Children of Men (9/10)
I wouldn’t necessarily agree with the Mayan’s doomsday calendar, but this does seem the century for an apocalypse. In the year 2027, the world has gone to shit. Women have become infertile worldwide, and all countries have turned inside out, but England carries on by only a few threads. Theo (Clive Owen<3) once a political activist just getting by, gets pulled into a terrorism cell led by his ex-wife, Julian (Julianne Moore<3) and Luke (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Soon enough, Theo’s daily shit life has become mixed into the possible answer for saving the world. One of my all time favorites.

The Orphanage (El Orfanato) 8/10
I had finally seen this film only recently. Horror, thriller, hopeful, this film is awesomely imaginative and cohesive. Not to mention the cinematography is beautiful. Having grown up in an orphanage Laura (Belen Rueda), returns to the mansion in her adulthood having bought it with her husband in hopes to raise disabled children herself. Their adopted son starts acting strange until one day he goes missing. And in Laura’s craze to find him, she discovers the history of the house after she had gone.

RahXephon (8/10)
Hm.. This is by far my favorite anime series ever. Originally a manga of the same name and essentially the same writers, Rahxephon (the series) is an incredible science fiction story of a 17 year old boy in the year 2027 and his relationship with a certain mecha. I’m not normally into mecha animes but this isn’t exactly one of them. Time, Mayan culture, love, and the relationships between all these characters make this 26 episode series a very good one. Although full of action, the intricate bonds between people make this anime.

The Fountain (8/10)
My personal favorite of Darren Aronofsky’s (though this might be challenged by his recent release of Black Swan), The Fountain is up there in the most beautiful films aesthetically, in my opinion. Three story lines (all played by Hugh Jackman), Tomas the Conquistador, Tommy the Brain Surgeon, and First Father deal with the struggle of death and loss as they are consumed by their encounters with the tree of life. Aronofsky has a common theme of death in all his films, but for me, this one is the saddest, as opposed to The Wrestler which was accepted, and Black Swan which was perfected.

Serenity (8/10)
A space opera with zombies? Need I say more? Joss Whedon’s cult classic although cancelled series Firefly was given the opportunity to conclude itself in this awesome film of space bandits dodging the Alliance (the po-lice) while the Firefly class ship named Serenity had two high class fugitives- a young and brilliant trauma surgeon and his younger sister, a psychic. Because this movie concluded a series that seems like it should have had a running chance, it does feel rushed. But the production quality and the great acting especially by Nathan Fillion and Briton Chiwetel Ejiofor covet the fact.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (7/10)
Quirky, cute, funny romantic comedy about Peter Brenner (Jason Segel) and his vacation to Hawaii in an attempt to get over his TV star ex-girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). As luck would have it, she’s on the same island staying at the same hotel with her new boyfriend, music sensation Aldus Snow (Russel Brand). The comedy in this movie is subtle, but nonetheless hilarious. Jack McBrayer plays a crazed Christian newlywed on his honeymoon trying to bang his wife for the first time. Lol.

District 9 (9/10)
Political, societal, discriminatory science fiction brilliantly written to parallel the apartheid of South Africa’s history. Neil Blomkampf and Sharlto Copley make a great team. Supposedly, the animation studio who had done the aliens had never done a full-length feature before. I would have never known. Full of action, the end of the film seems like a promise for a District 10? Maybe, one can only hope. It’s too open ended for an amazing follow up to not happen.

Tekkon Kinkreet (9/10)
Arguably, the best anime I’ve ever seen. By Japan native American, Michael Arias, and the adaptation of a manga called Black and White, this film is about two homeless boys of approximately 16 and 11 years respectively with extraordinary abilities. A classic story of good and evil and the huge gray area that rests in between that Black ends up learning from his younger and far more naive brother White. The yakuza come back to Treasure Town and find themselves having a cat problem.

Casino Royale (8/10)
Damn damn damn. MGM really made an incredible comeback in the James Bond franchise reintroducing Casino Royale and a new Bond, Daniel Craig. Dark, cold, and not to mention bad ass as fuck. The story of James Bond’s beginning as a 00 agent and his incredibly questionable and rogue methods within MI6. Also, the introduction of a wonderful love and betrayal story with lovely Vesper Lynd (Eva Green). Oh! The action is amazing too.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (7/10)
In my opinion, this film is Wes Anderson’s catchiest. That doesn’t go to say I love his other films any less (I love The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Rushmore), but this one has the beautiful flare of marine life involved captured so well. Also, stylistically speaking for Wes Anderson and his common theme of father issues, this one probably breaks my heart the most- the relationship between Steve Zissou (Bill Murray<3) and his “son” Ned Kingsley Plimpton Zissou (Owen Wilson). I’ve seen this film one too many times, and yet, it still hasn’t gotten old.