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Reviews
Closing the Ring (2007)
A Nice Film, that deserved more
The film opens in 1991, with the funeral of a former World War II veteran. The man's daughter Marie (Neve Campbell) delivers the eulogy to a church full of veterans who knew and loved her father, while her mother Ethel Ann (Shirley MacLaine) is sitting out on the church porch, smoking and nursing a hangover. When Ethel Ann begins acting strangely, only her friend Jack (Christopher Plummer) seems to understand why. It quickly emerges that there is a lot Marie does not know about her mother's past and the true story of her love life.
The movie flips to a time when this mother was young, lively, and optimistic (young Ethel Ann played by Mischa Barton). She is in love with a young farmer, Teddy Gordon (played by Canadian new comer Stephen Amell), who goes off to war with his best friends Jack (Gregory Smith) and Chuck (David Alpay), but not all of them make it back alive. The plot lines intertwine with the story of a young Ulsterman in Belfast who finds a ring in the wreckage of a crashed B-17 and is determined to return it to the woman who once owned it.
Closing the Ring got a lot of mixed reviews when it came out in England in Early 2008. But as a fan of a lot of the actors and director I wanted to see the film (usually not into Romance movies), and tried to keep up with updates on the a films release in Canada. Luckily for me while I was in Toronto, this film was released in theaters with little promotion beforehand, with the expect ion of ET playing a 30 second clip. I decided it was fate for me to see this movie, as it was the only place in Canada where it was playing.
I went with my family and we all enjoyed it. The film did have flaws, a sub plot involving the IRA confused the already busy plot, and Stephaen Arnell who played the gorgeous Mischa Barton's love interest gave a WEAK performance. Usually when an actor gives a bad performance it can ruin a movie, especially with a role as important as his, and surprisingly Barton is able to still act off of him.
Shirley MacClaine, Christopher Plummer, and Neve Campbell all work well of each other in their scenes. While scene stealer's Academy Award Winner Brenda Fricker and unknown actor Martin McCann light up the screen when they were on. Pete Postlethwaite was also very good as the grumpy Irishman Quinlan, but just like the IRA plot, scenes with the young version of him were unesscsesary. Gregory Smith is good and David Alphy does what he can with his nothing role. But the heart of the film is really Mischa Barton. SHe is just adorable, and as a fan of her earlier films (she was also stiff in her TV work), it was nice see her give a great performance, because people have labeled her a bad actress just because of "The OC" and it is too bad the film didn't get a wider release because this is her breakout role, she is wonderful.
All in all, a light film with nice performances and a great score. Great for older and younger audiences. Why did it not get a wide release!?
The Air I Breathe (2007)
Needed more focus
The Air I Breathe was a film that I have been excited for ever since it was announced. I was so pumped to see Gellar in a great film, cause if you look at her past credits which include Scooby Doo and Simply Irrestible you probably wouldn't take her seriously. Now back to the film. TAIB is a drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman (Whitaker) bets his life on a horse race; a gangster (Fraser) sees the future; a pop star (Gellar) falls prey to a crime boss (Garcia); a doctor (Bacon) must save the love of his life. Sounds interesting, right? Well most of the time it isn't. Not saying the film is bad, the film has its moments, including a beautiful shot of Ms. Gellar on the rooftop. Jieho Lee and co-writer Bob DeRosa are all over the place, and at some parts they succeed and other parts leaves the audience scratching their heads. The first part of the film, starts of with Forest Whitaker narrating, talking about how to lead a happy life (or something like that). This part of the film is the worst one, and we are also introduced to Branden Fraiser who appears in the next two parts. Happiness, was boring, and had some moments that left me smirking when i shouldn't;t have. The next one is Pleasure. Pleasure was a huge step forward, we are introduced to Andy Garcia, playing his usual self, and smart talking Emile Hirsch (who is great here). Branden Fraiser plays Pleasure. Sorrow is next. Sarah Michelle Gellar is great and the biggest stand out in the film, and I am not just saying that because I am a Buffy fan. Love which features Kevin Bacon, and Julie Delphy, is corny, and the acting is even worse. Delphya nd Bacon are both weak spurring out dribble. DOn;t forget the last ten minutes when gellar steps in is where it starts to get good again. The Air I Breathe is a good film, that should have benn great.
ps....why is the rating so high? 8.7? It should be at 7.0 - 7.5
Scream (1996)
7.0 does not do this film justice!!
