Wonder Boys (2000)

Some very good actors here... but not necessarily a good movie. The script is forced, awkward, and doesn't do these great actors justice. When you've got Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr and Frances McDormand in a movie, it should be pretty awesome. Instead, this one just feels uneven and Tobey Maguire (who is NOT a brilliant actor) becomes the only really interesting one out of the bunch. If that's the case, you know your movie has gone awry.

That being said, Tobey Maguire WAS interesting, and I got caught up in his story. And there were a few very good moments here and there. But it's still very uneven. 2.5 stars.

The Invention of Lying (2009)

I love Ricky Gervais. I would pay to see him in pretty much everything. So I love *him* in this movie... but was less than impressed with everyone around him. Apparently, in this film, if you are completely truthful, you are also completely shallow. Jennifer Garner in particular is very unlikeable. Ricky Gervais tells her at one point that she is the most caring person he's ever met, and I couldn't help but wonder if all those scenes had been cut out.

He also has a very long section that feels like satirical religious stand-up. I tend to shy away from movies that have a stand-up feel to them - if you're just going to tell me jokes, just tell me jokes, don't try to cram them into a movie. Besides, not a lot of it was terribly funny. I'm not opposed to religious-themed humor, but most of this seemed like observations I've already heard all the variations on.

Brilliant idea carried out poorly... but Ricky Gervais is still extremely watchable and has some very good comic timing (especially as he interacts with those around them - the scene where he tries to persuade his friends in the bar of his new power is hilarious). This just never all came together as a movie, although some individual moments are very, very good. 3 stars.

Love in the Afternoon (1957)

This is not one of Billy Wilder's best efforts. Although Audrey Hepburn is believably charming and innocent, Gary Cooper does not hold up his end of the bargain, and the plot is pretty much ridiculous. There's some good Wilder-like dialogue along the way, but not enough to make it work. 2.5 stars.

Irma la Douce (1963)

This feels like three or four short films about the same characters mushed together into one clunky one. There are some good sequences and Jack Lemmon is very entertaining as the hero of the story, but Shirley MacLaine is oddly bland and none of it feels consistent. It switches tone and feel constantly. Just when I'd gotten comfortable with a storyline, it turned around into something else. Very awkward. Worth seeing for fans of Lemmon's work, though - he puts his all into it and is in some pretty funny scenes. 2.5 stars.

Pushing Tin (1999)

There are two things that make this movie interesting. 1) Its excellent portrayal of air traffic controllers' hectic day on the job - made me tense just watching it. 2) The acting from both John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. Although the script has some rough patches, particularly the last 15 minutes or so, these two are just fascinating on screen interacting with each other. That kept me watching the entire way through. It's a solid drama until the very end, where it seems to be rushing to find an amenable-to-everyone ending, but it doesn't ruin the rest of the movie, so it's still worth watching. 4 stars.

Einstein and Eddington (2008)

Oh, goodness. Both of these actors are oodles better than the mess of a script this gives them. I know it's a TV movie, but really. It jumps all over the place emotionally. It forces its characters to go on preachy diatribes about science that don't sound like anything actually coming from anyone's mouths (try as I might, I couldn't help but think of Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: "If we find this meteor, it might mean actual scientific advances in the field of science"). David Tennant managed to make most of it at least sound plausibly human. Andy Serkis couldn't QUITE manage it. A good idea for a movie, and two capable actors to portray the roles, but a lousy screenwriter makes this very not-worth watching. 2 stars.

Sleepers (1996)

Despite the skewed morality this movie offers up as legitimate, this is actually a fascinating drama. Rather a star-studded cast but none of it is too distracting. The acting is good and the story compelling - not your typical vigilante story, although, essentially, that's what it is. Fairly well scripted and nicely atmospheric. Not sure it'll stick in my mind for a VERY long amount of time, but it was definitely one I thought about while I watched it. 3.5 stars.