Movies I Love #4

Sunshine

Sunshine is a British sci-fi film released back in 2007 directed by Danny Boyle. The movie was a financial flop and was met with mixed reviews; some praised the film for its visual style and unique take on a possible problem while others panned it for its weak final act and absurdness. Sunshine takes place about 40 years in the future where our sun has started to die and earth has been thrown into another ice age. Humanities only hope is to work together to reignite the sun. Mankind invents a bomb the size of Manhattan that they plan to throw into the sun that will essentially make another star inside the sun. A couple years before they sent a bomb off with a crew but they lose them once they get near Mercury. So they send a new team, and with the sun almost dead this is their last shot. While the new ship passes Mercury they pick up a signal from the old ship and decide to go see what's up. Once aboard they discover that the other crew went crazy and believed it was the will of God for humanity to die, and they all committed suicide by turning the protection tint on the what are essentially windows on the ship facing the sun. Being so close with no protection, the where basically set on fire. Soon after a terrible accident happens that leaves four of the crew members stranded on the old ship with the airlock destroyed. They only way off would be to eject themselves from the ship in hopes they can make it to a hatch that is open on their ship. In this process one of the crew members dies after going adrift in space with no protection and a member who had to stay behind to open the airlock commits suicide the same way as the other crew instead of starving to death. Once aboard the remaining crew members decide to continue the mission, but it is hard to come back from something like that. And the soon learn that something is very wrong with their ship. Sunshine is a very good movie; the only really bad problem would probably be the last 30 minutes. Up to that point I was engaged and interested with the story. But the throw in a "twist" that is such a pathetic and impossible cop-out it takes a lot away from the movie. Another thing that people complained about, that didn't really bother me personally was the scientific accuracy of the movie. It's... less than factual in a couple parts. Sunshine has its faults like any movie but I still loved it. It is a visually stunning and interesting movie, and even with its flaws it is a movie that I'd recommend if you're a sci-fi fan.      

Movie I Love #3

The King's Speech

The last movie I talked about wasn't actually very good, so I feel I need to redeem myself by talking about one that is. The King's Speech is a British film that was released in 2010. It was met with widespread critical acclaim and won seven BAFTA's and four Oscars (including best picture). The film was also an outstanding box office hit, grossing over 400 million dollars on a budget of only 15 million. The movie is based off the true life story of King George the 4th and his rise to power. The movie starts out when George is still a Duke giving a speech at Wimbledon we soon learn he has a terrible stutter. He seeks help from dozens of doctors and therapists, because in his eyes how can one be royalty if he cannot give a speech. Unfortunately none of them are able to help, so his wife seeks out help from someone she has heard good things about, Lionel Logue. Lionel is a suborn man who demands to see George on his own terms; his wife is shocked that he refuses to visit her husband on their time. But she realizes she doesn't have many other options, so she reluctantly agrees. Not long after the speech lessons starts George has many family problems, from his father’s death to his older brother coming into power. But his bother starts seeing a woman who has been divorced, and this is obviously frowned upon. His brother plans on marrying her, but he first has to resign as king. Which means George will come into power. This is obviously frightening to him, so with the help of Lionel he must overcome his impediment and become the king he is meant to be. This is a feel good movie if there ever was one. It is the perfect combination of witty humor with serious and emotional undertones. The writing is superb and the actors carry it out flawlessly. It's a movie about overcoming the odds and finding your voice. It was the best movie of 2010, it was my favorite movie of 2010, and an outstanding film that everyone who doubts them self should see. 

Movie I Love #2

Smokin' Aces
I'll come out and say it, this is a bad movie. I acknowledge that, and I love it. I'm one of those people that has trouble sitting down to watch a bad movie and still like it. Everyone has one of those guilty pleasures where they know it’s bad like 300 or Transformers but they can still enjoy it. That's what Smokin' Aces is for me. The movie is about a magician named Buddy Israel he gets involved with the mob and gets too big for his britches. He essentially tries to take over the operation, but once bodies start dropping he gets out. He goes to the FBI and will be put in witness protection in return of testifying against members of the mob. But before the deal goes through he has to stay at a hotel by Lake Tahoe, soon after sh*t hits the fan. A mob boss puts a hit out on Israel for 1 million dollars, and at that point every violent sociopath in the known universe starts gunning for him. And on top of that there are a couple of bounty hunters who plan on taking him in and turning him over to the LVPD. But the FBI plan to go through hell or high water to protect their witness, then craziness ensues. Smokin' Aces is an over the top action movie and nothing more, it tries to be like a Tarantino film but doesn't even come close. The writing is less than impressive, it tries to be fast and slick but comes off much less. The acting is subpar across the board, but I'll say they managed to get some big stars for it. This isn't one of those movies you watch for a deep and compelling story, you watch it to see every one shoot each other. And by the end that's exactly what you get. The movie is no Godfather, but if you can turn your brain off and be happy with some mindless violence this is a very enjoyable movie.

