THE BURNING PLAIN: NOT AS HOT AS IT SEEMS

A beautifully shot film, this follows the stories of a mother finding love in another's arms, Gina (Kim Basinger) and a young woman Sylvia (Charlize Theron) who tends to find love in who ever's arms are nearest. Gina has a home in New Mexico with her often away husband and children. Sylvia lives in Oregon, a seemingly successful business woman. The story weaves back and forth between the two women as well as Gina's daughter and impending love interest. Admittedly, it is hard to watch and wait to see how the two, or if the two lives intertwine. They do. When they do, it's shocking. The dialogue was pretty nonexistent, but the complex way the story was spun was amazing. Basinger shows again how good she is at playing fragile, vulnerable women just as Theron shows how good she is at portraying intense and complex women. The DVD extras explains a bit about the elements of the movie in relation to the elements (water, fire, earth, wind) and adds valuable insight. It wasn't an extraordinary film, but one well done and worth seeing.

REMEMBER ME: JUST TRY TO FORGET THIS FILM

Gandhi said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant. But it's very important that you do it. I tend to agree with the first part.

This is not a vampire movie; far from it. This movie breathes life and reality into an actor who has been forever pigeonholed into the body of a hundred year old vampire with translucent skin. This movie is a most pleasant surprise. We meet Tyler (Robert Pattinson) who is at first glance a bum. He looks a bit rough around the edges and tends to chain smoke. However, aside from his brooding exterior (most James Dean like) we find a charming, smart and likable young man. He is a great defender of what is right, even if that means causing him trouble with his family, friends and the law. He meets an equally troubled young woman, Alyssa or Ally, (Emilie de Ravin) who has a disturbing past and a rough present. The two collide and sparks fly and a romance begins which is healing for each of them. They take turns at dealing with their family problems and find solace in each other's arms. As issues come to light and we find more about them, we also find more about the events that conspire to reach climax at the end of the story, which is actually a beginning. It is an absorbing and heartfelt film. Surrounded by a fabulous supporting cast, Pattinson absolutely shines and for once, it has nothing to do with his skin.

YOUTH IN REVOLT: OVERALL REVOLTING

Poor Michael Cera. How many more years must he endure before completing puberty?! He plays Nick Twisp a nerd and geek whose name is just as awkward as he is. He falls in "love" with the girl far out of his league, Sheenie (Portia Doubleday) but he actually somewhat impresses her and in order to keep her interest he comes up with an alternate ego, rather an "id", Francois who is bad enough to do the things Nick wouldn't dare. Aside from knowing that Cera really has the market on adolescent gawkiness, the movie had some high points in dialogue, but otherwise got lost on the trip to the ice cream store. The movie is full of teen angst as well as some high power names, but that doesn't help it from falling apart. I give it marks for trying; unfortunately they are barely passing.

INVICTUS: UNCONQUERABLE MOVIE

I thank whatever gods may be / For my unconquerable soul. /

I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus is Latin for unbeaten and it has more meaning than just in a game of rugby. We find Nelson Mandela (an electric and gracious Morgan Freeman) in his first term as the South African President, trying to bring his country, torn apart by apartheid, together. The vessel for his intention turns out to be the country's rugby team with his eyes, and soon everyone else's, set on winning the Rugby World Cup with the help of team captain François Pienaar (a silently strong yet understated Matt Damon). Short of nothing else, this film is magic. It is engaging and compelling because it is the story of men, not Gods. Mandela's assertive determination is inspiring and so clever. No other actor could have channeled Mandela like Morgan Freeman did. He was the first actor cast and the only one Mandela had in mind. Matt Damon was very subtle and respectfully quiet in his role without losing any of his character's strength. The scene where he visits the prison cell where Mandela was imprisoned was the actual cell and he gave the scene the reverence and respect it called for. The score was lovely and each and every supporting actor did a seamless job. The relationship between Mandela's bodyguards was enjoyable. Additionally, the "flyover" scene was breathtaking. I could not give higher praise for this film and Clint Eastwood at his directorial best.

HAPPY TEARS: SAD MOVIE

I really wanted to like this movie. Demi Moore (Laura) and Parker Posey (Jayne) are both competent and potentially wonderful actresses when given the right roles. However, the roles weren't so bad as the script on the whole. An ailing father and two adult sisters, both very different, return to care for them the best they can. It turned out to be a maudlin, crazy ride of a film; fantasy sequences that add more confusion than anything. The high point for me was watching the few minutes of Ellen Barkin as a hot mess of a crack whore. Overall, I found this movie depressing without any good payoff at the end, despite all its efforts.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX: INDEED IS FANTASTIC

Mrs. Fox: This story's too predictable. Mr. Fox: Predictable? Really? Then, how does it end? Mrs. Fox: In the end, we all die. Unless you change.

Never again will I doubt Wes Anderson. Being a fan of his work, I let this one pass by doubting that he could keep his uniqueness while working with stop action figures. I was wrong. From start to finish this film about a fox (George Clooney) who is looking to improve his lot in life for himself and his family (Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman) is totally reminiscent of the Royal Tennenbaums. The dialogue is the glue that holds it all together aside from the cast of loyal alum. Rat (Willem Dafoe) is a scene stealer in a movie where all the scenes are stellar. This is the best cussing movie I've seen in a while.

