give you an idea of what it was like trying to watch this film in the theater.

Second, the juvenile and predictable script by the original novel's author Suzanne Collins and (again) Gary Ross. I don't fault the script as much as the direction, as it is already based off a juvenile and predictable trilogy of novels aimed at youth. But, not being a fan of, nor having ever read the novels, my eye was untarnished with any expectation of adherence to the source material. Thusly, I couldn't care less if the dialogue is just as dull as the novel, I just care that it's dull and that I can pretty much predict the whole movie after the first half hour.

The only reason that I didn't rate this movie a one or a two was the acting. All of the younger actors did a pretty damn good job with the material they were given, as did most of the adults.

If you're a fan of the books, wait for it to come out on video. This way you can at least marginally see whats going on during the shaky scenes and won't have a huge screen of blur to try and sort out.

If you're not a fan of the books, save your time an money and skip it.

A Dangerous Method (2011)

9/10. As Dr. Carl Jung takes on patient Sabina Spielrein in the newborn field of psychology, he consults with Dr. Sigmund Freud regarding her case.

Despite a terrible Russian accent, Keira Knightley has won my respect for her acting ability through her performance in this film. Playing Sabina Spielrein, her character's physical and mental contortions and pains are expertly portrayed.

The film as a whole may have surpassed Scanners as my favorite by Cronenberg. To see the founders of psychology laid bare as fallible human beings unable to overcome their natures and sins in spite of their awareness of them or their attempts to overcome them... it was riveting.

Simple direction and cinematography. Expertly written script. Subtle and nuanced acting. A near perfect film.

Warrior (2011)

9/10. So I LOVE Rocky (1976). It's in my all time top ten movies. As far as fighting movies go, Warrior is now a close second.

It's mostly about two estranged brothers training and fighting their way through mixed martial arts battles (MMA), but the inter/intra-personal relationships are the real story here. Don't get me wrong the fights are intense and well choreographed, but they would fall flat without the drama going on behind the bouts.

Behind the camera, Miracle (2004) director Gavin O'Connor returns to the sporting world with a vengeance co-writing and directing a gritty movie about a broken family. Nick Nolte outdoes himself as the recovering alcoholic father of the two brothers. And like I said, the fighting sequences are excellently choreographed by J.J. Perry and are totally believable.

I'm shocked that this film bombed in the theaters only raking in $13 Million with a budget of $30 Million. I just hope that the DVD sales can make up for the loss because this film truly deserves recognition. Even critics like this movie, garnering it an 83% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer as of this posting.

And this movie has one of the best song placements of any film I've seen, climaxing with a live version of The National's "About Today". Listen to the song below, then watch the movie, I'm pretty sure the film will outdo whatever you picture going on in your head.