The White Ribbon

WORTH-IT: (Michael Haneke) Nominated for best Foreign Film and Cinematography this year at the Oscars and winner of The Palm D'Or at Cannes, The White Ribbon is clearly something to see. It's the story of a small German town, a community seemingly simple and serene, filled with homely and vanilla people. No one has more than they need. Everyone knows each other. For the most part, life is a routine. From our perspective, it seems like the routine has been the same for hundreds of years, until an ill-intended practical joke sets off a series of horrific and unexplained acts violence. The unexplained hatred hints at its origins throughout the movie (a vengeful farmer, a jealous father, joking children, etc.) revealing that even in the simplest of societies, human nature remains the same and, above all, emotions rule. Haneke marks his forte with the unexplained crimes and pointing fingers, persuading the audience to believe one thing over another before showing them that they're wrong. As he does in all his film, he piles up pounds of evidence, all pointing in different directions, leaving you to solve the mystery for yourself. Or, not to solve it at all. Haneke's unique stories never seem to have an clear ending, or even a clear morale. He simply illustrates humanity, bringing unspoken circumstances to the surface. Haneke's work isn't for everyone. His black-hole endings will surely frustrate some viewers, and in this particular film, the simplistic characters and monochromatic canvas will leave some feeling slighted. But, I encourage those who appreciate a spooky and timeless tale of unsolved mystery and murder to settle into this black and white and have fun trying to put his pieces together.

The Hurt Locker

MUST-SEE: (Kathryn Bigelow) So, its taken me awhile to get up a review on this one, but don't think it's because I didn't like it. This film actually fascinated me to the point that I've been troubled with how best to relay my thoughts and be able to adequately emphasize how well I think it was done. It's the story of a gutsy branch of the armed forces in charge of seeking out bomb threats, diffusing them and collecting the evidence. Not to pun the profession, but each job is literally a ticking bomb. Potential danger exists with every second. Lives are at stake and the conditions are never controlled. It's a huge job carrying a lot of weight, and seriously overlooked. The Hurt Locker follows one particular group, led by its newest member, a cowboy diffuser played by Jeremy Renner. It's appeal for me is that it plays like a documentary, making the danger all too real and ultimately hard to ignore (or forget). The documentary film-style, one similar to District 9, or TV's The Office, offers something that is actually real somewhere. It's happening right now, and the tragedy we see on screen is a real person's heartbreak. Bigelow does a phenomenal job of keeping the line blurred between raw and entertaining. Can you really say you liked watching it, knowing that it's not just a movie? Be prepared for unbearable suspense, teeth-gritting anticipation, and some tears you won't know were coming. I'm not convinced it should have beat out Avatar's cinematic history-making for some of its Oscars, but I can't deny that it was a fantastic story, and uniquely told to the point its impact leaves a lasting bruise.

Precious (Based on the novel Push by Sapphire)

WORTH-IT: (Lee Daniels) Every so often, I watch a movie that literally shuts me up. It throws tragedy, sadness and unbelievable stories so hard at me that I have trouble reacting in a timely manner. It takes a long time for the ugly bits and pieces to sink all the way in (if I can bear to let them at all). Precious is one of those movies for me. 16-year-old Clarice Precious Jones has 2 children by way of her father. She can't stay in public school, can barely read or write, and is constantly abused, both physically and verbally by her mother. Gabourey Sidibe plays this tragic young woman with gusto, raw emotion and utter ingenuity. She captures the true innocence of a 16-year-old personality, abused and torn down, but eager for acceptance and lots of love to give. We watch her grow intellectually and emotionally and see her hopeful adaptation to constant bad news. Her story is dotted with fascinating characters that build a community of hopeless-on-the-outside teenagers learning from each other and growing as a result. It's a reality check and a punch in the stomach, but after you catch your breath, its an unbelievable story of perseverance and faith.

Unfortunately, the film itself wasn't something incredible for me. The American Beauty-like existentialism felt disconnected and unnecessary. In fact, looking back, I don't think the movie would change at all if those snippets were left out. The real-time in the film was too real, too raw to interject such fantasy, despite its efforts to illustrate Precious's coping methods. It didn't work for me. I also saw red flags of over-emphasized liberalism when the sexual orientation of the teacher was brought up at all. She was a flat character, despite her large presence in the film, meaning there was no real point to delving into her personal life. Especially when the topic led to the line saying "homos weren't the ones raping me, or selling crack" it seemed surface, and a strained effort to pronounce homosexual acceptance. Not relevant!

