2009 Review #28: Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning

Rated R

(Language, disturbing images, minor sexuality and drug use)

1 hour 31 minutes

Storyline:

In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.

Starring:

Amy Adams

Emily Blunt

Alan Arkin

Steve Zahn

Critics Grade:

B-

My Grade:

B-

You know I was expecting a dark comedy from this movie, along the lines of the Best Picture nominee, Little Miss Sunshine. However, comedy I did not get...at least not all that much. Sunshine Cleaning had only a few funny moments, but it was the standard amount you see in any dramatic film...which is what this movie categorically falls into. So on that level I was a bit disappointed, given the premise of the film...two sisters who start a crime scene clean up business to make ends meet. But this was much more of a serious film, that bordered on depressing.

That being said, I did like this movie very much. It was by no means the best movie of 2009...not even close really. But I though the storyline was quite moving and at times charming. There seems to be a lot going on in this movie, but the core story of this family struggling to get by financially and just in life in general was well told. I liked the dynamic of this family. The cooky old dad, the oddball, eccentric daughter and the other daughter who is not really like the rest of them. She has a son that's a bit of a hyper case, and is kind of annoying. Their story though was sweet and at times quite dark. The background story of their dead mother was pretty emotional and tugged at the heart strings a little.

I enjoyed the scenes of the sisters cleaning up after dead people. That is where a lot of the humor in the film came from. There were also some very touching scenes. There is a scene where Amy Adam's comforts an old woman who's husband just killed himself. It showed that these girls weren't just there to clean up blood, they were they to help and I thought that was a nice touch to the story.

The problem I had with this movie is that there was way to much going on at time. There is a side story with Steve Zahn's (Joy Ride, Strange Wilderness)character that really just ends up falling flat. Another side story involves one of the sisters trying to connect with the daughter with one of the dead victims they cleaned up after. That story was very odd and I felt like it was just a space filler. I know that it was an attempt to humanize Emily Blunt's character but something about it was weird. The girl she was trying to connect with is a lesbian, but Blunt's character is not and that whole thing just felt strange and way out of place. Then by the end of that story arch, nothing really happens...I just didn't get it.

Then we have the story of Oscar winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine) trying to sell random things in grocery stores and restaurants. I guess I didn't see the importance of this aspect of his life. I guess he was trying to make time go by since he no longer had his wife...but they never really explained his odd behavior. Then we have the tale of Oscar nominee Amy Adam's (Junebug, Doubt)characters son who can't seem to fit in at school. He is a bit of a troublemaker and no one knows what to do with him. Again...this story falls flat in the end, there is no resolve. Finally there is character you think has a thing for Amy Adams and you never really know if she likes him back. Again...no real resolve there. Overall though, the story of the family as a whole was the most prominent one in the film, and was written very very well.

The performances were pretty good. I thought Emily Blunt was awesome in The Devil Wears Prada and I believe she was robbed of some award attention. Here she was dawning an American accent and did so fairly well. She was good in this movie, but there were times where her performance was a little too...fake, I guess would be the best way to describe it. Amy Adam's was definitely the best in the movie. She's always turned in solid performances and I think she will win herself an Oscar one day. There was a pretty powerful scene towards the end of the movie involving her talking on a CB radio that was her shining moment in the film. Arkin was good, but not as good as he was in Little Miss Sunshine. But I still thought he was entertaining.

All in all, this is a solid movie. It suffers from trying to do to much to make us feel sympathetic towards the characters, but it didn't need to do all that. We already feel for these characters once we learn of their past. I wish they would have focused more on that and eliminated some of the random side stories that led up to nothing. I would recommend this film though to anyone. I don't know if it's for everyone though. It's a bit of a "slow" movie, but I like those kind of flicks. It's on DVD now...check it out! What bad can it do??

2009 Review #27: I Love You, Man

I Love You, Man

Rated R
(Language, some crude and sexual)
1 hour 45 minutes

Storyline:
Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But when his insta-bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?

Starring:
Paul Rudd
Jason Segel
Rashida Jones

Critics Grade:
B

My Grade:
B+

This movie came out in theaters in March but I'm just now seeing it here in August on DVD thanks to good old Netflix! It's basically another one of those buddy comedies that's a bit on the raunchy side. I keep saying how much I don't care for these types of movies, yet I keep watching them. Mainly because these kinds of movies usually have pretty good stories and some funny performances making me look past the filth. This is by no means in line with movies like Knocked Up or 40 Year Old Virgin in terms of the raunch, but it's still there in parts.

I liked the story here. It's about a guy played by Paul Rudd (40 Year Old Virgin, Role Models) who's about to get married to Rashida Jone's (TV's The Office and Parks & Recreation) character, only to realize he has no close guy friends for his wedding party. He has no one as a best man. So the movie is his quest to find a male friend or two, and eventually finds a guy played by Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, TV's How I Met Your Mother) and they hit it off. The rest of the movie is them becoming good friends and their various hang out sessions.

I thought it was a pretty cool story, and it seemed pretty realistic to me. There are a lot of guys out there who are much better with the ladies and can never truly admit they have a "best guy friend". They exist all over the world. The writing was just great! They really gave these characters a lot of funny things to say and again it all had this feel of reality. Some of the writing was a little filthy of course, there were numerous sexual jokes and plenty of bad language but overall it wasn't that bad. There was a lot of well written humor that was pretty clean. In fact there was more "clean" humor than "filth" humor. Paul Rudd has always been a funny guy, but so far in his attempts at leading roles (for example, Over Her Dead Body) have been pretty feeble. But this time, he really found the perfect role for him. He was absolutely hilarious in this movie. Rudd really has some pitch perfect comedic timing and he was so awkward in this movie that it was just so funny! Jason Segel is basically the same way. He was great in the Sarah Marshall movie, probably a little better than he was here, but he was still very very funny. These two guys worked really well together, and were quite believable as best friends.