A quiet, peaceful town in California becomes dangerous after the raping and slaying of Mrs. Prescott, mother of teenage daughter Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbelle), occurs. Almost a year later, 2 of Sidney's classmates (Drew Barrymore and Kevin Patrick Walls) are found dead and gutted where everybody in the town is a suspect including Sidney's best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan), her brother budding cop Dewy (David Arquette), Tatum's joking boyfriend Stu (Matthew Lilard) and geeky Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy). After Sidney is attacked and manages to escape, Sideny's boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ulrich) seems to be the prime suspect. A local bitchy tabloid reporter, Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is on the case to find out who the killer is. She tells Sidney that it could possibly be the same man that killed her mom one year earlier. But when Billy is proved innocent, a confused and upset Sidney tries to find who really is causing all the past murders and soon to come murders.
This film has chills, thrills and laughs. Courtney Cox, Neve Cambell, Drew Barrymore, and especially Rose McGowan all look stunning. I do not know what happened to Neve Cambell's career but it looks like it is going to be back on track. The men in the movie all do excellent work. If you see this movie at the video store rent, No wait BUY IT!!!
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather of all movies
Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned from WWII just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone (Michael's sister) to Carlo Rizzi. All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but, much against the advice of the Don's lawyer Tom Hagen, the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer. This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads his son Michael to begin a violent mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.
I have never read the novel but I am sure I will pick it up. The film will always be one of the greatest achievement in movie history. I swear if any movie KNOCKS THE GODFATHER OUT OF THE # 1 SPOT I will be so angry.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Charlie Kaufman at His Best!!!
Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contracts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwaik (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine removed from his own memory. But as Joel's memories progressively disappear, he begins to rediscover their earlier passion. From deep within the recesses of his brain, Joel attempts to escape the procedure. As Dr. Mierzwiak and his crew (Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Elijah Wood) chase him through the maze of his memories, it's clear that Joel just can't get her out of his head.
The film is imaginary, sad, and funny and it is wonderfully acted. I have always liked Charlie Kaufman films but this one blows the others right out of th water.
Urban Legend (1998)
An original slasher
After a tacky opening sequence featuring Natasha Gregson Wagner getting slaughtered by the killer with an axe hiding in the backseat of her car, Urban Legend tells the story of a group of pretty college students at a remote New England university. The focus of the story is Natalie (Alicia Witt), a beautiful, academically-gifted student at the fictional Pendleton University. Natalie and her friends (who include Jared Leto as a brash journalist, Rebecca Gayheart as her best friend, Michael Rosenbaum as the party-hardy boy, Joshua Jackson as a practical joker and Tara Reid as the sexy campus DJ) are all involved in the Folklore class being taught by Professor Wexler (Robert Englund). Wexler regales his class with urban legends, which include Pendleton's own urban legend about a Psych professor who murdered six students at Stanley Hall 25 years ago. Natalie is the first one to suspect there's a killer on campus, especially after she has ties to all of the victims. First, it's her high school friend, a guy she's in the woods with at night, her roommate (Danielle Harris), including her friends, Wexler, Dean Adams (John Neville) and security guard (Loretta Devine), of course, no one believes her until it's too late and everyone begins to die according to famous urban legends, and Natalie believes it's all tied to a dark and horrible secret from her past. Now she finds that she and her friends are part of the killer's ultimate urban legend--the story of their own horrific deaths...
This slasher flick is extremely satisfactory and it is very very original. The acting seems to be good and the dialogue is decent. The only problem is that the first death is quite stupid but luckily Tara Reid's chase scene is very well done (but not as good as Sarah Michelle Gellar's from I Know what you did last summer).
Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
Urban Legends? Where are they?
I have no idea, so all we have is a crappy sequel that goes nowhere.
We don't learn anything about the characters nor do we care if they die.
The twists seem pointless and uninspired. NO WAIT, this movie is pointless and uninspired. This is not a sequel to Urban Legends it has different characters and a costume.
Oh wait there was one Urban Legend(Black Market Kidneys) with the character Lisa.
