Though most of these date back earlier, thanks to the unusually wet July, I had time to watch a few movies on my vacation and due to this, the usual package of 10 movies per review post was exceeded. Anyhow, some quite excellent movies this time around – check out at least The Illusionist, Stranger Than Fiction and Blood Diamond. As a reminder, my “rating guide” can be found from here.

The Illusionist

    Set in the turn-of-the-century Vienna, The Illusionist tells the story of a brilliant magician, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), who returns to Vienna after many years to rediscover his childhood crush under the most unopportune circumstances. The two try to get together, but the woman in question is unfortunately under the iron rule of the Crown Prince who also suspects and tries to debunk any mystery in Eisenheim’s magic. But as things in the world of magic are rarely what they first seem, what will happen?
    The story is narrated and told by Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) – while I typically don’t care for narrated movies, it worked nicely here as the timeline jumps a bit. Illusionist definately has elements of a romantic drama, but I find it hard to classify it purely as such as it’s also a first-class thriller supported by a well-performing (great work from Norton in particular), seasoned cast, well-developed characters and good storytelling, not to mention very nice staging. Overall excellent cinematography, one that I’ll give 4½ out of 5.



A Good Year

    Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) is a ruthless banker, not exactly loved by anyone; hist last warm relationship was with his uncle Henry Skinner (Albert Finney) when he was a young boy spending summers at his uncle’s vineyard in France. Now living in London, he hears of his uncle’s death and the vineyard that he supposedly inherited – immediately thinking of selling the place for profit. Once down there, however, he semi-reluctantly ends up spending more than 24hrs at the villa. Could it be that the estate is worth something more than its selling price?
    The movie is categorized as a romantic drama / comedy, which I suppose is fair though it’s a bit light on the comedy part. The plot is somewhat predictable but manages to throw in a couple of small surprises. With no unpleasant surprises in the acting or other categories, A Good Year turns out to be a good movie – but not excellent. 3½ out of 5.



The Last Kiss

    If there ever was a movie with us as the target audience in terms of life situations, this is it. The Last Kiss is a story about a few couples struggling to find balance and retain expectations of surprises in their lives as they start to settle down in their 30s – and get babies. Anxieties arise especially for the men as Michael (Zach Braff) feels his life is now all planned out for him – and in the process conveniently meets an exciting young girl. One thing leads to another and his pregnant common-law wife Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) finding out about what’s going on is only getting to be a matter of time. At times a clever drama, The Last Kiss manages to be a rather believable and realistic film. Most of the performances are pretty good, though I disliked Braff’s somewhat detached acting. Anyway, a pretty good movie and as such, 3½ out of 5.



Shawshank Redemption

    This movie had been sitting on my DVD shelf for close to a decade, so it was about time I actually watched it ;) Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is wrongly convicted of murder and sent to the Shawshank prison for life. The prison life turns out to be just as unpleasant as one can imagine, but he eventually forms a close friendship with “Red” (Morgan Freeman), a man who can get some things delivered to the prison. As Andy starts to build a life for himself in the prison, he eventually discovers that warden is far from a friendly one. Over the years it becomes clear that when they send you away to Shawshank for life, your life is what they take from you.. despite the somewhat boring-sounding plot, this is a remarkable and emotional film and instead of giving away the plot, I’ll highly recommend it and score it at 5- out of 5.



Freedom Writers

    Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) is a young, inexperienced teacher who is put to the test teaching a restless bunch of high school students. As one would expect, there are massive troubles with the kids at first but gradually they become to accept and even respect her. Erin’s troubles don’t, however, end with the kids she’s teaching as she’s also fighting another fight at home where her husband feels neglected and another one at school where she feels the the school management neglects her students. A run-of-the-mill MTV movie that suffers from too slow a start and from being quite predictable. As such, maybe 2½ out of 5 is in order.



Because I Said So

    Daphne Wilder (Diane Keaton) is worried about her daughter Milly (Mandy Moore) – specifically, she’s worried about her luck with men, or the lack thereof, so she decides to help fate along a bit and place a personal ad for her daughter. And screen the candidates. Of course this spells for a disaster to begin with, but added complexity comes from the fact that by chance, two eligible bachelors enter Milly’s life, only one of the mom-approved. Overall an okay movie, though the acting somewhat over the top at times, there were no surprises in the thoroughly predictable plot, the acting was a bit off at times etc – a bit of a substandard romantic comedy. 2 out of 5.



