Baghead

Baghead is nothing but a mish-mosh horror/comedy/drama that ends up being a complete waste of time. Another indie film that completely misses the mark. It seemed as if Mark and Jay Duplass had nothing better to do, so they concocted a ludicrous script, did what they could to get it to feature film length, and submitted as an independent comedy/horror/whatever.





If you took the time to watch the trailer, you know that this movie is about four friends that take off to a cabin in the woods to write a movie. They are confronted by a psycho that wears a bag on his head, thus Baghead.

The movie received a 77% on the Tomatometer so it appears that I am in the minority with my review. This movie is not funny, it's not scary, and there is very little drama. The twists and turns (being nice here) are so easy to read, and the ending is so easy to figure out, that you will sit there with your mouth agape and say, "no way this is on film".

I guess you could take the movie as a parody of horror movies, but I didn't see it that way. Like I stated, it wasn't funny nor scary.

How many times can I repeat myself? Let's stop it here. There are thousands of films better than this one, and many of them Indies that deserve more recognition. The only saving grace is that it's only 80 minutes long.

The holidays are over and I don't feel at all generous. 1 star.

Happy New Year.

La Vie En Rose

Did you think Amy Winehouse had the market on crazy? In La Vie En Rose, Marion Cotillard gives us a performance of a lifetime playing Parisian singer Edith Piaf. So good that she won an Oscar for Best Actress in 2007. So good that they should give her another one just for being so damn good.





There isn't much to be happy about in this film. If you are looking for a movie to make you smile or feel good you need to look elsewhere. This is a true tragedy. In fact if it wasn't for her music, I don't imagine that she would have lived much past her twentieth birthday.

Piaf was one of the most amazing singers of her time. And her tragic life added to the feeling in her music, thus making it so powerful for everyone who listened. Check it out.

La Vie En Rose - Edith Piaf


Even if you aren't too interested in foreign films (French film subtitled in English) or a story of this nature, you should check it out just to see the amazing transformation and acting by Marion Cotillard.

Check out these pictures:
































































I haven't seen such a transformation since Charlize Theron in Monster.

This is an amazing biopic that everyone should see once.

4 stars for the movie, 5 stars for the performance.

Burn After Reading

I am not sure what I just watched. I take it back, I just watched a movie by Joel and Ethan Coen. Burn After Reading is a bit much, even for them.





These two nut jobs have had some real winners. No Country for Old Men being the biggest winner of them all. Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, they all have their place. They may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I haven't found too many people who truly HATE their movies.

I don't hate this one, but it just felt a little bit too much like they were trying to stick it in our faces. It felt like they were saying, hey..we won our Oscar, now take this!

The movie certainly had an A list cast, and they look like they had fun and thus put their hearts into it. It was well acted all around. George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, and Richard Jenkins each outdid each other. McDormand played the lost, aloof character flawlessly. Swinton was fabulous as the bitch. No other way to put it.

This is certainly worth the watch, but I think it will be polarizing. Perhaps you dig the style, or perhaps you find it a bit too much. I would love to hear your thoughts.

The Blu-Ray format shined here. I felt like I was in the room with these folks. In fact, perhaps it was too good. I could see every pore on their face. That's not hot.

The DTS-HD Master Audio was just an average showing. Since it's mostly dialogue driven I wouldn't expect much more.

3 stars.

Hell Ride

You really have to hand it to Larry Bishop. Just when you thought he had disappeared for good, he rears his head with a big stinker, Hell Ride. And to think that Quentin Tarrantino had his hands in this. My goodness, I don't think that this movie could have stolen material from too many other films, including his.






If anyone has seen this, can you please chime in and tell me what Larry Bishop is doing playing a "tough biker"? He is anything but.

I typically like these type of movies as I don't mind popping in a B movie from time to time and enjoying the gratuitous sex and violence. Other than the aforementioned sex and violence there is absolutely nothing to speak of.

I will throw 2 stars at it since it is the holiday season. Feel free to avoid this one.

Traitor

I am beginning to believe that Don Cheadle is one of the most underrated actors of our time.

Traitor is a movie that you think you have seen before, countless times. Another fear mongering terrorist flick that will anger you and pull at your heart strings. Don't buy into it.

