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Avatar - PG-13
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When I left the theater I was in awe about this film. But as the day ended I realized that I was spoiled by the CG of the movie. This movie has the craziest CG I have seen to date. The money it took to make that was unbelievable. That is why I was spoiled. The movie was just too beautiful to look at. But here is the thing. A lot of people see this movie, just get googly eyed over the CG and decide it is the best movie ever made. I have heard many people say this movie is revolutionary. They actually used that word. I will admit, as for the CG, it is. There has not been a movie that has ever looked like this. But as a movie in general, there is a lot of pieces missing. The beginning of the story is completely missing. The film rushes into the CG section way too quick. It is pretty obvious they wanted to get the viewers attention and keep it with the beautiful visual effects. Something else I noticed was the dialog. Some parts were excellent. Others, they were really pushing it. I guarantee if this movie was just people in blue suits, it would not have the hype it does now. That is because the story was not strong. The whole back story of the Na'vi was 100% excellent. But the back story about what the film is going for is not really there. I am sorry about all this, but I have to be realistic here. I cannot give a movie a perfect rating if it is not perfect. But this is definitely a movie to see. If you have a chance to see it in 3D, check that out. Just regular is good too. I know you will enjoy it, because it is fun to watch. But I also know if you are a critic, you will agree with what I say. My last note I will say that all of the cast was great. Some of the Na'vi voice overs had bad dialog, but other than that, it was all pretty solid. Sam Worthington did a great job as the main and as a voice over. I really enjoyed Zoe Saldana's voice as the main female Na'vi. Sigourney Weaver brings a little mature feeling to the film and Giovanni Ribisi with Joel Moore bring a little comedy. Fun movie too watch.
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December 21, 2009
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N/A
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Paper Moon - PG
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This movie was almost perfect for me. There was just a couple choice scenes that needed to be changed. But nothing too bad. The number one star of this film was Tatum O'Neal. Her character was something never really seen a lot. Here is a little girl who is very snotty like. One crazy scene is where see is sitting on the bed and she starts to smoke. The funny thing is that it didn't look too fake. She was smoking like a champ. It was all too real. The guy in the film was played by her real father, Ryan O'Neal. He was also really good in the film. The pair brought a lot of comedy to the film. Some of the side characters were both good and bad. Madeline Kahn really got on my nerves, but that was the point of her character. Tatum O'Neal was such a great young actor of that time, it was nice to see her in this film. You could just tell she was really into her role as well as her father. Maybe it just made it that much easier to also hate each other in the film.
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December 21, 2009
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N/A
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch - R
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This was a decent movie but a bit strange. The story in my opinion really didn't have that much going for it. Yet there were some parts that had a great artist feel to them. John Cameron Mitchell did a really great job in his role, but some of the other side cast members really ruined the movie a bit. Miriam Shor would have to be one of them. I just couldn't stand the character she played. Now don't get me wrong, this was not a horrible movie. In fact, it was a pretty decent movie. There were just parts that didn't seem to fit right. The whole filming aspect of the film was a bit strange too. It was like a documentary, but without all the talking. That actually threw me off a bit too. But overall, this is a nice little artistic piece.
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December 21, 2009
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N/A
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Muyeong geom (Shadowless Sword) - R
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This movie really had its ups and downs. If this movie had anything going for it, it was the great fight scenes. Not only that, but the fighting styles in general were pure entertainment to watch. The story on the other hand was just ok. Some points seemed really good and full of emotion. Others were just mediocre. The cast was pretty good. I really enjoyed So-yi Yoon. Seo-jin Lee had a couple fighting parts that were just amazing. Then on a side note, I also enjoyed Hyeon-jun Shin as the bad guy. He really had some emotional problems, and you could see that. Now here is where it got a little disappointing. The best fight scenes of the movie were not long. There is a battle between the main two guys and all of a sudden they have smoke coming off them and everything has a real epic feel. This is a part were you think to yourself that this will be an amazing battle. But it lasted less than a minute. I couldn't believe. Why shorten such a big part of the movie like that. That can really hurt a movie that relies on fight scenes. So overall, it was a decent film to watch. Just had a few problems.
