30) MY SOUL TO TAKE

Director: Wes Craven
Stars: Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Emily Meade, Zena Grey, Nick Lashaway, Paulina Olszynski, Denzel Whitaker, Jeremy Chu, Frank Grillo, Raul Esparza
Year: 2010
Rating: R

BIG Wes Craven fan here; have been for over twenty years. BIG fan of Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Frank Grillo, Raul Esparza and Jeremy Chu, as well ... and, thanks to this film, now want to catch more of Emily Meade and Zena Grey's work especially, as well.

Which made My Soul to Take all that much more disappointing - especially after a way-cool opening in which a handsome, very together husband and father named Abel (Raul Esparza) learns, on one dark and ugly night as his pregnant wife lies upstairs in bed, that he's a split personality - his other half being the Riverton Ripper, a serial killer terrorizing Riverton with a sharp hunting knife.

Things don't go so well from there, before the film flash forwards to sixteen years later ... and a riverside ceremony where the seventeen sixteen-year-old teenagers, all born on the night the Ripper was supposedly killed off, hold their annual ritual of pretending to kill off the Ripper again, keeping them safe another year (as the Ripper swore he'd come back and kill all seven of those born on the night he died).

Adam "Bug" Hellerman (Max Thieriot, a good actor who does the most he can with the material given) Heller, the one chosen to "kill off" the Ripper this time around, has been plagued by odd dreams and visions, and in total fear fails in his mission before the cops show to break things up. Sure enough, that night one of the seven is viciously murdered ... and it soon appears that the Ripper is back again, slicing and dicing his way through the unlucky seven. Question is, who IS the Ripper? Or, more importantly, who MIGHT BE the Ripper, as it may also be that the killer is dead - his soul actually now taking over one or maybe more of the ill-fated seven?

Sadly, you won't care too much about the answers to these questions by the end. Oh, the film has some nice, suspenseful moments, and interesting death scenes - thanks to Craven, who can be somewhat of a Jedi at it. And even the cast tries valiantly, Max Thieriot a worthwhile anchor as the confused, disturbed, and quite possibly homicidal apex of the group.

No, the script here is the letdown, by far. It seems too rushed, too much like a first draft put into production to beat a deadline. And then there's the ending; while the last, final "battle" scene starts off promisingly enough, it just goes on too long - until the suspense actually lags. I mean, you can only watch someone getting chased around a dark house for so long. And while the revelation of the killer is in itself a yawn, the ease with with said killer is dispatched - compared to the hellacious time they had getting the guy to lay down in the opening sequence, borders on both nonsensical and ridiculous.

Some moments - visually, artistically, and acting-wise - do shine in My Soul to Take, but they aren't enough to overcome a weak, cumbersome, even amateurish script that I'm having a hard time believing Craven even wrote. Or, if he did, that he took more than a weekend to write it. ** - Reel Mediocre

29) CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT

Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Chris Massoglia, John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Ken Watanabe, Michael Cerveris, Ray Stevenson, Willem Dafoe, Jessica Carlson, Patrick Fugit, Salma Hayek, Orlando Jones
Year: 2009
Rating: PG-13

Based on the popular series of books by Darren O'Shaughnessy, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant at first comes off as a teen vampire flick; think The Lost Boys mixed with the tone of Something Wicked This Way Comes, then turn left and stir in a touch of comedy. That's the best way to describe it, other than to say that - happily - the film is just as appealing for adults, especially toward the end when things, indeed, turn a bit dark.

Chris Massoglia, in a breakthrough performance, stars as Darren Shan - a smalltown high school student who gets great grades and is the apple of his parents eyes. That is, when he's not hanging around his best buddy Steve (Josh Hutcherson), a smart-mouthed kid from a broken home who is usually behind what little trouble Darren gets into. When a chance flyer, promoting a forbidden, exotic freak show that's come to the outskirts of town for a performance that evening, falls into the boys' hands, there is NO WAY they can miss the performance ... and, in doing so, set off a chain of events that will forever change their lives. Or, well, deaths.

Sure enough, at the freak show the buddies are introduced - via front-row seats - to an array of X-Men-style mutants, from Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe as a deformed giant) and the scaly Evra the Snake Boy (Patrick Fugit), to the bearded lady, Madame Truska (Salma Hayek) and more. The highlight of the show for both boys, however, has to be Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly, in a wonderfully, comically dry performance). See, Darren has this absolute fascination - obsession, really - with spiders, and on-stage Crepsley introduces the audience to the freakiest-cool-looking spider EVER; a colorful, oversize tarantula-esque freak with orange legs that Darren is instantly mesmerized by (especially when it seems to take a liking to him). Meanwhile, for Steve, Larten Crepsley represents something much, much darker ... for Steve's obsession is vampires, and he immediately recognizes Crepsley as the real deal; an image from one of his books on vampire lore come to life.

When the performance is broken up by the local conservative parents, Darren and Steve scatter so as not to be found. Darren, who snuck out of his house to attend the show, inadvertently ducks into what ends up being Crepsley's dressing - and through a strange series of circumstances I won't go into here (trying HARD not to give too much away), Darren steals the spider that night, taking it home with him ... and even to school the next day, where something happens that brings Darren to Crepsley's door, begging him for one hell of a serious favor.

A favor that Crepsley will only grant on one condition: the he, Darren, agree to be turned into a vampire, and become Crepsley's assistant, leaving his family and friends and even Steve forever. Permanently.

To say more might be saying too much, but needless to say things get rather odd for Darren. For Steve too, for that matter, who is still obsessed with knowing Crepsley's true vampiric identity. Worse, there is a group of some pretty bad-ass BAD vampires, too, who all have their own reasons for wanting both Crepsley AND Darran Shan - and indeed, not everything is always what it seems to be in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, which is of course part of the film's charm.

The cast does a great job here, led by Reilly and Massoglia, as well as Josh Hutcherson as Steve - who doesn't even realize his best friend is alive, just undead. The film's own take on various vampire myths/legends is fresh and original, and the freak show campgrounds and even initial performance seem wholly real, as well as dark and creepy; just as a freak show should be. And while the film blatantly sets up viewers for a sequel - in fact leaves things on a bit of a what's-going-to-happen-next cliffhanger, the journey there is fun, funny, and - thanks to one heck of a battle at the end - all too much of a reminder that Darren and Steve have made choices they may not be able to walk away from.

