DJANGO UNCHAINED - Review

Django Unchained

2 hours, 45 minutes

Western, 2012

Written & Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Starring
Jamie Foxx as Django
Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Shultz
Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie
Kerry Washington as Broomhilda
Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen

"The badder they are, the bigger the reward."

The D may be silent, but this movie is anything but.
I'm happy to say that Quentin Tarantino has done it again. Django Unchained is one hell of a spaghetti western, and it isn't short on the red sauce. QT has successfully created another world full of interesting and fun characters, exceptional dialogue, and badass shootouts. He's one of the few directors that could basically direct a film of any genre, from gangsters to samurai to war films. As QT's western, this one will stand the test of time.
Considering the subject matter, the film is sometimes a bit difficult to watch. Slaves are beaten and killed, and not only is it gory, but it just isn't easy to sit there and watch it. But there are only a few moments of that. Tarantino even manages to bring out quite a bit of humor with a film about slavery in the South. For example, the villain, a plantation owner named Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) runs his plantation under the name "Candyland." If that ain't fucked up I don't know what is. It's subtle humor like that in which Django draws most of its laughs, but it should not be mistaken for a straight up comedy.
There's a surprising amount of character development as well, at least for a Tarantino movie. Django goes from slave to badass bounty hunter, while Dr. Shultz (played perfectly by Christoph Waltz of Inglorious Basterds fame) comes around to see Django as not just a business parter, but a friend.
DiCaprio is fantastic in his southern drawl as Candie, the plantation owner, and Samuel L. Jackson is great as DiCaprio's right hand man, Stephen. The majority of the roles were clearly written for their respective actors, Dr. Shultz in particular for Waltz. Fans of Inglorious Basterds will easily recognize bits and pieces of Col. Hans Landa from Waltz's performance, with his impeccable articulation and humorous hand gestures. He's also got a badass beard.
Like most QT movies, it runs a bit on the longer side. Don't let that stop you from seeing it. Every piece of the film feels necessary and it never stops being entertaining.
In comparing it to other QT movies, how does it compare? I'm not sure. It isn't quite as good as Pulp Fiction, then again, I believe that to be his masterpiece. It's definitely up there, ranking alongside Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill. But ranking his catalog is for another time.
Django Unchained definitely lives up to the hype, as well as the Quentin Tarantino name. It's got tons of blood, shootouts, and a fantastic script, all tied up with a superb finale. Tarantino makes movies that Tarantino want's to see, and I already know I want to see it again.

"D-J-A-N-G-O. The D is silent."

9.8/10

LES MISÉRABLES - Review

I SPOIL A TON OF STUFF HERE SO IF YOU WANT TO GO INTO THIS MOVIE WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE STORY THEN STOP READING BUT IF YOU DO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS THEN PLEASE PROCEED... and I apologize, but this is one long-ass review.

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Les Misérables

2 hours, 38 minutes

Musical/Drama, 2012

Directed by Tom Hooper

Starring
Hugh Jackman as Jean Veljean
Russell Crowe as Javert
Anne Hathaway as Fantine
Amanda Seyfried as (Adult) Cosette
Eddie Redmayne as Marius
Samantha Barks as Éponine
Sacha Baron Cohen as Thénardier
Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier

"I had a dream my life would be so much different from this hell I'm living, so different now from what it seemed... Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."


When the movie first ended and Tom Hooper's name appeared onscreen, I thought "holy shit that was awesome," but then I started to think about it. I find Les Mis to be a bit of a complex movie to review, seeing as it is a relatively well known story and this is the first time I've ever seen it. But it's still a movie, so let's take a stab at it.
I've been trying to come up with a word that properly describes the movie but all I could think of were words cornier than a cornfield in Indiana: Love, hope, dreams, etc etc. It occurred to me that these are words they used in promotions, so bugger all, the movie's advertisements did their job because I actually felt that when I was watching. Les Mis exceeds in bringing powerful emotions onscreen, hell, I almost cried a couple of times in the really depressing parts.
There are, in my mind, THREE reasons Hooper was able to pull of this emotional stuff.
1) Fantastic performances by everyone, especially Anne Hathaway. If she doesn't get an Oscar there'll be riots in the streets. Her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream was, without a doubt, the highlight of the entire movie. Hugh Jackman as the title character Jean Veljean, was impressive as well, and will surely reap the awards he so deserves.
2) All (at least I think all, if not all than most) of the music sung onscreen was actually sung while being filmed. It's all live recording, none of this singing in a booth shit like it's usually done. This really brings out performances, seeing as they're not just singing from prerecorded music, but rather the actors are able to act and change up their singing at a moments notice. It's very beneficial to the film.
3) The cinematography was fantastic, but what does this have to do with the emotion of the film? Shut up, I'll tell you. Because the singing is live, many of the more intimate songs are sung on single takes, and those takes are kept in the film, for the most part. The shots are close and tight, thus making for a far more intimate experience. Not only that, but there's an unusual sense of space in the movie, something that I'm finding very difficult to describe, but it is, in a word, beautiful. I've said before that Roger Deakins should win for Skyfall, but cinematographer Danny Cohen is giving him a run for his money, I can tell you that much.

