Asylum's Top Ten New Releases

This isn't an action-packed crime drama and it isn't a mind-bending "Memento" rip-off, as the trailers are so desperately trying to convince you. It's better than all that. It has a refreshingly straightforward plot and a depth of character missing from the majority of modern heist flicks.
At its heart, it's just a story about a very complicated man faced with a very simple choice. Gordon-Levitt carries that great weight and does so with a drive and an intensity that won't let you look away. He is talked down to, underestimated, and treated like he's helpless by everyone in his life but Jeff Daniels, his scene-stealing blind roommate. His failures and frustrations are painful to endure, but redemption always feels as if it's just around the next corner. And that is what keeps you engaged until the credits roll, not the promise of choreographed gunplay or a big twist ending.

While it is a bit too slow getting started and struggles with its pacing and tone throughout, stay sharp. Things eventually pick up a full head of steam and all the quirky bits from the beginning end up paying off with later gags. The last act is near-perfect movie making, barreling through an amazing array of action set pieces with an unexpected intensity and constant laughs.
Some of the dry British humour (spelled with an "ou," of course, to show its sophistication) might not instantly translate to yanks who aren't regular viewers of BBC America and expect jokes with more obvious punchlines. If you pick up all the subtleties, then the film works that much better. But even if you just laugh at an old lady getting kicked in the face, there is plenty of funny here that crosses all cultures.
Simultaneously ripping off every action movie you've ever seen and presenting something wholly original, "Hot Fuzz" is one of the most entertaining films I've seen this year and is every bit as good as "Shaun of the Dead."

I keep trying to find fault with this movie, based on one of my favorite comics ever, but it's not happening. It's a first rate spectacle, beautifully shot and cool as hell.
Whereas "Sin City" was completely faithful to the source material and ended up suffering for it, "300" is faithful where it needs to be faithful - the right words and images directly transposed on the screen - and a film where it needs to be a film - taking liberties for the sake of pacing and depth. Though there is some exaggeration that seems out of place, (what did the lobster-man add to the proceedings?) the tone is pretty perfectly captured.
There is also a bit of a "freedom isn't free" vibe that doesn't quite jive with Spartan culture. (In the book when Leonidas gives his no retreat, no surrender missive, one of his men pipes up and says "we're with you, sir, to the death." His reply: "I didn't ask. Leave democracy to the Athenians, boy.") Those edges are softened a bit for the screen, as is the roll his wife plays in his thinking, to make the King a more sympathetic character. And it works. All of it just plain works.
Modern action movies are all about how fast you can cut shots and using the editing to fake speed or excitement. "300" is a breath of fresh air. It follows the action in glorious long-shots, speeding up and slowing down for effect, but choreographed into an amazing ballet of violence. The dialogue raises goosebumps of manly pride and the whole thing celebrates courage and sacrifice on a scale none of us can even comprehend. It is an outstanding piece of work I doubt I'll ever tire of watching.

Realism isn't a necessity for a great monster movie. At least, I didn't think it was until I saw this Korean import. And while a huge river-mutant isn't exactly realistic, this movie feels so grounded... the characters so mundane... the action so bound by physics and logic, that it all just clicks. And by the time the fractured family unites for their final stand-off, you can't help but cheer.
The computer generated beast isn't the most realistic movie monster ever concocted, but it is one of the most believable. It lumbers and slithers and lurks like an actual wild animal. And it doesn't pop up out of nowhere for fake scares. I love how the film lets you see it coming from a hundred yards off. By the time it's on top of the victim, you've had sufficient time to be scared silly, not just startled by a jolt of loud music.
Along with the frights, there are some unexpected moments of humor and real emotional depth. I've heard that the English dub is terrible and ruins the tone of the movie, so you should definitely go with the subtitles. (Although I'm not quite sure why the people actually speaking English sounded so weirdly stilted.)
On the whole, "The Host" was a nice surprise and a very well-made film in a genre that rarely impresses.

The premise is unabashedly provocative and the imagery is borderline offensive. It emulates a sort of film no self-respecting viewer should ever go near and populates it with sordid characters on the bottom rungs of our society. And it is a thing of beauty.
The film is full of symbolism and meaning, with as rough a poetry to it as the blues themselves. It is a story about redemption. Forgiveness. Family. Reaching out and holding back. Healing the deepest of wounds, not by blame or some sort of outside fix but by owning your dysfunction and learning to control it instead of it controlling you.
Craig Brewer doesn't have a thing left to prove for me to call him an outstanding director. From the editing and music cues to the color and sound, every choice serves the story to make it richer and more layered. I'm on board for anything he does from here on out.

This is a very solid, if unconventional, comedy. The laughs are constant and it is flooded with terrific cameos from people who are more funny than they are famous, so it doesn't feel forced or gimmicky.
As a big fan of the show, however, I was a bit let down by some of the more scripted moments. There were too many bits that seemed included just to say "look how outrageous we are on the big screen," rather than the small moments of verbal wit and physical comedy these actors do so well. It also loses something in an unrated version. The show integrates bleeps and blurs perfectly into its tone, making the censorship every bit a part of the punchline. You simply don't have to be as clever when you can say whatever the #%* you want.
Still, it's one of the better comedies released this year and well worth your time.