127 Hours (2010)

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.


When To Watch Rating: Now


Now Playing in Theaters

Making the Movie Review - HERE

Holy Rollers (2010)

In Brooklyn, a youth from an Orthodox Jewish community is lured into becoming an Ecstasy dealer by his pal who has ties to an Israel drug cartel.

Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Michael Cer.......uh I mean Jesse Eisenberg star in Holy Rollers. Jesse Eisenberg really stands out for once for not being the quite awkward guy who wants the girl. He does start out the quite awkward Jew who wants the girl, but this time his character actually progresses into something much more. Justin Bartha was the only actor in The Hangover that didn't have a stand out role, so I was interested to see how he would do in a leading role. It would be nice to see a little more from him, especially in this type of role, but I think his performance was still good.

The movie started very slow and it was hard to keep my attention. Jesse's character is worried about what career he is going to be given and if he will be allowed to marry the girl he wants to. He has a strong business sense, but that doesn't help him in his fathers business. Once he finds out he can't marry the girl he wants he blames it on his families social status. Justin Bartha's character then brings him along to make extra money bringing "medicine" back from Europe. All of this seems to go very slow and is boring, it is not until Jesse finds out that he is actually smuggling ecstasy that the movie starts to get good.

The movie is very bland, probably intentionally in the beginning while in the Jewish community, but as it picks up and they are in Europe and Jesse's character is getting partying, drinking, and taking drugs for the first time that the movie starts to take a cool style. The movies pace picks up and Jesse's character development going from a quiet Jewish boy who is too awkward to talk to girls, to a drug smuggler who is making business deals and getting more Orthodox Jewish kids involved is fun to watch.

The movie opens up your eyes to how some kids in these communities grow up and how their decisions are made for them. How every decision that they make is scrutinized by the community. It is also a pretty crazy true story about how the Jewish kids were not ever searched by airport security because no one would think that they would be doing anything wrong.

Unfortunately being based on a true story it has kind of an abrupt ending. The movie is just picking up to a great climax and then two minutes later its over it seems. It's a good thing if that is how the real story happened, but it does feel like a let down to the audience. The movie is fairly short anyways so the abrupt ending feels like there could have been more to enjoy.


When to Watch Rating: Indie Film Mood

Available on Netflix Instant View

The Blind Side (2009)

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. 

You would think a movie that makes $255 million, wins the award for best actress and is nominated for best picture would be a lock to be a good movie. Not so fast. Can you argue though with a movie that did so well with audiences and critics? 

If this movie was not based on a true story it would seem like your typical kids Disney movie. Person made for sport, but has (add problem). Person gets a chance to succeed, but needs to learn to play. Person gets coached by small child. Person almost instantly becomes great. Person has problem that could ruin everything. Person triumphs. So what makes this movie any different.

Sandra Bullock is a highlight to the movie, wouldn't cross my mind for an award, but the academy was set on giving her an award. You can't blame her for some of the writing that makes her character seem way to over the top. 

The story of Michael Oher is incredible, but oddly enough happens quite often. Check out this interesting article on black athletes that come from bad homes and go on to live with white families, and excel in sports. http://www.slate.com/id/2270482/

So I want to know how a movie that cinematically falls very short, only has one strong performance and no climax can do so good. I have a theory that also is some aspects goes along with the success of the 2009 best picture winner Slumdog Millionaire and 2010 nominee Precious. People see these situations that people are stuck in, coming from broken homes where their mothers throw their babies on the couch like a football, or 2 young boys watch their mother die and have to survive in the slums of India. Their reactions are "I can't believe people actually go through this, this movie really blew my mind." (Actual reaction I have heard) That alone seems to give movies some merit on being a great movie, regardless if the story is true or if the movie was made well.

This seems to be the effect that The Blind Side had on people, and with the "true story" tagged on,  it was sure to succeed. This seems to me the only way this movie could have done so well, if it weren't for that factor you could place it right up there with movies like The Rookie. Interesting true story, nothing more.

When to Watch Rating: While Plunging Your Head in Boiling Water

Available on DVD

GhettoPhysics: Will the Real Pimps and Hos Please Stand Up? (2010)

Ghetto Physics is about the affiliation between the pimp and the ho and how that relationship can be extrapolated into politics, the economy, and even one’s everyday encounters.

Read review at Making the Movie - Ghetto Physics Review. Jeff P (writer for the website www.Tastesfunny.net) is the guest reviewer, hopefully he will also do some reviews for ThinkSplosion.


