Best & Worst Movies of 2008

10 Favorite Movies of '08 (in no particular order)	10 Worst Movies of '08 (in no particular order)
The Dark Knight Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Kung Fu Panda The Forbidden Kingdom Mongol Let The Right One In Slumdog Millionaire Role Models	Disaster Movie Drillbit Taylor 88 Minutes You Don't Mess with the Zohan The Happening Meet Dave Fools Gold Paranoid Park Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay The Love Guru

REVIEW: Seven Pounds

STARRING: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 12/19/2008 DATE SCREENED: 12/17/2008 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

Will Smith takes on a dramatic role in his 2nd release of 2008, Seven Pounds. The advertising campaign seems to have been carefully crafted to make it difficult to figure out exactly what the film is about. I guess you can get away with that when Will Smith is the star of the movie, but the cryptic nature of the advertising has annoyed me. Word of mouth will probably be very important to the success of this film, and I think people’s feelings will generally be mixed.

The opening scene of Seven Pounds shows a very emotional Ben Thomas (Will Smith) on the phone with 911. He’s reporting a suicide… his own. The story then backs up to show how things got to that point. Ben is an IRS agent who seems to be auditing only people with serious health problems. It turns out he’s not just visiting these people for the IRS, but also for himself. He has some kind of “gift” for these people that will change their lives, but he must figure out if they are worthy of receiving this gift. Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson) is one such person, suffering from heart disease. She takes a liking to Ben once he informs her that her back taxes will be put on hold for the next six months due to her condition. Emily’s smile is irresistible, and Ben’s icy exterior slowly begins to melt. He is soon getting to know her on a more personal level, far beyond what is necessary to decide if she is worthy of his “gift”. Throughout the film there are flashbacks to Ben’s wife, who we can gather must have been killed in a car accident. Between visits with Emily, we also see Ben helping and "interviewing" other sick people. As his relationship with Emily grows stronger it makes it harder to see how Ben is going to become suicidal. All is revealed when the movie kicks into high gear for the conclusion.

The chemistry between Will Smith and Rosario Dawson is very good. Both are very good actors, who are a joy to watch on screen. Their relationship is very touching. The slow build up of their relationship does help to increase the dramatic tension at the end. The problem is that when Will and Rosario were not on screen together I was completely bored. Without knowing what was really going on, it didn’t take long for me to lose interest in a lot of what was happening on screen. Even the build up of Ben and Emily’s relationship started to seem too slow. After 90 minutes I thought I had been sitting for over 2 hours. The ending is well done and very emotional, but I think some people will have problems waiting to get to that ending. I found myself sitting in the theater wishing I had a fast forward button. I grew up in the same neighborhood as Will Smith, so I hope for the very best any time he puts out a movie. But in this case I can only recommend people wait for the DVD of Seven Pounds. The film did receive a good round of applause from the audience, so maye the reaction won't be as mixed as I think it will be.

REVIEW: Gran Torino

STARRING: Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 12/19/2008 DATE SCREENED: 12/16/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

Clint Eastwood directs himself for the first time since 2004 in Gran Torino. The film is generating Oscar buzz for both Eastwood as Best Actor and the film as Best Picture. Eastwood has already won the Best Actor prize from the National Board of Review. Although I walked into the screening with no idea what Gran Torino was actually about, the Oscar buzz I had heard had me walking into the theater with high expectations. Eastwood’s two previous Best Picture awards have already set the bar high for any of his films.

Gran Torino is centered on Eastwood’s character, Walt Kowalski. We are introduced to Walt at his wife’s funeral. After the funeral, when everyone is gathered at Walt’s house, Walt’s character is quickly established. He’s the kind of angry old man that does not fit in with today’s politically correct society. He’s a racist Korean War veteran and retired auto worker, who doesn’t have much a relationship with his own sons and grandchildren. He always says what is on his mind, regardless of how it may hurt someone’s feelings.

