The Descendants

Movie Name: The Descendants

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Alexander Payne

Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Robert Forster, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, Michael Ontkean, Matt Corboy, Mary Birdsong, Rob Huebel

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

Alexander Payne's new film is the adaptation of the book "The Descendants" by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The story follows the life of Matt King, a well established lawyer in Hawaii, whose wife suffers a fatal boating accident. Following the accident, Matt has to learn to deal with his young daughters, and discovers his wife had been unfaithful to him. Matt also has a large real estate deal going on that consumes his time and focus.
Alexander Payne is an interesting director whose previous film, "Sideways" had a great critical reception. "The Descendants" continues to explore and expand his universe, with characters who always seem trampled by a reality that is overbearing towards them. These characters somehow always find a way to cope and overcome their discouraging obstacles. That occurred in "About Schmidt" and also "Election". His heroes are every day men, trying to adapt to realities that have changed without them accompanying that change. The film features great performances from George Clooney and Shailene Woodley. Clooney in particular imbues his character with a mix of sadness, surprise and pain that makes his Matt King all the more human and reachable. This is a film that smartly encompasses a theme as dark as death and opposes it with the luxurious joy and life that seems to be all around in Hawaii. A good film worth watching.

Hugo

Movie Name: Hugo

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Martin Scorsese

Stars: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone, Jude Law, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Michael Stuhlbarg, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, Emil Lager, Kevin Eldon 

Genre: Drama, Adventure, Fantasy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 9

Synopsis:

After the great "Shutter Island" with Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese changes gears again, and tackles a different style of film in his already fantastic career. "Hugo" is an adaptation of Brian Selznick's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", and follows the story of young Hugo, who is a lonely orphan in charge of keeping the clocks of the main train station in Paris working (in the 1930s). Hugo's father was a watchmaker and instilled that passion in him. Hugo is also trying to fix an automaton that his father discovered. He believes the machine holds a message from his late father, but it actually leads him down another path. He finds out about George Melies and his young goddaughter. Their encounter changes all their lives.
Martin Scorsese has been a fierce promoter of film preservation for a long time. His encyclopedic knowledge of film history and devotion to classic film has been well known. "Hugo" starts as a story about a young orphan trying to desperately maintain contact with his long lost father, but it slowly becomes an ode to the story of films, the long forgotten masters of silent film, in particular George Melies. The film is touching, heartwarming, beautifully shot and edited, and is a true ode to the joy of filmmaking, to the art of illusion and entertainment. There is an attention to each frame that fills this film with a beauty that only Martin Scorsese can instill within his films. Though the film does have a screenplay that sometimes falls under some cliches (particularly the Sacha Baron Cohen character), the overall experience is one of wonder and beauty. A great film not to be missed.

J Edgar

Movie Name: J. Edgar

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Armie Hammer, Jeffrey Donovan, Josh Lucas, Dermot Mulroney, Zach Grenier, Ed Westwick, Denis O'Hare, Damon Herriman, Lea Thompson, Christopher Shyer, Josh Hamilton

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:

Following his previous effort "Hereafter", Clint Eastwood is back, tackling another period piece, much like what he has previously done in "Bird" and "Changeling" to name but a few of his extensive career. "J Edgar" follows episodes of the life of controversial figure, J. Edgar Hoover, one of they key founders of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The film oscillates between showing Hoover in his final days as head of the Bureau (in the early 70s) and when he started his official career (immediately following the end of the First World War). The film also focuses on his relationship with Clyde Tolson, his main deputy with whom he had a very close and intimate relationship, and his volatile personality which made him distort and lie about facts in an attempt to seize more attention to himself.
Clint Eastwood is a director who usually focuses his attention on characters that emerge as reluctant heroes, or people thrown in situations that are overwhelming, but that they eventually overcome. Working with a script from Dustin Lance Black, who wrote the fantastic "Milk" (directed by Gus Van Sant), Eastwood focuses his attention on J Edgar Hoover, a man who is for all intended purposes a divisive figure (and not his usual "hero"). The film is not a traditional biopic, since it focuses on specific cases in his life, namely the Lindbergh baby case, and offers not much insight to who the man really was. The screenplay ends up not probing deeply into the man's life and as such, the film feels like a snapshot seen from a distance. There is no conflict or dramatic peak to a story that is ultimately unrewarding. Leonardo DiCaprio gives another fantastic performance as a lonely man, eager to please his mom, while the always excellent Naomi Watts has little to do with her character. This is a film that could have offered much more but that ultimately feels a bit underwhelming.