When to Watch Rating: While Plunging Your Head in Boiling Water (From what it sounds like)

Now playing in select theaters

The Social Network (2010)

A story about the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook.

A sharp script, great music and David Fincher being David Fincher makes for one of the best movies so far this year. As usual I will let a better writer do a good review.

Check out Making the Movie - The Social Network Movie Review


When To Watch Rating: Now

Now Playing in Theaters

Red Road (2006)

Jackie works as a CCTV operator. Each day she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze...

Red Road won the 2006 Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival. One night while Jackie (Kate Dickie) is working she see's a man that sends her into a panic. She frantically begins calling people trying to find out if he has been released from prison early. She begins following the man, at work through the cameras, and in her off time in person.

I think what made this movie good also made me dislike it. This man is supposed to be kept a mystery, we know he was in prison and had something to do with Jackie, but Director Andrea Arnold wants to keep us guessing why the entire movie. At first it plays very well, as she follows him in person you think that if he see's her he will recognize her and that will start a confrontation. Then after they have a conversation and he hasn't recognized her you start to wonder why she has such an interest in him. And by the end of the movie I was beginning the think that Jackie is crazy.

Jackie lives a very cut off life. She doesn't speak to her parents much, she hadn't seen her sister in years before her wedding.She doesn't get together with friends. She works a job where she doesn't really have to deal much with other people, but instead gets to watch other peoples lives, which she enjoys. But we get the sense that things haven't always been this way.

The film kept me interested throughout because I wanted to know what this strange relationship that Jackie had with this man, and some of the scenes were very intense in large part to the sound design that was used instead of a music score, which I found brilliant. By the end of the movie though I had lost most of my interest, maybe in part to the heavy Scottish accents where I couldn't understand some of the dialogue or maybe to the fact that it took so long to get to the reveal and when it finally did the payoff didn't seem to be worth it.

When to Watch Rating: While Plunging Your Head in Boiling Water

Available on Netflix

Happiness Runs (2010)

A young man, realizes the shortcomings of the Utopian ideals on the hippie commune where he was raised...

This story takes an interesting look at the youth who are raised in a polygamist society.  Instead of following in their parents footsteps and becoming free-loving hippies, they have become an angry, self-destructive group. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, they try to find any release from the world they live in.

I found it very interesting, trying to imagine what it would be like to grow up in this other world with practically no rules. As hard as the kids try to be different from their parents the things that they grew up around still have become a part of their lives. Such as casual sex between all of them from night to night, even though it seems that this is one thing that disgusts many of them when it comes to their parents.
 
The movie is shot beautifully, and has a unique style to it. It gives the feeling that you are in a place where normal isn't normal. I liked how the dream sequences were put together, really putting you in the head of one of the kids.

 The movie seemed to drift in certain places and start to tell the story of another character, but then bring you back to the main character. Also at times it felt like the movie wasn't progressing, and they were just trying to show you how unhappy these kids are in as many ways as possible. With a run time of only 88 minutes though it didn't seem to hurt the movie to much.

Overall I really liked how they brought this film together to take you inside this world that seems like it should have been lost in the 70's but instead is a reality for these kids.


When To Watch Rating: Indie Film Mood

Available on Netflix Instant View

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Tells the story of seventeen year-old as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.

Animal Kingdom was the winner at Sundance of the World Cinema Jury Prize and one of my favorite films of the year. Check out the Making the Movie Review.

Making the Movie - Animal Kingdom Review 

When To Watch Rating: NOW

Animal Kingdom is available in select theaters.

This is Enlgand (2006)

 A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He becomes friends with a group of skinheads that become his like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

One of the things that stood out about this movie to me is Thomas Turgoose, who plays a Shaun, a 12 year old boy who's father was one of the Falkland casualties. This is Thomas's first major acting role and it is really hard to believe. He is outstanding as he progresses throughout the film from a lonely boy who is struggling to fit in, to a skinhead who's maturity is pushed way above his age.

The other actor I really enjoyed in this film was Stephen Graham (Snatch, Public Enemies). He plays a skinhead fresh out of prison who comes back to recruit his old friends into a revolution to "take back England".  He see's Shaun as a younger version of himself and takes him under his wing.

The film is carried by strong performances, which director Shane Meadows crafts very well. The film is based on Shane's experiences and it really comes out in his directing.

The only part of this film that I did not like was how the movie ended. It seemed to leave a lot of questions unanswered. We see how things change for the lead character but it feels like there are a lot of characters that are built up, just to see them leave one scene and never come back again.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, and would recommend that people check it out.

When to Watch Rating: Indie Film Mood
Available on Netflix Instant View