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December 18, 2009
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N/A
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The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - R
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I really wanted more out of this movie. Don't get me wrong, this movie had some pretty funny parts and a great cast. But you can only be funny for so much. Jeremy Piven was not on top of his game in this movie. He had his funny moments, but it was not his best work. David Koechner was ok. Again, he had his moments. But the top three stars would have to be James Brolin, Ving Rhames and Kathryn Hahn. Their characters were just too great and every time they came on the scene, you got a chuckle. There was a lot a little improve from Will Ferrel that was pretty funny. The one thing that hurt this movie was the story. It was really cheesy. You find yourself watching this movie and laughing. Then when you are finished, all you can rely on is the story and it really makes the mind lose interest. So I wish this movie could of been more. It is fun to watch at least once, but not the best comedy of 2009.
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December 18, 2009
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N/A
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The Spirit of the Beehive (El Espíritu de la colmena) - Unrated
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This is a nice heart warming story about a little girl with a great imagination. The little girl is played by Ana Torrent, who did an excellent job. Just the look on her face was priceless for a thinking emotion. She saw the movie Frankenstein and was told by her immature sister that he was real. Thinking this and having the imagination she does, she helps a poor fugitive, who she thinks is Frankenstein. In return he is very kind. This all happens in a very low key, boring village were no one really does anything. Just the fact that a movie comes into town, people get so excited since they don't have much. There is a great scene with Torrent's imagination where she creates her own rendition of Frankenstein and repeats a scene from the classic film. This is a great little movie.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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District B13 (Banlieue 13) - R
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I loved all the action in this film. The acting was pretty decent too. But the story was lacking a lot. The two main characters are David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli. David Belle is actually credited as the founder of parkour. This is a type of endurance sport where you run around and jump from building to building. They are also called free style runners and just runners. Cyril Raffaelli is a martial artist and stuntman in karate and wushu. Being who they are, their acting skills are just ok, but their action scenes are amazing since they do all their own stunts. This alone made the movie very interesting and fun to watch. But when the action came to a stand still, the story was the only thing left and like I said before, there wasn't much to it. If they worked more on a story line, this could of been a fantastic movie.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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Some Girls (Sisters) - R
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The late 1980s would be a Patrick Dempsey time. He was in a lot of movies where he played a, well, a playboy. This is just one of those movies. But I found this film a little more interesting than most of his films. The girl he loves in the film is Jennifer Connelly. But her early acting abilities were just not that good. She was in it for eye candy probably. The story is this young guy dealing with the girl he likes family and mostly her sisters. In a way all the sisters want him. Plus the family all in all is just strange. The three sisters are referenced as the Three Graces. The Three Graces were the goddesses of charm, beauty and creativity. The charm part really shows in this film. But the scenes that stick out the most in this film that I enjoyed were with Lila Kedrova. It was more of a dramatic part with her and Patrick Dempsey's character. No one really paid attention to her in the crazy family except for him and he wasn't even related. The movie had a lot of hidden meanings and that is what made it a little more interesting to watch.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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Alice (Neco z Alenky) - Unrated
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What a bad rendition of Alice In Wonderland. Now don't get me wrong, this could of been excellent. It started off with a creepy feel; which I feel Alice In Wonderland should feel like. But it just got cheesy and when the movie ended, you realized that many parts were left out. One thing I appreciated about the film was the use of stop and go motion. They made the White Rabbit pretty creepy looking and with the stop and go motion, it was a great added touch. What I didn't appreciate was the narration. Every time a character spoke, it was in Alice's voice and after there would be a close up of Alice's mouth narrating it. An example would be the White Rabbit would say, "Oh I am late!". Then they would show a close up of Alice's mouth and she would say, "Said the White Rabbit". This got to the point of annoying since it happened every time a character spoke. I will say that Kristyna Kohoutova did a nice job as Alice since she looked like an Alice. But for the most part, the movie was just not that good.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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Tokyo! - Unrated
