Serenity
Serenity is a pretty typical space cowboy movie (no, not the Steve Miller space cowboy), similar to the first Star Wars movie and it's many imitators like Ice Pirates and Batllestar Galcatica. But Serenity's provenance is a little more credible, and it actually is a fun movie to watch. It's based on a failed television show called Firefly that only lasted one season. While I never have watched the show and thus couldn't tell you anything about it, apparently it did well enough on DVD for them to green light a movie version. The movie version takes place on an outlaw cargo ship that travels the galaxy doing questionably illegal jobs. The crew is made up of a cast of former revolutionary fighters and misfits; including a teenage girl that was part of a secret experiment by the ruling party to develop psychics as weapons. Her brother, who is the ship doctor, rescues her from a secret facility and they will do anything to get her back. As they fight the army, a very determined samurai wannabe secret agent, and even mutant zombies, the crew fights amongst themselves and generally have a good time. The special effects are very credible and the action scenes are thrilling. Perhaps the best part about Serenity is that none of the characters takes themselves seriously,and they are always willing to crack a joke or two at each other. Most of the cast are veterans of the show, except for the secret agent, who is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. He does a great job of overacting his part, and his ridiculousness makes the movie even more fun (he coincidentally also was in Melinda and Melinda, the last movie I saw). Obviously this film isn't a serious work of art and it does get silly at times, but I did like and will recommend it. I guess it has been almost thirty years since Star Wars was released, but the genre still hasn't grown stale. Overall I give Serenity four stars out of five. Now playing in theaters.

Melinda and Melinda
I have a deep and dark confession to make. While I can be shot for saying this in some movie-buff circles, i'm going to say it anyway. Here goes; Woody Allen is overrated. Annie Hall and Manhattan are merely mediocre movies. The purple Rose of Cairo should have been left in Cairo. Now that I have said it and my secret is out, and hopefully before I am lynched, let me temper that statement by saying that I have liked a few of his more recent movies. I thought the 1999 Sweet and Lowdown with Sean Penn was inherently charming and entertaining. Of course, he followed that up with the horrible 2001 Curse of the Jade Scorpion and 2002 Hollywood Ending. I thought the 2003 Anything Else with Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci was a decent effort but came up slightly short. But his latest effort, the 2004 Melinda and Melinda, finally is a decent film that is worthy of following up Sweet and Lowdown and an intriguing and thought provoking film. It also can be very entertaining at times. Allen has come up with an interesting plot device to drive the film. It starts out with a group of friends and playwrights that are discussing if life is a comedy or a tragedy. They then go on make up two stories starring many of the same characters, including the title character of Melinda. In one story she has had a long history of horrible tragedies in her life, and she is trying to start new in Manhattan by staying with some old friends. In the second comedic story Melinda also has had some problems in her past and is looking to start anew, but she has moved into a new apartment where she doesn't know anyone. The comedy Melinda doesn't dwell on her past, unlike the tragic Melinda, and is looking to meet new people. In both stories, as is typical in both comedy and tragedy, they fall in love, and people end up sleeping with other people and hurting each other. Both casts are excellent and include Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, and the always excellent Chloe Sevigny. Radha Mitchell, who plays Melinda, does a superb job portraying both characters and gives each Melinda a distinct personality. Ferrell is especially funny playing the nervous Woody Allen type character in the comedy story. The biggest problem that I had with the film is that, other then Ferrell, the comedy wasn't that funny, but I did laugh out loud a few times. Ultimately, what I think Allen was trying to say, and it might sound cliche, is that comedy and tragedy are not all that different, it just depends on your outlook on life. But I really enjoyed watching the events unfold and never got lost between the two stories, which shows that he can be a great director when he wants to. Allen's next film, Match Point, comes out soon and after seeing Melinda I am actually looking forward to it. Overall I give Melinda and Melinda four stars. Available on DVD now.