The music in Les Mis is simply beautiful. It's one of those musicals in which everything is sung, there are no lengthy dialogue sessions of any kind. And it keeps you on your toes, something I've never really felt in watching a musical. Most of the singing is solid, with an... unusual performance by Russell Crowe. He can carry a tune, which is the nice way of saying he's good at making you believe that he can kind of sing... personally, I liked it. It wasn't perfect and he definitely can't hit the high notes but his performance is solid, and I really enjoyed his singing, but I know others will disagree with me on that.
And then there's Anne Hathaway. Holy fucking fuck, she was the best part of the whole goddamn movie. Actually. Give this girl an Academy Award, she was absolutely fantastic. Remember when I said I almost cried? Yeah, she almost made me cry. The tears were there, but then the song ended.

However, Les Mis suffers from "true love" syndrome. I KNOW it's a movie, but you can't just look at someone and know they're your true love. That shit only happens... fuck... that shit only happens in movies. Dammit I just countered my own argument. They look at each other from across the street and think "I wanna marry that persona and love them forever" but that ain't how shit works. If you wanna be The Princess Bride then at least allow the characters to get to know each other to SOME extent before true-loving them off to each other. I mean, COME ON, that ain't how shit works even in musicals... except they get away with it quite a bit in musicals... Whatever. I think I'm bugged by it because Cosette doesn't have enough shit to do in the movie. She's just kind of there, used as a plot device and redemption for Jean Veljean, which is pretty important, but when she has the opportunity to do shit, she doesn't.
And then there's the other girl who literally does nothing for the movie except be jealous of Cosette. She sings a bunch, but I didn't really feel much for here when she died because she's not that important to the story. Whatever. At least she was attractive and sung beautifully.
The revolution scenes are spectacular. It's clear that this was a massive production, and it succeeded on all fronts. The battles feel epic, and the score behind the singing is fantastic. The singing and chanting makes you feel ready to join them in battle, it's just that powerful.

Overall, I would definitely call Les Mis a flawed movie, but certainly not a bad one. It really is beautiful, a word that I don't use often when talking about movies, and definitely worth checking out, even if you're not that into musicals. It runs a bit long at times, but it doesn't bring the experience down. You might be pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it is. I certainly was.

"Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!"

9.2/10

Christmas movies n shit

I'm Jewish so it seems weird that I would make a post about Christmas movies but the fact of the matter is that Christmas movies have their own fucking genre so I'm going to go ahead and rank the top 5 Christmas movies because honestly I haven't seen every Christmas movie so here we go. And I'm going to keep the descriptions short and sweet because I don't have time to do a lengthy description of each one.
And I know haters gonna hate because they won't find their favorite movie on here, but fuck you I don't spend the holiday season watching Christmas movies I watch whatever I want.


5) Home Alone
It's a funny and kind of sweet movie, but Kevin's parents are the absolute worst people on the face of the earth. How the fuck do you forget a kid? At least it makes for good comedy.

4) It's a Wonderful Life
Definitely one of the best Christmas movies ever made. Fun fact: nobody gave a shit about the movie for the longest time, and eventually people started to put it on TV because of cheap syndication rights, and everybody thought it was a classic because it was on all the time and now everybody loves it. I guess everyone forgot that it was nominated for Best Picture when first released. Bizarre story, but it's still a great movie.

3) The Nightmare Before Christmas
A great musical with one of the best soundtracks around. Great visuals and good storytelling make Nightmare not only one of the best Christmas movies around, but also one of the best Halloween movies.

2) A Christmas Story
Easily one of the most quotable movies of all time. I was going to put a bunch of quotes instead of a description for this one, but I ended up with like 20 quotes. Absolutely hilarious. I try to watch it at least once every year on TBS.

1) Die Hard
What else do I need to say? Die Hard has and will always be one of the most quintessential action movies of all time. It also takes place during Christmas. People say "bullshit, it just takes place during Christmas!" For some that may count it out of the race, but don't forget that the entire movie wouldn't be the same without "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho."
Haters gonna hate, but Die Hard is the best Christmas movie of all time.

Honorable Mentions
Elf
Brazil
Love Actually
Batman Returns

So to all of my goyim friends, have a Merry Crampas and a yippie kay-yay motherfucking new year.

More reviews to come in the next couple of days: Les Mis and Django Unchained.