I don't know that Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant should rank up there with modern-day vampire classics like The Lost Boys or Interview with the Vampire ... but it's certainly a well-crafted, very entertaining story with a great cast. The violence, especially in the end, might be a bit much for very young kids, but otherwise the film can be enjoyed by both kids and adults alike. Nicely done. **** - Reel Awesome

28) PASSPORT TO LOVE

Director: Victor Vu
Stars: Binh Minh, Huy Khanh, Kathy Uyen, Ngoc Diep, Tang Bao Quyen
Year: 2009
Rating: PG-13
(in Vietnamese with English subtitles)

Khang (Binh Minh) and Hieu (Huy Khanh) are best friends currently in college in Saigon. Khang, the ladies' man, shirks his studies and becomes adept at spending his rich father's money, leading the high live with plenty of booze and women and sex. Hieu, more bookish, is studious and in complete control of his future, determined to be the next Bill Gates (he even has a poster of the world-famous Microsoft entrepreneur on his world) even as he tries - in vain - to keep Khang libido in check and the guy in school. When Khang's dad busts him for flunking his classes, threatening to remove him from school and cut him off money-wise for sure, Khang instead follows Hieu to California, the two buddies heading off for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study in America (well, Hieu will be studying; Khang's hopes are to get away with even more while his dad is half a world away).

Hieu bids a sad farewell to his beautiful, sweet-natured fiancee Thao (Tang Bao Quyen), and the boys arrive in Orange County, where almost immediately Khang gets arrested and spends the night in jail after trying to drive drunk during a night of partying with a pretty girl. What Khang doesn't count on is the beautiful but no-nonsense single-mom cop, Tiffany (Kathy Uyen), he immediately falls for at the police station ... who has no problem with letting Khang know she thinks he's a spoiled little rich brat she can't even stand the sight of.

Meanwhile, to please his mother, Hieu connects with an old friend of hers who lives in the area - a very Americanized Vietnamese lady with a husband ... and college-aged daughter who is SO Americanized, it has her parents concerned. Jennifer (Ngoc Diep) can't speak proper Vietnamese, is as vague and shallow as a valley girl, wears too much makeup and too many designer names, and is sexually active with her boyfriend. Jennifer's mother offers Hieu his first job in the States - tutoring the vapid Jennifer in proper Vietnamese - but Jennifer turns out to be such a bratty, uncaring airhead that Hieu pretty much drops the idea after the first lesson, taking a restaurant serving job, instead.

But Jennifer's not out of Hieu's life for good ... and as Khang starts to have genuine feelings for a woman for the first time in his life, he finds himself trying more and more to convince Tiffany he can become a changed man, often with funny results.

And THAT is the main conflict of this romantic dramedy, as Hieu and Khang navigate the waters of romance in America. It's a charming film, with a nice sense of humor and very real performers from a good ensemble cast. Binh Minh is awesome as Khang, the commitment-phobic player you love to hate that viewers will be rooting for all the way ... and Huy Khanh, though he is given much less of an emotional range to work with as Hieu, still manages to breathe real life and heart to the character, making you care very much for Hieu even as the guy makes some very stupid mistakes in his attempt to always do the right thing. Of the ladies, the innocence of Thao is nothing short of charming - she's the girl every good guy in the world hopes to have - and Tiffany, you start to think, might just be what Khang needs to turn himself around ... if only she didn't dislike him so much! Jennifer, the spoiled brat who has to have everything her way, got on my nerves throughout - but hey, every romantic film needs a villain, right?

Charming and funny and tinged with just the right amount of drama, passion and pathos, Passport to Love has enough of a twist on your typical romantic dramedy to keep things fresh. Well worth seeing. **** - Reel Awesome

27) 9 SONGS

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley
Year: 2004
Rating: UR

If you read reviews or comments about 9 Songs - particularly the "Unrated Full Uncut Version" (the version this reviewer saw) - you'll find that the consensus seems to be either that the film is pure art or pure crap, depending on the viewer. Based on director Michael Winterbottom's complaint that novels can have extremely detailed sex scenes and still be deem as "legitimate" art, while film doing the exact same thing is considered pornography. 9 Songs is the two-character study of Matt (Kieran O'Brien), a short, blue-collar-looking British glaciologist (a guy who studies glaciers), and Lisa (Margo Stilley), the carefree, free-spirited American girl on a sojourn in the UK who becomes Matt's girlfriend.

The two met in a musical venue in London, during a concert, and the film chronicles the course of their relationship over nine songs that play out in between increasingly explicit sex scenes of the couple that also defines their relationship.

And that's it - the entire "plot," played out over jsut 71 minutes. The nudity is there from the first sex scene - and for anyone who dares think these two actors are only acting, that CHUNK! you just heard would be your jaw hitting the ground as you see the two actors are NOT just acting; indeed, zero is left to the imagination, each sex scene going beyond the one before ... and it's not surprising that many people would see this as little more than story-porn without the story.

And yet, for me, 9 Songs was indeed more. Kieran O'Brien is the heart and soul of the film as Matt, so in love with this girl who has a tendency to be flakier than new-fallen snow. We see the relationship more through his eyes, and though outside the concerts the scenes between Matt and Lisa seem about nothing more than sex, as the film goes on you do get a sense of what Lisa and Matt (especially Matt) are about, in particular to each other, and while the film does certainly get as explicit as a porn film, for me it never fully felt that way; I could see what Winterbottom was going for, even if the film itself didn't always succeed in finding it.

If you find anything above interesting, titillating, or worth of exploring further, put anyone under eighteen to bed and give 9 Songs a try ... but only if you are of the more indie/artsy film bent, on any level. Anyone else might come away from the film wondering what the hell he or she just saw.

Pure art? Naw. Pure crap? Definitely not. I'm not sure the film is "pure" anything, but of the two I would say it definitely leans more toward art than fart. Worth a peek if you don't shock easily ... for the authenticity of acting that doesn't come off as acting, and the performance of Kieran O'Brien alone. *** Reel Cool

26) FRANKLYN

Director: Gerald McMorrow
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Sam Riley, Eva Green, Bernard Hill, Richard Coyle, Susannah York, Art Malik
Year: 2008
Rating: R

A science fiction-fantasy tale split between two parallel worlds - modern-day London and the futuristic Meanwhile City - Franklyn is the story of four complete strangers who, as the film goes on, come closer and closer to a climax that will see all four of their paths cross with the firing of a single bullet.

Ryan Phillippe stars as Jonathan Priest, purveyor of justice in Meanwhile City ... a dark, dank metropolis where religion - any religion you like, or even wish to invent - is your key to salvation. Clerics have replaced cops, and law and order is dealt out to those who don't have a faith, or believe. Priest is one such person; a hooded avenger hired to right wrongs and rescue the kidnapped or persecuted ... and, as the film opens, Priest's failed attempt to rescue a young girl from her abductors, resulting in the child's death, has Priest both feeling a failure and determined to get back at the system that wronged her.

