Movie #318 ........................."Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps"

Movie #318 "Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps" is a good sequel, and very instructive on what has been happening to our economy. And the movie has a capable cast, from Frank Langella, to Michael Douglas, To Shia LaBeouf to Carey Mulligan! Well done! Very tense drama that has some surprising moments that work. Good tight script. I just wished they would have watered down the economic discussions a tad more for people like me who don't seem to get all the intricasies. I recommend this, even if you haven't seen the first one. And Oliver Stone films are usually interesting to watch; he keeps the camera moviing, that's for sure!




Average rating: 3.494
I give it 3.7
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps
(2010) NR
Trader Jake (Shia LaBeouf) tries to mend the broken relationship between his fiancée, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), and her father, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), while avenging the fate of his mentor, Lou (Frank Langella), by getting close to Wall Street's new megalomaniac, Bretton James (Josh Brolin). Centered on the 2008 financial crisis, director Oliver Stone's follow-up is a modern-day ode to unfettered capitalism and, of course, greed.

Movie #317 ........................."Dogville"

Movie #317 "Dogville" is one of the oddest films I've ever seen. It is staged like a play (such as Our Town) with minimal amount of furniture and sound effects --- no doors, no streets, we are talking minimal. Besides that, the show is full of really strange people --- make that creepy people walking around this town. So when they take Nicole Kidman in, is there any wonder that they treat her like a dog, including putting a dog collar on her to keep her restrained in her room? But wait until you see the shocking ending to this --- very powerful, and again very weird. All in all, this is one of the strangest, and one I'm still thinking about --- it's pretty violent and disturbing in some of the scenes, so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, at all! But there was something about it (that same something that keeps us attentive to accidents and ambulances) that kept me glued to my seat!





Average rating: 2.933
I'd give it 3 stars
Dogville
(2004) R
When a mysterious woman (Nicole Kidman) claims she's being chased by hoodlums and needs a place to hide out, the residents of Dogville come to her rescue. But she must prove herself worthy of the privilege -- and win the trust of everyone in town. John Hurt narrates director Lars von Trier's meditation on small-town America, with an all-star cast that includes Paul Bettany, Chloë Sevigny, Stellan Skarsgård, Lauren Bacall and James Caan.

Genre:Indie Dramas, Experimental, Period Pieces
Format:DVD

Movie #316 ........................."You Again"

Movie #316 "You Again" had a lot of good stuff in it ----- the entire cast is all very competent and fun to watch, from Kristin Chenoweth as the salsa teacher, Kristin Bell, whom I have liked since Veronica Mars days, Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis, always fun to watch, and esp. in dancing scenes, the perennial Betty White, and the groom who has these big brown eyes. I didn't know Odette Yustman, but she seemed the only weak link -----even Dad (Victor Garber, of Sweeney Todd fame) and the little bro were quite funny in their small amount of screen time. I also liked most of the script ---- it seemed somewhat believable..............that is, until the hoaky ending ---- from the plate throwing on out, could have been less exaggerated and more grounded in reality, and with a better ending , this film would have been rated a 4 or 5 with me. As it is, it was a little better than average for a comedy and offered quite a few laughs. And it gets you thinking about high school experiences, high school friends, competition with friends, etc. Enjoyable, and not a lot of low, off color humor at all!





Average rating: 3.787
I would give it 3.6
You Again
(2010) PG
History -- make that high school -- may repeat itself when Marni (Kristen Bell) learns that Joanna (Odette Yustman), the mean girl from her past, is set to be her sister-in-law. Before the wedding bells toll, Marni must show her brother that a tiger doesn't change its stripes. On Marni's side is her mother, Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis); Joanna's backed by wealthy Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver). Kristin Chenoweth plays wedding planner Monique Leroux.

Genre:Romantic Comedies

Movie #315 ........................."The Believer"

Movie #315 "The Believer" is about a jew who happens to become a white supremicist and it's clockwork orange-tough to watch.........because there's so much violence from Ryan Gosling to everyone else in the film ---- he's generally a likable character, no matter what he plays (like Lars and the Real Girl) even a teach drug-head, but this was a bit too much. The film was just one violent scene after another --- if he wasn't kicking people, he was ranting and raving about how jews are secondary -------- which is ironic since he is one. Anyway, the film does do a good job to show that inner struggle, which develops into a pretty powerful ending. But the rest is too tough to recommend to watch.






