Category: The Twenty-First Century
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127 Hours [2010] ★★★½
James Franco is incredible in this true story of a mountain climber who finds himself fighting for his life when a fallen rock crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah. Over the next 6 days, he examines his life by recalling friends, lovers, family and the two hikers he met…
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Winter’s Bone [2010]
The heroine in this small but effective movie is a 17 year old girl who acts as a mother to her younger brother and sister. Her sick mother sits useless all day, while her father, who was jailed for cooking meth, is missing. Apparently, he put up their house as collateral for his bail, and…
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The Fighter [2010]
We’ve all seen “Rocky”, “Raging Bull”, “Million Dollar Baby”, and even “Cinderella Man”. One can really wonder how many boxing movies we really need nowadays, and if a new one can deliver the same joy we felt while watching all those amazing classics. The answer: “The Fighter”, a true story about small time boxer Mickey Ward…
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Love And Other Drugs [2010]
“Love And Other Drugs” can be a bit misleading. From the trailer and the poster, one can easily expect a routine romantic comedy. It isn’t. In fact, it’s a bittersweet, romantic drama with a provocative backdrop and an intriguing premise. But I wish I could say I was entirely satisfied by it. The plot: Jake…
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Black Swan [2010]
I’m not a fan of ballet or most of Daren Aronofsky movies (“Requiem For A Dream” and “The Fountain” were especially tough to watch). But he really outdid himself with “Black Swan”, turning ballet into his own dark twisted world. The star of the show: Natalie Portman, who gives the performance of her career as Nina,…
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Rabbit Hole [2010]
Emotionally uplifting movie (based on a play) about a married couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) whose world is forever changed when their young son is killed by a car. The wife tries to deal with the matter by redifining her own existence; she finds refuge in a mysterious relationship with a troubled young comic artist, who…
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The Orphanage [2007]
Chilling movie about a woman who moves into the orphanage she used to live in when she was a child and turns it into a home for disabled children. Before long, her son befriends an invisible child and strange events begin to occur. “The orphanage” is not your typical Hollywood horror movie; in fact it’s…
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The Last Exorcism [2010]
Documentary style horror movie about a reverend who agrees to take part in exposing exorcism as a fraud. Working with a film crew, he chooses at random a plea letter from a man who claims that his daughter has been possessed by a demon. Prior to the exorcism, the reverend plants hidden speakers and electronic devices in…
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Everybody’s Fine [2009]
Exceptional movie about a widower (Robert DeNiro who’s never been better) who goes on a road trip in order to reconnect with his children who bailed on a family reunion. He sets out to see his artist son in NYC, his daughter the ad executive in Chicago, his son the conductor on tour in Denver, and his…
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Tron: Legacy [2010]
Can I tell you how surprised I am that I actually enjoyed this movie? To be honest, I expected this sequel to be as lame as the 1982 movie. But boy was I wrong. It may not have been the best movie of 2010, but I have no problem admitting that it was one hell…
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Howl’s Moving Castle [2004] ★★★★
One of the best animated movies ever made from master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”, “Ponyo”) about a teenage girl who finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is turned into a 90 year old woman by an evil witch. Embarking on a journey to lift the curse, she finds refuge in a magical castle, where…
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Gulliver’s Travels [2010]
Jack Black is fun to watch in this updated version of Jonathan Swift’s novel about a wannabe writer who takes an assignment in Bermuda in order to impress his boss (who also happens to be the girl he’s in love with) but ends up on an island instead where he meets the tiny citizen of…
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The Best Movies of the Year [2010]
Because people love lists, I’ve managed to put together a list of the 10 best movies I’ve seen this year (taking in consideration that I have yet to see “True Grit”, “Black Swan” and other golden globe nominees). Happy new year everyone! 10-The Kids Are All Right This small independent movie turned out to be one of the best…
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The Tourist [2010]
Johnny Depp looks bored out of his mind as an American visiting Venice to mend a broken heart. Angelina Jolie plays the woman who crosses his path, and uses him as a decoy to convince the police that he is in fact her wanted lover. The two lack chemistry, but that’s just one of the…
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Little Fockers [2010]
In a year of craptaculars, “Little Fockers” deserves burial at the bottom of the sea (“Skyline” looks like you’re off the hook). No one expected Shakespeare, but Paul Weitz’s failure to cap his franchise with any real meaning can easily be ranked as one of the biggest disappointments of the year. This third (and hopefully…
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Watchmen [2009]
Stylish (if overlong) adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s celebrated novel set in a dark, alternate 1985 where superheroes have bonded together to respond to the murder of one of their own. Someone’s been plotting to get rid of our heroes, and it doesn’t take long for them to uncover a sinister plan that…
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All Good Things [2010]
“All Good Things” is the kind of movie that gives Hollywood a bad name. I won’t dwell on the plot, which sounds pretty interesting at first: A love story and a murder case combined together based on a famous unsolved New York murder case. Nor will I comment on wether or not I want to hear…
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You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger [2010]
It’s a treat to watch Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Antonio Banderas and Freida Pinto together in a Woody Allen movie. And even if the end result isn’t as satisfying as most of his previous work, I still had a good time watching it. All the usual ingredients are here: we follow the story…
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Shadow Of The Vampire [2000]
Amusing and creepy fiction about the making of F.W Murnau’s classic movie “Nosferatu”. John Malkovich is terrific as the German filmmaker who has to deal with a very difficult lead actor (Willem Dafoe in a chilling performance) who seems to be taking his role much too seriously. The local villagers become anxious about the actor,…
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The Next Three Days [2010]
Russel Crowe gives a top notch performance in “The Next Three Days”, one of the most underrated movies of the year. We follow the story of a married couple, whose life is turned upside down when the wife is accused of murdering her boss. It seems she was seen leaving the scene of the crime…
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