Overall, whether you see this film or not is a personal decision. You won't miss out on anything but a fabulous illustration of hope and an Oscar-winning performance by Mo'Nique. It's still sitting with me. I am still processing a lot. And, finally, its hard to say you liked a story abut rape, teen pregnancy, AIDS and illiteracy... but I will say that I am glad I watched it. It adds a little more depth to my perspective and a re-vamps my sense of faith.

Powder Blue

ALMOST: (Timothy Linh Bui) Well, there is usually a reason when films go straight to DVD. Basically: It's not good enough to make people pay $10 for. Powder Blue is actually not good enough to make people pause life for its measly 106 minutes. Now, don't get me wrong, this film has some redeeming qualities that kept my machine playing. Forest Whitaker delivers a suspenseful and heartbreaking performance and Lisa Kudrow peaks into the plot as a refreshing quirky personality. And, while the storyline involving these two is minimal and secondary, it is by far supreme. Jessica Biel and Ray Liotta play the mainstream, an ill-matched customer-stripper with an unexplained relationship reaching deeper than what either admits out loud. Honestly, I didn't really care. Biel over acts her way through sweaty dancing and rainy sidewalks (an atmosphere also over done). Liotta has few words, yet relies on the same stoned facial expression for his entire appearance. In the end, I can't really say what this movie was about, what its bottom line was, or even how the title related. I was tempted to watch this movie because of the build up--now I ask, why was it even worth mentioning?

Blindness

ALMOST: (Fernando Meirelles) When you sit down for a film starring the Spanish phenom, Gael Garcia Bernal and American notables Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo, one would think it almost gurantees an intense, clever story, on fire on screen and deeply relatable for the audience. Unfortunately, the key word in the previous sentence remains as "almost." In Merielles adaptation of Jose Saramango's novel, we're introduced to a U.S.A. faced with a health crisis of unexplained blindness. Authorities, unsure of the cause or severity, quarantine the sick in a mental hospital, adding to the numbers as more are discovered. But, as the infected population grows, it's evident the sickness is working too fast for the givernment's planned logistics or their patience, and they are enventually left the sick to fend for themselves. Another movie illustrating soceity left to itself, a parody of sorts, showing how lost "we the people" would be trying to survive with a sublime democracy. That democracy is Julianne and Ruffalo playing a married couple holding the people sane against Bernal, the evil "Monarchy" taking advantage of the weary. It had potential--until it was dragged out for hours. The rising action of this plot lasted far too long and ends, really, unexplained. Making matters longer, even after the presumed climax finally comes, the film continues along a long and winding path towards resolution, thus making Part II equally as stagnant. The complex to me is why were such respected names in such a nobody blockbuster? No one was given the power to expand their role, and could have been equally as stagnant with your usual horror movie debut team. Don't worry about missing out on this one. If the story sounds compelling--read it.

Frozen River

MUST-SEE: (Courtney Hunt) Now here is a film of true originality. Indians shipping aliens over the Canadian border with the help of a single mom looking for easy money to buy her boys a double-wide for Christmas. (??) Well, the bottom-line is that this movie is fantastic. So rarely is a truly raw light shed on American families that this story is almost painful to watch, harder to accept and leaves a deep tread on the heart for the struggles many people don't even have a clue about. (Me, one of them). Melissa Leo plays a single-mom, whose husband ran off with her money, three days before Christmas. She can't catch a break at work, and toys for her youngest are the last chance she has to avoid disappointment from her oldest. He (Charlie McDermott) questions her backbone, but out of empathy takes matters into his own hands, giving Leo's character stress and regret for a son having to grow up too fast. As "fate" (we'll call it) would have it, Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham) steals her car. So, at her wits end, a (although illegal) subtle way to earn money arrives. Although at first, her morals stand strong, Hunt reveals that even the strongest person has their breaking point. She makes the money and can't avoid the simplicity thereafter. From your chair, you watch the inevitable downfall take place, holding your breath she makes it across the icy border, finding yourself completely on her side of the law, in 100% sympathy. It is an intense ride into the other side of right and wrong, taking motivation as justification instead of black and white legality. Leo rocks. I didn't even feel like I was watching a film--it was like real people showing you what their real life is all about. And then she was nominated for an Oscar. Enough said.

