The Kids Are All Right (2010)

I had read some medium reviews of this, and I really wasn't looking forward to it. I don't like artificial families where everything is too perfect (think Nancy Meyers' films - perfect kids and beautiful houses). You may say, Nancy Meyers films have divorces and affairs and fights - that's real. But I object to the squeaky clean and beautifully decorated houses, perfect clothes, lack of money problems type of family portrayal. The kids that get along so well they climb into bed together and comfort each other. In a non-icky way.

Well, this movie flirts with that type of a family. There are two kids, and two moms (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) and a lovely house. One of the moms is a doctor, the other quit trying to find a career before the kids were born and never did figure out the work side of things. Both kids are very well adjusted and sensible. However, the younger kid does want to find their sperm donor. Mark Ruffalo enters, and things really get messed up, but not permanently, and not in a truly messy way. We've all seen a ruined family, right? This movie is pretty fake. So it's an OK rental with good performances and some funny scenes, but there's no substance.

BTW - the director is another woman: Lisa Cholodenko. Two of her earlier films are Lauren Canyon and High Art - I will check them out.

Black Swan (2010)

I went to see this again. It is my pick for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. The first time I went by myself. This time I went with my mom. She says there is no contest between this and Social Network: Black Swan is better. We talked about it a bunch. Mom has a theory about the end that I agree with; I am going to stick with that theory for a while. Unless someone convinces me of a different theory.

The King's Speech (2010)

Well, the Best Actor statuette is Colin Firth's to lose at this point. Considering that the Weinstein Brothers are behind this film, I don't think it will lose any publicity wars in the days up to the ceremony. I hope he gets it. I understand why he lost to Jeff Bridges last year (Jeff did a fantastic job with a much showier role in Crazy Heart versus Colin Firth in A Single Man), but this year - I hope - is Colin's year.

This is the story of Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI, who succeeded to the throne after his brother, King Edward VIII, abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson. King George, known as Bertie to his family, had a terrible stutter. One of the great points of the movie is when you learn of the many likely reasons for the stutter in a non-mawkish scene. Bertie takes the throne as England is moving into WWII, and he needs to address the country on the radio - frequently. He has tried many speech coaches, with horrible results, until he meets Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush.

The movie does tend to be a little too sweet, mainly around Geoffrey Rush's performance. But I will forgive it a lot, for this is a fascinating story with great performances directed in a far above average manner. The director is Tom Hooper, and he is not all that experienced. He did Longford (with Jim Broadbent and Samantha Morton - a TV movie I reviewed somewhere in here), several episodes of John Adams, and The Damn United. I can hardly wait to see what he does next.

The Fighter (2010)

This is so much more than a fight film. The fighting is secondary to family, family favorites and what drugs do to a person and relationships. The performances here are amazing. It is Christian Bale's film, but my favorite performance was Melissa Leo's as the mother of the nine (9!!!) kids of that family. She is NOT a good mom. She and Christian Bale should both get Oscar nominations. Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg may as well.

The seven sisters (of Mickey and Dicky) in this film are hilarious. They are tough as nails, bitchy, nasty, East Coast Irish with sky-high bangs and really, really bad hair in general. These women made me laugh each time they were on scene. I love actors.

If you like great acting, muscular chests or fight films, put this one in your queue.

True Grit (2010)

I was stressing about this one. I adore the original with John W, and I really didn't want the remake to mess that up.

Luckily the Coen brothers directed this, and they are geniuses. This movie was beautiful - literally and figuratively. The cinematography is stunning, and the shots were set up by someone who knew what they were doing.

The movie was grittier in terms of lighting and cleanliness and the villains' teeth. I like that - I like a gritty movie. The villains were perfectly cast, but then I thought they were perfect in the original. The acting is often better in this one. Glenn Ford was never my favorite as LaBeouf, but Matt Damon takes this character to a new place. As with many Coen brother characters, he's more of a buffoon here, which is fun. The same is true with Josh Brolin's Tom Chaney. The actors in this movie have so much fun with their voices it is a joy to watch.

There are the two main characters: Rooster and Mattie. Jeff Bridges is awesome. I don't think he tries to be John Wayne, which helps. Hailee Steinfeld is, I think, better than Kim Darby. Kim was excellent with the dialog, but more childish. Hailee seems like a more mature 14 year old, and she is just as good with the dialog, maybe better, than Kim.

