AVATAR!!!!!!!!!

You are no longer at the Moviequest Blog... you are in Pandora, and since you are in Pandora it means you are about to witness a review of James Cameron's Avatar! To cut to the chase, this is the most exhilarating, visual theater experience of my life. I saw it in an IMAX 3D theater, and every element was big. It is big in length, budget, scope, and awesomeness. I have never seen special effects as good as those presented in this movie. The creatures all looked almost real, the environments were lifelike and vast. This is an epic movie, spouting a great environmental message and spouting memorable action scenes. This movie will definitely be watched by millions of people for many years. I don't have much to say, mainly because I don't want to give away the visceral experience I had while watching this movie. It should be seen in IMAX 3D, the way it was meant to be seen, and it is magnificent. This will definitely be appearing on my top 10 of the year.
Avatar - 4 out of 4
-Zach

A Precious Film (My Review Titles Keep Getting Better)

Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire is the full name of this movie. I had never heard of the novel Push nor did I know who who Sapphire is. It is an interestingly long title for a film that somehow came in at #3 at the box-office last weekend in only 174 screens. I have yet to mention how this film is almost impossible to sit through. It's not hard to sit through because it's bad, on the contrary it is actually an amazing film. It's so hard because of the huge amount of pain and suffering being experienced by the protagonist, Clareece Precious Jones. Clarice is haunted by memories of lambs being slaughtered when she was a little girl, she hears them screaming. And she thinks the only way to stop the screaming is to take down the ruthless serial killer, Buffalo Bill. Unfortunatly the only way for her to catch him is with the help of a deranged cannibal named Hannibal Lecter... and that ladies and gentlemen was a synopsis of the film Silence of the Lambs. Getting back to Precious she is tortured by her mother and the only way to ease the pain of her home life is to go to an alternate education school, but she can only do that with the help of the seemingly perfect Ms. Rain. Well that was not a very accurate plot description, but it was close enough and it sounds like the one for Silence of the Lambs. The special thing about this movie is the performances, apart from a few interesting camera movements towards the beginning, the camera is mostly stationary, I stress mostly. But the performances by Paula Patton and Mariah Carey, and the two performances I think are Oscar worthy Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique as Precious and her mother. It is unbelievable to see Mo'Nique, who's most memorable film role before this was in Phat Girlz, can pull off such an amazing depiction of a woman so horrible, you want to step onto the screen and punch her in the face. Talking about Gabourey Sidibe, it is impossible to process that this is her 1st film role. She shows such raw emotion in some scenes I had to turn away from the screen. Yet she is so great she draw me into the screen at the same time. It is an experience that shouldn't be missed by anyone who is interested, just be warned it isn't an easy watch.
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push by Sapphire - 4 out of 4
-Zach

