Kenny Powers
Footballguy
Attack The Block....Fun movie, although I think high expectations hurt it a bit. Gets the ball rolling quick and a short running time prevents it from getting tired. Wouldve been helped by more action/violence for me (why couldnt these kids find a few more glocks and samurai swords??). While I found the slang and speech structure of the teens funny, I expected more direct humor overall. Maybe someone could clue me in on this, but I didnt understand why the one guy who they first visited with the female alien in his grow room or whatever was so hell bent on killing them, or at least the leader of the gang, especially with glow in the dark gorillas running rampant in the neighborhood. Thought how it was shot was pretty cool. Bonus points for being original. I thought it was going to be better but still enjoyed it....3/5
The Guard....Also had high expectations for this one, but it met them. Gleeson was fantastic, I dont know why he didnt get nominated for Best Actor. Cheadle was solid as usual, but more importantly thought the 2 of them were a perfect "odd couple" type pairing in this on numerous levels. Quick moving and interesting storyline, not many surprises until the somewhat twist ending which I thought was great. Excellent and funny dialogue, though this was one of those flicks where I think I only caught 80% of the dialogue so Im sure I missed some things. Quite a few memorable scenes (video room at the station, Gleeson held at gunpoint in his house, to name a couple). Only complaint was maybe it couldve used a little more of the criminals, especially Mark Strong....4.2/5
Killing Zoe....Been awhile since Ive seen this under the radar heist movie, but loved it as much as I remember, if not more. Dont recall thinking this specifically before, but I loved how this film is set up around Eric Stoltz's character, who somehow is almost a moral compass. Its really a 3 act downward spiral for him going from a euphoric night with call girl Zoe, to a whirlwind drug binge in the slums of Paris, to a hastily attempted bank robbery on Bastille Day that transpires over the last half of the film. Paralleling Stoltz's character story arc is his childhood friend and leader of the group, played by Jean-Hugues Anglade, whose conflicted character slowly descends into madness, willing to do whatever it takes to leave the bank rich. Its a great performance from him that really carries the film. Gritty, uncompromising, and disturbingly fun with a subtle ending that is more open to conversation and tragic than the viewer might realize at first....4.5/5
The Guard....Also had high expectations for this one, but it met them. Gleeson was fantastic, I dont know why he didnt get nominated for Best Actor. Cheadle was solid as usual, but more importantly thought the 2 of them were a perfect "odd couple" type pairing in this on numerous levels. Quick moving and interesting storyline, not many surprises until the somewhat twist ending which I thought was great. Excellent and funny dialogue, though this was one of those flicks where I think I only caught 80% of the dialogue so Im sure I missed some things. Quite a few memorable scenes (video room at the station, Gleeson held at gunpoint in his house, to name a couple). Only complaint was maybe it couldve used a little more of the criminals, especially Mark Strong....4.2/5
Killing Zoe....Been awhile since Ive seen this under the radar heist movie, but loved it as much as I remember, if not more. Dont recall thinking this specifically before, but I loved how this film is set up around Eric Stoltz's character, who somehow is almost a moral compass. Its really a 3 act downward spiral for him going from a euphoric night with call girl Zoe, to a whirlwind drug binge in the slums of Paris, to a hastily attempted bank robbery on Bastille Day that transpires over the last half of the film. Paralleling Stoltz's character story arc is his childhood friend and leader of the group, played by Jean-Hugues Anglade, whose conflicted character slowly descends into madness, willing to do whatever it takes to leave the bank rich. Its a great performance from him that really carries the film. Gritty, uncompromising, and disturbingly fun with a subtle ending that is more open to conversation and tragic than the viewer might realize at first....4.5/5
). Not sure it was my favorite from last year but it's up there. I felt the ending was perfect.

Never seen Chroicle but I am looking forward to it. I am always hopeful for super power films, even if they often disappoint. Loved Akira too.