Staten Island (2009)

This movie has a lot of heart. It has a Wes Anderson feel to it and the story is mellow and sweet. Seymour Cassel’s performance is heartwarming and one of the strongest performance I’ve seen in 2009. Definitely a must-watch.

An Empress and the Warriors (2008)

Rubbish. Utter rubbish. It is almost as if the writers suffer from schizophrenia; let’s go political, oh wait, let’s do romance, nah, let’s go back to political. Kelly Chen cannot act. Just because she’s a model, does not mean that she can express emotionality. Or maybe because she’s a model, she can’t express emotionality. Stay far away from it.

The Invention of Lying (2009)

What an incredibly smart and witty comedy. The part where Ricky Gervais’ character become an ad hoc Moses holding two pizza boxes was awesome. I could just imagine prophets appearing in this day and age and having to deal with the modern man. The ending was kind of disappointing though. Nevertheless… watch it!

The Ugly Truth (2009)

Loved it. Decent plot with Gerard Butler’s “talk” makes this a movie worth watching. Especially loved Katherine Heigl’s “spazzy” dances. Plus the orgasmic sales pitch at the dinner table was hilarious. If you’re single you need to watch this movie! Watch it!

Echelon Conspiracy (2009)

It has potential and could be way better. The kill-the-supercomputer-with-a-logic-paradox technique is kind of cliché. And the ending with the Russians just makes it more confusing. The theme song is pretty good, sounds very much cyberpunk-ish. Watch it if you want.

Sherlock Holmes

… the costumes, the characters, the plot, and the stream of consciousness of Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr. (whose upper English dialect is pitch-perfect), gives this film a fun personality. Guy Ritchie outdid his abilities as a film-maker on this one. Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smocking Barrels are enjoyable because of their Tarantinoesque personality, but Holmes seems to be Ritchie’s dream project, which puts him at the top of his game. He deserves the attention because this piece of cinema manages to accomplish the adventure genre in a unique way. This film is stylish, witty, organized, and colorful, which makes this Ritchie’s most personable film thus far. He accomplishes this without ever deviating from the psychological stimulus that allows the Sherlock Holmes stories to be incredibly enticing for readers. This needs to be stressed: watch, watch, watch; disappointment for this film is leagues away.