Best Supporting Actor 2015

05. Steve Carrell in The Big Short - Proving his Oscar nomination for Foxcatcher was no fluke, Carrell kills as the seemingly only person with a soul on all of Wall Street. A nuanced performance where the anger bubbling on the surface perfectly masks the sorrow hiding beneath it all.

04. Paul Dano in Love and Mercy - Everyone knows what Brian Wilson sounded and looked like in the mid 60s and Dano, who did his own singing, is remarkable, not only nailing the sound and look, but also perfectly capturing the musical genius slowly losing his mind.

03. Sylvester Stallone in Creed - I never really thought of Stallone as a good actor, but he is the heart and soul of this really great movie. Sure, it's great to see him embodying a beloved character again, but his performance is more than the result of nostalgia. He is the most emotionally relevant part of the film, and his performance will likely break your heart.

02. Christian Bale in The Big Short - In a movie filled with great performances, Bale is the best of the best. As the socially awkward genius, Bale is nearly unrecognizable. And it isn't because he looks different, it's because he becomes someone else so completely, you forget you are looking at a movie star.

01. Tom Hardy in The Revenant - Don't get me wrong, The Revenant is totally Leo's movie, but Hardy threatens to steal every scene he is in with those feral eyes and steely persona. Hardy is the most dangerous actor working today, and that's never been more evident than here, where he nails this malicious, conniving role.

August / September 2015

The Gift
Stars - Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton
Plot - An old high school acquaintance starts to creep out a young couple.
Thoughts - Written, directed, produced by and starring Joel Edgerton, The Gift was one of the best movies of the summer. Not only does it harken back to the great Hitchcockian thriller, but also it stays with you for days, weeks, months after you've seen it.
Grade - B+

Ricki and the Flash
Stars - Meryl  Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer, Rick Springfield
Plot - A bar musician returns home to the family she abandoned after her daughter goes through a heartbreaking divorce.
Thoughts - This should have been the most fun movie of the year (Streep singing Lady Gaga, anyone?). And parts of it ARE fun, but it mostly feels awkward and it mostly falls flat, thanks to a lackluster script by Juno scribe Diablo Cody.
Grade - C+

The Gunman
Stars - Sean Penn, Javier Bardem
Plot/Thoughts - Sean Penn stars as Liam Neeson! No, honestly I don't even really remember because it was so bad and so long ago and so forgettable.
Grade - D

Child 44
Stars - Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace
Plot - A Russian soldier investigates the murder of a young boy.
Thoughts - Somewhere in this mess, there might be a good movie. I mean, how really can you go wrong with Hardy and Oldman? But the truth is, this is a mess and just about unwatchable.
Grade - D+

Straight Outta Compton
Stars - O'Shea Jackson, Paul Giamatti
Plot - The trials and tribulations of NWA, the group that invented gangster rap.
Thoughts - Listen, there isn't much I love more than late 80s/early 90s hip hop, and this biopic does justice to a group of politically conscious "thugs" from Compton. The cast is mostly unknown, and they are uniformly great, especially Jackson, who plays his dad, Ice Cube. This is sort of a must see.
Grades - B+

Aloha
Stars - Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray
Plot - A former army guy returns to Hawaii for a ceremony and gets entangled with his former flame and a new lady.
Thoughts - When do I stop giving Cameron Crowe a pass? He wrote and directed my very favorite movie of all time (Almost Famous), but is that enough to keep letting him off the hook for making crappy movies. Because Aloha is so, so, so very crappy.
Grade - D-

Insurgent
Stars - Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller
Plot - Tris and co. are on the run when the Erudite leaders realize her divergence might be the key to stopping war.
Thoughts - Ugh. I remember liking the book and liking Divergent, but this mostly seems like a bit of a mess. The fact is, these books/movies  to keep you wanting more the way The Hunger Games do, so I'm mostly kind of over Tris and her virtual reality nonsense.
Grade - C-

