Small Reviews

Haven't posted a review in a while.....


Stay dir. Marc Forster

An interesting mind bender with some clever visuals and some good performances from Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling & Janeane Garafolo. Ending isn't as big as you think it would be, but it still holds up. B

The World's Fastest Indian dir. Roger Donaldson

Watched this in Tourism class. Meh. Nice, charming and funny performance from Anthony Hopkins. Dragged in some spots. Last scene with the "Indian" is good. Just okay. C+

Requiem for a Dream dir. Darren Aronofsky

Stunned. Shocked. Disturbed. All the things I was feeling after I had watched this movie. Not only one of the most powerful, but one of the best movies I have ever seen. Credit goes to every actor in this film and how they dedicated themselves to making these characters come true. Ellen Burstyn gives a career defining performance and one of the best in film history as Sara Goldfarb and Jennifer Connelly is a revalation as Marion. Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans are both soooo amazing as well. A true masterpiece. A+

The Night Listener dir. Patrick Stettner

Interesting, but not quite the thriller I was expecting. Nice twist at the end however and some good work by Robin Williams & Toni Collette. B-

Pulse dir. Jim Sonzero

Another american remake of a J-Horror film, but it's all good. Probably the worst out of the lot of them, but still a good film. Creepy at times with Kristen Bell doing the best she can with the material and conveying some good emotions. B

The Grudge 2 dir. Takashi Shimizu

First one was better, this one is scarier but its also really hard to follow and understand. Creepy visuals, and some nice performances from Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Teresa Palmer and for what unfortunately short, but effective screentime, Sarah Michelle Gellar. B+

The Illusionist dir. Neil Burger

The magic trick scenes are a wonder to look at and suck you inside the movie. Nice art direction and production design along with good performances from Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti and the surprising Jessica Biel. B+

Saw II dir. Darren Lynn Bousman

A fun, gory and wild ride. Seeing all the impressive contraptions again, sent a chill up my spine and seeing how everything turns out in the end is worth the wait. Tobin Bell oozes evil whenever he says a line and Donnie Whalberg is well cast. The 8 people are all interesting, especially Amanda played by Shawnee Smith. A

The Bloodletting dir. John Paul Piccinino

Worst movie I have ever seen. Utter crap. Not much left to say. F

Crash dir. David Cronenberg

Car crashes and sex galore in this wild and entertaining ride. People getting turned on by car crashes is fascinating to watch and there are some sexy performances from Deborah Kara Unger, Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette. Nice visuals and camera tricks as well. A

First "F" Ever!

I have finally given a grade of "F" to a movie! I was wondering when the day would come. The movie I saw definitely deserved it for being the biggest craptastic movie I have EVER seen! Go rent "The Bloodletting" to see what I'm talking about. Or, get one of your friends to pay for it because there is no way that you are going to pay for a piece of shit like this again. :)

.....Im stunned.....

I have just watched one of the Best and most Disturbing films I have ever seen.....

Review: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

Julianne Moore is an awesome actress! She can turn any movie she does into something worth seeing, even if the rest of the movie is total shit.

However, that is not the case with The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Even though it was maligned by Nathaniel of the Film Experience (who loves Julianne Moore by the way), it is not being maligned by me.

This film takes place in the 1950's and 60's in Defiance, Ohio. Evelyn Ryan (Moore) has 10 kids. She lives in a small house with them, and her husband Kelly Ryan (Woody Harrelson). Even though Evelyn is saddled with many chores, and has to look after her alcoholic and abusive husband when needed, she stills manages to wear a smile on her face.

The great thing about this movie is the fact that it is based on a true story. Evelyn raised her kids mostly on the jingles she wrote and sent in for different products. Of the things she won, the most valuable to me, it looked like, was the shopping spree. With the help of 2 women that worked in the store, Evelyn got a lot of food.

Even though food was a major thing to have, so was money. Not all of the contests came with money, but when they did, Evelyn and her family made sure they used it to the fullest.

Another added bonus that came with the jingle contest was a woman who had heard Evelyn's jingle and wanted to meet her. That womans name was Dorotha Schaefer (played by Laura Dern). That is a trip that would change Evelyn's life from then on.
The ending is definitely something and I don't want to give anything away.

Julianne Moore was the perfect choice for this role. She doesn't overdo the perkiness, but doesn't underplay it either. She is right in the middle and thats the way it should be. I know a lot of people don't like the fact that she has been typecast in these "mother" roles (Freedomland & The Forgotten), but I think this is where she excels. No doubt that she excels in her other roles, but she does excellent work in the mother area as well.

Woody Harrelson is good, but not great. There are times when I think he went too over the top and should've toned it down.

Laura Dern is good for what her role is. Nothing special.

All the kids are wonderful and there is not a forced performance in that bunch. They are all natural talents and I would like to see them in future movies.

Jane Anderson does extremely well with the direction and really captures the feel of the 1950's and 60's. Everything looks great.

This is a very good movie and people should check it out. A-