The Others

My main criticism of the movie Frost/Nixon was the fact that it took too long (in my opinion) to go anywhere. It just seemed like the movie was mainly set up of the characters, with a great 20 minutes at the end. So I liked it in general, but I don't like movies that need to catch up.

The Others is similar in that regard. It takes awhile to develop. I really think I'm just impatient with movies in general, liking to be drawn in from the get go, so it's not necessarily a criticism of the movie. It's actually more of a compliment that I was put off by the beginning, but ended up liking it so much more.

The movie has a twist and that's all I'll really say. For those who've seen it, they get it, and for those who haven't, I like letting people experience it for themselves. But it's not obvious and is truly a surprise. And it works so very well. Everything falls into place, and it's something you go over in your mind to find any holes to it, but I couldn't. It was an extremely satisfying well put together movie that works on so many levels.

Nicole Kidman as the lead seems straight forward, but by the end, you realize the subtle levels to her character that aren't immediately noticeable. I felt she was kind of boring, but her actions and the actions with her children paint a broader picture by the end. The children were quite engaging throughout the movie as well. I didn't feel cheated or mislead by the conclusion. It all fit together nicely.

It just comes down to the simple statement: well structured, well done.



My Score: 80
Metacritic: 74

Bruno

No pictures will be uploaded. Very little effort into this blog. I watched the movie Hostile several years ago. It was a miserable experience for me...a lot of people liked it...I don't know why, but people have different views on things, I obviously have mine. To me Hostile was a series of brutally honest torture scenes held together by a weak script. I'm sorry, but I don't find torture at it's core an honorable human activity, and even less honorable trying to reproduce the experience just because.

Bruno is the same movie, but in a different genre...Cohen simply goes about being as absurd as possible...anal sex joke after anal sex joke. Swinger parties...whatever. Bruno is nothing more than a series of exploitation skits that you could get the same result just by browsing porn on the internet...it's mindless...easy to do, extremely easy...simply think something as absurd as possible, shoot it, then do it over and over and over for 90 minutes...it's a shame. Any portion of this could give you a laugh in installments of a minute segment, and that's it...but being repetitive it just wore me down worse than a marathon would be. And should be a mockery and an embarrassment to any homosexual out there.

And in this installment, it is completely obvious that none of the skits are real...at least in Borat it seemed like he was really "fooling" people...everyone was acting. I refuse to see another Cohen movie. People always mention that he "pushes" boundaries. I don't consider pushing boundaries being able to fit a wine bottle up your ass...

My Score: 0
Metacritic: 54

People have different views on things. Long story short, I like to laugh. I don't like to feel ashamed for the human race. I would give it a negative...but a zero means unwatchable. Fair enough.

Death Race in YO FACE

OK, so the title of this blog is absurd. But it's fitting. The movie is over-the-top, plus adrenaline, times testosterone. But it's actually held together well enough for me to say, "Hey, that was actually pretty fun." The story is far-fetched, but makes enough sense to pull you in. Make you curious.

Jason Statham makes a lot of movies playing the same character in about every one. The only reason I'm not tired of him is because I usually don't watch his movies, so I haven't seen much. His big break was in Snatch, by Guy Ritchie. To be honest, he is exactly the type of guy needed for this movie. He does a fabulous job of making a completely implausible movie just plausible enough to watch. He believes in the role, you can tell, and he puts forth a solid effort.

It's fun, fast, and the car, or should I say, land tank, races are pretty well done. There's three separate races, and all of them are different enough to keep things interesting, even though it's all on the same track. It really is like watching your friend playing a video game that he's really good at. You can just sit back and enjoy without having to learn the thing yourself. The ending isn't obvious, it keeps you interested, and the stunts are done full scale, with very little CGI (which I learned through the special features on my Blu-ray).

This is "fun". Nothing more, nothing less. There are no hidden meanings. It's ok to watch movies like that. I actually don't like these types that much, but either it hit me when I was in a good mood, but really, I think it was done just right.

My Score: 75
Metacritic: 43

Understandably not well received. But several good critics thought the same thing I did. I'm not really that far outside of the box on this one.

Drag Me to Hell

Ok, so horror movies have never been my favorite, but there has always been some strange part of me that is willing to let go of my fears and give them a shot, once in awhile. But considering it's not a favorite genre of mine, it's extremely difficult to find a good one to watch. Most horror movies don't get good reviews because they just aren't good movies. They go for shock appeal. A lot of times with very little story. And they are by far the majority of B-Movies. So when I saw startling high reviews for the perfectly named, "Drag Me to Hell." An immediate excitment was formed. I didn't know what to expect, except that the movies were directed by Sam Raimi, the director of the Evil Dead movies from the eighties. Which of course were B-movies with a low budget, but they had a strange quirky appeal.

Well the ratings for Drag were spot on. Once Raimi directed the Spiderman movies, the studios obviously didn't mind throwing millions into a project he believed in. So this is Raimi's high budget version of the Evil Dead. There are many frightening, suspensful, moments in the movie where Raimi uses the standard tricks to perfection: dead silence to thunderous noise, shadows creeping, terrifying nightmares, seances, you name it. But what's missing from a lot of horror movies is humor. Many of them take themselves too seriously. This couldn't be further from the truth for Drag.