Black Mass
Stars - Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Jesse Plemmons, etc.
Plot - The true story of Whitey Bulger, the Boston gangster who became an FBI informant so he could literally get away with murder.
Thoughts - I had a lot to say about this after I first watched it, but I forgot most of it which sort of sums up Black Mass, you know? The performances are across the board stellar, and I know everyone is talking about Johnny Depp's chilling performance, but he's mostly one note. The real star of the show is Joel Edgerton's FBI agent who is so complicated and layered, it's a pleasure to watch. Mostly though, you can skip this and just rewatch The Departed.
Grade - C+

Love & Mercy
Stars - Paul Dano, John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks, and Paul Giamatti playing his second sleazy music guy of the summer.
Plot - Intersecting stories follow Brian Wilson in the 60s (Dano) while he records Pet Sounds and starts to lose his shit and in the 80s (Cusack) when he is trying to get out from under his tyrannical doctor/manager.
Thoughts - This movie really nails what a tortured genius Brian Wilson is and mostly it's a really solid biopic. The 60s segment is much more engaging, either because Dano actually looks like Wilson (Cusack not so much), or because Dano gives one of the best performances we are likely to see this year.
Grade - B

May 2015

Maps to the Stars
Stars - Julianne Moore, Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, John Cusack
Plot - The lives of a fading actress and a possibly insane personal assistant intersect in this David Cronenberg bore fest.
Thoughts - The movie is mostly a waste of time, though Moore is fantastic, but that's pretty obvious. She always is. This movie tries to be daring and shocking but mostly it is just trying too hard and disappointing.
Grade - D

Mad Max: Fury Road
Stars - Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Plot - A mysterious man and a bad ass one armed woman help enslaved women escape the clutches of an evil man.
Thoughts - 100% guaranteed that you will not see anything cooler or more bad ass or more visually electrifying than Fury Road this year, or maybe ever. This bad ass movie, one long epic amazing car chase, really, also happens to be something of a feminist manifesto. It's powerful and bleak and stunning and I can't even find enough adjectives to describe it. Sure, the plot leaves something to be desired (travel from point a to point b, only to find out point b sucks and turn around to go back), but, really, who cares?
Grade - B+

The Wedding Ringer
Stars - Kevin Hart, Josh Gad
Plot - A friendless man hires a best man for his wedding and (sexist and offensive) hijinks ensue.
Thoughts - This movie is nothing short of offensive and sexist, but I also found myself laughing a few times.
Grade - D+

Veronika Decides to Die
Stars - Sarah Michelle Gellar
Plot - A woman decides life has nothing left to offer her and tries to kill herself, only to survive with a weakened heart and days to live.
Thoughts - First things first, I love Sarah Michelle Gellar so much. Maybe in some other world, there is a version of this movie that is powerful and insightful and thought provoking. But this awful mess isn't it. This is the watered down Lifetime  movie of the week version where everything is predictable and everything is a cliche.
Grade - F

Poltergeist
Stars - Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie Dewitt, Jared Harris
Plot - A family moves into a house infested with angry spirits.
Thoughts - It's not that it's bad, per se, just uninspired. As far as remakes go, it's fine. It doesn't break new ground or ruin your memories of the original. And thank goodness for Sam Rockwell and his all around charm and awesome-ness. Without him, I think this might be an unredeemable mess.
Grade - C-

Just For Fun

(Which really this whole blog is just for fun since no one reads it, but it allows me to exercise my inner movie nerd.)  But, so, anyway, the yearly wrap up of 2014 begins...

M.V.P.
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin, Lucy; Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Chef.
Runner Up - Tom Hardy in Locke and The Drop.

BEST ENSEMBLE
Birdman
Runner Up - The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST LIMITED ROLE
Allison Pill in Snowpiercer
Runner Up - Matt Damon in Interstellar

BEST MOVIE POSTER
Nightcrawler
Runner Up - Whiplash

BEST TRAILER
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner Up - Gone Girl

BEST KISS
Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Runner Up: Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike's "sugar kiss" in Gone Girl

BEST CHEMISTRY
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street

BEST DANCE SEQUENCE
Zac Efron and Seth Rogen Dance Off in Neighbors
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum dance along side the car in 22 Jump Street

