Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller

Year: 2009

Country: USA, Canada, Germany, France

Rating:

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman, CCH Pounder, Jimmy Bennett

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

My Review: Kate and John are trying to mend the wounds that their family suffered after the tragic death of an unborn child. They decide to grow their family through adoption, adding 9 year old Esther to their family. While John seems to think that all is well, Esther is raising hell with her new mother, brother and little sister Max. Esther is very manipulating, psychologically disturbed, and worse. Will John believe Kate? What do the sisters at the Orphanage know about Esther background? What terrible secret haunts this angelic orphan? The story is o.k., but the screenplay was filled with cheap writing. Filled with the usual cliches, it's hard to love this movie. The 'Evil Child' movie has been done a million times, so I wasn't expecting anything new. Their were a lot of unbelievable turns in the plot, but the acting and a rather surprising twist turned this movie from 'Ho hum' into 'Damn that was good'. The best part was the outstanding acting by child actor (12 at filming) Isabelle Fuhrman. Awesome acting. 4 out of 5.

Summary: Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decides to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Russian girl, Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. Their young son, Daniel, is hostile to his new sister; but their deaf-mute daughter, little Max, is enchanted with her - at first. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically disturbed. John refuses to listen to his wife's misgivings, and the wounds in their marriage reopen. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not at all who she pretends to be.

Genre: Drama, War

Year: 1991

Country: Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland

Rating:

Starring: Jean-Marc Barr, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier, Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Erik Mørk

Director: Lars von Trier

My Review: An American pacifist (of German descent) travels to Germany in order to take a job in post WWII Germany. The country is in ruins, but Leopold Kessler wants to help with the recovery efforts. He takes a job with Zentropa as a sleeping car conductor on a newly reopened passenger line. While he tries to remain neutral, the scheming politics of the American military, German industrialists, manipulative girl-friend, and Werewolf resistance forces all attempt to co-opt his high-minded ideals. The characters are stereotypes of the era and genre and the acting a bit stiff (as directed). The cinematography and lighting were excellent. The most memorable part of the movie was the unusual narrative style of the movie. Directed in his actions, Leopold Kessler is motivated and controlled by the hypno-suggesitive voice of a narrator. A very 'artsy' movie. A little too 'Artsy', a little too busy. 3 out of 5.

Summary: An American of German descent arrives in post-war Germany 1945. His uncle gets him a job on the Zentropa train line as a sleeping car conductor. The American's wish is to be neutral to the ongoing purges of loyalists by the Allied forces and do what he can to help a hurting country, but he finds himself being used by both the Americans and the influential family that owns the railroad. After falling in love with the railroad magnate's daughter, he finds that he can't remain neutral and must make some difficult choices.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Year: 2009

Country: USA, France

Rating:

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, David Strathairn, Katheryn Winnick

Director: Sophie Barthes

My Review: Paul Giamatti stars as himself in this parody of showbiz, liberal arts, and consumerism. Is this a case of life imitating art or art imitating life? I'd say it's a good dose of both. Paul Giamatti (the character) is anxious, depressed and agonizing about his upcoming role in a stage production of 'Uncle Vanya' a play about a Russian poet. In an effort to 'detach himself' from his anxiety, he enlists the help of a somewhat secretive high tech company. Their services are quite unorthodox. They remove his soul from his body, and put it into cold storage. Things are going o.k. at first, but then Paul starts to feel empty and hollow inside, so he fills the void with the soul of a 'Russian poet'. Things get worse when a 'Soul Mule' borrows Paul's soul without telling anyone. This comedic drama was very low on the comedy scale. All the humor was underplayed, subtle and high-brow. While the writing is clever and well crafted, the movie comes off as a bit self indulgent in direction. I enjoyed it, but despite it's similarities, it's no 'Being John Malkovich'. 3 of 3.

