Good Will Hunting

The wordplay title, the great cast, the original plot line(original enough). 

What more would you expect but a great film?

I love it for the acting and the little moments where they do this or that, I wasn't so fussed on the ending though. I suppose the ending was necessary, happy, ironic blah blah blah. 

Basic plot is (Matt Damon) a young man is a janitor, a street thug, a trash-mouth but more importantly a mathematical genius. And when Will finds himself in jail he doesn't expect the maths teacher that discovers his talent to bail him out. Though Will is happy he has a fan there's a catch because let's face it, there's always a catch. The court makes the condition that Will has to see a therapist each week for reasons not revealed just yet and that's where Robin Williams comes in. The movie goes on from there and though the plot is fairly simple when you look at it the acting is awesome!

A bit of history goes with this film too. Turns out Matt Damon actually wrote 1 act to the script for a university related assignment. Then when he was down and out he called for his Boston buddy Ben Affleck to help him complete the script and turn it into a Hollywood Legend. It took them almost forever to get someone to produce it but finally after arguing and interviewing, repeat. They finally got the film up and running with their conditions. 12 years down the track Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are household names.

So basically legend has it this film is what catapulted Matt and Ben to stardom and if we were judging that by how well they performed then I'd say the legend is true. Matt Damon pulls of Will Hunting so easily it's scary. His funny scenes out on a date, his emotional scenes with Robin Williams, his Boston charm with the Affleck brothers. All of it was just hardcore. Ben Affleck on the other hand though obviously having a smaller role was almost as good. His character doesn't seem as deep as MD's. Being Will's best friend, he's not considered bright. Really he's a player. (pronounced Playaz) But as the movie continues and his stereotype character watches Matt Damon's character struggle through life he comes out with something deep in the end inspiring Will's big finish.

The soundtrack was in contrast to the acting absolutely pathetic. I don't even remember a moment in the film where there was background music. Perhaps that is a good thing but i like to hear the music when it's important.

Besides Ben Affleck and Matt Damon I haven't talked about Robin Williams. A star far before MD or BA and still a legend today. He certainly looks like a therapist in the film and one particular scene where he tries to convince Will it isn't his fault was very passionate for me.

So that's all there is to cover as far as I can tell and it is generally a good film. A drama that is interesting enough to keep even the restless action-movie-buffs settled. 8 out of 10 from me. I don't think this is a movie you must watch but it is certainly a good one to see.

Stir of Echoes

wOOt. Another one for 1999 and a bit of Kevin bacon magic to make it work. 

Simply put, Tom your everyday Chicago man challenges a friend to hypnotize him. But after the ordeal it seems the effects of hypnosis haven't worn off when he is seeing unsettling things. As Tom pieces his crazy visions together he has to consider whether he is losing his mind or perhaps he is sensing something else...

 ...I usually try to steer clear of ghost thrillers where the antagonist has to help the dead blah blah blah with an exception to Sixth Sense (aka- I see dead people) But in this case the plot was interesting, not bordering any major cliches and Kevin bacon did a kick-ass performance. For some reason KB seems to be very skilled at pulling off the "deranged man" look. I mean he's certainly not ugly in mainstream opinion but he has a face that says "there's a dark brooding craziness deep inside me" You could even go so far as to say he looks like the guy who's going to marry some chick so he can murder her and their kids 10 years down the track due to insanity. But so far it hasn't happened.

Of course the movie has a semi-happy ending but all is not lost. It covered a few touchy areas with KB's character too including Tom's fading away dreams of being something bigger then his boring day-job. And it also covers Maggie's  (Tom's wife) struggle with the possibility of having a husband falling to insanity. And besides the obviously designated scenes for this emotion and that memory the way Kevin Bacon portrayed his character even before the hypnosis incident suggests a man slowly dying inside, a man not entirely on the same page as everyone else. KB isn't legendary but he is very, very kick-ass. It's just a shame his last name sounds so lame! 

But enough insults and flattery. The bottom line is it's a great film worth watching whether you hate ghost thrillers or not. And if you watch it really late at night like I did it'll be even better. 

8 out of 10. Watch it.

Animal House

John Belushi made this film. A legend in it's own right the 1978 film basically about fraternity wars, corrupt deans and lots of alcohol induced trouble makes me wish I were part of the generation. Unfortunately this review can only be short because let's face it. It's a comedy about as in depth as one of George Bush's speeches and 10 times as funny. 

I'm a little bummed out it will be so short 

But i'm going to give it a shot anyway.

John belushi ultimately kicked ass in the film. I will never forget the "I'm a pimple" scene. Theres plenty of swearing, alchohol, nudity everythng my parents grimace at and that's what makes it awesome. This movie is the ultimate uni fantasy. I wish I could get into a house like that when I'm booted out of my parent's cushy home and into uni pretending to follow my dream. 

