The Mechanic (2011)

Good judgement comes from experience.  Experience comes from exercising bad judgement.  I was glad to see a version of this, one of my favorite old quotes, in this movie.  I remember seeing the original with Charles Bronson when I was a kid.  This is a worthy remake.

Jason Statham plays the top dog assassin amongst a company set up hire out their services.  When the company president tricks him into killing his best friend and mentor, Statham's character takes his revenge.  Bronson played this character back in the 70's and Statham is as quietly confident and efficient as the original.  Well played.

Ben Foster steps up his range a notch while still managing to play the loser trying to make good. Donald Sutherland is warm and fuzzy as the mentor and friend.  The rest of the cast fit well and play nice together.  Ha.

With only a few continuity and factual problems, this movie is fast-moving and often suspenseful.

Watch this movie with someone who think vengeance is their mission.

Sweet Land (2005)

Anyone with European ancestors who settled in the upper mid-west US should watch this movie as a peek into their family history. For the rest, this should be viewed as wonderful storytelling.

Elizabeth Reaser plays a German mail-order bride who arrives in rural Minnesota after the end of World War I. The story is about the connection between herself, her husband, and the land they worked for nearly 50 years. Patrick Heusinger plays her husband, a socially backwards Norwegian.

Their love story spans 5 decades and shows us all what it means to truly work the land. Their hardships and attitudes are indicative of many of our ancestors.

Beautifully photographed and edited, this movie is art as well as history.

Watch this movie with someone who has Scandinavian ancestors.

La soga (2009)

Nature or nurture? Are we products of our upbringing and environment, or are who we are from our first breath? This story, written by Manny Perez, who also is brilliant in the lead role, is clearly on the side of nurture theory.

This peek into the Dominican Republic police operations is like looking into our own wild west history. Very interesting and very well done. In a mix of Spanish and English the story is so easy to follow you may not even need the subtitles.

Denise Quiñones, a former Miss Universe, is stunning here as the love interest. Juan Fernández appears made for this role as the corrupt police general.

While this movie is certainly violent, it is not overly gory. The soundtrack is danceable.

Watch this movie with a vegetarian.

Black Swan (2010)

This movie is certainly not for everyone. Not everyone likes ballet. Not everyone likes mild psycho thrillers. Not every likes creepy overbearing parents or bosses. Not everyone like an overly dramatic finish. This story has all of those things and more that might turn the weak-minded away.

Natalie Portman is stunning and definitely earned her best actress Oscar here. Nominated in 4 other categories, this is certainly a movie for fans of cinema to see. It is done in a classic grand drama style, not often used by Hollywood anymore. Very well done indeed.

Barbara Hershey is great here as the control-freak mother. Vincent Cassel is creepy good as the ballet director. His range is made more obvious to those who have been following his career.

Even if you don't like many or all of the items mentioned above, you should see this movie. You will be talking about it for weeks. If you like ANY of the above items, you must see this one.

Watch this movie with someone who gave up a career in dancing.

En ganske snill mann "A Somewhat Gentle Man" (2010)

Stellan Skarsgård shows his skills in this dramedy about second chances, redemption, and family. It takes a strong actor to dance this bad, and say yes to so many women. It takes a firm confidence to allow being filmed from behind with a bald spot as large as one's pony tail.

When Scandinavians tell a story they do it slowly. It's like making a good stew. Character development is critical and the audience is allowed to enjoy the moments, sights, sounds, and aromas, as if they were part of the story.

The supporting cast are also great and too numerous to mention here. Hopefully my Scandinavian readers will forgive that. Few characters are truly loathsome, but almost all are flawed enough to be real.

Watch this movie with someone who will enjoy the subtitles enough to not even notice them.

The Tourist (2010)

If you are in the mood for a movie with beautiful people doing exciting things in beautiful places, then this might be a good one for you. On the other hand, if you take away those things, there is not much to get worked up about.

Angelina Jolie is elegant if not a little less steamy that her past roles. Johnny Depp is both funny and fierce. But there is too little chemistry between them for my tastes. Paul Bettany does all the real acting here as the anguished Interpol Inspector chasing them. Timothy Dalton who might have been given the lead role back in the day plays the Chief Inspector. And I have to say he does it well.

Steven Berkoff does his usual splendid job playing an international bad guy and Alessio Boni is great as the local Venice cop who makes things happen.

For sure this movie keeps you guessing who the mystery thief is until the end. Some may guess early and some will find out in the end. No spoilers here, but it could have been done a bit better and with much better ending lines.

Watch this movie with someone who has actually been to Venice and enjoy their memories of the place.

Cosa voglio di più "Come Undone" (2010)

Why would a semi- attractive woman agree to an awkward, unsatisfying affair, when she is already in an apparently happy, if routine, marriage? One wonders.

This movie explores this theme, unless something was totally lost to me in translation.

While the story is well-told, there is not much of a story. I struggled to pay attention for the first 40 minutes.

If you like Italian cinema, or if you want to see what Italian middle-class looks like, feel free to watch this movie. Otherwise, I cannot recommend it.

Watch at your own risk.

The Wildest Dream (2010)

If you are not into climbing, or even camping, this documentary may not be your thing. If you are not even mildly interested in the concept that somebody may have reached the top of Mt. Everest before Hillary's documented, and current historical record, again, you may not enjoy this.

For the rest of us, this movie is a delightful mix of documentary, archival footage, and dramatizations. Very well done.

Conrad Anker finds the frozen remains of a British climber who was last seen approaching the summit 75 years earlier. His goal is to prove that Mallory's attempt was possible given the equipment and lack of rigging on the mountain, if not prove that he was indeed on top.

Along the way some very interesting Everest history and facts are presented as well as the introduction of some great personalities.

Watch this movie with a warm cup of chocolate handy.