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Reviews
Seeing Other People (2004)
One of my favorite comedies
This is high on my list of favorite comedies. Its actually been years since I've seen it and I still recommend it to my friends. Strangely it is a mostly unknown film, but it is so darn funny.
I love how it deals with that nagging feeling anyone getting married has "Am I ready, what else is out there?". Well, what is out there can be far worse than what you have and very hilarious at the same time.
Intelligent comedies like this are a rarity. The reason that they are a rarity is because it is all about the writing and good writers are hard to find.
I find it interesting how 90% of the reviews of this film loved it while there are two reviews that absolutely trash it. All I can think of is that those people have rammed any of their doubts about their relationship so deep down into their subconscious that anyone who even remotely gives light to those insecurities will be viciously attacked. The rest of us prefer to laugh it off and chalk it up to being human.
Thor (2011)
Great Movie
I really didn't have any expectations before seeing this movie. A lot of these comic based films are really just a blend of special affects and action.
However, this film was actually really good. The characters and their relationships are complex, including the bad guy, who is very inconsistent in his badness and even inspires pity.
The story is very well written and the acting excellent. This movie even carries a message about pride and being a good leader and a good person. Something that is lacking in many of the shallow action flicks for kids these days.
I also like how the romance in the film stayed innocent yet the love interest added to the plot at the same time, without becoming too overdone.
I liked this film so much that looked forward to seeing "The Avengers". Unfortunately "The Avengers" was very disappointing for me. For me, that movie was pretty much like watching someone playing a video game. Endless special effects + action, with very little acting or intelligent dialog. I wondered how the Avengers could be so different so I looked up both movies here in IMDb and realized that they had different directors.
The director of Thor, Kenneth Charles Branagh, is also the director of "Rabbit Proof Fence" and "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". Both of those are movies I really like as well. So that makes sense.
Y tu mamá también (2001)
Gay porn disguised as a road trip movie
My wife and I couldn't get through more than about 45 minutes of this movie. I don't consider myself very conservative, but I really don't care to see teenage boys jerking off and peeing every 10 to 15 minutes.
I also found the constant reference to drugs offensive. Evidently I am not in the crowd that considers it cool to be drugged out hedonistic jerks. If this is someones true story "coming of age" movie you had absolutely terrible parents.
The only thing remotely interesting about the movie was seeing their young girlfriends naked in the beginning. After that it was all down hill, unless maybe you are a gay male. Technically there is nothing wrong with that but I wish they would at least advertise this movie as such.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
A glorification of being mean?
It appears that many people like this movie. The only explanation I can give of this is that people have watched so many movies that they have become completely numb, and the only thing that tickles their brain is shock value. Basically, this is the same reason people watch slasher horror movies. I find the movie critics have this same flaw in their thinking. That is judging a movie as good just because it is "different".
Well, I'll tell you what makes this movie different. It is so painful to watch that movie makers in the past wouldn't even consider making it. This main character has no redeeming values and is so completely vile that he's not even believable. The preacher is so annoying and pious that he is also very hard to watch.
If this movie was based on a true story it might have some value because it would be a study of reality. Its not though. Its complete fiction. Its like somebody took all their bad child hood experience, hates and prejudices and attempted to hold the audience down and force feed all those dark unhappy feelings down their throat.
Its like watching a completely spoiled child throw a temper tantrum, but instead of being able to ignore them or walk away, you are forced to have the tantrum thrown right in front of your face.
In other words. This movie was disgusting. Feelings such as these do not need to be shared. People that behave like this should be ignored, not paid attention too, and not have movies made about them.
For those out there looking for the latest kick because the drugs have worn off and hardly anything can possibly get the dopamine flowing again. Watch this movie, or maybe snort some pepper spray.
Munich (2005)
A good movie but not a great movie
The most important thing about this movie is its central message, that revenge is a circle. It is also particularly important to focus this message on middle east conflict, because as everyone knows, the rest of the world is constantly drawn into this cycle of violence. I think Spielberg has done a noble thing in going after this issue.
Also important is the criticism Spielberg makes of governments. I believe that a government should never compromise its ethics, no matter what the cause. Sadly, reality has shown us that our governments can be just as evil as the terrorists. If we become our enemy to fight them then what are we fighting for? When this happens there are no good guys, and the conflict becomes pointless.
