Somewhere

Being a great admirer of Sofia Coppola’s body of work I immediately placed her latest film on my must see list for December. Somewhere is filled with the usual elements found in a Sofia Coppola film such as quiet moments revealed in a single frame and the peaceful, almost meditative, pace. However, I think she missed the opportunity to make this small film a great film and another Oscar contender like Lost in Translation. It felt as though this film ended at the end of the second act and there was no climax. If there had been that climax, the movie would’ve truly arced, the lesson would’ve been learned, and the main character would’ve grown. Instead you’re left with hopes that Johnny the actor steps up and becomes a real father.

The Tempest

Julie Taymor is a visionary director who knows how to turn a film into a piece of fine art. Everything about this film worked and complimented the language of Shakespeare beautifully. The most noteworthy part of the film was the lack of CGI when creating the special effects. Most of the effects were created with film tricks and editing, a tradition long forgotten in the film industry today. I would gladly sit through this film again and immerse myself in the world Julie Taymor created.

Tron: Legacy

I have never seen the original Tron and when I heard the sequel was coming out, I put the original in my Netflix queue and it became “unavailable,” so I only had a vague idea of what to expect. There were some cool effects in the basically monochromatic color scheme and I’m pretty sure science-fiction and video game enthusiasts will find it to be a fantastic film, filling the void for this year’s Avatar. It was an entertaining film with a kick ass soundtrack which I’m planning on purchasing in the near future, but when thinking about individual parts to evaluate, I’m left cold. I guess a bunch of neutral elements put together equals something entertaining? I don’t know.

Tangled

I’m not an animation fan, but I’m a sucker for classic Disney fairytales. I walked out of this film completely joyous yet sad knowing that this Disney’s last fairy tale for awhile. It feels as though Disney has learned from their critics and has finally stepped away from making weak princesses in need of their prince. Rapunzel is a great role model for young girls because she’s following her dream, which isn’t a man, but to explore the outside world. All the characters were clearly developed and the new mythology added to the classic fairytale created new dimension to the story. This magical, wonderful film made me feel like a little girl again.

Burlesque

What do you get when you combine Christina Aguilera, Cher, and glitter? A fun filled 2 hours! This was definitely campy, but that’s what made it fabulous. It was great to know that Christina Aguilera can act and sing. The dancing, music, and costumes where spectacular! And the icing on the cake was Kristin Bell who really proved her acting chops by playing a drunken diva.

Morning Glory

Even though I kept hearing negative reviews of this film, I was determined to see it because it looked good and I thought it was. Rachel McAdams played her character to perfection and though she was neurotic, she was very likeable. Harrison Ford was perfect as a jaded newscaster and Diane Keaton was the perfect Kathy Lee rip-off diva. This film was criticized for not being Network, but wasn’t supposed to be. It was about a woman finding the balance between work and life and figuring out what’s best for her. This was a great and refreshing film about a woman focused on something other than her love life.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I was skeptical going into this film because the adaptation of the sixth book as so atrocious. Though this adaption was better than that one, it still fell short. A big issue I have is J.K. Rowling was able to have character arcs for every character and the screenwriter could’ve easily copied that with a couple lines of dialogue, but did not. I’m not going to lie; I was put off at the very beginning because one of my favorite scenes in the entire book series between Harry and his cousin Dudley was completely omitted. The more I thought about this movie the next day the more I realized they left out important details such as certain conversations which were suppose to take place at the wedding or a certain artifact which was suppose to be revealed when they visit an ally towards the end. I felt like so much was glossed over, I wonder if someone who hasn’t read the books would even be able to grasp what is going on. I plan on taking my dad to the movie to find out.

Black Swan

Ever since the trailer for this film appeared on the internet I’ve been dying to see it. It is a trippy and successful mixture of two things I love: psychological thrillers and dance. The masterful handheld camera work helps the audience immerse themselves inside the brain of Nina, Natalie Portman, a high-strung ballerina. Though nothing about the inner workings of Nina’s head is clearly spelled out, you never feel as though something is missing. All the pieces are there, you just have a choice as to how you want to put it together. And all the surreal and trying elements of this dark story lead up to an ending that finishes the film perfectly.

Skyline

Aliens invading earth isn’t exactly the most original idea for a film, but fun to watch. The characters in the movie were obnoxious and belonged on a VH1 celebreality show. Though everything about the characters and their plots was boring, the aliens were great and worth watching. They were a mixture of all the different aliens from great cinema mashed up into an alien race hell bent on ridding earth of humans. It was awesome watching them get rid of the main characters.

The Hereafter

I know that Clint Eastwood is a critically acclaimed director, but I generally avoid his movies unless the topic seems interesting. The trailer for this movie made it seem interesting, but I had no idea what the real topic was and I was still wondering that after the movie was over. I kept waiting for something to happen because there must be a reason why these characters were the way they were, but yet nothing happened. When the movie was over all I wanted was some chocolate to chase away the depressed and unsatisfied feeling I was left with.