I have only seen six movies so far this year. I know, I am way behind. But of course, Hollywood makes it so easy to skip the theater with all the nonsense they put out these days. So, in an effort to catch up, I will quick review all the movies I have seen this year.
Rango – I believe was the first movie I saw this year. A great animated effort with the voice of Johnny Depp as a misplaced Lizard trying to help a small town of animals in the desert. A very funny and loving homage to the spaghetti westerns, in a more sound example than Tarantino’s efforts. Also, the first animated film from ILM with design by the great cinematographer Roger Deakins. Well worth the viewing. High Recommendation.
The King’s Speech – I know this is a carryover from 2010 but it took me a while to see it. Luckily, since winning Best Picture, it stayed in theaters. Colin Firth plays the heir to the throne of England with the disability of a vocal stutter, which greatly compromises his regal station. Geoffrey Rush plays the speech therapist that must not only help the heir overcome his speech impediment, but his fears of his true duties to the throne. This won Best Picture, so who am I to tell you to see this or not? Still: Recommend.
Battle: Los Angeles – I really enjoyed this one. I really did. More than just a slate of mindless action set pieces, here Aaron Eckhart plays a just-retired Marine Corps Staff Sergeant shouldered with a staggering past wartime failure which cost lives that other soldiers blame him for, as he must find his way through his grief and shoulder the new responsibility of helping his team and civilians through a massive alien invasion. The battles are fast and chaotic as I imagined a battle would be. But he relies on his experience and skills to get though and find a way to fight a seemingly undefeatable enemy. Awesome action flick. High Recommendation.
Hanna – I was interested in the story about a young girl trained as an assassin by her father for some nefarious reason. I love the idea of a young girl empowered with deadly skills as they remind me of my Charlotte. This was not as action-packed as I had hoped and the turn toward sci-fi felt out of place but overall a small, quiet flick. The main thrust of the narrative is the young girl’s exposure to civilization after a rough existence in the isolated wilderness. Recommend.
Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – I would very much recommend this one. A very fun and eye-opening documentary from Morgan Spurlock, the director of “Super Size Me” and the excellent FX series “30 Days”. Here he explores the industry of product placement in the media and how it affects both opinion and art, by infecting commerce. A concept all artists should be aware of, in my opinion. Here, Spurlock tries to get this very documentary funded through product placement. Again, fun and very eye-opening at how marketing has seeped into almost every aspect of our society, including the vaunted arts. High recommendation.
Thor – I have never been a fan of the Marvel Comic. But I am a fan of Kenneth Branagh since his feature-film directorial debut “Henry V” which remains my all-time favorite movie. KennethBranagh, as a film director, while not without his failures, has struck me as a fearless director. Even though he found huge success as a Shakespearean film adapter, he has not strayed from tackling other genre of films. He has done everything from mystery/suspense (Dead Again) to horror (Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein) to comedy (A Midwinter’s Tale) to musical (Love’s Labour Lost) to opera (The Magic Flute) and now to comic book adaptations with Thor, the latest in a string of interconnected movies from Marvel Entertainment.
So, as a fan of Branagh I plucked down my $$ to see this. It was funny and engaging and action-packed. There was also space for drama and romance. It is very much a Kenneth Branagh film. I was not disappointed with this, as I never read the comic. And from the looks of it, a lot of people were not disappointed either. Some could argue the success of Thor is due to fans of Marvel comics not wanting it to fail so they cannot see the collapse of “The Avengers” movie due next year. Still, a fun movie. Recommend.
As you can see I still haven’t seen that movie yet that has risen to the top of my favorite of the year, like “Inception” or “Red Cliff”. But there is plenty of 2011 left. So, we’ll see and keep watching.
Until next time...
© 2011 Ernest M. Whiteman III