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Overall the three short films were pretty good. But the first one had lack of story and the second one had parts that just didn't make sense in it. But I would say the three one was my favorite. The first film started out pretty normal and boring and then just took the weirdest turn. The first film was mostly about trying to fit in and be wanted. The second film was pretty strange. It had more of a religious feel to it that gave you a bit of an uncomfortable feeling; but in a good way. Denis Lavant was the main character in this film and he was very strange. He did an excellent job. The third, like I said, was my favorite. This film had a nice deep meaning. It was showing that people just do not go outside anymore. All they do is stay inside and rely on machines and deliveries. Teruyuki Kagawa was the main character who realizes he needs to get out to find a girl, Yu Aoi, who he has fallen in love with. But the world is shaking as in some God is shaking it trying to get people to go outside. All in all, the three films all had deep meanings to them and were pretty intense. The one thing that confuses me is that the movie is named, Tokyo!. But the only thing about Tokyo in the films, is that where they all take place. That is the only reference about the city itself. But this was a nice little collection with only a little bit of flaws. In a way, I wanted to see more, but the collection couldn't be any longer.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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Foul Play - PG
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I enjoyed this more than I should of to tell you the truth. The story was pretty stupid and at parts was kind of boring. But it is the little things that kept me interested. Mostly small things from the cast. The cast was good, but I had a problem with Goldie Hawn. This is when she was pretty young and in those acting days she came off a little ditsy. Right within the first 10 minutes though, Chevy Chase has this line that made me laugh. He said, "Your a nice girl, and I'm a nice guy. So how about it. Want to take a shower?" You have to see the scene to see how funny it is. But the one actor that was excellent in this film was Dudley Moore. It was the classic seen where he thinks Goldie Hawn wants him. So he is dancing around to the song Stayin' Alive and his place has all these sexual things in it. Every time Moore popped up in a scene, it was funny. So it was the little scenes like that keeping my interest.
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December 11, 2009
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N/A
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Yi Yi - Unrated
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First off I will say you have to be ready to watch this film. The movie has its parts, but for the most part it is very easy going. I say this because the movie is almost three hours long and you really have to be watching it, to enjoy it to its full potential. The film is a beautiful story about life. That is it basically; just life. It is told from a main family, friends and relatives. The movie deals with many lessons in life including happiness, sadness, love and even death. But those are the main ones. Within every main part is another small part about life. You will catch yourself laughing and even almost crying. By the end of the film you can really relate to the family shown. The film has a lot of hidden meanings. I believe one is that you have to stop thinking one sided. Like if you want to get to know someone, don't just stare at the back of their head, talk face to face. If anyone in the family learns about life, it is the son. He really starts to understand everything and he is the youngest in the film. A great movie with a crisp life learning story.
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December 10, 2009
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N/A
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The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville, Belleville Rendez-vous) - PG-13
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A refreshing animated film. Now I say refreshing because it is nice to see a newer animated film that had a lot of work put into it. Now a days is it all CG or drawn on the computer. This film was all hand drawn. Now there were some parts that had CG vehicles or backgrounds and that is fine, but the characters were just amazing the way they were drawn. Each personality was drawn out in the body of each character to the point where less than 5% of the movie had talking. The fact is that you just didn't need voice overs because you knew what was going on through every movement of a character's body. None of the characters are pretty, but beautiful in a warped artistic form. The story was very strange, but in a good way.If you miss seeing some good animation, this film is a must.
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December 10, 2009
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N/A
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Dai-Nipponjin (Big Man Japan) - PG-13
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I will have to say one spoiler on here to get my point across. The last 10 or so minutes of the movie really threw me off. It threw me off to the point where I was laughing, but mad also. The way they ended the movie was funny and interesting, but I would of liked to see a real ending too. You will see what I mean when you watch it. Hitoshi Matsumoto was pretty good in the film. It was documentary style. Matsumoto plays a man who can charge himself with electricity and get really big to fight monsters. Most of the movie is low key for Matsumoto's character leads a very boring life, but when he transforms, the movie gets very interesting. What really surprised me was the CG. It was pretty good and fun to watch. The creativity of the monsters were both amazing and humorous at the same time. That was always my favorite part. What strange monster will they show next? So overall, a pretty crazy movie with a twist.
