Movie of the Week: Rocky

   

    Movie of the Week (4/11/14-4/17/14): We all love a good underdog story and there is no better one than probably the one that started them all. Boxing has sort of faded away a little in today's age, although there are still plenty of fights, it is not as popular as it used to be twenty years ago. Boxing was popular for a very long time in the United States and people watched many boxers rise from the bottom to the top. I'm sure you know which ones I'm talking about. But, in 1976 we were introduced to one that started from the very bottom and rose to the top by making a 'nobody' become a 'somebody' in, Rocky.
    Rocky Balboa is a collector for a loan shark and he gets paid here and there when he collects money. He is also a small time boxer and has very small fights every now and then. The problem is he doesn't get paid very much and is struggling, he lives in a terrible apartment with bugs and dirt. Then he gets the chance of a life time. Champion Apollo Creed comes to town and Rocky sees this as a chance to become 'somebody.' He and Apollo plan to fight an exhibition that is suppose to be an easy fight that Apollo is suppose to win. Rocky wants to train as hard as he can while falling in love with a girl and prove that he's got what it takes to step in the ring with a Champion.
    As you all know by now, Sylvester Stallone plays Rocky, and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor, his only nomination. That is probably because this is his best acting that he has done, although he has a few other movies were he didn't receive the recognition that he deserved. But, nevertheless he was great in this movie and brought Rocky to life I don't think anybody else could. Talia Shire plays Adrian and she too was great here as a struggling woman who finds a man she least expected. Burgess Meredith and Burt Young play Mickey and Paulie respectively and both got nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Again, they too are great in every scene adding to the emotion filled film. Carl Weathers is also very good here as Apollo Creed, he and Rocky were great when on screen together.
    As I said this is a great story about an underdog rising up from the very bottom and that is what Stallone gave us. He actually wrote the screenplay when he had next to nothing and sold it to become a millionaire over night. He actually went and bought his dog back, which he sold because he needed money so badly. But, he gave us a great story with wonderful character development and characters that we want to cheer for over and over again. Director John G. Avildsen gives us great classic direction with perfectly filmed scenes with a very realistic feel to them. The boxing scenes were filmed very well too with a good mix of close up and wide shots so we are not overwhelmed, they were very well balanced.
    Of course we have great editing from start to finish, some scenes with very little and some with several good cuts to give the film excellent flow. The film also has great sound as it is mixed and edited perfectly in each scene, especially the boxing scenes and the iconic training scenes when Rocky goes from workout to workout all the way up those famous steps. Of course this film would not be complete without its powerful and motivating musical score. Bill Conti gave us a wonderful and moving score that is still being used today, we all get pumped when we hear it. Rocky is a film that never gets old as we cheer on its underdog every time we watch it, including its sequels, and get moved by its story and characters.
4/4 Stars  

Movie of the Week: Minority Report

   

    Movie of the Week (5/4/14-5/10/14): Murder is everywhere in the world and it happens everyday, whether we want it to or not. The murder of innocent people and the murder of guilty people happens yet in a future world we see where humans have come up with a way to stop murders all together. In a perfect world that is what people want, to have no more murders, but of course everything has its pros and cons. The system that is used in this film appeared to have been hiding something, something that might have put the wrong people in jail and, when in the wrong hands, could be used to commit murder again. Now, that being said some people have an image that could have proved they would have been innocent, but some do not, some future murderers have a, Minority Report.  
    John Anderton leads an elite crime fighting force called Precrime, in 2054, which is a new kind of program that can see people who are about to commit a murder. For six years it has been perfect, and in six years there has not been a murder. The system has three gifted humans called Pre-Cogs that work together to see the future murders. Anderton soon discovers that the system predicts him to commit a murder on a victim he doesn't even know. He is then on the run with his former teammates after him, with his past haunting him and used against him, he must find out who and why has set him up for a murder that he is suppose to commit in 36 hours.
    Tom Cruise plays John Anderton and I was very, very impressed with his performance in this movie. This is probably my favorite character of his because he seemed to enjoy playing it and delivers an electrified performance with a great and in depth character. Colin Farrell plays Danny Witwer, a man trying to find flaws in the system and when he seems to have found them begins chasing Anderton. Farrell was also very good in this picture and gave a very good supporting actor performance. Max Von Sydow plays Lamar Burgess, who is the Director of the Precrime force. He was very good in a role that we don't see him in very often and played it well to the point that we are shocked in the films climax, another fine performance from Sydow. We also have a good supporting cast that delivers very well in Neal McDonough, Steve Harris, Patrick Kilpatrick, Jessica Capshaw, Samantha Morton, and Tim Blake Nelson.
    In case you didn't know, this was directed my Steven Spielberg and you can most definitely tell that it has his touch. His intense and hands on direction shows that he wanted this film to be a very good film, I loved his way of directing this movie in making it feel like an action film while giving it the look of a true Sci-fi film. But he couldn't have done it without the work of cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, who has worked with Spielberg a lot. He gave the film an interesting glare look to it to make it look more futuristic, of course he used it more in the dramatic scenes do give them a boost. The lighting was also interesting here too.
    We also have fantastic editing here, to me editing that deserved an Oscar nomination, that made the film absolutely fun to watch especially during the chase scenes and the revelations scenes. John Williams score is also very moving and riveting. But this film would not be what it is with out the visual effects and production design. These two combined make this an effective movie, along with them being Spielberg's trademark in his films. They are both great and put the finishing touches on this great film because it is beautiful to look at with these fantastic visuals and sets. It is also a great story, with Sci-fi, action, and mystery all mixed in one because of a great screenplay, it is very well written. With great performances, stellar direction, eye-popping cinematography, visual effects, editing, and sets, and an intense story, this is a new modern Sci-fi classic.
3.5/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Man of Steel

