VladHammer

This film is a hot mess and I'd hold that against it if I weren't sure that's exactly what Aronofsky wanted. Portman proves a worthy recipient of the Best Actress Oscar playing the mom-created, delusional, paranoid schizophrenic. I love Mila Kunis but am a little shocked she received a Best Supporting Actress nod as well. Sure it was a step up from That 70's Show and Book of Eli but nothing seemed remarkable other than some interesting art on her back. Like a car crash, I couldn't look away.

93 _87%

The King's Speech (2010) - Rated 01 Jun 2011

Absolutely worthy of every single bit of praise it has received. Firth and Rush are fantastic - working a very sharp, tight and - at times - very humorous script with the help of a stellar supporting cast. In addition to Firth winning Best Actor and Seidler winning Best Screenplay, Rush could have easily scored the Best Supporting Actor win too. Wonderful movie overall.

90 _75%

True Grit (2010) - Rated 31 May 2011

Ho-hum - the Coens put out yet another great movie. Their standards are all here: memorable characters, sharp dialogue, excellent acting. Different genre, same result. They're so good it would make me sick if I weren't such a big fan. The only question is what they'll do exceptionally well next. Musical? Vampire? Kung-Fu?

75 _25%

Red (2010) - Rated 31 May 2011

Decent, if not entirely believable, movie with likable characters doing unlikable things. Bruce Willis doesn't have to stretch much for this role, whereas John Malkovich seems to have been told by the director just to have fun with it - which he does. Good fun with explosions - what more could you ask?

80 _41%

Office Space (1999) - Rated 31 May 2011

While not necessarily loaded with roll-on-the-floor moments Office Space has numerous clever, memorable scenes/lines and has deservedly taken it's place as a bona fide cult classic. In 1999 the cubicle phenomenon was relatively new and this movie capitalized on the many idiotic frustrations that come with it - accurate almost to a fault. Lines from Mike Judge's script will continue to be quoted for many, many years.

85 _55%

All the President's Men (1976) - Rated 19 Apr 2011

It's easy to see why this film inspired a generation of young people to become journalists. Goldman's story is set in a time when reporters were held to a much higher standard than today's collection of sensationalist propaganda pushers. Fans of solid acting and history will both enjoy it - and young people will get to see those archaic instruments known as 'typewriters' in action. Win-win.

80 _41%

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) - Rated 19 Apr 2011

Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw - pretty powerful lineup and a better-than-average story made this fun to watch, even if a bit outdated. Also notable for the surprising amount of adult language in a film from '74.

80 _41%

The Kids Are All Right (2010) - Rated 19 Apr 2011

Enjoyable film with solid performances from actors you'd expect solid performances from. In short, it would be Annette gain if Moore films like this were made - Mark my words.

90 _75%

Winter's Bone (2010) - Rated 18 Mar 2011

Dark tale well deserving of the Oscar nods it received. Jennifer Lawrence's performance is scary good - showing range that many actors twice her age would kill for. John Hawkes as Teardrop was equally impressive and worthy of recognition. One of my favorite films of 2010 for sure.

70 _17%

Dreams on Spec (2007) - Rated 17 Mar 2011

I'd recommend this film to anyone chasing the dream of being a professional screenwriter as it's mildly interesting and details some of the challenges faced in this brutal industry. As far as learning about the do's and don'ts, "Tales from the Script" is a vastly more helpful doc but this one is worth watching. Teaser: only one of the three subjects seems grounded in reality - see if you can find him.