ever notice on 90210 dylan's dad (josh taylor, you know he was the dad on the hogan family, that show with micheal bateman, i mean jason bateman) died in a car bomb, then on graduation day dylan saw his dad in ghost form. Then during season 10 dylan's dad appears out of nowhere, apparently he assumed a false identity under the witness protection program (because some mob bosses were after him). there's no way that could have been the writers insulting the intellegence of the viewer. i could not live in such a world. so like was Jack McKay's ghost real or not. how can some one be dead, alive and fictional all at the same time? ya know thats some deep existenstial shit. really blows my mind
The Savages
The Savages
R
113 minutes
Laura Linney
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Bosco
Wendy and John Savage are siblings (Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman), they live in New York and Buffalo, respectively. Lenny Savage (Philip Basco), their long estranged father, lives in Sun City, Arizona. Lenny's girlfriend dies and her family kicks him out of her house, primarily for his bizarre behavior. Wendy and John are left taking care of Lenny, eventually they find out he is dying of Parkinson's. They decide to place him an assisted living facility in Buffalo.
Wendy and John are having to live their lives outside of all of this. Wendy is an aspiring playwright with a regular day job. She is the paramour of a married man named Larry. Some drama occurs between her and Larry, which really did not add or take way anything from the film. John is a theater professor, in the middle of writing a book dealing with Bertolt Brecht. He has a girlfriend from Poland, that is until her visa expires. John's problems seem to stem from intellectualizing and suppressing his emotions. Character development is wonderful, you can actually see the metamorphosis of Wendy and John into well-rounded fully-functional adults.
The literary references are a tad esoteric, which some may interpret as pedantic or elitist. The references are completely relevant to the film though, and are not used to obfuscate a lack of content (Matt Damon, Goodwill Hunting). The writer/director of the film (Tamara Jenkins) made a charming, witty and thoroughly engaging film. It's not a snooty avant-garde film, but still there is no denying that it won't appeal to everyone.
Final Verdict: 92 out of a possible 100.
Sidenote: I don't really want to review Michael Clayton. All I can say is its barely good enough for me to recommend.
Rambo 4
RAMBO (4) 1 hr 33 mins
R
Sylvester Stallone
"Fuck the world" -John Rambo
This film really takes me back to a time when I'd watch Rambo marathons on the USA network, as a young lad. I went to the first midnight showing of this movie, trembling with anticipation. The people in the theater were also die hard Rambo fans, cheering and such during the opening credits ("yeah Rambo") and applauding at the end.
John Rambo and some mercenaries go to save missionaries who are captured by the Myanmaran (Burmese) army. Its fairly obvious how events are going to unfold.
There is no heavy metal rock to go along with all the shooting, which would be incredibly crass. Instead, a more generic sounding, slow tempo, symphonic soundtrack (brass and strings).
Stallone is looking really old and haggard, not to mention burnt out. It makes it hard to separate John Rambo from said actor portraying him. Is John Rambo sick of everything, or is Stallone sick of his own life?
I wouldn't have liked this movie if it didn't take itself so seriously. The shameless use of bad action movie cliches. Realistic, yet cartoonish blood and gore of epic proportions, beyond anything I've seen in the last ten years.
David Morrell (All four Rambo films), Sly Stallone, and Art Monterastelli (Seaquest) prepared this smorges board of carnage, brilliance, and pure delight. So drop what your doing, and see this movie right now, so you can honor this distinguished thespian, we call Sylvester Stallone, while he's still with us.
Final Verdict: 98 out of possible 100
Sidenote: Stallone is filming a movie on 2pac and Biggie (Notorious (2008)). To be released in March. No word on that sequal to Over the Top.
Cloverfield (mini-review)
Cloverfield
85 minutes
PG-13
This movie is a non stop thrill ride. It's a Godzilla rip off, which in itself is not a problem. Cloverfield was full of cinematic gimmicks and trickery. It sucks you in, even though it's completely hollow. After the film ends, you are left with an empty feeling, a feeling we are all too familiar with, like after watching Micheal Bay's ejaculate on celluloid (Transformers). It would be unconscionable to recommend this movie to your worst enemy.
Final Verdict: 12 out of a possible 100
First Sunday
First Sunday
PG-13
Ice Cube, Tracy Morgan
98 minutes
Ice Cube (Durell) and Tracy Morgan (Lee John) decide to rob a church out of sixty-four thousand dollars because... well it's not really that important why, they need the money. They break in at night thinking no one is there, but the deacon catches them red-handed, breaking into the safe. Eventually the entire church is held hostage. From all this one can only assume hilarity ensues.
This is one of those 'better than you expect' comedies that typically comes out in January. These movies are actually better than you expect, the problem is the bar was set pretty low to begin with. Case in point, Kangaroo Jack came out at this time about five years ago, and it was indeed better than I expected, but I digress.
