Meek's Cutoff (2010)

There's a good story here, but unfortunately director Kelly Reichardt chooses to ignore it. It's 1845 and three pioneer families are lost in the Oregon wilderness. Their guide is proving to be no help and soon simple survival has moved up to the top of the list of priorities. Enter a lone Native American who they capture and force to lead them to water. And then, well, nothing. The film just ends. All the work building up the drama fades to black. Critics love this shit. But if you actually read the reviews, you'll see they're more about the director than about the film itself. Then again, I didn't like Reichardt's 2006 breakthrough, Old Joy, so what do I know. Talk about a movie about nothing. That one was about two friends going camping. That's it. And it wasn't even as if they spent their time engaged in fascinating conversation. They barely spoke. I don't get it sometimes. Meek's is better. It's a beautiful film with its crisp, big sky vistas. And star Michelle Williams is as good as always. But an ultimate letdown. Sigh. MINUS

Playlist

Animal Kingdom (2010): While I didn't love this as much as our own Vinny High Life, I still liked it a lot. It reminded me of the indie small time crime stories that came out in the post-Tarantino 90s. Something like the unjustly forgotten Palookaville. And another example of how good acting can carry a film as much as any of the action. Side note: Not sure why my DVD case said, "An Australian answer to Goodfellas." Either The New York Times critic Stephen Holden has never seen Goodfellas or Australia didn't understand the question. PLUS

The Beaver (2010): I admit, I thought this was a joke when I first heard about it. I mean, Mel Gibson and a talking beaver puppet, how can this be an actual film? Or better, why? And Jodie Foster's directing? Really, it sounded more like a Funny or Die short. Well, they made it and...wait for the twist...it's good. The most surprising thing is how not absurd and over-the-top it is. Gibson's character suffers from severe depression and the only way he is able to relate to the world is through the use of the puppet. It's a sad, touching story, and a pretty realistic take on the disease. It's also one of the few types of roles I would have been able to watch Gibson play these days without being distracted by his real life plummet into bigoted insanity. And, hey, a pre-Winter's Bone Jennifer Lawrence is in it, too (this was made in 2009, but couldn't find a distributor). Something I didn't like, though, and a long time cinematic pet peeve: there's a scene where Gibson goes on a morning TV show and, as luck would have it, all the other major characters happen to be watching the same show at the same time in different locations. That then leads to an unnecessary and unrealistic rise to international fame for Gibson. Jodie should know better. PLUS

Police, Adjective (2009): I'm all over the map like the SMC version of Carmen Sandiego. Next stop, Romania. Have you heard about the Romanian New Wave? No? It's a pretty big deal in the head up their ass world of film critics. Here we have a film that, believe it or not, is accurately described by its vague title. It's about a cop following a teenager who he believes is selling hash or knows who is. So, he follows him. Literally. There's one 20 minute sequence where the cop walks behind him and then waits outside his house. Let me tell you, 20 minutes of nothing is a long time. That's it, by the way. He follows the kid and is told to bust him for smoking. He doesn't want to and his boss has him read the dictionary definition of "police" and some other words. That's the climax. Reading from the dictionary. There are other scenes of him eating and listening to a song and smoking, there's a lot of smoking. Also, Romania looks like one depressing hole. I'm surprised the cop didn't walk around with a beaver on his hand. MINUS

Playlist

Thor (2011): A big-budget superhero movie directed by an artsy foreign director? What could go wrong? Okay, that, but this is not that. This isn't some random geek-baiting project. This is Shakespeare whore Kenneth Branagh's entry into Marvel's well-oiled, corporate-controlled build-up to their epic Avengers project that hopefully won't epically fail. Whatever happens with The Avengers, Marvel and Paramount deserve credit for having a plan and sticking to it, something that just about never happens in Hollywood. And this is a pretty good film on its own. Chris Hemsworth brings his acting chops to the title role, Natalie Portman is her usual Natalie Portman self, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki is the love-to-hate supervillian previous Marvel films have been missing. (Anthony Hopkins is here, too, as Odin, but he's been in so many movies that I don't even register him anymore.) Speaking of geekbait, there's a bonus cameo by Jeremy Renner as future Avenger Hawkeye.  PLUS

