dibot Blog

Under discussion:

In Cold Blood  (1967)

Catch and Release  (2007)

Star Trek  (2009)

Friday the 13th  (2009)

The Wrestler  (2008)

Star Trek is just a whole lot of fun. Director J.J. Abrams ("Mission Impossible III") takes us back to when the original crew were just cadets at Starfleet Academy. The story messes with the whole series' timeline, setting the stage for a whole other round of sequels. So there's that. But the effects are really good. The audience I was it with clapped and cheered. Fun, fun. And worth seeing on the big screen.

I'm still not really sure what to think about Catch and Release. It's not really a romantic comedy, though there are bits of that. It's not really a tragedy, though elements of that are present, too. And it's not really great, but it has some good moments. Jennifer Garner ("Ghost of Girlfriends Past") stars as a woman whose fiancee dies and then she discovers that he had a child he never told her about. I guess it's just an interesting character study. I did think about it for several days, which is always a plus.

In Cold Blood is the film version of Truman Capote's nonfiction novel of the same name. It runs very much like the book, with the build-up before the crime, the investigation and trials afterward. The film is dry, but still compelling. If you enjoy Court TV, this should be right up your alley.

For the first fifteen minutes or so of the new Friday the 13th, I was totally pumped. It was goofy, dirty and bloody - all elements of a great slasher. Then it tried to have a story, and I just got bored. I'm not saying that slashers can't have stories. I'm just saying this was a bad one. It felt like just another tired sequel in this already overstretched franchise. Disappointing.

Every time Darren Aronofsky ("The Fountain") makes a movie, I'm reassured that he's a genius. The Wrestler is no exception. Mickey Rourke ("Domino") is amazing in the title character, an aging professional wrestler who just doesn't know how to do anything else. The whole thing is heartbreaking. And wonderful.

Under discussion:

Bridge to Terabithia  (2007)

Be Kind Rewind  (2008)

Step Up 2 the Streets  (2008)

Adventureland  (2009)

Fired Up  (2009)

Some more of my terribly far behind reviews...

Fired Up is surprisingly funny for a PG-13 comedy. Two girl crazy football players decide to go to cheer camp instead of missing out on two weeks of action. The jokes come fast and are witty enough to avoid the R rating, but definitely push the PG-13 line. I had a lot of fun with this. Favorite bit: One kid: "Dude, she's like 30." Other kid: "That's how I like them - ancient and regretful."

Adventureland is so good. It's like an 80's movie a la Pretty in Pink. Sadly, the ads pushed it as another Superbad and I think people are going to miss out on this. It is funny. I laughed out loud several times. I immediately fell in love with the soundtrack and the general mood of this film. A college graduate, home for the summer, can only land a job at a local amusement park where he falls in love and gets into all sorts of shenanigans. If it's still playing in your town, go see it. If not, rent it as soon as possible.

Another film pitched as just a knee-slapping comedy, but turned out to be more is Be Kind Rewind. Two bumbling video store attendants erase all the tapes in the store and start recreating them to meet customer demand. It is often funny, but it's also about a community coming together for what it believes in. Very good.

Based on the young adult book of the same name, Bridge to Terabithia made me cry. Two kids who don't fit in imagine their won world. And then tragedy. I enjoyed the look of the film, but the effects weren't great. I also felt that the moment of tragedy was just rushed through. Not a bad one, but not great either.

Step Up 2: The Streets is a well-choreographed love story. A girl from a poor neighborhood, who has no formal dance training, gets a scholarship to the Maryland School of the Arts where she gets a group of dancers together to compete in a street competition. The characters and story are fun, but the real reason to watch this movie is the dancing. It's glorious. In the beginning, I was worried about the editing, but as the film progressed, the shots get longer and better. Loads of fun.