Justin at the Movies

I’ll Shutter At Your Island

// February 25th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Random Movie Musings, Recommendations

Justin’s Rating: 4/5

Jesse, my friend Matt, and I went to Shutter Island this past weekend. It was the quality that I expect from Martin Scorsese. The guy is a master filmmaker and knows exactly how to establish mood, tone, and everything else that goes into a great psychological thriller.  This movie has all the makings of a great movie, and even though it isn’t perfect, it is still a great movie. And Jackie Earle Haley, although he is only in the movie for about two minutes, gives a performance to die for. He is such a great actor and is always different and dissolves himself into his characters. I was thoroughly impressed with all the performances in the film, and it was great to see Mark Ruffalo (who is one of my all time favorites) get a big role in a big box office release. My praise was only half of the reason for this post, now for my other reason…

As everybody that knows me knows that I have a very love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with the critics. I will say that for the most part the good critics know what they are talking about, but then we have these schumcks from blackcountertoponthesidewalkcrack.com talking about things that they know nothing about. Usually I don’t care what these idiots have to say but when it plays a pivotal role in people’s perception of a great film it really bothers me. It plays that role through a little sight called rottentomatoes.com, which I have spoken out against in the past and I will do it again. Please don’t put any clout into their tomatometer or whatver it is called, because it can be way off, and it is again in regards to Shutter Island. If you take a look at the two most famous and respected critics on the planet (Roger Ebert and Peter Travers) they both gave the film 3.5/4 which is a great rating. Both praised the movie even though it may not be perfect. Many other respected and notable critics have also praised the film and have given it good marks. So why does it have a 66% on rottentomatoes then? Because of these jackass critics that know nothing of film. If you read their negative reviews on the film, they almost don’t make any sense. These people seem to have no idea what they are talking about. It just sounds like they are talking because they love the sound of their voice, which is kind of what I do, but dammit, I’m better at it. It is a severe injustice that people are looking at this sub-par rating and judging the movie accordingly without deciding for themselves. In my respected opinion, if you find yourself always agreeing with the critics or with the tomatometer, then get an opinion of your own, because clearly you don’t have one. If you can’t get your own opinion, then I will gladly let you borrow mine.

Last Week on DVD

// December 15th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Random Movie Musings, Recommendations

The Cove

by: Justin

Why do we think we can tell the Japanese what they can and can’t do? We decided that we can tell them that what they are doing, and what they have been doing for hundreds of years, is now wrong. Anything that is not the American way must be wrong. Right? Check out this very important documentary.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Jesse’s Rating: 3/5

by: Jesse

I’m having a hard time writing about this movie, partly because it’s been awhile since I saw it and partly because it’s the sixth movie in a series. I think that fans of the previous movies will be happy with this installment, and people who are fans of the books but have been disappointed by the movies, like me, might be pleasantly surprised. I don’t hesitate in voicing my disgust for the first three films. I can’t remember number four, but then decided to give six a chance. I watched number five before we went, and loved it. This one is almost as good.

I don’t think the Harry Potter movies will ever completely meet my expectations of what they should be, but the last two installments have renewed my faith. They’re getting darker and more complex. Daniel Radcliff isn’t quite as annoying as he once was. Therefore, if you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ll most likely enjoy ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’

Julie & Julia

Justin’s Rating: 2/5
Jesse’s Rating: 1.5/5

by: Jesse

I was very excited to see Julie & Julia. The previews made it look fun and girlie: just up my alley! I love quirky women and I’m a fan of Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Sounds like a *recipe* (ha ha) for an enjoyable movie-viewing experience. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed. For me, this movie holds little merit. Surprisingly, the acting was sub-par. Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Julia Child’s unique “accent” was extremely inconsistant, coming off British half the time and just plain annoying the rest of the time. Amy Adams’ performance was forgettable.

The biggest problem with ‘Julie & Julia,’ however, was the complete lack of story, or plot, or purpose. Why did this make a movie? Why should we care? I kept waiting for the conflict, for some sort of intrigue, anything to grab my interest. This movie is supposed to be about how one woman’s life inspires another woman to take a journey to find herself. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. I have no emotional response to this movie at all. That’s not a good thing.