I will admit the plot is a little "hmmm" at times. Just a bit unbelievable here or unrealistic there but as I said this is a college fantasy so who needs reality? 

That's the message of this teen-inspiring parentally crucifying film! 

Who needs reality when you can get drunk, have a night out with some chick you just met and enjoy creating more trouble then your worth in alcohol-drenched, stupidity-induced not-so eternal bliss.

A film that put John Belushi, Crudeness, Violence and Comedy in a blender then served it up raw. 9 out of 10 all the way.

Crash

Well it's early in the morning and I just finished watching a beautiful movie. 

Crash.

Involving a star-studded cast including Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Ben Fraser and a number of other actors the movie truly surprised me.

I have a confession to make though. I thought this movie was just another one of Matt Dillon's signature drug movies like Drugstore Cowboy. And though I was disappointed that Dillon plays one of the less-likable characters it seemed I had stumbled onto something more. The thing I loved most about this movie is the fact that the people who I thought would die never did. And the people who I thought would live shockingly died. It's nice to experience true shock in a movie rather then knowing who's gone before they actually are. 

Another thing that impacted me was the soundtrack, I'm actually listening to some of Mark Isham's (the composer) work right now. This guy generated music so sensitive and fitting for each scene that I had to look him up and download a few tracks. 

I love the ending mood. In fact this will be the first time in history that I am actually impressed with how a movie ended. Because even though it does shine it's light on some of the characters others are still in the same situation that they will probably have to deal with for eternity. And the last scene shows the despair that the movie was on about to begin with. Its nice to see a movie that didn't end absolutely in despair but certainly did not tie everything up in a neat, moral and conclusive package. The ending was realistic yet cinematically beautiful to the point where I was actually impressed with how they ended it. Because I've seen how hard it is to end the movie just right and these guys achieved it.

But the one most amazing thing about this film is that it actually brought tears to my eyes. I never cry over a movie...ever. To realize I was crying over such a simple but beautiful scene shocked me completely. It shocked me more then any unexpected death or amazing sequence in that entire movie. And if a film has the capability to make me unexpectedly cry then it certainly must've done something right. 

This movie wasn't just another racial issues classroom assignment. This is The Movie you have to see. I could watch this movie over and over if I could, I give it a 9 out of 10 only because a 10 out of 10 would mean it was perfect and I don't think I know what perfect is yet. If i told you to watch a film before I had no idea what I was talking about. You must see Crash before you can call yourself a person.

The Bourne Supremacy & The Bourne Ultimatum

Well I promised I'd check this one out after I got a taste for it with The Bourne Identity so here it is. 

This post has been sitting in the works for over a month now because i am not sure what to say. The issue here is even though there was some good standard action and the whole aura around Jason Bourne remained in tact it had considerably less "emotional" talk and another considerably disappointing observation is a lot of the scenes in Supremacy are exactly like what happens in The Bourne Ultimatum. 

So because of that detail I am doing the Supremacy and the Ultimatum in one post. that's how ridiculously copy-cat like these 2 films were. 

I am considerably disappointed because Matt damon is definitely awesome and yet even though the Bourne Identity went up like an illegal firework on some well known holiday the following two sequels didn't live up to it. I will say if your looking for your action movie fix Supremacy and Ultimatum are the flicks to see but they could've been far better.

6 out of 10 for Supremacy and 7 out of 10 for Ultimatum only because the soundtrack was better.

The Darwin Awards

The movie was good enough to steer me away from my usual Saturday program but not good enough that it's still not on Wikipedia after approximately 3 years since the release. Let's investigate this shall we?

The cast was fairly noticeable with Winona Ryder as the leading lady and Joseph Fiennes as the main character that this entire plot is consisted of. Put in simple terms it's about a criminal profiler who is kicked off the force due to his comic fear of blood. He finds a job analysing incidents for an insurance company, to decide how the victims really died and whether their families deserve the insurance. It goes on like this making mockery of the combination of stupidity and death and of course through the process Micheal (Fiennes) not only discovers who the serial killer is from his last case at his previous job but also he discovers love. Oh and for some reason they decide to throw in a college student who has gotten permission from Micheal to use him as his subject for his documentary. The filmer has no real purpose in the plot besides the fact he is a good tool for humour in certian scenes.

So the plot is a little pointless but sometimes plot is over-rated. I found the way all the people died hilarious in every way the director intended it and if you keep your eyes open you'll see the guest appearance of those two guys from Myth Busters.

What sucked about this film or what probably doesn't help the film's status is that Winona Ryder was the only actor i recognized (she was after all considered an 80's Goddess) It might just be me but I've never heard of Joseph Fiennes. Another problem was the plot though comedic when it wanted to be was really stupid and ultimately lame. The romance was pathetic and the movie ended ultimately with a cliche'. Now I know this movie wasn't meant to be a cinematic masterpiece. Leave that to movies like Crash or something old school like Rumble Fish but my point is it could've ended with a little dignity.  

