16 films - a perspective

Because of the general lack of time, and various health problems mentioned, I have fallen more than a little 'back in my film magazines. In an attempt to catch up, I thought I'd add my last 16 movies I've seen in a quick effort ... So here's take:

Broken Embraces - December 22, 2009 at the Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles - Pedro Almodovar's latest film is the masterpiece of hand, head scratcher part. Convoluted plot has something to do with a director goes blind, and the exploration of itstragic past. I love a good plot complex, but not when I lose myself in the street. The finish is terrible, and it makes no sense. But this is a movie ... Almodovar, then you still have a movie compelling and interesting ... although not all to the end. Maybe I need to see again ...

How to Eat Fried Worms (2006) - The film is on DVD December 27, 2009 with my grandchildren as I saw on vacation. I slept with most of it to be honest with you pushing (it's in practiceBed, jet lag and lack of interest) ... but I had a nice story about a new boy at school, which is challenged by a tyrant fried worms. In the end the triumph of a new child, the bully gets his ... and everyone is happy ... at least I did, think what happens.

Alvin and the Chipmunks - December 28, 2009 in Ramsey Cinema Ramsey, New Jersey - another movie I saw with my grandchildren ... and slept a couple of times. From what I gathered, it was better than the originalFilm ... History includes the Chipmunks save the day by an evil manager (David Cross), who works with a group female chipmunk. Not much else I remember ... My attention was mostly on my grandchildren, who seemed to have appreciated the film focuses ...

It 'difficult - January 3, 2010 at the AMC Century 15 - Nancy Meyers recent history of adults with problems of the rich has its funny moments, but overall, rings false for all fonts. Some of it is simply terrible. How boring to say that "MerylStreep is great in the movie, but, like Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, or a bore, which adds nothing. Although better than their last film THE HOLIDAY ... E 'complex is still ridden with problems and. .. never approach the quality of the best films Nancy Meyers What Women Want and Something's Gotta ..

Sherlock Holmes - January 3, 2010 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. I wanted to take as Guy Ritchie on the old story of Arthur Conan Doyle ... but I simply did not have. The property isComplex for his own good ... and I was often lost. Robert Downey Jr's British accent is terrible, and often very difficult to understand, and Rachel McAdams was simply spell. Holmes fights history includes a power of evil (Mark Strong) terrorize London. With the help of Watson (Jew law), Holmes is extreme ends to expose the truth and stop a diabolical plan. What would be a great adventure film ends up being confused with rotation and frustrating not to talk to stopenough of everything...

DAYBREAKERS - January 15, 2010 at the AMC Broadway theater in Santa Monica. Great premise, lackuster movie. Story is set in a world taken over by vampires. Humans are a rare breed, and are hunted down for their blood. Ethan Hawke plays a scientist vampire who's working on a "cure" to help all of the vampires in the world feed off of synthetic blood...When he encounters a group of renegade humans, his life is changed by their secret discovery. Lots of blood and so ... Yet the story of how the brothers will be presented Spierig clumsy and stupid. The direction is cheap, and undermines the whole story ... what a shame. Why take a B-movie idea and make it as a film? The dilemma, as the film does not make much sense ...

The Book of Eli - January 16, 2010 at the Grauman Chinese Theatre. I was very happy with this film, very impressed. The Hughes Brothers did a great job with the charming Gary Whitta's script. The guests, Don Burgess died coloredCinematography, and the overall impression of the film has an extra depth to an otherwise depressing film. Denzel Washington plays a mysterious loner, the levels of a post-apocalyptic world, a book that will help humanity can travel. Blocking his way is the evil Gary Oldman ... who wants the book for its own purposes, and at nothing to get it. In addition to a spell Mila Kunis, all services in the ELI are healthy. Despite my initial concerns on the director and cast, I was pleasantlysurprised how good the book by Eli ...

Youth in Revolt - January 17, 2010 Arclight in Hollywood - Based on the excellent adaptation of CD Payne's novel Youth in Revolt Gustin Nash, a very funny sex comedy. Miguel Arteta spiriited Helping matters is the direction that leads to true life story. It also helps that matters is Michael Cera, a kind of comic genius, the only way .... this is so innocent flirtatious mischief and desperate that you can not do, but as he noNo matter what he does. Cera plays a shy but precocious teen who will do anything for love ... even if it means stealing a car, set fire to the town, lying, cheating, stealing, and also (groped) fake his own death. With great supporting characters including Jean Smart, Fred Willard, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta and Justin Long, Youth in Revolt has always done. No film for everyone, but I loved it ...

LEGION - January 23, 2010 Arclight in Hollywood - Another casewhere the film does not meet the expectations of the premise. Paul Bettany plays a rogue angel who descends to earth to save mankind after God created man marked for destruction. In a similar set-up Rio Bravo and Assault on Precinct 13, the angel rogue camped in a small dinner (with a few residents and a pregnant woman) ... and defends himself against the army of God, the angels of evil. Apparently the key to the whole event in the life of the pregnant woman to the fetus. If theycan keep the angels of evil long enough ... the baby will be born safely, and humanity may survive a possibility. Although not a bad movie, drowned himself in the Legion banal dialogue and an attitude that seems to be too small scale to be given the parameters of the story. The casting does not help ... with Dennis Quaid and Lucas Black give a lackluster performance. That is, LEGION funny enough to know what ...