Public Enemies

Read the review here.

World’s Greatest Dad

 *PICK OF THE WEEK*

Justin’s Rating: 4/5
Jesse’s Rating: 4/5

by: Justin

Have you ever watched a movie where the movie ended, and you attempt to talk about it with someone and it feels like you watched two completely different movies? This is that movie. This movie is hilarious, ,original, and disturbing all at the same time. Unfortunately, not everybody understands dark comedy. Not only is this movie dark humor, but it is also satirical. How many people in this world understand satire these days? I would dare say not very many. Which is unfortunate because this movie is awesome, and completely misunderstood by the majority of people who watch movies. Smart people get it, and smart people like it, and I like the company that puts me in.

Robin Williams gives his best performance since ‘Good Will Hunting,’ and it was so nice to see him do some serious acting again. I believe that he is one of the most underrated actors in hollywood. I don’t think there are many people that can convey emotion verbally and nonverbally as well as he does. This movie starts off as just a dark comedy, and then takes a completely unexpected turn and dives in the satire/social commentary world. As somebody who had a close friend pass away in high school, I identified with the commentary that was being made in this film, and I appreciated it quite a bit. Although this movie is not for everybody, it is hilarious and entertaining throughout. Although I could have done without the Robin Williams naked, I still recommend it. It is my pick of the week so I included the trailer. Watch it. Even the trailer is funny.

Paranormal Horror

// November 7th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Jesse, Recommendations

by Jesse

“Paranormal Activity” is the movie that is buzzing all over the country.  It started out small and unknown but, like “Napoleon Dynamite,” soon shot across the country like wildfire.  Previews for this movie include unsettling scenes from the movie, and scared audiences watching the movie.  ”Paranormal Activity” is about a girl and her boyfriend.  She thinks that there is something haunting her, so he decides to set up a camera to try and capture what’s happening.  The entire movie is filmed from the camera he totes around with him day and night.

Justin and I went to this movie on Halloween.  The theater was nearly full by the time the movie started.  There were these guys sitting next to me, and about 10-15 minutes into the movie, they were wondering if anything was ever going to happen in the movie.   The fact that the movie started “slow” for a horror movie was my first indication that this isn’t the typical horror movie. 

If it’s not a horror movie, then what is it?

Think about the biggest horror movies of today.  You might be thinking about the “Saw” series or maybe even the “Halloween” series.  The characteristic most prevalent in movies like these is violence.  Their goal is to shock the audience with horrifying violence.  They come up with the most horrible, and okay, creative ways to maim and kill people they can, and they zoom in on the violence so it’s right in your face.

“Paranormal Activity” is not a horror movie at all, but a psychological thriller.  And why?  Because “Paranormal Activity” is not violent or gory.  It doesn’t necessarily try to shock the audience with horrifying images.  While watching this movie, I was surprised that most of the time was spent on the two characters in the movie trying to live their lives with what was happening to them.  A very small percentage of the movie was the “scary” moments or images.  “Paranormal Activity” is more creepy or unsettling than it is shocking or disturbing or disgusting.  It doesn’t intend to make the audience jump out of their skin.

I like movies like this.  I can’t watch the gory, disgusting horror.  I don’t jive with that kind of violence.  “Paranormal Activity” gives the thrill of seeing something scary happen, and it’s scarier than watching a “Saw” movie or something like that because it stays with you.  The creepiness gets into your head a little.  I like to think of movies like this as the intelligent alternative to horror movies.  It’s not easy to scare people without constant horror or things jumping out at them.  The thing I like best about psychological thrillers is that while horror movies focus on the violence and the horror, psychological thrillers focus on the people in the horror.  “Paranormal Activity” focuses on two people, and what happens to their psyche and relationship when they have to deal with the horror that they can’t escape.

It reminds me of “The Blair Witch Project.”  I recently saw this movie for the first time.  I never wanted to see it before because it’s been made fun of so many times that I thought it was a joke.  I thought it would be stupid.  And, for some reason, lots of people hate this movie and think it is stupid.  I think it’s because they expected it to be more “scary” or “jumpy” and it just isn’t.  It’s about three film students who get lost in the woods while filming a documentary about “The Blair Witch,” a legend in the area.  They’re scared and alone, and they can’t get out.  The movie doesn’t focus on the possibility that the legend is real and the witch is going to get them, it focuses on how they handle their fear, and how their relationships with each other change because of the inescapeable situation.

