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Reviews
Funny People (2009)
A Pretty Solid Dramedy with a stand out performance from Sandler
Those, like me, who have been graced with the hilarity of Apatow productions such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Superbad and Knocked Up, will most likely feel a little disappointed while leaving a showing of Funny People. Essentially it's about an extremely successful 40 something comedian named George Simmons (Adam Sandler) who has just been diagnosed with a rare blood disease that will eventually kill him. He reaches out to a young and up-coming comedian named Ira Wright(Seth Rogen)to be his personal assistant and write material for him. Gradually a friendship begins to develop between the two and Ira convinces him to open the news of his illness to his family and "sort of" friends. But just as Sandler accepts his fate, he learns that the experimental medication he took to oppose the illness actually worked. So now, after having his near death experience, he begins to rethink his life and reaches out to his old girlfriend, now married with children. All in all the film was solid, funny, but not hysterical. Moderately Touching but its by no means going to bring you to tears. There are several problems with the film, most importantly, There were just too few laughs, especially for an Apatow film, I literally saw the film 2 hours ago and I can remember like just two stand out lines that made me laugh hard, where Superbad and Knocked Up had too many laughs to count. The more dramatic material could have saved it but honestly If you already saw the full theatrical trailer, you already know whats going to happen. So that element of surprise is entirely taken away. So what saves the film? Adam Sandler. His down to earth performance was refreshing and believable. He really shows that he can be a great actor if you give him the opportunity for further proof see Punch-Drunk Love. He out shined Rogen who I love and also gave a good performance. But nonetheless I was disappointed, if Apatow wanted to do a Comedy with a little Drama (ala Knocked Up) that would be fine. If he wanted to do a Drama with a little comedy that would be fine as well. But what you get with Funny People is really a 50/50 of both genres that entirely contradict themselves. Making a somewhat confused experience and film that can't decide what it wants to be. Still, Its overall a pretty solid effort and is boosted by some good performances especially from Sandler and a few good laughs. A mild recommendation in my book.
Observe and Report (2009)
Pure Great Dark Comedy.
I can easily understand why many people were turned off by this film, Its easily one of the darkest comedies i've ever seen. There is some brutal violence, use of heroin and even essentially a date rape. But perhaps the darkest element of the story is Ronnie (Seth Rogen). The character is so twisted but fear not people this movie IS funny and sometimes extremely. If you have seen Jody Hill's other works, The Foot Fist Way and Eastbound and Down, and think they're funny then I can almost assure this humor will be right up your alley. But for those who are not fans of dark comedy you may hate it, it all depends on your taste. While it may lack originality in its plot it also has a side of Seth Rogen we haven't seen before, a more deep, layered character, that shows he may have the ability to do more dramatic work. I gave the film a 7 out of 10 because of Seth Rogen's performance with a few noteworthy comedic shines from Anna Faris but most of all for the intelligent and hilarious dark humor the film contains. On the con side however the plot was very similar to Paul Blart.
Quarantine (2008)
A severely clichéd, yet guilty pleasure of a film
Well think of a less shaky cam Cloverfield with a 28 days later kind of infection with a Blair Witch conclusion. Yes, Quarantine is utterly unoriginal however does provide some cheap entertainment to fans of the horror genre. So the basic synopsis is this, a reporter and her cameraman pay a visit to the Los Angeles fire department to do a news story. This first quarter of the film is similar in form to Cloverfield and Blair Witch as it is more upbeat and provides menial conversations and dialogue that has nothing to do with what's to come. Suddenly a call comes in for medical attention at an apartment complex in the area. As soon as the Firefighters and News pair arrive we see the distressed residents of the complex complaining about a loud scream heard from an older, reclusive woman's room. The two police officers, firefighters and news team investigate to see the woman growling and drooling with blood on her dress (think of one of the infected from 28 days later). She attacks one of the police officers and soon another firefighter. After that the people soon realize that they have been quarantined in the complex and little by little are attacked and infected. I won't spoil any more but the last 30 minutes are easily the movies best because the tension is kept up throughout and Jennifer Carpenter (the lead actress) has a believable tensity to her. Finally despite it's number of clichés, almost shamelessly so in its ending. It is literally almost the same thing as Blair Witch. The film is still entertaining if you can at least partially ignore the similarities between the mentioned films
Daredevil (2003)
Good but flawed superhero movie
This is a review of the directors cut. I was 9 years old when i first saw this movie with my dad and of course I thought it was awesome. Now nearly 6 years later i decided to pick this up on Blu-ray. I hadn't seen the director's cut version until just now and simply put it is a great improvement over the theatrical version. It is darker and grittier thanks to a whole scenario involving a murder of a prostitute and the trial following that Matt Murdock decides to join in on. The romance between Affleck and Garner has been less emphasized to put more emphasis on Daredevil's crime fighting in Hells Kitchen.
Pros: A interesting superhero film set in realism, Jon Favreau's comic relief, More depth to characters and story thanks to Director's cut and a pitch perfect origin to Matt Murdock becoming Daredevil that is faithful to the comics Cons: Colin Farell's overacting as Bullseye, A few cringe worthy lines here and there, Ben Affleck wasn't the right choice but does what he can with the role
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Truly Extraordinary
I cried. The Curious Case of Ben Button surpassed my expectations and has become my favorite film of the year (yes, better then The Dark Knight). The main reason this movie is so great is it moved me, a feat that very few movies have done to me in the past.Beware Major Spoilers Ahead. It was just so bittersweet to see in the final scenes of the movie as Ben is a small child and Cate Blanchett walks with him and cradles him as a baby when he finally passes.Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett's performances are undoubtedly Oscar worthy, their chemistry is perfect. The story is a true epic, i never touched my cell phone once throughout the entire 160 min runtime because it was just so compelling, master storytelling. Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt's brief romance was also believable and was a wise addition to the film. Each sequence in the film is interesting enough for its own film. The affair between Tilda and Brad, The times on the ship, The tortured soul of Bens father after abandoning his son etc. There is something for everyone in this film, so instead of seeing the hacky Marley and Me or Bedtime Stories, See this its beautiful.
RocknRolla (2008)
Interesting film, good performances just a bit too cliché and stylistic
Well this is a pretty good gangster flick with some good performances especially from Tom Wilkinson and Toby Kebbell. This film is just a little too full of itself, overly stylized is one way to put it. Like it gets a bit annoying to a point in a scene where One, Two and Stella are having a conversation at a restaurant and every 5 seconds it flashes back to where One, Two and the wild bunch are stealing a briefcase from two guys while it goes back to him telling Stella about the jacking. This flashes back a forth about 7 times and like I said quite annoying. Random slow motion walks are also incorporated which seems like its been too over used in movies over the years. I know im not the only one who seen similarities between this film and and Pulp Fiction but the most striking thing that I cant believe they didn't leave on the cutting room floor was a scene where the same two men I talked about earlier are about to rape one, two and just in time an entourage of Lenny's men walk in just before the deed is done. But don't get me wrong this is a pretty good movie Toby Kebbell stole the show with his perfect depiction of hardcore drug addict. Fantastic actor Tom Wilkinson is also great in yet another film thanks to his comic wit. Its even pretty damn funny at some moments. This is a good, entertaining film with believable performances that will surely hold your interest through its runtime. 7 out of 10
Into the Wild (2007)
Beatuiful, Outstanding Film One of my Favorites of all Time
This had to be one of the most moving films i've ever seen. How Emile Hirsch has portrayed this fine young man has astounded me and made me eager to see some of his new work. But Emile isn't the extent of the greatness of this film, no, far from it every actor Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, Jena Malone and especially the triumphant return of Hal Holbrook all are at the top of their game and were very believable. I never thought of Sean Penn as a great director especially after seeing in my opinion the lukewarm "The Pledge" but he truly is for this picture. Many people including my father have criticized this film because they believe that Chris was stupid and self centered. But what they don't understand is that Chris simply didn't want to lead a normal, average life he wanted to adventure and enjoy life's beauty. Of course he felt sorrow in the end for dying alone in the wild, but the ending is pitch perfect and made me well up in tears. Anyway this movie has inspired me in many ways, I bought the book a few days after seeing the film in theaters and just today bought the DVD and look forward to seeing it again. 10/10 people this is a must see!
