Tag Archives: movies

The 5 Most Underappreciated Actors in Hollywood

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Let’s face it. Some of us go to the movies to see a specific actor on screen. But for every Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, there are lesser known actors who light up the screen just as, if not more, often. This is a list of those actors:

Colin Farrell

Yes, folks, I’m dead serious. And this isn’t because I have been a major fan of the guy since Hart’s War. Take a look at his filmography for a moment. There are a number of quality films on there, and in each of them Farrell has shined. Minority Report was his true breakout, and is one of the best films of the decade. A smaller film like Phone Booth showed his range, but it wasn’t until The New World that I really started to see Farrell as the incredibly gifted actor he is. In that film he gives such a nuanced performance it truly shows his development. His performance in In Bruges garnered him a Golden Globe, and his script selection seems to be much better than it was in the early 2000s. The sky is the limit for this talented Irishmen. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Moon

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I have seen a few celebrities in person in my life. Hulk Hogan, Rupert from Survivor, Teck from The Real World Hawaii — they all have something in common. Reality stars, all. However, in 2008 I found myself in Los Angeles, walking down a sidewalk I encountered an actor I liked at the time who has since become one of my favorite actors working today.

The man I am speaking of is Sam Rockwell.

This is his most recent film. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] The Book of Eli (2010)

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The Book of Eli has a very straight forward plot. The movie takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after some sort of war, rapture, or the end of days. It is a dry rustic world which I perceived as a mix between the environments of two popular video games, Borderlands and Fallout 3.

Eli (Denzel Washington) obviously has a book of some sort and he has a mission to take it somewhere, and he has been walking for over 31 years. Naturally he won’t let anyone touch it and it has some sort of power to it. People want power, enter antagonist Carnegie (Gary Oldman).

The movie includes some pretty unexpected twists and I am a strong believer in respecting people’s surprises so I won’t reveal any spoilers.

Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Sherlock Holmes (2009)

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I’m here today to inform you about the new take on a classic hero, Sherlock Holmes.

Now I have never seen the original movies, nor have I read any of his books. The extent of my Holmes knowledge comes from the wonderful world of pop culture, combined with old cartoons and the like (such as the Sherlock Holmes in the future cartoon that was on T.V. a long time ago).  I went in to this knowing the basics i.e. super smart, pipe, Elementary Watson, etc, etc, nothing more nothing less. On to the movie.

We are introduced to Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) as he details his plans to incapacitate a lowly lackey. The detailing done in this scene set the stage for future encounters that Holmes has. After a few brutal ass whoopings inside an old tomb we meet Watson (Jude Law) who seems throughout the movie’s course that he could be his own movie star. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Nine

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I’m sure  that if you’ve read my article on the Top 5 Films of the 2000’s, then you recognize my blatant hero worship of Daniel Day-Lewis. Characters like Daniel Plainview, Bill the Butcher, Hawkeye, and Christy Brown are so intimately personified by the man that I believe he could go method and play a rock and still make it a powerful performance. So, how does his latest film Nine stack up?

I’ll tell you. Poorly. Not because of DDL’s efforts, he is actually quite good as expected. It’s just that the film around him is so much less than the collection of its parts that it’s almost confusing how it got into such bad shape.

Obviously, this is a huge change of pace for DDL. In his last two major films he has played two very dark, very intense, very demanding characters. Here, we see him embody Guido Contini, an Italian film director who is struggling to prepare his next film “Italia”. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] The Lovely Bones

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I have learned that in 2009, it’s better to have no expectations of a film than high ones. The year saw a parade of films I was greatly anticipating fall short of expectations, to the point that the entire year felt like one disappointment after the other at the cinema.

Alas, I have tried to learn to not follow films from pre-production through release because you only end up feeling let down when it doesn’t meet the lofty standards you have for it. I’m so glad this film wasn’t on my radar until a month ago, and even happier that it kept me on the edge of my seat the way it did. Continue reading →

[Movies] Pat’s Top Ten Movies So Far…

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10. Shoalin Soccer
Quite an unorthodox movie to put on a favorites list. As a soccer player though, this movie is very funny to me in a lot of ways. Relatively unknown by most people, this movie has a pretty funny story.

9. Twelve Monkeys
Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt perform admirably in this post-apocalyptic world that has a distorted time-line. This movie keeps you guessing until the very end. Continue reading →

[Film Review] Up In The Air

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Movies that are topical without trying overtly to be are a rare breed.  They try too hard to have their fingers on the pulse and end up alienating their audience by slapping them in the face with patronizing themes and obvious developments. Up In The Air is not a film like that.

The film focuses on Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a corporate mercenary who fly’s around the country doing the dirty work for companies during these tough economic times, laying off their workers for them. He lives a life of isolation, choosing and actually relishing in living a mostly anonymous life. He is a preferred customer at Airlines and Hotels across the country, and loves the perks that come with his loyalty. His company then decides to implement a new technology that will ground Ryan and possibly force him to develop *GASP* a normal, stay at home life. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Avatar (3D, Theatrical)

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You know, few movies achieve the kind of buzz that Avatar has been creating for seemingly the entire decade. The buzz on James Cameron’s next project has been in the making for what seems like an eternity, so is the juice worth the squeeze?

The premise of the movie is actually pretty simple. An ex-Marine who has lost the use of his legs finds himself as an Avatar after the death of his brother, as a human mind in the body of one of Pandora’s Na’Vi, it’s native race. He finds himself torn between the two worlds, wishing his avatar life was his real life, and his real life the fantasy.

First and foremost, I will say this. If James Cameron doesn’t win every award for Best Director this year, there is a flaw in the system. This is one of the most ground breaking films to come out in the last twenty years, and it completely rewrites the book on what to expect from movies in the future. The special effects are absolutely mesmerizing for the entire run-time of nearly 3 hours, and thankfully never feel gimmicky or distracting. Continue reading →