BEST MUSICAL SEQUENCE
The finale of Whiplash
Runner Up - Lip sync scene from The Skeleton Twins

BEST SONG
Lost Stars from Begin Again
Runner Up - Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie

BEST SCORE
Birdman
Runner Up - Under the Skin

BEST ACTION SEQUENCE
Quicksilver in slow-mo in X-Men: Days of Future Past
Runner Up - Out running a wave in Interstellar

BEST CAR CHASE
Police car chase at the end of Nightcrawler
Runner Up - Nick Fury car chase in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

BEST FIGHT SCENE
Torch / tunnel scene in Snowpiercer
Runner Up - Elevator scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier

BEST IMAGE
Parachuting with red streaks in Godzilla
Runner Up - Glimpse of a fight on an ice planet from above in Interstellar

BEST SINGLE SCENE
The final ten minutes of Whiplash
Runner Up - Releasing the horses in Foxcatcher

BEST OPENING SHOT
The practicing drummer at the end of a long hallway in Whiplash

BEST ENDING
Final ten minutes of Whiplash
Runner Up - The gut punch ending of The Drop

BEST CLOSING CREDITS
Sequel mania in 22 Jump Street

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Runner Up - Under the Skin

BEST COSTUMES
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BREAK THROUGH PERFORMANCE
Nat Wolff in The Fault in Our Stars and Palo Alto
Runner Up - Mackenzie Foy in Interstellar

BEST COMEBACK
Michael Keaton in Birdman
Runner Up - Don Johnson in Cold in July

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE
Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel
Runner Up - Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 22 Jump Street

BEST VILLAIN
Sebastian Stan in Captain America : The Winter Soldier
Runner Up - Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

BEST HERO
Emily Blunt in Edge of Tomorrow
Runner Up - Scarlett Johansson in Lucy

BEST BAD ASS
Frank Grillo in The Purge: Anarchy
Runner Up - Chris Evans in Snowpiercer

BEST ABS
Zac Efron in Neighbors

BEST SEXPOT
Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A BAD MOVIE
James McAvoy in Filth

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MEDIOCRE MOVIE
Adam Driver in This is Where I Leave You

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Runner Up - The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl

BEST QUOTE
"I feel like grabbing you by your ears right now and screaming in your face, 'I'm not fucking interested'." - Nightcrawler
Runner Up - "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'." - Whiplash

Mini Reviews

The Drop
Stars: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini
Plot: An adorable abandoned pit bull plays a pretty big part in this story about a robbery at a bar used as a drop location for the mob.
Thoughts: I wanted to write a full review for this movie right after I saw it but I couldn't quite find the right words to describe how much I loved this damn movie. Based on a short story by Dennis Lehane and featuring superb performances by Hardy and Gandolfini, The Drop is easiest the best slow burn crime thriller I've seen since Mystic River.
Grade: A

Palo Alto
Stars: James Franco, Emma Roberts, Nat Wolff,  Jack Kilmer
Plot: A bunch of bored teenagers drink and party and mess around with strangers and teachers.
Thoughts: What a waste of time and talent. It's not that this movie was bad, just sort of boring and unnecessary.  It has it's moments - Kilmer, son of Val, is crazy cute the way his dad once was and Wolff is phenomenal,  stealing the movie with ease. But mostly it's a bore.
Grade: C

A Long Way Down
Stars: Pierce Brosnon, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots
Plot: Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, the movie follows four strangers who meet and form a pact when they all try to kill themselves on New Years Eve.
Thoughts: It's a fine adaptation of a fine book. The casting is pretty right on and all of the acting surely elevates a plot that somehow feels less ridiculous on screen than it did on the page. This movie is not anything special or amazing buy it's nice and Poots is my new girl crush.
Grade: B-

The Other Woman
Stars:Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann
Plot: A successful lawyer finds out her boyfriend has a wife and then the wife and the mistress bond when they realize he's cheating on them both but it's with Kate Upton so they are all, sure, that makes sense.
Thoughts: I found this movie mostly infuriating, disgusting and slightly offensive. However, it has a few charming parts, most of which concern Mann who I adore. I would just about watch her in anything. Obviously.
Grade: D+

