Alien3

Now I know why I didn’t watch this one when it first came out. I could tell, even then, that this Alien would, ironically, lack any real bite. Indeed, despite its plethora of viscera, this outing lacks that certain, all-important visceral impact. We’ve seen all of this by now, two movies worth, and without any real new wrinkles to the saga, the tale just doesn’t have the effect it once did. Plus, there’s a bit too much stupid in the story here. (Really, when there’s a horrifying beast running around being murderous, just tell somebody, for Christ’s sake. Why keep the facts to yourself?) One more outing showed up in this sequence before the later Prometheus revival--which successfully injected a new viewpoint to the saga--but by this stage of the process viewers were starting to wonder what was the point, besides delivering a denouement that, it turned out, wasn't really. Like all annoying bugs, this one deserved swatting.

The Town

Apparently, that Affleck boy can make a movie. With the newly crowned Best Picture Argo still hanging in the award-season air, I watched this other, earlier case in point. What the man offered here was a well-crafted film, one with a good visual sense and excellent pacing, both of which served well an otherwise pedestrian story. A lot of what's in that story has already been well covered in other films, though I do appreciate the touch of ambiguity in the ending. One bit of absurdity, or at least a questionable choice: would any Bostonians, even Charlestown bank robbers, actually try to rip off the Red Sox? Seems highly implausible. But that doesn't spoil the movie--it's still worth a look.

The Shipping News

When people think about a good time at the movies, the word "somber" rarely comes to mind. You get plenty of that here. The story's thesis--that there's a place where everyone belongs--is not so bad, and it is gratifying when Kevin Spacey's hapless schlub finds some measure of redemption in the end. But that's not enough to lift this movie high enough for most viewers.

Romeo + Juliet

The middle member of Luhrmann's "Red Curtain" trilogy (though, strangely, minus the curtain), and undoubtedly the least successful. That's not to say it's bad; given the screenwriter (Shakespeare) you can hardly go wrong. It starts working once they begin playing it somewhat straight, and by the end the power of the tale has its effect. But many of the actors seem too lightweight for their roles, and some of the overwrought touches just don't work here.

Brassed Off

Nice little movie about the disintegration of coal mining towns in Britain, and the one ray of hope provided by the miners' amateur orchestra. Hard to find, but worth it.