45) TIMES HAVE BEEN BETTER

Director: Regis Musset
Stars: Charlotte de Turckheim, Bernard Le Coq, Arnaud Binard, Olivier Gueritee, Stephane Boucher
Year: 2006
Rating: NR
(in French w/English subtitles)
** - Reel Mediocre

44) THE LAST WINTER

Director: Larry Fessenden
Stars: Ron Perlman, James LeGros, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford
Year: 2006
Rating: NR
**1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

43) CIAO

Director: Yen Tan

Stars: Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Charles W. Blaum, Ethel Lung

Year: 2008

Rating: R

I was quite surprised by just how touching this film was by its end. A short little gem of a film that offers nothing more than a story between mostly two characters - with a third sort of hovering over the proceedings the entire time - Ciao (which, appropriately here, is Italian for both "hello" and "goodbye") opens with Dallas resident Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) packing up the remaining possessions of his ex-lover and friend Mark (Charles W. Blaum, via flashbacks), who has recently died in an accident. On Mark's computer, Jeff comes across emails from a guy in Italy named Andrea (Alessandro Calza), with whom Mark had evidently been communicating for some time. It seems Andrea is in the process of coming to America for a wedding, and had planned to stop by Dallas and meet Mark for the first time - and, obviously, has no idea Mark has passed. Jeff hurriedly emails, but as Andrea is already on his way the two decide that Andrea will still come to Dallas as planned, and spend an evening learning more about Mark.

Most of the film is about these two characters who shared on thing - the best friend and potential lover they've each lost in the same man. Ciao takes its time playing out the friendship that grows between the two men, as Jeff shares his memories with Mark and Andrea shares the emails and videos and conversations that Mark shared him with online or on the phone. Where some "gay-themed" films might have gone in an obvious direction here, turning the film into an excuse for these two to have sex or get together as a couple, Ciao instead plays itself out - and, more importantly, ends - on a touching, very realistic note that satisfies even while it might make you shed a tear or two. A sweet little film deserving an audience. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

42) DARE

Director: Adam Salky
Stars: Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashley Springer, Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, Chris Riggi
Year: 2009
Rating: R

Based on a short film (which is included on the DVD), Dare is - if nothing else - proof that Zach Gilford is a genuine talent far beyond his role as Matt on "Friday Night Lights". The indie feel of the film gives it exactly the right spark ... as Emmy Rossum plays high school senior Alexa Walker, a beautiful and talented girl determined to pursue an acting career. Alexa navigates the waters of school with her shy/sensitive/geeky long-term best friend Ben (Ashley Springer) - and you couldn't find a closer set of friends, that is until Alexa is forced into an acting scene with class jock Johnny (Gilford), who has no interest in acting and less in Alexa. As Alexa finds herself prodded to take risks and be more daring in life in order to improve her acting, she finds herself warming up to Johnny ... who, in turn finds himself drawn into both Alexa and Ben's world, where the friendship and relationships between all three becomes ... well, a bit complicated.

All three principals are believable and good in their roles, but it's really Gilford's Johnny Drake who holds it all together, and Gilford is up for the challenge. Nothing new or groundbreaking here, and those without an open mind to stories about like teenagers exploring their sexuality or questioning who they are may wish to look elsewhere, but Dare has a grittiness and sense of reality that worked for me on-screen. **** - Reel Awesome

41) THE FIGHTER

Director: David O. Russell

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo

Year: 2010

Rating: R

The true story of half-brothers Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and Dicky Eklund (Bale), while focusing on the rise of Micky Ward's rise to the world light welterweight boxing championship, is just as much the story of his brother Dicky, whose own boxing career was cut short by drugs and crime, thanks to a spot-on performance by Christian Bale. As Micky's trainer, Dicky (as well as the boys' mother and sisters) is the backbone of Micky's career ... until Micky meets bartender Charlene (Amy Adams), who makes him realize, for the first time, that maybe Dicky and the family are actually sabotaging his career by keeping him in the minor leagues on the local boxing circuit.