He makes it fun enough, so when there is a look away moment for some gross scene, say, I don't know, when embalming fluid pours out of a deceased women's mouth onto the face of the unfortunate victim, it's a look away moment with a smile. You hide your eyes in your hands, but look up just enough to find it hilarious. I've never had so much fun watching a horror movie. The story is solid, the acting strong, and it was a complete joy to watch. And I have to admit, I looked away more times than a man should. But whatever.

And by the way, anytime a horror movie can include a talking goat it gets an extra half star in my book.

Ken's Score: 90
Metacritic: 83

Reviewers found the movie just as fun as I did, and for damn good reason.

Revolutionary Road

Not every movie has to have a happy ending. Not to ruin anything for you, if you haven't seen Revolutionary Road. But the whole movie has a relatively negative vibe to it. But I absolutely love the themes of the movie. They yell out to me. They pull me in.

I'm constantly off in my own world, wondering what else life has to offer besides the daily grind. During the entire film, Dicaprio and Winslett, a married couple that's lost their spark, search for something. Anything new. They were dreamers when they were young, and as many, they lost their passions once the kids came along.

Winslett wants desperately to get that back. Her grand idea is up and moving the family to Paris. Dicaprio is shocked by the change this idea brings along in his wife, but just the idea alone rekindles the passion that was lost in their relationship. He eventually agrees.

They both begin to dream big. Opening their minds to new possiblities. Then there's a sudden change of plans. Winslett becomes pregnant with their third child, and all their dreams vanish. Dicaprio refuses to have the child in Paris. Winslett literally falls apart that she was so close to realizing her dream. She even had the plane tickets in hand.

The movie is not just held together, but is made into a classic in my opinion, due to Winslett and Dicaprio's acting. This movie is my version of an action movie. The level of instability in their relationship put me at the edge of my seat. I didn't know how or what would happen. Their exchanges evoke every kind of emotion. I was drained by the end of the movie, and full of sorrow. But it was the kind of sorrow that is inspiring in a strange way, to not make the same mistakes these two did.

There are so many underlying themes that made me ask many questions: What would happen if they actually made it to Paris? Would their relationship succeed? Were they ever meant for each other in the first place?

Long story short, the movie made me think. It's stuck with me, regardless if these are really "good" people or not, they are real. And they were made real by the acting. They just never had a firm grip on the concept of happiness, which is what so many of us search for.

Ken's Score: 100
Metacritic: 69

Many critics didn't like the two main characters. Not the actors, but the characters as people. That's never a consideration to me, because a lot of people aren't great people. These were real people, making decisions that real people come to. It's gritty. One of my favorite dramas.

Taken In

I figured out why I liked Taken so damn much. Luc Besson wrote the movie. He was the writer/director of possibly my favorite movie, The Professional aka Leon. His characters have a simplicity to them and a drive that I like. The action always moves forward with purpose. There are no hidden meanings really. No multiple layers. They are just films that are designed to entertain. Action held together by enough story to move things along. There are different genres of movies for a reason. Taken simply puts Liam Neeson in the driver's seat as a bad ass ex-operative for the government. Long story short, they fucked with the wrong dude. His daughter disappears, yada yada, bodies fly, glass breaks, cars explode. The pacing is perfect. It's shot well. It's clean, does it's job, and left a smile on my face. A simple scene where Neeson visits an old "friend", and sits down to dinner with his chum, a French detective and his wife. The wife remembers him from the old days, makes him chicken and the three sit down to what seems like a very cordial dinner. Within less than a minute, guns come out, and Neeson needs information. First thing he does to prove his point, he caps the detective's wife in the shoulder..."flesh wound" he says. That type of random outburst fits the character, fits the mood, makes you jump back, say "wow", it's just down right fun. The movie never lets up, has a satisfactory conclusion and is believable enough to be a complete joy.

Ken's Score: 80
Metacritic: 50

Metacritic and I simply don't agree with some of Besson's work. Metacritic gave The Professional a 64, while I easily give it 100. Both are large gaps. I don't know if the critics need layers and extensive character development to give a good review or what. Some movies are supposed to be fun. And both of these films are done extremely well. These movies are my view of high quality mindless eye candy entertainment. They don't outsmart themselves, and that's what a lot of reviewers do. They make fun of Neeson for being bland, or his dialogue cheesy. Sorry but everything he does fits his character. Nothing sticks out as improper, and every emotion he expresses his understandable. He did what was expected and drove a powerful action film home. I'm happy I took the time to watch it despite the mixed reviews. If you like fun movies and like to get an "oh shit, can't believe that just happened" type moment every once in awhile. Please check it out.

Movie Review Format Explained

Ok. So it seems like every time I talk to someone about a movie I just watched, I have to give the Metacritic score. And if someone doesn't know what Metacritic is, well damn it, I'll explain it. It is a website that compiles reviews of a given film, CD, video game, or book. It's basically the consensus overall score from almost every major critic from every major publication. NY Times, Chicago Tribune, Roger Ebert...all the heavy hitters. I agree with the scores in general most of the time, within a 1/2 star normally (I mainly use it for movies). It's a score between 1 and 100. Anything 70 and up is quite good. 80 and up, exceptional. And when you get the rare 90 it's generally considered a classic. I like it because it's not just one random opinion. You can read the review of any specific person from the main page if you'd like. Most major movies compile between 30-40 reviews. So anyway. After I review a movie...I'll give my score, and I'll compare it to Metacritic. I like comparing my feelings against the masses. So that's that.