What film/s did everyone watch today?? Redux

[KcMsterpce]

THE HURT LOCKER

I don't mind war movies, but my biggest complaint lies in how more often than not they resort to middling attempts at thrusting the film makers' political agenda in your face, and/or turn the horrors of war into almost laughable cliches with scenes that could be placed into any number of OTHER war movies with the same results. I'm sick of melodramatic slow motion shots of notable characters being shot down, and just before they die they say "tell my wife - *cough* - I love her." I don't like "sprawling, epic" battle scenes that inspire with a canned swooping orchestral score that tries to prove the contents' importance by the dramatic strength of the violins and drums alone. It's hard for war movies to be honest without sacrificing cheesiness or just pure boredom. There are ACTION war movies that go light on political commentary, and then the rest are usually heavy-handed inductions of wild-eyed laughter for me because it tries SO HARD to be honest that it falls into parody-like folly.
The Hurt Locker is a big surprise for me. Although it takes place in 2004 in Iraq, there is no mention of soldiers saying "why are we here, anyway? What's the purpose of all this?" It doesn't mention Bush, or spin any political views for the left or right. It hardly even pounds in that "war is bad". This is mostly about three guys who work in the same unit that have three differing ways of dealing with the stress of such a dangerous job.
Jeremy Renner was great as Doyle in 28 Weeks Later, and he spins his persona around this time as a low-key soldier when off the field who turns into a calculated monster while on duty. He isn't necessarily evil, but there are certainly a few screws loose in his head. Anthony McKee was excellent as SGT Sanborn. I could feel for the guy's situation, being stuck in the middle of the ranks, having to deal with both ends of the leadership chain. Geraghty fills out the trio as a Specialist struggling to cope with the overwhelming desire to do right and do well when perhaps he's not exactly cut out for this shit.

Outside of these three, most of the other players have small bits who come and go at different times, but not enough to leave a major lasting impact in screen time. Guy Pearce was great for his cameo; the accent was spot-on! I was surprised to see Ralph Fiennes popping in, and David Morse's quick roll as a Colonel was hilarious. Christian Camargo gave me some laughs because I've MET some counseling Officers just like him! It was a departure from his part in Dexter, too.

If you ever wondered what it would be like disarming bombs in a hostile environment, then this is certainly the movie to see. It starts out with a bang (well, I mean that it begins with little buildup to the meat and bones of the story) as the EOD team has to detonate an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) with a remote robotic machine that breaks down. Thanks, government contractors for providing such valuable products! The tension that arises from the knowledge of the IED exploding any given moment only gets stronger as each second passes. As more people stand around watching, it leaves more opportunity for any one of those bystanders to have a cell phone that will remote detonate the IED. It doesn't feel like a game, and it doesn't seem like a fun or romantic job in the least. It makes for a very intense viewing experience.
What also impressed me much was the detail put into not just the Army infantry-styled mentality, but with how convincingly these guys performed room clearing duties and the strategy employed with providing cover, etc... It's much more "vintage" feeling than most Hollywood war movies. You know that if someone is going to get shot in this movie, they are certainly most likely to DIE. Without a few quick sentences of redemption or farewell wishes to their loved ones.

I do have a few small complaints. There is a sniper scene that bothered me because after the insurgent sniper was obviously sighted in, they didn't change position or use alternate cover in an attempt to force the sniper to re-evaluate the target. It feels like a dumb move on their part. It was still a pretty decent scene, though. My other more dominant gripe is with the attempt at explaining one of the movie's main themes. It starts out with a quote that finishes with "war is a drug". This is a reference to how war can make adrenaline junkies who are always looking for conflict to get the next "high". This theme is already presented by the story itself, and doesn't need such heavy emphasis before the opening credits even start to roll. Also, in case you DIDN'T GET THE POINT, one of the characters presents his view on why he does what he does near the end of the movie, which makes me feel like they were afraid the audience wouldn't catch on to one of the most major themes of the movie. Well, yes I did get it. I got it before it really even started thanks to the quote "war is a drug". The monologue near the end only re-iterated my notion that their fears were the audience would be too dense to "get it".

My small gripes aside - a few that I haven't made note of - The Hurt Locker is one of the more honest and gripping war movies that I have seen in quite some time. It is much smarter than I expected. Some of the scenes are quite nerve-wracking, and the three leads are plausible and eclectic. I also give props to skirting any political outlook on war in general, or - especially - the Bush administration and the reasons for being in the Middle East, etc... This is about three soldiers doing their job and trying to live through it. I very much enjoyed this outing at the movies.


