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MrWhite2
Reviews
Basic (2003)
Better than I thought!
Before I saw this movie I thought it was going to be terrible! Mostly because of John McTiernan's last film, Rollerball, which was probably one of the worst filmed and thought out movies made. Another reason was because of John Travolta's downward slope since the absolutley unbearable "Battlefield Earth". The only reason I went to see 'Basic' was because of Samuel L. Jackson is one of my favorite actors of all time. But, when those credits started to role at the end of feature, I thought to myself, "That wasn't that bad. Actually, it was kind of good." The film had very interesting plot twists. The plot twists never stopped though. Hell, it had more twists than a bag of pretzels. The story is about a army trained DEA Agent Tom Hardy (John Travolta) who with the help of Lt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen) investigates the disappearance of a training Sgt. named West (Samuel L. Jackson) and his soldiers during a training mission in a rain forest. Only two of Sgt. West's soldiers are found Dunbar (Brian Van Holt) and a General's son Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi) and they are questioned by Tom and Lt. Osborne, and both survivors give different stories about what happened in that rain forest. But who are Tom and Lt. Osborne going to believe? The film also stars Timothy Daly, Taye Diggs, Roselyn Sanchez, Harry Connick, Jr., Dash Mihok and Cristian de la Fuente. The film is good, but isn't very good. I recommend you wait for DVD. Grade: C+
The Hours (2002)
An Outstanding Work of Art!
This film is most likely one of the best films to come along in years. Every aspect of this movie just shines with perfection. The writing is intruiging,the directing is great, but the thing that really stands out is the acting: Three great female performances are givien by Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. Also Ed Harris gives such a pure and magnificent peformance that he deserved the Oscar. The story is kind of complex. The story takes place in three time periods (1923, 1951 and 2001) and each story stars each of the leading ladies. The First story is set in 1923, when writer Virgina Woolf (Nicole Kidman in her Academy Award Winning performance) is writing her book "Mrs. Dalloway", which is about a depressed woman trying to plan a party. While writing the book Virgina suffers severe depression, and ends up commiting suicide by walking into a river with rocks in her pockets after she finishes her novel. The Second story is set in 1951 where a depressed house-wife (Julianne Moore) is planning a little party for her husband (John C. Reilly) while reading Virgina Woolf's novel "Mrs. Dalloway". She really relates to the book, because like Virgina, the author, she also feels the same way she did. The Third story is set in 2001, and is about a lesbian woman (Meryl Streep) who is planning a party for her dear homosexual friend dying from the AIDS virus. During this, she realizes she is living the same life as Mrs. Dalloway in Virgina Woolf's book. The film is filled with great scenes and interesting plot twists. The only downside is the severe depression of this film. I have seen an uncountable number of films in my life so far, but this is by far the most depressing movie I have ever seen in my entire life! That is counting the holocaust movies! Do not go see this if you are in a bad mood, because you'll probably end up crying or questioning the meaning of life on the car ride home.
Alot of people say this is a chick flick, but this film couldn't be more far from a chick flick. The thing this film contains the most of is people wanting or trying to commit suicide and girls kissing each other (in all three stories; Virgina kisses her stepsister on the lips in the first story; Julianne Moore kisses her female friend on the lips after she tells Julianne Moore she has a tumor in her uturus; Meryl Streep briefly kisses her girlfriend played by Allison Janney). The film is a memorable art house film, but again very depressing. See at your own risk. Grade: A.
Jackie Brown (1997)
An Excellent Tarantino Movie!
