Review: 9

9 awakens. The world he enters is much different than our own. There are no humans left. 8 other sackcloth dolls roam "the emptiness" trying to scrounge food and supplies while avoiding "the beast". And that's about all you know for a good portion of this film. 9 is an interesting little film that begins light on story and then slams you against the wall with an incredible one and a deep, deep meditation on humanity. This is a cartoon, but it's certainly not one to take the kiddos to.

Review: Sunshine Cleaning

Let me get something out there now. I want to make Amy Adams my wife. She's insanely beautiful and has a quality about her that just seems so real and genuine that you can't help but be drawn to her. She has this fantastic ability to be so kind and compassionate in every single role and it's truly something I've never been able to figure out. And of course, that is exactly the case in Sunshine Cleaning.

Review: The Time Traveler's Wife

So, I caught this movie a couple weeks ago and just realized tonight that I forgot to review it. That should tell you a little bit about how I felt about this film. Okay, I know what you're thinking. "MJ, you said in your (500) Days of Summer review that you were single. Why on EARTH did you see The Time Traveler's wife?!" The answer to that question is a simple "Because I wanted to!" I have a soft spot for movies like this with a supernatural twist. Frequency is a great film and The Lake House showed promise in its premise, but ultimately fell flat. Two words: Keanau crying.

Review: Inglourious Basterds

Alright guys, bear with me. This is going to be a rather lengthy review. If you read my Grindhouse review then you'll know that all of my Taratino reviews are a bit on the lengthy side. If you've seen a Tarantino movie then you know that my reviews need to be a bit on the lengthy side. I suppose to better understand Inglouious Basterds you need a knowledge of the man behind the event. Quentin Tarantino has been directing for about 20 years now and in those 2 decades he's directed 7 films. After his first film, "Reservoir Dogs" he was touted as the next big thing and lived up to that 2 years later with the classic "Pulp Fiction". His next film "Jackie Brown" proved to be not so successful but by that time Quentin Tarantino was a household name. Recently he's come under fire for being too in love with hearing his own voice. He's always written his own films and with the exception of Jackie Brown they've all been original ideas. And that's how it should be. Quentin Tarantino would get bored directing a script not written by Quentin Tarantino. I feel that all the hate recently is not the product of his films being poor but hate because he's no longer "in". After Pulp Fiction he was the savior of modern cinema and by Death Proof he was a narcissistic jerk that only directed movies that had a "hey look at me! aren't I clever?!" attitude about them. Through this time I've been a huge Tarantino fan and have held the exact opposite stance on all of these issues. There's a lot of talk about Tarantino the director and Tarantino the writer. Most people love the director but can't stand the writer. This brings us to "Inglourious Basterds". Tarantino is a genre director through and through. He's done crime thrillers, con movies, revenge pictures and a slasher flick. This is his take on the war film and more importantly the "guys on a mission" sub-genre of the war film. Inglourious Basterds is what would happen if Quentin Tarantino ran things in World War 2 and wanted it to feel like a spaghetti western. The film follows Lt. Aldo Raine (the fantastic Brad Pitt) and his group of Jewish American soldiers as they try to take out the entire Third Reich at a huge propaganda film premiere in Nazi-occupied France. This is a tough film to review. I almost feel like we would all benefit more from a multi-part in-depth analysis of this film because that's how layered it is. Inglourious Basterds is one of the best films of the decade and should signal a revival in the career of Quentin Tarantino. This is hands down his best film since Pulp Fiction and could be considered his masterpiece for years to come. Because this is a Tarantino picture you can expect it to have more in common with Reservoir Dogs than Saving Private Ryan. It's being touted as an action picture but there are only a handful of scenes with actual gunplay. The rest is left to the viewer's imagination. But when the violence does happen the violence happens BIG. This Tarantino's most violent picture to date. Kill Bill Volume 1 is an extremely gory film but the amount of fake blood that movie is drenched in reaches Looney Tunes levels of over the top. On the other hand, Basterds is brutal and visceral and realistic. Like I said, there isn't much but when there is expect to be a little uncomfortable. Violence has never been the point of a Tarantino film though and like always, the dialogue is fun and hilarious and thought provoking all at once. Everyone turns in a fantastic performance and I wouldn't be surprised if this picture picked up a few Oscar nods next year. The two shining stars of this film are Brad Pitt and his foil, Christoph Waltz. Pitt plays Lt. Aldo Raine, a backwoods good ol' boy from the mountains of Tennessee with a huge scar carved into his neck and some bitterness toward Nazis. The sheer brilliance of his performance kept me engrossed for the entire runtime and anytime he was on screen I was giddy. On the other end, Christoph Waltz plays Col. Hans Landa, a man whose nickname is "The Jew Hunter" and whose disposition is acerbic and charming all at the same time. Watlz is a truly terrifying villain and plays his character with such menace that I feel a supporting actor nod is definitely in the near future. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well, including Eli Roth as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donnowitz who enjoys beating Nazis to death with a baseball bat. If I have one complaint about this film it's that we don't get enough backstory for Raine and his Basterds. Outside of that, Tarantino is back and this very well could be his masterpiece.

my rating: 10/10

This is my third 10/10 this year and it comes only one week after my 10/10 for the brilliant District 9. I don't know what it is but the end of summer has been fantastic and I don't know how the rest of the year will top this month's releases.

