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An idealistic campaign politico (Ryan Gosling) backs a presidential contender (played by George Clooney ) and finds himself immersed in a world of double-crossing dirty politics and in a morass of moral and ethical dilemmas. This is a nail-biter of a political drama, as poignant a commentary on contemporary politics as Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men or Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate . It can be taken as both a condemnation of today’s political and electoral system and as a cautionary tale about how and where we place our political trust. With writing, producing and directing chores, Clooney , nominated for an Oscar for directing Good Night and Good Luck , delivers a smart, well-paced movie that shines with a cast that includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a crafty career campaign manager, Evan Rachel Wood as the intern that catches Gosling’s eye, Marisa Tomei as a New York Times reporter working all the angles, and Paul Giamatti as the man who throws the wrench into the work...

The 1971 version of this film, starring Dustin Hoffman and co-written and directed by the Sam Peckinpah ( The Wild Bunch ), is a classic tale of violence visited upon the innocent, and how violence begets violence. This remake, directed by a capable Rod Lurie ( The Contender ), stars James Marsden and Kate Bosworth and is set in the rural South instead of rural England, but the story stays surprisingly close to the original. A couple of city mice move to the country, and the hubby is a fish out of water in his wife’s home (hick) town. He’s not welcomed by the locals, relationships are strained and things get ugly, his wife is brutally violated and before all is said and done the couple's home is horribly and terribly besieged, and they must fight for their very lives. Straw Dogs is one of those films that should not have been remade (at the very least with present company). Instead of improving on the original it only manages to come off as a grainy monochrome copy of a colorfu...

I have long been a fan of The Planet of the Apes , a series of movies, a television series and a Saturday morning cartoon all based on a novel by French writer Pierre Boulle. While the Apes television series from the 1970s is more or less kids’ stuff, the original 1968 film starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell is a classic work of science fiction. Not only does the film make social comment in the guise of a space fantasy, but it includes one of the most memorable endings in twentieth century cinema, thanks to screenwriter Rod Serling. The subsequent Apes films became progressively poorer, and the 2001 reboot by director Tim Burton was met with mixed results. But Apes has had legs, and remains a valuable property for 20th Century Fox, so it’s no surprise that Fox has rebooted again with Rise of the Planet of the Apes , starring James Franco, Frieda Pinto, John Lithgow and Brian Cox. Hollywood loves telling “origin” stories these days ( Green Lantern, Iron Man, X-Me...

Like super heroes, not all comic book movies are equal. Marvel has done a mostly terrific job with their franchises, with a slew of super types getting ready for an Avengers movie next year. The DC hero, Green Lantern, gets the big screen treatment this year with director Martin Campbell ( Casino Royale , Edge of Darkness ) at the helm, and an A-list cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Geoffrey Rush (voice) and Tim Robbins. Martin does the best he can with what a slew of screenwriters have given him. The film looks good and Reynolds is passable as the hero, but the script is talky, predictable, clunky, and not nearly as tight as, say, Iron Man or its sequel. Sarsgaard, an actor I pay attention to, is almost unrecognizable as the nasty villain Hector, and he chews the scenery and does the best with the clichéd dialogue and one-dimensional character he’s saddled with. The once-great Tim Robbins dials in a performance as a senator who...

I don't go into many movies blind, but with Super 8 I did. I had read nothing about the film, nor had I seen the trailer. I only knew that it was directed by J.J. Abrams ( Lost, Star Trek ). Now that I have seen it I have read up on the film. Read about Abrams's connection to Steven Spielberg in 1982, how Speilberg , having seen the teenager's student Super 8 film, hired Abrams and a friend to restore his own decaying Super 8 movies from the director's childhood days. How Spielberg encouraged Abrams to say "yes" to the Trek reboot. How Super 8 is E.T. retooled for the new millennium . And so on. And in many ways it is something of a retelling, or homage, to E.T. And I came out of the film having enjoyed it but not knowing what I really thought about it. The first hour was enthralling. Teenagers making their own Super 8 movie find themselves involved in something strange and mysterious and terrible. SPOILER ALERT . And yes, there's an alien who only ...