Summary: Paul Giamatti stars as himself in this parody of showbiz, liberal arts, and consumerism. Is this a case of life imitating art or art imitating life? I'd say it's a good dose of both. Paul Giamatti (the character) is anxious, depressed and agonizing about his upcoming role in a stage production of 'Uncle Vanya' a play about a Russian poet. In an effort to 'detach himself' from his anxiety, he enlists the help of a somewhat secretive high tech company. Their services are quite unorthodox. They remove his soul from his body, and put it into cold storage. Things are going o.k. at first, but then Paul starts to feel empty and hollow inside, so he fills the void with the soul of a 'Russian poet'. Things get worse when a 'Soul Mule' borrows Paul's soul without telling anyone. This comedic drama was very low on the comedy scale. All the humor was underplayed, subtle and high-brow. While the writing is clever and well crafted, the movie comes off as a bit self indulgent in direction. I enjoyed it, but despite it's similarities, it's no 'Being John Malkovich'. 3 of 3.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Music

Year: 1947

Country: France

Rating:

Starring: Suzy Delair, Bernard Blier, Louis Jouvet, Simone Renant, Jean Daurand

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

My Review: The film transfer and restoration in this Criterion Collection version are outstanding. This film noir tale of intrigue starts off with the ambitious tale of Jenny Lamour and her jealous husband Maurice Martineau. Jenny is on her way to success in the music business, but her husband isn't happy with the way the wolves of the music business are drooling over the prospects of 'fresh meat'. He imagines illicit intentions in every producer, promoter and patron. Jenny loves Maurice deeply, but she's got her sights set on stardom, and selling herself is something she good at. When an amorous producer turns up dead, the police department puts Maurice at the top of their list. His public threats and outrage at the pawing promoters is well known. The line-up gets crowded when the police start to suspect a long list of characters. Excellent pacing and acting. What starts out as a fairly typical murder mystery slowly exceeds ones expectations with it's subtle but increasing tempo. Great sets and locations. 4 out of 5.

Summary: Jenny Lamour wants to succeed in music hall. Her husband and accompanist is Maurice Martineau, a nice but jealous guy. When he knew Jenny is making eyes at Brignon, an old businessman, in order to get some engagements, he looses his temper and threatens Brignon with death. But Jenny went anyway to a rendez-vous at the old man's, who is murdered the same evening. The criminal investigations are lead by Inspector Antoine...

Genre: Drama, Mystery

Year: 2009

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas, Joel Moore, Orlando Jones

Director: Peter Hyams

My Review: A remake (I haven't seen the original) of a 1956 film noir, crime, drama, directed by Fritz Lang. In this remake, Michael Douglas (barely) stars as a corrupt district attorney, and Jesse Metcalfe stars as an investigative journalist who sets himself up as the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Why would he do such a thing? So he can expose the D.A.'s corruption. The highly cliched plot contained a series of unbelievable circumstances and plot holes. The plot twist was a weak and predictable cliche. The character development was poorly handled and barely believable. The production value was quite low, the casting terrible, the acting mediocre, the camera work poor, the lighting terrible (In one scene Michael Douglas actually has a changing complexion - From green to orange to tan and back again) and the direction pretty bad. The pacing, editing and score were so evenly handled, that there seems to be no build-up or climax in this film. The dialog was well written, but the execution wasn't the greatest, and this film lacked any sort of suspense or tension. After the closing sequence of standard film work, an extended narrative constitutes the films conclusion in a less than satisfactory fashion. 1 of 5.