And though I am still surprised the film still isn't on wikipedia (thank god I have my back-up site imdb.com) I guess it's for the best. The movie isn't fantastic, just the way some of the people die is this film. So I'm giving it a 6 out of 10. Nothing spectacular, watch if your bored and feel like some clever black humor. But be prepared to have crappy romance and pointless plot flooded over you too.

The Quick and The Dead (1995, not the 1978 racing documentary)

I have to say I ask for true western and I got a true western. To be honest what mainly brought my attention to the movie was the fact Russell Crowe AND Leonardo Dicaprio were in it. I was truly surprised to find Crowe or Leo were not the main characters but a name I hadn't heard of, Sharon Stone. 

The story tells a tale of a young female gunslinger(Stone) who travels to a small town to partake in a quick-draw contest. But obviously she's not just in it for money but a quest of revenge, a real western vendetta to avenge the death of her Father. And the man that shall pay for her father's death is the corrupt mayor of the town running the contest and supplying the reward. Meanwhile a young man(Dicaprio) presumably just out of his teens living in the dusty forgotten and corrupted town also has plans to enter the contest. But in his case it's not a quest of revenge but a quest of recognition and respect. And then believe it or not the plot thickens! Yes, the third vital character to this incredibly layered western is the guy we've been waiting for. Crowe plays "The Preacher" A man who used to be a real bad-ass outlaw who was involved in many schemes with the now corrupted mayor but had a change of heart when certain blood was shed. So these are the three main focal characters of the film and as the plot twists tighter and tighter tension arises as guns are fired and confessions are made.

Sounds corny right? Well fortunately it wasn't. the film just had the right blend of western themes, well known-actors and a fairly decent ending.  The things I was impressed with is though the ending was pretty clear seeing as it is a western there were things that I should've picked up on. you'll notice that throughout the movie there are hints to what happened so many ears ago. I also found the second last duel between people i am not going to name and the outcome of this fight to be relatively unexpected. Sharon Stone certainly pulled off the Gunslinger Bitch look and even though the flashbacks were cliche I guess they were standard for this genre of movie.

The things that I was disappointed in was a lot to do with Crowe's performance. I was hoping for a more bad-ass looking guy. I mean I know he was The Preacher with honorable intentions and a haunting past but I was hoping for something like his vibe in 3:10 to Yuma ( a western film in 2007 where he played the "bad guy") I knew he was playing a man of God but God can be bad-ass too can't he? Maybe it's in the Bible somewhere (laughs at the thought) Anyway, my point is I reckon Russell Crowe could have turned on the western outlaw charm a bit more. Other then that I thought the ending was good but could certainly be better. And when I say better I mean a little more complicated and shocking for all the characters circulating around the conclusion. I just think the ending being summed up with one short flash back after many fragmented flashbacks earlier in the film was too easy. I wanted something so complex that I had to take a minute to process it. Maybe something that even shocked the main character as she realized something that she'd forgotten after all those years. I was hoping for something like her realizing that it was not the mayor but in fact The Preacher who killed her father or anything along those lines. But I will say the ending was good none the less even if it wasn't as mind-blowing as I'd hoped. The third and final flaw that i found more amusing rather then disappointing was the sets. I mean some of those "mountains" in the distance made me laugh out loud. And in the serious moments of heart-wrenching emotion or a few close-ups and zoom-outs the sky just said it all. As if God had put those computerized sunsets and perfect clouds there to command us to laugh. So when your watching it keep an eye out for those. Start bets with your friends as to which sky or cluster of background mountains are real or fake. I say have fun and enjoy film in new ways then ever before. 

But of course I haven't elaborated on my mentioning of Leonardo Dicaprio. Now i know this is completely irrelevant to the current blog I'm typing but Leo looks so old now! I mean I see him in that and he's what? Early to mid 20's? I just caught him in A Golden Globes Award Show and he has the whole beard happening and the hair is darker and more mature and it's just like whoah! I had to get that off my chest now back to the article at hand...

He certainly proved himself right for the role. All I can say is he got the job done. Nothing inspiring or incredible but I can't say he didn't do a good job. I guess there were some emotional scenes with him that were completed quite masterfully for an actor who was at that age (remember it was 1995 when this came out) but it is definitely not his best work. And don't anybody dare say Titanic was his greatest film because shivering and saying I Love You Rose should never be the kind of thing your remembered for. 

So what else is there here for me to say? It was a good worth-your-while western with a great cast and on-screen "spark" that will not disappoint. 8 out of 10 from me and I hope you don't make the mistake that the fact 1950's westerns aren't supposedly "cool" means any other western should not be counted as a decent movie either.