Rashida Jones also turned in a good performance, but she wasn't all that comedic, but she was still good. There were also a slew of good cameos. JK Simmons, Andy Samberg, Jon Favreau, Jamie Pressly, Jane Curtin all turned in solid borderline cameo performances. That's another thing I like about these movies. They always have a handful of hilarious supporting characters that circle in and out of the main characters lives. There was no change in that in this movie!

Sometimes I can say a lot about a movie, other times I don't have a whole heck of a lot to say. I thoroughly enjoyed I Love You, Man though. This is a really solid, really well made comedy and for me is probably one of the funniest movies of the year. I can't sit here and recommend this movie to ALL my friends because some of them don't care for this kind of movie, because it is still pretty inappropriate. However, I would suggest this film to all my other friends! It is a very enjoyable flick!

DVD Update Reviews (08/23/2009)

So I've watched a few random movies recently via Netflix and I thought I'd give them a little bit of attention on my blog! I'll just give you a sum up of what I thought of them. Some are old movies, some are more recent.

Word Wars (Rated NR, 1 hour 20 minutes): This is a documentary about the world of Scrabble tournaments. It follows four of the "elite" scrabble players in their quest to win a $25,000 prize at a tourney in San Diego. This was actually a really interesting look into this world I never really knew existed. Hundreds of people take this very seriously, and are incredibly good at the game. I learned so many words that I can use on my next go at the game! I learned there are a handful of "Q" words without a "U" in them. Anyway, this movie also had a slight charm to it, and had some really likable people featured. Fun movie, interesting movie. My Grade: B-

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For the Bible Tells Me So (Rated NR, 1 hour 35 minutes): This is another documentary about homosexuality within Christianity. It follows a few Christian families (some of them pastors and church leaders) who learn they have homosexual children and how they deal with this. First they hate their children then grow to understand that maybe homosexuality is not a choice. The bible never says homosexuality is a choice, only that it is a "sin". This is a pro-gay movie, but also a pro-Christian movie. I happen to fall in both categories, so this movie meant a lot to me. I found it to be eye opening, as a gay Christian. It changed my perception of some Christians who I naturally assumed would look down on me for being gay. This film has a LOT of good points and I think any Christian, gay or straight, should check this movie out...you might learn a thing or two. My Grade: A-

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Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (Rated R, 1 hour 33 minutes): Yeah, yeah, yeah I know what your going to say: "Mike, you, a film buff, have not seen this classic movie??". Well no I had not seen it up until just a few days ago, so sue me! I have this weird thing against 80's movies. However, after it was all said and done, I really did enjoy this film. I thought it was a super well done "buddy" comedy, probably one of the better ones I've seen. It was very simple, and it started really quick. I thought it was sweet, and had moments of some great and classic comedy. I loved the scene of Steve Martin dropping like...15 "F bombs" in one speech. That was great! I regret not seeing this movie sooner, it was very enjoyable! My Grade: A-

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[*REC] (Rated R, 1 hour 20 minutes): This was the 2007 Spanish language film that inspired the 2008 horror movie, Quarantine. There is virtually no difference in storyline between both films. On that note, they are essentially identical minus one or two small tidbits. However, I have to say that this original version was much, much creepier. I don't know how it was able to do that to me seeing as how the American version didn't scare me that much. I think this film was better at pacing the story and the action therefore adding a lot of tension that the remake did not have. I liked Quarantine, and I was surprised that I did. But I liked this one just a smidgen more just because it was slightly more intense and scary. It is by no means a perfect movie, neither is Quarantine. But they are both entertaining and kind of different. My Grade: B-

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Them (Ils) (Rated R, 1 hour 17 minutes): This is a French film from 2006. I actually just got finished watching this movie on Netflix instant que. This is a film much like 2008's The Strangers but a whole hell of a lot better, and I liked The Strangers! This movie came out before, but Strangers is not a remake (at least it never was labeled as one). Both films claim to be based off a true story (both are not however). This one follows a couple somewhere in Romania and they are enjoying a quiet evening in their huge, isolated and creepy house in the middle of the woods. Their night is soon ruined by strange noises and someone or something has entered their home and begins to mentally torture them. It becomes this extremely intense cat and mouse game that really unnerved me as I watched it. This is one freaky, unsettling movie. There is almost no music playing during the scenes of people sneaking around and all we here are ambient sounds and man is it tense as I'll get out!! There isn't to much of a story, but this doesn't need one. Good, believable performances and these characters weren't dumb for the most part. I won't say how it ends, but I have to say that the reveal of the "stalkers" is quite disturbing. My Grade: A

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This Film is Not Yet Rated (Originally NC-17 but is now NR, 1 hour 37 minutes): This is another documentary about the corruptions and secrecy of the MPAA film rating system. It follows one man's quest to figure out exactly what the deal is with the MPAA and why they rate movies the way they do. It has interviews of film critics and film makers who are blown away by some of the choices the MPAA made about certain films. You really learn a lot about how and why film's get rated the way they do. They talk a lot about films that were rated NC-17 and should have been R. You also learn that the MPAA is the second most secret organization in the country next to...THE CIA!!! Up until 2007 (after this film's release) the members of the MPAA were top secret and only two people in the world knew who they were (the members consist of mainly American parents). These people get paid over $30,000 a year to watch movies and make odd decisions on how to rate them. The movie chronicles a private investigation that is trying to figure out who these people are. This is one of the most interesting and unique documentaries I've seen. I loved it, and thought it was so fascinating! I am a fan of film after all. I would suggest checking this movie out on Netflix. My Rating: A

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And that's it for now! Stay tuned for more in the near future! By the way, all of these films are now available on DVD!