So, if you want to watch a thrilling movie, without the extreme violence, I would recommend psychological thrillers.  There were people running out of the theater when “Paranormal Activity” ended…actually running.  I’ve never seen that before.  One girl behind us kept insisting to her boyfriend that the footage was real, it had really happened! and that’s why there were no credits at the end of the movie.  It was crazy.  If you are going to see this movie, I would recommend catching it in the theater.  The experience is definately worth it.

Belated Review #2

// September 7th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recommendations, Reviews

(500) Days of Summer

Justin’s Rating: 5/5

Wow. I should have written this a long time ago when it was still fresh in my mind. There is so much that can be said about this movie that can’t really be put into words. You should just see this movie. The actors are one thing that I can definitely praise about this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is my favorite young actor, and proves again in this movie why he is one of, if not, the best young actor in Hollywood. The guy is so diverse in everything he does, and he does them all so well. In ‘Killshot’ he plays a white trash, hillbilly, murdering nut job, and in this film he plays the goofy, sweet, hopeless romantic looking for love. I love to watch everything he does. He will win multiple academy awards. Yes, MULTIPLE. Write it down. You heard it hear first.

Zooey Deschanel plays Summer and is absolutely fantastic as she usually is. She is cute and talented and all that jazz, however, I do have a complaint….actually two complaints. 1- Does she have to sing in every freaking movie that she is in? We get it, she has a beautiful voice. After awhile it has just begun to come off as self indulgence. 2- She is always the same character. She is always the weird, offbeat, cute girl. That’s all she does. Don’t get me wrong, I love her and she is a fantastic actress, I would just like to see her do something completely different and show me that she can.

To sum up the absolute nothingness that I have said, this movie is hands down the best film of the year so far. It will most likely change in the upcoming months but this film is just short of brilliance. This is a movie I could watch every weekend and never get tired of it. It’s hilarious, frustrating, authentic, heart wrenching, and beautiful all at the same time. Summer is one of the more complex female characters that I have seen in film, and I loved the fact that she felt so real. We didn’t get to see her motivations and the reasons why she does what she does. It felt just like real life and it made both of their characters more true to life. I absolutely loved this film and the chemistry between Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who I have dubbed Jo-Go, it’s just so much easier to say) and Zooey Deschanel is a director’s dream. I haven’t seen that kind of chemistry in a long time. Once again, this film is PG-13 so I would recommend it to everybody. Don’t miss this one, you won’t regret it, I promise.

This Week On DVD

// September 1st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Recommendations

State Of Play

 Justin’s Rating: 4/5

Surprise, Surprise. This movie is so full of surpises it’s ridiculous. The first surprise is at how good it actually is. When I saw the trailer for it when it was in theaters, I couldn’t figure out what it was about so I wasn’t that interested. Then Peter Travers had his quote on the cover box. He called it “a gripping thriller…,” so I knew I had to give it a chance. Just a little side note, Peter Travers is the only credible critic out there. If he has a positive quote anywhere on a movie you are looking at, pick it up. The guy never steers me wrong. Anyway, the second surprise was Ben Affleck’s acting. For the first time in his career, he actually made me believe that he was a character and not Ben Affleck. He actually does a pretty good job in this movie. I have to give him credit, as much as I hate to. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth surprise all come from the story itself. The plot is about a murder and all the important people that may be involved. It feels very John Grisham-esque in a very good way. I found myself 100% intrigued from start to finish. Solid writing, directing, and very sound performances from the whole cast. If you are looking for a good PG-13 political thriller, don’t miss this one.

Earth

 Justin’s Rating: 4/5

I highly recommend this film to anybody that has any interest in anything at all. So, I guess that would be you. I am a huge fan of the ‘Planet Earth’ series, and this film just feels like a condensed version of that. It goes all around the globe giving time to so many different and amazing things on this planet, but focuses a little more on a polar bear family, an elephant family, and a family of whales. There is so much to be taken from this film, and it manages to get all it’s points across without being preachy or making me feel bad for being a human being. It’s amazing to watch how animals and certain species act in their natural environments. I learned a lot from this film, and it made me appreciate a lot of different things. Very successful, very entertaining, very educational, and at a short 90 minutes, it would be very silly not to give this a go. It’s worth every minute.

