Young at Heart - Rock songs like "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Schizophrenia," "I Wanna Be Sedated," and "Fix You" take on new irony and poignancy when they're performed by a chorus of seniors averaging more than 80 years of age. Fortunately the indomitable spirit of the chorus members and their infectious performances manage to overcome the rather lazy filmmaking in this documentary which fails to dig very far into the off-stage stories of these remarkable people and is burdened by a very awkward narration by the director.

Watched Speed Racer tonight and enjoyed every second of it. It one of those movies that is what it is and nothing more. I will be purchasing a copy in the near future.:D

Snow Angels - Like his previous movies, Undertow, All the Real Girls and George Washington, director David Gordon Green pokes into the dark shadows of flawed human relationships in this grim, heart-wrenching story about dissolving marriages and stolen innocence. Beautifully photographed, wonderfully acted by a great cast, including Kate Beckinsdale, Sam Rockwell, Griffin Dunne and Olivia Thirlby, this isn't an easy movie to watch, but its starkness pulls you in, its inevitability holds you there. Filmed in the Halifax-Dartmouth area.

The Usual Suspects - US Customs agent Dave Kujan, obsessed with nailing Dean Heaton - a criminal who he believes is actually the powerful and dreaded underworld figure Keyser Söze - interviews "Verbal" Kint, the only survivor of Heaton's last job, a heist which went horribly wrong. Did Kint actually see Heaton die that night, or is he simply trying to save his own skin by refusing to "snitch" and admit he can identify the infamous Söze? Will Kujan be able to break Kint and finally get his hands on "the Devil himself"?

This "classic" isn't quite as good today as it once was. The story is a bit overwrought for what is essentially a fairly straightforward premise and the pacing was a bit lethargic at times. That being said, it was still reasonably interesting and enjoyable.

My wife and I had a friend over for dinner tonight, after which we watched Iron Man. I found it to be about the same as I did last week (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=802715&postcount=600). Wife and friend more or less agreed.

For some reason, my wife chose not to comment on Gwyneth Paltrow's deliciousness... :p

I just watched My Ancestors Were Rogues and Murderers. Great movie.

Three re-visits --

- Gattaca (1997) -- Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman -- sci-fi drama - "genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel." Enjoyed as much this time, as previous, first-time viewing!! (superbit edition)

- Laurel Canyon (2002) - Frances McDormand, et al -- "an uptight young man and his fiancee move into his libertine mother's house, the resulting clash of life attitudes shakes everyone up." So-so, has its moments, but enjoyed it more the first time (via a movie channel). (the inexpensive 'in-a-bin' price at Wal-Mart though, made it worth the second view)

- A Passage to India (1984) - David Lean's last movie, a great story, well-acted, and wonderful view!! -- "Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator." Very much-enjoyed!! (newly-restored and quite-recently released, 2-dvd edtion, at a tremendous bargain 'in-a-bin' price at Wal-Mart)

I’ve just finished watching The West Wing on DVD, and couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the last season (7), which originally aired from Sep ’05 to May ’06, and the current US election race: The strong young visible-minority Democrat candidate (Jimi Smitts) leads their election race against the older, experienced white moderate Republican (Alan Alda). Could this be life imitating art?

Paradise Now - When they are forced to abort their martyrdom mission to Tel Aviv, friends Said and Khalid find themselves with the opportunity to re-evaluate their lives, the conditions of life for Palestinians in Nablus (West Bank) and their options in the fight against the Israeli occupation.

This is a very simple, but very powerful film. It's well worth watching.

The Happening - Errr, nothing happened. (I'm sure that line has been used a million times before.) For a person who considers The Sixth Sense as one of his favorite movies of all time, I'm always willing to give M. Night a chance but this one was particularly disappointing as nothing happened! The Sixth Sense was great, Signs was pretty good, but skip The Happening along with the rest of the M. Night collection.

Disappointing :(

Boy A - Jack Burridge is a young man trying to get a new start in a new city after a stint in prison. But just as his life seems to be getting on track, the more he tries to put his dark past behind him, the more difficult it becomes for him to escape it.
Andrew Garfield is remarkable as Jack in this quietly powerful and heartbreaking film about redemption and society's tolerance for second chances. Capably and assuredly directed by John Crowley. Excellent hidden treasure of a film!

Into The Wild. Screwed up young guy leaves home and bops around the US until he goes, totally unprepared, to live off the land in Alaska, where he dies. There, I just saved you 90+ mind-numbing minutes. Watched it in HD and the while the pictures were pretty the flick was tedious. Maybe I'm getting to old and seen to many movies that aspire to profoundness.

I guess I was on a roll that week, because I also watched Babel, which is an even more tedious film that reeks of self declared profundity. Not having a plot doth not make a film profound.

Another re-visit (original post #1736) -- Emotional Arithmetic (2007)
I said at that time it was "one of the best movies we've had the pleasure of watching in some time". Can now say it's one of the best movies we've had the pleasure of re-watching in some time!!

Thank You For Smoking - A clever and charismatic tobacco industry lobbyist does his best to balance his highly successful career with his desire to be a good father and role model.

This black comedy tries too hard to be clever. Thanks to a good performance by Aaron Eckhart, though, it's not unwatchable.

Watched, The Happening on the weekend, I as a rule like M Nights stuff except for lady in the water, and now unfortunately this one to. I am not sure if the acting was supposed to be awful or if it was just meant to look that way, but the girl who played wahlbergs wife was ummm not very good to say the least. The movies premise was very good, but nothing ever really happened. 4 out of 10 for this one.

The Edge of Heaven - Babel goes to Istanbul. A beautifully directed German/Turkish film about fate, family and loss as the lives of three families intersect in surprising and sometimes tragic ways.

Dead Space: Downfall

Meh, it is what it is. I only rented it and for me, that's as far as I'll go with it, ergo I will not buy it. I think others who have an interest in the horror animation will like this and find it worth the purchase. It's an okay lead up to the soon to be released game.

The Edge of HeavenJust read the plot on Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge_Of_Heaven#Plot) - sounds like a beautiful story. I'll have to rent it. Thanks for the post...

It's a Free World - Social realist filmmaker Ken Loach casts his critical gaze at the exploitation of illegal immigrants recruited to work casual and factory jobs in London. When Angie loses her job at a casual labor recruitment agency, she decides to strike out on her own. But her entrepreneurial aspirations quickly run into the reality speed bumps of immigration laws, shifty employers and a workforce fed up with false hope and broken promises. Kierston Wareing is excellent as the brassy, ambitious Angie, and the script by frequent Loach collaborator Paul Laverty rings true with gritty dialogue and harsh moments.

In Bruges

2 criminals hide out in Bruges, Belgium. Great dialogue and offbeat plot if you like that sort of thing. I do. Colin Farrel stars.