Will Guffey (willguffey)
Pittsburgh PA
Will's Recent Reviews
Shutter Island
R
Not Scorsese's best. But to be fair, I don't think anyone was expecting his best. The element that stood out for me was the artistic direction of the film. This is an erily gothic and nightmarish detective thriller and I still can't believe the caliber of beautifully awe inspiring shots I've seen. The island itself is quite beautiful to look at as well.
As for the story, it starts off slow and the build of interest grabing is just as slow. You get your clues to the answers in what seems like snail-like time. But the dream sequences DO hold your attention. With actors like Leo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley, I don't have to tell you the acting really draws you in. But I must single Mark Ruffalo out. He's never really impressed me before this movie but his character.... Impressive.
The ending was.... Well, all I'm going to say is I'm sad that it stopped there. I thought they could have gone further with it.
Overall I must say this is a great movie. But because of the caliber of talent on this project both in front of and behind the camera it feels like they got together and did a movie "just for kicks".
Shaun of the Dead
R
Love this movie. The comic homage to zombie movies that started a craze of not just comic zombie movies but Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's legendary teamwork. They are genius in this movie. This one is Chalk full of zombies at every waking moment. As soon as the zombie epidemic hits there's very little time between zombie sightings which I can dig. It's like super sizing your zombie meal.
The movie does have one thing that bugs me however. The part where... Oh wait SPOILER ALERT: OK, so Shaun goes through this great journey of self discovery that builds him from a nobody looser to hero. Then the moment he gets trapped in a basement with his girlfriend he's about to call it quits. That is until someone bails them out.... Twice! Thus killing everything that he just worked for (save getting his girlfriend back). I find myself watching this on comedy central or some channel then leaving around the time the asshole nerd gets his.
Ah well, still worth buying on DVD.
Will's Favorite Movies
The Princess Bride
PG
Maybe the BEST movie ever made. Why? The script is the best script ever written in my opinion. The ingredients involved are flawlessly combined while making sure Action, Comedy, Horror, Suspense, Fantasy, and Family Values are in the movie. With the exception of Buttercup the entire movie was cast perfectly. Now bare in mind I'm not saying Robin Wright Penn did a bad job. Far from it. I'm just saying I believe they could have found someone with equal or superior acting talent that would better fit the description of "Most Beautiful Woman In The Land". Keeping that in mind I will say Robin Wright Penn did an excellent job with the part. This is (In My Opinion) Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, and Wallace Shawn's best work. The cinematography (considering the year the movie was filmed) was done so well that it lends itself to the audiences imagination. The direction was well done and I believe Robert Reiner should just put down his directors hat and walk away. He can do no better than this movie. This is a movie you can't remake or sequel. Such an act would be like trying to rewrite or improve upon the works of genius' such as William Shakespear, Albert Einstein, or Monet. But this movie was not made by one genius. This was the product of many talented hard working visionaries.
Clue
PG
In my opinion one of the best comedies ever written. Sure it's based off a board game. But who cares. Tim Curry's best comedic performance. Every actor had excellent chemistry with each other. The scenery, fantastic and adds to the comical mystery as possible. My second favorite movie in the world.
