I realize that this review is long overdue because The Hangover was released in theaters in June, but I was never very interested. I heard a lot of talk and praise over the past couple of months and I just had to check it out for myself. I must say, I wasn’t whewed. Don’t get me wrong, I found the movie quite hilarious and I plan to watch it many times in the future it was a damn funny comedy, but that’s all it was.
It wasn’t incredibly funny where I found myself laughing louder than some of my favorites. I just couldn’t pick out personally what the big deal was to tell you the truth. It did have a fun innovative idea and they did it well, but all the movie was, was your average comedy that made you laugh and not even as much as you would’ve hoped based on all the praise.
The Hangover is a great comedy, its just overrated. And that’s not necessarily that bad of a thing I’m saying. I find The Godfather overrated. It’s an incredible movie, but there are many better ones. Some highly respectable critics have been putting it on their top ten movies of the year and its just not making much sense to me. Funny People was a better comedy. The Hangover felt forced at times.
You can have a lot of fun while watching, don’t get me wrong. Its really a flawless plot when it comes to a comedy. Its a comical mystery, you can have a blast because it was made pretty well and you grow to love all the main characters and their interactions. Most already have and I’m the one thats behind, but if you haven’t, go watch The Hangover. You won’t regret it.
A Serious Man is a modern masterpiece. I loved every moment of it. I would expect nothing less from the greatest directors working today, and in my opinion of all time. A Serious Man was so monumentally enthralling and thought-provoking, while at the same time being whole-heartedly entertaining and down right hilarious. It’s a must see really. The Coen Brothers mananged to capture the perfect amount of character and meaning into one hour and forty-five minute movie.
It tells the tale of a rough patch in the simple life of Larry Gopnik and his attempt to find clarity. That’s it. That’s really the best summary I could possibly give you. It’s simplicity is the most genius thing about it. A Serious Man tells a very simple tale and yet is still able to establish very meaningful undertones.
Every single actor and actor fell perfectly into place, as did every well-thought out detail of the movie. Everyone brought their A-game, but the best part of it is, there’s no big name actors. If your a real Coen fan, you’ll be able to spot a few regulars, but for the most part, we only know these people by the characters their portraying in this film. And to tell you the truth, they couldn’t be performing more perfectly.
The Coen Brothers are at the top of their game here and when aren’t they. Last year they threw out the fantastic film Burn After Reading, which was highly overlooked. I loved it, but it was nothing compared to this piece of art. There is not a single person who can tell a story as well as the Coen Brothers. Hands down, they are the greatest and if they keep dishing out movies this good I won’t ever have to debate that fact.
A Serious Man is a beautiful and poetic look at life and the difficulties it entails. A Serious Man wasn’t just a fantastic movie. It was also a reminder. There was another reminder that came out this year, it was a masterpiece entitled Inglourious Basterds. This is another reminder appropriately wrapped by the two greatest minds working today. A Serious Man is the Coen Brother’s way of reminding me why I love the art of cinema.
The Men Who Stare At Goats was exactly what I expected it to be. It wasn’t an amazing movie by any means, but it was however a very fun film, with great acting and worth a lot more watches. It’s really just a fun bit of entertainment that will most likely be overlooked, but shouldn’t be. It told a very entertaining tale, told it well, and along the way made me laugh hysterically.
Its a story of the government attempting to train psychic soldiers or “jedi” to fight with in war instead of weapons. The story is supposedly based on true events, but instead of saying so, it says “More of this is true than you’d believe”, or something along those lines. Clooney plays and ex-jedi whose on a mission to rescue his leader (Jeff Bridges), while Ewan McGregor plays a reporter writing his story and joining in his adventures. Kevin Spacey is expertly thrown in as a rival psychic.
Everyone was fantastic and its really what you’d expect. If I had to pick a favorite I would say I absolutely loved Jeff Bridges in this flick. He was hilarious every time he came on screen. All and all, the movie was a nice bit of entertainment, certainly worth a watch, if not a few.
I wouldn’t consider Paranormal Activity a movie. I’d consider it more of a cheap haunted house attraction. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Paranormal Activity and its agenda, that being to scare the living crap out of every audience member. I’m saying that you really can’t review this movie from the normal stand point of a critic. I can’t analyze a plot, a theme, acting and directing very much because thats not what this film was going for. The film was going for a realistic ghost story. The kind you tell around a campfire and it succeeds when looked at from that aspect.