Notes on a Scandal

    A sort of a psychological thriller/drama, centered around an older teacher, Barbara Covett (Judi Dench) who befriends a newcomer, Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). The friendship starts off well and when Sheba hits a crisis that could cost her her job, Barbara is there to bail her out. But in the overall, is the friendship completely normal? Does Barbara really want just a friend … or something more? Good performances abound and the plot holds together to the end. Nothing stellar, but a thoroughly enjoyable psychological drama anyway. 3½ out of 5.



Stranger Than Fiction

    Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is a tax auditor with a remarkably boring and simple life. But one morning Harold’s life takes an unexpected turn as he begins to hear someone narrate his own life – and once it begins to seems that the narrator knows more about Harold’s life than Harold himself does, he becomes a bit unnerved. The narration begins to affect his whole life, and for the most part for the better. At least there’s now some excitement in Harold’s life – perhaps a little too much after some surprising news. A very clever movie with a good idea but even better realization. Despite – and maybe also because – of it’s unusual storytelling, highly recommended at 4½ out of 5.



Painted Veil

    Set in the early 20th century China, a somewhat introverted doctor Walter Fane (Edward Norton) brings his reluctant, adulterous and estranged wife Kitty Fane (Naomi Watts) along for a dangerous mission of helping out in a cholera outbreak in a remote village. Surrounded by death and danger and with few friendly faces, Walter and Kitty must face their own problems and work out something themselves. Another great performance from Edward Norton, The Painted Veil turns out to be a very good movie. Not a happy one, but not without a laugh or two. Not a love story as such, but not without love. Not only a drama either, but definately not without drama. Recommended. 4 out of 5.



The Groomsmen

    Paulie (Ed Burns) is getting married. The Groomsmen follows his life and the lives of his four groomsmen leading up to the wedding; the fears and anxieties they have, the personal problems and the usual things: not everyone gets along, not everyone is sure about the future etc. In other words, nothing to write home about plot wise, but considering the not-so-good ingredients, The Groomsmen comes out rather nicely. In short, it’s quite fun but only that – it won’t keep you thinking later on but is decent entertainment. 3+ out of 5



Kiki’s Delivery Service

    Originally Majo no takkyûbin; I’ve always liked Hayao Miyazaki movies and Kiki’s Delivery Service was no exception. Kiki is a young witch who decides to leave home and find a city to settle in. She and her cat fly off and land in Korico, a coastal city that provides both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Mostly in the former category is a certain boy who lays his eyes on Kiki as soon as she lands in the city.. As usual for Miyazaki’s movies, Kiki’s Delivery Service is a great fairytale with wonderful drawing style and warm characters. Definitely worth seeing. 4- out of 5.



Ocean’s Thirteen

    I liked Ocean’s Eleven a lot – Ocean’s Twelve was also good, but not as good as Eleven. Now Thirteen gets back on the right track; I don’t want to give away the plot for those who haven’t seen it; the plot at first sight is never very complicated in the “Ocean’s” series, but the details are fascinating. But when you put so many excellent actors together – people like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac and Al Pacino – can you go wrong? What’s also nice is that the whole cast looks like everyone was genuinely having a lot of fun when shooting the film, something that’s also nice to watch on the screen. A perfect clean and fun thriller. 4+ out of 5.



Blood Diamond

    Blood Diamond is a story of the dirty diamonds in Africa; while a fictional film, the circumstances and problems depicted are all too real. The village where Solomon Vandy lives is raided by rebel fighters; Solomon is put to work as a slave in a diamond mine while his family manages to escape – at first. When Solomon finds a huge pink diamond, an opportunity presents itself to hide the diamond; but the existence of such a rock could never remain a secret and one Danny Archer, a smuggler, also hears of the discovery. The story soon involves many people after the diamond as well as a reporter after a good story and, perhaps, imparting a difference.
    The movie is engrossing with great storytelling and breathtakingly beautiful African scenery. Every single one of the cast also knows their stuff; in particular I was impressed with Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer in the lead; he pulls off a great performance and definitely deserved the Oscar nomination he got. 5- out of 5.