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*** and a half


Spiderman is by far my favorite Super Hero. I grew up watching him swinging in New York. Tobey MaGuire has practically become family.

So naturally when I heard that there would be a Spiderman film without him in it I was skeptical. And when I found it that it was pretty much going to be a reboot I was kind of pissed.
I didn't go into this film with the highest of expectations. But I was excited nonetheless. To see my favorite super hero for the first time since Spiderman 3(which failed on many levels) was going to be a treat. And I am glad to say I was pleasantly surprised.

We all know the story of Spiderman. His real name is Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield). A skinny kid that has been picked on for most of his life. What this film does is add storylines that were never explored. Like what about his parents?

Well his dad Richard Parker (Campbell Scott) is a scientist. Which explains where Peter gets his love for science. And ends up having to leave town. He leaves Peter with uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and aunt May (Sally Field). His partner Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) is not seen again by the family.

We go back to where Peter is an awkward teenage. In this film they switch out Mary Jane for Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), who provides the best performance in the film. I got a lot of love for Kristen Dunst. But Emma Stone blows her performance out of the park as far as being Peter Parker's love interest. Emma Stone is simply Gwen Stacy.
Gwen has an interesting story that will be shown in the sequels coming up for sure. But for now she is a girl that Peter wants to get with. But doesn't know how.

In his room he is given information from his uncle Ben about Curt Conner. He googles him and his father. He decides to pay a visit to Oscorp where Connors now works. There he finds out that Gwen is a tour guide there much to his surprise. He also gets that famous bite from that radioactive spider.

Then you know how it is. He finds out in a strange way that he has power. He isn't sure what to do with them. Then he loses his uncle Ben to some robber. And realizes that he should use his new powers to help people.
Twist are the villain for starters and Gwen Stacey's dad who is a cop named George Stacy (Dennis Leary). Leary provides a good performance as Captain Stacy who is looked to lock up Spiderman who he believes has an agenda and is not a vigilante. But he will realize what Spiderman truly is.

Andrew Garfield may not be Tobey Maguire. But he gives a solid performance and Peter Parker/Spiderman.
The films does away with a good bit of what is shown in the original spiderman films and the comic book. But that doesn't make it a lesser movie. There were a few things that I was frustrated with. But with a reboot you must only judge the film on it's merits and not on the merits of the other films.

I know these characters really well. I know them inside and out. It was a fun ride to be on. I hate 3D and I am so happy I don't have to pay the extra money for it. But in a few scenes the 3D actually shows it worth.
The Amazing Spider-Man isn't the best Spiderman movie. But it is always entertaining and in the end gets the message that Spidey always has for us across.
__________________
Going 18600 miles per second.



Madagascar 3: Europe's Most wanted. ***


This is the first of the Madagascar films that I have watched. I just never got around to watching them. I am more of a Disney and Pixar guy you see.

I work at a movie theater and there was no one watching the late showing of Madagascar (it is a family movie and it has been out for weeks). So a coworker and I had a private screening.

I was surprised by the humor and beautiful animation in the film. I was wondering if I had been missing out on something.

The film starts with the story continuing from the events of the second film. Alex (Ben Stiller) has a nightmare about himself and his friends still stranded in Africa and finding they have all gotten old. Awaking from his dream, Alex suggests to Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinkett Smith) that they should go to Monte Carlo to get the penguins to fly them back to New York City, which they agree to.
In Monte Carlo, the penguins and the two chimpanzees, Mason and Phil (disguising as the King of Versailles), keep winning in gambling until Alex's gang's attempt to reach them blunders and sparks chaos in the Hotel De Paris. Hotel security calls Monaco Animal Control officer Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand) to deal with the animals. But rather than capture them live, DuBois desires them, mainly Alex, dead as trophies. During a high-speed chase between the relentless DuBois and the animals in a truck driven by the penguins to reach their aircraft, the animals barely manage to elude her.

In the skies of France, the plane's engines fail again and the plane crashes into a suburban rail yard as the authorities close in. Seeing their only chance of escape is on a circus train, the four larger animals desperately claim that they are circus animals themselves, which convinces circus mates Stefano the sea lion (Martin Short) and Gia the jaguar (Jessica Chastain) to let them in despite the protests of Vitaly the tiger (Bryan Cranston). The animals soon learn from Stefano that they are performing in Rome and London, where they plan to impress a promoter to get them on their first American tour. Before the zoo animals' claim is discredited, the penguins suddenly appear with a deal to purchase the circus themselves, resulting in the pleased departure of all the humans. Meanwhile, Julien (Sacha Baron Cohen) falls in love with Sonya the bear (Frank Welker) and goes on a city tour across Rome while the others prepare for the performance at the Roman Coliseum. To the zoo animals' horror, the circus proves so inept that the angered audience demands refunds to the point of chasing the circus to the departing train to London.

En route to London, the zoo gang is in despair of having wasted their money on the failing circus and not being any closer to getting home. Stefano soon reveals to Alex that Vitaly was once their inspiration. Once a professional ring jumper who used to leap through flaming hoops of fire to excite crowds and was always pushing himself to the limit, his attempt at an impossible jump through a flaming pinkie ring ended in disaster when he burned his fur, which he had coated in extra virgin olive oil, which turned out to be flammable, in order to slip through the narrow opening, destroying his confidence in his talent and the whole circus suffered by his example. An inspired Alex then has the train make a stop in the Alps and convinces the performers to rework their act to become the opposite of the successful human-only Cirque du Soleil as an animal-only circus. Heartened by Alex's vision, the zoo animals and the circus animals develop sophisticated acts together and become closer friends in the process, and Alex and Gia find themselves falling in love during their time together.
Meanwhile, DuBois is detained in Rome after causing problems with the local police officers while chasing the animals out of her jurisdiction, but escapes and researches Alex on the Internet, learning he was missing from the zoo in New York. Once free, DuBois recruits her injured men and heads toward the Alps, forcing the animals to proceed to London despite their incomplete rehearsals. In London, the troupe prepares for the promoter in the audience, but Vitaly is discovered packing to leave. Alex convinces Vitaly to stay by reminding him of how he enjoys performing the impossible and suggests that he use conditioner shampoo as a safer lubricant to perform his flaming ring jump. As a result, Vitaly's stunt is performed perfectly, which proves to be the opening of a spectacularly successful Cirque du Solei-esque show. After the impressed promoter arranges for an American tour, DuBois shows up with a paper showing that Alex was missing. Though the penguins are able to foil DuBois's plan to capture Alex, Alex is forced to confess that the four of them are just zoo animals trying to get home, disappointing the others who feel used and lied to.

And what happens next is typical movie ending. But it doesn't mean it isn't nice.

I have to now wonder if I have been missing out. I now want to see the first two Madagascar films. And I want a Circus Afro.



Moonrise Kingdom *** and half


Moonrise Kingdom is the type of film that you describe in just one word: lovely. Wes Anderson has created a world where lovely characters inhabit and act in a way that is just like real life. It is almost a mirror to reality.

I was a boy scout from first grade to sixth grade. So this film interested with that as well. Knowing how sometimes scouts can be mean or join together I wondered what path this film would take.

I went to a stadium theater to watch this film. As there were only six theaters in my state of Maryland that were showing this particular film. Only one was an AMC. AMC has made a commit to show more independent films (which are better than most studio films). So I guess they felt one theater was enough.

The story begins with a lovely classical tune. Then we jump to see Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton. He is smoking a cigarette and making the rounds checking on his scouts. He makes his way to Sam (Jared Gilman). Sam has a big hole in his tent and Scout Master realizes that Sam has escaped.

He goes to the police where he informs Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) that Sam has gone missing. Captain Sharp calls Sam's parents and finds out that they are actually his foster parents. Furthermore he is shocked to find out that they do not want him anymore.

It turns out that Sam's parents are dead and he is an orphan. That he is emotionally troubled. This comes to a shocker for Scout Master Ward.
Captain Sharp goes to home of Walt Bishop (Bill Murray) and Laura Bishop (Frances McDormand). He informs the couple that Sam is missing. You later see Laura ride her bike to Sharp. She smokes his cigarette and holds his hand in a loving way. There is clearly something going on. Little does she know that her daughter Suzy (Kara Hayward) is watching.

Suzy is the oldest of four children and her siblings are boys. She is a troubled kid much like Sam. Only that she has a family. Yet she remains troubled.

Turns out that Suzy and Sam met each other a year earlier when he went into a dressing room for a Church play Suzy was in and took an interest in her. Ever since then they have been pen pals and plotted their escape. Suzy and Sam have no friends. The other boy scouts pick on Sam. The other girls hate Suzy. They understand each other in a way no one else does. They are troubled to others but to them they are special.

Gilman and Hayward give excellent performances not just for child actors, but for any actors. They don't let the star studded cast bring them down. Their performances add more love to the film as the chemistry is clear. They act like kids and learn like kids.

Wes Anderson's direction is brilliant. He takes a simplistic story and makes it into something that you can't look away from. He has created something that most directors don't seem to care for. A realism that makes a movie relate able.

Moonrise Kingdom is a film that just focuses on it's characters and their quirks. Real human being traits. And with it's humble approach it scores on so many levels.
The boy scout in me smiled the whole time in this movie. I wasn't the most popular kid in my troop. Not as bad as Sam. But not as popular. If only I had met a girl like Suzy.



Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid: *** and a half


I haven't watched many 40s or 50s films. I am a kids kid. The oldest films I watched are usually from the 80s with a few 70s and 60s films. Minus the Disney Animated classics of course.c

Dead men don't wear plaid is a tribute to those films. Made in Black in white it looks just like a Alfred Hitchcok movie. Only instead of being on your seat, you are laughing the whole time.


In the opening scene, John Hay Forrest (George Gaynes), noted scientist and cheesemaker, dies in a single-vehicle

car accident (represented by the car wreck scene from Keeper of the Flame). In the next scene, private investigator Rigby Reardon (Steve Martin) is reading a newspaper when Forrest's daughter, Juliet (Rachel Ward), enters his office and faints when the paper's headline reminds her of her father's death. Upon coming to, she hires Rigby to investigate the death, which she thinks was murder. In Dr. Forrest's lab, Rigby finds two lists, one titled "Friends of Carlotta" and the other "Enemies of Carlotta", as well as an affectionately autographed photo of singer Kitty Collins, whose name appears on one of the lists. His search is interrupted by a man posing as an exterminator (Alan Ladd, in This Gun for Hire), who shoots Rigby in the arm and frisks the lists from the supposedly dead investigator.


Rigby tracks down alcoholic Sam (Ray Milland, from Lost Weekend) and gets Dr. Forrest's dollar, which has "FOC" (Friends of Carlotta) names scrawled on it — including Kitty Collins and Swede Anderson (Kitty's boyfriend). Rigby tracks down Kitty Collins (Ava Gardner, from The Killers) at the Brentwood Room. He asks if she's one of Carlotta's friends, which causes her to leave abruptly. He trails her to a restaurant, where she ditches her brooch into her soup. Rigby subsequently retrieved brooch contains an "EOC" list, on which all names are crossed out, except Swede Anderson's. Rigby visits Swede (Burt Lancaster, from The Killers) but while Rigby prepares a "java", Swede is killed.

Rigby is also shot, causing Juliet to suck out another bullet. Rigby calls Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart, from The Big Sleep), his mentor, for assistance. Juliet hands over a key from Dr. Forrest's desk, a key to a train station locker. The accompanying note, "most recent rat", tells Rigby to look for locker 1936, the last Chinese Year of the Rat.[1] Upon exiting, she asks Rigby to call with any progress. "You know how to dial, don't you? You just put your finger in the hole and make tiny little circles," a nod to To Have and Have Not. Marlowe arrives, and picks up the EOC list to check against unsolved murders.

This film has that feel of a 50s classic. It never gets away from that. At the same time it is able to have jokes that make sense and land laughs. This is a satire that works well because it isn't trying to get your attention of how funny it is or when you are supposed to laugh.

This could have been made poorly. But with Steve Martin he makes sure it isn't. His performance drives the film. He has his usual charm and comedic timing.

Dead men don't wear plaid is a film that is pretty easy to watch. If you are older and looking for some nostalgia I suggest you watch this. You will get some and laughs as well.



Panic Room: *** and half

David Fincher is a director that knows how to get down right creepy. Even in a movie that you wouldn't expect it he always pulls it out. You look at Panic Room and you don't think it will go there. But it does and well.

Panic Room is a film filled with suspense, tension, and you truly wishing that the mother and daughter will just be able to get out alive.

Recently divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her 11-year-old daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) have just purchased a four-story brownstone on the upper west side of New York City. The house's previous owner, a reclusive millionaire, installed an isolated room used to protect the house's occupants from intruders. The "panic room" is protected by concrete and steel on all sides, a thick steel door, and an extensive security system with multiple surveillance cameras and a separate phone line. On the night the two move into the home, it is broken into by Junior (Jared Leto), the grandson of the previous owner; Burnham (Forrest Whitaker), an employee of the residence's security company; and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam), a ski mask-wearing gunman recruited by Junior. The three are after $3 million in bearer bonds, which are locked inside a floor safe in the panic room.

Now there is a issue here. Junior and Burnham really don't want to hurt anyone. Especially Burnham. They just want the money and to be out. For Raoul it could go either way.

Soon enough Meg realizes that someone is in the house. That three men are there to be exact. She rushes to grab her daughter and runs into the Panic room just getting it closed as Burnham gets there.

Now inside they can't make a call to 911 as their phone line has been cut off. Meg is worried for Sarah. Why? We don't know yet. But it is very serious.

The robbers now have an issue on their hands. Try as they might they cant get them to come out. Burnham who has made Panic rooms informs them that "they are made to keep people like us out".

Meanwhile Meg and Sarah try to get help. Even using a flashlight to send a Morse code message. But it didn't look like it worked. It is revealed that Sarah is a diabetic. That she could potentially die from this. Now the situation is up a notch.

What is so good about this film is that there is no cop outs. Nothing happens conveniently. And everything is plausible. Yet it remains a thriller. The movie's suspense just grows and grows.

Jodie Foster is one of my favorite actresses and is like the girl next door. She puts on a wonderful performance as the mother would do whatever it takes for her daughter to survive. Kristen Stewart is able to hold her own with Foster and even at times out shine her. The two's chemistry as mother and daughter is able to hold the film.

If you don't end up just wishing even if it ends the movie that Meg and Sarah just get out safe and sound. Well I can't help you. Maybe it isn't the movie for you. I know I did.



Memento: ***

What if you had short term memory loss? You couldn't remember anything after a certain event. You really wouldn't be able to know your own life. And what if the last real memory you had was when you found out your wife was raped and murdered?

That is what is faced in Christopher Nolan's Memento. A film that makes you think one thing, and shows you the events that lead to that events and makes you think another.

Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is this story's protagonist. He uses photographs and writes things on them to remember things, people, and piece things together.

Leonard killed the attacker who raped and strangled his wife (Jorja Fox), but a second clubbed him and escaped. The police did not accept there was a second attacker, but Leonard believes he is called John with a last name starting with G. Leonard conducts his own investigation using a system of notes, Polaroid photos, and tattoos. As an insurance investigator, Leonard recalls one Sammy Jankis, also diagnosed with the same condition. Sammy's diabetic wife repeatedly requested insulin injections to try and trigger his memory, hoping Sammy would remember the previous dose. He did not and as a result she fell into a coma and died.

The color sequences are shown in reverse chronological order. Leonard gets a tattoo, based on instructions to himself, of the license plate of John G. Finding a note in his clothes, he meets Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), a bartender who resents Leonard as he wears the clothes and drives the car of her boyfriend, Jimmy. After understanding his condition, she uses it to get Leonard to drive a man named Dodd out of town and offers to run the license plate to help his investigation. Meanwhile, Leonard meets with a contact, Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). Teddy helps with Dodd, but warns him about Natalie; however, Leonard has written on a photo of Teddy to not trust him. Natalie provides Leonard the driver's license, which shows a John Edward Gammell, the real name of Teddy. Confirming Leonard's information on "John G" and his warnings, Leonard meets Teddy and drives him to an abandoned building, killing him as shown in the opening.



Christopher Nolan create a psychological thriller that doesn't just feed the audience. We see things and think it is the end of it in this movie. But he shows us the events that lead to the situation and allows us to view things a different way.


The pacing is quick, but it never truly gets confusing. And you feel for the guy from the start. He is just trying to piece things in his life together one step at a time.


The twists in the end provide a great surprise and just increases what is good about this movie.


Psychological thrillers can be hard to make in Hollywood. But in this star making film for Christopher Nolan and Guy Pearce they are able to create something that is memorable. And Nolan has gone on to create even better movies.



Field of Dreams: ****


Baseball can be a special thing. It can form a bond. It is after all America's pastime after all. Many fathers and sons have connected through it.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a farmer with a wife and kid in Iowa. He was born in New York where he and his dad would watch the Brooklyn Dodgers play baseball until they left New York. Ray ended up growing distant from his father and going to Berkly University. That is where he met his wife.

Ray is just a normal guy. He does the normal thing. And is a good father and husband.

While walking in his cornfield, novice farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice that whispers, "If you build it, he will come", and sees a baseball diamond. His wife, Annie, is skeptical, but she allows him to plow under his corn to build the field.

Nothing happens, and Ray soon faces financial ruin. Ray and Annie (Amy Madigan) discuss replanting the corn, but their daughter, Karin (Gabby Hoffman), sees a man on the ballfield. Ray discovers that he is Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), a dead baseball player idolized by Ray's father. Thrilled to be able to play baseball again, Joe asks to bring others to play on the field. He later returns from the cornfield with the seven other players banned in the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

Ray's brother-in-law, Mark, cannot see the baseball players, and warns Ray that he will go bankrupt unless he replants his crops. While in the field, Ray hears the voice again, this time urging him to "ease his pain." After attending a PTA meeting involving a resolution to ban books by author and activist-turned recluse Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones), Ray decides the voice is referring to Mann. Ray finds a magazine interview about Mann's childhood dream of playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers and his heartbreak when the team moved to Los Angeles, and convinces Annie that he should seek out the author after they both dream about Ray and Terence attending a baseball game.

Mann denies making the statement in the magazine, but Ray persuades him to attend a baseball game at Fenway Park. Ray hears the voice again, which urges him to "go the distance." The scoreboard shows statistics for a player named Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, who played one game for the New York Giants in 1922, but never had a turn at bat. Mann eventually admits to sharing the vision, and they travel to Chisholm, Minnesota where they learn that Graham became a doctor, but died 16 years earlier.

This is a film that works so well because they decided not to attempt to make sense of these phenomenons.

They could have made the whole bankers thing corny with some payoff. But they decided not too. All thanks to director Phil Alden Robinson and W.P

Baseball is their passion. You can tell everything in this film is from the heart. They remember the old days of baseball when everything is so pure.

This one particular speech in the film about baseball is so beautiful. You will find yourself reduced to tears. It is all centered on why do they come back from Heaven and play baseball in this man cornfield? Because the game was there life.

This a film that could have gone wrong. But Costner and Madigan gave such excellent and believable performances as a married couple keeps it in tact. They show what it is like to truly have your significant others dream be your dream.

Field of Dreams is not for those who are cold hearted and are not in tuned with their emotions. It is a nice, fragile film that jumps from one fantasy to another.

Field of Dreams for people who have emotions and are willing to cry over a beautiful a movie. No lofty goals. Just modest.



The Help: ***


The Help is a a safe little film that is based of the book written by Kathryn Stockett. It is about black maids in Mississippi during the 1960s.

As a black man I was very interested in how this movie was going to be. Was it going to be edgy and real? Or safe? It was safe. But that doesn't mean it wasn't good.

Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle-aged black maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son. Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) is another black maid whose outspokenness has gotten her fired a number of times; she has built up a reputation for being a difficult employee, but she makes up for this with her phenomenal cooking skills.

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is a young white woman who has recently moved back home to her family's plantation after graduating from the University of Mississippi to find that her beloved childhood maid, Constantine (Cicely Tyson), has quit while she was away. Skeeter is skeptical, because she believes Constantine would not have left without writing to her.

Unlike her friends, who attended university to find husbands (and are now all married and having children), Skeeter is single, has a degree, and wants to begin a career as a writer. Her first job is as a "homemaker hints" columnist in the local paper. With Constantine gone, Skeeter asks Aibileen, the maid to her good friend Elizabeth (Ahna O'Reilly), for her help in answering domestic questions. Skeeter becomes uncomfortable with the attitude her friends have towards their "help," especially Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her "Home Help Sanitation Initiative", a proposed bill to provide for separate bathrooms for black help because (as she puts it) she believes that black people carry different diseases from white people. Amidst the era of discrimination based on color, Skeeter is one of the few who believe otherwise, and she decides to write a book, The Help, based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire lives taking care of white children.

The maids are at first reluctant to talk to Skeeter, because they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or worse. Aibileen is the first to share her stories, after she overhears Hilly's initiative, and realizes that the children whom she has been raising are growing up to be just like their parents. Her friend Minny has just been fired as Hilly's maid as a punishment for Minny using the bathroom during a thunderstorm (revealed by Aibileen to have spawned a tornado and killed eighteen people: ten white, eight black), instead of going to use the separate outdoor toilet. Hilly poisons all the other families against Minny, making it impossible for her to find other work, and her daughter is forced to drop out of school to find a job as a maid. Minny initially declines to participate in Skeeter's book research, but later agrees to share her stories. Aibileen helps her find work with Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who is married to a rich socialite (Mike Vogel), but is an outcast from the other society ladies, because she was born into a working-class family and her husband is Hilly's ex-boyfriend. Also, unlike Hilly, Celia seems to treat Minny with respect.

Skeeter writes a draft of the book, with Minny and Aibileen's stories in it, and sends it to Miss Stein (Mary Steenburgen), an editor for Harper & Row in New York City, New York. Miss Stein thinks there may be some interest in it, but requires at least a dozen more maids' contributions before it can become a viable book. Believing that the book will only be publishable during the Civil Rights movement, which she believes is a passing fad, Stein advises Skeeter to finish the book soon. No one comes forward, until Medgar Evers is assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi, and Hilly's latest maid is brutally arrested (for attempting to pawn one of Hilly's rings, to pay for her twins' college tuition, after Hilly had refused to give her a loan).


Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) is a middle-aged black maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son. Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) is another black maid whose outspokenness has gotten her fired a number of times; she has built up a reputation for being a difficult employee, but she makes up for this with her phenomenal cooking skills.

Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan (Emma Stone) is a young white woman who has recently moved back home to her family's plantation after graduating from the University of Mississippi[4] to find that her beloved childhood maid, Constantine (Cicely Tyson), has quit while she was away. Skeeter is skeptical, because she believes Constantine would not have left without writing to her.

Unlike her friends, who attended university to find husbands (and are now all married and having children), Skeeter is single, has a degree, and wants to begin a career as a writer. Her first job is as a "homemaker hints" columnist in the local paper. With Constantine gone, Skeeter asks Aibileen, the maid to her good friend Elizabeth (Ahna O'Reilly), for her help in answering domestic questions. Skeeter becomes uncomfortable with the attitude her friends have towards their "help," especially Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her "Home Help Sanitation Initiative", a proposed bill to provide for separate bathrooms for black help because (as she puts it) she believes that black people carry different diseases from white people. Amidst the era of discrimination based on color, Skeeter is one of the few who believe otherwise, and she decides to write a book, The Help, based on the lives of the maids who have spent their entire lives taking care of white children.

The maids are at first reluctant to talk to Skeeter, because they are afraid that they will lose their jobs or worse. Aibileen is the first to share her stories, after she overhears Hilly's initiative, and realizes that the children whom she has been raising are growing up to be just like their parents. Her friend Minny has just been fired as Hilly's maid as a punishment for Minny using the bathroom during a thunderstorm (revealed by Aibileen to have spawned a tornado and killed eighteen people: ten white, eight black), instead of going to use the separate outdoor toilet. Hilly poisons all the other families against Minny, making it impossible for her to find other work, and her daughter is forced to drop out of school to find a job as a maid. Minny initially declines to participate in Skeeter's book research, but later agrees to share her stories. Aibileen helps her find work with Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), who is married to a rich socialite (Mike Vogel), but is an outcast from the other society ladies, because she was born into a working-class family and her husband is Hilly's ex-boyfriend. Also, unlike Hilly, Celia seems to treat Minny with respect.

This film is told too much from a white person's point of view. When in reality the stars are the African American women. Which is the safe approach.

What makes this film really work are the performances. Octavia Spencer kicks ass in this film and gives the best performance. She is able to embody everything that Minny is. Bryce Dllas Howard was amazing as Hilly as well. You end up just really hating her character. And that was the goal. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Allison Janney all provide wonderful performances.

There have been more films on this topic far more edgier than The Help. But this a film that can be shown in history class. Don't expect to learn anything new. But you will be entertained and leave satisfied.



Good whiskey make jackrabbit slap de bear.
Memento and Field Of Dreams are two of my favourite films.
__________________
"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."



Ice Age Continental Drift: ** and a half

There is a trend in Hollywood. It seems like every computer animated movie has to be a trilogy or have four installments. Ice Age is no exception.

Ice has been around for ten years. I have gotten to know these characters very well since then. And the animation just keeps improving.

This a movie that the kids will really enjoys. Adults not so much. When I went in the theater was packed with kids. Kids screaming everywhere has their parents tried to control them.

But I give Blue Sky credit. They actually used the 3D in this movie. It actually works. And it looks beautiful.

As in the previous films, the protagonists are the mammoth Manny (Ray Romano, the sloth Sid (John Leguizamo), the sabre-toothed cat Diego (Denis Leary), and, in a parallel storyline, the saber-toothed squirrel Scrat (Chris Wedge). Scrat's hunt for acorns triggers the break-up of the Pangaea landmass into the continents as we know them today.

In the meantime, Manny and his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah) deal with their 14-year-old daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) who has a crush on Ethan (Drake). Peaches' best friend, a molehog named Louis (Josh Gad), appears to have a crush on her. When Manny catches Peaches hanging with Ethan after he told her not to, Manny and Peaches have a falling out. Soon after, the breakup of the continent separates Manny from his family. Manny gets stuck on a floating ice raft with Sid, Diego, and Sid's annoying grandmother Granny. A large moving landmass drives Ellie, Peaches, Crash and Eddie, Louis, Ethan, and a herd of other animals towards a land bridge, where they hope to reunite with Manny.

The good parts in this pretty can be pretty funny. The bad parts however are really and corny. It relies on 3D perhaps to heavily to make up for it's dialogue and how it glosses over a few things. As I stated the animation is beautiful. That never seems to issue these days. Just wish they would focus on story telling more now. Though it is better than the second Ice Age installment. Barely.

Kids will love this movie. They will be entertained. I myself was just barely entertained. But then again this movie wasn't made for someone who is almost 20. More like someone who is almost ten.



Dirty Rotten Scoundrels: ***


Con men. They have a set of rules. And one goal too. And there is just something intriguing about them. And a good question is can two con men coexist in one town?

This movie gives us that answer.


Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine) is a cultivated and suave British con artist who operates in the deluxe hotels along the French Riviera with the help of his manservant Arthur (Ian McDiarmid) and corrupt local police officer Andre (Anton Rodgers). His signature con is seducing wealthy and morally suspect women and stealing their money. His only concern is a mysterious, anonymous con man known only as "The Jackal" who has been preying on other wealthy victims of late.

When small-time American hustler Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) decides to search for easy marks in Beaumont-sur-Mer, Lawrence's home base, Lawrence believes that the Jackal has shown his face. Worried that Freddy's clumsy antics will scare away his prey, Lawrence has Freddy arrested and put on the next train out of town. However, Freddy meets one of Lawrence's former marks and deduces that the older man is also a crook. Returning to Beaumont-sur-Mer, Freddy forces Lawrence to take him on as a pupil in exchange for his silence. Lawrence attempts to teach the boorish Freddy about high culture with limited success. He also involves him as a subordinate player in his cons, making him play the mentally challenged and socially inept Ruprecht in order to scare away their female targets after their money has been acquired. Freddy, tired of not getting paid and tired of the humiliating part he has to play, decides to strike out on his own.

Since Lawrence believes that there is not enough room in Beaumont-sur-Mer for both of them, the two agree to a bet in order to decide who stays. The first one to con $50,000 out of a selected mark will be allowed to stay, while the other must leave and never return to Beaumont-sur-Mer. The two select Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly), a naive and wealthy American heiress, as their target and embark on their separate strategies while at the same time ruthlessly sabotaging each other. Freddy poses as a psychosomatically crippled soldier who needs to borrow $50,000 for treatment by a celebrated Liechtenstein psychiatrist, Dr. Emile Shauffhausen. But when Lawrence discovers this scheme he pretends to be Dr. Shauffhausen, insisting Freddy's condition is one he can cure with the stipulation that Janet pay the $50,000 fee directly to him.

The plot is used to basically showcase a series of funny events that occur. All of which were very funny to watch. I love the whole Ruprecht thing. It was done really well.

Michael Caine and Steve Martin make an excellent comedic duo. Caine plays more of a straight man, while Martin uses his normal charm, charisma and humor to win us over.

This is a straightforward movie. Not complex at all. But it has a nice redeeming quality with Caine and Martin's chemistry that it works just fine.



Ghost World:****


Teen films are very hit or miss. When the miss they can be really bad. When they hit, they can be just lovely. Ghost World is all hits and then some.

The film follows the lives of best friends Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) during the summer after their high-school graduation. The girls are both social outcasts, but Rebecca is more popular with boys than Enid. Enid's diploma is awarded on the condition that she attend a remedial art class. Even though she is a talented artist, her art teacher, Roberta (Illeana Douglas), believes art must be socially meaningful and dismisses Enid's sketches as "light entertainment".

Shortly after graduation, the two girls see a personal ad in which a lonely man named Seymour (Steve Buscemi) asks a woman he met recently to contact him. With Becky at her side, Enid makes a prank phone call to Seymour, pretending to be the woman and inviting him to meet her at a diner, and when he goes there, the two girls secretly watch and make fun of him. However, Enid begins to feel sorry for him, so a few days later they follow him to his apartment building, where they find him selling vintage records in a garage sale. Enid buys an old blues album from him, and they gradually become friends. . One of her favorite activities is trying to find women for him to date.



I just want to cuddle with this movie. There is so much that is just awesome about it. It is a crazy adventure there never goes in the wrong direction or stops being funny.


Thora Birch and Scarlett Johanasson are perfect. Their chemistry as best friends flows just like in the comic book. Steve Buscemi delivers an excellent performance as well. Here is a man who has been hit hard by life. And see no way out. He makes us for this guy in every scene.


This movie does what every movie should do. It doesn't try to overachieve. It uses the tools it is dealt with and shines. It created this lovely atmosphere.


Ghost World is the example of what Teen films can be when they are made properly. Hopefully more people who make teen films with watch this before they make theirs. We could use more films like this and less films like She's all that.



The Shinning: ****


Isn't it funny that the Shinning is being recognized now after all these years for the great film that it is? Isn't it a shame that Stanley Kubrick isn't alive to see his film great the credit it deserves?

Yes people when this film came out did not give it good reviews. But after many years (Like even 2001 A Space Odyssey) people re evaluated and realized how great of a film it is.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) arrives at the Overlook Hotel to interview for the position of winter caretaker, with the aim of using the hotel's solitude to work on his writing. The hotel itself is built on the site of an Indian burial ground and becomes completely snowed in during the long winters. Manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson) warns him that a previous caretaker got cabin fever and killed his family and himself. Jack's son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), has ESP and has had a terrifying premonition about the hotel. Jack's wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), tells a visiting doctor that Danny has an imaginary friend called Tony and that Jack has given up drinking because he had hurt Danny's arm after a binge.

The family arrives at the hotel on closing day and is given a tour. The African-American[7] chef Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) surprises Danny by telepathically offering him ice cream. He explains to Danny that he and his grandmother shared this telepathic ability, which he calls "shining". Danny asks if there is anything to be afraid of in the hotel, particularly Room 237. Hallorann tells Danny that the hotel itself has a "shine" to it along with many memories, not all of which are good. He tells Danny to stay out of Room 237.

A month passes; while Jack's writing project goes nowhere, Danny and Wendy explore the hotel's hedge maze. Wendy becomes concerned about the phone lines being out due to the heavy snowfall and Danny has more frightening visions. Jack, increasingly frustrated, starts acting strangely and becomes prone to violent outbursts.

Danny's curiosity about Room 237 gets the better of him when he sees the room's door open. Later, he shows up injured and visibly traumatized, causing Wendy to accuse Jack of abusing Danny. Jack wanders into the hotel's Gold Room where he meets a ghostly bartender named Lloyd (Joe Turkel). Lloyd serves him bourbon on the rocks while Jack complains to him about his marriage.

Wendy later tells Jack that Danny told her that a "crazy woman in one of the rooms" was responsible for his injuries. Jack investigates Room 237 where he encounters the ghost of a dead woman, but tells Wendy he saw nothing. Wendy and Jack argue about whether Danny should be removed from the hotel and a furious Jack returns to the Gold Room, now filled with ghosts having a costume party. Here, he meets the ghost of the previous caretaker, Grady (Philip Stone), who tells Jack that he must "correct" his wife and child.

This could be the great horror film ever. Tense, chilling, creepy as well. The Shining achieves all that. Jack Nicholson is a masterful actor we all know that. But here he subtly goes from a normal guys with his issues to an insane person who wants to kill his family. The character development is "insane"

I am so glad this film is getting the credit it finally deserves. Maybe in heaven Stanley Kubrick is looking down and saying "finally".



Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: ***


Argh! Pirates everywhere. The Pirates of the Caribbean series is based on a ride that originated at Disneyland. The ride is one of Disney's most popular attractions. So some thought "hey lets make a movie of it!"

I am glad someone did. These are some of the most funnest pirate films ever made. And At World's end continues the trend.

Okay so we know that Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is in Davey Jones's locker and is basically dead. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) go to save Jack Sparrow. But they get help from non other than Captain Barbarossa (Geoffrey Rush).

To control the oceans, Lord Cutler Beckett kills anyone associated with piracy and uses Davy Jones to destroy all pirate ships on the seas. Condemned prisoners sing "Hoist the Colours" to compel the nine pirate lords comprising the Brethren Court to convene at Shipwreck Cove; however, the late Captain Jack Sparrow, pirate lord of the Caribbean, never appointed a successor and pass on his piece of eight. Captain Barbossa leads Will, Elizabeth, Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and the crew of the Black Pearl to rescue Jack from Davy Jones's Locker. Sao Feng, pirate lord of the South China Sea, possesses a map to the Locker, where Jack is imprisoned. Will bargains with Feng for the Pearl in exchange for Sparrow, so Will can rescue his father from Davy Jones' ship, The Flying Dutchman.

Meanwhile, Davy Jones - under the control of Lord Beckett - destroys several pirate ships and leaves no survivors. This leads to Beckett confronting Jones to announce his decision to place the Chest of Davy Jones on board his ship and place Royal Marines to guard it under the command of the very man who stole Jones' heart, Admiral James Norrington.

The crew journeys into the Locker and retrieves Sparrow. As the Pearl seeks an escape route, dead souls float past, including Elizabeth's father Weatherby Swann, who was murdered by Beckett. Tia Dalma reveals that Davy Jones was appointed by Calypso, his lover and goddess of the Sea, to ferry the dead to the next world; in return, Jones could step upon land for one day every ten years to be with his love. When she failed to meet him, he abandoned his duty and transformed into a monster.

After returning to the living world, the Pearl is ambushed by Sao Feng, who reveals his agreement with Will. Feng betrays Will, handing over the crew to Beckett in exchange for the Pearl. Beckett takes Sparrow bargains with Barbossa to release the Pearl in exchange for Elizabeth, who he believes is Calypso trapped in human form. Feng's ship attacks the Endeavour, allowing Jack to escape. Feng tells Elizabeth that the first Brethren Court trapped Calypso in human form so men could rule the seas. When Davy Jones attacks Feng's ship, the mortally wounded Feng appoints Elizabeth as his successor, and she and the crew are imprisoned in the Flying Dutchman's brig. Bootstrap Bill Turner reveals to Elizabeth that the person who stabs Davy Jones' heart becomes the next captain of the Dutchman. Admiral Norrington, regretting betraying the crew of the Pearl, frees Elizabeth aboard his vessel, the Endeavour, although Jack refuses to divulge where the Brethren Court will convene. Instead, Jack offers to lure the Court out in exchange for Beckett protecting him from Jones. Feng and her crew. They escape to their ship, but Norrington is killed by a crazed Bootstrap Bill.


Action packed is the word to describe this movie. It throws things in and makes sense of it. It is just one fun ride to the next.

But the redeeming quality in this movie is Johnny Depp's performance as Jack Sparrow. He showed us how naturally cool he was in the first two movies. And he continues to just be so cool. He is the best part of the movie and somewhat carries it.

I enjoyed the first film the most and I would put this on par with the second film. Not a ton of Pirate films in Hollywood. But Pirates of the Caribbean will be the film series about Pirates that stands the test of time.



The Guard: *** and half


I have wondered how police operate in different countries. Is it the same? Is it different? More harsh? More lenient?

The Guard may not be the best movie to judge that. But it is a funny one and would be cool to think that police in Ireland were like that.

An unorthodox Garda (Irish policeman) named Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) joins forces with a straight-laced FBI agent (American special policeman) named Everett (Don Cheadle) to take on an international drug smuggling gang in Ireland's Connemara Gaeltacht.

A murder which appears to be the work of an occult serial killer is the first incident, the relevance of which is then revealed by Boyle in a briefing by an FBI agent, sent to liaise with the Gardai. A web of bribery, blackmail and killings ensues. Boyle and Everett form an unlikely alliance and bring about a bloody climax.

The Guard has such a nice easy going flow to it. Irish actors are very interesting. They act as if they are in a bar. What I mean by that is that they are just relaxed. All the Irish actors were confident and delivered believable performances. We all know who Brendan Gleeson is. No surprise at his great performance. He is able to show us a man who just goes through the motions. But is smarter than you think. Done Cheadle gives an excellent performance as well.

Gleeson's and Cheadle's chemistry when they work together is wonderful to watch. Gleeson's character is either racist or just plain ignorant. Also he is a straight shooter And Cheadle's character is all business but a nice guy. They complimented each other really well.

The Guard is a film with the perfect length. It tells us a story and gets out while it is on top. And always remains entertaining Yes films outside of the USA can be very good.



Bottle Rocket: ***


Have you ever just been down? Not sad. But down as in little to no money. And there appears to be no way out. What are your options? 1. Get a job. 2. Go on Wel Fare. 3. Become a robber.

Well those are the options for the characters in Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket. Written by Wes Anderson and co written by Owen Wilson one of the movie's stars. This a film that is filled with characters that all have good intentions. But their own agendas.

Dignan (Owen C. Wilson) "rescues" Anthony (Luke Wilson) from a voluntary mental hospital, where he has been staying for self-described exhaustion. Dignan has an elaborate escape planned and has developed a 75-year plan that he shows to Anthony. The plan is to pull off several heists and then meet Mr. Henry, a landscaper and part-time criminal known to Dignan.

As a practice heist, the two friends break into Anthony's house, stealing specific items from a list. Afterward, critiquing the heist, Dignan reveals that he took a pair of earrings, not specified on the list. This upsets Anthony, as he had bought those earrings for his mother. Anthony visits his little sister at her school so she can return the earrings. Dignan recruits Bob Mapplethorpe (Robert Musgrave) as a getaway driver because he is the only person they know with a car. The three buy guns and return to Bob's house to plan their next heist, a local bookstore. The group bickers as Dignan struggles to describe his intricate plan.

The group steals a small sum of money from the bookstore and "go on the lam" at a hotel. Anthony meets Inés (Lumi Cavazos), a maid, and the two spark a romance despite Inés's lack of English

Bottle Rocket is just flat out funny. Owen Wilson is wonderful as Dignan. He gives him a redeeming quality that makes the audience just like him despite him being an obvious loser.

Bottle Rocket doesn't take itself too seriously. It tells a story and nothing more. It doesn't play up for laughs either. It is left the scripts and the actors. This is one of Wes Anderson's earlier films. And he has been developing his world since to create since great movies like Moonrise Kingdom.

I found myself laughing a bit at this movie. A comedy that jokes land! Imagine that!



The Social Network:****


This is my second viewing of the Social Network. And I loved it even more. Social networking has been making up for real human interaction for a long time now. This forum is a social network for example. Social Networks are so addictive though. They allow us something that we can't get in real life: instant gratification. Which only the internet can really supply us with.

First there was Myspace (I haven't logged into mine since 2007), and Friendster. Now it is all about Facebook and Twitter. Tumblr is also making a run. Yet Facebook is still #1. Why? Mark Zuckerberg of course.

The Social Network is a film that explains (in a very entertaining and smart way) the events that lead to facebook during Zuckerberg being in the middle of two lawsuits.

In 2003 at Harvard Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) after having a date gone wrong is dumped by his girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara). After this in a somewhat drunken rage, Mark blasts his ex in a blog. Then he creates something called facemash and even compares pictures of girls to farm animals. He hacks into the school's database.

The school is furious and gives him six months of academic probation. Every girl at Harvard hates him. But Camerson and Tyler Winklevoss (both portrayed by Arnie Hammer) and their business partner Divya Narendra (Max Minghella) feel like they could use Mark for their social network idea called "Harvard connect". They decide to approach Mark and Mark agrees to join them.

This gives Mark a better idea. Why not create his own social network? He decides to go to his best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and show him the idea. He hopes that Eduardo will invest in it. Sure enough Eduardo loves it. They go into business with each other. Thing is though is that Mark is ignoring the Winklevoss brothers calls and emails. He is leading them on making them think that he is working on their site. They find out the hard way after "The Facebook" was launched what Mark was really doing.

This film shows two really interesting story lines. The whole Winklevoss brothers situation. And what happens later with Eduardo. I thought that Winklevoss brothers were just sore that Mark went and created something way better than what they had in mind. And as for Eduardo, I thought he genuinely screwed his best friend over. I guess that i what happens when money is involved.

The Social Network is sharply written. David Fincher is my favorite director. His direction is so wonderful that even in a film like this he puts the Fincher touch. The acting is very impressive. Jessie Eisenberg is able to transform himself into Mark Zuckerberg and gives us an idea of who he could potentially be.

Mark Zuckerberg is the a multi billionaire. Yet if you go by the film he lives a sad and lonely life. So consumed by work that he puts relationships to the wayside and just continues to work on what makes facebook better.

The Social Network was the best film of 2010. Everything about it was done with excellence. And a funny thing. I went on facebook after this second viewing.



Monster:****


Based on a true story Monster is a gripping tale about a hooker who's life goes down the tubes slowly by a turn of events.

A hooked named Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) truck breaks down she enters a gay bar. There she is approached by Selby Wall (Christina Ricci). Selby offers to buy Aileen a drink. At first she is put off my this and claims that she isn't gay. But after feeling bad for Selby who claims that she just wants to talk, they talk over some beers.

Aileen ends up going home and spending the night with Selby. Though nothing sexual happens. Aileen has taken an interest in Selby. She wants to hang out now. She is starting to think that she could feel something for her. They meet up at a roller skating rink and sure enough they kiss. They end up making love that same night. Where the problems start (other than the people that Selby is staying with and her father don't want her to have anything to do with Aileen). Is that Aileen was doing her job when her patron decided to rape her, beat her, tie her up and was about to kill her. She got herself free and killed the man in self defense.

She in that process missed a date with Selby. She goes to Selby late at night and makes up a lie and convinces Selby to go and stay with her for at least a week and just parties. That eventually turns into Selby moving in with her. Aileen tries to give up being a hooker and get a real job. As you can imagine it is hard for an ex hooker to get a job.

She has to go back to being a hooker. Selby is starving. But now something has happened. She doesn't want these men to have their cake and eat it too. She decides to become a serial killer. And she does.

Charlize Theron delivers a once in a lifetime performance. I looked at a picture of Aileen Wuornos and Theron (who is a beautiful woman) was able to transform herself into Wuornos. She showed how Wuornos killed people in cold blood. But also made us pitty her for what kind of life she choose. Christina Ricci gave a great performance as well. She made us feel for Selby (who is based on Aileen's real life lover but has a different name). She allowed us to she how this young struggling lesbian was lead astray.

I love movies because they can be about life. I love it when a movie takes real life events and makes it into art. It also allows people who would have never known this had happened otherwise. Monster uses these real life events and creates this tragic tale. Tragic indeed.



Insomnia:*** and a half


Insomnia is a film that is more than a popcorn movie. It is chilling, smart, with very fast pacing. With the amount of thrillers that are out there, this film stands on it's own legs.

Christopher Nolan makes films that are exciting to watch. But he somehow makes each of them different from the next.

In the small fishing town of Nightmute, Alaska, 17-year-old Kay Connell (Crystal Lowe) is found murdered. LAPD detectives Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) are sent to assist the local police with their investigation.

Concurrently, an intense Internal Affairs investigation in Los Angeles is about to put Dormer under the microscope; Eckhart reveals that Internal Affairs has offered him an immunity deal in exchange for his testimony regarding one of Dormer's past cases. Dormer tries to talk Eckhart out of it, but Eckhart, apparently complicit to some degree in Dormer's misdeeds, says that he has no choice but to accept the deal.

Focusing on the Nightmute case, Dormer comes up with a plan to lure the murderer back to the scene of the crime; however, the stakeout attempt is blown, and the murder suspect flees into the fog, forcing the police to spread out and search for him on foot. During the pursuit, Dormer sees a figure through the fog, which he believes is the armed murder suspect. He fires, and the figure collapses. When Dormer approaches, he discovers that he has mistakenly shot Eckhart. Dormer then runs to help his partner, who believes Dormer shot him intentionally and recoils from him before dying of his wounds. Given the nature of Eckhart's impending testimony, Dormer knows that Internal Affairs will never believe that the shooting was accidental; panicked, he alters the crime scene before crying for help. Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), a young police officer and Dormer's biggest fan, is put in charge of the investigation of Eckhart's shooting. Dormer uses his influence and reputation to try to mislead her into believing the suspect killed Eckhart.

Over the next few days, Dormer begins losing his grip on reality, plagued with guilt over killing Eckhart and tormented by the resultant insomnia (which is further exacerbated by the perpetual daylight). Dormer then starts receiving anonymous phone calls from the suspect, who claims to have witnessed Dormer kill his partner, and knows of his attempts to cover it up. Dormer is aware that Kay was a fan of a crime writer named Walter Finch (Robin Williams), and books autographed by him were found among her possessions; this then leads Dormer to believe that Finch is somehow involved. After finding his town of residence from a dust jacket, Dormer looks up Finch's address and breaks into his apartment to gather evidence, only to be discovered by Finch himself, who gets away. Finch contacts Dormer, who agrees to meet him in public; Finch then offers Dormer a deal, where Dormer is to frame Kay's abusive boyfriend Randy Stetz (Jonathan Jackson) for the murder in exchange for Finch's silence about the Eckhart shooting, forcing Dormer to choose between destroying his own reputation and allowing an innocent man to be sent to prison.

Al Pacino's performance as the cop who makes a costly mistake sets the tone for the film. He keeps the film in his more than capable hands and makes us interested in his struggles with it. Robin Williams is like Dennis Hopper in this role. He is creepy and convincing.

You would think a movie like this would be directed by David Fincher. But that is how good Christopher Nolan is. He experiments with different genres and it works.

The rest of the film is very good to watch of course. And the ending is very surprising. That is also what I liked about this film. It will continue to surprise you until the end.