This is actually very different from Quentin Tarantino's two earlier films 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Reservoir Dogs'. First of all, it isn't nearly as violent as those films, but still has some intense brutal violence. Second of all, this wasn't an original screenplay, it was an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel 'Rum Punch'. This really didn't differ all that much from Rum Punch, accept Jackie Brown was white instead of black. I think this different kind of Tarantino movie is actually a masterpiece! I think this is a fantastic film, with great writing, directing and especially acting (like all of Quentin's films). The story is about a middle-aged black woman Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) who is a stewardess for a crummy airline that flies from L.A. to Cabo San Lucas. When she gets caught by two police detectives Nicolette (Michael Keaton) and Dargus (Michael Bowen) for transporting drugs and money for a brutal thug Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) she ends up in jail. When she gets out of jail on bail, an older bail bondsman named Max Cherry (Robert Forrester) who is Ordell's bail bondsman as well, falls for her. Out of jail, she must help Nicolette to catch Ordell, but if Ordell finds out her plan, he will have absolutley no problem killing her. With the choices of helping Ordell and risking going to jail and helping Nicolette and risk getting killed, she decides to play them both and work with Max to get $500,000 from Ordell, turn Ordell into the cops, and run off with the money. This film also stars Robert DeNiro as Ordell's partner in crime, Louis, Bridget Fonda as Ordell's girlfriend, Melanie, and Chris Tucker as a loud mouth petty thief, Beaumont Livingston. Great performances given in by Pam Grier, Robert DeNiro, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Bridget Fonda and especially, Robert Forrester in the role which earned him an Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor of the Year in 1997. This film is great, and I highly recommend you see it. Although not as good as 'Reservoir Dogs' or 'Pulp Fiction', this is still going to be a memorable Tarantino film. Rent it Today (But see 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction' first). Grade: A-
Old School (2003)
An Excellent New Comedy starring SNL's Will Ferrell!
This is a really funny movie! I laughed so hard I thought I was going to cry! The story line is very unbelievable but simply hysterical. The story is about a man named Mitch (Luke Wilson) who catches the early flight home and catches his slut girlfriend (Juliette Lewis) inviting the neighbors home for a gang bang. He flips out and they break up. Since his girlfriend keeps the house, he has to move out to a very crummy apartment, which his newly married friend Frank (Will Ferrell) and his other married friend Beanie (Vince Vaugn) help him move into. When they are getting kicked out of the house by the Dean of the university down the street (Jeremy Piven) because the area is being made for university students, they decide to start a fraternity. The members of their fraternity are the strangest people ranging from an midget from India, a really obese black man and a 89 year old elderly man named Blue. The movie is for people who loved comedys like Road Trip and National Lampoon's Van Wilder! It is also for others too. I really recommend this movie to anyone looking for a good movie to go see. Grade: B-
Gods and Generals (2003)
What are the critics talking about? This is a great civil war epic!
When I first went to see this film I thought it was going to be really bad, because what the critics said about it. I was even more upset when I called for the showtimes and it said it was "four hours" including previews. Although, I was very pleased there was a 12 minute intermission in the middle, and my bladder was very pleased too. When I saw the movie though, I was impressed. I thought it was a really good. I found it fascinating (then again I find the Civil War very interesting). The film isn't the best war film, but it is pretty good. I don't think there was a moment that lasted over two minutes where I wasn't bored or frantically looking over at my watch. The film is pretty much a biography of the last two years of General "Stonewall" Jackson's (Stephen Lang) life and how he was second in command, next to General Robert E. Lee (Robert DuVall) of the South. Another big part in the movie is Jeff Daniels as a colonel of the North. Other actors such as Jeremy London (Mallrats), Frankie Faison (Hannibal Lector Trilogy), Ted Turner and Miro Sorvino are in this. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a civil war buff, finds the civil war interesting and anyone willing to sit through a great four hour movie. I still can't believe Entertainment Weekly gave it a weak 'D+'. I couldn't disagree with them and the other critics more. But, then again, what are critics paid to do, "criticize". Grade: B
Red Dragon (2002)
The third installment to the Hannibal Lector trilogy is frightingly delicous! **spoiler?**
The third installment of the Hannibal Lector trilogy, and prequel to both 'Silence of the Lambs' and 'Hannibal' is a great thriller, that is unfortunatly underrated by most critics. In my opinion, this chapter in the horrifying series is better than 'Hannibal' but slightly not as good as 'The Silence of the Lambs'. Red Dragon definetly has the most acting talent - Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keital, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also, Red Dragon has the least blood and gore, but is probably the scariest film of all of them. The story is about a young hero cop Will Graham (Edward Norton) who in the beginning of the film catches Hannibal Lector (Anthony Hopkins), but leaving both Hannibal and him severly injured. After catching Hannibal, Will decides to retire. About a year into retirement his old cop buddy Lt. Jack Crawford (Harvey Keital) asks for his help on a series of murders down by a serial killer (Ralph Fiennes) the police like to call "The Tooth Fairy". Why Tooth Fairy? Because he is a cannibal just like Hannibal and bites human flesh off his victims leaving a series of bite marks. Will decides to investigate the case, and asking help from Hannibal, since he knows how a criminal thinks. This is a great thriller but unfortunatly not as good as 1991's Best Picture winner 'The Silence of the Lambs'. Grade: B+
