John's Talk

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

A much better film over the first one. The effects much more smooth. The acting improved.

Shinobi (Shinobi: Heart Under Blade)

" We could only be married in our dreams". WOW!This was just awesome, yet no one on my list has even seen it yet!. This has to be the best romance/action film I've ever seen even though it ends on such a tragic yet successful note. Also, the cinematography has stunning beauty that's one of a kind. Acting and direction was great, action was well executed, and best of all, the story is mesmerizing along with it's cinematography beauty. The only thing you can possibly say against this film is that the characters' powers were copies off of x-men and it's somewhat true because even though some of the characters have very simular powers to the characters of x-men, there are slight differences like the girl who kills people by kissing them is thought to be a copy of Rogue, but really Rogue sucks the life out of people where the girl in this movie breathes poison into them. However dispite this, the entire time in the forest where one of the characters would throw spikes and the others would cut them in half really felt like Spike and Wolverine in X-men 3, but aside from that, it's original in my eyes and not to mention that there were characters with very unique powers that had no resemblence to the X-Men characters. Now enough of that, lets get to the ending. Like I said at the beginning of the review, this movie ends on a tragic yet successful note because you are emotionally attached to the main characters Gennosuke and Oboro and can clearly see from the start that they are in love. Unfortantly for them, they happen to be on seperate rival clans. Japan becomes united and they decide to have these two lone villages pick the five best fighters from each village and then have them battle. Whoever is the survivor of the fight, their village they represent now continue to rule while the other village will be forgotten. In the choosing, Gennosuke and Oboro are both picked as the leaders of the battle, thus pin pointing them against each other. As the battle begins, Gennosuke doesn't want to fight, but after days of seeing her people die, Oboro begins fighting more and more and becomes less resistant to the idea. I wont spoil the ending, but like I said, its tragic, yet successful and somewhat faithful to the love they have. Overall, this was an amazing film and is easily my favorite romance film yet. Whats quite remarkable is the fact that I had never heard of this film and only saw the cover on a wall in a discount shop. Needless to say it was a pleasent surprise that captured my heart, kept me intrigued, engaged, and overall completely consumed and enslaved to the pure beauty and genius of this tragic asian fairytale. YOU MUST SEE THIS!

Revolutionary Road

Revolutionary Road

The Spirit

An interesting comic film, feels like being in the middle of Will Eisner's art.

Twilight

Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)

Apart from looking amazing, I'd believe it was rotoscoped, this is powerful look at some senseless war through personal stories. An animated documentary following a mans quest to regain some memories. Comparisons of what the Israelies did is in the film itself so I needn't reiterate. Reminds me of a nam film a lot of the time too. Harrowing, brilliant, essential and very important

Milk

Fantastic film about a slice of history I knew nothing about. A must watch for pretty much everyone, and the best film that Gus Van Sant has lensed since Good Will Hunting.

Pineapple Express

Great stoner comedy wrap in the most messed up action movie you'll ever see. Fantastic stuff. More please.

Tropic Thunder

You can smell the Coen on this one. Great satire of the movie business wrapped in a good comedy war movie in the style of Three Amigos etc. Everyone brings A game stuff to this one, particularly Downey who is on form at the moment. Not that he's ever off...

Wanted

An excellent film, only part came from the graphic novel, a lot of fun to watch

Slumdog Millionaire

Nothing about "Slumdog Millionaire" seemed all that interesting. The plot is very odd, centering around the true story of a very poor boy who had no education somehow winning a game show through knowledge from his past experiences. It doesn't sound bad, but it sounds cheesy to a certain extent. The trailer made it seem a bit over dramatic and it was not all that intriguing. The only thing that truly got me out to the theater were the reviews and the buzz heading into its release and man am I glad I listened to that. "Slumdog Millionaire" is one of the very finest films to be released this year and I could see it up for many awards come this years oscars.

Danny Boyle has directed so many genres and has done so well with all of them that I can confidently say that he just flat out knows how to direct movies. His style doesn't change, but his ability to tell a story doesn't either. It all comes together very well for "Slumdog Millionaire" which is probably one of the toughest positive films in years. It's absolutely incredible the struggles the characters face in the film, and Boyle transfers all of these real life events and cultural factors onto the screen quite poetically and beautifully. It doesn't end up being a cheesy story at all, it's actually rather realistic, and at times it's hard to take. The Indian culture is illustrated beautifully with all the grit and rich colors, and vibrant characters, this film is truly brought to life. I don't think there's another director out there who could've done it better. He also does a great job with pacing. His quick cutting and stylized shooting and editing styles help to speed up the film in some of it's slower moments. Not to mention the fantastic choice of music, mixing mostly Indian music, always with a great beat and some American music as well, when appropriate. It all comes together and tells a great and compelling story in an entertaining way.

The acting in the film is very good from the entire cast. Three separate actors have to play the main character, Jamal, as well as his brother Salim. All three actors who play both characters do a great job. Even the younger actors show a great range, while none of the 6 actors have one particularly weak link of any kind. Much of the supporting cast must've been famous in India because many of the older men in the film just did a magnificent job. The love interest, Latika, was believably gourgeous when the final actress began to play the more mature version of the girl. There is no specific actor in the film that I can look at and say was miscast.

The writing is all very well done. The movement in time is something that could've easily been screwed up but it's handled quite well. It also would've never ever worked as a narrative and the movement in time seemed very logical and necessary to effectively tell the story. The character arch's throughout the film are done to perfection and I can't say there were many moments were I thought something could've been more fleshed out. I suppose the romance plot line was a little simplistic and could've been delved into more, but it was believable enough that it didn't really effect the overall quality of the movie. Another big strength is the fact that it has a very wide appeal. The story is a very universal struggle that any culture can understand. It also should appeal to both sexes as it seems to cross into enough genres that it can interest both men and women. I don't know who truly would not enjoy or get something out of this film. As a whole it could be most easily compared to "City of God" but a little more positive, and I mean that as the highest of compliments. I had very few problems with any part of the film and the writing is no exception.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is a totally welcome and very pleasant surprise. Not only is it one of the few films in recent memory that really immersed you in a very rich and colorful culture, but it also is one of the few that tells a story that will keep you in it's grip from start to finish. I'm sure a lot of dramatic license was taken while adapting this true story to the big screen, but that doesn't take much away from it. It's still one of the most positive yet realistic films I've seen in a long time and I highly recommend it to everyone out there.

9.5/10

Quantum of Solace

A very good film, the action is top notch, plot is usual for a Bond film, but misses the Q and Moneypenny segments that are almost a must.

October Sky

Every once in a while a gem drops outta no-where. October Sky is one of those gems.

Released in 1999 and Staring Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper, this flick tells the True Story of Homer Hickam. A boy with dreams of building rockets.

The story takes place in the 1950's in a small mining town in WV. Without much support and with a lot of ridicule, Homer tries to overcome his situation and live his dreams.

You might be thinking..."blah blah blah, another feelgood movie". But thats OK...I would have thought that also. I almost changed the channel when this flick came on. I am Glad I didn't !

This is a great Flick and even better that its a true story. Homer Hickam went on to become a engineer at NASA and MUCH more.

The Incredible Hulk

Great Flick! I was sceptical about Norton playing this role. Dont get me wrong I love his acting. This just didn't seem like a role for him...was I wrong!

This sequel blew the first away! Was this really meant to be a sequel? Brilliant acting by Norton...Terrific villain played by Tim Roth. On the spot CGI and on the edge of your seat action!

Hey fellows...Does Liv Tyler have great set of legs or what? Loved the tie in at the end. I cant wait for the next flick.