A family of Hmong (Southeast Asian) immigrants moves in next door to Walt. It seems Walt’s neighborhood has gone through a drastic change the last few years. Almost all of the white people have moved out, while lower income Asians, blacks and Hispanics have moved in. The young people have formed street gangs based on race, but that doesn’t scare Walt. He calls everyone a racial slur without fear. The Hmong gang forces one of Walt’s neighbors, a teenaged boy named Thao, to try and steal Walt’s prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino. Walt catches him, almost shooting him in the process. When the gang returns to try and force Thao into another initiation, his sister Sue is there to help resist. Things start to get violent and Walt comes to the rescue with his rifle. Unfortunately, pulling out that rifle only launches a cycle of escalating violence. Walt takes a liking to both Sue and Thao, and is soon learning about Hmong culture. He seems to harbor guilt about the Asians he killed in Korea. In his mind he now has the opportunity to make up for it by protecting his neighbors from this street gang.

The great thing about Gran Torino is that it has so many layers to keep you interested throughout. You have action, you have comedy, and there is a moral to the story. Different themes are touched upon. You have the theme of solving problems with violence only creating more violence. There is the theme of a person realizing that other races aren’t that different. There is the theme of a soldier atoning for his war crimes. The meaning of life and death is even explored through Walt’s banter with a priest who checks up on Walt regularly. None of these themes are new, but the film puts it all together in a way that makes for a unique film. A lot of Walt’s racist commentary is played for laughs, and one particular scene in which Walt tries to toughen up Thao at a barber shop was probably the funniest scene I’ve seen in a movie all year. The film isn’t perfect, as some of the events are very contrived. And Walt’s constant stream of racial epitaphs does begin to wear a bit thin. Overall, Gran Torino is a very good movie that’s definitely worth a trip to the theater.

REVIEW: Yes Man

STARRING: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 12/19/2008 DATE SCREENED: 12/15/2008 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

Jim Carrey goes back to his comedic roots with Yes Man. Carrey was last seen in a dramatic role in The Number 23, a critical and financial disappointment which only grossed $35 million in the U.S. Yes Man marks a swift return to the physical comedy he’s been know for since his days on In Living Color.

In Yes Man, Carrey plays Carl, a divorced loan officer who spends his days rejecting loan applications and his nights watching DVDs. His best friend Peter is constantly trying to get him to go out, but Carl always has some bogus excuse. “No” seems to be Carl’s favorite word. A chance meeting with an old friend introduces Carl to the concept of becoming a “Yes Man”. The friend invites him to the next seminar, promising it will change his life. Carl shows up at the seminar, led by Terrence (Terence Stamp). Carl is singled out as being a new member unsure about the idea of being a “Yes Man”. Terrence is able to convince Carl to honor a covenant of saying “Yes” to every opportunity, no matter what it is, and promises it will change his life. Upon leaving the seminar, Carl reluctantly says yes to a homeless guy asking for a ride. After dropping off the homeless man, Carl ends up stranded on the road, and meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel) at a gas station. Allison seems to be the cute spontaneous girl of his dreams, so Carl becomes committed to being a “Yes Man”. He says yes to things ranging from accepting an offer from persianwives.com, to bungee jumping off of a bridge, to planning his best friend’s wedding shower. Approving every small loan application unwittingly leads to a promotion at work and his relationship with Allison is making him forget about his ex-wife. This saying “yes” thing really works, for the most part. Eventually things begin to unravel and Carl learns important life lessons along the way.

I was never a big fan of Carrey’s work, and “Yes Man” reminded me of “Liar Liar”, in which Carrey is under a spell that prevents him from lying. When I'm watching a Carrey comedy I alternate between laughing and thinking that it's too stupid. This is the typical Carrey comedy. Carrey falls down, Carrey makes funny faces, Carrey runs around, Carrey makes silly jokes... change the scenery and then repeat. Some of it is amusing, but most is not. Then the movie ends with a typical romantic comedy ending. If you are a big fan of Carrey, you should enjoy yourself. If you aren’t, then you shouldn’t spend the time/money to see this in the theater. Wait for the DVD and you will at least get a few laughs while sitting on the couch.