Previous Queue

Sorry this past queue took longer than usual to cover I have just been seeing more of the current movies in theatres leaving less time for movie watching at home. Composed of three stellar films this past queue is one for the ages. The three movies I viewed were Pulp Fiction, Mystic River and Kramer vs. Kramer.

Pulp Fiction- This amazing movie is a classic example of a motion picture that could only have been done by the magical skills of director Quentin Tarantino (nominated best director). The seemingly unrelated stories of two amateur robbers, two hit men, a kingpin and his wife, and a prize fighter are brilliantly interwoven in the unforgettable, action packed crime drama. It really is a fun movie to watch with a great cast including Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman. 4 stars for an all time great.

Kramer vs. Kramer- Let's start by saying that in 1979 it won 5 Oscars (best picture, actor, actress in supporting role, director and screenplay). It was also nominated for another 4 but I won't list those out. The movie begins with Ted Kramer's (Dustin Hoffman) wife, Joanna (Meryl Streep) walking out on him and young son Billy (Justin Henry). Ted, a full time hard worker, must then adjust to life raising a son as a single parent. After some time Ted and Billy form a wonderful relationship. Soon after, though, Joanna returns saying she wants custody of Billy. The feel good father-son story then shifts to a brutal custody trial. Although it may be one of the weaker best pictures I have seen, it is still a beautifully done and captivating story. 3 1/2 stars.

Mystic River- Clint Eastwood knows how to manipulate movies to create what he wants better than any director in Hollywood. The film is the story of three childhood friends, Jimmy (Sean Penn), Dave (Tim Robbins) and Sean (Kevin Bacon) who meet up as adults investigating the murder of Jimmy's daughter. Eastwood perfectly develops the story taking us through the psychological thoughts and feelings of all the main characters. This gripping story throws you around keeping you transfixed and refuses to stop until the final credits. An unforgettable movie experience, 4 stars.

Random Review: The Sixth Sense (SPOILER ALERT)

I just viewed The Sixth Sense last night for the first time. i am not such a big fan of scary movies so at first i thought it wouldn't be my type of movie. however, the film was excellent. Bruce Willis is a great actor (and ten times better when he had hair). The little boy played the part perfectly. There were 4 scenes that really made the movie. The first was the famous scene of "I see dead people" (number 44 on afi's top 100 quotes behind if you build it they will come). the second scene is the twist when we found out he was dead the entire time (which was the 7th best twist behind 6 fight club 5 star wars 2 physco and 1 the usual suspects). The other 2 scenes i found really impressive was the scene where bruce thought he was having a conversation with his wife on their anniversary and the scene where he meets the boy at his house. both times the movie misleads you to think they had just had a conversation. however, bruce actually never talked to a single person besides the kid the entire movie. i would say the movie is 3 1/2 stars. I don't see how a person could give it less since the twist was amazing. if anyone actually saw it coming then i would respect their judgement but i am positive no one here had.

The Spirit

The Spirit is literally one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. There was not one good part of it except, of course, the moment it was over. Based on the graphic novel by Will Eisner, Frank Miller (in his debut as a solo director) tries to follow up a great comic book film which he co-directed, Sin City, with The Spirit. I don't even know where to start on explaining how bad the movie was and why. One thing I didn't like was that Miller seemed to be unsure of what genre to turn it into and how to display the book. The movie came off as a maybe a cop/crime drama, or action/thriller, or comedy but none were definitive. The acting was annoying especially by Samuel L. Jackson as the octupus as well as Louis Lombardi as the octupus' cloned assistants. Gabriel Macht was not terrible as the spirit but he wasn't very good either. The movie is about a former cop who rises form the dead to become a vigilante super-hero and protect "his city." This former cop takes on a new personna and name; the spirit. The spirit faces his worst and most powerful enemy, the octupus. The spirit will stop at nothing to kill the octupus. There are also other story lines; pretty much the movie is all over the place. Miller fails to develope the phycological complexes of the characters that he clearly attempted to show and this helped to bring the movie down even lower. The least you could have expected out of this movie would be that it is cool and exciting but it isn't really either of them. The only decent parts were the spirit's narrations at the beginning and end. Pretty much everything about this movie was terribly awful and I am emabarassed for anyone who had to do with the production of the film. A leniant 1/2 star from me.

Random Review: 3:10 to Yuma

3:10 to Yuma was the first western i have ever seen. I may be overrating it because I love the genre (i think, i ordered unforgiven from the library). I think westerns are like boxing, in that people don't appreciate them until you see a full one, and then they start rooting for their guy, and really get into it. The movie was about a group of 7 people (by the end there were 3), who had to take Ben Wade, the most feared man in the wild west, to a train in Contention that would take him to a prison in Yuma. Evans, played by Christian Bale (batman) was only guarding him because he needed the $200 to get his house back from the bank. wade's gang, led by sociopath Charles Prince, chase after them. the movie climax's at Contention, where Prince tells everyone that he'll pay anyone $200 who kills Evans. The movie is great, although the ending is unrealistic. Not only do Russel Crowe (top 5 actor in Hollywood) and Christian Bale act amazingly, but Ben Foster as Prince, and Logan Lerman as Bale's son, also were great. I give it 3 1/2 stars.