The Scorecard Review

The Chaser (Chugyeogja) Directed by: Hong-jin Na Cast: Yun-seok Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Yeong-hie Seo Running Time: 2 hrs Rating: Unrated (for adults)

32nd Portland International Film Festival Country: South Korea English?: No, but subtitled in English.

Plot: Police Detective turned pimp Joong-ho (Kim) runs low on ladies, so when a seedy client calls, he forces ailing Mi-jin to take the job. Unfortunately, this client happens to be a total whack-job. Joong-Ho goes off to catch the client and find Mi-jin and in the process has a really wild night.

Who’s It For? Adults who aren't squeamish. I'd recommend it to fans of other recent South Korean films like Oldboy and The Host.

OVERALL

Do you love tense thrillers, but just wish there was a little police farce thrown in? Do you like your heroes

Feb 8
Feb 8 Push

Push Directed by: Paul McGuigan Cast: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou Running Time: 1 hr 50 mins Rating: PG-13

Plot: A group of people with telekinetic powers (Evans, Fanning, and Belle) are being hunted by a government agency called Division. At the same time, they must prevent a super-serum from getting into the agency's hands.

Who’s It For? The dating crowd that didn't plan on seeing He's Just Not That Into You anyway.

Expectations: Isn't this around the same time that the similar-looking, super-stupid Jumper came out last year?

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors:

Chris Evans as Nick Gant: Screenwriter David Bourla has constructed a likable character with Nick - Evans just gives him a good face/body. The twenty-something wafting around Hong Kong is a solid example of Push's idea that these special abilities are more burdening than they

Feb 8
Feb 8 Pink Panther 2

Pink Panther 2 Directed by: Harald Zwart Cast: Steve Martin, Emily Mortimer, Jean Reno, Andy Garcia Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins Rating: PG

Plot: Inspector Closeau (Martin) works with a team of top-notch investigators to catch an elusive thief called The Tornado.

Who’s It For? Younger families should be a little cautious with some material, as sprinkles of racist, sexist, and sacrilegious jokes will either fly over the heads of kids or stick awkwardly.

Expectations: From its announcement, Pink Panther 2 seemed like a sequel motivated less by fans and more by finance. Still, Martin is a brilliant clown. Maybe for ninety minutes he can distract the audience from realizing the film's real objective.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors:

Steve Martin as Inspector Closeau: Even in something less pertinent to his career, Steve Martin is committed to his klutziness. This is

Feb 8
Feb 8 Coraline

CoralineDirected by: Henry Selick Cast (voice): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, David Keith, Ian MacShane Time: 1 hr 20 min Rating: PG

Plot: A young girl finds a hidden door in her new home and finds that it leads to an alternate, seemingly happier, version of her own life.

Who’s It For? I think Neil Gaiman summed it up nicely when he said Coraline was for “brave kids,” because this is a spooky movie. Adults will love it for the sublime artistry of it, but it’s not an automatic go-to for families.

Expectations: I expected great things. The previews looked beautiful and the buzz was strong.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors: Dakota Fanning as Coraline: Fanning voices this wonderful character with verve. Every sigh, moan, shriek, and laugh is pitch perfect. I can’t give her a perfect score, because she didn’t do

Feb 6
Feb 6 Coraline

Quickcard Review Coraline Directed by: Henry Selick Cast (voice): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, David Keith, Ian MacShane Time: 1 hr 20 min Rating: PG

Plot: A young girl finds a hidden door in her new home and finds that it leads to an alternate, seemingly happier, version of her own life.

Who’s It For? This one is a little spooky, so you need to be pretty confident your kids (and some adults) can handle this beautiful looking picture.

OVERALL I've lived in Portland just a little more than six months now, but one thing I've learned is ... buy local. So, with Coraline, being produced right here in Portland by LAIKA Studios, we pretty much have to love it right?

Well, luckily, we don't have to try too hard. It's directed by Henry Selick who also did A Nightmare

Feb 5
Feb 5 The Black Balloon

Megan Lehar

The Black Balloon Directed by: Elissa Down Cast: Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Gemma Ward Running Time: 1 hr 35 min Rating: PG-13

32nd Portland International Film Festival Country: Australia English?: Yes

Plot: Thomas Mollison (Rhys Wakefield) moves to a new town with his family, including pregnant mother Maggie (Toni Collette) and an autistic brother (Luke Ford). He desperately wants to fit in at his new high school, but finds it hard. Having a brother on the "spastic" bus doesn't help ... until he befriends Jackie Masters (Gemma Ward), an alarmingly beautiful girl with a compassionate heart.

Who’s It For? A coming of age movie for people who are sick of coming of age movies (like me). Also, anyone who every really wanted a Super NES.

