Gamer

September 4, 2009. RUNNING MAN meets GLADIATOR with a touch of
BLADE RUNNER and a dash of FORTRESS. Michael C. Hall is a revelation as the cracker version of Bill Gates. The online game Society is the horrifyingly obvious and natural successor to the Sims. The killer dance number at the end is worth the price of admission alone. Visual style reminiscent of CRANK (not too surprising given the directors) and the story line does not mind stealing directly from RUNNING MAN and DEATH RACE. While the ending is weak, the film serves up what it promised. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034032/

Sherlock Holmes

December, 25 2009. In a dynamic new portrayal of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous characters, “Sherlock Holmes” sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down a new nemesis and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988045/

Up in the Air

December 23, 2009. Based on the 2001 novel by American author Walter Kirn. Jason Reitman does an adequate job minding the family store (not a Stripes level of performance but then that sets the bar a little too high). I appreciate that the movie takes some unexpected turns, especially in the romance department. It would be easy to have Ryan Bingham (played smartly and convincingly by George Clooney) see the error of his ways and move in with Alex Goran (played by the unfailingly appealing Vera Farmiga) and have a nice happy life ever after. Except when he shows up unexpectedly at her house, he finds her with her nice little family. The contrast between work goals and career expectations versus family is too in your face, especially in the one-dimensional character of Natalie Keener (last seen in TWILIGHT). Clooney’s work is reminiscent of MICHAEL CLAYTON, the angst of man looking back and not liking what he sees. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/

Public Enemies

July, 1 2009. This movie shows Dillinger as a depression era hero and romantic. The action is great of course, just as you would expect from a Michael Mann movie. There is the traditional tension between criminals and their loved ones, which Mann explored delightfully in HEAT. But there is also an underlying melancholy involving the end of an era. Melvin Purvis and the FBI use new techniques to bring the criminals to heel, wire tapping and crime scene analysis that will one day become our beloved CSI. But there are also the age-old techniques of threatening the family of the accused and beating witnesses. It brings to mind the eternal question of how far you can go to fight fire with fire. Do you become the monster to destroy a monster? The fact that Purvis killed himself by shooting himself in the head must be considered a partial answer. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152836/

Jennifer's Body

September 18, 2009. So you asked for a VERONICA MARS reunion with a mashup of MEAN GIRLS and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, well here it is for your viewing pleasure. Diablo Cody wants to be the Elmore Leonard of teen angst but the dialogue is just not hip or real enough. But while Diablo's star is falling, Megan Fox proves she can act, well at least more than in Transformers. The lurid sexual aspect may propel it to cult classic. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/