exnavykds
http://www.flixster.com/user/exnavykds
| Name | Kevin S |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| I'm From | Oklahoma |
| Member For | 338 days |
| Last Login | Wed. Jul 9 |
| Profile Views | 5850 |
| Age | 45 |
| MCT Score |
| Movie: | To Kill A Mockingbird, The Godfather, The Wizard Of Oz, Casablanca, Bonnie And Clyde, The Asphalt Jungle |
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| Actor: | James Stewart, Bette Davis, Susan Hayward, Jimmy Cagney, Gregory Peck |
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, John Ford, Frank Capra, Robert Wise |
| Quote: | "My life is loosely based on a true story" |
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I am VERY happily married. I'm only here for the movies. That is to say, I'm here to review, reflect, discover and discuss the art of film.
I am a classic movie fan and a TCM (that's Turner Classic Movies) junkie. . |
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Kevin's Recent Reviews
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10,000 B.C.
PG-13
Apocalypto meets Jurassic Park
Here is an example where the sum is less than the value of its parts. The casting, direction, art, design, and special effects are all decent, and yet the film has no "Wow" factor. An epic of this magnitude should leave you with a sense of wonder or amazement. This one just leaves you.
10
R
There is a reason why I shy away from the term "instant classic". This film was all people were talking about in 1979 but here, some 30 years later, it's lost some the charm and appeal it once had. Still, what hasn't diminished is Bo Derek's you-know-what and Blake Edwards' ability to tell a story. For those of us who are old enough to remember, 10 is worth another look (for nostalgia if nothing else). However, I'm not convinced that this film has much to offer anyone under the age of thirty.
Heidi
Unrated
It's clear here that the vast majority of the production budget went to the hiring of Burl Ives. Aside from his scenes the rest of the film is utterly uninspired.
The Magic Sword
G
Basil, Basil, Basil... What were you thinking!? What is up with movie stars that end their careers with a series of really bad films? We see it with Joan Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Bette Davis (to a lesser extent) and here with Basil Rathbone.
This one is a stinker in a Mystery Science Theater 3000 sort of way.
The Buddy Holly Story
PG
If you want to see the promise and potential of Gary Busey before his drug-induced psychosis enveloped his entire being, this is the film to watch. Busey's portrayal of the legendary rock-n-roll pioneer is absolutely brilliant. He even sings all of Buddy's songs himself. Gary Busey is a walking, talking testament to the belief that the line between genius and madness is a thin one. Much like Buddy Holly himself, Busey is a star that burned out all too quickly.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
PG
If you know me at all you already know that I have an affinity for westerns. This is one of my favorites. Clint Eastwood manages to merge the atmospheric nuances of his earlier 'spaghetti westerns' with a uniquely relateable and empathetic characterization. The Outlaw Josey Wales is a true genre classic.
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I recommend you see...
They Call Me Trinity
by Irisposted 4 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
by CoreyWhat a great film! Sidney Lumet proves once again why he's one of Hollywood's best directors. Although this film doesn't reach the level of other Lumet films (like Network, 12 Angry Men, and Dog Day Afternoon) it does help reinvigerate his career. Much of the film is quite eye opening, with many shocking scenes. Hoffman is beyond words and is easily the best part of the film. Albert Finney does great with the time he has onscreen, while Tomei and Hawk are good but just a little out of their league. Be sure to check this one out. One of 2007's bests!
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 8 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
The Manchurian Candidate
by CoreyA stunning new vision to one of the finest poitical thriller of all time. More than a remake, this movie creates its own story, and in the process creates a whole new movie. Denzel and Liev are fantastic on screen together, and, of course, Meryl Streep is at her best, stealing all the scenes she can. Great writing and sharp direction from Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs).
Hey, you should really see this!
posted 9 hours ago -
I recommend you see...