NINE: NOT ON THE ONE TO TEN SCALE

What happened Rob Marshall? Chicago was so awesome and Nine was so full of stars and looked pretty and it stunk big fat rotten eggs! The story centers around director Guido Contini (Daniel-Day Lewis) who has lost his self and struggles with a new project while looking back at the women in and throughout his life who have touched him, so to speak. There is his mother (a luminous Sofia Loren), his wife (an enchanting Marion Cotillard), his mistress (a bubbly Penelope Cruz) his muse ( the shell of Nicole Kidman) his friend (a not sexy Judi Dench) a writer and admirer (Kate Hudson) and a random crazy whore (??!?!) from his past (a terrible looking Stacey- Fergie- Ferguson). There are others, but these are the ones he reflects upon. Each actress has a musical number, Cotillard, Cruz and Hudson's are the best, but they still came out flat. Lewis was okay, but didn't quite hit the nail on the head. The whole movie is like a bottle of warm soda that's been shaken one too many times. Even the main set looked like the prison backdrop from Chicago. Despite everything right, this movie was a big wrong. It almost felt like they thought by just having such a stellar cast it would carry the rest of the film. It did not. This was a sad disappointment.  

FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: A FINE BROMANCE PACKING HEAT

Richard Stevens: I'm not your driver. I'm your partner.

FBI agent Charlie Wax: Yeah, you're the chess player. I read your file.

Richard Stevens: You play?
FBI agent Charlie Wax: Do I look like I play board games?

From director Luc Besson, we are presented with a sassy, bang bang,  testosterone filled romp through Paris; a love story of a different sort. Meet Richard Stevens (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who lives and works in Paris as an aid to the US Ambassador. But when he grows up, he wants to be a special agent; a secret special black-ops agent. He has been given mysterious assignments little by little and he follows orders like a good soldier without asking too many questions. Them like Sidney Poitier at a dinner party, agent Charlie Wax (John Travolta) drops by. Wax is everything that Stevens is not and then some.  Right off the bat he is one tough motherfucker. I use that term because that is his favorite word and comes out of his mouth at a high rate of speed. He, in his bald glory, is about as bad ass as they come.

THE LOVELY BONES: SURPRISINGLY LOVELY

Nobody notices when we leave. I mean, the moment when we really choose to go. At best you might feel, a whisper or the wave of a whisper, undulating down. My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name: Susie.

I was 14 years old, when I was murdered on December 6th 1973.

I was here for a moment, and then I was gone.

Yes, a movie about a young girl who is murdered right off the bat and the killer goes on about his life and it is still a lovely movie. It is gruesome as well. Just the previously mentioned plot line is creepy, to say the least, and squirmy to sit through. The imagery and illusion of her murder is much more horrific than any slasher film full of fake blood could ever hope to be.

SHUTTER ISLAND: NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

US Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is not having a good day.We meet him as he is puking his guts out on a ferry boat on his way to investigate a mysterious disappearance of a imprisoned mental patient on Shutter Island; the home of the criminally insane. Partnered up with Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) they set off amidst the creepy and foreboding settings to try to discover how a frail woman with no shoes could have escaped from a locked cell. Little do they know what lies ahead for them.

HACHIKO: A DOG'S TALE... A TRUE STORY OF LOYALTY

Someone help me because I can't see... I cried my eyes out during this film. This is the (based on a true) story about a boy and his dog; well, a man and his dog... okay, Richard Gere and his dog. Gere is a professor living in small town where everybody knows everybody else. One night coming home from work on the train he finds a literally irresistible dog, an Akita, wandering about with no owner in sight. He takes the dog home until the owner can be located and we know what happens then. The Professor develops a great bond with his new friend. There are subtle hints that the family may have lost a young son which Hachi seems to help heal.  Some years down the line, after being used to accompanying his owner to and from work, one evening the professor doesn't come home. This is NOT a spoiler, they show it in the preview. The professor dies.

THE MESSENGER: EARNS PURPLE HEART

Hands down one of the best war films I have seen even though it takes place on US soil. Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) is mending from wounds he received while on duty in Iraq. While finishing out his time, he is assigned to work with Lieutenant Anthony Stone (Woody Harrelson) a seemingly button down, straight arrow soldier whose job it is to inform next of kin (NOK) about their recently killed loved one.

UP IN THE AIR: EVERYBODY NEEDS A CO-PILOT

 How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life... you start with the little things. The shelves, the drawers, the knickknacks, then you start adding larger stuff.  Now I want you to fill it with people. Start with casual acquaintances, friends of friends, folks around the office... and then you move into the people you trust with your most intimate secrets. Your brothers, your sisters, your children, your parents and finally your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend. You get them into that backpack, feel the weight of that bag. Make no mistake your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations and arguments and secrets, the compromises. The slower we move the faster we die. Make no mistake, moving is living. Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans. We are not swans. We are sharks.