2009 Review #26: Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds

Rated R

(Occasional graphic violence and gore, brief language and some sexuality)

2 hours 31 minutes

Storyline:

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

Starring:

Brad Pitt

Melanie Laurent

Christoph Waltz

Diane Kruger

Critics Grade:

B+

My Grade:
A+

I think Pulp Fiction is a great film. The Kill Bill saga is an amazing piece of filmaking and storytelling. Inglorious Basterds however, is Oscar winner Quentin Tarantino's (Best Original Screenplay - Pulp Fiction) ultimate masterpiece. I thought I had seen his best work in Kill Bill and I honestly never thought he could top that. This is when I love being wrong. When I saw the trailer for Basterds, I thought it looked good but I did not think that I would end up loving it. Again I say, this is when I love to be wrong.

I'm not going to describe the storyline in my review, but as usual I put a brief synopsis up above. This movie has a lot going on and it could take several paragraphs. I'll say this though, before you see this movie, leave your history books on the shelf and don't try to brush up on your WWII knowledge. This is probably one of the more historically inaccurate war films ever made and it was done so deliberately...of course. But as you watch this movie you can't help but think that this would have been a much cooler alternative to the Nazi Germany timeline. Tarantino brilliantly re-wrote history for this movie, and I think this film truly showcases how great of a screenwriter he really has always been.

Tarantino is probably the master at writing superb dialog for his characters. You have to see this film to understand. It is through the dialog this film is carried, and there are many many drawn out, very long scenes of people talking (in other languages at that!) but it never once goes dull and I never got bored. More than half of this movie is in a foreign language (primarily French and German...and a tad bit of Italian haha) but you don't find yourself caring or angry that you're reading half of the film. I don't mind foreign language films, but some people hate them. Trust me though, you won't mind it this time around.

He also relies on his genius characters that he creates (he even made Hitler a bit of his own character) to move the story along. Aldo Raine is one of the coolest, most bad ass characters I've seen in a film in a while! 90% of this film is all dialog and character examination, and trust me when I say it makes this screenplay come to life in a wonderfully incredible way and you will never grow restless while watching this film. It runs at 2 hours and 31 minutes but when you watch it, it feels like a 90 minute movie. That's how awesome the pacing of this movie works. Probably one of the best paced screenplays I've seen in years.

Now don't get me wrong, this movie isn't ALL drawn out talking sessions, there is some cool action scenes. In fact, a lot of the dialog scenes lead up to some pretty awesome action moments. You can tell something is eventually going to happen in these scenes, because it feels very tense when you watch these characters communicate. I would say there are a good three or four solid action moments that were just so enjoyable to watch. This is when some of Tarantino's famous blood and gore come in, but never to much. There's a brutal gun battle that lasts maybe a minute and there's a good supply of blood to go around. There are some explosive scenes that were so masterfully done but also so very simple. Which is something you aren't to used to with Tarantino. Usually you expect big, drawn out, bloody action scenes, but it's more "toned" down this time and I liked that.

The direction by Tarantino was so, so, SO good. He doesn't do a lot of rapid cut scenes and he doesn't move around to much. This story is told in chapters (much like the Kill Bill saga), and the film really feels like chapters. During each chapter he only focuses on one aspect of the story. He does not jump to different characters doing different things, he focuses on one aspect of the story each time. This is how we grow to love these characters (and yes, hate some of them) and really understand their motives. He brought this tale to life so eloquently I thought. You can tell he is a fan of film and that this guy knows what he's doing. It's a shame he doesn't make more movies than he does. I also loved all the technical aspects of this film. The set design was so classy and beautiful as was all the costuming. The cinematography was brilliant. Of course we also have the standard use of music in a Tarantino film, he is so good at choosing music. You will also notice a lot of music from Kill Bill...a really cool touch if you ask me.

In a Tarantino film, you can always expect at least one good performance (I still think Uma Thurman was robbed of an Oscar nomination for any of the Kill Bill films). This movie has at least two brilliant performances. The first being from the star, Oscar nominee Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys, Curious Case of Benjamin Button). This was probably my favorite performance from him, because it was the most unique one I've seen from him (and no I have not seen Snatch or Fight Club). There was NEVER a dull moment with this character. I mean he was a riot and was one of the most hilarious characters I think I may have ever seen. Pitt was just so great and I was blown away by how perfect he was for this role. So funny! I don't know if he will garner another Oscar nomination for this movie, but honestly I think he deserves one.

However there was once performance that was a little bit better than that in this film and that was from Christoph Waltz (who won a Best Actor award for this film at Cannes Film Festival). He plays an SS Colonel and he is a nasty nasty character. You really, truly hate this guy but at the same time you just love when he is on screen. Half of his performance is in English and the other half is in a combo of French, German and some Italian. Not matter what language he speaks though, this guy was brilliantly sinister and also so odd and quirky. That very beginning scene of the film, he had me hooked from the moment on. If he does not garner a supporting actor nomination this year at the Oscars I will think there is some kind of scandal in the Academy.

The women were good as well. Melanie Laurent and Diane Kruger (National Treasure series) added some great character depth to the film. Kruger is more of a limited supporting role, and Laurent has a much meatier role and where the primary story of revenge comes from (but I don't want to give to much away). I thought they did a great job carrying the characters throughout the film. I liked the cameos from Mike Myers (a surprisingly unfunny one) and also a pretty comical one from BJ Novak (TV's The Office). There were a lot of small, supporting roles in this film and all were excellent. This was a seriously good cast!

