The Wolfman

Stunk. 
The Wolfman had some potential and then ... boring, bad acting.  I did like Emily Blunt and got to wondering about how she was in The Young Victoria.  I would have liked to have seen that instead.   
Werewolf movies that I enjoyed waaay better: Underworld, Underworld Evolution, Underworld Rise of the Lycans.  Maybe even Teen Wolf.  
Watch them when they come on TV, just remember to skip this one.   

When In Rome

When In Rome was a cute movie.  Poorly edited, or maybe just badly written/directed/produced or something.  It felt like those times when I fall asleep while watching a movie and wake up and miss a part, but can pretty much figure out what is going on.  I'd say on the scale of Unbelievable and Strange Story Lines it falls in between Failure To Launch (really, pretty awful except for Zooey Deschanel -- but that could even be pushing it) and Monster In Law (which was surprisingly not totally awful).  There were a couple funny parts and the dancing during the credits was a nice touch.         

The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones was sort of What Dreams May Come + crime thriller + warning to parents and little girls public service announcement + proof that Stanley Tucci can play not only a super duper gay guy or Julia Child's husband or the other thousands of characters he's played, but a super duper creepy serial killer man.  If suspense was rocket fuel, then I would have shot out of my seat.  I read the book, I basically remember what happens.  But, my gosh, the build up made the movie.  Otherwise, would not have been that great.     

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

There is something strange that happens when someone of mythical proportions -- a criminal, a murderer, a bad guy -- gets killed.  Gets killed by someone who isn't that great of a guy, but maybe not that bad of a guy.  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford exemplifies this.  Jesse James (Brad Pitt, awesome as always) assassinated by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck, the best Affleck I think) is a tall tale of a real legend.  So legendary that people hated the man that assassinated him.  Jesse's legend, like all legends, was fiction mixed truth, which of course, made America adore him.  This was a beautifully done film.  Expansive scenery, purposefully paced script, wonderfully cast characters.        

Edge of Darkness

Mel Gibson's played a cop a lot.  And he has gotten pretty good at it.

He's a daddy detective in Bahston who has nothing to lose once his daughter is murdered by a corporation.  Or is it the government?  Conspiracy movies are layered and complicated, sometimes interesting, and should always be full of suspense and punching.  This one had all of those elements and ended up nearly awesome.  There is a thin subplot following Ray Winstone's character; had it been more developed it would have added the right amount of depth.  Although, when he came onscreen the movie improved tremendously.  He really didn't even need to do much.  Wine and cheese on a bench looking out into the harbor?  Who does that?  A fixer, apparently.  The conspiracy was headed by the super villain (Danny Huston), complete with a big glass walled office overlooking his compound fortress of nuclear deception.  There were a few things that didn't add up quite right, but whatever.  It was worth watching.                                 

Defiance

I always think I won't like war movies because they are usually long, boring, and about war.  This wasn't bad.  Daniel Craig, WWII, and kicking Nazi German ass.  I didn't give the movie my full attention until about a quarter of the way through, but it was worth sticking with it.  Inspirational, a true story.  I felt more emotionally connected at the end of the film when the pictures of the survivors were shown before the credits.  There was something that was lacking, maybe because I wasn't sure I could believe that Sabertooth (Liev Schreiber) was a Russian resistance wood dwelling Nazi killer.         

Crazy Heart

Go see this.  Now.

Jeff Bridges has become one of my favorites.  Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal?  An unlikely, sort of icky pair.  Out of that juxtaposition is born a beautifully constructed tale of a nearly washed up country singer in a totally mismatched love affair.  Emotional growth begets personal and professional growth.  Throughout the movie I wondered about the casting, but once the film had ended I felt I understood the contrast as a function of the story rather than just a strangely disgusting old man/young woman romance.  And Colin Farrell, again, what the frick.  He blew me away with his performance, mostly because I have zero expectation of him doing anything but being a douche, but he added a different dimension and he could have reached brilliant had it not been for his freakishly feminine earrings.   The spanning scenery, the subtle touches that Jeff brought to the character -- check out when he gets out of the car, his belt is always unbuckled -- and the music; it might as well have been old country standards.  Wonderful.        

Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

After somewhat of an interruption what with not having the internet at my finger tips, crazy work schedule, and lack of movie going, here I go.  

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is the story of a spiritual man who gambles with the devil, living with the eternal task of staying one step ahead.  Until, of course, his daughter turns 16 and he must make another deal to keep her.  Plot thickens, etc.  The story was coherent, which from what I understand about the director, is unusual.  Not to say that the film was usual.  Darker than I had expected, with just enough levity.  Heath Ledger was excellent in this posthumous role.  The "seamless" integration of the stand-in actors in the imagination scenes worked within the imagination scenes; it didn't seem as gimmicky as it could have been.  Although, Colin Farrell, I'm just not that big of a fan.  However, the sleazyish imagination-self worked well.  Johnny and Jude were cool too, although I wonder if it would have made more sense to just have had Colin play imagination Heath.  I get that it wasn't supposed to make sense. Or maybe each actor represented parts of his persona.  He did wear a mask, for goodness sakes.    

I'd like to see it again.  My movie going experience wasn't all that optimal -- whooping cough lady in front, popcorn munchy and chatty dad and son behind, nonstop talkers to the right, blurry projection.