Holiday movie rundown

Posted by admin on Jan 20, 2009 in Arts & Culture | 0 comments

So you didn’t make it out from under the snow to take in a flick, or you went home to your small hometown that doesn’t come equipped with a multiplex? Here’s what opened while you were gone:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button:
Brad Pitt carries this film spanning his life as Benjamin Button, a boy born with the body of an 85-year-old who ages backwards. The film differs significantly from the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story on which it is loosely based, which often isn’t even included in collections of his works. Button also stars the beautiful Cate Blanchett. It’s heartfelt, looks great on screen, and is worth most of the hype its received since opening.

Valkyrie:
It may be chic to hate on Tom Cruise, and it’s easy to forget he’s starred in films that helped define a generation (Risky Business, Top Gun, Cocktail and A Few Good Men). Based on a true story, Cruise turns in a solid performance here as Stauffenberg, a Nazi colonel involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler near the end of the Second World War. If you can get past the whole scientology thing and take in the movie for what it is – a thriller about an event in which we already know the outcome – then Valkyrie almost, but doesn’t quite work.

The Spirit:
While Frank Miller previously gave audiences Sin City and 300, The Spirit is easily forgettable. While its often tongue-in-cheek approach is noticed, the film is so over-the-top ridiculous that it becomes detrimental, and loses any of its satirical value about twenty minutes in. Samuel L. Jackson makes egg puns, the Spirit goes after every woman he sees and comes up with frequent double-entendres, and every woman in the film looks like she’s stepped out of a glamour magazine. If this had been released prior to Sin City, then it might come across better, but it works as a poor-man’s version of a film made four years ago.

Slumdog Millionaire:
Though director Danny Boyle’s films can be polarizing, Slumdog is unquestionably his best film. Set in Mumbai, the story follows Jamal, an 18-year-old from the slum with no education who’s made it to India’s version of “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” – which is somehow still wildly popular there. Featuring a mix of English and Hindi, the film flashes back between Jamal’s life and his appearance on the show. It captures well what young love can feel like, and though it loses points here for featuring an MIA soundtrack, it’s nearly impossible not to get caught up in Jamal and his brother Salim’s Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn-like journey, that sees Jamal become the most-watched man in India. If you don’t mind the odd subtitles (there are actually people that exist that won’t see a movie with subtitles), then this is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year.