Sin Nombre

Justin’s Rating: 4/5

How much do I love foreign films? Quite a bit, is the answer to that question. I like seeing the different cultures and the different problems they face within that culture. Sin Nombre is no different. The story is about a boy nicknamed “Casper,” and struggling with gang life in South America. I really felt like this film gave me a chance to experience something that I never would have the chance to experience. Casper is a member of the MS 13 gang, which if I am not mistaken, is now the biggest and most violent gang in the world. It was very interesting to see the way of life and to see what they struggle with. This film, for me, was very reminiscent of ‘City of God,’ just not as good. However, this is a very solid film and I would highly recommend it to most people, especially film enthusiasts. This movie is excellent from start to finish, and the direction is superb.

**It’s a good week for dvd releases. Also just released is Zach Galifinakis’ stand up. I am not really sure how to review a stand up dvd other than with the comment that it is absolutely hilarious. He is one of the funniest comedians out there, and his hit movie ‘Then Hangover’ hit’s dvd Oct. 6th. **

District 9

// August 16th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Recommendations, Reviews

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Justin’s Rating: 3.5/5

‘District 9′ is a complex plot that I have found myself struggling to summarize. But essentially what happens is that an alien spaceship stopped over Johannesburg, South Africa in 1982. Under all the pressure to figure out what was going on, we humans boarded said ship and “rescued” the aliens. We put them in a refugee camp which made all the humans nervous and wanting all the aliens to go back to where they came from. Which incidentally, is exactly what the aliens want as well.

I am not a fan of the Sci-Fi genre as a whole, it’s just not my thing. However, every once in awhile there is a movie that comes along and transcends the stigma of it’s genre. ‘District 9′ is that movie. The movie starts out in documentary style and follows Wikus Van De Merwe as he is selected to serve all the aliens eviction notices and to tell them that they are being moved to a different refugee camp because of the protests from the residents of Johannesburg. I felt that the movie starts out rather slowly and almost made me lose interest in it altogether. However, at about thirty minutes in the film really takes off and lands violently. After that initial thirty minutes, ‘District 9′ is an all out thrill ride. It is packed with action and is as intense as any movie you are likely to find this year. While the action is great, and the story is great, the movie is really anchored by an all out balls-to-the-wall performance by Sharlto Copley. His performance as Wikus Van De Merwe cannot be praised enough. He delivered his performance with absolutely everything he had, and he did an incredible job. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future.

People have been telling me that they have been seeing ‘G.I. Joe’ for the action. Well, if you want to see a movie with just as much action (if not more) combined with good acting and a well developed story, then ‘District 9′ is the movie you have been waiting for. Although the movie isn’t perfect, it is relentless, and succeeds exactly where it means to.

Hamlet

// July 25th, 2009 // No Comments » // Recommendations, Reviews

Director: Michael Almereyda
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Bill Murray, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles
Rated: R
Justin’s Rating: 4/5

Hamlet is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, so it’s quite difficult to translate that into the movie format. However, this one is done quite well and is the a great take on a great story.
Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet and does as good a job as you can expect. Granted he does seem to lack the rage that I always invisioned Hamlet had inside of him, but he does a great job showing his internal struggle with his physical acting. It’s pretty clear that Ethan Hawke understood almost every word that he spoke. He used all of the right emotion and voice inflection. Ethan Hawke is a great actor and proves it well here.
I also love the fact that they modernized the film but still used the original Shakespearean language. Every word in the movie is straight from the original text. Liev Schreiber as Laertes is the other acting highlight of the film. I have been screaming at how good of an actor this guy is for years, and although this movie was still when he was relatively unknown, he seems to be getting more work today. I am starting to get used to being ahead of the rest of the world.
The only thing that hurts this movie is the performances of Julia Stiles as Ophelia and Bill Murray as Polonius. Julia Stiles delivers all of her lines exactly the same. They never have any emotion in them, and she always furrows her brow and looks like she has no idea what she is talking about. And she always stops in the middle of her line for a dramatic pause, and then finishes. Then there is Bill Murray. I think Bill Murray is a terrific actor and anybody that doubts his ability just needs to watch any Wes Anderson Film and/or Lost in Translation. The guy can flat out act, but he should not be in this movie. His line delivery is all over the place in this movie and is often times, the emotion in his voice is not consistent with what he is saying. It is obvious that he had no idea what he was saying. They were just words to him so that’s what they are to the audience. Just words and nothing more.
I first watched this film about eight years ago and I was to young to properly follow the dialogue. I was very glad I re-watched this film and was able to enjoy it for the entertaining and original take on a classic Shakespeare play. I recommend this movie to anybody that wants to watch a Shakespeare play put into action in the modern day world.

