The Time Traveller's Wife

This was Jen's pick, and I'm really surprised this wasn't on my radar. In the spirit of Primer this is an independent film that actually features time travel! I don't want to say much about this except the time travel element is done well, isn't hoaky, and actually advances character and plot. I was pleasantly surprised!

The Social Network

I think the movie does a good job with the ambivalence of Zuckerberg. He's played really well by that young actor who was in The Squid and the Whale. The movie does a good job of avoiding a complete demonization or lionization of Zuckerberg. The Napster dude is played really well by Justin Timberlake.

There's a bit in here about class and about the price that obsession exacts on one's personal life. Good movie. Great soundtrack too!

Dinner with Schmucks

This would be a 3.5 movie. It's funny but not a complete gut buster. But I don't think I really have any smartsy things to say about it. It's worth it just to see Steve Carrol.

Diary of the Dead

Saw this a while back, but need to comment on it. Not a very good zombie movie. Basically, the only original thing here that other zombie movies have not done was that the zombie outbreak occurs during a student filming a movie. What this means is the ole' shaky camera and lots of yelling coming from off screen. Think Blair Witch, Cloverfield, only with zombies. Feel like this has been overdone enough times already.

Romero was going for some sort of commentary about the internet, social networking, maybe something claiming that Web 2.0 is making a culture of narcissism, but the analogy is not clear what this has to do with zombies. Are zombies narcissistic? Does tweeting and facebook mean you are not thinking? It just doesn't really fit very well like some of his previous social commentaries using the zombie stuff. Really, I'm stretching with this as well. The connection is not very clear, nor is the theme of the movie.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

This was a great, zany movie that was a lot of fun. A part of the tension comes from knowing that Heath Ledger died during the shooting of the movie, and there were some meta-level things going on there for a brief scene that I have to wonder whether or not were in the original script where they nod their head to people who die young.

Actually, they do have a pretty good method of seamlessly addressing how Ledger is not in parts of the movie though, and so the movie still works. Not as good as Time Bandits, but better than some of Terry G's other movies.

Deals with a Faustian trope (deal with the devil) in a creative and cool way. Lots of magical realism here though the ending was a little bit of a let down.

The Road

Not the best Cormac McCarthy adaptation. That would have to be No Country for Old Men. This movie was a pretty good apocalyptic vision though. Very similar to the book, probably scene for scene. Of course, the movie can't match McCarthy's prose, so I think his best stuff for movies is his more plot driven works like No Country.

It kept my attention though, so it may work better if you haven't read the book.

Clash of the Titans

This is a movie about some characters who are almost heroic. Fighting against Gods who seem like they should be awe-inspiring. Engaging in battles that are sort of exciting. And a story line that at times could be dramatic.

I want movies like this to succeed. And man, the material, can you get any better? Man vs. Gods. Great stuff. Medusa. Zeus. Etc., etc. You could tell they were really trying to embody all that was great about the Lord of the Rings, and you can see how they could have maybe attained it, but they fell short, far short, on just about every level.