In the wake of the assassination of President Lincoln, a boardinghouse keeper named Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) is charged with conspiracy to murder the president. John Wilkes Booth and his henchmen met at Surratt’s boarding house to plan their misdeeds, and Secretary of War Stanton (Kevin Kline, playing this despicable character with an understated zest) is determined to see her hang at the hands of a military court no matter the facts of the case. This is a courtroom drama with a great backstory, set in a time of fear and chaos, its plot driven by the power of the characters involved. James McAvory is the former Union captain-now-lawyer assigned to defend Surratt despite his conviction that she is guilty. He is torn between his personal beliefs and his desire to do his job to defend Surratt to the best of his ability, and it is this conflict that is central to The Conspirator . Having taken the case is already turning out to be ruinous to his career, but to win the case would mean m...

In 2009, director Duncan Jones brought his film Moon to the Seattle International Film Festival. The screening was sold out and very well received. After the screening and the Q&A I wondered what this talented, energetic director would do next. And here it is. Source Code is a tightly written, tautly directed thriller that surprised and delighted me as much as Moon did almost two years ago. The film finds an Army captain Jake Gyllenhaal repeatedly transported to a commuter train in Chicago in order to find out who is about to blow it up. He has eight minutes before detonation , and after the explosion he must return (in Groundhog Day fashion) to repeat the same eight minutes over and over again until his mission succeeds. I won’t try and explain the “science” of how this works. The film does a decent job of it, so I won't steal Jones's and writer Ben Ripley's thunder. But I will say that the film turns and twists its way to its satisfying and very unexpected conc...

BEST PICTURE – THE KING’S SPEECH TRUE GRIT is my favorite film of 2010, and my pick if I were handing out the Oscars. THE FIGHTER is also remarkable, in my top three along with BLUE VALENTINE, but I think my number four is the most “ Oscarly ,” if you will, and deservedly so. BEST DIRECTOR – DAVID FINCHER , THE SOCIAL NETWORK This category is a close one, but I think that although THE KING’S SPEECH will get the best picture nod, David Fincher ’s work exceeded so many expectations that the best picture/director category will be split this year. BEST ACTOR – COLIN FIRTH, THE KING’S SPEECH I have not seen Javier Bardem ’s performance in BIUTIFUL , but have seen the others. My personal favorite is Jeff Bridges in TRUE GRIT, but Bridges won the Best Actor honor last year. Jesse Eisenberg is terrific in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, and James Franco’s work in 127 HOURS is truly an achievement. However, it’s Colin Firth’s time. BEST ACTRESS – JENNIFER LAWRENCE, WINTER’S BONE The odds have Natalie Port...

The Brothers Coen have gone back to the novel for their inspiration for this version of True Grit , and the result ranks along side No Country for Old Men as the brothers’ best work and the best movie I have seen all year. Fourteen-year-old Mattie (played with true grit by newcomer Hailee Steinfeld ) hires boozing Federal Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track her father’s killer and return him to Arkansas for trial and a just hanging. They are accompanied into Indian territory by a Texas Ranger, played by Matt Damon, in pursuit of the fleeing villain. First and foremost, True Grit should not be compared with the previous film version, as it is neither a remake nor a “ reimagining .” Despite its origins, this version, adapted, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen , manages to remain quite Coenesque , if there is such a term: unconventional, with quirky dialogue and action peppered with offbeat humor and sudden acts of brutal violence. The story, a straight...

A cantankerous hermit with a shady reputation named Felix Bush (Robert Duvall, in a brilliant performance) has lived alone in a ramshackle cabin for forty years before realizing it’s about time to “get low,” or die, and decides to venture into town with a wad of cash to plan his funeral, which he wants held while he is still alive. Hearing of the money, an unscrupulous funeral director (Bill Murray in a humorous but subdued performance) and his assistant, played by Lucas Black, rise to the occasion. Bush, who is feared by many of the locals, insists upon inviting everyone in four counties who has a story to tell about him, knowing full well none of them will be flattering. But the story he truly wants told is a dark and secret one, and as we learn more about Bush’s curious past we realize that what he seeks is redemption for the sins that forced him into his decades-long seclusion. Get Low is a simple film with a strong story and well-developed characters. The unraveling of Bush’s pas...

