This time of year used to be full of tripe and leftovers — the stuff that’s too tame for summer box-office and too lame for year-end awards.
Not this season. We screened seven flicks this week, and the results were pleasantly surprising.
Here’s a quick rundown:
The Brave One — Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard. Director NeiI Jordan unleashes an updated Death Wish, with Foster as a radio talker who responds to a devastating criminal attack by buying a gun and offing thugs. Howard is the cop who suspects and respects her. Powerful action and tension overcome a predictable, manipulative script. Besides, we like Jodie Foster, even when she’s riffing on Charles Bronson. B-
Eastern Promises — Director David Cronenberg and star Viggo Mortensen continue what they started with A History of Violence. This time, the crime saga is set among Russian mobsters in New York. Naomi Watts plays a midwife who enters that dark, dangerous world when she tries to find the father of an infant rescued from its freshly murdered mother. Armin Mueller-Stahl is also terrific as a grandfatherly gang boss. One of the year’s best thrillers, but not for the squeamish. There’s a lot of blood, and Mortensen’s hand-to-hand fight for his life in a steam bath is a scene not to be forgotten. A-
In the Valley of Elah — Writer-director Paul Haggis (”Crash”) delivers a compelling mystery starring Tommy Lee Jones as a retired MP determined to find out how and why his son died soon after returning from combat in Iraq. The detective angle is superbly constructed, and Haggis adds elements that make us wonder about the effects of prolonged battle duty on otherwise wholesome young men. Harrowing stuff, with an award-worthy performance by Jones. Charlize Theron is also excellent as a local cop who breaks the rules to help him. B+
Sydney White — At 21, Amanda Bynes is becoming one of the top young actresses around. In this cleverly updated “Snow White” spinoff, she plays a normal gal whose arrival at college is marred by a mean-spirited wicked witch of a sorority president (Sara Paxton). Our heroine finds refuge in a dilapidated house occupied by seven dorks. (Seven dorks, get it?) Fairy-tale conventions merge neatly into a revenge-of-the-nerds plot, with plenty of witty lines and feel-good twists. A surprsingly neat treat. B
Across the Universe — Director Julie Taymor assembled this ’60s romance, in which the characters sing (or perhaps butcher) Beatle songs to express themselves as they learn about antiwar protests, psychedelia and love, love, love. Young unknowns (except Bono and Eddie Izzard in cameos) croon the tunes in way that would embarrass professional singers and make old Beatlemaniacs cringe. Some of the visuals are interesting, but overall I’d rather watch that godawful “Sgt. Pepper” with Peter Frampton and the BeeGees. C-
The Hunting Party — Richard Gere and Terrence Howard star as iconoclastic war correspondents on the trail of a Serbian war criminal. Gere is superb as the rule-breaking rogue and Howard matches him as the cameraman with common sense outweighed by his sense of friendship and adventure. Fun and war games from writer-director Richard Shepherd. B
The King of Kong — Fascinating documentary about the geeks who devote their lives to vintage video games, particularly Donky Kong. The players might be hopeless nerds, but the competition is fierce and not always fair. An eye-opening peek into a pathetic subculture. B+
See you at www.bobrossmovies.com
