Michael Clayton (2007)

George Clooney has a tendency to be in movies I admire a lot, but don't really enjoy. This was one of them. It was a satisfying watch, but I spent more time than I would have liked to trying to follow the plotline. Tom Wilkinson's portrayal of the crazed Arthur Edens is definitely worth noting, though. 3 stars.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Christopher Nolan is a genius. He manages to take a character like the Joker, a cheesy villain who really isn't all that menacing unless you *really* buy into his comic book world, and make him a believably insane character who fits right in among terrifyingly serial killers along the lines of Hannibal Lecter, the ones who stay in our minds and haunt our dreams. He gives Batman a reason to be more than just a stereotyped superhero, all without overdramatic sequences that involve the hero getting moody and monologue-y. Christopher Nolan's Batman is the superhero I want to watch on film.

While I'm still not a massive fan of the superhero genre, I think this is probably the best of all the superhero films I have ever seen. Placing a story like this in the real world is far from easy, but Nolan makes it seem effortless. How much I enjoyed the movie was 4 stars, but it gets an extra half a star because it was done so well in ways I probably didn't even notice. While there were talented actors in here, the script made them look even better than they were. Kudos, kudos, kudos to Nolan. Keep making films. Forever. 4.5 stars.

A Chorus Line (1985)

Plot: Hopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.

This is a flashy musical, with all the glitz and glamour of dancing in a Broadway show evident on the screen. The opening sequence is electric, as each dancer pushes and outshines their way to the top, every one of them hamming it up to look better than the others. Once it gets past that opening sequence, though, we run into an unusual problem... Bad sound. None of the songs sound like they're being sung by these characters, but rather like they are being played from an off-stage record, which is extremely disappointing. The concept of the show is brilliant and the dance sequences stellar, but the singers and song performances and especially sound quality leave something to be desired.

As a completely minor complaint, how could they put Terrence Mann in a musical and not let him sing? Grumble grumble. I had the same complaint about Idina Menzel in Enchanted. 3.5 stars.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

I now know why this movie inspired such love in some and such hate in others. It constantly toes the line between hilarious and completely stupid. For once, this kind of movie falls on the "hilarious" side for me. There are some great moments and scenarios, although there are definitely a lot of misses in here... but when every single scene is aimed at being funny (very few in-between filler scenes here) a few misses means that 3/4 of the movie was still funny. Robert Downey Jr stole the show as an insanely methody method actor, although Matthew McConaughey came awfully close as the cheery Hollywood agent. Right from the beginning, this movie lets you know what kind of movie you're in for... It shows four fake previews, then throws you into the goriest, least-potentially-funny material in the movie. If you don't like it fifteen minutes in, it doesn't get better. But if, like me, you kept giggling throughout those first fifteen minutes... Go ahead and keep watching. 4 stars.

Footloose (1984)

There's something about dance movies that makes them incredibly joyful. Whether they're musicals or pure dance movies like this one, there's a beautiful freedom in a good dance scene. And there are a LOT of them in here. From the classic warehouse scene where Kevin Bacon dances out his frustration, to the prolonged ending dance montage where the students finally can celebrate their right to dance. But it's not even just a "good dance movie" - it's actually a fairly decent movie as well. There are very few easy caricatures among the characters, even though the story itself may be a bit cliched. Even the conservative reverend is an honest, real character who is just trying to help hold his town and his congregation together. Great performance from John Lithgow, great dancing from the entire cast, and overall an ultimate feel-good movie. 4 stars.

Hancock (2008)

This film treads an interesting line between comedy and drama, and never seems sure which one it actually wants to settle on. It drastically switches modes halfway through the movie, and as a result comes off as disjointed and all over the place. However, it's a very pleasant all over the place. When it's dramatic, it's not over-the-top. When it's comedic, it's amusing and made me chuckle. It's not often that superheroes have a fatal flaw besides whining too much about having a superpower (that's right, I'm talking about you, Spider-Man)... a refreshing look at the genre, and a fairly good action, romance, comedy, and drama flick along the way. Not bad for trying to hit every genre out there. 3.5 stars.

License to Wed (2007)

I am not one of those people who get all upset every time someone makes a comedy that points a finger at something resembling religion. I loved Bruce Almighty and the musical Altar Boyz, and I would love to see Saved!. But this movie was offensive on religious grounds as well as comedic ones. Robin Williams as a member of the clergy is just about the scariest thing I can think of, and his religion-based humor was not only tasteless, but also just boring. Mandy Moore plays a mindless zombie who floats through the movie without putting any thought at all into how she's acting or what she's saying. Surely she has to realize that these "exercises" are the requests of an insane man, and no rational person would subject themselves to them. Which is why John Krasinski earns the movie's 1 star, as he accurately portrays an average, sensible, ordinary guy, who realizes that trying to reenact a fight he and his fiancee have never had is hardly the building blocks for a good relationship. He reacts with appropriate shock and confusion when his fiancee loses all her personality and opinions and doesn't see why it should be a problem for him to suddenly carry four screaming kids around a grocery store, two of which are fake. Unfortunately, he plays it so well that there's no way he can make the ending ("oh ho ho, you meant well all along!") plausible. What nonsense. 1 star.