This is a quick and dirty run down of everything I've seen so far this year...
The Amazing Spider-Man - A little better than the Tobey
Maguire/Sam Raimi movies, Emma Stone is pretty good. Not essential.
Amour - Quite a good movie about an 80 year old French couple. Great acting by the two leads. Definitely should be seen.
Argo - This is a decent movie, pretty interesting subject matter, made well-enough but there's nothing particularly special about any part of it.
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Pretty good first film, interesting subject matter and a cute little girl at the center of it. Light on story though.
Bernie - Great little movie based on a true-life oddball story. Fantastic performance by Jack Black.
The Bourne Legacy - The first half was actually pretty good, the second half? not so much. Not essential.
The Campaign - Pretty funny Will Ferrel movie, perhaps a future dollar pickup. Not essential
Casa de mi Padre - Spanish language Western of sorts starring Will Ferrel. Not essential
Compliance - This is a pretty good indie movie with a fantastic performance by Ann Dowd (who should be headed to a Best Supporting Actress Dolphin nom) I recommend not reading about the movie and just watching it, it's an interesting psychological experience. Definitely should be seen.
Damsels in Distress - Occasionally funny but not great. I did like the 50's pop-inspired score though.
The Dark Knight Rises - Fun movie, but it's no Dark Knight
Amour - Quite a good movie about an 80 year old French couple. Great acting by the two leads. Definitely should be seen.
Argo - This is a decent movie, pretty interesting subject matter, made well-enough but there's nothing particularly special about any part of it.
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Pretty good first film, interesting subject matter and a cute little girl at the center of it. Light on story though.
Bernie - Great little movie based on a true-life oddball story. Fantastic performance by Jack Black.
The Bourne Legacy - The first half was actually pretty good, the second half? not so much. Not essential.
The Campaign - Pretty funny Will Ferrel movie, perhaps a future dollar pickup. Not essential
Casa de mi Padre - Spanish language Western of sorts starring Will Ferrel. Not essential
Compliance - This is a pretty good indie movie with a fantastic performance by Ann Dowd (who should be headed to a Best Supporting Actress Dolphin nom) I recommend not reading about the movie and just watching it, it's an interesting psychological experience. Definitely should be seen.
Damsels in Distress - Occasionally funny but not great. I did like the 50's pop-inspired score though.
The Dark Knight Rises - Fun movie, but it's no Dark Knight
The Deep Blue Sea - I thought this would be good, but it's
not.
The Dictator - Funny movie, in a weak year could be a dark
horse screenplay or best actor contender.
Django Unchained - An improvement over the last couple Tarantino movies but still nothing too special, it's okay but if I'm ever in a western mood I won't be reaching for this one.
Django Unchained - An improvement over the last couple Tarantino movies but still nothing too special, it's okay but if I'm ever in a western mood I won't be reaching for this one.
Haywire - Pretty excellent and realistic "spy"
thriller, far better than Bond or Bourne. A definite Best Actress contender too.
Holy Motors - Totally bonkers French movie. One of the wildest cinematic rides I've ever been on. Don't read anything about it, just see it and go with the flow. Phenomenal lead actor performance too. Definitely should be seen.
The Impossible - This story had some potential to be good (if say someone like Werner Herzog was making it) but as it is, it's fine but pretty thoroughly conventional. I didn't find anything particularly exciting or engaging about the way the story was told.
Holy Motors - Totally bonkers French movie. One of the wildest cinematic rides I've ever been on. Don't read anything about it, just see it and go with the flow. Phenomenal lead actor performance too. Definitely should be seen.
The Impossible - This story had some potential to be good (if say someone like Werner Herzog was making it) but as it is, it's fine but pretty thoroughly conventional. I didn't find anything particularly exciting or engaging about the way the story was told.
Killer Joe - Pretty good performance by Matthew McConaughey
but that's the extent of it. Okay movie, not essential.
Killing Them Softly - A lot of good things about this and a few not so good. Good screenplay and acting.
Killing Them Softly - A lot of good things about this and a few not so good. Good screenplay and acting.
King Curling - Norwegian curling comedy, kind of funny but
not brilliant.
Lawless - Disappointing movie considering the subject and all involved. Not bad, just okay I guess.
Life of Pi - I've heard the book is good, but the movie version didn't do a lot for me.
