Tonari no Totoro [My Neighbor Totoro] (1988)

Is the word "masterpiece" good enough to describe this movie?   Hayao Miyazaki's beautifully crafted story of two sisters and the forest spirit they live next to is as magical as anything I've ever seen.  This is of course not very surprising since it's from the master of such great works as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoko.  With a story that continues to captivate and characters as cute and as complex and real as living actors, here is animation perfection.  I hate to gush on and on about it too much but I really think it's a great animated film.  I can't think of anything wrong with it.  Where can I get my own Totoro?  Grade: A+   

Musíme si pomáhat [Divided We Fall] (2000)

In three introductary scenes we are intoduced to three men.  The main character, Josef, is a simple man with a layed back attitude.  Horst is the ass-kissing weasel.  David is the Jew getting caught up in the nightmare that is the Holcaust.   This is a movie about how these men survive and how they need each other in order to succeed.   In a movie that's just as funny as it is deeply moving I was swept up in its tale.  Grade: A.

Spoiler:  I want to discuss the DVD case picture.   I'm sure there are those who would say that it doesn't spoil anything but I feel it does.  I foretells that Josef will have a kid someday.  I know it's a great picture, but find something else besides that which gives away the ending. 

Robots (2005)

Blue Sky Animation is the poor man's Pixar.  I like what they do more than Dreamworks Animation but they can't quite make the leap into the soulful work of such animation houses like Pixar or Studio Ghibli.  They come close in Robots in terms of animation complexity and inventiveness but in the storytelling department they fall short.  Chris Wedge's tale of a robot leaving for the big city to follow his dream of becoming an inventor is entertaining and alive with funny energetic characters and set pieces.  Robot City's transportation scene is a classic example of what's great about this movie.  What's especially fun is the voice work.  Robin Williams does his typical hilarious rant (but always in character) as Fender and Greg Kinnear is surprisingly funny as one of the villains as Ratchet.  Mel Brooks' voice seems destined for animation voice-over and I hope he is cast again in another endeavor.  Except for the female bot Cappy voiced by Halle Berry (at no fault of hers), everyone is great.  Unfortunately because the story is so ho-hum it's like the producers are relying on the voice talent to carry the film, and while it almost can, it's pretty clear in the second act that this screenplay could have had a few more rewrites before going into production.   Still it's a fun movie that's great for the family and it has an important albeit overstated lesson: Never Give Up.  Grade: B+.

Spoiler: Two parts that annoyed me in the story was how Rodney discovers Bigweld playing with dominoes, disillusioned about Ratchet, and having had givien up.   Then minutes later Bigweld shows up out of the blue and tells Rodney that he changed his mind.  I wasn't convinced that Rodney said anything or did anything that would have convinced Bigweld to join his rebellion.   The worst part of the film was Cappy: the love interest for Rodney.  She's such a boring character.  She doesn't really serve the plot in anyway and never says anything memorable.  Yet the audience is supposed to believe that they'll fall in love.   Meanwhile another female bot, Piper, proves to love Rodney too but this potential story point is shoved aside, never to be mentioned.   Yet it hardened my heart that he would chose the attractive rich girl robot over the the quirky poor girl robot. 

The Fighter (2010)

More than just a typical boxing movie, here David O. Russell delivers a triumph of a true story about the boxing Ward brothers bumpy climb to maturity.  The Academy might as well send Christian Bale and Melisse Leo their awards for best supporting acting because I don't know anyone else deserving.  They both completely transform into different people.  Everything about this film is special, even Mark Walhberg out does himself with a wonderful performance.   I was especially impressed by the look of the film.  Grade: A-.

Black Swan (2010)

Dark films like these are so exquisite.  The ballerina-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown storyline could have turned into a weak direct-to-video kind of movie but under the excellent direction of Darren Aronofsky what we have instead is a gritty and absorbing thriller that takes its viewer on a strange, beautifully neuotic ride.  Atop this perfect storm of surreal angst is Natalie Portman's sensational performance.   She's my pick for best actress of 2010 so far; she takes this complex and melodramatic character and delivers us a living, breathing woman that's impossible to ignore.  Grade: A

Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions (Novella) by Edwin A. Abbott

Written in 1884, this short book is more a funny thought puzzle than a story.  The narrator is a Square that exists in a world with only two dimensions (like drawings on a piece of paper).  As he describes how such a society operates it's easy to see the satirical parallels to our society (especially back when this book was first published).   Much of the book has the Square explaining things, which is funny at times, but lacks much drama.  Nothing really happens until about the halfway point to the book.   Then there's a really great chapter where the Square converses with the King of Lineland and the enjoyment of the book doubles again a few chapters later when a Sphere from Spaceland visits the Square and tries to convince him that there exists a third dimension.  There are lots of thought provoking stuff jammed into this little book, I only wish there really was a romance to it as the subtitle of the book promises.   If you like science and math, geometry or physics especially, you'll get a kick reading this.  If you want a novel with more to it than ideas like a plot and memorable characters to root for than this is not the book for you.  Grade: B+.

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Some films teeter on the edge of greatness only for the winds of fate to shift and for it to fall back into mediocrity.  Director Michael Winterbottom gives us the look and feel of a great film noir but somehow misses the boat on its narrative drive, losing me just as the plot should start reeving up.  The best part of the film is Casey Affleck, as the psychopath Lou Ford, he really finds the cold depth the character needs.  His performance is contagious to watch and there are moments where I felt his character could succeed at anything.  While an unlikeable character, I couldn't help but want to know what was going to happen to this well-developed anti-hero.   Jessica Alba is completely miscast as the prostitute even as she pulls off her best work as an actress to date.  Kate Hudson is blah (I know that's cruel, but it's true, she's just average.) I wish that they had cast two stronger actresses to counter Casey's talent.   Based on Jim Thompson's violent 1950s novel, I get a sense that many feminist will hate this movie; the violence done to women is cold-hearted.   If you're looking for a good film noir, there are worse out there, but I'd only check this one out if you're a fan of the novel and you want to compare the two.   Grade: B