THIS IS 40 - Review

This Is 40


2 hours, 13 minutes

Comedy, 2012

Directed by Judd Apatow

Starring
Paul Rudd
Leslie Mann
Maude Apatow
Iris Apatow
Megan Fox
Albert Brooks
John Lithgow
Melissa McCarthy
Chris O'Dowd



"Should we get a block of porn?"
"I don't think we need 24 hours of porn."
"Yeah, but you know, two porns cost about as much as a block."
"I think that's too much porn."
"We don't have to watch it all, but for the value it makes sense."


This Is 40 is, unfortunately, is ALMOST Judd Apatow's masterpiece. For years he's been making great romantic comedies (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and has produced and written even more. It seemed like this would be his greatest achievement yet. No ridiculous set up or plot, just a very funny and realistic look at marriage. At least, that's what the trailers made it out to be.
Don't get me wrong, it's a very funny movie. The actors have exceptional chemistry and great performances, but often times small plots are brought up and dismissed carelessly. They don't go anywhere, and while the bits are funny, they don't really add a ton to the experience. They just take up time.
And boy, does this movie take up time. It's way longer than it should be, but only maybe by about 15 minutes. The thing is, the movie never really drags on and it's never that boring... but it's still funny. I don't know if that's a good trade off, but that's your decision to make.
The acting is pretty good, with some surprising performances by the kids, Maude and Iris Apatow (daughters of Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow). They have a very real dynamic with Leslie Mann (I mean, she's their actual mother, what do you expect?) and have tons of great exchanges, particularly with 13 year old Maude's obsession with Lost and Iris just being an adorable 8 year old. And, somehow, Megan Fox didn't completely piss me off. In fact, she was actually pretty good.
I wanted to like This Is 40 much more than I did, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who's a big fan of Apatow's movies. As I watched the trailers, I was excited, hoping it would be Apatow's finest hour. At least it's still funny.

7.5/10

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - Review

Silver Linings Playbook

2 hours, 2 minutes

Romantic Comedy/Drama

Directed by David O. Russell

Starring
Bradley Cooper
Jennifer Lawrence
Robert DeNiro
Jacki Weaver
Chris Tucker


"Yes, I'm Tommy's crazy whore widow. Minus the whore thing, for the most part."


In a world of cookie cutter romantic comedies, David O. Russel tries something a bit different with Silver Linings Playbook. Yes, it's a sweet movie with endearing characters and a bit of a predictable story arc, but it's the performances and dialogue that really put this movie above the rest.
Silver Linings kicks off with Pat (Bradley Cooper) being picked up from a mental health hospital by his mother (Jackie Weaver). He's taken to live with his parents for a little while before he can get back on his feet. Pat immediately begins to plot to get his wife back, with whom he believes he still has a loving relationship with.
This is where Silver Linings excels at: a real portrayal of mental illness. Pat spends most of the movie going through mood swings and delusions of happiness with his wife, with whom he can't see due to a restraining order. Pat has fits, a few times the police are called, it's a pretty vivid portrayal of this kind of stuff. And then comes Tiffany, played by Jennifer Lawrence. She isn't necessarily mentally sick, but she's her own kind of crazy. The two hit it off hilariously right away, and Cooper and Lawrence have fantastic chemistry.
David O. Russel's script is fantastic, made even better by fantastic performances by Lawrence and Cooper. Lawrence is definitely better in this than she was in The Hunger Games and easily deserves an Oscar nomination for her work. Cooper is finally given a difficult role, and he's exceptional as well. It's nice to see him in a role with a little more depth, and I was surprised that he did as well as he did. Robert DeNiro and Jackie Weaver are also great, playing Pat's football obsessed parents.
Overall, Silver Linings Playbook may be a bit predictable, but it's still an enjoyable romantic comedy with great performances and a great script. This one is definitely going to get some award nominations, and definitely deserves them.

9/10

LIFE OF PI - Review

Life of Pi

2 hours, 7 minutes

Adventure/Drama, 2012

Directed by Ang Lee

Starring
Suraj Sharma as Young Pi Patel
Irrfan Khan as Adult Pi Patel
Rafe Spall as the Author


"I can eat biscuits, but God made tigers carnivorous, so I must learn to catch fish. If I don't, I'm afraid his last meal would be a skinny vegetarian boy."


I've never read Life of Pi, but I've heard good things about it. I've also heard that it was considered to be unfilmable, much like Zack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen.
Ang Lee gave naysayers a good ol "fuck you" and made one of the finest movies of the year.
While the set up for the story isn't perfect (just a conversation between Pi and a writer) the story itself is beautiful. Pi, our hero, begins his journey as a child in India. His family owns a local zoo. So when his family has to leave the country and take their animals, the boat capsizes, leaving Pi and a Bengal tiger aptly named Richard Parker on a lifeboat, lost at sea.
The movie takes a while to get to this part of the movie, about 30 minutes or so. It takes its time to set up Pi's story as a child. He discovers Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, and practices all three. He even has a brief run in with a young Richard Parker.
It doesn't get really good until Pi becomes stranded with Richard Parker on the boat. The two use each other to survive at sea, and the two form an unusual bond in their journey home.
I'd be lying if I said that there were a few moments, especially early on, in which I just wanted them to just get to the lifeboat scenes. And while it takes up about 75% of the movie, it can feel a bit lengthy and maybe a little unnecessary in the first 25%.
But what impressed me most about Life of Pi was its use of incredible CGI the animals are gorgeously animated. There were a few times when I had to stop and remind myself that they weren't real. The special effects crew absolutely deserves recognition for their outstanding work.
Life of Pi is outstanding, and I would definitely recommend it to those who have their doubts. It's a beautiful story about courage, hope, and friendship with gorgeous visuals. It's definitely worth the price of admission.