Mini Reviews

About Last Night
Stars: Michael Ealy, Kevin Hart
Plot: A remake of the iconic 80's movie about Chicago singletons (although the remake moves them to Los Angeles) navigating friendships and romantic relationships.
Thoughts: This is just so unnecessary. The remake has the same great rapid fire opening as the original and I thought, hey, maybe this will manage to keep the charm of the iconic 80's film starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. But I was wrong. The opening is pretty much the only thing that has that same feel. Remaking this movie was just a waste of time. Michael Ealy, though.
Grade: D

The Hundred-Foot Journey
Stars: Helen Mirren
Plot: A French restaurant is threatened when an Indian family moves in across the street and opens a brand new restaurant.
Thoughts: This movie is super cute, and nice. It's just, really, it gets a little old watching people taste food and say "yum" every five minutes or so. Still, a nice movie.
Grade: C+

Enemy
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal
Plot: A man goes into a tail spin when he watches a locally made independent film and sees a man that looks exactly like him.
Thoughts: This is the sort of movie where, if you don't like it, people will say things like, "Well, I guess you just didn't get it." Oh, I got it all right. That doesn't mean it was good. Like, at all good. This movie is so bad (with an ending so TERRIBLE) that I just wanted to scream in frustration and throw things at my TV.
Grade: F

Locke
Stars: Tom Hardy
Plot: Tom Hardy drives to London and makes phone calls in his car along the way. Shot almost entirely in one take.
Thoughts: Honestly, you had me at Tom Hardy. I know this movie may seem gimmicky, and I guess it kind of is, but if any actor has enough charisma to pull off being stuck in a car talking on a phone for 90 minutes it's Hardy. This movie is actually super compelling and intense.
Grade: B+

The Giver
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes
Plot: In the future, in a picture perfect society where no one knows pain, a young man must become the new receiver of memories and experience everything that was wiped from the human experience.
Thoughts: When I first left the movie, I was sort of impressed that the movie managed to stay so close to the book while somehow making huge changes. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it could stay close to the book all it wants. It managed to lose one very big thing - the heart of the book. It's like everyone who was involved with this movie read the book and understood the plot but didn't really get it, you know what I mean? Overall, this movie is just too basic for 2014. It's a dated story for our times.
Grade: D

Filth
Stars: James McAvoy
Plot: A corrupt Scottish cop does a lot of drugs while trying to win a promotion that he thinks will impress his wife and daughter.
Thoughts: First of all, I don't know how anyone in Scotland gets anything done because I don't know how they understand anything anyone is saying. Second of all, James McAvoy is so goddamn good in this movie that it actually makes me angry that this movie was so bad. I want it to be better, just for him. He is balls out, out of this world amazing. Like, the best performance I've seen this year by miles. He is so, so, so good and I don't even understand how the movie around him can be so bad.
Grade: D+

Lawless

A few days ago, I was watching Deliverance. I know what you're thinking - what on Earth does Deliverance have to do with Lawless? And the answer is - not much. But I was wondering why they haven't remade Deliverance yet. I mean, believe me, I think it's a terrible idea, but they have remade just about everything else so it truly surprises me that they haven't done this yet. Then it struck me that there are very few actors these days who are really MEN. And I mean, MEN. Actors these days aren't like Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight. They may be able to act like men, but they aren't really MEN. Then I watched Lawless on Saturday and was remiss at leaving out Tom Hardy. Hardy is most definitely a MAN. When he beats the crap out of a guy in this movie, I have absolutely no doubt that he can do that in real life.

And so Lawless is the true story of the lives of the Bondurant brothers, a group of bootleggers in 1930s Virginia. There is Forrest (Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke), the older brothers who are both so bad ass that you wouldn't want to meet them in a dark alley. Then there is little brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf), who so badly wants to fit in with his brothers but is more sweet and sensitive than brooding and brawling. Their lives are perfectly fine, supplying moonshine to cops and neighbors and even a gangster (Gary Oldman), until a new deputy comes to town (best in show Guy Pearce) who decides to make their lives a living hell. Throw in Jessica Chastain as waitress / dancer Maggie, who catches Forrest's eye and Mia Wasikowska as preacher's daughter Bertha, who Jack tries to woo, and you've got your movie.

