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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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Final Call For Entries - 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival
Posted by: newport on Wed, 06 Jan 2010
The 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival will screen over 350 feature length andshort films. The 2010 NBFF will also host red carpet Opening and ClosingNight Gala Celebrations, International Spotlight events, an Action SportsFilm Series, an Environmental Film Series, a Family Film Series, aCollegiate Showcase, a Youth Film Showcase and a free Seminar Series. Comebe a part of the 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival.The FINAL deadline for film submissions to the 11th Annual Newport BeachFilm Festival is ...
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2010 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE APPROACHING!
Posted by: newport on Fri, 11 Dec 2009
Friendly reminder that the regular deadline to submit your film to the Newport Beach Film Festival is DECEMBER 18, 2009.Check out our festival on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch...PH8M3ZuwSubmit directly at Withoutabox: http://www.withoutabox.com/login/1249Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 22-April 29, 2010 www.NewportBeachFilmFest.comFollow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NBFF
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2010 Newport Beach Film Festival announces Call for Entries!
Posted by: newport on Fri, 11 Dec 2009
Celebrating its 11th year, the Newport Beach Film Festival is open for submissions. Take advantage of our Early Bird Deadline and save.The 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world, including feature length narrative, documentary, short, animated and student films that will compete for a series of Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards. The 2010 NBFF will host red carpet Opening and Closing Night Gala Celebrations, International Spotlight events, an ...
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2010 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL THANKSGIVING SPECIAL DEADLINE
Posted by: newport on Mon, 16 Nov 2009
2010 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL THANKSGIVING SPECIAL DEADLINE Submit your film now and save!The deadline is NOVEMBER 20-Features $45Shorts $40 Submit on the web with Withoutabox.com and receive a discount! You can find the NBFF submissions link to withoutabox at www.NewportBeachFilmFest.comFor more updates and news on special events follow us on Twitter! twitter.com/nbff2010 Newport Beach Film Festival April 22-29th, 2010
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2010 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES CALL FOR ENTRIES!
Posted by: newport on Tue, 15 Sep 2009
Celebrating its 11th year, the Newport Beach Film Festival is open for submissions. Take advantage of our Early Bird Deadline and save.The 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world, including feature length narrative, documentary, short, animated and student films that will compete for a series of Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards. The 2010 NBFF will host red carpet Opening and Closing Night Gala Celebrations, International Spotlight events, an ...
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2010 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES CALL FOR ENTRIES!
Posted by: newport on Tue, 15 Sep 2009
Celebrating its 11th year, the Newport Beach Film Festival is open for submissions. Take advantage of our Early Bird Deadline and save.The 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world, including feature length narrative, documentary, short, animated and student films that will compete for a series of Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards. The 2010 NBFF will host red carpet Opening and Closing Night Gala Celebrations, International Spotlight events, an ...
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Grease is back!
Posted by: kevinator815 on Fri, 24 Jul 2009
One of my favorite movies of all time is definitely Grease. The cast is awesome and all of the songs are so good although my favorite is definitely "You're the One That I Want." Amazon is bringing it back and has the whole soundtrack for $3 right now...an awesome deal for 24 songs. What do you guys think of Grease? Favorite song from the movie?
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Free Movie Mondays at OCPAC kick off July 13
Posted by: newport on Mon, 06 Jul 2009
The Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Free for All series continues this summer with its immensely popular free Movie Mondays on the community plaza.July 13 – ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ –with media sponsor KCRW 89.9 July 20 - Annie July 27 - Footloose August 3 - Mamma Mia! The Movie Monday series is held on the Center’s community plaza with the films projected on the side of Segerstrom Hall. Guests are encouraged to bring beach chairs or other easily portable seating items. ...
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Cinema Orange film series at the Orange County Museum of Art
Posted by: newport on Mon, 06 Jul 2009
Celebrating its fifth year, the Cinema Orange film series spotlights the cinematic works of independent filmmakers from around the world. Co presented by the Orange County Museum of Art and the Newport Beach Film Festival, this season’s films explore art, architecture and design.July 30 – ‘Art & Copy’ directed by Doug PreyAugust 27 – ‘Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight’ directed by Wendy KeysSeptember 24 – ‘Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman’ directed by Eric BrickerOctober ...
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Moive souvenirs
Posted by: kevinator815 on Fri, 19 Jun 2009
So besides the regular popcorn and candy that comes along with the movie and cost ,Most movies come with there own song awesome weither its awesome or a fail and i don't know about most of you but i enjoy checking these these out1-877-MOVIE-15they have a big list of titles that are sure to hit the spot for you
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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…