In contemporary London, we are introduced to three very different people, none of whom know each other - all of them "lost souls" like Jonathan Priest. Milo (Sam Riley) is a handsome young man on the eve of his wedding, whose fiancee suddenly calls the whole thing off. Emilia, an avant garde performance artist and art student with an obsession for her project on death, videotapes her various attempts at suicide for her project (she prefaces each attempt with a call reporting the attempt, so the paramedics will be sure to rescue her just in time). And Peter (Bernard Hill) is a middle-aged widow desperately searching for his missing son.

The narrative flips back and forth from Priest's efforts to go after and kill "The Individual" ... as, in London, Milo finds himself running into a female childhood friend who has grown into a beautiful woman, while Emilia seems to be growing closer and closer to madness in the name of art, as Peter gains more insight into the disturbing circumstances surrounding his son's disappearance. As various characters from both Meanwhile City AND London cross the paths of each of the four main characters, the parallel worlds seem closer and closer to converging ... as suspense builds, confusion turns slowly to clarity, and the fate of each character, as well as his or her relationship to the others, is revealed.

Though it's definitely on the somber/moody side, I liked Franklyn. You have to pay attention to what's going on or you might find yourself scratching your head in the end, wondering what the hell is happening - but overall writer/director Gerald McMorrow tells an intriguing story that's played out well by a solid cast (in an interview, Sam Riley says he originally read for the role of Jonathan Priest; wish I could see THAT version too, as Riley is really good here). McMorrow drops clues, here and there, to the surprise at the end, but I didn't see anything major coming until just before it happened, leaving me with a sense that I was following the complex threads of the tale pretty well. Meanwhile City is creepy and totalitarian; a nice contrast to the serenity (by comparison) of London, and I really liked that the end left you with a sense of hope - as well as the fact that our lives our constantly intertwined with those of strangers, and how one simple decision or wrong turn can completely change the future.

Stylish and entertaining - though a bit moody - if you like fantasy films, or Phillippe or Sam Riley or Eva Green, this is one to catch. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

25) MARY AND MAX

Director: Adam Elliot
Stars: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana, Barry Humphries
Year: 2009
Rating: NR

I had been wanting to see this film for some time, just based on its trailer and overall look; I've always liked the Claymation style of animated films, have since childhood, and this one, Mary and Max, chronicles a 20+-year friendship that begins when a lonely, homely eight-year-old girl only child in Australia, Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced, as an adult, by Toni Collette) reaches out, via a New York City phonebook in a local post office, and writes a letter to Max Horowitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), asking him to be her pen pal.

Max - a 44-year-old depressed and overweight New Yorker with Asberger's syndrome - is both freaked out and intrigued by the letter. Max's New York is done all in tones of black and gray, where Max lives pretty much friendless with his goldfish, snacking on favorite delicacies like chocolate hot dogs. He answers Mary's letter, going into a long discussion answering her questions and talking about his own life - and Mary, when she receives the letter, is nothing short of delighted to have found a new friend.

She writes back and over the next twenty years the two share their lives with each other; Mary lives with an alcoholic mother and passive father, and has a crush on a neighbor boy who doesn't see her in the same way even as she gets a job distributing leaflets so she can save money to have her birthmark - which is "the color of poo" - removed. Max deals with the anger issues and high mood swings caused by the Asberger's, while discussing his neighbor lady and search for a dream job ... and the constant need for a new goldfish when he accidentally keeps killing the one he has. A few misunderstandings strain the friendship along the way, but overall Mary and Max is about the bond of two lonely people across two continents, who become dear friends sharing advice and their life experiences even though they may never actually meet in person.

Somber and bittersweet and touching, viewers will relate to the issues Mary and Max discuss in their letters, and grow to care about both of them because we can all relate to feelings of isolation and loneliness and being part of a world that doesn't always understand us. It's a wonderful, effective, quirky (even strange) little film that deserves to be seen; beautifully done and emphasizing the truth behind the quote given at the film's end: "God gave us relatives. Thank God we can choose our friends." **** - Reel Awesome

24) HOW TO MURDER YOUR WIFE

Director: Richard Quine
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, Terry-Thomas, Eddie Mayehoff, Claire Trevor
Year: 1965
Rating: NR

Stanley Ford (Jack Lemmon) has an ideal life. He lives in a beautiful townhouse in Manhattan, has money and fame and the easy life overall - thanks to a nationally-syndicated hard-boiled detective comic strip he draws/writes called "Bash Brannigan." He even has a valet/manservant named Charles (Terry-Thomas) who sees to his every need. It's the ideal life for a single man, and indeed from the first few moments of the film Charles lets us know that there IS no better life than that of the single man, with Stanley Ford being the prime example. There's even an opening action sequence that's fairly hilarious, in which Ford - along with a group of friends - actually acts out a chase scene for his latest "Brash Brannigan" segment, among unsuspecting New Yorkers as Charles films the entire thing for Ford to use later when drawing out the panels and action. From this scene alone, I was thinking, "Man, this is going to be fun!"

But then Stanley Ford attends the bachelor party of a close friend, his fellow unmarried buddies belaboring their anti-marriage issues ... until all, especially Ford, are stunned by the intensely, almost supernaturally beautiful blond bombshell (Virna Lisi) that pops out of their friends cake at the party.

And the next morning, when Stanley Ford wakes up from a heavy drunk from the previous night's party, he not only finds the blond sleeping in his bed next to him ... he learns, to his horror, that sometime in the course of the previous evening he actually married her.

And thus begins Ford's battle to become single again. His own attorney tells him he can't file for divorce without cause. The attorney's wife thinks Stanley Ford's being married is one of the best things that could happen to the man. Even Charles, who feels immensely betrayed by his employer, ends up moving out ... as the new Mrs. Ford slowly but surely takes over the house, as well as Stanley Ford's life. Even "Bash Brannigan," before long, turns from a hard-boiled private eye comic strip into "The Brannigans" - featuring a henpecked Bash who is both dominated and emasculated by his new, beautiful bride.

But when Stanley Ford decides to finally take control of his life again, even to the point of killing off the new "Mrs. Brannigan" in the strip, a series of misconceptions results in the new Mrs. Ford disappearing ... and Stanley Ford accused of her murder.

I loved the first half of How to Murder Your Wife - and, even more, was completely captivated by the Italian goddess that IS Virna Lisi - but the second half of the film really fell apart for me. Yeah, I realize the film was made forty-six years ago, and the sexist, misogynistic viewpoints expressed by Ford and his male cronies in the film should feel outdated; even a bit alarming, by today's standards. But that said, Ford's lengthy courtroom speech toward the end of the film was (to me) nothing short of annoying, and though the film ends on a happy note and has touches of truly great comedy, I couldn't help but feeling let down overall by the film's weaknesses over its strengths.

