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G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra - PG-13
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without question, this film is a massive disappointment. having said that, i waited so long to see it that all i heard was how unwatchable this movie is, so im surprised by how much i didnt hate this film. as a fan of the cartoon in the 80's i was hoping for a good film, and i think a more capable director could have given us something much better, but at least i was entertained enough to consider this a mildly watchable and average film. the acting was horrific, the special effects not at all on par with current quality, and the portrayal of the characters was weak, but it at least kept me interested enough to want to know how the train wreck would end, and that makes the film somewhat salvageable.
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January 1, 2010
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N/A
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Sherlock Holmes - PG-13
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what a pleasant surprise. i expected to hate this film, and i really enjoyed it. the film was not without major problems. while i love the bourne series, this film is an example of the only unfortunate side to living in a post bourne world. this film could have been much better if ritchie had resisted the urge to "bournize" his characters. instead of the mythological holmes we already know, love, and would have rather seen, ritchie ditched much of doyle's creation and gave us sherlock holmes-action star! this was not a good move. aside from this unfortunate reinvention of the character, the film was incredibly enjoyable. the performers were solid, the story entertaining, and the cinematography and art direction were perfect for this sort of film. the dialogue could have been better and the mystery could have been a little more original, but overall the movie was worth a watch - and maybe a rewatch at some point.
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January 1, 2010
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N/A
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Up in the Air - R
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a wonderful film that tugs at the heart without being heavy handed. clooney and farmiga were both great, and the story accomplishes its message effectively while maintaining some objectivity. great film.
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January 1, 2010
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N/A
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The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond - PG-13
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December 30, 2009
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N/A
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The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) - R
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December 30, 2009
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N/A
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Avatar - PG-13
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many of the things that i loved about this film are the exact things that caused my discontent. to begin with, much of the visuals were obviously astounding. the design of the planet, as well as the design of the plant and animal life and the vehicles used by the humans were incredibly impressive. cameron also used color very well. on the other hand, the computer generated characters were far too cartoonish, and the real life characters and computer generated ones didnt blend together quite as well as i had hoped for considering how advanced this film was supposed to be. i would have much rather preferred costumes and make up than the cartoonish look the film had. while the planet looked impressive, david lean made more visually stunning films using actual landscapes rather than artificial ones. the story also had its up and down points. on the one hand the story was engaging enough that even after 160 minutes i could have kept watching if the film were longer. on the other hand, the dialogue was very weak, most elements of the story were completely recycled and unoriginal, and the main antagonist of the film was as cheesy of a villain as we could have received. he was basically a caricature of the villains of the corn ball action flicks of the 80's. the film also relied too much on the demonization of humanity in order to serve its agenda. cameron left the entire human race completely underdeveloped, allowing no conviction to the masses of people on pandora who were far too willing to slaughter innocent natives, and he unfortunately left us completely in the dark as to what earth or contemporary humanity looked like. finally, the film uses a macguffin in the form of "unobtainian", which is a stupid name for the mineral, that is more of a plot hole than a point of interest. overall the film is actually quite good, but its more entertaining than it is interesting and is not without some pretty massive flaws.
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December 23, 2009
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N/A
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Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - R
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herzog's newest film will never be confused with one of his great masterpieces, but i actually really enjoyed watching this film. nic cage gives the most eccentric performance of his already eccentric career, and the best word to describe the film is "bizarre", but in a good way. the film was far from perfect with some moments of sub par dialogue and an ending that was way too neat to fit the messy storyline, but overall this is a film i enjoyed.
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December 23, 2009
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N/A
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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel - PG
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December 23, 2009
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N/A
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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - PG-13
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December 23, 2009
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N/A
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Crazy Heart - R
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December 20, 2009
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N/A
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Invictus - PG-13
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despite some mild pacing problems that will probably effect the films rewatch-ability, invictus is a powerful and inspirational story of reconciliation that transcends its sports medium. both freeman and damon were very good, and the movie was filmed as well as one would expect from an eastwood film. not quite what the film could have been if it had been more about mandela and less about a singular event in his leadership, but eastwood succeeds at telling the story that he chose to tell.
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December 19, 2009
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N/A
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The Princess and the Frog - G
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much attention has been paid to disneys return to traditional animation, with mixed reviews. i have to say that i even find myself a bit conflicted as to how much i actually liked it. the film is definitely as charming as any other disney classic, and its characters are as well used for the most part. the villain is without question one of the more villainous and terrifying of any that disney has ever produced, and i found myself staying interested in the story. on the downside, while i found myself enjoying the music as i was watching the film as a fan of jazz, im now at a loss to remember any of the songs. disney is the master at memorable songs. im also conflicted as to how i feel about the villain, who was so effective that im not sure he's quite kid friendly enough. in the end, it was a very good film, worth a rewatch, and a solid addition to the disney cannon, but it is nowhere near as good as disneys top 10 or so animated films.
