The Wrestler (2008)

So there comes a time in every lucky actor's career when they make reach the pinnacle of their craft. Typically, it is a film that is tailored for the actor completely and director Darren Aronofsky clearly set out with this intention for actor Mickey Rourke. The two gel perfectly in The Wrestler because both let each other do their job which is to give the character of Randy 'the Ram' Robinson humanity, feelings of desperation and loss without overstating and overacting his role. Rourke who is phenomenal here, at no point feels like he's 'acting' per se. He's 110% believable in the role and it's a credit to both him and Aronofsky to give us such a real, battered human being looking for redemption. Comparisons to Rocky and Raging Bull are inevitable, more so Rocky in terms of style, character and storyline which isn't a bad thing considering how great the original Rocky is. However Aronofsky goes for a documentarian approach and it feels more immediate somehow. Marisa Tomei, in a revealing supporting role, is not to be over-looked too even if she is wearing the 'stripper with a heart of gold' badge. Anyone could have played that role but Tomei at least gives the character some gravitas. Finally, it's worth noting the kick-ass 80's soundtrack (clearly Aronofsky loved the 80's) and the title track by Bruce Springsteen. Fans will lap that soundtrack up good.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)

Bahahahahahaha. Uhhhhhhhhhhhahahahaha. Sorry I just had to stop myself from choking on my own laughs. Okay well let's put it like this. If you endeavor to make a Boxing Day special effects blockbuster about the demise of planet Earth, at least have in your mind that you can deliver something on par or better than Independence Day or Armageddon. Those movies aren't brilliant by any means, but they have destruction galore, cheesy excitement and make it worth paying $15 to turn off your brain and how some explosive fun. What happens with The Day The Earth Stood Still is over 100 minutes of essential bore. The visual effects are weak, the premise is interesting but executed in such an incredibly dull fashion that one wishes the projector would stop and they'd slip in any of the two former movies mentioned. Keanu continues to sleep-walk through yet another role but I doubt he cares with the all the money he's milking from the sci-fi genre. Little Will Smith aka Jaden Smith's character (the next Karate Kid btw) is likable enough but surely his Dad could have found better material for him than this.

Six Feet Under (Season 1 - 2) (TV) (2001-02)

Okay well "yes", I finally succumbed to watching the entire series from beginning to end just like I succumbed to watching Dexter after countless friends recommendations. After the whole initial shock of seeing Michael C. Hall in a completely different light, the show has me hooked. But that was always going to be the way since anyone who reads these reviews and my site knows how much I love HBO. These first two seasons essentially give us all the depths to the characters - Nate, David, Ruth, Claire, Brenda, Rico, Keith, and of course their father (played to perfection by the always great Richard Jenkins). All of these characters have their flaws but what creator Alan Ball does so brilliantly is enables them to make mistakes, live with them and try and become better people. They aren't all necessarily likable at first but you grow to understand the choices they make, the choices they HAVE to make in order to live life to their fullest. Comparisons to American Beauty of course are there since it's the brainchild from the same person but having a continuing hour-long series enables us to get under the skins of these characters even more and show that progression of character you can't get from a 90-minute film. As always, this is addictive viewing and I'll no doubt finish the entire show off very soon with another review when it's all said and done.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

You know, for all the shit that Kevin Smith gets as a director, sometimes I wonder if it's just. He knows he's no Stanley Kubrick, he knows he's visually fairly limited with his camerawork and he knows how on the Internet, people have shat on his face more times than he can count. He can't stop that. But what I admire about him is that he essentially came from nothing, made a great little indie flick at the time called Clerks, made several other films over the years with varying success, ADMITTED they weren't all masterpieces but kept making movies the way he wanted to. After all, isn't that the dream of any filmmaker - to make movies their way without too much studio pressure? So now he's made a new film called 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' which when released in the US initially caused all kinds of issues with marketing due to the word 'porno' in the title. Theatres wouldn't advertise it; it was the subject of an MPAA rating war (they wanted to give it an NC-17 (or R18+ here) initially). But it eventually got released with an American R rating (M or MA here) and off it went into the cinemas. Problem is, it didn't do too well at the box-office. It stars Seth Rogen which should be enough to draw in a decent crowd, especially teens, but it just didn't do very good business. Whatever the reason might be, the reason why it didn't do it for me was quite simple - the structure of the script. The dialogue was great, one of Smith's best features as a director and writer, but the last third of the film felt unresolved and abrupt. When it got overly dramatic, the performances also felt a little too forced and awkward, especially between Rogen and the always delightful Elizabeth Banks. Over time, Smith will probably get better at directing dramatic performances, but right now he's got a long way to go. However, if you can excuse those elements, there's quite a bit to enjoy and laugh about with Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

Let the Right One In (2008)

I'd heard about this Swedish vampire flick when all the top 10's started to hit the web and I remember seeing it as Harry from Aint-it-cool-News number 1 film of the year. Vampire films excited me a great deal in my teens but as I got older, the interest started to wane. When done right of course, they can stand the test of time such as the original Nosferatu, Bram Stoker's Dracula, and yes even my soft spot for Fright Night but then we got crap like the Blade and Underworld series and it cheapened it all. What the filmmakers have accomplished with Let the Right One In is a very beautiful, unique drama about the relationship between a 12-year old boy, bullied a school and a 12-year old girl who just happens to be a vampire living next door. As silly as the premise is, it's extremely well-paced and carefully realized. Visually the film is breathtaking, the camerawork is a collection arresting shallow depth-of-field work and the two lead performances are incredibly strong, particularly that of little Lina Leandersson. You don't have to enjoy vampire films at all to love this one and I can't imagine the Hollywood remake (in the works) will come close to capturing the essence of what makes this original picture so good