Hanna (2011): Genetically-enhanced killer little girl on the run from CIA mastermind Cate Blanchett and her southern accent. Sounds fun, right? And, after a bit of a slow start, it is. And then it becomes an actual good movie, no doubt thanks to the guiding hand of director Joe Wright, best known for inaction films Atonement and Pride & Prejudice. It's very well shot with some fantastic visuals and shot and location choices. Definitely worth a watch and I'd be interested to hear what you thought of the ending. PLUS

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010): A lot of foreign films are really just American films in a different language, so it's interesting to come across one that is truly reflective of its native culture. Unfortunately, as in the case here, I think an unfamiliarity with Thai culture and history prevented me from ultimately appreciating this film. I have to give it the benefit of the doubt since director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (suck it, spellcheck)  won the 2010 Palme d'Or, and while I understand it, I was not able to enjoy it. In short, it's slow. Or as critic Sukhdev Sandhu described it while awarding it a perfect score, "It’s barely a film; more a floating world. To watch it is to feel many things – balmed, seduced, amused, mystified." That's a good review? No mention of the woman who has sex with a catfish?* Seriously, movie critics are such pricks. MINUS

*Yes, that happens.

Playlist

Paul (2011): If you like stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, then you'll like this. While they'll probably never again reach the brilliance of Shaun of the Dead, there's nothing wrong with hitting a level of consistent likability. Speaking of which, the main praise here should, believe it or not, be reserved for the way the wise-cracking titular alien voiced by Seth Rogan is NOT annoying. That's no small feat (for a CGI character or for recent Rogan). Kristin Wiig is in this, too. Is she funny? I think so. As for Pegg and Frost's usual cohort, director Edgar Wright was off filming Scott Pilgrim, but was replaced by Superbad's Greg Mottola. Not a bad sub. PLUS

White Material (2009): Here's the difference between this and director Claire Denis' 2008 film, 35 Shots of Rum: tension. As you may remember, 35 Shots was a minus for me for the simple reason that nothing happened in the way that only nothing can happen in a French film. While WM isn't exactly Crank, at least there's a pulse. Isabelle Huppert gives a strong performance as a woman trying to hold together her coffee plantation as the violence of the unnamed African nation's civil war closes in. And get this: her husband is played by none other than Highlander himself, Christopher Lambert, or as he's billed her, Christophe. I always felt that "r" was the only thing standing between him and an Oscar for Fortress. So, yes, I see now why Denis is so revered as a director. PLUS

Card Subject to Change (2010): This is a doc about the world of indie wrestling. If you know anything about the subject, you know it's inherently sad. It's a world where guys destroy their bodies for $50 a night if they're lucky. Even sadder are the former industry stars, guys (and gals) like Kevin Sullivan, Billy Kidman and Sherri Martel, who went from performing in front of thousands in arenas to a dozen goobers in VFW halls. And then there's the Ugandan Giant Kamala. Still around. Did you know he has released several R&B albums? Comes across as a real nice guy. While CStC isn't as good as 1999's Beyond the Mat, it's still a fascinating watch if you're into the scene. PLUS

Playlist

Oldboy: Not sure why it took me so long to see this, but that kind of thinking isn't going to get us anywhere, now is it? This 2003 South Korean film by director Park Chan-wook has become something of a cult classic, though I think that's selling it a little short. No doubt it's considered "cult" because it's foreign, but not everyone is as worldly as we are here at SMC. The High Life is Worldwide, baby. Yeah, so, this is really good. It has a reputation for its violence, but it plays more psychological, like Fincher's The Game or Nolan's Memento. Two scenes stand out: the eating of a whole live octopus and a fantastic side-scrolling one-shot fight. Neither done with CGI, if you can imagine such a world. Yes, there's an American remake on tap. And yes, it's being directed by Spike Lee (wait, what?). I don't see the point, but I don't think there is one. Remember when I said I liked the American remake of Infernal Affairs better because of it was amplified by its star power? Maybe proposed re-star Josh Brolin will do fine, but Choi Min-sik brings a big star presence to the title role that will be very hard to equal. PLUS

