but that's my point, you can see that TDK and Watchmen would be non-standard but still spectacle filled blockbusters from the trailers. 

...correct.

And? 

generic sci fi blockbuster. uninteresting :) 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind = Traffic

Synecdoche, New York = Syriana 

was planning to see synecdoche this weekend, not expecting it to be as good as Eternal Sunshine, Adaptation or Malkovich though. 

Doubt (2008) - generally well written and with some terrific performances but I did find the last act a little forced in its attempt to leave things unresolved, there were certain instances of dialogue that deliberately danced around the issue of certainty but rang hollow in terms of what the characters may actually have said in those circumstances.

Worth seeing just for the acting alone and for some remarkable shots from Roger Deakins (the waking up of the nuns in particular).

7/10


Frost/Nixon (2008) - didn't think I was ever going to say this but this is a very skilfully directed film by Ron Howard. Sure the script is very strong and Frank Langella is amazing in Nixon's role but Howard makes sure that he doesn't become an overbearing presence. I also think that Michael Sheen's role in the film as Frost is a little underappreciated, he played off Langella brilliantly. And Howard builds momentum very nicely too, this is one of the few recent films that is perfectly paced.

7.5-8/10


The Hit (1984) - Terence Stamp's gangster henchman turned informant is pursued from his hiding place in a remote spanish village by two hit men, played by John Hurt and Tim Roth. The non-existent plot is elevated to very watchable level by the performances of the three leads, some gorgeous photography of the spanish countryside and Stephen Frears' use of music by Eric Clapton and flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia.

6.5-7/10


The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1974) - apparently this has been out of circulation since its theatrical release (until the overseas dvd release a few weeks ago) which is a real shame because it's a stunner of a film. Robert Mitchum gets one of his best roles, and that's saying a lot in itself, as Eddie Coyle, a gunrunner for the low level Boston mafia who gets himself into trouble and finds out the hard way that his 'friends' are anything but.

Peter Yates may best be known for making Bullitt but this is a superior film, made in a very understated style but with a very sharp eye for detail and great sympathy for its less than heroic characters. Some might find it too slow or too confusing but if you stick with it, it's a little gem of a movie.

7.5/10


State of Play (2009) - while it does suffer from constant plot exposition (probably a result of cramming the six hour BBC miniseries into a 2 hr movie), this is fairly good mainstream entertainment that is reasonably intelligent most of the time.

Kevin McDonald's documentary background works well with the political thriller format and he has at his disposal a pretty interesting story with some ripper plot twists. The big name cast are all very solid but could have been used better if the movie had allowed its characters some more time.

7/10 

Directed by Guy Ritchie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4K3aM5H5KM

Looks fucking horrific. Basically two hours of Tony Stark pissing on Arthur Conan Doyle's grave, directed by the biggest asshole in the entire world.

They nailed the character though, especially with the shirtless fist-fighting in a pit scene, very Holmes. What the fuck?

In a minor tangent, what a wonderful show House is. It's also loosely based on Sherlock Holmes, but in contrast, isn't completely retarded. 

Well they've fucked that one right up haven't they.

I do vaguely recall that the fist-fighting was a part of Holmes, I may be wrong about that??

However the cliched Hollywood action cheese and lame generic humour was certainly NOT... 

The Reader (2008) - decent film, mainly because of the story, but there's three main thing wrongs with it : a) it really should have been in german, it just felt off in accented english b) its at least 20 min too long and c) Kate Winslet who was not suited to the role. Fine actress but this is not her best work, too often she looked like she was trying to act rather than actually acting.

Still, some interesting themes, even if the execution is not quite up to scratch.

6-6.5/10


Revolutionary Road (2008)- effectively 2 hrs of watching two selfish, petulant, childish and idiotic people bicker and fight with each other. It might have worked if it had any emotional pull but, barring a few scenes towards the end where Roger Deakins' cinematography transcends the material, its as dramatically convincing as dishwater.

There's a line in the movie about knowing what you have, what you dont have and what you want. Director Sam Mendes makes the crucial mistake of only superficially hinting at what the Wheelers have, dont have and want. Without that, all the constant fighting has no context and just rings plain hollow.

5/10


The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) - Nicolas Roeg's dour, bizarre and glacially paced sci fi film is a little disappointing, especially considering its full of very interesting ideas and some great visual imagery. David Bowie aptly plays an alien who comes to earth with a mysterious mission and sets about his job by amassing a fortune with the help of his species' advanced technology.

These early moments are brilliantly constructed, Roeg giving viewers just enough to piece together what's going on before moving on to the next scene. But once Bowie's character gets distracted from his mission by succumbing to the earthly desires of alcohol, s*x and tv, the movie loses all sense of pacing despite examining some intelligent themes in a non-cliched manner.

Had material for greatness but the results are a bit short.

5.5-6/10


The Ax (2005) - another disappointing film containing interesting ideas, Costa-Gavras' attempt at social satire is just not sharp enough or black enough to appropriately deal with its material. In fact, it has a fair bit of trouble finding the right tone throughout, clicking only in a handful of scenes that provide a glimpse of what could have been.