The dialog - what to say? One thing that makes this movie better than the original, I believe, is that it has more of the Charles Portis dialog from the book. There is no describing it: very stylized, verbose, perfect. Please, please go watch this one.

Eat Pray Love (2010)

This is a really bad movie. I read the book, and I liked it (which means a lot of people have made fun of me), so I wondered how the movie would turn out. It's a talkie book, which is often hard to translate to film. The reviews told me this was a bad one, but I had to check it out for myself.

Julia Roberts plays Elizabeth Gilbert, a writer who goes through a rough divorce. To recover she spends 4 months in Italy to eat, 4 months in India to pray, and 4 months in Bali to find balance - but there she also found love. (The book is a memoir of her year.)

Elizabeth Gilbert had Julia Roberts play her in the movie - how's that for an ego boost? And the love interest is Javier Bardem, which is just unfair. This movie has a lot going for it: beautiful locations, great performances (Richard Jenkins, Billy Crudup, James Franco, Viola Davis - plus the leads), a great Eddie Veder song during the credits.

Here is what it needs: editing - holy shit - this needs editing; better dialog; way less shots of food, food being prepared, food being chewed. This was a boring movie much of the time, with sticky sweetness thrown in to make it boring and nauseating.

Detective Story (1951)

This is a William Wyler film, which explains why I could not stop watching even though it really wasn't my thing. Wyler was an amazing director: Funny Girl, Roman Holiday, The Best Years of Our Lives - these are just a few of his movies that are proof of his skill.

This one stars Kirk Douglas as a very, very hard nosed detective who does not understand that bad people can do good things and good people can do bad things. He thinks of himself as only good, on the side of all that is right, but of course he is wrong. It is really, super, extra special melodramatic, which was a style that I have never learned to love. Nevertheless, I could not stop watching this one.

If you like Wyler, Kirk Douglas, old cars or old police dramas, pick this one up.

Inception (2010)

This one will be up for some awards (already is at the Golden Globes), and it should be nominated. This is a beautiful film with an incredible vision. I think a lot of people said that about Avatar last year, but this movie has more than just cartoon people to speak for it. This movie actually has an interesting story and great performances.

There have been a few movies this year that try to keep you guessing about what is really happening. Black Swan is a great one. Shutter Island was not so great, and it also starred Leo. I don't think Leo had to stretch himself much for either one, but Inception is a far more interesting and nuanced film. Leo is a corporate spy who gets his information by invading his target's dreams. The effects here are amazing. I particularly liked the no gravity scenes.

It's hard to keep track of all the dreams, who is doing what to whom, etc., but the movie tries to help. Ariadne (Ellen Page), actually asks at one point - Wait, who's dream is this? Or something along those lines. It's very hard to keep track.

The best acting in the film is Marion Cotillard. She plays a sinister character, but she doesn't overact. She is a controlled evil character, which is much more fun and scary to me. Also, Marion one a best actress Oscar for La Vie en Rose, about the life of Edith Piaf. Piaf's most famous song is Je ne Regrette Rien, which is the song used in Inception to kick the dreamers awake. Also, her name is Mal in this movie, which is French for bad. Do you think these facts could possibly be a coincidence? I do not. I love that kind of shit. Thanks to the director, Christopher Nolan, this film kept me mainly interested.

I love Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and he was woefully underused. Too bad.

Go see Black Swan! (2010)

Psycho sexual thriller. Are there three better words put together in our language? Maybe macaroni and cheese. Sky-high heels. I don't know. When a movie is put together this well, psycho sexual thriller might beat eating a great bowl of Mac while wearing your favorite stilettos.

I haven't liked a movie this much in a long time. Winter's Bone rocked, and I want to see it again, but this blew me away! You have got to go watch Natalie Portman. She is the gal to beat for Best Actress at this time. In one movie she plays sweet and virginal, a repressed daughter isolated by an overbearing mother, an ambitious dancer, a paranoid member of the troup, a dancer being eaten alive by her role, a sexual predator. The fear that shows on her face, the nervousness that suddenly will transform to avaricious hunger and control, is amazing.

I cannot believe Darren Aronofsky pulled this off. On its face, this should be a nutty horror film, but with acting and editing and cinematography and so much creativity and MOOD, this is a ride in somebody's mind. I think it's a ride in Aronofsky's mind, with Natalie as a translator. She needs a bunch of awards for this one.

