DECEMBER BREAK

I have quite a few e-mails from folks wondering where the reviews are, and my only conclusion was to take December off - for a variety of reasons. Below is a quicklist review of everything I've watched in the past two weeks. I'll post one more time in December and then we will have some exciting new reviews in January.

SICKO (2007) - A must see, it will validate everything you've thought about the past seven years (if you are like me). If you are less like me and more like a certain kind of person currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, it will be easier for you to understand why our most fierce enemy is humanity itself.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (2007) - Great on action, but I am pretty sure a person who's never seen any previous Die Hard movies wrote the dialogue. It was bad for the most part, a brief highlight was the appearance of Kevin Smith "the" world's best hacker.

HARD CANDY (2005) - It's got the girl from Juno it it. So, if you plan to see that movie while everyone is tipping it for Oscar nods then you will get a glimpse into what an incredible actress she is. Look for the use of red and greens to signal either danger or control. Very interesting film not for the faint of heart.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END (2007) - Amazingly enough, Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom continue to do wonders with this piece of crap franchise and the literally awful, awful writing that plagued the second movie and only seems to worsen in this third installment. Watched this with my husband and niece; seriously her enjoyment of it is the only reason it was not turned off after the first thirty minutes.

FIDO (2006) - Loved it, this movie is a gem. Run out and go see it ASAP, whether or not you like the zombie genre it is an unexpectedly funny movie that I cannot recommend enough for a change of pace.

SKINWALKERS (2006) - Is how I know I can write movies and get them made. It's got to be like a simple formula: write really great stuff or write crap, like this movie and sleep with the right people. Hoping the course of action I get to take is the first, but you know what, if you can get your script somewhere, like the team of WGA writers who put this baby out into the world, maybe you have to do some of the odd stuff to accomplish your goals.

PERFECT CREATURE (2006) - This is the movie I meant to rent when I was led astray by Skinwalkers. This film did not disappoint. Obviously shot on a lower budget than its other sci-fi cousins, this film explores the coexistence of vampire-like human mutations and regular people.

SUPERBAD (2007) - I left my husband to watch this movie by himself. Seth Rogen is a child and quite frankly there is enough of this comedy in the world that is done well (Harold & Kumar, Grandma's Boy, Beerfest, etc.) that this movie never needed to be made. I cannot believe legitimate people in my life thought I would find this remotely entertaining. Stay away from this movie, it's not just Superbad, it's Superawful.

I KNOW WHO KILLED ME (2007) - And it wasn't Lindsay Lohan, although that voice of hers certainly tried. She spoke way too much in this movie for my ears to withstand, but I love the premise and the execution wasn't bad either.

THE NANNY DIARIES (2007) - We made this movie last year, but we called it The Devil Wears Prada and we cast it with a superb young actress, Anne Hathaway, to play our protagonist. This was a decent movie and I can never, ever, say enough about the talents of Laura Linney. However, this is the second time this year I've seen Alicia Keys act and I have still yet to be impressed. All in all, a good rental.

WAITRESS (2006) - I know I am supposed to like this movie, but I didn't. It was just kind of average, with some really lackluster characters. I did love the ending and just as an FYI, Andy Griffith, aka Matlock, is till acting.

AMAZING GRACE (2006) - Is an amazing effort. This is in my top ten of rentals for the year. Ioan Gruffudd did a wonderful job. The script is rich with interplay and character development. I would suggest this movie to anyone.

THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS (2005) - Always and A for effort from Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley, this film is an incredible journey of two people away from their pasts and towards each other. Love it. Never overacted and very simply written.

OCEAN'S THIRTEEN (2007) - Yep, they could make these movies all day and I would just keep watching them for forever. This installment has the gang settle the score on behalf of one of their own. To make this happen, they have to bury the hatchet and enlist the help of Terry Benedict. Our favorite French thief makes an appearance once again. I'll say this for Steven Soderbergh - he does everything he can with only one female lead. Even my husband didn't get bored by a lack of pretty ladies strutting across the screen.

I AM LEGEND (2007) - Clearly I did not rent this, we went and saw it last night at 4:10p.m. with a host of other people. (A very special note: this may be PG-13, but I am still recovering from the realism of the CGI on this film and hope you will seriously consider 13 and the youngest possible viewing age.)
LIKED: Will Smith as our protagonist, most of the time he's great. The rest of the time he's Will and that's fine by me. The suspense - this move messed me up something awful last night. I was trying to count scenes and pages, and sometime, before we got to page 10, I was at the edge of my seat clutching my husband's hand. There were less than fifteen minutes where I was not in complete angst or terror, so you know that was awful a bad thing too. CGI - seriously great!
DISLIKED: Without giving away too much, this is a real departure and a much more political film that its predecessors, so the title needed to be changed. I like the depth of the film, but this is no Omega Man with Heston and it is certainly not I Am Legend with Victor Mature. I could not bear the demise of Sam. It was too much. Perhaps I too was attached or maybe its just because I have Blue.
RECOMMEND: To watch, yes. To own, probably not.