Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Should be an Acting 101 instructional video: "How to stay in Character." Sasha Baron Cohen and his partner in crime playing his daughter, Maria Bakalova, somehow manage to keep straight faces as they pull the legs and take the piss out of a variety of myopic Americans (and one nice and fairly supportive babysitter). Certain moments are funny, but it’s mostly gross-out/Tom Green/Jackass style humor that elicits groans and cringes. Kudos to Cohen, though, for folding in a little bit of character growth about gender roles and equality.

The Trial of the Chicago 7

I know this isn’t a documentary. I know dramatic license is allowed. But it’s hard to know how much of this trial really happened this way and how much of it is embellished by Aaron Sorkin – but some of the shit that went down is CRAZY. Totally outlandish. If anything, it’s an indictment of the entire US legal system, and how one loopy, senile judge can decide the fates of so many people and then sleep like a baby at night. The loopy old judge in question is played with expertise by Frank Langella, whose depiction of the callous, unpredictable old fart will probably earn him a nomination or two. For a “courtroom drama” Sorkin sets a speedy pace, and it’s a fascinating bit of history. So it entertains AND educates, which is a good sign that Sorkin, who is already a masterful writer, is becoming one of the better directors.

Tremors: Shrieker Island

Of all of the important Oscar-contenders I should be watching right now… Of all the highly-recommended biographies and documentaries... Of all of the important, moody European crime dramas I've been told I must see... I somehow landed on THIS. It’s a Lost World rip-off, folding the Tremors canon into a Jurassic Park/Predator plot. It’s forgettable and hokey, although the stock footage the filmmakers chose for the jungle island exteriors was well-selected.

The Warriors

Walter Hill has always been preoccupied by criminals and the fine difference between a “good” criminal” and a “bad” criminal. The Warriors is a tough, cracking example of this – a law and order tone poem. There’s really not much story here, but it moves fast and maintains elevated badassery. It funny to watch also, for its goofy and dated details. Gang-bangers in suspenders on roller skates, for example.