Summary: High profile lawyer, Martin Hunter has an impeccable record putting criminals behind bars and is a shoo-in for governor in the upcoming election. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney's perfect record is up for scrutiny. Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder suspect to catch the corrupt D.A. in the act. Romantically involved with C.J. but unaware of his assignment, assistant D.A. Ella Crystal becomes caught between her boss's political ambitions and C.J.'s dangerous expose. As mounting evidence stacks up against both men, Ella's own life becomes threatened when she discovers incriminating proof that puts the fate of both C.J's innocence and Hunter's reputation in her hands.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance, War, Western

Year: 1915

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden

Director: D.W. Griffith

My Review: A silent-era film (1915) that distorts historical truths to such an extent as to portray black Americans as the root cause of racism in America. The film itself is in very poor shape, and the last hour suffers greatly from age. The story is divided into two parts. The first part is a treatment of the U.S. Civil War, its destruction, and the social strife it caused. The second part of the movie depicts reconstruction and the creation of the 'Ku Klux Klan'. Both stories are told through the eyes of two families; The Stonemans, a Northern family, and the Camerons, a Southern family. While the film may contain numerous landmarks in filmmaking techniques, its negative and inaccurate portrayals of the reconstruction era are so atrocious that it serves more as a catalyst for Klan indoctrination and racist disinformation than it benefits any historical aspects of motion-picture study. I won't say I'm glad that I saw it, but seeing it provides me with some insight into the power of film. I would seriously guard against anyone who claims that it is a historically accurate or politically significant work. The film itself serves as a reminder that racial hatred, bigotry, and outright violence have played a role in shaping the society that we (as Americans) live in. I rate this movie 2 out of 5.

Summary: Two brothers, Phil and Ted Stoneman, visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina: the family Cameron. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.

Genre: Drama, History

Year: 2009

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jonny Lee Miller, Mark Strong, Clarke Peters

Director: Pete Travis

My Review: A great cast and fantastic acting. This political drama is filmed in a very documentary style. Without any fancy timeline jumps or confusing editing, this movie reveals the dramatic end of apartheid in South Africa. The 'characters' are historical leaders from South African history - Thabo Mbeki, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Willem de Klerk, F.W. de Klerk, P.W. Botha and others. The story is history itself. How a British industrialist (working for a mining concern) recruits people from both sides of South Africa's political divide - Black ANC leaders and white representatives of the apartheid regime. Together, in secret, at a secluded estate in the British countryside, these two sides must come engage in dialogue and embrace reconciliation. It's either that, or they risk the destruction of South Africa through bloody revolution. The drama is very well done, the script handled perfectly, and the historical context ripe with true political tension. The only down part of this movie was some of the camera work, and a very slow methodical pace. 4 out of 5.

Summary:

Genre: Biography, Drama, War

Year: 2002

Country: France, Poland, Germany, UK

Rating:

Starring: Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Michal Zebrowski, Ed Stoppard, Maureen Lipman

Director: Roman Polanski

My Review: The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman - famed Polich pianist. Here is the story of one man's/an entire people's struggle to survive the holocaust. Set in Warsaw, Poland during WWII. This movie covers the entire duration of Nazi occupation, and all the trials of that tragic ordeal. Wladyslaw and the rest of his family assume that the rumors of extermination are simply too outlandish to be believed. After they're separated on the way to an extermination camp, Wladyslaw survives by fading into the woodwork. Doing his best to avoid attention, he manages to barely get by. Until he senses sees the bombers flying over. Sensing impending doom, he takes a chance to escape from the workers camp. He escapes the Ghetto and goes on the run. Hiding in basements, abandoned apartments and attics, Wladyslaw is a survivor. Powerfully dramatic, compelling truth. The cast and acting were superb, as was the direction. Some of the writing felt a little over the top. Due no doubt, to the condensed nature of scripting. 4 out of 5.

