Catfish

very absorbing documentary

on the surface catfish seems like a very slight story of an internet romance, but while watching this documentary unfold you get sucked in and it turns into more of a mystery/thriller than anything else. nev is a photographer whose pictures strike the fancy of an 8 year old Michigan artist who starts to paint many of them. the two form an online friendship and her family befriends nev. eventually nev forms a relationship with abby's older sister also online and on the phone. as the movie plays you realize that something isn't quite right about the whole situation. i went into this film knowing almost nothing, and i think that's why i enjoyed it so much. excellent film about facebook relationships, internet life and love, and much more.

The Crazies (2010)

totally different from the original, but still good

the crazies remake is pretty damn good for a horror remake, and i really liked the realism and intensity, even though they made it more of a straight up thriller/horror film. the crazies were easy to identify, and the scares took the main stage, but it was really well executed so i like it. i also liked that there weren't any really big name actors or too many cliches. good job.

The Crazies (1973)

pretty good thriller from george romero

although george a. romero doesn't stray too far from the zombie genre, he does tend to do a good job no matter what. the crazies isn't a zombie film, but rather a story about a virus outbreak that turns people insane and a small town that gets infected. the military swoops in and keeps the people in the dark while rounding them up and killing many of them. a good theme in this film is, 'who is really crazy?' and even though the special effects are dated and not impressive, it's still a good story and decent film. we'll see how the remake turned out.

Cop Out

kevin smith continues to prove he's a worthless hack

yes i said it, kevin smith is a one trick pony, and his trick wasn't even that great. this movie blows. he can't direct an action sequence to save his life, and the film isn't very funny. even with bruce willis (one of my alltime favorites) this film can't be saved. tracy morgan is meh as usual, and the story is unoriginal to say the least. they're 2 brooklyn cops, one black and one white. willis needs to recover his stolen baseball card to pay for his daughter's wedding, meanwhile morgan believes his wife is cheating on him and there is a mexican gang trying to recover a stolen mercedes benz. it's not fun, funny, action packed, or at all enjoyable.

Cyrus

Captivity

The Cat Returns (Neko no ongaeshi)

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Club Dread

Casshern

epic anime style action movie, but...

casshern is a beautiful movie, and it's obvious that it was made by a music video director. the action is intense, and pure style over substance, like an mtv music video... but there is a lot of good in casshern. the story takes place in the dystopian future, where mankind is at war and a scientist, dr. azuma, is working on 'neo-cells' that will revive any human body parts and heal people. his son tetsuya goes and dies in the war. dr. azuma's liquid works and he accidentally creates a new breed of neo-sapiens who vow to destroy mankind, and tetsuya is revived as casshern, an incredible warrior who must take down the neo-sapiens and end the war once and for all. the film is epic, and for the most part it's awesome... but i think they tried to cram too much into this film. there is drama, romance, war, action, sci-fi, animation, etc. all in one film, and i think they shoulda focused more on the action personally. casshern is a badass, and the scenes with him are awesome, but some of the drama is so over the top, soap opera-ish that it takes away from the cool stuff. like i said, the film is style over substance, and that's fine if they stick with it. when they try to half ass the substance, it shows.

Cannibal Holocaust

other than some poor acting, this is a great film

cannibal holocaust is a very disturbing horror-drama film. there are scenes of extreme violence against humans (fake) and animals (REAL!). the story is really, really original. there is a documentary filmmaking crew that goes to south america in search of uncivilized man, but they go missing, so an anthropologist goes in search of them. what he discovers is that they were killed and eaten. he finds their film cans and takes them back to the states and he discovers the true horrors. honestly, if this wasn't a grindhouse horror movie, it'd be a masterpiece. the acting is often crappy, but not bad enough to ruin the great story. the animal killing doesn't bother me as much though. i mean, those animals were killed and the images live on forever... when we kill animals for food, it lives on for a few meals. the turtle death scene was crazy, and the true horrors of the film that i mentioned are shocking and gives the story such an amazing twist that is much better than the shit we make today. this film definitely isn't for the squeemish, or animal lovers. truly terrifying shit lies within.

Cold Souls

paul giamatti continues to annoy me

cold souls is a quirky little film that is very similar to being john malkovic. paul giamatti plays himself, a "famous" actor who is having trouble seperating his acting from his real life. he discovers a new company that is able to store humans' souls for them. somehow he thinks this is the solution to his problems. he gets it removed and he feels empty, so he gets a soul transplant from some russian poet. eventually he wants his soul back, but the russian black market has stolen it and given it to some soap opera actress who thinks it's al pacino's soul. sounds quirky and funny, but it's mostly just boring and annoying. the MAIN thing that bugged me about this film... why the fuck would anyone want to remove their soul? temporarily or otherwise? this made no sense, and they didn't explain that part at all. sure it's an interesting concept, what if our soul was tangible and we could change them with eachother... but the filmmakers don't even know what a soul is, or what it means to have it removed or replaced, so it's a pointless exercise in bullshit. paul giamatti may be a good actor, but how can anyone take that creepy little fucker seriously? honestly? he looks like a goofy little bastard in everything he does.

OH, and what the fuck is up with emily watson's hair in this? she has man bangs or something. fucking atrocious looking.

