The TV Addict 

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES is something of a rare commodity in the family film genre: it is not only refreshingly mature, but also intensely exciting. I can’t think of many such flicks that on an emotional level so seriously and effectively wrestle with the effect of divorce on a child, nor on an entertainment level provide such a genuinely pervading sense of danger and tension. That’s all the more impressive given that in the end it all really comes down to something as ridiculously simple as keeping a book away from a bad guy. Nevertheless there were numerous sequences that had me glued to my screen, whether out of sheer wonder, or just good-old fashioned enthrallment with some of the film’s more intense moments (especially its climax).

The film’s (and by extension the book’s) imagination is also something behold. The film’s fantastical world is not only lovingly painted (all the more apparent in Blu-Ray), it seems to me welcomingly old-fashioned with its great cast of goblins, fairies, griffins, whether good or bad. It’s not just the cast though, it’s the word itself as the film revels in its sublime imagination. In that sense THE SPIDERWICK CHORNICLES’ greatest trick is not only that it appeals to a child’s sense of wonder, but that it can allow an adult like myself to recall my own.
Overall rating: B+

IN BRUGES
For the many who missed the chance to see in theatres (or didn’t even hear of it) they now have the chance to see the 5th best film of the year so far. Though it seems almost like the opening of a joke (“Two hit men walk into a medieval Belgian city and have to pretend to be tourists…”), Martin McDonagh’s fiercely dark comedy about hit men stuck in the throes of identity crises is a film that surprisingly avoids the almost eye-rolling familiarity of its fundamental story. It does largely thanks to the sheer amount of energy and twisted humor it possesses, as well as its notable performances from Colin Farrell (who reminds us here that he can actually act), Brendan Gleeson, and an array of strong supporting characters. It also intriguingly casts the beautiful Belgian city of Bruges as a sort of literal and existential purgatory. It effectively allows you (amidst the laughs) to feel something for the characters because in some way you know their very souls seem to be at stake here. That IN BRUGES provides dark fun, laughs, drama, and a solid criminal thriller in one neat, non-cluttered narrative, is exactly why it earned its No. 5 spot on my list to begin with.
Overall rating: A-

VANTAGE POINT
Any film that recalls the narrative device of Akira Kurosawa’s RASHOMON is immediately at a disadvantage in my eye. Sure, it’s probably not the same thing. VANTAGE POINT is aiming to use a neat story trick for an action film, while RASHOMON was more seriously interested in the relativity of truth. Nevertheless Kurosawa’s film at least proves that if handled correctly, its narrative conceit can work incredibly well. It doesn’t in VANTAGE POINT. In fact, it pretty much squanders it the same way BASIC a few years ago did. For a while the film rides its gimmick well, but too many characters mean there are far too many jumpbacks/resets to the beginning of events but with different points of view, which begins to try one’s patience pretty fast. It doesn’t help matters that the film ultimately degenerates into a somewhat boring, generic action flick with one too many trite developments.
Overall rating: C

PERSEPOLIS
Marjane Satrapi’s feature film adaptation of her own celebrated coming-of-age graphic novel , animated in a gorgeous black and white style, is a pleasant reminder of why we should watch foreign films. We should because we need to get different perspectives, and see certain political, social, or national contexts in other lights. Though the film provides all of that in Marjane’s autobiographical tale about growing up in Iran during the Islamic revolution, it’s most notable accomplishment perhaps is that despite its politics, or at least its unique Iranian perspective, its story remains indelibly universal. You’ll be hard pressed not to feel pangs of familiarity watching this film, all the more so when you consider that perhaps the film really boils down to a fundamental existential question that applies to us all: who am I, and where do I belong in this world? In these complicated times this film is a small wonder in how it shows many of us something new, and yet oh so familiar.
Overall rating: A-