Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

Posted: **Sun Mar 06, 2011 6:32 am**

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp, Michael Kelly.
Dir: George Nolfi.

Romantic thrillers are kind of rare in films these days. Rarer still are romantic thrillers with philosophical and even religious undertones. This is just what this film is. It's also very well-made and very well-acted and very entertaining but it's also quite sweet, moving, romantic and has more substance and intelligence than your average thriller or romance. It's a very respectable effort.

Oscar Prospects: I'm not optimistc. Maybe Adapted Screenplay?

Grade: B

Posted: **Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:38 pm**

Kaboom (Greg Araki)

I like this film's ending. Not because it's good. It's not. This movie has the dumbest final act in recent memory, which is really to say the dumbest plot in recent memory. Araki updates his mid-90's loving riffs on 90210 with an Aughties online interconnectivity, and abruptly deviates into a 2012 (or is it '99?) apocalypse, one so miscalculated in its shenanigans and shaggy dog nature that it's impossible to take it seriously. Before the plot rears its head, the film is all fun. It's full of joyous sex and good-natured ridiculousness, like the result of an operation to remove the emo from Donnie Darko. A fantastic ensemble.

Posted: **Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:25 am**

UNKNOWN
Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz, Frank Langella.
Dir: Jaume Collet-Serra.

This is a high-concept thriller: A man meets an accident and suddenly finds his life and everything and everyone he's ever known taken away and the key to high-concept thrillers is to make the big reveal of what-the-hell-is-going work. The film does a good job of setting everything up with nice Hitchcockian touches here and there but the payoff is a bit of a disappointment. The film still manages to entertain thanks to Liam Neeson who, once again, keeps everything together.

Oscar Prospects: None.

Grade: C

Posted: **Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:26 am**

Back for another year, by popular demand

Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

The Official Review Thread of 2011