But I should mention Dane DeHaan, who plays Jack's crippled bestie Cricket. DeHaan also blew me away in Chronicle earlier this year and he kills it again in this movie. He surely has to be the most exciting new actor I've seen in years. And that has very little to do with his uncanny resemblance to a young Leonardo DiCaprio. I mean, he looks so much like DiCaprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? that I am 65% sure they actually digitally lifted Leo from that movie and superimposed him into this one. DeHaan is definitely One to Watch.

The rest of this cast is stellar as well. With the exception of The Dark Knight Rises, this is probably the best cast of actors assembled in a movie this year. This is the absolute finest work LaBeouf has done. He's always been a fine actor but has been weighted down by making bad movies. Here he truly shows how good he is at giving a layered performance and making a character likable. He has tremendous charisma which is a start. However, no one can upstage Hardy and Pearce here. Hardy is the most intense actor working today. He is completely intoxicating to watch in everything, and especially in this, which might be his finest performance since Bronson. But Pearce is the star of this show. His Deputy Rakes is a sociopathic lunatic, some kind of coiled up snake who is always ready to strike. And it's a joy to watch.

Lawless is a good movie, but unfortunately, I think it thinks it is a lot better than it actually is. Lawless, directed by John Hillcoat, is trying to be some great American masterpiece. It wants to be The Godfather, an epic truly American movie about a family that does bad things to protect each other. Lawless is not The Godfather. It has too many faults. To begin with, it completely wastes Gary Oldman in a thankless role. The roles of the women are terribly one dimensional and trite (Chastain tries her best to make her mark here and she succeeds to a point. I mean, a lesser actress who have been utterly forgettable in this movie). The pace is almost glacial, except during the extreme scenes of violence. That is truly when Lawless shines, when it finds it's niche as this character driven Western with swagger. Lawless fails at trying to be the instant classic movie it wants to be. But that's not to say it isn't a damn good movie with one hell of a cast.

Grade: B

Catching Up on Summer Movies

So, I sort of temporarily abandoned blogger but it was only because, for some reason, it wasn't allowing me to update. It looks like that might be fixed now so I have returned. In my absence, I was trying to keep up with things over on tumblr. If you want to read my recent full reviews go here: http://thiscinephile.tumblr.com/. For now, however, I will just post little quickies to get up to date.

Rock of Ages - Very similar to Burlesque but without the awesome performances courtesy of Cher and Stanley Tucci. The story of a young girl who tries to make it in Hollywood in the 80s, Rock of Ages was a huge success on Broadway. Julianne Hough has potential. She can dance and sing and act (her level of talent goes in that order too) but lacks any sort of chemistry with Diego Boneta, who also has absolutely no charisma whatsoever. Catherine Zeta-Jones is a titan of the musical world (Chicago) and takes a one-dimensional, slightly annoying role and proves why she is a superstar. Russell Brand and Alec Baldwain are forgettable at best. Paul Giamatti manages to give a great performance in the role of an unlikeable jackass. Then there is Tom Cruise. If you are going to see Rock of Ages, go see it for Tom Cruise. I'm not his biggest fan. But as Axl Rose clone Stacee Jaxx, Cruise, who makes his entrance in assless chaps, is all in. His dedication to this character is ridiculous and he parades around this movie like a peacock, so showy and vain and just damn good. The music in the movie is super fun (and there's a lot of it), but ultimately it's just a Tom Cruise vehicle. Somehow, this movie just didn't jive for me. Something was lacking and missing. Grade: C+