Road to Perdition (2002)
One of the best gangster films ever made; it has all the best qualities to a movie = great writing, direction and a cast that will blow you away! ***SPOILER(S)***
I cannot stress on how much of an outstanding movie this is. It is just so great! It is a great movie about organized crime, and the kill scenes are nicely directed. The story is about a very talented hitman called 'The Angel of Death' (Tom Hanks) who was adopted by a mean old crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman - In his Academy Award nominated performance) at a very young age. Since John treats Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks - a.k.a. The Angel of Death) as his favorite son, John's real son Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig) gets very jealous and tries to have some business man secretly (without his father's consent) kill Michael. Well, that doesn't go as well as planned, and Michael ends up killing the business man and some of his associates. But, Michael's family isn't so lucky, when Connor himself kills Michael's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son, leaving Michael only with his oldest son, Michael Sullivan, Jr. Since John must kill Michael in order for him to protect Connor, Michael and his son hit the road to Chicago to hide out. In Chicago, John has everyone looking for Michael including Frank Nitti, Al Capeone and a warped hitman named Maguire (Jude Law) who poses as a reporter, takes pictures of his victims, and wears a 'Charlie Chaplin'/'Malcolm McDowell in Clockwork Orange' hat. The movie really moves along quickly and isn't slow at all. The story is really interesting, but the movie only got 1 major Academy Award Nomination. It should have been nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor - Tom Hanks and Best Director - Sam Mendes, instead of just Paul Newman getting nominated. This film is all around excellence, but isn't as good as Mendes' first feature 'American Beauty'. Grade: A+
Best in Show (2000)
The Best Mockumentary Ever Made!
Once again Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy bring us a hit comedy that surprisingly surpasses the marvelous independent feature 'Waiting For Guffman'. This film is not only the best mockumentary ever made, but most likely the best comedy ever made, from two very important aspects = 1) It makes you laugh repeatedly & 2) It has a wonderful idea that no film writer besides Guest and Levy has yet to explore as a comedy. They both do a wonderful job writing the screenplay, and Guest does an excellent job directing. The acting is pure excellence with the comedy talents of such actors as Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Fred Willard, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock, Jennifer Coolidge and Jane Lynch. This is such an excellent film that cannot be praised enough. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a hilarious and well made film about pretentious dog owners and their dogs.
Grade: A
Magnolia (1999)
A film that has something most films don't = CREATIVITY.
An excellent follow-up to 1997's Boogie Nights, but isn't as good. I would say Magnolia is Paul Thomas Anderson's second best film (out of 4). The story is very complex and you really have to pay attention. Not to mention it is a very LONG movie too. It is three hours and eight minutes! I've seen longer, but that is pretty long. The story really sucks you in though. It is about a lonely cop (John C. Reilly) who is falling in love with coke-addict (Melora Walters), whose father is a big television game show host (Philip Baker Hall - who portrayed Detective Bookman on 'Seinfeld') who is having heart problems, who has the kid genius star on his show (Jeremy Blackman). The other story is about a sick old man who is dying (Jason Robards) and how his young wife (Julianne Moore) and his personal nurse (Philip Seymour Hoffman) try to get in touch with his only son (Tom Cruise) who is a motivational speaker to sexist men. Another major character in the story is a former quiz show kid (William H. Macy) who is an adult now and reflects on his horrible life as a car salesman and how his parents took his money away from him. This is an excellent film for people looking for an interesting movie and long movie. I recommend this to Paul Thomas Anderson fans too. Grade: A-
American Beauty (1999)
A true 'American' classic!
This is a truly excellent movie that is sure to go down in history as a classic. The acting is absolutly outstanding with great performances from Annete Bening, Thora Birch, Chris Cooper, Wes Bently, Mena Suvari and especially Kevin Spacey in his Academy Award Winning role, who gives his best performance since 1995's The Usual Suspects. The plot is very interesting = it's about a man Lester (Kevin Spacey) and his suburban family including his over acheiver real-estate agent wife Caroline (Annete Bening) and his weird and depressed teenage daughter (Thora Birch). After Lester gets layed off he starts to work in a fast food restaurant and smoke pot, which really bothers his wife. Since his wife is fed up with Lester and can't find a way to sell many more houses, she decides to have an affair with a real-estate agent Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher) who calls himself "The King". The daughter befriends a strange and nice boy (Wes Bently) who is new to the neighborhood, and he also befriends her dad Lester too, and becomes his main pot supplier. There is a hilarious scene in the movie where the new kid's dad (played by Chris Cooper) thinks his son is having an affair with Lester. This film is an excellent film, with great writing and directing too (This is the director, Sam Mendes's first film). The film scored a lot of Academy Awards including Best Actor - Kevin Spacey, Best Director - Sam Mendes, Best Original Screenplay - Alan Ball and Best Picture of the Year. This is an excellent drama and should be acknowleged as one of the best films ever made! People who enjoy this movie will always enjoy the series 'Six Feet Under' who was created by Alan Ball. The third season premieres on HBO at 9:00 p.m. on March 2.
