LAKE MUNGO: AN ODD "HORROR FILM" WORTH A MENTION

Following in the steps of Blair Witch and Paranormal, this pretend documentary takes place in Australia, following the Palmer family. We watch interviews with family, friends and other interested parties after daughter Alice is found dead in Lake Mungo. Yes, this is a ghost story of sorts. Little bits of information is revealed slowly that take us down the wrong path then back to "reality" and then into surreality. Obviously I can't go into the details, but this film makes a strong story about a family and their struggle with their loss. It is also a good thriller, with no blood or guts, just one bad face shot; nothing worse than what they show on Law and Order. It makes a mild attempt to throw us off the track in the end, but still remains solid as the story of a family in grief. Not too scary, but well done indeed.

A SINGLE MAN: STYLISHLY BORING

The seconds literally crept by through each frame of this Tom Ford film. It stylishly introduces us to George Falconer (Colin Firth) who is a professor whose partner was recently killed leaving a hug void in his life. Funny enough, set during a time when partner was used more in the business sense between two men, it's not a "gay" film. It just so happens that Falconer is gay and the person he loved was a man. The point is that he loved, so deeply that he doesn't want to go on, so he sets about living his last day on earth before he joins his lover in the hereafter; cue the things in life that one can't prepare for, such as other's actions and moments of clarity. Firth exudes the performance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, the script is so centered on the smallness of his actions it leads to a very subtle change and a more subtle film. A film, in fact, so subtle, that I was indeed bored. Julianne Moore did nothing but devote a few minutes as a lonely fag hag, beautiful as she was. A good looking period piece, just not un-subtle enough to keep watching for the small stuff; as in this film, you should sweat the small stuff.

CHLOE: NOT QUITE THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

...and not quite your average thriller either. Chloe is an "erotic thriller" (which sounds like something you'd only find in the 18 an up section of the video store) centered around a paranoid wife, Catherine, (Julianne Moore) who thinks her husband is having an affair. So, she does what any other suspicious wife would do and hires a prostitute, Amanda Seyfried as Chole, to temp her husband into infidelity. Now here's the hook; Chloe isn't the most stable woman in the world. She has issues. So of course everything spins out of control and Catherine is left holding the bag. This film is based on a french film, Nathalie, and is the first film that Atom Egoyan didn't pen. While the film has it's sensual drapery that is Egoyan's, it it obviously not his work. At it's base, the film tries to emphasize the need to connect with each other and the fine line between what is real and what is imagined. While it began as an interesting concept, I felt like the film just slightly missed the mark. The performances were solid, most notably Liam Neeson whose wife died during filming. It wasn't a terrible movie, just hard to swallow (so to speak) regarding the actions the characters took. My favorite films push the envelope of believability however this one pushed too far.

THE ROAD: NOT A PRETTY STROLL

Written by the man who brought us No Country For Old Men, this movie is not for the weak. It is one of the best end of days movies I have seen, about a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) not named, just credited as man and boy. They are survivors making their way south in hopes of finding others who have survived. They do find people. Unfortunately with the food supply greatly diminished a lot of the people they find view them as dinner, not survivors. It is a pretty dark film. However, there is light. The light comes from the bond between father and son; the love a father has for his son and the lengths he will go to keep him alive and safe. The special effects are powerful. Charlize Theron is the mother who after living in survival mode for too long, looses it and throws in the towel. Robert Duvall, almost unrecognisable, has a small part and Guy Pearce has an even smaller one, but both are top notch. The boy is amazing. How a child can pretend these things are happening and give such a powerful performance is a mystery. There is a scene where the man is washing the boys head in a creek and it's cold. In reality, the boy began crying from the pain yet still had the presence of mind to use it as an actor. Amazing. Although dark, it was a very well done film and one worth watching.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER: NOT WORTH A CLEVER TITLE

I have seen many bad movies, but s a rule I stick it out to the end just to be fair. This was not the case with this "film". Within the first 15 minutes, Gerard Butler was acting like such a doofus and Jennifer Aniston's whining and complaining was so overwhelmingly attacking my senses that it had to be turned off. It fit neither the black comedy that was coming off as just plain mean nor did it fit the lighthearted romantic comedy due to the lack of spark between the two and the lack of comedy. Do NOT waste the WHOLE DOLLAR you can rent this for with Redbox; and trust me, it would be a waste.

DEFENDOR: MY FAVORITE SUPER HERO

Constable Mike: Captain, this guy is pretty funny.

He says he wants to call a truce.
Captain Fairbanks: A vigilante?
Constable Mike: No. No, he's a superhero. He calls him Defendor. And that's with an O-R, Captain. It's not an E-R. Defendor.

