| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slumdog Millionaire - R | Danny Boyle has come up with some interesting cinema, certainly defining himself as someone above average. What he achieves in "Slumdog Millionaire" is transcend the line between inspiration and a miracle, awakening an emotional connection to the very special element great cinema can deliver. The packages might have changed, and the contents are more controversial and maybe a bit more tied to reality, certainly taking us to an exotic local, teaching us that our world extends beyond our freeway and limited perception of how more than the other half of the world's population has to deal without certainly preaching to us. | March 26, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five - G | Maybe I missed something in this movie, but I thought it was one of the worst movies I have seen in quite some time. At least for adults. True, there were a few cute jokes, but how many jokes can be done at the expense of the panda being fat and flabby before the audience, even children, say Okay, we got it. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Kung Fu Panda - PG | Maybe I missed something in this movie, but I thought it was one of the worst movies I have seen in quite some time. At least for adults. True, there were a few cute jokes, but how many jokes can be done at the expense of the panda being fat and flabby before the audience, even children, say Okay, we got it. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Il Divo - Unrated | March 25, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Happening - R | Let me preface these comments by saying that I am a major Night fan. I look forward to news of his next project and love the stories of his supposed total control over his movies and carte blanche from the studios. If those stories are true, I have a feeling that era will be ending for Night with the release of The Happening. I ignored all the pre-release press I could before going to see this movie. I read none of the reviews, but one word I did catch was "uninspired." Unfortunately, that one word describes this movie perfectly. In the first ten minutes of the movie, I thought it was due to the acting and that maybe Mark Wahlberg was miscast. However, after another ten minutes I realized it wasn't the actors; it was the extremely lame script. Without giving away any details, this is a disaster film where the disaster "happening" starts with the first scene of the movie. Unfortunately, no suspense builds and there is absolutely no sense of dread or panic on screen and so none translates to the audience. Surprising, since the 21st century has provided us with too many occasions to study how we react in times of disaster, whether by nature or terrorism. It's as if Night ignored all this when writing the story. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Changeling - R | Clint Eastwood s knows a good story, and he knows how to tell it on film. Not everything he does is as powerful as his depiction of a dynamic female boxer in Million Dollar Baby, for which Hilary Swank won a best actress Oscar among four for the film. In Changeling he presents another strong woman, Christine Collins, played by the notable Angelina Jolie. Because she is directed to weep at almost every turn and regularly underplay her grit, Jolie won't win accolades, nor will Eastwood rack up the nominations as he frequently does in Oscar season. But his adaptation of the historic Wineville Chicken Murders chills with his perceptions about the capriciousness of crime and the determination of those who choose to fight it. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Street Kings - R | Here's another movie the critics dismissed that turned out to be a great movie. I was initially hesitant to go see the movie because of the negative reviews, but went to see Forrest Whittaker, Hugh Laurie and Keanu Reeves. I think most critics can't look at Reeves and not see Bill Preston Esq or Neo. However Keanu Reeves shows range in the movie and heads up the movie wonderfully. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Pursuit of Happyness - PG-13 | This movie made me cry. And better yet it made me think. It wasn't a movie that most people would like, because most people feel that ignorance is bliss, and this is anything but ignorant. It addresses all of the things that are wrong in the world today. I loved this movie, and will smith's performance was phenomenal. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| For Hire - Unrated | This movie has a nice twist, and Lowe and Mantegna act fine. But it moved a little slowly, and was one-dimensional in that we spend too much time with the hero, Lowe. I liked the bohemian aspect, though, of the "struggling actors" who drove cabs. The film was just a bit too cold and distant, and I didn't really feel involved. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Mark of Cain - Unrated | Although Mark of Cain isn't a bad movie, and most of the acting is in fact pretty good, it seems to be lacking a clear purpose. For a movie that aims to make a political statement, it seems to pull its punches at the most crucial moments. As a movie that wants to tell a story about a modern war, although realistic and often gritty, it is not nearly as powerful as Platoon or as intricate as Jarhead. In fact, the power of the story seems to peter out after the first two-thirds of the movie. For example, the technique of starting with a crucial scene, and then flashing back to this scene as the story unfolds, becomes less powerful. Eventually, the viewer pretty well knows what to expect. Watch Mark of Cain, expect some poignant scenes, but don't expect any new insights in that fiasco known as Iraq and don't expect to see war's truly horrific face. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| El Ultimo Tren - Unrated | Director Diego Arsuaga has done wonders with this story about a bunch of older men, who are friends and all they have in common is their love for the steam trains of their youth. When they learn about the last locomotive being sold by the callous Jimmy to Hollywood, they rally against seeing their beloved, if a bit dilapidated locomotive, to be taken away from the country. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Nicholas Nickleby - PG | This is a film adaptation, if you follow what others said, an altered plot even *based* on the book. If you wanted to see the book dramatized, then I guess you'll be disappointed. But I, however, wanted to see Alan Cumming, so I rented it. I don't care that it's supposed to be Dickens. I had to convince my husband to watch it because he hated the book. In fact, ours would not be described as Dickens house. We are not fans. We don't attend literary societies and haven't gone to university for literature. Neither are we fans. The closest we can come to liking Dickens is Blackadder's Christmas Carol. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Speed Racer - PG | I admit, I'm not a fan of the cartoon series. I watched the movie with an open mind, and have lowered my expectations since it's the Wachowski brothers and it's a cartoon. Taking digital bits' editor Bill Hunt's words with a pinch of salt, I thought I would be at least entertained for those two hours. I was gravely wrong... | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Stranger Than Fiction - PG-13 | Stranger Than Fiction is a quirky black comedy about Harold Crick, an average man with a fascination and preoccupation for numbers, who discovers that he is apparently little more than a character in someone else's story and that the course of his life appears to have been scripted. Everything he does and thinks is narrated as he does and thinks it, so after the realisation that he's not actually going mad he tries to find out what is really going on. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Patch Adams - PG-13 | The first time I watched this movie, it was truly wonderful and has been every time I've watched it since. "Patch Adams" delivers a powerful message of how to just be silly and break the rules when it's in the best interest of everyone around. He knew in his heart that all the patients needed to laugh. Laughter is after all the best medicine anyone could ask for. But Patch knew how to be serious and when to be. How he treated all the other students, faculty, nurses, and patients truly inspired more than just me, but many people I know. His way of life is one that I recommend for anyone. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Elina - Som om jag inte fanns (As If I Didn't Exist) - Unrated | Elina - Som om jag inte fanns is a Sweden- Finnish film. The story of the film is universal, although it sets in the area on the Swedish side of border between Finland and Sweden. Except for the lack of ornamentation, it is a sweet story focusing on dimensions of people. This film treats children's world of mind in a much careful and understanding way. Elina is a gentle, innocent character who is a isolated from others and the society. The acting is quite convincing and the story thought provoking. Overall, I highly recommend this film to people who care about childrent's worlds. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Into the Wild - R | The sensitivity with which Krakauer captured the essence of McCandless and his adventure is extended aptly to the movie format by Sean Penn. Even if one might not be able to appreciate the purpose for Alex's journey, I don't think anyone would be able to deny that Into the Wild is a sensitive and poignant cinematic experience. There are scenes in this movie that one will never be able to forget, particularly the ending sequence. This movie will easily pull its audience into a philosophical debate for the truth about who was right and wrong isn't easy to distinguish. Sean Penn certainly doesn't try to answer those questions, questions that McCandless' life left for his family and the rest of us. Penn does well to tread a delicate objective but not indifferent line. Certainly the best movie of this year and one of the best ever made. The story, the story itself is great. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Stand by Me - R | This film is a brilliant, well-acted masterpiece! What touched me the most was the late River Phoenix's acting, but all of the young actors performances were incredible. They are why you should see this film. 'Stand By Me' is not a bubblegum Disney film, nor a dry Hollywood film; it is a movie that captures childhood in a poignant, non-candy coated manner that is dead on. I saw this movie only a couple months ago and was blown away by it's style and acting. It is rare that you see such fresh, relaxed and deep performances that the actors in this film offered. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Tigerland - R | This movie is done on a low budget. It looks like they used the actual government training center, and many parts were realistic. A few parts of the movie were over the top. This movie is fresh, and gritty; I like the realism of the film. The hero or anti hero is a nice guy, in wolf's skin. (I've met people like him) It shows how cruel the system can be and the merits of playing by your own rules. In the end I like this film. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Flatliners - R | This movie was about some brilliant young medical students deciding to explore death. They have figured out a way to cause a person to die briefly and bring him/her back to life. Besides the all-star cast, this movie had some serious bite to it. Just the very thought of exploring death is riveting enough, but I really thought the writer & director did an excellent job in giving a different yet hair raising view. This was no generic attempt to thrill, frighten, and make one's mind race... this was the real deal. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Falling Down - R | Falling Down is the kind of film that has much more more happening than many of us want to know about. It is disguised simply as a film about an apparent nut who goes out and tries to right the wrongs that have been done to him and in his trek across Los Angeles he becomes an anti-hero. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Phone Booth - R | I thought that Phone Booth was an excellent movie. I just viewed it last night and thought the whole idea was just great. I thought at first that I would be disappointed and bored with the concept of a man stuck in a phone booth talking to a psycho. But with the cinematography, the details, and the great acting, it kept me in awe of the entire spectrum. This movie left you thinking about the little things you do and how you might consider it just part of life that everybody does, but how others see our actions differently than us. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Veronica Guerin - R |
Reqiem For A Journalist!
I thought this was a very well done movie. It was real, it was serious, it was funny. Blanchette already being an amazing actress did yet another amazing job with this character. If you look at a picture of the real Veronica Guerin and Cate Blanchette in character there almost identical as well. Blanchette did not disappoint with this movie and I think captured the character well, her looks, her personality. She played the part of a journalist really well. |
March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Raising Arizona - PG-13 | For all the visual flair and deft performances on display in their films, the Coens' greatest virtue lies in writing? In terms of cheerful stories, witty dialog and the creation of a coherent, plausible fantasy world peopled by vivid characters, their ability to work original and entertaining variations on a genre indicates well for the future. | March 25, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Spymate - PG | The plot seems okay on the surface - A chimp who works as a spy. However it all goes downhill from there. There are many silly twists, characters that just don't fit and situations that are completely unbelievable. The film was obviously made on a tight budget and it shows. Nothing seems even remotely real. | March 25, 2009 | N/A |
2186 ratings
258 reviews
