Whip It (2009) ****

Now let's be honest: does anyone out there actually remember roller derby? If you had old school ESPN twenty to twenty-five years ago it was paired up with AWA wrestling. From ESPN it died a mainstream death like British Knights and Menudo. So it was with some nostalgia that I watched Whip It, the directorial debut by Drew Barrymore.

Bliss (Ellen Page) is your typical Texas teenager that's being promoted as the next Laura Bush by her neurotic mother (Marcia Gay Harden). Bliss is lost in the identity that her mother has carved out for her and continually needs an outlet. One night, having snuck away to the big city of Austin, she is introduced to roller derby. And she loves it. But the question is how will this world of kicking ass and psychotic names (hers is "Babe Ruthless") interact with the fantasy world she doesn't want at home.

This film has a definite Slap Shot feel to it, not because of the violence but because of the underdog story attached to it. Bliss is an underdog because of inexperience and being under the thumb of her mother. The team is an underdog because they haven't won a thing for years (they're called the "Hurl Scouts" while derbying in girl scout uniforms).

As previously stated this is Drew Barrymore's directorial debut and it's a little rough. You can see some of the first time director mistakes that can occur in that first film, but we really can't complain too much. Beyond that she puts together a nice film with few flaws. We can rip on flow and being technical, but another actor started with a film that was good, yet a little choppy and he ended up with two Oscars (Mr. Eastwood). Not that I'm comparing.

So, even though poor Jimmy Fallon is in this, Whip It is one of those coming of age stories without all the sentimental crap. It's not sugar coated, fights when consumed, but it's a hell of an enjoyable movie.

The Invention of Lying (2009) **

The Invention of Lying is about a world where no one has ever lied. No one knows how. Until one day Ricky Gervais does.

Now I know the movie is called the Invention of Lying, but it seems more like the Invention of Knowing when to shut the hell up. Sure, you don't have to lie, but do you have to continually say the first thing that pops into your mind? Isn't there some kind of inner self control in this world that doesn't lie?

Essentially the film is two hours of people calling Ricky Gervais a fat loser. So you know what happens: it gets dull as hell after a while and starts to become grating by the end of the film. Gervais is brilliant as always, but it just feels like a one trick pony that doesn't do much except plod away to the point that you all know is coming- the girl and a moment of clarity.

Post Grad (2009) *

Predictable, annoying, and boring romp that at first appears to be the story of a recent college graduate stepping into the real world becomes a vehicle for Michael Keaton, who just happens to have a 22 year old college graduate for a daughter.

Ryden (Alexis Bledel) has just graduated and wants her dram job, which she won't get because who the hell wants to watch a movie about a grad getting a job? She fails to get any job and continues to play a cat and mouse game with her best friend Adam (Zach Gilford) over a relationship that goes down a road so obvious it's in the sub titles. Of course, she has the crazy father (Keaton), the even crazier grandmother (Carol Burnett), the normal mother (Jane Lynch), etc.

I can't really pinpoint the problems with Post Grad directly. Mainly, the movie feels more like Michael Keaton's movie because his lunacy runs most of the show. It's like he's trying to re-capture his Night Shift days. It comes off more annoying than anything as the main character gets overshadowed by her fathers excesses. The film collapses under its own weight, delivering a predictable mess that we've seen time and time again.

Mirrors (2008) *

Mirrors is one of those movies that has a great plot going for it and really gets you into the film... and then totally turns to shit. I hate that. If your movie sucks, then just let the whole thing suck.

The film stars Keifer Sutherland as an out of work cop because of a boo-boo that ends up being a security guard at a burned out hotel in NYC. Why in the hell they would need security at a pile of garbage I do not know, but he does and while working the night shift notices that the mirrors in the place are screwing around with him, leading to every mirror on the planet being an enemy to himself and his family. To save them he must find the old woman who seems to hold the key to this whole mess.

Like I said, the film had a great start and was becoming a first class thriller. Then they kill someone for no apparent reason. Then they make the film so cliched that it's pathetic, ending with crap that tries to be a twist, but fails because we saw it coming a mile away. Mirrors is a real crapfest that leaves you stumbling from its mid point to the end. A thrown together piece of trash.

