31 January 2010

Surrogates

The best big studio science fiction movie of 2009. Don't be fooled by the ending.

26 January 2010

Whip It

The best sports movie since The Wrestler, but this one will make you happy.

24 January 2010

Whatever Works

Woody Allen channels Noel Coward through a Hannah and Her Sisters filter. Trifling, uneven, but more charming than most of his throwaways from that last decade.

23 January 2010

Gomorrah

Makes you think twice about buying a haute couture gown, and then booking your honeymoon in Naples.

22 January 2010

Che

A good argument for circumstances being what enable people to make history, and an utter disregard for explaining one famous man's motivations.

16 January 2010

In The Loop

It's a satire that fans of The Office will appreciate, but it also contains more truth about how we get into wars than any documentary can convey.

15 January 2010

Cold Comfort Farm

Perhaps the best explanation of what I do in my day job. Good work, Flora.

10 January 2010

Dead Like Me

A good series that was a little too soft to be great. But it does bring to the fore what I like best about vampire tales -- the lack of mortality and corporeality, while bypassing the grim blood lust -- and adds a hefty helping of spirituality. These are not your grandparents' grim reapers -- or maybe they are.

07 January 2010

Border Incident

Even a half century ago, it was clear that the short term solution to illegal immigration was going after the employers that knowingly enable it. (The long term solution, greater economic opportunity, was a bit beyond this film, too.)

04 January 2010

The Hurt Locker

If one defines a war movie as "good," based on the kinds of discussions it engenders, then The Hurt Locker is a good war movie.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

A surpisingly sympathetic portrait of a young man ahead of his time who became an old man behind the times -- who demonstrated comendable ethics throughout.

01 January 2010

District 9

An awesome little "what if" kind of science fiction movie.