Film Review Catch-up

As any reader of this blog will no doubt notice, i have been absent since spring break, a case of too much within too short of a time period. But now I am back and ready to carry on during what I call the dormant pre-oscar season. First of all here are some snipets of reviews for the film's I have seen recently:

State of Play: A strong, well made thriller led by solid turns from Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren as well as show-stealing performance from Jason Bateman. The script is sharp, the direction is good, and the movie carried enough momentum to keep me engaged and excited to see what would happen next.

An overall good film: ***

Awards Prospects: Screenplay, Supporting Actor: Jason Bateman

Observe and Report: A savagely dark and twisted comedy that shocked, disgusted and filled me with roarious laughter. Seth Rogen is no longer the same Seth Rogen we saw in Knocked Up and Pineapple Express, in this film he has shattered my image of him as an actor, replacing it with something I am not able to explain in words. The direction and screenplay are good, not great, but the performances and shock factor made me fall in love with this movie.

I loved it: ***

Awards Chances: Seth Rogen for Golden Globe Best actor in a Comedy or Musical

Sunshine Cleaning: A small, nice, little unobtrusive dramedy and nothing more. The story was a bit maudlin at times, and the direction was poor but Amy Adam's bubbly charm made me care for her character, and Alan Arkin does what I love best, basically play the same character he always does.

A nice movie, but nothing more: **

Awards Chances: Amy Adams for Best Actress

Fast and Furious: I got exactly what I expected from this film: A few good car chases, some good action, nostalgia value from the return of the original cast, and an ending that clearly sets up for a sequel. Vin and Paul were exactly what they needed to be, vessels for their characters to come back and presumably kick ass. It wasn't anything awards worthy but I enjoyed myself, even if the revenge story fell flat.

Awards chances: Special F/X and sound, if that.

Duplicity: Hands down my favorite movie I've seen so far this year. I enjoyed if not loved every aspect of this film. The direction was lively and fun, the screenplay from Tony Gilroy ( who also directed ) was superbly funny and thrilling and smart. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have an excellent chemistry, playing off each other just as well as they did 5 years ago in Closer, albeit on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum. Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Tom McCarthy and Denis O'Hare deliver great supporting performances. The cinematography was beautiful, and the editing, just as fun and lively as the direction. I adore this film for all of that, and for an ending that knocked my socks off as far as how happy I was with it.

A++++: ****

Awards Chances: Director, Actor, Actress (Globes), Sup. Actor, Screenplay, Score, Editing and Cinematography.

Adventureland: I went in expecting Superbad set in the 80's, I left very happy knowing that my expectations were dead wrong. The film, written and directed by Geg Mottola was touching and funny, but thankfully funny in a real sort of way, not raunchy or sophmoric. The humor comes from the characters and dialogue rather than by situation. Jesse Eisenberg was painfully good, I havent felt so deep a personal connection to a character in quite a while, and Kristen Stewart was also well cast in a role much like her excellent turn in Into The Wild. The supporting cast was good, especially Ryan Reynods, Martin Starr and Matt Bush who delivered the best one liners in the film. Here's hopin that Mottola continues on this path ala Daytrippers rather than Superbad.

Funny, moving and personal: *** 1/4

Awards chances: Screenplay, Best Actor ( Globes)