Grade: A+
Fight Club (1999)
This shocking, disturbing film proves David Fincher to be a Great American Filmaker of the New Generation.
First of all, let me say this, THIS IS VERY DISTURBING! Although this film is not nearly as violent as David Fincher's first great film 'Se7en', it is about ten times more disturbing and shocking. It makes the shocking 1971 Best Picture Nominee 'A Clockwork Orange' directed by desceased veteran film director Stanley Kubrick, look like a Disney film. You'll be surprised how much less you will flinch on a man getting shot through the back of the head, than you will when you see a scary man brutally beat himself almost to death with his bare hands, while hearing the carteldge crunch in break. Another reason why it is more disturbing is because everywhere, everyone, and everything is so filthy in the film. The story is about a depressed insomniac (Edward Norton - in a great performance that should have earned him an Oscar nominee) who doesn't know his name. Since he wants people to talk to him he goes meetings for terminally ill and addicts, such as A.A. , testicular cancer meetings, ect. He feels good there since people talk to him, and don't just tune him out like the rest of the world does. One day at a meeting, a tourist, Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) comes into the meeting and steals his precious attention. Since him and her are the only people who go to the meetings who are faking an illness or addiction they hate each other. After that the movie splits into a kind of like two part movie. The first part I love. The first part is when the narrator (Edward Norton) meets a drifter by name of Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who makes soap from stealing extra fat from a place that does liposuction. After they become friends and start living together they both share a horrible and mischievous hobby of street fighting. So, they decide to start up a club where people come to a place at night, forget and never talk about their life and fight, hence the film's title 'Fight Club'. There are a couple rules of Fight Club that are made by Tyler and the narrator, 1) Do Not Talk About Fight Club; 2) Do Not Talk About Fight Club!; 3) When someone says 'Stop' or goes limp, the fight is over; 4) Only two guys to a fight; 5) One fight at a time; 6) No shirts and No Shoes; 7) Fights go on as long as they have to; 8) If this is your first night at Fight Club, YOU HAVE TO FIGHT. After a couple of brutal fight scenes, and Edward Norton brutally beating himself in front of his boss horrifying him, the film goes into it's second part. I got kind of lost in the second part, but I have got to admit this part was very interesting at the least. The second part is when Fight Club turns into something a little bit more violent and frightening than beating each other silly for fun. In this part, they decide to blow up a federal bank to screw up the credit accounts. This expedition is led by the notorious Tyler Durden. When Edward Norton finds out about his evil plan, he tries to stop Tyler Durden. It gets even more weird after that with a surprise ending that will leave you stumped. This is a great adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk spellbinding novel that will make many of the novel's fans pleased. The movie's great cinematography, film editing, acting, writing and especially directing (thanks to the excellent David Fincher) makes this film Fincher's second best film, slightly not living up to the standard of 'Se7en'. Grade: A-
Waiting for Guffman (1996)
Not only one of the funniest comedy films ever made, but probably one of the best made Comedies according to the plot and basic idea.
This is Christopher Guest's second best movie (out of 3). I didn't think this was as good or funny as Guest's follow-up film 'Best In Show' which hit theaters in the year 2000. I loved this movie for two reasons, 1) It was done by my favorite comedy troupe, and 2) I am in many productions in community theater, so I kind of related to this in a close way. First of all, not all community theaters do plays this bad, hardly any of them do. This is kind of an a stretch, but it is still funny. Some community theaters put on productions that rival Broadway productions (in my opinion). But this is just so funny, it will make you cry. I think this is just such an excellent film, and gets funnier everytime I watch it. The best things about Guest's films are, no matter how many times you watch them they don't get boring or less funny like most of the Farrely Brothers films. The thing I truly admire of Guest is he doensn't have to use too many raunchy jokes to make the best comedy films. The only reason this film got unfairly slapped with an 'R' rating is because it has the f-word twice. The film 'So I Married An Axe Murderer' starring Mike Myers, features that word three times, and got a 'PG-13' rating. This is a great film for anyone looking to be able to laugh hard, without seven million sex jokes.