Review: District 9

Every once in a while a film comes along that defines a genre. Sergio Leone's "The Good the Bad and the Ugly" is the quintessential Western, "Die Hard" is the go-to for action movies and for most people the first two "Alien" films have set the standard for sci-fi and have rarely gone unmatched. Sure, we've had great science fiction since those films but everyone seems to keep coming back to "Alien" and "Aliens". Both films are completely different. "Alien" is a subtle horror/thriller that takes a look at the human psyche when it is put into an intense situation during extreme isolation. "Aliens" is more of an action/thriller that has something to say about the ravages of war mentally and physically on those who experience it. And now Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp have teamed together to give us what made both films great in one genre defining picture. "District-9" is absolutely brilliant science fiction that gets back to the basics and presents them in a new and refreshing way. What has always made sci-fi so compelling is the way it blends social commentary, human drama and all out action into a great story and not make it feel weighed down by all this. Over the last twenty years the closest we've come to that have been films that take one or two of those elements and executes them perfectly. But to take all of those? That takes true talent. The plot of "District-9" has remained under wraps for a very long time and I'm going to keep it that way. Basically, twenty years ago an alien craft came to a dead stop over Johannasberg, South Africa and those aboard the ship have been forced into a life in a slum known as District-9. And like most slums, its residents live in dilapidated shacks made out of spare panelling and cardboard. The nigerian mafia runs the slum, trading catfood for alien weaponry and the people of Johannasberg are fed up with their government not taking care of the issue. And that's where the fun begins. I'm not going to reveal more because there are a million secrets in D-9 and to spoil them would be losing out on half the fun. I tend to run away from film critic cliches like "life affirming" or "an adrenaline rush" but let me say that "District-9" is a roller coaster ride. When the government vehicles started to roll out of their safe parking garage and into the district I felt the same rush that one gets when going on an amusent park ride and it didn't let up for it's near 2-hour runtime. Neil Blomkamp is a more than capable director and I hope that the studios see that in his hands "Halo" has potential to be the best video-game film ever. "District-9" will be looked upon as a genre defining film for years to come and earns a rightful spot next to the "Alien" films as some of the most intelligent science fiction you will ever see.

my rating: 10/10

Review: The Dark Knight

Where to begin, where to begin. Well, I'm sure we've all been excited for this movie since Batman Begins ended. Obviously the hype for this film was kicked into overdrive with the untimely death of actor Heath Ledger back in January. Early reviews for the film seemed to praise it as the Citizen Kane of superhero movies. Finally, on Saturday a group of friends and I drove to an IMAX theater to experience it and judge for ourselves. If I had to put words to this movie there would only be one. "WOW." I know this may seem like more fuel for the overhype machine, but this is one movie that goes above and beyond expectations and creates a film that provides one of the most exciting theatrical experiences of one's life. So much is to be said about this film. First off, Christopher Nolan proves once again that he is one of the most brilliant people working in Hollywood today. With his incredible script and eye for what looks amazing on camera, Nolan solidifies his position as a living filmmaking legend. Secondly, the plot is intricate, complex, and twists and turns in virtually every scene. The audience is expected to be intelligent enough to "get it" and nothing is ever dumbed down. The acting in the film is absolutely superb by everyone except Maggie Gyllenhall who looks a little worse for the wear in this film. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman all step up their performances from the first film. Of course, I can't review The Dark Knight without mentioning Heath Ledger's incredible portrayal of The Joker. I was in the "give him an Oscar if he deserves it, not because he's dead" camp for a while. Now, having seen his last full performance, I must agree that a posthumous Oscar is well earned and every bit deserved. The amount of character development that takes place over the course of the 2.5 hour film is epic and so layered and complex that multiple viewings are a must. This is one film that will be an instant classic and will forever go down in history as the "superhero movie is art" movie. Christopher Nolan stated that Michael Mann's brilliant Heat inspired a lot of what The Dark Knight touches on. The film's scope is certainly as epic and there are some scenes reminiscent of Heat but this is a film that stands alone in its own category. This is why people go to the movies. This is why people start making, acting in, and writing films. The Dark Knight is going to be the best film of the year by far and will make one stop and think "that was a comic book movie?"

my rating: 10/10

Review: There Will Be Blood

Okay, before I start my review of "There Will Be Blood" you have to understand that I'm a sucker for those "journeys into the heart of darkness" type flicks. Apocalypse Now, No Country For Old Men, Fargo, and now Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood. I went to a late showing of this film last night with a couple of friends and found it hard to stay awake, not because I wasn't impressed, I was just tired. I've only seen one of Paul Thomas Anderson's other films, the incredible "Punch-Drunk Love" starring Adam Sandler, and I couldn't think of another film that is more of a departure from that world. "Blood" begins with a very drawn out opening sequence where not a word is spoken, but the phenomenal cinematography speaks for itself. We follow up and coming oil tycoon Daniel Plainview as he goes from working as a small silver miner to turning oil into big business. He then adopts the infant son of his co-worker who dies on the job and turns young H.W. into more of a business partner than a son. He is a cutthroat misanthrope that descends into his own paranoia and loathing for people as the film progresses. There Will Be Blood may not be for everybody because it has a very negative tone to it, however it is visually stunning and the soundtrack is most definitely original. By the end of the film (which really reminded me of the Coen brother's epic No Country For Old Men) we have seen Mr. Plainview's obsession come full circle, culminating in a final showdown with the preacher Eli Sunday. Sunday's character is also a fascinating figure. He runs "The Church Of The Third Revelation" which strikes me as a remnant of the Great Awakening given it's very hellfire and brimstone approach to everything. The major conflict between Sunday and Plainview lies in the fact that they are so similar to each other that the other one must cease to be for them to continue on with their "life's work." All in all, There Will Be Blood was an incredible character study that delves deep into what makes these men tick, and how dark one's world can become when obsession takes the place of ambition. Also, watching a great director work with a phenomenal actor really adds something to the film-going experience and we are most definitely treated to that here with the Paul Thomas Anderson/(going to get the Oscar this year) Daniel-Day Lewis.

my rating: 9/10