Magic Mike - Under the direction of Steven Soderbergh, Magic Mike becomes so much more than a movie about male strippers. The dialogue is rich and flows realistically. It's also genuinely funny and has a lot of heart. The filmmaking is just great and I especially loved the way the film seemed so vivid at night, but was sort of muted and washed out during the day, looking how you feel with a hangover. The performances are great, as well. Channing Tatum, this is story is based on his life, is clearly the best dancer and is so charming and charasmatic that he just keeps begging his haters to find faults with his seriously improved acting. Cody Horn is a great find and has great chemistry with both Tatum and Alex Pettyfer. Saepking of Pettyfer, this is his finest performance to date (especially during his second half unraveling) and proves he is much more than a pretty face. Then there is McConaughey, so dirty and grimy and slimy and hilarious as the perverse father figure of this group of lost boys. All in all, I loved Magic Mike. Soderbergh and this talented cast created a film that is downright good. Grade: B+

Ted - It seemed everyone in the audience with me loved this movie. I did not. Ted wasn't completely without laughs but mostly I found it boarish and just plain boring. I don't feel like rehasing a negative review so head over to Tumblr to read the whole thing if you want. Grade: D-

The Amazing Spider-Man - The film wastes a lot of time with the first act that doesn't necessarily go anywhere. The movie isn't really all that long (compared to other summer comic book movies) but it sure as hell feels like it. The best thing about this movie is Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. He just completely nails it and you almost don't want the original trilogy to exist because this movie will always be compared to those movies and Garfield doesn't deserve that. He is extraordinary. The Amazing Spider-man is at its best when it's this cute indie love story inside this epic film. When it's at its best, I'm so glad they decided to reboot it. The 3D aspect of the film also ratchets up the fun quotient. I'm not a big fan of 3D but if there was ever a superhero who begged to be in 3D, then it's Spider-man! The other downside is that I felt cheated out of a villain. Horror movies are only as good as their villains and it takes the Lizard nearly two thirds of the movie to arrive, and then he's more misunderstood then villainous. Emma Stone is sassy and witty and adorable as Gwen Stacy. The Amazing Spider-man is, indeed, amazing. It's ultimately a fun, exciting and sweet summer movie. Grade: B

Savages - Savages was a strange kind of movie for me. It's a really well done film, both dark and gritty and kind of funny. There's sex, drugs, violence and it has an actual plot, which is pretty for a summer movie. Plus, the cast is universally pretty great. Still, I was expecting more. Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch are pot growers who are in love with the same woman (Blake Lively) and get involved with a Mexican drug cartel headed by Salma Hayek and her sociopathic goon Benicio Del Toro. The plot and script is mostly great, engaging, interesting, thrilling and intense. Some of the dialogue, however, is a bit cheesy / corny / dumb (mostly Lively's voice overs). The cinematagraphy is great as well. The major problem for me was the terrible / preposterous / ridiculous / stupid ending. Seriously, there had to be a better ending out there somewhere!! Hayek, Del Toro and John Travolta are all hammy great. Johnson is sensitive and endearing. Lively is the weak spot, of course. But Kitsch finally put his summer blunders behind him. This the kind of intense, dark, gritty work the actor should be doing, not fluff like Battleship. Grade: B-


The Dark Knight Rises - The best movie of the year, so far, for sure. It might not be as good as The Dark Knight but it's pretty damn close. There are flaws in the movie, sure, but sometimes you just have to look at the bigger picture and appreciate a movie for being so epic and entertaining. And all the good stuff, no BRILLIANT stuff, more than makes up for any nitpicky flaws you might find with the movie. My review over on Tumblr is longer and more detailed but the gist is this: Christopher Nolan has crafted a trilogy that will stand that test of tie and be revered as, probably and hopefully, the greatest superhero trilogy of all time. The Dark Knight Rises is the perfect ending to that trilogy. Grade: A-

This Means War

Let's start on a positive note - The only person hotter than Tom Hardy is Chris Pine. I'll admit, I didn't really think this movie looked all that good. In fact, with a different cast, I would have skipped it all together. But Chris Pine's deliciously blue eyes? Tom "I have the best lips in Hollywood" Hardy? Are you kidding me? I was so there. Yes, I will fully admit, although I am serious about films and I love movies, sometimes I just wanna go watch a couple of hot guys fight over a cute girl. And on that aspect, I wasn't disappointed in This Means War at all. Pine was dreamy as a charming womanizer and Hardy was sexy as a divorced dad, both trying to woo Reese Witherspoon's adorably neurotic Lauren. I'll admit, I would have liked the movie better had Pine and Hardy somehow made out at the end, but on sex appeal alone, This Means War succeeds. On that note, the only thing that could have made it better is if Michael Fassbender showed up at some point.