Grade: A
Se7en (1995)
As terrifying as it is brilliant! This is a disturbing, wonderful and morbidly shocking thriller not to be missed! ****spoiler****
This is David Fincher's best film (out of 5). This is just such an excellent thriller. One of the best points of this film is Fincher's supurb and stylish directing making him the next Tarantino. Even though I think Tarantino (Quentin) is a better director, Fincher has more stylish camera angles and great flashy cinematography. The story is very dark, and only for the very strong-stomached. Do not, and I'll repeat, DO NOT WATCH THIS WHILE YOU EAT! DO NOT WATCH THIS WHILE YOU EAT! The premise is about a smart-mouthed, cocky young cop (Brad Pitt) who gets assigned to work with a smart, veteran cop (Morgan Freeman) on a case where the killer is basing murders on the seven deadly sins - 1) Gluttony 2) Greed 3) Sloth 4) Lust 5) Pride 6) Envy 7) Wrath. The killer ends up being none other than Keyser Soze himself, Kevin Spacey! Kevin Spacey gives another excellent performance that should be remembered as one of his best! The story is paced well, the ending is interesting, the acting is great, I love this movie! I recommend this film to anyone who loves scary thrillers and has a thing for violent, gritty, graphic and frightening crime scene investigations! Grade: A-
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Funny, But Doesn't Live Up To Any of Kevin Smith's Films.
This movie is the worst Kevin Smith movie ever made. It isn't a bad movie at all, it is actually kind of decent and very funny. It just doesn't like up to the great Kevin Smith films such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Mallrats. It definetly is the most crude and twisted movie ever done by Kevin Smith, and it definetly has the f-word the most times. Even Silent Bob says the f-word in this! Usually the only lines out of his mouth are , "Thanks", "No Ticket", "She brought you Lasangna", but not "F**k!". This film definetly has the most cameo appearences though. This is Jay and Silent Bob's (ensemble characters in all of Smith's movies) very one feature film! The story is about Jay (Jason Mewes) and his hetero life partner Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), who after getting banned from the convenience store featured in Clerks by Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), set out for Hollywood to destroy the movie made from their lives written by cartoon artists from Chasing Amy (Ben Affleck and Jason Lee). On the way the encounter a nun (Carrie Fisher), a perverted hitchhiker (George Carlin), a bunch of female jewelry thiefs (including Shannon Elizabeth (who Jay falls in love with), Eliza Dushku, and Ali Larter) and a weird tree hugger (Seann William Scott). Along the way to Hollywood they also get chased by a very dumb Federal Wildlife Marshall (Will Ferrel) after they get tricked into stealing a monkey from a building. When they finally get to Hollywood they find the men playing them in the movie are James Van Der Beek and American Pie's Jason Biggs, and the director of the play is Chris Rock. The film also co-stars Judd Nelson, SNL's Tracy Morgan, Jon Stewart, Jules Asner, Gus Van Zandt, Jaime Kennedy, Wes Craven, Shannon Doherty (Mallrats), Mark Hamill, The Drew Carey Show's Diedrich Bader, Renee Humphrey (Mallrats), Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy, Mallrats), Alanis Morrissette, Matt Damon (Chasing Amy, Dogma) and Morris Day. This film is an alright comedy, very funny but is a little loose on plot. Grade: C+
The Sopranos (1999)
The Complete Second Season Review (SPOILERS!!!!!)
The second season of The Sopranos is the third best season of all (out of 4). The second season has very great episodes, but one or two episodes are kind of dry, and so-so. But the final two episodes of the second season make up for them. In the second season alot of interesting stuff happens; Big Pussy returns to Jersey; Tony's sister Janice comes to town, Tony disowns his mother Livia, Tony goes to Italy and recruits a scary, pony tail wearing loyal mobster who is as ruthless as a machine; Uncle Junior gets placed under house arrest; Jackie Aprile's brother Richie gets out of jail, gives Tony a hard time and gets engaged to his sister; Meadow gets accepted to Columbia; Tony's bankrupts a degenerate gambler; Christopher gets shot up by two unmade associates working for Richie; In the hospital Christopher imagines hell, sending Paul to a psychic; We find out Big Pussy is wearing a wire; Christopher gets engaged to Adriana; Tony tells Christopher he is getting made; Richie trys to move against Tony, and ends up getting shot up by Janice (his fiance, Tony's sister) because he hit her in the face; Tony hallucinates after eating bad mussels at Artie Bucco's restaurant; and Tony and the gang kill Big Pussy (a main character might I add) on a boat and throw his corpse overboard. At the very end of the season we zoom in on the ocean, knowing Pussy is down there ... somewhere.
