I Love You Phillip Morris

Essentially a prison-break version of "Catch Me if You Can," with which it has in common both true-life roots and a level of repetition that begins to border on exhausting.

At one late point, the main character receives a hearty slap to the face; this would have made a perfect final moment, as the rebuke could have been seen as final retribution upon the guy on behalf of the "slappee," of society, and of course, the audience.

Gulliver's Travels

Perfectly livable movie, elevated above direct-to-DVD status by the intro "Ice Age" short and the Black-led musical number at the end.

You know who I'd REALLY love to see update the Gulliver story, is Whoopi Goldberg!

The Tourist

I wasn't expecting a lot from this movie, but it ended up being very pleasant & enjoyable.

Of course, I couldn't watch it again, because knowing what we know at the end, much of what preceded makes little sense.

The King's Speech

Not just worthy of any award it receives, this one is actually fun to watch-- and you know who I'd like to watch it with?

The subject's daughter-- the Queen of England.

The Tempest

This film completely harkens back to the big-budget special-effects spectacles of the 1960s-- yes, it is THAT wretched.

I love Julie Taymor's prior work, but I think this time she's had a bad reaction to her meds.

How Do You Know

Despite having a cast of insufferable actors and Paul Rudd, this movie actually works.

It rises above the level of "romantic comedy" to that of a movie that often turns out to be funny.

Tron: Legacy

Like "Star Wars" without the heart.

Like a video game without the satisfaction.

Tangled

This is the closest Disney has come in SO LONG to its old fairy-tale magic, with humor, cool sights, a couple of good songs, and tributes to the classics weaved throughout.

They would have come a lot closer, though, if they could have dumped the CG rendering of the story for a traditional-style approach.

Love & Other Drugs

Much more yelling, & much more nudity, than I expected--but I guess somehow those things do go together, yah?

Much funnier than could have been reasonably anticipated.

127 Hours

I tend not to love pics where I know how things end; blame this for me avoiding "Titanic" (or you could blame Celine Dion, that's also a strong reason).

Though I still find the overall subject tedious, and I wouldn't choose to see the movie again, I do find the stylization very interesting and worth viewing.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

The first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in addition to having some shocking action moments, does a wonderful job of character development, as it brings so many loose ends toward a touching close.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really do this, so you should really read the book.

Burlesque

Ended up being way too much of a... uhm... whatever the heck it was.

I wish someone would tell Cher it's OKAY to be an old lady; the wig & spackle budget here musta been WAY through the roof.

Morning Glory

I sure do love a good newsroom comedy.

Oops-- I do apologize for completely changing the subject!

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest

The final film in the trilogy had me on the edge of my seat, mesmerized as I probably haven't been since-- well, probably not since The Girl Who Played with Fire.

These movies are so good, that I'm really scared by the prospect of the upcoming American remakes--why try to redo a perfect product?

Megamind

Technically amazing; the exloding & shattering buildings are breathtaking.

Would that so much care had been given to crafting a funny, or even interesting, story.

Action Replayy

As far as movies about guys going back into the past to make their parents fall in love go, this one ends up being a lot less funny that it could be, sadly.

What it's got over that '80s movie, though, is singing & dancing, an over-the-top flying time machine, and a much better-looking cast.

Golmaal 3

I was happy to see the gang back (if you've not seen the previous films, don't worry--it actually makes less sense if you have), but the whole thing would have been a lot tighter and funnier if they'd killed the Puppy.

Not as bothersome, but really quite shocking, was the long and intense session of 3-on-2, male-on-male assplay.

Fair Game

The film that proves a man named "Scooter" can be much more evil than his name might imply.

The film's biggest drawback is director Doug Liman's decision to apparently shoot it himself on his own handheld videorecorder.

Monsters

I do appreciate that rather being a big, explosion-y, look-at-the-looming-monster-y type of alien invasian movie, this is more about the journey of and relationship between the two leads.

It's a good thing, too, considering the loony octopus-on-lobster-legs, floaty-pasted-over-CGI look of the beasts.

Hereafter

Clint Eastwood is such an awesome filmmaker; print out a list of his works, tack it on a wall, throw a dart & go see that movie-- you can't go wrong!

Unless your unfortunate dart lands on the title of THIS interminably long, lethargic, boring and lifeless turkey.

Due Date

Funny, but not as funny as I'd hoped.

Much funnier than can have been expected, however, considering it was cobbled together by no fewer than four writers.

Rifftrax Live: The House on Haunted Hill

The original movie makes almost no sense--and has almost nothing for an ending--so I can say that giving it the MST3K treatment is doing it a HUGE favor.

My favorite film of the event, though, was the "Bewitched"-inspired supermarket witch in "Magical Disappearing Money."

Inside Job

Earnest but head-scrambling indictment of the conscience-deprived bastards responsible for our financial crisis.

Michael Moore covered this ground more effectively a year ago with "Capitalism: A Love Story."

Nowhere Boy

A fun-to-watch movie, even for non-Beatles fans--though it does drag a bit, and gets too worshipful at the end.

I shall look forward to a companion film; may I suggest the title "L'il Yoko!"

Red

Helen Mirren as a bazooka-toting action star-- what's not to love?

