Five Minutes of Heaven (Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt). A nice surprise and interesting idea. The story uses the idea of a reality show as a device to promote truth and reconciliation, and focuses on two somewhat reluctant participants. The result is interesting, heart-wrenching, and believable. A nice change to see men in vulnerable sensitive roles that do not involve using those qualities to seduce women.
Inglorious Basterds (Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger). A hoot! Funny revisionist WWII story - pretty tough to do anything really new in that genre, but leave it to Quentin Tarantino. Brad Pitt is marvelous. The film is fun and well made. Perhaps not as monumental as Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction, but certainly a good addition to that oeuvre.
Paranormal Activity. I'm normally someone who doesn't like horror/scary movies, but this one was very well done - creepy without being terrifying and enjoyable. The "real" cinematography was well used here to heighten the tension and create effects without really having effects. A very impressive film considering its history.
It's Complicated (Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin). I only found out afterwards that the Nancy Meyers responsible for this film also brought us Something's Gotta Give and Baby Boom, amongst other women 'breaking out' films. Meryl Streep is as good as it gets in this one, but I could not get past the "I've seen this before" feeling throughout. The slapstick comedy in several spots was quite distracting and several character and story elements really fell flat (the kids - for a group that have all left home, they sure all spend a lot of time at home, the girlfriends - none of them as interesting as Meryl or really much concerned with her life). Steve Martin was given pretty short shrift in this, with a character as interesting as a lukewarm glass of white wine - you want to think there's something good or interesting there, but it doesn't come through. Overall, just okay.
Avatar (doesn't matter who's in it - you know the film I mean). This is worth seeing on the big screen (and in Imax if you can manage it). The effects are truly ground breaking - several times I felt myself ducking or moving or reaching up to touch something - and so the film is lovely to watch. The story is rather ordinary - Dune meets Dances With Wolves, with a bit of Star Wars thrown in - but the characters are well done with few caricatures. The film comes in a bit long at 2:40, but it is worthwhile.