However, the implementation of this film leaves something to be desired. I believe the violence and gore was excessive. In fact, the scene with the woman having blood squirting in a nice clean stream out of her chest was really not necessary.
Some might argue that this was realism. Of course, it might have also been realistic to have her fall backwards onto a jagged board and have her beating heart speared like an olive and spraying the whole room. Maybe we could have seen her hungry cat snacking on her liver several days later. No one could say that it probably wouldn't happen.
It appears that those in Hollywood have decided that an affective way to stimulate movie goers is to show them shocking violence. Of course, they are right, it does stimulate the mind in a primitive way. However, it is also an easy, lazy minded way to stimulate us. Much easier than actually telling a good story, making us think, or inviting us to a different reality for a couple of hours.
My other criticism of this movie, is that it moved from assassination to assassination quite linearly, and monotonously. It was like watching a long train go by and trying to read the writing on every car. After about the third one, I was loosing interest. A couple of shots of newspaper front pages for some of the killings would have been more efficient, and would have saved them a ton of money, and made the movie better.
Overall, the acting was pretty good.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
A violent cartoon
I was really disappointed with this film. It is sold as a sort of triumph of the human spirit film, but it is more like a typical mafia gangster film transplanted to Brazil and the seventies. I was waiting for the Godfather to come out any minute and say "He takes out a knife, yah take out a gun." Scene after scene is of someone getting killed and the deaths have all the depth and meaning of a pixel creature getting shot in a video game. This film entertains on the most base level and has no depth whatsoever.
I can't say that I cared about anyone in this film, except for maybe Knockout Ned. The main character doesn't really do anything to improve his life. It is more like he just wanders out of the neighborhood. Where is the triumph in that? He also never seems to pass judgement on anyone or anything that happens around him. Its like stuff just happens. This dude died, and then that dude died, and yawn.... Great, he has the moral character of a robot, real inspiring.
I also noticed that its one of those "based on a true story" films, like that is supposed to make us think. "Wow, I just saw a part of life that I never understood before. Its hard to believe that life is so cheap and that no one cares about anything in this neighborhood." Well, I don't buy it. Its just too cartoonish to be real. Maybe the basic story line happened but that is about it.
By the way, my wife walked out on this film. I guess she thought going to the meat packing plant and watching cows being slaughtered would probably be entertainment at the same level. But at least it wouldn't be set to Samba music!
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Borrrring and strange
This has to be one of the most boring movies I have seen in a long time. But wait, it doesn't stop there, it was also painful to watch because a little girl was being abused by everyone around her.
After watching this movie I wonder how one could have respect for Japanese culture. Is everyone in Japan so depressed and hopeless? I am not very familiar with the culture but I have a hard time believing this was an accurate picture. It appears to be more of a stereotypical example of artsy self pity culture. You are probably familiar with it "Oh life is dull and drab yet somehow we find beauty in our suffering. Alas lets all whine together and protest the meaningless of life, sighhh". Yuck! Half way through the movie I was hoping the main character would just step in front of a bus or something so that the darn thing would end.
The pinnacle of the badness of the movie was the little cat fight competition between the two Geishas. It was like watching two cheerleaders fight over a boyfriend. Yet, one cheerleader was so obviously vindictive and evil that there is no way in reality anyone would have put up with her for five minutes to begin with. Gee, whose side should I take? Could the characters at least be a little deeper than the ones in finger puppet shows. I guess they wanted to leave us no chance to feel sorry for the other geisha.
I'll have to remember never to buy ice cream for any adolescent girls, and risk having them stalk me for the rest of my life.
What a weird depressing and don't forget Boring movie.
Clerks (1994)
Clerks defines the lowest common denominator of comedy
If you think that the use of the F-word for verbs, nouns, adjectives exclamations, pronouns and any other possible place it can be inserted is well written script than clerks is the movie for you.
I was amazed how bad this movie was. The actors talked like they were reading from scripts and the humor was as about as low and base as humor can get. I could have written a better script when I was twelve when disgusting sex and bathroom humor was at its peak in my life. If you are going to be gross, at least be clever.
Apparently, the humor in this movie is supposed to get laughs through shock. I was neither shocked or amused by the humor in this movie. It did not offend me as much as it just seemed completely brainless. Dirty jokes are always the easiest to write.