9/10





THE PROPOSAL

For a predictable, run-of-the-mill romcom (romantic comedy), it's up to the movie's power to make you laugh and the believability of the two leads' chemistry to make a sell for entertainment. In this case, The Proposal managed to work well enough in those departments to make it worth watching.

With Harry Potter being sold out like a Jenna Jameson gang-bang audition, I figured that Ryan Reynolds and some light-hearted comedy would not be a bad way to go. I've always liked the guy, so I was banking on his charisma to win me over. At the same time, Sandra Bullock hasn't ever pissed me off (just some of her movies have), and the previews seemed funny enough and I was convinced that this might be a decent getaway from reality. My reality consists of wallowing in misery and loneliness, so I figured The Proposal would emphasize optimism and love. What better way to get away, right?
Reynolds and Bullock actually worked well together. My favorite elements to their relationship was the complete HATE part of Reynolds towards her in the beginning. His subdued but obvious facial twitches and minor lip curling evoked much laughter from me. The guy has a great sense of comedy, with enough underlying subtlety to keep it fresh! Also, miss Bullock at 45 still looks great. It was odd to see her at the beginning of the movie jumping straight out of the shower and looking into a foggy bathroom mirror with blush and makeup on. Haha. That was a good joke, too!
The supporting cast also have their moments to shine. Betty White is a great flaky grandmother with a good heart. I like that they didn't use her just to make potty mouthed "old lady being nasty that's so funny!" jokes. Steenburgen still looks great as well. It's hard to believe that she's old enough to be Ryan Reynolds' mom! The most laughs on the supporting side came from Oscar Nuñez, who is Oscar in The Office. He opens up a little more and plays a much more extroverted role as Ramone. He keeps popping up at unexpected times, and I laughed a few times because of it.

The Proposal didn't do much in the way of introducing a new story concept. It's Green Card with smaller noses and less seriousness. I am sorry if I ruin it for you if I say that they eventually start to fall in love. Their relationship blooms unconvincingly over a mere WEEKEND, but because of the two leads' easily likable personas, the sparks kindling a flame of love between them doesn't seem entirely impossible. He just had to get her guard down and learn to enjoy LIVING instead of leading.

The Proposal doesn't break any new ground or pop up huge surprises. I was wishing that the final love speech with Reynolds would have him say "you complete me", and I would have felt more complete after watching it. That's ok, though. It's a freaking ROMANTIC COMEDY. I'm not looking for education or a misanthropic meditation on human nature. I laughed, I didn't roll my eyes and took the more cheesier parts (such as them conveniently "accidentally" getting naked - I mean, what was THAT all about?) with a shrug and went along for the sugar coated ride.

6/10

[Canto]

10/10

[Natty]

Bruno (Larry Charles, 2009)



I don't remember being so shocked by a movie since I saw South Park for the first time. Pauline Kael said about De Niro's performance in Raging Bull something like, "It wasn't acting, but it was something to behold" and that's sort of how I feel about this movie in that it wasn't great comedy but it was great...something. Cohen should be rewarded for one of the bravest performances ever but if the point of his film is to expose homophobia then it doesn't help by showing us behaviour that would be disgusting even if a straight person was doing it. Plus Bruno is a massive stereotype anyway. I particularly liked the sequence with the martial arts instructor and the 'gay converter', those two parts were the only ones that reminded me of the brilliance of Borat. Favourite moment had to be Harrison Ford's appearance though.

*For those who haven't seen it the picture I selected isn't in the film...wish it was though.

7/10

[Le_Big_Mac]

Last Tango in Paris- 7/10

[Frosty_86]

Good but not great like the first two. I wish Sophia Coppola would not have been it and I also think the relationship between Mary and Vincent should have been left out. 7.5/10

[sbunn10]

Away We Go - 7.5/10

It's been described by a few schmoes as "pleasant", which is a perfect description of the film. It's enjoyable, but nothing too extraordinary. Maya Rudolph shows that she has some real acting ability... she should spend more time on dramatic roles and less on SNL.

