CIA operative, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), is on the trail of a terrorist ring leader working out of Jordan. His attempts at running a successful espionage operation depend on the web of mistrust between him and his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) not to mention the head of Jordanian intelligence.
OK so as far as realistic spy movies go, this one is actually semi-decent, however at two hours and ten minutes, it is far too long and burns out in the end. Russell Crowe is fabulous as the man you love to hate--he is just delightfully despicable. DiCaprio is also great and fun to watch, but the late plot twists make the audience begin to doubt that the film will ever actually end. Surprisingly witty and full of sharp dialogue that got many a laughs, just wasn't tight enough in the story department and ended up being predictable.
** 1/2 Rentable
Rated R (for extreme violence and language)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Nick a heartbroken bass player wallows in his grief by making mixed CD's for his ex-girlfriend, who quickly discards them. Norah has been retrieving the CD's from the garbage and is in awe of the mixes.
This teenage comedy has some really funny dialogue and does a fabulous job at creating the awkward teenage angst. However despite it's laugh out loud moments, which are kind of hit and miss, the pacing is off and the show seemed to drag. The quirky side characters, which are poorly underdeveloped and underused, come in and out of the script at random times--again throwing the timing off.
Overall it isn't horrid and has some amazingly memorable lines--but it isn't Juno or even Napoleon Dynamite for that matter.
Netflix it.
** 1/2 Rentable
Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)
This teenage comedy has some really funny dialogue and does a fabulous job at creating the awkward teenage angst. However despite it's laugh out loud moments, which are kind of hit and miss, the pacing is off and the show seemed to drag. The quirky side characters, which are poorly underdeveloped and underused, come in and out of the script at random times--again throwing the timing off.
Overall it isn't horrid and has some amazingly memorable lines--but it isn't Juno or even Napoleon Dynamite for that matter.
Netflix it.
** 1/2 Rentable
Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)
Religulous
Bill Maher sets out across the world to interview people and question them about their faith and why they believe.
Absolutely hilarious. This very funny, albeit one sided documentary, is a critical look at religion. Many people have said that it is totally sacrilegious and demeaning. Perhaps it is my self absorbed arrogance or that I tend to be a tad more cynical than most but I didn't even find this movie offensive.
My criticism of this film is not its content but the way Maher ended it. He spends the entire film humorously mocking the belief's of others only to end it with him on a soap box preaching his own "religion" for the last 10 to 15 minutes of the show. Claiming that he has faith in humanity not in a higher power, which is kind of funny, considering history--this is anything but rational thought. He in fact turns into that which he seems to scorn. It was like he just couldn't help but to jump on the band wagon, kind of ironic. Nevertheless still funny.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that can't handle their own religious beliefs being challenged or scrutinized, particularly if you are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim as those are the three main faiths that are questioned throughout the film. Nevertheless if you are secure in your own faith and can deal with the opinions of others I think you will be quite entertained.
*** Must See
Rated R (for language, some violence and brief nudity)
Absolutely hilarious. This very funny, albeit one sided documentary, is a critical look at religion. Many people have said that it is totally sacrilegious and demeaning. Perhaps it is my self absorbed arrogance or that I tend to be a tad more cynical than most but I didn't even find this movie offensive.
My criticism of this film is not its content but the way Maher ended it. He spends the entire film humorously mocking the belief's of others only to end it with him on a soap box preaching his own "religion" for the last 10 to 15 minutes of the show. Claiming that he has faith in humanity not in a higher power, which is kind of funny, considering history--this is anything but rational thought. He in fact turns into that which he seems to scorn. It was like he just couldn't help but to jump on the band wagon, kind of ironic. Nevertheless still funny.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that can't handle their own religious beliefs being challenged or scrutinized, particularly if you are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim as those are the three main faiths that are questioned throughout the film. Nevertheless if you are secure in your own faith and can deal with the opinions of others I think you will be quite entertained.