The Machinist

Now you can tell this movie really had an effect on me because I just realized i have written so much. 

It certainly is an interesting film that manages to horrify you with the little details but eventually falls back and lulls you into another conclusive and neatly finished psycho-thriller.

Christian Bale. I have new found respect for him. I loved him in the kick-ass film American Psycho but I thought he had demised to the label of another hollywood somebody after his successful line-up of batman movies which were good but not totally mind-blowing or out-there if you know what I mean. But this, this particular role he played makes me look up to him in a different light. Two lights if we are being literal here. I see him in the light of a new disturbing side to Christian Bale and yet I also look up to him in a light that suggests he's more of a gutsy method actor then you think. When I first saw him I honestly gagged but as the movie goes on you will get used to it. Now tell me that's not skinny.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a56/NietzscheSprGirl/machinist.jpg

You don't think thats so bad? How about...

http://www.myfittribe.com/files/images/Christian%20Bale%20in%20The%20Machinist.jpg

I don't know about you but I felt mentally violated after seeing that.

Now i've been wasting all this space gabbing about how freaky Christian Bale looks but I have barely talked about the movie. And that's exactly what i am saying. The fact that he is so skinny distracts you from the movie itself for the first 10 to 20 minutes. 

The plot that you will keep getting distracted by is basically about a man who commits a hit and run car accident. The movie is set one year (presumably) after this incident and you can see how in one year this crime has effected his sleep, his body and more or less importantly his mental state. It's fun to watch him slowly decline deeper and deeper into total psychosis as he discovers what he is perceiving may not be entirely right. I have to say I was impressed with Bale's performance, he surprised me with his kick-ass take on the schizophrenic aspect of acting. Definitely a step forward from his last encounter with insanity in American Psycho (I just love referring to that movie)

The things that sucked about this movie are listed in order of the plot (mega spoilers ahead)

When Miller loses his arm due to Trevor (Christian Bale) intentionally/unintentionally activating the machine it wasn't as gory as I had hoped. As Miller started screaming, as his arm got closer and closer to the jaws of the machine I instantly knew what was going to happen. And in that same instant moment I knew I was psyched.  I was getting ready for some massive gore sequence to remember, I already had sentences coming to my head on how to describe it to you guys but when the moment came it barely showed you anything. A bit of blood yes but it was only standard stuff. A let-down for any gore fan or thriller movie lover alike.

This is another suspense related bummer to me. Yet I'm still trying to decide if it'll just be me who was disappointed or not. When Trevor oh so slowly approaches the fridge leaking gratuitous (yes I said gratuitous) amounts of blood and as trevor fearfully reaches out to the handle with his skinny anorexic hand and as he gets the courage to pull the bloody door open the site I was watching it from froze up on me. I nearly kicked myself in the head when it happened. So when I finally got myself all fixed up again and I let the scene play the blood wasn't from anything horrifying at all. Now I'm not going to tell you what it is because a) that'll just blow the whole shock ending and b) it's evilly fun to torture you with the unknown. So I understand the contents of the fridge is the key to the entire movie's conclusion but I was hoping for something glaringly gruesome. After the failed attempt with The machine Incident I thought The Fridge was going to be the one. I guess not.

And the third biggest flaw in this movie: The Ending.

The movie was so skillfully brought up to be just waiting for a kick-ass ending. Like the way you see an athlete build himself up on steroids. In fact, that's what it was.

 A Psychological Thriller on Steroids

And then the ending just tanked it. Like the Titanic on it's way to America only to be bitch-slapped by an iceberg. Or a crackhead discovering he can take on the world only to come down from his high. Or even George Bush thinking he can ride out the election with his ego only to get owned by democracy. The ending died.

You have Trevor screaming at people and realizing that maybe he didn't have everything worked out and then he turns himself in peacefully and co-operatively! And to make it even more cliche' and just-so because he did the right thing and turned himself in he could finally get over his year-long insomnia and sleep.

Bleh!

I wanted to see him go crazy! I wanted one of his friends to call the men in white coats! I wanted to see some real Psycho-Thriller Meltdown ending. Even to just see him end up in a mental hospital trying to convince people that the people he saw are real would be enough. I do  have to say there were parts to the ending that even I didn't predict(and no I'm not telling you them hehehe) and they were in fact clever, what a suspense movie should be. But the way it was just rapped up so morally and neatly with no shocking imagery to send the movie out with a bang at all disappointed me. It truly did. 

So I've told you the good points and the bad points to this movie so I give it a 9 because of what Christian bale did for this movie but then i take it back to a 7 and a Half because the ending tanked and I was hoping at an MA rating the violence would be better. So watch it and see what you think.

