Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps I loved the original, a classic movie that everyone should see. This sequel portrays none of the grit and greed of Wall Street. Should have been called Shia Lebouf: Destroyer of Franchises. There are a couple nice cameos of some of the cast from the original though. 4/10
Machete - Hell, I thought this was a pretty fun movie. The problem with these movies though is that they are best watched when you are 13 and trying to wait up for the Shannon Tweed movie late night Cinemax. There is a good deal of nudity, I have to hand it to Lindsey Lohan. She might be a coke head and a suck of a human being, but she has some pert melons on display in this film. Trejo was the best since his character had the best lines/story, and he pulled it off perfectly. Deniro's campaign advisor was probably the best villain. I really hate Hollywood imposing political views on movies but come on, the exploitation flicks certainly get a pass. So It was hard for me to really hate on this film for that. I only major gripe is that I am really not digging this new digitalized gore they use. I never really cared for "splatter" type films but at least they worked hard on the craft of producing half decent gore effects. The dark digital blood just feels shoddy, and not in the grindhouse meaning of the word.
I don't think this movie was about pushing some defunct political agenda. While that's what I walked in expecting, Machete did a good job poking fun at both sides. All of the exaggerations about the plight of the Mexicans in the movie were meant to be just that - exaggerations like we hear them spewing on CNN every day. This was a straight comedy, it just happens to center on the maelstrom in Arizona because it's funny. Alba was downright awful, but at this point that's about all anyone can expect.
The Social Network Also known as the Wall Street for the internet age. Great performances all around, and Sorkin's writing is some of the best I've seen (heard?) all year. And if this movie is the new Wall Street then it would appear that Sean Parker (founder of Napster, played by Justin Timberlake) is the new Gordon Gekko.
This movie has been getting glowing reviews. I am curious if Timberlake is as good as they are saying? Is it as tight and compelling as Fight Club or Se7en?
Timberlake was great. Like I said, his character represents the new breed of Gordon Gekkos. I thought it was very compelling, Sorkin's dialogue is mostly to thank for that.
The Social Network Really surprised by how much I liked this. The script was tight, the pacing was quick, and I wasn't bored at all. The film has a 2 hour run time, but it didn't feel that long in any way. Their were some stand out performances, and Zuckerburg's friend, played by Andrew Garfield? *not totally sure if that was the actor's name* was outstanding. The plot touched on a lot of issues, and it pains me to hear people say "It's just a movie about Facebook". Couldn't be further from the truth. Go see it. A
The Social Network I will ignore the stupid "I row crew" comments, I get that is for all the people who have no idea what rowing is and wouldn't understand if they just said "rowing". In fact, I rowed in the movie and got a chance to tell the director himself that we didn't say that. But that's besides the point. The movie is solid, cutting back and forth from the suits to the making of the site paints a very good picture of characters and moves the plot nicely. Not sure if it is as amazing as a lot of the reviews are making it out to be, but for sure worth seeing. 7.5/10 RED Just saw it, really liked it. The cuts at points were a little fast and at points I was left to wonder if I was actually supposed to read what was on the screen until they explained most everything in dialogue or actions. This is one of the few comic based movies that I have really enjoyed in a while, as most of them have just not kept me entertained. The acting is superb by the entire cast, and I love Malkovich as a crazy guy with a gun. 9/10
In the past month I have seen a few movies in theatres: Devil: Now I admit, the previews mad me want to see this film and I give credit to the people who made the trailer for this film because this movie sucked. I wanted a plot that was somewhat believable and I was horribly dissapointed. I also thought the movie would be somewhat mysterious, and I was dissapointed once again. Overall I would not recommend this film unless you are retarded or a few moments of boredom away from killing yourself. 37/100 The Town I do not hate on Ben Affleck like most people (I didi not mind Daredevil), but I did not like this film as much as I expected to. Now Ben Affleck did not dissapoint but the plot left something to be desired. Not a bad movie, but not as good as everyone is saying. It is also quite long. 73/100
98% of the time when I pay to see a movie in the theatre I walk out dissapointed I spent that much on utter garbage. Howver with Jackass 3d that was not the case. It cost me $14 to watch, and I probably would have paid every bit of $30. I left with a natural high from laughing so much; I was sober and still laughed once every 10 seconds. I also almost puked 3 times. And at the end I wanted an AIDS test from all of the full frontal nudity I had seen (I guess this is a negative). This was the first movie I have ever seen that was actually enhanced by the adition to 3d. I jumped out of my seat after almost being hit by numerous dildos, fecal matter and several animals. All stunts were shown in slow motion, so you could actually see how much it hurt to perform some of these stunts. It was so disgusting 10 people left within the first ahlf hour. Those that were left gave it a standing ovation. This movie took me back to when I was 14 and watched the original show. Very nostalgic. 8/10 - I would give it more, but I have a feeling on the second viewing it won't be nearly as exciting. Keep in mind this is a very high review because at the tender age of 26, I still enjoy seeing people get hit in the junk and poop jokes. If you do not enjoy these things, do not see this movie. Also make sure you stay through the credits. They show some really cool videos of when everyone met for the first time.