This is a very good movie. Don Cheadle is probably one of the few people who could successfully sell snake oil. He makes you believe every word, and he makes you like him even if he's a sleaze.




It's true that this is a movie about terrorism, about deceit, and ultimately about the all too realistic threat of religious fanaticism. It also shows you about the hard work that goes into thwarting such efforts, and all of the pitfalls that surround these events. However it's never heavy handed in it's efforts. It does not weigh you down with over politicizing the movie, or slanting beliefs in one direction. It allows you to be an adult, to think for yourself, and be entertained while thinking just a bit. What a novel concept!

The movie does have a few issues. You can certainly see some of the twists coming. Others will surprise you. It can, at times, fall victim to the "typical" storyline. However when it does, it will quickly pull you out of it. Even so, I never left my seat.

Guy Pearce performed quite admirably. He is an actor who showed great promise in Memento but I haven't seem much of him since then. Very well done, and I hope that I see more of him soon.

Neal McDonough hangs in but I fear that he is one dimensional. He can play a hard headed cop, criminal, or military type but that's about the extent of it.

The Blu-Ray format is very solid. There are some fabulous shots to showcase the technology, and all of the skin tones ring true. You can see the tension in the facial expressions at all times, and that does nothing but help you become immersed in the story.

The Dolby TrueHD is also very well done. There are some serious explosions that will make your sub rock the house! There is nothing like a quick jolt to get the adrenaline pumping.

A full 4 star rating, definitely worth the watch. Pop some corn and enjoy!

The Queen

Every once in a while I ignore a movie. Such was the case for The Queen. I know, this was a critically acclaimed movie. This was nominated for 6 Academy Awards and Helen Mirren won Best Actress for her sixth rendition of the Queen in various films. That's right, she's played that role six times. None as good as this however.

This movie deserved every accolade that it received, and so did Helen Mirren.




The main reason that I steered clear of this film when it debuted in 2006 is that certain stories wear me down. Not because of the story itself but because of the endless media coverage. That is exactly part of their point. But I guess I just assumed that this would be another tear jerker and that I had seen and heard it all.

I was dead wrong. This movie is amazing, not because of the story, but because of the way that it is portrayed. I am amazed at how impartial it was. It did nothing but try to portray the difficulty of the time, how unprecedented the events were, and how everyone struggled in their own way.

As an American, I am constantly beleaguered and confused when it comes to Royalty. Most especially, English Royalty. I don't know that anyone who does not live in, or come from, a Monarchy can truly understand. But this movie gave it meaning, life, and humanization.

Royalty does not owe us that but it was nice to try and understand it for a few moments. This was a fair and impartial story. It was told without prejudice, without feeling, and without a spin. That is truely rare.

If you have not seen it, give it a shot.

My complaint is in the Blu-Ray production. The PCM 5.1 uncompressed audio is fine for what it has, it's a movie that is basically about the dialogue. It's a center channel and move on.

However the picture is severely lacking. My best guess for the grain is that the movie does flip to original footage on more than one occasion. The original footage can't help but to have the grain, and I have to think that if they then flipped to pristine video it would have been distracting.

If that's the case, I understand, however don't bother transfering it to Blu-Ray and and rip the consumer off. Leave it on standard DVD. The consumer has payed enough of a price with the format war and piss poor marketing of the phenomenal product.

I am off my soap box now.

A solid 4 star movie. Pick up a copy.

The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan is an absolute stud! The Dark Knight is another perfect installment into this franchise. This was a franchise left for dead, on life support, courtesy of Joel Schumacher.

Batman Begins told Schumacher to step aside. The Dark Knight told him to shove it! Yes, it was that good. All that and a bag of chips. Whatever moniker you want to use, go ahead because it rocked.

At 2 1/2 hours you would think it would feel long, overblown. No way!

A friend of mine said that with all the hype, they feared being disappointed. Fear not, there is no way to be disappointed here. And if you are, I wonder what it would take to peak your interest?





After watching that trailer you don't need me to tell you what this is about. All that I can do is reassure each of you three readers that this movie is fabulous. Now I know that action movies don't get Academy love, especially not super hero action movies. But it's a shame because this is that good. It could get more than one nod and it would deserve every bit of it.

