REVIEW: Tetro [2009]

“You can’t look into the light” I had heard that Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in a decade, 2007’s Youth Without Youth, skewed more toward the arthouse, experimental spectrum of cinema. After his early masterpieces, including the bloated budget of Apocalypse Now, his career went the way of minor Hollywood-fare, like Jack and The Rainmaker. One might have assumed he’d retired from the director’s chair until the success of his daughter, and son, (come on Roman, stop being assistant to your family members and make that sophomore film), showed what…

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REVIEW: Julie & Julia [2009]

“Nobody here but us servantless American cooks” I was very confused on where to put my head upon sitting down to watch the new Nora Ephron film Julie & Julia. Here is the consummate chick flick writer/director and yet the previews alluded to the work being more than that; even if “more than that” meant it still looked like a made-for-television type Lifetime tale. The trailers all said, “based on two true stories”, but I still didn’t take that statement as literally as one should. Thinking that the whole story…

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REVIEW: Funny People [2009]

“I feel like we’re going to prom” Judd Apatow is an enigma. He is the idol of all freaks and geeks out there, calling the beautiful and talented Leslie Mann his wife and having a career any comedian would sell his soul for. He has created, in my opinion, a major hit with 40 Year-Old Virgin and a minor disappointment in Knocked Up, while having the time to also produce some gems that may supercede his own work on the side. So, the release of Funny People, (does the poster…

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REVIEW: The Ugly Truth [2009]

“It’s called a Stairmaster” Do you want to know the ugly truth about The Ugly Truth? Well, besides being obvious and banal cinematically, it made me laugh … a lot actually. Romantic comedies usually have one thing going for them and that is predictability. While this one has it in spades, what surprised me was how crude and crass the humor ended up being. And that’s a very good thing because those instances brought on the biggest laughs of them all. One could guess there would be a few moments,…

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REVIEW: Knowing [2009]

“What about the uncircled numbers?” Thank you Alex Proyas for not making Rose Byrne into Nicolas Cage’s love interest for your newest film Knowing. I’ll admit, from the trailers, I thought that was exactly what would happen—pretty young woman somehow falling for the crazy-haired one. It is Hollywood, so it wasn’t too far-fetched to believe. But that wasn’t the only surprise in this sci-fi thriller. No, the biggest one has to be the fact that it was pretty good. For some reason, despite the pretty great early track record for…

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REVIEW: The Last House on the Left [2009]

“Always go for the gold” I don’t usually get disgusted or squeamish when it comes to horror and gore, but after viewing The Last House on the Left remake, one of the many old Wes Craven films getting reworked, I have to admit, it was pretty harrowing. Does making me tense up and await some scenes’ conclusions make it an effective suspense/thriller? I’m not so sure. The plotline is thin, the result obvious, so as far as what will happen, there is very little question or anticipation. That being said,…

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REVIEW: Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt [2009]

“Funkyzeit mit Brüno” I don’t know why, but when sitting down to view Sacha Baron Cohen’s new faux documentary featuring one of his cast of doppelgangers Brüno, I started thinking how there was no way it could be more offensive than his last effort, Borat. Oh, was I wrong. I highly underestimated America’s hatred and fear of the homosexual population, forgetting that while many are intolerant to foreigners, that prejudice is just against one aspect, the gay community has many hurdles to overcome. Not only are they viewed as outsiders…

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REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [2009]

“The binding is really fragile” It’s a real shame that I could never give a film featuring Harry Potter the status of a perfect film. Each tale relies so heavily on those that came before or after so one can never be a truly all-encompassing work. The three-act structure can be utilized, but watching a middle installment alone will leave you confused and disoriented without the background info or knowledge that more will be coming. The reason I bring this up is the fact that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood…

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REVIEW: The Fast and the Furious [2001]

“I smell skanks” Ah, The Fast and the Furious, the film that launched the careers of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and, for all intents and purposes, Michelle Rodriguez, (yes she starred in Girlfight previously). This foursome was so hot after this movie that some of them couldn’t demean themselves by starring in the sequel. Poor them as, just a short eight years later, they all jumped at the opportunity to reunite with fast cars in the fourth installment. Oh how the mighty fall, especially when they weren’t too…

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REVIEW: Moon [2009]

“Dad, there’s someone asking about Mom” After an early career playing “thugs,” (see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Basquiat), Sam Rockwell began performing in supporting roles for many high profile indies in the early 2000s. It wasn’t until George Clooney, of all people, decided to step behind the camera for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind that he got his first real lead role, and did he ever take advantage. Well, he did as far as acting goes, maybe not job-wise because, besides a second lead in Ridley Scott’s Matchstick Men,…

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REVIEW: Public Enemies [2009]

“Bye-bye blackbird” There’s this thing called clout that allows certain Hollywood types to be able to get people like Shawn Hatosy and Leelee Sobieski in their films for five-minute throwaway roles. It also gets them the ability to have carte blanche on a script that others may not. I think Michael Mann is one of the good ones; even subpar fare like Miami Vice still seemed to contain what could have been a good film, hidden inside, just a few more edits away. So, when trailers for Public Enemies started…

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