A high concept premise : what if God himself lost faith in Humanity and decided to send angels to destroy the world? Paul Bettany is Michael, an Archangel who retains his faith in Humans and defies God's plan to eradicate them. The movie never quite makes total sense, and it's really not an action film - if you want blood and gore you will be a little let down here. But the characters are good enough to keep the interest going, if only just.
The Hurt Locker
Academy award winner for best picture/best director in 2010, the Hurt Locker depicts a crew of US Army bomb disposal soldiers in Iraq. Their leader is killed and his replacement is a possibly unbalanced "buckaroo" whose wildcard actions just might get them all killed. Some high tension viewing in this Oscar winning film. Some moments seem cliche, but well worth a viewing.
The Invention of Lying
On an alternate world, Humanity has never evolved the ability to lie; not a single person tells falsehoods, or even conceals or holds back the truth in any way. Until, that is, Mark Bellison hits on the idea of telling his bank he has more money in his account than he does. As a stunned Bellison begins to explore his newfound ability, he finds that his gift can win him personal fame and fortune - and can change the whole world forever. But can it win him the heart of the woman he loves? An interesting movie that goes places you might not expect.
Planet 51
An animated bit of fun telling the story of an American astronaut landing on what he believes to be an uninhabited planet. Oops! Not only is it inhabited, but the residents seem to be living in 1950 America. The 'Alien' pet is priceless.
The Fourth Kind
In Nome, Alaska, psychologist Abbey Tyler is finding that large numbers of her patients are suffering from sleep disturbances, with a recurring theme of a large owl watching them sleep. Hypnosis begins to reveal that the patients are in fact undergoing something so horrifying to them that even recalling it is prompting murder and suicide. Abbey is determined to find the truth, even if that means risking criminal charges - and the intervention of a power even greater than the police. The movie spends a good deal of time and effort trying to convince us that what it's depicting is real. It isn't.
Up in the Air
Plenty of award nominations for this one, but few wins. George Clooney is appropriately hunky as a hired hatchet man for companies looking to downsize, who spends over 300 days a year flying around the country. He professes to love his rootless existence, detesting every moment he has to spend away from First Class and airport hotels. Then his company hires an upstart youngster who suggests doing it 'from home' via live-chat. In the space of the running time of the film, Clooney's entire lifestyle unravels.
Millennium
After a devastating airline crash, investigator Kris Kristofferson begins to find oddities in the aftermath - watches running backwards, a member of the flight crew on the black box recording screaming that the passengers were already dead before the crash, a strange device in the wreckage. Physicist Dr. Arnold Mayer drops hints about time travellers on a mission to kidnap those about to die, but that can't really be true... can it? A high concept movie that struggles with 80s schlock.
The Blind Side
In the tradition of the classic football movie 'Rudy', this feel-good movie takes the viewer on the amazing journey of a homeless black youth, and how the generosity and determination of an affluent white mother of two, changed both his life and hers. Oscar winner for best actress Sandra Bullock proves she isn't just the go-to-girl for romantic comedies anymore.
Battlestar Galactica (miniseries)
Ron Moore's reimagined version of this story has Humanity all but destroyed in a deadly sneak attack launched by the robots they originally created. Dark, brutal, and brilliant, this miniseries truly raised the bar for television science fiction.
The Men Who Stare At Goats
A male bonding/war flick that covers the possibility of physic warriors and their incredible missions. From cloud-bursting to stopping the heart of animals, the New Earth Army has been trained in many techniques, not all of which are applicable to every soldier. Ewen McGregor as the journalist, finds a new meaning to the term 'Jedi' during his life-changing trip into George Clooney's world.
Deep Rising
All sexual innuendos aside, a twist on the classic sea monster film, where the monster is worth waiting for, and the acting is lacking.. no wait, that IS a classic sea monster film. Here we have that plus a big dose of cheese, with Treat Williams and Famke Janssen in the tale of a mercenary boat Captain and a jewel thief raiding a cruise liner only to find themselves hip deep amongst body parts and tentacles.
Sunshine
An end of the world flick that delves into the psychological stresses on those trying to save Humanity; unfortunately, the last act tips over into a fairly by the numbers slasher movie - which would be bad enough, but it also hides the bad guy in all sorts of weird effects that are meant to look "arty", but in fact just make it look like they couldn't afford a decent makeup job for him.
Love Actually
A film which follows ten different story threads that touch briefly on one another, exploring all kinds of different variations of love. Whether it's a man meeting the love of his life or a woman sacrificing her own happiness for the love of her brother or anything in between, this movie has it. One of the great romcoms of the last ten years or so.
Hellraiser
A man suffers a fate worse than death when he opens a puzzle box which unleashes the demons of hell to torture him. Later on, his lover finds a way to revive him - by murdering men so that he can feast on their blood. Schlocky horror movie that manages to rise above the low budget with a pretty imaginative story. The Cenobite demons caught the public imagination well enough to ensure a series of sequels (my fave is the toothy one!)
Skyline
A few interesting ideas lost amidst a sea of inanity. The movie pulls off some powerful images - the scene of thousands of people being pulled up into the alien ships as you hear their distant screams springs to mind, and the giant tentacle-shooting monsters are pretty cool. But the characters are either paper thin or outright annoying, the story plays the same basic "should we stay or should we go" argument over and over again to the point where you just want to smack everyone in sight, half the things you see are directly ripped off from other, better movies (I'm talking to you, "people hide as the alien tentacle searches the house" scene. Yes, I saw War of the Worlds too!) And to cap it all, the film has one of the most jaw droppingly awful endings that I have ever seen presented in any movie, ever.
