the soloist

this movie wastes the talents of Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. on the tired theme of white guy undergoing transformation at the hands of troubled black man. not too good on mental illness either. it's always lovely to see Catherine Keener, but she wasn't given much to do. maybe the book is better?

waiting

very trivial movie with a great comedy cast (Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Justin Long, Luis Guzman, Alanna Ubach, Emanuelle Chriqui, John Francis Daley, etc) about a restaurant. will undoubtedly slightly amuse you.

lollilove

I watched this 'mockumentary' because Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini were in it. unfortunately, for about three minutes. the rest of it was a not so funny show about Jenna Fischer and James Gunn being really ignorant white people who start a project to give out lollipops to the homeless. actually, not funny at all.

management

a very small but thoroughly enjoyable indie romance/comedy about a not-so-grown-up guy who night manages his parents' motel and earnestly pursues a traveling saleswoman with a hot butt. Steve Zahn, Jennifer Aniston, and Woody Harrelson are all at their least annoying here. I liked it.

JCVD

Belgian movie about the country's favorite son, Jean Claude Van Damme (playing himself), who starts out with custody problems and ends up...well...worse off after bad luck has him mistaken for the perpetrator of a hostage/robbery. if this film were American, I'm sure it would have been cheesy, but as a European movie, it really works.

next day air

I thought this would be heavier on the comedy side and lighter on the heavy side, but it was still a good, if violent, crime story. 24 hours in the life of a misdelivered package of cocaine. Mos Def, Donald Faison, and Yazmin Deliz take care of most of the humor. short and entertaining, with more substance than any of the blockbusters that have started invading the theatres.

obsessed

just as deliciously trashy and awful as I wanted it to be.

star trek

as a star trek novice, I enjoyed this more as a J.J. Abrams project, but I was surprised not to be bored by the almost constant action. worst casting: Winona Ryder. best casting: Simon Pegg. most fun casting: Tyler Perry.

ghosts of girlfriends past

very cute. very forgettable.

x-men origins: wolverine

why do the x men movies keep getting worse? I thought Gavin Hood directing would help, but this movie was even more pointless and dull than I feared. come on Liev, Ryan, and Hugh - you can do so much better than this.

last chance harvey

with two actors like Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, you've got to be pretty tough not to be charmed, and I was. Dustin Hoffman transforms into someone almost likable as Ms. Thompson rubs off on him during a day and a night in London.

what doesn't kill you

another 'gritty' movie about the hard life of petty criminals. Mark Ruffalo struggles to be a good dad even though he's a no-good drug addict, with no help from Ethan Hawke. as per usual, Amanda Peet does almost nothing with her put-upon wife role. this is meant to be more poignant than most because it's a 'true' story.

gomorra

I expected more from this highly praised Italian 'realistic' look at the mob. there were four stories that were hard to piece together, and none standing alone were too interesting. I did wish, though, that the information about Gomorrah given quickly at the end had been at the beginning - I think the movie would have captured more of my attention that way.

nothing but the truth

loosely based on the Valerie Plame/Judith Miller CIA outing, this movie is interesting, particularly if you enjoy courtroom and jail scenes, which make up most of the movie. I particularly enjoyed Alan Alda as a highly materialistic yet principled lawyer.