Now on to the rest... This Means War is this terribly hodge podge movie that caters to the idea, "Let's throw everything against the wall and see what sticks." The main problem with the movie is that it has no idea what the hell it wants to be. Is it a romantic comedy? Is it a bromance? Is it a thrilling spy caper? Is it a buddy movie? Who the hell knows! The script, the movie, the soundtrack - everything - is so random and thrown together that it is both ridiculous and kind of fun. Sometimes this crazy pace and inclusion of EVERYTHING actually works and makes the movie fun in a frantic kind of way. Other times, it is just puzzling and makes you want to ask what the hell the screenwriters and McG were thinking.

The story basically follows Lauren (Witherspoon) a sweet girl who is single in Los Angeles after following her old boyfriend to the city. A few months after they arrived, he cheated and she spends more time with Boggle these days then she does with men. On the advice of her horny but married friend (Chelsea Handler), she decides to sign up for on line dating. This is how she meets Tuck (Hardy), a CIA spy who claims he's a travel agent. They have a nice and sweet lunch date and then Lauren decides to go rent a movie (SERIOUSLY??? Was this script written in 1997?? Nobody rents movies anymore. Are there even places TO rent movies anymore? Besides Red Box, obviously.). Anyway, there she meets the confusingly named FDR (Pine) and he immediately comes off as too slick and too charming but somehow she starts to like him anyway. So, Lauren is faced with the problem of dating two gorgeous men at once. I mean, I guess it's a problem. A girl like me would never actually know whether it is a problem or not. Personally, it sounds like a pretty great problem to have. Anyway, further confusing the matter, FDR and Tuck are best friends and partners in the CIA. At first they decide to both date her and let her decide who to be with. Of course, they both fall for her and then all bets are off. Throw in some international spy organizations and you've got yourself This Means War.

Like I said, the movie is mediocre at best. Sometimes it's fun but sometimes it's such a convoluted mess. However, I will totally recommend it for Pine and Hardy, who are both way too hot for words.

Grade: C

Warrior (DVD)

Warrior is like if Shakespeare wrote a play about MMA. The film has got that level of drama and, even, to a certain extent, tragedy. What I thought would be a boring, trite, overly uplifting movie about fighting actually turned out to be a gritty, realistic, raw and emotional film about inner demons and family history and complicated brotherly relationships.
Tom Hardy stars as Tommy, a former Marine who just returned home to Pittsburgh. He finds himself a sudden internet sensation after he spares with a champion at the local gym and knocks him out cold in less than a minute. That is when he hears about the upcoming Sparta competition, a winner take all, $5 million cash prize MMA tournament that will pit the greatest middleweights against each other. Tommy used to be high school wrestling champ coached by his alcoholic and abusive father (Nick Nolte). So, despite a raging hatred for the way his father treated him and his mother (a relationship I can relate to far too well), Tommy reunites with his father merely as a trainer and not in any other way so he can get ready to win Sparta.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Tommy's older brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton) has his own problems. He's a family man teacher who is struggling to keep his house. The bank is threatening to take it away from him, his wife and their two young daughters. So, Brendan tells his wife that he is getting a second job as a bouncer, but the former UFC fighter instead fights in parking lots for money. After an especially bloody fight that leaves his face mangled, he loses his teaching job and decides to get back into fighting full time. He reunites with an old trainer buddy and when the guy he was training for Sparta breaks his leg, Brendan finds himself on his way to the competition as well.
I won't ruin the ending, except to say that, obviously, the brothers (who have YEARS of baggage) face off in the final match for the big prize. The entire movie, like the last, brutal, heartbreaking fight, is a fantastic tour de force, an emotional journey to take with these two characters. It's not just an MMA fighting movie. Instead, it is a family drama that centers around that world, with years of heartache and pain slowly coming to the surface throughout the excellently written, directed and paced film.
Edgerton and Hardy are both fantastic as the brothers, with Hardy especially coming alive in his role as a misunderstood and mysterious ex-Marine. He is like a caged lion in the octagon, with so much rage and anger hidden deep under the surface. But Nolte is especially fantastic as the alcoholic father who has found Jesus and is desperately trying to make amends for all the terrible things he's done to his two sons, who know hate him and refuse to let him into their lives. He proves why he's been a star for decades. Overall, the film is so much better than expected, and one of the best of the year.
Grade: B+

