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Transsiberian (Brad Anderson, 2008)



Im not sure if Anderson took notes from "The Darjeeling Unlimited" but he creates a great look for a film almost entirely shot on a train. Im hoping that "Water for Elephants" takes this same approach. Emily Mortimer was brilliant.



We Live in Public (Ondi Timoner, 2009)



An unbelievable story. Timoner presents us with a great style.



Match Point (Woody Allen, 2005)



The dialogue has a great pace. Allen found great locations to give us some nice shots.



Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (George Clooney, 2002)



A decent movie overall. Most of its appeal comes from the fact that it tells a story that could only happen in the head of Chuck Barris.




Nah, no Drew pic. She was perfect for the role though. Her unique free spirit and charisma made her an ideal fit. I think it was one of her better roles. Casting did well. Hell, even Julia Roberts worked. But Sam brought his "A" game, as usual, and brought an enormous amount of entertainment into this odd, yet interesting, film.



Enter the Void (Gaspar Noe, 2009)



If you're a fan of Pink Floyd light shows, flight simulator software, and late night softcore porn, well, Ive got the movie for you. It could have been a good film if Noe could have took it a little easy on the visuals. About half of the visuals could have been cut out; replaced with a little more of a storyline. I thought the main character POV was a definite strong point in this film. It created a unique, realistic touch that gave the viewer the feeling of actually living in that apartment and dealing drugs in the streets of Tokyo. Nice experimental flick, but the lack of a decent story and the over use of visuals has me sticking this one in the "ok" category.




Exit Though the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)



"Good artists copy, great artists steal." Banksy's tale is a little slow to develop but definitely worth watching. The resentment from some of the artists seemed a little unnecessary. The guy paid attention, learned a little, and took a shot. I see no harm in that. Granted, Shepard Fairey is probably a better artist but its not like he hasnt taken a little here and there (update on Fairey's issues with AP here). The documentary creates a great platform to debate the issues of "fair use" and the never ending question of "what makes art, art?"




Inception (Chistopher Nolan, 2010)



Nolan has done it again. Inception displays his talent for giving his audience a moral premise with an extraordinarily dramatic pace. This is truly a film that you could watch multiple times and feel the dramatic effects over and over. This film is Nolan's best work to date.

Edit/Addition: Everyone has a lot to say about this film, good and bad. And imo, that says it all.




Animal Kingdom (David Michod, 2010)



I'll give credit to Michod for a great directing debut but it took great performances to bulk up his barely mediocre screenplay. It was hard to feel much attachment to any of the characters because Michod failed to develop them. Apparantly, there is a background story that the movie is loosely based on about robberies that plagued Melbourne in the '80's. It would have been nice to see a few of these robberies and get a feel for just how brutal this family could be. And a few personal stories with a few of the characters would have helped us get a better feel of who they were and how they cope with the situation they find themselves in. Some notable performances gave a slight feel of who these characters were, but Michod weakend this film by leaving the audience with a foundation that was never built upon.




The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky, 2006)



Aronofsky has a great talent for captivating an audience. The Fountain showcases this extraordinary talent. Jackman and Weisz are both brilliant in this film. Audiences that are likely to steer clear of the sci-fi genre will clearly miss out on some considerable acting and mind blowing cinematography.




The resentment from some of the artists seemed a little unnecessary. The guy paid attention, learned a little, and took a shot. I see no harm in that.
I guess you took it all at face value then.
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In a way, yes. Did I know to the full extent? No. Overall, it is a relief. Seeing an underdog overcome adversity is something I enjoy seeing from time to time, but in this case its kind of like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your brand new Lamborghini--"Yeeeeeeesssss!!!!!,Noooooooooooooo!!!!!".



Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)



I've held out on watching this movie mainly because I've never cared for Jake Gyllenhaal. David Fincher gave a great look to the movie but Gyllenhaal did not fail to disappoint. If you're going to play a man obsessed, it might help to show a little more emotion. Gyllenhaal played it like he was a kid doing a research paper. It probably didnt help that the talent of the surrounding cast made his performance that much more ridiculous.

The screenplay did further damage to this film. I haven't read the book the screenplay is based on but if the book is actually any good the screenplay tossed any entertainment value staight off a cliff. Over half the movie is Gyllenhall trying to solve the case with the same evidence over and over and over. This movie is a complete snooze fest.



The Others (Alejandro Amenabar, 2001)



Amenabar used his tremendous talent by writing, directing, and composing the music for this fine film. This guy has not been given enough projects over the past few years and its a shame. I may be a little biased because one of my favorites is Vanilla Sky but I think most would not deny the talent this guy brings to the table. And Nicole Kidman. Damn I love this woman. She is one of the very few over the past 20 years that can actually claim talent and beauty. The Others is truly a great film.




planet news's Avatar
Registered User
Nice experimental flick, but the lack of a decent story and the over use of visuals has me sticking this one in the "ok" category.
The visuals pretty much blew me away, so I never got the feeling they were "overused" since they were so new and exciting... perhaps overly intense to the point of overload at times, but this must have been the intent.
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The visuals pretty much blew me away, so I never got the feeling they were "overused" since they were so new and exciting... perhaps overly intense to the point of overload at times, but this must have been the intent.
Yeah, I see what you mean. But I would have liked it more if Noe would have had different intentions. I think it was Roger Ebert that said he is more likely to judge a movie on how it makes him feel more so than on its technical merits. I differ in that I like to see a significant amount of both. There was enough throughout the movie to suggest sufficient technical prowess without going into the thirty second psychedelic visual interludes.



The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)



David Fincher and the cast of this movie deserve all the praise they have received. Sorkin's screenplay was a little cheesy at times but redeemed itself with some nice moments. Eisenberg's performance was obviously great but I was also impressed by Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin. Fincher created an excellent pace for the film that is accentuated with a perfect score by Reznor and Ross.




You Don't Know Jack (Barry Levinson, 2010)



HBO has always stood as the 800 pound gorilla when it comes to producing a quality film for cable. You Don't Know Jack exemplifies HBO's skill for creating a movie that stands above the rest. Mentioning that Pacino was great would be an understatement. Although I did enjoy this movie, I wish it could have gone a little deeper into the pain and suffering of those who had to make the difficult choice of how to deal with their individual situations. Knowing the intimate details of these people is the only way to understand the enormous scale of the debate depicted by this film.




Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)



This is the story of the passion of Philippe Petit. This documentary doesn't really use a unique strategy for displaying its subject matter but it does gives us some great footage that enables us to enjoy an extraordinary event.




Freakonmics (Heidi Ewing, 2010)



This documentary, based on the book by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, attempts to use economics and various forms of data to answer complex questions of the modern world. Sounds interesting right? Well, it sucks. It attempts to enlighten us with the idea that incentives motivate people. No sh#t. Then it goes on to present a few stories on how their brilliant data could be used to benefit society. Most, if not all, of the ideas in this documentary are suspect at best.





Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Alex Gibney, 2010)



A wonderful collection of odd characters create an intriguing story in Gibney's latest tale of dirty politics.




Last Train Home (Lixin Fan, 2009)



Great cinematograpy produces a fantastic backdrop for a story of poverty, parenting, and the world's largest annual human migration.




Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)



A film that hit on all cylinders. It is an excellent display of acting, screenwriting, score, cinematograpy, editing, etc., etc., etc. Simply put, Into the Wild is the epitome of fine filmmaking.




Restrepo (Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger, 2010)



The remote and eerie mountains of Afghanistan are the setting for a group of soldiers that find themselves in one of the most dangerous combat zones of the war. Although the filmmakers present us with a brief and largely mild version of the battlefield, they were able to capture a great deal of the complex and emotional nature of soldiers at war.