Gone Baby Gone

There’s more good here than bad. Most of the story unfolds in those grey areas between right and wrong, and Co-Writer/Director/Producer Ben Affleck navigates these grey areas better than many directors, skillfully depicting a crime drama with no easy answers. It’s success is due in large part to the performance of brother Casey, who’s MUCH better here than in The Assassination of Jesse James. There are times when the story gets a little bogged down and “acty”; several key plot-points are delivered in monologues that seem to go on too long. But of all of the debuts of all the directors everywhere, Affleck deserves to be commended for shouldering an extremely difficult subject matter, keeping it real, and making it work.

Murder Party

Clever use of limited budget and locations. Starts out like The Breakfast Club of pretentious art-scene jerks, then devolves into a crazy but lengthy grindhouse bloodbath. Very well-acted, strong dialogue, and good laughs. (Some of this felt like improv.) A lot to admire here, despite a lackluster and predictable resolution. I’m glad I saw this.

Sleuth

Michael Caine and Jude Law chew the scenery and ham it up in this remake. The dialogue sounds affected and stilted, perhaps intentionally so, but it’s annoying. Also, this new version tries to tack-on a different third act reveal, something to reward those who’ve seen the play or the old movie, but it’s cheap and hacky. Caine and Law both give it the ol’ college try, but it’s more like sitting through an acting class and less like watching an entertaining movie.

Michael Clayton

During its slow first half, Tony Gilroy et al skillfully and almost invisibly invest in tiny little moments revealing bits of information that pay off in SPADES by the end. Another politically minded, socially conscious hit for Clooney, whose character has a reputation for being a badass, but we don’t see why for a long time. But when we finally do, it’s savage and satisfying. Gilroy and Clooney should both get lots of nominations for this. This is a great movie; well-worth the possible early yawns.

The Darjeeling Limited

I really liked this. Wes Anderson’s unique style is tattooed all over this. He seems to travel around with truckloads of blue paint, coloring every train and hut just the way he wants it. The movie has a strong point of view, and its American characters see an idealized, playground-version of India, the setting for their so-called “spiritual journey.” But the characters here, like other Anderson movies, are neurotic and self-centered, and are as confused about India as they are about themselves. The cast is GREAT, especially Owen Wilson. There are many life lessons here; recurring Anderson themes about the importance of family and one’s individual place in spite of it. The movie puts them on display (or on the nose) and they are whimsically obvious. But it’s actually refreshing to see a movie so confident and clear about its intentions that it can spell-out its themes without seeming disingenuous. And one of those life lessons is an unmissable whopper: let go of your baggage.

The Heartbreak Kid

The Farrelly brothers are romantics at heart. And they want the best of both worlds. They want the happy endings and they want the dick jokes. But to do that, there must be some resolution and redemption for the hero; whether it’s Jim Carey, Woody Harrelson, Jack Black, or Ben Stiller. Here, there biggest problem is, the resolution is sour and off-putting. In an effort to stick a few extra jokes onto the end of the movie, they un-redeem their character and make him look like a jerk again. So the whole thing is dissatisfying. The only one who comes out okay here is the blonde foil, played by Malin Akerman. She’s a good sport and stays funny as she endures freaky skin legions and lots of random crap hanging out of her nose.