Reviews

I'm not a big fan of horror and even less so of low budget comedy horror... but The Insatiable was pretty entertaining...

It doesn't attempt to be pretentious and has an interesting plot premise... the sexiness doesn't go overboard as often happens in these flicks.. and there are some unique moments comedy wise...

A couple of major plot errors and continuity problems come across as intentionally done for the laugh.... at 1hr 29m Tatiana is chowing a guys right arm and rips it off, he falls to the ground with his right arm fully intact, then a moment later a gruesome nub of bone and flesh with gallons of blood is back...

Michael Biehn takes the cake as the handicapped ex military believer in vampires and confidant of Harry... years ago everyone thought Biehn was gone, but he's become an acting boomerang and has carved himself a niche as the super worn and craggy tough guy both in comedic roles and drama... on a $700k budget, he must have been the top expenditure...

a guilty pleasure and better than almost everything in the ultra low cost horror genre... enjoy!

Eden is a movie that will stick with you... it is harsh, brutal really, and gives the viewer a look at human trafficking in the US that 90% of the audience will label as so over the top as to be melodramatic fakery...

That 90% of the audience is flat wrong... this is a true story by the real 'Eden', Chong Kim.... if you've seen the movie, reflect back on the things that happened in it for a couple of minutes knowing that they are true.....

EDIT: it has been since alleged, most likely correctly, that Chong Kim manufactured the story and was never actually in this position. While regrettable if true, it doesn't change the fact that the overall story is true to life.

It's a devastating and surprising story about the reality of slavery that exists here in the USA, today, in our cities. The relatively simple plot turns it into a pure acting display by Jamie Chung and Scott Mechlowicz.

The stark reality about how, while driving amongst our McDonalds and WalMarts, people can be owned, brutalized, used as money machines, then thrown out in plastic bags when they lose their usefulness is shocking, and both actors turn in great performances as the slave who turns to being a master to survive and the owner who teeters between monster and friend.

The winner here is Jamie Chung, who puts in a career changing performance with a LOT of raw emotion. She possesses such an incredible beauty that it's very hard to imagine her delivering on the 'mangled by life' emotion of her character, and while it did trip up a couple of scenes, she overall delivered in a big way that is sure to get noticed. It is a deep, moving performance. She was a reality star a couple of years ago, and now she's doing deep indie drama and pulling it off...

This very deserving subject was served well by an obviously committed cast and crew. Remember while you watch that tens of thousands are imported to the US as slaves every year and people can be bought for as little as $400 on the street... people...

24 years later, Rush is intensely interesting.... and is remarkable for being a piece of movie history where history was revealed, careers were started, real life relationships ended, and lawsuits were flying everywhere.

Jennifer Jason Leigh had a long career going before this, but prior to Rush, her only real critical success had been the super edgy and brutal but unknown Last Exit to Brooklyn. The very private Jason Patric had gotten lucky with Solar Babies and Lost Boys.... but really neither of them were flying artistically yet.... Rush changed that. Top flight performances from both marked them as first stop actors for real acting work in the decades since.

Kim Rozencraft's novel about her Texas undercover work in the early 70's is mostly represented well here except for the extraordinarily ugly real life ending of Kim's breakups, prison time, and eventually lawsuits over the movie for the real life Jim and Kristen.

Rush very faithfully recreates blue collar Southern Rock / Texas mood of the 70's along with drug culture and lax police oversight and case making.

The actors do a great job of depicting a cop couple doing a months long torturous circling of the drain while in love. They have obvious great chemistry as resulted in Jason Patric leaving Julia Roberts for Jennifer Jason Leigh in real life. To reflect back, that was as if in 2013 Brad Pitt left Angelina for Daniella Kertesz in World War Z... it was the biggest story in the world at the time.

Rush has some stunning scenes. Dancing together while Freddy Fender sings 'Last Teardrop Falls'. The defining moment of the movie being the table scene where coffee cups fly and Walker gets turned.

Great movie and now a true classic that I wish they would release on Blu Ray.

I started watching Hunted with some caution... some of the British produced spy / thriller stuff I've seen has been a little dry for my taste... but after watching 2 episodes, I've really been blown away by the quality of the show....

It got right to the point in the pilot with a compelling set of plot arcs... had some good action and top quality effects and cinematography.

