Lars and the Real Girl

This is the kind of movie that really gets me confused. And I'll tell you why. It is amazingly beautiful, full of understanding and heart, but in the theatre, almost everyone laughs almost throughout the entire film. I mean, there is humor in a guy having a sex doll as a girlfriend, I'll admit it, but in this movie it is subtle and more sophisticated. It is different. And people still laugh at some of the scenes as if they were watching a sequel to American Pie. When they laugh the first couple of times, that's ok, I mean, they're getting used to it, right? But 50 minutes into the movie, they still laugh when the doll appears in new clothes. They still laugh at the guy's blind belief in both his and her love. They still laugh at his brother, tormented by whatever guilt he might have in the process that led Lars to have this dillusion. Ahhh, grow up, will ya!
I know, I know, this post is extremely arrogant. I know I'm acting like one those pseudo-intellectuals called movie critics, but sometimes you just can't help it. I loved this movie and I felt it. And I guess it kinda frustrates me that most people aren't the least bit affected by it. They take home 5 % of what it offers. And the sad thing is that if anyone told them that, they'd probably say that it's exactly what they wanted from it. And nothing else.
I give it 5 stars out of 5.

30 Days of Night

I love zombie movies.

Yes, yes, graphic novel fans, I know they're vampires and not zombies, but I don't care. They're zombies to me.

And director David Slade (had never heard of him before) made a great zombie movie.

There are two things that bothered me in the movie though:

1) The vampire-zombies talking in a garbled stupid language. It was a big and unnecessary risk in my opinion. It came out ridiculous (people laughed whenever they spoke) and nothing they say adds ANYTHING to the story. He might have left it in because in the graphic novel, the vampires talk. And no one wants the die-hard fans (annoying Magic Players) on their tails, bitching about how the main character had blonde hair. But it threw me off every once in a while.

2) And also a scene with a little girl. Not the scene itself but her one line. "Wanna play with me?" That sounded cool in the eighties, but it sounds extremely old and dumb now.

Apart from that, the movie is great for those who like the genre. I had a blast and would like to highlight a specific scene, which is among one of the most exciting ones I've seen in the movies for the last couple of years: when all hell breaks loose, the airborne shot was amazing. Very raw, very intense.

And another thing. I'm not a Josh Hartnet fan, but he did a good job in this one.

I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)

"Elite Squad", as it shall be called in the US, is not only an accurate portrait of what goes on in the streets of Rio de Janeiro nowadays, but also a technically well executed movie, from head to toe. Director José Padilha has successfully ported his documentary skills to cinema, offering a sort of insight we rarely get from regular story-tellers, no matter how good they are. I guess when you're doing a documentary, the journalistic responsability is just as crucial as the ability to put together all the information collected during the reasearch phase. And José Padilha, whether that was his intention or not, could not escape his talent to film raw and scary reality while doing this piece. It sticks out as aggressively as possible, without becoming your everyday slasher. There's gore, there's extreme violence, but there's always content. There's always motive.

The cast is superb. Specially Wagner Moura, which comes as no surprise to me. I've seen a few movies this year and can't really think of many better performances than his in this movie. The Oscars are coming and I very much doubt he'd be considered for a nomination with all the hot shots putting they're movies out at the right time (you know the bunch, Russel Crowe, Denzel Washington, Jack Nicholson, those incredible actors whose movies you only get to see in the November/December time frame) but if it were up to me, I'd seriously do. It'd be a great change for Hollywood, and an opportunity for it to get its head out of its ass.

Another great thing about this movie is that, for the first time, in the History of Brazilian entertainment, someone pointed the finger directly at the face of the real cuprit regarding the insolvable drug problem Rio de Janeiro has been facing for the last 20 years: the middle class. It is as clear as day that the drug dealer is supported by the dumbass SOB who wants to get high on the weekends, at Friday night, and smokes some marijuana, does a couple of lines of cocaine, or takes some ecstasy, and not the drug addict. And usually these assholes think they're not harming anyone by doing so. Well, in that sense, this movie can be educational. And for people like me, even a little vindicating.

A must see. 5 starts out of 5.