12 Angry Men (1957)

Courtrooms always seem to get the glory—attractive lawyers passionately defending or prosecuting some complex case, snide remarks to a judge threatening contempt, and a resolution that feels hard-fought and just. Equally as important, yet often overlooked, are the juries who decide these cases. The story here is as simple as the title: a jury, retiring after the completion of a murder trial, deliberate and discuss the case to try to reach a verdict. What makes this story so damn interesting is how well chosen each of the twelve personalities are. Some just want to leave and get back to their lives, some genuinely want to discuss the case, some are convinced with solid thinking, some just go along with the prevailing crowd. It's fascinating to watch them bounce off of each other, arguing their perception of the facts, and slowly let a clearer view of their decision come together. The film doesn't play for some grander message about what is good and great about the justice system, merely that everything is more complicated than the surface tends to show.

8 out of 10.

(500) Days of Summer (2009)

At the start the narrator sets out to assure the audience that while this is a story of boy meets girl, it is not a love story. Instead, it is a complicated tale of a relationship too perfect to last, examining how it came to be, as well as the gruesome trainwreck it becomes. A lot of clever tricks are used to show this, the most primary of which is its nonlinear structure, flipping back and forth between the up and coming relationship, and the aftermath in equal measure. The script itself is wonderfully solid with many very funny moments, however this is as much a drama as anything else, and it's here that the cast and writing really shine. Zooey Deschanel is absolutely perfect as the titular Summer, managing to seem impossible and charming and appropriately maddening. That said, this is really Joseph Gordon-Levitt's movie and he completely owns it. For an actor who has never really hit the mainstream, he gives what may be the performance of his career as the aloof and idealistic Tom, providing the character's gradual breakdown an extremely impressive weight. It adds up to an exceptional commentary on the state of love and relationships today, and a beautifully heartbreaking trip for the audience.

9 out of 10.

007 Casino Royale (2006)

Start from scratch. Strip away the liscence to kill, the shaken martini and fast cars, and even the double-oh from James Bond, and you get a film about a man struggling with hard lessons on the path to become the world's greatest spy. This new iteration of the classic character isn't afraid of dirty work, and more resembles a thuggish assassin with delusions of style than the suave, invincible macho male fantasy of movies past. The humanizing reboot mostly works, focusing much tighter on characterization than explosions, which in turn causes the few action sequences and tricky situations to carry a heft almost unseen in the series. That said, at points the attempt to portray a more relatable, realistic Bond goes too far, especially in the final act which not only feels like a break from earlier parts of the film, but leaps unexpectedly into an entirely different genre. Despite all this, the wager to pick apart the cinematic icon was a wise one, showing a fresh version of Bond who is flawed and fallible, but more exciting as well.

8 out of 10.

007 Quantum of Solace

A first for the now 22 film strong series: a direct sequel! Picking up within an hour of the conclusion of Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace sees the apparent conspiracy from the first widened into a global affair, with key players in all places and Britain's best super-spy cum one man army out to tear it apart. It works almost every bit as well as the previous film, and has the advantage of not spontaneously changing genres in the third act. The focus is different however, preferring to build a larger, credible threat while a guilt- and rage-ridden Bond slowly works through the morass, killing his way to bigger and better leads. The action is remains solid if a bit over the top (though still mercifully shy of the ultra-silliness that much of the series is known for), and the characters stay as compelling as the last film. It's a fine effort all around, continuing the strengths of its predecessor, and while it really doesn't break any new ground it still remains some damn fine entertainment.

8 out of 10.

1408 (2007)

They really don't make horror films like this anymore. It's not sadistic, not particularly gory, nobody gets chopped up slowly into little pieces while they gargle their last scream—it's just a good, old fashioned scary picture. It's almost Hitchcockian. The sense of dread and unpredictability that the first half builds is almost balletic, reaching a perfect rolling boil that carries throughout the rest of the film, while the surprisingly thick plot (for a horror movie) has a few exceptional cards to play. It's not quite all good news, however. Samuel L. Jackson's overly insistent hotel manager character feels both under- and mis-used, while the occasional corny wink from John Cusack still manages to sneak in from time to time, and some of the plot's twists are overly elaborate and contrived. But for the most part the movie focuses on the character of the room itself, generating one nerve wracking situation after another to wonderful effect. It may not be the finest horror flick out there, but it's hard to argue when the haunted house scares on offer are this much fun.