What is most compelling about the show is, however, how Melissa George has found a glove like character fit. She has a unique quality of perfectly pulling off the desperate, effective ruthless, ultra strong woman part that we saw a hint of way back in the Alias days. She has a truly unique voice and affect that fits this part perfectly.... so much so that many of her parts in the last few years seem wimpy and that they vastly underused her talents.

So I'm on board for the duration of this show.... feature film quality with top flight acting.....

I saw an internet snippet about Blackthorn and was immediately surprised that it existed.. Then I saw it and was immediately surprised it was so good. The good modern western is a very rare animal, really only True Grit and Blackthorn.... really, the good western of any time is a rare one. Blackthorn is really good.

Sam Shepard puts in a top notch performance as a late life Butch, living a modest life in Bolivia and dreaming of going home 19 years after... well, you know what. He goes on to another adventure... with a new partner.

The pivotal scene comes about 46 minutes in when Butch, dealt a cruel blow, hands (and most will miss this detail) Sundance's old sheepskin lined brown coat to his new found friend, saying "maybe you can use this." But fate has an entirely different idea. Butch's sentimentality will also meet it's cruel end, and his new partner will badly misread what Butch really is.

The story is typical for a western, but done in a very subtle and contemplative way. If you are older and looking back at life, you'll appreciate it all the more.... the reality about good Westerns is they are about loss... they are all tragedies... haters of this movie are really film amateurs... it's an awesome film.

Top flight cinematography of the Bolivian high desert and the Salar de Uyuni (wiki that for a very interesting read) make Blackthorn truly exceptional. The Spanish Western blended soundtrack is unique, emotional, and haunting... it adds a deep level to the film.

I saw some crazy reviews on here, including a long one that got most of the movie, and Butch's real life wrong so I assume they didn't actually see Blackthorn, or know anything about the man....

Even without all the junk that's out there right now, you should see Blackthorn. I went back and watched the 1969 blockbuster "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (which I saw first run when it came out and loved) and came away feeling that it was kind of commercial and that Blackthorn was the far better film which is something that I never ever... ever.. thought I would say. Think about that: after 44 years, Blackthorn makes Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid look commercial.

I'm shocked, but Blackthorn easily makes it into the top 5 westerns of the last 40 years, for me the the top 5 ever... easily.

This title has fallen to the wayside over the last 21 years... Not mentioned much, if ever.

Even a very high quality Blu Ray release on July 5, 2010 (ASIN: B0040T7316) didn't wake up interest in it... though I believe it was a Australia only release, it's available at Amazon and various other outlets... including BestBuy.

It's a shame, because Zeffirelli's take on Hamlet occupies a very good niche... beautiful cinematography, perfect direction, and some truly breathtaking acting combine with a shortened story to bridge the gap between modern cinema and Shakespeare... no small feat

Mel Gibson gives a unique and sharp rendition of Hamlet and his madness. His delivery is effortless and entirely believable. He gives life to Shakespeare for the modern audience. Even my high school age kids now have a genuine interest in Shakespeare, which I doubt any mainstream American kid has actually had in the last 3 generations.

Helena Bonham Carter delivers the performance of her career with incredible affect... mesmerizing to watch.

Likewise Glenn Close performs the scene of her career begging Hamlet for mercy upon learning of her new found husbands treachery. A truly stunning scene.

This production cuts significant parts of the play as well as adding a prelude... but the story of Hamlet is told in a very artistic and true way.

Snooty Shakespeare snobs will write terrible reviews of this as if there is no room for alternative viewa in order to adapt his plays... but I would argue that NONE of his plays are suitable as-is for modern film.... the idea itself is absurd, so let them whine while you enjoy this film.

Anyone looking for a superlative introduction to Shakespeare in film should see this... a tour de force filled with subtlety... it's simply the best modern version of any Shakespearean play.

I liked the movie, but that's because I've been an executive and a trader and immediately understood the implications, characters, motivations etc.

A junior analyst does some math and discovers a comet is about to hit them, they decide to let the peasants die so they can get out of the way, end of story.....

The real story, however, is yanking the veneer off the business so we the public can see how nonchalantly and arrogantly the people in real power in our country will devise a way to take money from us, then throw us to the wolves when it blows up.