DONNA's rating: 3.0 stars
Average of 182,694 ratings: 3.5 stars
The Believer
2001R99 minutes
Danny Balint (Ryan Gosling), a young Jewish man from New York City, is struggling with the conflict between his beliefs and his heritage and eventually joins a neo-Nazi organization, rising up the ranks to become a leader in the white supremacy movement. Director Henry Bean's gripping drama, which won the 2001 Jury Prize at Sundance, is a psychological examination into the forces of intolerance, both on the individual and society as a whole.

Cast:Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Theresa Russell, Billy Zane, A.D. Miles, Joshua Harto, Glenn Fitzgerald, Garret Dillahunt, Kris Eivers, Joel GarlandDirector:Henry BeanGenres:Drama, Indie Dramas, Social Issue Dramas, Lionsgate Home EntertainmentThis movie is:Suspenseful, Dark, Controversial, ViolentFormat:D

Movie #314 ......................... Paradise Now

Movie #314 "Paradise Now" is a good movie and very important to watch in this day and age --- it speaks for the Palestinian side of the conflict (a rarity in film). It is a very quiet movie with a powerful ending. But it has its faults in my eyes: it's a tad too preachy at times, could develop the characters a bit more (it took me a long time to tell the two main character apart --- maybe it's just me) , and the editing caused confusion at times ---- presented gaps in the narration that didn't need to be there. But overall, it was a very satisfactory movie experience, and I would recommend the movie with a few reservations (seen above). This one, I think, will linger for awhile in my head, and that's what films should do.





Average rating: 3.635
I'd give it 3.4
Paradise Now
(2005) PG-13
Hany Abu-Assad's disturbing yet moving tale examines two young Palestinians who are drafted as suicide bombers for an assignment in Tel Aviv. Both commit to their mission, but have second thoughts after spending a final night with friends and family. Instead of portraying the men as soulless monsters, Abu-Assad attempts to humanize them and find reasons why they would accept such a drastic, tragic fate. The film was shot on location in the West Bank.

Genre:Foreign Dramas, Middle East, Foreign Languages
This movie is:Understated, Gritty, Dark, Controversial

Movie #313 ........................."I'm Reed Fish"

Movie #313 "I'm Reed Fish" was a not-so-good movie. I liked Jay Baruchel, and the females were actually fun to watch. However, the plot and acting of the secondary people was amateurish. It seemed so pushy as far as the comedy, that I just resisted it. I didn't really like the big surprise at the end either.............a bit confusing and didn't justify the affectiveness and overacting of the characters. I wouldn't recommend it.




DONNA's rating: 2.0 stars
Average of 274,109 ratings: 3.1 stars
I'm Reed Fish
2007PG-1393 minutes
A big fish in the little pond of Mud Meadows, Reed Fish (Jay Baruchel) has it all: He hosts a radio show with the mayor (Katey Sagal) and is about to wed the town beauty (Alexis Bledel). But when his high school crush (Schuyler Fisk) resurfaces, he makes choices that throw his life into chaos. DJ Qualls and Chris Parnell are among the colorful characters in this quirky comedy about a small-town love triangle, penned by the real Reed Fish.

Cast:Jay Baruchel, Katey Sagal, Alexis Bledel, Schuyler Fisk, A.J. Cook, Victor Rasuk, DJ Qualls, Chris ParnellDirector:Zackary AdlerGenres:Comedy, Romantic Comedies, Indie Comedies, Indie RomanceThis movie is:Romantic, QuirkyFormat:DVD and streaming (HD available)

Movie #312 ........................."O'Horten"

Movie #312 "O'Horten" was an unusual film with very little dialogue (and what's there is Norwegian) , and the subject matter is very strange, as well. It's about this guy who is a train engineer and he is taking his last ride (it's an overnight) and on his way to his own retirement party, he gets unexpectedly detained and never does get his award, nor his last trip home. From there, he wanders around from one eccentric person he meets to another, one venture to the next (some seem way out there) One scene he was locked in the sauna room because he fell asleep in there, comes out and swims nude in the pool, but is interrupted by a nude couple that jump in the water, and he is able to sneak out. H tries to find his niche in life wherever he turns, and i'm happy to say the ending is satisfactory. It's hard not to be detached from the film and the lead character and the place, because they are all detached anyway ---- it's cold, dull and he is lonely through most of the film, but IDO recommend it to people at a crossroads in their lives ---- misery loves company.





You rated this movie: 3.0
O'Horten
(2007) PG-13
Odd Horten (Baard Owe) is having trouble adjusting to retirement. In the skewed vision of filmmaker Bent Hamer (Factotum), Horten's restlessness launches encounters with a host of strange characters, new behavior and unlikely adventures. He makes new friends, including a doctor he finds sprawled on the sidewalk and a blindfolded motorist, reconnects with an old flame and tries wearing heels -- all representing the end of 40 years of routine.