WOOOO! With my viewing of Avatar on Saturday afternoon, I reached 100! Then I saw Did You Hear About the Morgans? on Sunday for 101. I’m gonna mini-review Morgans, as the quality of the picture is pretty self explanatory from the trailer and by-line. But Avatar, the review will be directly proportional to the length of the film and my liking of it.

Did You Hear About The Morgans? – 0.5 stars

This film is about as predictable as they get, especially since I saw it 12 years ago as For Richer or Poorer with Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley. Ok… saw’s a strong word, I heard about it. But a bickering big city couple goes to live in the country for reasons beyond their control, and find out they really love each other. The film relies heavily on moving from one gag to the other. Hugh Grant is charming, if annoying. And the always dependable Sam Elliot brings it home, but even they couldn’t save this drivel.

Avatar – 4.5 stars

2009 was not only a big year for sci-fi, but it was big year for game changing sci-fi, and it was a year that turned sci-fi on it’s head. Star Trek broadened sci-fi’s appeal to a mainstream audience. District 9 was the little movie that could, and told one of the best stories of the year. And Avatar showed what a true craftsman could do with enough money and technology.

Whereas most sci-fi flicks explore aliens invading Earth, what if we were the invading race? That’s the core them that Avatar explores. After humans have used up the resources on Earth by 2154, they head out into space in search of more. They come to Pandora, a distant Earth-like moon with abundant resources, including the very valuable and not too subtly named “unattainium,” but the native race, the Na’vi, prefer to live their peaceful lives undisturbed, and won’t give up their land without a fight. So in order to coerce them into leaving, the military has turned to avatars, remotely operated versions of the Na’vi, controlled through the mind by scientists and soldiers. The plan goes awry when paraplegic Jake Sulley not only grows accustomed to his new body, but gets accepted into the Na’vi tribe. Now he’s torn between his former life and his orders as a Marine, and the new world he’s become a part of.

That’s honestly the shortest description I could come up with that still does the movie justice and gives you a good idea of what the film is about. It’s such a complex, yet wonderfully engaging film.

James Cameron took his time in making this film. He started with a vision. And he patiently waited for technology to catch up to his vision. One could argue that that’s an incredibly pretentious thing to say. But when you’re the director who revolutionized visual effects twice (first two Terminator films), and has a history of epic story telling, I’m willing to grant you a little leeway in crafting your art.

I think he was right in waiting. Had this been made 10 years ago, we would have wound up with a mess of CGI, rivaling the Star Wars prequels in looking cartoonish and flat. But by taking the time to create a generated, yet realistic looking world paid off. And filming in 3D enhanced the experience. Cameron fully immerses the viewer in the world of Pandora through what was probably a painstaking attention to detail. He doesn’t just show you this other world, this world of the Na’vi, he pulls you in, and makes you just as much a part of it as the characters he creates.

But here’s the thing about his cinematic baby, he doted too much. It’s one thing to top the 2.5 hour mark and push for 3 if it’s a good, engaging, worthy 2 hours and 42 minutes. But, and this holds true for his last feature, the even longer Titanic, trim the fat. There were times where it seemed an excess of scenes in an effort to show off the CGI, rather than move the story along. It’s not that they weren’t fascinating to watch. But were they necessary? Probably not. Trim the fat, put it back in for the director’s cut DVD.

As for the actual story being told, I don’t think he even tried to hide the metaphors and analogies. In which case, can we really consider them to be metaphors and analogies? The big industrial, militaristic society infringes on the earth loving, spiritual society for capitalistic gains. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking story. But even a bland story well told is still a well told story.

Now, as for the performances. Sam Worthington, as Jake Sulley, obviously bears the load of the story. He carries the film. And to be a relatively unknown (Stateside anyway) carrying a several hundred million dollar epic with high hopes and higher hype is no small task. But Worthington, to his credit, stepped up to the plate, swung for the fences, and hit it out of the ballpark. What I took away from his performance, is that he was given free reign to act the role as he saw fit. And you get an already disenchanted young man who becomes increasingly torn between two worlds. It was to his benefit that we didn’t know who he was, because we had no expectations, no preconceptions as to what he could or should do. And when you get an actor who is allowed to act with careful guidance through the story from the creator of said story, you get a more nuanced performance.