8 out of 10.

30 Days of Night (2007)

For a movie that spends so much screen time developing our heroes it's amazing how little you care when they die. Here's another great concept for a horror flick—Vampires in the long night that is the Alaskan winter—wasted on a poor script, a few underrated actors, and a director with better past projects. Sure it's got its creep factor, but how hard is it to jump out behind something and yell boo? If you want to make someone leap out of their seat, that works fine, but that isn't what makes a movie memorable. And it's great that the film gives plenty of time for character development, but there's nothing there to develop. Oh, and don't even get me started on the vampires. They didn't even try to develop them! They're just sadistic dickholes who like to eat people. I've been more sympathetic to zombies! This movie just doesn't work. It's two hours of empty jump scares and blood-stained snow, and pretty much nothing more.

3 out of 10.

300 (2007)

So that. Was. Sparta. Call me cynical, but I always pictured something a little less... digital. Make no mistake, whatever else the film may be, it sure looks good! The acting, meanwhile, is generally passable but more from the Michael Bay school of performance than, say, Shakespeare. Queen Gorgo probably comes out best, whilst the one-note King Leonidas injects some testosterone, dials his voice up to 11 and has at it. At the same time the script he shouts doesn't bother giving these fellows much reason to fight other than being generally indignant, so basically the whole film is an exercise in angry bloodbaths with a criminally dull side of toga politics. I guess it comes down to what you want out of your movies. If your idea of a good time is watching a few thousand things die in gruesome detail, while a king paradoxically screams about freedom and reason in front and inside of sublime visual canvases then this movie is everything you could possibly hope for and then some. But if you care why these people fight, or what these people fight for, or just want to see a toga debate given the same loving detail as a battle scene then your mileage may vary.

7 out of 10.

The 11th Hour (2007)

Charitably, this could be called 'An Inconvenient Truth 2: Inconvenient Harder,' but I don't even think it rates quite that good. The problem with this film isn't necessarily of filmcraft, it's a decently made documentary. It's that we've seen it before, and done better and more persuasively. Basically here we have Leo Dicaprio showing us a laundry list of independent sources telling us what we “obviously think” about issues relating to renewable resources and global climate change. I don't have a problem with the argument being made to save the planet—I agree with their assertion that something needs to be done—it's just that there's very little persuasion going on, and a whole lot of assumptions. It preaches to the choir. All that said, it's a good film, and if you're already of the mindset this movie tries to assume you are, then you'll find a nice supplement to that other Inconvenient movie out there.

6 out of 10.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Being the story of an outlaw and a family man in the American south(-wild-)west as told by actors Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, an Aussie and a Brit respectively. Are we so low on manly man actors in this country that we need to outsource? As to the film itself, there really is very little to complain over, but at the same time nothing to start calling friends about either. The script is well written and engaging, the film's pace set to a steady and sure 'amble', the costuming and accents correct in their place, and the acting solid all around, especially Ben Foster's turn as a brutal second banana to Crowe's first... pineapple? Everything seems to skate the line of “very good” from start to finish, but never quite makes the jump into “great”. The only disappointment about the whole thing is that its ending takes what becomes a fascinating study of moral ambiguity in the wild west and lends it a level of uncomfortable certainty, simultaneously confusing and insulting the audience in the process. Worth seeing if you're a fan of non-ironic (except that whole Brit/Aussie thing), old fashioned westerns. Good to see Alan Tudyk is still getting work.

8 out of 10.

28 Weeks Later (2007)

Not as good as the first, but still pretty damn good. A few glaring gaps of logic, and the problem of focusing the story on 2 intrepid fugee British children keep it from being the mature, thinking man's zombie movie the first managed to somehow be. It still manages to maintain the same sense of visceral urgency and brutality, however. When the limbs start flying the film is at its strongest, giving its exceptionally well-realized post apocalyptic war zone a sense of plausibility and reality few other other movies bother to portray. If only the characters had managed to be as detailed as the settings and the carnage. I guess we'll just have to settle for being almost as good as its predecessor.

7 out of 10.

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