Tropic Thunder

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
I saw this at the Loews in the Boston Common on August 23rd

This movie was hilarious. I usually don't find Ben Stiller that funny and I've never been a fan of Robert Downey Jr. (although I admit I haven't seen Iron Man) but I think the way the two of them worked together was brilliant. The role (and presence of other big time actors) reigned Stiller in (I think he is at his worst when he's over the top) and Downey Jr. really got to showcase himself. I would've liked to see Black's role be a little larger or slightly different. He was good but he didn't play into the movie as much as the other two in my opinion (although he had a few good moments).

The opening scenes were an ingenious way to start this movie and it worked really well.

Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey have small parts that they'd both pulled off extremely well and really added a lot to the movie.

I was laughing through most of the movie. The story was good, the pace was good, and it was very funny. I couldn't ask for more and I highly recommend it.

The Rocker

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
I saw this at the Boston Common Loews on August 23rd

This movie was pretty freaking funny. Rainn Wilson did a really good job. I was very skeptical that he could sustain an entire movie as the lead comic actor because it is pretty hard to do but I was very pleasantly surprised.

The review that framed it as "40 year old virgin meets School of Rock" is probably the best way to describe it. It definitely had both of those feels at times (the end concert was absolutely a School of Rock ripoff). That being said I felt like there wasn't much development. I was looking for more sideplots, hindrances, and development of romances and/or rivalries and this movie had all of them but they didn't focus on and develop many of them.

Example of under developed aspects that were touched upon *CAUTION POSSIBLE SPOILER*
1. Fish's romance with Curtis' mom
2. The manager hitting on Curtis' mom
3. Curtis and Amelia's romance
4. Curtis and Fish's friendship
5. The manager's deviousness
6. Matt's girlfriend

All of those things were touched on but should've either been developed more or dropped.

That being said the movie was pretty effing funny and worth a look.

The Wackness

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
I saw this on August 12th at Coolidge Corner

I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would. I'm glad I finally saw it. Kingsley and Peck both do a great job and the characters are pretty interesting and fairly well developed.

I think the movie did the period well (it was set in the summer of 1994) and dealt with the whole teen finding himself/teen angst without being too hokie.

Not really much more to say here. I really liked the two main characters and it was a character piece.

No specific dates set but I'm looking forward to seeing "Gonzo," "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," and "Frozen River."

Encounters at the End of the World

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars (probably against my better judgement)
I saw this movie on August 12th at Coolidge Corner

This was a Werner Herzog documentary (same guy who made/narrated "Grizzly Man") about the people and work being done at the South Pole. The music was really great and stoic and almost made the movie feel like a religious experience. The visuals were also breathtaking in their magnanimity. These were the major selling points of the movie.

I didn't like that Herzog tried to do too much and tell too many stories with very little unifying theme or thread. It seemed very scattered and aimless at times.

I also am still not a fan of scientific (or historical for that matter) documentaries without an argument. I don't find them well suited to big screen documentaries. This is probably a personal bias but I felt like this would have been better served if it were drawn out as a multi part piece on Antarctica for the Discovery channel. It's definitely episodic in nature and I just think movies like this (and "March of the Penguins") belong on the Discovery Channel and not the big screen.

I probably should give this a lower score but I'm in a good mood today. It was good for what it is, I just don't particularly like what it is.

If you know what you're getting into and the archaelogical and especially scientific aspects of Antarctica interest you then this is definitely worth a view. Otherwise it is not a travesty to miss.

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 stars
I saw this on August 4th at Coolidge Corner

This documentary on Roman Polanski was ok. It was mostly about Polanski's trial and most of its value comes from the fact that Polanski is a very interesting character and his story in rather compelling as well.

The downfall of this movie is the production and telling of the story. It was very blatantly a made for tv documentary that had a hackneyed 'Dateline NBC' feel to it. There seemed to be very little direction to the documentary and could more aptly be described as a mere history program. I would go to see this movie especially if Roman Polanski interests you or if you hate to miss a documentary.

It was a pretty good movie but nothing to write home about.

Tell No One

Rating: 4.5 out of 10 stars
I saw this on August 4th at Coolidge Corner

This movie got me thinking that watching foreign thrillers probably just isn't worth it. Dramas can be great but things like thrillers and horror movies might as well be remade. It wasn't a bad story but I didn't find myself being drawn into the movie and I felt at times as if I were missing something. That and thrillers aren't always that great in English. Overall this movie left me uninterested and unimpressed.

Not really worth the time in my opinion.

The Visitor

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 stars
I saw this on August 2nd in Somerville Theatre

This was a really great and touching movie. I had really high hopes and it may not have met all of them but it was still a very good movie. I think the characters were very compelling and it was really a meaningful story of a developing nations professor coming face to face with illegal immigrants from developing nations. I think the movie offered some interesting thoughts on academia and what happens when it meets reality.

This movie is worth a view.