Hitchcock

Actors:  Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette. Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy
Rating:  7 out of 10, I’m a huge Hitchcock fan so I was surprised that I had not seen this flick.  It’s a very interesting look at the making of Psycho in 1959.  Hopkins labors under a mountain of makeup to portray the portly Hitchcock and sometimes seemed to be trying too hard to channel Sir Alfred.  The film is rescued by Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s underappreciated wife and creative force behind some of his genius.  While the movie is enjoyable it plays too safe, staying on the surface of things and avoiding looking too deeply. We get all of the oft repeated rumors about Hitchcock’s foibles but again, just a light exterior look.  My guess is that Hitchcock is still too legendary a figure for anyone in the film industry to treat too harshly – probably a good thing.
MVP:  Mirren as the long suffering Alma Hitchcock

Salmon Fishing in Yemen

Actors:  Ewan Macgregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scot Thomas, Amir Waked, Rachael Stirling, Tom Mison
Rating:  7 out of 10, this film is definitely not my normal fare as it lacks any significant action but somehow it sucked me in.  It revolves around a stodgy British government scientist (Macgregor) and his begrudging efforts to help a Yemeni sheik who’s also an avid fisherman start a salmon colony in Yemen.  The Sheik’s assistant is portrayed by Emily Blunt, who is so good in everything she does.  This movie would have failed miserably if not for the impossibly great chemistry between the two leads.  There is also some very high comedy supplied by Kristin Scott Thomas as seemingly the only competent person in the British government – she’s got all of the best lines.  It was also nice to see some depth given to an Arab character who’s not trying to blow something up.  Against all odds I really liked this saccharin sweet story – just well done.
MVP:  Thomas as the incredibly funny government press secretary.

Last Stand

Actors:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forrest Whitaker, Peter Stormare, Eduardo Noriega, Jaime Alexander, Johnny Knoxville, Genesis Rodriguez, Luis Guzman, Rodrigo Santoro
Rating:  7 out of 10, Probably a very apt title for Arnie’s return to action genre.  He’s back, not a bad thing, at least for the people of California and pudgy maids (but I digress).  This flick is sneaky fun as it hearkens back to the 1980’s action flicks where Arnie made his bones.  It was kind of interesting to see a sleepy Arizona border town with an Austrian Sheriff, Thor’s Asgardian female buddy, the Brazilian guy from Love Actually and 300 as a drunken townie, a Swedish bad guy helping out a Spanish guy trying to portray a Mexican drug lord – it is Hollywood!  It’s a complete mess but a lovable one as Arnie doesn’t try to hide his age but makes it one of the recurring jokes.  Forrest Whitaker is a real miss as a bumbling FBI agent and there’s no where near enough screen time for the stunning Genesis Rodriguez.  Still, a lot of harmless, mindless fun as the town and the bad guys blow up spectacularly.  It’s 1984 all over again. 
MVP:  The Governator proves he’s still got it.

Parker

Actors:  Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Nick Nolte, Wendell Pierce, Patti Lupone, Emma Booth
Rating:  8 out of 10, Jason Statham scowls his way through another movie – kicking ass and taking names.  He’s very Porteresque in a plot very similar to Payback.  This should have been enough but the filmmakers decided Jennifer Lopez needed to be in the movie in what should have been a small part. I’m guessing she was not content with that because her role is awkwardly expanded to include more of her than was necessary. The movie’s pace comes to a screeching halt whenever she appears on screen. Statham’s proven he can carry an entire action movie. They should have let him.
MVP:  Statham as the title character ,a good hearted thief who packs a punch

Immortal (Ad Vitam)

Actors:  Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling, Thomas Pollard
Rating:  5 out of 10, A very, very French film shot in that same disconcerting fashion as Sky Captain where the actors are occasionally real but everything else is very rudimentary CGI.  You’ve got the ancient Egyptian gods hanging out over a future New York City in a floating pyramid that no one seems to care about whilst one of those gods in running around the city trying to impregnate a blue haired cyborg seeming gal with the assistance of the dad from Wanted.  It didn’t make a whole lot more sense watching it.  The story is sacrificed for cool seeming visuals which really aren’t that cool.  They were obviously aiming for Luc Besson territory but failed miserably.  What was I thinking?
MVP:  Hardy is very French and very hot as Jill the blue haired cyborg

Cloud Atlas

Actors:  Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D’Arcy, Hugh Grant, Susan Sarandon, David Gyasi
Rating:  10 out of 10, Against all odds, my favorite movie of 2012.  I know it’s been skewered by so many but, to a movie nut (guilty), this is nearly a perfect movie.  It has everything – a combination of all genres: a drama, a comedy, historical epic, romance, political thriller, science fiction, horror, and post apocalyptic disaster.  I think a lot of critics grew exasperated by the jumping between stories and genres and just gave up on it (probably because of how one literary critic is treated in the movie).  If you stay engaged with it you will be richly rewarded.  I watched it for the third time and am still picking up new things.  It is one of those movies best seen on the big screen because of its epic scope but the blu ray version does it justice.  The plot jumps back and forth in time over 500 years with stories intertwined and actors playing multiple parts, even across gender/racial lines. It all eventually makes sense and I appreciated the message of enduring love, redemption, how everything/body is connected, and the consequences of good and evil acts. The filmmakers took chances and I love it when that happens. Hanks and Berry are fantastic, as always (I swear I’d watch a movie with Hanks reading the phone book). Doona Bae, a Korean actress, was fantastic in multiple roles as well. While many people (like my wife) will condemn this movie – I loved it.  The only downside was the central music theme.  A song that was supposed to link souls across the ages just wasn’t that memorable.
MVP:  Hanks transformed into a 17^th century evil doctor, a 20^th century nuclear scientist, and a reluctant post-apocalyptic hero

That's Halle Berry on the Right

Cleanskin

Actors:  Sean Bean, Charlotte Rampling, Abhin Galaya, Tom Burke, Tuppence Middleton, Peter Polycarpou
Rating:  6 out of 10, I watched this because I saw some on line reviews saying it was a good political military thriller and I’ve always liked Sean Bean.  While he doesn’t get to perform his signature move (although he does give it the old college try a couple times) – a death scene – this is a pretty good flick.  It is so very British though and I can see why it didn’t make it over to the States.  It tries to serve as an apologist for Muslim radicals and that would never play here.  It reminded me a lot of 1970s movies where the big bad government was behind all evil perpetrated, even against itself.  This movie fails because of that.  You don’t try to explain evil – you wipe it out.  The action is well done although the pace is brought to a screeching halt with some overlong flashbacks. 
MVP:  Bean gets to live as a tired but effective operative