The Cove

intense and gripping, but manipulative

for a documentary, the makers of the cove sure do a lot of tampering with their subject matter. richard o'barry (the trainer/actor from the flipper tv series) is a dolphin activist. he's been saving, or trying to save dolphins for years and has a deep love and connection towards them. it's easy to understand, they are gorgeous creatures and very smart. in taijii japan they gather up dolphins for sale to museums and sea world type theme parks around the world. they are very valuable to the city. the ones who don't make the grade are suprisingly killed and sold for meat.
richard and his friend gather up some experts to attempt to expose the small village in japan for their anual brutal slaughter of dolphins in a secret cove. the group of activists go on a covert mission to place hidden cameras in spots where no one, other than the fishermen and government, has seen. the footage they get is shocking and brutal to be sure. the film documents the mission, the killings, and plenty of background on the issue, including detailing the very high mercury levels that dolphins contain. the japanese government hides this secret from the world and the cops/fishermen in the area are very testy when it comes to outsiders seeing what they do there.
now don't get me wrong, killing these creatures sure seems awful and horrific and wrong (which it surely is in my opinion)... but it isn't nearly as bad as factory farming, and the practice brings in shit tons of money for these people. how and why would they stop doing this? it would damage their economy tremendously. the cause is noble, but the only solution is to make them quit. that's not good enough. the only way to end atrocities like this would to end the demand, and that may never happen. the filmmakers manipulate the film in such a way that it becomes unreal and that is troublesome. how much of their footage is real? they created the action themselves. i admire the guerrilla filmmaking style, but i think they probably left out a lot which is sad.

Casino Royale

pretty good new bond

daniel craig is james bond in this prequel to the james bond franchise. he's still wet behind the ears, but has plenty of skill. he's after a big time banker/poker player who invests money for terrorists. the story unfolds rather well, and craig does a good job as the leading man. i didn't really believe the romance between him and vesper however, which made the final act hard to swallow. otherwise it was a good action movie, and i'm looking forward to seeing quantum of solace soon.

The Class (Entre les murs)

dangerous minds... in french?

the class is basically a dramatized year in the life of one high school french class. the students often provide challenges and problems for their teacher mr. marin. the way this film was shot worked very well. i was reminded of real high school, and it didn't seem faked at all. i can only assume many of the students weren't real actors, and they were all great. the film didn't take sides at all, and showed the teachers' problems as well as the students point of view. mr. marin is tried and tested many times. he also makes many disciplinary mistakes and leaves himself vulnerable to his students throughout. the class was very well done, but overall i didn't feel satisfied with the film. maybe that was the point.

Cabin Boy

"between forging girders and swimming, i don't have a lot of time for a relationship"

bizarre, dumb, and not too funny. cabin boy is just a vehicle for chris elliott, for which i have no idea he got one. his character is an annoying brat with an annoying accent. he eventually becomes likeable, but still. this film is definitely bizarre, which may be the best thing it had going for itself. overall, meh.

Che: Part Two

the less likeable, more controversial che

so after his success in cuba, che goes into hiding for a while, only to emerge in bolivia to revolt there. this is where his credibility goes into question. the film is still good, but not as interesting or likeable as the first part. that's not the filmmaker's fault, che himself seems to be in the wrong in bolivia. the 2nd part is far more boring and confusing than the prior, but del toro is still great. this one has many cameos including matt damon, lou diamond philips, and franka potente (run lola run). the film as a whole is very good, but long and drawn out. there is a lot of good info on the legend that is che.

Che: Part One

very good film about a legend

che guevara is certainly a controversial figure in history... and a cultural icon, therefore any film about him will bring up strong emotions and opinions. steven soderbergh does his best to show the life of ernesto guevara from many angles. in part 1 we see him rise up through the cuban revolution to become the leader he was known as. benecio del toro is amazing (as usual!) and really brought the man to life. the epic 2 part saga is very long and somewhat drawn out. that's my biggest complaint, it dwells on many insignificant events, as well as long battle scenes that don't do much for the story. this is definitely the better of the 2 parts.

The Château

boring little indie film

paul rudd and romany malco are usually good, but in the chateau they are both annoying and dull. they play half brothers who go to france because they inherit a chateau. the staff on-hand doesn't like them much, and the brothers just want to sell the damn thing... there's more, but its not worth relaying. nothing funny, or provocative, or original at all in this one. waste of talent.

Code 46

ambitious low budget thriller...

doesn't quite deliver the goods. tim robbins (once again) does a good job as a detective in the not-so-far-off future. he's sent to shanghai to investigate a fraud involving "papers" that allow people to leave and enter areas. he meets a woman who he (seemingly inexplicably) falls in love with and they break 'code 46'. now, in the future cloning is common and there are laws against having sex with someone who's dna is too close to your own. that's what code 46, the code, is. the film is more about the future and genetic dispositions vs. human created willpower. think gattaca. the film works rather well, other than the fact that samantha morton (the female lead) is in no way attractive in the film, and i can't believe that her character and tim's would get along one bit. i really like morton in most of her stuff, but in code 46 she acts and looks like a punk with a buzzcut and almost no femenine characteristics. that doesn't matter too much, but it just doesn't work for this role in my opinion. the story on the other hand is really good, and despite the low budget they pull off a rather convincing glimpse into the future.