    Movie of the Week (4/27/14-5/3/14): Many of you might remember this highly anticipated film from last year, several of my friends liked it a lot... but I didn't. And let me try and tell you all why Man of Steel was the most disappointing film of 2013. Like everybody else, I went into this movie expecting to be swept off of my feet with the best Superman movie ever made. I had such high hopes for this movie that I can't even explain it. I had probably the highest expectations for a movie in years. And  I expected to give this movie very high praise and a 4 Star review, but in the end I was a little let down by Zack Snyder, again. Now, I don't mean that this was a total bust because it wasn't, I still some aspects of the movie, but not near as much as I thought I would, and there were several things that let me down.
    We all pretty much know the story of Superman and his origin, and that is what this film was about, just a re-imagining of it, so I'm not going to go into details on the plot. First, I'm going to tell you what hurt the movie. So, first was the pacing, the movie is told in flashbacks several times, but you're never confused because you can tell which scenes were flashbacks. What hurt the film with the flashbacks was that many of them didn't seem to fit in place during the film when we go back in time, they hurt the pacing. A couple times in the first 45 minutes to an hour I found myself a little bored, hoping it would start to pick up. The flashbacks hurt the film the most and a I think it would have been better if it was told chronologically with maybe a couple flashbacks.
    The next things are how we find out something and how they used Lois Lane, played by Amy Adams. Again, this is an origin story and those can be hard to tell, but some thing's we find out in the first half of the movie didn't seem to make much sense. I found myself asking "how did he get there to find that particular object?" The film was jumpy at times when it came to those aspects. Next, is Lois Lane, I didn't think she was used very well because she just shows up in a helicopter at a location, that I'm not going to tell you, and meets Clark there and then something bad happens. After that she goes on a search to find out more about this man she met, which is just a couple minutes of short cut scenes, not much explanation. Oh, and apparently Lois Lane can walk on the ledge of an icy cliff with no climbing gear or ropes. And Amy Adams overall didn't seem like a very good Lois Lane, and I like Amy Adams, but I never felt she embraced the role as good as she could have.
    However, that being said there were still things that I did enjoy about the film. The first was the acting of Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, and Michael Shannon. All of these actors really did a fantastic job, they probably saved the film from being terrible. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane both give us heartwarming performances as Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent respectively, one scene in particular that I did like involved Jonathan saving people from an oncoming tornado, which was very good. Russell Crowe gives us another very good performance as Superman's father, Jor-El, we see him several times throughout the film alive and after the fact. Now he's no Marlon Brando, but I really did enjoy his take as Jor-El. Finally we have Michael Shannon as General Zod, who really stole the screen, I thought he was the best in the film and the best actor the play Zod. A great and frightening performance from Michael Shannon.
    The other thing that helped this film out were the Visual Effects and the fight scenes, which all take place in the last 45 minutes or so, except the opening scene. This is a beautiful film when it comes to the Visual Effects, of course that is what Zack Snyder is known for in his other movies, 300 and Watchmen, although the latter was not a good movie. The first scene takes place on Krypton, which is a new take on it and it is Visually brilliant. Once Zod attacks Earth the effects really come into play and take over the movie, but I believe for the good. Obviously the effects help with the fight scenes, which are also fun and exciting at times, maybe a little much in some parts because one keeps going and going, just tearing up building after building with a lot of camera movement. But overall, good effects and fight scenes.
    In the end this was not quite the Superman movie we wanted to see and I believe with better editing it might have been better, the pacing was the big thing that hurt the film and the character development with Amy Adam's Lois Lane, and Superman. I really wanted this film to join the 4 Star ranks of superhero movies such as the 1978 movie Superman: The Movie, Spiderman 2, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, if you consider Batman a "Superhero", The Avengers, and the latest superhero movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but it failed to do that. I know it was a new origin story and those are hard to tell sometimes, but this really could have been a lot better with a better script, and director. With Snyder coming back for Batman vs. Superman and the newly announced Justice League movie, I'm afraid we will have the same problem with those.
    When I first posted a review of this film last year I gave it three stars, but once I watched it again I realized how much I disliked it. With it's bad writing and storytelling over shadowing everything else, like the great acting from much of the cast, good visuals, and fight scenes this film is a complete letdown. Plus, Zack Snyder's style of directing is just not good for this kind of movie, his one good movie, 300, made him a star and unless he blows me away with his next film, he will continue to disappoint. I almost hate to to say this, but Superman Returns is a much better film than this one. And let's face it, I missed the original Superman theme by John Williams, although Hans Zimmer's was good, just not as good and we needed that uplifting score several times in this movie.                 
2/4 Stars.  

Movie of the Week: The Passion of the Christ

    Movie of the Week (4/20/14-4/26/14): I usually don't make a movie a Movie of the Week twice, but I think I might start a tradition with this movie on Easter. So, today is Easter and we all know the meaning of this holiday because it has been told to us throughout our lives, have seen it on film, an of course have read it in The Bible. There are many films that have been about or have been centered around this moment in history. But, the one that describes and shows it in the most graphic of detail is The Passion of the Christ from writer and director Mel Gibson. However, this film is not a biography like many other films about Jesus are, it is about the last twelve hours of his life, but it is not told in chronological order.
    From the opening scene we are really hooked into this powerful drama as Jesus is tempted by Satan in a scene titled "Agony in the Garden." In this opening sequence, which spans the first fifteen minutes, Jesus prays, is tempted, betrayed, and then arrested. With this much drama going on in the opening minutes it is really hard not to turn away. From the opening scene on we are taken on a graphic journey of the last hours of Jesus' life including the disturbing, and infamous, Crucifixion scenes.
    The telling of this well known story is done by virtually unknown actors. The only known actors are Jim Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci who plays Magdalen. The rest of the cast is unknown to most people, but that does not mean that the acting is not good. Caviezel gives a wonderful performance as he was forced to show so much emotion in his role, during the torture scenes, and does it very well. Monica Bellucci also gives us a fine performance as she also expresses an unbelievable amount of sadness. Just because I only mention these two actors does not mean that the rest of the cast did not do a great job because they did. This is a movie full of great performances from many small roles that makes the movie that much more powerful to watch.
    Although this story is well known it did have to be written into a screenplay. Mel Gibson and Benedict Fitzgerald wrote a great screenplay that converses well with all the Gospels. They mix up a few things from each of the Gospels and put it into one movie and it really mixes well together, although some historians criticized it for being inaccurate. Gibson himself also directed this picture and another great job he did.  
    Gibson depicts the crucifixion of Jesus in a very graphic manner, so graphic in fact that many viewers cannot watch the film, although it does have a re-cut version out, but it is still rated R. But he chose to depict it this way to show as much detail as he possibly could, to show the real amount of pain that Jesus went through. Back in that time there were a few different ways of crucifixion and Jesus got the worse kind and it was very common then too. However it does show the nails going through his hands, when they actually went through his wrists. Along with making the film very bloody and graphic, Gibson also chose to shoot the film in Latin and Aramaic dialects with English subtitles, which gives the film more realism I believe. So, you have to read a lot during the movie.
    The score of the film, by John Debney, is also very powerful in many ways and is used very well throughout the film whether it be times when it does need music or times when it does not. It is used wonderfully at the end I might add. Simply put, this film is a great film, although it is number one on the list of the most controversial movies of all time. We see the crucifixion of Jesus in graphic detail with flashbacks of scenes like when Jesus was a young boy, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaching the Twelve Apostles, and the Last Supper. All of which are mixed in well and fit the timing when we see them. This is a very well done, beautifully shot, scored, written, directed, and emotional film with a very powerful ending that well not be forgotten anytime soon.
3.5/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Phone Booth

   

    Movie of the Week (4/13/14-4/19/14): I missed last week in doing a movie of the week, but I had a few things going on at the beginning of the week and then I just forgot. But, we are back this week with a movie that, I'm willing to bet, most of you have not heard of. I say that because this film is not talked about a lot when Colin Farrell's career is brought up. I don't know why that is because to me it is one of his best acting credentials. Although there is not a ton of plot to the film and it all takes place in pretty much one spot, it will keep you entertained for the short one hour and twenty minute run-time. This is, Phone Booth.
    As I said there is not a lot of plot to this movie but it is fun. We focus on a New York publicist, who likes to talk and lie, a lot, when one day he goes on his regular routine to a phone booth to call his mistress. Once he hangs up the phone rings, he answers it, then his life changes. He is told that if he hangs up he will be shot, he doesn't believe him, then he hears the sound of a bolt-action rifle. He is then put to the test of telling the truth, but he has some obstacles to face, like desperate people needing to use the phone. Attention of the situation soon escalates when the police arrive, as does his wife and mistress.Will he tell the truth about his life or will he avoid it and die saving his own skin?
    What I liked about this movie was the acting from Colin Farrell, who plays Stu Shepard, as I said this is one of his best acting performances considering all he is doing is talking on a phone. But, I was truly convinced that he was scared for his life many times and I really enjoyed his performance. Also, even though you only see him once, Kiefer Sutherland's voice acting was very good, he's the guy on the phone, the relaxation in his voice tells us that he enjoyed the role as a villain that you don't ever see. But, his voice is the villain in this movie and it sometimes gives you chills by how he says things. Forest Whitaker was also very good as a Captain who really has no idea what is going on, like everybody else, and is trying to figure out why this is happening.
    Another thing I enjoyed about this movie is that the villain always has the upper hand, throughout the whole movie he is holding the strings and can decide which ones he wants to cut. Larry Cohen wrote a very good script with some great dialogue that always has a twist on it that gives the villain the upper hand and keeps you guessing on how they will get out of this situation. There is also some fancy editing several times and good cinematography that gives it a very realistic feel to it. Joel Schumacher impressed me too with his good direction that also gives the film an upper hand that it might not have had, but then again I guess anything is a step up from Batman and Robin. Again, there is not much plot here, but we have great dialogue going on from a good script, Colin Farrell at his finest, a haunting voice performance from Kiefer Sutherland, and surprisingly good direction from Joel Schumacher. This is a thriller that will keep you glued to the TV.
3/4 Stars.            

