brandongarza-40962 Reviews

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Superb Script-Writing and Brilliant Cast Support

[10/10 · 30 December 2017]

The script of this film is of course easy to be in awe of as it won it's Oscar, deservedly so, and showered movie critics with something to obsess over. So I'm going to hop on the bandwagon and share my thoughts

The seeming simplicity of the script has the ability to tear down walls of the human psyche and easily connect movie goers to the personal hardships the main characters face. Through realistic and unrealistic life conditions like Will's (Matt Damon) uncanny ability to solve high standard math problems and literally recite books with his photographic memory, the audience fills in the missing real life examples of suffering with their own. Through doing this, as Will solves his personal problems and comes to a self realization, so does the audience. The incredible nature of the script works it's magic like this throughout the remainder of the movie.

The excellency of the chemistry between the cast allows them to deliver the words of the script with pure emotion. The real life relationship of the aforementioned Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, playing Chuckie, is seen throughout the course of the film as they settled their differences and similarities after coming through self realization in order to maintain their loving friendship. Casey Affleck, playing Morgan, and Cole Hauser, playing Billy, perfectly top the troubled relationships in the movie. Skylar (Minnie Driver) and Sean (Robin Williams) play back and forth roles in manipulating Will into believing what is best for him.

All in all, the script is what the architecture of this movie is built around and the accompanying parts accent it amazingly well. Good Will Hunting may not check the boxes off perfectly but the scattered feelings of the characters, the real world comparisons that can be made, and of course the detailed yet facile script easily allow audiences to connect with the movie. And that in its own should be the main goal of movies, to draw their watchers into the place of the characters and experience the movie in it's entirety.

Chef (2014)

One of the best movies i've ever seen

[10/10 · 7 March 2017]

I am not surprised about the quality of this movie base on the actors. Words cannot explain how much I loved watching this movie and how many times I will watch it again. It is hard to get too in depth without spoiling anything but the plot flows smoothly and the roles were fulfilled with the right actors. I could not have asked for a better movie to watch with friends and/or in my alone time.

Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

Bravery By Mr. Gibson

[9/10 · 17 January 2017]

A movie which was destined to fail and not succeed with audiences did all but that. Mel Gibson does an excellent job leading this production team to a carefully finished and detailed film.

This movie deserves the rating it owns on IMDb for it delivers a touching yet intense plot. Private Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield) and his legacy of refusing to own a weapon in battle is an amazing story-line to build a movie upon. The flashbacks to his troubled and violent past filled with berserk behavior which lead to his close relationship with God, were an excellent addition to understanding the intricate life of Doss. Garfields performance overshadowed everyone else's in this movie by providing a complicated character facing an even more complicated and outlandish consequence for refusing to touch a weapon.

Doss's relationship with his wife (Teresa Palmer)and others is the main negative aspect of this film. His cliché early relationships with other soldiers can be overlooked by the development of the relationships later on when rescuing those who persecuted him.

The emotional slow motion shooting and gory effects comparable to that of Saving Provate Ryan's D-Day opening sequence, allow for the audience to truly take heart to all that the soldiers went through. Overall the movie has a glorious plot and excellent performances and amazing action sequences that tug at the heart strings. Excellent work Mr. Gibson.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

True-to-Life and Sordid

[8/10 · 25 October 2016]

There Will Be Blood develops along a plot involving a man slowly but surely slipping into madness whilst vying for the goal of becoming the worlds most renown oil-field driller. Performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano immediately reel the viewer in with the true and gritty personalities that they convey during the oil boom. Particularly the performance by Daniel Day-Lewis which one the nobleman his second Academy Award.

The plot of There Will Be Blood is absolutely perfect and correctly lays out a visual time-line of advancing in the oil industry, whether it be through agreements that didn't work out, or other individuals becoming unhinged by the demise of their own corrupt successes and the prosperity of their adversary's. This movie also does an amazing job with portraying the evangelicals against the corporate business man. The rivalry between the two reveals weaknesses of each other and the unexpected immorality of the church and it's ability to manipulate others to receive what it needs or wants. These revelations can bring strange thoughts into the viewers' minds as they ponder about the the possibilities of these happenings that are shown throughout the movie. That is what makes this movie stand out among-st the movies attempting to portray the madness that the oil industry creates; the capability of the film and it's plot and characters to raise alarms in the minds of the moviegoers when thinking of corruptness in our world and how it has consumed everyone.

The cruelness of Day-Lewis's character combined with the suffering and loss each protagonist and antagonist seems to be going through, easily overshadows a majority of the positive impacts, like the fame, recognition, and acceptance. Money always seems to trump the heartbreak of the characters, which once again raises the question "How corrupt and greedy is our world?" Overall, though, the movie is thought-provoking and treats the viewer with intense dialogue and interesting character developments.

