Safe House
Directed by Daniel Espinosa
Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepherd and Robert Patrick
Release Date: February 10, 2012

Corruption at the top of any organization is a touchy subject for a director to be curious about. When done right, a film depicting corruption, like Polanski’s Chinatown or The Ghost Writer, is an impressive and immersive experience. Navigating through the hypocrisy and crookedness is an act of a polished director at the top of his craft who wants to enlighten audiences about reality, not entertain them. Swedish director Daniel Espinosa is introducing himself to American audiences with a hesitating and not so sharp portrait of corruption. He wants to exploit the supposed corruption occurring in intelligence units across the world, such as CIA agents and M16 agents. Instead of having a firm and confident command on a narrative structure that would get his point across, all of his energy is directed toward articulating sensational action scenes that reek of implausibility. Espinosa has an interesting foundation to build upon thanks to David Guggenheim‘s script. Coherency and logic, though, are neglected, and an overwhelming amount of dynamism is relied on to entertain audiences, dismissing words and dialogue for guns and fists of fury [...]

Kill List
DIRECTOR: Ben Wheatley
WRITER: Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump
STARRING: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer, Struan Rodger
IFC Films
RELEASE DATE: US: February 3, 2012 (limited), Available on VOD now; UK: DVD l Blu-ray

Sometimes filmmakers enjoy the art of implication, and sometimes they prefer to leave entire chunks of important information unshared, both allowing for an audience (or forcing them) to use their own creative juices to come to certain conclusions. The Coen brothers, for example, are quite renowned for this very thing at the end of their movies—though performed at a master-filmmaker level—but not even they always get away with it without facing some heavy scrutiny. [...]

The Grey
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Starring Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo, Dermont Mulroney, Nonso Anozie, and Joe Anderson
Release Date: January 27, 2012

Unemotional deaths and the exaggerated ways in which death is executed are prodigious in the early months of the new year. Most films are determined to sink into an atmosphere that doesn’t demand any coherence or meaning to death. Audiences are forcibly taught to observe an uncountable number of deaths, each one determined to be more outrageous, blood-soaked, and meaningless as the next. Not only these early months but also throughout the entire year death is hardly handled appropriately. So when a director arrives with a film that is assuredly acquainted with dealing with death reverently, almost piously, it deserves our utmost attention [...]

Perfect Sense
DIRECTOR: David Mackenzie
WRITER: Kim Fupz Aakeson
STARRING: Eva Green, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Connie Nielsen
IFC Films
RELEASE DATE: US: February 3, 2012 (limited); UK: DVD Pre-Order; Also available on VOD services now

When it comes to difficult decisions, choosing which of the best-known apocalyptic scenarios—post-nuclear, zombie, viral, alien invasion, natural disasters, the rise of the machines, and so on—you’d rather deal with is probably about as difficult as they come. None of those sound very fun at all. Unless of course you’ve seen too many movies or played too many video games and think that you could flourish in such an environment, in which case I wish you the very best of luck, Mad Max. [...]

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Directed by David Fincher
Written by Steven Zallian
Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgard, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Goran Visnjic, Joely Richardson
Release Date: December 20, 2011

Crusading journalist and magazine publisher Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) has just taken a major hit to his finances and reputation in a libel suit brought against him by billionaire businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström (Ulf Friberg). As he’s trying to figure out his next move while keeping his personal life afloat, Mikael is summoned by retired industrialist Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to his palatial estate on an island in the Swedish countryside. The older gentleman offers the disgraced Blomkvist a golden opportunity that will replenish his bank account and restore his reputation as an honest reporter if he will use his investigative skills to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet, whom he believes was murdered four decades ago. Blomkvist is reluctant to take on such a task, but when Vanger also offers to give him the crucial evidence he needs to bring Wennerström to justice, the embattled writer accepts the job [...]

You’d think that after getting prison-fisted out of a much-deserved Best Director Oscar and with The Social Network losing Best Picture to that stuffy British Costume drama where Colin Firth went F-f-f-full retard, Fight Club and Seven director David Fincher would respond by making some banal and transparent piece of Oscar bait involving…the Holocaust…illiteracy…Southern black maids in the 50s…getting raped in a bar and having Kelly McGillis defend you…the Holocaust…slavery, and INSERT YOUR OWN AWARD-MAGNET TOPIC ________ and just call it For Your Consideration.

But Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is as far away from December Oscarbation (poor kitty!) as you can get, unless there’s an award for Best Sodomy. Tattoo is one of the best thrillers of the year and more than holds its own with (and in some ways trumps) the acclaimed Swedish original. I can’t say how faithful they are to the Steig Larsson books as I’ve never read them [...]

The last time I set foot in the Science Museum of Virginia’s IMAX Dome theater was sixteen years ago. It was a laser light show set to the music of Pink Floyd. That was also the first time I can recall seeing anything on an IMAX screen outside of school field trips, but those were also memorable experiences to be sure.

