Snow Angels (2007)

Director: David Gordon Green
Writer: David Gordon Green (Screenplay), Stewart O'Nan (Novel)
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano
Genre: Drama, Romance

Snow Angels is still touching my memory, and I suspect I'll have to watch it again in a while. I suspect it's a lot better than my initial rating indicate, but I might have just watched it at a bad day for that kind of movie.

I do remember both Beckinsale and Rockwell being great, the movie describing small community life well and the movie use an interesting viewing point at the story at hand.

Even if the movie should fall short also at the second attempt, I know the acting alone will be enough to reward my time.

Public Enemies (2009)

Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Screenplay by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann & Ann Biderman
Novel "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34" by Bryan Burrough
Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, James Russo, Carey Mulligan, Emilie de Ravin, Giovanni Ribisi, Lili Taylor
Genre: Biography, History, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Public Enemies takes us back to the heydays of gangsters with Tommy-guns, telling the story of John Dillinger (Depp), Public Enemy No. 1 and the beginning of FBI. There's a romantic aura about this era, but there was actually very little romantic about it. While the semi-romantic Robin Hood-like notions might have followed the bank robbers of the depression, the results of Tommy-guns spitting led in the streets would soon enough turn the tide.

Michael Mann knows how to tell these crime stories intelligently. Everybody still remembers Heat (1995) as one of the best movies within its genre. He does well here as well, but without walking away from the biographical facts, there's a lack of highlights within the story.

Both Depp and Bale is brilliant as usual, and they are supported by an ensemble cast here. Still. The lack of theatrically stunning scenes helps dull us to sleep with its 140 minutes runtime. I don't deny it's a story worth telling. I just think it's not especially well suited to make a great movie.

In Her Shoes (2005)

Director: Curtis Hanson
Writer: Screenplay by Susannah Grant, Novel by Jennifer Weiner
Cast. Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine
Genre: Drama, Rom-Com

In Her Shoes' focus is at the two very different sisters Maggie (Diaz) and Rose (Collette). Maggie is the party girl, while Rose is more the by the book life-planner. An indiscretion over Rose's boyfriend separate them even more, and when a formerly unknown grandmother living in Florida enters the picture, soon they are separated in distance as well.

While the romantic and dramatic parts doesn't separate itself from most of the others within the genre, this one is actually quite funny in its own quirky little ways.

A Lot Like Love (2005)

Director: Nigel Cole
Writer: Colin Patrick Lynch
Cast: Amanda Peet, Ashton Kutcher
Genre: Rom-Com, Drama

A Lot Like Love is your typical Rom-Com, without much noteworthy about it. I don't care much for Ashton Kutcher, but as I had a Amanda Peet streak going it turned me towards this movie as well.

Our leading couple meet, decide they are a bad romantic match but a great match for friendship. With the tagline "There's nothing better than a great romance... to ruin a perfectly good friendship", the possibility of predicting the movie correctly is quite high. I found the chemistry between them was good and Peet was charming as ever, but it's a very average movie.

Sideways (2004)

Director: Alexander Payne
Writer: Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, Novel by Rex Pickett
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh, Virginia Madsen
Genre: Drama, Rom-Com

Sideways is about two middle-age best-friends who embark on a wine-tasting trip together. Miles (Giamatti) sees it as a nice sendoff before Jack's wedding. Jack (Haden Church) sees it as a chance for a last fling before married life. Both struggling to cope with the mediocrity and failures of their lives, neither really have a realistic view at life.

The acting is good and it's a well enough told story, but the humor didn't hit home with me, leaving me unsatisfied. It won Oscar for "Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay", and was nominated for both among others "Best Motion Picture of the Year" and "Best Achievement in Directing", so it obviously hit home with a lot of others.