For Jack Lemmon fans (which I am), certainly - or if you want to eyeball the most stunningly beautiful blond to hit a movie screen since Marilyn Monroe - but other than that the sweet premise this film sets up in the beginning just falls apart sadly in the end. ** - Reel Mediocre

23) PING PONG

Director: Fumihiko Sori
Stars: Yosuke Kubozuka, Arata, Sam Lee, Shido Nakamura, Koji Ookura, Naoto Takenaka, Mari Natsuki
Year: 2002
Rating: NR
(in Japanese with English subtitles)

Based on a Japanese manga by Matsumoto Taiyo, Ping Pong is one of those films that you discover by mistake on Amazon ... that, in this case, turned out to be one of my favorite films so far this year. More than a movie about table tennis, the film goes much deeper into being about the bond of friendship, the journey of self-discovery ... and what makes a hero.

Best friends since childhood, high school students Peco (Yosuke Kubozuka) and Smile (Arata) could not be more different in personality. Both have grown up with both a love and talent for playing table tennis, Peco has always been the show-off - a bold and brash braggart who taunts his opponents before whipping their butts in the game in his efforts to turn pro - while Smile (so named because he never, EVER smiles) is the quiet, shy loner who keeps to himself and was befriended (and taught ping pong) by Peco when he had no other friends as a kid. Peco and Smile are close, ace table tennis players, and Smile in particular is both a trial and tribulation to his coach, former table tennis champ Butterly Joe (Naoto Takenaka), who recognizes that Smile is actually the better player, and has been hiding his true talent at the game in order to let Peco have the spotlight (especially as, on the rare occasional when Peco does lose to someone, he tends to have a fit).

As the high school championship games grow near, where the boys must face competitors with names like "China" (Sam Lee), "Dragon" (Shido Nakamura), and their childhood rival "Demon" (Koji Ookura), during one match Smile is forced to show his real strengths as a table tennis player ... and it's a real wakeup call for Peco, devastating both his confidence and ability to play the game to the point where he gives up the game, trying to find anything else in life he could possibly have the same level of passion for.

Supporting characters like China (a former championship-league player on his way out), Dragon - the determined leader of a rival school's team - and Demon, who desperately searches for the kernel of raw talent for the game he sees in Smile, within himself - brings extra depth in both characterization and story to the film. But the heart and soul of Ping Pong is in the lifelong friendship of Peco and Smile, along with the sport that has been a part of their lives for just as long. On the surface a sports film about how seriously the Japanese take a sport rarely seen AS a sport in this country, Ping Pong is actually an exciting, funny, and - in the end - truly touching tribute to the bond of friendship ... and again, what truly make a hero. Yosuke Kubozuka and Arata head a great cast, and the last twenty minutes of the film alone are worth the rating, but overall this is a wonderful film that should leave you cheering - maybe with a tear in your eye at the same time. I only wish more American filmmakers could make movies with this much heart and soul. ***** - Reel Must-See

22) 2012

Director: Roland Emmerich
Stars: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Thomas McCarthy, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Johann Urb
Year: 2009
Rating: PG-13

Fans of Irwin Allen films, cheesy sci-fi movies of the 1950's in particular, or doomsayers who've been predicting - for years - that California will one day crumble off into the Pacific Ocean ... boy, are you gonna love this one. Not content with destroying the major cities of the world in Independence Day, or covering the entire top two-thirds of the world in ice in Day After Tomorrow, here director Roland Emmerich goes for the whole enchilada - all wrapped around an ancient prophecy in the Mayan calendar that predicts the world will end on December 21st, 2012.

Emmerich takes that nugget, slam-dunks a decent cast of talented actors into the storyline he's developed around the prophecy ... and turned it all into two hours and thirty-eight minutes of one hell of a special effects mardi gras that's as big on cheese as it is on entertainment. What 2012 lacks in a believable storyline, well-written dialogue, and Oscar-worthy performances, it sure as heck makes up for in visually-stunning destruction that grabs you by the throat and never lets go ... once everything starts going to hell.

John Cusack stars as Jackson Curtis, a writer of high regard and modest sales who - when in the throes of a book - finds little attention for anything else, including the two kids he occasionally has visitation right to via his ex, Kate (Amanda Peet). Curtis loves his daughter and son, he's just a bit of a scatterbrain, and in proving he can show his kids a good time, he's planned a trip to Yellowstone National Park, just him and the kids, for a camping trip.

Provided, of course, Yellowstone is still there; by the time we meet Jackson Curtis, viewers have already learned that, several years back, a scientist named Dr. Adrian Helmsley had detected a disturbing amount of sun flares ... along with the shifting of the continental plates under the earth's surface, all an indication of the planet's self-destruction. While the powers that be have spent the ensuing years since Helmsley's discovery in efforts to build space-age "arks" to save at least a fraction of the earth's population, Helmsley learns that all signs of the apocalypse have sped up considerably ... with only days left to go before Armageddon.

Meanwhile, in Yosemite, Jackson Curtis meets a nutjob named Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson), who mans his own doomsday radio broadcast from Yosemite, which tells listeners about the Mayan prediction and warning them of the end of the world even as he celebrates the beauty of it all. Curtis nods and keeps his kids away from Frost, assuming that's a nut but at least not dangerous ... until some very ugly earthquakes start to happen, and as California literally starts self-destructing around them Curtis rounds up his kids and ex - even Kate's new boyfriend, Gordon (Thomas McCarthy) - and starts their around-the-world-trek, using information gleamed from Charlie Frost, to try get his family to the safe place Frost claimed everyone else is trying to get to, as well.

As if there IS a safe place, once the mayhem starts. Around the world, devastating earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcano-like eruptions begin ripping an unsuspecting world apart ... and this is where the film's stunning visuals take hold, with Emmerich stopping at nothing in some of the most visually mind-blowing, realistic special effects ever committed to film. As Curtis tries to make his way from Los Angeles to China - where the arks are supposedly being hurriedly finished ahead of the destruction - as in the best of disaster films, you have a small group of assembled potential victims running only inches ahead of the devastation, as viewers wonder who will fall and who MIGHT survive.

You may have to check your brain at the door before jumping with both feet into this one, but if you can do so 2012 certainly is as entertaining and substance-free as a super-sized tub of popcorn. At times humorous, melodramatic, thrilling, suspenseful, and downright silly, it's a trip that stretches out a bit too long toward the end ... but is still more than worth the ride. Living in Los Angeles, even I can't look at the mountain view out my office window the same, anymore. *** - Reel Cool

21) TAKE OUT

Director: Sean Baker & Shih-Ching Tsou
Stars: Charles Jang, Jeng-Hua Yu, Wang-Thye Lee, Justin Wan, Jeff Huang
Year: 2004
Rating: NR

I can honestly say I've never seen a film quite like Take Out. From a budget less than most families spend on a week's vacation, writer/directors Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou have fashioned a moving, suspenseful and utterly realistic film - with a talented cast of actors and non-actors alike (led by the extraordinary Charles Jang) - that the biggest, baddest Hollywood big budget filmmakers could learn from.