Source Code: We at SMC are big fans of Duncan Jones' 2009 debut, Moon, so we couldn't wait for his follow-up earlier this year. Not enough to actually go to the movies, but excited nonetheless. So? While it's not the follow-up I was hoping for from Jones, it's a very well done sci-fi film. The thing about Moon was how it was so different than other movies being made, a completely anti-Hollywood minimalist take on the genre. Source Code is more of the high concept thriller we are used to, but you can see the difference a quality director can make. It would be very easy to lose control of the idea of having a soldier's consciousness continuously sent back in time to relive the last eight minutes of someone's life in order to discover why a train was blown up. Hell, I had to take a break during that last sentence. But, this film works, and it keeps its focus to simply tell that story. It doesn't cram in some conspiracy subplot or try to make the story bigger than it is. It is what it is, and it's good. And what's the deal with Jake Gyllenhaal? He's becoming a pretty solid go-to actor. Reminds me of where Matt Damon started. Next stop is being good in everything he's in and then to where Damon is now--making movies better just by being in them. So, Jake, that's a "no" to Prince of Persia 2. PLUS

13 Assassins: What Vin said. I have seen Seven Samurai and this holds its own with that classic. Only criticism: there's a very bad CGI scene featuring flaming bulls that should have been cut. Cool concept, but not necessary. Fun Frank Fact: I've mentioned this movie to Vinny High Life two different times and both times I referred to it as 12 Assassins. I have no idea what that means. PLUS

Funner Frank Fact: When I went to find a picture to add (see above), I typed in, "12 Assassins." WTF? Good thing The Distillery has a CAT scan function.

Love & Other Drugs

Or, Love & Other Drugs & Anne Hathaway's Naked. A Lot. I'm not saying that's the reason I watched this in the first place, but...I can't even think of another excuse. But then it turns out that the rest of the movie wasn't that bad. Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal have a lot of chemistry and they save a basic romantic formula with sweetness and charm.

This is a good time to explain how I rate these films. Basically, I try to consider each movie for what it is. Just because I give a PLUS to something doesn't mean I consider it the equal of Goodfellas. Something like Piranha 3D is not a work of art. No one at any part of its creation (except probably the screenwriter) ever considered it as such. It was intended to be a campy diversion. And it was, but that doesn't mean I'm putting it in the time capsule next to Citizen Kane. The art of The Distillery system is its simplicity--did you enjoy it, yes or no? Different movies have different stakes, different degrees of difficulty. It's like figure skating. A well-made Holocaust epic is like sticking a triple axel. That doesn't mean your half lutz wasn't technically sound, but, c'mon, a triple axel.

Two other L&OD notes: Check out director Edward Zwick's resume. This guy is way under the radar. I see a sweet distillation in his future. And then there's Josh Gad. If you ever ask me about The Rocker, I will tell you how Gad gave one of my favorite comedic performances in recent years (then I'd probably start talking about Emma Stone, though, sadly, never about star Rainn Wilson). Here, he plays Gyllenhaal's brother and steals every laugh again. I was surprised to see that he hasn't really been in anything else of note. Now that Jonah Hill has followed Seth Rogan into skinnyville, we need a new funny chubby guy. PLUS

The Next Three Days

Paul Haggis, who could care less what I think of him because he has an Oscar and none of my statuettes have names, is a hack whose Oscar is for the worst Best Picture of my lifetime, 2004's Crash. So, it surprises me that here I am 7 years later writing about one of his films. I heard it was good and besides, 7 years? Wow. I have no concept of time.

Fine, I'll just say it: this was pretty good, and a lot of that has to do with Haggis' direction. (No, he's not a hack, he just made an insulting and inept film that was unjustly rewarded.) Russell Crowe plays a mild-mannered community college professor whose wife (Elizabeth Banks) is inexplicably convicted of murder and sentenced to a long time in the clink. Crowe, of course, doesn't buy the rap, and he eventually concocts a scheme to bust her out of county jail  after her appeal is denied and she is sent to the state prison. I know, but stay with me: this is probably the most plausible take on this implausible premise. (Would I do it? I would absolutely bust out Elizabeth Banks. Then again, he had a shot with Olivia Wilde on the outside, so, no, probably not. It was a lot of work.)

