8/10 - Why can we not get more westerns? A brilliant western that fits the genre bill and feels straight out of the golden age of the genre, Open Range confirms Kevin Costner's directorial ability, especially when in control of a western. Robert Duvall, Costner, Diego Luna, and Annette Bening, are all terrific and have great chemistry with one another. Open Range does a good job establishing its characters, their motivations, and setting the stage for its big shootout. The action sequence is well handled and well shot, never becoming disorienting or confusing. Its purpose is clear and the proceeding elements of the film are done in a way that leaves you rooting for the protagonists, as you should, though the chemistry between the actors definitely plays into this element. As with many westerns, the film is incredibly lush and gorgeous, taking full advantage of its open, pure, and idyllic setting. A properly epic, well paced, and enthralling film, Open Range is a modern western with classical feel.



7/10 - The Young Victoria is a lushly crafted biopic with a killer performance from Emily Blunt as the titular royal, but it does have a few problems that holds it back from being truly great. Though Blunt and the other actors are at their very best, the film feels overstuffed. As it tries to showcase many characters and multiple years of Victoria's reign, it has the problem of feeling both incomplete and overstuffed. If it wants to introduce this many characters, it needs more runtime. If it cuts some characters, it still needs to be longer to bring every other subplot to an end. That said, the technical elements here are very good with terrific costume design, production design, and makeup/hairstyling. All are pitch perfect and perfectly capture the 1800s England feel with the correct importance and weight to the sets. The film is also well paced, even if the story does not deliver fully. Overall, The Young Victoria is an ambitious biopic that has terrific acting and a great look, but would have been better off trimming some fat and expanding on a few things to paint a more concise and direct picture.



8/10 - Green Zone is a terrific film that may take some creative liberties at times, but is always incredibly well paced, edge of your seat thrilling, and a fantastic look at the Iraq War from the inside. Matt Damon is great in this role as a soldier who quickly realizes their intel is bad and Iraq has no WMDs. Tense and thrilling, there are rarely films nowadays that leave me on the edge of my seat, but Green Zone made me think I was going to have a heart attack - it was that thrilling and energizing. The film, politically, has been criticized as "anti-American". I am not seeing it. If anything, it is pro-understanding. Those who try to learn more instead of sticking their head in the sand are rewarded. Those who put down dissenters are villains. That said, the film's simple point of, only Iraqis should run Iraq is very well built up to and a fair point. With so many factions in Iraq, nobody is better equipped to handle running the country than them. We certainly know that now. As for Green Zone, it is a terrifically entertaining and thrilling action war film that is wonderfully directed by Paul Greengrass and his action muse Matt Damon.



8/10 - A terrifically engaging film, Frost/Nixon may have a premise that does not sound too interesting, but the end results is pure poetry. Michael Sheen and Frank Langella are brilliant together and play off of one another perfectly. Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, and Sam Rockwell, add to the acting talent here with strong supporting turns. The film is very well directed by Ron Howard with the pacing and occasional docudrama style being a perfect fit for this type of film. The film really feels fresh and engaging due to this style as the film really ropes you in and brings you into the 1970s. The film is very well paced, which is easy to pick up on. As the premise could have been quite boring, the good pacing makes itself apparent when the film is never boring. Instead, it leaves you wanting more and on the edge of your seat waiting to see where the interview ends up. Overall, Frost/Nixon is exactly what a political drama should be. The film is not just very well made, but also a true actor's showcase.



8/10 - Midnight Special is a wonderfully unique and adventurous film. The acting across the board is very good, but the real star here are the technical elements. The special effects are terrific, especially in a scene where we see the boy with his eyes and the light coursing through his veins. The ending sequence also features terrific special effects and give the film a feeling along the lines of Spielberg's 70s and 80s science fiction classics due to the sense of wonder it inspires. The sense of mystery is highlighted by the film's synth-like score that really threatens to steal the show at times. Its low notes put you right on the edge and add this air of mystery that leaves you guessing until the very end. The lighting and cinematography are also top-notch, especially with the film largely taking place at night. It is always hard to shoot at night, but Midnight Special makes it look easy and, even better, the lighting lets you see everything, yet keep enough shrouded in darkness to make it both visually pleasing and mysterious. This film has a lot going on, is quite slow, and does not have a pay-off many will appreciate. However, I certainly did appreciate these elements. The slow pacing never arose as an issue because enough is going on to really keep you hooked and zoned in on what is going on in the film. Additionally, the ending is perfect simply because the proceeding 1 hour and 40 minutes were so mysterious. A mysterious ending is the only way to end this one as the characters never showed any level of understanding as to what was happening to the boy. Thus, it only makes sense that they remain in the dark along with us and get looked at as if they are crazy. Overall, Midnight Special is a special film that is wholly unique and highlights that Jeff Nichols is one of the best directors working today.