Movies I Love #1

L.A. Confidential
Released in 1997, L.A. Confidential is a Neo-Noir crime thriller based off the novel of the same name. Upon its release it was praised by critics and would win several awards (nominated for nine Oscars, winning two), and the film was also a commercial success grossing over 120 million dollars (more than three times its budget). Now I want to explain what a Neo-Noir film would be. A Noir film was a term used to describe Hollywood crime dramas usually taking place in a 40's or 50's backdrop (traditionally they were in black and white) and became very popular in the 50's and 60's. They were also known for unique camera techniques involving light and shadows, emphasis on mystery, and many of them where very sexually charged. A Neo-Noir film is essentially a modern day take on the genre usually adding more action, fast paced dialog, and more up to date themes. Some examples of Neo-Noir would be L.A. confidential, Dark City, and the video game L.A. Noir (which draws heavy influence from L.A. confidential). The story of L.A. Confidential revolves around three police officers in 1953, about 2 years after the arrest of the biggest mob boss in the city Mickey Cohen. Now the city is open for the taking, and the LAPD will do anything to stop it. The big case that happens in the film is the Night Owl killings, three men with shotguns enter a dinner late at night and execute the six people inside (including a cop). A young and very smart officer who sold out some other cops for a promotion broke the case and discovered three black men who were believed to have committed the crime. But after further investigation things don't add up, and the cops discover a conspiracy they could never have imagined. Noir is one of my favorite genres, and few modern films do it as well as L.A. Confidential. Classic Noir movies tend to get a little cheesy with the dialog, but the writing in this movie is top notch (it won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay). All the actors give a fiery and passionate performance, especially from Russell Crowe (who plays one of the cops). The 50's may be my favorite setting and cinema and L.A. Confidential drops me right into the golden age of Hollywood. If I had seen this when I did my list of the 20 best movies of my lifetime I definitely would have put this film fairly high up. L.A. Confidential is a spectacular movie and one of the best crime thrillers in years. If you ask me this movie should have won best picture, unfortunately a little movie called Titanic came out that year. This has quickly become one of my favorite movies; after I saw it I went straight to Amazon and bought the Blu-ray. If you haven't seen it, take two hours out of your day and watch it; you won't regret it.

The Master Review

The Master is a drama film that was released back in late 2012. I was actually super excited for this movie going into 2012, and I was not disappointed. I meant to see it upon its release but it was in theaters for less than a month and I missed it. I then planned it on seeing it in the dollar theater but it was there for only three weeks and I missed it again. I've spent the last couple of months trying to find it online but I only found a good quality version recently. The film is directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, his previous film was There Will be Blood (which I put as the third best movie of the 21'st century). The Master stars the returning Joaquin Phoenix who plays an alcoholic sex attic war veteran named Freddie Quell. The movie starts off at the end of World War 2 when Freddie is still in the navy. After the war is over Freddie has some trouble adjusting to regular life. His first job back is taking high quality photos at a mall. He is fired after assaulting a customer. He then finds himself working on a cabbage farm where he is chased away after the other workers believe that he poisoned someone with his home made moonshine. Down on his luck he ends up walking by the bay where he sees a docked boat with a party going on, he jumps on and joins in the fun. The next day he is taken to the captain Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Lancaster is an odd one; he's a writer who claims to be a doctor, a theoretical physicist, and a philosopher. Lancaster likes Freddie and takes him under his wing. Freddie soon learns many things about Lancaster, many of them he's not sure on. Lancaster has started what appears to be his own religion where he believes in reincarnation, time travel, and evolution of the human mind by elevating our psyche. And for many years Freddie follows Lancaster for many years but always asking himself what's real and what is being made up as he goes. The Master is a brilliant film; I place it as the 12'th best film of 2012. The most interesting aspect of this movie is the subject matter. While the director never said it, the religion in the movie seems to be based off Scientology  The similarities between Lancaster and the founder of Scientology also seem related. What really elevates this movie is the stupendous acting. Joaquin Phoenix puts on the performance of his life and one of the best of the year. To be honest Joaquin is crazy in real life so that probably help with his character that is also kind of a nut. If it weren't for one Mr. Daniel Day-Lewis, he'd have a good shot at the Oscar. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a fantastic actor; he even won an Oscar a couple years back. And being nominated again this year I'd say you can't look past him. The film is also beautifying shot; Paul Thomas Anderson always manages to find great cinematographers for his movies. I only have two problems with this movie; the first is that it is confusing. Even at the end you're not sure what you just watched. The other problem is that it gets very slow in places, it almost comes to a crawl in some scenes. Compared to There Will be Blood, the Master isn't as interesting or gripping. Those two problems aside I do believe this is a great movie. This is one of those love it or hate it movies, personally I loved it but I see why others wouldn't. I'd suggest others watch it just for the experience. 4/5