Jackass 3 If you weren't a fan of the MTV series or the previous movies don't watch this one because nothing has changed. That is a good thing for me. The movie is 100% hilarious, easily matching or surpassing everything from the previous. I literally had crusty tears on my cheeks from laughing so hard and so long. I also nearly puked two different times. The 3d effects were great although I have never saw another 3d flick to compare it to. I also felt that this time around the planning and timing that went into some of the stunts were really noticeable. The worst I can say is I wish there were more stunts done out in the public with unsuspecting people but I guess given the popularity of the show it would be a hard thing to pull off frequently.
I saw RED the other day. I went in not sure what to expect and was quite grumpy considering I had to sit through 2 hours of training before they started the movie (Was a training sponsored by the vendor, with a movie afterwards). My negative nancy attitude disappeared pretty quickly though, the movie started out pretty quick with the action. The great thing was it just didn't stop, it was a really fast paced movie with funny and action mixed throughout. John Malcovich was hilarious and I for sure didn't expect that from him. By the end it got pretty predictable but honestly I could care less it really didn't mess with my enjoyment of the movie. Overall I would give it a 8/10, pretty solid.
Went to see the new Basquiat documentary/unreleased footage. I'd say for anyone who's seriously into the man or his artwork, Basquiat: The Radiant Child is not going to shed any light on him for you. However, I recently watched the 1996 film Basquiat and have only a passing interest in modern art, so I enjoyed the hell out of it. The director - Tamra Davis - supposedly based the movie on some footage she had left over from an interview with him a year or two before his death. The actual footage wasn't that great, but they had a nice variety of people from early/late in his career and from different social circles who interviewed. Some had interesting insights. The coolest part for me about this movie was realizing how much the actor from the 1996 film (Jeffrey Wright) absolutely nailed the mannerisms and demeanor of Basquiat in real life. It is haunting. Anyway. I go to the movies about once every three months, but I felt this was worth the price of admission.
I don't go to theaters much these days, and it's been years since I watched two in a row there... The Town Follows a group of bank robbers from Charlestown, an area of Boston, as they commit heist after heist. It's a classic case of an average premise and script elevated by excellent humor, strong acting performances, and a little bit more attention to the details. In particular, Jeremy Renner and Jon Hamm were both outstanding. Also, the presentation of the scenes and dialogue was awesome; Ben Affleck is no joke as a director. Taken together, these elements make the "same old" robberies and character interactions fresh and exciting, even if the ideas behind them are nothing new. In fact, I was all ready to call the film "great"...until they fucked it up. The ending was absolutely horrible. Spoiler A grim story like that can only have one possible ending...with the main character dying. In fact, the fairy tale escape, gold-hearted gift of the money, and lovey-dovey feel is even more ridiculous when contrasted with the brutal killings the audience witnessed at the final heist. They seem like they were practically pulled from a different picture altogether! Anyways, it's still a good picture that's worth checking out. 72/100 Red- An action comedy which understands its fucking role as such; it never gets too serious, and always cracks a joke right when the melodrama appears to be building. Yes, it suffers from some predictable scenes and encounters, but the humor is solid throughout, the pace is perfect, and most importantly, it's understated. It doesn't try to be outrageous, or present its characters as overly macho badasses. John Malkovich is the comedy highlight, and it's great to see that Ernest Borgnine is not only alive, but reasonably healthy, too. It's a fun, silly little picture, without any real source for annoyance. 70/100
I just suffered through HereAfter and left feeling like Clint Eastwood owed me $22. It was one of the worst movies I have seen in a very long time. -Matt Damon is a psychic who no longer wants to do readings - A french lady almost dies and writes a book about it, encounters skeptics and triumphs -an annoying English kid loses his brother and has trouble getting over it. That was the film in a nutshell and it was long drawn out and unbearably boring. I can't think of any real conflict or plot to the movie, it was terrible. With the exception of a 8 minuet scene of a tsunami in the beginning and the french girl having a scene in a tub and bra and panties nothing was worth watching or mentioning. Save your money do not buy or rent, if you really want to see it wait for cable. 2/10