There is something about Harry Brown that is mesmerizing from the first moment we meet the elderly shut-in in his simple apartment, and the grim journey that Harry Brown takes its audience on becomes far from simple. Michael Caine plays a poor, grieving widower living in a crime-ridden section of an English town who, after losing his best and only friend to street violence, decides to do something about it. Yes, this is a vigilante movie, but Clint Eastwood or Charles Bronson, Caine is not. His soft, reluctant determination is in marked contrast to characters in movies of a similar vein, and Caine ’s performance elicits sympathy and concern more so than a hope that he gains vengeance. First-time feature director Daniel Barber use Caine ’s age to great advantage, and the stellar performance by Caine is muted and complex. The film rests entirely on his capable shoulders and he carries it like a martyr on the way to the cross.

As usual I have waited until the last moment to post my annual Oscar picks, and the field for Best Picture, now with ten nominees instead of the previous five, makes it more difficult this year. The one film that really stuck with me was Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, which was screened last year at the Seattle International Film Festival. In a field of great films, including UP (which should take the award for Best Animated Feature), Up in the Air (a great movie and serious contender) , Avatar (a real ride of a movie but not Titanic ), A Serious Man (a remarkable film I enjoyed very much, but was little-seen), and An Education (another great, but little-seen movie), I predict The Hurt Locker will take home top prize. Here is what I wrote about this film: The Hurt Locker follows a crew of American Army bomb experts through their tour in Iraq in 2004. Sergeant James is young, cocky, and takes unnecessary risks, so much so that he puts the lives of his crew in danger. But h...

This review is coming in a week late. Cindy and I went out to see James Cameron’s Avatar before Christmas. Already, I knew that this film had some mixed reviews from sources I trust, so, if we were going to see, let us see it on a IMAX Screen in 3D. It was recommended that we arrive at the auditorium early to secure a good seat at the AMC Lynnhaven theater. The advice was gold: forty minutes prior to the film starting, most of the good seats were taken. I was able to secure a center seat, but, only in the fourth row of the second tier seats. 3D Movies I am not a fan of 3D movies. Lately, many of the animated films will be released with a 3D version that you can pay a few extra dollars to see. Very few mainstream films employee the technique. The last two films I saw in 3D were Beowulf and My Bloody Valentine . Neither film was very good, and the 3D was gimmicky. Avatar’s approach to 3D felt different – it provided visual depth. The movie screen became a window that we were ...

The spirit of Sherlock Holmes and his loyal assistant and chronicler Dr. Watson (played by Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law, respectively) is alive and well in this breathless reinvention of the Holmes genre, although in the details these characters are more Ritchie than Doyle. No matter. The convoluted plot involving a strange cult bent on wielding great power in England (which in my mind borrows heavily from Mark Frost’s intriguing novel “The List of Seven”) manages to sustain itself only by the sheer power of Downey’s performance as the illustrious detective. It's absurd, confusing and over-blown, but Downey manages to infuse a degree of style and modern sophistication into it. This version of Holmes is not for the purist. If you want Doyle’s work and character incarnate seek out the phenomenal BBC series starring Jeremy Brett. There’s no better interpretation of Holmes’ character than Brett’s. But as holiday flicks are concerned, Sherlock Holmes is as entertaining and fun as an...

I was hoping Chuck would post his Avatar review by now, but in its absence, I'll plow ahead. After more than 10 years, James Cameron ( The Terminator, Titanic) returns to the director’s chair in this visual feast of a film that combines live action with CGI so seamlessly that it lives up to the techno-hype. And there has been quite a bit of hype, indeed. The story is simple: mankind goes to far off planet to rob it of its precious natural resources. Primitive alien people stand in the way. Mankind must wipe out primitive people. Good man comes to the rescue and saves the day. Heavy-handed? Maybe. Culturally and environmentally relevant? Sure. Where this film succeeds visually, it lacks in character and in its very simple and uninspired storytelling. And aside from Sigorney Weaver, Avatar sports a cast that is merely adequate. Still, in 3D, Avatar is not something to be missed. See it.

