Ghost Writer

2/22/10

Caught a sneak peek of this Roman Polanski film starring Ewan McGregor as the ghost writer for a former British Prime Minister played nicely by Pierce Brosnon. A failed novelist, McGregor's character, who is never given a name during the movie, is hired to finish writing the memoirs of the Tony Blairish mimicked Brosnon. Mystery and suspense fill the plot of this movie as McGregor continues to discover pages of pasts with potentially deadly information. A nice flowing film that exceeds the two hour threshold, however, you will find very pleasing to discover only when you get up to exit. A classic Polanski ending puts this film as a real recommendation...

Shutter Island

2/20/10

Took in Shutter Island on a Saturday afternoon and I'll be honest and say I'm glad I paid the matinee price. The movie for me was OK, and I guess I just get a little overly excited when I see Scorsese's name involved in a film. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshall, is investigating a missing person case at a mental institution on a creepy island just outside of Boston. As the investigation continues, Daniels begins questioning the difference between what is and what isn't reality. A nice ending to this movie gives some satisfaction at the end, I just feel like it could have been better given the engineers.

Crazy Heart

2/5/10

Crazy Heart is your classic story about a past his prime struggling musician, battling addictions and demons just trying to become relevant again in the industry. No big deal, right? Wrong... Jeff Bridges plays the incredible role of Bad Blake (a horrible name, in my opinion), a very believable down to earth country singer struggling to make it to his next gig. After he is interviewed by a small town local, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, his life begins again through a series of events strung together by good music and incredible acting by the previous mentioned. Again, the storyline is not unique, but the quality of the acting and if you enjoy good music throughout a movie like I do, you will enjoy this one.

Edge of Darkness

1/29/10

Mel Gibson in a suspenseful action thriller...Blah. Well, Edge of Darkness I caught out of necessity while in New York on an extremely cold night. Gibson plays Thomas Craven, a detective that is struggling to put the pieces of his daughter's life together after a crazy circumstance during a visit to her father's home. I will give this movie one prop; there are several times within a few different scenes that were quite shocking and certainly woke you up and made you pay attention. Overall, however, this movie did very little to make me remember it. Wait for the cable version on a cold day.

Avatar

1/25/2010

Sherlock Holmes

1/15/10

A Serious Man

11/24/09