Control

The 2007 british biopic black and white film on Ian Curtis's (the lead singer of Joy Division) life from his late high school days till his death at age 23. Telling the story of his life as he brought a band to life, dealt with his epilepsy and spiraled down with depression to his suicide the day he was meant to tour America. 

Me having epilepsy myself instantly made me want to see this movie. I knew his music already having a few tracks on my iPod but I did not know the story behind the band so naturally i was psyched. And also naturally the film did not disappoint.

When I researched more I discovered there was another film for the same subject called 24 Hour Party People. I also learned that though they were based on the same plot Party People was less realistic compared to Control which from my speculation seems to me as a artistic biography. 

Starring Sam Riley as Ian Curtis the movie to me was more then awesomely beautiful. The tale is very sad but graceful covering his marriage, his music, his epilepsy and ultimately his death. The only fault I found was whenever he had a epileptic fit it had to be violent and dramatic. Most people with epilepsy do not have fits like that. I can't say I'm a fully qualified neurologist with all the answers or anything but it was so blatantly dramatized. But in light of that in any movie they will take a scene or concept and exaggerate it because let's face it, if any movie was 100% realistic they'd all be shit.

So I found this movie to be a must-watch for anyone who enjoys good music or great filmography. 7 and a half out of 10. 

You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Well what can I say?

It came to a point where I nearly fell off the couch from laughing. The plot isn't actually what i expected. The whole sex content was a pleasant surprise to me in a humorous way and well let's face it, it's Adam Sandler!

The film covers mild black humor like pain and explosions blahblahblah. It does some genius parodying including the israelis vs. the Arabs, crappy electronics and the hairdresser element and of course it's got some great painful slapstick. Oh and how can i not mention it has that Adam Sandler element signed on the side. 

I'll admit some of Sandler's latest movie choices haven't been so great and there were' moments in the movie where i thought the joke was so-so but when you catch those moments where he just says the most hilarious shit or even just watching him work his Sandler magic you'll know it was worth it watching this film. His performance kind of reminds me of Sacha Baron Cohen's kick-ass epic creation that should be revered by the masses as Borat. He has the similar accent going but that's the only thing that triggers the memory. The rest is Adam Sandler all the way.

So i loved the film, you should love the film, we should all love the film.  Sandler's take on the Israeli Hair-Stylist/Anti-Terrorist  Death/Sex Machine was just pure awesomeness. I now dub Adam Sandler the Sandman. Because he did his magic sand thing on us, Sand is in his last name(duh) and let's face it, it sounds cool. 8 out of 10 from me to this very bad-ass film.

The Fountain

There are only two ways people will react to this movie. Some people may react like this:

What the Fuck? 0_0

Others will react like this:

How the fuck? 0_0

No I'm kidding. But there will be people like that. The Fountain is to me an amazing movie that I admit at times I was thinking WTF and later HTF but I am going to label it arthouse so it gets away with things like that. The plot is honestly at times hard to follow because it is three very different stories intertwined with each other. And when I tried to watch it a second time so I could clarify plot lines I kept being easily distracted as if I didn't want to. So far I've been giving the film negative comments but if you look aside all of that you'll understand that I'm saying this is a beautiful film of love, life and death artistically instead of conveniently depicted in the form of a 1000 year old odyssey starring Hugh Jackman presenting some fine moments in the film.

My attempt of explaining the plot is this. The three stories consist of a neural surgeon(Jackman) trying to find a cure to brain tumors for his wife who is indeed suffering of a rapidly growing tumor herself. During this his wife is writing a book entitled The Fountain about a spanish conquistador(Also Jackman) on a quest to find the Tree of Life. During all this, and this is the element that will throw people off, is an anonymous man (again Jackman) floating upwards in a nebula that the surgeon and his wife have seen. If you are willing to go past the fact that this film has some very eccentric qualities you will certainly enjoy the skilled acting from all the actors and the innovative ways in which the director has placed this movie.

Taking all this into account I am giving it a 7 out of 10 because though the acting was stunning and there is a particular scene in the bathroom that I thought was genius (see if you can pick it out) the plot just wasn't quite connected and the ending seemed to be too conclusive. Not Hugh Jackman's best work but still a great film.

The Bourne Identity

Well it's not one of the movies that are on my "get-around-to-it-sometime-like-now" list but my little brother requested it so I thought why not?

Well I don't need to explain much do I? Matt Damon (considerably sexy) plays Jason Bourne, a man found in the ocean with bullets in his back, his bank account number in his hip and no memory whatsoever. 

Some people say it's just another action movie helping some stupid hollywood somebody make millions but I say their no fun. It was a naturally good movie to watch and it actually had less action and violence then I expected. There were heart-felt moments where Damon showcased some real acting talent. 