This, of course, leads to a lot of tension between the half-brothers ... especially as Dicky does seem to know what's best for Micky, even if Micky doesn't, as Micky starts to break away from the family even as he gets more and more famous as a fighter. Normally not a boxing fan, I really enjoyed the performances in this film, and thought Wahlberg did a fine job - even if his performance is pretty much overshadowed by Bale's extraordinary turn as Dicky. And while Amy Adams - one of my favorites - seems to sort of fade into the background in this film, Melissa Leo MORE than deserved her Oscar as the dominating mother of both boys, Alice. The actors save a fairly ordinary script and story, making for good drama and a film worthy of Oscar nominations. **** - Reel Awesome

40) TANGLED

Director: Nathan Greno & Byron Howard

Stars: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett

Year: 2010

Rating: PG

Wasn't sure about this one, after seeing a trailer that made the film look a bit too silly and slapstick - but having seen the film, my first reaction is "Welcome Back, Disney!" and Tangled is now one of my favorite films of the year. First off, the film just looks amazing; though CGI/computer-generated, more than any recent Disney film, this one is just so reminiscent - in both color and character - of hand-drawn Disney animation in its hey-day. The film just looks brilliant.

Which only adds to the well-written script, vivid characters, and terrific performances from a cast led by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi as the two leads.

Rapunzel (voiced by Moore), a beautiful blond princess born to a proud king and queen, was healed from illness as a baby with the powers of a magic flower; powers desired by the evil Mother Gothel, a crone who soon after kidnaps the princess, holding her forever prisoner in a tower, pretending she is her mother as she spends years teaching the girl to be afraid of the outside world.

Flash forward about sixteen years, and Rapunzel is a beautiful teenager with long (as in 70-feet long), beautiful hair who still dotes on the woman she thinks is her mother ... but also wonders and dreams of the outside world, and in particular about the spectacular display of floating lanterns she can see far off in the distance, every year on her birthday.

Though highly discouraged by her mother to ever leave the tower (Rapunzel's hair, so long as it is never cut, has retained the power to keep Mother Gothel young forever) , one day when her mother is out Rapunzel's tower is invaded by a handsome runaway thief and scoundrel named Flynn (Levi). Proving she is able to take care of herself, Rapunzel takes the intruder hostage, then eventually makes a deal with him so that he will take her out of the tower to show her the outside world - and in particular the lantern display, and what it means - in exchange for protecting her.

As expected, the two have a hate-hate relationship that carries them into one problem after another - the two meeting up with the usual assortment of Disney sidekicks and villains along the way. Add to that Mother Gothel's return to the tower, where she finds Rapunzel gone and sets out to find her, and you have the makings for a lot of drama and action - spiced up, as usual, with touches of comedy (and yeah, there is slapstick and goofiness - wonderfully so!) and, as the story goes on, touching moments of drama ... all as Rapunzel gets closer and closer to learning her true identity, and Mother Gothel gets more and more determined to stop her.

Even the musical numbers and romantic storyline only add to what is already a brilliant film, lovingly made and truly entertaining ... and one of Disney's best animated efforts in years. Plenty of goofiness for the kids, but also with a real heartbeat and emotional content (even a bit of pathos) for the adults. Truly awesome. **** - Reel Must-See

39) VAMPIRE BOYS

Director: Charlie Vaughn

Stars: Jason Lockhart, Christian Ferrer, Ryan Adames, Dylan Vox, Tanner Acord, Jess Allen, Zasu

Year: 2011

Rating: UR

Vampire Boys is one of those guilty-pleasure B-movies of so-so quality ... that is, in its way, highly entertaining because the one thing it doesn't do is take itself seriously. The acting and writing are both a bit all over the place, but director Charlie Vaughn holds it all together nicely (especially on the tiny budget the film had), and a very handsome cast led by Jason Lockhart (actually quite a good actor) do their best with the material, for sure.

Lockhart plays Jasin, a centuries-old vampire who travels with his brood of fellow vamps (Dylan Vox, Tanner Acord, Jess Allen), killing and drinking blood around Los Angeles - and yeah even during the day, as these vampires can not only be out in the sun ... but actually tan quite nicely.

Jasin has a problem, however; his time is running out on this earth unless he finds a special companion to spend his life with; one who will willingly allow his or her being turned into a vampire, in order to spend eternity with Jasin. No companion, and not only does Jasin croak but so do his bloodsucking buddies. Jasin's boys have the perfect prospect in mind, a buxom blond named Tara who is more than willing to be vamped up and become Jasin's one and only - but Jasin, however, has found and chosen young male college student Caleb (Christian Ferrer), a fresh-faced kid from the midwest, new to town, who has captured both Jasin's attention and heart.