There’s not much to work with, as I stated before, when it comes to character and story. There’s a couple and their being haunted. The guy gets a camera to catch whatever it is in the act and that’s the footage we’re watching. The movie did its job. It was trying to be an entertaining movie with compelling characters, it was trying to scare you. There have been movies that can do both, such as The Shining, but that wasn’t what Paranormal Activity had in mind. Maybe they could’ve went with story and character development, but instead they went with realism and in this rare case. It really works.
I’d like to state that I’d never watch this movie again unless it was with completely different people in order to get their reactions, that’s really the only entertainment I could possibly get out of this film after the first viewing. Other than that, I would never sit down intending to have a nice relaxing evening by watching a movie and pick Paranormal Activity, not because I would be so terrified, but more so because there’s no effect or entertainment value after your first viewing for obvious reasons.
I had seen this movie a while ago, but I unfortunately never got around to writing a review. I’d like to start by saying that, though I did find Funny People rather long, which is the complaint most critics gave, I will say for the most part I was pretty entertained throughout. At the heart of this comedic gem is a surprisingly serious character study of stand-up comics involving friendship and a near-death experience.
Apatow was really able to find a close to perfect mix between serious and comedy. He did it perfectly in Knocked Up and came pretty close with this one. Adam Sandler plays a famous stand-up comedian and actor who finds out that he’s going to die soon and starts changing his lifestyle habits, while gaining a friendship with Seth Rogen’s character. That’s really all you need to know.
What I love about Apatow’s movies and especially in this one, is the comedy feels so real and heartfelt, almost awkward at times. Its the comedy you share with your friends daily and that’s what makes his movies so enjoyable. He doesn’t force anything, he just tells his stories while being pretty hilarious along the way. If you liked any of his work I’m pretty sure you’d find yourself enjoying Funny People. I know I did.
Inglourious Basterds is a film I’ve been dieing to see and subsequently review for almost a year. It was by far the most anticipated movie of this year for me and my expectations for this film were off the chart. I’m happy to say that they were exceeded and Inglourious Basterds is not only going to be the film of the year, but also in my opinion, one of the greatest films ever made. The film was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and I can’t wait to see it again.
Tarantino being the genius that he is, managed to take everything you liked about his past films and throw them into this spectacular epic. The always amazing dialogue, the memorable characters, the quotable lines, the constant comic relief, and the unexpected twists, all was there and done better than ever. Quentin Tarantino certainly has his own style when it comes to making a movie and he holds absolutely no punches in this phenomenal piece of cinema.
Before going on, I’ve got a word of warning. I’d like to say that I found the movie downright flawless, but I can see why others might disagree, these are some of those reasons. Keep in mind I’m not saying these are bad things because what Quentin has mad here is a nearly perfect movie. These are just words of warning to some people who might not agree with me. First off, the movie, if you didn’t already guess, is very violent and gritty. You know how Aldo Raine talks about how he wants 100 nazi scalps, yeah you actually do get to see some scalpings and much more. Secondly, expect a lot of reading (subtitles) and a lot of dialogue, not bothersome to me in the least, but I have heard its boring to some. Lastly, theirs not as much action as you might think, Inglourious Basterds is an art house film first and an action movie second (one of the reasons I love, Tarantino has found the perfect concoction).
Now back to my review. Next I’d like to discuss the acting. Every single actor and actress brought a fantastic performance to the table. Everyone and I mean EVERY-ONE brought their A-game. Their was two performances that stood above the rest though. First off, any skepticism you have on Brad Pitt performing in this film needs to disappear right now because he was fabulous. It was the perfect part for him, sure it was an incredibly well written part, but it had to be played just right. Brad was able to do that.
The next performance is something that everyone can agree on whether you actually liked the film as a whole or not. Christoph Waltz gave an absolutely brilliant performance as the antagonist. He deserves every award he’s gotten and is going to get. Hans Landa is one of the greatest villains ever to be put on the silver screen. He was played so well because at some points he had to be very polite and generous, while at others he had to be completely opposite. A perfect performance. One of the greatest I’ve seen.
Now I’d like to leave you with these words. Inglourious Basterds tells a spectacular story that’s filled with even more spectacular characters, while being told in spectacular ways. Inglourious Basterds is probably the most innovative movie I’ve seen. It’s just so much different than your average movie because Tarantino did what every film maker should do. He didn’t let anything hold him back (such as the history books for example). He just had a blast with it and as a result, I as an audience member had a blast. Now I’m going to use my favorite word when it comes to reviewing, and its probably used too liberally by all, but its well-deserved here. Inglourious Basterds is a masterpiece.
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