Here are the best and worst episodes of the 2nd Season:
Best Episode: Episode #13: Funhouse
2nd Best: Episode #12: The Knight in White Satin Armor
3rd Best: Episode #4: Commendatori
4th Best: Episode #7: D-Girl
5th Best:Episode #6: The Happy Wanderer
6th Best: Episode #10: Bust Out
7th Best: Episode #8: Full Leather Jacket
8th Best: Episode #3: Toodle-F**king-oo
9th Best: Episode #1: Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office
10th Best: Episode #2: Do Not Resuscitate
11th Best: Episode #9: From Where to Eternity
12th Best: Episode #5: Big Girls Don't Cry
The Worst Episode: Episode #11: House Arrest
Dogma (1999)
The Best and Funniest Religous Movie Ever Made!!!
The third best Kevin Smith film (out of 5). This is a great film. It is so funny, and yet so creative!This is probably one of the best ten or five films of 1999. A large amount of big name actors star in his hilarious, twisted, religous comedy that will have everyone talking and a big cult following! The story is about a woman Bethany (Linda Fiorientino) who is the great great grand niece of Jesus Christ himself. She must stop two bad angels Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and the Angel of Death, Loki (Matt Damon) from re-entering heaven, after being thrown out, by passing through the hall of a church, which we forgive them of all their sins, thus proving god wrong. Since the church is being closed by Cardinal Glick (George Carlin) they must hurry soon. She is helped along the way by two profits, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), the 13th Apostle named Rufus (Chris Rock) who was unfortunatley left outside of the bible, a muse named Serendipity (Salma Heyek), and the lead angel and voice of god Metatron (Alan Rickman). Bartleby and Loki are also helped by a mean, funny demon named Azrael (Jason Lee). The movie has some interesting twists and is absolutley hilarious. Jay and Silent Bob have the biggest part they have ever had in any of Kevin Smith's films (besides "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"). The film also co-stars Brian O'Halloran (who played Dante Hicks in Clerks), Jeff Anderson (who played Randal in Clerks), Janeane Garofolo, Bud Cort and Alanis Morissette as God. For anybody looking for a good comedy rent Dogma. Grade: B+
Chasing Amy (1997)
The best romantic-comedy ever made!
This is Kevin Smith's second best film (out of 5). This is an excellent movie! The directing is magnificent, the writing is wonderful, the acting is extraordinary, it is safe to say this will go down in history as a classic. Supurb performances given by Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams, and surprisingly, Ben Affleck. Personally, I think Ben Affleck is not that good of an actor, but in Kevin Smith's films he really shines. He is also great in Dogma, and gives a little, but memorable performance as the notorious, mean, Shannon in Mallrats. The story is about a comic book artist (Ben Affleck) and his tracer (Jason Lee) who likes to think of himself as an "inker". Everyone takes him for a tracer, and he gets very irritated and angry. It's actually quite comical. Anyway, he falls inlove with a girl (Joey Lauren Adams), but she cannot be with him, because she roots for the different team! Get it? Anyway, he becomes her friend, and can't fight off his love for her, and Jason Lee hates that, and is strongly against their relationship. The only downside to this movie is that the comic duo, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) have the shortest part they have ever had in any of Kevin Smith's movies. Though, Kevin Smith gives a very surprisingly long speech to Ben Affleck's character explaining to him, once you find the woman you love, never let her go! This extremly long speech (not really that long, but long for Silent Bob because he only says really one or two lines per movie, hence the name "Silent Bob") is suprisingly very intelectual leaving viewers thinking Silent Bob is much more intelligent than he appears to be, and too smart to hang out with stoner, bonehead Jay. Silent Bob has as much or has more lines than big-mouth Jay. This is a really excellent movie, but doesn't live up to standard of "Clerks.". That is kind of unfortunate, but maybe one of Kevin Smith's future movies such as "Fletch Won" and "Jersey Girl" will. I wouldn't bet my money on "Jersey Girl" because it is starring obnoxious Jennifer Lopez (or J-Lo as she stupidly likes to call herself). I would highly recommend this to anybody looking for a good, funny and very twisted piece of cinema. See it now! Grade: A-
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
One of the best Mockumentarys Ever Made! (spoiler?)