Jasin starts to woo Caleb, much to his brood's dismay, and even Caleb's roommate Paul (Ryan Adames) - also crushing on Caleb - proves to be an obstacle in need of overcoming so that Jasin can have "The One" he needs in Caleb, in order to continue to survive.

That's the plot, the rest of which consists of Jasin's revealing to Caleb who he really is and what he wants - but also Jasin's having to deal with dissension among his own group of boys. The film is nicely shot, and I thought it a fairly okay B-movie ... until I watched the extra features on the DVD, and realized 1) just how small a budget the film had; and 2) the respect and love the actors obviously had for their director, as well as the fun everyone had making the movie.

Which gave me a whole new perspective on the film. Knowing what the director and actors had to work with, Vampire Boys still comes off as no epic - but I definitely have a new respect for the film, and its "midnight movie" appeal that has made it fans all over the world. Probably not of much interest for anyone outside the gay or gay-friendly community (there is one brief full-frontal male nude scene, but other than that the film could be an easy PG-13); otherwise an interesting and unashamedly fun B-movie vampire film worth a view. *** Reel Cool

38) SHORTBUS

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Stars: Sook-Yin Lee, Raphael Barker, Paul Dawson, PJ DeBoy, Lindsay Beamish, Jay Brannan, Peter Stickles, Justin Bond

Year: 2006

Rating: UR

Shortbus is one of those films that affects you for awhile after seeing it. Set in New York City (with an amazing handmade diorama of the city that the film utilizes to show the action moving around different parts of town), the film follows a handful of people, both gay and straight, who are all in crisis mode of their relationships.

There's Sofia and Rob (Sook-Yin Lee and Raphael Barker), a happily married couple that engages in quite a bit of sex ... much of it in the hopes of getting Sofia to finally achieve orgasm, which she's never had. This is personally poignant for Sofia, as for her career she works as a couples counselor, trying to help people very much in her condition. Two of her clients are James and Jamie (Paul Dawson and PJ DeBoy), a monogamous gay couple of five years who are having issues because James now wants to bring a third guy into their lives sexually. The fact that Jamie has a stalker for a neighbor (Peter Stickles) potentially over-complicates things further. And then there is Severin (Lindsay Beamish), a dominatrix who has never really felt love herself.

All end up, at various times, at an exclusive underground club, Shortbus, where men and women come to openly explore their sexuality (and openly is an understatement; before the film is over you will see every manner of coupling, all in the most explicit way possible). Sofia's first trip to the club is a mind-blower for her - one she rejects openly, insulted by all she see - but eventually she even chooses to bring Rob back with her, in the hopes of each of them becoming more open with their sexuality (and, of course, so she can finally peak for the first time in her life).

The film is about what each of these people - people that, yes, we do grow to like and care about - get from Shortbus; how it enriches or affects each of their lives, and what happens after. The sex scenes (even an eyebrow-raising orgy), while 100% explicit and graphic, do not come across as pornography or even necessarily erotic; instead, they fit into the film like a puzzle piece, only coming off as an extension of the characters or what they face. And while a film like this could have been so predictable - each person goes to Shortbus and comes away with his or her life transformed/"fixed" - one of the best things about the film is that you can't always predict what will happen, or where things will go.

Funny, touching, romantic, and lighthearted yet sincere, Shortbus is a film that will turn off some due to its graphic sexual content - but so, so worth the ride as it will also touch something in the universal core of many who see it. Especially those secure in themselves and in what they need, both in bed and out, this is a wonderful film with so much more going on beyond what you see on-screen. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See

37) RHYTHM & BLUES

Director: Stephen Lennhoff

Stars: Paul Blackthorne, Ian Henderson, Gary Fairhall, Angus MacInnes, Philippe Sartori

Year: 2000

Rating: NR

Marketed as a gay dark comedy, Rhythm & Blues stars Paul Blackthorne in one of his earliest roles, playing a cocky, sexy yet kind of mysterious street hustler named John in the UK, who joins the Boys Galore Escort service on the advice of his quasi-psychotic skinhead friend Byron (Ian Henderson), as a way of making some good, quick money.