That being said, one shouldn’t count out 30 year veteran Sigourney Weaver for bringing a surprising amount of heart to not only her character, lead scientist Dr. Grace Augustine, but to the film. It makes me ponder if we’ve just kind of been taking Weaver for granted as an actress all these years.

I would, sticking with performances, like to point out Stephen Lang, primarily known for his stage work, but has made a name for himself as a character actor over the years. He steals the show as the hard edged Colonel Miles Quaritch. Kudos, Mr. Lang.

I do highly recommend this film. It lives up to the hype and then some. And to wrap up the review, I’ll paraphrase a friend and kindred cinematic spirit, Jerett Kelly, “I’ve long felt I missed out, not being able to see Star Wars during it’s original theatrical run. Now, after seeing Avatar, I know the feeling. Avatar is our generation’s Star Wars.” Also: do yourself a favour, see it in 3D.

After going over and over and over the math, with these 6 films, my official count now stands at 99 films seen theatrically in a year. Avatar will be the 100th.

Armored – 1 star

Laurence Fishburne, Matt Dillon, Jean Reno and Columbus Short star in this tale of good guys gone bad when a team of armoured truck guards decide to plan the perfect heist, but it all goes awry when rookie guard Ty (Short) backs out last minute and throws a wrench into their plans.

Formulaic and derivative to it’s core, this film brings nothing new to the table. The characters go through a motivational shift that, by movie’s end, is still unexplained. I suppose you could sweep it all up with good, old fashioned greed, but I still want to know what made these seemingly good characters, who we like early on in the film, go so bad. Why did they want the money? The acting isn’t bad, but it’s just not very good.

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day – 3.5 stars

This is one of those films that you either get or you don’t. Writer/DirectorTroy Duffy re-teams with Billy Connolly, Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus to continue the story of the vengeance seeking MacManus clan. 8 years after their initial spree that spilled the blood of the worst criminals all over the streets of Boston, the Brothers are called out by the son of crime boss Yakavetta, to answer for their “sins.”

Featuring returning favourites and a fresh cast (including Judd Nelson, Clifton Collins, Peter Fonda and Dexter‘s Julie Benz), fans of the original will definitely not be disappointed by the sequel. It features the kitschy, over-the-top action that repeated viewings of the original on DVD have made us accustomed to. It’s light on actual plot, but wasn’t the first one, too?

Brothers – 4 stars

Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal star in the roles they were born to play, the titular brothers. When Tobey’s Cpt. Sam Cahill goes missing, feared dead, in Afghanistan, Jake’s ne’er-do-well Tommy Cahill steps in to comfort his grieving widow Grace (Natalie Portman). This leads to complications upon Sam’s rescue and return home.

Maguire really comes into his own as an actor with this role. His intense, bombastic portrayal of a mentally and emotionally scarred vet frightens you at the same time it pulls you in. To balance that out, Gyllenhaal turns in a quiet, understated performance as the brother, that engages with something bubbling just beneath the surface. Each performance more subtle than we’ve seen from these two before.

Everybody’s Fine – 3.5 stars

Robert De Niro stars as a recent widower trying to re-connect with his now grown kids (Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore) in this feel good movie just in time for the holiday season.

The performances were all fine. It’s really one of those “Hey, call your dad” kinda movies. But in the end, it felt a little hollow for how by the numbers it was. Yes, De Niro and Rockwell did a lot with a little (even Barrymore and Beckinsale were engaging), but it really could have been anyone in those roles, and I don’t know if anyone would have known the difference. Which is too bad, because I really like Rockwell’s work.

Invictus – 3.5

Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela, which has to be the role of a lifetime, in this inspiration film that crosses international sports with a politically and culturally fractured nation.

And in that respect, it’s very good. It shows the impact that even the most seemingly insignificant event can have on a country and it’s people. And the last effects of that event. And both Freeman and his co-star Matt Damon play their roles to perfection.

But can we stop pretending that Clint Eastwood is god’s gift to directing already? He keeps getting such high marks for his directing, but the last thing he did as a director that really impressed me was Mystic River. Though to be fair, I have yet to see Letters From Iwo Jima. Everything else? Meh.