And he flips out if you get that wrong. It's very bizarre.

What a most unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable movie this turned out to be! Woody Harrelson is one of the most underestimated actors of our time. At the base, this is a story about people and how they can have redeeming qualities regardless of how they might seem at first glance. It is almost an homage to super hero movies, full of all their cliches, but then it takes a turn to the dramatic and by the end, turns out to be a sincere and touching movie. We meet DefenDOR wearing all black with a black makeup eye mask and a helmet complete with duct taped on flashlights (for better night vision). A crude "D" marks his chest, also made from duct tape. He has his secret weapons; marbles, hornets in a jar, sling shot and lime juice and surprisingly, they work pretty well. While in the streets defending people from evil he "rescues" a crack whore hooker with a heart of gold (Kat Dennings) and battles a rogue undercover policeman (my favorite Elias Koteas). It's fun to watch how mild mannered Arthur Poppington (Harrelson) turns into Defendor, complete with his Batman voice and clever superhero one liners. "Look out, termites. It's squishing time." In time we see that he is a bit mentally challenged while he tells of his adventures to Sandra Oh, a court appointed psychiatrist. The layers get peeled back and we discover the events that led to this point and it gets a bit more dramatic than funny, however it is never mired down in the seriousness. Harrelson is one of the best actors of this generation and for such an odd and off-beat film, he classes it up all the way. It could have been a terrible film, but with his very touching performance, it makes for one that should not be missed. Be sure to watch the outtakes and featurettes.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND... WHAT A WONDER INDEED

Alice Kingsley: This is impossible.

The Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is.

This is not your father's Alice in Wonderland.  Tim Burton haters do not need to read any further. I can't understand why critics slammed this film so hard knowing what a twist Burton provides to everything he does. I loved this film. It was like watching a totally new story, only slightly resembling the previous movies that have been made. Burton brought on his A game, creating a bizarro world full of good and evil, so visually amazing and enjoyable. Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman now, not a girl, and she is rebelling against the norm of the day, getting married to a man she hardly knows and doesn't love. Of course she falls through the rabbit hole and is taken to a far different world, strange yet compelling. Like in a dream, elements of Alice's real life are brought in to Wonderland, only under much more bizarre participants. In this world, she is made to fight her demons. Literally. Of course the biggest stir was Johnny Depp playing the Mad Hatter. I hated the way he looked, but loved him in character, especially his lapse into a deep Scottish brogue.  Wasikowska was adorable and was able to show Alice's transformation. She did a great job with a most gratifying battle scene toward the end. The CGI effects in this are incredible. Almost everything was shot on a green screen and to think that actors have to pretend in the first place, nonetheless pretend with nothing around to put them in character, I'd say they did a spectacular job. This is not a movie for everyone. In a world where the Bounty Hunter is a number one rental, I question the majority's taste. I may be the only one, but I though this film was lovely and enchanting. Be sure to watch the bonus features to see how they created Wonderland and the odd looking assorted inhabitants. Thanks Tim!

CRAZY HEART: CRAZY FOR JEFF BRIDGES

There's a reason Jeff Bridges won Oscar's best actor in this film. A true, yet washed up musician, banished to playing bowling alleys, Bad Blake (Bridges) is rolling along with wherever the wind, or a paying gig, takes him with the best of his career seemingly behind him. A lifetime tailor made for writing country music, he has resigned himself to life with the bottle and who ever is willing to follow him to bed at night. Then he meets Jean (a luminous Maggie Gyllenhaal) a reporter for the local paper who can't conceal a crush, but can smell out a doomed relationship miles away. After dancing around a bit, they hook up together, an unlikely pair and Bad earnestly tries to make something work out where it hasn't before. His smooth talking and southern drawl charms his way into her heart, but his hard drinking gets in the way and causes many serious problems. Bridges is so good at being Bad that you can smell him; the cheap cigarettes and booze and sweat. He's very much human and greatly flawed. There is no CGI that can help the scene of him running to throw up while wearing his baggy white briefs. His belly is a gut and it just isn't pretty. He knows defeat and even when close to giving up still comes up for air. His scenes with Jean's son are lovely and sad all at the same time. I'm not a big country fan, but the music in the score by T-Bone Burnett and the duets sung with Colin Farrell are touching. Both Bridges and Farrell sung on their own. There's a pull of old country versus new country and I think Farrell did a good job portraying his new country character. It's hard to believe this was filmed in only 24 days. I really liked this movie what with such a stellar cast and exceptional lead. Bridges certainly earned the Oscar on this one.