Rendition

***1/2 – This film is based on a few true stories about the US government’s use of a policy called ‘extraordinary rendition’, in which they can pretty much detain anyone they want for any reason in one of a number of prisons outside the country and torture and interrogate them to try to get intelligence info. The acting in this is solid for the most part, and it is pretty well shot, but the interlocking storylines are told in a fashion that is a little confusing until the end. Critically-acclaimed actress Meryl Streep plays the head of some sort of evil government agency, but I have yet to see a performance from her in which I feel that her constant critical praise is warranted, including this one.

Moon

**** - A sci-fi film that hearkens back to the less action-oriented movies of the 60s and 70s, “Moon” stars Sam Rockwell as an astronaut stationed at a one-man lunar energy production facility who is beginning to go a little batty after three years there by himself. The lunar surface shots and station interiors are fantastic, and exactly how I imagine a moon base might look in the relatively near future. Rockwell does a nice job in multiple roles, and first time writer/director Duncan Jones pays homage to his predecessors while also carving out a spot for himself as (hopefully) the leader of a movement away from the constant explosions and chase scenes in most modern sci-fi films. This is supposedly the first part in a trilogy, and I am looking forward to the rest.

Inkheart

** - For a fantasy film to be truly enjoyable, it has to utilize the full promise of its ideas. The story behind “Inkheart” is that Brendan Fraser is one of the few people in the world who has the ability to make books come to life by reading them aloud. That premise – while somewhat problematic if one gives it some thought - is pretty interesting, and leaves open numerous possibilities to bring to life fictional characters from various books to interact with each other. Instead, this film features only a bunch of largely uninteresting characters from one made-up book and Toto from “The Wizard of Oz”. While it looks fairly nice and has some decent effects, the main plot line is rather mundane, and its inability to fulfill its promise is disappointing. That’s what happens when you aim a movie or book solely toward an immature audience. I’m still puzzled as to why Fraser was cast in the lead, since every other character in the film is British, including his wife and daughter.

Lucky Number Slevin

**** - In general, I am not a fan of Josh Hartnett. He looks to me too much like a mongoloid. However, his performance in this film is surprisingly watchable, despite the fact that his wardrobe consists of only a towel for half the movie. Beyond Mr. Pearl Harbor, the rest of the cast also does a great job, and the story is like a labyrinthine maze that you are able to eventually find your way through. A delectable Asian treat in the form of Lucy Liu appears frequently in this film, which also has some of the best conceived twists I’ve experienced. It’s certainly worth giving a shot.

The Lovely Bones

**1/2 - This is a rather strange Peter Jackson-helmed film about how it’s apparently okay to rape and murder 14-year old girls because they’ll go to heaven and everyone they knew will have happy and productive lives afterwards. I’m going to assume that that is not the idea that the makers of this wanted to convey, but it certainly is how it comes across. While it is well shot and contains some lovely CG backgrounds and effects, I’m not sure I could necessarily recommend it for all audiences. This is probably Mark Wahlberg’s best performance since “Boogie nights”, but I’m not sure how he still gets so much work.

Jumper

*** - Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu and some rather attractive young lady that I have never seen before star in this sci-fi adventure film that has some promising elements but doesn’t really go anywhere. The special effects are pretty good, and the main idea behind this is fairly interesting, but the script falls flat in the dialogue and storytelling areas. It’s no worse than some of the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy films, though.

Next

** - Nicholas Cage’s rapidly thinning hair and Jessica Biel’s rapidly tightening blouse star in this abomination of a classic Phillip K. Dick story. While some of the basic elements of Dick’s original plot remain, I felt myself relieved that he is long dead, so he wouldn’t have to see what was done with his work here. Mr. Dick’s certainly drug-influenced plot is turned into a silly love story with only a passing resemblance to the original. There are some bright spots, but this could have been so much more. It’s a shame.

Street Kings

** – Featuring fast cars, fancy suits, rap music, rappers in acting roles, and an extraordinary amount of gun-related violence, this movie could have been a 2-hour long rap video if there were bikini-clad women and hot tubs in it. Keanu Reeves plays a dim-witted corrupt cop who is supposed to be the hero of the film because he is slightly less corrupt than rest of the outrageously corrupt cops. A marginally interesting storyline and the fact that no sort of romantic subplot was even attempted made this a step above the other films in this usually meritless genre. Forest Whitaker – as the lead bad cop – attempts some sort of unidentifiably bizarre accent and chews scenery in a fashion that I haven’t seen since the heyday of Eric Roberts (assuming Eric Roberts ever had a 'heyday').

Up In The Air

***1/2 – George Clooney puts in a solid performance as his usual charming self in this well shot film about a guy who flies around the country firing people for a living. The rest of the cast also do a nice job, although I must admit that I found the young girl character – although well played by the actress – to be extremely unlikeable. There were some pretty funny parts, but I wasn’t really able to connect with the drama aspect of the film. Personally, I found Clooney’s “backpack” philosophy pretty intriguing (although the actual backpack metaphor was kind of dumb), and felt that his backtracking toward the end was pretty silly.

Coheed and Cambria – Neverender

**** - This DVD chronicles one of four special 4-night performances from late 2008 in which C & C played each of their albums in sequence, one per night. There aren’t many bands that could pull such a thing off these days, but Coheed and Cambria have built their albums on a concept so it makes some sense. The musicianship here is astounding, and I love just about every song on all of their albums, so the 300+ minutes present in the set go by in a flash. My only quibbles here are that starting with night 3 they bring in an extra percussionist playing bongos and shit that is unnecessary, and also have two female backing singers who are basically just a couple of pole dancers who yelp a few lines. Also, a bloated Warren Haynes (from the Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, etc.) makes an appearance during the encore of night 4 to play a Dylan cover and a 2nd version of “Welcome Home” from album three, and he looks to be on the verge of a massive coronary. This set is, however, an absolute treat for fans of the group.

Idiocracy

***1/2 – Perhaps the best things about this movie were small roles for the guys who played Future Man and Bob Mapplethorpe in “Bottle Rocket”. Besides that pleasant surprise, this Mike Judge film has a lot of funny parts - especially toward the beginning – but sort of goes awry and gets really goofy as it nears the end. Many people (i.e. nerds) criticized this film due to its similarities to “Futurama”. I discounted these at first, but as I continued to watch, it struck me just how many similarities there are; not so much to the main plot of the series, but to various plots from several episodes. Be that as it may, this is still a pretty entertaining flick.

Coraline

*** - This is the 2nd consecutive Neil Gaiman-penned animated film that revolves around a teenage girl that I have watched. This one is not quite as creepy as “MirrorMask” and, thankfully, doesn’t have the live-action parts that that film did. The animation is top-notch, and while the premise is intriguing, I found myself a bit underwhelmed by its execution. There are lots of oddball characters who are pretty annoying (the old fat ladies, the Russian guy, etc.), and the mystery plot seemed to lose steam about ¾ of the way through. Like “MirrorMask”, this is a movie that seems to aim for a youngish audience, but the creepiness factor may put off that age group.

MirrorMask

**1/2 – This is one of those movies that tries to pass off creepy stuff as being charming, but only ends up proving that creepy stuff is actually just creepy. If there is anything more horrifying than a circus, it is a freaky European-type circus, and one of those is featured heavily for the first 20+ minutes of the film. Once the animation kicks in, though, the movie becomes much more enjoyable, due largely to the beautiful background/set design and interesting character choices. That being said, the plot is pretty confusing and the whole deal was considerably more child-oriented than I expected.