If there's a sequel, I'd like to see Michael Caine in there somehow.

Waiting for "Superman"

Many storylines, one of which gets dropped too early, and another which barely gets handled at all.

Nevertheless, the movie certainly succeeds in its job of depressing the viewer about the modern state of public education.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Wow, what a surprisingly creative & touching movie.

It also happens to be much more than just "kind of" funny.

The Social Network

I was struck from the first scene by the excellent writing, and subsequently engaged by the amazing performances, direction, and editing.

Mind you, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn't come off as such a good guy--
--but on the other hand, I'm not going to jump the fence to MySpace, which just looks like something someone peeled up after sweeping the floor.

Heartbreaker

It's a comedy that's so funny & well-done, I hate to admit it's also a romantic comedy--and French.

Of course, an American company has already snapped up remake rights, & I just know they're gonna ruin it with someone like Aniston or Heigl.

Easy A

Pays tribute to John Hughes, but totally surpasses him.

But (*spoiler*), what's this whole ridiculous thing about Lisa Kudrow giving chlamydia to a gay guy?!?

Soul Kitchen

It's German, it's about food--but don't worry, it's not about German food (well, the word "schnitzel" is uttered once)!

Certainly interesting enough, but I think the film would have had a lot more soul if it'd had a lot more kitchen.

Going the Distance

It's so rare when something that can be called a "romantic comedy" actually turns out to be funny.

Jennifer Aniston could absolutely never pull this off.

The American

Nothing happens, so it can't be an action film; anyone can predict how it'll end, so it's not a mystery.

I guess we can call its genre either "uncategorizable," or "a complete waste of time."

Lebanon

Intense, confusing, and hard to see the damned point.

So, I guess it's probably very much like real war.

Takers

Seeing that it took five people to write the movie, it's a good guess that it's not going to be exactly good-- and in fact, while loud & fast-cut, it feels extremely plodding and long.

The good news is that I was right in my prediction that Hayden "Another Sign of a Bad Movie" Christensen's character would be the first to die.

The Tillman Story

We finally get an inside look at Pat Tillman's family, and how they fought to get at the truth of the military/government coverup that turned his friendly-fire death into an epic Fox News myth.

The movie is well-put together, with my only frustration being that of watching key players blatantly lie and walk away with smirks on their faces.

The Other Guys

The film that deftly juggles being funnier than could have been expected, sporadically funny, and not all that funny at all.

SamJack & The Rock have too little screentime, Marky Mark is ill-suited in his role, and Doofus is just a drag.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Visually stunning and hilarious from the very first moments-- and I mean IMMEDIATELY, & all the way up until the end.

I left wanting not only to read the entire manga series, but also to sit in front of the movie theater door, waiting for the sequel to arrive.

The Extra Man

It's billing itself as "a sexless new comedy," and while that's pretty much true, it somehow still manages to be oddly kinky.

It's also quietly very funny-- very much funnier than most so-called comedies.

Salt

Inception is getting the attention, but this is by far the more exciting movie.

Probably the least predictable film I've seen so far this year.

Dinner for Schmucks

This movie came as a complete SHOCK in that it was actually very funny-- much funnier than I would have dared even imagine.

I've already put the French original (and the subsequent Hindi version) in my Netflix queue.

The Mouse That Soared

An orphaned mouse is adopted and raised by a pair of birds.

Awesome.

The Kids are Alright

Not sure what I thought of it--a little unpolished, a little predictable, a dissapointing ending--but it was ALRIGHT.

Not sure about casting Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk, though (hope he'll be alright).

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Some people might not realize that this is the same "girl" as in the last film-- so a better title might be, "The Girl, with the Dragon Tattoo, Who Played with Fire."

Anyhow, it's another scandalous mystery, and it got exciting fast, & stayed exciting.

Hubble (IMAX)

The biggest attraction of this IMAX documentary is the amazing views of galaxies far beyond our own.

These segments of the film--the ones containing actual Hubble images--should replace the tired "planetarium shows" in most science museums.

Inception

Fascinating idea that, once it gets started, goes full-speed-ahead with the capital-A Action, taking no more time to dare get ponderous.

It was so relentlessly loud, I had a hell of a time trying to get to sleep.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The first minute or two were enough to make me want to walk out, and the ending wasn't that much better-- but the middle was midly entertaining, certainly no worse than I'd been expecting for this movie.

I did like the nod to Mickey (two nods, if you stay to the end of the credits).

Kisses

Short and (bitter-)sweet, this movie bowled me over with its display of rarely-to-be-seen minimalist perfection.

The only problem I had with the film was the fact that its Irish accents needed more subtitling than they received.

Despicable Me

The little girl seems so much like the one from "Monsters, Inc.," the minions remind me of the "Toy Story" aliens, and the "other" bad guy brought to mind the Edith Head character from "The Incredibles."

Whatever-- the movie made me laugh, a lot.

Restrepo

I get that they're spending a year with soldiers stationed at "the most dangerous place on earth," but I don't get-- whatever it is they want us to get.

The impression with which I was left was that everyone, including the leader, was inexperienced & unprepared, and that we're all best off far away from there.