Last Movie You Saw and Rate It

MR & MRS SMITH

Rate: 8.5

Didnt really captivate me, but nonetheless a good movie to watch.

The Lost Boys

8.5/10

Five Easy Pieces: 9.2/10

“Five Easy Pieces,” the film that made Jack Nicholson into a star, is one of the true beautiful character studies in cinematic history. It tells the story of Bobby Dupea, a childhood prodigy who gives up his wealthy lifestyle to jump from lower-class job to lower-class job. After three years, Bobby returns home to see his family when he learns of his father’s recent illness.

What makes “Five Easy Pieces” gel perfectly together is the fabulous writing of Carole Eastman (who also wrote the novel) as the telling of Nicholson’s character isn’t so obvious so that it calls too much attention to itself. The viewer is forced to make assumptions such as the reasons Bobby gave up his lifestyle to pursue other ventures in life.

Due in large part to the writing as well as Nicholson’s spot-on performance, the audience is able to understand that Bobby is certainly uneasy in many aspects of his life as it becomes clear that he cannot hold down a job, nor can he deal with the same women or live in the same place for very long. “Five Easy Pieces” offers the audience the chance to climb into the mind of Bobby Dupea and find out his true intentions. Whether it is his disdain for his family’s day-to-day grind or his wanting to see what else the world has to offer him, there is no doubt that Bobby is a complex character.

One assumption could be that his lack of a proper childhood leads him astray as it formed him into the restless, uneasy and rather unpleasant man that he is today. A man who, if he has to deal with the same things day-after-day will eventually grow tired of them, especially if they start to grow close to him such as his friend at the oil rig or his girlfriend Rayette. Bobby shows clear signs of frustration and hostility once those daily occurrences (in this case people) start to show affection and reliance on him.

However, the reason that Bobby’s personality is so dissectible is thanks to the wonderful performance by Nicholson. Throughout the film, Nicholson does a great job setting the mood of his character and can switch his moods on a tee. Nicholson also portrays a fantastic ability in physical acting as his body language and facial features play a large role in showcasing Bobby’s feelings towards one thing or another.

Overall, “Five Easy Pieces” is a remarkably in-depth character study and is especially effective due to its psychoanalytical dimensions. Jack Nicholson’s Bobby Dupea is one of easiest characters to dwell one’s thoughts on as his story and personality hangs on many unanswered questions. In addition, “Five Easy Pieces” ultimately works because it displays just a fraction of what is surely an incomplete story, which allows the viewers to further analyze Bobby Dupea long after the film ends.
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Leaves of Grass: 8.7/10

Almost two years ago I sat in a computer lab at my high school and surfed IMDb. Due to my boredom I compiled a list of movies to look forward to, which included titles such as “The Men Who Stare At Goats,” “The Informant,” A Serious Man” and “Shutter Island.” However, there was one titled that stood out more than others; one title that held topped the list: Leaves of Grass starring Edward Norton and…Edward Norton. Put blatantly, “Leaves of Grass” did not disappoint.

“Leaves of Grass” tells the story of a professor named Billy Kincaid (Edward Norton) who is considered a “major” thinker and his pot smoking-producing-selling, identical-twin brother, Brady (also Edward Norton). Twelve years ago, Billy left his Oklahoma home and never looked back to escape his brother and his stoner mother (Susan Sarandon). One morning Billy is contacted with the news that Brady has been murdered, forcing Billy to return home. Upon his arrival, Billy finds out that Brady faked his own death to get Billy to return home, pretend to be him back home while he deals with “business” up north and so he can reconnect with his mother; the exact reasons Billy left home in the first place. As the story unfolds, Billy is given many reasons to turn around and head back to his home in Providence, Rhode Island, yet for some reason (and it could just be the equally intelligent poet named Janet (Keri Russell) that he meets) he sticks around…

On all levels, “Leaves of Grass” is relatively simple dark comedy that is successfully coated with intelligence. One of the first observations that the viewer makes upon the reunion of Billy and Brady is that both, while entirely different, are highly intelligent in their own ways. The dialogue of “Leaves of Grass” reflects this perfectly as it is very well written by writer/director Tim Blake Nelson.

When the layers are pulled back it becomes apparent that “Leaves of Grass” is simply a story of a man and his connection to his family and his home and a theme of appreciating what one has. “Leaves of Grass” does a phenomenal job of disguising this theme in with what appears to be a rather complicated story featuring a broad range of (touchy) subjects including religion, struggling during harsh economic times, hate crimes, and death. While it might seem that all these subjects cloud the story, don’t be fooled; everything that happens has an impact on Billy and altogether it represents everything he hated about Oklahoma. Yet, it is, after all, Billy’s home.

“Leaves of Grass” features outstanding work from a highly talented cast. The story benefits off of Sarandon and Richard Greyfuss’ small, but effective roles and Tim Blake Nelson’s character flows perfectly with the story as does Russell’s character that is the perfect match of Billy and is able to keep him sane in a number of ways. However, it is no surprise that it is Norton that gives “Leaves of Grass” its heart and its ability to pull in the audience. Norton nails the polar opposite brothers and successfully creates chemistry between the two of them to the point where it is believable they’re identical twins.

For all of its anticipation (in my mind) “Leaves of Grass” lives up to its hype. Blake Nelson truly writes a thought provoking, heart-filled dark comedy that benefits off of its underlying simplicity and the Oscar-worthy performance from Edward Norton.
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Following: 9.4/10

Following is Christopher Nolan's first full length feature film that set the standards for his future films. Following is shot in a normal, yet at times positively eerie black and white and features the story of a young writer who starts following people in order to gain motivation for his next work. He sets his "work" on the basis that he won't communicate with the people he follows in any way and if he learns where they live then he will never follow them again. However, thing's get complicated for the young man when he gets caught following a man by the name of Cobb who claims to be a burglar. The young man is then further brought into random people's lives as he joins Cobb in robbing different people's houses.

The element that makes Following work is its unbelievable normalcy. Since it is shot in black and white, it doesn't give off the feeling of a distinct location nor is it able to express feelings and emotions so as if the viewer can be sucked in. Unlike Nolan's future work, Following doesn't involve even one household name in its cast; however, that only further supports Following's foundation. Altogether, Following includes cinematography, acting, writing and a situation that closely shadows reality. There is no God-like, futuristic world or breathtaking, ground-breaking visuals in Following, but rather everything about the film makes it feel as though the viewer is watching the events pan out like they were happening in real life. In that sense, the title, "Following," and the tag line: "you're never alone" are supported due to the fact that the viewer is like an observer of the lives of the characters; a follower of them.

However, it isn't exactly as straightforward as watching the average Joe's day-to-day life. Following presents a narrative structure that quite surely had an impact on Memento and it's easy to get confused if you don't pay attention. Though, don't let it's complexity intimidate you; the structure of Following makes the story and the situations even more enthralling than they already are and ultimately, like Memento, it makes the story that much stronger.

So, can Following be consider one of Nolan's masterpieces? Hard to say. One thing is for certain though; Following has had a huge impact on Nolan's career as he's used its structure, its themes, its bleakness, its sincerity and most of all, its character realism in his past, present and quite surely, future, work.
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The Aviator: 9.4/10

Can't believe it took me this long to see it. Definitely one of my favorite Scorsese films and a landmark performances by DiCaprio. However, that doesn't undermine the rest of the cast, which was flawless selected. Blanchett was incredible as Hepburn. Scorsese did an excellent job of capturing Hughes' OCD and the impact it had on him, especially during the more difficult days. The scene(s) in which Hughes locks himself in the screening room is unforgettable.
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Seven Samurai: 9.8/10

As a few of you may remember, I claimed I would never watch this movie in my lifetime due to the length and my lack of interest in the genre. I wouldn't have seen it had it not been for my film class; however, I sure am glad I did. Fantastic movie; a true masterpiece for Kurosawa. The length definitely drives some viewers away (half the class left), but I was never on the brink of leaving. The story is set up so that the samurai aren't like these mythical beasts that you can't relate to. For the most part during their time in the village they are seen laughing at things that are laughable and Kikuchiyo (played by Kurosawa favorite Toshiro Mifune) is an absolute treat to watch on screen. Plain and simple, Seven Samurai kept me entertained throughout and was a powerful, humorous, and intelligently-made film.
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Drowning Mona: 3.7/10

A true cinematic failure when you look at some of the names that were involved, such as Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Affleck, William Fichtner and Will Ferrell. Drowning Mona tries, and fails, to be a dark comedy as it centers around a heavily disliked woman dying in a car accident and the investigation by police chief Wyatt Rash (DeVito). The whole premise of the film is that there seems to be many suspects due to the fact that the woman in question (Mona Dearly) is so unanimously disliked. However, as the story progresses it becomes obvious that the comedy used for the majority of the laughs is highly questionable and by the end of the film it is borderline offensive. Also, the story centers around the lower class and portrays each and every one of them as clueless, disrespectful, trashy and downright stupid, which certainly doesn't win it any points. However, the film did have its few and rare bright spots. DeVito played the puzzled police chief rather well and both Affleck and Fichtner gave valiant efforts. Ferrell's "cameo" brings some laughs, but his role is so pointless that it doesn't matter. On a final note, the funniest moments Drowning Mona had came from cheap laughs such as the flashback sequences in which Affleck's character Bobby Calzone says things such as: "I'll rip out your ovaries" and "You ripped my overalls!"
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Cop Out: 6.3/10

There are some times when critics must understand that a person's sole intent on going to the movies is to be entertained. Last night, that was the case when I decided to go see Cop Out. I was stressed and burned out from a big assignment that was due soon that I had just finished so I decided to mellow out to a movie and just enjoy it for what I hoped it would be.

Cop Out is a cliche, brainless, poorly told, dysfunctional story with two too many subplots for its own good; however, mark it down as an experience worth having. Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan work very well together and produce many laughs. Morgan especially shines, which was a pleasant surprise to me due to the fact that I've never been a big fan of his work.

The movie begins with Willis and Morgan screwing up an assignment and getting suspended for 30 days without pay as a result. Relying on the payments in order to pay for his daughter's wedding, Willis attempts to sell his valuable baseball card. Conveniently for the story, the store is robbed by Sean William Scott and a buddy right under the nose of Morgan, who, instead of watching Willis' back is phoning his believed to be unfaithful (awful subplot) girlfriend. Willis and Morgan then get pulled into a massive cat-and-mouse game as they draw the card back to the source, which is a gang lead by the brother of the guy Willis and Morgan failed to bring in at the beginning of the film. The leader agrees to fork over the card if they can find his Mercedes that was stolen.

Like most action and buddy cop films, Cop Out is extremely unrealistic, poorly written and suffers from shotty editing at times, but who's to say the humor doesn't partially save the day? After all, isn't this a comedy first, action second type of movie? Kevin Smith's diehard fans may be disappointed as his signature touch isn't obvious throughout, but there are select scenes in which it becomes obvious that the viewer is watching a film directed by Smith. One of the best examples of this is when William Scott is driving Morgan crazy in the car and then tries to get Willis to answer a knock-knock joke much to the disgust of Morgan.

Which brings the movie to its most pivotal point: appreciate Stiffler. Sean William Scott steals each and every scene that he appears in. His crude and stupid, yet incredibly social and connecting personality makes it a pleasure to watch and his over-the-top humor, especially poking fun at the fact that Morgan's wife might be cheating on him is just gold.

Cop Out might not be the year's most high quality film, nor may it even be a good film, but if you're looking for a good movie experience, one in which you can just kick back, laugh and take in a fun movie for an hour and forty minutes, then Cop Out is worth checking out.

^ Nice

Last movie I saw Brooklyn's Finest. 7/10



Pretty entertaining and brutal at the same time. Fuqua never disappointments with the entertainment, by no means is it amazing nor does it have any Oscar worthy performances, but it's a Fuqua movie.

Gere is actually bearable in it, reminds me of his role in Internal Affairs. The story is kinda like a wanna be Departed/ The Wire type feel to it. It's really raw but I wasn't disappointed, I didn't go in with high expectations I came out and liked it more than I thought.

It's a cliche movie, that most I am sure will bash, but as far as the drugs, cops, and coke; no shortage of why this movie is rated R.

Wouldn't recommend anyone to go run out and watch this, but if you are just looking for a new movie to watch, like I was it's not the worse decision you can make.

Boondock Saints 10/10

Originally Posted by robert06907

Boondock Saints 10/10

OMG I was coming in here to post that.

Boondock Saints II anyway.

Lol did that second one go straight to DVD release?

The Boondock Saints is Tarantino-wannabe piece of trash.

Originally Posted by htown11

Lol did that second one go straight to DVD release?

No, it played in select theaters.

In my opinion!

Originally Posted by Jason

No, it played in select theaters.

Oh ok, damn I didn't even hear about it much.

Originally Posted by Bunker

The Boondock Saints is Tarantino-wannabe piece of trash.

Originally Posted by Jason

[IMG]http://jamiedubs.com/****flickr/data/web/how%20about%20no%20bear.jpg[/IMG]

Originally Posted by Bunker

[IMG]http://jamiedubs.com/****flickr/data/web/how%20about%20no%20bear.jpg[/IMG]

People still post lolcats?

PS

Sos4Prez, your reviews are pretty legit.

LMFAO @ Boondock Saints.


Ghost Writer - 9/10

Originally Posted by Bunker

People still post lolcats?

The Messenger: 9.6/10

The Messenger seemed to remain on the down low for the majority of its theatrical release, which isn’t really a surprise. After all, its plot revolved around two military men (not exactly a new topic) and it was only a limited release. However, The Messenger began to gain recognition once its co-star, Woody Harrelson, gained an Oscar nomination for his role. After viewing, I cannot seem to find one reason that I wasn’t hearing praises about it from the very beginning.

The Messenger features the story of staff sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) who, upon returning from war after suffering injuries in an explosion that killed his friend, leaves his enlistment and is assign to join the Casualty Notification Team with Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson). As Will starts to witness the horrible experience of informing family members of their son/daughter/husband/wife’s death, he begins to realize that the horrors of war don’t end overseas.

“The Messenger” may very well be the most over-looked and underrated film of 2009. The film subject matter is handled with extreme precision and delicacy, yet it isn’t sugar-coated in the least. Quite simply, “The Messenger” deals with the grief that comes from the losses suffered and horrors experienced during the war. Will is marked to be a hero by his fellow countrymen and by his military, yet he doesn’t see it that way. He sees it that he was the cause of his friend and comrades death. “The Messenger” is solidified on a universally set level ground as the film doesn’t try to glorify the soldiers, but rather brings the audience into their world and their own screwed up lives while at the same time paints a depressingly accurate picture of victims’ grief.

The characters of Will and Tony are perfect contrasts to one another. Will is presumably shaken from the war and heartbroken over the fact that his girl left him when he was overseas. This plays a large toll on Will as throughout the movie he doesn’t hook up with any girls, yet he starts becoming romantically interests in a new widow (one of the women that Will and Tony had to inform about the death of her husband to). While the romantic interest may seem low to some, Will and the widow, Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton) are able to connect with one another as both are victims of the war and both are somewhat able to ease each other’s pain. Likewise, Will seems to have more of a connection towards the human emotion as he proves when he ignores protocol and makes contact with a husband and wife while consoling them over the news of their son’s death.

On the other hand, Tony claims to be all militaristic; however, once the job is over he becomes as human as possible. Since he doesn’t have as humanly a connection with others, he starts to rely on Will and a friendship begins to form. For a while, the friendship seems like a one way street as Will always seems to be looking out for Tony (as Tony has a drinking problem and a case of either pent up aggression or anger management issues); however, there is an obvious connection and common understanding between the two by the climax of the film.