Crowe gives a terrific understated performance, playing up the everyman angle instead of chewing scenery and Haggis complements him by keeping the story from ever seeming unbelievable. Maybe not ever, but for the most part. Ultimately, it is still a fantasy scenario, but its tone keeps the plot tense and leaves you not quite sure how it will end. You know, an entertaining movie. PLUS

The Taqwacores

Taqwacore is the Islamic punk movement and before you ask, what the hell is the Islamic punk movement, let me refer you to the first word of this sentence. This film is based on Michael Muhammad Knight's 2003 novel and centers on an off-campus house at the University of Buffalo and the band of misfit Muslims living there. While featuring a good deal of music, it's not about that necessarily. It's mainly about fitting in, or rather, not fitting in--subculture outcasts caught between two seemingly incompatible worlds. And it does this by neither preaching or patronizing, but instead simply showing us a slice of life most of us didn't even know was there. Reminded me of another little-seen film, SLC Punk! (1998, PLUS), that explores the punk scene within another extremist religious society.

I was surprised to see this film get such a low score on IMDb. It contains some important questions asked in an intelligent manner. But more than that, it's just different. PLUS

Top 10 of 2010

What, I needed time to think. And see True Grit, which took forever to come out on DVD. Sorry, but 6 months is forever in the high stakes world of sporadic movie blogging. At least it was worth it as the Coen Brothers' latest cracked the vaunted top ten. Imagine if I had been waiting for Little Fockers.

***Disclaimer: This is my list and not the official SMC rankings. That list is still being transcribed by albino monks.***

So, what kind of film gets into my top ten? There's no formula, of course, because what a waste of science that would be. It is more the feeling of enjoying the act of watching a particular film, be it the story itself, the acting, the cinematography, the music, or, as is the case with the best of the best, the beautiful confluence of all the above. (Note: if the script contains the word "confluence," it is more than likely a pretentious mess.) All kidding aside, you never quite know why a great piece of art moves you, but you definitely know when it does. The why only matters if you actually get paid to be a critic.

1. The Social Network (David Fincher, director)

2. Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)

3. Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek)

4. Inception (Christopher Nolan)

5. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance)

6. Winter's Bone (Debra Granik)

7. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright)

8. Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese)

9. True Grit (Joel & Ethan Coen)

10. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard)

Hmm. There you go. I'm good with the top three. The rest could be mashed up without much of an argument from me. Black Swan was better the second time around, and honestly, it has a strong claim on number one. Overall, a solid year, although almost entirely thanks tot he final quarter.

So?

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Milla Jovovich is something else. And in the opening action sequence here, she is more than that, somethings else, as her character's genetically-enhanced clones throw down Matrix-style on the evil corporate stronghold. Actually, I don't know what this movie would have looked like if there had never been a Matrix, right down to Umbrella Chairman Albert Wesker, the Big Bad played by Shawn Roberts as Agent Smith--sunglasses, voice, movement. I know director Paul W.S. Anderson isn't exactly the other Paul Anderson, but he could have tried to be a little less obvious. Then again, Agent Smith is one of the best villains ever so it's not like he's paying homage to Arnold's Mr. Freeze. Plus, Anderson is married to Jovovich so what the hell does he care what I think. Particularly at night. About his wife.

So, what, this movie blows? Not at all. In fact, it's pretty damn good. Like I said, Milla is something else. She's in total kick ass mode throughout and, really, that's what this entire franchise is about. That and zombies, which are out in full force here as Milla's Alice has to break out of an undead besieged prison with a small band of fellow survivors that includes Wentworth Miller...from TV's Prison Break. Get it? His character turns out to be none other than Chris Redfield, the star of the original Resident Evil video game and brother of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) who just so happens to be buddies with Alice. Anderson knows his audience.

And the zombie dobermans are back. And this giant killing machine known as The Executioner. It's a lot of fun.  PLUS

Carlos

This was at the top of many critics' 2010 lists, but I can't really consider it a "film" in the usual sense of the word. It was originally produced as a mini-series for French TV and I watched all 330 minutes of it as such. In installments, not in France. (The theatrical release was about 200 minutes shorter and, all circulatory and renal benefits aside, must have been a completely different experience.)

