The Other Guys

dumb to be sure, but funny

will ferrell and marky mark star in this buddy cop film. their characters aren't original or anything, but wahlberg steals the show in one of his few hilarious roles. eva mendes plays ferrell's smoking hot wife for no reason, but she's incredible eye candy so i aint complaining! also the rock and samuel l. jackson have small roles at the beginning and are pretty damn funny. the film isn't anything groundbreaking, but funny and entertaining.

Hard Eight

good slight drama

hard eight is paul thomas anderson's first feature film and it's a good drama about a young man (john c reilley) who's down on his luck outside of meets up with sydney (philip baker hall) who teaches him how to make money at gambling. he becomes like a father figure to john, but he may have some ulterior motives for this. the film is kinda slight in nature, but well acted and paced. very good early film from reilley and PTA.

The Crazies (2010)

totally different from the original, but still good

the crazies remake is pretty damn good for a horror remake, and i really liked the realism and intensity, even though they made it more of a straight up thriller/horror film. the crazies were easy to identify, and the scares took the main stage, but it was really well executed so i like it. i also liked that there weren't any really big name actors or too many cliches. good job.

The Crazies (1973)

pretty good thriller from george romero

although george a. romero doesn't stray too far from the zombie genre, he does tend to do a good job no matter what. the crazies isn't a zombie film, but rather a story about a virus outbreak that turns people insane and a small town that gets infected. the military swoops in and keeps the people in the dark while rounding them up and killing many of them. a good theme in this film is, 'who is really crazy?' and even though the special effects are dated and not impressive, it's still a good story and decent film. we'll see how the remake turned out.

The Departed

Hitch

She's Out of My League

Ponyo (Gake no ue no Ponyo)

cute, but beautiful anime film

once again i am amazed by the films of hayao miyazaki. his films (and plenty of other anime features) are so much more impressive than the pixar/dreamworks crap they keep churning out. i was once again reminded why i love traditional animation. ponyo is a young goldfish in the ocean who wants to be human like her new friend sosuke. she tastes his blood while healing his cut, and she begins to transform into a mermaid/girl. she and sosuke have an adventure trying to get to his mother during a major flood caused by the father of the sea. it's a little too childish for my tastes, but it's a fun heartfelt film by a unique master.

Stranger Than Fiction

good idea...

will ferrell is great in this film as harold crick, a fictional character made up by an author (emma thompson) who's a very boring mild mannered IRS worker. his organized life starts spiralling out of control when he hears emma's voice narrating his life. there is a lot of win in this film, but sadly some fail. films like this always have a strange need to fill casting spots with weird out of place actors. like having queen latifah as the author's assistant. her character was completely unnecessary and just annoying. dustin hoffman was actually pretty good as another quirky professor (similar to his role in i heart huckabees). the unexplained stuff was kinda weird, like how did harold become real and was the author some sort of god? who cares, will ferrell was great in a mostly dramatic role, and his romance with maggie gyllenhaal's hippy character was enjoyable. more good than bad overall.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

guy ritchie makes a more commercial film

robert downey jr. seems to be able to do no wrong these days. he stars as sherlock holmes in this action packed film based on the classic detective character. he and watson (jude law) are through with their final case as partners, a supernatural satanist serial killer is finally brought to justice... but days after his execution, he rises from the dead and it's up to holmes to figure it all out. the funny parts are funny, the action scenes are cool, and overall it's a well made film. it just feels a bit too 'hollywood' and commercial. i really enjoyed guy ritchie's early films, and this one has elements of his style, but quite mainstream. this is a good start for a new series of sequels to come though.

The Road

heartbreaking, well acted, but not perfect

obviously no movie is perfect, but the road has a lot going for it. it's nearly flawless in my opinion. the biggest problems are the ending, and the kid that gets more annoying as the film goes on. viggo mortensen stars as the man, along with his son they are navigating their way through post-apocalyptic america in search of heat, shelter, and warmth. the world they live in is always cold with very little light and almost nothing is alive. we don't know what happened to the world, but almost everything is now dead. the man was married to a woman (charlize theron) who couldn't handle the hopelessness that this new world brought, and eventually ended her life. now the man and his son are on the journey to survive. they encounter gangs of cannibals who are searching for any food available. the film is very dark, and plays out kinda like a thriller. the kid gets very annoying as the film goes on... he says 'papa!' in almost every scene, and it gets very cliche. overall a good movie, but the ending also isn't that satisfying.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

flawed, cliche, but not too bad

precious is a fat black teenage girl who's pregnant with her second child. she's illiterate, and her babies' daddy is her father. her mom is abusive, and she discovers she has HIV. talk about overkill! precious isn't even that much of a likeable character, despite all her problems. it's a sad movie, and one genuinely tearjerking moment... overall the film has lots of cliches, such as the overly sympathetic teacher who thinks education is the most important thing. the movie is sad, but also kinda funny in parts. the 'daydream' scenes are kinda weird, they break the story so much and interrupt the flow. i think it's a good story that should be told, but the problems facing precious are too immense, and makes everything unbelievable. gabby sidibe, the woman who plays precious, does a great job, and so does mo'nique as her mother. mariah carey however is horrid. she can't act. removing your makeup doesn't make you believeable, it just makes her annoying and pretentious. she shouldn't make a career out of this.