Get Smart
by LucianaI have never seen the television show for which this is based, so I had no real preconceptions besides what I saw in the trailers. So, for me, Get Smart was a pleasant surprise :D
It was full of laughs and Steve Carell played a really funny Agent 86...Highly recommended.Hey, you should really see this!
posted 10 hours ago -
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I recommend you see...
Persepolis
by Alexander''In this life you'll meet a lot of jerks. If they hurt you, tell yourself that it's their own stupidity that makes them act that way. That will keep you from responding to their meanness. There's nothing worse in this world than bitterness and revenge. Hold your head up and stay true to yourself.''
Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.
Chiara Mastroianni: Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi, as a teenager and a woman (voice)
Gabrielle Lopes: Marjane as a child (voice)
Persepolis is not only just an animated film or indeed a comic but one that captures one girl growing up. In the same vein as Grave of the Fireflies this film is not for children like it's cartoony looks would suggest.
What we get from Persepolis is Marjana Satrapi's vision of a life consisting of struggle, control and the freedom for women to do anything scarily non existent. Captivating that the 80s and 90s are depicted in Iran in such a way of death, of war and of propaganda and ideology that I felt that this world was so backward. Marjane's way of life felt like it was stuck in a bygone era like the early 1920s to 1940s. Her imagination and creativity are brought to life and cleverly Persepolis uses black and white to convey the immense desperation, the depressed state of society in Iran and the lack of free rights of suppressed, controlled women.
Animation has the advantage of permitting a pace that allows a lot to be included into a simply and honestly told story, particularly in early childhood and adolescence. Very thought inducing in seeing how atrocities and cruelties are perceived through little childrens eyes, particularly little kids growing up in an environment where these acts are a normal way of life.
As a teenager looking for punk music in the black market, Marjane walks through a throng of peddlers trying to sell her an assortment of trendy videos, including disguising Micheal Jackson as Jichael Mackson is genius.
Communism is crushed, propaganda cast away and bloody fighting and martyrs frequently being produced. Marjane's life growing up as Persepolis shows us is a hard one full of strife. Yet for all its seriousness there is humour there also.
Throughout the movie a sense of humour that is at times very sarcastic, yet very amusing.
Be it sequences where she talks to God in his cloud or as a girl pestering her Uncle about his ideals and Communist past and life. Be it her making the transition from girl to woman in a very amusing sequence that shows all the joys of getting older. Sarcasm of my own there in case you failed to notice.
Persepolis ends with a beautiful rendition of her grandmother and her smelling of luscious flowers put into her bra area. This for me really does show a sense of how great life can be whatever trouble there is, good is always lurking somewhere, waiting to break free.
Whether it be Marjane's ill fated relationships or defiance of a teacher, or even men telling the women to cover up more and Marjane standing up to them, there are so many sides to this story Persepolis has to offer.
Thus becoming in my eyes a definite masterpiece of emotion, feeling and capturing the plight and suffering not just of one woman but also of a whole nation.
Simply breathtaking, Persepolis is nothing short of greatness and told in a medium bordering on simplicity yet emerging as genius.--May contain some spoilers in review but nothing too major--
Persepolis is another form of freedom of speech and life being birthed from a very intriguing woman, Marjana Satrapi. Who has shown me a nightmarish country Iran where freedom doesn't exist and control is put in effect. Where western culture is frowned upon.
Genius and mesmerizing.
Should win an Award not just for it's animation but for it's subject matter also.
posted 14 hours ago -
I recommend you see...Hey, you should really see this!
posted 20 hours ago -
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I recommend you see...
