recent product reviews
About Schmidt (2002)
Depressing, but there’s enough quirkiness to keep it light. Payne’s good at that. He’s not Wes Anderson quirky, but there’s just enough to take the edge off. Nice to see Nicholson embracing his old age. Interesting ending. What’s the message there?
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Shaft (1971)
Slow-moving and a little awkward, like most movies from the 70’s. But this one’s got style. Roundtree’s silky smooth in the lead role.
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My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
A happy movie filled with magic and innocence, but not much happens. It evokes a feeling more than it tells a story. Miyazaki seems to use the same themes, animation, and music in all of his movies. Nice characters. Fanning does a good job in the Disney dub. I want…
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Ip Man (2008)
Donnie Yen is fantastic. A stoic, engaging performance, and the guy can really move. A perfect example of how understated heroes are always the most interesting. Siu-Wong Fan and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi are bad-ass villains. Wonderful kung fu with some real impacts. Well-shot and edited, this martial arts action is some…
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The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Fanciful, engaging story, but when David realizes that the caseworkers not human, shouldn’t he have asked more questions? Blunt is really good, the effects to put her face on a dancer were flawless. Mackie is great, too. Nolfi’s direction was great. Why hasn’t he done more? Good score by Thomas…
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Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Probably popular because it was one of the first movies of its kind and, for today’s audiences, because it was Arnold’s first big movie. But when you strip all that away, story is lame. Blaring music and visuals are not enough to create drama. I do like how Conan’s not…
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Ran (1985)
Epic in scale, but boring. The story’s just not all that interesting, and the characters too theatrical to be real. Japanese people are either: silent and contemplative, or yelling because they are angry, or confused, or desperate
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
With most of the character-driven drama unfolding on a single set, it feels very theatrical. Natural, improvised dialogue gives it a refreshing authenticity. The beginning is a bit odd. The bank employees seem unusually calm for a hold-up, and some of the lines and situations border on comedy, undercutting the…
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Same blaring horns and character-heavy plot of the other Batman movies. The setup was a bit slow, but the second half was pretty solid. Hathaway was OK, but I still preferred Pfeiffer. Hardy was good as Bane, but his mask made it hard for him to be expressive and, with…
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Life of Brian (1979)
The absurdity of Monty Python isn’t really for me, but there are a few funny moments, especially in scenes where cast members struggle to contain their laughter. Palin’s my favorite. He has amazing control of his voice.
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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 2,388 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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