Beginners (Mike Mills, 2010)

7/10
I hate those gorgeous-but-socially-awkward people that only ever seem to exist in the movies. If the roles weren't played so well by Ewan McGregor and Melanie Laurent, I'd probably hate it a lot more. Add in Christopher Plummer as McGregor's gay, terminally ill father, and the acting definitely shoulders the load. The story - to quote RT, "a semiautobiographical tale of a straight son coming to terms with his own love's possibilities after his father comes out of the closet" - isn't blindingly original and it's dressed up with those painful Sundance indie film quirks that make me cringe (the Jack Russell terrier sometimes talks in subtitles), but the core of the movie is honest and it's acted so well that it at least connects emotionally.

Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

9/10
Really funny and really clever. A few hours after I'd finished watching it I found myself still thinking about it, almost already keen to revisit it.

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

9/10
Probably one of the most gloriously self-absorbed, pretentious, portentous, silly movies I've ever seen...and I was pretty much under its spell for the full 2 and a half hours.
In a different mood I might have hated this - it's so ludicrously unsubtle and features so many lines that sound like they were pulled from the George Lucas school of dialogue writing, that I can't really fault anyone for not putting up with it. But I found once I was able to sort of surrender myself to it, it really became a pleasure that I didn't want to end. Just to compare, I re-watched Days of Heaven again this weekend, and that movie is so unsubtle and features some pretty brutal dialogue that I guess it just comes with Malick's territory. None of the themes he tackles are anything close to original, but the style in which they're presented is certainly one of a kind. I can't imagine another movie on earth comparable to this one (I was at seperate times reminded of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Enter the Void and The White Ribbon) and can't think of another American director currently working willing to try something this insane, so I think love it or hate it, you have to appreciate its existence.

Super 8 (J.J. Abrams, 2011)

4/10
I'm not quite sure where all the critical acclaim is coming from, so I guess maybe I just didn't get it. I thought Abrams was guilty of trying to do too many things at once - juxtaposing a monster movie with a pubescent coming-of-age tale is an interesting idea, but I felt the story was weighted oddly - a lot of time is spent developing the characters (so don't go in expecting non-stop action) for an emotional payoff that never really comes. Can't blame the acting though - the kids are all fantastic across the board, and do a really good job creating a natural feeling of camaraderie and adolescence.
The action was pretty disappointing though - the monster is kept in the shadows or behind the bushes for most of the movie, which is a smart tactic, but before we even see it we find...something out about it that undercuts any scare factor or intimidation the audience feels about finally seeing it. Personally I was more keen to marvel at the incredible CGI work than to have any other reaction to its appearance.
The story initially seems to subvert or poke fun at monster movie clichés, but it eventually and unironically falls in step with every single one of them, complete with some hideous leaps in believability required for the story to keep pushing along. The ending especially is an eye-roller.
Along with the far-better Cloverfield (and to a certain degree, Lost), I appreciate Abrams' eagerness to reinvent a genre he clearly loves, but each attempt is flawed at the very least.
Also final nitpick: somebody seriously needed to back off the "solar flare" filter when the movie was in post-production. Jesus Christ.

Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011)

9/10
Only the second Woody Allen movie I've ever seen, so don't use me as a barometer. I walked in unenthused and prepared to not like it (the first 10 minutes or so didn't really endear me) and walked out feeling as charmed and as filled with starry-eyed wonder as the protagonist Gill, played effortlessly by Owen Wilson. The plot isn't anything new (a disaffected, struggling writer sejourning with his bourgeoise wife in Paris starts to question his life's direction) but it's presented in a very clever way - Wilson's midnight walks around Paris find him in the past, encountering his heroes from the art world and in particular Adriana, a woman similarly out of step with her own era and searching for a sense of self.
Any movie featuring time travel is bound to include one self-conscious wink-nudge joke for the audience's benefit (e.g. Back to the Future's "President Ronald Reagan - the ACTOR?") but Midnight in Paris has the sharpest one I've ever heard involving Gill suggesting to Luis Bunuel...well I won't spoil it.
The entire movie is very light and breezy, but incredibly tight and clever. There's a bit of inanely expository dialogue, some broadly painted characters, and the ending is a bit cornball, but it's so fun and so charming it's hard to really care too much.
The movie also works well as a 90 minute infomercial for Paris because man do I want to go now.

Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle, 1957)

7/10
There are many likeable things in this movie, from the acting to the lovely noir photography to Miles Davis' score to the little twists the story takes, but overall I couldn't help but feeling a touch let down by the end product. Its ending is disappointingly conventional for the lead up. I wish the film had ended as the camera pulled away from the bistro coffee shop (I won't say any more so as not to spoil), that would have really knocked me out I think. It was good, but didn't blow me away.

Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)

8.5/10
The story went in a different direction than I had expected and was more sentimental than I thought it would be, but it was still very enjoyable. Harry Dean Stanton's character goes through a rare, true "transformation" in the cinematic sense of the word and two of the scenes - the home movies and the final telephone conversation in the "hotel booth" - are just blistering. Ry Cooder's score was also exceptional.