I love the idea of a amnesia-suffering assassin slowly gaining his memories and discovering he doesn't like the person he once was. I mean I know it's very cliche' but what are you suppose to do? There's no way anyone would make a movie about a amnesia-suffering assassin who slowly remembers his past and loves it so goes on killing people and living the immoral life. Then again perhaps someone should just to shake things up but that's not what this review is about.

So yeah I liked it. It honestly surprised me. The only thing that bummed me out was the sappy ending. I mean if she was on the run then how would he find her? And in real life I'd think the girl would be crapping herself. The wanted assassin is back and yes he's cute but he's a wanted man. But it's a movie and it gets away with being unrealistic to a certain degree because it's a action movie respectively.

Over all I'd say it's a decent film, anybody can watch it and Matt Damon does a kick-ass job. What sucks is now I've done the first one I have to do the second and third so you'll be seeing those sometime soon I hope. So 7 out of 10. A good movie but not so amazing that you must see it. 

Courage Under Fire

This film I particularly wanted to see because it is the film that featured Matt Damon in his early days. The concerning thing about Matt Damon is he had to slim down to the point where he looked disturbing and needed medication for the role. In fact in a biography I watched on TV he actually made a phone call to his parents and cried because the sickening diet he had embarked on was making him feel so horrible. So that's the story behind this review as to why I was particularly interested in it.

The movie itself was pretty good. Starring Denzel Washington as a troubled officer fresh out of the Iraq war sent to investigate and tie up the ends to the story of a female pilot being considered to receive a medal of honor. But when he interviews the rest of her crew that survived and none of their stories seem to add up he looks deeper into the situation and finds something he wasn't suppose to find. 

Now of course it has a twist ending that I wasn't expecting and everything is tied up in a sappy ending with gravestones and hugs and saddifying yet moving music blablabla but besides that it was pretty good. It covers both styles of film creating a balance between serious scenes with lots of talking AND action packed flashbacks to keep you in the movie. Don't let the army thing throw you off. It's a great movie to watch if you can ignore the sappy ending and understand the military lingo.

A little side note that probably isn't crucial for you to know but I'm gonna' say it because I need to fill up space is that I loved the name! Most movies with military themes, well hell most movies in general have such shitty titles. But Courage Under Fire sounds so bad-ass and not only does it sound bad-ass it sums up the movie entirely. A clever play on words as the movie is based around the centre plot of a pilot and her crew who were under fire. And then the fact that the main character (Denzel) is trying to get answers from the survivors who really need to dig up some hardcore courage to tell the story of what really happened that night. Thus the awesome title Courage-Under-Fire. I know I sound dumb pointing out the obvious but this obviousness is also awesomeness.

But what I really want to personally mention so I know it's out there is that even though matt Damon did not get one mention by critics when the movie was released in 97' I think he did a pretty good performance. It's not the most amazing acting I have ever seen (Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys takes that title) but it was really good. He nailed the role and showed amazing dedication to it seeing as he lost 18 kilos or 80 pounds for the yanks. It just sucked he didn't get anything good out of it.

So over all its a good film that many people can enjoy. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10. Nothing incredible but still bad-ass enough for me to love.

Pump Up The Volume

Well after many attempts in catching this movie I finally saw it!! You can find it at supernovatube.com. That's where I caught it. 

Well I do have to say it wasn't what I expected. I was looking forward to another radio comedy like Air Heads(great film) but it was even better. It was a kick-ass deep film disguised as a teenagers revenge. Lots of naughty themes, teenagers swearing and plenty of dialogue spreading the message that adults suck.  Hit the screens right on 1990. The year, the void between the 80's and 90's where anything sucked and everything was evolving.

Starring Christian Slater as Harry Hard-On with a kick-ass soundtrack happening. You've got the Pixies, Sonic Youth, The Descendants and heaps of other great artists to remember I gotta say I really loved this film. It kept rolling on without getting me bored, had some serious moments but pulled right back before anyone started getting blubbery and Christian Slater does a pretty awesome job himself.

I don't want to say anymore because this is one of the few films I don't want to give away the ending to. But I'll just say this, the ending left me disgruntled about it afterwards. You can decide for yourself what you think so I'm giving 9 out of 10.

Yes you heard me 9 out of 10.

A great cult film for angry teens who couldn't be stuffed to do anything about everything but still like to rage on in their own lazy ways about anything. 

Definitely gotta' watch this one.

Proof of Life

Yes after a long day of doing nothing I decided to watch this flick and then call it a night. 

Proof of Life ws just a tiny bit below satisfactory. Starring Russell Crowe (at least we aussies have one good actor) as the leading man and Meg Ryan (not so good and well not so aussie either lol) as the whiny leading lady the story had so much potential yet didn't really take off. 