The Princess and the Frog – 4 stars

Disney’s first traditional hand drawn 2D animation film in five years is also their finest in 15. Set in Jazz-era New Orleans, visiting Prince Naveen has a run-in with local voodoo practitioner, which turns him into a frog. Naveen must find a Princess to kiss in order to reverse the spell, but a case of mistaken identity (they’re at a costume ball) leads to waitress and aspiring restauratrice Tiana also becoming a frog following said kiss, and then go on a journey to be human again.

So, Disney isn’t one for groundbreaking plot, what’s new? It’s beautifully drawn, some of the best animation we’ve seen out of the House of Mouse in ages. The voice work from Anika Noni-Rose, Bruno Campos and Keith David is fun and lighthearted, with the perfect amount of liveliness. The only real problem comes with the songs. Back in the day, the songs worked to move the story along. Unfortunately, they just seem awkwardly juxtaposed into the film for the sake of having songs.

As a I move toward the end of the year, I’m also quickly approaching a milestone in my movie watching. My previous record for most different films seen in theatres in a single year was 70 set in 2004. I currently stand at 91, and I hope to hit 100 by the end of the year. That out of the way… the reviews.

A few mini reviews, then 2 full reviews.

The Blind Side – 3.5 stars – It’s a good enough film, it entertains and pulls the heartstrings. But really, how many times are they going to retread the “inspirational true sports story”? Tim McGraw is a surprisingly decent actor.

Planet 51 – 2 stars – It’s funny to the point of satirizing the alien invasion flicks of the 50s. But beyond that, it’s a one joke flick that fails to keep you interested to the end. Emphatic *shrug* ‘meh?’

Ninja Assassin – 1 star – It’s exactly what it says it is. A ninja assassin. Add in “boring.” It’s like watching a video game. Scratch that…. It’s like watching someone else play a crappy video game, that you have no interest in playing at all, and are only in the room because you have nothing better to do while you wait for your frozen pizza to bake. And you’re super high. Actually, that might have helped this flick. But the action’s fun.

Old Dogs – .5 star – I’m done with the broad, ‘gotta appeal to everyone,’ comedies that walk across the same old jokes time and time again. We get it, they’re old. We get it, this is an important business opportunity. We get it, the kids are a total buzzkill. Why do adults always have to learn? Why can’t kids ever learn a lesson? Like, sit down, shut up, and behave.

Coco avant Chanel – 3.5 stars – I like Audrey Tautou. I really do, I think she’s a terrific actress and gives an engaging performance as the late designer. But the movie never really made me care about the characters. I didn’t know why the story was told. Could be a cultural thing.

And now… the full reviews.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon – .5 star

The Twilight movies are pretty much critic proof. No matter what I say, the fans are going to eat it up and love it. That being said, they shouldn’t. It’s a terrible film, with arguably some of the worst acting. The leads couldn’t carry a film if their careers depended on it, and luckily they don’t have to. It’s the brand that’s filling the seats, not the stars. But you do get some engaging performances from the bit part adults.

New Moon is the second entry in the inexplicably popular Twilight franchise, and we pick up where the first one left off, with Bella (Kristen Stewart) dating vampire hunk Edward (Robert Pattinson, yet now the reality of her aging and him not is starting to dawn on her. To save her from being hurt, he leaves, which only hurts her more. And then her best friend is a werewolf.

I don’t know. I didn’t care much for seeing this going in. The fact that it plods along at a pace that even a snail would say “hurry up” only adds to my inability to effectively follow along with the plot.

I don’t know where it broke down, in the screen writing process, Chris Weitz’s directing, or in the editing room, but somewhere along the way, the film lost all narrative cohesiveness. The two and a half minute trailer tells a more engaging story than the two hour movie.

Looking at Melissa Rosenberg’s list of credits, you’d wonder how someone who writes for ‘Dexter,’ one of the most compelling shows on television, could write one of the blandest, most cliche riddled and melodramatic screenplays of our time, but scroll down her IMDb page a little more and you get your answer. She also wrote the first Twilight and the equally dreadful Step Up. Stick to TV, you’re clearly better there.

Now onto the acting… I got excited when I saw Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen pop up in the trailer. I remember thinking, “Ok, this film has some street-cred now.” But that was ultimately disappointing, as they appear on screen for a total of 5 minutes, with about 10 lines between the two of them. Billy Burke is charming as Charlie Swan, Bella’s dad, but is severely underutilized.