[Bourne101]

Orphan - 7/10 (some spoilers, but not regarding the twist)

Many films like this have been done before. Parents adopt a kid, kids ends up being crazy, does some crazy shit, etc. Orphan starts out that way, but I was very impressed when it got VERY, VERY grim. I will agree that I think the fate of the boy should have been left with the final shot of him after he is smothered, and that would have made it even that much better, but even with that line that lets you know that he is alright, the film is still VERY bleak, grim and dark. Ebert was right, characters like Damien from The Omen are fucking angels compared to Esther. I don't think I've ever seen a child character on film commit such fucking brutal and heinous acts. Really, besides the line that reveals the boy is still alive, this movie is balls to the fuckin' wall. It went places that most films do not have the balls to do. The film features great performances from all cast members. Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard are very good as the parents, Jimmy Bennett and Aryana Engineer are very good as the kids, and Isabelle Fuhrman is brilliant as the stone cold child that ranks at the top of the list of creepy and fucked up child characters. The story itself unfolds very well. The solid two hour runtime gives plenty of time for fantastic character development, smooth plot development and sets it up well for the extremely weird and fucked up climax that on paper just seems silly, yet for some reason I found it to be quite unsettling and creepy when put in context. I'm glad I didn't know the twist going in. So overall, Orphan is a very fucked up, grim and brutal film that, while not particularly scary, keeps you always feeling very uneasy and often packs some very powerful punches. The ending is sure to divide audiences, but at the time I was watching it, I found it to be pretty damn creepy. I'll need to see this again to see if it's as good as I thought it was on the first watch, but at this point I think it is quite a good film.

[RandalGraves]

Once Upon A Time In Mexico 9/10

[QUENTIN]

Black Snake Moan (9/10) -One of the best and most underrated movies of this decade. Career best, Oscar-worthy performance from Christina Ricci and Jackson's best role post-Fiction in a genuinely moving and beautifully realized story steeped in a very real familiarity with and evocation of deep Southern culture. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent and authentic as well, especially Merkerson and Cothran, the latter of whom's monologue about Heaven is one of my favorite movie moments in years. Also has the best use of music this side of Scorsese.

The International (5/10) -I like intelligent movies, I also don't mind dumb movies that know they're dumb if they work on their own terms, but dumb movies that think they're intelligent are frustrating. I didn't believe a second of this movie, because it's really implausible and, worse, poorly written. Owen and Watts are great actors on autopilot, barely trying to get by with what crap they're given. Even sadder to see the man behind the brilliant Princess and The Warrior slumming like this, I mourn the loss of what he could have done with a year of his life instead of this pablum. It's not especially bad, just excessively mediocre, I barely finished it.

[Frosty_86]

The best of the Potter films so far even though it did deviate from the book a lot still a fantastic movie. 9.5/10

[sbunn10]

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Anderson) - 9/10

This movie just makes me happy.

[Canto]

First viewing. 8.5/10

[Mikey2Dope]

Dead Snow - 7/10
Push - 7/10
Flight of the Living Dead - 6/10

[SAI]

Review taken from My Blog. Also reviewed today: Moon, Just Another Love Story.

Antichrist
Dir: Lars Von Trier
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Antichrist is an extraordinary film; I have no idea if I liked it.

The story has been very well reported in the press, but for the record: A couple, known only as He (Dafoe) and She (Gainsbourg) lose their two year old son Nic when he falls out of a window while make love in another room. She goes into a deep depression following the loss, and begins to suffer anxiety attacks. He, a therapist, decides that her doctors are overmedicating her and, as therapy, he takes her to place that scares her most - their cabin in the woods, known as Eden. There things go from bad to worse as she begins to slip further from reality.

Where do you begin with a film like Antichrist? So much has been said and written about it in the few short weeks since its controversial Cannes bow that what was (and is) a Danish art film about grief and pain has become much more - the most discussed release of the week, if not the year. People have called for it to be cut and banned, people have discussed whether its uncut release renders censorship pointless. In all of this hysteria Antichrist itself has become curiously lost. So let’s bring it back to the film, and start by saying this: Antichrist is not the film you’ve read about in the tabloids. Its violence is nasty, and personal, and disturbing, but it is also very brief, absolutely essential to the film, and no more graphic than any 18 rated violence.

With that said; if that’s what Antichrist isn’t, what is it? The first word that comes to mind is beautiful. That might sound odd given what’s been reported about it. It was once said that film is truth 24 times a second, that’s patently rubbish, but Antichrist is art 24 times a second. Almost every shot of this visually stunning film could hang quite justifiably on the walls of any art gallery. In collaboration with his DP Anthony Dod Mantle, Lars Von Trier has created one of the most ravishing looking films of the 21st century to date. Here’s a promise - the Oscars will get at least one thing wrong in 2010 - because Antichrist won’t even be nominated for Best Cinematography. The first five minutes are absolutely astounding. In gorgeously crisp monochrome Von Trier captures He and She making love in super slow motion as their young son climbs on a chair and falls out of a window to his death. Every shot is so well chosen, creating a mounting sense of both eroticism and dread as the sex moves closer to climax and the child moves closer to doom. Von Trier also uses this prologue to introduce both the themes and the chapter titles for Antichrist, lingering on three toy soldiers who are named Grief, Pain and Despair.