*** Must See
Rated R (for language, some violence and brief nudity)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Express
Based on a true story, "The Express" tells the story of Syracuse University star running back, Ernie Davis. The first black college football player to win the Heisman Trophy. The film follows Davis' through various struggles in his career. From filling the shoes of recently graduated Syracuse running back, Jim Brown, who some consider to be the greatest running back of all time, to confronting the deplorable racism of his coach, teammates, fans and society as he tries to deal with being treated as a superstar, and yet at the same time as a second-class citizen, to the realization of a possible career ending disease.
There are some very inspiring moments in this film, some very emotional moments that really help you care and feel for the characters. Dennis Quaid does a solid job as the coach, although at some points I wanted him to maintain his hard edge that he does a great job of establishing earlier in the film. I wanted his opening up to be a little more dramatic. The story jumps around a little too much, I felt like it needed to be tighter in terms of story telling and running time, it feels about 20 to 30 minutes too long. One mark of a solid sports movie is how the overall "sports goal" at hand ties in with the characters personal struggles and conflicts, i.e. Rudy making the team, Hoosiers winning the tournament, Rocky in the title fight, etc. It seems in this movie they struggle to clearly establish the "sports goal". Is it winning the national championship? Davis winning the Heisman? etc. The sports action is well done and not overplayed though.
It's rated PG, which I found a little questionable with the language, racial slurs and one semi-racy scene. Although they do a good job of trying to keep a Disney PG rating while not sugar coating how things were a few short decades ago, I still feel that being a little more realistic and accurate while incurring a PG-13 or even R rating would better serve. Overall it's a decent movie, somewhere in between a trip to the theater and a rental.
**1/2 out of 4
There are some very inspiring moments in this film, some very emotional moments that really help you care and feel for the characters. Dennis Quaid does a solid job as the coach, although at some points I wanted him to maintain his hard edge that he does a great job of establishing earlier in the film. I wanted his opening up to be a little more dramatic. The story jumps around a little too much, I felt like it needed to be tighter in terms of story telling and running time, it feels about 20 to 30 minutes too long. One mark of a solid sports movie is how the overall "sports goal" at hand ties in with the characters personal struggles and conflicts, i.e. Rudy making the team, Hoosiers winning the tournament, Rocky in the title fight, etc. It seems in this movie they struggle to clearly establish the "sports goal". Is it winning the national championship? Davis winning the Heisman? etc. The sports action is well done and not overplayed though.
It's rated PG, which I found a little questionable with the language, racial slurs and one semi-racy scene. Although they do a good job of trying to keep a Disney PG rating while not sugar coating how things were a few short decades ago, I still feel that being a little more realistic and accurate while incurring a PG-13 or even R rating would better serve. Overall it's a decent movie, somewhere in between a trip to the theater and a rental.
**1/2 out of 4
Friday, October 10, 2008
Appaloosa
Two hired guns, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, are employed to clean up the small town of Appaloosa that is being over run by a ruthless rancher, Randall Bragg and his band of outlaws.
This western starts out really strong. Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris have an amazing dynamic. They are fun to watch and the dialogue seems effortless. The story itself however runs out of steam and falls flat. Renee Zellweger brings little to the story or screen, and is somewhat miscast, not to mention poorly written. Again the pacing is great up until the anti-climactic climax of the story where it fizzles and drags on for about 20 minutes more than necessary.
Take note that the dialogue is worth your time--but probably not your $10. -- Netflix it.
**1/2 Rentable
Rated R (for violence and some language)
This western starts out really strong. Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris have an amazing dynamic. They are fun to watch and the dialogue seems effortless. The story itself however runs out of steam and falls flat. Renee Zellweger brings little to the story or screen, and is somewhat miscast, not to mention poorly written. Again the pacing is great up until the anti-climactic climax of the story where it fizzles and drags on for about 20 minutes more than necessary.
Take note that the dialogue is worth your time--but probably not your $10. -- Netflix it.
**1/2 Rentable
Rated R (for violence and some language)
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