Starting soon (tomorrow if I have the time, if not, Monday) - my annual Best (and worst) of the Year lists!

Top Ten List: Best Supporting Actor 2010

10. Kieran Culkin in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - Despite being very uneven, there were parts of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World I liked very much. The thing I liked most about it was Culkin as Scott's gay best friend Wallace. Kieran has always been my favorite Culkin, and I think he's a terribly underrated actor. He was spot on in this film with his dry humor and perfect comedic timing.

09. Chris Cooper in The Town - In only one scene, Cooper manages to almost steal the entire movie away from a bunch of younger dudes. These younger guys are trying to act tough and be tough but Cooper IS tough. He makes you believe that he is a hardened criminal, stuck in jail like a lion in a cage at the zoo. So raw and so, so good.

08. Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right - I'll admit, I don't quite understand the fascination with this movie. I liked it, in a Lifetime movie sort of way. One complaint I don't have, however, is with the acting which is excellent all around. Ruffalo, who was also excellent in Shutter Island, is all free spirit, a man who has done his best to not get tied down, finally coming to terms with being an adult.

07. Ben Kingsley in Shutter Island - As a slightly menacing doctor, Kingsley plays into the general feeling of paranoia that is found in every little piece of this film. He walks this perfect line between being a trust-worthy, good doctor and being someone who might harm you, or even kill you, if given the opportunity. In a film with great acting, he shines.

06. Vincent Cassel in Black Swan - Cassel plays Thomas, the artistic director of a ballet company. Sure, he's a cad, putting the moves on Nina and Lilly and Beth and Lord knows who else. But he is also incredibly charming. And kind of frightening. He's intense and enigmatic. Cassel plays all the different facets of his character with such impressive ease.

05. Armie Hammer in The Social Network - I know there was a body double involved and also a whole lot of technical wizadry from David Fincher and his tech friends, but it's still pretty damn impressive that Hammer is playing TWO characters! He manages to make the Winklevoss twins completely seperate entities to the point where you swear they are being played by two different people. Plus, he gets one of the most fun lines in the whole movie.

04. Tom Hardy in Inception - Okay, so Inception was already an amazing movie. But then in walks Tom f-ing Hardy with that swagger and those lips and he all but steals the entire damn movie right away from so many bigger, more famous stars. He's hilarious and also charming. He is such a chameleon and here's to many more projects from Hardy in the future!

03. Jeremy Renner in The Town - Renner is electric as Jem, an explosive bank robber. He takes a character that could have been so one-note, so boring, so cliche and manages to turn him into someone you can't keep your eyes off of. Renner has been one of the best working actors for at least a decade. Thank Lord, someone else is finally noticing.

02. Andrew Garfield in The Social Network - Okay, so Garfield gets to deliver the absolute best line in the best script of the year. But, from the first frame, you can't take your eyes off Garfield and his mesmerizing performance of Eduardo Savrin, a young college co-ed who becomes a millionaire and then loses all of it. He also loses his best friend in the process. Since he's probably the only fully likeable character in the movie, his performance really burrows into your brain and you find yourself rooting for him through the entire film.

01. Christian Bale in The Fighter - So, if I was an actor I would probably quit the profession after seeing Christian Bale BECOME Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter. I haven't always been fond of Bale but I was completely blown away with him in this movie. I read an article about how when people who grew up with Dicky saw Christian on set, they thought it was really him. Then at the end of the film, they show a clip of the real Dicky and by God, he looks and moves and talks exactly like Christian in the movie. This is not only the best performance by a supporting actor, it's also the single best performance of the entire year.