Movie Reviews

Revolutionary Road
It helps a lot that the movie, directed by IAmerican BeautyI phenom Sam Mendes, is very, very good in its own right. But it was special casting brilliance to make Winslet and DiCaprio the Wheelers, the golden couple of their specific universe, whose dissolution is just that much harder to accept for themselves. The pair gives commanding, emotionally raw performances.

Punisher: War Zone
Each attempt at bringing him to the screen has been slightly better than the last, but only slightly. Thomas Janes version was marginally less awful than Dolph Lundgrens 80s abortion and this latest, Ray Stevenson starring incarnation is incrementally less laughable than the one Jane fell into. Should this trend continue, by the characters tenth iteration I will be able to give a I PunisherI movie a good review.

The Reader
Were there any real passion or feeling behind it, IThe ReaderI might feel like more than just a space-filler on the inexorable march to Oscar night. But despite the best efforts of three talented lead actors, and a director who has shown immense charisma in the past, IThe ReaderI just lies there on the screen, demanding the audience care but never offering them much to hold onto.

Cadillac Records
Its unfair to blame all of ICadillac RecordsI failings on Beyonc, given the draggy pace of the script and the movies general unwillingness to deviate from general music biz stereotypes. But the movie might have retained its shaggy charm, and been able to make up for its many flaws, had it not morphed into yet another star turn for an actress who has yet to prove any real charisma onscreen

Four Christmases
A year from now when its finally on DVD, someone I know will ask me if Ive seen IFour ChristmasesI. Four what? Ill ask. IFour ChristmasesI, theyll say. The holiday movie with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn. And Ill respond, no never heard of it. As far as Ill know that will be the truth, because by then Ill have forgotten this movie exists. Its clich collection of bland, formula gags will have long since been replaced in my brain by more worthy memories.

Transporter 3
Villains and police detective MacGuffins drone on and on, desperately trying to convince us this is a logical, sensible action film while at the same time inventing completely random reasons for Jason Statham to take his shirt off. This is not a real plot, and because it wastes so much time trying to convince us that it is, ITransporter 3I also isnt any fun.

Milk
When Dustin Lance Black began writing a screenplay about Harvey Milk in 2004, Barack Obama was an unknown local politician, and the wave of state bans on gay marriages had only begun as ballot initiatives. And while IMilkI would be an excellent film any year, coming as it does in November 2008, it is almost unbearably poignant.

Doubt
Aside from the four extremely strong performances at its center, and the sticky, troubling moral issue that drives it, IDoubtI isnt much cinematically. It turns out that John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the celebrated stage play as well as this screenplay, has done himself a disservice by directing his own work in a clumsy, sometimes amateurish way. But his story is so strong...

Nothing But The Truth
Rod Lurie, given the Washington insider knowledge he displayed with IThe ContenderI, would seem a natural fit for the story, his claustrophobic close-ups emphasizing the fishbowl world of D.Cs power elite. But even helped by strong performances from Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga, INothing But the TruthI is flat and unexceptional, the bureaucratic, talky parts of a political thriller without the action sequences as payoff

Australia
IAustraliaI, as a movie experience, demands ushers in red vests, plush velvet seats, bunched curtains and a balcony. It is as much a tribute to movies as it is a movie itself; like all Baz Luhrmann films, its intoxicated with the very notion that it will flicker to life on a screen. Set loose in the limitless wilds of his homeland, Baz Luhrmann stuffs the screen with dust storms, sunsets, stampedes, explosions, kangaroos...

Twilight (Katey's Take)
As a romance, ITwilightI is just subpar-- a more celibate, moodier take on IDawsons CreekI or I90210I. As a vampire story, its a disaster; all the fun stuff is taken out in favor of vampires who drink animal blood, go out during the daytime, and sparkle in direct sunlight. As a movie overall, its mostly a wash.

The Class
IThe ClassI, based on the memoir by Francois Begaudeau, who also stars, isnt exactly interested in turning that traditional narrative on its head. Instead it starts from the only world Begaudeau knows-- reality-- and creates a loose narrative as fascinating in its specific details as it is enlightening on a grand scale. Though it tackles very specifically French ideas of race and identity and education, IThe ClassI is a universal story of the joys and horrors of the classroom

Twilight
ITwilightI would be the same movie with or without vampires. Edward is attracted to Bella because she smells delicious, but he could just as easily have been attracted to her because shes really super-hot. Bella on the other hand, is attracted to Edward for the same reason all teenage girls seem to be attracted to bad boys. The female lust for jerks is something of a universal constant, and its on full display here.

Bolt
Every generation has its dog movie. ITheI dog movie. The dog movie which empties the streets of strays and sends stores scrambling to load up on chew toys. The dog movie which causes millions of Americas kids to beg for their very own pet. For you, maybe it was IFox and the HoundI played over and over again on your familys creaking VHS player. For our kids, its going to be IBoltI.

The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky is best known as a director of visually experimental, emotionally complex films like IRequiem for a DreamI and IThe FountainI. With IThe WrestlerI, he drops the experimentation and shoots what for him is a quick and dirty film. This is everything which an Aronosfky movie usually is not. IThe WrestlerI, stripped down and raw, hinges almost entirely on the performance of its lead.