Easy A (2010)

Couldn't get through this breezy, smartypants teen flick. I prefer my teenagers to talk like teenagers.

True Grit (2010)

The Coen brothers crafted a beautiful, driven film that, unfortunately, packs little emotional punch. Exhibiting the most pathos isn't the stubborn, precocious Mattie Ross or pathetic, one-eyed Rooster Cogburn but the surprising, fallible Texas Ranger.

Remembering the Bones (2009)

In Canadian writer Frances Itani's second novel released in the United States, octogenarian widow drives her car over a guardrail on the way to the airport and spends the next few broken days in the leaves remembering her past, which coincides with the life of Queen Elizabeth. Notwithstanding the immediate medical crisis of the frame story, the story drags, particularly the parts where the narrator just rattles of the names of the bones.

The Eagle (2011)

In attempting to create an earnest yet entertaining film for young people, director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) has made a preachy, overly simplistic anti-imperialism morality tale that is laughable in its fetishizing of “exotic” and “savage” peoples. The Eagle's script is credited to Jeremy Brock, but could just as well pass as one of Rushmore's Max Fischer's magnum opus, and starring Channing Tatum as the most talented actor on the high school stage. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

The Mechanic (2011)

Director Simon West (Con Air) remakes the 1972 Charles Bronson vehicle The Mechanic without any of the indictments of disturbing emotional detachment and conspicuous consumerism that have become the hallmarks of the original. Instead, he relies on high-tech gadgets and fast editing to turn the iconic lonely, anxiety-ridden anti-hero into a suave champion. In addition, he needlessly simplifies the mentor/apprentice relationship into a hackneyed game of cat and mouse fueled by guilt and revenge. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

Biutiful (2010)

One of this year's Oscar nominations for best foreign film, Biutiful relentlessly stalks a mystic hustler as he scrambles to care for his children in his final, chaotic days. In this character portrait that dabbles in magical realism, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Babel, Amores Perros) poetically captures poverty, filth, misery and the desperation that transforms it into hope and heartache. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

A Film Unfinished (2010)

In A Film Unfinished, director Yael Hersonski expertly exposes Nazi propaganda film Das Ghetto through a newly discovered roll of behind-the-scenes footage and witness accounts. The documentary debunks even the most authentic-seeming scenes of the 62-minute, 35-millimeter rough cut that supposedly chronicles life in the Warsaw ghetto and discusses the probable sinister motivations behind its creation and the implications of believing what you see on screen. Read the rest of the review here.

Faster (2010)

In its single-minded, earnest pursuit of vengeance disguised as justice, Faster squashes any compelling moral ambiguity and drains the excitement out of this urban shoot-em-up. Director George A. Tillman Jr. (Soul Food, Notorious) has crafted a torturous morality play that takes itself too seriously, imparting hackneyed lessons about hate and forgiveness. Read the rest of the review here.

Fair Game (2010)

Despite its politically charged source material, Fair Game fails to excite much civic outrage. Instead of a political thriller based on the events that led to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the film merely relies on public knowledge for its skimpy political story and saves its inventions to offer a banal portrait of a marriage under stress. Read the rest of my review on KCActive.com.

Inside Job (2010)

In his latest documentary, director Charles Ferguson (No End in Sight) tackles the subject of the systematic deregulation of the U.S. financial sector and how it led to the current global economic crisis. Inside Job provides a thorough and damning portrait of greed that in its indictment leaves no one who wrote the laws or made the deals — too often the same players — unscathed. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

Morning Glory (2010)

Minus any realistic details and a dedicated position on its own subject matter, Morning Glory fails to surpass expectations of being anything more than a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. Director Roger Michell (Venus, Enduring Love) abandons all attempts to include his usual subversive touch of grittiness and in doing so also tones down hints of the charming mean streak previously exhibited by writer Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada), creating a film based on overreaching caricatures and labored stunts. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.

The Tillman Story (2010)

In his latest documentary, director Amir Bar-Lev carves out a careful indictment of a wartime cover up by unraveling of the myth of an American hero. Through a combination of archive footage, personal interviews, and a complicated paper trail, The Tillman Story offers a comprehensive and believable re-creation of the events leading up to and following the untimely death of former professional football player Pat Tillman. Read the rest of the review on KCActive.com.