Jose Garcia plays a mid level manager who is fired from his job at a paper factory and has trouble getting another one due to fierce competition. Out of desperation, he determines that the best way to improve his chances is by literally eliminating his competition. Costa Gavras follows his attempt to get re-employed, feebly exploring the guilt and doubts Garcia's character encounters along the way.

5.5/10


Don�t Move (2004) - Penelope Cruz goes ugly in overwrought arty italian melodrama that has a number of strong scenes but some very implausible characterisations.

6/10


Appaloosa (2008) - decent, but unremarkable western with Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons and Viggo Mortensen. The last third is extremely good but the movie takes too long to establish its characters and relationships before getting to that point. Renee Zellewegger nearly ruins another movie despite having an interesting role but is thankfully kept out of most of the quality last act.

6.5/10


Watch on the Rhine (1943) - decent wartime melodrama which is a little too earnest in its message delivering but has strong performances from its cast, including Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Bette Davis, and effective characterisations.

6-6.5/10 

agreed. Stays mostly intelligent. And man, is Ben Affleck a bad actor. Seriously. Stop casting him. 

I didnt mind him. 

god its beautiful! 

Movie for free, explains why M. Smith is right: Humans are the cancer of Earth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU 

Star Trek

Not a big fan of the original series of the show but this was great fun, and definitely worth a watch. Nothing too original though, and most of the screentime is dedicated to lens-flare.


Coraline

Brilliant animation based on a Neil Gaiman novella, directed by Henry Selick (of Nightmare before Christmas/James and the Giant Peach fame). Uses a blend of stop-frame and 3d animation and it looks beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmD7R8LTk8o

Definitely has it's similarities to Alice in Wonderland, and it's got a real uneasiness and loneliness to it. They never resort to cheap jokes and cheesy quirkiness, and at the same time, don't go too far the other way and end up with any sort of Tim-Burton-gothic-ness to it.

As someone who hugely respects the art and craft of Pixar, I really think Coraline blows a lot of their films out of the water, in both the visuals and the storytelling. Can't recommend this enough. 

I just ordered the dvd of Coraline, had my fingers crossed but I have uncrossed them now :) 

On the list, word. Sounds nice. 

It has a talking cat, eye buttons and a mouse circus, what more can you ask for? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDu7yYHxZr0

guess where else he's featured? 

where do they go from here?

rhetorical question btw, I dont want spoilers :) 

...but season 4 is probably my favourite of the lot, so good stuff to come. Season 3 did seem like a shift in tone despite returning to some familiar characters. I felt like it moved from being "realistic" to "believable" in patches - if that makes sense, but what they did with Major Colvin was so interesting that it didn't bother me.

In one of the commentaries, David Simon says that the opening scene to each season is supposed to encapsulate the theme and message of what's to come. I can't say enough good stuff about the season 3 intro. The Mayor intercut with Bodie is great fun, as is seeing the demolition team pressing the real trigger after the plunger is sunk. But really, seeing those two towers come down like that, and then have it trigger a "war"...that's setting your sights high in terms of commentary. 

agree that plot arcs and character arcs became a little more contrived but hard to really criticise when the rest is so good.

and I really should listen to the commentaries, completely missed that two towers reference. 

It's not very good. 

That's what I've been hearing. Sad face. 

It's a'right, 'bout the same level as Star Trek imo.

I'm mostly swayed by the fact I've wanted a future-war terminator film since the age of 7, but I do think it's watchable fun for the most part, even if the ending is stupid (altho nekkid CG arnie pwnz j00) 

Libeled Lady (1936) - pretty well scripted and beautifully performed screwball comedy that�s not as good as the best in the genre but the chemistry between the 4 leads (Jean Harlow, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy) more than makes up for Jack Conway's unimaginative direction.

7/10


The Green Mile (1999) - definitely too long but if you're a fan of Frank Darabont's well executed classical hollywood style, this will more than satisfy. Sentimentality goes hand in hand with the style adopted but thankfully, like The Shawshank Redemption, it never treads intro oversentimentality. There are a couple of scenes where the movie seems to have sudden shifts in tone but they're pretty effective so you cant really fault it for that.

Had the length been shorter, this would have been upto Shawshank's level, but as it is, its still a pretty stunning movie.

7.5/10


Beauty and the Beast (1946) - Jean Cocteau's suitably dreamy and semi-surreal version of the fairytale is easy to admire but a bit difficult to like. It looks great and the attempt to examine some of the darker themes in the story is also a plus, but unfortunately the actual drama between the characters seemed too fake and unbelievable.

6/10


Get Smart Season 2 - I think I said it when watching season 1, its interesting seeing such a formula based show on dvd where every episode is similar and comparing it to the more serial based tv series that are around now. Definitely dated but the performances from the cast still manage to overcome the lacklustre material. And still way better than the recent movie.

6/10


Body of Lies (2008) - decent, if unremarkable, action thriller from Ridley Scott. Performances are good, action scenes are good (thankfully you can actually see whats going on) but the script is a bit of a mess. Surprisingly, the best scenes are the character scenes between Di Caprios'c character and his love interest, despite the cliched situations they are given. Don�t know why there was not more of them, would have helped cover up some of the other deficiencies in the script.

6.5/10


The Wire Season 3 - see comments in posts above.

8.5/10