Fright Night (2011)

Director: Craig Gillespie. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. 106 min. Rated R. Horror/Comedy.

Remake of a 1985 original. High-school kid (Yelchin) becomes suspicious that his neighbor (Farrell) is a vampire. Nothing deep there, but I dare you show me a vampire flick that isn't entertaining. Would've appreciated if the neighbor's identity was kept a mystery in the beginning (as in the Swedish Let the Right One In, or its American remake, Let Me In), but that structure probably would've missed many comedic opportunities presented here. By the way, maybe Farrell isn't such a bad actor after all - his "Jerry the Vampire" is quite menacing. Or maybe vampires are just great villains.

Best quote: "F---en eBay!!!"

Mo says:

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Director: Tomas Alfredson. Cast: Gary Oldman, John Hurt, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds. 127 min. Rated R. Mystery/Thriller.

I have all the respect in the world for Gary Oldman (and he has such a quiet, powerful presence here), but this Cold War spy movie was mind-numbingly boring. In fact, I've felt the same about most John le Carré-based movies (Russia House, The Tailor of Panama), and even with its captivating ending, reading through his "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" was quite a challenge. Maybe le Carré's books are just not "filmable".

PS: OK, The Constant Gardener was an exception.

Mo says:

50/50 (2011)

Director: Jonathan Levine. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston. 100 min. Rated R. Drama/Comedy.

Twenty-seven-year-old Gordon-Levitt has a malignant spinal tumor. That's all. But you can create a whirlwind of stories and social interactions around this concept, and 50/50, even with Rogen's hilariously comedic presence, successfully puts you into this person's world. The most attractive relationship here is Gordon-Levitt's with his young therapist, played by Kendrick (the subtlety of which is reminiscent of another of his films, (500) Days of Summer). I wouldn't recommend this movie to everybody, because it punches the viewer too hard; to the extent that I was imagining: "That's how I would act if I had cancer". Yeah, that hard.

Mo says:

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Director(s): Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman. Cast: Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Katie Featherston. 83 min. Rated R. Horror.

I can't believe these people. They're just pushing the great original 2007 horror film further down the toilet with each new episode. The third installment of the franchise (this time a prequel) rehashes every scary moment of the past two episodes in such a pathetically artificial manner, it's insulting. Only the final scenes here become slightly creative (in a Satanist ritual sort of way), but that's no saving grace.

Mo says:

My Top 10 Movies of 2011

Time to wake-up again tomorrow at 5:30 AM! The Oscar nominees will be announced, and my annual tradition is to list my top 10 favorite movies of the year the night before. Again there were some casualties this year, as I had to leave out Almodovar's great The Skin I Live In, in favor of the small gem called Another Earth that came along at the last moment, and pushed Almodovar off the list.

(Funny that last year, the same thing happened with another "Another" movie: Mike Leigh's Another Year.)


So, in alphabetical order, my top 10 movies of 2011:

1. Another Earth

2. The Artist

3. The Descendants

4. Hugo

5. Life in a Day

6. Melancholia

7. Midnight in Paris

8. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

9. A Separation

10. Super 8


And for my favorite movie of the year ... I mean, c'mon. To call any movie other than A Separation as the best movie of 2011, would be blasphemy.

(If you haven't seen it yet, no worries: It'll open in wide release in the US this coming weekend, January 27th.)

Another Earth (2011)

Director: Mike Cahil. Cast: Brit Marling, William Mapother. 92 min. Rated PG-13. Drama/Fantasy.

A drunk-driving teenager with her whole life ahead of her, crashes and kills a professor's wife and boy. Four years later out of prison, she takes the rough road of making amends with the professor. But there's also "another Earth" approaching, which is the mirror image of life on Earth - and the possibilities are endless. One of the most emotionally intense dramas I'd seen in recent years, with a script that won't let go till the very last scene. The philosophical question: If you could see yourself as a bystander, what would you see? What would you expect?

