Buena Vista Social Club: This is one of the movies that defines boredom. It's technically not a bad movie but as the subject didn't interest me and I didn't like the music, it just made me sleepy. I also felt it was kind of fake, a tourist's view of Cuba. Some of the interviews were interesting, but they got repetitive quickly. The live shows were just snore-inducing-that's the biggest issue with this.
The Phantom of the Opera: The book in which the musical is based is a remarkable love and obsession story; I haven't seen the stage musical, but the movie fully failed at capturing the book. The narrative was relatively faithful (though the disturbing themes were watered down)but the style and interpretation were cringe-inducing. I could make a big list with what they did wrong. The story was told as a flashback: bad idea, iconic characters don't grow old. Joel Schumacher decided to eliminate almost all feelings and replace them with elaborated dancing numbers and costumes. The scenes which were supposed to be most affecting were laughable. The acting is the most decent thing: Emmy Rossum's acting quality changes through the movie, but she mostly gets the vulnerability of her character and she's a good singer. Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson were fine but they didn't have enough material to create appropriate characters. It's just fluff, and even as that it's not very good.
The Upside of Anger: This is a bittersweet story. I really enjoyed it. It's the type of movie that slowly wins you over with its honest, raw characters trying to overcome their issues. It has a wonderful screenplay: the characters are all developed and their lives are realistic, funny and aching. The pace and storyline are equilibrated and keep you interesting. The acting is brilliant: Kevin Costner delivers a mature, subtle performance and Evan Rachel Wood is quirky and very expressive, like all the daughters but the star of the show is Joan Allen. She is fully convincing as a woman going through a crisis. Her character is not always sympathetic, but Joan Allen fills her with pain and conflicted emotions and shows that through humor. The acting and story make this a beautiful movie.
Thirteen: This is a frightening and disturbing vision of some 13-year-olds lives and how everything can go wrong. It's not a perfect movie, but it's a honest depiction of real lives coming straight from the heart. The story is simple and character-driven, following Tracy's change. The dialog and characters are very realistic, though some of the subplots should have been better developed. The acting makes this rawer and much more believable. Evan Rachel Wood delivers one of the best performances as a teenager: she isn't afraid to show Tracy in all her aspects, vulnerability, anger, loneliness, ecstasy, despair, and she stays in character from the first frame to the very last. It's really a unique tour-de-force. Holly Hunter and Nikki Reed are also excellent, providing great support. The first one is perfect as the mother, making us understand her side of the story. The direction is experimental: it's not great, but the digital cinematography is poetic and the hand-held camera actually feels edgy and gritty, like someone is actually following this girl. This is a very affecting movie that people should watch.
War of the Worlds: This is a very good adventure film. It gives a fresh look on the book, following its main ideas and spirit while adding humanity and chilling action. Tom Cruise, who I don't like at all, gives a good performance here, as a loser trying to bond with his kids in the middle of total disaster. He's charismatic. Technically, this is very good, with some of the best special effects I've ever seen, a great cinematography, fitting make-up and good set design. But what really stands out is Spielberg's direction, simply masterful. He blends all the elements together beautifully, creates impressive suspense (the hiding scene with Tim Robbins) and actually made me feel empathy for the characters. It's an excellent blockbuster because it's not only explosions and action.
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