Astro Boy

low expectations, wasn't too disappointed.

i've been a fan of astro boy for years now, and when this movie came out i was kinda excited to see the characters come to life. the reviews were poor, and i figured my beloved memories wouldn't be realized in this modern 3d film. i was pretty much right, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless. nicolas cage sucks in general, but he's even worse as a voice over actor. he's HORRIBLE as astro's scientist father. freddie highmore is great as astro however. the plot is fairly predictable, and they use so many cliches from kids movies of old... evil politicians, environmental problems that must be addressed, and friendship... there are many similarities to the film artificial intelligence... so it's obvious that we're not getting originality here. but the action is fun, and astro boy is just awesome in my opinion anyways.

Casshern

epic anime style action movie, but...

casshern is a beautiful movie, and it's obvious that it was made by a music video director. the action is intense, and pure style over substance, like an mtv music video... but there is a lot of good in casshern. the story takes place in the dystopian future, where mankind is at war and a scientist, dr. azuma, is working on 'neo-cells' that will revive any human body parts and heal people. his son tetsuya goes and dies in the war. dr. azuma's liquid works and he accidentally creates a new breed of neo-sapiens who vow to destroy mankind, and tetsuya is revived as casshern, an incredible warrior who must take down the neo-sapiens and end the war once and for all. the film is epic, and for the most part it's awesome... but i think they tried to cram too much into this film. there is drama, romance, war, action, sci-fi, animation, etc. all in one film, and i think they shoulda focused more on the action personally. casshern is a badass, and the scenes with him are awesome, but some of the drama is so over the top, soap opera-ish that it takes away from the cool stuff. like i said, the film is style over substance, and that's fine if they stick with it. when they try to half ass the substance, it shows.

Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam)

john woo and chow yun fat do it again

chow yun fat stars in this cop action extravaganza directed by john woo. it's not as good as 'the killer', but it still has plenty of good action and explosions. tequila is a hard boiled cop who's after gun smugglers after his partner got murdered by mobsters. the main showdown takes place at a hospital with a high body count, and tons of explosions. kinda ludicrous, but overall a good action flick.

Supervixens

big tit thriller from russ meyer!

supervixens is the tale of clint ramsey and his misadventures with women. he's in a relationship with superangel (played by shari eubank in a dual role), she's a nagging jealous bitch of a woman... but a policeman ends up murdering her and frames clint for the murder. now clint is on the run and keeps meeting buxom women who want to fuck him... but he refuses each one. until he meets supervixen (also played by shari) and they have a wonderful life, until the pig shows up again to ruin it all. not much to the story, mostly just lots of hot chicks w/ big breasts. it's overall very entertaining and sexy, and pure russ meyer.

9

awesome animation, design and concept, but......

9 is a cgi animated film about 9 ragdolls, created by a scientist, living in a post-apocalyptic world trying to survive. the final ragdoll creature '#9' (voiced by elijah wood) has just awoken in this strange place and he meets up with some of the others. they all can speak and think like humans, but are small and have different personalities. they are on the run from an evil creature, until #9 accidentally unleashes something much larger and fierce. the leader #1 (christopher plummer) is stubborn and refuses to let the others try to save #2 (martin landau) when he is captured, blah blah blah. the story is slight, but full of good action and beautiful animation. the main problem is the fucking ending! jesus, it was horrible. i won't give it away, but let me say that it was not at all satisfying. that's not necessarily the point of this film, but damn it was a letdown.

on the plus side, the voices are good, especially john c. reilly (#5) and crispin glover (#6). anything crispin is in becomes instantly improved, so i can't fault this film too much.

Big Fan

patton oswalt impresses

in big fan, patton oswalt plays (quite convincingly) paul aufierio, a 30 something man whose only real passions in life are the new york football giants, and calling in a local sports radio show to talk smack on the air. along with his friend sal, played by one of my favorites kevin corrigan, they devote all their time to cheering for their favorite football team. paul is a pathetic loser to most, but he doesn't see himself that way. he lives with his mother still, doesn't own a car, and has a shitty job as a parking attendant on staton island. he doesn't want a life like his brother, who is a seedy lawyer that dumped his wife for his mistress. things change drastically for paul when he and sal follow their favorite giants player to a strip club, and he gets his ass kicked by his hero. now he doesn't want to press charges, because this will hurt his team! the film is mostly a drama, even though the material is often humorous. paul is a great character. he is a total loser, we hear people like him on the radio every day, but 'big fan' gives him depth. paul goes so far for his passion on the radio and for the giants that he takes some drastic measures towards the end of the film. the only problems i had with the film were the unresolved conflicts in the story. i really like how true to football fans this movie is. they don't do the typical hollywood bullshit, the filmmakers know their stuff and the details are spot on. overall it is worth a look.

Extract

good, not great

i like mike judge's movies... not so much the cartoons, but movies are good. extract isn't as funny as office space or idiocracy unfortunately, but it is enjoyable to be sure. jason bateman (who i really like for some reason) stars as joel, the really likeable owner of a flavor extracts business. the business produces, bottles, and distributes the stuff in one building that joel basically built himself. unfortunately he's in a now sexless marriage and his life is getting kinda shitty. he meets a flirty girl (mila kunis) who he wants to maybe get with, but to feel comfortable about it he tries to get his wife to cheat first. turns out mila is a conwoman who is causing all kinds of problems for joel and his company when one employee gets his balls shot off in a freak accident at the plant, and she convinces him to sue for millions. gene simmons has a role as the greedy accident lawyer, and david koechner plays the incredibly nosy/annoying neighbor (rather well btw). the movie is very likeable, somewhat predictable, and never really hilarious or groundbreaking.