The Wrestler

ALMOST: (Darren Aronofsky) In a word--disappoint. In more words--I hate that this movie gave Mickey Rourke the platform to come back into film as none other than himself, glorified. The Wrestler is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a wrestler who reigned in his day, but has since lost it all , living in a trailer park, fighting for peanuts and working the deli at the local grocer. No one knows him anymore, and he can't find his niche outside of the ropes. When a heart attack threatens his comeback indefinitely, he finds himself on a downward spiral, through which he grasps at a last minute relationship with his daughter and desperately strikes up romance with a loyal stripper. The story is well-told, a perfect mirror to the dazed and confused existence Ram is forced to live out. The story is disconnected, hopeless and a perverted glimpse into the world of wrestling. The story (bravo, Robert D. Siegel) is certainly not wherein the problem lies with this film--it is with Rourke. Sure, he was good in Sin City, but who really had to act in Sin City. Casted perfectly to play up his brusque personality, the film needed nothing but brawn and an ugly face. In Wrestler, he plays the same character--out to mend the things in his ragged world, but getting the shit kicked out of him along the way. Rourke holds onto this role as his comeback, but in my opinion (and certainly just an opinion) he hasn't come anywhere. He plays out his sad, real-life story in the form of a wrestler. Bottom line, to make Aronofsky's work shine as it should, someone credible should have been picked. Evan Rachel Wood plays her five minutes in the spotlight well, but I do wish we had seen more from her. (Blast that parallel of disconnect). Marisa Tomei literally puts herself out there here, showing us she still has a rockin' bod at age 45 (ding ding, another great casting). The Wrestler was a well-told story, directed flawlessly, and packed with pristine, unique shots. Unfortunately, Rourke does nothing but drag it down (along with its audience), making it a grotesque illustration, rather than illustrating the grotesque.

Synechdoche, NY

WORTH-IT: (Charlie Kaufman) A plethora of good acting and bad karma, Kaufman's writing and directing the candy shop of a story, Synecdoche, NY is everything you ever expected of Kaufman, just more pitiful. It is meant only for his truest fans. Philip Seymour-Hoffman stars as Caden Cotard, the depression-wrought playwright recently given a grant to produce the play of a lifetime. Except he fears his lifetime is shortly ending, using this chance to prove his self-worth. Thus begins a 30+ year production of a title-less onslaught of the woes and heartache within each person in NYC Cotard calls his play. Cotard aims to reveal a starring role and leading story amongst each of his characters, along the way uncovering painful truths about himself. Kaufman spares no unspoken in his script, touching on everything from green poop to suicide to narcissistic hypochondria. Grimy personalities merge with unique stories, equalizing a world of otherwise opposing icons of Michelle Williams' starlet Claire Keen and Catherine Keener's hippie mom, Adele Lack. Kaufman forces ugly truths of stardom to emerge out of previously adored characters and tragic sacrifices. It's messed up. But, it's actually Kaufman exposing the world for what it hides (according to him). Suck it up as he drags your emotion and sensibility through an infinitely burning house and an endless-acreage warehouse for over 30 years, through numerous deaths, through reality and back, to the very bottom of the pit where Hoffman's character sits, left to see himself, isolated in the things in life that confuse, hurt, and surprise. Nothing makes sense until the end--and it's even questionable then--but the common thread holding it all together regains strength here, making everything add up, clear up and look a more and more like a reflection. Expect Kaufman's usual hyperbole, but look for his literal nudge.

