Juno. (12/27/07). Wonderful, humorous, touching film that works from the opening scene. Large theater audience laughed often and knowingly. Agree with critics--best film of 2007. Highly recommended.
Charlie Wilson's War. (12/22/07). Big cast performing to expectations, interesting plot, well-paced, entertaining. Recommended.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. (12/21/07). Hilarious over the top spoof of recent music bio-pics that may fall flat with some viewers. Unnecessary frontal male nudity deserves R rating. John C. Reilly sparkles. Recommended.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. (12/18/07). Well-crafted, very well acted grisly tale featuring a cast of characters entirely without any redeeming values. Repulsive opening sex sequence. For aficionados only; this is not pleasant entertainment. Not recommended, despite good review and honors.
No Country for Old Men. (12/05/07). Dry, laconic, well-written, good plot, well-made, memorable villain (Javier Bardem), strong leading actors. Recommended.
Enchanted. (11/24/07). Hilarious and entertaining once the cartoon portion switches to real time NYC. Amy Adams is wonderful. Highly recommended.
August Rush. (11/22/07). Deeply flawed, implausible to the point of silliness, but contains wonderful music and some memorable and emotional scenes. Recommended, but be warned.
American Gangster. (11/07/07). Epic length American crime story with strong performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Somewhat flat given the length but excellent entertainment overall. Should not win a best picture Oscar.
Gone Baby Gone. (10/29/07). Good acting by Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan and other leads. Authentic Boston dialogue and local customs (circa GWH). Some nice surprises in interesting script w/o a Hollywood ending, but still barely adds up to an entertaining experience b/c of subject matter and length. Recommended, but could wait for DVD.
Dan in Real Life. (10/27/07). Initial chemistry between Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche is cringe inducing to the point of nearly walking out. Large surrounding cast helps disguise this continuing flaw. Eventually belly-laughs and a connection between them results. A marginal romantic comedy with nothing interesting to say. Barely recommended.
We Own the Night. (10/15/07). Has Godfather aspirations, which are not met, but it is nice to see a movie so ambitious. Lead actors do a nice job, plot is adequate, but not especially involving. Barely recommended.
Michael Clayton. (10/12/07). Very competent George Clooney vehicle that lacks humor, romance, and heart. Well-acted, needlessly vulgar, not scenic. A well-crafted work that stays with you. Recommended.
In the Valley of Elah. (10/07/07). A new kind of anti-Iraq war film focusing on what it is doing to us as soldiers and as a nation. Well acted by Tommy Lee Jones and supporting cast, including Charlize Theron. A sad, memorable work. Recommended. Likely to result in a best actor nomination for Jones.
The Heartbreak Kid. (10/05/07). The previews show all of the funniest parts. Winces and laughs are about equal. Crude and not a love story. Some good laughs but overall a disappointment. Not recommended.
The Brave One. (9/29/07). Despite extreme violence (covered my eyes at length during mugging/death scene), fine performances by Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, and Nicky Katt made the film enjoyable. Not recommended for the squeamish.
Eastern Promises. (9/21/07). Good cast, well acted, extremely violent. Recommended only for those with a strong stomach. Perhaps see only if Oscar nominations result.
The Kingdom. (9/15/07). Good action film set in Arabia with superior political orientation. Good cast for a small film. Strong recommendation.
Sicko. (9/14/07). Informative, persuasive documentary about the problems of America's health care system with only a few flaws (beginning, attempted boat entry to Guantánamo). Learned a few things about life in Europe. Highly recommended.
Stardust. (9/12/07). Imaginative, well-acted fairy tale with good cast. Recommended.
3:10 to Yuma. (9/09/07). A good western, too bloody for many, a bit long, but involving enough to recommend for the non-squeamish.
Superbad. (9/05/07). Very funny, sometimes cringe-inducing, often gross high school comedy. Highly recommended.
Angel-A. (8/09/07). A film in French by Luc Besson staring Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen, a short Moroccan man and a six foot blonde fashion model. Watchable, with tolerance, but does not justify a theatre outing. Perhaps on DVD if the mood for France strikes. Not recommended.
No Reservations. (8/08/07). More smaltzy than expected and a little long. Aaron Eckhart miscast (too cheerful and worshipful throughout). Suspect original is better. Not recommended but not unpleasant to watch.