Score - 9.4/10

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY - Review

Before I get to the review, I'd just like to mention that my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the shooting in Connecticut. To me, it's absolutely absurd that we still have gun violence in today's society, especially now that it's happening so frequently. Every few months there's another shooting in a public place by some mentally unfit person with access to a gun.
I'm only going to say this: not everyone with mental health problems seek help. Guns laws need to be tighter because of stuff happening like this more often in malls and movie theaters. It's tragic, it really is.
Children die every day. It's an awful fact, but it's true. But when they're slaughtered by a sicko with a gun... I mean... shit, what am I supposed to say? I really am struggling to find the right words, the words that people won't take the wrong way, the words that won't make others accuse me of being wrong in some way, but I just can't seem to find them. And usually I can, in some way or another... but not today. Not today.

Anyway, enjoy my review of The Hobbit.

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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2 hours 46 minutes

Fantasy/Action Adventure, 2012

Directed by Peter Jackson

Starring
Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey
Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
Andy Serkis as Gollum/Smeagol
Graham McTavish as Dawlin
Ken Scott as Balin


"I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure..." 


The Hobbit is too fucking long.

I'd like to tell you that The Hobbit is better than the rest of the LOTR trilogy, but... I can't.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE the book, and I feel as though Peter Jackson's adaptation is almost there. Almost. It's not quite perfect, but there are too many problems that take away from the overall quality of the movie, but it really boils down to one main reason.

It's TOO FUCKING LONG!!!

The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy are 2 completely separate entities. Whereas the LOTR trilogy is more of a sweeping epic with wars, kings, politics, armies, honor, backstabbing, friendship, etc etc, The Hobbit is, simply put, an adventure. I've seen all 3 LOTR movies and read The Hobbit, and just going into the movie, know that the overall story of The Hobbit is far superior to that of LOTR.
It's not an epic of any kind. They're not out to save the world from an ancient evil. It's about a bunch of dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit who are trying to get some gold and slay a dragon.
Much simpler than the LOTR trilogy, right?
The Hobbit's problem is just that. It tries to do more than it really should. The book itself is just under 300 pages, whereas each of the LOTR books are maybe twice that length. So when they take the shortest book and give it its own trilogy, then, like, what the fuck? Two movies, I can understand. You don't want to leave anything out. That's fair. But Peter Jackson needs to stop himself. Just give me what's in the book and I'll be happy.
That being said, most of what makes the film longer is unnecessary exposition, particularly a lengthy stay in Rivendell and the appearance of another wizard other than Gandalf. It isn't exactly... bad, but it just doesn't feel important.
However, there is a new subplot/revenge story that easily works it's way into the film and really helps with the action aspect. I won't tell you what it is, but it works out quite well.
Martin Freeman is the perfect choice to play Bilbo Baggins because he's not an action hero. He perfectly portrays the humble and nervous little hobbit who becomes the hero. Sir Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, and he's, well, Gandalf. Badass ol Gandalf. Just as awesome as he was in LOTR. Richard Armitage is pretty good as Thorin Oakenshield, and the rest of the dwarves are very funny and play well off of each other. Casting is all around perfect.
There's a bit too much use of CGI if you ask me, and for some reason the voice of the Goblin King or whatever he's called in the movie sounded... too human.
The strongest scenes in the film came towards the ending. Bilbo's game of riddles with Smeagol/Gollum is very entertaining, and there are a few fantastic fight sequences with the dwarves and the orcs.
The Hobbit's biggest problem is that it's too fucking long and it's length brings the whole thing down a little bit more than it should have. While the story is better than LOTR, it isn't quite captured perfectly in this adaptation. That being said, great performances, standout action scenes, and a good new subplot really makes the movie not completely awful. I just hope that in the future, the films scale back a little bit. The Hobbit isn't an epic battle for Middle Earth like LOTR, it's a fun and enjoyable adventure. But Peter Jackson still could've done better.

SCORE - 8.5/10

Where All the Reviews At?

