It's been over a month since my last post, but in all fairness I have still been watching numerous movies. The only problem is most of them have been indescribably boring. On the other hand, March and April are always 2 of the best movie rental months of the year. Shortly after the Oscars air, many of the year's best films make their way to DVD. So I decided to give you a few pointers on which movies you should choose to see and which ones to avoid.
The Good
1) Precious (Rated R) - Personally, Precious was my choice for best film of the year. The acting is superb and the story is emotionally draining, yet eye-opening to say the least. The movie tells of an inner-city teenager's struggle to overcome all forms of abuse, in an effort to lead a better life for herself and her children.
2) An Education (Rated PG-13) - This clever masterpiece revolves around a bright, young teenage girl who has her sights set on attending Oxford and becoming a career woman during the 1960s, However, when she begins a romantic relationship with a charming older man, she begins to question her life's goal of being a self sustaining woman.
3) Up in the Air (Rated R) - George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick all gave noteworthy performances in this depiction of an older man's personal revelation about the meaning of life.
4) The Blind Side (Rated PG 13) - A feel good story about a wealthy, southern white family who take in a drifting African-American teenager and help catapult this young man's life to NFL stardom.
5) The Informant (Rated R) - Steven Soderburgh's fun tale of a babbling idiot's quest to clear his name and take down his company after it illegally conspires to set market prices. He turns out to be a little more than the FBI can handle. It begins to feel slow in the middle, but it resolves very nicely.
6) Sherlock Holmes (Rated PG 13) - There's not much substance to this interesting tale of the legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. However, it's a fun-filled, entertaining picture that is worth the 2 hours you'll invest in it.
The Bad
1) New Moon (Rated PG 13) - At first, I gave in and saw Twilight just to see what all the hype was about. To be honest, I was thoroughly unimpressed. Some avid fans of the series begged me to give New Moon a chance. So I did, and all I can say is it wasn't much better than Twilight. I'm typically a fan of Kristen Stewart but she was unbearable to watch. If you haven't given either film a chance, don't bother.
2) Where the Wild Things Are (Rated PG) - As a fan of the childhood book, I wondered how it would translate to the big screen. It seems good in theory, but the movie was VERY strange and it was awkward hearing Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as one of the monsters throughout the picture.
3) Planet 51 (Rated PG) - The movie is an interesting concept that was executed poorly. The animated films takes the point of view of an alien civilization as a human makes contact with the planet. There were flashes of fun, but all in all it wasn't very entertaining.
4) The Men Who Stare at Goats (Rated R) - With a cast as highly decorated as it had, the film was very bland. The best scenes in the movie were shown during it's trailer and otherwise, the story is about a whole bunch of nothing. You'll catch yourself laughing periodically, but not enough to warrant the investment. For a runtime just over 90 minutes, the movie definitely feels like it drags on.
5) The Fourth Kind (Rated PG 13) - I love a good horror movie, but The Fourth Kind is so mediocre it's scary. The narration at the beginning of the film lightened the mood if anything, and the switching between real footage and the actors definitely did the movie no justice. When all is said and done, the film could only be described as "blah".
So now that you have a few ideas of what's available, find a night when the Phillies aren't playing, rent yourself a movie and enjoy.