Recently there was a cast reunion worth mentioning. No, I am not writing about the Seinfeld reunion that is the subject of this season's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" on HBO. Think more David O. Selzenick and less Larry David. To honor the 70th anniversary of Gone With the Wind , surviving cast members gathered at a tribute event outside Atlanta recently. With Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh being off-planet, the cast reunion comprised actors who played children and babies and Beau Wilkes at various childhood ages in the classic 1939 film. I don't suppose there was much reminiscing going on at this reunion. But for those surviving performers in attendance , it must be marvelous to know that each was a part of such a remarkable feat of cinematic grandeur the likes of which are long gone in American motion pictures. I think I'll add Gone With the Wind to my Netflix queue. It's been a while for me, too. Oh, and George is divorced and is trying to get back with this ex-wif...

To follow up on Jay’s post, I have two films that follow the vein of The Blair Witch Project , but, does it right. The films are Quarantine and [*REC], but we only need to talk about the later as the former is an American remake of the later Spanish Film. Both are excellent, but, I have to admit to liking [*REC] better. Both stories follow a female reporter who host the show “While you were sleeping” and follows a group of fire fighters who are called to a tenement building to help with an old lady who has fallen. That’s when the film goes to hell. Literally. What makes both films great is that it does not start as a horror film. It lulls you into a false sense of security. The second thing is that the actors in the film feel like normal people who have gotten stuck inside the building. I prefer [*REC] because the main character is absolutely convincing and ending is…well…creepy. It has more in common with Aliens than Blair Witch, and makes for a pretty scary Halloween ...

Two films have been released this autumn that fall in the vein of The Blair Witch Project : feature motion pictures produced from purported actual archival video capturing elements of the unexplained. The newly released The Fourth Kind, starring Milla Jovovich, is one of those “let’s pretend this is real using actual video footage” movies, like Paranormal Activity , except here the filmmakers augment the archival “footage” with “dramatic reenactments.” The premise involves a close encounter of the fourth kind, abduction, and the aliens here are not the happy ET’s of Spielberg’s movies. These are bad beings with a grudge. The set up is intriguing: a psychologist in Nome, Alaska (Jovovich), has patients who seem to all have abduction accounts when placed under hypnosis. And so, too, as it turns out, does our heroine. But the result is uneven, and the climax never really wraps anything up, except to suggest that these bizarre nocturnal owl sightings are really alien abductions, which the...

Cirque du Freak is something for teens, a modern Fright Night , as far as I’m concerned, and it’s a good, clean vampire fun. Two best friends become vampires after visiting a peculiar little freak show run by Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe) and come down on opposite sides of a vampire conflict: one sides with the good vampires (they do not kill humans) and the other sides with the evil vampires who kill humans and want a war with the good vampires. Silly, of course, but this kind of goofy cinematic fun is sometimes what movies are all about. Director Paul Weitz ( In Good Company, About a Boy ) keeps the action moving in this simple but entertaining good versus evil story. The decent performances by John C. Reilly, Selma Hayek and a terrific turn by Willem Dafoe as one of the "good" vampires provide the flick with a little street cred, as does a screenplay co-written by one of my favorite screen scribes Brian Helgeland ( Payback, Mystic River, L.A. Confiedential ).

Directed by Jane Campion, “Bright Star” is not only a poem by John Keats but the person for whom the poem was written, a young Englishwomen by the name of Fanny Brawne, who falls in love with the young Keats despite the fact that the struggling poet has no income to support a wife. Their romance is not an easy one, lacking the approval of both Keats’ best friend and Fanny’s traditional family, and the three year romance is ultimately cut short by Keats’ tragic death at age 25, a failed poet, broke and alone in Italy recovering from an illness. A great romance flick for those who love poets and poetry.