Extract (2009) ***

Joel Reynolds (Jason Bateman) is a self made man, hocking his mother's extract recipe into a huge house and nice car. His life has been perfect up until this point, but now his professional and personal lives will begin the downward spiral that he seems to believe is inevitable.

Mike Judges returns with another work place saga in Extract, but instead of delving into the cubicle set Judge has decided to look at factory work and the ins and outs of running a business from small, to medium and then dealing with problems like a guy getting his nuts blown off. In the span of a few short days Joel has to deal with the little Workman's comp claim, a possible buy out from a larger competitor, the possibility of his wife's (Kristen Wiig) infidelity, his lust for the new temp girl (Mila Kunis) who is more than she seems, and finally having to deal with the neighbor (David Koechner) who can not shut up.

Judge captures all of the personalities of a workplace with this film- the bitchy broads who will die there and don't work, the guy that thinks he knows everything, the new guy, and the people who don't speak English. The real difference between this film and Office Space is that the earlier film was more about the office. Sure, we delved into Peter's personal life, but it also went back to the office and the quirks that developed there. Extract is basically Joel's bad week. There's personal conundrums, but they have nothing to do with the job. This film would have been aptly titled "Joel Goes To Hell". It's basically an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm without Larry David and not as funny.

There are some bright spots, though. J.K. Simmons (who is also in everything and for whom I no longer worry about being type cast as a racist committing man-love on Oz) is really great as Joel's partner who doesn't know anyone's name, other than "whositz" and "dingus". This is a guy whose name you may not know, but his face is totally recognizable and I will point out that he is the only cast member that should be carried over to the Spider-man reboot. And we can't forget Gene Simmons as an ambulance chasing lawyer. Let's face it, any movie with Gene gets and extra star. Hell, even Runaway.

So if you're going into Extract thinking it's the blue collar Office Space, don't bother. It's an acceptable comedy that really isn't anything special.

The Hurt Locker (2009) ****1/2

Set during the early days of the current war in Iraq, The Hurt Locker follows a bomb squad (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) that goes out everyday and stands at the brink of death, dismantling and neutralizing bombs while worrying that every civilian watching them is holding the detonator. When their squad leader is killed in one such explosion, he is replaced by SFC James (Jeremy Renner) who, as time goes by, takes more and more risks, alienating the rest of his team from himself and culminating in a moment of clarity for their new leader.

You can almost compare to The Hurt Locker to the Saw films. As each bomb progresses into the next one the traps become more and more heinous and disgusting. Each bomb is filled with tension, especially after seeing the horrible way that the original squad leader (played by Guy Pearce) dies. You get to see that just the concussion can cause once head to explode like a melon. The bombs cause tension enough, yet with James taking risks being normal military protocol the team has an element of fear not seen at the beginning of the film. At that point it's like a day at the office. As the film reaches its climax, it's a day in hell. The thing that the squad realizes is that they were in hell the entire time.

Directed beautifully by Kathryn Bigelow (who was encourage to do this film by ex-husband James Cameron), The Hurt Locker really delves into all of the aspects of a soldiers place in Iraq. The film doesn't cast judgement on the war or why we're even there in the first place. It is a brutal account of what is probably the toughest job in Iraq. The soldiers take the center stage in the film, not the conflict. The actors are magnificent, playing their personality types perfectly even to the end of the film. They are relative unknowns that aren't drowning in the excesses of a big name co-star, making you relate to these men as soldiers, not previous characters they may have played. In addition to Pearce, there are appearances by David Morse and Ralph Fiennes, but this is an unknown show and it works great.

Gritty, unrelenting, and disturbing, The Hurt Locker represents and unglorified and star studded look at the Iraqi conflict. If you were to compare this film to another war movie of years gone by, this would probably related closer to Full Metal Jacket. Both films took an unconventional route to telling the story of the men on the ground that weren't covered in brass and war stories. A magnificent, microscopic look of modern warfare.