Steel White Table

These are quick comments about movies I’ve recently seen, not reviews or plot summaries. Each title, however, is linked to a review from DVDTalk, James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert or another reputable online source.

Away From Her — A quiet film with wonderfully nuanced performances and subtle direction, it packs an emotional punch without being overtly manipulative or insulting to the audience’s intelligence.

Surf’s Up — I laughed all the way through this computer-animated family film. The subtleties in characterizations are hilarious. Jeff Bridges reprises his role as the Dude but in penguin form. (I enjoyed it much more than Ratatouille).

Twelve and Holding — Stand by Me with a whole lot of edge. Excellent, realistic performances from the kids (and everyone else) and a hell of a story makes this one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.

Stardust — A predictable fairy tale that will take you for a fun ride if you’re willing to just go along with it. All the actors have a good time with this one, and it’s infectious. It’s got adventure, comedy, romance, thrilling action and enough interesting twists so it never gets boring. A good night at the movies.

The Bourne Ultimatum — A solid action movie in which all the stunts and explosions and chases are real. No CGI. And it feels real. This is a visceral, tense, exciting film with a few moments to catch your breath and then BAM! we’re back in business. It’s a cool movie. Lots of fun.

The Simpsons Movie — I’ve watched maybe two episodes of The Simpsons in the past 3 years, and I don’t think I laughed once. I laughed out loud all throughout the movie. The secondary characters don’t have much to do, but it’s fun. If you like the TV show, you’ll like the movie.

The Proposition — A morally ambiguous and slow moving Australian western that isn’t quite as epic and cool as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but worth a look if you’re a fan of westerns.

Wordplay — A documentary about people who do crossword puzzles which at times is so bizarre it seems like a mockumentary. The celebrity interviews are unnecessary (Jon Stewart’s is particularly annoying), but the regular crossword puzzle geeks, who think quite highly of what they do, are interesting and fun to watch.

Everyone Says I Love You — A musical by Woody Allen, and ya know, it ain’t that bad. People breaking out into song usually doesn’t work for me, but the acting is good, the story is entertaining and the songs are fun. It’s well done. I enjoyed it.

Fracture — I had low expectations for this mystery thriller starring Anthony Hopkins, but it’s not bad. It’s not a great movie, but it’s intriguing and interesting enough to satisfy.

Ocean’s 13 — Not as a good as Ocean’s 11. Not as bad as Ocean’s 12.

1408 — Go rent The Shining instead. 1408 may be one of the best horror movies of the year, but that’s not saying much.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix — Indiscriminate Harry Potter fans may like this movie. It was another soulless, unengaging snoozefest for me.

(A recycled post from Mud Songs.)

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