| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond - PG-13 | December 30, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Cinderella Man - PG-13 |
Cinderella Man probably isn't Ron Howard's best film, but it might be his most quintessential one. A man whose talents have always rested on getting audiences to like and root for characters, Howard uses every weapon - acting, casting, lighting, editing, art direction, music - at a filmmaker's disposal to win viewers over. He won more than half the battle to make Braddock likable as soon as he cast Russell Crowe. Braddock offers the kind of role he does better than anybody - a man with a maelstrom of emotions swelling under the surface who, when given the opportunity, is able to exorcise those feelings in physical activity. He allows Braddock to lose much of his dignity without making him pathetic. 
Howard's ability to get good performances, his judicious lack of a saccharine score, and the detailed but never showy period details add up to a very Howardesque quality that might be called melodramatic realism. There are almost always interesting supporting performances in Howard's films, and Cinderella Man is no exception. Paul Giamatti, an actor simply unable to do anything out of character no matter who the character is, serves up yet another award-caliber performance. Set in a world that would not seem to reward intelligence, Giamatti's character thrives on that very attribute. He knows how to manipulate those around him, but never does so in a harmful way. His scenes with ace character actor Bruce McGill are textbook examples of great no-frills acting. The film has moments where it overreaches for the melodrama, and the drive of the film stalls slightly during the extended third act, where the audience is left waiting for too long for the final fight to start, but Cinderella Man is at its heart old-fashioned, crowd-pleasing entertainment made and performed without cynicism. 
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December 30, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Chariots of Fire - PG | One reason for the film's success lies in its unswerving sense of the story that it's telling. Plot details aside, this is the story of two strong personalities, Abrahams and Liddell, who are very different from each other in many ways, but united in their talent for running and their passionate devotion to what each feels is most important. Chariots of Fire gives us a complex, nuanced view of each of these characters; while each has certain driving characteristics (Abrahams' arrogance; Liddell's faith), these are just part of a multi-faceted personality that we get to see develop over the course of the film. Are either of the two characters "heroes"? In the conventional narrative sense, maybe not; Chariots of Fire doesn't let either of them slip into the simple outlines of being the triumphant hero (or the tragic hero either, for that matter). As the contemporary frame of Chariots of Fire reminds us, these are, and were, real people who really lived and really experienced these events; they can indeed be heroic figures, but always in the complicated, messy way that real human beings can be heroes. | December 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - PG-13 |
Yes, it is entertaining, for its most addicted fans...Yes, it is truly the perfect materialization of the cheap Hollywood production (and by cheap, I don't mean its budget, of course)...Yes, it has lots of special effects that simply don't add up to today's box office hits...Yes, Ford does look a bit old, heavy or bored, and its unforgettable charm seems to be "missing in action" most of the time...
But the point is, no Indiana Jones' fan would expect anything else from this sequel...It doesn't matter that the story itself has so many unanswered questions or that the characters aren't, even a little bit, believeable...what it matters, is that indiana Jones is back, and watching it, will definetly quench your thirst for action-adventure for the day.... |
December 29, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Paranormal Activity - R | December 28, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| You've Got Mail - PG |
You can't get a more relaxing romantic comedy than this one. Needless to say it's a classic, but necessary to mention that the film's flavour definetly comes from Tom and Meg's sparkling chemistry. And because its romantic, there's no need for an unpredictable, complicated, thought-provoking plot or screenplay. In order to "feel" it, you gotta let down your guard for a moment and get in touch with your sensitive side...
All in all, You've Got Mail is a modern romantic comedy with witty, sharp dialogue and an excellent sense of humor. If you like romantic comedies, the movie is worth the price of admission |
December 27, 2009 | N/A | |||
| WALL-E - G | Too many kid's movies are created to give kids things to buy; WALL-E is a kid's movie that might, perhaps, give you and your kids pause to think about what things truly cost...even though it's all in 45 minutes | December 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Kid - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard: Sexie - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard: Live at the Ambassadors - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Garfield As Himself - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard - Unrepeatable - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard - Definite Article - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard - Circle - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard - Glorious - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Eddie Izzard - Dress to Kill - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Garfield Holiday Celebrations - Unrated | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Donnie Brasco - R |
Donnie Brasco is not a perfect movie; few movies are. As far as movies in that genre go, Donnie Brasco is in the upper echelons (not an easy feat considering the competition). It might not be completely original, but you have to understand that a movie in such a specific genre is damning itself to stereotypes. Its downplaying of the mob lifestyle is refreshing, and its performances are excellent.
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December 24, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Taxi Driver - R | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Where the Buffalo Roam - R | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| A Fish Called Wanda - R | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Batman Begins - PG-13 | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Murder by Death - PG | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Great Muppet Caper - G | December 24, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| The Secret of NIMH - G | December 24, 2009 | N/A |
3711 ratings
327 reviews