If you’re expecting an out and out horror film then for about 80 minutes in the middle of Antichrist you are going to be puzzled. For the most part that’s just not what the film is, rather it is a meditation on those three chapter headings. Von Trier says (and one should always take anything that comes after those three words with a liberal pinch of salt) that he wrote Antichrist in the midst of a deep depression. Whether or not that’s true Antichrist certainly contains the most visceral, and perhaps the most realistic, portrayal of clinical depression that I’ve seen. It’s here - especially in the chapter of the film titled Grief - that Charlotte Gainsbourg’s performance, which won her, to widespread surprise, the Best Actress prize at Cannes, really shows itself as the extraordinary piece of work that it is. She’s incredibly convincing as this woman who seems completely hollowed out by grief and remorse over her son’s death. She throws herself into the part body and soul. The panic attacks are truly terrifying (and, having suffered from them myself, I can tell you they are also completely realistic), as is the way she inflicts pain on herself, turning to both sex and violence - smashing her own head into the toilet bowl for instance - in order to feel something, anything, else. It is astounding work, completely committed and disturbing and thrilling to watch in almost equal measure.

Great as Gainsbourg is, and as much as this is her film, let that take nothing away from Willem Dafoe. His is the less showy role; the voice of reason and, latterly, intriguingly in a film accused of misogyny, the victim, but Dafoe too gives an extremely committed and absolutely real performance. His character is perhaps underwritten, but Dafoe is such a consummate actor that he’s able to suggest layers, like his own simmering grief about the loss of Nic, that were almost certainly not there on the page. It’s a generous performance, ceding the spotlight to his co-star, but it also, in its grounded realism, allows Gainsbourg to go as far off the deep end as she can without shattering the film’s odd credibility.

Some people, notably mostly people who haven’t actually seen it, have dismissed Antichrist as a meaningless collection of horrors. Others have attempted to ascribe all sorts of meaning. There are religious interpretations, psychological interpretations, psychosexual interpretations, political interpretations, there’s the idea that it’s all an elaborate practical joke by Von Trier. All of these ideas are valid, except for the idea that it has no meaning at all, but for me Antichrist is perhaps best defined by something another filmmaker said about his film. Confronted with the charge that Martyrs was simply ‘torture porn’ Pascal Laugier said that it isn’t a film about torture “It’s a film about pain”. That, to me, seems to be what Antichrist is most definitely about. It’s about the pain of guilt, the pain of loss, the pain of regret, the pain of fear and anxiety, and of course it is about physical pain. For much of its running time Antichrist feels like a scream, be that a scream of sexual ecstasy, the scream of a child, a scream of loss, a scream of terror or a scream of pain. It’s a film concerned with the primal nature of people, and pain is the way it expresses that.



In a film about pain violence is always going to have a part to play, and certainly that’s true of Antichrist. The visuals, for the most part, aren’t all that graphic (and in one case they aren’t very convincing, though whether that’s deliberate is anybody’s guess). Several of the key moments of violence occur just off screen, and are thus more felt than they are seen, as in a moment that will have every man in the audience cross his legs. The most infamous shot in the film is that of Gainsbourg’s character giving herself, in very convincing close up, with a rusty pair of scissors, a clitoridectomy. It is, as you would expect, absolutely appalling and unspeakably, almost palpably, painful to watch and yet it, and the shot that immediately precedes it (a flashback to the prologue) are the key moments of the film. Far from being the sensational, exploitative shot that the film’s detractors would have it be it is the ultimate expression of the theme of the Gainsbourg character’s extreme sexual guilt. It makes absolute sense that a woman going as mad she is at this point, driven by the guilt of having been in the throes of sexual ecstasy as her son died, would mutilate her sexual organs. You can accuse Lars Von Trier of a lot of things with this movie, but that shot is meant seriously, and is central, indeed essential to the effect of the film.