This is one of the most hysterical movies ever made. Although, this isn't the best Christopher Guest written/starring in film, Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show were better. But this is still a comedy masterpiece that should be admired from all aspects of film making. Instead of Christopher Guest directing this like Waiting For Guffman and Best In Show, Rob Reiner (Misery, Stand by Me) directs this classic mockumentary/comedy that invented the movie genre, Rockumentary. The story is about a film maker (Rob Reiner) making a documentary of a british band full of idiots called "Spinal Tap". The band members contain two lead guitarists/singers, Nigel Tuffnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and have one bass player Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). The band keeps losing drummers to various accidents that result in death - one drummer explodes on stage, one dies in a gardening accident, and the funniest one - one dies by choking on vomit (as Nigel Tuffnel says, "It wasn't his vomit, it was someone else's. Unfortunetly, they can't do DNA testing to find out who's it actually was."). The film maker also explores David St. Hubbins's obnoxious and naive girlfriend, who is kind of like "Yoko Ono" and trys to tear David and Nigel apart. This is a film I would recommend to anyone looking for an excellent film to watch. The movie also guest stars Bruno Kirby, Fred Willard, Dana Carvey, Billy Crystal, Ed Begley, Jr. and Fran Drescher. Grade: A-
Mallrats (1995)
A very fun movie that is unfortunatley underrated.
Alot of people didn't like this movie. They thought it was stupid, and average at best. But, personally, I thought it was really good. I mean, it isn't the best Kevin Smith movie ever made, but definetly not the worst. I laughed so much through the movie, my eyes started watering! It was some funny stuff. I say the highlights of the movie are Jason Lee's absolutley hysterical performance as Brody and Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith as Jay and Silent Bob (one of the funniest duo's ever made). This film really isn't for people searching for a dignified plot, because it really doesn't have one. It is pretty much about two friends, T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brody (Jason Lee), who hang out at the mall during the course of one day, after being dumped by their girlfriends. There they try to win back their girlfriends. Brody tries to keep his girlfriend, Rene (Shannen Doherty) from being made love to in "a very uncomfortable place" by her new boyfriend (Ben Affleck) who is the manager of a classy clothing store. T.S. tries to win back his girlfriend, Brandi (Claire Forlani) because her father (Michael Rooker) made her leave him, by destroying her father's live t.v. reality show, where Brandi must choose a mystery man to date. The film has interesting and very comical dialogue and is a very fun movie by me. I would recommend this movie to any Kevin Smith fans, or anybody just looking for a funny, silly and sick comedy to watch. Grade: B.
Clerks (1994)
Kevin Smith's best movie!
This is without a doubt Kevin Smith's best movie of all time. This is such an excellent movie. The dialogue is crisp, the directing is creative, the acting is excellent, the movie is a masterpiece. For a really low budget, they really made this film into something very memorable and great. It's flawed at parts, and it gets slow towards the middle, but a very hilarious, disturbing, and overall shocking scene towards the end pretty much makes up for it. The story takes place in one day of the life of a man named Dante (Brian O'Halloran) who works at a convenience store, who comes to work on his day off. During this period of one day you meet the most interesting, funniest and strangest costumers known to man. Dante works there with the sleazy Video Store employee Randall (John Anderson) who works next door to Dante. Other major characters are Dante's girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti) and Dante's ex-girlfriend Caitlan (Lisa Spoonhauer), who broke her engagement with her fiancee to be with Dante. Also, this is the first film to introduce the hilarious duo, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith - who is also the director and writer of the film). If you see this and like it, also rent Kevin Smith's other films Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. Also look for two new movies of his entitled "Jersey Girl" and "Fletch Won" coming out this year. Clerks is a movie I'd highly recommend for anyone looking for a great sick & twisted comedy. Grade: A-
The Recruit (2003)
This movie is "Nothing what it seems".
