Redbelt (2008)

David Mamet writes and directs smart films. His essay, Why I Am No Longer A 'Brain-Dead Liberal', is very smart. It's like his political mindset over time followed the plotline of The Spanish Prisoner (1997): there is a foreground narrative, conventional and believable, but once Rebecca Pidgeon appears on the screen, a wider and sterner reality will be revealed.

She's the actress in his movies, and the companion of his heart who was midwife to his conservative epiphany. Again, it's not that what came before has to be contradicted -- appearances are all we have to go on; if deceiving, they can be re-resolved. You comprehend better what it is that you thought you thought..

Don't try to read conservatism into Mamet's new gem Redbelt. It's just a martial arts picture, even, or especially, in the sparring of the high-powered attorneys. Don't miss it.

(Metacritic rating: 69)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

As a mainstream sex comedy, a hurtin' genre if ever there was one, Forgetting is money. Speaking of Vince Vaughn, that's who Jason Segel, the film's writer and lead actor, reminds me of, in more ways than one. The difference is that I still don't know whether V.V. is circumsized.

When I realized the film was not crass or juvenile like The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) or especially The Heartbreak Kid (2007), I wanted to stop the projectionist and lead a standing ovation.

(Metacritic rating: 67)

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (2008)

Full disclosure: prowlerneedsajump by definition loves Frances McDormand.

This warm and thoughtful comedy set in 1939 London lets Ms. McDormand shine and is by far the best movie she has been in for a while. Expect eye candy reminiscent of The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Beautiful for a date!

I wonder if anyone else got to thinking how Rome's Julius Caesar had traded way up from Servilia and Calpurnia?

(Metacritic rating: 63)

Smart People (2008)

Smart People is worth seeing, but not a must-see. I've heard the Sarah Jessica Parker bashing, saying she ruined the movie, but I think the writing of her character is at fault. The movie didn't explain why she felt compelled to lie to make Quaid leave her bed after sex --- the best we have is the gay male best friend supplying her whole backstory in a sound bite. The key arc of the movie is the bitter professor's coming back to life, but the woman who catalyzes this awakening is not a well-developed character. That's a flaw in the writing.

The characters are mostly unpleasant, and we're not really rooting for them. The exception is the main character. When he has undergone a barely perceptible thaw ("a twinkling of humanity"), we smile. Surprisingly touching.

(Metacritic rating: 57)