The Happening (2008)
One of the worst movies i've seen in a long time
This film had an interesting plot, humans abuse planet too much, planet fights back by releasing toxins that effect the human nervous system through plants and trees that is carried by the wind, humans inhale toxins begin acting strangely and commit suicide. interesting enough to me plus M. Night Shyamalan and Mark Wahlberg alright so how does it turn out..... Awful.Truth be told there is not one redeeming quality about watching this film. I was literally not entertained once during the 98 min. run time NOT ONCE!!! This was trying to be a serious film, trying to tell us how important it is to save the environment and how we are abusing the planet. I agree that we need to work towards a way to stop polluting the planet to prevent the threat of global warming. But this film has the dumbest characters (weird guy obsessed with hot dogs) oh there's a good idea Shyamalan. Most horrible writing ( Mark and his wife try to run away from wind carrying the toxin ... and get away). The Most terrible acting i've ever seen from Mr. Wahlberg, John Leguizamo and Zooey Deschanel. Just please people don't waste your money on this crap. 1 out of 10 stars
John Leguizamo
Wanted (2008)
Great summer action flick! with Angelina Jolie
Wanted has been out for some weeks now and is winding down in the box office but if u haven't seen it yet u really should. This has to be the most badass movie since Crank came out back in 2006 (which u should also see). It opens up with about eight people getting their heads blown off, sparing no blood. Of course if ur squeamish to blood and violence this is not a PG-13 action flick for sure this shows the violence and in graphic detail. But enough about the violence, this movie truly has a good story and good acting. But the thing that stood out most to me was how well made this film was with the over the top action sequences to the countless times we get the bullets eye view and to the well done twist in the story towards the end. In short this is a great summer action flick that should not be missed.
P.S. to all the guys out there, u even get a quick peek at Angelina Jolie's nude ass
The Dark Knight (2008)
WOW! go see this right now!
This movie is truly excellent and i was also extremely hyped for this film and expected it to be great. But it even surpassed those expectations and delivered on all accounts. First of all everything that people said about heath ledger deserving an Oscar for his portrayal of the joker is completely solid. He really is amazing he has this charisma about him and he'll make you laugh when he's blowing up a hospital literally. His character is so deep and evil you'll forget your watching a batman movie. Secondly, everything else, i don't mean to sound lazy but honestly if i said all thats good about this film i'd be typing for hours. Each performance is great if not excellent, the writing is perfect and touches on issues you'd never expect in a superhero film, great action sequences and even has some small bits of comedy to lighten up this otherwise dark film and i mean that in a good way. If there is one thing i could nitpick it would be that the scarecrow was wasted and unnecessary in this installment. He was a huge threat to batman in the last film but in this one he is taken down like an ordinary thug. But this is only a small gripe and most won't care anyway, just go and see it, NOW!!!!
Iron Man (2008)
Smart Super hero film
Alright! a good superhero movie. Robert Downey Jr. made this film for me with his fantastic delivery of his lines to his portrayal as a regretful billion dollar weapons manufacturer this movie is just all around good if not great. However it must be said that without Downey Jr. this film just wouldn't be very good. All the other performances are somewhat bland, their not awful just not memorable. The movie is thoroughly entertaining and is refreshing to have a superhero that is not just one big action scene after another as a matter of fact the action doesn't even pick up until the last 30 minutes and before that they are few and far between, which may turn some off, not me. anyway this movie is great, definitely check it out
Speed Racer (2008)
Great special effects! Bad movie :(
Well the creators of the matrix have tried their hand at directing something new. However I'm sad to say its not very good. The movies biggest problem is its script, its about as good as a Saturday morning YU-GI-OH! cartoon. And hey i know this film is supposed to be campy but come on. The second problem, this movie is wayyyyy to long for a kids movie, I'm sure kids will start to figit once the movie trys to be smart by bringing up issues of the racing biz and thanks to the awful script it falls flat on its face. I could go on about the movies other problems such as Speed's annoying little bro and his chimp and the bland characters, but this film does have one redeeming quality,the special effects. The movie looks great from the racing scenes to the color palate, the Wachowski's know their special effects. i recommend u wait for the film to come out on DVD and rent it, so u can fast forward through the crappy dialog and watch the races.