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Did I see everything? No, I didn’t. I started reviewing full-time in May 2008 and even then time and budget constraints precluded me from seeing everything I wanted to. I had a good run, though. I managed to see one hundred films in seven months. Several movie reviews were written but never published on the site as trial runs more than anything. A few have been posted, but most haven’t. As such, this is a relatively complete list with almost all of the Oscar contenders reviewed along with most of the summer stuff, fall, and Christmas stuff. I hope to review two hundred movies in 2009, but we’ll see how things go. I had fun in my inaugural year, even when I sat though a lot, and I mean a LOT of crap. So sit back and enjoy. Links for the full reviews will be posted my top 10 except for
Funny Games, which does not have a full review. The review I wrote in March was only about 250 words because it was part of a trio of movie reviews for the school paper.
Movies about corporate corruption and sex scandals are a dime a dozen these days, which is probably why no one goes to see them anymore. How many more do we really need? I guess it’s the best the real filmmakers can do to compete with brain-dead teenagers. That aside,
State of Play (based on a BBC miniseries) is a delight to watch even if the ground it traverses has been beaten into the ground over and over and over again. Director Kevin MacDonald has little trouble handling this A-list cast and the story, which was co-written by
Duplicity writer-director Tony Gilroy, has some sharp dialogue and acerbic wit for the actors to feast on.
Political scandals are nothing new. The idea that Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) would be having an affair with a younger woman is old hat. What is more intriguing is that she is apparently murdered on the subway track. There’s also another separate incident that unfolds as an apparent drug deal gone bad to the cops. Like classic film noir, the two strands come together early on and...
If nothing,
Crank: High Voltage deserves credit for attempting just about anything to keep the audience engaged and riveted. Thankfully, the movie is 85 minutes long and many of the stunts that writer/directors Neveldine/Taylor pull actually work to some degree or another. Some don’t, but the hits outweigh the misses and they create an engaging experience that probably would have worked better had it been shorter and had there been an actual story somewhere in this film instead of being an afterthought. Think of
Crank 2 as some kind of bizarre experiment that doesn’t quite work, but doesn’t quite flop, either.
Having Jason Statham as your lead is certainly an asset. He doesn’t act, per se, but he does bring the right attitude and he has a strange charm to him. This character isn’t far removed from the character he plays in
The Transporter flicks. The difference is Chev Chelios gets the hell beaten out of him and he does things he would never do in
The Transporter flicks. Well, maybe he would, if he were desperate. And...
Here’s a quick disclaimer. I am probably the wrong person to review this movie. I have never watched/seen/read or had any actual interaction with the popular manga and anime show that became a cult favorite in the U.S. in the 1990’s and even today, on some level. I have never been a fan of anime and, as such, tended to favor American shows like
Family Guy,
South Park, and
The Simpsons when it came to animation. So, with that kind of disadvantage set, I was probably doomed from the start when it came to the live-action
Dragonball Evolution, which plays like a very cheesy and poorly-made origin story that has a lot of inspiration from
Star Wars to
Lord of the Rings and so on. The influences notwithstanding, the movie itself has little weight because the characters aren’t revealed as anything beyond stock types and the movie itself seems nothing more than a vehicle designed to hit the broad appeals of the fan base (whether or not they succeed is a matter for the fans to decide).
Fair or not,
Observe and Report is going to be compared to
Paul Blart. The comparisons aren’t necessarily unfair because the two movies were released about three months apart and their main characters are security guards who are insecure and unsure of themselves. Whereas
Blart tended to be a lighthearted romp with a nice
Die Hard homage for the second half,
Observe and Report is a lot like
Taxi Driver with a character driven by his insecurities and delusions to a near psychotic pitch. At least, that’s what the movie would like to be if we didn’t have such a personality disorder. The movie wants to be a dark comedy, a social commentary, and a farce at the same time. The three do not mix and writer-director Jody Hill loses any real identity for the film. The movie aspires to all three identities but never seems to reach out and pick one or a working combination. Instead we’re left with a muddled, unsatisfying mess.
That’s a shame because Seth Rogen is ideal for the...
It’s never a good sign when you see a movie and then thirty minutes later you can barely remember what it was about. That’s the way I felt seeing
Fast and Furious. It was, for me, a very passive viewing experience that left me deaf more because of the experience. Awed or emotional? Not really, but that’s not surprising. I liked the first film because it had some edge. This movie has no edge. Director Justin Lin keeps everything on autopilot aside from an impressive opening sequence and some decent car chases.
You’d think it’d be otherwise with Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, and Paul Walker returning to reprise their roles. You’d think so, but then you’d be wrong. While getting the original quartet back is nice, they need some kind of story to work with. The original didn’t have much originality, but at least the characters tried to be interesting. Here, we’re just retreading old, worn ground and never getting anything too deep or too emotional. Heaven forbid a teen-ager should actually feel something besides vicariousness. Brian (Walker) and Dom (Diesel) have...
Be still, my heart… there’s actually a movie out there that is both funny and insightful.
