Perfect St. Valentine's Day movie: heavy on the explosions and eye candy, light on pretty much everything else. It's delightful popcorn fare that offers little besides Timothy Olyphant's steamy good looks and Bruce Willis and Justin Long getting into silly tiffs. It's everything you want in an action movie. B
Definitely, Maybe (2008)I think this movie may even been slightly worse than I was anticipating. At least I know that Abigail Breslin's mom isn't dead or out of the picture. In the face of her parents' pending divorce and as the result of her first sex ed class, Maya asks her dad (Ryan Reynolds) how it came to pass that her parents got married and had a child. For reasons that only make sense in as much as they are necessary for the plot to occur, her dad opts to tell her the overlapping story of the three most significant romantic relationships in his adult life and let her figure out which one he ended up marrying. During this time he tells her terrible things about her mom (like how she cheated on him), about himself, and convinces her that he was secretly in love with another woman all along. Aside from a teary-eyed moment, this apparently has no lasting damage on the poor child's psyche. Too bad the entire movie wasn't about Kevin Kline's character. That I'd like to see. C
Being Julia (2004)
This has to be one of the most charming movies I've seen in a long while, and Annette Bening's breathtaking performance as an British stage actress taken in by young American man makes it all the more frustrating that she just can't beat Hilary Swank. I love seeing a woman scorned come out on top. Between Bening and Jeremy Iron's giggling make up scene and Bening's final drink, you pretty much want to pull up a seat and have a beer with her. Plus it's got Bruce Greenwood and Michael Gambon as a ghost. Who can argue with that? A-
The Dreamers (2003)If I never see this movie again, it will be too soon. It's not that it's that bad, really, but, like The Other Boleyn Girl, it can never seem to make up its mind as to what it wants to be. Why have Matthew (Michael Pitt) narrate much of the story only to show scenes of which he has no knowledge? It's weird sticking point, I know, but it can be easily rectified by not putting so much emphasis on Matthew, Protagonist. The best part of his narration (and his character for that matter) are the monstrously idiotic things he says, and how believable it is that this 20 year old American in 1968 Paris would say or think such stupid things. Even better than that is Eva Green playing Isabelle as a deranged child instead of an adult. If only the movie could stop being so gross and start being as cool as it seems while "Hey Joe" plays over the DVD menu. C
Undertow (2004)
I could not for the life of me figure out why I rented this one not even after I watched the trailer. Do I really like Jamie Bell enough to seek out his movies? That would mean that I have to go see Jumper, so I am guessing not. Having seen it, the only thing I can figure is that a) I read a positive review somewhere (perhaps claiming that it is underrated?) or b) I wanted to hear Philip Glass' sparse and sadly underused score. Director and co-writer David Gordon Green's feature has a groggy, underwater quality to it that draws you in, but it also makes it difficult to connect with the story at large. It focuses on familial overreactions that could benefit from a little more background and exposition. On the other hand, the scene with Dermot Mulroney telling the story of the gold coins has a lasting quality far beyond the rest of the movie. B-
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