Movie of the Week: The Social Network

   

    Movie of the Week (3/30/14-4/5/14): Many of you clicked on a link from Facebook to see this review, well without the story in our movie of the week this week, we would not have a Facebook. You already know the movie of the week, but without Mark Zuckerberg and his story Facebook would never exist. So, that is what we have here, a story of a young man who appeared to have made enemies out of his friends because he wanted something all to himself in, The Social Network.  
    Social Networking, it's what most people do everyday now, we have Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and the grand daddy of them all, Facebook. Now, Facebook might not have been the first social networking site, but it took it and made it bigger and better. That is what we see in this movie. It all starts in a Harvard dorm room when Zuckerberg gets angry at his ex-girlfriend. He blogs for hours over how he feels about her, gossip, which is what he see a lot today on Facebook. With some inspiration of twins, he takes this and begins building a site for people to get to know each each other on campus. It soon makes its way all the way to California where a man named Sean Parker wants to take it to a whole new level.
    The cast in this movie is very young with barely any veteran actors, but that didn't stop them from doing the best jobs of their lives so far. First, we have Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Mark Zuxkerberg, and he knocks it out of the park with this role. It is really hard to ever see him doing a role as good as this one again, plus he was perfect for it. As great as he was, I think my favorite performance in this film was that of Justin Timberlake, who played Sean Parker. He delivers his several monologue scenes with perfection and so much energy that I couldn't believe it was him in this role. I wish he would do more roles like this one because he was extraordinary. Armie Hammer was great too as he played the Winklevoss twins, along with Andrew Garfield, who had great character development as Eduardo Saverin.
    As great as the young cast was, they probably couldn't have done it without a veteran director in the drama genre, David Fincher. Fincher directed this film with ease and gave it his trademarked dark and eerie feeling in a place where you wouldn't thought had been in a world where Facebook was created. Where he shines is directing this young cast to performances of their lifetimes and makes it feel like a dark place where all this started. But, we couldn't have had that without the wonderful screenplay by another drama veteran, Aaron Sorkin, who put together such a great flowing film with the perfectly timed flashback or forward scenes to make this film complete. Whenever a flashback or forward occurs, it doesn't disrupted the flow of the film, in fact it adds to it. This might be the best screenplay, so far, for Aaron Sorkin.
    Since this is a drama film with a lot of dialogue, it really isn't in much need of a score throughout the majority of the picture. However, when they do use the musical score, it is used perfectly and with the score being a somber type score or a light intense score at times, it gives the film that perfect feel. We can think Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for that short, but wonderful and breathtaking piano score. One last thing that makes this movie one of the best in 2010 was the cinematography. There are no big beautiful outdoor scenes that make this film look great, but instead it is how they used smaller sets to make it look great and give it that very realistic feel. This is a dark film in a world where you wouldn't think it would be thanks to the extraordinary direction, spot on cast, groundbreaking screenplay, simple but effective score, and beautifully done cinematography. All of those things make it the third best movie of 2010, but still stars across the board.
4/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Pure Country

   

    Movie of the Week (3/23/14-3/29/14): I'm not sure if many of you all knew this, but back in 1992 the King of Country released himself a movie about country music. That's right George Strait filmed a movie, now as great as a musician that he is, we definitely knew that the movie would have a great soundtrack. As for King George himself, well we'll get to that in a few. This movie that he made was what you would call a "feel good" movie because it was about his character trying to find his true country roots again. And we get to watch him go to some very nice classic country places to do it in, Pure Country.
    Dusty Chandler is a huge country star with shows that will blow you away...and that's the problem. Somewhere along the line of his career Dusty lost sight of his country roots and the classic country concert. He ends up feeling lost in himself and then one day decides to up and leave to find it. He walks down the highway to his old stomping grounds, where everything started for him. He goes back to his grandmothers house where his first guitar is still hanging on her wall, to an old dance hall, and to a ranch where he ends up finding love and his true country roots.
    Pretty much the only person most people will know is George Strait, who plays Dusty Chandler, although a young Kyle Chandler, who plays Buddy Jackson, best known for his role in the T.V. show Friday Night Lights is also in this film. And that being said he is probably the best actor in this film. Yes, even better than George Strait, and don't get me wrong, George is one of my favorite country singers and he is probably the best all time, but the man just isn't a very good actor. His monotone voice is what hurts him the most and his lack of emotion in many scenes hurts the film. His best emotion, shockingly, comes when he is singing his songs. There is also Isabel Glasser, who plays the love interest, and she is very good in some of the scenes, particularly the end scene.
    Now, this film doesn't have a lot going for it, although it does have some well shot concert scenes and some well put together emotional scenes when Dusty is going down memory lane. The director, Christopher Cain, just didn't have what it took to make this a better looking movie than it is or how it was shot at times. I understand that he was probably trying to keep a classic feel to the film, and it worked, but at times I felt that he could have done more with some scenes to give them an extra push. The only scenes that seemed to have that extra push were the concert scenes, although even the climax scene could have had a little more emotion with the way it was shot.
    Now, I'm not saying this is a bad movie because it certainly is not, there are plenty other worse movies out there. This is a good movie because it is a good story and is a "feel good" movie that will make you smile in the end. Also, this movie has one of the best soundtracks ever for a film, with songs like "Heartland," "When Did You Stop Loving Me," "Baby Your Baby," "Overnight Male," Last in Love," and of course "I Cross My Heart," this is a movie that could be told straight from the songs that were written just for the movie. So, with a good moving story, mediocre direction, a mediocre performance from George Strait, and an awesome soundtrack to help move the film along, this will leave you tapping your feet throughout and smiling at the end, but being happy that George Strait just sticks to singing those classics.
2.5/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Hoosiers

    

    Movie of the Week (3/16/13-3/22/14): Well, there is no doubt about it that I am very late this week, my apologies to those of you in dying need of a movie to watch this week. But, we still have something to watch even if it is late. With the NCAA Basketball Tournament starting this week I thought it was right to have a basketball movie this week. That being said this was much harder than I thought because there are not very many good basketball movies out there. So, I simply narrowed it down to probably the best basketball movie of all time, Hoosiers. 

    First of all it is not about Indiana University, thank God, it is about an Indiana high school giving a coach who has had a rough past a second chance at doing what he knows best, coaching. He takes over a high school basketball team that is not very good and turns them into winners. In the process he gives the town drunk a second chance at coaching because he sees something in him. It is a true story set in 1954 with some changes to history but it is still a very good true underdog story. 