Me and You and Everyone We Know
Me and You and Everyone we know is a quirky and sometimes amusing film written, starring and directed by Miranda July. This is July's first film, and it has a very personal and intimate feel to it, but overall I would have to call it over-rated. Every critic loved the movie, but after I watched it I felt like I was on the outside looking in as to why this movie deserved raves. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it, but it left very little impression on me otherwise. It is about the ways that people meet in modern society and touch each other's lives, whether that is through a videotape, an internet chat room, or even a shoe store. July has an interesting acting style, and her supporting cast is also good. But the script sometimes seems weird just for the sake of being weird, and I caught myself looking at my watch several times (although it is only 97 minutes). Overall I give Me and You and Everyone we know three stars out of five. Available on DVD now.

Lords of Dogtown
Lords of Dogtown is an interesting and entertaining movie, but it unfortunately does not compare to the original documentary that it is based on, Dogtown and Z-Boys. Both of the films were written by skateboarding pioneer and legend Stacy Peralta and documents the rise of skateboarding in 1970's Southern California. But the movie version is directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who also directed the out-of-control teen sex and drug film Thirteen. So, as can be expected, the movie version concentrates a lot more on the wild personal (sex and drugs) sides of the skaters, while the documentary just shows the skating. I liked seeing the skating more then the drama, but that's just my personal taste. Otherwise Hardwicke has done a good job directing, and all of the teen actors do an excellent job showing how, when combined with surfing moves, skating could be an incredibly exciting sport. But the real standout here is Heath Ledger, who plays the local surf shop owner Skip. Skip is a burnout that has the idea of forming a skateboard team that shakes up the skating world, and had me convinced that his character would rather hang out with the local punk kids then the normal adult world. The biggest flaws of the movie was the weak dialog. Especially as the movie progresses and the skaters become famous, the plot becomes jumbled. Peralta probably should stick to filming documentaries. Also, the music wasn't really believable. Several of the characters play or sing along to 70's corporate rock, which true skatepunks would not have listened to then. So if you want to learn about how skateboarding became what it is today then see the documentary, but if you would rather see a fun movie about the 1970's skateboarding scene then I can recommend this. Overall I give Lords of Dogtown 3 1/2 stars out of five. Available on DVD now.

Kontroll
Kontroll is a fascinating little movie that came out of Hungary in 2003, but was finally just released this year in America. While I have never seen a Hungarian movie before (mainly because there are very few Hungarian directors), it is a great effort by first time director Nimrod Antal. Filmed entirely in the Budapest subway without a single shot of daylight, it is also the best subway movie that I have ever seen. Essentially it is a two part story, with the first half showing a day in the life of a group of ticket controllers (inspectors). They are a motley crew of guys with seemingly nothing in common except for the fact they work together. Of course, like all movies about a crew, there is a new guy that is learning the intricacies of the job and is mostly clueless. The fascinating thing about the first half of the story is how horrible their job is. It would seem to be an easy job, but nobody there every buys tickets. Every passenger has an excuse or a story about why they don't have a ticket, and the kontrollers have very little authority to make them pay (except for the empty threat of calling the non-existent cops). Everybody seems to want to mess with them, and they get into foot chases and beat up several times while working in the dingy tunnels. We also learn that a mysterious hooded figure is pushing people onto train tracks, resulting in messy deaths. But after the controller's work-day is over, one named Bulcsu doesn't go home. He sleeps on the train platforms and never leaves the tunnels. He becomes attracted to one of the passengers and is friends with a drunk train driver. What I like most about this movie is the ambiguity of the many questions that are asked but never answered. Why does Bulcsu never go to the surface, what was his previous job and why is he a broken man, and who is pushing the passengers. Many of these questions are never answered fully, but it is worth watching to make an educated guess. I think the movie is about the duality of people, but that is just my opinion. You won't regret watching it and you might think twice about the people around you when you are taking the train. Overall I give it four stars out of five. Available on DVD now.

