Movie #511 ........................"Drive"

Movie #511 "Drive" --- wasn't sure I'd like this as much as the critics did, but I did appreciate it for its style, its chases, its looks, & its acting by the leads, esp. Ryan Gosling, whom I have been a fan of ever since I saw him in "Notebook" and "Numbers" (and if you haven't seen "Lars and the Real Girl" you are missing out on one of the most delightful indies I've seen). This one is no Lars --- far from the sweetness, although there are some Lars moments with the little boy and the girl neighbor you can see the driver likes (note, he doesn't have a name through the whole film and he speaks a couple of lines of dialogue on the phone for the first 10 or 15 minutes -- definitely a man of few words) . Once they are in dangerous situations, though, the tone of the film changes. In fact, there is a scene in the movie that it builds to that was so raw, I found myself shouting (inside voice) "Enough"! It is a turning point, and a bit controversial, but I saw the need for it as a turning point for Gosling's Steve McQueen-type character. Don't go see this one if you expect any sweetness because it is very raw in its violence. I usually dodge films like these, but the violence is so stylish, you find yourself wanting to see "how they do it" instead of reacting with the usual knee jerk turning away. So I do recommend this, BUT only to the non squeamish. This is NOT for everyone. Most of you reading this probably want to just skip this one ---- but if you do see it, please go into it with your eyes wide open!




gave it 4.3 out of 5 stars
Drive
(2011) R
In this thriller, Driver, a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver, is lured from his isolated life by a lovely neighbor and her young son. His newfound peace is shattered, however, when her violent husband is released from prison.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Action Thrillers, Crime Action & Adventure
This movie is: Violent, Cerebral, Dark, Exciting

Movie #510 ........................."Forbidden Games"

Movie #510 "Forbidden Games" is a classic film that I got a chance to see for the first time two days ago. Since then, it has been haunting me........I had heard about it, and now since seeing it , I would show it in a film class for war genre. It is really powerful, and has so many great filmic pluses --- beautiful photography, unbelievable acting from two little kids, great war picture without showing a lot of soldiers fighting --- the threat is just always there! The opening and closing sequences are very hard to watch, but they are powerful enough to help this film get 100% on rottentomatoes. I highly recommend it. Kind of slow in the middle, esp. when you are tired; otherwise, nearly flawless.



I gave it 4 out of 5 stars
Forbidden Games
Jeux Interdits
(1952) NR
Director René Clément's bittersweet drama depicts the ravages of war on its youngest victims. After being orphaned when a Nazi strafing kills her parents and her dog, 5-year-old Paulette (Brigitte Fossey) is taken in by farm boy Michel Dolles (Georges Poujouly) and his family. While his parents are busy feuding with their neighbors, the youngsters cope with the death surrounding them by creating a cemetery for animals killed in the fighting.
Genre: Dramas, Foreign Movies, Foreign Dramas, French Movies
This movie is: Sentimental

Movie #509 ........................."Horrible Bosses"

Movie #509 "Horrible Bosses" had some very funny moments, esp. that involved Charlie Day (whom I really didn't know until this film). All the people are very competent comedic actors, so that covered up any iffy times that the comedy didn't work --- which were really few and far between. This is a bit raunchy and violent, though. kind of a takeoff on Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" so it has some bloody moments --- but everyone is playing it to the hilt. Jamie Foxx is esp. funny, and this really keeps up that screwball comedy rhythm of "man in a mess." Found it quite funny, but very much fluff!




3.7 out of 5 stars
Horrible Bosses
(2011) R
Disgruntled buddies Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) can't leave their miserable jobs, so they cook up a creative strategy for eliminating each other's micromanaging and maniacal employers (Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Kevin Spacey) instead in this crackpot comedy. Peculiar advice from con artist Motherf**ker Jones (Jamie Foxx) gets the scheme in motion, but the pals can't keep the wheels from flying off.
Genre: Comedies
This movie is: Goofy, Quirky

Movie#509 ........................."Contagion"

Movie #509 "Contagion" is full of a lot of stars, a lot of face touching, and a lot of deaths and dying -------the format is much like a documentary, so it never pulled me in emotionally, but I did like the suspense, the coldness, the seriousness of the situation, the acting of a lot of solid stars, the "look" of it (soderbergh's touch) and so I would recommend it to those that would be pulled in by these things, as well. But if you expect to be drawn in, this isn't the film for you.





I rated this 3.8 out of 5 stars
Contagion
(2011) PG-13
Steven Soderbergh steers big stars through this big-screen disaster-thriller about a global team of doctors tasked with tamping down a deadly outbreak of infectious disease before it annihilates mankind.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Action Thrillers, Deadly Disasters, Sci-Fi Thrillers
This movie is: Dark, Exciting, Suspenseful

Movie #508 ........................."The Debt"

Movie #508 "The Debt" was a taut scripted mystery that I enjoyed. The editing worked well going back and forth from past to present, the music was good, the acting by the women was excellent, and it had a good strong theme. Now, for the negatives......Sam Worthington, though good looking, is really a stick, esp. without the beautiful cinematography of Avatar driving the film --- and the movie is very violent, esp. the ending (which I disliked and almost gave it a 3 because of it). But the biggest complaint is the casting -------- I got the two men mixed up going from past to present to past mainly because the one past guy looks more like the present other guy, and vice versa. The two men's counterparts should have been switched. Otherwise, the movie is well done and well worth going to see. I recommend it, but be aware of the amount of blood in it.