This upcoming week is finals week and I have a lot of shit to get done, so I've been in work mode for the last few days and I haven't actually gotten to watch any movies.
But fear not, readers! Winter break is coming up, which means I'll have SIX FUCKIN' WEEKS to watch as many movies as I can and write reviews on the new and notable.
On another note, early award results are coming in, with Zero Dark Thirty picking up Best Picture from both New York Critics Circle and the National Board of Review. Silver Linings Playbook and Beasts of the Southern Wild aren't doing so bad themselves either.
So where are these reviews?
I'll fuckin' get to them. I got six weeks, I'll get to them as soon as I can. In that time, I'll do my best to get to:
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Silver Linings Playbook
Argo
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Les Miserables
This is 40
Jack Reacher
Hyde Park on Hudson

I can't guarantee all of those, but we'll definitely get to most of them.


On another note, the first teaser for Star Trek Into Darkness was released yesterday. Although I'm definitely more of a Star Wars guy, I absolutely LOVED the 2009 reboot. It's easily one of the best science fiction movies in the past couple of decades, and the Trekkies seem to love it as well. So you can imagine how excited I am for this new one.
Benedict Cumberbatch of Sherlock fame plays the currently unnamed villain. And it looks amazing.

Keep in mind that the trailer above is the Japanese teaser. I post this in particular because it has a wee bit of extra footage, just ignore the subtitles. If you want the non-Japanese trailer, click here.

I don't have much else to say today. Once finals come to an end and I'll be able to watch more movies then we'll get to some more reviews.

Finally, I just want to thank people for reading these. I only started doing this just in my spare time as something fun to do, and even though I only get a handful of people who read each of them I appreciate you taking the time to do so.
So that's that.
If you're currently in the midst of studying for finals, then I wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely,
-Josh Weitzel

Announcement and a Couple of Posters

No reviews today, just some stuff.

First of all, in honor of the release of Django Unchained, I'll be doing a Tarantino review... fest... thing, in which I go through his films chronologically, starting with Reservoir Dogs. While there are still a couple of weeks until I'll start, I'm going to begin writing reviews now instead of later just to get them done. However, I won't start posting until a few days before Django, and we'll have a handful of reviews, including:
Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Four Rooms*
Jackie Brown
Kill Bill
Death Proof
Inglorious Basterds
Django Unchained

So we'll get started on those in a little while.

In the meantime, check out the teaser poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, just released this morning. According to some reports, that's the film's villain portrayed by Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch:

In addition, a new poster for Man of Steel was released earlier today. I think it's pretty great. 

So yeah, I think these are pretty cool. More reviews coming soon. 

KILLING THEM SOFTLY - Review

Before I get started, I'd everyone to look at the polls for Time's Person of the Year. Yes, you read 1st place correctly... I honestly have no words.
Moving on. Editorial first, review later. Or you can just skip down to the review if you want. I don't give a shit. I wrote this at like 3am, so it's probably a bit disjointed.



I go to film school. Film students are a bit of a strange bunch... we're all strange, but some are just plain fucking annoying and pretentious. Being in this kind of environment, I've seen tons of student directed short films, and I've talked with lots of other students.
The one thing that always drives me up a wall is when it comes to cameras. Everyone loves expensive cameras, and I'm no exception. Expensive fancy cameras are great! They take beautiful images, there's no denying that. But suddenly, it just comes down to ONLY cameras with these people. "I have a 5D," "Oh yeah? Well I have a 7D!" I have no idea what the fucking difference is. What do I have? An iPod Touch. That's right, a fucking iPod, and I'm happy with it. It isn't perfect, but it's a great camera and I can carry it with me wherever I go. I can shoot shorts on it and the image quality is pretty good. Sure, it isn't as good as a 5D or 7D, but fuck that. I have no intention of shelling out thousands of dollars for an expensive camera, at least not now. In the distant future, why not?
What's important to me is the story. I spend more time writing than I do filming because I'm such a perfectionist. I spend hours and hours rewriting scenes even before I even have a completed rough draft. The story and dialogue has to be just right.  And I'll shoot with any camera as long as I can see what I'm doing through the lens.
People need to get it through their thick skulls that just because a movie looks good doesn't mean that it is good, and having an expensive camera doesn't make you a better filmmaker.
There, my rant is done. Now check out this article that can basically says exactly the same thing but from a professional's standpoint.

On that note, enjoy my review of Killing Them Softly. 


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Killing Them Softly 

1 hour 37 minutes

Crime, 2012

Directed by Andrew Dominik

Starring
Brad Pitt
Richard Jenkins
James Gandolfini
Ray Liotta
Scoot McNairy
Ben Mendelsohn

"America's not a country. It's a business. Now fucking pay me."