    There is really not much of a cast here, most people today would only know two of them and they are Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper. We have Barbara Hershey in a very good supporting role, but not very many people know who she is, but nevertheless she still does a very good job. But, we have Gene Hackman, as Coach Norman Dale, who is great here and delivers us another fine "Gene Hackman" performance. We also have Dennis Hopper as Shooter, the town drunk who also gets a second chance, and he too is phenomenal as he went on to be nominated of an Oscar. You can tell that he prepared for his role very well as he convinced the audience that he was truly the town drunk who struggled at getting his life together. 

    There are a few things that make this a good film, the first is the direction. This was directed by David Anspaugh, the same guy who directed Rudy, and he gave this film the classic feel to it as he used very little effects and classical camera work. That being said the cinematography is great here as it sets the perfect mood of the Midwest and the feel of high school basketball in the 1950's. The score here is also very moving and inspiring. We can thank Jerry Goldsmith for that because he knew exactly how to score this film, he was nominated for an Oscar as well, and give it the final boost of inspiration it needed. He was also the man that gave us the Rudy score. What this film is really about is second chances and that the underdog can really win and in the end it will inspire you and leave a smile on your face.

3/4 Stars.

Movie of the Week: Tombstone

   

    Movie of the Week (3/10/14-3/15/14): Most of us know the legend of Wyatt Earp and how he was a legendary lawmen and that we was never grazed by a single bullet. You probably also know that there have been several movies made about his life. Some you know and some you don't. The two most popular are Wyatt Earp, which had Kevin Costner in the role, and this film here, Tombstone, which had Kurt Russell embracing the role of Wyatt Earp. Now the funny thing is, is that these two films came out in back to back years and were being filmed on different lots right next to each other. Most people like this film more, but that is probably because it is pretty much and action movie where Wyatt Earp is more of a biography and action movie mixed. I like them both, but when it comes to accuracy, neither one is very accurate.
    Tombstone is not a biography film about Wyatt Earp, it is more so just about what happens when the Earp brothers arrive in Tombstone, Arizona. If you want more details on his life, you can watch Wyatt Earp, which is a very good and underrated film. Now, this film here focuses more on the Earp brothers' feud with a group called "The Cowboys," who didn't where red sashes by the way, and how all of the lawlessness leads up to the shootout at the O.K. Corral and afterwards. And, just so we are clear, the shootout didn't actually happen at the O.K. Corral, it happened just down the street in an empty lot, but the name stuck. Also, Virgil and Morgan Earp were not shot just after the shootout. The shootout occurred on October 26, 1881, Virgil was shot on December 28th and Morgan was shot and killed on March 18, 1882.
    However, Kurt Russell plays Wyatt Earp in this movie and he is my favorite actor to play Earp, even over Kevin Costner, because he looks the most like him. He also did a great job, there are several scenes where he displays wonderful emotion and outrage that just fuel the film. Val Kilmer plays Doc Holliday and he too gives us a powerful performance, possibly his best, plus his chemistry with Russell is great. Sam Elliott plays the older Earp brother, Virgil, and does a great job with his commanding deep voice. We have Bill Paxton as Morgan Earp, Powers Boothe as Curly Bill Brocius, Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo, Stephen Lang as Ike Clanton, Thomas Haden Church as Billy Clanton, Michael Rooker as Sherman McMasters, and even Charlton Heston has a nice cameo. So, as you can see we have a wonderful veteran cast here and I have no complaints.
    What made this film good was that it was written well, though not accurate, but it kept the audience stuck to the screen. It had great mix of drama and action throughout as Wyatt begins to fall for Josephine yet trying to balance it with all of the death happening around him. Although, in real life it was much more spaced out and did not happen as quickly as it did in the movie, but it was done right to keep the audience involved. That was also helped by the the director, George P. Cosmatos, who stepped in at the last minute. I say that because he was known for directing action films, which is why this is more of an action picture with less drama like most westerns have. But, you still like his style a little, even if it might have been a bit much for a film like this at times.
    Nevertheless it was shot very well and looks great throughout, especially during the shootouts. That being said the editing also takes over during the shootouts and was done very well, particularly during the O.K. Corral shootout. We also have a very intense and fast paced score here, which is rare for a western, but it works since the film is more of an action film anyways. Now, this is a good movie and a good western, it is not a great movie or great western, I can think of several off the top of my head that are better. Plus, the several goofs that are clearly visible along with the historical inaccuracies also helps it stay at good movie status instead of higher. But, there are enough high points like the great cast, the well shot shootouts, and good direction, since it is an action movie, that it has enough to keep you drawn in from start to finish.
3/4 Stars  

Movie of the Week: Crimson Tide

   

    Movie of the Week (3/2/14-3/8/14): There are many submarine movies out there that keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. But, of course that is why they were made, to put several men in life threatening situations in a very small and claustrophobic space. Some of those movies have other ships or submarines shooting back at them or dropping depth charges on them. But this film here took a different approach to it as we have fighting and mutiny, allegedly that is, aboard the USS Alabama in, Crimson Tide.
    On the brink of nuclear war a young officer boards the USS Alabama for the first time as the nuclear submarine is sent out to help with the situation. On board the ship on the journey, the crew get to know each other and their new X.O. But, the new X.O. doesn't become too fond of the Captain after he orders a drill to take place without warning, something happens and the X.O. and Captain begin going down hill. Soon the sub receives an order to fire a nuclear warhead, but their communications equipment becomes damaged, therefore they can't confirm the order. So, the Captain insist on firing anyway, but the new X.O. does not agree which then begins a mutiny and an intense ride of crew vs. crew.
    This movie does have a great cast and is probably one of the most testosterone filled movies ever! We have Denzel Washington as Lt. Commander Ron Hunter as the man the leads the mutiny, Gene Hackman in an outstanding role as Captain Frank Ramsey, Matt Craven as Lt. Roy Zimmer, George Dzundza as Chief of the Boat, Viggo Mortensen as Lt. Peter Ince, the late James Gandolfini as Lt. Bobby Dougherty, Michael Milhoan as Chief of Watch Hunsicker, Danny Nucci as Petty Officer First Class Danny Rivetti, and Steve Zahn as William Barns. There you have it, a lot of great actors here along with a few not well known actors who are very good at playing small character roles.
    Probably the best thing about this movie is the editing. As soon as they get on the submarine the editing becomes a major part of the film, it had to be used carefully as they filmed scenes in a very tight set and the editing gave it much more intensity. The movie also sounds great, but of course it has too with everything going on and the intense editing gave it a huge edge. The sound editing was very good as well, I mean from the minute the crew goes against each other the movie was edited wonderfully with the sound and all the commotion that is taking place. Both sound editing and picture editing are top notch here.
    This is probably director Tony Scott's best movie because of the close attention he paid to the specifics of the film and how he shot it. This film has great detail to it and Scott himself even shot many of the scenes while in tight places and directing at the same time. He particularly did a great job with the actors as well, especially Gene Hackman, who was outstanding here and I think that had a lot to with Tony Scott. We also have a great and intense score here from Hans Zimmer, it adds to the film and the intensity of the plot perfectly. This is a powerfully acted, well directed, wonderfully edited, and perfectly scored film that might leave you sweating as much as the actors are during the movie. However, I felt it could have been a little longer with a little more story from outside after everything is over added in.
3/4 Stars

My Oscar Predictions... And who I want to win!

