Lust, Caution directed by Ang Lee - 7/10
I have mixed feelings about this film. On one hand, I love the incredible acting and Ang Lee's always skillful directing skills. But on the other hand, I find the film to be a bit meandering and it never fulfills its potential. The film's story is pretty interesting, and I like how it incorporates cultural elements without being confusing at all. I also like how the film is a thriller but that it is very slow-paced so it is almost like a contemplative thriller in a way. However, I think that this concept does not reach its potential as the film doesn't really have great scenes from beginning to end, nor does the ending feel fully satisfying IMO. However, I think this film is still worth watching since it has a lot of passion and it shows Ang Lee making another Taiwanese film, I hope that Lee continues to make films both in Taiwan and the USA.
Batman directed by Tim Burton - 8/10
Okay, I think this is one of the most underrated blockbusters because today it's viewed as a lesser Batman film and it's looked at as a cheesy movie but I think that isn't true. Sure, some of the film is dated by hair and make-up choices, and of course the second-rate Prince songs (I'm a huge fan of Prince, but it's unfortunate that he finished his peak right with the soundtrack of this film, he was a real master from 1980-1988) but I think that this isn't a big deal. The film still has perfect pacing, a great visual style, a great performances with both Batman (without that ridiculous Christian Bale voice) and Joker (I'll have to see how it compares with Ledger's performance, as the only other live-action Batman films I have seen are Batman And Robin and The Dark Knight Rises, both of which I consider to be bad films). I only wish the film would be a little more emotionally resonant, then I would give it a 9, and hell if Prince wrote better songs I'd also give the film a 9. But yeah this film just has great storytelling, action, visual style, musical score, performances, and everything. I also prefer how the setting actually feels artificial and comic book like in a neo noir style unlike Nolan's plain city. I'm going to try to watch all of the Batman films soon, hopefully the Nolan series is as good as it is praised (but the third film in the trilogy really disappointed me).
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie directed by James Rolfe and Kevin Finn - 7/10
This is a very great modern B-movie! I watched it at the New York premiere with an incredible audience and it was just really a lot of fun to watch. Sure the film is low-budget and it mostly has low brow humor, but it does what it does really well. I think the film does a good job at telling its story and making it as zany as possible. What I like about the film is how unashamedly it does everything, you can just feel the passion from the filmmakers, and they don't try to make their film seriously, I think this is how real great genre filmmaking works. I also loved the simple practical special effects that Rolfe used, they really add to the film's charm. I'm tempted to give the film an 8 to support a filmmaker I have admired for a long time, and because I had so much fun watching it, but I know that this film isn't particularly great, but it does give me a lot of hope. I hope that more fan fundraised films get made, and that a significant amount of genre films are made this way. Regardless of its flaws, this film has a lot more passion than most genre films that currently come out of Hollywood, and I think we need to inject some passion into our genre films today as they have become overly serious and pretentious IMO.