John, confident and exuding male sexuality, quickly becomes the most popular rent boy at the service - especially when he draws the attention of Bad Daddy (Angus MacInnes), a rich middle-aged queen who purchases the time of only the best boys - usually for days at a time. When John bargains for his buddy Byron to come along for the ride, the two join Daddy and his major domo at Daddy's expensive home for a weekend of mind games, sex games, and John manipulating the players in the game with his charm, good looks and body.

The film has funny moments, but Paul Blackthorne - an amazing and underrated actor whose talents are fairly wasted here - stands out far and above his castmates, many of whom come off as total caricatures instead of real people. You do spend the film wondering if John's really a good guy or a bad guy - and Ian Henderson, as Byron, is so over the top he provides some of the funniest moments of the film - but overall Rhythm & Blues is more about the blues than the rhythm; even with a cool/funny twist at the end, the film overall (especially when Blackthorne isn't on-screen) is often flat and lifeless, both characters and story failing to leap off the screen. Even as a film targeted for a gay audience, the only thing "gay" about the whole thing are the characters; the film itself is so tame (until toward the end), you'd never know it was a film about rent boys or an escort service.

Even as the lighthearted farce the film seems to want to be, it just never shines on-screen. Except for Paul Blackthorne (and Henderson, to a lesser degree) - and there is just so much other stuff, that's so much better, you could catch him in. Not worth your time. ** - Reel Mediocre

36) THE RASPBERRY REICH

Director: Bruce La Bruce

Stars: Susanne Sachsse, Daniel Batscher, Andreas Rupprecht, Dean Stathis

Year: 2004

Rating: UR

(in English and German w/English subtitles)

I have to admit, this was my first Bruce La Bruce film - and to say watching The Raspberry Reich was a bizarre experience just doesn't even cut it. In your face, very sexually explicit (in fact, even the "toned down" version is virtually worthy of an X rating), the film is part parody, part comedy, part social commentary, and part porn.

In other words, from all I've read and seen, fairly typical of Bruce La Bruce.

That said, it's not an awful movie - especially if you like films that are either political commentaries ... or, in this case, a take-off on them. Susanne Sachsse stars as Gudrun, leader of a terrorist resistance group that, although the film is set in modern Germany, aims to bring back the pro-left wing movement from the 1970s. Spouting cool catch-phrases like "The revolution is my boyfriend!" and "Heterosexuality is the opiate of the masses!" the far-left revolutionary leader assembles a band of male followers to help her lead the cause ... then proceeds to force all of them (including her boyfriend) to have sex with each other, in order prove their mettle as true followers to both her and The Cause.

And that's pretty much the plot, if you include what happens to the guys after the sex. That said, the film never takes itself seriously; indeed, the opening (and very, VERY explicit) scene of Gudrun and her boyfriend having sex - all over their apartment and even into the elevator, with an elderly couple forced to ride the elevator with them - is actually pretty funny, as Gudrun spews much of her ideology ("Madonna is counter-revolutionary!") throughout. Her small, all-male army is certainly attractive enough to make the sex scenes downright hot, at times, and if you're into the whole social commentary thing (or those making fun of it, actually), then there will be moments to satisfy.

But overall, again while you can't hate the film, it's very one-note and would generally appeal to only a very select audience. The ending is kind of sweet, believe it or not - but the question is, is the journey to get there worth it?

In a way. For a low-budget indie film that makes no attempt to be more than it is (and for those interested in anything written in the above interview), it's worth a look. But again, only to a select group - and even those people will find their eyebrows raising, occasionally, throughout. **1/2 - Reel Mediocre-Reel Cool

**NO TRAILER AVAILABLE**

35) SERVICE

Director: Brillante Mendoza

Stars: Gina Pareno, Jaclyn Jose, Julio Diaz, Coco Martin, Kristofer King, Dan Alvaro

Year: 2008

Rating: UR

(in Tagalog with English subtitles)

With little characterization and even less plot, Service is a quirky yet engaging little oddity of a film fro the Philippines, directed by Brillante Mendoza, that has as its central character the Family Theater - a once-grand movie palace now covered in graffiti and faded, peeling film posters advertising the theater's second-most popular attraction: porn.

