Secrets & Lies(dir. Mike Leigh)
REVIEW PENDING...
*** out of ****
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Oh In the Valley of Elah...
In the Valley of Elah(dir. Paul Haggis)
REVIEW PENDING...
*1/2 or ** out of ****
REVIEW PENDING...
*1/2 or ** out of ****
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Oh The Darjeeling Limited...
The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
First Take:
Second Take:
REVIEW PENDING...
*** out of ****
First Take:
Second Take:
REVIEW PENDING...
*** out of ****
Friday, March 14, 2008
Oh Punch-Drunk Love...
Punch-Drunk Love(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
First Take:
Paul Thomas Anderson failed me on this one. He seemed more interested in his style than actually presenting a story. There was some scenes I cracked a smile, but I think this just went over my head. I'll probably rewatch in a couple of weeks because a reviewer at DVDEmpire said he didn't like it the first time so I'll give it another try later. For now its....
** out of ****
Second Take:
Review Pending...
***1/2 out of ****
First Take:
Paul Thomas Anderson failed me on this one. He seemed more interested in his style than actually presenting a story. There was some scenes I cracked a smile, but I think this just went over my head. I'll probably rewatch in a couple of weeks because a reviewer at DVDEmpire said he didn't like it the first time so I'll give it another try later. For now its....
** out of ****
Second Take:
Review Pending...
***1/2 out of ****
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Oh Michael Clayton...
Michael Clayton(dir. Tony Gilroy)
A life of a lawyer is a life of excitement or at least that's what this film leads you to believe. Michael Clayton is essentially about a man who opens his eyes to the corrupt system that he has been employed to maintain and similar to Gilroy's most well-known previous work as a screenwriter, The Bourne series, he rebels against this system that made him who he is. You could interpret the film as a parable for us, apathetic Americans, to rise up to the man, but the film lacks the political furor of a Redacted and is just too tastefully made to arouse anyone to action. This interpretation also makes the film's resolution appear to be even more insulting because of its swift and painless ease. Clayton's delayed reaction to the happenings in his environment also seems flat-out foolish due to his intimate proximity to it. It's understandable for Americans living in their cozy homes to be apathetic about the war in Iraq, but if they were there in the middle of the shit, I'm sure they'd wake up and smell the coffee way quicker than this supposedly intelligent attorney. It was ultimately an underwhelming liberal fantasy.
** out of ****
A life of a lawyer is a life of excitement or at least that's what this film leads you to believe. Michael Clayton is essentially about a man who opens his eyes to the corrupt system that he has been employed to maintain and similar to Gilroy's most well-known previous work as a screenwriter, The Bourne series, he rebels against this system that made him who he is. You could interpret the film as a parable for us, apathetic Americans, to rise up to the man, but the film lacks the political furor of a Redacted and is just too tastefully made to arouse anyone to action. This interpretation also makes the film's resolution appear to be even more insulting because of its swift and painless ease. Clayton's delayed reaction to the happenings in his environment also seems flat-out foolish due to his intimate proximity to it. It's understandable for Americans living in their cozy homes to be apathetic about the war in Iraq, but if they were there in the middle of the shit, I'm sure they'd wake up and smell the coffee way quicker than this supposedly intelligent attorney. It was ultimately an underwhelming liberal fantasy.
** out of ****
Oh The Assassination of Jesse James...
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford(dir. Andrew Dominik)
REVIEW PENDING...
**1/2 out of ****
REVIEW PENDING...
**1/2 out of ****
Oh Margot at the Wedding...
Margot at the Wedding(dir. Noah Bambauch)
REVIEW PENDING...
**1/2 out of ****
REVIEW PENDING...
**1/2 out of ****
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Oh 1987...
