Justin at the Movies

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

// February 26th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Random Movie Musings

I am so excited for this it’s ridiculous. I told you, Jake, to read this book about a year ago. Remember? You definitely should, along with the other three people that will read this. This series is tremendous and it’s really to bad Stieg Larsson (the author) died before he could see the success of his books. This film is going to be awesome because it’s not an American film. Yes, that is a very relevant reason as to why this is going to be good. Hollywood wouldn’t have had the balls to do a lot of things that was in the book and that I hear is in the movie. Oh Europeans, please teach us how to make good film. Please?

Christoph Waltz

// January 19th, 2010 // No Comments » // Random Movie Musings

When I mentioned the great speeches of the night on my previous Golden Globes post, I have no idea how I forgot about Christoph Waltz. This guys acceptance speech is brilliant. His performance in “Inglourouis Basterds” is well worth the rental price alone. This guy is so good, and was one of the very few actually deserved awards of the night. Because of the injustice of me not mentioning him before, I have posted his speech to the right. Watch it. I love this guy, and I hope to see a lot more of him.

Iron Man 2

// January 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Random Movie Musings

I wasn’t a big  fan of the first ‘Iron Man,’ and I certainly didn’t like it as much as everybody else. I thought it was ok, but Robert Downey Jr. ruins it for me. This is a guy who is always the same quick witted-fast talking-smart ass, and nobody calls him on this. He has one character! We saw it in ‘Wonder Boys,’ ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Charlie Bartlett,’ and appears to be the same in ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ It drives me nuts. I am adding this trailer just because the trailer on my site needs to be changed. This trailer doesn’t impress me and the character of Robert Downey Jr…I mean Tony Stark drives me nuts. I will see this movie for Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, even though they will both be bit parts. I realize Mickey Rourke is playing Whiplash but I fear that it will be a movie of “here comes Whiplash,” the whole time and then he won’t appear until the last half an hour. I hope that doesn’t turn out to be true.

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.

Nine

// November 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Random Movie Musings

As a person who thoroughly enjoys musicals, I think this one looks fantastic, and the cast is amazing. I am excited to see Daniel Day-Lewis in a musical. I am very much anticipating this one.

Invictus

// November 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Random Movie Musings

If it weren’t for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I would give Clint Eastwood the filmmaker of the decade award. Anytime there is a movie with Clint Eastwood’s name on it, I will be the first in line to see it. This movie looks great, and features Morgan Freeman who is one of my favorite actors. Remember what happened last time Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman teamed up? I hope this one turns out just as well, and with Clint getting snubbed twice last year, nominations for him and his film are pretty likely.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

// November 9th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Random Movie Musings

This movie looks fantastic.

Shutter Island

// September 3rd, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Random Movie Musings

This movie looks awesome. It appears to be something totally different for Martin Scorsese, and that excites me. It also has a great cast. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Jackie Earle Haley, and Patricia Clarkson. Leonardo DiCaprio is awesome and a terrific actor, Mark Ruffalo is one of my favorites and hopefully this gets him some more recognition, and must I really say anything about Ben Kingsley and Jackie Earle Haley? Yes. Both are awesome actors and Haley is playing an institutionalized criminal. That’s going to be great. I can’t wait for this. It comes out February 19th. Watch this.

The Road

// August 29th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Random Movie Musings

Even though I didn’t care much for this book, I am very excited for this movie. The whole time I was reading it I was just thinking of how much of a better film this story makes. Maybe that’s just for me, I don’t know, but either way I am way excited for this. This has oscar bait written all over it. Watch it!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

// August 19th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Random Movie Musings

I had never seen a trailer for this movie until about two seconds ago, and I think it looks fantastic. As most people know, this is the film Heath Ledger was filming when he died. That’s one reason I want to see it, but truthfully, it just looks fun and ridiculously fascinating. I can’t wait to watch this. This looks like something Tim Burton would have done years ago, before he started making crappy movies. Watch this trailer.