The theater, run by the equally once-grand Pineda family (who also lives above the theater), has as its main attraction the clientele the adult films draw; young street hustlers, gay men, and horny married men hook up with the dark confines and dank hallways of the faded and jaded theater, often with what's going on off-screen more exciting than the actual double features shown.

Service, which depicts little more than the family members' lives in connection with the theater that has become their lives, follows continuously as the family deals with infidelity and divorce, borrowing money to help keep things running, young love, grossly overflowing toilets, casual sex, boils, raising children, even a runaway goat ... all while somehow keeping the movie house running so the family itself can survive. In the unrated version a few of the sex scenes are unapologetically graphic, and the film overall often plays more like a reality show, with the camera hurrying to keep up as different situations (I hesitate to use the word "subplots" here, as there is really not a plot, period) unfold in an "average" day of trying to run a porn theater. Director Brillante Mendoza captures the gritty, grimy world of the theater perfectly, the graininess on-screen giving the film its raw texture - and the strikingly handsome Coco Martin, as young Alan, provides the ray of hope in the film for the Pineda family's future, when all is said and done. I'd heard a lot about Martin, prior to Service, but this was my first time seeing his work, and he alone makes the film worth watching.

Though even overall, I found Service intriguing and unique. While definitely not for everyone, and quirky to the point I am not even 100% sure why I liked it, this is one film I could watch again ... even to the point of purchasing on DVD. Even among the grit and grime and seediness, somehow there feels like a bit of a gem here. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

34) CHARLIE ST. CLOUD

Director: Burr Steers
Stars: Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan, Amanda Crew, Augustus Prew, Kim Basinger, Donal Logue, Ray Liotta, Dave Franco
Year: 2010
Rating: PG-13

There's a lot to like about Charlie St. Cloud, not the least of which is Zac Efron proving that he can, indeed, act. Almost ethereally beautiful, here Efron digs beneath his looks to flesh out a sympathetic and endearing character in Charlie, a gifted sailor and excellent high school student on the east coast who has just won a full scholarship to Stanford - much to both the joy of his mother (Kim Basinger) and the trepidation of his younger brother Sam (Charlie Tahan), who is very close to his older brother and will be sorry to see him go. As his two best buddies prepare to enter the military, Charlie's future seems much more secure ... until an auto accident takes Sam's life, and nearly kills Charlie in the process (he's brought back to life, in the ambulance, by a stubborn EMT played by Ray Liotta).

The film flashes forward to five years later ... and the still-grief-stricken Charlie, who now works as a caretaker at the very cemetery his brother is buried in, where he also lives. Charlie never took the scholarship, gave up sailing, and lives now only for doing his job ... and the game of catch he still plays with his brother Sam (whom only he can see) every day at sunset, a date they set to make, every day without fail, just before Sam passed.

Charlie's life has become nothing like the plan, and in fact his mom has even moved away from her own grief at not only losing Sam ... but, in a way, losing Charlie too. It's only, in fact, when an experienced female sailor named Tess, whom Charlie starts to fall for (and who always had a crush on Charlie - the old Charlie, who loved life), comes along that Charlie feels the urge to live beyond the cemetery again ... and maybe start the process of healing, at last.

Charlie St. Cloud plays out a bit like a TV-movie, script-wise, with what may appear to be nothing more than a story of sadness and grief. In truth, the film is much more - ultimately uplifting, and also way above the norm thanks to a great cast headed by Efron. Yes, his beauty almost rivals that of the incredible cinematography/scenery in the film itself. But it's by far Efron who gives pure heart and soul to Charlie, turning in a subtle, thought-out yet very humane and believable performance as a young man who chooses to live within his grief instead of the real world. It's a touching, charming nuanced performance, the film well worth seeing for Efron alone ... though he is certainly backed up by a good supporting cast, as well, that makes the most of a script that's not particularly strong.

Efron chose well here, taking his first steps away from teen idol to mature adult actor with sure footing. Nice to know he has genuine talent behind the looks, it should be a real pleasure to watch him grow more into himself as an actor on-screen; he really is pretty terrific. ***1/2 - Reel Cool-Reel Awesome

33) KICK-ASS

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Stars: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage
Year: 2010
Rating: R

Colorful, funny, violent, well-written and perfectly cast, Kick-Ass is a high-octane comic book come to life ... a film that lives fully up to its name and is one of the best films I've seen so far in 2011.