The plotline is simple: a young illegal Chinese immigrant in New York City, Ming Ding (Charles Jang), has gotten a few payments behind in the money he owes to the countrymen who got him into America, due to sending some money home to his wife and family. As the film opens, a couple of enforcers at Ming's apartment (which seems already overcrowded with Chinese immigrants), courtesy of the loan shark, to demand payment - taking what money Ming Ding has before cracking him in the back with a hammer and demanding that he owes the rest of his back payments ($800) by the end of that day, if he doesn't want a worse beating or his debt doubled.

The rest of the film spans the course of Ming Ding's day, where - as a bicycle delivery boy for a Chinese restaurant - he heads in the rain over and over again, frantically trying to raise enough money (after borrowing some of it from friends) to stay in the country ... and maybe save his life.

Sound kind of bland? Even boring? On the contrary; as Ming's frustrating day goes on, the young man pedaling all over Manhattan in the rain delivering food to people in a desperate attempt to raise the money, we grow to really care about the young man and his plight, rooting with him especially as we see the way he's treated by some of his customers. For sure, after seeing this film I will never, EVER look at another delivery boy the same way, knowing what one in a big city (especially one who doesn't speak the native language) can go through in a single day, and how important those tips are to his/her livelihood.

And therein lies the brilliance of Take Out; with a simple story, told in a straightforward way and without special effects or tricky camerawork (indeed, much of the film is grainy and muted in color, giving an even more realistic feel to what's going on), the viewer can focus on getting emotionally involved with Ming Ding's story. In just an 87-minute run time, the suspense builds and you truly grow to care about him; rooting for him to make enough money as he returns from each deliver and adds his tip money to the jar ... or deals with a variety customers who do everything from stiffing him on a tip at all, to throwing his tip in his face, to coming onto him sexually and more. So difficult to explain here, the film has to be seen to be believed - but only those with the hardest of hearts won't be on the edge of their seat as the film reaches its end, wondering if this poor guy who only wants a better life for him and his family, working a crap job in an uncaring city, will make enough money to stave off not only the doubling of his debt, but also a severe beating. Take Out is an original, immensely involving and touching film with an authenticity so real, it's almost surreal. True, unblemished, shoestring-budget filmmaking with more heart and soul than nearly anything released by any of the major studios today. Keep the Kleenex handy. And remember it the next time you order Chinese food in for delivery. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome- Reel Must-See

20) THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Stars: Annette Bening, Juianna Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson, Yaya DaCosta, Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell
Year: 2010
Rating: R

Nic (Annette Bening), a physician, has been in a committed, long-term relationship with Jules (Julianne Moore) long enough for the two of them to have raised a pair of teenagers. While not without its problems (Nic has tendency to lean toward both controlling behavior and alcohol, while Jules hasn't always been happy with her supporting role of stay-at-home mom), they're a happy couple similar to any other happily married couple in their neighborhood; they even make for good parents, with Nic at the disciplinarian whereas Jules retains the more laidback, flower-child mentality of her youth.

Each woman carried and gave birth to her own child, both kids fathered by the same sperm donor almost two decades before; now both Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson) simply refer to them as "the moms" or "my moms," and having a pair of women has always simply been the norm.

But as Joni's eighteenth birthday nears, Laser (who is only fifteen) in particular pressures her to exert her legal right to find out who their sperm donor father was ... which leads both teens, without their moms' knowledge, to find local restaurant owner Paul (Mark Ruffalo) - who, at first, is quite uncomfortable with meeting them, unsure of his role in their lives or even what to say. Laser's unimpressed but Joni takes an instant liking to her affable, scruffy donor-dad, and neither teen understands, as Paul slowly becomes more and more involved in all their lives, why Nic and Jules (especially Nic) seem so against the idea. Jules, trying to start up her own landscaping business, even gets hired by Paul to work on his place, and as Paul is let in on the family dynamics more and more, events happen and things change in ways that lead to conflicts both comical and dramatic ... and a specific problem that, much like real life, isn't so cleanly and neatly resolved by "the end."

What makes The Kids Are All Right work so beautifully is the total believability of the characters - and the actors who play them. Bening and Ruffalo (both Oscar-nominated) and Moore all turn in such humane performances; in particular, you never once DON'T believe that Jules and Nic are a married couple who talk and fight and love just like a real-life married couple would. Ruffalo's Paul is a real gem; like Jules, Paul is more laidback and casual - a trait that leads to his big issues in the film, with Ruffalo making him completely real and sympathetic, even when he's doing something wrong. Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson, both given less to do here, still bring heart to the film playing a pair of teens who wholly love their moms, even as they sometimes drive them crazy (again, just like real-life teens).

Funny, heartwarming, and at turns touching and sweet, The Kids Are All Right has a great script and cast who come off as real people on-screen; real people who live, love, make mistakes, and hope those mistakes can be forgiven. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

19) BLACK SWAN

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Stars: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
Year: 2010
Rating: R

Over sixteen years ago, when I saw The Professional in a theater featuring "child actor" Natalie Portman, I remember thinking that this gal was an amazing talent. That sentiment has been echoed in my head, off and on, over the years - but while watching Black Swan it practically reverberated in my brain like a gong. This stylish, intense, often get-under-your-skin creepy psychological thriller about a young ballerina's total devotion to her craft is completely deserving of its Oscar nominations (especially for Portman) - and one of the most effective suspense thrillers I've seen in quite some time.

Portman plays Nina Sayers, a young ballerina in New York City who lives for her art. She's very successful with her current company, but has never had a lead role ... until she learns that the company's next production will be an avant garde production of Swan Lake, and that the company's usual lead dancer, Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) will not be dancing the White Swan.

This leaves the coveted position open to all the better dancers in the company, and to Nina it means a chance to dance the role of a lifetime. She competes for the role - and, in fact, the artistic director of the new show, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) thinks she would make a perfect White Swan ... but while he feels Nina can dance the virginal White Swan role, it's the Black Swan - the White Swan's alter ego, who is much darker, sensual and dangerous - that Leroy feels she cannot play. Worse, Nina finds her strongest competition in another member of the company, Lily (Mila Kunis), who herself seems the personification of the darker, dangerous Black Swan. Leroy ends up giving the role to Nina, but almost with an unspoken proviso that if she cannot get into the mindset of the Black Swan, if she cannot dance the Black Swan with equal conviction, she may lose the lead.