1987
1. RoboCop(dir. Paul Verhoeven)
2. Full Metal Jacket(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
3. The Princess Bride(dir. Rob Reiner)
4. The Untouchables(dir. Brian De Palma)
Need to see/rewatch: Angel Heart, The Brave Little Toaster, Dirty Dancing, Empire of the Sun, Evil Dead II, Fatal Attraction, Near Dark, Au Revoir Les Enfants, The Last Emperor, Lethal Weapon, Matewan, O.C. & Stiggs, Radio Days, The Dead, The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, Opera, Raising Arizona, The Monster Squad, Wall Street, Moonstruck, Broadcast News, Predator, Spaceballs, Three Men and a Baby, Walker, Wall Street, Withnail and I, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Hellraiser, The Lost Boys, Red Sorghum, House of Games, Roxanne, Barfly, My Life as a Dog, Peking Opera Blues, Hope and Glory, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: The Untouchables, and more...
1. RoboCop(dir. Paul Verhoeven)
2. Full Metal Jacket(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
3. The Princess Bride(dir. Rob Reiner)
4. The Untouchables(dir. Brian De Palma)
Need to see/rewatch: Angel Heart, The Brave Little Toaster, Dirty Dancing, Empire of the Sun, Evil Dead II, Fatal Attraction, Near Dark, Au Revoir Les Enfants, The Last Emperor, Lethal Weapon, Matewan, O.C. & Stiggs, Radio Days, The Dead, The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, Opera, Raising Arizona, The Monster Squad, Wall Street, Moonstruck, Broadcast News, Predator, Spaceballs, Three Men and a Baby, Walker, Wall Street, Withnail and I, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Hellraiser, The Lost Boys, Red Sorghum, House of Games, Roxanne, Barfly, My Life as a Dog, Peking Opera Blues, Hope and Glory, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: The Untouchables, and more...
Oh 1984...
1984
1. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
2. Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)
3. Stranger than Paradise(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
4. The Terminator(dir. James Cameron)
Need to see/rewatch: Ghostbusters, Starman, Blood Simple, Love Streams, Boy Meets Girl, Amadeus, Streetwise, Body Double, Red Dawn, This is Spinal Tap, Fear City, The Neverending Story, Once Upon a Time in America, A Soldier's Story, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Comet, Repo Man, Purple Rain, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Secret Honor, and more...
1. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
2. Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)
3. Stranger than Paradise(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
4. The Terminator(dir. James Cameron)
Need to see/rewatch: Ghostbusters, Starman, Blood Simple, Love Streams, Boy Meets Girl, Amadeus, Streetwise, Body Double, Red Dawn, This is Spinal Tap, Fear City, The Neverending Story, Once Upon a Time in America, A Soldier's Story, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Night of the Comet, Repo Man, Purple Rain, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Secret Honor, and more...
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Oh Paris, Texas...
Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)[rewatch]
It's still one of the most profoundly moving meditations on family, love, sacrifice, and life in general.
**** out of ****
It's still one of the most profoundly moving meditations on family, love, sacrifice, and life in general.
**** out of ****
Oh Semi-Pro...
Semi-Pro(dir. Kent Alterman)
It was semi-funny at given moments, but it was semi-lame most of the time. I semi-don't recommend. Semi-out.
** out of ****
It was semi-funny at given moments, but it was semi-lame most of the time. I semi-don't recommend. Semi-out.
** out of ****
Oh Vantage Point...
Vantage Point(dir. Pete Travis)
OK. This is one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen. Dennis Quaid's character gets blown up, gets in multiple car accidents including one that involved a semi and a wall making a sandwich of car crash madness with him in the middle, and gets shot and yet, he was still able to walk perfectly fine after all this hurt. It also contains a variety of other equally ludicrous pleasures like a little girl that is so dumb that she stands in the middle of the road, waiting for an ambulance to plow through her before getting rescued and several over-the-top plot twists. The film slightly takes itself too seriously and I'm sure all the individuals involved thought the film would be "important" because of it's vaguely topical demeanor, but if it wasn't for this attitude, it wouldn't have been as perversely entertaining as it was. I have a feeling that this is going to be a future camp classic and this is the best film I've seen so far from this year. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
OK. This is one of the most ridiculous movies I've ever seen. Dennis Quaid's character gets blown up, gets in multiple car accidents including one that involved a semi and a wall making a sandwich of car crash madness with him in the middle, and gets shot and yet, he was still able to walk perfectly fine after all this hurt. It also contains a variety of other equally ludicrous pleasures like a little girl that is so dumb that she stands in the middle of the road, waiting for an ambulance to plow through her before getting rescued and several over-the-top plot twists. The film slightly takes itself too seriously and I'm sure all the individuals involved thought the film would be "important" because of it's vaguely topical demeanor, but if it wasn't for this attitude, it wouldn't have been as perversely entertaining as it was. I have a feeling that this is going to be a future camp classic and this is the best film I've seen so far from this year. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Oh Planes, Trains & Automobiles...
