True Grit
Directed by the Coen Brothers
Every time the Coen Brothers release a movie, it's a safe bet that it'll be on my Top Movie list. This one's based on the novel by Charles Portis novel which was previously adapted for the screen in the 1969 classic starring the one-and-only John Wayne. This new version hews much closer to the source novel and, while it doesn't surpass the Wayne version, it does equal it in quality. After her father is killed by a no-good horse thief, young Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) sets off on a quest to find and punish the man. She hires herself an experienced (and often drunk) U.S. Marshal named Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges, at his most mumbly) along with high-and-mighty Texas Ranger LaBeof (Matt Damon, always good) to track the murderer down. While everyone in the cast does an excellent job, it's Ms. Steinfeld who carries the movie, and she does so with great ease. She's a talented one. And, while this may be the most "mainstream" movie in the Coens' filmography, it's still filled with Coen-y vintage dialogue, surprising violence and eccentric characters (like the bearskin-clad trader/traveling dentist Ross and Cogburn meet on the trail). Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Directed by Edgar Wright
I don't like Michael Sera in films. He bugs me. I have it on good authority that he's kind of a dink in real life, as well. Having said that, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is good enough to surpass the Cera curse. Based on a graphic novel by Bryan Lee O'Malley, in the wrong hands this movie could have been a train wreck, but Edgar "Shaun of the Dead" Wright makes it work. It hits me and my generation right in the cultural touchstone. The story follows Canadian slacker and amateur musician Scott Pilgrim (Cera) as he embarks on the quest to win the hand of Ramona Flowers (one of my screen crushes, Mary Elizabeth Winstead). One problem - he needs to defeat her Seven Evil Exes before he can even hope to be her man. It's metaphor played out in a colorful outburst of video game mania and Anime fury (and many other references as well). The stylized look, which could have become real tiresome real quick, is guided with a sure hand, the sound design is breathtaking, and it's just plain funny as hell. It's also one of "those movies" where I notice something new and surprising with each successive viewing. It's one of the ultimate representations of the battlefield of love, from the 8-bit graphic version of the Universal Pictures logo to the explosion of coins that occur when a bad guy is defeated, it's real fun. Watch out for the Vegan Police!
Let Me In
Directed by Matt Reeves
I was resistant to putting this movie on my list for one main reason - this is the American remake of one of my favorite horror films of all time, Sweden's "Let the Right One In", based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and it isn't quite as good. But the powerful story and the fine performances by the two lead actors make this well worth watching. It's the story of a lonely, constantly bullied boy named Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and the friendship he strikes up with his new next-door neighbor Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is a bloodsucking creature of the night. Ultimately it's a story about the traps of love and friendship, the ones we let ourselves get into and the ones we are unable to avoid. It's grim, bloody, and rather twisted, yet at the same time is very touching and strangely heartfelt, which is a hard combo to make work. The American version lacks the odd fairy tale quality that the original Swedish version had, some of the more controversial story points are ignored, and there are a couple of obviously digitally-created body doubles that momentarily take me out of the movie, but Matt ("Cloverfield") Reeves holds this remake together (with help from Michael Giacchino's empathetic musical score). It's a good first film from the newly-reformed Hammer Film Studios (I love the classic horror movies they produced from the '50s to the '70s). Welcome back, Hammer!
The Expendables
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
Sometimes Extended Director's Cuts of movies replace the original Theatrical Cuts in my heart and I can never go back. For example: the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Brazil", "Kingdom of Heaven". And "The Expendables". I liked the original version, but the Extended Edition adds the soul that it lacked in theaters. It also features more great character building moments, more lines (which make the dialogue flow better and seem less stilted), a new opening credits sequence and a couple of additions to the musical score which, well, rock pretty hard. Stallone has been experiencing a career renaissance, lately. His final chapters of the "Rocky" and "Rambo" sagas were spot-on excellent and, while "The Expendables" doesn't quite reach those heights, the Director's Cut comes pretty close. As a child of the '80s, putting all of these action heroes together in one movie is a celluloid dream come true (need I mention the infamous scene featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Stallone all onscreen at the same time). This story of a group of rootless mercenaries who make the choice to fight for honor rather than money, is a good, old-fashioned, testosterone-fest from the opening to the spectacular final 30 minute action sequence. Plus, it's so heartwarming to see really bad guys explode into meaty chunks. (Sniff)
Mother
Directed by Bong Joon-Ho
Have I mentioned, lately, how many great films are coming out of Korea these days? Here's one more, a twisted drama from the director of "The Host". Kim Hye-Ja is a crazy lady who works in an herb shop by day and performs illegal acupuncture procedures at night. When her borderline-mentally challenged son (Won Bin) is accused of murdering a schoolgirl, she sets out to prove her son's innocence, no matter the cost. The less said about the plot, the better, so I'll just say that it's a brilliantly twisty affair with many tense sequences and lots of quirky, gut-busting humor. Hye-Ja is awesome in the title role - you will never forget "the dance". The cinematography is beautiful, the story is surprisingly powerful and I find it incredibly fun to inflict this movie on unsuspecting viewers. Heh, heh.
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