My Predictions

Best Visual Effects- Gravity

Best Adapted Screenplay- 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay- Her

Best Sound Editing- Captain Phillips

Best Sound Mixing- Gravity

Best Original Song- "Let it Go" from Frozen

Best Production Design- 12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling- Dallas Buyers Club

Best Original Score- Gravity

Best Film Editing- Gravity

Best Cinematography- Gravity

Best Costume Design- 12 Years a Slave

Best Directing- Alfonso Cuaron

Best Animated Film- Frozen

Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Jared Leto

Best Actress in a Leading Role- Cate Blanchett

Best Actor in a Leading Role- Matthew McConaughey

Best Picture of the Year- 12 Years a Slave

Who I Want to Win

Best Visual Effects- Gravity

Best Adapted Screenplay- The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay- Her

Best Sound Editing- Captain Phillips

Best Sound Mixing- Captain Phillips

Best Original Song- "Let it Go" from Frozen

Best Production Design- 12 Years a Slave

Best Makeup and Hairstyling- Dallas Buyers Club

Best Original Score- Gravity

Best Film Editing- Captain Phillips

Best Cinematography- Prisoners

Best Costume Design- American Hustle

Best Directing- Martin Scorsese

Best Animated Film- Frozen

Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Jennifer Lawrence

Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Jonah Hill

Best Actress in a Leading Role- Sandra Bullock

Best Actor in a Leading Role- Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Picture of the Year- Captain Phillips

Movie of the Week: The Departed

   

    Movie of the Week (2/23/14-3/1/14): Well, it is Oscar week ladies and gentlemen, one of my favorite weeks of the year, and I figured we would jump back to a Best Picture winner in history this week. Now, we're not going that far back, but that's okay because this movie is pretty much a classic already. I haven't met one person who did not like this movie and I imagine it would be hard to find someone who does. I mean this has a fantastic cast, a wonderful director, amazing editing, and of course fun bloody shootouts to go with it. That's right, this is The Departed.
    The plot might be a little hard to follow because it has so many components going into it, but nevertheless let's give it a try. It centers around the police trying to take down the mob and in doing so they send in an undercover to try and catch them in the act of doing something. Now, the mob has their own plans, they have a mole in the police department who is telling them everything that the cops do to try and catch them. So, sometimes things get a little messy, and both of these cops are new to the force and have their own problems. Soon they become involved with the same girl and find out stuff about each other that could get each one of them killed in their own way.
    The cast in this movie is absolutely phenomenal and each one did such a great job that they could all have won an Oscar in my book, but only one got nominated. Leonardo DiCaprio is Billy Costigan, the undercover cop in the mob, Matt Damon is Collin Sullivan as the mob mole in the police department, Jack Nicholson is the main man here, Frank Castello, as the man the cops are after, Mark Wahlberg is Dignam, Martin Sheen is Queenan, Ray Winstone as Mr. French, Vera Farmiga is Madolyn, Alec Baldwin as Ellerby, and David O'Hara as Fitzy. As you can see, that is a great cast. Now, some of them are cops some of them are mob members and one of them is stuck in the middle. But, all of them probably do their best work here, although it is close for Leo. Mark Wahlberg is great as he was the only one nominated for an Oscar.
    First things first, this film was directed by the great Martin Scorsese and it is hard to say if this is his best work, but it is certainly up there. He gave us an absolutely wonderful movie and it was all because of him and his great direction. And, believe it or not, this is the only movie in which he won an Oscar for directing, but he no doubt deserved it. We also have great editing here, as we have with all of Scorsese's movies, the editing is pretty much a character itself because it controls the pace of the movie sometimes. There are several long dialogue scenes in this movie and the quick editing helps make those scenes fun to watch because it gives it tension.
    Whiles we are on that subject, the cinematography is also at its best here as Michael Ballhaus shot us a beautiful movie to look at with some fancy camera work in several scenes and some classic camera work mixed in. Some of the classic would be during the shootouts when we have a nice wide shot going and everything can be seen. The score is also very creative here as it is mostly electric guitars giving each scene its own tone. Everything in this film is put together so well, that I'm surprised that it didn't get nominated for more Oscar's. It only got nominated for five but won four, directing, adapted screenplay, editing, and Best Picture. But it should have gotten many more nominations. Nevertheless this is a new American Classic and will probably be the last good mob movie for a long while. Stay tuned for later this week when I post my Oscar predictions and who I want to win.
4/4 Stars      

Movie of the Week: Miracle

   

    Movie of the Week (2/16/14-2/22/14): "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" That is what happened at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, a miracle, when the United States men hockey team defeated the heavy favorite and talented Soviet Union on February 22. But, that wasn't even the game that won them the gold medal. They then defeated Finland to complete that miracle and give hope to the United States during the troubling times of the Cold War. So, with the Winter Olympics going on right now, why not have this movie as the movie of the week. This is Miracle.
       Well, you all know the story, I'm sure, of that hockey team and their run in the Olympic Games. But, most people don't know the story behind the team and their coach, Herb Brooks. This is what the film focuses on. We get to see how Brooks brought his team together and turned them into a winning team that was full of amateur players and college players. We also see what he goes through as a coach at home and on the ice with having to make hard decisions when it came to cutting players or to punish his team when they did not play to his expectations. Although some of those decisions weren't hard. We end the movie with the "Miracle on Ice" game that will have you standing up and cheering.
    Kurt Russell is Herb Brooks and from pictures that I have seen of the real Herb Brooks, this was a perfect casting. Tragically the real Herb Brooks was killed in a single car crash the year before this movie was released. But, Kurt Russell is the reason we watch this movie because it is all about his character and what he does with it. This is probably his best performance because he nails it, especially near the end with his reaction to the Miracle. We also have Noah Emmerich as Craig Patrick, an assistant coach, and he is also great here as he is in everything he does. I really like Noah, to me he is an underrated actor who doesn't get enough recognition for the great roles he plays. Most everybody else in the film, mainly the players, are unknown actors but they all really do a great job and should be recognized as well with taking on an important film about one of the biggest sport moments in history.
    Another person that we should recognize is the director, Gavin O'Connor, who hasn't done very many movies yet. In fact he has only done three that you may know, this, Pride and Glory, and Warrior, all of which are fantastic films and if you haven't seen them you need to. His direction is similar to that of Michael Mann's, and what I mean by that is he does films that have a very realistic feel to them. He doesn't do too much fancy camera work with them and the way they are shot makes it feel like you are in the room with the actors. We can also think Dan Stoloff for that because he was the cinematographer for this film and he shot great scenes with great shots that gave them a different effect and feel. So, scenes that were meant to be uplifting were shot differently than scenes that were suppose to be sad or serious, and each shot worked perfectly.
    I believe the next big factor in this film was the score, I mean you can't have an inspirational movie without an inspirational score, right? Well, we get that thanks to composer, Mark Isham, who wrote a very inspirational score for the film and it works perfectly especially, of course, at the end. Finally, to me a good sports movie needs to have good editing because so much is going on that they can easily miss something and put it in the film where it is not suppose to be. That has happened a lot, just watch the scoreboards in sports movies, it will read a different score than it's suppose too. But, here we have good editing overall, with the exception of the missed scoreboard, once I believe during the main game. But, the rest of the editing is done very well and gives the film some extra inspiration to it as the cuts get faster during the Miracle game. This is a very good movie of a very important event that has great acting, direction, editing, and score. By the end you yourself might just be standing up and cheering!
3.5/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Hitch

   

