84 Charing Cross Road

1987, Rated PG, 100 minutes, Directed by David Jones, Written by Hugh Whitemore based on play by James Roose-Evans based on book by Helene Hanff, Produced by Geoffrey Helman, Cinematography by Brian West, Original Music by George Fenton

With: Anne Bancroft (Helen Hanff), Anthony Hopkins (Frank P. Doel), Judi Dench (Nora Doel

I do not often come across a movie that is about the love of books. As a book lover myself I was very intrigued about a movie that was about letters written between a British bookseller and a New York writer. What made it intriguing, unfortunately was also  not quite right for film. Almost the entire movie is letters being read as the actors silently act out their emotions. It is an interesting concept that makes the movie mildly entertaining but by no means take your breath away exciting.

Crazy Heart

2009, Rated R, 112 minutes, Directed by Scott Cooper, Written by Scott Cooper based on a novel by Thomas Cobb, Produced by Scott Cooper, T-Bone Burnett, Robert Duvall,  Cinematography by Barry Markowitz, Original Music by Stephen Bruton & T-Bone Burnett

With: Jeff Bridges (Bad Blake), James Keane (Manager), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jean Craddock), Colin Farrell (Tommy Sweet), Robert Duvall (Wayne)

I have always been interested in the creative process of songs. So many of them are heartbreaking and I wonder if that really happened to the artist. The tagline for Crazy Heart was “The harder the life, the sweeter the fall.” Let me just say that Bad Black (Jeff Bridges) had a hard life. The movie gives us an excellent and insightful picture into the life of an artist, but, moreover the life of a man struggling to overcome his past mistakes and confront his addictive present. It is a character driven film seen through the lens of music and life; both those elements of the film shine like a melodic sunset.

Eastern Promises

2007, Rated R, 100 minutes, Directed by David Cronenberg, Written by Steven Knight, Produced by Robert Lantos & Paul Webster, Cinematography by Peter Suschitzky, Original Music by Howard Shore

With: Viggo Mortensen (Nikolai), Vincent Cassel (Kirill), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Semyon), Naomi Watts (Anna)

The mafia lives in the world of secrets and deception, money and power, influence and intimidation. Eastern Promises fits squarely into that world in its depiction of the Russian mafia in London. It is a slow burn film that inches its way forward into a crescendo of twists and fights. It is a deep investigation into the underworld that while well focused undoes itself in the minutiae and teeters on the brink of monotony.

Salt

2010, Rated PG-13, 100 minutes, Directed by Phillip Noyce, Written by Kurt Wimmer, Produced by, Lorenzo di Bonaventura & Sunil Perkash, Cinematography by Robert Elswit, Original Music by James Howard

With: Angelina  Jolie (Evelyn Salt), Liev Schreiber (Ted Winter), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Peabody), Daniel Olbrychski (Orlov)

It is only fitting that just weeks after 11 Russian sleeper spies were captured and exchanged, that a movie would come out that delves deep into the idea of Russian sleeper spies. You can’t pay for that kind of marketing. Fortunately for the movie, Evelyn Salt, instead of being a housewife in the suburbs, is a highly trained CIA agent, which makes the movie much more interesting. Unfortunately the well done action sequences do not make up for the uneven and jumpy plot line, and poor character development.

Inception

2010, Rated PG-13, 148 minutes, Written and Directed by Christopher Nolan, Produced by Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, Cinematography by Wally Pfister, Original Music by Hans Zimmer

With: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Dileep Rao (Yusuf), Cillian Murphy (Robert Fischer Jr.), Tom Berenger (Browning), Marion Cotillard (Mal)

My head was still reeling with excitement and wonderment as I exited the theater.  It had been a long time since I had so much tense energy built up  after a movie. I almost could not contain myself (I will say I was talking quiet loudly on the way out of the theater). Inception takes place in a world that we quite literally only dream of. Christopher Nolan finally got his chance to build a dream world onscreen and his tight direction and storytelling soared amidst the chaotic world of the dreaming human mind.

