I haven\’t done one of these in a long time, mostly because I stopped going to movies for a while there. I\’m now back on the horse, so let\’s roll through some mini-reviews for a few flicks I\’ve been out to see lately.
Unstoppable
Tony Scott movies are my brain candy, and this one did not disappoint. Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are train driver and conductor, working to stop a runaway train. Strong performances from both, and the usual deluge of action sequences, combined with a strong bunch of supporting character actors (Ethan Suplee, Kevin Corrigan, and Rosario Dawson, most notably), makes Unstoppable a watcher.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I)
Ah The Potter. These have all been solid movies (although I continue to miss the original Dumbledore), and this one is no exception. Likely the only thing that keeps me from raving about the movies is that I\’ve read the books. I enjoyed watching the cast finally get to act as adults in this one, and am very much looking forward to Part II in July.
I\’ve also noticed a sub-current of \”Emma Watson is hot\” commentary going around lately, and while that\’s as may be, as far as this cast goes, there\’s nobody more attractive than Clèmence Poèsy, and that\’s just a fact.
Easy A
I\’m only mildly ashamed to admit that I went to see this. Another modernized classic remake in the mold of \’10 Things I Hate About You\’, set in a present-day high school, of cousre. This one\’s a take on \’The Scarlet Letter\’. The movie\’s about what you\’d expect it to be, there are some good laughs, Emma Stone is adorable, and as a bonus it doesn\’t drag itself out, lasting only 92 minutes.
127 Hours
Outstanding movie. James Franco\’s performance is excellent, and remember that this is based on a real event, which jacks up the squeamishness, knowing that an actual person actually had to do that to himself. Even knowing how it was going to end, I was pretty tensed up for most of the movie. Oh, and Clèmence Poèsy is ridiculously cute in this movie as well.
Side note: has any one director absolutely nailed a more dissimilar group of movies now than Danny Boyle? 127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, an awesome sci-fi movie (Sunshine), a distopian story (The Beach), even a freakin\’ zombie movie (28 Days Later). Can\’t wait to see what he does next.
The Town
Good movie, and another strong directorial effort from Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), who also stars. A good role for him, letting Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm do a lot of the heavy lifting, and Rebecca Hall does a wonderful job in the first movie I\’ve seen her in since The Prestige. Solid turns from two of my favorite supporting actors, Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper, as well. Nothing overly surprising as far as the plot goes, but a very solid, gripping movie nonetheless.
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