The Bourne Ultimatum. (8/07/07). Viewed in sold out theatre on a Tuesday night. Good cast, decent plot, good music, different scenery. Mild disappointment overall, but still recommended.
You Kill Me. (7/23/07). Great cast, well acted, odd little tale from the director of Rounders. Recommended, especially on DVD.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. (7/22/07). Suggest three beers prior to viewing (as I had). Recommended only in that instance.
Paris Je T'Aime. (7/19/07). Pleasant series of very short films by different directors and casts all set in Paris. Quality and entertainment value vary. Does not work as a movie. Not recommended.
Live Free or Die Hard. (7/17/07). Earnest attempt to adapt older franchise to modern times. Partially succeeds. 30 minutes too long. Recommended.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (7/12/07). Better than expected. Viewed in poor theatre in small town but audience was enthralled. Highly recommended for fans of HP.
Ocean's 13. (6/23/07). Entertaining enough to recommend but going downhill.
A Mighty Heart. (6/22/07). Fine performance by Angelina Jolie, realistic treatment of kidnapping and assignation of Daniel Pearl, but not an entertaining movie. No character arc. Compared to Bernard-Henri Levy's book, Who Killed Daniel Pearl?, a surface treatment only. With reluctance, not recommended.
Waitress. (6/07/07). True Indie film with unpolished patches, simplistic plot, and no visual treats. Good cast and ample heart prevail. A bit overhyped, but recommended.
Knocked Up. (6/04/07). Funny, insightful, too raunchy and a bit long. At times it seems headed somewhere special but it never gets there. Maybe next time. Recommended.
Lucky You. (5/07/07). This is a poker movie and I am a poker fan, but the love story does not work, the plot is implausible, and Drew Barrymore sings. Not recommended.
The Namesake. (4/19/07). Slightly long, generally entertaining with seeming insights into modern India-America experience for immigrants. Enjoyable and recommended.
Disturbia. 4/17/07 (tax day). Except for ten minutes of horror film stuff, this is first rate, entertaining film with attractive leads and side characters. Talent at work here. Recommended despite horror aspects.
The Lives of Others. (4/11/07). A simple, low budget film that was better than expected. Deserved the Oscar. Highly recommended.
Shooter. (3/24/07). Plot too simple, too violent, good cast. Recommended if you can sit through violent movies.
Music and Lyrics. (3/16/07). Cliched and formulaic, with occasional moments. Not recommended unless located somewhere with little to do.
Wild Hogs.(3/15/07). Cliched and formulaic, but not hopeless. Not recommended unless located somewhere with little to do.
The Last King of Scotland. (3/5/07). Easily surpassed low expectations. Two or three cover your eyes scenes, but worth seeing for Whitakers's Oscar winning performance. Recommended.
Breach. (3/2/07). Solid, somewhat dull with good acting by Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillipe. Recommended for DVD.
Amazing Grace. (2/24/07). Good enough to recommend but less than it could have been. Nice movie.
Catch and Release. (2/22/07). Sorry, but I liked this light movie. Good cast, enough humor, pretty scenery. Recommended.
Pan's Labrynith. (2/9/07). Visually stunning on occasion, but overdrawn and disturbingly violent. Evil can be depicted with a lighter hand (the hunters who killed Bambi's mother). Not recommended.
The Departed. (2/1/07). The dialogue stands out more in a second viewing. Still recommended.
Babel. (1/27/07). Did not want to see this movie and did not last two hours before walking out. Subplot of Japanese teenage deaf mute was ludicrous; remainder lacks a credible plot and needs serious cutting. Not recommended.
Pursuit of Happyness. (1/25/07). Well made, well acted movie that I resisted seeing and did not enjoy. The ultimate objection is that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is a job as a stock broker. In future years, this movie may be viewed as the high-water mark of America's money worship. Not recommended in spite of its craft.
Children of Men. (1/24/07). Grisly, involving Clive Owen movie. Recommended.
Rocky Balboa. (1/9/07). Pretty much as expected. Enjoyed it. Recommended.
Marie Antoinette. (1/2/07). Not tired, not bored, no alcohol, nothing better to do, still walked out.
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