The Messenger

In one of the most boring cinematic Thanksgiving weekends in recent memory, my movie options this week included dying a slow and painful death while watching Old Dogs or seeing The Blind Side for the third time (which I nearly did). Thankfully a third option presented itself, the independent film The Messenger. Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster star in this film as soldiers assigned the heartbreaking task of having to inform next of kin that their loved ones have died in battle. This is a great film that subtlely explores the range of human emotion as well as the effects of war. Ben Foster, so good in 3:10 to Yuma, is even better here and Steve Buscemi in a very small role is perfect.

Precious

Generating a lot of awards buzz is Precious, the Tyler Perry/Oprah Winfrey produced pic about a deeply troubled Harlem teenager. What stands out in this movie are the performances. Newcomer Gabby Sidibe and Mo'Nique are stellar as the title character and her abusive mother. What I particularly enjoyed though were the smaller, less flashy roles. Mariah Carey (yes, Mariah Carey!) was great as Precious's social worker and even better was Paula Patton as Precious's cares too much teacher. Patton really stood out. While I wouldn't classify Precious as "entertaining" - it's far too depressing and disturbing for that and not something you would want to voluntarily watch on a nice sunny afternoon - it is a good and strong movie.

This weekend I also saw The Blind Side again and loved it even more. If you want to see a great movie that just inspires you and makes you feel good, I can't emplore you enough to check out The Blind Side.

Life Boats

Nothing like an apocalyptic disaster movie to spread holiday cheer. Based on an ancient Mayan belief (among others) that the world will come to an end on December 12, 2012, the movie 2012 is a great ride. When you go to see a movie like this you go to see the special effects and absolute destruction, plot is an afterthought. Thankfully the special effects do not disappoint and were jaw droppingly spectacular. The plot is fine, about what you would expect for a disaster flick - it could have been a lot worse had there not been such a good cast. This is definitely a film that deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Believe it or not, during rock & roll's heyday, the songs were taboo on British radio. Enter Radio Rock, a ship anchored off the coast of Great Britain that broadcast classic rock & roll music. What came to be known as Pirate Radio is the basis for the movie by the same name. I had a great time with this movie. Not only does it have some of the greatest music of all time, but it was just fun to peek into the lives of these DJ's and see how they lived off of their love for music. An obvious flaw in the movie, however, is the unexplained absence of Beatles music. I assume royalty issues were to blame, but it's bizarre to watch a movie that takes place in Britain in 1966 and not hear a Beatles song. Kind of puts a damper on the film. What certainly does not put a damper on the film is the (all too brief) cameo by the always amazing Emma Thompson. Brilliant!

The Blind Side

It had been too long since I treated myself to an advance screening, so on Thursday night I saw The Blind Side (opening November 20). I was a little skeptical at first. How many touchy feely, underdog triumphs sports movies can they make? While it's not groundbreaking in its genre, The Blind Side is a great film and I enjoyed it immensely. Based on an incredible true story, The Blind Side is uplifting, sweet, funny and just makes you want to get up and cheer - which many people literally did during the show. Sandra Bullock gave a wonderful, sassy performance and is matched by every one of her co-stars - each of whom were perfect. If you're looking for a great, feel good movie that'll make you laugh and cry, then you should definitely see The Blind Side!

A Little Bit of Magic

A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite stories. It's a complete classic, basically Shakespeare. In fact, it's a classic story that references Shakespeare. How perfect is that? Unfortunately I don't think the latest big screen adaptation was nearly perfect enough. Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol is visually stunning to a fault. The filmmakers seemed to be so enthralled with making a movie that looks appealing, that not a lot of time appears to have been spent on anything else. The dialogue, while I appreciate that most of it came straight from Dickens, didn't translate well to the screen. Additionally, performances by Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman were overshadowed by the glitzy stage spectacles. I also thought Carrey's accent was horrible. Scrooge is supposed to be British, right? Maybe they didn't know. And lastly I have to mention how oddly frightening this film was. It's being marketed as a fun family film (and does have nice moments and elements to that effect), but I would not be comfortable taking young children to see this. It's often very dark and I'm pretty sure The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come is a dementor!

On a lighter note, The Men Who Stare At Goats was a good film that I really liked. Ewan McGregor portrays a Michigan journalist who unwittingly stumbles into a story about the U.S. Military training psychic jedi warriors. No, really. I have to admit that half the fun is watching McGregor, Obi-Wan himself, discuss real life jedis. There's a nice wink to the audience in that. Goats is smart and funny and I just loved the overall tone.

Higher Learning

I started Halloween week off with a stage production of The Phantom of the Opera. It was my second time seeing this show, so needless to say, I enjoy it. The music is beautiful and the stage production is just extraordinary. If you haven't seen this show live on stage you're totally missing out.

I had to see what all the fuss was about, so I saw Paranormal Activity this weekend. This is a good fright flick! It's spooky, suspenseful and makes your heart race; everything you'd want from a scary movie.





I changed things up a bit once November hit and saw An Education. Taking place in England in 1961, An Education tells the story of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a very clever 16 year old on her way to Oxford, who embarks on a romance with David, a charming and substantially older man (Peter Sarsgaard). This is a great movie that I quite enjoyed. Mulligan is excellent as the naive teenager who all too eagerly tries to grow up. Sarsgaard is wonderful as David and is able to be suave and engaging while all the time portraying a character that is essentially kinda creepy. The supporting cast featuring Dominic Cooper, Alfred Molina and the magnificent Emma Thompson is also outstanding. And I have to mention the sharp and often witty screenplay by Nick Hornby, which made a rather ordinary story sparkle.