| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Dark Knight - PG-13 |
There are a few elements of The Dark Knight that I can harp on, but as a whole, I was completely won over. The story and execution add a level of depth not often seen in comic book action films. One of the things I really liked about the "action-less" Unbreakable is the moral dilemma and "you complete me" relationship between villain and hero. The Dark Knight captures these insights while truly being an edge of your seat blockbuster - what a combination! The movie is a crime drama, tragedy and action film all in one. I really loved how so many elements were designed for it, and they all clicked in my opinion. My expectations were high, and in the beginning I had some doubts... then came the amazing performance by Ledger, starting with the disappearing pencil trick, and I was ready for the ride. It's a shame that we won't see more of Ledger or Eckhart in future installments, and I'm curious to see what they will do next. The bar has been raised again. |
August 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Mean Streets - R | Scorsese's flourishes are all over Mean Streets, but lack the polish and flow of his later films. He showsl commendable daring in the staging of the movie, which let's his characters simply "be" w/o any rhyme or reason, i.e. driving plot. I did enjoy the characters, esp the leads, but wasn't drawn into the mean streets as I did in say Goodfellas. | July 22, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Hellboy - PG-13 | I simply didn't care for much of the movie... Having moderate expectations, it failed to exceed them. The characters, story or action didn't do it for me. | July 16, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Just Friends - PG-13 | Perfect late night, I'm bored and don't want to do anything tv fodder. | July 13, 2008 | N/A | |||
| WALL-E - G |
The movie posters and TV commercials did not entice me to see Wall-E. But after watching friends on Facebook become "Friends of Wall-E" and seeing the universal critical praise, I succumbed. I knew it was by Pixar (I've enjoyed all their flicks), but for some reason wasn't amp'd to see it. All I could think of when I saw the movie poster was they were ripping off Short Circuit! Well I saw it and smiled for every second of the movie. How Pixar infused so much warmth and character into robots with slim to nil dialogue is beyond me and a real technical / writing achievement. The first half of Wall-E is pure cinematic genius, and the second half delivers the action, comedy and social commentary we've come to expect from all the Pixar movies. Because the social commentary is a bit thick for my taste, I didn't give the movie 5 stars. The best part of the movie? The 5 yr old kid and his father behind me were both moved throughout. This is the type of movie that breaks down the barriers between young and old and can be universally appreciated by all cultures/languages. |
July 13, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Serpico - R |
I've been meaning to see Serpico since Max Fischer did a stage interpretation of it in Wes Anderson's Rushmore and it did not disappoint. Pacino was amazing and I am willing to say I liked him in this even more than in The Godfather I & II. His ethical, lady killing, obsessive cop single handily makes the movie tick, and I was engrossed throughout. If you liked LA Confidential & The Departed, and enjoy a young Pacino, you will love Serpico. |
July 13, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) - PG |
Spirited Away has been highly praised by many, but unfortunately it took awhile to draw me in. I think I would enjoy it more upon a second viewing, but it wasn't so astonishing for me to warrant a repeat. I liked the score quite a bit, and the story was fantastical and mystical, two qualities I really like in a movie. If I was 8ish, I'm sure I would have been mesmerized from the first minute because the animation was inspired. However, the story took awhile to develop and that prevented me from giving it more stars. Perhaps if I had known more of what to expect, I would have liked it more... Unrelated to Spirited Away, for the 1 or 2 people who might actually read my review :), I highly recommend The Iron Giant if you haven't seen it. It is directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles and Ratatouille) and is one of my favorite animated films. I am reminded of it now because it relies on old-school animation (pre-Toy Story) like Spirited Away. |
June 16, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - PG-13 |
Great to look at visually and Harrison Ford is still the man. Also, at the risk of sounding unmanly, I actually liked Shia quite a bit in the movie. Indy 4 has great action sequences, unique charaters, amazing effects, and snazzy one liners - which is all I was hoping for from the 4th installment. For some, the ending (quite different from the prior 3 flicks) will ruin it. But with an open mind, I think this is an Indy adventure worth going on. Its on par with another comeback movie of sorts, Die Hard 4. |
June 16, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Iron Man - PG-13 |
Robert Downey Jr made the movie for me, and I'm looking forward to hopefully learning more about Tony Stark in the sequel. The closing action sequence was a bit of a let down, and I felt the motivation of the villain was completely lacking. Overall, Iron Man is solid, and is a must see for comic book movie fans. |
June 16, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Kung Fu Panda - PG |
Formulaic and predictable? Yes. Cheesy? Yes. Enjoyable? Hell yes. Kung Fu Panda is not on the level of The Incredibles, Toy Story, etc. but it was fun nonetheless. If you like kung fu, think animals are cute, like fancy visuals and like hearing chinese proverbs, you will like Kung Fu Panda. |
June 16, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Sicko - PG-13 |
After watching this, I kinda want to move to France! Sicko has definitely made me question the fundamental philosophies of our health system, but it doesn't present any real solutions. Although Canada and Europe appear to have model systems, the US has many factors that make imitating the systems difficult - population density and racial/economical divides, which Sicko chooses to ignore. But I still gave it 4 stars since the movie is insightful, and points out that we as a nation inadequately care for our citizens' health. Sicko supports my belief that a change is needed. Get this. Doctor's in Europe have financial incentives to improve health (e.g. decrease in the # of smokers in their patient file), while American doctor's have to reduce costs and fight the insurance companies to increase their bottom line. Do you want your doctor rewarded financially for improving health or fighting insurance companies and reducing costs? |
May 27, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Cloverfield - PG-13 | I thought this was an inventive monster flick with decent character arcs considering the first person handycam point of view. The special effects were good and there was genuine suspense. | May 27, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Forgetting Sarah Marshall - R | The movie had its moments, such as the goofy Dracula rock opera bits, Jonah Hill's gayness, and Kristen Bell in bed (I like Veronica Mars). I definitely smirked and chuckled throughout, but the movie didn't draw me in and I frankly didn't care about the characters. The movie is definitely not on par w/ the 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, but it works. I've certainly seen worse. | May 11, 2008 | N/A | |||
| American Gangster - R | The leads are terrific, and the plot is entertaining. However, the script was just a little too mechanical for me to give it 4 stars. Definitely good, but not great. | May 11, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Finding Nemo - G | February 19, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Kill Bill: Volume 1 - R | February 19, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Meet The Fockers - PG-13 | February 19, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Rocky - PG | February 19, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Spider-Man - PG-13 | February 19, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Be Kind Rewind - PG-13 | February 14, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Incredibles - PG | February 9, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Notebook - PG-13 | February 9, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| Gladiator - R | February 9, 2008 | N/A | ||||
| The Heartbreak Kid - R | It's a Ben Stiller comedy, what else is their to say? What you see is what you get... | February 6, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Great Escape - Unrated | The running time flew by and I enjoyed the unexpected level of humor in the movie. | February 6, 2008 | N/A |
124 ratings
29 reviews