Killing Them Softly is a bit of a conundrum to me. When I say that, I don't mean that it's an overly complex film by any stretch, but I'm a little torn on if I really liked it or not. While the movie has some interesting characters and a decent plot, the presentation leaves a little something to be desired.
When I say presentation, I mostly mean its pacing. While it's a short movie that feels like it's over fairly quickly, almost every scene feels a bit... dragged on. I'm not saying that I'm against dialogue driven films, but often times, the conversations just feel like they could have ended a bit sooner than they did. They aren't intercut with one another and they don't move that quickly. Names get jumbled in the dialogue, which tripped me up a few times more than I'd care to admit.
At the same time, the film has a bit of a cool sense of style. At one point, two of the characters shoot some heroin. The following conversation has this strange in-and-out style, taking you out for brief moments then taking you back in, which kind of gives the effect of what I assume is what it's like to actually shoot heroin... Strange, but somehow effective. It's actually a pretty cool scene.
But the plot itself pretty simple. A couple of guys get hired to rob a gang organized poker game. Brad Pitt gets called in to take them out. That's in a nutshell. There's some strange political subtext about America that got a little bit lost, but then again, I don't think I was really paying that close attention to it. Brad Pitt is... Brad Pitt, I guess. The movie has a pretty good supporting cast. Ray Liotta and Richard Jenkins aren't bad, with James Gandolfini as a very entertaining hitman and friend to Pitt.
While the film has its apparent flaws, some good acting and a surprisingly humorous script make for an alright time at the movies. I don't think it's for everyone, but for some, it should be fairly satisfying.

Score - 7/10

SPACE JAM - Review

So it has come to my attention that most of my reviews have been pretty positive and I haven't really ripped into many bad movies. I've been doing this for only a couple of weeks now, and most movies I've seen in theaters have been pretty good. I haven't watched too many bad movies lately. So we'll get to those.
And as much as I love ripping into bad movies, I like to recommend movies to people, not turn people away from them. I wouldn't write a review about Magnolia because I felt like it, I wrote it because I think it's one of the best movies ever made, and it has had an incredible impact on me. So of course I'm going to write about it. There are movies that I don't like, but they aren't as fun to write about as a movie that I really enjoy.
I'll get to the bad stuff eventually. Maybe I'll endure a Twilight marathon just for you guys.
Except not really, I might actually die from that.
Anyway, enjoy my review of Space Jam. 

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Space Jam

Comedy/Sports, 1996

Directed by Joe Pytka

Starring
Michael Jordan
Bugs Bunny
Daffy Duck
Lola Bunny
Bill Murray as Himself
Wayne Knight as Stan
Danny DeVito as Mr. Swackhammer

Ah, Space Jam. One of the three defining movies of my childhood alongside Toy Story and The Lion King. Up until recently, I hadn't seen Space Jam in years, since I was a kid. But, like most childhood movies that you watch over and over again, you never really forget it. Childhood movies burn themselves into your head and never leave. Hell, I can recite the entire opening of Toy Story from heart.
So the question remains: does Space Jam hold up after watching it as an adult? Somewhat. As much fun as it was to see Bugs and Daffy playing basketball with Michael Jordan, the movie isn't as great as I thought it was. BUT this is just looking at is from the perspective of someone who watches movies constantly, so my opinion might be different from others. Michael Jordan isn't a good actor, but he isn't exactly awful either. The voice work is great, then again, it's fuckin' Loony Tunes, are you expecting anything else? Danny DeVito is great as the villain Mr. Swackhammer, and the Monstars are fun to watch as well.
Some of the jokes aren't that funny, but for the most part it still manages to keep its wonderful animated charm. I have to say, there are plenty of great little details and things that I didn't notice before. Then again, that happens when you watch kids movies as an adult. Hell, I caught a little Pulp Fiction reference that I remembered, but didn't pick up on as a kid.
Looking back, the premise is kind of stupid. But overall, I'd say while Space Jam hasn't held up as well as I would've hoped, it's still a fun movie, but only if you watched it as a kid.
Who the fuck am I kidding, I love this movie. It isn't perfect, but I'd watch Space Jam any day of the week.

Score - 7.5/10

CELEBRATION DAY - Review

I'd like to apologize in advance for this review. While I find it to be absolutely awful and scattered with no credible structure, it's basically me talking about how incredible Led Zeppelin is. It's probably more of an editorial than anything else. I've been very excited for this for a long time, and I really feel strongly in reviewing this. 
There are a ton of links to songs in the review. A few of the early links are studio with the exception of Achilles Last Stand, which is amazing live. A couple of the links towards the bottom are from the concert film itself, with that final Stairway being a link to an old concert from the 70s. 
If you don't want to hear me gush about Led Zeppelin, then at least give the links a try. Maybe you'll find something you'll like. 

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Celebration Day


Concert, 2012

Starring
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Robert Plant - Lead Vocals
John Paul Jones - Bass
Jason Bonham - Drums / Backup Vocals

"It's been a long since I rock and rolled. It's been a long time since I did the stroll. Ooh, let me get it back, let me get back, let me get it back, baby where I come from. It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time."