Aaron Johnson - one of the best young actors working today, with this film and his moving performance as John Lennon in Nowhere Boy living proof - stars as shy, nerdy high school boy Dave Lizewski, a guy who is just sort of there; an average student at an average school, leading a pretty nondescript life hanging out with his two best buddies and pining away for the girl he can't have. He doesn't party, gets decent grades, is respectful to the father he lives with, and is so ordinary and average it's sort of driving him crazy.

Which is why, one day, Dave orders a green scuba suit from online, makes a couple of slight adjustments ... and decides, for almost no other reason than out of boredom, to become a superhero, donning the name Kick-Ass. He has no super powers, no martial arts or fight training - hell, the guy doesn't even work out - and in fact his first run in with some "bad guys" has him getting HIS ass kicked, to the point of spending some time in the hospital and requiring back surgery.

Hopes and confidence dashed, Dave retreats back into his shell for awhile - but Kick-Ass the superhero won't quit, and he dons the suit again, the surgery leaving his torso number enough he can now take a lot more punishment with little to no pain.

Kick-Ass' second effort at crime fighting goes a lot better, and is in fact recorded by a few people at the scene, on their phones - and soon Kick-Ass becomes a YouTube sensation, locally famous as a masked superhero ... who draws the attention of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), a father-daughter crime-fighting duo with their own personal reasons for taking down New York City crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong, SO good at playing bad). When Hit-Girl and Big Daddy save Kick-Ass' ass, after the poor high school kid almost gets himself killed by a gang of D'Amico's thugs, Kick-Ass is immediately bumped up to the top of D'Amico's hit list when he thinks it was Kick-Ass who's dispatched with his vicious goons (sadly, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are better at remaining in the shadows than the already-famous Dave, so D'Amico isn't even aware of their existence at first; it's Kick-Ass whose head he wants).

To lure Kick-Ass to his death, D'Amico's nerdy high school-age son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) - eager to prove to his father he's man enough to get involved in the family business - comes up with the idea of creating his own superhero, in order to get both Kick-Ass' attention and trust. Hence Red Mist is born, and indeed the plan seems to be working, as Dave is lured into believing Red Mist only wants to team up with Kick-Ass to fight crime in the boroughs of New York City ... as Frank D'Amico sets up a plan to not only kill Kick-Ass, but use his slow death as a lesson to others who may come up behind him.

Kick-Ass is a pure comic book come to life - but is certainly not for kids. Violent, bloody, and often times very adult in nature, it's like a Kill Bill for the high school set. It's also one hell of a movie, full of laughs and shocks and with a great plot that never lets up or grows dull for even a moment. Aaron Johnson, yet again, proves he deserves to be an uber-star actor; he's absolutely vulnerable, engaging, funny and spectacularly genuine here - heading an excellent cast that helps to craft one of the most fun, exuberant and truly - well, kick-ass - films I've seen in ages. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is wonderful, as well as Mark Strong; hell, even Nicolas Cage, who often works my nerves as an actor, is a real delight here too, playing it straight and making it that much funnier for doing so. But the other standout, along with Johnson, is Chloe Grace Moretz - an amazingly strong actor for such a young age, and along with Aaron Johnson an actor totally deserving of super-stardom and a very lengthy career.

Few films in recent memory have gotten me more engaged, or more keyed up, than Kick-Ass. If you can handle the violence, it's a brilliant treat that needs to be seen. ***** - Reel Must-See

32) MEGAMIND

Director: Tom McGrath
Stars: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, David Cross, Ben Stiller
Year: 2010
Rating: PG

Much like Despicable Me (another beautifully-animated film I quite liked), Megamind has a premise that finds with a supervillain who finds himself suddenly at odds with his chosen profession. Opening in Metro City on a beautiful spring day, we find Megamind (Will Ferrell) once again kidnapping ace TV news reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) - girlfriend to MetroMan (Brad Pitt), Metro City's protector and superhero - and has defied his arch enemy to find and rescue her.