A Good Day to Die Hard Review

Die Hard was released in 1988 and became an overnight success, it even spawned four sequels. The newest installation into the franchise is A Good Day to Die Hard and it's...average. The movie opens up in Russia where John McClane's son Jack is arrested for killing to man. John heads over to the former Soviet Republic to see if he can do anything. And like every other Die Hard, sh*t hits the fan pretty quickly. While on trial an explosion goes off freeing Jack and another political prisoner being tried. The men behind the explosion are there for him. You learn Jack is actually CIA who's job is to extract this man because he is believed to have evidence that a high ranking government official was behind the meltdown at Chernobyl. With some unwanted help from John, Jack is able to get out of there. Now the father son duo has to work together to get a file with the evidence in it. But being a Die Hard movie, it's never that simple. A Good Day to Die Hard isn't the worst movie in the series, but it's a long ways from the best. The problem with it is that it doesn't feel like a real Die Hard movie, it's just a perfectly forgettable action movie. The series has never been know for outstanding writing, but there are some stupid lines in this movie. John and Jack had no chemistry as father and son, Jack spent half the movie complaining that his dad was never there for him when he was a kid; all he does is whine. The acting in this movie is sub par, other than Willis (John) no one gives a decent performance. John McClane use to be a regular guy in sticky situations, but like the forth movie they just turn him into a super hero which is wrong for his character. Another problem would be that there is no central villain, each Die Hard movie has one main villain and his henchman. In this movie there's like four and none are very good. The story is also kind of confusing, it's just all over the place and a lot of things happen they don't really explain. The movie also seems to defy logic and physics in several places, a lot of things just don't add up. And the amount of green screen in this movie is pretty ridiculous, and they just throw explosions at us for no reason hoping it entertains us. I like Die Hard, I have the entire series on DVD; but this movie is a disappointment. If you want to go see a movie this weekend I'd suggest going to see some of the Oscar nominees, A Good Day to Die Hard is just a sub par action movie. If you really want to see it just wait until it's in the dollar theater. 2/5