Oh, and Heath Ledger, we lost a great one too early. It's too bad. This was a performance of a lifetime. One you can never forget, it will stick with you forever. If ever someone deserved an Oscar, it is Heath. I hope you rest in peace because we movie buffs barely got a taste of your genius.

That's enough from me. Get this film. Blu-Ray is phenomenal and the Dolby TrueHD is flawless. More reference material.

My only, minor complaint? Maggie Gyllenhaal. She does okay, but she just couldn't pull off Rachel Dawes for me. We needed more heat, I mean, it is Batman for crying out loud!

5 stars, in case you couldn't tell.

The Visitor

The Visitor is an absolute gem. This is what movie making is all about. The synopsis starts by saying, "In a world of 6 billion people, it only takes one to change your life". That about sums it up.

Professor Walter Vale, played by Richard Jenkins, is coasting through life. He returns to his apartment in New York City only to find a young immigrant couple squatting there. The rest is for you to discover on your own.




This movie is about all of the special things in life. The importance of living life to the fullest, love, and friendship. Mix in a bit of politics and you have a winner. It will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you angry. It's all too real, and all too possible which is quite scary. Immigration is quite a big topic since 2001, so I recommend watching this and experiencing a differing point of view.

The cast is so strong, so powerful, and so deserving of accolades. Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbass, and the aforementioned Richard Jenkins star and each are more powerful then the last. They bought out the best in each other. I would not be surprised if Jenkins received some Oscar love.

Surely one of the finest films of the year. 5 stars!

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

With Guy Ritchie's pending release of RockNRolla I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit his most successful film.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was the ex-Mr. Madge's best movie by far. For those of you not familiar, he followed this up with Snatch. In my opinion, not as good as Lock but it has a big following with some good entertainment value. Since then, Guy has been quiet, and what he has produced has been mostly crap.




This is a typical Guy Ritchie film. Tons of characters intertwined into one plot. You need to pay attention to follow it as those of you with ADD will probably get helplessly lost in space. Lots of violence and language tied in with terrific British humor keep it all together.

Jason Statham fans will be happy to re-visit his younger days. Guy's films tend to be of the "love it or hate it" variety. I am in the helpless minority, I don't feel strongly either way. But I do really like the good fun and humor that it provides.

4 stars, go out and rent this again. I bet you like it even more the second time around.

Wanted

Wanted left me wanting. Wanting more, and wanting less. A movie such as this should be about the action, the sex appeal, and the action.




I think that this movie tried to hard with the character development of James McAvoy's character, Wesley Gibson. He was a really bad whiner, but did a decent job as an angry bad ass. The movie also spent entirely too much time on the development of his "bad ass". It became boorish at times. And I also did not buy into many members of The Fraternity.

Angelina Jolie once again delivers as the sexy bad girl. She does it oh so well and this is no exception. Let it be known that I am not her biggest fan but as far as the bad ass woman goes, she can't be topped.



You know what I'm talking about.

Blu-Ray is the only way to go here as it is the perfect movie to showcase the technology. The action sequences are fabulous. The DTS-HD Master Audio shines. It spins your head with every bullet, every piece of shattered glass makes you look at the floor. Very well done.

This movie is worth a watch. 3 out of 5 stars.

Step Brothers

Well, go ahead and crucify me. I loved Step Brothers! This is Will Ferrell's best performance since Anchorman.

I credit Judd Apatow for the injection of the over-the-top crude humor. There were moments that were so hilarious, so ridiculous, I just had to pause the movie until I stopped laughing. The first 30 minutes was so funny that I thought it had to die off. No way that it could continue. I was wrong. It was funny from beginning to end.




I have a feeling that there will be some out there that will totally disagree. You will need to have a crude sense of humor, you need to appreciate the mind of a teenage boy, and you need to have a bit of adolescence left in you. If you have two of those three qualities you will be in for some good laughs, and don't we all need that?

In typical Ferrell fashion, there is no real plot to speak of, it's all about the ridiculous jokes and over the top acting. Well done by he and John C. Reilly.

I haven't like any of their recent offerings until now. Glad they are back.

Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, and Kathryn Hahn also added some fabulous moments. But this was all about Ferrell and Reilly.

4 out of 5 stars!