Overall:

The characters in Black Balloon

Feb 5
Feb 5 He's Just Not That Into You

Chris De Salvo

He’s Just Not That Into You Directed by: Ken Kwapis Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper Time: 2 hrs, 3 minutes Rating: PG-13

Plot: A story centered on several loosely related adults struggling to make sense of the fusion between love and legal binding. Their collective pursuit of happiness involves not only the search for a soul mate, but the pitfalls lovers can run into when they’re not being up front about how they feel, or what they’re feeling.

Who’s It For?: Those who can stomach a ceaseless innuendo of insinuation rather than full-on linguistic combat. IN other words, you have to believe that love is based on the “games” people play in order to woo one another. Love’s all about saying things, just never exactly what you mean, right? Honestly, this is

Feb 2
Feb 2 The Uninvited

The Uninvited

Directed by: Charles and Thomas Guard Cast: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn, Elizabeth Banks Running Time: 1 hr 20 min Rating: PG-13

Plot: Anna (Browning) has been recuperating in a mental hospital after a tragedy that took her mother’s life. She returns home to find that her father (Strathairn) has taken up with her deceased mother’s nurse (Banks) and both Anna and her sister, Alex (Kebbel), begin to suspect the mother’s death was no accident.

Who’s It For? Fans of ghost stories and anyone who wants to see Elizabeth Banks drop all traces of cute and take on the role of wily seductress.

Expectations: I was excited to see this movie up until the very moment I realized I had already seen this movie: it’s copied off of an amazing Korean film called A Tale of Two Sisters. After that, my heart sank and I braced myself for another one of Hollywood’s lame duplicates.

Jan 29
Jan 29 New in Town

Quickcard Review New in Town

Directed by: Jonas Elmer Cast: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., J.K. Simmons, Siobhan Fallon Running time: 1 hr. 40 mins. Rating: PG

Plot: A Miami business woman (Zellweger) gets transferred to Minnesota to take care of the downsizing of a town plant. Through her struggles, she starts to identify with the town and falls for the local union rep. (Connick Jr.).

Who's it For? People who love stereotypes of small townsfolk AND big city people will feel right at home watching this mild romantic comedy. Yes, both the romance and the comedy is mild.

OVERALL

Remember Renée Zellweger? She proved she could do romance with Jerry Maguire, she proved she could dominate physical comedy with Bridget Jones and heck, she can even be Oscar-worthy with Cold Mountain. So why, WHY? is she in

Jan 29
Jan 29 Taken

Quickcard Review Taken

Directed by: Pierre Morel Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen Running Time: 90 minutes Rating: R

Plot: A former spy (Neeson) must dust off his old skills when his daughter (Grace) travels to Paris and then gets kidnapped into the sex slave industry.

Who's it For? Those who can get past some bad acting, and throw away one-liners will be tickled pink ... wait, that's not manly enough ... they'll be tickled blood red. The action is quality and intense.

OVERALL

Do you want to know how to truly enjoy this film? It's going to be hard, but totally and completely worth it. You must skip the first 20 minutes, and it would be a good idea to leave 10 minutes early as well.

The screenplay is co-written by Luc Besson and you can see his

Jan 26
Jan 26 Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans

Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans Directed by: Patrick Tatopoulos Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra Running Time: 1 hr 40 min Rating: R

Plot: The third installment to the Underworld franchise explains the bloody history behind the war between the lycans and the vampires.

Who’s It For? Really, really forgiving fans of the Underworld series.

Expectations: I was rooting for this movie. I love fantasy/horror movies where a tough chick gets to wield a sword. Obviously, it’s ideal if there is a modicum of actual quality.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors:

Michael Sheen as Lucian: Oh my GOD! Michael Sheen was David Frost in Frost/Nixon! Can you all hear me? This is incredible news, people! Michael Sheen went from quiet subtlety in a probing look at the story behind Frost’s interview of former President Nixon ... to prancing around without

Jan 22
Jan 22 Inkheart

Inkheart Directed by: Iain Softley Cast: Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis Running Time: 1 hr 45 mins Rating: PG

Plot:Mo Folchart (Fraser) is a "silvertongue" - someone who can bring the words of books to life by reading them out loud. Ten years ago, he lost his wife when he read from fantasy novel Inkheart, and is now trying to retrieve her with the help of his daughter (Bennett) and various characters from the book. An adaptation of the book of the same title written by Cornelia Funke.