This was just a great overall movie. I spotted virtually no flaws. I guess there were a couple issues, but in the grand scheme of things they were so small and didn't take away from the movie at all and aren't even worth mentioning. Amazing storytelling, beautiful film making, incredibly good and entertaining performances, fun action scenes, the works. In my opinion this was a masterpiece on virtually every level of film making possible. Tarantino shocked me by not hinging on his typical use of blood, guts and gore and extreme foul language (but it's still there, just no where near anything bad, I've seen worse in movies this year). Instead he went a much more mature and professional route and created his first real masterclass film. I applaud Tarantino for this movie, and the Academy should finally give him what he deserves...some true recognition for his wonderful and wildly original film making accomplishment.

This year the Academy announced there will be ten best picture nominees. I am a fan of this, because some smaller films or films that don't typically get noticed in the big award of the night will sneak in. So far this year I've seen a handful of movies that at this point in the year deserve to crack the top ten: Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, Star Trek, The Hurt Locker, District 9, Up, and at the very top of that list...Inglorious Basterds. I don't care what anyone tells me, THIS is the very best film of 2009.

Go see Inglorious Basterds.

"Nine, nine, nine nine, nine!"

2009 Review #25: District 9

District 9

Rated R

(Language, Violence and gruesome blood and gore)

1 hour 52 minutes

Storyline:

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

Starring:

Sharlto Copley

Jason Cope

Nathalie Boltt

Sylvaine Strike

William Allen Young

John Summer

Critics Rating:

A-

My Rating:

A

I'll just go right out and say it: 8 months into the movie season and I have to say that District 9 is probably one of the very best films of 2009. It is certainly the most fresh and original film of the year, if not in many years. In terms of sci-fi action films, this one ranks as one of my all time favorites. This is a movie I think every fan of film should go see...just please don't take your younger kids.

This is Neill Blomkamp first mainstream directed film, and he got a lot of help from Peter "Lord of the Rings" Jackson to bring this film to the forefront. I have to say, for a up and coming director, he did a masterful job bringing this amazing story to life. This world of District 9 (an essential refugee camp for alien life forms also called "prawns") felt so unbelievable real and gritty. You tend to feel bad for this "prawns" and hate the human characters. This slum they created looked like an actual refugee camp. The realism really helped you sink into this world and almost become apart of it all.

The visual effects were something else! These were some of the best special effects I've seen in a film. Most of the time, you couldn't even tell you were looking at any CGI. That mothership that hovers over the city was remarkable. It looked like an actual object that was not created by any computer imagery. The aliens were incredibly well done. You could tell in some scenes that they were obvious CGI, but a lot of the scenes you had no idea. They were not your typical film aliens either, I thought they looked awesome. They were so unique looking, and yes, they were really gross. I loved the fresh "design" of these creatures, and I'm glad they weren't the stereotypical movie aliens.

The first half of the film was more set up and more dramatic. The second half of the film was all action, and boy oh boy was it fun to watch! These action scenes were put together so well, and I thought they were tense, exciting, explosive and damn entertaining! And they were needed too, they were never filler action moments just for the sole purpose to have big explosions. These scenes helped carry the film, they were necessary for the story to go forward. Those alien weapons (that can only be operated by the aliens) are so cool! They reminded me somewhat of some of the weapons from another sci-fi film Minority Report (one of my favorites!). These guns though, obliterated the humans to nothingness. Those guns were awesome! One shot and the humans literally no longer existed, it's as if they evaporated. I just loved how those weapons worked, and they were fun to watch in action. Simply some wonderful action, probably the best I've seen all year.

They storyline is where most of the originality came from. This is not your typical sci-fi alien flick. Here we care for the aliens, we are rooting for them. We hate the human beings, well most of them. The movie begins with some grainy documentary footage of an alien mothership that stalled over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It just sits there, and doesn't attack. It sits for a long while before the government intervenes and enters the ship only to find millions of sick alien lifeforms. The government decides to remove all these aliens and throw them in what is basically a refugee camp. These aliens would co-exist with human refugees in this camp. The main part of the film takes place twenty years later and the government is starting to evict the aliens and move them to a new camp away from the humans (because their have been murders and theft, etc.) that is actually less comfortable then the one they currently live in. The aliens deal with slumlords, by exchanging weapons for cat food (the aliens took a liking the cat food).

The first half of the film feature the character of Wikus (Sharlto Copley) as he begins this raid of sorts to evict the aliens. He soon finds a weird canister in one of their homes that sprays a black liquid on his face. Long story short, he becomes "infected" with alien blood and slowly begins to morph into one of them (he grows an alien hand) and is sought out by the government because he can now operate the alien weapons. They want to be able to control these weapons and sell them, and he quickly becomes the most wanted human in the world. The rest of the movie is his attempts to avoid them and also to get back to his wife. In his journey he befriends an alien father and son that knows how to get to the mothership and save Wikus from becoming an alien. They band together to save the day!

This was one of the most unique and incredible alien stories I've ever watched. The main alien, named Christopher Johnson, displays such a human personality as does his son (who was pretty darn cute!) and so you really have this strange emotional connection to him. You see these aliens being shot and killed and then dissected for experiments. There is this haunting scene where they "abort" the alien baby eggs and then burn down the building they are housed and you really just despise the human race. But that's the point of the movie, to pull for the aliens. I was absolutely shocked at the character development of the aliens, they did an amazing job with doing this.