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December 19, 2009
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N/A
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Did You Hear About the Morgans? - PG-13
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December 17, 2009
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N/A
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Disney's A Christmas Carol - PG
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a solid version of the classic tale, but nowhere near the best. the acting was on point and the 3D animation was excellent to take in, but aside from being entertaining, the film misses on many things. it didnt seem to know what kind of film it wanted to be. at one moment its a dark and somber film, at other moments it takes you on one carnival ride like adventure scene after another. was it trying to be a dark and serious film, or was it trying to feel adventurous and fun. zemeckis didnt seem to blend the two styles well enough. overall its unique nature saves it from obscurity, but as far as a Christmas carol goes, there are better versions.
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December 14, 2009
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N/A
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Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) - Unrated
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many still consider this the definitive film version of a Christmas carol, and in many ways it still is. alastair sim is brilliant as srooge, doing a great job of selling each emotion and change of perspective. despite this films reputation as the definitive version, its surprising that this version also adds more to the story than most versions. especially during the visions of scrooges past, this film contains quite a few scenes not found in the novel or any other film version, thankfully each of the additions work really well to create a complete and compelling version of this wonderful story.
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December 13, 2009
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N/A
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The Muppet Christmas Carol - G
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probably the most fun version of a Christmas carol ever made. great humor, wonderful usage of all characters except the ghost of Christmas past, and a very faithful retelling of the book. where the film diverted from the book the filmmakers made creative and worthy choices. michael caine is forced to compete on screen with a bunch of muppets, and absolutely shines as one of the best scrooge performances of all time. while many scrooges are formulaic and stale as they simply recite familiar lines, caine was fresh and emotional and effectively evil as scrooge, while making his redemption very believable. excellent version of the great classic.
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December 12, 2009
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N/A
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Mickey's Christmas Carol - G
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an absolutely perfect and efficient telling of the classic. this short little cartoon is actually more faithful to much of the dialogue of the book than full feature length films have been, but of course disney adds so much fun to the telling of any story. disneys characters are used so well, and this stands as a Christmas carol version that i see some 5 or 6 times every december. probably my favorite version of this story ever put to film, and one of the best Christmas movies ever made.
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December 12, 2009
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N/A
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A Christmas Carol - PG
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a very average telling of a very superb classic story. i was surprised by how very uneven goerge c. scotts performance was as scrooge considering how very great of an actor he was, and the entire story was a bit dry and wooden. this felt very much like a film that was thrown together all too quickly, simply regurgitating the familiar story rather than putting heart into it. the end of the film was still heart warming and the story still told well enough to give it a watch now and then, but compared to the alastair sim version, or the muppet or disney version, this remains a film that need not be seen due to much better versions being available.
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December 12, 2009
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N/A
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A Single Man - R
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December 9, 2009
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N/A
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Vertigo - PG
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for my cinephile tastes, this film is a rarity. i know im supposed to love this film, and hitchcock is one of my favorite directors, but i just dont see it. actually, the majority of the film is essentially amazing, but the end trails off aimlessly and loses focus. still a great film, but for me hitchcock has made much better films.
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December 8, 2009
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N/A
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The Blind Side - PG-13
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although this film has its cliche moments, it is far better than the normal run of the mill feel good sports movie. bullock and bates were both very good, and michael oher's story is a special one. the film was filmed especially well and most of the dialogue was compelling. a rare film among recent sports films in that i strongly recomend it.
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December 4, 2009
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N/A
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White Christmas - Unrated
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this classic Christmas musical is one of the more well beloved and cherished musicals, and Christmas movies, of all time. surprisingly, for me its one of the more overrated. i am a huge fan of director michael curtiz, as well as both leading men, crosby and kaye, but the film didnt quite work on enough levels. its a Christmas movie that has little to do with Christmas, and despite the fact that the music was well paced and not overdone the story never feels like its truly going anywhere. the focus of the story is on crosby falling in love with an unatractive woman at first sight an hour after saying he wasnt all that interested in love at this point in his life, and then the film uses the overdone plot device of creating unnecessary conflict out of zaney misunderstanding, which are misunderstandings that would never unfold this way in real life. the film is slightly saved by one very touching and well done moment at the end where the general is surprised by his former soldiers, but overall it all adds up to being fairly average.
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December 4, 2009
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N/A
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Brothers - R
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December 2, 2009
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N/A
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Everybody's Fine - PG-13
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December 2, 2009
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N/A
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Armored (Armoured) - PG-13
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December 2, 2009
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N/A
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10911 ratings
1808 reviews
