recent product reviews
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006)
Kind of funny, kind of educational. I wonder how much trouble they are going to get into for calling cocaine a “fun” drug, and for saying that “fun” drugs are “basically harmless.” Nice cameo by Belding.
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Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2006)
Scurlock (one letter away from documentary filmmaker Spurlock) takes a decent hack at the financial system, doing his best to draw attention to a very real problem. With a bit of opinionated voiceover and more incriminating evidence, he’d be Michael Moore.
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There Will Be Blood (2007)
An emotional look at the downward spiral of success. Plainview is an interesting character, and the sets (or lack of sets) really makes it feel like you’re out there with Plainview looking for oil. The costumes and dialogue and mannerisms really set the time, and the dissonant string score really…
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The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Like a long TV episode, with a few cool 3D effects. Good in that the TV episodes are geniusly funny, bad in that it wasn’t any funnier.
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Cloverfield (2008)
A cross between The Blair Witch Project and Godzilla, and better than both. The overfly amateurish (don’t most people try to keep the camera level, at least?) video footage is a bit hard to watch at first, but redemption comes later. Ominous, scary, and believable, this is the best monster…
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Juno (2007)
Reitman is definitely influenced by the Wes Anderson troupe. He uses that style as a starting point but then mixes in his unique brand of “trendy quirkiness,” relying on cool, trendy dialogue, obscure cultural references, and contrived awkwardness to make things smarter and funnier. Mixing all that up, though, “confuses”…
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Trekkies (1997)
Reminds me a lot of The King of Kong in that it’s a bunch of fringe characters, and we’re not quite sure whether or not we should be taking them seriously. In this case, with Crosby leading the interviews, one must assume that this was a serious look at Trek…
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Why We Fight (2005)
A bit wobbly. Not quite as resolute as Michael Moore’s films, but interesting nonetheless. Eisenhower’s speech is interesting, indeed.
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Black Snake Moan (2006)
A weird one. Polished despite its grittiness, good performances despite a lack of a story. I don’t know what kind of drugs she had to take to look like that, but Ricci’s body is unbelievable.
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I'm a photographer, web developer, travel enthusiast, and movie buff living in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.In the summer of 1993, I started writing reviews for every movie I saw and haven't looked back. I'm up to 2,374 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
Some of these reviews contain spoilers, so if that bothers you, don't read!
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