Some Movies I've seen Recently

I haven't been going to the movie theatre as much as I would like to, but I've been making a bit of a comeback lately as I've been boning up for Oscar season (plus my town has been finally getting some decent movies) So here are a few films I've seen over the weeks.

Seven Pounds: A movie that gets away with emotional blackmail. Will Smith stars as a mysterious man who is out to help seven people for some reason that isn't really revealed until the end. I run hot and cold with Will Smith and I sometimes wish he would stop being so serious all the time, Rosario Dawson however is a breath of fresh air as one of the people Smith helps and who he falls in love with, I also wish there was more screen time for Barry Pepper and Woody Harrelson. The premise remained intriguing enough for me to give this a solid recommendation but beware the heavy handedness. 3 stars out of 4

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A very good film of life and death with Brad Pitt playing the title character who grows younger as he gets older. I enjoyed many aspects of the film and it should win the Oscar for special effects and make-up. Being a mainstream film, it doesn't gloss over the idea of death, and at the end I actually had tears in my eyes. However Benjamin never becomes more than an observer and we never find out really what all his experiences teach him. 3.5 stars out of 4

Doubt: Although the play was a success, the filmed version of it falters too often. Writer-Director John Patrick Shanley doesn't seem that confident behind the camera which may be why this feels more like a filmed play. The acting has been taking front and center as the thing to see and while I was impressed with some heavy scenes it all felt underwheliming. Only Amy Adams seems to realize she's on the screen and not on stage. 2.5 stars out of 5

Gran Torino: The best of the bunch I saw, although imperfect, Clint Eastwood's return as star and director is a nice little meditation on racism, redemption, and the generational gap between old and young. It's very easy to look at a character like Eastwood's Walt and judge him right away, but Eastwood turns him into a human and someone worth looking up to. Although the acting by the unprofessional actors do tend to get annoying, and the whole depiction of gangs seem a tad too Hollywoodized, Eastwood never strays away from the simple story he tells, and proves that a young generation can learn a lot from the old. 3.5 stars out of 4