A Single Man - January 27, 2010 at the Landmark Theatre in West Los Angeles. - You do not haveparticular attention to the fashion designer Tom Ford's directorial debut ... an over-stimulated, as well as downward-stylized film about a gay middle-aged morning, the loss of her lover dead. Colin Firth is great, I mean ... take, but the rest of the movie and walk with their losses seemed exaggerated. Julianne Moore plays a pathetic drunken British for some reason, and watch the rest of the cast, as they have just escaped from a copy of Men's Vogue. What begins as an interesting piece of time andCharacter study quickly turned into a festival of contrition and absurd ... with an end that is unintentionally laughable.

The Young Victoria - January 29, 2010 at Laemmle Monica 4-Plex in Santa Monica - A good film to see with a lot of interesting things to make us think and discover. Emily Blunt plays Victoria, the young soon to be the Queen of England with a strong combination of strength and vulnerability. Director Jean-Marc Vallee presents a story full of drama andRomance ... They felt the pressure was wanted in Victoria all around them the real slice of the pie. You root for them, as well as for its romance and marriage to Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). I was very involved at the beginning of the story ... and was happy to beat anyone .... enjoy the journey along the route. Supporting cast is stellar with Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong, Jim Broadbent and Paul Bettany ... If fascinating historical costume dramas, such as with a clickRomance ... The Young Victoria will probably enjoy.

Edge of Darkness - January 30, 2010 Arclight in Hollywood - A simple revenge story told in the convoluted way possible. Why do directors insist on throwing so many plot points, you can follow the impossible, what's going on? The story is simple enough looking Boston police officers (played by Mel Gibson) to avenge the murder of his daughter. But on the street, he goes on a journey full of dark fearInformants with huge hats and bad blacks. Although sometimes funny, I found some of the actions of Mel Gibson's highly controversial ... and other times just plain silly. Ray Winstone plays a sort of cleaner for the end of our corrupt government ... subjects that you never know ... and Danny Huston plays. what else? ... the bad. Directed by Martin Campbell with enthusiasm, Edge of Darkness succeeds as a compelling story, not running it.

Suicide Kings (1997) -30. January 2010 - saw this on DVD on my computer. A rather tepid film about a group of silly young men from wealthy families, who kidnap a gangster, to use his knowledge to return the kidnapped sister of one of the men. But it's not long before things get out of hand and chaos occurs. Despite the excellent performance by Christopher Walken (as Gangster) and Dennis Leary, Suicide Kings is a disaster through and through. Directed by Peter O'Fallon (who happens to beFather of one of my co-workers tried), but can not keep the story afloat long enough to look silly to you. In addition to being conceptually stupid, the movie is not because players in history have so unattractive ... each depicts a different version of the jerk ... makes the on-screen interaction between them very boring. The end does not make sense, and even the whole movie ...

A Zeppelin (2004) - January 30, 2010 - seen on a steam free Netflix on my computer.Led Zeppelin took this documentary on curiosity, but was happy to find some interesting pictures in there. It looks like a 101 unauthorized documentaries Led Zeppelin out there ... I was hesitant at first to see (what I thought was) a poorly assembled Ripp-Off ... But in the end I was glad I took a look. Due to good discussions with major players in the history of Zeppelin, I was impressed with what I saw. For die-hard fan like me Zeppelin ... interviews presented in AZEPPELIN are worth their weight in gold ... Chris Deja, Lori Maddox, Jim McCarty, Simon Kirke, Richard Cole, Pamela Des Barres, Terry Reid and more ... I would not say I learned something new ... still hear the stories of some of the people who were there were fascinating ...

HARRY AND WALTER New York (1976) - January 31, 2010 - Another movie I saw on my computer via streaming Netflix. This was a movie with my parents when I was 7 or 8 years. I always remembered the scene in whichclinked glasses in a fancy restaurant ... otherwise the film is pretty bad. Under the direction of Mark Rydell, James Caan and Elliott Gould are doing their best, sing and dance with a thin plot revolves around a bank heist / revenge system master thief Michael Caine. Caan and Gould are the bumbling idiot twins, who seem always in trouble in the prison yard and the dining room to get. Diane Keaton plays the liberal bleeding heart / love interest to use the robbery to feed the plantpoor. Charles Durning plays the tough and corrupt bank manager Leslie Ann Warren plays the actress bland. Burt Young plays hard, but accommodating guardian, etc. .. Great voices, it is unfortunate that you have to assemble a great film ...

MR. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - 2nd February 2010 - Another movie I saw on my computer via streaming Netflix. This was the first time I had seen Frank Capra's classic tale of Washington politics and corruption, and I must say I was notimpressed. forced tale of a naive young senator in the spotlight of the political machine in Washington has too much sense to me. Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith, the young, has a good job .... but I never felt this character was a character at all ... If anything, it seemed Jefferson Smith, a kind of ideal ... the fine and everyone is represented, but where was the character?

Confusing matters is the ratio of Smith with his mentor / rival, Senator Joseph Harrison Paine (played byClaude Rains) ... a relationship characterized by a very thin wire ... ready to come to the second part all sewn. I've been waiting for something big, but he never does. The love story is weak and forced ... and the scene of the famous pirate I was cold. The end is ridiculously absurd and very disappointing. Do not get me wrong, I do not hate MR. Smith goes to Washington ... It 's just that my expectations were sky high, as his reputation as a classic and all .... Who knows? Maybe, just maybe,This film falls into the category of films that I hate ... after love ...