I was reminded of the early 80s when American TV actually aired quality movies and mini-series. That feeling was no doubt helped by the subject matter as that time period was rife with tales of hijacked planes and terrorism. While my tastes at the time tended toward the Chuck Norris worldview on homeland security, I remember being fascinated/frightened by the more realistic takes on people like Carlos, or as you may know him, Carlos the Jackel.

If ever there was a celebrity terrorist, this was your guy. Granted, he considered himself a revolutionary in the Che Guevara mold, though minus the lucrative t-shirt side business. He did build himself up into the world's most wanted criminal and Olivier Assayas's biopic covers that rise to infamy. The filmmaking is excellent and Assayas seamlessly weaves together action, politics and historic footage in eight different languages over nine different international locations. Holding it all together is a magnetic, versatile, and brave star turn by Edgar Ramirez. (By brave I mean he shows his dong a lot.) It's one of the best performances in years.

As for Carlos, he never got to be the martyr he seemed destined to be and rots away in prison today as the delusional thug he proved to be. PLUS

Devil

One of my first SMC posts was about John Erick Dowdle's excellent horror remake, Quarantine. At the time, I was disappointed that I would have to wait so long for his follow-up. This. Which sounded promising enough at the time: it's about people trapped in an elevator with the Devil. Then I saw that it was being produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Then I got worried.


Little did I know it would be the worst film of 2010. That actually would have been a momentous occasion, or at the very least, a fortuitous bit of foresight. Then again, Vinny H-L did tell me not to see it. But I saw it. Definitely not the high life.


I don't want to pick apart the story, which is one of these simpleton thrillers delusioned into believing it's some sort of grander mystery exploration. It's literally about the Devil and about how people do bad things and they shouldn't do bad things because the Devil will come and do bad things to them. It's grade school religious mumbo-jumbo that's intellectually and artistically insulting. So much so that I watched the whole thing just to get madder. That's how bad it was. What that says about me is a whole other post. MINUS

Blue Valentine

One day, new film fans are going to seek this out in order to see two of the best actors of this era--Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams--sharing the screen early in their careers. Like watching Nicholson and Streep in Ironweed, only better. Better because I think this is a very good movie--one of the best of 2010. As well it should be, considering director Derek Cianfrance spent over 12 years trying to get it made. The script is very well structured, juxtaposing the rise and fall of a relationship in graphically honest terms. It's a love story, but one that keeps going after the romantic comedy cameras stop rolling. PLUS.

Hold on. I did have one question. How did Gosling's character age so badly in three, four tops, years? Or did he just want to go all actor and look that way? He seems like the type. He also seems like the type that may be hard to stomach in real life. Ok, that's based a little on the fact that he used to date Rachel McAdams, but I don't think I too far off. That's why I want to learn as little about him as a person. We know way too much about actors and athletes, so much that it distracts from the only real reson they should even be factors in our lives. I can't help disliking some douche celebrity and having that trickle down to my professional opinion of them. That's just how people work. Like, I was recently won over by the boxing prowess of Manny Pacquiao. He's undeniably talented and really a wonder to watch. He's also a congressman in the Philippines. And he says stuff like this. TMI. Just box. Just act. And let me judge you when you're dead.

Hereafter

Classic Eastwood film: Interesting, thoughtful, slow, and a bit too long. The sci-fi angle, which intrigued me enough into listing it as a movie to watch last autumn, turned out to be more spiritual, afterlife nonsense (I know, the title, right?) Still, I didn't dislike it and found myself wanting to find out how the three intersecting storylines played out. Matt Damon is his usual solid self, but I was pleasantly surprised by Bryce Dallas Howard who I can't seem to figure out. Do I like her? I didn't even realize it was her at first. I think I associate her too closely with Shyamalan, but I'm willing to let that go.

So, there you go. Not a ringing endorsement of the movie, but a recommendation if you're in a patient mood. PLUS

Playlist: Machete

Awesome. Coolest movie of the year. Let's see: Danny Trejo as the baddest Mexican on the planet (I'd love to see him in a Proactiv ad), Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan (either naked or in a nun's habit), Cheech Marin, and the resurgent Robert Deniro doing the kind of comedic turn he should have been doing all along (get this man a Ben Stiller restraining order). And the best use of intestines. Ever.