Last night I went with my friend Mark to see the much-talked-about prologue from next summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, the final film in Christopher Nolan‘s Batman trilogy. I managed to snag a pair of free passes to see it last Friday from the Operation Early Bird site that had been set up as part of the film’s viral marketing campaign. Before that happened the news was that despite the presence of several impressive IMAX screens in my hometown, the prologue would not be screened anywhere in Richmond. The IMAX Dome at the Science Theater is said to be the largest movie screen in the state. Imagine my surprise when this amazing opportunity arose and I had the foresight to not pass it up [...]

The Descendants
Directed by Alexander Payne
Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, Barbara L. Souther and Robert Forster
Release Date: November 16, 2011

Director Alexander Payne‘s films aren’t fashioned with any hidden aims or methods. Slowly revealing to audiences instances that would provide instant revelation isn’t his main concern. He understands the importance of a matter and what the most essential points are to it. In his newest feature, The Descendants, which Payne and screenwriter Nat Faxon adapted from Kaui Hart Hemmings’ 2007 novel, the most essential point is capturing the many facets of humanity. Payne admires human behavior and the incredible yet emotionally painstaking adventures it provides for individuals to travel [...]

Hugo
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone, Helen McCrory, Emily Mortimer, Jude Law
Release Date: November 23, 2011
 

Martin Scorsese encounters no intense turmoil as he thwarts his inner urge to make another violent picture and involves himself with a luminously adventurous 3D film that has a little orphan boy at its center, as well as an immense homage to cinema. In one of the most inventive films of the year, Scorsese’s Hugo is an indelible delight that is meant to enchant audiences of every age. The way he uses this immersive 3D technology is enchantingly beautiful, bringing a distant world and all of its once unexplored recesses into our immediate presence [...]

J. Edgar
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench
Release Date: November 11, 2011

Submerged in sloppy sentiment, J. Edgar, Clint Eastwood‘s latest directorial effort, is unrelieved of its melodramatic characteristics, growing sappier as the film approaches its conclusion. Instead of getting an aggressively bold portrait of J. Edgar Hoover, a man undoubtedly built into the firmament of American history, we get a dreary and almost entirely lifeless (save for Leonardo DiCaprio‘s vigorous performance as Hoover) film that teeters on a precipitous cliff until it finally crumbles and dissolves into a pool of cheap melodrama.

Mr. Eastwood usually navigates keenly the narrow road that divides drama from melodrama. We have been accustomed, to the point of being spoiled, to witness him effortlessly depict his craft in top form in Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby, two films that could have easily mingled with cheap sappiness but instead were rescued by assured direction and consistently intelligent scripts [...]

The Muppets
Directed by James Bodin
Starring Jason Segel, Chris Cooper, Amy Adams, John Henson
Release Date: November 23, 2011

So, let me start this review by saying I wasn’t the hugest fan of The Muppets characters when I was growing up and I’ve never cared for musicals. Even today I have a healthy respect for the fandom and appreciate the iconic nature of Jim Henson’s creations, but am still not what I’d call a fan of the franchise. So with these caveats in mind I may actually be the perfect person to review this film, simply titled The Muppets, or the absolute wrong person.

I sort of stand in parallel to Jason Segel, the star of the film and co-writer. He’s the person really responsible for making the film happen [...]

Melancholia
Directed by Lars von Trier
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, John Hurt, Stellan Skarsgard and Charlotte Rampling
Release Date: November 11, 2011

To watch Terrance Malick’s distinct, creative rendering of the beginning of the universe in The Tree of Life and then experiencing Lars von Trier‘s incendiary vision of the universe plummeting to eventual debris is to witness two artists displaying unseen audacity as they tackle subjects (beginning and end of times) that once seemed un-filmable. The caustic, operatic, haunting and celestial opening shots to von Trier’s Melancholia, which are set to the Tristan and Isolde Prelude in slow motion, depict a world, from an intimate perspective, gradually proceeding to its imminent demise. These horror-laden images, which are intimations of what will transpire later in the film, are surpassingly beautiful and an overwhelming indicator of the astonishing horror and gloom that will pervade the entire film [...]

London Boulevard
DIRECTED BY: William Monahan
WRITTEN BY: William Monahan
STARRING: Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley, Ray Winstone, Anna Friel, David Thewlis, Ben Chaplin, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan
IFC Films
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2011 (on demand); November 11, 2011 (limited theatrical release)

Writer William Monahan has made quite a name for himself as a screenwriter, crafting the scripts for films such as Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies, Edge of Darkness, and The Departed, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Now Monahan is stepping behind the camera for his directorial debut, London Boulevard (which he also wrote), but can he find the same kind of success as the man in charge?

The movie follows Mitchel (Colin Farrell), a very dangerous man who’s just getting out of prison. [...]

The Swell Season
DIRECTORS: Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, Carlo Mirabella-Davis
STARRING: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Seventh Art Releasing
RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011 (limited)

Everyone has those movies they have a certain kind of special attachment to—movies that moved them, that struck an emotional chord, and left a lasting imprint.

