Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Director: J.J. Abrams. Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller. 132 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Sci-Fi.

Abrams continues his reincarnation of the Star Trek franchise ... and I did not even think about looking at my watch for the full 130 minutes. The interactions between the young characters have matured, we see their inner strengths and weaknesses, we're given a strong homage (maybe too strong) to an older Star Trek episode, and we watch one of the most evil, calculating and fascinating movie villains in recent memory. A scene involves shooting two characters from one starship to another, in deep space. Do I have your attention now? So glad Abrams is directing the next Star Wars movie.

PS: Would it be a spoiler if I told you Robocop plays Captain Kirk's father-in-law here?

Mo says:

MoMagic!

Holy Motors (2012)

Director: Leos Carax. Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue. 115 min. Not Rated. France/Germany. Drama/Fantasy.

An actor accomplishes different "assignments" of playing an extreme variety of roles through a 24-hour period in Paris. There's no filming crew, implying how an actor's life is a blend of dream and reality, without any defining borders. But isn't that how life is in general, people continuously playing "roles" in different settings, each losing sight of their true identity? Works like a David Lynch movie; you're not sure what it's all about, but the bizarre imagery and engaging flow keeps you intrigued till the final scene (especially the final scene). I'll be thinking of that imagery for some time.

Mo says:

The Paperboy (2012)

Director: Lee Daniels. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Scott Glenn, Macy Gray. 107 min. Rated R. Drama.

A reporter goes back to his hometown in Florida to prove the innocence of a man on death-row. Aside from that, never seen so many good actors in such a compilation of weird junk in my life - and never knew the eternally-good-boy John Cusack had it in him to play such a disgusting character. I hate movies that find joy in hurting the viewer, and I hated this movie. Maybe I shouldn't go near a Lee Daniels movie ever again.

Mo says:

Mud (2012)

Director: Jeff Nichols. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon. 130 min. Rated PG-13. Drama.

Jeff Nichols, best known for his great Take Shelter, tells a Huckleberry Finn story of two boys on the Mississippi who befriend a wanted fugitive, but through the friendship learn some hard lessons on the extent that female emotions can be trusted. Amazing how the simple story engages till the very end, and portrays some glamorous Hollywood superstars (one showing up very unexpectedly midway through) in an earthly, mundane light, suiting the director’s indie style. It’s a harsh terrain, but strangely, except for a Mafia subplot, no major character is a villain here. So far, the best movie of 2013.

Mo says:

Sinister (2012)

Director: Scott Derrickson. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson, Vincent D'Onofrio. 110 min. Rated R. Horror/Mystery.

A true-crime writer (insanely) moves his family into a home where a grisly massacre occurred, to find material for his next bestseller. Hawke always boasts the ability to make his characters both plausible and likable, and I'm thankful for that, because the content here is so dark and disturbing, you'll want to go on a vacation after it's done. If it wasn't for his acting and the incredible cinematography, I would have given this a NoMo, because the film is filled with idiotic shock shots, and believe it or not, I predicted the ending just by watching the trailer.

Mo says:

Fast Five (2011)

Director: Justin Lin. Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Dwayne Johnson, Joaquim de Almeida. Cast: 130 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Thriller.

Hesitant to watch this, because I stopped following the brainless Fast & Furious franchise after the second installment. Not that in terms of storyline, or character development, or acting, or any philosophical ideation this fifth episode impressed me in any way - not at all. But this movie has some car chases, even I with no sense of car fetish couldn't resist feeling admiration for whomever thought them out; and now I'm curious to see what this summer's sixth episode has in store. Won't spoil the fun by pointing out what the scenes or their choreography contain. Just see for yourself.

Mo says:

Robot & Frank (2012)

Director: Jake Schreier. Cast: Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard, Jeremy Sisto. 89 min. Rated PG-13. Drama.

A good idea, crudely done. In the "near future", an aging kleptomaniac is losing his long-term memory to Alzheimer's, and his children buy him a caretaker robot to substitute their own presence around him. Sadly, the old man makes a stronger bond to the robot than to his own children. This could have been a bitter metaphor of how low human relations have stooped, but there are inconsistencies, mostly in the form of some cops acting like clowns, that takes away the gravity of the drama. Amusing, but a skilled director would've avoided the pitfalls.

Mo says:

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Director: Shane Black. Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany. 130 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Sci-Fi.

It's the third film of a trilogy, always under the black cloud of becoming the worst. But fortunately, Iron Man 3 breaks its way through, and tries to create its own identity by following Spider-man 2's lead of humanizing the superhero (the egotistical Tony Stark has anxiety attacks!), and even making political statements (the OBL-like Mandarin is just a facade). Still, this doesn't improve upon the Marvel superhero sub-genre, and merely stays at the level of a very entertaining action movie. The sky-diving rescue sequence blew me away, but I doubt this will be on my top 10 list for 2013.

Mo says:

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Director(s): Glen Ficarra, John Requa. Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Josh Groban. 118 min. Rated PG-13. Drama/Comedy/Romance.

Stellar-casted light romantic comedy, with multiple interconnecting stories revolving around the truth or absurdity of love. Takes the risk of dragging on for too long, and contains two subplot coincidences (one involving Marisa Tomei, the other Emma Stone), the eye-rolling latter ruining the fun of the surprising former. Ends with an attempt at a tear-jerking speech. Weakest point: a dumb 4-way fight between the male stars. Strongest point: Tomei's return to her comedy days.

Mo says:

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. Cast: Katie Featherston, Matt Shively, Stephen Dunham. 88 min. Rated R. Horror.

The progression of how I scored this wonderfully-started but shamefully deteriorated horror franchise (demonstrated here, here, and here, in sequence) shows why after the previous installment, I stopped going to the theaters and just waited for the DVD. Now I believe I shouldn't have even waited for the DVD. Dora the Explorer is scarier than this. The only new thing here, was to learn how the Xbox Kinect works. That part was quite engaging.

Mo says:

Battleship (2012)

Director: Peter Berg. Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano. 131 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Sci-Fi.

This was the first time since Napoleon Dynamite where while watching a movie, I went from NoMo, to Soso, to Mojo. Similar to the Total Recall remake, wasn't as bad as the critics said, and similar to 2012, manages to become what it's destined to be: a fun summer blockbuster with lots of excitement and explosions. Some (or most) parts are brainless beyond belief, but does make an attempt for some Prometheus-like sci-fi logic (if there is such a thing), and the board game inspirations are absolutely ingenious. I know Rihanna's part is a throwaway (among others), but hey, that's Hollywood.

PS #1: Thank you, Farshid, for recommending this a long time ago. I guess I should have watched it sooner.

PS #2: Wait till the very end - there's a post-credits scene.

Mo says:

Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)

Director: Andrew Rossi. 92 min. Rated R. Documentary.

Through the internet, every human on the planet now has the ability to "create" news, and newspapers are losing advertising sponsors as their main money source. So here's printed media's dilemma: you either stick to professional investigative journalism and go bankrupt (such as what happened to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, and most recently, Newsweek) or... you become a tabloid and possibly survive. This documentary shows the daily struggle the New York Times deals with, to the extent of becoming a vehicle for Julian Assange's Wikileaks, just to attract readers. My conclusion: printed media is doomed to extinction.

Mo says: