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Reviews
Whitney (2011)
Good writing, good acting
The only other show made me laugh as much was Normal Ohio... there are others that I enjoy, The Office, The Middle, Portlandia, Modern Family. Others have been Community a hit/miss each episode, and Cougartown may mature, the first couple episodes of the new season are better than most of the last.
What I like most about Whitney is that the dialogue is they're not doing just one scripted joke after another. Shows I dislike because of the HEAVY laugh track are mostly CBS sitcoms.
And to make up for the ridiculous requirement of ten lines I am going to just copy/paste... our submission must be your own original work. Your review will normally.....
Luck (2011)
Great cast, interesting story
I watched the first three episodes back-to-back and couldn't have enjoyed a TV show more. Other favorites that are new are Kelsey's "Boss" and Poppy's "Unforgetable" ... anyway Luck has a heavy hitting cast, and they are excellent. My only complaint is the loud music during a race, why the hell can't they just use natural sound? I turn off the sound during racing, but that may be just me. I'm going to repeat because IMDb's rule of 10 lines... I watched the first three episodes back-to-back and couldn't have enjoyed a TV show more. Other favorites that are new are Kelsey's "Boss" and Poppy's "Unforgetable" ... anyway Luck has a heavy hitting cast, and they are excellent. My only complaint is the loud music during a race, why the hell can't they just use natural sound? I turn off the sound during racing, but that may be just me.
Margin Call (2011)
Quietly non-gripping immoral tale
Like Spacey, Irons, McDonnell, Moore, Tucci, Bettany ... in just about anything, but this is in the Bottom 10 films of 2011 for me. Baker was pretty good, Quinto and the rest of the cast were uninteresting.
What makes a film for me is when the dialog, director, actors, etc make me CARE about the characters, in this film I couldn't say I cared about anyone.
Calling this a THRILLER is a WILD EXAGGERATION. If you fell asleep half way through and woke up at the lat 10 minutes you wouldn't miss a thing.
Again, what makes a film for me is when I CARE about the characters, in this film I couldn't say I cared about anyone, well maybe Demi, since she was getting fired for the mistakes of those above her.
Horrible Bosses (2011)
Trumps other comedies this year
So far the funniest movies I've seen this year in order are:
1. Horrible Bosses, cast was great, my date didn't recognize Farrell until I mentioned him, what a hoot! Spacey was mean and nasty and great. Aniston, wow, wow, wow, could not take my eyes off this hot lady, and funny!
2. Bridesmaids, other than some potty humor that was funny but not my taste I enjoyed this very much. Well casted.
3. Bad Teacher, Diaz is great in this film, supporting cast do just that, and well done.
4. Hangover II. This seemed to be a walk-through for most of the cast. Bosses was 1000x better.
Hereafter (2010)
Downhill after 30 minutes
Almost totally lacks a psychic connection with the audience. The idea of cinema is to convey the experience to the viewer by visual and auditory means, and there have been films that somewhat succeed at this on the subject of life after death but this is really not one of them. If they had left out the young boy in the story and built up Marie's and George's characters it might have worked better.
But what do we know about the afterlife, the hereafter? We even have an American Book of the Dead, but do we really have any reality on the death experience? I'm inclined to think after watching this movie that we don't, yet.
Black Swan (2010)
My top for 2010.
Not had a chance to see True Grit, probably after Jan 1... so here's my top films so far
The Fighter, The Kings Speech, Black Swan, Inception and not in that order, each has its reason for being #1 for me. Aronofsky's other films I've liked are The Wrestler and Requiem for a Dream. Black Swan reminded me more of Requiem for a Dream, it will mess with your mind, in a good way. Reminds me of reading PK Dick's Three Stigmata, he would lead you down a path only to find out it wasn't real then another build up and again you weren't sure what was real. Inception was similar in that respect except it didn't emotionally grab you like Black Swan... being grabbed and let go and grabbed again. Also like the wrestler those that had a relationship with the main character (Nina) were strange themselves. Aronofsky also worked his magic with Barbara Hershey, Kunis and Cassell... looking forward to his next film. Thank you to all who worked on this film.
What Doesn't Kill You (2008)
Very well done
why does IMDb require 10 lines, are they insane or just control freaks?
All I have to say about this movie is WATCH IT. You will not be disappointed. It is a great film about a "class" or "group" of people, could be just about any group, Irish, Mexican, Italian, Puerto Rican, Iranian, Polish, Cuban... who live in a small community and have limited opportunities because of education and upbringing... not that everyone in such a situation will end up like these guys but this story is being played out day after day in each of America's ethnic communities. Bravo to the actors and director.
MORE LINES ARE NEEDED SO....this story is being played out day after day in each of America's ethnic communities. Bravo to the actors and director.
Look Both Ways (2005)
One fine film
The story was engaging, the direction was spot-on, the characters were almost brilliant, there is nothing I would criticize of this film. If Hollywood put out a film half as good it would certainly get an Oscar or Golden Globe. I don't know why IMDb requires 10 lines, completely stupid requirement if you ask me. There is nothing more to be said other than watch this film, another good "foreign" film I thoroughly enjoyed was "Death at a Funeral" totally funny. Let's see how many lines this makes. Again, not enough, only 8 lines written so far. Well let's see another good "foreign" film is "Once Were Warriors" from New Zealand, again an excellent (but violent) movie, could have been about the Native American situation. There, that should be 10 lines.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Cruise was great
somewhat discombobulated script... but the characters made it worth watching... Black is great, so is Nolte, the SURPRISE is the Cruise... so I gotta write 10 lines, who thought of this, should have their kneecaps... so more about the movie... the child-drug dealer was pretty good, Stiller was good as was Downey but not so much a "comedy" as a National Lampoon kind of film. enough lines yet? geesh more lines? well I keep going back to the good job Black and Cruise did, without them the movie would have not been nearly as much fun or enjoyable to watch... enough lines yet?? fingers getting tired... looks like this one last line will do it... not too soon either, my fingers are cramping and my butt is hurting from sitting and typing so many lines... but WATCH this movie (got it from redbox.com $1 a night)
Once Were Warriors (1994)
Insight into a culture thrown into the modern world.
1,000 words could not convey my opinion of this movie. Great story/script, great acting, great direction, great action.
When I attended film classes years ago I was told that for a movie (or any story) to work you have to "care" about the characters, and in this movie you care about ALL the characters. Once Were Warriors should be in every film-maker students list of required movies to study just for this reason. (others on the list: Kubrick's "The Killing" and Robert Altman's "MASH")
The worst films have big budgets, big stars, big directors... but you don't care about the characters, that list is very long.