Lincoln - Oscar front runner. Proven to be somewhat polarizing.
Magic Mike - At this point, Matthew McConaughey is the frontrunner for the Dolphin Supporting Actor award as far as I'm concerned. Okay movie outside his great performance.
The Master - Fantastic film, especially on the 2nd viewing. You won't see better acting anywhere else this year.
Moonrise Kingdom - Fun movie, slight but fun.
Lawless - Disappointing movie considering the subject and all involved. Not bad, just okay I guess.
Life of Pi - I've heard the book is good, but the movie version didn't do a lot for me.
Lincoln - Oscar front runner. Proven to be somewhat polarizing.
Magic Mike - At this point, Matthew McConaughey is the frontrunner for the Dolphin Supporting Actor award as far as I'm concerned. Okay movie outside his great performance.
The Master - Fantastic film, especially on the 2nd viewing. You won't see better acting anywhere else this year.
Moonrise Kingdom - Fun movie, slight but fun.
The Paperboy - This movie is so ridiculous that it should be
so-bad-it's-good but somehow it's just bad and not much fun at all.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia - Highly unusual, protracted
police procedural from Turkey. The first two thirds of it takes place in the
middle of the night in rural Turkey and is lit only with three pairs of car headlights.
The director creates a mesmerizing, dream-like atmosphere which I really
enjoyed but the last hour, which takes place once the sun has come up, drags a
little. It's not for everyone but I enjoyed it for the most part.
Post Tenebras Lux - Absolutely horrendous Mexican film, stay
away.
Prometheus - Ugh, pretty poor all the way around except the
Production Design was good.
Room 237 - Amazingly great documentary about people's obsessive theories about The Shining. So awesome!
Searching for Sugar Man - Great documentary about Rodriguez, a musician who music producers thought would be the next Bob Dylan in the early 70s and turned out to be a massive flop. Unbeknownst to everyone else in the world, his music became "bigger than Elvis and the Rolling Stones" in South Africa. This fascinating story follows a South African journalist trying to find out who the mysterious Rodriguez was.
Seven Psychopaths - Made by the guy who did In Bruges, this movie was alright. Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits and Christopher Walken are all good in it. There are some good things about this but it never comes together as a whole.
Room 237 - Amazingly great documentary about people's obsessive theories about The Shining. So awesome!
Searching for Sugar Man - Great documentary about Rodriguez, a musician who music producers thought would be the next Bob Dylan in the early 70s and turned out to be a massive flop. Unbeknownst to everyone else in the world, his music became "bigger than Elvis and the Rolling Stones" in South Africa. This fascinating story follows a South African journalist trying to find out who the mysterious Rodriguez was.
Seven Psychopaths - Made by the guy who did In Bruges, this movie was alright. Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits and Christopher Walken are all good in it. There are some good things about this but it never comes together as a whole.
Skyfall - This is okay, goes on for too long but it's a
decent blockbuster (better than The Avengers ilk) Roger Deakins does good work
behind the camera. Your enjoyment may depend on how much you like James Bond...
The Silver Linings Playbook - This movie was quite a bit
better than I thought it would be. Good performances by Bradley Cooper,
Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Tucker and Robert De Niro and the movie was charming
without trying too hard. Dolphin nominee David O. Russell (The Fighter) did a
great job writing and directing it. Definitely worth seeing.
This Must be the Place - Totally strange movie set in
Ireland with Sean Penn playing a former Goth rock star ala Robert Smith of The
Cure. Includes a performance by David Byrne of the title song. Weird movie (and
too long) but still fun and unusual (funusual?)
Undefeated - Another great documentary about a volunteer football coaching in Memphis attempting to rebuild the worst high school football program in the state the ultimate goal of winning a playoff game.
Wreck-It Ralph - Really fun and creative animated movie about the lives of arcade game characters. I liked it a lot.
Undefeated - Another great documentary about a volunteer football coaching in Memphis attempting to rebuild the worst high school football program in the state the ultimate goal of winning a playoff game.
Wreck-It Ralph - Really fun and creative animated movie about the lives of arcade game characters. I liked it a lot.
Zero Dark Thirty - Great movie, certainly one of the best of
year. Definitely see it in the theater if at all possible as it was an awesome
experience. Better than The Hurt Locker in all ways, it's Kathryn Bigelow's
best movie. Jessica Chastain makes a good case to win Best Actress too.
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