Syed's Talk

Into the Wild

This true story of Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch), a young man who abandons his life of comfort to pursue the freedom of life on the road, a quest that leads him to the Alaskan wilderness and the ultimate challenge of his life is unbelievable. In the final scene gave me a little tear of McCandless was lonely, struck and starving to the death in the "magic bus".
Hirsch is absolutely brilliant with his good-nature attitude and affable charm. His character believes that human contact is not necessary for happiness and never seeks out relationships. However, his character is so likable that they find him and latch on, not to change his mind, but to experience his level of being and hopefully learn something from him and help enlarge his vocabulary on life.
All the supporting players are magnificent at helping show the side to McCandless that director Sean Penn needs on display to succeed. Hal Holbrook, Brian Dierker, and Catherine Keener are by far the best of these side characters with Vince Vaughn and Kirsten Stewart adding some charm too.

Charlie Bartlett

Damn funny! This is a great comedy with a message. Anton Yelchin has made a name for himself playing the smart, sensitive, and innocent tortured kid. Here he gets the chance to stretch his acting chops in a completely different direction. He's confident and anything but vulnerable. The wide range of emotions and the talents he shows here are unsurpassed. He sings, he dances, he plays piano, he does physical comedy and has fight scenes and romantic scenes and just about everything that could be thrown at him. Hope Davis is a riot as his not-quite-all-there mother. And Tyler Hilton is perfectly cast as the bully who we know from the start is destined to soften up somewhere along the way.

Death Wish

This is one of the most famous "revenge" movies ever made in the 1970s. This was a very, very simple story and it panders to our base instincts which is probably why it was so successful. Most people want justice, and they want it now... which is what this movie preaches. At the time, the movie was shocking. If it came out today, it wouldn't have nearly the impact. However, the early scene of the mother and daughter raped and killed is still horrifying. That will never change.
Charles Bronson gives a remarkably strong performance as a New York architect Paul Kersey becomes as a national figure - the vigilante. I saw a very young Jeff Goldblum nails his performance as one of the muggers who invades Kersey's apartment, immediately scary and repellent.

Fragments (Winged Creatures)

Good ensemble drama like Babel, Magnolia and Traffic with the terrific ensemble cast. Many of these actors provide performances that prove they have more potential than I had previously thought. The film is about numerous characters who witness a murder, and the PTSD that follows them around afterward, and most of the actors have to portray a different PTSD side-effect with his or her performance, and all of them do it very well.
I never believed that Kate Beckinsale had anything to her name besides hot looks, but she plays a stressed-out mother very convincingly. As Dakota Fanning moves towards adulthood, she handles a particularly tricky (and religion-heavy) performance with ease.