Yearly Archives: 2008

Body of Lies Review

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While watching Body of Lies, there will be a point where you will think to yourself, wow, this is a great movie. For me that point was car/helicopter chase about 20 minutes in. I agreed with that thought the second the movie ended. When watching Body of Lies, you realize that what your watching is an intricately plotted drama with a lot of entertaining action thrown into the mix. Body of Lies was a fictional story about two CIA agents attempting to end a rising terrorist group.

Roger Ferris (Dicaprio) is a rising member who knows the score, hates all the deception, but at the same time knows he has to accept it. Ed Hoffman (Crowe) is a senior member whose so full of himself that he thinks he can play god and toy with the lives of others, and sometimes does, but only “for the good of the country”. Don’t get me wrong though, Hoffman isn’t the villain of the film, he’s just a good man he sometimes does bad things. Everyone in the film is on the top of their game especially Crowe, who plays a very different character, as he plays a fat arrogant prick who you can’t stand at times.

Body of Lies is a very realistic and intelligent movie that deals with topics that are political, technological, and most of all deceptive. Body of Lies sort of reminds me of a Global version of the movie The Departed. I’m not saying this movie was as good as The Departed by any means, but what I am saying is that it’s no that far from it.

Grade: A

Top Ten Films of the 90s

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This is a really fun top ten list to tackle. I’m a 90s kind of guy so most of my favorite movies come out of the 90s. It’s fun to look at the 90s because what you get are some movies that people think are classics now and some movies that people think are still new and will be thought of as classics eventually. There’s a lot of different opinions you can have on this decade, as with any, but this one especially. Well, let’s get to this list.

10. SE7EN

An incredibly plotted and graphic thriller, that allows you to figure out the case through grisly murders instead of just showing you them first hand.

9. Ed Wood

A hilaurious and realistic look a the worst director of all time. Everyone big or small deserves to have their story told.

8. The Usual Suspects

A complex, well-acted, crime thriller with an ending that’ll leave any man speechless.

7. American Beauty

A close and astoundingly interesting look into the lives of the not so ordinary.

6. The Silence of the Lambs

An excellent “classic” about the tracking of a serial killer through the conversations of a much worse one.

5. Goodfellas

The documentary-like drama is by far one of the best mob movies ever made and without question surpasses The Godfather in my opinion.

4. The Shawshank Redemption

An epic and inspiring look at prison life and friendship. A  movie that will never be forgotten, it is number 1 on IMDB TOP 250.

3. Unforgiven

The best western there is that flips around sides and forces you to root for the wrong one. Or is it?

2. Pulp Fiction

From the incredible dialogue, to the teeth cringing violence, Pulp Fiction will now and forever be known as a classic.

1. Fight Club

The psychological thriller has just about everything. Great acting, great characters, great writing, story, directing, ending, etc. Fight Club is a masterpiece and always will be.

Appaloosa Review

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Appaloosa was a great western that makes you remember classic westerns like Unforgiven. It was a film that was simple, yet deep and all around a very entertaining western. I don’t know if the western genre should be brought back, but I do enjoy seeing a few really good westerns come out nowadays, such as The Assassination of Jesse James last year. The movie followed all the rules of any classic western, which at times meant there were no rules. The film did extremely well at bringing you to that period, while being brutul and ruthless at times, but with comic relief thrown in all around you. It’s a simple story about two best friends (Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson) who are paid by towns to bring about their own brand of justice. The town where the story takes place is called Appaloosa and an outlaw by the name of Bragg (Jeremy Irons) needs to be taught a lesson. Are the two up to the challenge or will a love interest (Renee Zellwagger) for Harris’ character stand in the way.

Appaloosa simply and subtly tells a story of friendship, love, rivalry, and the brutality of the west. Viggo and Ed share such chemistry with each other each in a perfect part, Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole a subtle, yet tough marshall who answers to no one, and Mortenson as Everett Hitch, a loyal and caring friend whose trigger finger is just as uncanny as Cole’s. Jeremy Irons shines as a brutal murderer of Appaloosa. The movie actually opens with Irons shooting and killing three men, and doesn’t stop building tension until the unexpected resolution. If you’ve ever liked a western, you’ll like this one. 

Grade: B+

Choke Review

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This was one of the biggest disappointments I’ve had to face in film history. It wasn’t even that the movie was that bad, it was decently good, it’s just that the book was ten times better. Choke is actually by far my favorite piece of literature, while Chuck Palahniuk is by far my favorite author. The movie wasn’t nearly as good as the book and I wasn’t really expecting it to be, but it really just didn’t even come close. I had to drive a half an hour to get to a theater that was playing this movie because I was so excited, it wasn’t worth it. The movie did have two funny parts that the book didn’t have, but those parts didn’t make up for the rest. The two best gimmicks of the book weren’t in the movie and I’m talking of course about the, see also’s and the (random word) isn’t the right word, but it’s the first word that comes to mind. My favorite chapter about the origins of his sexual addiction was completely botched. The thing that bothered me most was that the ending was completely different from the books and I loved the books ending. The movies ending just comes out and tells you what the point of the movie was, while the book allows you to think and figure it out yourself through imagery and symbolism. One ray of sunshine on this cloudy day of a movie was the main character. I was skeptic as to who could pull this, anti-christ, as some might call him, off and Sam Rockwell did it perfectly. He was a lot fun to watch and I might wan to watch the movie again just to watch his performance, he was born for the role. Overall the movie just felt very independent and amatuer especially during the flashback scenes with his mom. It was fun, funny and entertaining, but the book was just so much better. Trust me, If you’re interested at all in this movie, go out and buy a copy of the book. It’s a fast and incredible read. You’ll want o immediatly read it again afterwards.

Grade: C+

A Screen Legend Passes On: Paul Newman, 83

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The silver-screen legend Paul Newman was confirmed to have passed on today. He was a brilliant actor at the age of 83 and had been nominated for 10 academy awards. He won his oscar in 1987 for his role in the Scorsese classic, The Color of Money. He passed on last night of cancer and he will be greatly missed. He was 83 years old and one of the most famous men of all time.

The Dark Knight DVD Packaging

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If your like me and are extremely excited about the set date of December 12th for The Dark Knight DVD release, then you might also be like me and be pissed at what I’m about to show/tell you. I have been excited to know for awhile what the DVD case will look like. If the couple sites that I’ve looked on are correct about the look then I am pissed off. A monkey could’ve thought up these DVD designs:

The Dark Knight

Why the f*&^ is The Joker not on the cover. First of all The Joker is by far the best character in this film and in history, why is he not on the cover of the movie he’s in. Second of all, this is Heath Ledger’s last completed performance and one of the best I’ve ever seen by an actor and they’re not even going to have the character on the cover. It should just be The Joker on the cover F&*( Batman. Maybe they should give you a choice, one with joker and one with batman, the batman one wouldn’t even sell one single copy. You know that and I know that. 

Comment if you agree with anything I’ve just said.