Adventureland, which was made by Greg Mottola (
Superbad) delivers a movie that has an acerbic wit to go with some very quirky and engaging characters that you could only find at a dead-end job like a theme park. I’ve never worked in a theme park, I’m happy to say, but I’ve seen some of the people who work there and I’ve seen similar types at other jobs I’ve worked at over the years. They aren’t quite as lively as the people who work here, but the diverse backgrounds and the diverse characters you meet is quite accurate. Not sure if you’ll ever meet Ryan Reynolds, but that’s probably irrelevant. What is relevant are the characters and the situations that writer-director Greg Mottola puts them in. Though the movie bounces around too many storylines, many of them are on the money and leave a lasting impact after the film has ended, which is a rarity in today’s pop bullshit world.
It’s an interesting decision on Mottola’s part...
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Moive souvenirs
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Donnie Darko sequel
Posted by: CtcMyBreathe on Thu, 07 May 2009
I’m disappointed S. Darko is not a theatrical release, but still excited there is a sequel. I’m also happy Richard Kelly is not part of this new film. Seems like he got lucky with the original movie thanks to the editors (proven by watching Donny Darko director’s cut). The trailer does look pretty sweet! Looking forward to it…
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Babylon A.D.
Posted by: SEENOEVIL on Mon, 26 May 2008
TrailerQUOTE ("24framespersecond.com")‘Babylon A.D.’ is a futuristic tale about the ramifications of genetic experimentation. In a constantly changing world conflict, circa 2013, violent yet well-read Hugo Toorop (Diesel), a 20-year veteran of the Bosnian conflict, is offered a well payed new job by the Siberian mafia in Kazakhstan to transport a young girl named Marie to Montreal. But who is Marie, and what does she carry with her, that is so secret?Likes interesting enough. Could onl ...
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Star Trek
Posted by: kevinator815 on Tue, 05 May 2009
Hey Guys,I can't wait to see Star Trek this week... I know it's going to be awesome.... I’m a BIG Trekkie and love the series ! I totally can’t wait for this movie ! I’m excited ! I know there are some trekkies here ! BTW, I just got this cool new ringtone and all I did was have to Text TREKKIE to 30303 to receive the Star Trek: Next Generation Theme who loves this theme as much as I do ? anybody catching the movie ?
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STAR TREK: TREKKIE
Posted by: kevinator815 on Tue, 05 May 2009
Hey Guys,I can't wait to see Star Trek this week... I know it's going to be awesome.... I’m a BIG Trekkie and love the series ! I totally can’t wait for this movie ! I’m excited ! I know there are some trekkies here ! BTW, I just got this cool new ringtone and all I did was have to Text TREKKIE to 30303 to receive the Star Trek: Next Generation Theme who loves this theme as much as I do ? anybody watching the movie ??
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Tickets on Sale for 10th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival (April 23
Posted by: newport on Fri, 17 Apr 2009
The 10th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival will kick off its eight-day run with the Opening Night screening of Lymelife on April 23 and close with the West Coast premiere of (500) Days of Summer on April 30. Following the red carpet screening of Lymelife, the Festival will host a grandiose Opening Night Gala at the Bloomingdale’s Courtyard in Fashion Island with culinary creations from over 20 Newport Beach area restaurants, a fashion show presented by Bloomingdale’s and Fashion Island and a sp ...
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Jennifer, Brad and Angie
Posted by: Hot Springs Turtle on Fri, 28 Nov 2008
What exactly is going on with these three? I know some big row is breaking out, abnd I know Jen was originally with Brad and Angie stole him, but that's it. But I'm seeing them in the papers insulting each other and I'm thinking what the dilly-o?Prematurely siding with Jen, whatever it's about, cos I like her best.
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Call for entries - Short film contests
Posted by: ina on Mon, 16 Feb 2009
DO YOU WANT TO BE A BIG STAR?Here´s what you have to do, chose a category of the ones below and submit your 3 to 15-minute short to BigStar.TV´s monthly short film contests and compete with other users to win $1,000.Open Contest. No specific level of expertise to enter!Comedy Short, Submit by March 20, 2009Student Film Short, Submit by March 31, 2009High Definition Short, Submit by April 15, 2009Animation short, Submit by April 30, 2009For official contest rules & entry information ...
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Song help
Posted by: Mihai1921 on Mon, 02 Feb 2009
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FINAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR NBFF- JAN 30
Posted by: newport on Tue, 20 Jan 2009
The final submission deadline for the tenth annual Newport Beach Film Festival is January 30, 2009. Be part of an amazing line-up of films – Don’t miss the opportunity to meet other filmmakers, industry professionals and distributors. Entry Fees are:Feature length: $75Short: $60 Youth: $25Festival dates are April 23-30, 2009Check out some of the highlights from previous years at the Festival:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2iPH8M3ZuwFor more information and to submit to the Festiv ...
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The Darjeeling Limited
Posted by: Daytrip on Tue, 08 Apr 2008
First off as far as the DVD is concerned I was a bit disappointed. There wasn't much in the way of special features. Only a short featurette.The premise is pretty simple, a man has a near death experience and invites his two distant brothers along for a vacation to bond and get back in touch with one another.I should let you know up front that I'm a huge Wes Anderson fan. I had heard a lot of negative things about this movie going in but I found the film to bet quite good. It was typical ...