Posts Tagged ‘Movie Reviews’
January 2, 2009
Frank Langella definitely lived up to the hype as Richard Nixon. He almost made you feel sorry for him (almost because considering everything he’d done, it’s too hard to). I’m glad he didn’t go for a straight impression of Nixon because then it becomes distracting about how well he pulled it off.
I’m also glad Michael Sheen got to play somebody who wasn’t Tony Blair (he’s played him twice). He’s a really good actor that I would like to see more of.
You can only hope that one day we’ll get a no holds barred/mano y mano interview like that with George W. Bush (better yet, Dick Cheney). Maybe it should be with David Letterman.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon, Michael Sheen, Movie Reviews | No Comments »
December 30, 2008
It was okay.
It was well-acted especially Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis but in the end, I really didn’t feel invested in the story or the characters.
It might have suffered from seeing it right after The Wrestler.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Doubt, Meryl Streep, Movie Reviews, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Viola Davis | No Comments »
December 30, 2008
My rating might be biased due to my love of wrestling but this was a damn good movie.
I think it’s unfair to say that this was a role Mickey Rourke was born to play. That doesn’t give him enough credit for what Rourke, writer Robert Siegel and director Darren Aronofsky (I can’t believe this is from the same guy who made Requiem For A Dream) have created. Mickey Rourke IS Randy “The Ram” Robinson. He completely disappears into the role and he’s amazing. His performance is both touchingly sad and incredibly funny. I was just amazed by the whole thing. It could not have been easy to learn those wrestling moves.
I did have one qualm with the movie. I don’t care how old she is. No way Marisa Tomei looking like she did hs a rough go of it as a stripper.
WWE/TNA wrestler Mick Foley wrote a great review from a wrestler’s perspective. You should check it out after you see the movie as there are some spoilers.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Darren Aronofsky, Marisa Tomei, Mickey Rourke, Movie Reviews, The Wrestler | No Comments »
December 30, 2008
The date movie of the year! Just kidding.
Based on the trailer, I thought it was just going to be an extended screaming match between the lovers in Titanic and to some extent it was. It was still enjoyable. I don’t know if this would have affected me if I was married but it would spark some interesting conversations.
Kate Winslet who has perfected the tortured housewife during Little Children was great. Leonardo DiCaprio was good. My friends and I were discussing how, like Tom Cruise, it’s hard to get past who the actor is. You always can feel the person acting. It’s no fault of theirs. If I had never seen DiCaprio in a movie, I would have thought he was amazing.
Despite the prowess of DiCaprio and Winslet, Michael Shannon as John Givings stole the movie in his two scenes. I hope he gets nominated (only to lose to Heath Ledger).
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Movie Reviews, Revolutionary Road, Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Shannon | 1 Comment »
December 28, 2008
The first thing I was going to write was that this movie reminded me of Forrest Gump until I found out the guy who wrote the scrip for this movie, Eric Roth, also wrote that one. Go figure.
Anyway, it also kind of reminded me of Big Fish in a strange way even though there weren’t
that many magical things that happened.
It was a good movie but with a few exceptions nothing really happened. It was just watching someone’s life except for the fact that his started backwards. I could see someone saying that the movie was boring but Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett kept me interested though especially Cate (my weakness is well-documented).
I still can’t believe David Fincher of all people directed this.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, Movie Reviews, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 1 Comment »
December 24, 2008
I feel I should admit this upfront.
I hate Sean Penn.
I used to love him. Casualties of War. Carlito’s Way. The Game.
But then he started Oscar baiting and I find him increasingly annoying. It took me years to finally watch Mystic River despite winning Best Picture.
But he was great here. Amazing even. Probably the second best lead performance I’ve seen all year (The first is Wall-E and I’ll argue with anyone who wants to about that).
This movie shows that no matter how far we think we have come regarding our intolerance we still have a long, long way to go. I wish this had come out a month before the Prop 8 vote. The parallels are eerie.
This was also one of the best supporting casts I’ve seen in a biopic. Usually movies like this are showcases for the leads but Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones (you are officially forgiven for Speed Racer), Josh Brolin as Dan White (I still can’t believe you played Brand Walsh in The Goonies), Diego Luna and James Franco were all amazing.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Harvey Milk, Milk, Movie Reviews, Sean Penn | 3 Comments »
December 12, 2008
In the first 30 minutes, I began to think this movie my have been over-hyped but by the end (and the awesome closing credits), I understood why everyone loved this movie so much.
While I don’t think it’s Best Picture worthy, it’s definitely one of the best movies of the year.
After the movie, I started to reflect on director Danny Boyle. He is easily one of my 10 favorite directors. With the exception of A Life Less Ordinary (which I couldn’t force myself to finish), I’ve really liked or loved every movie he’s directed (even The Beach and Sunshine, even though it turned into Event Horizon at the end).
Also, while there was definitely some disturbing violence, how did this movie get an R rating when The Dark Knight got a PG-13?
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Danny Boyle, Movie Reviews, Slumdog Millionaire | 2 Comments »
December 9, 2008
I don’t get all the hate for this movie. I laughed a lot.
Was it the anti-family sentiment that wasn’t as apologetic at the end of people might have wanted it to be?
Who knows? All I know is Vince Vaughn is funny and he made me laugh.
Mission accomplished
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Four Christmases, Movie Reviews, Vince Vaughn | 1 Comment »
December 1, 2008
First of all, let me say this. If any of my friends have a wedding even 1/4 as pretentious as this one, I will not attend. Seriously!
Anyway, the movie was great and so was Anne Hathaway who has officially shed The Princess Diaries.
I hope with all the award talk surrounding Hathaway that Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel) doesn’t get ignored as she was just as good, if not better.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged Movie Reviews, Rachel Getting Married | No Comments »
November 26, 2008
This seemed more like a Bourne movie than a Bond movie. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing but it does take away from the Bond mystique.
All the action setpieces were nice but they were all something we’ve seen before.
In Casino Royale, it felt like Bond was evolving to the cool, controlled Bond we’d come to expect but in Quantum, he seems to devolve into the thug he started out as.
The villains weren’t that interesting either. Still Daniel Craig and Dame Judi Dench are still great and I still think the franchise is going in the right direction.
Also, that Jack White/Alicia Keys song is not only the worst Bond theme song I ever heard but it definitely was one of the worst songs I can remember being forced to listen to from start to finish. The opening credits couldn’t end fast enough.
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies | Tagged James Bond, Movie Reviews, Quantum of Solace | No Comments »