Mo says:

MoMagic!

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011)

Director: Brad Bird. Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Tom Wilkinson, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan. 133 min. Rated R. Action/Thriller. USA/UAE.

Boy, was I surprised. If you long for a great James Bond movie, look no further. The amazing gadgets, the mind-blowing action scenes, the looming WWIII nuclear threats, and the Russian megalomaniac planning to blow up the world - they're all here. And with all his crazy antics, with his near 50 years of age, when it comes to action films, Tom Cruise definitely still has it. It's the James Bond formula, and it works. Just how can I ever forget the Burj Khalifa skyscraper sequence? I promise you haven't seen an action movie this good in a long time.

Mo says:

Young Adult (2011)

Director: Jason Reitman. Cast: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt. 94 min. Rated R. Comedy/Drama.

(Spoiler Alert!)

A self-proclaimed "famous" author who writes teenager novels is down on her luck, and decides to go back to her hometown to steal her high-school sweetheart, whose married and has a new baby girl. Her efforts ... are just pathetic. Because she won't wake up. SHE JUST WON'T WAKE UP! (Watching Theron made me want to shout.) After an astounding climactic scene at the baby-naming party, she concludes she must be mentally disturbed. But here's the ticker: the society convinces her she's their idol. Made by the Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody (Juno) team, this is a must-see for Theron fans.

Mo says:

The Ides of March (2011)

Director: George Clooney. Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright. 101 min. Rated R. Political/Drama.

A modern-day idealistic presidential campaign staffer (Gosling) rallies around an energetic "change"-promising candidate not unlike Obama (Clooney), finds himself grappling with the cruel politics and backstabbing involved managing his idol's campaign, and eventually becomes the very foe he was up against. Remarkably intelligent screenplay, as every word and dialogue cuts through the air, and incredible actors popping out of every corner (I'm finally coming to accept that Gosling may be good actor). Directed, written, and produced by Clooney. This guy keeps getting better every day.

Mo says:

The Guard (2011)

Director: John Michael McDonagh. Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham. 96 min. Rated R. Ireland. Comedy/Crime.

Irish rural cop Gleeson and FBI agent Cheadle are the oddest of all imaginable odd couples in this police buddy movie set in Ireland, where the entire screenplay is founded on the most hilarious racist prejudices. So the story itself is all in the background. Very reminiscent of how the 2008 In Bruges was structured - and strangely, Gleeson starred in that one too. Even stranger, I smelled possibilities of a sequel at the end.

Mo says:

The Iron Lady (2011)

Director: Phyllida Lloyd. Cast: Meryl Streep, Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, Olivia Colman. 105 min. Rated PG-13. UK/France. Drama/Biography.

First things first: the film's trailer makes the huge mistake of advertising it as a biographical history lesson of Britain's Thatcher era; while this is anything but. It's about what any leader goes through: how they make tough decisions entirely alone, and live with the emotional and personal consequences for the rest of their lives. In effect, a large portion of this well-scripted/well-directed film contemplates on Thatcher during her older years, as she reflects upon her past, while even her senile dementia isn't safe from decades-old stress. Streep's performance is (again) breathtaking, especially at portraying the older Thatcher.

Best Quote: "Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become, habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think ... we become."

Mo says:

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Director: Jon Favreau. Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Keith Carradine, Paul Dano. 119 min. Rated PG-13. Action/Sci-fi.

So James Bond and Indiana Jones join forces in an action flick that is a gritty Clint Eastwood western meets Independence Day and Alien, with a touch of Men in Black. In other words, it's a hodgepodge. This is the first time I notice Harrison Ford being overshadowed by a co-star, as Craig's charismatic presence makes one delighted (again) that he was chosen as the new Bond. Actually, Ford's role could have been played by anybody, so was his presence here a calculated decision, or is he just getting too old? Entertaining throughout, but nothing to be taken seriously.

Mo says: