Upcoming Movies To Be Excited About...

The next two months should be exciting.  Here are five movies I am anxiously awaiting to see:


1) The Expendables (August 13th)
2) Machette (September 3rd)
3) The American (September 3rd)
4) The Town (September 17th)
5) The Social Network (October 1st)

Each will have a review!

Enjoy some reviews which are on the blog site.

In Bruges

In Bruges

Director: Martin McDonagh

Screenplay: Martin McDonagh

2008

Close to about two years ago, a very good friend of mine who is cultured in European History and very fond of Europe, sent a recommendation to watch a movie called “In Bruges.”  I gladly accepted, watched the film, and was very pleasantly surprised by what I had discovered.  Bruges, Belgium is not a typical European city that most people would be thrilled to visit.  Most American focus on the popularity and history of Paris or Rome.  However, after viewing “In Bruges,” I had an immediate desire to visit.  

“In Bruges” is a film about two hitmen Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who are forced to hide out in Bruges, Belgium after a hit goes terribly wrong in their home city of Dublin.  Ray accidently shoots a young altar boy after the assassination of a Priest, so Ray and Ken are sent to Bruges by their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) and told to await further instruction. Throughout the film, each tries to deal with the harsh reality of their choice of profession, ponder each’s reason for living, and hope to find retribution in the city of Bruges.  As the movie progresses, we learn that Ken has been ordered to take out Ray by the boss Harry, because the killing of a child is so harsh and unforgivable that it must be done.  

The stars of the film (Farrell and Gleeson) do a remarkable job carrying the work load of the film with their witty dialogue and hysterical interactions with each other and the locals of Bruges.  Farrell, in my opinion, really comes into his own during this movie.  The film is a comedy, drama, action/adventure, and fantasy picture all rolled into one.  I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of Europe, quick dialogue, and character studies.  

3.5/4

Dinner For Schmucks

Dinner for Schmucks

Director: Jay Roach

Screenplay: David Guion and Michael Handelman

2010

On paper, this seemed what could have been an amazing matchup.  Steve Carell (formally of “The Office”) and Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) are apart of this new comedy which has emerged over the past five years who have seldomly disappointed.  Through in a successful director in Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Meet the Fockers) and we have what we thought would be comedy at a very high level.  Instead what we saw on film was a complete waste of time and a lack of timely jokes and sincere comedy.

The story is centered around Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) who is an financial executive in the corporate world.  After impressing his fellow co-workers and the head of the company (Bruce Greenwood), he is invited to attend a dinner where the goal is the bring the biggest idiot or “schmuck” to be made fun of.  Tim, good natured at heart, is quite hesitant and looks for ways out of the dinner, especially after his girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) shows grave disappointment in him that he even considered.  However, after a run in with Barry (Steve Carell), Tim realizes he has found the perfect man for the dinner.  For the next 45 minutes of the film, we are faced with countless attempts of slapstick humor and Steve Carell comedy that we quickly forget what the movie is supposed to be about.  We see Tim try desperately to have Barry not mess him life bad enough and get him to that dinner so he can get that promotion.  And then come the mice...

“Dinner for Schmucks” for me was truly a movie for Schmucks.  The underlining message of “being an idiot is okay as long as you do not know you are an idiot” was badly played out and made everyone in the audience seem like a fool.  As I was leaving the theater, I became even more upset, thinking to myself why is Steve Carell leaving “The Office” to make movies like this?  Paul Rudd tries his best to keep the morale of the movie positive, but at the end of the day, it just is not enough.

1/4

Top 10 Sports Films

Top 10 Sports Films

1. Rocky
2. Raging Bull
3. Field of Dreams
4. Hoosiers
5. Bull Durham
6. Tin Cup
7. Remember the Titans
8. The Natural
9. Major League
10. A League of Their Own

Film Reviews: The Departed

The Departed

2006

Director: Martin Scorsese

Screenplay: William Monahan

A line made famous from Francis Ford Coppola’s classic The Godfather Part II states: “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”  In Martin Scorsese’s 2006 Picture, The Departed, that line seems all too true.  The modern day gangster film follows the lives of two young men (Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon) who are both portraying roles that ultimately do not depict where their morals lie.  

The plot is set in Boston, where crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) has groomed and recruited young Colin Sullivan (Damon) to infiltrate the state police department.  Colin quickly rises to the top of the class and is placed in the SIU (Special Investigations Unit) where he primarily focuses on organized crime, something that he is apart of.  The flip side of the story focuses on Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) who graduated from the Police Academy and shows great promise of becoming a successful police officer.  Before he enters the force, Captain Queenan (Martin Sheen) and Staff Sergeant Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) decide that with Costigan’s knowledge of the tough streets of Southie and his rugged look, he would fit perfectly into being an undercover cop in Costello’s crew.  

Throughout “The Departed,” the characters evolve into their “roles” more and more with each passing scene.  The betrayal and lies start to build up and eventually both men are faced with the ultimate decision of who to turn too.  Colin is forced to find the mole in the SIU, while Billy is asked by Frank to find the snitch in his crew.  Each member of the police force and Frank’s crew perceives the young men to be honest and straight up, when as an audience we know that each one has a plan to take down the particular unit.  

“The Departed” does an excellent job incorporating the supporting cast into the battle of “good vs. evil.” The members of Costello’s crew and the SIU department seemingly put all their trust into Costigan and Sullivan, only to be betrayed by both.  Martin Scorsese has a history of getting the best out of his actors, and this film is no different.  The strength of the film is based on the star power of DiCaprio, Damon, and Nicholson, but the performances of the scene stealing Mark Wahlberg and always consistent Ray Winstone really brings believability and real emotions into the picture.

As an audience, we should be ever so lucky to still have a director like Martin Scorsese around making films.  Each passing decade he seems to get better (Taxi Driver in the 70’s, Raging Bull in the 80’s, and Goodfellas in the 90’s).  And in the case of the 2000’s, he seems to have achieved his best work.  The Departed is a film that will one day be revered as one of the greatest works in American Cinema. 

4/4

Film Reviews: City of God

City of God

2002

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Screenplay: Braulio Mantovani

When I think back to my youth, I can remember times of playing youth baseball and playing touch football in the yard.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think of how I would eat the next day if I did not sell enough drugs.  Nor did I ever have to worry about my best friend committing murders to remain a top of the street gang. In the case Fernando Meirelles “City of God,” the realities of the young Brazilians are just that.  Based in the slums of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, “City of God” follows the lives of the youth living in the dangerous streets and what each plans to make for their lives.

The narrator of the film is Rocket, a young boy who has an eye for photography. The story follows several other characters, all of course under the age of twenty, mostly because no one in the City of God makes it to the age of twenty.  These are the harsh realities we as an audience come to face while watching the film.  Rocket is very careful with every step he takes, making sure he avoids the big time gang and drug leaders.  Perhaps the most interesting character is Li’l Zee, who from the young age of six years old wanted to be the face and leader of the City of God.  Li’l Zee uses all methods possible, including that of murder and rape to get all the way to the top.  Throughout the film, which begins in the present of the film but is very flashback heavy, we see the transformation of Rocket and Li’l Zee.  The film almost has a GoodFellas feel to it, seeing where the characters are and then rewinding backwards to tell their story.

This film, which I would consider one of the greatest films ever made, delivers such a profound message that you cannot help but be moved by the circumstances that these young people live under.  The images of The City God, which were actually shot right outside Rio De Janeiro, have a lasting image on the mind.  The scared look on the young children’s faces as Li’l Zee forces murder, the disregard for human life, the use of marijuana and cocaine, and the instant when hopes and dreams are torn away from you by the use of a gun, is what makes this movie so deep.  Just when you think we find a hero, the slums take control of the hero’s life.  Just then when you think you have made it out of gang, you are forced back in. And when just when you thought you would be the one who makes it out of The City of God, you’re dead.

4/4

Film Reviews: 500 Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer

2006

Director: Marc Webb

Screenplay: Scott Neustadler and Michael Weber

(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy...sort of... Let me rephrase: (500) Days of Summer is the story of a young man named Tom, who believes in fate and destiny and, by all his accounts, feels like he met that soul mate in Summer Finn, a carefree young woman who has just entered in life.  Tom works at a greeting card company, and you can bet that he believes in the things he writes.  A hopeless romantic, Tom is immediately drawn to Summer and has that “love at first sight” moment.  Summer, however, is a different story.

I want you to think back to some of your past relationships.  Very rarely, you forget the order that things happen.  You generally start at the end, which in most cases is the most memorable, and piece together the good memories and the bad memories. (500) Days of Summer does the same thing.  The days are scattered all over the place, showing the heartbreak, the great times, the laughable moments, and the moments that test the relationship.  What is interesting about the film is the dynamics of the relationship between Summer and Tom.  Summer states from the beginning that her philosophy is to live life and be free spirited.  Tom agrees to keep the relationship “light” and does not fully reveal his feelings to Summer.  As the days progress and jump around, we see how much Tom feels for Summer and how much Summer starts to lose interest in Tom.  In the first lines of the film, the Narrator states “This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story.”  The story of Tom and Summer simply describes the lives of two people, one who falls madly in love, and the other---who doesn’t.

The reason I would recommend this movie is because it is an up to date real look at relationships.  Most people have faced situations where they want to give their heart to another, but what if the other doesn’t accept or feel the same way?  The movie offers a little bit of everything - Love, Friendship, Family, Laughter, and above all...hope.

3.5/4