American Beauty (1999)

Encouragement of an Extremely Involved Mind; Moving

[9/10 · 16 September 2016]

Never has a movie been so difficult for me, personally, to understand in full length. Normally with a film; I point out the positives and the negatives but I am willing to make an attempt to explain the motif and the ever so influential symbol of the rose.

American Beauty balances the personal tragedies in the minds of individuals with the evident satire of a regular depressed American family in the backdrop of the late 1990s. As you progress through the film you suddenly realize that each character is struggling with their own personal debacle with themselves. This could be as simple as harboring the insecurities that tag along with teenage angst (Jane Turnham) to creating a false image of yourself as a burly "man" battling with his sexuality (Frank Fits).

The true meaning of beauty in this film is the realization of the small things in the characters' lives that make them who they really are. When Lester Dunham finally comes to terms with everything going on in the time of his mid-life crisis; he recognizes that everything that he wanted (besides freedom from his corporate job) was already in his life, but he had just merely skipped over it in the craze of everything. He finally finds his happiness in the end when he sees this which allows him to locate his own oasis of peace and tranquility before his death.

The story-line following Lester's development is clearly the most important to the plot of the movie itself, but none of his advancements would have been made without Ricky Fits, the strange boy with the split persona, and his ability to force emancipation upon himself so that he did not suffer through what he didn't wish to. The fact that Ricky basically held the answer to all of the characters' problems in the story is also critical to remember. He stated that "there is so much beauty in the world". This isn't discovered by the main protagonists until later in the film where they identify that trying to alter their ways would not find them the beauty in their lives that they had forgotten and skimmed over prior to the lapse of attentiveness.

The realization that I came to, embarrassingly enough, was that the title of the film itself was not focusing on the beauty of Angela Hayes and the obsession Lester had with her during his mid-life crisis, but with the beauty that lies within everything the protagonists already have. The forced personality change that many of them experience is practically the same as not even containing a personality within themselves. This movie focuses more on the theme than anything else which is what makes it so magnificent. Even the original score and the lighting and camera angles add a feeling of simplicity to the problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Overall, American Beauty and it's performances by Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, and Wes Bentley were inexplicably amazing and the film indubitably earned the world renown Best Picture Oscar.

Remember, Look Closer

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Apreciable

[8/10 · 11 September 2016]

No Country for Old Men in my opinion, was a movie with intense and thrilling action worked into a very intricate plot. The performance by Javier Bardem as a stone-cold, psychopathic murder or killing machine, if you will, was outstanding. Portraying a heartless man who does not have the inherent ability to comprehend the value of human life is a difficult and daunting task. Props to Bardem on winning an Academy Award for his performance. But back to the plot. Another man in the pursuit of the other man, Llewlynn Moss (Josh Brolin), may seem like a cliché story-line, but with the added philosophical mind of Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) during a time of death, chaos, and senseless killing; it adds a whole new level of meaning to the plot and the film as a whole.

This movie is also outstanding in it's courage by forcing the viewers to not connect with any of the characters as they will soon be taken away from the plot almost inevitably. This action strays away from the basic ideals of a movie goer, which is to be rooting for one single character throughout the entirety of the film. I applaud The Coen Brothers for having the ability to successfully pull that one off on the "big screen".

The only negative that I need to add into this review is evidently the cause of this movie only being rated a significant 8. The reason this needs clarity is because in many circumstances this mistake has most likely caused a viewer to be confused just a tad bit from the beginning of the film. That fault is the reason why Javier Bardem's character, Anton Chigurgh, is even one bit worried with the missing two million dollars stolen by Llewelynn. Now you may be thinking to yourself, "Why is that tiny mishap important to a movie over two hours?" That detail is pivotal because it is the whole reason why the wild goose chase after Llewelynn began. If only that small error has been washed over with a small detail of explanation then this movie would have certainly received a splendid 10/10.

Conan (2010–2021)

Absolutely Outstanding

[10/10 · 10 September 2016]

Being a young male; you would think that most Live Television productions would easily bore me. Normally this is the case, but for this exact instance it's not. This show has caused all of your notions to become untrue. Never, in my opinion, has a host been as witty, intellectual, and hilarious as Conan Christopher O'Brien. This show features hilarious bits that have been purposefully made stupid and/or amusing all at once. The interviews are rock-solid, and you as a viewer, never feel displeased or uncomfortable during a single conversation. Plus, if worse comes to worse, Conan just uses his comedic, slapstick improv to shoot down any hint of awkwardness. The greatest component of his show by far, is the series of remotes. Whether it's visiting corporations, or chatting with employees, or even just strolling casually around a city; Conan and his improv are unstoppable when it comes to his comedic effect. Conan, Andy, and the rest of the staff create an amazing environment for viewers alike and that is why this is the most amazing show on television...besides New Girl (because I love Zooey Deschanel as much as Conan, if not more).