Summary: A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Year: 2010

Country: UK, USA

Rating:

Starring: Simon Merrells, Gemma Whelan, Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Mario Marin-Borquez

Director: Joe Johnston

My Review: I went to see this movie with a group of friends from work. In this remake of the 1941 classic, Benicio Del Toro stars as an American actor. Lawrence Talbot returns to his families ancestral estate after the mysterious disappearance of his brother. Once he arrives in Blackmoor, his learns of his brothers death. Reunited with his father (Anthony Hopkins) and his brother's fiancée (Emily Blunt), Lawrence vows to discover the secret surrounding his brothers death. The meddling presence of a Scotland Yard investigator (Hugo Weaving) complicates matters. Lawrence soon discovers the truth of his brothers death when he's bitten by a werewolf. Transformed by the full moon, the movie moves into Hollywood territory. While the acting was excellent; especially that of Hugo Weaving, Anthony Hopkins and Roger Frost (as Reverend Fisk), the ending was a predictable hollywood fiasco. Countering the fantastic sets and cinematography was the typical hollywood production. Full of furious cgi, buckets full of fake blood, egregious overuse of gore, break-neck pacing, and frenetic editing. While the cgi immensely improved on the original's ability to portray a Wolf Man, the ending (last hour or so) ruined what could have been a vastly superior movie. 3 out of 5.

Summary: Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman, is lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father, Talbot sets out to find his brother... and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. Talbot's childhood ended the night his mother died. After he left the sleepy Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor, he spent decades recovering and trying to forget. But when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe, tracks him down to help find her missing love, Talbot returns home to join the search. He learns that something with brute strength and insatiable bloodlust has been killing the villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline has come to investigate.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Year: 2009

Country: USA, Germany

Rating:

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham

Director: Todd Phillips

My Review: A dark comedy about a bachelor party gone awry. Three principal actors (Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, and Bradley Cooper) portray three very different characters attending to the Las Vegas debauchery. Doug (Justin Bartha) and three friends head off for a night of drunken revelry in Las Vegas. Upon arriving they head for the hotel roof, and salute their friends upcoming wedding. Date Rape drug in the shots sets the stage for a night of forgotten frivolity. Awaking on the morning after, the three best men find Doug missing, along with their memories of what happened the night before. What follows is a frenetic search for their missing friend and a convoluted course of demented discovery as they uncover the clues left behind by their unbelievable night of no-holds-barred revelry. Will these guys find Doug in time for the wedding, or will the consequences of their hi-jinks hi-jack the groom's plans? The movie is jam-packed full of so many preposterous gags as to be a bit unbelievable. These three guys accomplished more in one night of partying than an entire fraternity could in a year. The cast was great, and the acting pretty good (Zach Galifianakis was excellent). The writing very witty and the direction tightly controlled. A roller-coaster of outlandish gags wrapped up in a well written, but overly simplistic plot. May fare better on repeat viewing. 3 out of 5.

Summary: Angelenos Doug Billings and Tracy Garner are about to get married. Two days before the wedding, the four men in the wedding party - Doug, Doug's two best buddies Phil Wenneck and Stu Price, and Tracy's brother Alan Garner - hop into Tracy's father's beloved Mercedes convertible for a 24-hour stag party to Las Vegas. Phil, a married high school teacher, has the same maturity level as his students when he's with his pals. Stu, a dentist, is worried about everything, especially what his controlling girlfriend Melissa thinks. Because she disapproves of traditional male bonding rituals, Stu has to lie to her about the stag, he telling her that they are going on a wine tasting tour in the Napa Valley. Regardless, he intends on eventually marrying her, against the advice and wishes of his friends. And Alan seems to be unaware of what are considered the social graces of the western world. The morning after their arrival in Las Vegas, they awaken in their hotel suite each with the worst hangover. None remembers what happened in the past twelve or so hours. The suite is in shambles. And certain things are in the suite that shouldn't be, and certain things that should be in the suite are missing. Probably the most important in the latter category is Doug. As Phil, Stu and Alan try to find Doug using only what little pieces of information they have at hand, they go on a journey of discovery of how certain things got into the suite and what happened to the missing items. However they are on a race for time as if they can't find Doug in the next few hours, they are going to have to explain to Tracy why they are not yet back in Los Angeles. And even worse, they may not find Doug at all before the wedding.