Some movies from the last week or so...

I may expand upon this in the near future...though motivation is in short supply :)

The Brave One - I really wanted to hate this movie from when I first saw a preview for it a few months ago. Alas, Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with A Vampire) has crafted a nice little piece of suspense/drama here. Jodi Foster is once again on her A-game and not surprisingly Terrence Howard matches her. The movie is not political in nature but will raise some thoughts in your head about guns and the power one perceives by having one. I'll leave it at that. A-

Eastern Promises - I can't complain about this latest effort from David Cronenberg. Though I think he spoiled me a bit with A History of Violence. I don't agree with Richard Roeper much, but he said something to the effect that he really wanted to love this movie but just liked it a lot. I believe his also mentioned that there was a final gear that he thought it was going to hit but never did. I concur. What exactly it is that is misses from this to make me love it, I'm not exactly sure. But there is something. That being said, the performances all-around are superb and Viggo Mortenson is continuing to show why he is one of the better actors around and not just King Aragorn. B+

The Invasion - I know the critics and audiences alike hated this for the most part. It was in and out of the first-run theatres about as quick as anything this year. And yeah, it is basically "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" done for the 3rd or 4th time. But you know what? It was okay. For real. Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are convincing enough, while Jackson Bond holds his own as her grade-school son. Some mistakes though exist. The excellent Jeffrey Wright (Broken Flowers, Syriana) is given basically nothing to do. And the body snatchers themselves? Uh...kinda boring. B-

Knocked Up (for the 3rd time in the theatre) - A

In the Valley of Elah - I'm sure people will piss and moan from both sides of the political spectrum about this film. It will probably be viewed as not vehement or anti-war enough by the left the lefties and of course your standard die-hard conservatives will point to Tommy Lee Jones and Susan Sarandon, call it a day, and not even bother. Thankfully most critics have seen through this and praised it as they rightly should. Tommy Lee Jones carries on his quiet devastation from The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and gives an equal if not, better performance of a man whose war veteran son has gone missing while on furlough. Susan Sarandon actually isn't in the film for long but plays the grieving mother beautifully, without going overboard into histrionics. Charlize Theron is solid and dependable as the detective who takes the case in the small town bordering the base where Jones' son was stationed. Director Paul Haggis (Crash) dials things back a bit and let things smolder quietly and gradually as they should. And what is this? Is that Jason Patric I see? After being virtually non-existent since his excellent turn in Narc 5 years ago, Patric also does a nice job as the military base's investigative lead. Solid all-around, devastating, and thought-provoking, its all here in one of the year's best. A

The Kingdom - B