Frankenstein
by Veronique"frankeinstein" along with "dracula" have been listed as the legendary horror phenonmenon in the 1930s, and they saved lots of theaters from going bankrupt then, and they're the saviors of box office as long as they're double-featured together. it shall be the myth of 1930s.
lots have been said about frankenstein, even its dismissed scriptor robert fortley who got fired becuz of his support for bela lugosi has been mentioned. mae clarke, the woman who gets hit by james cagney with grapefruits in "public enemy", plays the finacee of dr. frankenstein after her copperation with james whale in the original "waterloo bridge"
ignored by some, frankenstein does have something deeply profane within its ideology. "frankenstein" daringly suggests the possibility of creating life without natural course that is the best target bombarded by puritanical american society then, and the fragmented outlook of frankenstein is the symptom of modernism, a half-baked state of man-machine stumbling along to demonstrate the contaminating sin of industrialization. homoeroticism as well as autoeroticism is also suggested in it since dr. frankeinstein chooses to create life in the abscence of female, and dr. frankestein exclaims "it's alive" when the monster arises to life, his excitement seems to border on sexual ecstacy, and then he marvels "with my own hands!!!!" the masturbatory insinauation is reeking everywhere. besides the course of "making life" with his hunchback assistant seems to appeal dr. frankestein more than endearing his finacee's bedroom.
and the subliminal purpose for the existence of deformed monsters like frankenstein is the phobia toward disfiguration after wwi. audience needs some surrogates to suffer from their suppressed subconscious fear so flicks like "frankestein", "dracula" even tod browning's "freaks" could occupy a space in this decade.devoted to its fan fare.
posted 1 day ago -
I recommend you see...
Hancock
by CraigDirected by: Peter Berg.
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan, Jae Head.
<< "Call me an asshole, one more time..." >>
POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD
The story follows a drunk superhero known as Hancock. The entire city knows who he is and although he really is the only savior they have against crime, they don't trust him, seeing as he is careless, drunk and carries an attitude for all to see. But when the city really needs him the most, the closest people he has met along the way must help him to clean himself up and take on what he is asked of.
Yeah the plot sounds predictable and it is...but god the twisted take sounds like it really could be great and when I first heard it I thought 'wow, its great to finally see a twist on the superhero genre that doesn't sound like another parody'...the plot still sounds great to me, but it isn't fulfilled to it potential here.
I shouldn't really be 'spoiling' the opening scene, but I really have to here, because it shows you why I nearly felt like walking out. Without going into to much detail, a car chase/shootout is happening on the highway, Hancock is drunk and asleep, someone calls upon him to help and he flies to help in a drunk state...this sounds decent and funny, but that isn't the case as it is horribly executed here. The CGI is appalling, I get the idea that they are trying to do him flying drunk through the air but it looks very iffy...and THEN he smashes into a sign on the highway that causes a 20 second sequence of blatant CGI bits smashing into countless cop cars that flip and crash in every direction...a very 'Michael Bay' moment made worse playing to the song 'Move Bitch'.
But to be fair, the movie did step up for the next hour. Peter Berg does go to far into the familiar hand-held style that he did in The Kingdom and it does become a little distracting for where the story goes, but he manages to keep the pacing right and really helps to deliver the humor. That is definitely the strong point of the film, its humor. From such a character created (which is actually standard and goes through the basic motions throughout the film...nothing great), its cheeky, witty, a little dirty and very 'in your face'...I definitely found myself having a great time.
The performances were rather acceptable. Will Smith is obviously the right man for such a role. Although getting greedy with the 'celebrity status' he now has, he can still entertain and can act...and his sly attitude and humor really adds presence to the film. Charlize Theron works well with Will and they have unexpected chemistry together...and shes so damn hot throughout. Jason Bateman is...well, Jason Bateman.
Then the film goes downhill from what was actually a rather decent and acceptable 1st and 2nd act. The final act, while watching it, is done well, remained gripped and the visual style was amazing (underneath the mediocre CGI), but by the time the credits rolled, I felt horribly cheated...the film simply changed note harshly and what was for a while a decent, cheeky, witty piece turned into a overly dramatic film that took itself way to seriously.
The film is really problematic. The characters are stock, theres no strong villain presence and the ending really pulls the film down, especially after what I saw as a rather acceptable, funny and witty twist on the superhero genre with a strong performance from Will Smith...pity.Watch on DVD maybe.
posted 1 day ago
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