Great movies people haven't seen #11

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The most famous movie people haven't seen. This is one of those movies that everyone has heard of, everyone knows what it is, but few have actually sat down to watch it. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a spaghetti western directed by Sergio Leone, now before we start I should explain what a spaghetti western is. A SW is a sub genre of westerner that started to pop up in Italy during the 60's, the main difference between a SW and a traditional western is that SW's are a lot more over the top and ridiculous. They almost take place in a fantasy world where everything defy's logic. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is actually the final film in the Dollars trilogy (the first two being a Fistful of dollars and For a few more dollars). The western has always been an American genre, but Sergio Leone actually did westerns better than anyone else. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly takes place during the civil war in the southern US. Two con artists, Tuco and Clint Eastwood's character (who's name isn't given but is refereed to as Blonde), pull a scam where Tuco poses as a wanted man and Blonde collects the award money. Before Tuco is to be hung Blonde shoots the rope with a well placed shot freeing him. After one of these jobs goes bad Blonde decides to leave Tuco about 25 miles in the dessert. Tuco seeks revenge and kidnaps Blonde at gunpoint and plans on returning the favor. He makes Blonde walk across a desert, if he makes it he lives but if he refuses he'll be shot. After about 2 days of walking they come upon a wagon containing a bunch of dead confederate soldiers. One of them is still alive and tells Tuco of two thousand dollars in confederate gold buried in a graveyard. He tells Tuco what cemetery it's at but before he says what grave it's in he asks for water. Tuco goes to get some but when he comes back he sees Blonde talking to him, but when Tuco gets over there the soldier is dead. So Tuco knows what cemetery and Blonde knows what grave, as much as they hate each other they decide to use each other to get the gold. I consider The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to one of the only truly perfect movies, I consider it to be one of the top five films of all time. It's one of those movies that follows the same road as Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space odyssey, actions speak louder than words. There isn't much talking in this movie, especially from Eastwood. It lets the setting and style tell the story. And no movie does it better than this one. While this may be the final film in a trilogy you don't need to watch the others to know what happens in this. The others are great but they aren't even on the same playing field as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Of all the movies I've talked about, of all the movies I've recommended, I can honestly say none of them are as good as this movie. And while it may not be for everyone, of any of the suggestions I've made up to this point please give The Good, the Bad and the Ugly a try.

Great movies people haven't seen #10

Warrior
Warrior is a sports movie that was released back in 2011 revolving around the sport Mixed Martial Arts. And I'll say this right now, Warrior is the first and only good MMA movie ever released. As a huge fan of the sport it pains me to see all these direct to DVD released MMA movies that are terrible, Warrior is the first movie to do the sport justice. Most movies about MMA brutalize the sport and all the fights happen in illegal underground fight clubs. But Warrior is a feel good movie if there ever was one, it's the type of movie that makes you want to go out and conquer some obstacles after you see it. The movie stars follows two brothers, Tommy (an ex war veteran  and Brendan (a high school teacher). After being gone for years Tommy comes back to town and confronts his abusive alcoholic father who has since changed since they last saw each other and has become a born again christian. After a heated conversation, Tommy goes to a gym the next day and spars with a national ranked MMA fighter and beats the living sh*t out of him. The fight is filmed and goes viral on the internet and Tommy becomes an internet star. Tommy learns about a two day MMA tournament where the winner earns 5 million dollars, so Tommy asks his father to train him (Tommy was a wrestling champ in high school and was trained by his father, this is when most of the abuse happened). At the same time Brendan is having some money problems, he actually competed in the UFC (the largest MMA promotion in the world) at one point and decides to do a couple low profile events to get some money. His wife discovers this and is furious, but the bank is about to take their house and his daughter needs surgery so he doesn't have any other choice. Brendan seeks out his old coach for training, but when one of the coaches fighters is injured at the last minute (who was going to fight in the tournament) Brendan convinces him to get him in the tournament. Now that both brothers are entered we see an emotional roller coaster between them, their father, and all their loved ones. I love this movie, I'd put it in my top 10 personal favorites. To be honest Warrior was a lot better than everyone thought it would be, what really sells this movie was the acting. Everyone who appeared in this movie poured their soul into it. Nick Nolte (the father) is the one that stole the show, he was even nominated for an Oscar for his performance (he should have won). Warrior is is my generation's Rocky, it's one of the greatest sports movies in years and one of those rare movies that inspires you to be greater. It's an entertaining and emotionally intense movie that I recommend wholeheartedly.

Great movies people haven't seen #9

Amadeus
Amadeus is a period drama that was released in 1984 that was met with overwhelming critical acclaim, and in my opinion it's one of the best movies of the 80's. The movie is the true story about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and it's told by rival and jealous composer Antonio Salieri later on in his life. Salieri had always wanted to be a composer, but while he had a first rate music lover he was a third rate composer. He had heard stories of great Mozart for years, and when Mozart made his way into town he couldn't pass up a chance to see him. But he is shocked at what he finds. Instead of the brilliant and proper person he was expecting, he found a goofy and childish disgrace. He had trouble accepting it, he had given his entire life to music and had been a model human being in every way but somehow this idiot was the famous one. He didn't understand, until he heard his music. There's a great scene about a third of the way into the movie where Salieri has a revelation, he learns that Mozart doesn't think about the music but it just happens for him. And he is devastated, he always dreamed of being the greatest composer of all time but he realizes that he can never compete with Mozart. So Salieri decides to sabotage him, he spreads lies about him to the upper class and discourage them from hiring him. Shortly after Mozart starts to have money problems and decides to sell his valuables. But after coming home from a party he learns that his father has died, he then falls into a dark and alcoholic decent. And Salieri is right there to watch it. Amadeus is a masterpiece, I'd probably put it in my top 15 or 20 movies of all time. The movie is so well written and very comedic while still managing to stay serious and on task. Every actor does a top notch job, there is no weak link. The score is made up of dozens of classical pieces from the real life composers and they all work great. The set pieces, the costume design, and just about everything else is perfect. Amadeus is an astonishing movie that I personally hold in the highest regards, and it's a movie everyone should see.

Great movies people haven't seen #8

Dark City
Released in 1998, Dark City is a neo-noir sci-fi movie that was met with mixed critical reception and only made its budget back (almost to the dime). But with home media and the help of critic Roger Ebert (who named it the best picture of the year and helped promote the movie by have analysis screenings), Dark City has become a cult classic. Dark City is one of those movies that is hard to talk about without spoiling it, half the fun of the movie is learning as you go. In the directors cut that was released a few years ago, they actually removed the opening narration that explained to much. The opens up with the lead character John getting out of a bathtub in his hotel room. He has no idea how he got there or even who he is. He receives a phone call telling him to run, he then finds the body of a murdered hooker in his room. After he leaves a group of pale men who seem to have some sort of telepathic powers come looking for him. At the same time the police or also looking for John because they believe he's a serial killer. John goes to an apartment that he has vague memories of and meets his wife who he barely remembers. After meeting her he collects a few things and decides to run again because the police are right on his tail. John then starts asking questions that he shouldn't be. He wants to go to a near by place called Shell Beach, but when he asks people about it they all know it, they know where it is, but no one remembers how to get there. He ask another perplexing question that no one can answer, when was the last time they remember doing something during the day, when was the last time they saw the sun. John realizes something is wrong and will do anything to find out what is happening, even if it kills him. What struck me the most about the film is the setting and the aesthetics. The film is set in a 50's style city, but the introduction of the sci-fi elements adds a new twist. Dark City is like nothing I've ever seen, an unique movie years ahead of its time. Dealing with themes of false perception, what it means to be human, and the need for truth. An ambitious, bold, and underrated film that I can't recommend enough.

5 All Time Greatest Directors

Honorable Mentions: James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Tim Burton, The Coen Brothers, Ridley Scott, Wood Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, David Lean, Hayao Miyazaki, Quentin Tarantino, Sergio Leone, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Cecil B DeMille
Note: This list is comprised of my personal opinions not just on the greatness of their films but of their impact  and influence on the film industry.

5. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, Apocalypse Now)
Francis Ford Coppola is one of the most accomplished and determined directors of all time. I consider the three movies next to his name to be in the top ten movies of all time. After the release of the first two Godfather movies, Coppola became a house hold name and became one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. In the early 70's Coppola bought the original script for Apocalypse Now, but because of insufficient funds he wasn't able to make it. Years later he decided he was ready to make it, but his hopes were crushed after no studio wanted to back the project. So Coppola funds the movie almost entirely by himself, that's dedication. A master of his trade and an academy award winner, Coppola will go down as one of the all time greats.
4. Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones Trilogy, Schindler's List)
Arguably the most famous director of all time, Steven Spielberg is one of the most respected people in Hollywood and one of the best active directors. He's also the most successful director of all time. His movies have grossed a combined 8.5 billion dollars. He's had the highest grossing movie of all time with three different movies (Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park), ET was number one for 11 years until Jurassic Park beat it. He has won 3 Oscars himself and all of his movies combined have won over a dozen Oscars. He was the director of the first Summer blockbuster (Jaws), he directed one of the all time greatest trilogies (Indiana Jones), and has backed more movies than I can count. I could keep going, but I think you get the picture.
3. Akira Kurosawa (Yojimbo, Sanjiro, Seven Samurai, Ran, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Rashomon)
Probably the least known director on this list, but arguably the most important director of world cinema. Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese director who revolutionized the film industry, his movies inspired directors all over the world. One of the most TV aired movies of all time, The Magnificent Seven, was based off his movie Seven Samurai. His movie Yojimbo was the inspiration for Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars which was the first movie in the Dollars Trilogy which lead to one of the greatest movies of all time The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. His movie Rashomon was the first Japanese movie to become a huge success internationally and went on to win the academy award for best foreign movie. One of the most unappreciated directors by non film buffs, Akira Kuraosawa is a legend. But now with the power of the internet his movies are more available and people are starting to recognize his genius.
2. Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Departed, Hugo, Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Raging Bull)
If only I had a dollar every time Scorsese was snubbed for an Oscar. Martin is widely considered the greatest director of all time, AFI ranked Raging Bull as the forth greatest movie of all time beating out movies like Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Lawrence of Arabia. What makes Martin so good is because he really knows how to use his actors. He casts a lot of the same actors for many of his projects, Robert De Niro has been in like five of his movies. He also knows how to work his characters, in Goodfellas all of the major characters are criminals but you root for them. Making you like a bad guy and hoping the succeed is a difficult thing to do, but no one does it better than Scorsese. And unlike many directors, Martin doesn't have a problem changing with the times. He has always made these realistic (yet over the top) gritty stories, but his last movie Hugo he embraced a whole new type of movie. Using new styles, using 3D properly, and making a family friendly movie (which he has certainly never done before). And that is the sign of a great film maker.
1. Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Birds, Rear Window, Rope)
There will probably be a lot of people that disagree with me, but I truly believe that Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtedly the greatest director of all time. Never has a director mastered a genre like Hitchcock. He was the undisputed king of horror, mystery, and suspense  During his career his movies weren't loved by critics but were praised by audiences  Hitchcock became famous for doing things his way, when no studio wanted to support Psycho he put up the money himself. One of his more underrated movies, Rope, became famous for using long shots which were fairly unconventional for that type of dialog heavy scene. He also became famous for having small cameos in his movies. He even had a long running and successful TV show called "Alfred Hitchcock presents." Hitchcock has inspired dozens of directors and his influence is sometimes seen in movies today. There have been a lot of great directors over the years, but none as good as Alfred Hitchcock.

The Impossible Review

In 2004, the world stood still after one of the worst natural disasters in human history devastated the countries surroundings the Indian ocean. A tsunami of unimaginable proportions claimed the lives of a staggering 230 thousand people the day after Christmas. Humans have fought against earthquakes, hurricanes, and just about every thing else mother nature could through at us, but the tsunami was a whole new beast that came in the picture a crushed us. The story of The Impossible is a true one about a family of five on vacation in Thailand who got caught up in the tsunami. While playing in the pool at their hotel, they hear some sort of loud noise. The next thing they know a 15 foot wall of water is shredding through their hotel like it was nothing and heading right for them, once hit the family gets separated. The mother and the oldest son go one way and the father and the two youngest sons go another. After the initial waves pass, the mother and the son regroup. They decide to find a high place to hide out for a while in case more waves come through. They realize that the mother has a severely wounded leg and has a puncture wound in her chest. After being found by some locals, she is taken to a busy and overwhelmed hospital to be treated. While all this is going on you learn that the rest of their family has survived, and the father has to make the hardest decision of his life. Relief workers come to take survivors to the mountain and he decides to send his boys with them while he looks for the rest of his family. And the viewer is taken on an emotional trip in the hopes they find each other. The Impossible is a good movie, and it's a sad movie. It plays at your heart stings in several places. But that leads me to a problem I had with it, it tries to hard to be emotional. You ever see one of those more movies where it tries to be sadder than it is, that's kind of what The Impossible does. Another problem was that it got really slow later on in the movie. You see the tsunami hit after 15 minutes, but the next hour and 45 minutes aren't nearly as interesting. I don't want to say I was bored but the movie lost my full attention after a while. The most impressive part of the movie was the tsunami, not the special effects that made it happen but of the memories it was bringing back up. I remember the tsunami, it was the worst national disaster to happen in my lifetime and I remember that it made me sad. Once we went back to school after winter break my class put together a relief fund where we just donated a couple dollars. We knew it wouldn't help but it was the best we could do. All in all The Impossible is pretty good but I wouldn't say it's worth full price, it's a dollar theater movie. But if you want an emotional movie based on a true story with good acting and good cinematography, The Impossible is worth your time. 3.5/5