Proof (2005)
I have said it before and I'll say it again, Gwyneth Paltrow is the best actress in Hollywood when it comes to showing an emotional breakdown. In the Talented Mr. Ripley she was able to completely change how the viewer thought about Ripley (from loving him to despising him) in one scene where she accused him of being a killer and shouting at him at the docks. In the diner scene in Seven we see her break down and cry while Morgan Freeman tells her a story, and the viewer breaks down and cries for her. In Proof we get to see her suffer a mental breakdown, and she once again is absolutely fantastic. I felt every thought that goes through her mind in evey scene, even if she just gives a little flick of her head as she listens to her dead father speak. No other actress that I have seen can convey that kind of emotion. If she isn't nominated for another academy award for her work in Proof then it will be a travesty. But the film is a lot more then just Paltrow acting, and she is surrounded by a fine supporting cast, an excellent director, and a great backdrop city. Proof is the story about a 26 year old woman that is the daughter of a famous mathematician played by Anthony Hopkins that has taught for many years at the University of Chicago. But Hopkins character has been mentally ill for many years and hasn't produced any innovative work since he was 26. After he dies, Paltrow's character has to deal with his death, his nosy research assistant played by Jake Gyllenhaal, her bossy sister Hope Davis, and her own mentall illness. Gyllenhaal, Davis, and especially Hopkins all give great supporting work to Paltrow and are fantastic themselves. The story then revolves around who actually solved a mathematical proof, the brilliant daughter or the ill father. It involves lots of math jargon that just sounded like nonsense to me, but I suppose it makes sense to somebody. But the proof is actually the macguffin of the story. It doesn't matter what the proof actually is, but it drives the characters around it to new emotional depths. Along with the great performances, it was good to see director John Madden back in form. He followed up the brilliant Shakespeare in Love with the horid Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but has rebounded here. I also loved seeing Chicago used as the backdrop setting. From Lake Shore Drive to the University of Chicago, Madden did an excellent job of filming the city, and is one of the best "Chicago" films in a while. The only problem I had with the film is the lack of geekiness from the mathematicians. Everybody is beautiful and cool, from Gyllenhaal to Paltrow, and this didn't quite ring true to me since I have met plenty of math geeks. It seems like Madden went out of his way to try to dispel the stereotype, which was unnecessary. But otherwise I highly recommend seeing Proof, especially to see Paltrow. Overall I give it 4 1/2 stars out of five. Now playing in theaters.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
When I was in high school I loved reading Douglas Adam's books. I pretty much read everything that he wrote, and always imagined that if I wrote a book that it would be in a similar style to Adams. He always had a very sarcastic manner, and could make you laugh out loud with the ridiculousness of some of his characters. He also would manage to surprise and amuse the reader by doing the unexpected, like giving away suspenseful plot points because he didn't want to be responsible for anyone having a heart attack because of him. They truly are great books and i recommend you pick them up starting with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. What I can't recommend is that you see the movie, because that just sucked. First time director Garth Jennings completely missed the tone of the books, and instead turned it into a poor mans Monty Python movie in space complete with musical numbers. The basic plot is the same though. An ordinary man is rescued from the Earth right before it is blown up to make way for an intergalactic highway. He is now homeless and hitchhiking across the galaxy with his friend Ford Prefect. The acting is decent, especially by Mos Def as Prefect, the special effects are adequate, and I did laugh a few times, but the movie never really goes anywhere and the characters are mostly just empty cliches. The worst was Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin the robot. In the book this character was very funny because he is a depressed robot, but Rickman plays him very sad and unfunny and mostly is just annoying. I suppose it is a near impossible task to adapt this book, but I can't even admire them for trying since they didn't try very hard. They seem to have just capitalized off the name. Overall I give it two stars out of five. Available on DVD now.