For me, one of those movies was 2006′s Once, which tells the story of musician known only as “Guy” who works at his dad’s vacuum repair shop and makes a little extra coin by singing his songs on the streets of Ireland, and the young Czech girl he meets one day (fittingly dubbed “Girl”) who sells flowers and is also a musician. The two form a strong bond through their music and common troubles they have with former lovers, but, as they go on to collaborate on some incredible music together, each is unsure what it is they want in life and for their futures. [...]

Paranormal Activity 3
Directed by Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Written by Christopher B. Landon, Oren Peli
Starring Lauren Bittner, Chloe Csengery, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Jessica Tyler Brown, Dustin Ingram, Katie Featherston, Sprague Grayden
Release Date: October 21, 2011

It was not surprising that Paranormal Activity was turned into a franchise after the original, which was made on a budget of $15,000, made over $100 million at the box office. What is surprising is that Paranormal Activity 3, despite rehashing the same formula as the first two films, still manages to scare people half to death.

The evil is back. The incorporeal evil has been caught on tape again, and this time it has a name… Toby. That’s right, the malevolent entity haunting the family in the Paranormal Activity series is named Toby. At least, that is, according to Kristi (Jessica Tyler Brown), who gives the name to what her sister Katie (Chloe Csengery) thinks is her imaginary friend. Katie and Kristie both learn the hard way that Toby is not imaginary in the first two films, but Paranormal Activity 3 is set in 1988, when the girls are still children living with their mother Julie (Lauren Bittner) and stepdad Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith) [...]

Dream House
Directed by Jim Sheridan
Written by David Loucka
Starring Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare, Elias Koteas
Release Date: September 30, 2011

Jim Sheridan‘s Dream House is a distorting and turning journey of mind-bending proportions, taking elements of popular horror fiction and re-energizing them as 21st century psychological thriller fares. Featuring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, it takes some unexpected detours, complete with some commendable performances.

(A side note: Before I do continue though, let me preface the rest of this review with the fact that I did not see any trailers for Dream House before seeing the film. I’ve been told that Morgan Creek films blew it by including some significant plot revelations in the trailer, so I went into the film fresh – so if you’re interested in seeing this movie, avoid all the trailers!) [...]

May 2010- The Nightmare on Elm Street remake is atrocious. If you’ve had the displeasure of seeing it, not much more needs to be added.
June 2010- The Karate Kid remake makes ton of cash, but everybody over the age of 10 feels unclean after watching it as it’s 30 minutes too long and Jaden Smith is annoying.

October 2011- The Footloose remake gets it right.

Now we wait as Hollywood tries to remake\reboot\re_____ every single film from 1984. Let the laxative work its way into the system as we get sprayed out updated versions of Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Cocoon, and Breakin’. I know, if Breakin’ does well then we get to see the words Electric Boogaloo onscreen again [...]

Judging by the literal handful of people at the screening I attended, The Ides of March will disappear from theaters faster than Ryan Gosling’s last movie Drive. No doubt to make room for The Thing remake/prequel/whatever (I put gun to my head) or the WTeffingF Footloose remake (I pull trigger) due to infect theaters next week.

Too bad. Because The Ides of March asks the eternal question “To what benefit man inherit the Earth if he were to lose his…” yada, yada. Like you care.

See it because it has Ryan Gosling (again) and Paul Giamatti, along with Academy Award winners George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Marisa Tomei all at the top of their game. In that way it’s a lot like last month’s Contagion sporting its Oscar-studded cast, except this time the disease is… power. That was deep [...]

Real Steel
Directed by Shawn Levy
Starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goya
Release Date: October 7, 2011

Let’s clear the air right now, readers. Real Steel is on the surface an homage to the popular kids’ game Rock’em Sock’em Robots. It is hard to dispute that fact and I don’t think that the creators can even deny that there are similarities. What you don’t notice is that under the metal exterior lies a rather human story.

Real Steel‘s focuses on Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), an ex-boxer down on his luck. Once, he went toe to toe with the champ, but as the world changed, so did boxing. Now, only robots compete in the squared circle, but even Charlie’s robot can’t cut a break. Things go from bad to worse when his ex-girlfriend passes away leaving him to care for his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo). Charlie wants nothing to do with the kid and only takes him in exchange for some cash, but eventually he warms to the kid and fights to keep him [...]

Warrior
Directed by Gavin O’Conner
Starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Campana, Kevin Dunn and Kurt Angle
Release Date: September 9, 2011

Warrior is a convincing look at a father and his two sons drowning in innumerable personal grief and universal issues, which result in each of them finding out who they truly are and were. Here is a film about the exploration of our true selves disguised as a mixed martial arts (MMA) movie. It is a visceral and blunt exploration into the anatomy of the alpha male. The subjects are the Conlons, from a working-class Pennsylvania town, who attempt to attain through any means necessary an anchor in which they can cling to when the emergence of reality becomes so widespread and ruthless. The Conlons, Paddy (Nick Nolte) along with his two estranged sons Brendan and Tommy (Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy), decided to dismiss reality and walk away from it, never imagining it would come back and eventually start a war between father and sons and brother against brother [...]