It really has been a long and lonely time, but it's finally here: MORE LED ZEPPELIN! The last time a Zeppelin album came out, it was in 2003, when How the West Was Won was released. And that was a live album too, all recorded in 1972. 
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a MASSIVE Led Zeppelin fan, so this is pretty exciting for me. In 2007, Zeppelin got together for a reunion concert, and it was huge. It took them long enough to  release an official album of the concert, much less a film.

After listening to the album on its own, I have to say, the Zeppelin still has plenty of Led to spare. These guys are, if you ask me, the Gods of Rock and Roll. Their music still holds up incredibly well, and few bands even today have as much range as the Led does. They go from blues rock to folk rock to hard rock and everywhere in between. There's a little Led for everybody in their discography. And truthfully, there are other songs that I would have liked to hear them play in this album, such as Bring it On Home, Achilles Last Stand, When the Levee Breaks, Going to California, and What is and What Should Never Be. But then again, every Led-head has their own setlists they'd like to hear. At least they got the basics down just right. 
There's a strange beauty in watching live rock concerts as opposed to hip hop artists. Watching Jimmy Page wail on his Les Paul or his double-neck EDS 1275 is just incredible. Yeah, he's playing the same tunes you've heard before, but the intensity is just beyond powerful. When watching hip hop artists, they just kind of dance around the stage. Yeah, their skill might be good at free style rapping, but I find being able to play in instrument is a far more incredible skill than being able to come up with clever rhymes. 

But onto the film. As I said before, I don't know much about concert films, but the music is fucking amazing. These old dudes still know how to get the Led out. While listening to the album is great fun, there's nothing quite like watching a bunch of old wizards work their magic. The movie channels old Zeppelin concert videos such as The Song Remains the Same with the exception of the strange non-concert scenes. 

As far as concert movies go, I guess it's pretty well shot... but I'm no expert on this, so if it is actually very badly shot for whatever reason and you think I'm wrong, then go fuck yourself, this is Led Zeppelin we're talking about.
There isn't much to be said about the film that hasn't been said. Jimmy Page is still the greatest guitarist ever (and yes, I do prefer him to Jimi Hendrix (that doesn't mean I don't love Jimi, it's just personal preference)). I mean, watching a white haired 63 year old Jimmy Page work a guitar as if he were screwing it with the intensity of a thousand suns is just so badass. And while Plant's voice has certainly changed since the 70s, he's still a fantastic singer. John Paul Jones still just kind of stands there, but he's a fantastic bass and keyboardist. Jason Bonham, son of the Zeppelin's original drummer John Bonham, takes the reigns as the drummer. He certainly has the Led within him. He has made his father proud. This is without a doubt the best live Led Zeppelin album/film out there... but if you ask me, nothing will beat this particular rendition of Stairway to Heaven. 
This is turning into basically a tribute to Led Zeppelin, I don't really care. This album is great, this movie is great, this concert is great, and this band is the greatest in history.
Goddamn, I'd give anything to see these guys play live. Sure, the setlist isn't perfect, but that's just personal preference. It doesn't matter. These guys are my heroes. 

Forget 11; these guys took it to 12. 

Score - 9.8/10

INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE - Review

Indie Game: The Movie

Documentary, 2012

Directed by James Swirsky, Lisanne Pajot

Starring

Edmund McMillen

Tommy Refenes

Phil Fish

Jonathan Blow

"If this fails, I'm done, like, I don't think I'll work in games again. And its not just the game, I'm just so closely attached to it, its me, its my ego, my perception of myself, is at risk. This is my identity... I would kill myself. I am dead- I would kill myself. That's like my incentive to finish it, is that I get to not kill myself." - Phil Fish

Documentaries have a strange power that many other kinds of films do not. They have the power to teach and inspire because the stories are completely real. Indie Game: The Movie is one of those rare inspirational documentaries about guys who create video games. Not just games, but indie games. For those who don’t know, most big release franchise games such as Halo, Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto cost millions to make and hundreds of programmers and designers. Indie games on the other hand, are usually designed by a couple of guys on the shoe-stringiest of budgets who are in it for their love of video games.

The movie follows three highly successful (critically and commercially) indie games: Super Meat Boy, Braid, and Fez. While Braid has been out since 2008, the film follows the development of Super Meat Boy and Fez while using Braid to provide much needed perspective. The movie follows the anxieties on the development and eventual release of the games in question.
While Tommy and Edmund, the developers of Super Meat Boy, are still very interesting characters, their story isn't in comparison to Phil Fish, the developer of Fez. The film, if you ask me, is more of Fish's descent into madness as he puts his heart and soul into the game than anything else. Fish has a lot riding on this game; four years of development and anticipation is actually fairly high. While the game has already been released (after the film) and has done quite well, it's interesting to see the stages of incredible grief and anxiety that Fish goes through.
Indie Game: The Movie isn't really for everyone. Despite being very well made, it probably isn't very entertaining for non-gamers. As someone who has enjoyed these games myself, I find this to be very insightful. Even anyone who just enjoys games as a whole, indie or big release games, should watch this movie.

