Charlie inspired me to try to do something new (check out The-Broll below), so I'm going to watch 4 movies a week and write my little review about them, or steal John's reviews from Making the Movie.
I won't give ratings, just a when you should see it rating...i.e. my favorites will be rated NOW, for "GO SEE IT NOW". Others will include Indie Film Mood, Date Night, or Drunken Guys Night ect..
You will learn very quickly that writing isn't my strongest skill so please excuse the many errors.
As computer hacker Lisbeth and journalist Mikael investigate a sex-trafficking ring, Lisbeth is accused of three murders, causing her to go on the run while Mikael works to clear her name.
The "Millennium" trilogy has been an exciting export from Sweden over the last couple of years, so good in fact that Hollywood is already working on re-making the three films even though the 3rd one has just come out in America. For people who can handle sub-titles, I would recommend watching the originals first.
I saw the first one to long ago to do a review on it, but I just watched the last two movies this week, and they do not disappoint. Every film in the series seems to have a different genre to it.
40-year-old Jimmy is growing up, or at least he's getting older. While mooching the upper bunk of his ten-year-old nephew's bed, he enjoys the never-ending generosity of his sister Aiko, and dodges the wrath of his impatient brother-in-law Tak.
This is one of the funnier indie movies I have seen this year. Hiroshi Watanabe plays Jimmy, who lives with his sister and her husband because his wife divorced him and he is trying to get back on his feet. Something is a little off about Jimmy, he moved from Japan to America because he ran out of the food that his wife had prepared after she she told him she wanted a divorce. So we know Jimmy has a hard time taken care of himself, but he also has a big heart and only wants whats best for his sisters family.
Jimmy makes this movie hilarious, he isn't afraid to say whats on his mind for better or for worse. He is also trying to get a girl that is 15 years younger than him, who is a family friend that refers to him as Uncle Jimmy. (Not as creepy as I made it sound, actually very funny).
The movie also has heart which is nice, as Jimmy try's to find love, his sisters family struggles through a marriage that seems very distant and a young child that seems to be completely ignored by the family. They will all have to discover things about each other in order to keep the family together, even it takes people accidentally stabbing themselves in the stomach. The one thing I felt like the movie didn't do was give enough closure on the family though. That was a little disappointing.
I laughed a lot more watching this movie then I thought I would when I first saw the trailer, but I'm glad that I watched it as it was a wonderful surprise.
Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point.
This is the type of movie that unless it is done right can be pushing a very sensitive subject. When you make a movie about four people who want to be suicide bombers I think you can do it two ways. One, you can make it a very serious movie that takes inside the culture and mindset of these people and give an unseen look into their world. Two, make it a comedy about these characters that want to be jihadists but are just to stupid to make anything work. The one thing that wont work is combining the two.
The movie starts out as a comedy, and it has some pretty funny moments. While in a terrorist training camp, two of the members try to take down an American spy plane with a rocket launcher, they accidentally shoot backwards and take out a terrorist camp. It seems like everything they do is a mistake, their leader seems to be the only one capable of doing things right.
As the movie progresses though it starts to get a little more serious, but you still think that it will all turn out with a funny ending because these guys never seem to get things right. There is a moment in the movie where one of the character accidentally kills himself, and it is supposed to be funny (think Tropic Thunder), but you realize this is a character I actual like and it isn't funny how he dies. From there on out it continues to push a subject that really isn't funny. When you make jokes about suicide bomber killing people you have crossed a line.
There is one character in this movie that I think they delve far enough into his character that when he completes his suicide mission you don't feel like it was all for nothing. That being said the movie crosses some touchy subjects and isn't really funny enough to make it worth it.
A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.
Danny Boyle returns to the big screen again with his first movie since Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle seems intent on mastering every single genre of movies, and he doesn't disappoint with this psychological/thriller/adventure/action/drama. Boyle recreates the story of Aron Ralston, a hiker who gets trapped when a boulder comes loose pins his arm to the canyon wall. Over the next 127 hours he will have to deal with the physical and emotional struggle to survive, and eventually have to make the decision of how far he is willing to go to get out from under the rock.
James Franco plays Aron, and already there is oscar buzz about his performance. Its hard to even imagine what you would go through in that situation, and watching Franco's performance it seems that he must have spent a lot of time with Ralston, trying to find the right emotions to put into each day that he is stuck under the rock. Franco's performance is great as he struggles between trying to survive and the realization that he is about to die, and he is not happy with the way that he left his relationships with family and friends.
The other thing I really liked about the movie was it had a message, it seems like most movies these days are just about the big action scenes or the creepy hauntings, but don't have much heart. This movie brings a great message whether you are rock climbing alone in Utah or driving your car on the 101. You never know what moment is going to be your last, either from a rock trapping you in a canyon or your car flipping over on the highway. No one ever goes out expecting it to happen to them, so people don't think about the things that matter most in their lives until it is to late.
Danny Boyle seems to have a little bit of a goofy side that comes out of him every once in a while, and unfortunately I think its the biggest setback in some of his movies. The Beach has the scene where it turns into a video game, and 127 hours has little pieces that seem just a little out of place. It doesn't hurt the movie at all, but I couldn't help like it took me out of the movie at the moment. Reviewer John Ott put it best I think when he said it's a small budget movie made with a big budget, and I think at times it can feel a little over done.
127 Hours is a very tense movie that isn't for the feint of heart, but it is a true story that will entertain you as well as make you think. While it isn't the masterpiece that Slumdog Millionaire was, it is another excellent film from Danny Boyle.
The supervillain Megamind finally conquers his nemesis, the hero Metro Man... but finds his life pointless without a hero to fight.
Dreamworks brings its new animated comedy to the big screen in the form of Megamind, an evil blue alien with a giant head. Megamind was sent away from his planet as a small child just moments before his planet was sucked into a black hole. At the same time another space ship left the planet heading for earth also. And so began the rivalry of Megamind and Metro Man. Even in grade school Metro Man was always the popular one, as all of Megaminds creations seemed to do more bad than good. Then Megamind realized that maybe instead of trying to be popular he should be evil.
The movie is voiced by an all star cast of Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, Ben Stiller, David Cross and J.K. Simmons. Will Ferrell is funny as always and really does a good job doing the voice acting, my favorite part is when he is voicing "Space Dad". The only actor in the movie that just doesn't feel like he fits is Jonah Hill. He is does a good job as the dorky camera guy but doesn't quite fit the role of Titan.
The animation is what you expect out of a Dreamworks movie, it looks great and even better in 3D. Dreamworks still isnt on the same level as Pixar, but they still do a good job.
Megamind is not on the same level as movies like Up and Wall-E, but it is fueled by a very funny cast and a fun super hero story that the whole family will enjoy.
Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run.
There really isnt alot to review when it comes to a movie starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, that won 4 academy awards and was nominated for 7 total. It was a movie that I loved as a kid and is still one of my favorite westerns. The only reason I review it is in case some unlucky person has yet to watch it yet.
It has a little bit of everything it seems. comedy, action, romance and suspense throughout the movie. The dynamic between Redford and Newman is fantastic whether they are fighting with each other, making jokes before jumping off cliffs or in the middle of a shootout.
The film is also does things differently than most other films would. The film is split up into two segments that is split by pictures that moves the story from America to Bolivia. They also use "pop" music for the montage sequences which was sort of surprising to hear when I watched it again but I think it works very well.
The movie was shot by Conrad Hall so it looks beautiful and it goes in and out of a sepia color that gives a good old west feeling to the movie.
The end of the movie is classic, all the way up to the very last line the movie keeps you laughing and guessing what is going to happen next.
