Royal Deceit is a period piece taking liberties with Shakesepeare but does feature a great cast that includes Christian Bale, Helen Mirren, Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Byrne and Andy Serkis in his feature film debut.
Braveheart is one hell of a film with a powerful performance from Mel Gibson, even when his Scottish accent wasn’t always the best. Beyond that, his direction was well done with some great choreographed battle scenes.
Strange But True is a finely acted drama and sufficiently directed film, but it’s also rather dull and includes a twist that seems straight out of a Lifetime Movie.
The Big C was a well done drama-comedy series featuring great performances from Laura Linney, John Benjamin Hickey and a respectable set of guest stars throughout the course of its four seasons.
Trick ‘R Treat is a great anthology horror film with some solid performances from the ensemble cast but it’s Michael Dougherty’s script that really stood out telling a compelling interconnected story that still managed to illicit some well done twists.
Super Troopers 2 might’ve been a passion project for the many fans of the 2001 film that garnered cult status over the course of a decade, but for someone who only felt so-so about that one, this sequel was, most of the time, painfully unfunny.
Braveheart is one hell of a film with a powerful performance from Mel Gibson, even when his Scottish accent wasn’t always the best. Beyond that, his direction was well done with some great choreographed battle scenes reminding you, just as it did on Gladiator, of old school epic Hollywood.
RED 2 isn’t as strong as its predecessor, but still incredibly entertaining thanks to is charming and likeable cast that work well together, even if the plot is a bit forced but that’s a sequel for you.
RED is an incredibly fun action-comedy that excels more on its likeable cast than the actual plot which isn’t that great, but a serviceable vehicle for the aging cast, headlined by Bruce Willis whose more at home in this role than his last couple outings of Die Hard.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes isn’t perfect but it is a fine way to reboot the series with a new trilogy, especially after the disastrous Tim Burton version. This addition actually gives the apes more character which will be furthered in the sequel.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe was one of the better surprises of the year (so far) with a compelling enough plot and two great performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch.
Manhunter is probably one of the better psychological thrillers and a tad underrated especially for a film of the ‘80s and while there are plenty of elements from that era (look no further than the electronica score) but the performances are so dang compelling led by William Petersen and Tom Noonan.
Zodiac is a fantastic film and probably one of my favorites from director David Fincher. It’s a fascinating mystery/crime drama with excellent performances that were sadly overlooked by the Academy. Of course, it didn’t help that Paramount released this in March rather than December.