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December 10, 2009
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N/A
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Very Bad Things - R
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For the most part I enjoyed the movie. Well for the first half. The cast was great. I really enjoyed Jon Favreau, Jeremy Piven and Leland Orser's acting skills. Some of members of the cast got a little annoying like Christian Slater and Cameron Diaz. But the story got pretty good, but then it took a turn. The movie is called Very Bad Things, which is true. The film starts off normal and then gets more and more worse. But it went from worse to just utterly ridiculous. I mean a lot of it was believable until the half way point where it seemed like bad things were just thrown together to make the movie for mentally gross than funny. But for the most part it was an interesting movie to watch to see how bad it gets; and it gets pretty bad. So overall the movie was just ok in my opinion.
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December 8, 2009
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N/A
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Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story - Unrated
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This movie was just ok for me. For a comedy it had it funny moments, thanks to the characters. Of course Rob Corddry was pretty good and I really enjoyed the character played by Rob Riggle. I was always laughing when he was shouting. There were two things that threw me off a little. One the story was not that strong. It was good that the movie had it funny moments or it would of bombed even more. The second is that the camera was really weird. The film was shot like a documentary, which means the camera will be a little shaky. But when they played paintball, the camera shook so much that it gave you a bit of a headache. But for the most part, the movie was entertaining to watch.
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December 8, 2009
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N/A
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The Specials - R
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What an interesting independent film. Introducing the third best superhero team out there; The Specials. The Specials all have super powers, but not as great as the ones you are use to seeing. The cast is really good in there roles. You Judy Greer, Rob Lowe, Thomas Haden Church and many more. Jamie Kennedy was even ok for being such a horrible actor. You have to give him credit though because he had to wear the most make up in the film. This is just a funny mockumentary on a super hero team that is just not that popular. Throughout the film you really wanted to see them use their powers, but the budget wouldn't let them without it looking very cheesy, so that is good. But overall it is just fun to watch, but tends to wear a little by the end. Not a bad film.
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December 7, 2009
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N/A
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Lifeboat - Unrated
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The whole film takes place in one big lifeboat after an American ship was taken down by German ship. Every character had their own interesting personality which made the movie very fun to watch. Everyone on the boat is American or lived in America. But they find another man in trouble and take him on the boat. He is the captain of the German boat, played by Walter Slezak. Through the whole movie you are trying to figure out if he is good or evil. In the end, you do not know who is worse, the Germans, or the Americans. The stars of the show would have to be John Hodiak and Tallulah Banhead with there fun, yet evil attitudes. But you will love the performance of William Bendix for he is the drunken comic relief. The suspenseful film will lead of to an interesting ending and will keep you watching.
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December 7, 2009
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N/A
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Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective - PG
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Oh yes nothing like taking a classic and making a huge dump on it. Now I will never rate anything a zero. You just can't because in some strange magical way, they got money and a camera to put it together. Maybe they have a fund raiser or sold their soul, I don't know. But nothing about this movie was good. You get to see Ace Ventura's son and his father. Played by two horrible actors. There is even a story about why Jim Carrey was not in this one. Get ready for a spoiler. He dies; in a plane crash; helping birds; over the Bermuda Triangle. Oh man! I bet the writers really thought hard on that one. Josh Flitter would probably be a good actor in another movie, but not this one. He tried to act like the original Ace Ventura, but it just didn't work. This movie was more of a made for TV special than an amazing film. Sorry this movie just did not do it for me. Please PLEASE stop ruining classics. It isn't nice.
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December 7, 2009
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N/A
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Treeless Mountain - Unrated
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This is a very touching tale of two sisters that are brought up in a poor world. The story focuses around Bin and her younger sister Jin. They are played by Song-hee Kim and Hee-yeon Kim. They live in a poor environment with their single mom, because the father left. The mom works all the time so she has no time for the kids. Bin has to always look after and take care of her younger sister. Later the mom cannot take care of them so she leaves them with there Aunt who doesn't care about anyone but herself; and booze. So Bin basically becomes the grown up looking after her younger sister. She even makes money selling cooked grasshoppers to all the other younger children. It is a very touching and sad story what these two had to go through and you really feel for them. Some say the world can be cruel, but in some way, no matter how hard it gets, you may find a little happiness; which is shown in this film. Overall, the film was crisp, but a few off camera shots and a sudden ending, didn't make this a perfect film in my eyes. But it was really close.
