Jean-Michel Basquiat ; The Radiant Child

B-

2010

I Am Love

As a film goer raised on american cinema I must confess Im not the most well adjusted person to the pleasures of melodrama in the cinema. That being said however I found myself a little surprised by how much I actually got roped into the story. Filled with delicious food, beautiful architecture in beautiful locations, gorgeous clothes, and a strong central performance by the always wonderful Tilda Swinton, I simply surrender myself to the overflow of emotions and for the first time in a long while didn't feel at all guilty about it.

B-

2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Here we are at number 7, the last in the long line of Harry Potter films. Except the journey isn't yet over since the seventh book has been split into two films for the sake of the fans, accuracy, or money? Who can say. One thing is for sure though, the story definitely isn't over yet. Which is really the only problem with part 1 of the Deathly Hallows, in that it never really finds it's stride. It gives great detail to trivial aspects of the book while glazing over monumental ones. Of course that almost always seems to happen when adapting books into films, except with this one given the fact that its broken into two films the excuse doesn't seem to hold up. Still, I can't say I wasn't entertained and am still eagerly awaiting volume 2.

B

2010

Fair Game

Fair Game is a political thriller and educator on the history of the Valarie Plame scandal from a few years back about when an undercover CIA agent was outed by senior officials within the Bush administration for political reasons. Two of Hollywood's best actors share co-lead, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. Under the sure handed direction of Doug Liman Fair Game turns out to be one of the better adult minded films of the fall season, with a nice little morality lesson to boot.

B

2010

Leaves Of Grass

A fine showcase for the many talents of Edward Norton but all and all the film was a complete waste of time. I was on board until about the midway point when the plot spiral's out of control and into the absurd.

D-

2010

127 Hours

Danny Boyle is the perfect man for a film about the will to live. His movies are filled with bursting images of life that always manage to keep viewers actively engaged no matter what the subject matter, even when that subject matter happens to be a man trapped next to a rock for 127 hours. Of course the star of the film need's to be praised as well, and James Franco does a great job of portraying a man who while choosing to survive by putting himself through an unimaginable horror also must make the choice of shedding some pride in order to see himself for who he really is. Looking back on their career's in thirty or so years, 127 Hours may end up to be one of the clearest examples of both men's exceeding talents at making something one dimensional into something multifaceted. A testament to the extraordinary gifts of both.

A

2010

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is the 2010 remake of the 80's classic by the same name. This one stars Jaden Smith in the title role. Being the son of Will Smith I was a little weary going into this that the young lad wasn't going to be able to pull it off. Surprisingly though he's quite good. Being able to pull off a range of emotions as well as a gift for comedic timing that he must of gotten from his father. The karate teacher is played by Jackie Chan, an actor I seem to have forgotten about in the last five or six years. Here he plays the mentoring old man a little dry though, still its a joy to see him kick ass again, if only for a little while.

The Karate Kid is decent old fashioned family entertainment and yet when it was all over I was left with not much feeling at all. A sequel is sure to follow, here's hoping a bit for heart is put into the next one.

C-

2010