    Movie of the Week (2/9/14-2/15/14): I hear tell love is in the air this week, and if you want some of you can just swat it away or spray it with a can of air-freshener, or you can embrace it. That's right, this Friday is Valentines Day, or as I like to call it "Single Awareness Day," and naturally we need a movie that celebrates this holiday, at least I guess we do. However, Valentines Day is the last thing on the minds of the people in the movie this week because it is about getting people together for the first time. But, the people in this movie need the help of a man known as "The Date Doctor." This is Hitch.
    This film is a touching film as it is about a man who helps men who have a hard time talking to women, sounds like something I need, and gets them on a date. Alex Hitchens is "The Date Doctor" and he specializes in getting men on dates with women who they think they have no chance with or can't talk to. He has these principles that he and his clients go by that says otherwise. Throughout the film he focuses on one client, a guy named Albert, who wants to go on a date with the beautiful Allegra Cole. At the same time Hitch begins a relationship with a gossip columnist, Sara, who doesn't know who he is but is assigned to write about Allegra. Soon she gets some information, wrong information mind you, about Hitch from a potential client who wanted to use Hitch for something that he does not do.
    Will Smith plays Hitch and like most of his roles he is enjoyable to watch in this one. This is probably one of his most moving performances as several times he delivers great and emotional monologues. My favorite comes near the end at a speed dating scene when some things get revealed. Kevin James plays Albert Brenneman and this is probably his best performance in a movie, he is funny and serious in several scenes and it really mixed well. These are the kinds of roles that he needs to be doing more often. Eva Mendez is Sara Melas and she too delivers a charming performance as a lost girl when it comes to love, plus the chemistry between her and Will is very good. Amber Valletta finishes off the main cast as Allegra and she too, like the rest, delivers a very nice performance.
    This is the kind of movie where special effects are pretty much obsolete because it is about great story and great dialogue. This film has a very well written screenplay with some great scenes that contain wonderful monologues that are very moving. All in all it is also a very good story about love and what is the best way to peoples hearts, we can think Kevin Bisch for that. The film also has very good direction from Andy Tennant as it has a very nice flow from beginning to end along with several well directed scenes, that are funny and serious at the same time. He might be the reason Kevin James did such a good job. Now that being said this is probably Tennant's best movie because some of the others he has done are just trying to be romantic comedies, whereas this one is.
    Like I said this is a romantic comedy that is actually good. Throughout the whole film we get stuff about romance and love, yes, but we also get several funny scenes that are spaced out very well. Plus we get a good original story that is touching and not the same thing that we see in every other romantic comedy out there. This film is a well written, acted, directed, and scored film that will make you laugh, give a crooked smile, maybe tear up a little, and make you think at times. This is one of those rare romantic comedies that could actually teach us a thing or two about love this Valentines Days.
3/4 Stars.

Movie of the Week: Mission: Impossible III

   

    Movie of the Week (2/2/14-2/8/14): There is a scene in this film, part of it is shown in the opening and the rest is shown later, where the villain has Ethan Hunt and his girlfriend handcuffed to two chairs. The villain then proceeds to point a gun at her head and tries to force Ethan to tell him where The Rabbit's Foot is, but Ethan swears he gave it to him. The villain then starts counting to ten and Ethan continues to tell him that he already has it. Then in a fit of rage, that is probably one of the best ever on screen, he shoots her in the leg then yells at Ethan with the camera right on his face with even more rage that is absolutely terrifying to watch, but at the same time great. That actor playing the villain is Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away just yesterday, so this week we honor him with one of my favorite roles of his. This is Mission: Impossible III.
    This is another film in the Ethan Hunt adventure series and one of my favorites in the series. This one focuses more on Hunt's personal life as he tries to keep his job a secret from his girlfriend. But then he ends up trying to take down an arms dealer who has some kind of weapon, which we don't know what kind, called The Rabbit's Foot and things then backfire. He soon has to go out and get The Rabbit's Foot himself and we are then propelled through a series of intense shootouts and interesting intense scenes that involve having small bombs placed in people's heads.
    Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt and he probably gives us his best performance as the character as his emotions take over several of the scenes because things get very personal. Ving Rhames plays the trusty side-kick as he reprises his role as Luther Stickell. Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys Meyers join the series as members of Ethan's team to help him take down the arms dealer. Michelle Monaghan also joins as Ethan's girlfriend. Simon Pegg is there for the comedic relief. But, the best role of this film goes to Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Owen Davian, the notorious arms dealer, who gets what he wants. This role might not be the best villain in history but it is one for the ages as Hoffman delivers us a true character that we love to hate, he gives us one powerful performance here!
    This film is also directed by the great J.J. Abrams, the man behind the new Star Trek films, and he gives it his own touch with the fast paced and cut action scenes. But he doesn't stop at the action scenes, even the dialogue scenes are done in such a way that they themselves are intense. There is one scene with Laurence Fishburne that is very intense and the way that J.J. does it, you begin to hate him even though he is on Ethan's side. With that the film also has fantastic editing that adds to the excitement of the film, especially one shootout on a bridge that was done very well and will leave you sweating once it's over.
    The film also has an updated version of the iconic theme that we all know, but we have a new and intense score that is particularly good and gives the film the extra boost it needed. With the score, direction, and editing, it is all mixed together to make one great thrill ride. But, this film wouldn't have been completed without the wonderful performance of the Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The intensity and emotion that he brought to his scenes is unquestionably fantastic and I really can't picture anybody else in the roles but him. His untimely tragic death is awful, even it was caused by his own doings, his loss will be felt in the film industry.
3/4 Stars.

Movie of the Week: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

   

    Movie of the Week (1/26/14-2/1/14): I am way late this week, and to be honest with you I forgot. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Kurt! How could you leave us without a movie to watch for so long?" My bad, but don't fret no longer because we do have a movie to watch, like we always do. This particular film is my personal favorite of the series that is overall a very good series. But, this one adds a cast member that I'm sure most if not all of us enjoy seeing on the screen and his chemistry is perfect with his on screen son. This is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
    The films opens with one of my favorite prologue scenes on film. We get to see a young Indiana Jones in his first encounter with a bad guy and we get to see how he got his scare and his hat. From there on we get to the main plot of the movie as Indiana searches for the Holy Grail. But, his whole reasoning as to searching for the Grail is because his father just went missing while searching for it. So, Jones races to find his father while at the same time trying to escape from and stop the Nazis from getting there first.
    Of course we all know that Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones, or Junior as his father calls him throughout the film, and naturally he nails it. The new cast member that we have added here is Sean Connery as Henry Jones, his father. Connery also is great here as the chemistry between him and Ford is truly unforgettable as they make you laugh several times and make you think as their relationship as father and son is very important throughout. River Phoenix plays the young Indiana Jones and he was certainly entertaining during that segment. Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, and Michael Byrne round out the rest of the cast as they all deliver as well.
    I guess where we should start here is the exciting screenplay and story, I mean we all wanted to go out looking for the Holy Grail and the screenplay helped bring this to life. George Lucas and Menno Meyjes gave us the story but Jeffery Boam gave us the explosive screenplay that we know today. But, of course it would not be a complete Indiana Jones film without the direction of the great Steven Spielberg. He again gave us a great film with his classic direction and well shot scenes that will leave you on the edge of your seat at times. I also enjoyed his direction in the well shot comedic scenes with Ford and Connery, also the Denholm Elliott's scenes.
    The film also has good effects and for 1989 they are very good and make the film look that much better. The effects are more necessary near the end and with the great sound editing and mixing, the action scenes are perfectly put together for the screen. Of course we can't forget the memorable score that we find ourselves humming whenever we watch this film or the other ones, and John Williams made sure that we would. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an upgrade from the film before it and keeps your attention until the very end when we find out the true meaning of the movie. The great direction, effects, screenplay, and musical score makes this one of the best Indiana Jones adventures and films of 1989.
4/4 Stars

My Favorite Top 10 Movies of 2013

    Well it is awards season now and I finally got around to making my favorite top ten movies of the year. So the films below are my pick for the best movies of 2013 that I have seen and I have seen a lot of movies. Now, that being said I was not about to see Nebraska, Philomena, Dallas Buyers Club, 12 Years A Slave, or Her because all of those were in limited release and I wasn't about to see them. However, the first chance I get to see them I will. Now, I'm going to go on and tell you all that I have seen American Hustle and you might notice that it is not in my top ten movies of the year. That is because I thought it was a little overrated, it had great acting and direction but the story didn't really go anywhere by the end and I was a little disappointed at the ending. But, I still liked it overall. So, without further ado, here are my Top Ten Movies of the Year.

