Recent Movie Tally (Mini-Written Reviews)
Recent Movie Tally (Mini-Written Reviews)
9.5/10
Still not completely decided on the rating for this considering a full 24 hours haven't even passed since I completed it, but I definitly know for sure that I was engrossed by the whole world that Kurt Wimmer had created via writing and directing. The ideas pushed by the movie are very intriguing and while they aren't completly mind turning, they aren't wooden-simple either. It's a post World War III society, where those who barely survived now must take daily drugs to dull their feelings for the leaders of the city feel that human emotions cause war. It's unfortunate, this movie was really underappreciated upon release in 2002, but has definitly gained a cult following over the years. Bale's performance is brilliant, and the fights in this movie are some of the best I've seen in movies. Definitly worth seeing for Bale's performance, the interesting premise, and the unbelieveable fight scenes.
9.5/10
21 Grams is director Alejandro González Iñárritu's Americanized version of his eariler film Amores Perros which garnered international critical and fan praise. He is without a doubt a filmaker of many talents, the gritty style the film is shot in brings us in and absorbs us into the lives of the 3 characters brilliant acted by Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, three characters connected via strange twists of fate. The thing about 21 Grams is that it's almost like Tarantino storytelling on crack, instead of going 1, 2, 3, 4...we are taken through a whirlwind as the story is told for example in a style of 11, 15, 3, 18, 1, 4, 9...you get the point? It's impossible not to be curious as to the outcomes of the charcters as pieces of the puzzle continue to fall into place. Great acting, directing, and camera work make 21 Grams a delicious piece of cinema.
10/10
A Clockwork Orange is widely considered Stanley Kubrick's masterwork, and while I have yet to finish his film library, it is easy to see that a Clockwork Orange is a great movie not just as an interesting premise on paper but as an extremely well executed study of crime, human nature, among other things. The film's groovy camera work, and interesting language keep us glued into this world that Kubrick has created, a time in the not-so-far future. The movies narraration really stuck out to me, along with Malcolm McDowell's unforgettable perfomance as Alex. It's hard to talk about A Clockwork Orange because it isn't an easy movie to describe. So it's safe to say that A Clockwork Orange delievers on it's hype.
9.5/10
How you like dem apples? Well, I like them quite a bit. Good Will Hunting is the story of Will Hunting, unforgettably played by Matt Damon, a genius but extremely troubled young man who has tremendous potential but is on the very wrong track. Working as a janitor at MIT he is noticed by a prestigious award winning Math professor who feels it is his duty to help Will put his extremely valuable brain to use. In comes Robin Williams, psychiatrist who must break through with Will in order to exert his potential and help him to get on the right track. But this movie is really much more than that. Good Will Hunting is famous for having won the "Best Screenplay" Oscar in 1997, the screenplay being written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, real life friends who both star in this movie. The Oscar was well deserved, the writing in Good Will Hunting is top-notch writing and Gus Van Sant makes good use of the camera for the dialogue and scenery around Boston, and when all these elements are combined, including Robin William's in his best role, you get a truly great movie experience.
10/10
Paul Thomas Anderon has made himself widely praised for his short but astonshing body of directing of writing work which includes Magnolia, Boogie Nights, and this 2002 film Punch-Drunk Love a.k.a. that movie where Adam Sandler got serious. Sandler plays Barry Egan, a guy who works with cars, has seven sisters who seem to constantly torture him so he avoids them at all costs, and let's just say he's not much of a social guy. Needless to say, he finds a love intrest and from there the movie takes off. There is definitly a lot more behind the simple plot description I have given in Punch-Drunk Love, but it's hard to talk about it without giving away too much. As said this is the movie where Adam Sandler got serious, and he does in fact, get very serious. Honestly, I am amazed Sandler wasn't granted an Oscar nomination for his brilliant portrayl of Barry Egan, the extremly unsocial, lonely and vulnerable small bussiness owner. You truly feel what Barry Egan is feeling and that's why Sandler was so great in this role, you feel as if you are along right next to him for this ride through this strange trip he's going on because of love, and a mistake phone call. Beautiful all around, sprinkled with great writing and simplistic directing, Punch-Drunk Love is a very good way to spend 90 minutes.
8.5/10
Ah, Tom Cruise pre-scientology psychoticness. And it truly is a great time. Cruise proves his acting chops (as if he hadn't already) throughout this dramedy of a movie, about a sports agent who has a sudden moral epiphany and is fired for voicing it. When he is fired he loses all his sports clients, and is left with one worker (Renée Zellweger) who deicdes to tag along and his lone client Rod Tidwell played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in an Oscar winning role (Best Supporting Actor). The movie is defintly a heartwarming tale of ups and downs, but probably is a little overpraised in some circles. Crowe's writing is very balanced but some of it is a little cheesy, but the good definitly outweighs the bad. Overall I feel this movie would have benefieted from a trip to the cutting room, as it runs a little too long at nearly 140 minutes, but for a nice, easy, watch on a rainy night, Jerry Maguire is pretty good.
10/10
As Jake LaMotta would say: "OH!" Raging Bull is Martin Scorsese's black and white masterpiece, a true story about the life and times of boxer Jake LaMotta. A man so talented in the ring, but a man who was desperately searching for any kind of human core within himself as he is plagued by jealousy, along with uncontrollable violence and rage. This is the only role DeNiro has won the "Best Actor" Oscar for, and boy did he ever deserve it. Across the board, DeNiro portray's Jake LaMotta, the monster of a man so well that you almost feel as if you are watching real videos of someone and not just a movie. Paul Schrader, who also penned Taxi Driver for Scorsese is once again a god of the pen, working in perfect lines of verbal violence and raw human emotion. Worth mentioning are the fighting scenes, filmed flawlessly by Scorsese, and though filmed in black and white, and all the way back in 1980, still hold up in unrelentless brutality to this very day. Raging Bull is widely considered to be the best movie of the 80's, as well as DeNiro's best performance. And it's directed by Martin Scorsese. If you haven't seen it yet, this was my second time, what are you waiting for?
9/10
My god! That is one skinny Christian Bale! The Machinist is a movie that went quietly in 2004, gaining both critical and movie fan likeness, and spreading many words of shock for the image's of Christian Bale in the film. Dropping from 180 to around 120, Bale lost 63 pounds for the role! Bale plays a chracter by the name of Trevor Reznik, a lonely factory worker who's banging a hooker with a heart of gold and seemingly is living a normal straight life except for one fact: he hasn't slept in a year. The Machinist is a movie about the odyssey of Trevor Reznik played in haunting fashion by Christian Bale as we are taken through this world of mystery and confusion that is plaguing his life. He is constantly being giving clues around his apartment...but by who? And what do they mean? It is near impossible not to be curious as to the mystery of the Machinist, but in the end in the twist is a little underwhelming, but still executed well enough that you won't be that dissapointed. The Machinist is an excellent little movie.
9.5/10
Another Kubrick movie on this little recent movie list of mine, and another great film. Watching The Shining at 3 in the morning in my pitch black room was truly a terrifying experience and one that was unlike any other that I have had with a horror film. This film turned the screws so well, and the slow yet steady build up of insanity that the hotel evokes is so mind bending that it is impossible not to have this movie grabbing at your every nerve. Through brilliant camera work, and a haunting score that is truly unlike any other the movie does everything it can to get into your head and stay there from it's slow and steady beggining, through its haunting middle, and all the way to the nail biting end. This movie truly had me for every second it was playing, and that's really all I can ask for, though an impausible plot hole has left me very upset with the film and has restricted me from giving it the perfect 10/10 rating I'd like to...because honestly, it is the scariest movie I have ever seen.