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