He encourages Nina to follow her darker side, to act on her more feral and sexual urges, and as she does so Nina starts experiencing odd visions, or dreams that leave her alternately shaking with fear or sexually aroused. Being stifled and babied by the overprotective mother she still lives with (Barbara Hershey) - an ex-ballerina herself - Nina soon finds herself plunging into the world and mindset of the Black Swan; a mindset she may or may not be able to escape from again.

This is a hard film to describe in a review, but suffice to say that watching it is a riveting experience. Portman is certainly Oscar-worthy as Nina Sayers, a character you grow to care very much about, even as you wonder if she is either the victim of supernatural forces or just going mad. Even more than her other recent work, here Portman has genuinely matured into an actress of real power, in a very adult role that should have nay-sayers forgetting Queen Amidala completely.

Black Swan is a work of art about the world of art - and what artists (dancers in particular, here), are willing to go through, and give up, to reach the pinnacle of their success. Chilling and sensual and just damned good filmmaking, with an astonishing performance from Natalie Portman the tent-pole that holds it all together. ***** - Reel Must-See

Trailer: KABOOM

Trailer: SCREAM 4

Trailer: IMMIGRATION TANGO

18) DREAM BOY

Director: James Bolton
Stars: Stephan Bender, Max Roeg, Randy Wayne, Owen Beckman, Diana Scarwid, Thomas Jay Ryan, Rooney Mara
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Not having read Jim Grimsley novel on which this film is based, I had very little knowledge of the story going in ... except for knowing it was a love story between a pair of teenage boys set in rural Louisiana in the 1970s. Expecting a typical, downbeat sort of "romantic" gay film with maybe some gratuitous nudity that was more about the sex than the love, Dream Boy was a nice surprise all the way around; a compelling, wholly realistic story of first, faltering love between teenagers ... only here, the teens happen to be a pair of young men.

Nathan (Stephan Bender, effectively underplaying his performance) is a quiet, shy, introverted teenage boy recently relocated to a small backwoods rural Louisiana town due to his father's work. Living in a house seemingly surrounded by woods on a lonely country road, Nathan is happy to see that his neighbor across the way, in the only other house around, is a young boy his own age, who tends to the horses and small farm for his mother. The neighbor boy, sixteen and old enough to have his license, is also in charge of the school bus that takes the kids along this rural area into town for school every day - so eventually Nathan strikes up a conversation with the boy, named Roy (Max Roeg), and even offers to help Roy with some schoolwork he's having problems with.

It's obvious, early on, that Nathan's feelings for Roy go beyond friendship, even though Roy has a girlfriend ... and one night, while helping Roy with his studies in his room, Nathan literally reaches out to Roy - and though hesitant at first, learns his feelings for Roy are reciprocated. The two boys quickly become romantically involved, stealing time together when they can as they try to keep their romance a secret from one heck of a conservative town ... not to mention their parents (especially Nathan's father, who has his own secrets), and Roy's best friends Burke (Randy Wayne) and Randy (Owen Beckman), both of whom seem very much the kind of guys who'd take turns beating the crap out of either Nathan or Roy if they knew.

The film is simple of plot, told in a straightforward and uncomplicated way, yet with real depth of meaning thanks to the cast - particularly the two male leads. And as the supporting role of hunky jock Burke, Randy Wayne takes a real departure from some of the comedy roles I've seen him in, and is utterly convincing in doing so; Burke kind of creeped me out whenever he was on-screen, often with a smile on his face but with jittery, almost predatory eyes behind that smile; a real good ol' country boy whose temper could change on a dime, and a performance that definitely goes a long way toward proving Wayne has a bright future ahead as an actor.

Stephan Bender plays Nathan as almost a backward kid, but as the film goes on and you learn more of Nathan's past viewers will completely understand why; as said earlier, it's a heartfelt, understated performance. Max Roeg, son of director Nicolas Roeg and actress Theresa Russell (and uncannily resembling his mother), gives Roy real depth, making him a conflicted human being who comes off very real on-screen.

Without giving too much away, there are some surprises in Dream Boy that you don't see coming, yet make the love story between Nathan and Roy that much more believable and compelling on-screen. Wisely, director James Bolton only gives hints of skin - instead focusing on the very real fumbling and explorations of teenagers finding both real sex and true love for the first time. Bender and Roeg make the film, and though low budget and to the point, Dream Boy has some truly lyrical moments, and is definitely worth your time. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

17) INCEPTION

Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger, Lukas Haas, Michael Caine
Year: 2010
Rating: PG-13

I can sort of see, now, why so many reviewers had a hard time with Inception. Christopher Nolan's mind-bending science fiction head trip is a feast for the eyes; one you'd better not stray away from for a bathroom or food/soda break, if you want to keep track of what's going on.

But that's one of the film's biggest strengths; it makes you think. Makes you pay attention. And with its A-list cast, truly "special" special effects, and multi-level story, you'll find the ride well worth it.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb, a master thief who is probably the best at what he does: extraction. Modern technology is now to the point where you can actually invade people's dreams, and pull out there most secret of secrets - and Cobb has used his talent at extraction to steal corporate secrets for a high price, with his mission impossible-style team including best friend Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Because of his work, Cobb is now however a fugitive of justice; he hasn't even seen his kids in some time because he can't return to the States - his ultimate goal of all.

When a failed attempt at retrieving some major information from a Japanese businessman named Saito (Ken Watanabe) leads to Saito's offering him a job, Cobb has no choice but to listen ... until he learns that Saito wants Cobb to perform the impossible - inception. He wants Cobb not to retrieve ideas from his biggest competitor ... but to, instead, implant an idea into the man, thereby knocking out his competition entirely. Arthur wants no part of things - at first - but Cobb finally admits he's manage inception once before. When Saito offers him the ultimate reward for doing the job - he can pull the strings that will allow Cobb to get back to the States and his kids without issue - Cobb takes the case, and begins assembling a team for one of the most complicated, risky and ultimate dangerous jobs he's ever taken on ...

Making for one of the most complex, visually stunning, and truly intelligent films I've seen in ages. To say much more might give too much away, but Inception truly is a work of art; a thinking man's film that also has the action and visuals for those who need a more visceral film experience. The cast, led by the brooding DiCaprio, is uniformly terrific (Tom Hardy, you are a true "A-lister" in the making; deservedly so!), in a film that truly defines what an ensemble cast should be, and the writing/direction by Christopher Nolan proves - yet again - that Nolan is one of the most gifted, artistic and cerebral filmmakers working today.