That's why you've got a top flight cast doing this movie for nothing.

From that perspective it is a great look into what was probably happening at numerous firms involved in the MBS / CDO mess that started the current recession/ depression.

The casting was spot on for the various positions, their acting esp with regard to their motivations about money, career, and doing the right thing were pitch perfect....

So if you are looking for great acting showing what it was very probably like in real life, this movie delivers in a big way and includes a bunch of artful symbolism.

You guys should love it for being the truth it is.

Inventive drama...

Claire Danes breaking new territory as a convincingly psychologically broken field agent... She is simply great.

Damian Lewis comes through again. He always does, but the last couple of times he got some tough breaks... most notably the new style cop program Life, which was very good but doomed by not selling quite enough commercial time on network TV.

A new twist on the post 9/11 WOT drama genre.... internet haters come out, but their criticisms are weak and overreaching.... Homeland is riveting from the start.... can't wait to see where it goes.... highly recommended.

If only network TV could keep up with SHO, HBO, and all the other cable guys who are kicking creative tail every time.

Dylan Avery comes out with the 5th iteration of his paranoid mega extrapolated impression of the collapse of WTC1 and 2 in order to continue to enrich himself. He has now turned his conspiracy idea into a decade long career... a suspicious feat in it's own right.

The Press is supposed to be about informing the electorate in an unbiased way.... Dylan Avery is as far from the press as is conceivable... Why did he need 5 iterations? Because he needed to keep his meal ticket going every time someone proved it to be a farce.

Loose change's citations have changed significantly over the years as they've become increasingly obvious fabrications or contextually flawed, so he's had to change them constantly to dodge the truth.

Avery is outright playing on human psyche to try to say whatever he wants to say to get the most hits on the internet.... he basically hit the lottery by telling an unbelievably BS story.

The film's message remains the same though: If you don't agree with the extremely biased conspiracy view, which focuses on partial or out of context information desperately assembled to keep his 15 minutes going... then you, the viewer, must be stupid.

In fact, this version's narration repeatedly takes a manipulative, berating, and sarcastic tone toward the viewer, in essence declaring you a 'non-believer' and idiot if you have any momentary thoughts calling into question their conspiracy.

There is a wealth of counterpoint to this supposed 'documentary' that you can read by googling 'debunk loose change' ... read with an open mind the entire record, then make your own decision about tube-in-tube construction susceptibility to relatively low temperature fires and the like....

It's amazing that Avery can create and refine this piece of propaganda in order to enrich himself for so long and that the masses continue to eat it up without reading for themselves.... but: There's a sucker born every minute.... oh and I would bet that most who disagree with my view here reading this think PT Barnum said that... wrong again....

The original cut of this film was rushed out for the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and got ROASTED by critics and Micky himself.... and its very easy to see how that could happen with such a delicate and light plot... it was completely re cut and then, due to the poor reviews, only shown on 2 screens grossing 2,000 (!) then to video.... ouch...

I just watched the directors / DVD cut and was impressed. It is delicate and nuanced. If you are a viewer who appreciates life meaning and subtlety in film as you might see in Terrence Malik, you can see how Passion Play is sort of an attempt at a life view. There is good cinematography and all the basic elements, and I'd describe it as strong but not excellent.

I'm not a Megan Fox fan, and while not top flight here, she is good. Who knows, if she can get a few more films to develop her career she may not regret the whole Michael Bay thing. Micky does a Wrestler echo with good effect. As usual, Bill Murray is by far the strongest talent, but in this case he doesn't have quite enough to work with and seems underused.

While not top flight, It's not a waste of your time. If you re one of these people who's got to have a completely traditional film structure, you will be disappointed... but for the philosophical among you... there is something worth watching here....

there are two types of reviewers for this movie.... the ones who enjoy it and the ones who think 9/11 is too significant to be spoken of unless its in a reverent documentary.

I admit, I didn't like it at first... mainly because I was expecting a love story and its not that. But on the second viewing I loved it...

Its a story about loss.... the loss that we all are faced with at some point... unexpected... unwelcome... the loss that leaves large holes in us... That shapes us and is part of being alive..

It deals with 9/11 in the most relevant way possible... regarding the holes that are left in our lives... if you hate it because it invokes 9/11... please don't, because it is right on target... for all of us.

