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Film Strips 2008

 

Title

Rating

     Comment

 

 

 

The Bank Job

***1/2

Best heist movie in years and it’s a true story.

City of Men

***1/2

Chilling follow up to City of God.

Changeling

***1/2

Chilling true account of boy murders in LA>

Encounters End World

***1/2

Herzog makes another unnerving docu (Grizzly Man) about Antarctica.

The Express

***1/2

Ernie Davis, American hero and inspiration.

Let the Right One In

***1/2

Lil vampire, grim teen drama.

Man on a Wire

***1/2

How did he do that? Riveting.

Milk

***1/2

Penn puts a face on gay rights.

The Pool

***1/2

Subtle, haunting coming of age in India.

Slumdog Millionaire

***1/2

Rags to riches in India’s caste system.

Standard Op. Procedure

***1/2

Errol Morris shines the light on Abu Ghraib.

The Visitor

***1/2

Another quirky yarn of disparate lives from The Station Agent director.

Waltz with Bashr

***1/2

An offbeat/animated docu about a siege in Beirut.

Wall-E

***1/2

A futuristic winner from creator of Finding Nemo.

Appaloosa

***

Ed Harris cooks up a revisionist western from Robert Parker’s novel.

Australia

***

The epic borders on camp, but also has a heart.

Blindness

***

Can’t see in the apocalypse and it’s hell.

Body of Lies

***

Taut espionage with DiCaprio as the man in the middle.

Burn After Reading

***

Coen Brothers go gonzo on the CIA.

Benjamin Button

***

Pitt does F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Che

***

Four hours long, but with purpose.

Dark Knight

***

Muddled but moody. Christian, lose that growl!

Defiance

***

Guerrilla Jews during WWII.

Diary of the Dead

***

Contrived and clunky, but Romero delivers the gory goods.

Doubt

***

Great performances, manipulative plot.

The Duchess

***

Knightly and Fines, love in the time of misogyny.

Elegy

***

Kingsley is Roth’s swinging dick prof, but Cruz steals the pic.

Frost/Nixon

***

Lots of Oscar timber in this tight play to screen adaptation.

Gran Torino

***

Clint makes intolerance’s day.

Happy Go Lucky

***

Another biting slice of life from Mike Leigh.

HellBoy 2

***

Super hero movie of the summer…so far.

In Bruges

***

The Hit gets remade for the new century.

I Served the King England

***

WWII as told from a Czech waiter’s POV.

The Last Mistress

***

Catherine Breillat delivers a sexy Dangerous Liaisons period piece.

The Lucky Ones

***

Three unlikely Iraq soldiers on leave bond and find humanity.

Miracle at St. Anna

***

Spike Lee does the WWII mystery thing

Mongol

***

Genghis Khan, the early years.

Mother of Tears

***

Suspira comes full circle.

Nothing But the Truth

***

Lurie’s take on Libby and Plame.

Perfect Game

***

Little League schmaltz with heart.

Paranoid Park

***

Van Sant hangs out with troubled skate kids.

The Reader

***

Hard questions asked in haunting post holocaust drama.

Revolutionary Road

***

The American Dream goes to hell.

Secret Lives of Bees

***

Maudlin, but well acted racial barrier yarn set in the south.

Sex and the City

***

The movie closes out the series with heart.

Son of Rambow

***

Touching, if uneven, 80’s nostalgia.

Space Chimps

***

Not WALL-E, but good monkey fun.

Stop Loss

***

Iraq war take by Boys Dony Cry dir. is poignant, yet clichéd.

Street Kings

***

Keanu does Training Dday righteously.

Traitor

***

Wacky Steve Martin conjures up an episode of 24.

Tropic Thunder

***

Stiller finally hits the funny bone.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

***

Scarlett Jo and Ms Cruz make out in Woody’s latest.

Vallyrie

***

Cruise delivers Hitler assassination plot.

W

***

Not what you’d expect from Ollie on Bush, provocative, but pointless.

Wendy and Lucy

***

Simple, harrowing, heartfelt drama about a lost dog.

What Doesn’t Kill You

***

Gritty true tale of take down in South Boston.

The Wrestler

***

Mickey Rourke wins as another down and outer.

Baghead

**1/2

Think of Blair Witch as a comedy.

Blindness

**1/2

In post-apocalyptic world, no one can see.

Charlie Bartlett

**1/2

Salinger-eque yarn could use a tad more teeth.

Choke

**1/2

Anal beads and sex addicts.

Cloverfield

**1/2

Intriguing but pointless meld of Blair Witch and Godzilla.

Doomsday

**1/2

Cheesy but fun post apoc follow up by the director of The Descent.

Flawless

**1/2

Demi Moore in a British heist caper, say what?

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

**1/2

More super penis jokes form the Apatow camp.

Four Christmases

**1/2

Holiday hell when divorced parents up the ante.

Ghost Town

**1/2

Ghost, with 100 ghosts and slapstick humor.