This Week On DVD

// July 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Recommendations

Watchmen
Director: Zack Snyder
Rated: R

There is no picture because the stupid thing won’t let me add an image. It’s wonderful, I love it. Anyway, I have previously written exactly how I feel about this movie, so if you are curious you can go find it. This movie should be watched for Jackie Earle Haley alone. He is absolutely fantastic.

Coraline
Director: Henry Selick
Rated: PG

As everybody knows, I am not a huge fan of animated movies. However, I am a huge fan of Coraline. This movie is absolutely awesome. It’s a pretty strong ‘PG’ and could be frightening to children, so I would recommend this more for teenagers and adults. This movie has it all though, it’s funny, scary, interesting, original, and great. This movie easily has my vote for best animated film of the year, and hopefully the academy follows suit. I very highly recommend this movie. You will not be disappointed.

This Week on DVD

// June 23rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Recommendations

Waltz With Bashir
Rated: R
Rating: 4/5

Back when I wrote about ‘Up’ I said that I wished that somebody would make an animated movie for adults. Well, there are some and I have seen the majority of them. They usually tend to be foreign. That is one of the reasons that I love foreign movies so much. They dare to do things that American’s don’t, and their films tend to be a lot more original. Waltz With Bashir is absolutely no exception.

Waltz With Bashir is about a man who was in the Israeli war against Lebanon. It is years later and he is travelling around Israel to talk to old war buddies in hopes that they can help him remember exactly what happened. Waltz with Bashir is an Israeli film and is absolutely stunning. The animation is awesome, and the story is really simple and quick paced. This film was the first animated film to ever be nominated for the Academy’s Best Foreign Language Film. Knowing that this movie lost to Okuribito makes me really excited to see that movie, because this one was wonderful. It’s definitely not a film for everybody, but if you watch film to appreciate art, then I highly recommend this one.

Space Cowboys

// June 21st, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Recommendations, Reviews

Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner, Donald Sutherland, Marcia Gay Harden
Rated: PG-13
Rating: 4/5

I remember when this movie came out and my dad said something about it. I don’t really remember what it was but I remember calling it an “old dude” movie. In a sense I was both right and wrong. It is an old dude movie, but an insanely entertaining old dude movie. If I would have watched this years ago I would have been incredibly surprised at how fun it is. But since I know now what Clint Eastwood is capable of, I wasn’t expecting any less.

This movie is about four old dudes who missed their chance to go into space back in 1958, and are getting their chance now, 40 years later. They have to go up into space because the guidance system on the satellite was created by Eastwood’s character and is now outdated, so he is the only one that can fix it. However, he will only do it if he can take his old crew with him. This movie is nothing more than pure fun and entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed myself while watching it, and I get the feeling I am going to enjoy it more and more with the older I get. I have never like Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland more. Both are fantastic. I am sure some will complain about how there doesn’t really seem to be any sense of urgency, but that’s because that isn’t really the point. This movie is supposed to be fun, and not a whole lot more. And it accomplishes that with great success. I also really liked they Clint Eastwood handled the more emotional involved scenes. He really could have become carried away in it and been overly sentimental, but he avoided that and the scenes still worked perfectly. I highly recommend this movie if you are in the mood to just watch a movie and have a good time. Well, actually, I recommend this movie not matter what mood you are in.