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December 7, 2009
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N/A
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The Great Buck Howard - PG
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Such an interesting cast for this movie. John Malkovich was great in this role. Sometimes it is hard to tell just what his personality is in real life. Tom Hanks wrote this film and gave himself a small part. He played the father of Colin Hanks who is his son in real life. In a way it works pretty good for the movie. Overall the movie was pretty entertaining but it seemed to go on and on and not stop. Like nothing new was happening in the movie. But near the end, it goes back to the interesting state again. It is just fun to watch Malkovich because he is such a great actor. Colin Hanks did do a great job too as the main role. The side characters were good, but nothing special to the story line. So besides some of the boring run on scenes, the movie was a joy to watch.
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December 7, 2009
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N/A
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Shrink - R
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Interesting story to this movie. Think of it this way. You are in trouble and you need a friends help, who is also in trouble and seeing somewhat for help, who is also having trouble because some tragic happened in their life. So how can you fix your problems when everyone else you know is having problems also? Well all the characters in this story tie together at one point and all fix each other while having these horrible problems together. Sound confusing? Well it is. So that is one thing I didn't like. The movie are parts got really boring or confusing. But the cast was great. Everything did a great job. Kevin Spacey was funny in a deeper way. I really enjoyed Dallas Roberts character too. Robin Williams even had a small part as an alcoholic who thinks he has a sex problem. Keke Palmer also did a pretty good job. I guess you could say the cast is what helped me enjoy this movie more. Plus the film was really deep in a dark way. That did make it interesting until it hit the boring and confusing parts.
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December 4, 2009
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N/A
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I Heart Huckabees - R
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The whole concept of this film is pretty crazy. It really has a surreal feeling to it. I really enjoy the dialog of the film and all the actors in it. Jason Schwartzman was just great and I loved his character. His "other" in the movie was Mark Wahlberg who was also great. The two personalities of them together just made the movie that much more interesting. Lily Tomlin and Dustin Hoffman's characters were very humorous. They were really out there. The only actor I didn't like was Jude Law. He was trying to do an American accent and you could still hear his original voice every now and then. The story was pretty strange but had an interesting meaning which I kind of agree with. The whole film was a strange take on life in general. This is a great example of an excellent film that does not use explosions or CG to keep your interested. It uses good old classic smarts and dialog.
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December 3, 2009
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N/A
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Brüno (Bruno) - R
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This movie was pretty bad, but it did have me laughing at some parts so I cannot say it is the worst film I have seen. This is just a horrible repeat of Borat. Borat was raw, original and just not stop laughing. There was nothing raw about this film. It is like Sacha Baron Cohen hired professional cameras to take different angle shots of his raw interviews. Because of this, you couldn't tell if it was fake or staged. Sacha Baron Cohen is known for having some off the wall scenarios; which he did in this film. Those will make you laugh and feel like you are watching the real actor. But he made this film too much like a real movie and not enough reality. I think that was the downfall of the film. I will give him credit though. It is hard to pretend in some of the situations he got himself into; but he pulled it off. So it was ok. Not as good as Borat, but definitely better than Ali G.
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December 2, 2009
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N/A
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Ink - Unrated
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I have seen many independent and low budgeted films. The low budgeted films usually are pretty bad. This is especially if it is something that needs a lot of CG or camera work. We are talking about horror type movies or action. You can get away with drama or comedy. This movie is for any art lover. It takes reality and weaves it with fantasy and a little horror. I already loved this movie when it ended and it was on a low budget. If they kept the story and the actors, then gave it a huge budget, I could see this movie making a lot at the box office. For the most part, the acting was pretty good. Chris Kelly was good along with Quinn Hunchar who played the little girl. The story was fantastic and the way they used graphics for a low budget film was art and very smart. There were these characters who were basically people who give you nightmares. I cannot really explain what they looked like, but you have to watch the film to see what I mean. They really gave me the creeps. Overall and excellent movie and I would recommend this to anyone who likes dark fantasy style movies.
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November 30, 2009
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N/A
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1604 ratings
1605 reviews
