The Brothers Bloom

3 out of 5 Stars
I was a fan of Rian Johnson's first film 'Brick' so I was intrigued to see what his second film would be like. I wasn't disappointed. In this day and age of remakes, sequels and retellings it was refreshing to watch a dark comedy that was well acted and original (though it should be noted that I was the only person in the theater who laughed during the film). Adrien Brody, as always, gives a great performance, Rachel Weisz is quirky and fun to watch, and best of all I adored Rinko Kikuchi as 'Bang Bang'. The film gets a bit repetitive in the third act but for the most part I solidly enjoyed the characters, the story, the setting and the originality.

Revolutionary Road

3.5 out of 5 Stars
This is a rare example of a film which I thought surpassed the novel. I found the book to be dated, slow moving, and thought the characters were cold and unlikable. But Mendes' film was so subtle, well acted, perfectly paced, and completely captured the trapped atmosphere of suburban life in the late 1950s -- I found myself intrigued by both April and Frank Wheeler and I also identified and sympathized with both of them (whereas in the book I was very much annoyed by April). Mendes' successfully capturing the suffocating setting, the hypocrisy, the sexism and the frustration that I was searching for in Yates's novel. It's not 'American Beauty' but it was a strong and very moving film.

Hounddog (2007)

3 out of 5 Stars
Dakota Fanning single handedly pulled this film off. The film critic in me veers toward criticizing a weak script which was an attempt at 'southern gothic'/Flannery O'Connor, underdeveloped characters with little to no back stories, bizarre plot twists, and an overall jumbled mess of a screenplay. But this film gets 3 stars from me because of how moved I was by Fanning's portrayal of Lewellen. Her eyes, her raw emotions, her dead eyed expressions, her concealed pain, her ability to steal scenes from David Morse (man, I felt bad for him, his part was so cringeful - no actor should have ever taken that one on), Robin Wright Penn (she did the best she could with a poor script) and Piper Laurie (reprising her role in Carrie -- heh!). Dakota Fanning made me cry and I never cry in movies. She is enigmatic, powerful and so fascinating to watch on screen. Her performance alone makes this film worth seeing. She truly is one of the best young actors I've seen on camera.

Adventureland

2.5 out of 5 Stars
I was interested in seeing this film mostly because I greatly enjoyed Greg Mottola's first screenplay 'The Daytrippers'. Unfortunately, Adventureland does not manage to reach the same mix of humor, drama and character development that his earlier film script did. Adventureland falls somewhere in between the sensitivity of Mottola's earlier work and the baudy humor of Judd Apatow's films (which I am not a fan of). Adventureland has a few touching and honest moments, but it still feels underdeveloped. Jesse Eisenberg gives a fantastic performance as James. He is subtle and likable and gives his character a sensitivity that more often than not gets lost in these types of scripts (ie. virgin who has a hard time with the ladies). Kristin Stewart (who I normally enjoy watching onscreen) was a disappointment. The supporting cast (particularly Margarita Levieva as Lisa P.) hold their own. But in the end, I thought Adventureland fell short of living up to it's potential.

Twilight

2.5 out of 5 Stars
I secretly like Twilight. (maybe not so secretly). It has romance, humor, and a foggy/misty set location that lends itself perfectly for film. In many ways, I thought this was a better film adaption of the book than the Harry Potter films are. Twilight doesn't make any attempts at being a 'serious film'. It follows the book simply and concisely, not trying to capture every detail and small plot line from the book (the Harry Potter films, while well directed and well acted go on waaay too long). I thought Kristen Stewart (who I really liked in 'Speak') was a very convincing Bella. Yes, I'll no doubt see New Moon when it comes out.

Saw V

1 out of 5 Stars
The last few Saw movies have been oddly difficult for me to follow. I can't keep the characters straight (the corrupt detective dude looks almost identical to the dude with the hole in his throat). I don't understand the point of Jigsaw -- isn't he dead -- was this movie a flashback?
Also, the elaborate 'death' set ups are so insanely complicated. Where is Jigsaw (and his cohorts) getting the money to build these complex warehouse mazes? Where does he buy the supplies? When does he have the time to set up these machines/computers/video cameras, etc?

Fur - An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

4 out of 5 Stars
I realize that this film is an 'Imaginary' portrait of Diane Arbus. Obviously, the title states the obvious. I am surprised that this film was mainly disliked by film critics. I don't care that Diane Arbus (whose work I am fascinated by) never knew 'Lionel'. I don't care that this film is 99% fiction. Erin Cressida Wilson's brilliant script immediately drew me into Arbus's mind -- scary, erotic, beautiful, ugly, demented, sick, fantastical, breathtaking -- I was completely riveted. This is a beautifully shot film -- Nicole Kidman's eyes, Robert Downey Jr.'s unnerving sexiness, Jane Alexander's cold and uncaring glare. I actually thought Kidman gave a stronger, more original and more unique performance as Arbus than she did in her Oscar nominated 'Virginia Woolf' role in 'The Hours'. 'Fur' was David Lynch-esque, beautiful and scary to look at and overall very well done.