Used Cars (1980)

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Death Becomes Her)
Stars: Kurt Russell (Deathproof, Captain Ron)
Jack Warden (Dirty Work, The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing [I've never heard of it but look at that title!])
YesNoSoso: 2

I cannot believe that there was a movie this funny (with a semi-recognizable cast) that I'd never heard of. I didn't even know it was a Robert Zemeckis joint til the end credits. Kurt Russel plays a slimy, but lovable, used car dealer who needs ten grand to bribe his way into the State Senate. Obviously hijinks ensue. The humor is surprisingly crass and advanced for a movie this old and it contains all the attention to detail that Zemeckis' films are known for.
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Youth in Revolt (2009)

Director: Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl [which was alright], nothing else I've heard of except a TV episode here and there)
Stars: Michael Cera (Superbad, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist)
Portia Doubleday (nothing I've ever heard of)
YesNoSoso: 1

This movie was much more serious than I anticipated. Ray Liotta, Zack Galifianakis, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard and Justin Long
complete the ensemble cast in what could best be described as a dark comedy. Every scene with Francois Dillinger (Michael Cera's alter ego) was absolutely amazing and the dialog was surprisingly witty and quick. But the movie as a whole didn't pack a lot of laughs for my taste and I was never quite clear on the point of everything. Michael Cera plays a white trash loser trying to get laid. If that's the whole point of the movie then I guess I didn't miss it, but I'm not sure it warranted a whole movie.
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Cold Souls (2009)

Director: Sophie Barthes (her first full length feature)
Stars: Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Lady in the Water)
David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck, We are Marshall)
YesNoSoso: 1

I thought this movie was right in my wheelhouse, but I ended up just mildy enjoying it. Paul Giamatti plays himself in a quirky plot about removing and storing his soul. He gives a great performance, as does Strathairn, Emily Watson and Lauren Ambrose. Readers of YesNoSoso are well versed in my love of gimmicks but nothing in the movie really wowed me. I'm not trying discourage viewing, it is a solid YesNoSoso 1, but I won't be going back for seconds.
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Choke (2008)

Director: Clark Gregg (the only thing he's ever directed, although he's a recognizable character actor)
Stars: Sam Rockwell (Moon, G-Force)
Anjelica Huston (The Royal Tenenbaums, Addams Family Values)
YesNoSoso: 2

I'm a huge Chuck Palahniuk fan, and really wish more of his books would be adapted to movies because although this movie doesn't fully capture the tone of Chuck's book, it still makes a damn fine entertaining film. Sam Rockwell turns out amazing performance after amazing performance and Choke is no exception. Its not that he pulls off some mind-bendingly difficult role, but he does very subtly portray the traits of the character while still infusing a touch of his own style.
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Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Director: Christine Jeffs (Sylvia [but I didn't see it], and I didn't see anything else she directed])
Stars: Amy Adams (Catch Me if You Can, Enchanted)
Emily Blunt (Charlie Wilson's War, The Devil Wears Prada)
YesNoSoso: 1

A solid movie, just not spectacular. Adams, Blunt, Alan Arkin and the always awesome Steve Zahn deliver good performances in a relatively fresh idea, its just that the implementation is a little stale and predictable. Worth a look, but not much more.
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Extract (2009)

Director: Mike Judge (Idiocracy, "King of the Hill")
Stars: Jason Bateman ("Arrested Development", Teen Wolf Too)
Kristin Wiig (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Semi-Pro)
YesNoSoso: 2

Mike Judge does an amazing job of capturing the essence of unintelligent. From Beavis & Butthead, to everybody in Idiocracy to the factory workers in Extract, Judge is incredible at painting hilariously stupid but very frustrating characters. The critics didn't love Extract, but I did. The phenomenal cast of Bateman, Wiig, Judge, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, Gene Simmons and the wildly underrated J.K. Simmons and David Koechner all give great performances and I believe Extract is Judge's most complete script.
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Observe and Report (2009)

Director: Jody Hill ("Eastbound and Down", The Foot Fist Way [I've never seen it, but its the only other thing he's directed])
Stars: Seth Rogan (Superbad, Horton Hears a Who!)
Anna Faris (Brokeback Mountain, My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
YesNoSoso: 1

I always say: I'll give a movie more credit if it tries something new and fails then if its just regurgitated hackneyed bullshit (I'm looking at you Couple's Retreat). Observe and Report definitely fits the former. Its a super dark comedy that, I felt, was pretty light on the comedy. It tried but just failed. However I'm willing to admit I may not have been in the right state of mind for its humor and would be remiss not to mention that I said the same thing the first time I watched Anchorman. So check it out, but don't expect much.
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Director: Shane Black (hasn't directed anything else)
Stars: Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder, Gothika)
Val Kilmer (True Romance, Batman Forever)
YesNoSoso: 2

Sweet, I found another modern Noir movie. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is more of a comedy than my previous jackpot, Brick, but executes the dark comedy perfectly. Truly hilarious and genuinely enthralling, it would be a waste of my time and a disservice to you to attempt to describe the plot at all. Definitely check it out, but make sure you have your wits about you. Or watch it twice. I already have...
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Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Director: Charlie Kaufman (directorial debut, but one of the greatest writers ever)
Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman (25th Hour, Patch Adams)
Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich, Out of Sight)
YesNoSoso: 2

I'm gonna give this one the literal YesNoSoso 2, meaning I want to watch it again, but not because it I was so enthralling. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly entertained by the typical Kaufman quirkiness but this one was even stranger than some of his previous works. All his movies have required AT LEAST a second viewing for me to fully appreciate them and I'm sure Synecdoche, New York is no different. As with all his movies, there is still an impressive amount of detail, with no lack of wit and PSH is amazing as always.
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Burn After Reading (2008)

Director: Joel and Ethan Coen (The Big Lebowski, Fargo [both incredible, I refuse to badmouth the Coen brothers])
Stars: George Clooney (The Good German, Leatherheads)
Frances McDormand (Short Cuts, Something's Gotta Give)
YesNoSoso: 2

I know there are those that will disagree with me, but I've at least enjoyed every single Coen brothers movie (Yes, even Ladykillers) and loved most of them. Burn After Reading wasn't hilarious like The Big Lebowski and I would be supremely surprised if it garnered the same cult following, but it is definitely made in the same style and is definitely worth checking out. Burn After Reading is relatively complex comedic crime caper (how bout that alliteration) with a kick-ass ensemble cast that includes John Malkovitch, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, with the ridiculously underrated J.K. Simmons and Richard Jenkins.
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Art School Confidential (2006)

Director: Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World, Bad Santa [both great films])
Stars: Max Minghella (Syriana [its the only thing I've seen of his and it was a minor role, his father directed the English Patient])
John Malkovitch (Being John Malkovitch, Johnny English)
YesNoSoso: 2

I didn't even know Zwigoff existed until a few weeks ago and his is instantly making a case to be one of my favorite directors. I loved Bad Santa but didn't recognize any of his other works until I saw Ghost World, which I thought was great. Art School Confidential, like Ghost World, was originally a graphic novel by Daniel Clowes, and I'm not sure if I like the writing or the direction better, but either way it makes an incredible end product. I had read that Art School Confidential was worse than Ghost World, which is entirely untrue. They do have extremely similar feels, but while I liked Ghost World, I loved Art School Confidential. I'm even toying with giving this movie the exclusive Emphatic 2 tag, which effectively highlights my issues with the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator. RT gave ATC a 37%.
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