I thought this was going to be a crummy CIA movie with the name Al Pacino on it, so people would go see it. One of the clues of this being unrealistic is that Colin Farrel's character is training to be a CIA operative and he has a tatoo! You cannot have a tatoo if you are a CIA operative. And he couldn't have had it burned off either, because it would leave a scar. You can't have any visible scars if you are a CIA operative. People would recognize you! But when I went to see it, I was very surprised in a good way. The movie is actually pretty good. I mean, it is kind of unrealistic, but it is entertaining. I was interested during the whole movie of what was going to happen to Colin Farrel, and who was playing him. Al Pacino did a great acting job, as always, in this role. I don't think he deserves an Academy Award or nomination though. The movie is kind of slow at parts, and very interesting at parts. It is worth the $8 in the theater to see it. But it wouldn't be my first choice of film. If you don't get to go to the movies often, I would wait for DVD and pay the $8 for something like Gangs of New York, Lord of the Rings, The Pianist, Chicago or The Hours.
Grade: B-.
Shanghai Knights (2003)
Surprisingly Better than the First!
This sequel is actually better and funnier than the original. It also has cooler fight scenes too. It is actually a pretty good movie. I laughed really hard in the theater. The story is about a former chinese warrior Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) who after his father gets killed by a ruthless heir of the thrown, seek vengeance on him with the help of his old partner Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) and his sister from China who told him about the death of his father. This one has actually more action and is more funny than the original by a long shot. I personally think that Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights are way better than the Rush Hour movies. I would say this is probably one of Jackie Chan's best movies, and his best comedy for sure. I would recommend this to fans of both Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan and Action/Comedy fans as well. Grade: B-.
Daredevil (2003)
Ben Affleck as a superhero?!
When I went to go see this movie I thought it was going to be horrible. All I heard were negative things about this movie. I thought to myself, "Ben Affleck as a superhero? Give me a break!". When I went to go saw it it actually wasn't bad! It wasn't good either. It was just an average movie. There was nothing special about it, and nothing to horrible about it either, except Jennifer Garner's atrocious acting. Ben Affleck is pretty bad actor, but not as bad as her. Other cast members were a delight to watch such as Colin Farrel, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano and Kevin Smith in a tiny cameo as a person working at a morgue. The thing I really don't get though is, in the comic book the character of Kingpin is white. The man who plays him, Michael Clarke Duncan, is black. And another thing, the original Kingpin wasn't muscular and strong like Michael Clarke Duncan, he was morbidly obese. It has some cool special effects in the movie, but nothing too spectacular. I think the character of Bullseye, played by Colin Farrel was pretty interesting and kind of funny. In the beginning there is a cameo by Robert Iler who plays AJ Soprano on "The Sopranos" as a bully who beats up Daredevil as a boy. The movie is worth watching if you have nothing better to do, but don't go out of your way to see it. I know I wouldn't. Grade: C.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The best ending a movie has ever had!!!
This movie is my third favorite movie of all time. It is such a great movie, I can't even begin to explain how excellent this thriller is! Well, I'll try. The acting is absolutley brilliant! Great performances by Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollack, Chazz Palminteri, Benico Del Toro, Pete Postelwaithe, and especially Kevin Spacey in his best performance ever known to screen, which won him his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1995. The directing is very creative with some neat camera angles. And the writing ... is OUTSTANDING!!! I'm not going to ruin the ending for any of you movies fans who haven't seen this wonderful masterpiece yet, but it is none other than pure genius! The way they sum up the ending is just perfect. This is a movie for mystery fans especially, as well as drama fans, thriller fans and pretty much everybody. This film deserved to win for Best Picture, but Braveheart did instead. This is the kind of movie that people really respect and love. I HIGHLY reccomend this to anyone. If you haven't seen this already, rent it as soon as you can. Grade: A+
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
One of Jack Nicholson's best movies!
This is such an outstanding film. I think it is safe to say that this is a masterpiece. The highlights of the film are Louise Fletcher and Jack Nicholson's acting. The acting is so good it won them both Oscars. The story is about a man (Jack Nicholson) who gets commited to a mental hospital after commiting a crime, and convincing a jury he is crazy. At the hospital he meets the nasty scary head nurse, Nurse Ratchett, or as he likes to say, "Nurse Rats--t". She is really nasty to him and the other patients there, including a suicidal young man (Brad Dourif), a big Native American, and much others. The film scored many Academy Awards including Best Actor - Jack Nicholson, Best Actress - Louise Fletcher, Best Picture and a nominee for Best Supporting Actor - Brad Dourif. This film is extraordinary at the least, and should be recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. This is the film featuring the first great Jack Nicholson performance, which is followed by many others such as About Schmidt, As Good As It Gets and The Shining. Rent this movie, today! Grade: A