Diet Reviews!!!

I have been needing to get caught up on a few reviews so I just decided to lump them together and do Diet Reviews: a trimmed down version of what could have been a much wordier diatribe full of descriptive but superfluous adjectives. Much like that last sentence.

ATONEMENT
Um, ya. So this film was pretty much near perfect in its technical execution, which may ultimately be its tragic flaw. The film appears so glossy-perfect in its stunning cinematography and art direction that the whole thing feels a little plastic. Classic case of style trumping substance, though James McAvoy is was just what I thought he would be ever since I saw The Last King Of Scotland: a growing leading man. Watch out for him. GRADE: A-

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM
I have heard that the definition of an idiot is someone who does the same thing over and over but expects different results. I....am an idiot. I continuously see these new Alien or Predator movies because I loved the first two so much and hope that a return to brilliance will be just around the corner. This movie is horrible. Like as horrible as The Marine...horrible. Enough Said. GRADE: F

JUNO
I never bought into the cult love for Little Miss Sunshine last year, so I thought I would be particularly jaded to the apparently similar Juno this year. Remind me to never trust people because this film is anything but Little Miss Sunshine. Its gritty yet charming attitudes and truly original writing represent an enjoyable and original film, not a veneer of family awkwardness that both feigns originality and is shaped like a dancing Abigail Breslin. Ellen Page is incredible. And so is this movie. GRADE: A-

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
I need to see this again. I think it is brilliant, but I need to make sure I wasn't just vibing into a manipulative attempt to be complex for complexity's sake. But technically it was stunning. LOVE the no score choice. GRADE: A

I AM LEGEND
Just plain fun. Unfortunately the movie could have been a little less action and a little more "what should we think of this?" Often sacrifices truly thought-provoking, and inherently more interesting, questions for the cheesy jump-out-at-you moments that grew so annoying. Also, I kinda think it would have been amazing if they never really showed those baddies, and left it up to us as to whether he had gone insane. Just more interesting to me, I suppose. GRADE: B-

THE GREAT DEBATERS
Denzel Washington's second directorial effort is not as good as his first. This film is unfocused and often too wide ranging to garner any effective sentiment from an audience. In the effort to display many problems as a little wrong, the film sacrifices the importance of making one over arching issue WAY important. Very bleh to me. GRADE: C+