And if Burke is underutilized, then the three leads, Pattinson, Stewart and Taylor Lautner are drastically OVERutilized. If I were teaching an acting class in high school or college, and I did a section on “What not to do,” I’d have my students study and analyze the three leads in New Moon. I’ve heard the saying “couldn’t act their way out of a paper bag” before, and if you were to combine the acting talents of Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner… paper bag would win, hands down.

I’ve long said that Stewart has but 2 acting modes, nervous and awkward. She can now add a third to her repertoire- annoying.

Twilight is in the same category as Transformers 2, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and the Star Wars prequels. The filmmakers aren’t really caring about putting out a quality product, they just know that the brand will fill theatres. And the audiences are eating it up. It’s disgusting really. It makes me glad that I don’t pay for films.

Fantastic Mr. Fox – 4 stars

Wes Anderson? Good. George Clooney and Meryl Streep? Great. Taking on a beloved children’s book? Wait, what? I know, that’s what I said, but it was great, loved every minute of it.

Mr. Fox (Clooney) lives a carefree life of stealing poultry from local farmers. Upon news of the impending birth of his son, he makes a vow to his wife (Streep) to get out of the chicken thief business, and go legit. That satisfies him just fine for 12 fox years, then he starts to get that itch. He needs to get back in the game, much to the chagrin of his family and friends (featuring the vocal talents of Anderson regulars Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Willem Dafoe) and especially the local farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean (Michael Gambon).

Anderson takes on stop motion, an animation style we see so rarely these days, but is always so engaging. It’s about finding the happy medium between live action and animation. More can be done and characters more richly drawn with the animation, yet there’s something tangible, something real about it. And it pulls you in.

He keeps the look and feel of his usual work. You can always tell a Wes Anderson film when you see it, and this is no different, and thankfully he’s left his signature in the realm of animation. And to his credit, he picked a story that had appeal to both kids and adults. Anderson fans could go see what they’ve come to expect, and younger filmgoers could not only get an entertaining story, but be introduced to the work of one of the most unique filmmakers of our era.

The only gripe is the vocal work. Sure it was, for the most part, good. Clooney brings his cocky charm to a role that almost seems tailor made for him. Streep has fun with her Mrs. Fox, and you can’t help but love Schwartzman’s Ash. But it all seemed just a bit lifeless. There were quite a few times where it felt like they were reading lines from a script, not acting. It just didn’t sit well with me.

But overall, I found the film entertaining and definitely worth a look in theatres.

Where The Wild Things Are – 4.5 stars. Spike Jonze fully realizes the children’s book, and captures the imagination. It’s a true love story with childhood.

Law Abiding Citizen – 3 stars. Good, solid performances from Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler highlight this revenge flick, but it all falls apart with a lackluster third act.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant – 1 star. John C. Reilly is good, but this uninspired mess of a film is a ploy to offer counter programming for young males before the female audience gets the new Twilight film.

Saw VI – 2.5 stars. While it’s the best and most solid entry since Saw 2, the Saw films are starting to wear out their welcome.

Paranormal Activity – 4.5 stars. Well worth the hype, this no-budget viral film delivers on the scares, but the ending doesn’t quite sit well with me. They should have gone with one of the alternate endings.

The Men Who Stare At Goats – 4 stars. It’s a smarter film than the trailers may have let on, and with Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges great in supporting roles, this is one film not to miss.

A Christmas Carol – 3 stars. While beautifully animated, and well acted by Jim Carrey and Gary Oldman, it ultimately doesn’t bring anything to the Dickensian table. The Patrick Stewart TV-movie from 10 years ago still reigns supreme.

2012 – .5 star. The visuals are terrific, but even they can’t hide the fact that there’s no discernible plot, poorly developed characters, and a really stupid story. In fact… I make it the full 2.5 hours not really caring whether any of the characters make it or not. This makes The Day After Tomorrow look like Independence Day

Surrogates – 1.5 stars

Bruce Willis headlines this otherwise no-star cast in an entirely forgettable sci-fi film, set in a futuristic psuedo-utopian society where people have been replaced by robotic versions of themselves, all in an effort to create a safer society. And then it becomes not so safe, so robot Bruce Willis must solve the first murder in 15 years so society can become safe again.

I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of these films about unattainable utopias being deconstructed by their own gloriousness. There’s no imagination to destroying perceived perfection.

