| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar - PG-13 |
Congratulations on James Cameron for creating a blockbuster that's actually a decent movie. For graphics and special effects, this movie gets 5 stars from me (and probably an Oscar from the Academy). But story-wise, it was really nothing special. It was a sappy love story concealed as an epic action movie made in 3D to blow you out of the water and convince you it's a good movie. The performances are weak, the storyline is familiar, at times poorly and carelessly structured, very holed, and without the 3D technology and the glasses, it's like everything else we've ever seen from Hollywood, although in a shinier wrapper and marketed better. But frankly, it can be enjoyable to no end. The 2 hours and 40 minutes fly by, and a whole new world is being created right in front of your eyes, and it makes you wanna be a part of it. So, for that, and for the environmental message, it has my 3 stars. |
December 20, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Flickan som lekte med elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire) - Unrated |
The second part of the Millennium Trilogy wasn't as nearly as successful as the first part, but of course it's still highly enticing and keeps the quality levels where they should be. A lot less daring, a lot less extreme and much more affected by what one might see in a Hollywood action thriller - the reasons for which The Girl Who Played With Fire isn't as interesting as its predecessor. Of course, Noomi Rapace is as phenomenal as always - and in the second part we learn a lot more about her character's past and many questions of the first part are answered. The ending is a bit melodramatic, has too many cliches, and reminds a Greek tragedy, but I still liked it enough. Because despite all its flaws, its deliverance is pragmatic and it does not compromise. |
December 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| 2012 - PG-13 |
158 wasted minutes of my life I'll never get back and Cusack's worst choice of movie to star in - I guess he must have really needed the cash. I really wonder, don't the cast and crew sit in a room all together after the filming is over and see it? What about premieres with red carpets? Didn't they see this film before it was released? For them to think, "Can we let this monstrosity go out in cinemas?" Yes, the good guys survive, as it was expected - even though everything was happening to them, as it was expected. Maybe if this movie had something to say it would be that if the end of the world comes in 2012 only the rich will survive, and we don't stand a chance. So Roland Emmerich and everyone who starred in this film will get into a boat while we die. I wish the money spent to make this film had been utilized to build schools. Maybe then, people would get educated and they'd never make movies like this to begin with. |
December 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Crazy Heart - R | December 19, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Idiots and Angels - Unrated |
This truly was a masterpiece. You know how sometimes you watch a movie and you're not sitting in the chair of your desk, your eyes are not on your computer screen, but you are actually IN the movie? Taking part in everything that is happening? Well, this is what will happen with this film as well. Idiots And Angels is the most perfect title they could have come up with. The protagonist of this film is an idiot himself - his daily routine has taken away all pleasure from his life and he's nothing but an android, driving to work, returning, shouting from inside his car, laughing at the humiliation of others, drinking at a god-forsaken bar. And then something happens. He grows wings. And even though it takes him a while to understand how to treat his "difference", he finally distances himself from the avarice of humanity, and he becomes just...human, more than anything. Bill Plympton didn't use many things to make this film - just a brilliant concept, and the most simplistic one. A film that deals with the most common weaknesses: money, fame, envy, pride. And yet, as this film proves there will always be something to balance with all that's unjust. |
December 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Faustrecht der Freiheit (Fox and His Friends) (Fist-Fight of Freedom) - Unrated |
Unlike a couple of other Fassbinder films I've watched, this one is absolutely marvelous. The characters are deeply interesting (even if they're not all likable), and it presents us the life of a poor man who wins the lottery and all of a sudden is elevated from the streets to mansions, from pubs to expensive restaurants, from working to the circus to owning half an industry, from cheap blue jeans to expensive suit and ties. But beyond that, he's only the naive victim of an uptight rich man, who takes advantage of him and his money in order to save his company (and himself) from bankruptcy. The unfairness of this movie drove me crazy - that's for sure. I was wondering when love would stop blinding Fox from seeing the truth. It's as simple as any Fassbinder movie is - just a camera, a few actors, a script and a setting. One Fassbinder film that touched me, and a film which the characters could easily correspond to types of individuals today. |
December 19, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Darr: A Violent Love Story (Fear) - Unrated | December 17, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| X (X: Their Destiny Was Foreordained 1999) - R | December 15, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done - Unrated | This probably isn't one of Herzog's proudest creations, but it's obsessive and mad enough to know that it's his - even though it's a movie created for wider audiences, and for which in order to like you don't need to have seen Herzog again. The humor in it is so twisted and wicked as you don't often get to see in a movie that's practically a drama. Michael Shannon is absolutely terrific - I'm glad he had the leading role, because I can think of no other actor who can portray an increasingly unbalanced man with a fascination for flamingos doing a better job than Shannon. A highly enjoyable (not in the sense you imagine though) film, even though it's too "easy" for Herzog. Not a masterpiece, but wacky enough to be worthy of mentioning. | December 15, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Carriers - PG-13 |