Too Long Didn't Read: A well made documentary that gamers will enjoy.

Score - 9.5/10

MOONRISE KINGDOM - Review

Moonrise Kingdom

Romantic Comedy, 2012

Directed by Wes Anderson

Starring
Jared Gilman as Sam Shakusky
Kara Hayward as Suzy Bishop
Bruce Willis as Captain Sharp
Edward Norton as Scout Master Randy Ward
Bill Murray as Walt Bishop
Frances McDormand as Laura Bishop

"Scout Master's log, September second. First day of search party for Sam Shakusky. Morale is extremely low, in part, I suppose, because Sam is, unfortunately, the least popular scout in the troop.  By a significant margin." - Scout Master Randy Ward

Wes Anderson is a weird dude. He has one of the most distinct styles out of any director working today. While most people can pick out his visual style from miles away, he also has a very distinct storytelling style. His characters are pretty quirky and awkward, but have a special emotional depth to them.
Set on a fictional island in 1965, Moonrise Kingdom revolves around Sam Shakusky, a boy attending Khaki Scout camp and his undying love for Suzy Bishop, a local girl who lives on the island. Pen pals for some time, Sam and Suzy decide to run away together. The two spend a couple of days together on the more remote regions of the island, and the two of them make an adorable couple. Naturally, Suzy's parents and Sam's scoutmaster want to find the two of them, and adventure ensues. Unfortunately, the beginning of the film is its strongest point. Watching Sam and Suzy run away together is great, but after that, the film never really reaches those heights. That isn't to say that the rest of the movie is bad by any stretch, in fact, it has a very strong final act.
The film boasts an impressive cast. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as Sam and Suzy have awkward chemistry, yet somehow it manages to play in their favor. Watching the two run away and the perils that face them really brings out the best in the characters. Willis, Murray, and Norton are both great as well. The three of them have a great sense of comedic timing, and watching Murray throw shoes at Norton is hilarious.
Moonrise Kingdom is one of the few movies that can get away with being hilariously serious. And while the film is ultimately a comedy, the characters take this shit very seriously, and it makes for some very funny moments.
Ultimately, Moonrise Kingdom is an unusual, but sweet and endearing story about young love. It takes a few nice twists and turns along the way. This is definitely one of the best Wes Anderson films. It's uncommon to find a strange romantic comedy such as this.
However, don't be turned off by the phrase "romantic comedy." Moonrise doesn't follow any kind of conventional plot structures that Hollywood usually churns out. The story is great in its originality, and, although it isn't perfect, remains one of the best movies of 2012.
Side note: That Shakusky is one hell of a ladies man. I could learn a thing or two from him.

Score - 9.3/10

DRIVE - Review

Drive

Crime/Drama, 2011

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring
Ryan Gosling as The Driver
Carey Mulligan as Irene
Albert Brooks as Bernie Rose
Bryan Cranston as Shannon
Kaden Leos as Benicio
Oscar Isaac as Standard Gabriel
Christina Hendricks as Blanche
Ron Perlman as Nino

"If I drive for you, you get your money. You tell me where we start, where we're going, where we're going afterwards. I give you five minutes when we get there. Anything happens in that five minutes and I"m yours. No matter what. Anything a minute other side of  that and you're on your own. I don't sit in while you're running it down. I don't carry a gun. I drive."

It seems as though movies nowadays go for style over substance. Drive has a nice combination of the two, packing a fantastic story with plenty of stylish action scenes. As far as crime films go, it isn’t too long or complex and it operates on a pretty small scale, something you don’t see too often in crime films nowadays.

Set in Los Angeles, the film stars Ryan Gosling as a driver, someone who drives a getaway car for small time criminals. As seen in the opening scene, he’s very good at his job. By day, he works as a mechanic as well as a stunt car driver for movies. The Driver keeps to himself, just trying to get by each day. Things get complicated when he meets his neighbor Irene, played by the lovely Carey Mulligan. Irene's husband gets released from prison, and he needs The Driver to help him pull a job that will get him back on top. Shit gets complicated, and all hell breaks loose.
Drive is a strange, but delicious cocktail of genres. It's first and formost a crime film, with some amazing action sequences and even a little romance. It has a little bit of an art-house-y feel too it, but that shouldn't turn anyone away from it. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is pretty strange, a blend of 80s and modern electro-pop, yet feels right at home with the superb visual style. Within a fantastic cast, Gosling and Brooks are the two standouts. Drive would be nothing without them.
Drive is a hugely entertaining crime film, with some nice character development and fantastic action. It's definitely worth watching, regardless of what kind of movies you're into. It's probably the best movie to come out in 2011.

Score - 9.8/10