Gosford Park (2001)

Robert Altman invites you on a lengthy, quaint and unhurried cruise (penned to Oscar-winning success by Julian Fellowes) back to 1932 with the upper class, whose petty and vapid lives are thunderstruck by an unexpected murder.

Fine performances from sincere servants and grumpy snobs establish a poignant dichotomy. Maggie Smith is pitiful and amusing as Constance; Clive Owen is aloof and curious as Parks; Kelly MacDonald is cute and timid as Mary.

Gosford Park is a charming albeit tepid tale that ends on a bittersweet note. Brisk dialogue, refreshing wit and posh set design enliven this decorous, gentle and fascinating presentation.

Ronin (1998)

This intelligent action thriller is full of intricate, amusing chase scenes that weren't gratuitous (unlike in other films), suspenseful gunplay, elegant figure skating and no-nonsense characters. Most of all, I liked the bond that formed between Sam (Robert De Niro) and Vincent (Jean Reno) who were great on screen together. Ronin is an effective and taut film with pleasant scenery, rousing music and solemn themes.

Basic (2003)

When a military training mission goes deathly wrong, someone is to blame. "Murder is basic", says Tom Hardy (John Travolta), a former Army ranger--not the other Tom Hardy. So, naturally the truth about this mission must be anything but basic. It's up to Hardy to figure out the conflicting accounts of the event. Is there a grand conspiracy beneath the surface? If so, who's in on it?

To reach that point of true understanding, Travolta juggles exuberance and solemnity. In one scene, he's laying on a table, posed like a centerfold; in another, he is enraged because people are lying to him. I was left to wonder why choosing one behavior and toning it down was out of the question.

Luckily Travolta's tendency to ham it up--along with a few other goofy scenes--doesn't sink the film due to effective misdirection that occupies the screen while the positive qualities of Travolta's acting style slowly emerge. However, the ultimate twist exceeds the capacity of the plot's plausibility.

Memento (2000)

A man with no short term memory must remember so many things in order to find his wife's killer, the same person responsible for causing his short term memory loss.

Guy Pearce fittingly becomes lost in the emotional role of Leonard, a role filled with confusion, certainty and vehemence. Leonard doesn't know who to trust and has to write notes and snap photos to remember who he thinks people are. But someone may be trying to deceive him, or Leonard may be living a lie. As I've never seen Pearce act before, I was impressed by his performance as the scenes play out of order to mirror Leonard's plight.

The opening shot of the film is played in reverse, as a photograph fades back to white. This is like having a blank canvas on an 'Etch a Sketch.' Some people are good at using them to create decent artwork, others not so much. This is where Memento fails. It crafts 3/4 of an effective and pleasant portrait, but then decides to erase it.

With the sense of humor and reliability of an insolent child, it offers a pretentious and underwhelming twist instead. This twist emerges as a shocking turn for the worst, especially after so much buildup and countless u-turns. Despite my efforts to solve the mystery, and my investment to wait for the nearly 2 hour film to reveal the truth, Memento flatly explained how there was nothing behind the curtain. If that's true, then why was it on the screen to start with? I like teases with hair; not from women or movies. Leave the lame trickery to Scooby-Doo villains.

The Machinist (2004)

In this strange, mysterious, mad hoot (tautly penned by Scott Kosar) that unravels like the crazy twin brother of a Stephen King story, complete with spooky music ripped from the womb of Psycho, Christian Bale (who shed 63 lbs for the role) immerses himself into a brilliantly remarkable performance playing a clueless, emaciated, paranoid and temperamental ghoul with insomnia that flails and wails away in a babbling frenzy.

Jennifer Jason Leigh (Single White Female) plays a hollowed-out prostitute, a withered delight to see that becomes a willing partner and cozy distraction during Trevor Reznik's whirling dance of ever-darkening trauma. After the trailer reeled me in, the end result was satisfying.

Overall, this frenetic portrait is a spellbinding joyride that had me laughing and scratching my head in curiosity the entire time. The Machinist (by Brad Anderson) is delivered with an admirable self-respect that truly keeps it above the watery tomb that has claimed so many pseudo-serious imitations. At the core, there is a simple yet intoxicating crisis being strewn.

What Doesn't Kill You (2008)

I thought this was going to be something different, but I was pleasantly surprised by what it turned out to be, and then satisfied by what it became. For once it's nice to see the protagonist not screw it up despite never experiencing a "normal" life in favor of easy money.

There comes a point in the film when Paulie (Ethan Hawke) gets out of prison, ready to re-corrupt his best friend. I was expecting a fight between Brian (Mark Ruffalo), who gives the strongest performance, and Brian's wife Stacy (Amanda Peet), leading him to follow through with an armored car heist, only to condemn his fate by going back to prison. This would've been similar to Carlito's Way. Unlike that film, What Doesn't Kill You avoids being a letdown and escapes the "can't fight nature" hangup so many crime movies fall back on.

There wasn't as much violence, sex and edginess as usual in crime films. I feel torn about this because it can be a refreshing decrease, but there are scenes that seem to be equally underwhelming repetitions of those already past, from scantily clad women who spend their time laying around either before or after or without sex while the boys are busy doing meager stickups. Meanwhile, Ruffalo spends a lot of time doing drugs that could've been better used.

Moreover, it would've been nice for the film to embrace a larger scope to more deeply establish the bonds of friendship and familiarity that would have someone running back to the only life they'd ever known. As a fan of Hawke & Ruffalo, I felt they had nice chemistry together. The smoldering romance between Ruffalo & Peet also felt genuine. Alas, after seeing one powerfully heated argument between them late in the film, I would've loved to see more passion at some point during their relationship. The only saving grace is a fervid lovemaking scene when Ruffalo is released after serving a 5 year sentence.

Overall, there is still enough warmth and believability even if these bonds were built in the background as the film jumps through long periods of time. I think of What Doesn't Kill You as valuable but carefully guarded package that could've been left out in the snow a bit longer.