  
10. Pacific Rim

    We start off the top ten with a movie that is clearly run by visual effects, but that wasn't enough to derail this picture, because sometimes it does. This film has great visual effects, but that is because it is about giant monsters coming up from under the ocean to wreak havoc on Earth. So, the high point of this film are the beautiful effects, but I also liked that the monsters came from a portal inside the Earth instead of from space, an interesting idea I thought. We also have a good cast as Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba headline it and they both are great, Elba is the best since he controls the screen whenever he is on it. It is also nice seeing Charlie starting to branch out from his Sons of Anarchy role. So we get an action packed movie with beautiful visuals to start out our top ten, one that should have gotten at least an Oscar nomination for effects.
3.5/4 Stars

9. Iron Man 3

    Iron Man 3 was a leap from the previous film because it dug deeper into Tony Stark rather than Iron Man. After the chaos in New York he developed post traumatic stress disorder and looses it every now and then. But, with Stark suffering from that we got the best performance from Robert Downey Jr. as Stark and I was very impressed with it. We also get the best villain of the series so far, although we think we have one then it turns out to be another, a twist I wasn't very fond of, but the main villain was a very interesting one and by the end you really do hate him. We also got great visual effects, editing, and screenplay from writer/director Shane Black, who I hopes comes back for the fourth one.
3.5/4 Stars

8. Mud

    We steer away from effects here. This is one of those films that not many people know about because it wasn't in wide release or promoted will. But, don't let that stop you from going to rent because it is very good and tells a good story. This film didn't use hardly any effects because it didn't need to, it is a character driven film with an intriguing main character named Mud. Matthew McConaughey plays the mysterious Mud character who is on the run and is trying to find the woman he lost. He runs into two boys who try to help him find her and leave the area, but he is also being pursued by bad guys. Nevertheless we get a groundbreaking performance, one of a few this year, from McConaughey, a great screenplay, and great direction in a film that will leave you smiling by the end.
3.5/4 Stars

7. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

    Back to more visual effects! The film opens with a flashback and then jumps back to where the first one left off, and from there on it grabs you and doesn't let go. I'm serious now, by the time it ended I was like "that's it?" because I was that into this film. First off, it is visually brilliant with the classic Peter Jackson feel and effects. The fight scenes were also incredibly filmed and fun to watch, especially the barrel scene, spider scene, and the whole sequence with Smaug near the end. The make-up and acting was also fantastic along with the incredible sound editing and mixing. By the time it ends you will be left wanting to see the third and final one as soon as possible.
3.5/4 Stars

6. The Place Beyond the Pines

    If you like stories about bank robberies, dirty cops, and family then this film is for you. The last thing this movie is is a thriller because you're not waiting for anything big to happen or any twists. You are waiting to see where the story goes because it spans quite a few years and you want to see what the characters will do and why. It is told in three segments that all connect with all of the different characters in some way. It has a fantastic screenplay, that should have been nominated for an Oscar, and wonderful direction by Derek Cianfrance. Not to mention the cast, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Ray Liotta who all deliver thrilling performances.
3.5/4 Stars

5. Prisoners

    This film might be the best thriller of the year along with possibly the best screenplay of the year. The screenplay if filled with so many suspenseful twist that I lost count and by the end I was shocked beyond belief, and I loved it!! Hugh Jackman also delivers us one of his best performances ever that is Oscar worthy, but didn't get nominated, and this is pretty much his movie. Jake Gyllenhaal is also very impressive as a detective struggling hard to find the truth. Direction is also fantastic from a new and upcoming director Denis Villeneuve. This film will leave your heart pounding and your mind twirling from start to finish.
4/4 Stars

4. Star Trek Into Darkness

    If you liked the first movie by J.J. Abrams then you will love this one because it ups the ante. Not only is it visually thrilling it is will make sweat from beginning to end. With several nostalgic moments from past Star Trek films it pays perfect homage and delivers better than ever. The cast blows this out of the water, especially Benedict Cumberbatch who takes over the film whenever he is on screen. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto aren't too bad either, especially when it comes to the fantastic emotional scenes. This may not be the best or most thrilling movie of the year, but it will leave a mark when you're done watching it.
4/4 Stars

3. Gravity

    It is very hard to act in a movie where it is just you for the majority of the time, but Sandra Bullock did just that. Yes, George Clooney was in there as well, and he was great, but Sandra had to virtually act with a green screen by herself and this is probably her best performance. Along with her we have possibly the best visuals in all of film this year along with sound mixing and that frightening score that we get in those wonderfully shot frightening scenes that will make you squeeze your arm rest to death. We can credit Alfonso Cuaron for the thrilling screenplay, the perfect direction, and the scariest filmed scenes of the year.
4/4 Stars

2. The Wolf of Wall Street

    Yeah, this might be a little long for some people to sit through, but you know what, once it ends, you cannot believe it has been 3 hours. That's right, the film is so well put together that you have no idea it has already been three hours once it is over. The editing is an instant classic, as are most Scorsese pictures, along with the serious and comedic filled screenplay that has perfect balance. Of course Martin Scorsese knows what he's doing and gave us another classic with his perfect direction. And finally, Leonardo DiCaprio was perfect as he gives us possibly his best performance, although he has so many it is close, that absolutely blew me away. Jonah Hill also shines.
4/4 Stars

1. Captain Phillips

    My favorite movie of the year is this masterpiece, Captain Phillips. We all knew this was a true story when this movie was announced and came out, but we didn't know it would turn into this breathtaking thrill ride that Paul Greengrass put to the screen. The film from start to finish will have you on the edge of your seat and you will love every minute of it. On top of the fantastic direction, the editing and screenplay is also flawless and controls the film's perfect pacing. But, Tom Hanks is absolutely perfect in this role as Richard Phillips and delivers his best performance since Cast Away. This is a film that brings suspense to the next level and should have earned Tom Hanks an Oscar, but the fact that he wasn't even nominated is an insult to him and film.
4/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Die Hard 2

   