The story of a husband taken hostage by guerilla soldiers in a fictional south african area and the ex-militant (Crowe) sent over to negotiate with the kidnappers falling deeply in love with the hostage's wife(Meg Ryan) is well abit typical, unartistic, a movie for the sake of a movie. And I'm not saying movies for the sake of movies are bad, in fact sometimes entertainment for the sake of entertainment is exactly what we need. But the only fault is, it wasn't very entertaining. 

Now I hate to bash up Meg Ryan but it has to be done, just warning any MR fans out there(actually I don't mind bashing up Ryan at all). The problem with this film was I was expecting more action but that's just me. Now usually in a film when there is no action there will be mystery or emotion. And when the substitute for action is in play I remain satisfied. But there was no mystery, there was no emotion. Seeing Meg Ryan sob once or twice isn't cinematic emotion. That's just annoying over-rated acting. It seemed everything came at the near end.

Spoilers from here on in...

In the end when Terry(Crowe) and his men head into the hills to rescue the hostages you've got them all geared up with guns and camouflage paint and it's like a three part cliche' sequence to me...

Phase 1.

There's that whole stealthy-hiding in the bushes-sniper-like scene. 

Phase 2.

Then their cover is blown and it's all-out killing and running for their lives.

Phase 3.

Then finally it's all wrapped up with them all escaping to the helicopter then the cliche' moment where it looks like terry is about to die but the hostage(I'm sure by now you've realized I've forgotten his name) saves his life.

And that's the action sequence for the whole movie summed up in three easy steps. 

But there has to be some emotion somewhere in the film? you ask. And I guess there is the slightest little smidgen of good emotion. 

In the very last frame of the film.

When Alice(yes i finally remembered meg Ryan's character's name) is reunited with her husband she says goodbye to Terry and they know their love can never be *another cliche'* And as the married couple drive away Terry watches and pulls this great sad face. And as the sappy music plays the camera zooms out. Now it was a good "last-frame-face" but I'm not sure if Crowe was pulling it off in character or if he was pulling his "thank-god-this-is-over" face.

I'll let you decide.

And with that I'm giving it a 

6 out of 10.

It was at times boring so it only really gets to 6 because the action scene at the end was very kick-ass and Russell Crowe looks sexy in military gear.

12 Monkeys

Now most audiences avoid sci-fis. But unlike The day the Earth Stood Still this is a movie that was sci fi with a hint of emotional drama that wasn't crap.

Out in 1995 and directed by Terry Gilliam this movie hit the box office with great success. Launching itself with Bruce Willis as the lead, a prisoner from 2035 in a post-apocalyptic underground world is offered a chance to be set free by "volunteering" to be sent back in time to collect traces of the virus that ultimately sent his race underground. The bummer on his end is when he does get sent back in time the people of that year think he's crazy. And that's when he meets another mental patient (the one and only Brad Pitt)

Now the things to note in this film is that it was inspired by the french short film La Jette', that's why you'll notice the accordion music which plays multiple times. It has a great ending, shocking but satisfactory and I will be honest it's got a plot that you really need to think about. I didn't fully understand the plot and ending until I watched it a second time. Some of you might hate that, wanting an immediate conclusion so you can appreciate the movie but sometimes I think it's good to have a movie that is still making you think a couple days after.

Other then my usual thoughts I have to donate a paragraph to Pitt. His performance was hardcore. Brad actually went to Terry (the director) and requested the role. He said and this is a direct quote "I'm sick of being the blonde bimbo. I want to be appreciated for my acting, not my looks" And to prove it Pitt cut his hair himself and inserted brown contacts to hide is baby blue eyes. Not only did he prove he was committed to the role, he proved he was perfect for it. 

He actually hung around a mental institute to study his character and spent forever training himself for it. And when you see it on the screen you will understand. He did such a awesome job he won a golden globe for best supporting actor. And he bloody earned it. 

I was also surprised at Willis, commonly known for his standard action roles (the die hard legend lives on) he took on a different character who is actually vulnerable a lot of the time.

So I liked it, had to watch it twice to connect the dots but even so liked it. Awesome performances, halarious charcters and an aweosme storyline meshed with 90's.

10 out of 10 for Brad's work

8 out of 10 for B.B (Bruce Boy) 

8 out of 10 over all for me. 

It rocked, watch it.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

A message to you all. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM

Keanu Reeves is awesome, we know that.

Jayden Smith did a great job in Pursuit of Happyness, we know that.

Almost everybody you will know loves alien-related movies, we know that.

But if you havn't seen this movie then you won't know this.

IT SUCKED

Keanu didn't act, he walked around like a zombie. Smith jr. seemed like a whiney little kid to me (the graveyard scene is the worst emotional acting I have ever seen) and the plot just went on and on as if they were making it up as they went. Everytime something serious happened I couldn't help but laugh at how shit it was.

