Gran Torino

Todd Says:

4 STARS

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this harsh story about life in ethnic neighborhoods. He plays a racist war veteran who slowly, over the course of the movie, builds a relationship with his Asian neighbors.

The dialogue is harsh at times, and if you are easily offended by racial slurs you may want to avoid this one. (I think every racial slur ever uttered to any ethnicity finds it's way into the script.) The acting is dead-on, capturing a wide range of human emotions, and dragging you into this desperate neighborhood with the characters.

I think that Eastwood is on a roll as a director, the likes of which we haven't seen since Harry Callahan.

Ghost Town

(2008)

Sue says:

5 Stars

I loved this one! Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear were hilarious.

Bertram (Gervais) is a guy who doesn't really like anyone and doesn't mind if they know it. When he goes in to the hospital for what should be a simple proceedure and ends up dying for a few minutes he gains the annoying ablility to see and talk to dead people.

It's not an original story, but they've done a great job making it funny this time.

Todd Says:

3.5 STARS

This movie was enjoyable, but I found it to be too unoriginal to really love it. It was full of funny and clever dialogue, but at the same time a lot of the scenes seemed to be a little contrived. If you're just looking for a non-thinking little romantic comedy to pass a couple of hours, or if you've got a date whose not into thinking much, then this would be the perfect movie for the occasion.

Cool Hand Luke

(1967)

Todd Says:

4 STARS

This is one of those movies that will make you wonder what happened to Hollywood, and leave you wondering why nobody makes good movies anymore. Paul Newman shines as a man without direction, trying to survive in a world with too many rules.

It has aged pretty well, though some younger viewers may have a hard time relating to most of the characters, the scenes and situations do a good job at transcending the decades. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who has never seen it. And if it's been years since you've seen it, it's worth revisiting.

Revolver

Todd Says:

2 STARS

Being a fan of Guy Ritchie's movies Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, I was expecting this movie to be a lot better than it was. I was greatly disappointed.

First of all, the story was supposed to be suspenseful and mysterious, but quite early on it became painfully obvious what was happening. So obvious that I thought it was too obvious, and for 70% of the movie I was convinced that Ritchie had been clever enough to misdirect me, sadly I was wrong. The plot was just that transparent.

So, mix a weak story with some really bad acting (I'm talking to you Ray Liotta), and you end up with a movie that's really not wasting your time on.

I Could Never Be Your Woman

Todd Says:

2 STARS

I'm not a big fan of the Romantic Comedy genre to begin with, but this one left me feeling a bit more frustrated than usual. Weak story, bad dialogue, and bad over acting leave this silly little tale about a vain woman and her boy toy greatly lacking.

I think that you could find a better movie to invest your time in.

The Way of War

Todd Says:

1/2 STAR

This movie was terrible. Terrible. The Plot, Acting, and Scene Structure are easily among some of the worst I have ever seen. I felt embarrassed for Cuba Gooding Jr for being in this movie. The only thing that kept me watching this movie through to the end was the hope that something would happen to at least make it make a little sense. It didn't.

The story is full of characters that never feel real, doing things that don't make any sense for them to be doing. There were times in this movie where the characters did extremely unusual things with no apparent motivation. The main character's motivation is never clearly developed, and when his apparent enemy reveals that he is sacrificing himself to save the hero at the end of the movie, with no explanation, I have to speculate that the 'villain' was just as tired of being in this movie as I was of watching it.

Even if you can't find anything else to watch, I don't recommend this film. Just turn the TV off and stare at the black screen for 90 minutes. Same effect.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

(2008)

Todd Says:

1.5 STARS

Try as he might, Keanu Reeves can not make this movie worth watching. We're going to categorize this one with the Re-makes that shouldn't have been Re-made.

The special effects team did a good job re-inventing the robot that would destroy our world, the problem is that I wanted our world to be destroyed after watching this movie. As a fan of Sci-Fi films, I was especially disappointed with this movie. Not that I was expecting a masterpiece, I just hoped that it would have been better.

I can't strongly recommend this movie to anyone, I'm sure some people will like it just fine, but most of you are going to feel like you wasted your time.

O Brother Where Are Thou?

Sue Says:

5 Stars

This movie is so much fun to watch. The Coen Brothers give us the tale of the Odyssey in the form of three escaped convicts traveling through the South during the Depression. Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar are on a quest to retrieve a hidden treasure. Along the symbolism lined path they encounter one obstacle after another, beginning with a family betrayal and ending with the Devil himself. George Clooney is his usual clever self and the rest of the cast is perfect as well.

If you've never seen this I recommend you buy (not rent) it today. You won't regret it.

Todd Says:

4.5 STARS

This is definitely a film that I have to classify as a modern classic. This movie is so good that I doubt we even need to review because everyone should have already seen it. But since we're here, I think that this might just be the best that the Coen Brothers have ever done. Unless you don't like your comedies to be witty and clever then you can't go wrong.

This is definitely a laugh out loud comedy. I highly recommend this film.

Primer

(2004)

Todd Says:

4 STARS

I stumbled across this little indie gem totally by accident, but it turned out to be one of the best most thought provoking movies I've seen in a long time. Primer was Written, Directed, and Featured Shane Carruth, who until now was totally unknown to me.

It's about a couple of friends who accidentally build a time machine, and the ethical issues that arise in their lives due to this discovery. It is basically a morality tale, about trust and greed and ambition.

This film is put together wonderfully, the characters seem real enough to be people you may know, and the story is told at a natural feeling pace. I highly recommend this movie.

Southland Tales

(2006)

Todd Says:

2 STARS

It seems to me that director Richard Kelly may have fallen victim to his own cult success. After the following that his first movie Donnie Darko gathered, he may have been under the impression that people just want to be confused and befuddled by a movie. The fact is, however, the only thing that I found confusing about this movie was directors intent.

Kelly attempts to trip you up with a rapid succession of partially fleshed out characters double crossing each other faster than the plot can support, all the way through a weak Sci-Fi laden secret agent plot. Top that with a generous portion of real world political partisanship, and two servings of bad dialogue, and the merits of this movie quickly dissolve into the background.

In contrast with the other reviews you'll find here, I didn't find this movie incomprehensible, only convoluted and strained. In short, this one left me feeling like I'd just read the rough draft of a potentially good story.

Alexis says:

1 Star

I am not sure if I should really be permitted to review this movie when I in fact allowed myself to drift off for a few minutes about halfway through. But this movie has left me so disturbed that I just must comment.

After analyzing the movie myself, discussing it with others whom have seen it and reading other reviews on IMDB I have come to this revelation. This movie is too confusing to enjoy. On top of what I find to be some rather bad acting (who knew Dwayne Johnson could act so well until put in a movie with some of Saturday Night Live's most annoying) this movie is so complicated that I have considered if even the writer himself (as mentioned below, Donnie Darko's Richard Kelly writes and directs) understands it.

When I wasn't totally confused I found myself just watching the clock and hoping that the movie didn't seem so slow, hence the desire to fall asleep. When the film began and there was twenty minutes of explaining this post apocalyptic world I thought I might be in for an interesting movie, but honestly it just seemed to fall apart from there. What some have called 'art' when referring to this movie I find to be more of a good vision gone sour.

One cannot just praise movie for trying to be different, for creating something original. That original idea must be good to deserve praise. And where as having Justin Timberlake lip-syncing The Killers in a drug induced state is possibly original, I can't say it was all that enjoyable. There were aspects of this movie that were original and could have led somewhere but most of it was perplexing and some of it all too reminiscent (isn't that the same eye make-up from a certain 2001 movie?)

Perhaps this movie needed a little more fine tuning before Kelly used his Donnie Darko notoriety to make the film. Maybe there are a lot of people who enjoy only being able to understand 20% of a film, but for me this movie just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Chris says:

2.75 Stars

Ok, I have to start off by saying that I'm not always right. I know that may come as a shock, but yours truly sometimes convinces his wife that they will absolutely love a movie based on some very loose criteria.

Case in point: Southland Tales

As the long-overdue second movie from Richard Kelly (you know, the guy whose first movie was a little flick called Donnie Darko) this movie had a lot of expectations from fans and critics alike. Featuring one of those I-recognize-everyone casts including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Stifler, Buffy, Justin Timberlake, The Highlander, Vizzini from The Princess Bride, Tangina from Poltergeist, Dan from Night Court, and more Saturday Night Live alumni than a Wayne's World movie, the film fails to find any sort of identity as the plot is about as confusing as anything I have ever seen.

Set primarily in the not-so-distant future of southern California in July 2008, Kelly uses the setting of a politically charged society in an election year as the backdrop to weave together this "ensemble" film. What Kelly does do well and carries over from Donnie Darko is his use of certain camera angles, slow-motion, and great music to really create a rather unique audio/visual experience.

I could not even begin to explain any more about this movie without going into a lot of confusing detail, so my endorsement is as follows: If you enjoyed Donnie Darko and were able to get past certain elements that never really made any sense, then you may appreciate and enjoy Southland Tales. At 2 1/2 hours long, it's a lot to digest in the style it's presented in, but I did find myself wanting to watch it again soon to see if things made more sense the second time around. So for now, I'm sticking with the 2.75 stars.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Todd Says:

1 STAR

Several people told me that this movie was going to be better than I expected. They were all wrong. As you probably can imagine, this movie is about two people who decide to make a Porno, to pay the bills. It is also supposed to be a love story, a touching tale of two friends who realize after many years of living together that they are meant to be together. Sigh.

I don't know about you, but I prefer my touching tales of meaningful love to not be riddled with oral, annal, and gay sex gags. Some dialogue that includes at least one sentence without the words ****, ****, *****, or ****, would also be a nice touch.

Basically, I found this movie to be extremely juvenile and just all around tasteless.

The Ice Pirates

(1984)

Todd Says:

2 STARS

Unless you are a fan of campy Sci-Fi spoofs then this movie doesn't have a lot to offer. The story is like an uninspired Mel Brooks rip off. The imagery, well lets just say that it hasn't aged well and leave it at that.

I feel like there are better movies for you to spend your time on, but if bizarre Sci-Fi send ups are your thing then you might want to give Ice Pirates a shot.

Star Trek

(2009)

Todd Says:

4 Stars

So I wasn't expecting much from this movie. I'm kind of getting tired of all of the remake movies, don't you think that it seems like Hollywood has run out of ideas. And I'm not a huge Star Trek fan, and by no means a purest, but I was a little worried when I saw Spock kicking Kirk's butt in the trailer.

This movie definately overcame my low expectations, and by the end of the film I was actually enjoying it. I think that they did a good job of re-inventing a rusty old franchise, and I'm sure that they'll do thier best to run it right back into the ground. But for now, Star Trek was a good solid action Sci-Fi adventure film, and if that's the kind of thing that you're into then I think that you'll enjoy this one.

Traitor

(2008)

Sue says:

4 Stars

I don’t know how I missed this when it was in the theater. I had never heard of it until I saw it in the video store. Don Cheadle was great. There is a good balance of action and intrigue. The only problem I had with it was Jeff Daniels. It’s hard to imagine “Dumber” having an important government job.

Todd Says:

4.5 Stars

This is a great movie. It's smart, relevant, intense, and captivating. Don Cheadle is, as usual, superb, and the story is terribly well-written and thought provoking. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it.