Rare Exports - A Christmas Tale (2010)

Doesn't this sound like it could be a documentary about Christmas? You should tell your friends that it's a documentary, or a heartwarming tale of Christmas magic / miracles, and drag them to the cinema. You may never hear the end of it.

This is a Finnish import. Apparently, Finland was the real home of the real Santa. Only he wasn't a jolly old elf, he was a demon who liked to eat children. His elves were really his minions, running around collecting kids, etc. Hundreds of years ago the townspeople trapped him in the ice, but now some idiot Russian has excavated him. Crap. It's almost Christmas and Santa's coming! The children start disappearing, and nobody understands what's happening except for one little boy.

I really, really enjoyed this. I would call it a thriller / comedy / horror film, but whatever the genre, it's well done. The production quality is great, the dialog is funny, the men are stupid reindeer hunters, the scenery is amazing. There are no women in the film. I would like an explanation about the source of the children, but hey, this is the movies.

There is no gore. All the (human) dying is implied and takes place off-screen - I believe. Don't quote me. I recommend this one - try to catch it on Christmas Eve.

Kick-Ass (2010)

There are parts of this movie that are laugh out-loud funny, and then there are parts that really suck. Overall, tho, if you like alternative action, spoofs, satires or comic books, pick this one up.

The basic story: a high school non-entity wants to be a superhero (Kick-Ass), so he orders a costume and a mask and gets the crap beat out of him. Along the way, tho, he actually does some deeds that are a bit impressive, the deeds get posted online, and he develops a fan following. Pretty soon he runs into a real superhero (of the Batman genre), known as Big Daddy (Nic Cage) and Big Daddy's daughter, a ten-year old known as Hit Girl.

Hit Girl does not get top billing, but she should - she IS the show. Played by Chloe Moretz, this little girl is a foul-mouthed fighting machine. She rocks. I would like to see more Hit Girl. Kick Ass is pretty funny, too, but the movie gets distracted by unneeded, stupid sub-plots. Kick-Ass as his high school self plays gay to get a girl. Big Daddy has a vendetta / rivalry with the local drug kingpin (Mark Strong), while his former cop partner wants him to give Mindy / Hit Girl a normal childhood. These sub-plots should have been edited out, and there should have been more scenes like Kick-Ass and Red Mist dancing to Gnarls Barkley in the car, being total dorks. Those scenes gave the movie a light silliness which nicely offsets Hit Girl unleashing HELL on Mark Strong's henchmen.

Yep - Mark Strong once again plays a bad guy, and his not-very-good NY accent slips in and out of use here. Nic Cage starts out as a ridiculous cheese-ball character, which works all right for him, but then he slips into downright crap acting and he's the Nic we know and love to hate. It's good to be reliable.

BTW, why do publicity shots of an 11 year old try to make her look sexy? Eeew. Still, if you like to see people take a chance with a film and a genre, even if it doesn't totally work, rent this one.

The Sunshine Boys (1975)

This stars George Burns, of vaudeville, radio, film and TV fame. He was entertainment royalty. His partner, the other half of the Sunshine Boys, is Walter Matthau. Together they play an old (as in aged, no longer working, with all their friends dying) vaudeville team who is asked to rehearse one last performance for a TV show about the history of comedy. The money is good, but there is a problem: they haven't spoken in years as Matthau's Clark hates Burns' Lewis. (They are Lewis and Clark, the Sunshine boys.)

The vaudeville sketch does not hold up at all (in my mind). I do not see vaudeville as funny - the jokes are too broad, too coarse. Perhaps people who enjoy the Three Stooges will find it funny. But these two performers are impeccable. They have timing and delivery that is educational to watch. Their fights and dialog as two old friends are amazing. I would recommend this for anyone who appreciates great performances.

Sex and the City 2

This movie is so bad it is scary. I am really, really disappointed. Let me describe the badness. The dialog is bad. The supposed stress that each gal is experiencing is mostly phony and forced and - bad. Liza Minelli officiates Stanford's marriage, and she can barely talk - her face is really frozen. It's bad. The plot is choppy and boring. Samantha is no longer interesting, just crude. Why did they give her such terrible lines? There are tons of one-liners, but many made me cringe.

Miley Cyrus is cute; Penelope Cruz is hot and charming, Liza's dance scene is fun. But the girls? Their part was a big, fat, dirty let-down.

I loved the show, I loved the first movie, and I really, really always loved the clothes. I never thought I would say this, but the clothes were not enough to save this crappy movie.