Hey, it's that time again to give my quick reviews of the movies I watched from January to March this year.
I was a bit disappointed as a whole. I didn't watch my normal amount (too busy watching really great television shows on DVD like Battlestar Galactica and The Wire), but usually I hit two or three really great movies every quarter. Not this one. Saw a number of good ones, but no great ones.
Not to give anyone any reason not to read the next few days of review posts; just want to prepare you.
As always, an "A" (which you won't find this time) is a great film in almost all areas.
A "B" is very good.
A "C" has flaws, but is ultimately enjoyable (I'll usually give the strong/weak points in my review).
A "D" may have one good performance or enough decent lines to make it worth watching if there's absolutely nothing else to watch.
An "F" is pure shit with no redeeming value.
And, as always, these are movies I watched on DVD unless I note otherwise. Why's that important? Movies I see in the theatre tend to get about a half-grade higher just because of the entire experience. A mediocre movie can seem pretty good on the big screen (at least the movies I tend to spend my good money on).
And, finally, these are just my gut feelings. Sometimes it's 2-3 months since I've watched a movie before I write the review, and I try to be as honest as I can (there were 2 or 3 movies I outright admitted I could barely remember-- but keep in mind: if it was worthwhile, I'd remember something about it). I also try to group them by grade, so if I remember liking movie "A" more than movie "B", I grade it higher. Over the course of the quarter, I think I rank them pretty well compared to each other.
Okay, here goes:
Batman: Gotham Knight—An anime-inspired look at the Dark Knight in an anthology form. I’m not an anime-hater (as little as I’ve been exposed), but the art did nothing for me. As with most anthologies, there were one or two good stories mixed in with the mediocre ones, but none of them really stood out. And even though they got people from another culture to work on the character, they all felt familiar to stories I’ve seen/read before. Could have been worse—but could have been better. C+
Burn After Reading—Like many Coen Brothers movies, this one had great acting, great dialogue, and a plot that seems to be held together by nothing more than chewing gum. It was tricky to follow at times, but I think that helped show how all these various parties ended up being affected by each other when they don’t travel in the same circles. I also thought the ending was great—but could only work in a movie like this. The Coens walk a tightrope, and while this movie wasn’t brilliant, their work—as well as the great actors who turned it up a notch for them—made this one worth seeing; even if it’s not always easy to follow. B
Driving Lessons— Nice enough story, but I feel I’ve seen it before. Nothing memorable about it. C-
Expelled— I wasn’t sure what to expect at first as I believe in evolution, and this documentary tried to explain that “Intelligent Design” needs to be a part of the conversation. I’m not against that, actually; I believe that the world would be a better place if religious people and non-religious people could just find some sort of common ground. Ben Stein, the star/co-writer of this doc seems to agree. The main thesis of the doc was that Intelligent Design could easily explain some of the issues with Darwin’s findings (many of which have been refuted or “corrected” by scientific finds since then), so it should also be considered when discussing the origins of life. I have no problem with that other than I don’t want investigation of the beginning of life to end just because the point is reached that it can’t be yet explained, and the scientific community just chalks it up to ID. Science expands our knowledge of life every year, so what we don’t know now may be discovered later.
Anyway, this movie claims that people who mention Intelligent Design in their papers and work get fired or taken off projects just for speaking their minds. As more and more instances were related, the movie tried to explain that this is more and more like how the Nazis behaved. The point hit a crescendo when Hitler’s beliefs in a superior race were explained and found to be copacetic with the basics of Darwinian evolution (which is pretty absurd; Hitler was a nutcase, and most people who believe in evolution are not). If humans helped along the “survival of the fittest” by exterminating disabled or “inferior” races, then the result would be a “perfect” race. That may be what Hitler believed, but I doubt many scientists would agree to do that.
Just at the point where I was compelled to turn off the movie (what’s worse than Hitler?), the tone of the movie made an abrupt shift and basically asked why can’t ID be a part of evolution? Finally, a rational argument. But it came too late. I admit to learning that ID is not strictly a religious matter, and that most ID proponents don’t like how some of the Fundamentalists have co-opted the belief , but the movie basically did what I grew tired of in the early 2000’s— used fear to get their point across. No one should be shut out of the conversation, but I’m sure there are very good reasons why ID can’t always be considered, if only for the thing I mentioned above: it’s an “easy out”. C+
The Fall— Beautifully shot. This film was amazing to look at. But the plot was hard to follow at times. I had no idea what was real or not some of the times, or how it all tied together. Also of note was the acting by Catinca Untaru, who was only nine years old when the film was released (probably eight, at most, when it was being filmed). She really had to hit some emotional things actors much older than her would have trouble with. B
Forgetting Sarah Marshall—One of those Judd Apatow-like movies about men who still act like boys; but one that didn’t cross as many lines (and thusly allowed me to just enjoy the movie). There were awkward moments that could have derailed the momentum of the film, but writer/star Jason Segal kept everything together as few actors could. This film followed the usual guy gets dumped and meets new girl and then loses new girl, etc plot, but there was enough unique moments in between that it didn’t feel stale. Plus, the film showed me what Russell Brand is capable of in a comedy (I wasn’t terribly impressed watching his stand-up routine on Comedy Central). Good stuff. B+
Fred Claus—A kid movie that could have easily been watered down, but somehow, it was pretty watchable as an adult. You probably wouldn’t think of Vince Vaughn to star in your PG-rated movie, but he had his usual film persona (if toned down for the PG rating), and it gave a bit of an edge to the film. And Paul Giamatti (who was his usual excellent self) got a bit of a break by being St. Nick, so he didn’t have to play the Type-A dick he mostly plays. And while Elizabeth Banks has been in quite a few films lately, she’s always great to watch work (even if she didn’t have a big role). B+
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