   
    Movie of the Week (1/19/14-1/25/14): I'm in the mood for another action flick this week so why not one that was a sequel to one of the best action movies of all time. That's right, Bruce Willis returned to his iconic role as the cop from New York who is always "At the wrong place at the wrong time." Now this might have been a step down from the first one, but it really wasn't a very big step down because it had a good director, that classic '80's action feel, and a couple of interesting twists. This is Die Hard 2: Die Harder.
    This second adventure follows John McClane in Washington D.C. at Dulles International Airport as a group of traitorous rogue U.S. military men take over the airport. There mission? To intercept an airplane carrying a terrorist general and set him free. And if they do that they all get paid a bunch of money and get to live in "paradise." But of course John McClane will do anything to stop them as they have caused planes to circle the airport until they run out of fuel. McClane's wife is on one of the planes, so that gives him some motivation to find and stop the traitors from intercepting the general and killing any innocent people.  
    Now, like I said Bruce Willis returned as John McClane and we all love watching his exploits and Bruce does another great job in a role that will always be his. Bonnie Bedelia returned as Holly McClane, in a smaller role, but still kept the feel of Die Hard alive. Reginald VelJohnson even has a short cameo that was nice to see. William Sadler plays the main antagonist as Colonel Stuart, you may know him from The Shawshank Redemption among many other films where he plays a good small character. This is one of his different roles where he plays a tough military man and can fight... good, he gives us a good performance. We also have John Amos as a military Major who comes in as relief during the chaos, and Dennis Franz as the Captain of the airport police, who can be quite annoying at times. Robert Patrick also has a brief appearance in a small role as one of the bad guys.
    The first thing that makes this a good movie is its small connections to the first movie with all of the little things that the director, not the same from the first one, put in there. You'll know them when you see them, or hear them. The director for this film, Renny Harlin, who also did Cliffhanger, gave this his own touch as it is a little more faster paced and filled with a little more over the top action. But, that's okay because it was fun and exciting to watch, let alone gory, and got to the point faster. Renny Harlin is a good director he just hasn't made any good choices since Cliffhanger in 1993 and I wish he did because he had potential.
    This movie also had very good effects when it came to the shootouts and were choreographed very well, which made them intense to watch. Another thing that made this a good, not great, sequel were the twists that we have and they have a few clues to them along the way, some easier and some not so much, but of course once they happen you are still shocked in a way. But, it was something that made the film better and brought some characters together in the end that we wouldn't have thought would come together. In the end this is a sequel with its own feel to it yet had plenty of connections to the first one, good direction, effects, and good twists that will keep you entertained.
3/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Mystic River

   

 

    Movie of the Week (1/12/14-1/18/14): We are in awards season and the Golden Globes air tonight. So, I have chosen this wonderful, yet disturbing, film that won Sean Penn and Tim Robbins a Golden Globe and Oscar along with other nominations. Clint Eastwood directed this great film that is driven by wonderful acting and a fantastic screenplay. The story is dark and this is a film that probably only a few can watch one time because of some of the subject matter and the emotion going around, but nevertheless it is one of the best films of 2003. This is Mystic River.
    The film opens with the three main characters as kids playing hockey in the street when a mysterious car pulls up and asks them to get in. The men were posing as cops. One of them gets in and is sexual assaulted, but nothing is shown, and then he escapes. This sets his character up for the rest of the movie when the three of them are drawn back together when the daughter of one of them is killed. The movie is then one thrill ride as one of the friends is a cop and tries to figure out who killed her. The other ends up becoming suspicious about the other friend. The story is widened when other characters are revealed and are thought to have something to do with her death, including her boyfriend.
    What makes this movie fabulous to watch are the performances by the great cast. Sean Penn does the best as he plays Jimmy Markum, the father of the girl killed, who has a criminal past and suspects his past enemies as people who may have killed her. He delivers a powerhouse and frightening performance that won him Best Actor at the Golden Globes and Oscar's. Tim Robbins won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and Oscar's as Dave Boyle, an emotionally traumatized man that was sexual abused as a child and because of that he becomes a suspect as something he did the same night that girl was killed is revealed. Kevin Bacon is the third friend as he plays Sean Devine, the detective trying to find the killer. He also gives us one of his best performances as he is caught in the middle and by the end is the man who truly figures out who killed the girl. The rest of the cast is capped off by Laurence Fishburne, Laura Linny, and Marcia Gay Harden as she also delivers an Oscar nominated performance.
    The acting is the best aspect of this film, but the second is Clint Eastwood as he directed this masterpiece. He gives us another dark, chilling, yet exciting movie that will leave you thinking once it is over. Along with directing, he also scored the film and it too is great as it is used perfectly, especially during the climax, and builds the suspense throughout the film. This is a perfectly scored film. It is also wonderfully written, based on a novel as well, with the perfect pacing, dialogue, and scenes that build and come together by the suspenseful ending and everything is explained. The editing is not too shabby either, particularly during the climax as we have several things going on at once.
    By the end of this great movie not only are the characters traumatized by what has happened, but we might as well be too. This is one of those movie that leaves us in almost a state of peril by the way it all unfolds. Now, I know that sounds like a bad thing, but really we are still thinking, why did that happen? Why didn't he just tell him this? Or show him that? That is what makes this movie so great, besides the acting, it is a haunting story that is hard to watch at times, but we can't stop watching! Plus the ending is left open a little for us think what will happen to one of the main characters, and I love those type of endings. This a wonderful film that is perfectly acted, directed, written, and scored. It would have won Best Picture had it not been for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King being released the same year.
4/4 Stars

Movie of the Week: Under Siege

   

 

    Movie of the Week (1/5/14-1/11/14): I'm back! My apologizes for not having a movie last week, I know many of you missed it! But, I'm back this week, a little late, but the playoffs last night was responsible for that. And since my team lost I think a good action film to let off some steam is a good one to have this week. I'm sure many of you had a team that lost and want to let off some steam too, this is a good one to do just that. It is also Steven Seagal's best movie and has a great supporting cast to go with it along with some intense fight scenes. This is Under Siege.
    This film is set on a battleship while terrorist take it over in order to get back at the government that did them wrong by stealing nuclear warheads to use against them. During a surprise party for the captain the bad guys land on the ship by helicopter posing as the band and they then take it over by surprise themselves along with the help of a traitor. Casey Ryback is forgotten about since he was locked in the meat locker for an earlier scuffle with the traitor, an officer on the ship, and ends up escaping. From there on Ryback becomes a one man army as he tries to stop the terrorist from doing something terrible.
    I'm sure you know that Steven Seagal is Casey Ryback and really does a good job in this role because it fits him the best. He is a cook, former Navy SEAL, and he is handy with knives, his fists, explosives, and guns, which is why Seagal is perfect for this role. His acting is still not the best, but it is certainly enjoyable to watch him in his best role. We also have Tommy Lee Jones as the leader of the terrorist, William Stranix, who has a vendetta against the government and CIA as they screwed him over. Jones gives us another great performance and did a great job in the final fight scene between him and Seagal. Gary Busey is also great as Commander Krill, he plays a character that the crew doesn't like and the audience will not like because he is the traitor and it is he who Ryback doesn't get along with. All three of these main cast members really worked well together and had good chemistry when on screen. The rest of the supporting cast also is very good.
    The writing to this might seem similar to Die Hard, and in a way it is because it is pretty much that on a ship, but we have different reasons for terrorist. So it is different in several ways and it works well, it is a well written screenplay. We also have director Andrew Davis, who would go on to direct the Oscar winning The Fugitive with Tommy Lee Jones a year later. You can tell that it has his touch to it. It has that classic action feel, which The Fugitive had as well, from the late eighties and early nineties, which means that there are not a lot of cuts in the fight scenes but are shot very well in longer than usual segments, unlike today where there is a cut every couple seconds. With his touch to the film, it makes the film much better.
    The sets for this film were also very good as they matched how the real U.S.S. Missouri looked and made the film darker, which was a good fit. The movie also sounds good and has very good sound editing and mixing. With so much going on in each particular fight scene, shootout, and dialogue scene with Stranix while he is talking to the Navy commanders is edited together very well, along with the editing of the film, all of these mix together perfectly. The score is also that classic action movie score from the eighties and nineties and it is exciting to listen too, even when there is not much going on. This is a very good intense action film, with great shootouts, fight scenes, particularly the last one, sound editing, directing, and great performances from the entire cast. Let's start the New Year off with a bang!
3/4 Stars