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