Forgetting Sarah Marshall

As far as comedies go, this is definitely one of the better ones. The actors are great, the story is fun and interesting, the location is new and fresh and the emotions feel genuine. It's just one of those movies that you watch to make yourself feel happy. It is not, however, a movie that you put on to learn about how real life works. There aren't really any useable lessons about breakups in this flick, nor are there any real lessons about relationships: it's all about the entertainment, so it sticks to predictability. Despite that, it never feels stale or "factory-produced", much like Knocked Up and The 40-Year Old Virgin.

Only one real solution for dealing with breakups is ever given (other than "be lucky", I guess), and the rest of the film is based around building up motivation for it. The solution? Go out and do something!

In a sentence:

A top-notch comedy that is very motivational, funny and entertaining. Having actors like Bell, Curtis and Segel certainly doesn't hurt either!

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Michael Jackson's This Is It

Well, as sad as it is that the actual "This Is It" show never happened, this is pretty much the best thing we can get, now. The documentary is very thorough in showing preparation, set design, and of course Jackson's health and mentality, and gives a pretty great idea of how incredible these shows would have been. The editing makes the best of the available footage, which isn't always of very good quality, but is always watchable and never impertinent.

There is one downside. A big part of watching this is to see how well MJ still performed days before his death. This being rehearsal footage, we never get to see him at his 100%: he always mentions that he is saving his voice and energy for the real shows. Despite this, no doubt is left that MJ was still quite on top of his game by the end of the movie. His rehearsal of Billy Jean in particular is incredible for a 50 year old: the fact remains that even at 60% effort, he remains an incredible showman.

In a sentence:

Tells you everything you can know about what MJ's This Is It show would have been like. Answer: incredible.

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Sideways

This film is a very smart and very character-driven road movie, which explores the surprisingly interesting and deep world of wine. It also spends a lot of time exploring the two main characters' bad personality traits, and the effects on the two female secondary characters, in a surprisingly human and deep way. The acting is absolutely brilliant, the writing is subtle yet precise, and the cinematography does justice to the beauty of Californian wine country.

A great and intelligent movie to watch if the somewhat tame subject matter doesn't scare you.

In a sentence:

Incredible acting and great writing are aplenty in this very deep and emotional character piece.

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Up In The Air

What made this film so interesting to me was that it explores themes, dreams and values that I can really relate to at this point, such as traveling and isolation. In terms of analyzing this lifestyle, the movie raises more questions than it gives answers. In the end, it's up to the viewer to decide which philosophy makes the most sense, which is pretty cool.

Then you've got the acting, which is phenomenal across the board, and the writing, which is witty and seems to have a perfect understanding of its characters, and people in general. Cinematography-wise, it's generally pretty subtle, but it works well.

In a sentence:

A fascinating look and analysis of the frequent flyer and isolated businessman, along with a few other lifestyles, all wrapped in great writing, acting and cinematography.

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Right, well, as you can guess from pretty much any marketing material from this film, this is a very very strange movie. The backstory slowly gets unfolded and explained throughout the movie, but even at the end of it, it is insane. Still, somehow, Gilliam manages to keep it all together and understandable, even believable at parts. In the end, the story doesn't really leave you with anything at all; it's more about the journey than anything else.

Heath Ledger's last performance, however, is only "good", and hardly as memorable as the Joker. Still, the other actors play their parts wonderfully (I especially liked the guy playing the Devil), and the cameos from Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Johnny Depp to fill in Ledger's missing bits make a surprising amount of sense.

In a sentence:

An insane movie that nonetheless stays faithful to its own reinvented logic, with some great performances and some mediocre ones. It is a fairy tale for adults and druggies.

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Sherlock Holmes

This is surprisingly great for what could have been a complete disaster to reboot! What really stands out is Robert Downey Jr.'s acting, which is hilarious, fascinating, eccentric and witty all at the same time. He is complimented very well by Jude Law, and the chemistry between the two is about as good as it gets. The plot and writing are both markedly above-average for a popcorn flick, with some pretty good intrigue and an ending that successfully wraps up everything with a bit of nostalgia. The action and cinematography are both top-notch and original, and fit surprisingly well with all the Sherlock Holmes detective work.

Definitely one to watch, especially if you're into the whole Poe, macabre 1800s London thing.

In a sentence:

One of the best reboots I've seen so far, with wonderful acting, cinematography, pacing, action and a better-than-expected plot.

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Funny People

This is a strange movie. It seems like it'll be a comedy, but it's actually a drama with one or two jokes thrown in. It seems like it'll be a short-and-sweet type of thing, but it's actually very long and very drawn out, with two entirely different sections of the story (before and after he learns that he's not going to die). And most of all, it seems like it'll be pretty entertaining like Judd Apatow's previous films, but it's actually horribly dull.