The humor was fairly low brow, and the one-liners where hit and miss (mostly miss), yet I couldn't help but chuckle throughout the film. It almost seemed like they were making fun of the whole 'bad urban comedy' genre. I had no problems with Ice Cube, but Tracy Morgan's performance seemed rather restrained and perfunctory. The movie is not without its charm though, the story made sense, some subtle social commentary was present; the more dramatic elements of the movie are done quite well, enough to make you really feel for the characters.
First Sunday is not god awful, it's a little bit better, I would rate it at slightly better than medicore. If this type of movie suits your fancy, buy it when it comes out on dvd (used), but don't embarrass yourself by displaying it prominently on your movie shelf.
Final Verdict: 65 out of a possible 100
Side note: a couple actors from the television program, Boston Public are in this movie. Guess which ones, you may be surprised.
The Orphanage
The Orphanage (Orfanato, El )
100 minutes
Spanish with English subtitles
Limited Release (currently)
Rated R
Takes place in Spain, begins with a girl (Laura) playing outside with several other children at an orphanage. Thirty years later, that woman is living in the former orphanage with her husband (Carlos) and an adopted boy (Simon). They adopted the child as an infant, knowing he has a life threatening illness. He has a wild imagination and loves playing games, gradually his antics become more annoying. Soon as the Laura starts to realize how real and haunting these games actually are, the boy disappears. Fliers are posted all over Spain, but he has vanished without a trace. This is where the story takes off, and the parents employ a less orthodox approach in the search for their son.
Guillermo del Toro produces another fine movie, quite easily on par with his earlier film, Pan's Labyrinth. We should look forward to many more quality films from this director. The color, soundtrack, and essentially, the overall ambiance of the film, make for one genuinely frightening movie. Not one moment of wasted celluloid, every character and scene had its place within the story. Unlike most suspense films, this one had a satisfying ending, but enough of The Orphanage is kept a mystery to leave the viewer with their imagination intact.
Final Verdict: 94 out of a possible 100
Sidenote: My reviews are based in the context of their respective genre.
Look foward to a review of First Sunday next week
The Great Debaters
THE GREAT DEBATERS
The Great Debaters is based on a true story of a black high school debate team, which eventually goes on to challenge the Harvard debate team. At various points of the film I experienced déjà vu because huge chunks of the movie seemed to be borrowed from other black civil rights movies (e.g. Mississippi Burning). Denzel Washington makes one of his trademark, self-righteous speeches. The plot lacked soul and is filled with psedointellectual garbage. Any adversity the characters had to overcome was unrealistic or purely gratuitous. All the characters are multi-dimensional, which saves the movie from being a complete disaster. Forrest Whitaker, and Denzel Washington gave stellar performances. No one else really stood out. Jurnee Smollett has a dreadfully irritating southern accent, reminiscent of Jasmine Guy on the television program A Different World. In short, The Great Debaters is on par with a solid made-for-TV movie, which is why I would wait until it comes out on TNT before watching it.
Final Verdict: 67 out of a possible 100
I am Legend
I AM LEGEND
PG-13
Will Smith
100 minutes
In 2009 scientists manipulate the measles virus to cure cancer. In clinical trials, thousands of people were vaccinated, which turns out to be disastrous. People develop symptoms resembling rabies. The disease spread quickly and most of the worlds' population die after catching the disease. The rest of the population was either immune or turned into living vampires. Will Smith stars as Robert Neville, an army Colonial and a scientist. Neville is the lone survivor of New York City. Much of his time is surviving and catching rabid people to test potential antidotes on them. He places manikins throughout the city, these inanimate objects are meant to alleviate his loneliness, similar to the role Wilson played in Castaway.
I AM LEGEND is a Christmas multiplex blockbuster. I came into the movie knowing that if I was too fastidious, it would be a dissapointment; it is afterall a popcorn flick. Nonetheless, many faux pas were present that were not so easy to overlook. Legend seems remarkably similar to films director Danny Boyle (28 DAYS LATER, CHILDERN OF MEN) has created, the story is based on a novel, so any resemblance is most likely coincidental. Plus, there is an adorable German Shepard tagging along with Neville. When a movie features a dog, it will either die tragically (TURNER AND HOOCH), or it plays basketball. It's not my place to spoil the movie for the audience, so I won't reveal the fate of the lovable pooch. Lastly, you may notice Smith's character cares a great deal about his appearance, wearing stylish clothes, Armani cologne (probably), while driving a nice, polished Ford Mustang GT. Vanity to this extent seems futile once you take away people from the situation; he was alone for three years.
Final Verdict: 65 out of 100 