Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix

Release Year: 2007
Review: The best in the franchise to date, 'The Order of the Phoenix' is the first of the films which feels comfortable being an entity in of itself. While missing a lot of content from the book, the movie still manages to feel complete and has a satisfying story arch. The best aspect of the film is the introduction of the Order members who are all played by talented actors, easing the acting load on the younger and far less talented school age wizards. It's still not at the top level as a stand alone film, but its a step in the right direction for the series and certainly does the book justice.
Rating: 4/5

The Promotion

Release Year: 2008
Review: With a familiar plot, The Promotion, relies on its two stars Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly to turn the battle for the promotion into a fresh comedy. Unfortunately the director Steve Conrad fails miserably. The talents of both Scott and Reilly are squandered in this borderline narcoleptic mess. The 'battle' for the promotion is little more than a slap fight and the comedy muted by refrain, as this film to takes no chances. Very little is funny, and nothing new is tried. This was an odd case of a film starring two of the top comedic actors working feeling like it should have been straight to DVD and forgotten about.
Rating: 2/5

Whatever Works

Release Year: 2009
Review: This film is pure, unadulterated, Woody Allen. Every single one of Allen's favorite motifs are crammed into this little gem of a comedy. Oozing with his signature style, Allen has gone back to his roots filming in Manhattan and proving to all the doubters that he still, unquestionably, has the comic genius that he had when he began his career four decades ago. Perhaps the days of Allen acting out his neurotic, self-deprecating, pessimistic character are over, but he has found the perfect replacement in Larry David who carries the torch admirably. Some of the acting seemed a bit stiff, and the entire film felt more like a theater production, but it doesn't matter. It's all about the dialog and the wit, intelligence and cynicism with which Allen writes penetrates through and dominates. It's as if all the philosophy Allen has ever tried to convey about love and life in his past works was all tied up in a neat little package in this film and it can all be boiled down to 'Whatever Works'.
Rating: 5/5

Year One

Release Year: 2009
Review: I had high hopes for this film for a long time seeing as it matches the great comedic director Harold Ramis with two of the most enjoyable actors working today in Jack Black and Michael Cera. I was disappointed when I heard such negative reviews, but I decided to go in with my new, lowered, expectations and give this movie a fair viewing. I'm glad I did. It's by no stretch of the imagination a great comedy, nor is it a terrible one. The plot is almost non-existent, but that isn't really the point. Many people tried to make comparisons between this film and 'Life of Brian' or 'History of the World: Part I', but really this is trying to be a completely different film altogether. The entire premise of taking place place in the year 1 AD is completely negligible, its simply a vehicle for Cera and Black (and many other funny people in smaller roles) to do their shtick in a slightly different setting then we are used to. Both Cera and Black have very clearly defined personalities and acting styles and they really don't try anything new here. If you don't like them, you will not like this movie. Some of the jokes might fall flat, but if you do like watching Cera and Black just do their thing, its an enjoyable film.
Rating: 3/5

Smart People

Release Year: 2008
Review: Smart People is a film about a college professor who is too self absorbed and pompous to make any sort of connection to his students, girlfriend, family or anyone else. The film takes a decidedly depressing tone and is relentless in it's onslaught of bleakness. There was nothing new in its approach or plot and the execution left me with the feeling that this was a cheaper knockoff of similar 'indie' films. There is scarce character progression of a person who is so miserable that it drags the entire film down. There is not much to the film. It starts of bleak, it remains depressing and at the last second tries to pull up from its nose dive into despair, but comes up woefully short.
Rating: 2/5

Marley & Me

Release Year: 2008
Review: Based on a book of the same name, 'Marley & Me' is a sweet story about a man and his dog. I haven't read the book, so while I had a general idea of where the story was going, I was going into the movie fresh. More than being about the relationship between the man and his dog, the film seemed more like a story about a man's everyday struggles of life and raising a family that just happened to also have a problematic dog. For the most part the film was austere, not funny or charming. The movie features a dog, so of course there were some adorable moments, but it didn't quite offset the often uncomfortable tone set throughout the movie. Also inescapable throughout the film is the impending ending which anyone who has ever owned a dog dreads, and the film doesn't soften the blow at all, almost reveling in the inevitable heart-wrenching ending. The tender moments in the film are rewarding, but overall depressing feeling this film doesn't quite make them worth it.
Rating: 3/5

Rescue Wings (Sora e: Sukui no tsubasa resukyû uingusu)

Release Year: 2008
Review: A Japanese film based on an Anime series about the first woman rescue helicopter pilot. While its a recent film, I couldn't help but feel that what I was watching was a bad 80's action adventure television show. There was very little to the plot. It was simply a very dull film. There was little emotion and the only action was helicopter rescue missions which all looked exactly the same and got old quickly. Unless you suffer for insomnia and are looking for a new treatment, I'd skip this one.
Rating: 2/5