The performances are pretty decent, but at no point does this film feel even remotely pertinent or meaningful. It's just about following Adam Sandler around as he goes through a series of mostly mundane things. There is never really any point, and any attempt at being poignant and emotional fails quietly.

Still, it's not a bad film; I can kind of see what the director was going for initially... it's just that whatever that was, he didn't succeed, and ended up with this instead.

In a sentence:

Ridiculously drawn out, dull and uninteresting, but with some decent performances and otherwise good writing.

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Avatar

Sweet friggin' mother of giant rabid monkeys on chocolate-covered sticks in HELL!! This movie's visuals are beyond words. Every single shot has you nearly in tears at how gorgeous it is. The 3D, which feels a bit odd at first, eventually becomes a gigantic visual boost that actually serves the experience instead of being gimmicky. The actual design of the world, the fauna and flora, the Na'vi and every other tiny thing in the movie is incredibly intricate and complete. There is enough material hinted at in this movie to make a whole saga (Star Wars, anyone?) without running out of ideas and new things to explore. The acting of the Na'vi is now perfectly on par with actual humans in terms of believability (the main female protagonist is in fact probably the most lifelike character in the film), thanks to advanced motion capture and rendering.

The main criticism everyone has had with this film is the story, mainly pertaining to the fact that it's basically a rehashing of existing ideas. Personally, I don't give a rat's ass if the story elements or structure are not totally new if the emotional and narrative effect is nonetheless positive. I really managed to connect to the world and feel for the characters, and I feel nostalgic about the movie as I write this, which tells me that the story did something right. I'd compare it to Star Wars, which was also a rehashing of age-old story structures and elements... but it's a rehashing done right, damn it, and that's worthy of some praise as well!

This will probably be the first movie that I will see three times in theatres, because after all, the experience of watching this in 3D in HD on a large screen won't be achievable in living rooms for another few years. Somehow, something feels historic about this flick, and I'm not going to miss out on that!

Now bring on the sequel!

In a sentence:

A new cinematic milestone that will likely become the Star Wars of the new millennium. Possibly better.

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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

First of all, the movie poster for this is awful, so don't let that subconsciously affect your opinion. In reality, the cinematography in this film is incredibly artful and beautiful to look at. The writing is also extremely advanced, which results in a certain level of difficulty understanding what is going on and what the characters are saying (concentration is a must), but I found it to be more of a challenge than an annoyance. At any rate, when you do understand, it's a lot of fun: the chemistry between Kilmer and Downey Jr. is fantastic, as is their acting, and the narrator breaks the fourth wall constantly which adds a lot to this film's originality and quirkiness. Thematically, this is a very dark film, but the humour and the characters end up making this more of a light-hearted affair. This is a great film to watch if you're looking for something intelligent and mature, but funny and original.

In a sentence:

Incredible cinematography, original and quirky writing and fantastic acting make this one of the best Noire films I've seen.

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Death At A Funeral

This is a fantastic british black comedy, and is one of those little gems that never really got the attention it deserved. It's also getting an american remake with all african american characters, which kind of goes to show that this was maybe a little too smart for some. It's very much a crescendoing movie: it starts out calmly funny, and gradually ascends into total insanity. I rarely laugh out loud when I watch something by myself, but some parts of this had me holding back bursts of laughter. There's just something about British humour that gets to me, especially when it is so flawlessly acted as this film. Definitely one to watch if you're looking for some smart, insane and very dark comedy.

In a sentence:

Very funny and very crazy movie that features some top-notch acting and a definite British flair.

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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

While this looks like just another cash grab generic family movie, this is in fact loads of fun and reminded me a lot of my simpler elementary school days when history and science were actually fun. Although the story itself is rudimentary at best, the characters, jokes, simplified history and science references and personality of this movie more than make up for it. It's just one of those movies that you just can't finish watching without a smile on your face.

In a sentence:

Although it is simplistic and spews out a lot of commonly accepted falsities, this is one of those rare movies that manages to make you feel like a kid again.

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Law Abiding Citizen

This is certainly an entertaining movie, what with all the ridiculous death scenes and Gerard Butler's total badassism, but that's pretty much it for this flick. It does hurl the "the justice system is corrupt!" message at you pretty much continually, which I guess is a good thing to do, ignoring the fact that subtlety is thrown out the window. And when comes the time to explain how the guy has been pulling off everything during the movie, the writers have backed themselves into such a tight corner that the answer is just as ridiculous and over the top as everything else before it.

It's worth watching as entertainment, but it still comes off as a failed attempt at being poetic.

In a sentence:

Cool acting from Butler, intense death scenes, good cinematography, but just... silly.

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Featured Review

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Michael Jackson's This Is It

Sideways

Up In The Air

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Sherlock Holmes

Funny People

Avatar

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Death At A Funeral

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Law Abiding Citizen

Eric's Reviews

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