The main character, Wikus is a very complicated character and one of my favorite characters of the year. First of all, Sharlto Copley did a magnificent job at portraying him as this is his very first movie role. He played him so authentically, and we really believed this was a documentary style film (the movie is done in a documentary style, so there is the shaky cam effect). There were times where we really loved him and really was pulling for him. Then there were times where you just hated him. There were a few scenes where he was so selfish and so awful that you wanted to kill him! But that's the beauty of his performance, he acted like a human. He was very real and for that I applaud him.

There were some cliched characters, but they weren't prominent enough to really lose focus on the movie as a whole. There really isn't a lot more I can say about this movie though. I thought the screenplay was very well written, the direction was magnificent, the acting was great, the action was awesome and this movie simply rocks! This is by far one of the most must see movies of summer. It adds such a cool twist to the whole alien genre film and it was a great spin! I really think any fan of movies will enjoy this movie. It's just so fun and so well done.

Go see District 9! You won't regret it!

**WARNING*

This movie is very graphic and does not hold back. It has a lot of "F' bombs, and various other swear words. It is very bloody. There are scenes of fingernails being ripped off, bodies exploding, and much more. Don't take your young kids to see this movie if they can't handle a movie like that.

2009 Review #24: The Soloist

The Soloist

Rated PG-13

1 hour 57 minutes

Storyline:

A Los Angeles Journalist, befriends a homeless Julliard trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.

Starring:

Robert Downey Jr.

Jamie Foxx

Critics Grade:
C

My Grade:
C+

The Soloist is not a perfect film. It is definitely one of those movies that you can tell was maybe trying to score itself some Oscar nominations. It's one of those movies that supposed to tug on the strings of your heart and inspire you. It's one of those movies that's carried by very strong lead performances. But it's also one of those movies that really, really good...but kind of misses on some of the emotional points.

Starting with the good. I thought it told a really moving tale about a journalist who befriends a homeless man who has a truly beautiful musical gift. The story is of their growing friendship as the journalist tries to give this man help, both emotional and medical, even though the homeless man just wants a friend. He's comfortable where he is, he likes living on the streets. He takes a strong liking to the journalist, and at one point calls him his God. Keep in mind, this homeless man isn't right in the head. We see the progression of his mental breakdown through flashbacks to his earlier life. He is probably a schizophrenic, but we never really find out. But one thing is certain: he can play the violin and cello masterfully. This is a man who went to Julliard for two years and is now on the streets.

The story/screenplay was told quite well I thought. It kept me focused the whole time and I never really got bored at any one point in the movie. I thought it really captured well, the heart of true friendship and why we as people need friends in our lives. It's said that true friendship could ease ones mental pains, and that's showcased in this film. I've even experienced that in my own life. This man has a talent, but he doesn't care. He just wants to play. The journalist doesn't quite understand that. He can't figure out why he doesn't want help, why he wants to stay on the streets. But he stays his friend anyway, and I thought that aspect of the story was told very well.

What was missing was background. We see many flashes into Nathaniel's (the homeless man) life, but we never see how and why this all started. I understand this is something he was probably born with, but we never truly saw how this affected his family or really even him at a young age. He just snaps, drops out of Julliard, and runs away. It seemed like his sister never even bothered to look for him or even cared. His background was missing a lot of emotional depth and it was hard to really feel for this guy. I understood his situation and I felt bad for him, but I wasn't emotionally connected to this guy...and he's supposed to be the main character. Same goes for Steve Lopez (the journalist). We get virtually no insight into his life. He's actually a bit one dimensional throughout the whole film. We don't really know what drove him to befriend this guy in the first place. We are told he has a son in college and his ex-wife is also someone who works with him at the paper. But we never get to much information about why that part of his life went south. Again, it was just weak back story and very difficult to connect with this guys motives.

For me it lacked a lot of emotional depth. Mainly due to that back story issue. This has the potential of being a really poignant story, but it missed so much. The over lining story of their friendship was told very well, and I was very into it, but the deeper part of the story lacked a lot. There was virtually no real heart to this story and by the end you feel kind of empty and have this "yeah so what" mentality, at least I did. I got the message in the end, and it was a good one. But when the credits rolled I was immediately disconnected. I don't know, I guess it's kind of hard to explain. Also, I was confused by how this movie wanted us to feel and where we were supposed to direct our emotions. It tried to be two things: a movie about a mentally disabled homeless man that has a gift and also a movie about the man's beautiful gift and his struggles to use that gift. I feel like they were trying to get to much emotional pull into the movie, and so it kind of just flopped in that regard and you end up not feeling much of anything. I think there was to much focus here.

The performances were excellent however! Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder, Iron Man) has really emerged as a fantastic actor. He had an incredible year last year, and this guy is just getting better and better. He can really carry a film, and he is really likable in most of the roles he does, including this one. He won't get any award attention here, because it's not really an award worthy performance, but he's still very very good. Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (Ray, Collateral) for the most part was really good in this movie. However there were a few scenes where you can tell he thinks he's an amazing actor. There's just a few scenes where he totally overacts and tries to do way to much with a scene that could have been toned down. There are portions of his performance that are actually quite bad, but for the most part he does do an pretty darn good job.

The Soloist is a good movie. It's a solid movie. Even though it lacks some real feeling and leaves you feeling kind of empty. But there's still a lot to it, and theres a lot of good to it. This is kind of an inspirational film. Like I said, not an phenomenal movie, but it's definitely worth watching if you are into this type of dramatic film.

2008 Straight To DVD Review: Blackout

Blackout

Rated R
1 hour 24 minutes

Storyline:
Three people from different walks of life find themselves trapped inside a stalled elevator. What at first seems like an inconvenience rapidly escalates into a nightmare.

