DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

In almost every family, there's that one member everybody is annoyed with. Such is the premise of Jesse Peretz' OUR IDIOT BROTHER, with Paul Rudd playing Ned, the titular 'idiot' brother. Ned is not an idiot per se (but then again, what really defines idiocy?), and the reason he is tagged as one is because of his infectious optimism and generosity. In a family of women, with three sisters and her mom, Ned stands out separated, yet her mom Ilene (Shirley Knight) loves him of all her children. The sisters' contempt for Ned is obvious to everyone but Ned, and this is quite funny especially the way each of them lie in front of him out of familial duty. Paul Rudd is exceedingly effective as Ned, where we see a human stripped down of all ego and pride, and yet he is mocked and ostracized for his smallness and shortcomings.  The actresses playing Ned's sisters are all charming and funny, and surprisingly dynamic; each actress gives their unique portrayal of a unique...

*may contain spoilers IN TIME has an intriguing enough premise: in the near future, people stop aging at 25, and from then on everyone is left with only a year to live unless you are rich and can buy off more time-the other alternatives are either to win time in a fight (a la arm wrestling) or steal. However, big corporations are manipulating the system to ensure their survival, and there are policemen who hunts anyone who breaks that system. The story's hero is a common man, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), a factory worker living in the ghetto, who goes after the faceless corporations after the unjust death of his mother (Olivia Wilde). Infiltrating the ranks of the rich and elite, he is forced to kidnap Sylvia Weis, the beautiful young daughter (Amanda Seyfried) of a time businessman (Vincent Kartheiser) in order to elude capture from timekeeper Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) and his men.  Sylvia unexpectedly becomes drawn to Will's cause, and her life's lack of thrill ...

It is one of the serious contenders for basically any category this year at the 84th Academy Awards (it has five nominations) and the kind of film that Oscar voters usually root for, but awards or no awards, THE DESCENDANTS is an undeniably poignant and often humorous exploration of family, life, and death, and about things entrusted to us. George Clooney gives a quiet performance as Matt King, the workaholic father and husband who has to deal with his wife, Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) succumbing into comatose after a boating accident.  As the trailer would tell you, Matt learns that his wife was having an affair, and the treatment of that subject is neither complacent nor judgmental; Matt seeks out the "other guy" for answers, and yet he admits later in the movie his own shortcomings that led to his wife's unhappiness.  Also, he would have to deal with taking care of his two daughters, which he has never done fully before since his wife was around to do that. An uneas...

THE GREY starts out almost in Terrence Malick fashion, what with all the voice overs and musings and philosophical undertones. As the action is set in motion by a plane crash into the icy wilderness, a group of survivors band together against a pack of wolves who see them as enemies.  Liam Neeson is John Ottway, who becomes the de facto leader of the group, who knows this and that, but we never really understand why he is so good with this and that and has become the leader. Neeson's husky voice and tall, brooding physique nevertheless helps securing the integrity of his character as a leader figure. The story concerns itself with survival, and with it constant questions of who's the actual predator, the humans or the wolves? Joe Carnahan, working on his script and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers (which is in turn based on Jeffers' short story) illustrates how man really is expendable, and any minute may be your last. What Carnahan achieves best in THE GREY is making us feel every...

In terms of espionage fiction, two names stand out: Robert Ludlum and John Le Carre. Ludlum became famous to non-followers because of the Bourne series, whereas Le Carre made his mark as a much more sophisticated storyteller (my opinion). So far, the films adapted from his novels that I have seen, THE CONSTANT GARDENER and THE RUSSIA HOUSE were pretty solid suspense-drama (I have yet to see THE SPY WHO CAME IN THE COLD, and am currently reading A MOST WANTED MAN). However, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY proves the most stylistic film adaptation, and an advantage it has is director Tomas Alfredson, who has already showcased subtlety in narration with the Swedish vampire chiller LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Gary Oldman is by all means exhibiting restraint as George Smiley, the story's protagonist tasked with uncovering the mole in British Intelligence secretly leaking classified information to the Russians. Said restraint is rather befitting, since it compliments his character's years of e...

Fans of the UNDERWORLD series have long waited for Kate Beckinsale's return as the leather-clad, double pistoled vampire Selene. The last we saw her was in 2006's UNDERWORLD EVOLUTION (because the third film is a prequel), and no matter how strong and able Rhona Mitra was in RISE OF THE LYCANS, we still wanted Beckinsale.  So in bringing back Beckinsale as Selene, there were few noticeable changes to the movie. First, the director is NOT Len Wiseman. Wiseman produces, but Swedish directing duo Marlind and Stein take charge of the action.  Second, the action never lets up. This ought to be the most violent first ten minutes of an UNDERWORLD movie. There are lesser dialogue, and the vampire mythology is completely erased in favor of a storyline that focuses on humans' campaign against vampires and lycans. Bullets fly every three minutes or so, or if not, somebody's neck gets bitten, or broken. The filmmakers are not shy with the amount of onscreen blood, too. This was ...