As the opening scene progresses, we realize that Megamind, coming from another world and sent here by his parents (Superman-style) just as their planet was being destroyed, has - since childhood - become a supervillain after having his childhood overshadowed by the young MetroMan. The child Megamind turned to evil to get attention, and we viewers learn pretty quickly that this playing out of kidnapping-Roxanne-to-try-and-lure-MetroMan-to-his-death-thing has been going on for some time.

Only something goes horribly wrong (or horribly right, depending on your viewpoint), and Megamind actually KILLS MetroMan this time out - putting Metro City at his mercy, at last. Needless to say, at first Megamind - along with his sidekick Minion (David Cross) - is uber-thrilled with the results, and trashes Metro City from end to end, stealing money and the world's most prized artwork for himself. But after weeks of pillaging and ruling with an iron hand, Megamind realizes he's just plain bored; that the best part of being a supervillain was, indeed, having a superhero to fight! So using his mega-mind, Megamind decides to find a local goofball and turn HIM into a superhero, just to give him someone to try and destroy.

But in that super-boob, Megamind chooses Roxanne's dork of a cameraman, Hal (Jonah Hill) turning him into the all-powerful, almight Tighten ... and learns pretty quickly that Tighten is anything BUT a superhero. In fact, Tighten may make Megamind's reign look like The Sound of Music by comparison.

Further complicating things, Megamind - through a series of bizarre circumstances I don't want to divulge here - starts to find himself falling in love ... with none other than Roxanne Ritchie. But what's a supervillain to do when battling another supervillain? And does that make HIM, suddenly, a superhero?

Mixing a terrific blend of humor, dazzling animation, and high-flying action sequences, Megamind at heart remains a story OF the heart. Funny and endearing, even if the ending is a bit corny it all works - in a sweet film both kids and adults can enjoy. Really charming, and well worth seeing. **** - Reel Awesome

31) BLACK DYNAMITE

Director: Scott Sanders
Stars: Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Tommy Davidson, Byron Minns, Phil Morris, Kevin Chapman, Phil Morris
Year: 2009
Rating: R

Screenwriters Michael Jai White, Byron Minns, and Scott Sanders understand the number one rule of producing a parody: make it a funny-as-hell, but also a real homage - a love letter - to the film or genre it's playing on. Such is the case of Black Dynamite - an always-entertaining, often genuinely hilarious film about ex-CIA agent Black Dynamite (White) who, after the murder of his baby brother, takes on crime in his Los Angeles inner city neighborhood as he searches to avenge his brother's death. Along with his soul brothers Cream Corn (Tommy Davidson) and Bullhorn, Black Dynamite takes on the corruption of inner city youth as he joins forces with a militant leader Saheed to find his brother's killer, and discovers a conspiracy to keep the Black man down ... as he also courts a fine-ass, socially-conscious sistah named Gloria (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) in the process.

But will his martial arts skills, one hell of a big gun, and a bad-ass attitude (not to mention one sexy mustache) be enough for BD to be able clean up the streets for good? Damn straight it will - thanks to a great soundtrack, period sets and costumes that transport you right back to 1972, and the straitlaced, ingenious performance of Michael Jai White, who plays Black Dynamite with more suave, sophistication, and straight-up finery than Shaft, Superfly and Blacula (minus the teeth) combined. Armed with a supporting cast with character names like Mo Bitches (Miguel Nunez Jr.), Mahogany Black (Nicole Ari Parker), Sweet Meat (Brian McKnight), Tasty Freeze (Arsenio Hall), Kotex (NBA vet John Salley), Black Dynamite never strikes a false note in its authentic reproduction of the best blaxploitation films ever made ... yet plays them up with a real love for the genre, even as viewers can spot the occasional boom mike showing in-frame, or catches a flubbed line or blooper en route.

The ultimate conspiracy that Black Dynamite uncovers is the funniest part of the film, and how he and his friends defeat the bad guys is pure gold to watch. One of the best comedies this reviewer has seen in some time, Black Dynamite is one of those "instant classics" you'll want to catch more than once, to make sure you've caught all the jokes - and would be just as much fun with multiple viewings are the first time you watched it. Michael Jai White, terrific in so many things for so many years, finally gets his due here; terrifically! ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See