I know May 4th is Star Wars day, but there should be a month too! For the geek calendar, normal march has become Imperial March.
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There were a ton of movies to see at the end of 2011. We still haven’t gotten through them all! I might have to wait for Netflix on the rest. Below is the stuff that we have saw in November and December.
Mission Impossible 4 – This one was a total popcorn movie, just kind of mindless action. And for what it was, it was pretty good. My only wish is that Tom Cruise’s character would die a horrible, fiery death. I love the rest of the crew. Ethan Hunt is just distracting, like Storm in the later X-Men movies – hogging the spotlight. There’s plenty of action, explosions, fights, and things that go wrong any way they can before the good guys finally make it in the end, all of which make Mission Impossible what it is. It was going to get a 7, but Tom Cruise knocked it down to a 6.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – I watched the BBC mini-series a couple times as a kid, so I was roughly familiar with the story. I’m not sure if understanding things better came from watching the story as an adult or if the movie was just better at laying out the plot, but I’ll give the movie the benefit of the doubt. It’s a methodical movie, reflecting the main character who calculates every angle before doing pretty much anything. Some people had a problem with the pacing, but I was completely fine with it. Also, I recognized nearly every actor and thought they were great in their roles. I gave this one an 8.
The Descendants - I had no idea what this movie was about going in, just that Bert wanted to see it. Yeesh, I was bored. It feels like something is going to happen any minute, so you keep watching, and then a couple hours later the end comes. The basic story was fairly interesting, so I was curious how the plot points would be resolved, and Hawaii provides some great scenery, but that was it. 4.
J Edgar – This one nearly slipped my mind, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The characters have good chemistry, the actors were great, and it was interesting to see J Edgar’s story through the various presidents. The only not so awesome thing (and it could be easily looked past) was the application of “old face” to the main 3 characters. It got to be a bit obvious on the younger two. Good movie though. 8.
Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows – Not surprisingly, I loved this movie. It’s another fine addition to Guy Ritchie’s repertoire. Like Mission Impossible, it had a lot of action, but in the case of Sherlock Holmes, everything was more epic, more dire, and just plain cooler. It’s witty as well, which goes a long way for me. Not the biggest fan of Robert Downey Jr. in drag, but I’ll live. I can’t tell if I like this one or the first one better, but if they keep making these, I’ll keep watching. Hell, I want to watch it again already, which bumps this one up to 10.
I like a movie where characters make believable mistakes. They’re part of what makes us human. A man calls his family to warn them about a disaster before he’s supposed to. Another tries to make a quick buck.
Everything in Contagion feels plausible. Everyone is flawed in some way, but they’re all trying to do right by themselves. The film’s realism amplifies its intensity. A lot. Which is great for a movie like this.
As far as acting, the cast had a revolving door and everyone contributed. I recognized a lot of faces, and that’s saying something. They were all great. I especially liked watching the twists and turns that Jude Law’s character took throughout the film.
Contagion is permeated by a hopeless and bleak feel, partially due to the cold and sterile environments. The midwest in winter is no fun. Bare trees, gray skies, and dirty snow really help sell a grim picture. All the parts fit together to create a solid whole.
My rating: 8