BEWARE OF SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON

For example Keanu goes into the forest. The other 2 stay at the edge of the woods and then all spooky and serious you see the creepy light shining through the trees. it reminded me so much of that simpson's episode where they think an alien comes out of the forest but it's really mr. burns drugged up on his old-man medication. I nearly snorted it was so bad. 

And of course there was a sappy sloppy drenched in empathy kind of ending. The alien realises the human race can learn from their mistakes and calls off the attack by sacrificing himself. #throws up# 

So I am labeling this

A Big Orb of Sappy Cliche' Gunk coated in a layer of Mainstream Sci-Fi at its worst

How could Keanu Reeves do this to himself. I reckon he so awesome he is a spaceman sharing his talents with planet earth but this was just sickening.

3 out of 10.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

And I thought modern films were crap. 

The film features a very morbid topic, aging backwards. It highlights themes of time, age, love, social adaption, adventure and wisdom blablabla. And of course it was another awesome job well done on brad Pitt's behalf. 

I'll be honest it was slow-paced, lacked action and was really bordering sappy slop. But I loved it anyway, if you take time to appreciate the little moments rather then the whole thing in one it really is a beautiful piece of cinematic art. Brad Pitt's convincing take on being an old man right down to a teenager was incredible. 

Oh i forgot to mention. It was directed by David Fincher ( I am a fincher fan) This being Pitt and Fincher's third film together I expected nothing less then kick-ass. 

A Question To The readers.

Now this is just me but I reckon motorcycles make guys, especially brad Pitt, look even sexier. Don't you?

Things to note.

I saw it on the second day after it was released in cinemas and the place was absolutely stuffed with people. Me and my friend got the crap seats at the front but the film was mesmerising enough for me to forget my neck was killing me. It is only M so it shouldn't be hard convincing over-protective parents that it's suitable to watch and I am warning you if you don't like slow-paced films that put emotion inducers before the plot then this is not the film for you. 

It makes me think of a snail that is beautiful enough to watch try to make its way to end ( i can even see brad Pitt sitting on top of this slow pretty snail rofl). So i am labeling this movie The Snail Element meets Brad Pitt at his best.

8 and a half out of 10 for me. It's nice to see 2008 did have some good films.

Pulp Fiction

Let's face it, it's a 90's movie. And 90's always helps. Another thing that supports it is the stars. You've got Samuel l Jackson. (A Legend) You've got Bruce Willis (also very kick-ass) Uma Thurman (who is thought to be sexy by a few guys I know) and another big name, John Trivolta ( sadly becoming an old-on the verge of beer belly-fallen star. And rofl lets not forget the scientology factor involved) Some of the monologues and one liners in this movie have been treasured and reenacted over and over..and over. 

And did I mention the man who directed it..no no.. the legend who directed it 

Tarantino.

Things to note.

Samuel L Jackson is king in this movie. And don't forget to look out for the Pulp Fiction theme song. It came out dead in the middle 1995 and was originally rated R. But I'm pretty sure the board of censorship has taken it back to MA seeing as times have changed and it wasn't really that bad in the first place. Unless your considerably pussy and wimp out at the site of blood.

I guess it's been labelled a modern classic but trust me, once you see it over 2 to 10 times you get bored with it.

I'm gonna' call it 90's arthouse meets unnecessary violence.

8 out of 10 for the first 2 times I saw it. 6 out of 10 for the other 8

Snatch

disclaimer: this is my first post so if it sucks please tell me.

Snatch well i personally loved it. Starring Brad Pitt as the pikey and Jason Statham as the main guy it's really a british violent movie about a diamond. And the many characters who's lives are affected by it. 

The way Guy Ritchie has used the camera to make fast-paced dolly shots and close-ups is awesome. A lot of up-themselves adult critics said it's a step-back for Ritchie because his previous movie was just like this but I haven't seen it so it doesn't apply to me.  

Things to note.

Brad Pitt did a awesome job. He pulled off the english/irish pikey accent really well and as always managed to look sexy through the process. There are some awesome lines from Statham as well and if you pay attention to the music you'll find it is very kick-ass. 

It came out in 2000 and It's rated MA but who seriously obeys rating restrictions these days? So if your under age i say screw that, watch it anyway. 

According to my sources it got pretty good critical acclaim and certainly they can't be bummed out about the profit they made.

I'm labelling it as a british medium violence black comedy worth seeing if your into that style of action and humour meshed together. And if you don't laugh at brad Pitt's take on the pikey accent I will kick you. 

You can find it at most DVD rentals and drop by sites like tudou or youku if you want to watch it online.

I'm giving it an over all 7 out of 10. But you have to be into this style of black comedy if you want to enjoy it, just warning you.

Check this link out, if you find the scenes in this 6 minute clip funny then this is definitely the movie for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8aGxZCyQkg&feature=related

Go watch it.