Robert Rodriguez makes fun movies. His Planet Terror blew away Quentin's Death Proof and his Grindhouse faux-trailer turned into this full-length kickass fest. And RobRod also seems to get fun performances out of his actors. Jessica Alba, in particular, is more life-like than she has been since, well, the guess-who-directed Sin City. Speaking of Jess, since she's a classy dame, they digitally removed her clothes for her shower scene. More proof that technology is evil. Sic em, Neo.

Here's some fun trivia from IMDB:

As Robert Rodriguez tells it, after conceiving of the character of Machete and telling Danny Trejo about it, Rodriquez started receiving phone calls at random hours of the day from Danny, trying to convince him to make the film. One day, Robert said to Danny that he was busy and asked why Danny can't just send a text message instead of constantly calling, to which Danny Trejo replied: "Machete don't text." Machete says this exact phrase in the film.

Playlist: Stone

When discussing a prospect in sports, scouts often refer to the player's floor and ceiling. The better the player the higher the ceiling for their potential success. If the player has a health risk or is still very young, their floor is also low, as in there's a good chance they might never even make it. Weighing these risks is the heart of player development and goes a long way to deciding the fate of your favorite franchise.

Average players, the necessary filler guys who allow you to field a full team, are generally low ceiling, high floor. Keep your expectations in check because what you see is what you get. Stone has nothing to do with sports, but I couldn't help feeling that I was watching a film with a low ceiling. It's a small story without much promise of being more than what it presents in its first half. I wasn't in the least bit surprised to discover that it was originally conceived as a play. 

None of which is to say it was bad. Actually, I'm not really sure if it's a plus or a minus in the ultimate Distillery sense of things (not that director John Curran is anywhere near the front of the Big D queue). I admit I lost interest during some of the slower scenes, particularly when it became apparent that nothing "bigger" was going to happen. I do think movies need that extra something. Not a car chase or an explosion, but some bump up in tension. 

The actors, though, are in top form. Robert DeNiro does his best work in a decade, probably since The Score, also not about sports, but also with...Ed Norton, who plays a white trash con trying to get parole. For the record, Ed Norton should not be playing a white trash con, especially one with corn rows. He's just too Ed Nortonish, too smart-looking. But he committed and I stopped being bothered by it by mid-movie (though seeing him in prison made me think of American History X.) Finally, stealing the movie from these two titans is none other than Milla Jovovich, getting the chance to show off some thespianic chops after years of kicking ass on screen. As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan, and not just because she's gorgeous (a word that feels oddly outdated to use, but also seems to fit perfectly). That said, let's just leave it with how it's a shame her nipples didn't receive some sort of Academy recognition this year. Travesty.  

Playlist: Toy Story 3

The no-brainer Oscar pool pick in what was a down year for animated films (though I did enjoy How to Train Your Dragon). Not that it would have mattered, really. The quality of the entire TS trilogy has been amazingly consistent. And clever. The use of thoughtful visuals and character details that enhance the viewing experience is in stark contrast to what's become the standard cartoon throwaway sight gag crutch. This is probably what gives Pixar films their "heart" compared to the dreck of Shrek.

Which is all well and good, but I know what you want. You want to know if I cried. Apparently, everyone else did. Everyone. So, in what may be the shock of the year, I didn't. Not that I didn't get a little ocularly moist. I did. I'm not that big of a bastard. But I knew it was coming and that took a bit of the edge off, or at least allowed my testosterone to lay down a protective layer of machismo. It's that damn nostalgia, isn't it? It's the disease of this generation, by which I mean my generation, of which you have no idea since I am ageless on the Internet. Not immortal, exactly. More like interminable.

So, have I ever cried during a movie? Maybe. Maybe during The Pride of the Yankees. Best speech ever. Field of Dreams. Maybe Big Fish. We're not talking breakdown here, like the teenage girl in front of me during Titanic who seriously needed her coven of BFFs to help her out of the theater. We're talking about those moments that get you right there (tap your chest...no, a little lower). And it's nothing to be ashamed of either. We're being manipulated. Hell, we're paying to be manipulated. It's the same reason why you shouldn't try to stop your toe from tapping during some crappy pop song. Someone spent millions of dollars figuring out how to make you do that. Who the hell are you to stop it?

Thought of another one: The Road. Yes, I see a theme: baseball and fathers. The Road hitting me from the other side of paternity. Everyone has an emotional weakness. What's yours? What movies made you wet?

Hold on, that sounds like a Vin post. What movies made you cry?

Playlist: Never Let Me Go

What terrible marketing. Terrible. I remember seeing the preview for this and wanting to doze off before the two minutes were up. But then I heard that there was a twist of sorts. Then, that the book on which it was based was really good. Award-winning even. And then it got some buzz once people actually saw it.

That buzz was still not enough. Enough for me to see it, but not enough for what it deserves. This British countryside drama is actually a fascinating science fiction film, and one of the best in a long time. If I were to Hollywood pitch it to you: Atonement meets Children of Men.

Carey Mulligan (who I can't say enough about without coming away with a restraining order), the suddenly everywhere Andrew Garfield, and the contractually-obligated to be cast in every movie like this Keira Knightly grow up together in what looks like a traditional boarding school (the children picked to play their younger selves are spot on). It turns out the school is anything but traditional. And it turns out it's hard to talk about this film without undermining its power.

That twist I heard about isn't a twist at all because it slowly unfolds from the start when it's revealed that we're in an alternate history where medical advancements have made it possible for the average lifespan to reach 100. But, of course, what makes this high concept so powerful is the humanity captured in Alex Garland's script and Mark Romanek's direction. The plot and the emotional performances are intertwined, feeding off each other, neither one cheating or undercutting the other. It's really an incredible balance and a remarkable film.

Playlist: Buried

When we talk about ambitious films, our thoughts typically drift toward the epic. Peter Jackson's scaling the heights of the insurmountable Lord of the Rings is the most often cited example. But a lot of what we're talking about in those instances is logistics. Just figuring out where to start something on that level is a victory in itself.

But there's also a more compact form of ambition that simply deals with the craft of storytelling (the whole point of movies) and it's that which intrigued me about this film from the moment I heard about it. How was director Rodrigo Cortes possibly going to pull off this ambitious premise: one set and one actor for 90 minutes? Or, more to the point, how was he going to do it successfully?

The key, it turns out, was not to rely on gimmicks (ok, one snake) or cheats. It really is just Ryan Reynolds, as a kidnapped truck driver in Iraq, in a coffin the whole time, barely able to maneuver in the tight space and with only a cell phone to communicate with the outside world. I thought Reynolds did a very credible job in a role not in his usual wheelhouse (actually just surviving the claustrophobia of filming should win him an award). Really, who's to say how someone would react in that situation. Yes, he makes decisions I hope I wouldn't, but maybe I would make worse. I kept thinking of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and tried to remember it's probably not that easy to dig yourself out of your own grave (even with a knife).

As you've read, my esteemed colleague caught the bored bug a few times, but I was hooked by waiting to see how Cortes would dig himself out of the hole he had dug for himself. To my pleasant surprise, he showed a lot of creative discipline and stuck to the premise to the end. That alone is a plus for me.

Playlist: The Kids Are All Right

I didn't want to see this. Just what I needed, another Hollywood lecture on the new reality of America. Did you know 67% of all children born after 1990 are being raised by same sex parents? That figure is completely fabricated, but you get my point. All mathmaticians are liars. Or gay. I'm not sure I really have a point.

But my point is that award season hype has a way of filtering out what films to catch up with on DVD. This has gotten a large percentage of said hype. So, I caught up with it. As it turns out, the film is all right. (Alright, as it turns out, is not. It is not a real word. It does not exist. Please stop looking at it.)

Director Lisa Cholodenko does not use this platform to preach the Liberal gospel, but choosing instead to simply tell a straightforward story about family. The performances are what separate this from the pack (and what are filling the trophy case). Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Annette Bening, one of my favorite actresses, are all as good as usual, and Mia Wasikowska finally showed why she's so highly thought of in the industry (and got a few layers of the dreadful Alice in Wonderland off her skin). Solid and enjoyable.

So, solidify and enjoy.