Watch Inception when you can give it your full concentration; shut off or ignore the phone, send the kids to the movies themselves, and have your DVD remote handy to his "pause" for any bathroom emergencies. This film's a keeper, with a great story, characters, and plot - and visually is a wowser, too. Definitely worthy of its Oscar nominations (though the absence of Nolan on the Best Director list is nothing short of OBSCENE), and most definitely worth seeing. ***** - Reel Must-See

16) NIGHT OF THE DEMONS

Director: Adam Gierasch
Stars: Shannon Elizabeth, Edward Furlong, Monica Keena, John F. Beach, Michael Copon, Diora Baird, Bobby Sue Luther
Year: 2009
Rating: R

Being a huge fan of the creepy (yet, somehow, also occasionally funny - in a good way) 1988 original, I was wondering just how bad this 2009 remake of one of my favorite cult horror films, Night of the Demons, would be. As it starred Elizabeth Shannon and Edward Furlong, plus personal-favorite actor of mine Michael Copon, I actually had some hope ... and am halfway-pleased to say the remake wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I guess, if anything, my question would be, why was it remade at all?

In the original, the plot was minor; a group of teenagers go to an old, unused funeral home on Halloween night for a party, hosted by resident high school weirdo Angela, and while there accidentally unleash a really nasty demon that turns each of them, one by one, into demons ... the question being, who can survive before morning, when the demons have to retreat back to their world after Halloween?

Cheesy (yet also very effective, especially the "lipstick scene") special effects added to the campy fun, and the film was actually a treat to watch. For the update, everything is more streamlined/updated; Angela (Shannon Elizabeth) is, like, the most popular girl on campus - a real rebel who rents out this Gothic mansion in New Orleans to host her annual blowout Halloween bash. The mansion is packed to the rafters with college kids, as well as liquor and sex and drugs ... the drugs supplied by one uninvited guest named Colin (Edward Furlong), Angela's ex and a desperate dealer who has only tonight to make enough money to repay a heavy debt owed to his supplier.

The party is barely underway before the cops arrive to break it up, leaving only Angela and six of her friends as stragglers. Determined to party alone and not waste the evening (or the liquor), the group hangs out and even plays spin the bottle ... before Angela reminds them of the truly sinister happenings in the Broussard mansion so many years ago. It seems that, decades early, Evangeline Broussard invited five guests to her house for a party. Five guests, plus the man she loved. And before the end of the evening, all of her guests were dead - had been murdered - and Evangeline herself hung herself over the edge of the second-story balcony at the front of the mansion.

Further, the group discovers the skeletal remains of Evangeline's six guests in a hidden room down in the basement - and when Angela accidentally suffers a cut on her finger from one of the skeletons, that infection grows into something truly ugly ... starting a chain of events that, eventually, those in the household realize has them trapped in the house for the night, with demons trying to take over their bodies before dawn; only in this one, if the demons can inhabit all seven of them by morning, a portal will open that will unleash them on the world.

Like everything else in remakes, things are supposed to be ratcheted up a notch or two here from the original; the special effects and makeup more realistic, the gore more explicit, the good guys' fight more difficult and with bigger consequences if they fail.

And here, certainly, all those things pretty much apply (although the acting is just as weak, in spots, as the original - except in the original, the weak acting fit; it was part of the fun). Good Lord, even the "lipstick scene" is repeated here, but goes to a level I would have thought the filmmakers wouldn't have dared!

Yet with all that, the remake of Night of the Demons is just okay. A valiant effort, but all gloss and no real substance. Not that you expect substance here, but somehow in the original - for all its flaws - the characters grew to become ones you care about. Not so much here, though John F. Beach, Michael Copon, and Diora Baird as Lily are standouts. Monica Keena is okay as the virginal Maddie, but if you've seen Freddy vs. Jason you've seen her pretty much play this character before.

Even an opening cameo from Linnea Quigley, who starred in the original, is nice - but again, nothing special. While I didn't hate - or even dislike - this version of Night of the Demons, after watching it a part of me is still asking: was making it really necessary? *** - Reel Cool

15) CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CHINESE CAT

Director: Phil Rosen
Stars: Sidney Toler, Benson Fong, Mantan Moreland, Joan Woodbury, Ian Keith, Weldon Heyburn
Year: 1944
Rating: NR

One of the later Charlie Chan films, made by Monogram studios and starring Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan, this entry in the popular mystery series finds Charlie Chan taking on the case of a businessman who was killed in his private study over six months ago, in a locked room as his desk, a chessboard with just a lone bishop standing on it the only clue.

Leah Manning (Joan Woodbury), stepdaughter of the deceased man, has come to find Charlie Chan to see if he can finally solve this crime, as the police have failed to do. She finds Chan's number three son Tommy, and Tommy ends up promising her the Chans will help - humbly binding his father to his word, so that Charlie has no choice but to take the case. It seems a Dr. Paul Recknik (Ian Keith) has recently published a book about the crime, all but naming Leah's mother as the murderer, and will now do anything to find her stepdad's really killer, if only to clear her mom's now-tainted name.

Jewel thieves, explosions, gunfire, more murders, wisecracking chauffeur Birmingham Brown (Mantan Moreland, a god comic actor here, if you can look beyond the political INcorrectness of his character!), and a seemingly empty funhouse all contain the answers, and it's up to the world's greatest detective, Charlie Chan to solve it all - which, of course, he does.

For one of the Monogram Charlie Chan b-movies (low budget, so-so script, tissue-thin story), this one has its moments and is fairly entertaining. I grew up with Charlie Chan films on WGN-TV, and every time I catch one I haven't yet seen, it is sort of like old home week.

And for a Monogram entry in the series, this one does have some fun in store ... but would be of little interest to anyone who is not a Charlie Chan (or mystery film) fan. If that's you, best to stick to one of the earlier, 20th Century-Fox films in the series if you ever do want a good introduction to one of hte more interesting, unique detectives to ever hit the silver screen (eveen if the films aren't exactly what you could call politically correct today). *** - Reel Cool

14) PATRIK, AGE 1.5

Director: Ella Lemhagen
Stars: Gustaf Skarsgard, Torkel Petersson, Thomas Ljungman, Amanda Davin, Annika Hallin
Year: 2008
Rating: R
(in Swedish with English subtitles)

Goran (Gustaf Skarsgard) and Sven (Torkel Petersson) are a happily married gay couple in Sweden who have recently moved to the suburbs. Assimilating right away to their all-straight neighbors of families and other (but male-female) couples, everything seems perfectly ideal as Goran and Sven are accepted into the fold as any other couple, in a neighborhood that somewhat feels more suited to "Leave It to Beaver" than modern-day Sweden, even taking the relaxed gay marriage laws of Sweden into account.

