Tuesday Movie Reviews

The Blind Side
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates
Directed by John Lee Hancock

After finally seeing The Blind Side, after all the hype for Sandra Bullock, after all the "feel good movie of the year" talk, I found the movie to be...ok. It is very formulaic, following the process of all other inspirational stories such as Lean On Me, Stand And Deliver, Erin Brockovich, etc. I'm not saying that's necessarily bad, but it's been done a thousand times before. Sandra Bullock was good, but did she deserve an Oscar and all the accolades she received? I think not. I truly believe anybody could have played this role. It's Bullock's great screen presence and personality that won her an Oscar. I liked The Blind Side, and I liked Quinton Aaron's portrayal of Michael Oher, but it's definitely a re-hash of other, maybe better, films.

GRADE: B

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Starring (voices of): George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe
Directed by Wes Anderson

I have been a huge fan of Wes Anderson's ever since his first feature Bottle Rocket. Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic followed and didn't disappoint. I'm even in the rare category of those who liked Darjeeling Limited. I had some trepidations about watching an animated film by Anderson. Turns out The Fantastic Mr. Fox is my second favourite of all!! (Nothing beats Rushmore). I loved this film. I don't know if it follows the story from which it came, written by Roald Dahl, but I don't care. The stop-action filming is breathtaking! The characters are fully formed and brilliantly funny. Will kids like it? I'm not too sure. I think some of it will go over their heads. Anyone over 15 should enjoy it, though. Now that I've seen this film I have doubts as to whether Up should have won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. It's that good!!!

GRADE: A

The Men Who Stare At Goats
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges
Directed by Grant Heslov

I wanted sooooo much to like this film. The commercials made it look hilariously funny. Maybe in the hands of Steven Soderbergh it could have been. I just don't think director Heslov had any idea where he wanted to go with it. The first half hour or so introduced some very funny and quirky ideas, but the follow through wasn't great. I started to lose interest about half way through and had to fight myself from falling asleep. Now, after saying this, the idea that some of these things actually happened is mind-boggling. It's amazing the kind of things the American Army comes up with. Ewan McGregor was really the best part of the movie, as Clooney and Bridges just seemed to be coloring by numbers. Disappointing, but not terrible.

GRADE: C+

Brothers
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham
Directed by Jim Sheridan

The reviews I read for this film were on the average side. People seemed to like it, but nobody seemed to love it. I LOVED it. I don't know if it was the mood I was in when watching it, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that any of the three leads weren't nominated for Academy Awards this year. Maguire, Portman and especially Gyllenhaal were fabulous. The high drama and tension built up was palpable. Director Sheridan didn't make one bad move. He's helmed such great films as My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father, so he knows what he's doing. Sam Shepard was letter perfect in his role as the father. My only trouble was with the kids. I have issues with little children that can bring up emotions as well as the older daughter did. Is she acting? Is she pretending? What happened before Sheridan said "action" to make her cry like that? I find it disturbing and bothersome. But I'm just nitpicking. The movie was great!

GRADE: A-

Everybody's Fine
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale
Directed by Kirk Jones

The movie was...fine. The performances were...fine. The story was...fine. There isn't too much to criticize or praise about this film. It plays along like a Movie Of The Week, a little funny, a little weepy, totally predictable. What I did like was the performance from Robert DeNiro. He has always been one of my favourite actors thanks in large part to his early work with Martin Scorsese. But in recent years he has played a sort of caricature of himself. In this movie, he actually had a little more to go with, a character of depth and turmoil that DeNiro presented very well. That was a welcome surprise. Otherwise, if you have to rent this one...fine.

GRADE: C+