Pi (1998)

Darren Aronofsky is superb at drawing us into the minds of the twisted. While in Requiem for a Dream we were in the minds of addicts, in Pi we are in the mind of a man obsessed. His connections and compulsions seem schizophrenic as he centers his entire life around finding a specific 216-digit number he believes is the answer to life, the universe and everything. (Of course, we know that number is really 42.) The film is shot in stark black and white, occasionally with such extreme contrast that the white literally hurts to look at. It all connects to his brain, and by the end of the movie, we feel his paranoia with him.

Brilliantly shot. However, I was actually a little confused by the end of the movie. I thought one thing had happened, and then it seemed to be proven otherwise. If anyone can give me their take on what happened there, that'd be great.

Doesn't really matter, though. Aronofsky gave one explanation for The Fountain's plot... but I liked the one I came up with in my head better. The movie's open for imagination and whatever the answer is in the end, it's still a very good movie. 4 stars.

Barton Fink (1991)

I have not the faintest idea what message this movie is trying to send. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. John Turturro plays one of those revolutionary bohemian writers who wants to make his audience remember the common man, but he's really just interested in talking *about* people in his plays. Talking to them is optional. He suffers from writer's block, gets tangled in a murder mystery, discovers people are not who they seemed, and the climax all goes down in an enormous bizarre fiery inferno where things burn and burn but nobody seems to really care. This movie is extremely watchable - funny, dark, intriguing... Even for people like me who think they haven't quite deciphered the meaning of it, the dialogue is good and the filmmaking is clever. 3.5 stars.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

One of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Isn't this the definition of being a sociopath? Brilliantly filmed - terrifying and disturbing and horrible. The final scene after it's discovered he's been cured (from his cure) is chilling. This was a very difficult movie to watch and I certainly didn't enjoy it, but I thought it was extremely interesting and well-handled. So I'm giving it a medium low rating to try to balance those two out. 2.5 stars.

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

This movie meant well and had such potential. Simon Pegg has a lot of personality and managed to carry this movie most of the way, but in the end the awkward slapstick scenes and sexual jokes made this a far more sophomoric film than I had hoped it would be. It could have been an intelligent, subtle comedy. It could have been a fun silly comedy. It could have been a lot of things, but it just comes across as trying too hard to get the junior high boys to giggle. Unfortunate. 2 stars.

Seven Pounds (2008)

(Spoilers ahead.)

There are two decent things about this movie: Will Smith's acting and figuring out the mystery of what's going on and why he's doing what he's doing. Will Smith takes on another dramatic/inspirational role after The Pursuit of Happyness and does it fairly well. And the audience will all have fun trying to figure out what this Ben Thomas character is up to. But once the mystery is gone, there's not much left of this story except for sentimental "nobility" similar to those in MySpace bulletin stories, and the assertion that killing yourself for someone else redeems you from your past mistakes, neither of enhances the movie. It becomes a sappy, silly melodrama with what it thinks is an inspirational ending, but really just had me rolling my eyes and asking how gullible they thought I was to buy this nonsense. Once you've figured out the gist of the mystery, turn off the movie. The rest of it just plays it all out in excruciating detail. 2 stars.

Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

How does Woody Allen churn out such interesting movies over and over again? This one takes a slight turn from his usual plot - there's not as many intricate love dodecahedrons. The plot is fairly simple: Woody Allen plays a man who goes searching for his adopted son's birth mother. He finds out she is a prostitute and builds a friendship with her to try to convince her to switch professions. Mira Sorvino is hilarious as the birth mother, who is extremely dumb but convinced she's a budding intellectual. They're all accompanied by a sort of Greek dramatic chorus that helps their story along. Sometimes that worked, and sometimes the joke got a little old. But it didn't matter all that much because it would never take too long to return to the heart of the story, where Allen's trademark snappy dialogue and very upbeat story made it one of the most feel-good films he's ever made. Definitely worth watching. 4 stars.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

A well-scripted movie with a fascinating premise, definitely... But somehow it left me a little bit cold. In the face of other Oscar nominated films such as Doubt, Frost/Nixon, and Slumdog Millionaire, this is more like the famed Oscar winners of the past - period pieces with large casts and impressive makeup. This one does have a twist, however, and it was that twist that kept me watching throughout the entire film. The final scenes where Cate Blanchett is caring for Benjamin is an extremely touching one, and one that I will remember for a long time.

A good movie, but not the great one it was purported to be. 3.5 stars.