But there's another reason for the move, one that has Goran grinning from ear to ear; he and Sven have finally been approved for adoption, and will be granted a brand new baby to raise as their own. Goran, a kid's doctor with a very caring personality, is about to start work at a new clinic and can't wait to push a baby carriage down the street with the other "moms" in the neighborhood. Sven, his husband and the brooding, macho "husband" who works a weekday nine-to-five office job in town, is happy that Goran is happy - but a formerly married man with a daughter who doesn't really understand (or want to understand) her gay father, Sven has done the raising kid's thing, and is more or less going along for the ride.

After a couple of false starts, a letter finally arrives in the mail that the couple have been approved for a Swedish child, "Patrik 1,5" - and though Goran and Sven think it odd they should list the year-and-a-half old baby's age as "1,5" they are still delighted (especially Goran) ... and soon the nursery upstairs, across from their bedroom, is all decked out with a crib and rocker and mobile hanging over the crib, all by the day of the infant's arrival ...

When Goran, home alone, opens the door and learns there was a typo - a missplaced comma on the letter he and Sven received ... and their 1,5-year-old baby Patrik is actually a 15-year-old foul-mouthed delinquent (Thomas Ljungman) with a criminal record, who happens to also be devoutly homophobic.

Needless to say, neither Goran or Sven - OR Patrik - are thrilled with the arrangement. With the adoption agency closed until Tuesday, Goran and Sven can't do anything about the mix-up until after the weekend ... and spend that weekend living in fear, as Patrik calls them homos and pedophiles who will probably rape him in the dead of night - while Goran and Sven, in turn, hide all the knives and anything else that Patrik may use to kill them overnight, while they sleep. Soon Sven even goes back to his drinking and smoking habits, long since abandoned, while Goran sleeps and Patrik locks himself in the nursery, sleeping on a mattress on the floor and ponders his fate. Goran, always the peacemaker and realizing that Patrik probably acts more out of fear and anger than real hatred, tries to even make some level of peace with the boy for as long as the three have to be together ... and indeed, it is Gustaf Skarsgard's performance as Goran that will endear you to both him and the film; he's a marvel here, playing Goran - a gentle soul who just wants to have his family.

The rest of the film is about how Patrik changes the lives and dynamics of Goran and Sven's life together ... and how, in turn, Patrik is changed by this totally alien world around him. Thomas Ljungman, as Patrik, brings a tough vulnerability to the character that rings so incredibly true, it reaches right to your heart; indeed, this young actor was a favorite of mine from the film Let Me In, but here both he and his talent have grown so much, I can only think of the mega-star this guy will someday be. As Goran learns both about Patrik's past and the question mark that is the boy's future - not to mention a few dirty secrets about the idyllic neighbors who aren't so perfect - even as Patrik's return to the adoption agency grows imminent, Goran finds himself wanting to do something to secure a better future for this troubled young man ...

Which leads to one of the most charming, sensitive and realistic comedy/dramas I've seen in some time. Similar in some ways to another film I've seen this year, Breakfast with Scot, Patrik, Age 1.5 packs so much more of an emotional punch; has more depth, drawing you in to the characters and really wanting Patrik and Goran both to end up with what they want. Touching and funny and full of life, Patrik, Age 1.5 was a wonderful surprise - not only worth watching, but more than worth adding to your own DVD collection permanently; I don't feel I've done it justice with this review, but if you're okay with the subject matter this film is one more people really should see ... period. This one was really done right, with real actors instead of "pretty boys" as the gay characters, PLAYING real characters who make mistakes and have flaws and aren't physically perfect. It's truly refreshing to see this in a "gay-themed" film, gay men as real people and not fashion model types with chiseled bodies and/or perfect faces ... and that, coupled with the young, truly gifted Ljungman as Patrik, makes for a "dramedy" packed with real heart and soul. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

13) A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET

Director: Samuel Bayer
Stars: Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekker, Kellan Lutz, Clancy Brown
Year: 2010
Rating: R

Even though twenty-six years had passed since Freddy Krueger first scared the snot out of moviegoers in Wes Craven's classic A Nightmare on Elm Street, it was hard to figure out why a remake was even needed; Robert Englund simply WAS Freddy Krueger, and long before the film franchise turned Freddy into a sarcastic horror stand-up comic, spewing one-liners as he dispatched with his victims, the original Nightmare - even today - still holds up as one hell of a gritty, scary, get-under-your-skin kind of film.

But then there was Michael Bay - the producer who likes excess, action, and film franchises. Already trying to revive the Jason Voorhess franchise with his remake of Friday the 13th retelling, here he reinvents Freddy Krueger - in the form of Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley, here in burnt-face makeup that certainly makes him (as Freddy) creepy and unsettling ... but never, like the film itself, quite up to par with the original.

After the "suicide" of a local high school student, Nancy Holbrook (Rooney Mara) and her closest friends begin to realize they are all sharing a common dream - that of a scary, burnt man in a striped sweater, bearing a glove on one hand tipped with razor-sharp knives, who is trying to kill them in their dreams. Nancy's friend Quentin (Kyle Gallner) - who has been in love with her for years - is, in fact, even taking medication for his ADD that helps him to stay awake. When Nancy's friend Kris (Katie Cassidy) is killed, and Kris' boyfriend Jesse (Thomas Dekker) arrested for her murder, it's Thomas insistence to Nancy that Kris was killed in the middle of her dream that sparks Nancy to investigate ... leading, eventually, to the truth of the dark origins of Freddy Krueger, and long-buried memories that could lead her and her friends to both the truth, and a way to fight the monster ... or to their deaths.

Much as the actors try, this is a fairly pale imitation of the original - with, ironically enough, the most potent scenes being virtual remakes of ones found in the original film (Nancy's bathtub scene, Kris' death in her bedroom). Other than that, the death scenes are fairly uninspired, none of them touching on the dreamworld of the person experiencing the dream (like in the original films), so much as the victim being suddenly exported to the same set almost every time. Freddy's back-story has been changed up a bit, and we're still no let in on that story until toward the end of the film (like the original) - but on the way, nothing truly inspiring happens to set this Nightmare apart from not only the original ... but also from slew of other horror/stalker films out there! Haley, while menacing as Krueger, doesn't have the depth or charisma or even pure horror Freddy extolled in the original, thanks to Englund.

While the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street offers a couple of jolts, and isn't a bad film, at the same time it's just sort of ... there. You may even wonder, after watching it, why they even bothered with a remake in the first place. Fairly uninspired, with a so-so script the actors involved aren't really given much to do with, this would be something to watch if you like horror films and have nothing else to watch. Other than that, maybe pop in the original, instead. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool