Molly Shannon, in her first semi-serious role, plays a secretary whose journey from normal dog owner to extreme animal rights activist is played out in this quirky film. Most of the movie takes place during winter in California, which means sunny skies and Christmas gift-giving out in the patio. Heh.
This documentary effectively lays out what is wrong with the credit card and home loan industries and how they prey on the consumer. It does not offer any solutions, however, and leaves a feeling of hopelessness. It also sometimes overreaches when laying blame on government and church when clearly there are also the individual's actions to account for.
This independent film is about a man born with dwarfism who inherits an unused train depot in rural New Jersey. As a recluse (but a well-dressed one at that), he reluctantly befriends two locals. Patricia Clarkson plays one of them, and she's one actress that makes quite an impression in my esteem.
Tears of the Black Tiger is a Thai western that is an instant cult classic. It's campy (fake moustaches), cross-cultural (Thai cowboys), nostalgic (evoking old thai films), theatrical (painted moonlight backgrounds???), absurd (rocket launchers) and romantic, all at the same time.
Excellent modern noir set in a Southern California high school. Had to turn on subtitles to follow the dialogue though. This film is probably what the "cool kids" are digging nowadays. Director Rian Johnson should adapt to the screen Daniel Handler's Basic Eight (a novel based on my high school).
This documentary about children of prostitutes who are given the opportunity to dabble in photography blew my mind away. The children capture their surroundings on film with a unique eye. As each child's story unfolds, you find yourself caring for them and hoping the best for them. You share in their bouts of joy in an environment of despair and you root for them when they overcome obstacles in a society that has virtually forgotten them.
I realize the movie is based on some guy's autobiography. In fact, same guy directs the movie. But the portrayal of his '80s childhood seemed anachronistic. The fashion looked culled from 1980s' movies about the 1950s instead (e.g. The Outsiders). Blue-collar life is portrayed too harshly as well. The kids were a little too potty-mouthed and grimy. Having lived and hung out in the working class San Francisco neighborhoods of Bernal Heights and the Excelsior in the 1980s, I can attest that kids had the sense to watch their language in front of their friends' parents and had a sense of pride to keep even their bargain clothes clean. But we were West Coast ethnic kids while the story's about East Coast caucasian kids, so what do I know?
Wanting to see the portrayal of Bay Area locales in the '60s and '70s and wanting to know more about the Zodiac killer got me renting this movie. Turned out to be one of the best recently-released movies I've seen. I was glued to the screen despite the film's 3-hour length and its seemingly slow pace. The touches of humor were also a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's got that unique British way of pulling together a highly engaging caper (it's like an R-Rated Wallace & Gromit movie!). Boy, but the gore was even worse than 300's.
The House of Sand is a tale of how time, isolation and the elements affect the lives of a mother and daughter stranded in the northern desert plains of Brazil. It's got beautiful cinematography and interesting casting. "Knockout Ned" of City of God is in it!
Story of how a good student gets mixed in with the wrong crowd and spirals out of control. I didn't quite buy how she could fall for the bad life so easily but I suppose the combination of a broken home and a too "chummy" mom will do it.
Solid thriller but the one I least like out of the Bourne bunch. I thought by this time they'd get rid of the shaky cam and pull out from action shots a bit. No one can appreciate the carefully choreographed fight or crash scenes if the shots are too tightly cropped. Haven't they learned from Hong Kong action directors?
I probably would've appreciated this independent film better had I watched it when it first came out in 1998. It looks like the Wachowskis have since borrowed some concepts and visuals from Pi and packaged them better in The Matrix. Numb3rs the TV show may even have gotten inspiration from this first effort by director Darren Aronofsky. Not exactly a movie to be entertained by, Pi has got paranoia, heavy medication, throbbing techno, throbbing headaches, cross-generational nerd butting of heads, Jewish heavies, Wall Street baddies, and of course, numerology, all under the sheen of grainy black and white.
Haven't seen a Simpsons show in years but I jumped at the chance to watch the movie free with co-workers on opening night (thanks boss!). The movie is everything I remember from watching the tv show but bigger (I was also sitting five rows from the screen). It was funny and irreverent as expected. Too bad I brought the kids with me. I was d'oh-ing at points in the movie that reminded me why I don't let them watch the show at home.
A French film from 1965 starring Catherine Deneuve with a score by Michel Legrand, Umbrellas of Cherbourg was patterned after American musicals of the 50s. It ups the ante, however, by having every line sung by all the characters in the movie. Its colors are vibrant, its story bittersweet. I loved the opening scene in the auto garage where the auto mechanics sing about hating operas and liking movies better. Talk about meta! There was also one scene that reveals where Spike Lee probably got the idea for his signature "gliding on the sidewalk" cinematic device.
Coming-of-age story about a hispanic teenager who finds herself pregnant as she approaches her quinceañera party. This independent film is a little edgy, a little poignant, with a realistic look at clashes between generations and cultures.
This Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film was released in the US as After the Wedding. It is soap operatic minus the predictability. Acting performances are strong. The Danish women have deep voices. "Le Chiffre" actor from Casino Royale stars. When he shed a tear, I half-expected blood to pour out.
Riveting. I allowed the kids to watch it, covering their eyes at the appropriate times. Good discussion ensued afterwards about war, history and clash of cultures. I'll make sure Flags of Our Fathers is in the rent queue.
Finally got to see this fine film. I guess Johnny Depp donned a pirate costume for this one too. It's interesting that Freddie Highmore and Depp got to work together again in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). As for Kate Winslet, the scene with her character and her children on the grass mound as they watch James Barrie (Depp) play cricket, is almost mirrored in a scene in Little Children (2006) where she also appears. Her character sits with her child on a grassy mound as she watches a male character, who, like Barry, also happens to be married. The Little Children situation, however, took the improprieties a little further. It's funny how both movies deal with adults acting like children.
Could you believe it's been almost 20 years since the first Die Hard movie came out? Live Free or Die Hard's director, local boy Len Wiseman, was only a high school kid then! The conversation between the Bruce Willis and Justin Long characters about music and radio confirmed which side of the generational divide I belong. I hardly listen to music on the radio nowadays. It's talk radio for me mostly. Heck, my iPod is perhaps 30% music and 70% podcasts (yay for free content!), but I digress. I liked the movie overall but some minor things bugged me about it. Did Bruce Willis have to be so mean-spirited in beating up Maggie Q? It's like watching Wolverine hurl racist and misogynistic insults at Kelly Hu's Deathstrike while he beats the crap out of her. Secondly, right before the jet and freeway scene, John McClane loses sight of the van he's pursuing as it speeds away. The jet and freeway scene that follows takes a good five minutes. After all is done, John McClane gets up, brushes the dust off himself, and sees the van speeding away in the distance – again. Shouldn't it be a few miles away at this point?
Another British writer of children's books gets the biopic treatment. I liked the animated animals springing up from Beatrix Potter's imagination. I also liked the sweeping English countryside vistas. Did Mr. Barrie and Ms. Potter live in the same era? They should've gotten together. They would've been perfect for each other. The only difference between them is that Beatrix Potter got her inspiration from her own childhood while James Barrie got his from other children.
Wow, excellent motion graphics, coupled with a surreal storyline. I like! Like the last DVD I saw, Notes on a Scandal, it's a movie narrated by a disturbed British woman and it ends in tragedy (sort of).
A movie that made me admire British actresses' surprising ability to emote grief and anguish in a realistic manner, allowing them to rise above English society's perceived reserve. Another movie that's done this is Damage (1992) with Miranda Richardson. Notes on a Scandal made me think, however, that if a movie was made with a similar character as Cate Blanchett's but played by a man, would it also portray the character as a fully fleshed out human being with major flaws? And if it did, would the movie receive the same acclaim as 'Notes'? Or would audiences and critics alike lambast it as portraying a child rapist in a sympathetic light? Would it expose a gross demonstration of a 'reverse' double-standard?
Cautionary tale on how not to mess with deranged despots' wives. Although James McAvoy's face may not have been shown while he was hanging by meat hooks from the ceiling, you can easily imagine it by remembering the expression on his face in Narnia as his faun character was turned into stone by the White Witch.
@nwbingham Thanks for the clarification, especially coz when you click on the link, and you see the bookshelf, you think "Library!" in reply to nwbingham23 hrs ago
Movie Reviews
Sort list by: title | rating | view date ↓
September, 2007
Year of the Dog (2007/I)
3/5
2007-09-02 20:26Molly Shannon, in her first semi-serious role, plays a secretary whose journey from normal dog owner to extreme animal rights activist is played out in this quirky film. Most of the movie takes place during winter in California, which means sunny skies and Christmas gift-giving out in the patio. Heh.
0.3
Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory...
3/5
2007-09-01 22:41This documentary effectively lays out what is wrong with the credit card and home loan industries and how they prey on the consumer. It does not offer any solutions, however, and leaves a feeling of hopelessness. It also sometimes overreaches when laying blame on government and church when clearly there are also the individual's actions to account for.
0.3August, 2007
The Station Agent (2003)
3.5/5
2007-08-29 15:54This independent film is about a man born with dwarfism who inherits an unused train depot in rural New Jersey. As a recluse (but a well-dressed one at that), he reluctantly befriends two locals. Patricia Clarkson plays one of them, and she's one actress that makes quite an impression in my esteem.
0.3
Fah talai jone (2000)
4/5
2007-08-28 20:18Tears of the Black Tiger is a Thai western that is an instant cult classic. It's campy (fake moustaches), cross-cultural (Thai cowboys), nostalgic (evoking old thai films), theatrical (painted moonlight backgrounds???), absurd (rocket launchers) and romantic, all at the same time.
0.3
Brick (2005)
4/5
2007-08-26 14:54Excellent modern noir set in a Southern California high school. Had to turn on subtitles to follow the dialogue though. This film is probably what the "cool kids" are digging nowadays. Director Rian Johnson should adapt to the screen Daniel Handler's Basic Eight (a novel based on my high school).
0.3
Gwoemul (2006)
4.5/5
2007-08-25 20:14(aka The Host) I haven't had this much fun watching a monster movie since Tremors (1990).
0.3
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)
4.5/5
2007-08-14 02:33This documentary about children of prostitutes who are given the opportunity to dabble in photography blew my mind away. The children capture their surroundings on film with a unique eye. As each child's story unfolds, you find yourself caring for them and hoping the best for them. You share in their bouts of joy in an environment of despair and you root for them when they overcome obstacles in a society that has virtually forgotten them.
0.3
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
3/5
2007-08-12 02:33I realize the movie is based on some guy's autobiography. In fact, same guy directs the movie. But the portrayal of his '80s childhood seemed anachronistic. The fashion looked culled from 1980s' movies about the 1950s instead (e.g. The Outsiders). Blue-collar life is portrayed too harshly as well. The kids were a little too potty-mouthed and grimy. Having lived and hung out in the working class San Francisco neighborhoods of Bernal Heights and the Excelsior in the 1980s, I can attest that kids had the sense to watch their language in front of their friends' parents and had a sense of pride to keep even their bargain clothes clean. But we were West Coast ethnic kids while the story's about East Coast caucasian kids, so what do I know?
0.3
Stardust (2007)
3/5
2007-08-10 22:45Meh.
0.3
Zodiac (2007/I)
4.5/5
2007-08-08 01:34Wanting to see the portrayal of Bay Area locales in the '60s and '70s and wanting to know more about the Zodiac killer got me renting this movie. Turned out to be one of the best recently-released movies I've seen. I was glued to the screen despite the film's 3-hour length and its seemingly slow pace. The touches of humor were also a pleasant surprise.
0.3
Hot Fuzz (2007)
4.5/5
2007-08-06 01:32I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's got that unique British way of pulling together a highly engaging caper (it's like an R-Rated Wallace & Gromit movie!). Boy, but the gore was even worse than 300's.
0.3
Casa de Areia (2005)
4/5
2007-08-05 01:31The House of Sand is a tale of how time, isolation and the elements affect the lives of a mother and daughter stranded in the northern desert plains of Brazil. It's got beautiful cinematography and interesting casting. "Knockout Ned" of City of God is in it!
0.3
Thirteen (2003)
3/5
2007-08-03 02:36Story of how a good student gets mixed in with the wrong crowd and spirals out of control. I didn't quite buy how she could fall for the bad life so easily but I suppose the combination of a broken home and a too "chummy" mom will do it.
0.3
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
3.5/5
2007-08-03 01:29Solid thriller but the one I least like out of the Bourne bunch. I thought by this time they'd get rid of the shaky cam and pull out from action shots a bit. No one can appreciate the carefully choreographed fight or crash scenes if the shots are too tightly cropped. Haven't they learned from Hong Kong action directors?
0.3July, 2007
Pi (1998)
2.5/5
2007-07-28 21:38I probably would've appreciated this independent film better had I watched it when it first came out in 1998. It looks like the Wachowskis have since borrowed some concepts and visuals from Pi and packaged them better in The Matrix. Numb3rs the TV show may even have gotten inspiration from this first effort by director Darren Aronofsky. Not exactly a movie to be entertained by, Pi has got paranoia, heavy medication, throbbing techno, throbbing headaches, cross-generational nerd butting of heads, Jewish heavies, Wall Street baddies, and of course, numerology, all under the sheen of grainy black and white.
0.3
The Simpsons Movie (2007)
3.5/5
2007-07-27 20:00Haven't seen a Simpsons show in years but I jumped at the chance to watch the movie free with co-workers on opening night (thanks boss!). The movie is everything I remember from watching the tv show but bigger (I was also sitting five rows from the screen). It was funny and irreverent as expected. Too bad I brought the kids with me. I was d'oh-ing at points in the movie that reminded me why I don't let them watch the show at home.
0.3
Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les (1964)
4/5
2007-07-26 20:48A French film from 1965 starring Catherine Deneuve with a score by Michel Legrand, Umbrellas of Cherbourg was patterned after American musicals of the 50s. It ups the ante, however, by having every line sung by all the characters in the movie. Its colors are vibrant, its story bittersweet. I loved the opening scene in the auto garage where the auto mechanics sing about hating operas and liking movies better. Talk about meta! There was also one scene that reveals where Spike Lee probably got the idea for his signature "gliding on the sidewalk" cinematic device.
0.3
Quinceañera (2006)
3.5/5
2007-07-23 18:01Coming-of-age story about a hispanic teenager who finds herself pregnant as she approaches her quinceañera party. This independent film is a little edgy, a little poignant, with a realistic look at clashes between generations and cultures.
0.3
Efter brylluppet (2006)
4/5
2007-07-20 01:49This Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film was released in the US as After the Wedding. It is soap operatic minus the predictability. Acting performances are strong. The Danish women have deep voices. "Le Chiffre" actor from Casino Royale stars. When he shed a tear, I half-expected blood to pour out.
0.3
The Last Mimzy (2007)
3/5
2007-07-19 22:37Pretty decent time travel tale involving creepy bunnies, gifted children, and annoying new-agers.
0.3
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
4.5/5
2007-07-13 19:21Riveting. I allowed the kids to watch it, covering their eyes at the appropriate times. Good discussion ensued afterwards about war, history and clash of cultures. I'll make sure Flags of Our Fathers is in the rent queue.
0.3
Finding Neverland (2004)
4/5
2007-07-09 19:49Finally got to see this fine film. I guess Johnny Depp donned a pirate costume for this one too. It's interesting that Freddie Highmore and Depp got to work together again in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). As for Kate Winslet, the scene with her character and her children on the grass mound as they watch James Barrie (Depp) play cricket, is almost mirrored in a scene in Little Children (2006) where she also appears. Her character sits with her child on a grassy mound as she watches a male character, who, like Barry, also happens to be married. The Little Children situation, however, took the improprieties a little further. It's funny how both movies deal with adults acting like children.
0.3
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
3/5
2007-07-07 22:35Could you believe it's been almost 20 years since the first Die Hard movie came out? Live Free or Die Hard's director, local boy Len Wiseman, was only a high school kid then! The conversation between the Bruce Willis and Justin Long characters about music and radio confirmed which side of the generational divide I belong. I hardly listen to music on the radio nowadays. It's talk radio for me mostly. Heck, my iPod is perhaps 30% music and 70% podcasts (yay for free content!), but I digress. I liked the movie overall but some minor things bugged me about it. Did Bruce Willis have to be so mean-spirited in beating up Maggie Q? It's like watching Wolverine hurl racist and misogynistic insults at Kelly Hu's Deathstrike while he beats the crap out of her. Secondly, right before the jet and freeway scene, John McClane loses sight of the van he's pursuing as it speeds away. The jet and freeway scene that follows takes a good five minutes. After all is done, John McClane gets up, brushes the dust off himself, and sees the van speeding away in the distance – again. Shouldn't it be a few miles away at this point?
0.3
Miss Potter (2006)
3.5/5
2007-07-02 20:43Another British writer of children's books gets the biopic treatment. I liked the animated animals springing up from Beatrix Potter's imagination. I also liked the sweeping English countryside vistas. Did Mr. Barrie and Ms. Potter live in the same era? They should've gotten together. They would've been perfect for each other. The only difference between them is that Beatrix Potter got her inspiration from her own childhood while James Barrie got his from other children.
0.3June, 2007
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
4/5
2007-06-29 23:39Wow, excellent motion graphics, coupled with a surreal storyline. I like! Like the last DVD I saw, Notes on a Scandal, it's a movie narrated by a disturbed British woman and it ends in tragedy (sort of).
0.3
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
4.5/5
2007-06-22 23:56A movie that made me admire British actresses' surprising ability to emote grief and anguish in a realistic manner, allowing them to rise above English society's perceived reserve. Another movie that's done this is Damage (1992) with Miranda Richardson. Notes on a Scandal made me think, however, that if a movie was made with a similar character as Cate Blanchett's but played by a man, would it also portray the character as a fully fleshed out human being with major flaws? And if it did, would the movie receive the same acclaim as 'Notes'? Or would audiences and critics alike lambast it as portraying a child rapist in a sympathetic light? Would it expose a gross demonstration of a 'reverse' double-standard?
0.3
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
3.5/5
2007-06-20 23:25Cautionary tale on how not to mess with deranged despots' wives. Although James McAvoy's face may not have been shown while he was hanging by meat hooks from the ceiling, you can easily imagine it by remembering the expression on his face in Narnia as his faun character was turned into stone by the White Witch.
0.3List generated by WP Movie Ratings.