I can not write much of this movie because well it's not of much of anything.
1/10 Terrible,Terrible,Terrible.
My top 5 worst movies
1- Dead end road
2- Superbabies 2
3- The Fog
4-From Justin to Kelly
5- URBAN LEGENDS: FINAL CUT!!!
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Better, but not Great
Like I said about the first movie the effects are amazing, direction great, and the writing and acting got better. Yet the film is still over rated!!
I don't feel like writing much so this is a short review. I have never read the books so maybe I need too, to like the movie better. Liv Tyler got more screen time this time so it was great.
The only interesting character was Golum. He symbolized the external battle for good and evil through an internal struggle.
The dialogue in this movie offered nothing. It was mostly about one group's plans, followed by the enemies plans.
Well. I don't want to think much more about this movie.The fighting scenes and animation were cool. This definitely doesn't stand as a 3 hour film on its own.
This film is not as good as Return of the king (I gave it a 8/10), but it is good, yet still overrated.
So my final score is...
7/10
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Meh...
Special Effects? amazing
Direction? Great
Acting? OK
Script? Long and pitiful
I can see how could someone love this movie, but I can see people who hate this movie too. The script is long and boring and the acting is wooden. Peter Jackson is great director and the effects are awesome, but it seems to drag. Another thing that bugged me was that Liv Tyler was only in the movie for about 5-10 minutes yet she is on the cover? This movie is an over rated movie that will be liked by some and hated by others.
An American Haunting (2005)
A Scary Film....well not really
A decent movie with good performances by the always wonderful Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland, but one person that stuck out was Rachel Hurd-Wood. I was a little nervous because of the director (Courtney Solomon) last movie which was the terrible Dungeons and Dragons,and I was right... he was not fit for the role of Director. The thing is at some parts made me squeamish and you could actually feel the hair on the back ofyour neck in some parts(SOME IS THE KEY WORD). The cinematography by master Adrian Biddle and the score by Caine Davidson are first rate.The movie is a really clichéd, though and some of the camera angles gave me a headache.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
One of my favorites...
One of my favorite movies it has everything sex,drugs and...Sarah Michelle Gellar!!
Sebastian (Ryan Philippe,54) and his step sister Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the vampire slayer)are two wealthy, manipulative teenage step-siblings from Manhattan's upper-crust. Kathryn makes a bet that her step-brother, Sebastian, won't be able to bed Annette (Reese Witherspoon) before the start of the school year. If he loses, Kathryn gets his Roadster, if he wins, he gets Kathryn. This is my my 4th favourite movie after...
1. Scream 2. The Godfather 3. Eternal Sunshine
The film co-stars Selma Blair ("Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane",Down to You), Sean Patrick Thomas (Drakula 2000,Save the Last Dance),Eric Mabius (The Crow: Salvation), Joshua Jackson ("Dawson's Creek"),Tara Reid (Urban Legend,American Pie), Swoosie Kurtz (Outside Ozona,Liar Liar) and Louise Fletcher(A Map of the World)
So if you are looking for a sexy, funny well acted movie, this is IT!
Freedomland (2006)
Bad script , acting and Direction
I had great expectations, and all I got was this "movie". Julianne Moore appears in the opening scene, sobbing, her hands bleeding, staggering into a hospital with a story of her car being hijacked in a wooded area near a low-income housing development. Samuel L. Jackson plays Lorenzo, the detective assigned to the case. He can't understand why her character, named Brenda, was driving through the isolated area at the time. She explains: She's a volunteer at a community children's center, and took the wrong shortcut home. Lorenzo thinks she's hiding something, and she is: Her son was in the back seat of the car when it was taken.Cops from a nearby white district blanket the area, a black preacher complains that blacks are killed all the time in the district without this kind of police attention, and the woman's brother Ron Eldard is a white cop who seems angry all the time -- at his sister , at the black community, at Sameul. Julianne Moore apparently left in the personal custody of Sameul, who removes her from the hospital without formalities, drives her around, leaves her alone, has heart-to-heart talks with her, and ignores all police procedures for dealing with victims and/or witnesses? The acting is wooden from greats like Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson and the script has way too many loose ends. The only good part was Edie Falco.
So if you want bad acting, direction and writing this is your movie.