War Horse (2011) Review

Ok, it's official, I lost my faith in Steven Spielberg. First "Tintin", now "War Horse". What can I say? Disappointment? Oh yeah! Maybe I was just in a funny mood when I watched it and missed the entire point but it left me quite unimpressed and for the most part shaking my head in disbelief.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) Review

I don't know what's everyone's problem, the US American adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is a really, really good movie. Yeah, yeah, I can already hear all the whiners and complainers: "The Swedish version was SO much better", "This film was made for people who are too lazy to read subtitles", "So dumbed down for the stupid American audience", bla bla bla. Truth is, get over it, you rotten internet wanks because David Fincher's film is at least as good as the Swedish one.

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) Review

Suprise, I liked this film! Not that I expected it but it was actually a fun if very basic legal thriller. Matthew McConaughey who's normally wasted in terrible Kate Hudson vehicles or some other romcom crap finally reminds us again that he can act. Ok, I don't want to praise him too much but as a slick and sleazy lawyer he gives his best performance in ages.

We see him handle the case of a shady woman beater, played by former teen icon Ryan Phillippe. But while he first tries to prove his innocence he soon realizes that taking over this case is potentially life-threatening.

The plot is not too great and often feels more at home on TV than on the big screen but what makes this film stand out is the above-average acting by everyone involved. I already said that McConaughey is good in the lead but I especially enjoyed the always delightful William H. Macy and Marisa Tomei, probably two of the most undervalued actors of cinema nowadays.

This film won't make an impact on film history but it is refreshingly simple in its approach and doesn't try to be more than it is and that's what makes it enjoyable to watch. If you're sick of heavy overblown Hollywood genre thrillers, give this one a try, it's great for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Review

I am sad. Really, really sad. Sad as in "Today, my childhood memories got shat on"-sad. "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" was quite bad. Not abysmally "Battlefield Earth"-meets-"Spiceworld"-bad but still, really really bad and, more importantly, very disappointing.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) Review

Just when you thought Tom Cruise was done in Hollywood he comes back with a movie so exciting, so exhilarating and ultimately so much fun that you are happy about his return. This movie is "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and not to give anything away but it is a great popcorn flick.

The "Mission Impossible" franchise had its fair share of ups and downs over the last 15 years. The first entry in 1996 was a box office smash that, together with "Goldeneye" the year before, managed to revive the spy genre. Then the inevitable sequel in 2000 uped the ante and thanks to director John Woo replaced the twisty plot of the original with a lot of ridiculous over the top action sequences. For better or worse (I didn't like the second one at all) this film grossed even more than the first one and so another sequel was a necessity. Unfortunately there were personalities clashing behind the scenes, directors and writers were constantly replaced so there wasn't another "Mission Impossible" until 2006. The third entry directed by J.J. Abrams tried to shake things up by adding a whole bunch of new characters and gave main character Ethan Hunt not just a love interest but a fiancee. While definitely a step up from the second one, "M:I III" didn't match the box office success of its predecessors.

And here we are now in December 2011 and we finally have a fourth installment in the series and again, we have a new director at the helm. Enter Brad Bird who started out directing episodes of "The Simpsons" back in the 90s and the underrated kiddie flick "The Iron Giant" before he made the Pixar hits "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille". It's great to see how well he handles the jump from his animated flicks to big scale action movies, his back-to-the-roots approach is successful by keeping the pace up and dropping most of the ludicrous character drama from the third entry.

Instead we get breathtaking action set pieces (especially the Dubai sequence is incredibly awesome), side characters that work in the context of the film and Tom Cruise back at his personal best after his questionable last action movie "Knight and Day". If you want to watch only one movie in theaters this Christmas, this film should leave you quite satisfied.

Zodiac (2007) Review

It's interesting to see how director David Fincher has evolved as a filmmaker over the last 20 years. Initially blamed in 1992 for the misfire that was "Alien 3" he made the (arguably) definitive serial killer movie "Se7en" in 1995. Movies like "Fight Club", "The Social Network" and the upcoming adaptation of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" just helped cement his status as a diverse and talented director. But in my opinion there is one movie in his filmography that often gets overlooked and that film is "Zodiac".

Upon its release in 2007 Fincher hadn't made a feature length film in almost 5 years so people were excited to see him back as a director and have him also return to the genre that made him famous, the serial killer thriller. But while critics mostly gave out favorable reviews the general public dismissed "Zodiac" with an underwhelming gross of just $33 million in the US. What happened?

"Zodiac" is the true story of how journalists and the police tried to track down the Zodiac killer who haunted San Francisco in the late 60s and early 70s. Just like in his other masterpiece "Se7en" Fincher focuses on the detectives and sleuths instead of the killer but the approach is very different. While "Se7en" had two main characters in Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman the audience could emotionally connect with, "Zodiac"'s focus constantly shifts from wannabe detective Jake Gyllenhaal to reporter Robert Downey Jr., inspector David Toschi and a couple others. This gives the film an almost documentary feel with great attention to detail. There are no unnecessary subplots, the main purpose is to document the obsessive work behind the case. The actual killings are almost insignificant to the overall story as they only serve as catalysts for the main protagonists. Not to give anything away but the Zodiac case was never solved.

I think the main reason for the film's poor box office was the audience's expectation of a second "Se7en". Of course, if you watch "Zodiac" with the hope to see another gore based serial killer film you will most likely be disappointed. But taking it for what it is, a very precise reworking of the Zodiac case and by that an exciting dedication to people's fascination for puzzle solving, this movie will be worth your time.

I heard criticisms that the performances were lacking emotional depth and the movie was too slow paced. In my opinion that couldn't be more wrong. As I said before there are no subplots distracting from the grand topic of solving the case so the performances are all precise and realistic, especially Mark Ruffalo as inspector David Toschi is great in his role. And the slow pace? Nowhere to be found, the dialogue-driven scenes create tension and excitement in an old-school way that probably doesn't translate well to the visually overfed crowd of brain dead "Transformers" fanboys.

So if you haven't seen "Zodiac" yet, go check it out, it is one of Fincher's best.

Hall Pass (2011) Review

This movie doesn't have any balls! None! Zero! And that's a shame because it has a premise that in the right hands would have made an amazing comedy.

We have Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as our leads who are best friends and both get a hall pass from their wives which means they get a week off of marriage to do whatever they want. Holy hell! Doesn't that sound like the most fun idea for a comedy ever?

So what can go wrong from here on? EVERYTHING!!! The first and biggest flaw of all: Although this movie is rated R it chickens out and forces some hollow moral upon the viewer. While we have some really funny laugh-out-loud moments early on there is a tonal shift that completely ruins it. We go all the way from raunchy and bold to family friendly and tame within mere seconds and by then the film has already lost.

Add to that Owen Wilson who gives a lackluster performance and the Farrelly's obsession with obscure and unnecessary side characters and sub plots and we get a perfect mess. What could have been something along the lines of the legendarily mean and awesome "Bad Santa" ends up being a film of missed chances and cowardice.

When exactly did the Farrellys lose their touch for great comedies like their 90s blasts "There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber"? Was it sometime around the underwhelming "Stuck On You"? Or even before that with the horrendous "Say It Isn't So"? I am already dreading their remake of "The Three Stooges" due next year.

I wish there was a saving grace for this film but even the great scene on the golf course and a final moment involving Stephen Merchant that nails the tone this film should have had can't save "Hall Pass" from what it ultimately is: a huge disappointment.