The Duchess

WORTH-IT: (Saul Dib) In 1774, 17-year-old Georgiana Spencer (Kiera Knightley) giddily agreed to marry the older, distinguished Duke of Devonshire (an unsettling Ralph Fiennes). Unlike many girls, whisked away by arranged marriages, she entered this union flattered and with big dreams. Unfortunately, the Duke shared, or cared for, none of those dreams, performing the marital duty and speaking none, proving this relationship would be nothing beyond an expected male heir. Heartbroken and frustrated, Georgiana, "G," refocuses her energy, becoming the fashion icon of her time, what was the very height of Britain's Georgian era, one rich with pop culture, decadence and political revolution. And The Duchess is complete with all the fantastic glitter that comes with these period pieces, winning an Oscar for costumes and matching all expectations for a 18th Century starlet. Dressed to the T, G finds her superfluous joy in gambling, partying and socializing, but ultimately cannot recover from the heartbreak she continually encounters. The Duke brings an illegitimate child for her to raise, he sleeps with a multitude of other women, and when after 6 years she had not managed to produce a male heir, they head to Bath for a "healing" vacation. Here, she meets Lady Elizabeth Foster, played subtly and heartily by Hayley Atwell, who shortly becomes G's best friend and confidant--encouraging her to live life sexually empowered, opening herself up for real love with a young rising politician, and old friend of G's, Charles Grey (the highly adorable Dominic Cooper). She helps capture a political fan base for him, at the same time capturing his heart, and vice versa. Knightley and Cooper maintain an unmatched chemistry, one reflecting innocent romance, true companionship and a beautiful love story. The Duchess isn't a happy ending or a flowery romance though; It is imprisonment, heavy expectations and the high price of a life-long contract. Although loved by everyone in England for her convivial aires and iconic lifestyle, behind closed doors she is a tragic soul and a wasted personality. Knightley captures utter heartbreak on her face, pulling an audience into her character's despair without question or persuasion at the slightest strain of her smile or within the smoky glare she can, on command, exude. The film at barest is light, although filled with heavy emotion and tragic hardship. It comes in the shadow of both Elizabeth and Marie Antoinette, but G's story is not one to be ignored, and competes just as fiercely.

Slumdog Millionaire

PHENOMENAL: (Danny Boyle) Slumdog Millionaire is a movie for the masses illustrating a vibrancy of culture existing among the darkest of standards, proving that human life is foremost lived. Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) brings to the screen the story of Jamal Malik, an orphaned Mumbai boy growing up on the streets. He candidly reveals a country and its people immune to devastation and caught up in extortion. He hides nothing from the harsh reality, simply because there is nowhere to hide in India. There is no freedom, only constant fear, and only the powerful ones survive. With the Jamal character (Dev Patel), we are given passage into the heart that exists underneath the grime, and the innocence beneath the corruption. Meshing energetic music with warm sights and street sounds creates a backdrop for Malik's quintessential journey through time, through the ups and downs of street life, one moment jumping in feces to get an autograph of his favorite movie star and the next watching his mother violently murdered in the street. Slumdog shows us what it looks like to have that innocence stolen and your life threatened over and over. This motif is carried out farther with Malik's participation on game show, the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? He relives moments in time from wherein his brain holds the answers to each question. The amazing power of this story comes as, through all of it, living in trash, swimming in poop, and dodging gunfire to play in your backyard, there are real lives being lived there. These people experience the same things we do; love, family, friendship, pick-up games, skipping class, reading the 3 Musketeers... all normal things. Real things that don't wait on clean hands or fresh water. They live in the here and now, executing a totally different kind of innocence than we're used to, and Boyle does a stand-out job of proving it's both devastating and beautiful to watch. I am 100%behind this film for this year's Best Picture. Don't miss seeing it.

