The Hangover (2009)

Three men and a baby?

Rating: ****

Review by Justin Smith

February 27, 2010

The Hangover begins at its end (sort of), with a phone call from Phil (Bradley Cooper) to Tracy (Sasha Barrese), Doug’s bride-to-be, telling her that they messed up and can’t find Doug (Justin Bartha). The wedding is in five hours and all hope seems lost.

Halloween II (2009)

On the road to nowhere, just like this franchise.

Rating: **

Review by Justin Smith

February 26, 2010

Rob Zombie has said he doesn’t like sequels, but so far he’s two-for-two in the sequel department. The first time around, the sequel (The Devil’s Rejects (2005)) was better than the original (House of 1000 Corpses (2003)). Unfortunately, Zombie’s luck has run out where sequels are concerned. I was surprised by Zombie’s first Halloween (2007) remake, it was good, and breathed new life into the character of Michael Myers, but Halloween II is a letdown.

Amélie (2001)

Spoon!!!

Rating: *****

Review by Justin Smith

February 25, 2010

Amélie (original French title: Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain “The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain”) is a fun and beautiful film which follows the journey of Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) from a life of anxious isolation, to that of good Samaritan, helping others, and ultimately herself, find happiness.

Four Christmases (2008)

"What was the safe word?"

Rating: ****½

Review by Justin Smith

February 4, 2010

Critics are seldom fond of romantic comedies, but add a dysfunctional family during the holidays theme and your chances of survival run close to zero. This is what I expected going into Four Christmases. Most critics claim it has a good cast, but poor script.  I don’t know what movie they were watching, but Four Christmases has a great cast and a great script.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

"I'm talking about giant food rain, and you're stairing at my hair."

Rating: ****

Review by Justin Smith

January 21, 2010

Through a slew of animated family films released in 2009, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs may not stand out as exceptional, but its colorful pallet, upbeat nature and entertaining characters make it enjoyable and worth seeing.

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

Ask yourself, "Is it worth it?"

Rating: ****

Review by Justin Smith

January, 21, 2010

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Especially you Jenny Beckman.

Bitch.

And so begins (500) Days of Summer (2009), a low-key film about a boy, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who falls in love, and a girl, Summer (Zooey Deschanel), who does not. But, as the narrator makes clear, this is not a love story. From the opening sequence it’s clear the writers have an axe to grind, and grind they do. But this isn’t a 95 minute revenge film. It’s an honest look at a difficult relationship. Tom is at fault as much as, or perhaps more than, Summer. Tom pushes Summer to make the relationship something more, something official, but Summer doesn’t use terms like boyfriend, girlfriend, or relationship. Summer prefers ‘friends’, even when they are sleeping together. During the 500 days, things get so good for Tom that he breaks into song and dance with passersby to the sound of You Make My Dreams by Hall and Oates, animated blue birds even join the scene. But things get so bad for Tom that he breaks plates, with his head.

Avatar (2009)

Being a 12' tall blue cat person on another planet isn't all that bad.

Rating: *****

Review by Justin Smith

January 14, 2010

Early in his career writer/director James Cameron sought to entertain us, which he did. Now he’s educating us as well. With Avatar Cameron breathes new life into an old story with breathtaking visuals and characters we care about in a land worth fighting for.

A Christmas Carol (2009)

It's more than a bit of undigested beef.

Rating: ***½

Review by Justin Smith

December 28, 2009

Disney’s A Christmas Carol (2009) is a new take on an old story. Charles Dickens’ classic novel has seen many film adaptations, but none compare visually with director Robert Zemeckis’ motion capture animated version. With the exception a few moments of comic relief, which are out-of-place and unforgivable, the film remains true to the novel.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

"They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?"

Rating: *½

Review by Justin Smith

November 30, 2009

Although I was not a fan of Twilight (2008), it was tolerable. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, however, is not. With the exception of a few moments, the film is one long scene full of sappy dialogue, amateur acting, and more slow-push-in-close-ups than I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s difficult to know where to pin the blame. Granted, the actors can only do so much with terrible dialogue, so does that put the blame on the screenwriter? But then again, a screenwriter can only do so much with poor source material. So this takes us back to the original writer of the novels, Stephenie Meyer. But that’s only half the problem. The acting and effects are poor as well (if you thought the CGI in New Moon was good, watch J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) then get back with me). Although many of the actors in New Moon are not as skilled as we’d like to think, this is only part of the problem. The poor acting combined with the lackluster CGI and many poor choices in cinematography and editing, lead me to blame the director (Chris Weitz).

House (1986)

He's not here to help with the novel.

Rating: ***½

Review by Justin Smith

November 3, 2009

Before the film even starts, and we see the New World Films logo, we know we’re in for a treat. An entertaining, campy, low-budget treat. Roger Corman has become legend in the world of low-budget independent cinema, and films like House are why we come back again and again to dine from Corman’s cheese filled table. What started out as a script for an episode of The Twilight Zone (1985-1989), ended up becoming a classic example of 1980s horror campiness, complete with fake looking rubber monsters, average-to-sub-par acting, and a few cheap scares, all of which scared the crap out of me as a child. Today the film seems tame and feels more like a predecessor to Sam Raimi’s masterful Evil Dead II (1987) instead of the genuinely terrorizing horror film I thought it to be as a child.