| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Art of War 3: Retribution - Unrated | This third installment in the franchise without Wesley Snipes replaced by Treach is not bad. The choreography in the fight scenes are alright, but the shootout sequences are horribly done, and at some points, hilarious. | December 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Greatest Show on Earth - Unrated | The 1952 Oscar winner for best picture succeeds in the same manner as its subject, the circus; it's enjoyable family entertainment. Three major stories of backstage circus life all work and blend well in this film. | December 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Greedy - PG-13 | Great wickedly funny comedy of heirs and Michael J. Fox & Phil Hartman were hilarious by fighting each other. Hartman is terrific as the nastiest family member. | December 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Crazy Heart - R | December 16, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Tell-Tale (Tell Tale) - Unrated | December 16, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Good, the Bad, and the Weird (Joheunnom nabbeunnom isanghannom) - Unrated |
The Manchurian desert in the 1930's has become the Asian cinematic version of the American West. A number of action films have been set here but this is the first to make an outright reference to a classic western that I've seen. While taking off from Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, this film goes in it's own direction although the mix of horses, trains, motorcycles, Chinese and Western costumes and some very odd characters makes this film resemble the Mad Max films more than anything else. An extended chase scene towards the end really seems influenced by the George Miller films. The cinematography in this film was superb with plenty of great flying panoramic desert shots, high octane action camera maneuvers, fast cuts and perfect editing as expected from the director of such fantastic action/thriller films. The lead actors are good and the story while a little daft is easy to follow for the most part. The violence is typical for Korean action and might be a little hard to watch at times. Long but pure fun for the most part. |
December 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Superman/Batman: Public Enemies - PG-13 |
Mixed feelings followed after I first watched this extremely short (compared to other DC animated movies) adaptation of Superman/Batman graphic novel by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines. Sure, it's short (67 minutes) and not to the letter (no continuity-oriented sidebar). I enjoyed this direct-to-video DC animated movie very much. The action escalates and I see an amazing blend of 2D animation and CG graphics, which was the bright spot in this movie for me. The original voice talent of Batman (Kevin Conroy), Superman (Tim Daly), and Luthor (Clancy Brown) was a great treat for those who love the Batman/Superman adventures animated series. |
December 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Universal Soldier: The Next Generation - Unrated | December 10, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| It's Complicated - R | December 9, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| A Single Man - R | December 8, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Princess and the Frog - G | December 8, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Histoire D'O (The Story of O) - NC-17 | December 8, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Into the Wild - R |
This true story of Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch), a young man who abandons his life of comfort to pursue the freedom of life on the road, a quest that leads him to the Alaskan wilderness and the ultimate challenge of his life is unbelievable. In the final scene gave me a little tear of McCandless was lonely, struck and starving to the death in the "magic bus". Hirsch is absolutely brilliant with his good-nature attitude and affable charm. His character believes that human contact is not necessary for happiness and never seeks out relationships. However, his character is so likable that they find him and latch on, not to change his mind, but to experience his level of being and hopefully learn something from him and help enlarge his vocabulary on life. All the supporting players are magnificent at helping show the side to McCandless that director Sean Penn needs on display to succeed. Hal Holbrook, Brian Dierker, and Catherine Keener are by far the best of these side characters with Vince Vaughn and Kirsten Stewart adding some charm too. |
December 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Charlie Bartlett - R | Damn funny! This is a great comedy with a message. Anton Yelchin has made a name for himself playing the smart, sensitive, and innocent tortured kid. Here he gets the chance to stretch his acting chops in a completely different direction. He's confident and anything but vulnerable. The wide range of emotions and the talents he shows here are unsurpassed. He sings, he dances, he plays piano, he does physical comedy and has fight scenes and romantic scenes and just about everything that could be thrown at him. Hope Davis is a riot as his not-quite-all-there mother. And Tyler Hilton is perfectly cast as the bully who we know from the start is destined to soften up somewhere along the way. | December 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Death Wish - R |
This is one of the most famous "revenge" movies ever made in the 1970s. This was a very, very simple story and it panders to our base instincts which is probably why it was so successful. Most people want justice, and they want it now... which is what this movie preaches. At the time, the movie was shocking. If it came out today, it wouldn't have nearly the impact. However, the early scene of the mother and daughter raped and killed is still horrifying. That will never change. Charles Bronson gives a remarkably strong performance as a New York architect Paul Kersey becomes as a national figure - the vigilante. I saw a very young Jeff Goldblum nails his performance as one of the muggers who invades Kersey's apartment, immediately scary and repellent. |
December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Merry Madagascar - G | I find the story quite festive, given the fact that the setting is mostly in Madagascar. I enjoyed watching this animated short more than the regular Madagascar, because I find the animals less annoying and more fun. The story is squeaky clean, and can be enjoyed by people of all ages. | December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Fragments (Winged Creatures) - R |
Good ensemble drama like Babel, Magnolia and Traffic with the terrific ensemble cast. Many of these actors provide performances that prove they have more potential than I had previously thought. The film is about numerous characters who witness a murder, and the PTSD that follows them around afterward, and most of the actors have to portray a different PTSD side-effect with his or her performance, and all of them do it very well. I never believed that Kate Beckinsale had anything to her name besides hot looks, but she plays a stressed-out mother very convincingly. As Dakota Fanning moves towards adulthood, she handles a particularly tricky (and religion-heavy) performance with ease. |
December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Spoorloos (The Vanishing) - Unrated | This absolutely chilling Dutch film in the story is simple enough than the US remake. With very little violence and no gore, it was able to leave the viewer in a truly depressing state. Some people might call it boring but I found the slow and steady pace to work in favor of the characters, as the acting was top notch. So was the direction of the scenes, which were set up quite nicely. It was interesting to see such attention paid to both the victim and criminal's point of view. | December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Bitten - R | This is quite ridiculous comedy-horror of the vampire starring Jason Mewes who delivers a solid, sometimes funny and sometimes sad performance as a paramedic in personal crisis. And I like seeing Erica Cox in her several nudity scenes - bloody hot with an excellent body. I suppose Mewes is alike a slave of a beautiful female vampire because he brings the victims in his place for the vampire's feed. | December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Major Movie Star (Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous) - PG-13 | This blonde comedy army film reminded me of Private Benjamin while Jessica Simpson is taking over her title role from Goldie Hawn. Simpson is actually quite good in this role. In fact, everyone does a good job, but I was particularly impressed with Simpson's acting ability, and this comment comes from a man who is not one of her fans. There was no heavy emoting to be does here, but Simpson did show us a diverse set of acting abilities. If the directing had been tightened up a little, then this film, Simpson included, could have really shined and exceeded all expectations. | December 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| My Life Without Me - R | December 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eat Drink Man Woman (Yin shi nan nu) - Unrated | December 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont) - R | December 6, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Bakjwi (Thirst) - R | December 3, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Fingersmith - Unrated | November 30, 2009 | N/A |
6717 ratings
3326 reviews