You usually expect movies with semi-famous actors to be a step above all the other horror films Hollywood serves. I personally am very fond of Lou Taylor Pucci and Christopher Meloni, and I can easily watch films with Chris Pine, Piper Perabo and Emily VanCamp in. But, unfortunately, even though it tries to say something, it doesn't succeed in saying it. Unlike most virus/pandemic films, we actually see the aftermath in this film, and not the breakout. More than anything, this isn't a horror movie that will disgust you or scare you, since neither happens. It's actually a film about heartless choices, and what one will do in the face of survival. How cruel the kindest of humans can become when their safety is at question - how we abandon children in the hands of a man who will poison them to save them - how we leave behind our girlfriend because she's "one of them" - how we shoot our own flesh and blood to be safe. A different scope in a very ordinary matter, but other than that, nothing interesting - or something exceptional. |
December 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Luftslottet som sprängdes (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) - Unrated | December 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| 187 - R | Great movie that ended in a pretty stupid way. | December 13, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Lean on Me - PG-13 | December 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| To Sir, With Love - Unrated | December 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Class of 1984 - R | December 13, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - R |
This is the study of an unlikely hero, who has suffered through all kinds of torments and trials, and yet somehow manages to keep on going, to keep on hoping when most of us would have quit. It's not an easy movie to watch - I can say that much. Mo'Nique is absolutely stunning in the role of the abusive mother (something I would never expect to say), and Gabourey Sidibe is breathtaking as Precious. Lee Daniels' direction may defy what has been establish when it comes to the standards of US directional methods, but in his case, this only elevates his portraits and does not undermine them. We've seen quite a few movies like this in the past, which is why I'm rating it this much. It reminded me many other movies, and it was too slow and rotary. I wasn't blown away, but I'd recommend it because you can never have enough movies that are containers of such humanity. |
December 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Whatever Works - PG-13 |
For everyone who knows my movie tastes well enough, they'll know that Woody Allen isn't a director I'd list amongst the ones I admire - maybe because I have great difficulty separating his private life from his movie-making one. I haven't seen a good Woody Allen film in years - decades! After The curse of the Jade Scorpio he's on a constant decline. And he knows so. Thus, he digs up a script he wrote 30 years ago and serves it to us. It's not funny, not particularly interesting, and it only chews over what we've been seeing from Woody Allen since he knew how to make movies. There were a few good lines, smart storyline, but it's a movie I'd expect to see from practically any director - because it was THAT easy to make. The characters were indifferent, the ending was sappy, and overall - if we force it - it was mildly enjoyable. |
December 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Man Som Hatar Kvinnor (Millenium: Part 1 - Men Who Hate Women) (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) - Unrated | Absolutely marvelous. Action movies are my least favorite kind, but this one is radically different than all the cliche crap we've seen in the past. I haven't read the book, but the movie is just fantastic. It's 2-and-a-half-hours long and yet it literally flies by. Sorry for the expression, but Swedish cinema has balls. There can never be a Hollywood remake out of this movie, and even if there will be, half of the material will be edited out. Because in Man Som Hatar Kvinnor there are no embellishments, no efforts to make it harmless. You just dive into it and are swept by it. I do sincerely hope there shall not be a Hollywood remake, because let's face it - the Swedish near-masterpiece will be butchered. Noomi Rapace gives a stellar performance and deserves most of the credit of why this movie is so splendid. | December 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| The Ron Clark Story (The Triumph) - PG | Love this kind of films, where a teacher comes out of nowhere and changes the lives of his students. Because that rarely (never?) happens in real life. Maybe not the best movie in its kind, but surely does the trick. Matthew Perry is magical. | December 12, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Bee Season - PG-13 | December 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Dangerous Minds - R | December 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Freedom Writers - PG-13 | December 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Music of the Heart - PG | December 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| La journée de la jupe (Skirt Day) - Unrated | December 12, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| Mr. Holland's Opus - PG | "Mr. Holland's Opus" goes down the same road "Dead Poets Society" and "Les Choristes" went after it. A great movie, that can make an impact without second thoughts. The music is soul-filling and the performances are wonderful. This movie is a fountain of inspiration, and it is as much about the story of a teacher trying to change his students' lives through music as it is about the story of a father who doesn't know how to reach out to his own son. However magical and inspirational it might be though, this movie can be tiresome at times and it also fails to explode into the hearts of the viewers. | December 12, 2009 | N/A |
33423 ratings
698 reviews