Weekend

Movie Name: Weekend

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Andrew Haigh

Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Laura Freeman, Vauxhall Jermaine

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

"Weekend" is Andrew Haigh's long feature debut, following shorts and a docudrama and an extensive experience as an assistant editor. The film follows the story of Russell, a young man who while out in a club, meets Glen. What initially starts as a sexual encounter, slowly progresses to something more profound, as both young men start learning more about each other. That process however comes to a halt, once Glen reveals he's moving to America to pursue his art studies.
Andrew Haigh has built with "Weekend" a film that is insightful, naturalistic and intimistic. The viewer becomes almost a third person, viewing a relationship blossom and grow from what is apparently a casual encounter. The film lives from their closeness, their interactions. Both actors are great, Tom Cullen and Chris New, create characters that are flawed, real and anguished. This is a small gem of a film waiting to be discovered.

La Piel que Habito/The Skin I Live In

Movie Name: La Piel que Habito

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Stars: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Robert Alamo, Eduard Fernandez, Jose Luis Gomez, Blanca Suarez, Agustin Almodovar, Isabel Blanco

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8

Synopsis:

Pedro Almodovar is back, after the great "Los Abrazos Rotos". "La Piel que Habito" is an adaptation of the Thierry Jonquet's book "Tarantula/Migalle" and follows the story of a brilliant surgeon named Robert Ledgard. Robert's life is touched by tragedy, since his wife committed suicide, following a horrible accident, something that ends up touching the life of his daughter, Norma, who eventually comits suicide as well (following a rape attempt). Robert's grief makes him devise a plan to get back at the person who attacked his daughter.
Almodovar is a director who has is own universe. That universe keeps his stories intersecting throughout his directorial career. "La Piel que Habito" has elements from "Matador" and "Law of Desire" and even "Kika", but weaves a story that is simultaneously familiar and unique. Robert's thirst for revenge leads him down the path of recreating someone he lost, to make someone else adapt to another skin. These are themes that Almodovar touches throughout his career, and though "La Piel que Habito" may seem like a vengeance story, in the end, it's more a story about our true identities, what truly defines us. The film is fantastically well directed as usual and features very good performances from Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya and Marisa Paredes. A great film worth watching!

Immortals

Movie Name: Immortals

Year of Release: 2011

Director: Tarsem Singh

Stars: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Stephen Dorff, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans, John Hurt, Joseph Morgan, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz, Daniel Sharman, Alan Van Sprang

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6

Synopsis:

Tarsem Singh has made his name as a director of commercials. His previous two feature films, "The Cell" and "The Fall", have been met with divisive reviews, but one underlying opinion was the unique visuals that populated both films. That unique visual flair is something that is back on "Immortals", which follows the story of Theseus, who is chosen by Zeus, a God from Olympus, to battle the king Hyperion, who is bent on releasing Titans, creatures who can battle and destroy the Gods. Theseus sees his village being destroyed and his mother being killed, which sets him on a path to battle Hyperion, with the aid of a beautiful Oracle named Phaedra. 
"Immortals" is a dynamic and visually ravishing film. The director has mentioned that he tried to create a film that is visually similar to the artwork of Caravaggio, and that comes across clearly in the film. Unlike Zack Snyder's "300" which was hyper stylized and very much an adaptation of the graphic novel (by Frank Miller), "Immortals" tries to build something that is more elaborate and artistically minded. If visually that works fantastically well, on the narrative side that never really is accomplished. The screenplay and all the characters are paper thin - there is no depth or much novelty to the way the characters are presented. Sadly, there's only so much a director can do when the screenplay is populated by cliches. The film has stunning cinematography, art direction, though the actors never really achieve anything beyond mediocrity. A film worth watching for it's aesthetic pleasure and not much else.

Margin Call

Movie Name: Margin Call

Year of Release: 2011

Director: J.C. Chandor

Stars: Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Demi Moore, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Aasif Mandvi, Ashley Williams

Genre: Drama

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 7

Synopsis:

"Margin Call" follows the story of a group of characters who are brought together, by a meltdown in an Investment Bank. The film introduces us to a large corporation that is going through a series of layoffs. One of them is Eric Dale, a senior analyst, who before leaving warns one of his employees that he's been working on a big project that is important for him to finalize. This employee, Peter Sullivan, finishes that project, and much to his shock, verifies that the company itself is in serious problems. In order to salvage the situation, a series of important players are brought in to tackle the ordeal.
J.C. Chandor in his first feature, builds a film that is pertinent, suspenseful and dramatically powerful, anchored in some great performances from a strong cast. The film uses the ripple effect of how a company and the decisions that a few take, can destroy the economy of a country (and ultimately countries). The story is a thinly veiled representation of how the economic meltdown of 2008 came to take place. The high risks of finance, mortgages, which can hardly be considered dynamic, create a sense of impending doom in the film, as the hours pass by and the players that are brought in assess the situation in order to salvage what can be saved. The cast is uniformly great, but special highlight goes to Kevin Spacey and Jeremy Irons, both of whom are superb as the opposing faces of the same quarter. A good film worth watching!