Knight and Day

2010, Rated PG-13, 109 minutes, Directed by James Mangold, Written by Patrick O’Neill, Produced by Arnon Milchan, Cinematography by Phedon Papmichael, Original Music by John Powell

With: Tom Cruise (Roy Miller), Cameron Diaz (June Havens), Peter Sarsgaard (Fitzgerald), Jordi Molla (Antonio), Viola Davis (Director George), Simon Feck (Paul Dano)

We’re in the heat (figuratively and literally) of summer blockbuster season and Knight and Day fits quite well amidst the competition. It is a true action comedy flick that has a decent balance between the two genres. While the plot could have been much more hashed out and better developed, as opposed its jumpy scene changes that span half of the northern, and perhaps some of the southern, hemisphere, it makes up for this with the wonderful acting and chemistry between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. It is an engaging film that, although it does not stand out as a cinematic masterpiece is a fun movie that provides a welcome respite from the heat of the summer.

Predators

2010, Rated R, 106 minutes, Directed by Nimrod Antal, Written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch, Produced by Robert Rodriguez, Cinematography by Gyula Pados, Original Music by John Debney

With: Adrien Brody (Royce), Topher Grace (Edwin), Alice Braga (Isabelle), Walton Goggins (Stans), Oleg Taktarov (Nikolai), Laurence Fishbourne (Noland), Danny Trejo (Cuchillo), Louis Changchien (Hanzo), Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (Mombasa)

At the end of a particular battle scene in Predators, I felt like the triumphant Predator was screaming at his audience “Are you not entertained!” This was the tone of the entire movie as it jumped right into the action and did not slow down until the closing credits. It was an excellent action piece that harkened back to the days when the movie schedule was packed to the gills with pure, unadulterated action flicks.  The film was good because it made no pretense at being a complex and cerebral film, but focused instead on gripping action and suspense.

Toy Story 3

2010, Rated G, 103 minutes, Directed by Lee Unkirch, Written by Micheal Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkirch, Produced by Darla Anderson, Original Music by Randy Newman

With: Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear), Joan Cusack (Jessie), Ned Beatty (Lotso), Don Rickels (Mr. Potato Head), Michael Keaton (Ken), Wallace Shawn (Rex), John Ratzenberger (Hamm), Estelle Harris (Mrs. Potato Head), John Morris (Andy), Jodi Benson (Barbie), Timothy Dalton (Mr. Pricklepants)

Thirteen years after Pixar launched the animation world into a new era with Toy Story, we once again enter into the world of Andy’s toys, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang. And the great part is, the 13 years that elapsed in real time, is the same amount of time that has elapsed in the Toy Story world. Toy Story 3 has a great premise, stunning visuals, and pure nostalgia that will excite any viewer. While the plot is slightly, dare I say, old hat, watching they toys come to grips with their future roles after Andy leaves for college is yet another great adventure into the world of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang.

Splice

2010, Rated R, 104 minutes, Directed by Vincenzo Natali, Written by Vincenzon Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryand & Doug Taylor, Produced by Steven Hoban, Cinematography by Tetsuo Nagata, Original Music by Cyrille Aufort

With: Adrien Brody (Clive Nicoli), Sarah Polley (Elsa Kast), Delphine Chaneac (Dren), Brandon McGibbon (Gavin Nicoli), Simona Maicanescu (Joan Chorot), David Hewlett (William Barlow), Abigail Chu (Child Dren)

I believe that we are seeing a great resurgence of the science fiction genre. In 2009 we had many great sci-fi films: Star Trek, Moon, and District 9. The genre continues to be redefined by many of these movies. Splice is another wonderful addition to the genre and demonstrates continuing strength and originality. Splice manages to address issues of morality, science, family and commitment in a deep and intense way, and at the same time is an shockingly entertaining film.

28 Days Later

2003, Rated R, 113 minutes, Directed by Danny Boyle, Produced by Andrew Macdonald Written by Alex Garland, Cinematography by Anthony Mantle, Original Music by John Murphy

With: Cillian Murphy (Jim), Naomie Harris (Selena), Noah Huntley (Mark), Brendan Gleeson (Frank), Megan Burns (Hannah), Christopher Eccleston (Major Henry West),

What do chimpanzees in cages have to do with anything? A whole lot it turns out. When animal activists break into a lab animal testing compound to free them, they find out they are infected with an ebola like virus that turns those infected into rage filled menaces that attack whatever they can get their hands on. And so the stage is set for Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, a horror, zombie film with deep emotion and an intimate look at the characters involved.