Aside from its expressive realism, “The Messenger” features a phenomenally constructed cast and beautiful writing. As the film progresses, the audience becomes aware that “The Messenger” isn’t really telling a story or portraying a sequence of events, but rather bringing the viewer into the lives of the two soldiers are the victims that they must inform. The writing is what gives the film its strong sense of Earthliness and profound realism. Likewise, Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster and Samantha Morton are completely in the zone for the entirety of the film and only add to realism. Harrelson’s Oscar nomination is completely deserved and it’s almost surprisingly that Foster didn’t receive any accolades for his performance as Will. Also, “The Messenger” featured a short, but worthwhile performance from Steve Buscemi as one of the fathers who’s informed of his son’s death. Buscemi’s performance may just have been the most powerful of the film and he makes the absolute most of his limited screen time.

To sum up, “The Messenger” is a film that is worth checking out. It doesn’t try to be superficial, glossy, or sugar-coated, but rather keeps all its characters and situations on an equal level; portraying the film as a dive into the lives of actual people rather than a sequence of events that make up just another story from an obviously artificial and fictitious mind state.

Originally Posted by Bunker

PS

Sos4Prez, your reviews are pretty legit.

Thanks man. :D

The final action scene is pretty well done and it's well acted throughout, but every other aspect of the movie is completely forgettable. The characters are one dimensional at best, the plot is really dull and uninteresting, there really isn't a clear bad guy, and Damon's character is a total *****. The trailer completely mislead me. I am disappoint.

6/10

Wow Bunker, I thought this movie was something worth watching. Very disappointed at your review. Now I'm a bit hesitant to watch it.

Yeah, this is the most disappointed I've felt after a movie in a long time. The trailer made it seem like Matt Damon was a rogue and needed to be hunted down and killed. Like in the trailer when the guy yells "This a kill no capture mission!", he isn't even on a mission to kill Damon. He's on a mission to kill an Iraqi general. The plot basically was Miller (Damon's character) racing against a bunch of government blowhards to talk to the Iraqi general first before the government blowhards kill him. ****ing lame as shit.

Wow I don't know what I am more pissed about, the fact that the movie sucked according to you, or that you just ruined it for me.

John Q: 10/10

Badass movie right here desevres a 10. Denzel is a beast, one of my fav movies from him.

Originally Posted by MeloMan

John Q: 10/10

Badass movie right here desevres a 10. Denzel is a beast, one of my fav movies from him.

That movie is great. I have seen it a few times, it's entertaining and touching.

Originally Posted by htown11

That movie is great. I have seen it a few times, it's entertaining and touching.

Yeah, that movie is on my top 5 of all time. It just needed to have a ending where it showed how long he'd end up in prison for.

I can't say it's on my top 5 overall, but probably top 5 Denzel for sure. True but that end scene when Denzel is in the cop car and he sees his kid for the last time and he does the whole flex thing lol that was a solid ending.

It's based on a true story right? Funny how the whole insurance thing is bigger than even now, that movie was made in 2002.

Originally Posted by htown11

I can't say it's on my top 5 overall, but probably top 5 Denzel for sure. True but that end scene when Denzel is in the cop car and he sees his kid for the last time and he does the whole flex thing lol that was a solid ending.

It's based on a true story right? Funny how the whole insurance thing is bigger than even now, that movie was made in 2002.

Idk if it was a true story, they made it seem like it was with all the larry king, jay leno shit. Doubt it was a true story though, I don't imagine that ever happened.

Originally Posted by MeloMan

Idk if it was a true story, they made it seem like it was with all the larry king, jay leno shit. Doubt it was a true story though, I don't imagine that ever happened.

It's definitely a relate-able story which is why I think so many people enjoyed it. I find it stupid how it has a 22% on RT....

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/john_q/

Yeah...I was shocked when I found out it was rated so low on RT. There's always those random good movies that RT decides to shit on.