| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakjwi (Thirst) - R | I'm torn in my review of Thirst. It mixes genres which worked in OldBoy, but here it makes the movie seem really long and unfocused. Thirst is heavy on blood and sex so if that turns you off then you certainly want to avoid this film. I'm a fan of Kang-ho Song (Memories of Murder, The Host) and Kim Ok-vin does a great job as well. There is some good stuff here but it's watered down with a lot of material that should have been cut. For me, the pros outweigh the cons but I don't think the average audience will be as forgiving. | August 23, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - PG | Hopefully Harry can wrap this up soon because the Potter franchise seems to be losing steam. The first few films were surprisingly good but Half-Blood Prince was long and dull. I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but 2 hrs of watching 20 year olds acting out the love lives of 13 year olds is more than I can stand, not to mention that I'm 6 films in have yet to see Voldemort live up to his hype. This film is for serious Potter fans only. Everyone else need not apply. | August 17, 2009 | N/A | |||
| G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - PG-13 | G.I. Joe could be best described as a "live action cartoon". Channing Tatum's performance makes Marlon Wayans look like Sidney Poitier. The acting is atrocious, it's incredibly cheesy, and the CG effects and animation are, at best, comparable to video game cutscenes. There are 3 types of people that I recommend this movie to. If you want to see Dennis Quaid dramatically deliver the line "Knowing is half the battle", go see this. If you like relentless (though unrealistic) action, go see this movie. If you want to make out with your high school girlfriend and not worry about either of you being distracted by a compelling story, go see this right now. Otherwise wait for it on Redbox. | August 16, 2009 | N/A | |||
| District 9 - R | With a meager budget of less than $30 million (less than even what Will Smith got paid for Hancock), 29 year old Blomkamp manages to make one of the most surprisingly memorable sci-fi films that I've seen in years. Yes, it borrows elements from other films (The Fly, Stargate) and even games (Half-Life 2) but the total presentation feels unique. D9 is not without issues, and the violence might be too graphic for some. It has handheld camera work, cleverly supplemented with surveillance cameras, but for the most part its fairly steady. I'd still recommend sitting farther back from the screen. If you are into sci-Fi like myself, definitely make plans to see it at some point. If sci-fi is not your thing, I'm not sure D9 will be the one to win you over. | August 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Unborn - PG-13 | David S. Goyer is an enigma. When he writes it hit or miss. When he directs it's guaranteed garbage as is the case with The Unborn. He channels Ed Wood with the whole nonsense dialogue about secret Nazi experiments to give jewish twins blue eyes inadvertently opening a portal to another dimension. Seriously? With writing skills that bad, and a bad guy named Jumby, he has to rely on startling us with loud noises and things jumping out of odd places but you see it coming a mile away... unless you were busy laughing. Skip this one. | August 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Blade Runner - R | Blade Runner is one of those films that you probably love or hate. I enjoyed it. It's set in a future imagined in the 80's, and it takes place in LA but feels more like Japanese anime. The story is actually fairly simple and straight forward but there are so many layers to it. It's very much film noir though it doesn't build any moments of great tension or suspense. For film buffs and sci-fi lovers, it's a "must see", but general audiences would probably be bored by the pacing. | August 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| (500) Days of Summer - PG-13 |
500 was a pleasure to watch. It's a unique romantic comedy that presents love in a more realistic light. It has flaws. The movie bounces back and fourth in time and not everything works but when it does work (most of the time) it feels genuine. On several occasions I heard empathy "Ooohs" from the audience. Its not for everyone. If you are expecting the Notebook or Something About Mary then you will be dissappointed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM |
August 9, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Coraline - PG | Coraline is a pretty good film. The animation and attention to detail are amazing. There were some parts that I didn't care for (such as the musical numbers), and the included paper 3D eye glasses, which gives the film a purplish tint, work OK but are far inferior to the new technology used in the theater. Its certainly worth viewing. If you were considering purchasing, I recommend getting it on Blu-ray (even if you don't own a player yet) as it includes a DVD of the film as well, and it looks SO much better on Blu-ray. | August 9, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Knowing - PG-13 | Knowing starts off hot but its unconventional second act might leave some viewers cold. I enjoyed it for daring to be different. In certain ways, particularly its subtle handling of science and religion and its unusual ending, it reminded me of Robert Zemeckis's Contact. It wasn't as strong though. It also had its share of bad dialogue and dubious special effects, but overall it is still wort a Redbox rental. | July 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir) - R |
This is probably one of the most uniquely creative documentaries that I can recall ever viewing. It's not for everyone. It unfolds slowly and and has some very gruesome and disturbing content, but at the same time the animation and sound are beautiful, almost dreamlike, from the beginning to its haunting conclusion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLkwfsFzrJw |
June 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - R | It's a good summer movie. The beginning has some nice tension thanks to good performances by Washington and Travolta, and the ending has decent action. There were moments that felt really disingenuous, almost too cliche though, especially towards the end. It's still worth viewing. | June 28, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Away We Go - R |