Ong-Bak: the Thai Warrior
Ong-Bak is not the typical type of film that I would watch. Unlike Yimou Zhang's House of Flying Daggers, which has a very complicated and beautiful story to go along with it's martial arts fighting, Ong-Bak is the standard run of the mill martial arts film that was made famous by Bruce Lee. I'm not a fan of martial arts film and often find them boring and overly simplistic. Even the Bruce Lee films were not very good, but he was still able to wow the audience with his incredible athleticism and performance skills. There have been tons of imitators since Bruce lee's death like Jackie Chan and Jet Li, but none of them were able to totally awe the audience like Lee used to. Until now. Tony Jaa is the star of this martial arts film from Thailand, and he is simply incredible. Jaa fights in a martial arts style called Muay Thia, which seems to use the joints a lot more then kung fu and karate and others. When Jaa hits somebody he often uses his elbows instead of his hands, which usually sends the victim flying or unconscious. I had never seen this before, and it is very cool to watch. But what is most astounding is watching Jaa's displays of athleticism, like when he jumps over cars while running or does a back flip and hits a guy at the same time. He does these incredible feats without any wires or special effects, which makes it even more amazing. Jaa would have made a great Olympic gymnast, and i bet he would have made a fortune as a wide receiver in the NFL with his athleticism. But instead he chose to make movies, and he is worth watching and lived up to his hype. Ong-bak is pretty much just a showcase for Jaa's skills, so the movie takes very little risks. The director knows what he is being paid to do, and he highlights Jaa's skills well. Whenever he performs a stunt, the director shows it several times from a few different camera angles that way you can truly appreciate what you just saw. He also uses repetitive cheesy techno music in the background, so you won;t be distracted from watching Jaa. Living up to the Bruce Lee tradition, the plot is very forgettable. Something about a statue that his village worships being stolen, so he goes to find it in Bangok, makes friends and enemies, blah, blah, blah. I guess the plot sucked and is unimportant, but rent this just to watch a star in the making. Overall I give Ong-bak three stars out of five. Available on DVD now.

The Constant Gardener
I'm going to get a bit cliched here, but the Constant Gardener is a beautiful, lush movie that shows a brief glimpse of the incredible humanity and the horrible indecency in the world today. Now that I got that out of my system, I can continue to gush about the brilliance of this film. Fernando Meirelles, also the director of the great Brazilian film City of God, has done an excellent job adapting a very difficult and complicated John Lecarre book about a diplomat investigating the murder of his activist wife and uncover a vast conspiracy in Africa. While Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz both give Oscar worthy performances, what I was most impressed with while watching the film was the brilliant editing and lush African cinematography. The film jumps back and forth in time (from the past to the present) seamlessly, and gradually reveals the complicated conspiracy. A bad editing job here would have ruined the film because of its complicated structure, but Meirelles has done a perfect job of presenting it. But perhaps most importantly, Meirelles gets his message across that Africa is not a throw-away continent that we can use when we need it and ignore when something goes wrong. At times I felt it was a little bit preachy, but it never got in the way of the thriller plot. Overall I give it 4 1/2 stars out of five. Now playing in theaters.

Oldboy
I saw this movie a few weeks ago, and needed some time to think about it before I wrote about it and decided if I liked it or not. It is one of the most disturbing films that I have ever seen, but ultimately I guess I did like it because it is an exceedingly clever thriller, but I didn't love it. The premise of Oldboy is pretty scary, especially when you think about that it can happen to anyone. Basically, a drunk Korean businessman is abducted while out on a night on the town in Seoul, Korea. He is then imprisoned for fifteen years in a secret private jail and has no idea why he has been imprisoned. His only contact with the outside world for fifteen years is the hand that slides food under his door everyday and television. I couldn't imagine how I would be able to stay sane in that kind of surreal situation, but the course the businessman takes seems very plausible. His first few years he wines about his situation and does nothing, but then he decides that if he ever gets out he will seek his revenge on whomever put him there. He learns martial arts from watching TV and spends all day working out. While watching this, I also became intrigued by the notion of a private jail. I wonder if these actually exist in Korea and in America? They obviously are highly illegal since it is kidnapping, so it would be a risky business, but it would offer the chance to punish those that have maligned you without resorting to violence. You can just pay to have them imprisoned for a few months and then they would never harm you again. Anyway, after being imprisoned for fifteen years the businessman is released without being told why he was released, and he goes to seek his revenge. Of course, this is all part of the master plan of the person that imprisoned him, and the plot goes on from there. To reveal any more details would ruin the fun of the movie, but it is an interesting and fun journey to get to the conclusion. But the movie does have an interesting juxtaposition of being extremely violent and at times comical. So why did I have such a hard time figuring out if I liked the movie or not? The director Chan-wook Park has made the film so sick and twisted that it is very hard to watch at times. It also has to do with the unsatisfactory ending and the sad epilogue. While i'm not generally a fan on Hollywood endings, some characters like this one just deserve one, but when he doesn't get it I was left feeling a little angry. Perhaps that was Park's intention though. So overall I give the Korean revenge thriller Oldboy three stars out of five. Available on DVD now.