And as entertaining as Bruce Willis [always] is, even he couldn’t save this mess of a film. It was clearly a “paycheck” film. He walked through his role as if he was saying “Yeah, whatever, I’m a cop who has to save the world, where’s craft services?” But he is the only engaging part of the film.

Pandorum – 3 stars

Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster are two deep space astronauts who wake up to a deserted ship, and are left to figure out what went wrong on their 100+ year mission of colonizing a new-found Earth-like planet, while trying to battle crazed genetic mutations who have since overtaken their ship.

This is a truly confounding film, as I loved it and hated it at the same time. Mostly I loved one half of it, and strongly disliked the other half. The unfortunate thing of it is, is that it’s not a “first half/second half” type of thing. It’s the two plots that ran concurrently. This would have been a much better film had they left out the monsters running around the ship, and made it an isolation thriller. It was trying to be ‘Alien,’ but it failed miserably.

Plot points aside, Ben Foster is one of the most fascinating young actors working today. I will (and do) watch anything he’s in, and you should to. He’s one of those actors that is right on the verge of breaking out into mega-star status, he just needs to find that right part, that right project, to push him over the edge. This could have been it, but it came just short.

Zombieland – 5 stars

I know what you’re thinking, “Of course Brodie’s gonna give the zombie flick 5 stars.” Well, a) you’re right and b) it totally deserves every star.

We join our hero, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), post outbreak, in a world over run with zombies, and he’s just doing his best to survive (so far it’s clearly working). Columbus meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and form an odd partnership that will do them well just enough to survive. After they get hoodwinked by a pair of sisters, Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, respectively), they join them to find a zombie free paradise, which is apparently at an amusement park in L.A.

This, is quite possibly, the perfect movie. It is exquisitely crafted from beginning to end, and keeps you laughing all the way through, but never skimps on the horror action. The ensemble cast works so well together that you hope they do more films together. Preferably more Zombieland films (it was originally written as a TV show).

What makes it work is that everything works. There is never a wasted joke, or a wasted scare. Every aspect of the film was brought together to be the best it could be. And the best was damn good. Zombieland is the movie of October, though as of this writing, I have yet to see Where The Wild Things Are.

Whip It – 3 stars

Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut with this girl power roller derby flick starring Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis and Kristin Wiig. It’s got the heart, it’s got the laughs, it’s got the sports action, but it’s ultimately forgettable.

Page stars as Bliss Cavender, a high schooler in small town Texas looking for her place in life (aren’t they all), and she doesn’t think it’s the life of studies and beauty pageants her parents (Marcia Gay Harden and Daniel Stern) have set for her, so she looks to the all women Roller Derby in near by Austin for guidance. And that’s where, under the careless tutelage of derby stars, she finds what she loves and ultimately, her place.

It’s a fun, heartwarming teen flick, and definitely one of the modern good ones (there hasn’t been a great one in 15 years). Wiig, Harden and Stern all turn in outstanding performances. Page continues her reign as the poster girl for the indie-youth. And Barrymore takes a backseat to the rest of the stars, yet still turns in a memorable comic relief performance.

But while it may be a good teen flick, it’s still just a good one. I was entertained by it, but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me. And I think that could be unfortunately attributed to rookie director Drew Barrymore. I say unfortunately because she really does show great promise as a filmmaker, and I for one am looking forward to more work from her. But the film suffered greatly from pacing problems, and that is the key to it’s downfall. So, Drew, noble effort, it was entertaining, but just not quite there. Keep trying.

Couples Retreat – 1.5 stars

Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn back together? With a script they wrote? Also featuring Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Pete Serafinowicz and rising star Malin Ackerman? How could this miss? With a poorly written script filled with cheap, obvious jokes and relationship cliches, rounded out by a stereotypical ending that you could pretty much see coming once the opening credits are done.

Favreau, Vaughn, Bateman and Faizon Love head to a couples skill building retreat with their respective partners played by Kristen Davis, Ackerman, Bell and Kali Hawk. They each discover something about their relationships in order to make them stronger, and walk away more in love than when they got there. And we get some laughs along the way.

It’s a one joke concept, spread across two hours and four sets of characters. And while the combined talents are enough to make you think this is a surefire hit, when they aren’t given much to do, other than make the most basic and obvious of jokes at their marriage’s expense, it will fall flat and be mostly boring by the second act.

I’d like to see them re-do this film, with the same cast, but this time, try just a little bit harder.