Starring:
Amber Tamblyn
Aidan Gillen
Armie Hammer

Critics Grade:
N/A From Rotten Tomatoes
5.5 out of 10 from IMDB.com users

My Grade:
C

You may be surprised that I actually wanted to see a straight to DVD movie, but it's true. I read the synopsis (much like with the crappy film "House"), and I thought it sounded pretty interesting. There is a huge difference between the movie "House" and this film, Blackout: this one is much, MUCH better.

Now I'm going to say this is an amazing film, because it isn't, but it really isn't a bad movie. It has a very simple premise, a very small cast, and never tries to do to much. It's about 3 different people, who have all had some recent tragedy in their lives, find themselves trapped in a small elevator that shut down mid run. We get brief glimpses into their lives through flashbacks so we get to know each one of them. Now they make it kind of obvious that one of these people is probably not such a nice person, but you don't really know for sure until 3/4 of the way into the movie. I pretty much figured it out about 1/4 way into it because it is a bit obvious who it is.

They needed this aspect in order to create some true danger for these people, even though two of them have no idea that one of them is a bad person. But just the story of them being caught in the elevator was tense enough for me. For the most part I thought it was really well done. You never really know if they are going to make it or not, and there are a few scenes of them trying to be brave and find a way out that are pretty intense. The movie mainly takes place in a little 6 by 6 metal box, and the characters wind down and go a little nuts slowly throughout the film. Of course until the end when one of them goes way to crazy and starts to get deadly. That part of the storyline, I know was needed, but they probably could have toned it down a little. They showed some pretty graphic flashback scenes that I didn't care to see. They should have made this person just snap from being locked up in the elevator and left out the whole psycho past storyline. That would have created a more tense thrill ride.

The film was shot really well. I actually thought there was some pretty cool cinematography that reminded me of some of the shots from Panic Room a few years back. The camera weeves in out of the hallways all seemingly in one take with one camera (although obvious visual effects were used). The film had a very sleek look to it. It was never to dark and never to full of light. It really set the mood of the film pretty well. I thought Amber Tamblyn (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) did a decent job in her role, her performance was never to cheesy. I wasn't a fan of Aiden Gillen (TV's The Wire, 12 Rounds) he was pretty bad. There were some brief shining moments for him, but most it was pretty darn weak. There wasn't enough of Armie Hammer speaking lines for me to honestly say how good he was, but in the small role he had, he was alright.

If you like a good suspense thriller, I would definitely recommend this movie. I found it to be quite entertaining. Not a perfect film, it could have been much better with a few tweaks to the screenplay, a bigger budget and more seasoned actors. But for what it is worth, this was a solid enough movie for me to enjoy it and say...yeah...go ahead and check it out!

2008 Film Review: House

House

Rated R
1 hour 28 minutes

Storyline:
In rural Alabama, two couples find themselves in a fight for survival. Running from a maniac (The Tin Man) bent on killing them, they flee deep into the woods and seek refuge in a house. They soon realize the killer has purposely lured them to this house and that they are now trapped.

Starring:
Reynaldo Rosales
Heidi Dippold
Julie Ann Emery
J.P. Davis
with Michael Madsen

Critics Grade:
F- (out of only 13 reviews)

My Grade:
F-

OK so I told myself, if I'm going to start reviewing movies again this year, I am only going to watch movies that I legitimately want to see. It truly shames me to say that yes, I did actually want to watch this movie by reading the premise. At first read, I thought this was a haunted house movie with some weird killer on the lose inside the house. That to me seems kind of interesting, so sue me! I never actually saw a trailer for it, and you know what...it was one of my instant views on Netflix, so whatever.

2008's House is by far one of the worst motion pictures I think I have ever seen in my life. This wasn't even a straight to DVD movie as it appeared to be, oh no, it was given a limited release in theaters last year. I don't even think I could BEGIN to describe the incredibly messy plot line. There was SO much going on, and literally NONE of it made a lick of sense. Nothing came together in the end, it had to be the most lazily written screenplays in the history of cinema. The characters were downright awful and unlikeable in every single way. Their stories were dumb. The story of the creepy people living in this house was pure idiocy. Were they ghosts? What the heck were they doing there? Who were they? That's never told to us.

And this tin man fella? Never was explained where he came from or why he does these things. And his character was stupid, he was in maybe four scenes in the movie and really wasn't that scary of a killer because he doesn't actually do a thing to anyone. Nothing I tell you! We don't know his motives, we know nothing. Well we are briefly told he goes after "sinners" (this by the way is a very sad attempt at a Christian themed horror movie). Oh and there was also some creepy little girl who for some reason was locked in some large cargo container in the house. We don't ever know who she is. We don't ever know where she came from. We never find out why the tin-man hates her so much and wants her dead (which I think she already was dead???? I don't know). I assume she was meant to be the "savior" character based off what happens to her and the tin-man was the devil character, but that was so poorly pieced together.

**SPOILER ALERT**

In the end two of the main characters die and we never see them again. The creepy house people "die" and the tin man is "vanquished". When the two primary characters escape...we learn they were ghosts the whole time. What?! Not even shocking, just...what?!?! They seem their dead bodies on the side of the road. But suddenly the walk over their bodies and their ghosts go back into the bodies and they are alive! It was meant to be a twist, but it all happened so fast that we just don't care. The characters didn't even seem to care. But they wake up and I assume it was supposed to represent their new look at life (in a Christian way I guess...I think...I don't know). Then they walk away only to see the tin man (who's also the sheriff by the way...ugh, dumb) and the creepy family from the house alive as can be and creepy as can be.

**END SPOILER ALERT**

Seriously one of the WORST pieces of garbage ever put to film. It such a mess, and it all over the place. It never makes sense, you never really know what the heck is going on. The wrap up is so retarded and just...just don't ever see this movie a day in your life. Again, that's just my opinion. Or you know what, if you want to have fun and watch a really crappy movie with some friends to laugh at...please rent this movie. That's all it is good for...a good hearty laugh at it's expense. Terrible movie.

2009 Review #23: The Great Buck Howard

The Great Buck Howard

Storyline
A young man, much to the chagrin of his father, becomes the new assistant to an illusionist in decline.

Rated PG
1 hour 30 minutes

Starring:
John Malkovich
Colin Hanks
Emily Blunt

Critics Grade:
B

My Grade:
C-

The Great Buck Howard is much like it's title character: special at times, but also a little dull and uninspiring. The movie was pretty much just OK for me. I thought it was a pretty standardized little dramedy that really wasn't all that funny or all that engaging. The movie is about a mentalist who was once a big somebody, but now is outdated and forgotten, even though he fails to see that. He preforms this illusion where an audience member hides his fee somewhere in the auditorium and he also seems to be able to find it and no one knows how. We never find out how, even though it's one of the film's big mysteries. That kind of how the movie is though, slightly unconnected by the end.

I thought it began a little to fast, and to much was happening to quickly, and then by the middle it became kind of slow. There was never any moment that drove the film to some higher level it was all pretty flat. You never really care to much for these characters, even Buck Howard. In fact you kind of grow to dislike the main character. I know he's supposed to be that way, but there were literally almost no redeeming qualities about him where we can find some small love for him. He's a jerk and we never see another side to him. He is played very well by Oscar nominee John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire, Burn After Reading, Being John Malkovich) and it's definitely the most memorable performance of the movie, as it should be. Colin Hanks is pretty good, but also his performance is just as dull as the movie. For being one of the main characters, he didn't do all that good of a job of carrying the movie. It was cool to see his real dad (Oscar winner Tom Hanks) play his dad in the movie in two scenes. It was a bit weird though how their troubled storyline never patched up in the end. Papa Hanks was a jerk as well, and he never really accepted his sons new life, that story just fell flat.

The movie was done rather well, it had some good cinematography and overall was directed decently. There was well done scene where Buck Howard puts 900 people to sleep at once, and for me that was the best scene in the whole film. I don't know, I just can't really see myself honestly recommending this movie to anyone. It's by NO means a bad film, it's pretty decent. The thing is, like I stated, it's just forgettable. There are really no stand out moments in the movie or in the performances. The writing was just average. The whole movie was just...eh.

2009 Review #22: Funny People

Funny People

Storyline:

When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship cause him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.

Rated R

2 hours 16 minutes

Critics Grade:

B-

My Grade:

A-

Starring:

Adam Sandler

Seth Rogen

Leslie Mann

Eric Bana

I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I'm not typically a big supporter of the Judd Apatow films, because I'm not into raunchy, sex related humor. This is this kind of humor we had with 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Those films were essentially about sex or had a story that centered around a group of people who talk about sex and have lots of it. Not to mention tons of a drug humor which I also don't find all that funny. Don't get me wrong, I found both of those films to be "funny" but not movies I care for or could really ever watch again or even recommend to a lot of my friends/family. Funny People is not a movie about any of those things. Funny people isn't really even about funny people, as it is about people who are lost in life and have no real connection to anything meaningful. Funny People, in my opinion, is an excellent movie and my favorite Apatow creation as well as Adam Sandlers best work.

The trailer is quite misleading as well. It makes you believe this is another laugh a minute comedy, but it is not. This is almost a depressing, sad movie. In Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, the humor was essentially the center of the film and those movies relied on constant jokes to keep the audience entertained and the storylines sort of took a hit because of that. Here we actually have a really well told story that has some deep meaning. It's about a famous stand up comic/movie star who is dying and realizes, even with all the money he has, he has nothing special in his life. No friends, no romantic interest, he's grown apart from his family. He realized that money does not equal happiness. He struggles to admit he's in any emotional pain, and he just jokes and laughs it off. Much like a lot of us in the real world. I know I do that sometimes. He hires a up and coming comic to write jokes for him and he can't even admit that he considers him a friend. He tries to re-connect with an old flame who's married with kids, but I won't say how that turns out.

Personally, I thought this film's story was pretty darn grounded to real life. I thought the story is something that actually could be happening right now in the world. The actions of the characters really aren't that far fetched, and I also thought these people came off as very authentic. They really showed their inner struggles well and I could even vaguely relate to some of these guys. The story was moving at times, and I know that probably sounds weird. It wasn't just about the big laugh, it was about these people and you have to feel for them, I did. It was a well written script.

Yes the trailer did ruin the film's overall story about a man who is dying only to discover that he was miraculously cured and now has a second chance at life. It doesn't really spoil the heart of the movie though. It's mainly about how the main character takes this incredible information, and how he acts on it. I think he acts in a very realistic and human way. A lot of us would continue to bottle up our emotions over it, and not really know how to act. Some of us may come off as selfish and unappreciative like the character here. The character doesn't seem to really learn from this experience. I thought that was well played out as well.

I thought this movie was pretty consistently funny as well, it wasn't all drama. There was a lot of very funny stuff here and not a whole lot of it was inappropriate. I loved the opening scene that showed us some vintage Adam Sandler stuff with him making some prank phone calls. The roast beef bit was hilarious I thought, I've never seen that video before. I liked how they included some of Sandlers old stand up as well. This movie doesn't just have long scenes of people going back and forth being cruel and funny towards each other like some of Apatows other films. The comedy in this film is needed and has to be there if that makes sense. Well, MOST of the humor. I think this movie may hold the record for jokes about male genitalia though, and it got real tiring, real fast. Really the only "raunchy" humor in the move was just about penis or masturbation (sorry for the harsh words hehe), and some of it was OK, but most it was just annoying after a while. Other than that though, the jokes weren't that tasteless. Only one brief shot of nudity as well (a topless woman for maybe five seconds).

I thought the performances were really good as well. Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express) lost a lot of weight, and they made several jokes about it in the movie. This is easily his best performance, I could really tell that he was trying to act here and not just be a funny guy. I was quite impressed with him. Leslie Mann (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) is always good in these movies, I think one day she could score a supporting actress Oscar nomination for one of these roles, that's how good she is. Honestly, I thought she deserved one for Knocked Up. One of these days! Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Spanglish, Click) has proved over the years that he can actually act. He isn't just that crazy funnyman we've seen before many times. I think he's kind of playing himself in this movie. Honestly, I thought this was Sandlers best performance. I like him in this type of dramedy (like Spanglish and even Click), he plays it well. He had some pretty intense, kind of powerful scenes that displayed the characters fear in such a human way. I can really foresee this guy garnering himself an Oscar nomination one day. Call me crazy, but I really think it could happen.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. This is not a movie for everyone by anymeans. It is rated R for a lot of bad language and a lot of sexual humor (again, MAINLY male genitalia jokes). Now for me to recommend this movie, and to enjoy it is saying a lot because these types of movies are not usually my cup of tea. Go into with caution if you aren't used to this type of comedy, but it is very good and has an excellent story with some really great performances. Don't be mislead by the trailer either, this is not a riot of a comedy. This is a funny movie that is centered around a solid story that could move people to tears (well not me...but people were crying in my theater hehe).

2009 Review #21: Moon

Moon

Storyline:

Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.

Rated R
1 hour 37 minutes

Critics Grade:

A-

My Grade:

B+

Starring:

Sam Rockwell

Kevin Spacey as GERTY

**This review may have some plot spoilers**

Moon is the kind of sci-fi movie that isn't really for every fan of the sci-fi genre. This is a sci-fi drama, and heavy on the drama and kind of light on the science fiction. It is my preferred type of film for this genre. Don't get me wrong, I like Star Wars and the new Star Trek movie, but I start to grow tired of aliens and lasers and spaceships, oh my! The only real sci-fi aspects of the plot of this movie are the fact that it takes place solely on the moon and it is about human clones. No I did not reveal some major plot twist either, you know the clone storyline a good twenty minutes into the movie.

What I liked about this movie was it took the human clone story and put a bit of a twist on it. These clones are the same guy, played brilliantly by Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Snow Angels, Galaxy Quest) but they both showcase different personalities. One is the borderline crazy, "out-there" guy (a more Sam Rockwell type character), and the other is more reserved and calm and is trying to figure out how to get out of the situation. Anyway, usually we have movies about clones who revolt and try to take down the "company" that did this to them. Usually movies about clones are full of action and suspense (usually not good movies). Here it's more of the psychological aspect.

These clones come off as real humans, because they ARE human. They have memories planted in their heads of a wife and child they so desperately miss but she really isn't their wife (so to speak). These characters show true pain when they realize what they are. Their goal isn't to take down some evil corporation but to get back to earth to see the family that isn't theirs. Not once do they process the fact that they can't really be with this family because they are clones. They don't care, because they truly believe it's their family. I really enjoyed the inner emotional battle of these characters, it was such a fresh take on the clone storyline. I thought the story had some pretty moving parts as well. Some really good scenes of the Sam character breaking down.

Sam Rockwells performance was just as I was expecting: great. This guy is probably the best unknown actor out there. Not many people really know this guy, he isn't a household name (in terms of actors), he just has one of those faces. Rockwell showcased both sides of this emotional battle brilliantly. Like my buddy Matt said, it was weird to see him play a reserved character (for half of the film), but he did so with ease. One day this guy will get an Oscar nomination, i don't think it will be for this film though even though at this point of the year, he deserves it. There's another character, GERTY, voiced by Oscar winner Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects). I won't go into to much detail about his character, but I also enjoyed the spin this movie took with the robot character. Spacey voiced him well though! Sounded totally computer-istic.

The movie was shot pretty well. For the most part, it looked like we were actually watching scenes on the moon. The director did a good job with long shots and some quiet takes to really show us the tension these characters feel. It wasn't a tense movie by any means though. I had two issues with the overall direction of the movie however. One is that there were a handful of scenes that really dragged on to long. I appreciate a good long shot like the next movie buff, but some of them in this film were not needed. It got a little boring at times I guess you can say. But it never really took away from my enjoyment of the movie. The other thing was the initial clone reveal. I feel like when Sam Rockwell 1 discovers Sam Rockwell 2 for the first time there was no shock value for his character or for us as an audience. It sort of just seemed to happen like we should have expected it. At first the character kind of just brushed it off, and when they first saw each other it was as if they had known for years that they were clones. As the movie progressed though, that all changed. I was just a bit thrown off by the initial clone reveal on a film making standpoint.

This movie will probably soon be out of theaters. If you appreciate a good dramatic sci-fi movie, you should check this out when you should. But I will warn you, there is virtually NO action in this movie. It is primarily a character driven sci-fi film, and there's only one main character (well two of the same main character) and a robot. But this is a solid film. This is a good film. One of the better films of the genre I've seen in quite some time actually. It was incredibly original and a very fresh take on the sci-fi clone movie. It probably just isn't for everyone.