I am not a typical Twilight fan.... I'm not in the age group, I'm not the right gender, but I love film and shockingly thought that the original Twilight was, well, great.

TOT (the original Twilight) directed by Catherine Hardwicke was full of subtlety, inspirirng cinematography, the unwinding of the mystery of the Cullens and how the introduction of Bella into that world and in reality opening her eyes to the entire world. TOT branded the story as being smoky, mysterious, and filled with connections for anybody who watched it.

Then they got rid of Hardwicke.... and now that Eclipse and New Moon are out, it's clear that the creative identity of the films IS, without a doubt, her.

Eclipse takes the premise of a vampire skirmish and stretches that alone to a 2hr 4min stretch of poorly directed intimacies, snappy one liners, and.... well I just saw the movie and I don't remember anything else other than the anticlimatically filmed primary scene of the movie which I won't identify here to save people the serious spoiler.

You should wait for DVD so you can have something else to do while you are watching, because this poorly directed and written portion of the story is insulting to TOT.

I don't know why Hardwicke isn't directing these, but it will go down as the stupidest creative decision of this decade in film for sure. I'd be willing to bet that some egotistical moron at Summit was thinking greedy and that Hardwicke wasn't gonna be able to helm something with so much more money riding on it.... insert headslap here.

very very disappointing... I really want there to be another installment of the series that measures up to TOT, here's to hoping that happens.

I'm big on seeing the glass half full.... directors often present a surreal perspective to convey their purpose... and I'm understanding of that in order to see their message That being said, about 5 minutes into Gamer I found myself trying to hate it, but the truth is it conveys a searing portrayal of the obsentity that lies just beneath society that technology can release.

There are a large number of films and TV series that tackle the idea that our technology when combined with the human propensity for violence and abuse will ultimately lead to our destruction... most recently Dollhouse, Terminator, and Battlestar Galactica come to mind....

Gamer won't be held in the same regard as most other media in this genre, and who knows, maybe it will become some type of cult classic like some other surreal films like Pulp Fiction or Natural Born Killers, but I don't think so.

Gamer attempts to be high brow with obsenity, and it's very tough to swallow at times... but it did leave me awake in bed in the middle of the night thinking to myself: "where the f**k are we going as humans?" so maybe, while not in a very enjoyable fashion, the director accomplished his purpose?

Lot of haters for this show... the 1978 version's fans, sticklers for technical / behavioral plausibility, internet moaners and complainers....

The reality is, though, that the miniseries + four seasons of Battlestar Galactica as a story is some of the most engrossing and thought provoking work in visual media of any type to date.

It's arc portraying many of the facets of the human condition leading to the stunning suggestion of eternal return in a modern context is brilliant.

The acting is excellent, plot rewarding to see through, and the contrasts of intimate stories with major human issues unique.

Battlestar Galactica is a must see show for those who think about real issues and our existence....

Don't let the complainers convince you to be closed minded... see it.

wow am I amazed at the level of hatred for this film....

this is a great film and forceful dramatic examination of Alexander and his philosophy, leadership, passion, and amazing grasp of what was possible in the world....

it is a major intellectual failure for anyone to interpret it as a:

historical documentary: the two main battles of the film are composites of events in Persia and India and as such do not convey accurate detail of a singular event... the backdrop of the Alexandria Pharos (lighthouse) likewise is a simple piece to represent the fantastic world that Alexander made possible... if you want scientific examinations of history, watch the History Channel

a statement on homosexuality: Alexander's bisexuality has ample historical evidence, was common in his contemporaries, and as such is dramatized in the movie in completely reasonable fashion.. it is not any type of a statement, if you interpret it as such you are overreaching

a statement about Tyrannical aims: history suggests that Alexander wanted to unite the world, was conflicted about his place in it, and a whole bunch other stuff, some of which referred to in the film.. attempts to extrapolate that into comparisons to Caligula, Hitler, etc. totally miss the huge evidence of Alexander's planning to unify the world, expand learning and trade, and to be happy in the 'doing' of things

there is much more but you get the idea....

this film delivers an interpretation of Alexander's dream as a dream...

the audience can choose to complain and moan about the correctness of a battle or the characterization of homosexuality...

but the reality is, it's an inspiring tale of one of the world's greatest people