Doubt - 4 stars

The first 102 minutes are great. The last 2 minutes were terrible. Did they have some high school student write the ending? It stars 3 of the best actors on screen - Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. The writing and directing are very carefully nuanced. I love how they set up the power dynamic with subtle little plays like someone sitting behind the desk when it isn't his office.

Definitely worth a watch.

Two Lovers - 1 star

It's probably not fair to review a movie that I haven't watched all the way through, but I will.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Leonard, a loser Brooklynite whose fiance left him, who tried to kill himself, who is living with his parents. Somehow, gorgeous Gwenyth Paltrow's befriends him.

That's where they lost me. Never has the beautiful, charming, independent babe made friends with the boring, ugly loser who lives with his annoying parents. If I lived in the same building as this guy, I wouldn't even talk to him.

No wonder Phoenix decided to join a band.

Slumdog Millionaire - 4 stars

This isn't at all what I expected. With all of the hype, and the cute song & dance at the Oscars, I thought I would watch a light Bollywood movie. Instead, it was more along the lines of the Kite Runner. A poor man makes it onto the Indian Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He does so well that the host thinks he's cheating. That part you already know. What you may not know is that there is a back story to each of the questions. He knows each answer because it connects to a tramatic event in his life. Difficult to watch, but very good.

The Code (Thick as Thieves) - 3.5 stars

Jim had to remind me that I saw this movie, so it obviously wasn't that memorable. It was pretty enjoyable though. It's a light heist flick with Morgan Freeman, Rhada Mitchell and Antonio Banderas. The Code has some predictable moments, but has some surprises, as well. The heist is similar to the Ocean's 11 series or to The Score (Edward Norton). Antonio Banderas can't carry his own weight, but is fine with 2 the other two outstanding actors flanking him.

Religulous - 4 stars

Religulous is a documentary by political commentator/comedian Bill Maher. If you aren't familiar with him, he's similar to Michael Moore (Farenheight 911).

If you don't like his politics, you won't like this film. If you are religious, you won't like this film. In fact, you should probably stop reading this review. If you want to watch the whole thing from begining to end, you probably won't like this film. However, if you are like me, then you will like this film. Jim & I watched it over several days because we are new parents and keep falling asleep.

Bill interviews religious leaders or profiteers from various religions and makes them look like they don't know what they are talking about. Frequently he will have written on the screen "not true" or "no it's not" as someone is speaking. He also gets people to don a quizical look as he asks pointed questions or challenges their beliefs. He has clearly done his research. I learned plenty of new things about Christianity, about which I'm not very educated.

The Contract - 3 stars

The Contract is a "thriller" about a nice guy, layed by ultimate nice guy John Cusack, who stumbles into the life of a contract killer, played by Morgan Freeman. The film had potential, but you can tell that they ran out of money while filming so they cut a bunch of corners. There are a couple of noticable plot holes. Also, it appears that they were trying to edit out language for ratings. A thug comments on a woman's "tush." Not language you expect to hear from this character.

Ultimately, the movie is worth watching if you run across it on TV. Freeman and Cusack can do no wrong, and it's not much worse than most of the films out there. I wouldn't rent it though, there are too many other good movies to choose from.

Iron Man - 4 stars

Iron Man has all you hope for in an action movie. It has a good story, well rounded hero, lots of action, and it's fun. Iron Man is a superhero like Batman, an ordinary guy who uses gadgets and determintion to do extraordinary things. Robert Downey, Jr. plays the role perfectly, demonstrating that he still has some acting chops. He has 2 more Iron Man movies in the works, along with half a dozen other projects. Check out imdb.com for all you would ever want to know about any film/show or anyone associated with said film/show.

Bobby - 3.5 stars

Emilio Estevez wrote and directed Bobby, a slice of life pic about a bunch of people who happened to be at the Ambassador Hotel when RFK was shot. The film is well done and is filled with a star studded cast including Harry Belafante, Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburn, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy...

It's well written, well directed, and well acted. I only give it 3.5 stars because I don't think enough happens or is there enough nuance that I'd want to watch it again. It probably would mean a lot more to someone who was around during that time period or who knew more about the Kennedys.

Costumes and set deocration are excellent.

Dark Knight - 3 stars

I haven't posted any reviews in 9 months, because I didn't think anyone was looking at the blog. Turns out, at least one person is, so I'll continue to post every once in a while. If you look at it, then please let me know or comment, and I'll post more frequently.

The Dark Knight is the second of the Christian Bale era Batman movies. I'm a HUGE Batman fan. The first, Batman Begins, was phenomenal. I also really liked most of the other modern-day Batman movies. I have a cat named Batman. Get the idea?

This movie was a huge disappointment. The previews were mezmorizing. Heath Ledger as the Joker was touted as one of the best villians ever. So, you can imagine that I was very excited to finally watch this. Unfortunately, it was a very run of the mill action/comic book movie. Heath's performance was too understated to be impressive. He just seemed like a guy with some makeup who liked to kill people. I didn't feel his mania anything like the villian in Batman Begins.

Also, the story was thin. A two and a half hour movie could have some more substance.

8 Mile - 4.5 stars

I love 8 Mile. It's fantastically written, directed, and acted. Amazingly, it stars Eminem, prooving that this guy is no one-trick pony. He's like Madonna in the 80s, a young new talent that does things a different way. He's dismissed for being a thug, but really he's a genius.

The star of the story is B Rabbit, a young Detroit rapper who is trying to make a rap demo so he can make his way out of the trailer park. His mom's a mess (brilliantly played by Kim Bassinger), he's in a dead-end job, and his girlfriend just faked a pregnancy. Definitely worth a watch. We own the movie and watch it every few months.