You can see Von Trier’s mischievous sense of humour at work in this film though. The chapter in which the violence kicks off is subtitled (after a thesis that Gainsbourg’s character has been working on) Gynocide. Then there’s the fox. The fox got some laughs at the screening I was at (and, yes, that’s a perfectly reasonable way to respond to a shot of a disembowelled fox say “Chaos reigns”) but to me it was less a joke and more Von Trier saying, ‘okay, you’ve made it this far, but from here on all bets are off’. All bets are very definitely off after that, as the film’s tone becomes ever more hysterical, rising to a fever pitch crescendo with THAT shot. At times Antichrist plays like the last cinematic gasp of a man completely losing his marbles, to the point at which, though I think it’s a brilliant film, I can’t honestly tell you if Von Trier is a genius or a lunatic (the truth, perhaps, lies somewhere in the middle).

Yet for all its madness, all the completely overblown content of its last 20 minutes, Antichrist is a deeply serious and deeply thoughtful film. The imagery is rich with metaphor, for instance the poster image of Dafoe and Gainsbourg having sex among the roots of a tree, under which lie myriad naked bodies, is this nature pulling them into hell? Is it a reference to the tarot card of the fornicators? Is it something Lars thought would look good? Is it all of the above? These are the questions that Antichrist raises over and over. Is She mad? Is She bad? Whichever she is has she always been so? Von Trier doesn’t tip his hand, he clearly wants to provoke with this film, with its themes as much as with its sex and violence. In that respect Antichrist is an out and out triumph. It is one of the most fascinating and richest films I’ve seen for years, people will be discussing and dissecting this film long after the likes of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Proposal have been forgotten.

Can I recommend it? Well to say that I liked it wouldn't be true, I lurched out, staggered by it. On the whole it presents a similar problem to Gaspar Noe’s similarly brilliant, and similarly difficult, IRREVERSIBLE. Artistically it is a masterpiece, but I’m not sure who it’s for. It’s probably too arty for gorehounds and too violent for the arthouse crowd. It’s a film that asks a lot of an audience and promises them few rewards in return. It’s brilliant and beautiful but its also assaultive and disturbing. I’ll promise you this much: you may love Antichrist, you may hate it, but you won’t be ambivalent towards it and you certainly won’t forget it any time soon. That’s a great deal more than you can say of most movies.

[BakeTheMooCow]

ADVENTURELAND (2009) - 6/10

Great music and a sweet and funny performance from Jesse Eisenberg, who I've liked in just about everything I've seen him in. Kristen Stewart though - I find really sullen and moody and irritating. The movie works when it finds the John Hughes honesty and charm, but has more than a few cliched moments including an awkward declaration of love in the rain and that just reminds you of films like Say Anything that did it better.

[Natty]

Possibly the last film I watch in a week so I made it a good one:

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)



First viewing since I was stunned by it on opening day one and a half years ago. To be honest I feel that some scenes could do with a trim, but the film is so damn brilliant that it isn't an issue.

9/10

[ilovemovies]

Rewatches:

King Kong - *** 1/2
Basic - ***
Final Destination 2 - ***

[Bourne101]

7/10

Some friends wanted to see it tonight, so I went again. Pretty glad I did. Holds up very well on the re-watch and it really shows how well the filmmakers pieced everything together to prepare for the climax. A twist I didn't know going in, a twist I couldn't even come close to guessing during the movie, yet there are plenty of brilliant and subtle clues scattered throughout. Yeah, the climax is still a bit weird regardless, but it works.

[Backstabba]

3/10

[Le_Big_Mac]

The Unbelievable Truth- 7.5/10

Baraka- 8/10

[KcMsterpce]

ORPHAN - 6.5/10

Enjoyable enough waste of time at the movies.

[Canto]

First viewing, I think people forget about this movie, but I liked it, Will Smith did a great job. 8/10

[ericdraven]

Knowing - 3/10


God. that whole big reveal was bullshit.

[ilovemovies]

Rewatch:

Phone Booth - ***
Stealth - ***

[Bourne101]

In the Loop - 8/10

This is a very funny, vulgar and intelligent film. There are a lot of characters and a lot going on, but by the end of the film it all came together and it was fairly easy to follow. Didn't recognize many of the actors, but they were all great, especially Peter Capaldi who was a fucking hoot. The screenplay is very well written, filled with plenty of hilarious dialogue. I definitely recommend it.

The following are just a few of the many great quotes in the film:

"Diarrhea? This is the minister for international development. He should be talking about food parcels, not fuckin’ ass sprayin’ mayhem."