I enjoyed this movie. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph have great chemistry. This is the kind of movie that makes me wish I was in love right now. It's a "road trip" movie so most of the characters come and go very quickly and as a result are exaggerated. This doesn't work as well in he beginning but as we learn about the main characters, and they learn about themselves it starts to feel right. It does have a Wes Anderson vibe to it but is distinct at the same time. If the trailer looks interesting to you I'd say check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp_ZwQH2nfI |
June 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Food, Inc. - PG |
While Food Inc is better than a lot of similar documentaries that I've seen on the subject, it's still not a good as I hoped. Most of the information has been presented before in other films (King Corn) and books (Fast Food Nation), and what was presented was more toned down and TV friendly. I found the first half a bit dull. Food, Inc finds its footing in the second half with very moving personal stories that will probably affect anyone with a heart, specifically the stories of Moe Parr and Kevin Kowalcyk. This is certainly worth viewing, I just think it's a rental. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0 |
June 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - PG-13 | First off, I'm one of the 10 people on Earth that will admit to liking the first Transformers. It had good action and humor. Basically Revenge of the Fallen TRIES to kick it all up a notch. As a result we get a lot of gags that run on too long or simply feel forced, and bland action scenes that feel padded with left over Air Force commercial footage. There were also a lot of continuity issues in the editing that were hard for me to ignore. For fans, Devastator and Soundwave make appearances this time but look NOTHING like you'd expect. And forget about Unicron and the Mighty Galvatron. Megatron is resurrected as a flunky to a guy known as The Fallen who, after 2.5 hrs of talk, puts up the most anticlimactic villain fight I can recall seeing in the last 10 years. Wait for this on Netflix. | June 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Conscientious Objector - Unrated |
If I hadn't seen this I wouldn't have believed it. Desmond's story is probably one of the most amazing and inspiring stories that I've heard in a long time. The film was not without issues, but once I got into it I found that the power of the story overcame the minor shortcomings in the execution. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix0EPH3jPxk |
June 23, 2009 | N/A | |||
| At the Death House Door - Unrated | As you watch this very poignant documentary on life, death, and redemption, you can't help but wonder how you would respond in those situations. It's not as much about the execution of an innocent man as much as it is about people around him that knew he was innocent but now live with the fact that they couldn't help him. It was a little long but still a pretty good documentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdA7EGEqOJk | June 23, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Angels & Demons - PG-13 | First of all, I should state that I'm one of the few people that liked the Da Vinci Code. I did enjoy Angels as well though it was somewhat predictable. If you are not a fan of heavy exposition and light action then you might skip it. Also, I'm still not sure what the "God particle" aka Higgs boson, which in theory is what gives matter mass (yes I watch PBS), has to do with the whole antimatter bomb plot. Maybe I missed it. I'm also not sure how a mole could walk off with antimatter which is valued at $65 trillion per gram. Oh well, I guess I need to have a little faith. | June 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Tôkyô zonbi (Tokyo Zombie) - Unrated | I'm a bit disappointed with this film. I don't really get into humor centered around domestic violence. There were a few humorous moments, but not enough that I can recommend this film to anyone. | June 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Ne le Dis à Personne (Tell No One) - Unrated |
This French thriller has enough twists to keep you guessing, good music, and some fairly tense moments. It does unfold slowly but doesn't feel boring. It has a definite Hitchcock feel to it sans humor. I'm more a fan of that dark seedy noir but I still enjoyed this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryMVzQsTmZY |
June 14, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Up - PG | Up starts out strong but loses steam in the second act. The animation was EXCELLENT, especially in 3D, but I didn't find the story as interesting, funny, or charming as Ratatouille, Incredibles, Wall-E, or Monsters, Inc. It is noticeably darker than previous Pixar films as well. It's still a pretty decent movie though. | June 11, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Terminator Salvation - PG-13 | Salvation is NOT a bad movie, it's just very cold and dry. The problem is that the audience for this type of movie is going to want the fun explosive sequel to T2 but will get something closer to Children of Men with robots. Sam Worthington was excellent. Common was miscast here though. 2.5-3 stars. | June 11, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Land of the Lost - PG-13 | Awful movie. Just imagine the trailer stretched over 2 hours. Brad Silberling should be very ashamed of himself. Most of the people there had kids with them and there were a lot of sex and drug references. Danny McBride was basically the same guy from Pineapple Express. Avoid this movie. | June 7, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Drag Me to Hell - PG-13 | Drag Me is good campy fun best watched with friends in an environment where you can be silly. It feels closer to old Sam Raimi/old Peter Jackson than new school horror. It even opens with the retro Universal Logo. You'll probably laugh more than scream. There is gratuitous usage of loud noises and way more exchanging of body fluids than you'd ever care to see, but aside from a super cheesy demonic possession sequence, I can't complain. | June 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Hangover - R | Hilarious!!!! NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. This was actually WORSE than Superbad which says a lot. I smirked a few times and chuckled once, but those were more "I can't believe they just did that" reactions. Don't believe the hype. | June 6, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Vicky Cristina Barcelona - PG-13 | This was a fairly enjoyable film. This odd group of personalities find the right balance on screen. You recognize that they are flawed yet they remain accessible enough to identify with. Fortunately the movie never takes itself so seriously that it feels preachy and boring. | May 27, 2009 | N/A |
355 ratings
301 reviews