Revolutionary Road

MUST-SEE: (Sam Mendes) Before seeing this film, you really should fall in love with the book first. Written by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is truly an overlooked classic. The story is of April and Frank Wheeler, a young married couple fighting a monotonous threat of sweet suburban life, struggling to hold their relationship (and family) together despite their inner defeat. It's their dreams that suffer in this story, and their constant cry is that the "hopeless emptiness" of the American Dream are draining them of the potential they once had. The only way out, the only way to save their creativity and live happily and satisfied, is to move to Paris and allow themselves to be the interesting, "special," people they really are. Well executed on screen, tiny seams start to rip in this theory and plan. Is it that the couple are now comfortable in the monotony? Afraid of anything but the monotony and that a new exciting life would reveal they are in fact not special or interesting? And at last, are they so brainwashed, stuck in this life for so long, that they actually believe in the potential of this "sweet" and simple life? All of the above fire through Frank Wheeler's mind, brilliantly payed by an also overlooked Leonardo DiCaprio, sending him into contstant question of where he fits best in life. Is he better off here, knowing he is superior? Or is he superior once he leaves, proving his worth by choosing better? He is phenomenal as the tormented Frank Wheeler, able to simultaneously portray innocence and ignorance, enact fury and fear, and roll everything into one lovable, forgivable family man. Leo's ability to play someone so lost, but so confident in each moment, makes his performance one to sting your tearducts, knock the air from your lungs and hope, above all else, that happiness will somehow find this man. April Wheeler is played equally well by a mesmerizing Kate Winslet. Also overlooked by our friends at the Academy, Winslet has the uncanny ability to fire up an audience no matter the moral. As she empties April's eyes of emotion, drains her face of any light whatsoever, she draws fantastic reaction to something deeper, her spirit. April immediately takes hold of your soul, becomes a real person with genuine validity. Together Kate and Leo create a wrenching illustration of some of the saddest creatures ever spoken of. No two others could have served the late Richard Yates so well. His words and his motif jump off the page and onto the screen, leaving nothing out of order, nothing desired, and everything mundane and muted in vibrant implication, as it should be. Truly heartbreaking, Revolutionary Road is worth the gasp it gives your heart. Riveting performances and subtle tragedy make this one not to be overlooked in your own regard.

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (I've Loved You So Long)

WORTH-IT: (Philippe Claudel) An delightfully stereotypical French film (limited dialogue... colorless and unassuming), I've Loved You So Long begins as the story of two sisters, separated at a young age by the eldest's incarceration for the murder of her own six-year-old son. Apart for 15 years, the girls, now women, must start again, a journey that illustrates unconditional love at its underestimated best. That sounds wordy, but the only way to accurately describe this movie is through its intense emotional pull. Kristin Scott Thomas plays the newly liberated Juliette Fontaine, sullen, silent, and unsure the world will ever offer happiness again. Elsa Zylberstein plays the younger sister, Lea, optimistically ignorant to anything but the chance to get to know the woman she spent 15 years trying to not forget. Juliette's return brings an instant friend, a needed Auntie and a missing sister to her picture-perfect world, two adopted kids and all. But the road doesn't prove as frilly. Juliette's silence creates threatening tension between Lea and her husband and a brick wall of doubt against a possible acceptance or normality. But, like a great French film, we are forced to rely on our senses to figure out this impossible problem; using facial expression, color scheme and music to replace the dialogue that would have otherwise spelled out this woman's lonely spirit due to a good portion of life behind bars and her constant battle with the memory of her dead son. I am feeling wordy again, but can't bring myself to clean it up; Instead, I simply ask you to see the film. There are no special effects, erotic love scenes or rolling French countryside. Instead, in the monochromatic backdrop and the awkward attempts at conversation, there is realism. And that realism allows your mind to uncover vibrant emotion, poignant morale and one immensely touching story of unconditional love and its promise for a backbone in tragedy. Never before has there been such little dialogue for such tremendous heartache. Claudel's story captures you with the exact amount of explanation and mystery to let this film shape your own heart and color its own story. Bravo to Claudel and to his starring soeurs.