7/10 - Though Kundun falls short of Martin Scorsese's greatest works, it is still incredibly epic, stirring, and engaging one. Part biographical look at the early years of the current Dalai Lama and part insight into the issues between Tibet and China, the film has a lot going for it. The cinematography from Roger Deakins is awe inspiring at times, especially when it comes to its use of candlelight. The score is also fantastic and accents the film very well, while giving it the epic feel to match its wide scope. That said, the film does have structural issues to the point that it can be somewhat disjointed. The vast majority of the scenes work very well, but they feel entirely off when put next to each other. As a vignette into the early life of the Dalai Lama, it is brilliant, yet unclear and emotionally distant, never packing the punch it should. Fortunately, strong acting makes up for this, but this is definitely Scorsese-lite, never reaching the cohesive picture it absolutely could. Yet, its ambition and beauty cannot be underrated and is a worthy take on the Dalai Lama and his role in Tibetan culture. Overall, Kundun is a good film that is simply held back by story issues which prevent the film from reaching the heights Scorsese aimed for.



3/10 - Mama is just a bad movie. The scenes that are intended to be scary are instead unintentionally scary, the characters suffer from being massively stupid, and the supernatural entities motives make no sense. Even worse, one of the little girls is truly grating. Jessica Chastain is ok and Andres Muschietti does a fine job creating tension and a scary atmosphere, but the film never goes far enough to elicit scares. The film puts you on edge, but then pulls the rug from under you and leaves you wishing it had actually followed through on something for once. Horror films that lack a pay off are typically okay in my book because the atmosphere is scary enough and the things that are intended to scare you, actually do. With Mama, however, the plot and story is so laughably bad, none of these things scare you. The characters are thinly written and past and fall apart with the story around them making no sense and just being a nonsensical compilation of "best scenes in a horror movie" type situations, except the scenes here are so obviously trying to be scary, they fail to do anything at all. Mama is a horror film made by someone who loves horror, but has no idea what makes them work.



4/10 - The Reader is a mixed bag. The first half is practically pornographic and, by the end of the film, feels entirely pointless. I am no prude, but the sex in the first half has no purpose other than to establish the relationship between this man and woman, which is plainly obvious to anyone watching. Even worse, it's pedophilia on the part of Kate Winslet's character and the way in which it is normalized is honestly sickening. The graphic nature of this first half is completely unnecessary and exists just to be titillating. The following thirty minutes attempt to extract sympathy for a woman who was a Nazi guard in Auschwitz just because of her "secret" and her earlier relationship with the main character. The final thirty minutes, however, are brilliant. In these sequences, Ralph Fiennes is absolutely a sight to behold and is brilliant. Kate Winslet is good here and received tons of accolades for her performance here. She is good, do not get me wrong, but Fiennes is the best part of the final quarter of this one which is the best part of the film. Poetic and beautiful, it is tragic the film was not this way. Instead, the first hour and a half are pointless, pandering, scandalous, and dreadfully boring. Overall, terrific acting here, but this one takes far too long to get to the point and instead is far too meandering and the end result is disappointment.



7/10 - The Pledge is a terrific film until the very end where things happen to quickly. I am content with the resolution to the case, but everything else in that finale happened far too quickly and seemed incredibly unnatural and rushed. However, the proceeding hour and 45 minutes were terrific. Tense, engaging, and draped in paranoia, Jack Nicholson turns in a terrific performance as a detective who keeps working a case after retirement and is intent on finding a man who is kidnapping and viciously killing little girls. Some have called the film's subject disturbing, but the film is never graphic (or at least never more graphic than your average crime mystery). The rest of the cast is very able with Benicio del Toro standing out amongst a sea of talented supporting actors. The direction from Sean Penn is more than capable and though I disagree with his decisions towards the end, the rest of the film is great. Overall, The Pledge is a little bit of a let down due to a rushed ending that tries to race to the finish.



6/10 - Oh my is Mr. Turner a slog to get through. Slow, dreadfully dull, and as precise as surgery, Mr. Turner is a film that is marvelously directed, acted, and shot, but sitting in the DMV has proved to be more engaging. This film's cinematography is other worldly and cinematographer Dick Pope has provided some of the best shots of the decade with his work here. Unfortunately, the film is skin deep. It is like a hot girl that thinks she is smart, but is actually really dumb and lacks personality. I rarely call a film pretentious, but I feel as though Mr. Turner fits the bill. Hollow and packed to the brim with self-importance, the appeal of Mr. Turner is wholly lost on me. It gets as high a rating as it does from me for a few reasons: the aforementioned cinematography (particularly the slow pans from characters to shots of scenery are brilliant), the costume design, and the production design. All of these leave the film being a visual masterpiece of the highest order. Yet, the story elements and character elements are all beyond lackluster and lacking any sort of depth. The writing here is quite poor and the film is overlong. It would have been well served to actually develop its characters and cut some of the runtime. As it stands, Mr. Turner is all beauty and no brains.



5/10 - Jason Bourne is another very disappointing entry into the Bourne franchise. The plot slacks considerably under the weight of Paul Greengrass' shaky cam, unnecessarily large action set pieces, and nauseating action towards the end of the film. The Bourne films have always been remarkably built around their plot, not just huge action scenes. Here, however, this is thrown to the side for a bombastic, too loud, and over-the-top film that instead of being a unique action spy film, turns this entry into the beloved franchise into just another cookie cutter action film. The acting is solid across the board and whatever plot that exists is solid, but the film seems far too eager to just skim through the story and get back to explosions. Even worse, Greengrass' affection for shaky cam leaves these fight and chase scenes completely unwatchable. The original trilogy was far more grounded and balanced, but this sequel is far too reliant on action and casts aside any semblance of a plot as a result.