Griffin & Phoenix (2006)

Director: Ed Stone
Writer: John Hill
Cast: Amanda Peet, Dermot Mulroney
Genre: Rom-Com, Drama

Griffin & Phoenix is another take on the timeless story of challenged love, but this one actually have managed to get the important stuff front and center. There's a lot of heart gone into making it, the leading couple is both acting well and with a great chemistry, and did I mention it's filled with heart? It can't score much on originality, but it takes back credit on knowing so perfectly well which story they are trying to tell. It's a focused and well balanced script, spending time where time should be spent rather than spreading thin.

A surpassed movie, as only 2468 people have so far seen it and taken the time voting at IMDB.

Playing by Heart (1998)

Director: Willard Carroll
Writer: Willard Carroll
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson, Madeleine Stowe, Ryan Phillipe, Dennis Quaid, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony Edwards, Jay Mohr, Jon Stewart, Amanda Peet
Genre:Drama, Romance, Comedy

Playing by Heart is a mosaic tale of life, love and family. Willard Carroll is responsible for both screenplay and directing, and he's managed to go clear of the usual pits these kind movies drag them self into.

It's filled with warmth, heart and humor, without turning into a banal and naive cliché. An ensemble cast helps a lot, but it's the smaller details of every story that keeps the audience interest.

Frozen River (2008)

Director: Courtney Hunt
Writer: Courtney Hunt
Cast: Melissa Leo
Genre: Drama, Crime

Frozen River takes us to the borderlands of the Mohawk Reservation within Quebec and New York State, and the poverty, human trafficking and racial profiling facing everybody. Melissa Leo is excellent in the role as the single mom taking care of her two kids by any means necessary.

This movie is a well-scripted view at life in a multi-cultural borderland, treading the story through the reservations as well as the minimum salary jobs and limitations as well as temptations.

Martian Child (2007)

Director: Menno Meyjes
Writer: Screenplay by Seth Bass & Jonathan Tolis, based on David Gerrold's novel "The Martian Child"
Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack, Bobby Coleman
Genre: Drama, Family

Martian Child is the story of a recently widowed science fiction writer (John Cusack) finding back to life through a imaginative young boy who thinks he's from Mars. Their paths cross as a pending adoption from the time his wife still was alive, comes through without the knowledge of her death. As it turns out, our writer is probably as lost as the boy while trying to cope with the loss.

It's a quite simple and heartwarming drama suitable for the entire family. Don't expect to be blown away by any of the choices going into making it, but it touches well on many of the right notes of this quite limited genre.

The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)

Director: Rebecca Miller
Writer: Rebecca Miller
Cast: Daniel-Day Lewis, Camilla Belle, Catherine Keener, Ryan McDonald
Genre: Drama

The Ballad of Jack and Rose takes us to a once thriving commune, following a father (Lewis) and daughter (Belle) whom are the only ones left now. Living of the land and being environmentally considered in all their living have gone out of fashion, leaving them isolated in their commune. With his teenage daughter on the virtue of womanhood, Jack invites his girlfriend to the commune along her two boys. The world as Jack and Rose knew it change a lot. Soon enough the teenage girl rebels, sexuality becomes an issue and co-existing with a family used to all kind of comfort spirals the group into more trouble.

It's an interesting movie, more than it's a good one. Good acting performances all around helps a lot. Lewis is great as usual, and Camilla Belle is a joy to be introduced to in her first adult role.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)

Director: Stephen Sommers
Writer: Screenplay by Stuart Beattie, David Elliot & Paul Lovett, Story by Stephen Sommers, Michael Gordon & Stuart Beattie
Cast: Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rachel Nichols, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid, Byung-hun Lee, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is simple Sci-Fi action built on a military unit's fight against a rogue special unit. Futuristic weapons and skills, results in high-paced fighting, CGI-based entertainment and as usual in such cases, very little focus on good storytelling, balanced focus on plot vs CGI vs suspense-building or any of the other good old elements they used in earlier attempts at the genre.

This being a backlogged review, I can honestly say I don't remember it well enough to have any idea why I even gave it as much as 4/10. It sure didn't make a lasting impression, but maybe the CGI-fighting scenes worked well enough to almost entertain a bit?