I rated it 4 stars out of 5.
The Debt
(2010) R
Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) is a former Mossad intelligence agent forced to relive her 1965 pursuit of a notorious Nazi war criminal when the bold and dangerous fugitive is thought to have reemerged 30 years later in the Ukraine. Director John Madden's redo of Assaf Bernstein's 2007 Israeli suspense piece also features Jessica Chastain as the young Rachel Singer, along with Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds.
Genre: Thrillers, Political Thrillers, Spy Thrillers
This movie is: Cerebral, Suspenseful

Movie #507 ........................."Happy Endings"

Movie #507 "Happy Endings" --- can't say the title is fitting because I never got to the ending --- didn't get into it at all. Boring. Don't bother on this one, in my opinion.




You rated this movie: 1 out of 5 stars
Happy Endings
(2005) R
Lisa Kudrow, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Laura Dern and Jason Ritter star in this offbeat comedy from writer-director Don Roos that gathers a series of connected vignettes about the randomness of love and life. A documentary filmmaker threatens to reveal a woman's long-held secret; a father and his son find out that they're both seeing the same woman; a gay man discovers his partner might (or might not) be the father of their friend's baby; and more.
Genre: Comedies, Gay & Lesbian Movies, Independent Movies, Romantic Movies, Romantic Comedies, Gay & Lesbian Comedies, Romantic Gay & Lesbian Movies, Independent Comedies, Romantic Independent Movies, Steamy Romantic Movies

Movie #506........................."Triple Dog"

Movie #506 "Triple Dog" -- once again I'm impressed with Brittany Robertson (ever since "You murdered love" speech in "Dan in Real Life" (which is a far better film than this one) --- she leads the crew of teens in this film, and if I had a teen, I would probably sit down and watch it with her because I think anyone seeing this film would probably never find value in "triple dog daring" anyone about anything. It has a guessable ending, but it moves quickly through the dare game at a slumber party with a bunch of teens. If Brittany wasn't so good, you would tire of just how mean she is to everybody --- she IS mean, and the script expects her to have this charisma that draws people to her and the game (otherwise, why do they even go along?) but since they are teens, we assume there is a lot of peer pressure going on under the surface. Anyway, lots of strong up and coming females in this one, and I liked it. But if you don't like teen angst, you won't like this one.


I rated it 3 stars out of 5
Triple Dog
(2009) R
During an innocent slumber party, arrogant Chapin (Brittany Robertson) organizes a competitive game of dares, challenging her friends to pull off incredibly risky stunts. As the night unfolds, the teens slowly unravel, turn on each other and uncover shocking secrets. A gripping thriller about the power of peer pressure, the film co-stars Alexia Fast, Janel Parrish, Scout Taylor-Compton and Carly McKillip.
Genre: Independent Movies, Thrillers, Independent Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
This movie is: Emotional, Suspenseful

Movie #505 ........................."Tree of Life"

Movie #505 "Tree of Life" --- let me start by saying that Malick's "Days of Heaven" is one of my favorite movies for so many reasons --- the beauty of the landscape scenes, the characters, the acting, the music, the story line, the narration. This movie is NOT "Days of Heaven" nor does it come close to it --- Why? it is still a beautiful film, the characters are interesting (but not clearly delineated --- kept getting all the brothers mixed up for the longest time!) and the acting is okay (although, I got tired of the stick like approach Brad Pitt used through the entire film --- lighten up, guy!) And what was Sean Penn doing in the film??? There are articles that I've read that contain the same question by him about the film --- well, if the actor IN the film doesn't get why he is there, the question remains --- why is he really there? I know it's his journey, and I got the basic idea of the film, but I really dislike movies that waste time --- that use the "lord of the rings" pace of a snail, and then when you consider why that particular shot was in the film, you never do come up with the answer --- then you wait, thinking maybe it will fit in at the end ----------but then, in this film, the end is one of the worst parts ----------so anticlimatic and "out there" --- What was Malick's plan here? to show life? It has scenes that harken back to 2001 space odyssey, another movie that I appreciate but don't necessarily like. This movie is even more dispassionate, though, and a robot was a main character in that one! Okay, enough of what I didn't like, I did appreciate the beauty of many of the shots --- but a bunch of shots with little relationship doesn't make a film to me --- and that's what I think he was trying to do --- make a good film, and it really doesn't work. I think he captures what it's like to be a kid because he spends a lot of film time with the kids goofing around in their yard in Texas (not the midwest, which is mentioned below --- what movie did netflix see?) He gets across nature (Dad) vs. grace (mom) but that's not a new concept at all --- lots of movies tackle that conflict. An abusive father and an enabler for a mom has been done, too ---dealing with grief of a dead son not new either........so how is this new ground? So not sure why critics are jumping up and down about this one --- I'm not and I don't recommend it, esp. to people like me, who want/expect a better story.



I gave it 2 stars out of 5
The Tree of Life
The Tree of Life
(2011) PG-13
Brad Pitt and Sean Penn star in Terrence Malick's 1950s adventure about a confused man named Jack, who sets off on a journey to understand the true nature of the world. Growing up in the Midwest with two brothers, Jack has always been torn between his mother's guidance to approach everything he encounters with an open heart and his father's advice to look after his own interests. Now, Jack must find a way to regain purpose and perspective.
Genre: Dramas, Independent Movies, Independent Dramas, 20th Century Period Pieces
This movie is: Heartfelt, Mind-bending