Who’s It For? Anyone in the higher grades of elementary school - readers or not. Every kid of around that age is likely to catch some type of reading bug from Inkheart. However, with adults - not so much. They'll probably wonder why Brendan Fraser

Jan 19
Jan 19 My Bloody Valentine 3-D

My Bloody Valentine 3D Directed by: Patrick Lussier Cast: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins Rating: R

Plot: The town of Harmony, Pennsylvania is terrorized by a gas-mask wearing killer named Harry who has returned on the ten-year anniversary of his original massacre.

Who’s It For? The advertisements have it right when selling this as a date movie. But let it be known that this isn't your parent's slasher flick. Also, this is a near must-see for horror fans, as they could debate whether this is one of the more successful slasher flicks in years.

Expectations: From the start, this movie looked like a horror movie with a fun gimmick that in the end could save or financially finish off the flop-prone distributor Lionsgate. Would the usage of 3-D really add

Jan 18
Jan 18 Notorious

Notorious Directed by: George Tillman Jr. Cast: Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Naturi Naughton Running Time: 2 hours Rating: R

Plot: Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace (Woolard) – who, in just a few short years, shot from the tough streets of Brooklyn to the heights of hip-hop legend.

Who’s It For? This is not a re-release or remake of the 1946 film Notorious, so Alfred Hitchcock fans shouldn't get too excited. This is a standard bio-pic, set in the hip hop world.

Expectations: I am a fringe R&B fan, just knowing the hits of 50-Cent, Kanye West, and Eminem. I thought this was a good of way as any to get immersed into the life of Biggie Smalls.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors: Jamal Woolard as Christopher 'Biggie' Wallace: He's got the 'big' part down. Woolard is a large man that

Jan 17
Jan 17 Last Chance Harvey

Chris De Salvo

Last Chance Harvey Directed by: Joel Hopkins Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, Liane Balaban Running Time: 1 hr, 32 minutes Rating: PG-13

Plot: The story of what happens to a man whose twilight years have come upon him too quickly for him to amend the wrongs he’s done his family. It also involves how the budding of new love can mend the broken bridges of love since fallen flat.

Who’s It For?: If you liked About Schmidt, but felt too displaced by Nicholson’s age rather than his aging disposition, you’ll prefer the way Hopkins handles the juxtaposition of love and the inevitable loneliness of elderly life.

Expectations: Jack Nicholson has made a steady (if not astoundingly impressive) career out of portraying a man whose playboy years are far behind him. Hoffman’s childish grace has seemed

Jan 17
Jan 17 Ciao

Megan Lehar

Ciao Directed by: Yen Tan Cast: Adam Neal Smith, Alessandro Calza, Ethel Lung, Charles W. Blaum Running Time: 1 hour 30 min Rating: R

Plot: Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) ties up the loose ends after Mark (Charles W. Blaum) dies in a car accident. When Andrea (Alessandro Calza) emails Mark to finalize plans for a visit, Jeff tells him Mark is dead. Then he invites him to visit anyway. The two men bond over the loss of Mark, a man they knew in very different ways.

Who’s It For? Anyone who doesn't mind films about loss. The main characters are gay, so this is a "gay" film in the way that Sex in the City is a woman's movie. You don't have to be gay to enjoy it, but if you aren't

Jan 15
Jan 15 Defiance

Defiance Directed by: Edward Zwick Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell Running Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Rating: R

Plot: In 1941, three courageous Belarussian brothers lead a growing number of fellow Jews to survive in the forest. A remarkable true story that was previously quiet since the brothers involved sought no recognition for their bravery.

Who’s It For? This is a film with a wholly universal audience, despite its religious concentration. If anything, Craig fans looking for more action will be distracted by a performance that steers away from his Bondian-image.

Expectations: I was curious to see if Defiance would honor the strength of the Jewish people during World War II in a way different than recent Holocaust films like The Boy In Striped Pajamas or even The Counterfeiters. Equally compelling was the presence of

Jan 15
Jan 15 Hotel for Dogs

Hotel for Dogs Directed by: Thor Freudenthal Cast: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Don Cheadle, Johnny Simmons, Kyla Pratt, Troy Gentile, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon Running Time: 1 hr 15 min Rating: PG

Plot: Two wily and street-smart foster kids (Roberts, Austin) begin saving every stray dog in the city and setting them up in an abandoned hotel.

Who’s It For? Kids. Parents will enjoy it if they have any remote connection with their inner-child, but Hotel for Dogs is aimed, unapologetically, at kids and kids alone. Do not expect covert adult humor.

Expectations: The previews didn’t appeal to me and I didn’t click my heels together and shout “Yay!” when I was asked to review this movie.

SCORECARD (0-10)

Actors:

Emma Roberts as Andi: Andi is our sweet-faced con artist without the misanthropy, and she is enjoyable to watch

Jan 15
Jan 15 Paul Blart: Mall Cop