The Boy in Striped Pyjamas

WORTH-IT: (Mark Herman) Based on the novel by John Boyne, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas is an utterly heartbreaking tale of the innocence lost around the world during WWII. 8-year-old Bruno, the son of a Nazi Concentration Camp Commanding Officer, has no concern for learning the current events happening in his "fatherland." He would much rather go exploring. Even when the family relocates closer to the camp, Bruno has no idea what his father really does, or why they even moved out of the city. He's just heartbroken to leave his friends. Who will he play with? What will there be to do? A possible answer comes when he notices a strange farm with a few children just past his new backyard. Unfortunately, the "farm" and the children are off-limits. But Bruno eventually lets his adventuresome nature take over and is off exploring the forbidden woods in no time. Eventually his trail leads him to a barbed wire fence, no doubt surrounding the farm, wherein sits a boy his age, dressed in pajamas and looking bored to tears. Bruno sets out to become friends, poking fun at his peculiar name and silly pajamas, but also bringing snacks and games for the two to play together. Bruno knows little about the genocide happening before his eyes, and remains jaded to the life his new friends lives beyond the fence. Subconsciously knows to keep his new friendship a secret, although never putting together what the putrid burning smell is coming from the big chimneys outside the camp, or questioning why the farmers have to wear pajamas. Only when Bruno witnesses a violent reprimanding against one of the farmers does he realize something dreadfully wrong is going on. Pyjamas is about a family torn by right and wrong, duty and morale, family and country. Although the downfall rests in the fact that this film was done in English, Herman was able to mesh together enough deeply pent emotion that language proved certainly secondary, and that in this film the story came through, no matter what language it should have been in. Hard to accept and tragic to know, this film wrecks havoc on the soul and instills a powerful disbelief in the inhumanity that once existed.

El Orfanato (The Orphanage)

PHENOMENAL: (Juan Antonio Bayona) Laura is a young and fiery girl living in an orphanage with 5 other children. They are too old to be adopted and innocently pressing the patience of some of the employees. But Laura is the lucky one of her firends, and gets adopted at the age of 11. She never hears of the orphanage again, except that eventually everyone was gone and the house was left abandoned. At present, adult Laura (Belen Rueda) brings her family back to the house where her dream is re-open the house as a home for special needs children. Unfortunately, the house has others plans. Plans that reveal her little friends may have been poorly treated and their disappearance not to normal. Slowly, eerie occurances start to happen, noises in the walls, suspicious visitors to the house, and her son, claims to be friends with littel chuirldren no one else can see. For weeks Simon plays games with the children, doing scavenger hunts, playing hide-and-seek, leaving Laura avoiding the obvious, that these imaginary friends are her friends from the orphanage. The tipping point comes when her son goes missing during a masquerade party. They don't see him in the house, on the property, or even in the surrounding areas. Search crews find nothing and her husband loses hope. But, as a last resort, she hires a ghost whisperer, who uncovers a blazing tragedy from the past, facing Laura with the decision to stay in the house alone to solve the mystery the children have left for her. Her search uncovers the truth she was lucky enough to escape, and forces her to play witht he children as Simon did in hopes they will reveal his whereabouts. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, director of Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage follows suite with the same dark thematic and fantastic reality. Also similarly, The Orphanage places our main character in a state of mind questioning the line between fantasy and reality, ultimately leaving her to choose which state makes her happiest. The Orphanage seamlessly pulls together the story of Laura's love for her past and for her dreams, but easily opens the door for thrilling possibility. Expect to hold your breath as you watch grown-up Laura initiate a chilling game of tag with the ghosts, hoping to get answers in return for playing. Shaking, she knocks three times on the wall until finally she turns around to see 5 little children frozen in position, waiting for another knock to move forward. It is the best scene I have ever seen, and established the precedent that The Orphange is more than just a scary movie, it is a phenomenal ghost story that tests love and sanity with passion and brevity. Scenes like this appear throughout the film, never letting you get comfortable or bored, and constantly questioning what is real and what is not. The Orphanage is powerful, intelligent and overall genius. Don't miss this bone-chilling experience.

An Officer and a Gentleman

MUST-SEE: (Taylor Hackford) With a trip back to a classic in 1982, An Officer and A Gentleman takes care of a few things for me. First and foremost, this film completely explains why he was the heartthrob of an older generation. When Richard Gere makes his appearance as the freshly-shaven Zach Mayo, he is gorgeous. Dark eyes, chiseled features and a sultry attitude make him dreamy as an early 80's movie star. And in uniform... well it just doesn't get much better than that. Second to physical satisfaction, Officer sets the bar for many of the movies that followed, of which I saw prior. Top Gun was 4 years later, but basically the same. And each trainee film thereafter seems to obviously takes it cues from the fantastic bar set by Gere, Debra Winger and friends. You've got hardship, romance, tragedy and the inevitable journey to discover oneself amidst the drama. Now, you can't compare the cinematography in this '82 flick to the extreme graphic candy of later films, but the story is unique, heartfelt and raw. It is Gere at his best, writing at it's stereotypical best (before it would have even been stereotypical), and actors no longer mentioned reaching their potential. And good thing too, because this film won 2 Oscars for its success. So yes, I am way behind in only having seen this film yesterday, but for those of you in my shoes (and in my generation) I know you'll appreciate its classic tone and far from Hollywood-exploited movie genres. It's Top Gun before there was Top Gun, Gere before pepper hair and wrinkly eyes, and romance like they used to do it. Everything leaks into the audience, due to the absence of crowds like special effects, hard fought accents and high budget costumes. It's a treat for 2 hours and one no one should miss. Enjoy.