Planes, Trains & Automobiles(dir. John Hughes)
I found this film amazingly unfunny outside of a ridiculous expression on John Candy's face in the first 15 minutes and the contrived nature of the narrative and jokes became suspect at times, I'm still going to slightly recommend it. Why? Because there's a scene of extreme poignancy where John Candy's character tries to defend himself after Steve Martin's character gave him an extended tongue lashing and the wounded inflection in his voice is just heartbreaking. A great scene in an otherwise forgettable comedy.
**1/2 out of ****
I found this film amazingly unfunny outside of a ridiculous expression on John Candy's face in the first 15 minutes and the contrived nature of the narrative and jokes became suspect at times, I'm still going to slightly recommend it. Why? Because there's a scene of extreme poignancy where John Candy's character tries to defend himself after Steve Martin's character gave him an extended tongue lashing and the wounded inflection in his voice is just heartbreaking. A great scene in an otherwise forgettable comedy.
**1/2 out of ****
Oh Multi-Facial...
Multi-Facial(dir. Vin Diesel)
This was essentially an acting showpiece for its star/director/writer to help him get bigger and better roles in the past and while it's easy to criticize the film on these terms, it's not necessarily what sinks the film. What sinks the film is the "poor me" attitude the film is happy to indulge in from time to time because of the star/director/writer's multiracial(substitute the R with a F and you get the title, LOL) background. There's nothing particularly wrong with Diesel attempting to explore what most likely prevented him from getting the roles he wanted in the past and while his acting is actually impressive given some of his performances in recent films and his direction is mundane yet serviceable, it's the clunky nature of the script's examination of his previous situation that makes this short film particularly hard to recommend. An example would be a casting executive/director/whatever saying after Vin's character leaves the room that they need more of a "Wesley-type" for whatever they're working on. The ending is also one of the most unintentionally funny things I've ever seen with a woman ordering her coffee "not too light, not too dark" and Vin's character sitting in a booth in front of her listening in and finding that phrase so profound that he mouths it because it describes his skin complexion perfectly. Without this film, we wouldn't be all appreciate the meathead we all love from films like Chronicles of Riddick and Fast and the Furious, but it's too idiotic to recommend.
** out of ****
This was essentially an acting showpiece for its star/director/writer to help him get bigger and better roles in the past and while it's easy to criticize the film on these terms, it's not necessarily what sinks the film. What sinks the film is the "poor me" attitude the film is happy to indulge in from time to time because of the star/director/writer's multiracial(substitute the R with a F and you get the title, LOL) background. There's nothing particularly wrong with Diesel attempting to explore what most likely prevented him from getting the roles he wanted in the past and while his acting is actually impressive given some of his performances in recent films and his direction is mundane yet serviceable, it's the clunky nature of the script's examination of his previous situation that makes this short film particularly hard to recommend. An example would be a casting executive/director/whatever saying after Vin's character leaves the room that they need more of a "Wesley-type" for whatever they're working on. The ending is also one of the most unintentionally funny things I've ever seen with a woman ordering her coffee "not too light, not too dark" and Vin's character sitting in a booth in front of her listening in and finding that phrase so profound that he mouths it because it describes his skin complexion perfectly. Without this film, we wouldn't be all appreciate the meathead we all love from films like Chronicles of Riddick and Fast and the Furious, but it's too idiotic to recommend.
** out of ****
Oh Announcement...
I am going to post individual reviews for everything I see now and I'll try to convert old reviews to this new system and index all of them. Yeah...
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