I also caught Red this past weekend and I agree with the general sentiment that this is a fun, funny action movie that takes nothing seriously and has an awesome cast. Helen Mirron. Formal evening wear. 50 Calibur machine gun turret. You do the math. Another movie I have to put on people's radar, even though it is straight to DVD, is Undisputed 3:Redemption. Yes, this is the sequel to the sequel to the prison boxing movie, except the sequels are in Russian prison and its MMA. The second one is also awesome, with Michael Jae White taking over as George "Iceman" Chambers and just being a badass for an hour and a half, but the real star of the show is Scott Adkins, who plays the villain in the second movie and the hero of the third. I'll tell you what, this guy has the moves. He can box, kickbox, do the Guile from Street Fighter Flash Kick, does retarded aerial moves and even grapples convincingly. The story line is irrelevant: Biggest, baddest fighters from prisons around the world duke it out, but of course the mob is involved so its not fair, etc etc. But damn, the fight scenes are GOOD. Both movies are worth a look but the third, in my opinion, has much better fight scenes, but admittedly worse plot and set up. There is just something in my DNA that responds to cheesy, brutal action/fighting movies and on that count, this one delivers.
Jackass 3 If you have seen the previous two and enjoyed them you will like this film. Despite paying a staggering $14.50 because it's 3-D, it is worth every cent. It makes you laugh, grosses you out and delivers on all fronts of the jackass spectrum. It is also the best 3-D film I have ever seen. (Of course I'm comparing it to the red and blue headache glasses) The 3-D was phenomenal, shit was flying right in your face. As usual you get a little tired of it towards the end (Knoxville's old man bit has got to go) but it starts out so funny that your cheeks hurt by the end. 6/10
Four Lions A dark comedy about a group of bumbling idiot cum terrorists in England. The acting is way better than it needs to be with a comedy movie, its really good. The humor ranges from very dark to more mainstream one liners. I howled at this movie, but I'm not sure other people will laugh at what got me. Very ballsy writing especially being a UK film. Highly recommend it - available in some theaters across the country.
Bit of a borderline inclusion as a "movie", since it's a made for television documentary, but it was very good; Once Brothers (2010) Narrated by Vlade Divac, it's the story of the Yugoslavian national basketball team in the late 80s, early 90s, who won the world championship and featured numerous NBA stars around the same age, including Divac, Toni Kukoc, Dino Radja, and Drazen Petrovic. They were all very close, like brothers. However, when the Yugoslav Civil War began, their friendship ruptured, as Divac was a Serb, and the other were Croatian. Anyways, it's probably the best basketball documentary ever, even surpassing "Hoop Dreams". Does a great job presenting various emotions, whether it's the youthful camaraderie among the Yugoslavian national team, amazement at Petrovic's play, the tragedy of the civil war, the grief and sadness of lost friendships, and in the end, Petrovic's untimely death. It does an equally good job at connecting basketball to recent European history and politics, showing how it affects even those indirectly involved. An absolute must watch if you're a fan of basketball. 74/100
Due Date. Meh. It was a decent date movie and RDJ is fun to watch in just about anything. Zach Galifuckthisguyslastname does an excellent portrayal of a gay, Southern moron who wants to be an actor. Funny parts not in the trailer include Danny McBride as an Iraq war vet, and a pretty decent source of one-liners. This was done by the same guy who did the Hangover and he didn't stray far from the formula. It was not as funny as Jackass 3d, but not a bad movie. Centurion: The story of the lost 9th legion. This was done by Neil Marshall and probably done on the cheap; this movie feels like 300 lite. The good: this movie is just simply fun to watch. The scenery is gorgeous at every step, the story-while not historically accurate-is still a legend and it never really lets up. Dominic West as a Roman general was pretty fun to watch. The bad: God, the dialog in this was so macho the script probably had a beard. All in all, this is a short, relentless sword fest that doesn't break any stereotypes about these movies, but is still worth watching.