Gone Baby Gone

WORTH-IT: (Ben Affleck) Take a story that combines south Boston culture with modern-day tragedy and you get Gone Baby Gone, the tale of a four-year-old girl that goes missing in a neighborhood where kidnapping is on the rise and ignorance is close behind. Characters with strong feelings and quick judgement make this a long and delicately intertwined mystery. Private detectives played by Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan are hired to work with the police in hopes of uncovering who took Amanda McCready and where she is now, and if she is even alive. Morgan Freeman plays the good cop veteran, "dedicated to never letting another child go missing." Ed Harris plays Freeman's main man in these cases, with a cold heart for anyone out to hurt a child. Oscar-nominated Amy Ryan plays the coked up mother, constantly with alterior motives. The characters clash with differences of opinion, emotion and what is actually the "right" thing to do, but inevitably all fit together to unveil an unlikely culprit. The script does a good job of coaxing you into believing the neglect and boredom that eventually surfaces with unsolved crimes, but also reveals in a tender and tragic fashion the everlasting emotions that come with it. For a long twoish hours, Gone Baby Gone takes you on an unpredictable chase for the solution to the crime. You'll find yourself on the edge of your seat, but also racking your brain for the resolution within your own morals. Ben Affleck, with his screenplay adapted from the novel by Dennis LeHane, does a fantastic job of setting us up in a realistic world and keeping us guessing until the end. Good guys and bad guys mix and confuse you until an unexpected end that I won't spoil. The story is ultimately heartbreaking in the greatest degree. Sad people and tragic situations illustrate a broken city fighting for credibility. Expect utter disgust for the way the world works here, but accept their way of life and be ready for a story that satisfies in its ability to completely encapsulate your heart's sympathetic nature.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

PHENOMENAL: (Julian Schnabel) A truly emotional masterpiece, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is one of the few films to encase a realistic tone throughout beautiful and creative cinematography. From the beginning, as seen through the half paralyzed eyes of Elle editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, the film is raw, candid and heartbreaking. Bauby, the former editor of Elle magazine in France, suffered a massive stroke while out for a drive with his son. After months in a coma, he awakes to complete paralysis, and only the use of his left eye. Through months of intense occupational therapy, he learns to communicate through a series of alphabetic blinks. With this string of communication, he lives his last year writing a novel blink for blink about the cage he lives in. He says, "I decided to stop pitying myself. Other than my eye, two things aren't paralyzed, my imagination and my memory." This attitude carries throughout the film, riding a roller coaster of emotion as he watches through tunnel vision as his children play on the beach, as friends come to visit, and as his father delivers a heartbreaking birthday goodbye via telephone. What exists as the most heartbreaking and unimaginable story to date for me is at the same time one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. Inspired by Bauby's determination to finish his life's novel and the absolutely spectacular filming, this true-story drew me in immediately and will be in my heart forever. Phenomenal performances credit Schanbel's direction, and extremely detailed writing brings an otherwise silent story to life. As a viewer, you get to see (and arguably feel) what Bauby does, and with his words to narrate us along the way, we are spared no frustration, no pain, and no remorse alongside him. Don't miss out on this film. It will forever remain in the top tier of my most memorable films.

Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

WORTH-IT: (Tim Burton) It doesn't take much to really get excited about this film. Simply remind yourself that it's Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter slicing throats, making pies of men and doing so singing in a so-very-merry tune. The absurdity will make you laugh out loud, but the candor allows you to fully engage in a story that is as much told by its demonic melodies as it is by honest emotion. The aforementioned dynamic pair gives this film its due credibility and an impossibility factor in disappointment. What it does lack is good editing, so beware the fight to hear lyrics within the songs. Despite the sound flaw, the story carries on with Depp-coined expressions and tone, Bonham Carter personality and a round of appearances by favorites like Sasha Baron Cohen and Alan Rickman. Costume and cinematography pair for a phenomenal job in creating a monochromatic London through scruffy men and dirty women who walk Fleet Street, and production follows suit making the entire film a duotone coloring book for bits and pieces of implied emotion. Basically, Sweeny Todd offers a goody bag of artistic flair, whether its through the characters, cinematography or the personality. Enjoy Depp as a singing demon, applaud his partner for her outstanding ability to remain the most believably unbelievable character, and credit Burton and Co. for another frightful fairy tale.

There Will Be Blood

PHENOMENAL: (Paul Thomas Anderson) WHAT a movie this one is. There Will Be Blood is the first movie in a long long time to stimulate audience intelligence while doing its novel justice. Based on the book, Oil! by Upton Sinclair, Blood is the story of the oil strike, beginning at its roots in the late 1800s and following it through its boom in the mid 1900s and all from the viewpoint of Daniel Day Lewis's Daniel Plainview. A self-made oil man, Plainview knew business and knew how to make it successful, and set to do just that through swindle and sale in land believed to be rich with "an ocean of oil" underneath its dry surface. Like the style Sinclair is so well known for, the best way to describe this story is grotesque. (Not gross). Plainview is revealed for the immoral, dirty and cunning man that it took to take him to the top of the oil business. Anderson's directing illustrates Plainview's bout with competitors, his pursuasion of farmers to let him buy their land, and the overall dirty trail he followed to take his grasp at success. From abandoning the son he used as a marketing tool, to tormenting the town's pastor for an unpaid promise, Blood sheds (no pun there) light on the sticky situation oil drilling became. Anderson brings out the filth of the people involved, and shows the corruption that came out of the fumes of oil drilling. Blood covers a lot of time, allowing us to dig deep into the mind of Plainview and witness the rise of a man from lonely and unsuccessful mining to the most powerful oilman under the Standard Oil Company. But from this vantage point, we must watch the opposing fall that happens within. It's tragic and dark, and the darker it gets, the more we can see and the more he denies. Don't expect a happy ending here, but expect a phenomenal story of a man stricken with a disease of the mind. Prepare yourself for sadness, hard falls and ridiculous corruption. But amidst all of the despair, let yourself experience the masterpiece that is this story. There Will Be Blood slowly and painfully reveals a story, just as the raw experience was lived. Daniel Day Lewis performs a flawless portrait of Plainview. He proves his short absence was well deserved as his acting here is supreme. He captures not only the character of Sinclair's oilman, but envelops his own persona into the heart of this man, evoking raw emotion of a torn spirit and candid personality of a ragged man. I have seen rare an actor represent in such an impressive taste. Sinclair was done well here. Let yourself be awed.

Boondock Saints

WORTH-IT: (Troy Duffy) Taking another trip back in film, I saw Boondock Saints this past weekend. Again, I stress I have missed many great films before I decided to pay attention to what value they were, Saints being one of them. This movie is the tragically optimistic story of a band of brothers raised in the church and who believe they are called to rid the world of its evil. Together, they set out to kill every last form of evil existing as they know it in Boston. Hunted by outspoken homosexual FBI detective, Willem DaFoe, the two offer no remorse and begin to actually earn good repuations as the do-gooders of a dark society, all the while inspiring the detective to re-evaluate who the bad guys really are. The entire film is colored with spewed blood, Russian accents, and flying bullets, but the underlying morale of good versus evil leaves you indifferent towards the violence, the language, or even the absurdity; instead, leaving you questioning whose side you're on. Is it ok to kill if it's evil you're killing? Isn't the world a better, safer place for it? This is the question that lingers above all of the smoke and the waste, constantly answered by the brothers, the thankful citizens, and even the law enforcement. Saints is never dull, never quiet and filled with incredible wit. Expect to stay interested, but prepare to shrug off superb amounts of fancy language. Enjoy some incredible acting and a unique storyline that makes you ask why it was this director's one bout with movie-making.