Movie Review: The Secret In Their Eyes

5. I have a recurring dream that one day I won't have to read subtitles to be treated to a classic mystery thriller devoid of noisy, impossible special affects but rich with human drama.

4. Until that time, though, the Argentine film "The Secret In Their Eyes" delievers everything a movie-goer could ask for: rich, fleshed-out characters, murder, revenge, romance and redemption.

3. Set in 1999 and told in flashbacks, retired detective Benjamín Espósito (Ricardo Darin) decides to write a novel about the  most vexing case of his career: a rape and murder in which the killer is de facto pardoned to work for the government.

2. Along the way, we meet Ben's true love and boss Irene Menéndez-Hastings (Soledad Villamil), his drunken investigative partner Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) and feel the true grief and rage of young widower Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago.)

1. The movie already won the 2010 Oscar for Best Foriegn Language Film and I can offer little better praise than that, other than it appears films, like soccer, are an activity mastered better by our international neighbors than our domestic pals.

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"The Secret In Their Eyes"
Run time: 2 hours, 36 minutes
Rated: R
Genre: Suspense-Thriller
Director: Juan José Campanella
Cast: Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, José Luis Gioia, Javier Godino, Pablo Rago
Finney's Flicks Grade: A+

5 sentence review of "The Losers"

5. A couple buddies and I made a bet Sunday afternoon: Which of us could see the worst movie currently playing at the multiplexes; they picked "A Nightmare on Elm Street" remake/reboot/whatever and I chose "The Losers," based on a DC Comic book series.

4. I opted against "Nightmare," because even in junior high -- the obvious target audience for Freddy Kreuger -- I wasn't interested in this melted-face weirdo with a bad sweater and a wanna-be Wolverine glove.

3. "The Losers" made me a winner insofar as I left my theater entertained -- or at least mildly amused while my friends were bored, annoyed and insulted by the wretchedness of "Nightmare."

2. There isn't much worth noting about "The Losers" other than in my theater, there were a pair of obnoxious, Skittles-throwing preteen boys that made me think, "If I were their age, "This Losers" flick would be some "A+" stuff."

1. Alas, I'm old enough to have seen enough poorly-shaven tough guys walking in slow-motion while stuff blows up behind them to see "The Losers" as a mostly a collection of action cliches best suited to those on the verge of growing their first chest hair rather than those of us trying to keep hair on our scalps and out of our ears.

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"The Losers"

1hr 38min‎‎ - Rated PG-13‎‎ - Action/Adventure/Suspense/Thriller/Drama‎

Director: Sylvain Whit

Cast: Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Óscar Jaenada

Finney's Flicks Rating: C

5 sentence review of "Clash of the Titans"

5. OK, I admit I'm very fond of the original from 1981 with it's hopelessly outdated stop-motion special effects, wooden Harry Hamlin performance and Bubo the robot owl.

4. The 2010 version is slicker, slightly better acted with the big slam-bang special effects one comes to expect from the modern megaplex.

3. The new "Clash of the Titans" watches like a video game -- complete lots of little tasks (get the God sword, flying horse) and defeat lesser bosses (giant scorpions, Medusa) before the big, final showdown (Pericles vs. the Kraken and Hades)  that is inevitably not as interesting as some of foes already bested.

2. The modern "Clash" is technically superior to the original in every way, though it lacks a bit of the hokey charm of it predecessor.

1. And I missed the robot owl.

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"Clash of the Titans"

- 1hr 50min‎‎ - Rated PG-13‎‎ - Action/Adventure‎ -

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Alexa Davalos

Finney's Flicks Grade: C

5 sentence review of "The Runaways"

5. IMDB says "The Runaways" is 1 hour, 45 minutes long.

4. A ticket will cost you about $8 in my native Des Moines.

3. Amazon.com says the running time of "The Best of The Runaways" CD is 42 minutes, 30 seconds.

2. It costs about $8.50.

1. Despite the increased cost and decreased running time, the music would be the better entertainment value than the tepid, brooding and joyless biopic about the 1970s all-girl experiment that ushered in the age of manufactured corporate bands, sexpot jail bait singers and drug-addled train wrecks.

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"The Runaways"

- 1hr 45min‎‎ - Rated R‎‎ - Drama‎ -

Director: Floria Sigismondi - Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Alia Shawkat, Scout Taylor-Compton
Overall grade: D