"Do you know what you sounded like? You sounded like a fuckin’ Nazi Julie Andrews!"

"You are a boring F, star, star, CUNT!"

"Allow me to pop a jaunty little bonnet on your purview and ram it up your shitter with a lubricated horse cock!"

[razgriz21]

Public Enemies

4.7/5.0

Really fine crime drama. Heat is still better but this is as good as it gets.

[labialover]

Knowing-5/10
Was surprised and entertained for the first 90 minutes or so. And then it happened. The ending was terrible.

Frost/Nixon-6.5/10
Interesting look at the entire interview process. But thought it dragged on, and lost momentum at some points.

Zodiac-8/10
A real good thriller, had me interested throughout. The scene with Gyllenhaal in the basement had me on edge.

[Powerslave]

World's Greatest Dad - 9/10

Bobcat Goldthwait's new film is one of the ballsiest I've seen in a long time. It's also profoundly, viciously caustic, and unyielding in its views of modern popular opinions of morality, the media, all the way down to the most basic ways that people react and interact. Robin Williams shoulders the heavy weight of this role with a fantastic amount of nuance and a perfect balance of supremely dark humor and genuine pathos. That balance, really, is the x-factor on which this movie relies, and had it not been handled as expertly as it was here, and drifted too far from that perfect balance in either direction, it would have turned into an utter disaster. Goldthwait manages it, however, and strings us along for a bitter, furiously dark comedy, a comedy which provokes laughs of discomfort and mild pain, but also of acknowledgment and familiarity; however satirical, it is also unpleasantly believable.

Inevitably, this film will draw ire from many people, and those who do hate it will deeply despise it, I think. That's understandable, because a movie this intensely dedicated to the difficult, taboo messages it's presenting will draw a strong opinion whether it is positive or negative.

[QUENTIN]

Haven't seen anything today, but SAI, that may be the best review I've read on this site. Kudos. If I wasn't sure if I should seek out Antichrist before, now I'm convinced.

[SAI]

Originally Posted by QUENTIN

Haven't seen anything today, but SAI, that may be the best review I've read on this site. Kudos. If I wasn't sure if I should seek out Antichrist before, now I'm convinced.

Thanks man, coming from someone whose opinions I respect a great deal, and given some of the other reviews I've seen here over the years, that means a lot.

I'm glad I've done my job, and provoked you into wanting to see Antichrist. It really does deserve an audience.

[MistAh BlistAh]

7.5/10

[ericdraven]

PUSH - 5/10

[BakeTheMooCow]

IN THE LOOP (2009) - 8/10
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009) - 7/10

[Sgizzy316]

7.5/10

Has its moments....

[Darin]

I watched "The Hard Way" starring James Woods and Michael J. Fox. I've never seen this film before and I was excited to find it. This film was bad-ass and reeked of awesomeness. Watch it and love it.

I also watched "Conan The Destroyer" starring Arnold and Grace Jones. I've seen this before a few times but I honestly just wanted to throw a random DVD on the screen while I browsed JoBlo. Talk about random.

[Powerslave]

Inside - 8/10
Jesus.

[sbunn10]

The Unsaid - 6/10

Unoriginal, cheesy, and overdramatic. Andy Garcia was pretty good, but he couldn't save the movie. Watch Primal Fear instead.

[ericdraven]

Horsemen - 8/10


Basically Seven style movie, which i really liked and Dennis Quaid was great in this.

[Sgizzy316]

I'm a strong believer in not knocking something until you try it. So despite the overhype of this movie, I found it entertaining. I have a HUGE crush on Kristen Stewart and she was fantastic in the movie. Robert Pattinson who I thought was a douche turned out to be a pretty good actor. I'm not saying that I will be waiting in line at the theaters when New Moon comes out, but I know I will rent it or Redbox it at some point.

8/10

[KcMsterpce]

DO THE RIGHT THING - 4/10

I have to say that I'm very underwhelmed by this "classic". For the first hour and a half, it's a lot of wheel spinning mixed with a few elements of important set up for the riot.

When the troubles escalate at the 1:30 mark, it's pretty damned good. But it doesn't really redeem the flick all that much for me. On top of that, Lee's conflicting messages of quotes from MLK and Malcolm X at the end leaves an ambiguous message to what he was ultimately trying to convey in the story.

I haven't liked Spike Lee as a person EVER, and each time I see another movie that he's done, I become even less impressed. Even if it's something less racially charged, such as INSIDE MAN.