Hancock

**1/2

Cool superhero premise, silly wrap up though.

Hannah Montana

**1/2

Pop fluff.

Harold and Kumar 2

**1/2

The boys get outa Gitmo and get baked with Pres. Bush.

Hell Ride

**1/2

Easy Pulp Rider or Grindhouse 2?

The House Bunny

**1/2

Anna Faris finally steps into the front.

Indy Jones 4

**1/2

Still fun, though plot way over the top.

Iron Man

**1/2

He lives again and Downey Jr resurrects him

Leatherheads

**1/2

Clooney tackles the star of pro-football, screwball style.

The Love Guru

**1/2

Mike Myers does the swami thing.

Nights in Rodanthe

**1/2

Lane and Gere shine in a hokey Sparks melodrama.

Madagascar 2

**1/2

It’s all about the Penguins.

The Other Boleyn Girl

**1/2

Period piece proves Henry VIII is a real ass and then some.

Pineapple Express

**1/2

Judd Apatow tackles stoners on the run.

The Pirates Who Don’t…

**1/2

Another Veggie Tale, yo-ho-ho.

Punisher: War Zone

**1/2

Better than the last one.

Quantum of Solace

**1/2

Muddled 007, too shaken, not enough stirred.

RocknRolla

**1/2

Ritchie rehashes Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Role Models

**1/2

Big Bro comedy could use a bit more edge.

Semi Pro

**1/2

Engaging send up of the ABA.

Seven Pounds

**1/2

Almost a feeling but too contrived

Step Brothers

**1/2

More male frontal exposure from Judd Apatow.

Step Up 2

**1/2

Better moves than the original.

The Strangers

**1/2

Creepy home invasion hangs on an unsatisfying gimmick.

Sex Drive

**1/2

American Pie, the next generation.

Soul Men

**1/2

Samuel J and Bernie Mac are the Blues Brothers all over again.

21

**1/2

Contrived take on real MIT blackjackers.

Twilight

**1/2

All the hype, Let the Right One In, is the better teen vamp flick.

Vantage Point

**1/2

Thrilling until the silly final POV.

Where’s Osama?

**1/2

Super Size Me director has big ego searching for FBI’s #1 Most Wanted.

Zombie Strippers

**1/2

Grindhouse with more T&A.

Bangkok Dangerous

**

Cage’s career is the one in peril.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

**

A silly lil woofie.

College Road Trip

**

Thank god for Donny Osmond and the piglet.

Delgo

**

Videogame animation on the big screen.

Fool’s Gold

**

Silly National Treasure wannabe.

Fly Me to the Moon

**

First Space Chimps, now bugs.

Forbidden Kingdom

**

Li and Chan wind up in Narnia land.

Get Smart

**

Missed, by that much!

The Happening

**

Another enigmatic sham from Shyamalan.

Igor

**

Dark movie might not find a cord with kids.

Journey Center Earth

**

Likeable performances in cheap remake.

Jumper

**

Cool concept, silly plot jumps.

Lakeview Terrace

**

Jackson’s nut job of a cop is also a racist.

Mad Money

**

Desperate housewives pilfer from the Fed.

Max Payne

**

Misguided cop drama with cheap FX.

Meet Dave

**

Murphy is no Brother from Another Planet.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

**

Flat plot, great performances.

Morning Light

**

Strange docu about kids who get to sail a hi-tech yacht.

Mummy 3

**

Muddled spin out in the 3rd.

Nothing Like the Holidays

**

Dysfunctional Christmas, Latin style.

Over Her Dead Body

**

Longoria is an angel from hell.

Rambo

**

Series closes out a tad tame, but the goods are there.

Sisterhood Pants 2

**

2 too many.

Spiderwick Chronicles

**

Narnia lite.

The Tale of Despereaux

**

Mouse tale, more nibble than bite.

Transporter 3

**

Statham’s still got the movies, but the plot needs a jumpstart.

Wanted

**

Assassins’ war yarn will leave you wanting.

The Women

**

Of botox and rumors, the previous ones were better.

Untraceable

**

Cheap Silence of the Lambs gone INet.

Yes Man

**

Jim Carey keeps flailing, but has its moments.

88 Minutes

*1/2

Pacino runs out of steam early.

Haunting of Molly Hartley

*1/2

The lack of plot is scary.

Quarantine

*1/2

This zombie schlock should have been walled off.

Saw V

*1/2

The edge has long faded from the horror series.

The Spirit

*1/2

It’s lacing.

What Happens in Vegas

*1/2

Should have stayed there, not funny.

In the Name of the King

*

Swords and sorcerers and really bad dialogue too.

One Missed Call

*

Ring-lite.

The Ruins

*

The horror is some killer ivy.

Meet the Spartans

1/2

The brains behind Scary Movie finally run out of gas.

Prom Night

1/2

PG-13 slasher flick has no blood or gore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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