My Surprisingly In-Depth Review of 2012

I vowed I wouldn't see this movie, I promised myself I would never, ever see it. Well, I saw it. I did so for two reasons... One was Roger Ebert's 3 and a half star review of it. If Ebert gives it a good rating, I'll see it. The other reason was that NASA confirmed that the world won't end in 2012 so I feel safe going to see it. As it turns out, 2012 is trying to make more of a political statement than a prediction of the apocalypse. The only good thing about the first 30 minutes of this movie was John Cusack who is amazing in pretty much every movie he's in, but unfortunately doesn't appear until about the 20 minute mark. Before that it is mainly unintelligible sciencey nonsense. It felt exactly the same as the beginning of The Day After Tomorrow. I felt you could have even taken some scenes out of the beginning of this movie and put it into the beginning of The Day After Tomorrow and I wouldn't have noticed it came from another movie. It starts with a single abnormality in the temperature of an area. Then it involves telling the government, thankfully the government actually believes the scientist in this movie, unlike in The Day After Tomorrow but this isn't a comparison essay it's a review of 2012. So you get past the stupid, meaningless and unneeded exposition and suddenly Woody Harrelson shows up with more premonitions of the apocalypse, but this time I didn't mind it because... well... because it's effin' Woody Harrelson for pete's sake. Then you get to that fateful day you've been waiting for since the beginning of the movie. It starts simply with an Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator who says the worst of environmental troubles are over suddenly there is a huge earthquake literally splitting Los Angeles in half. While that is going on, one the best action sequences of the year ensues with Cusack driving his family through the whole mess in a limo. For the next hour and a half there is almost nothing but straight up action, sure there are a few "serious" talking scenes, but I tried mostly to ignore them because of the mediocre dialogue (then again John Cusack can make most of the lines sound convincing enough). Going back to the action, this movie has some of the best special effects I've ever seen in a movie and there are more of them than any movie I've ever seen as well. As you see national monuments such as the Washington Monument destroyed it looks surprisingly real. Surprisingly there are some good performances sprinkled in this less-mindless than usual action film. I enjoyed John Cusack (obviously), Woody Harrelson (I already mentioned him too), Danny Glover as the president, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and I also though Liam James showed some early talent as John Cusack's son (he sure beats Jake Gyllenhaal in The Day After Tommorow). On the opposite side of the spectrum I hated, hated, hated, Oliver Platt as Carl Anheuser, he is the villain of the movie, but even he started being evil he pulled me out of the movie with his terrible line delivery. The Carl Anheuser character is representing big business and its involvement with the government, no one of authority shows up on the plane so who takes over, Anheuser. While the president is portrayed as a noble caring man, Anheuser makes sure that only billionaires will be able to survive after the apocalypse. He also sets up a very intriguing conspiracy to stop the world from finding out about the apocalypse. After all this business with who is being saved and who is not, I felt the final 20 minutes are very anti-climatic. The world had just ended and the movie continued with a climax that seemed so minuscule in comparison to the end of the world it made me laugh. Also, a fact revealed in the last minute of the film almost makes the previous hour pointless, which upset me quite a bit, but it was made up for entirely by the previous hour. When I reflect on this movie it just seems like a huge (158 minutes) mash-up of Titanic, Poseidon (I swear one scene was taken directly out of Poseidon, you'll know it when you see it), The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, and there's many more but I just can't place my finger on them. Surprisingly, it works, amazingly in fact. It's much better than any of that Michael Bay, Transformers crap, and it more than makes up for 10,000 BC, director, Roland Emmerich's last film. 2012 is huge in every way and it is really a great time at the movies.
2012 - 4 out of 4
-Zach
Note: I like The Day After Tomorrow, I'm neutral towards Independence Day, and I hate 10,000 BC.

Antichrist, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and A Christmas Carol

I saw three movies this weekend, and guess what, I'm going to review them! The first movie I saw was...
Antichrist - Lars von Trier is an amazing director. Antichrist is amazingly directed. It is also amazingly acted by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. After watching the first hour of this movie it would be a four star movie for me, but then something happens. The movie takes a sharp turn to the extremely graphic and insane. The first hour is masterfully done, the first scene is jaw-droppingly beautiful and there are also some more surreal moments and images. But in the last 45 minutes there are occurrences so extremely graphic I'm not even sure how to recommend this movie with a clear conscience. If you have a strong stomach, I urge you to see this as fast as your can, but for everyone else I'm afraid I have to give...
Antichrist - 3 out of 4
The Men Who Stare at Goats - This movie was weird and stupid. I enjoyed some of it but for the rest of the time I was bored out of my mind. The only thing that almost saved this movie was Jeff Bridges playing a more assertive dude (from The Big Lebowski) who actually did something with his life. All the other performances, even Kevin Spacey's, were dull. The story goes nowhere and most of the jokes aren't funny.
The Men Who Stare at Goats - 2 out of 4
A Christmas Carol - This was a funny little movie. It was not funny like a comedy, I just find it funny that this movie was made. I don't understand how in any circumstances kids would enjoy this movie. I really enjoyed the movie, but there is almost no comedy and there is a lot of talking. There are also some haunting images which I enjoyed but many young children wouldn't. I absolutely loved the visual flare of this movie and I think that is the best thing about the movie. If you like the story I would recommend it, but if you are going with young kids with short attention spans I'd suggest that you not spend your ten dollars on this.
A Christmas Carol - 3 out of 4
A Christmas Carol and The Men Who Stare at Goats are in wide release and Antichrist is in limited release and is available on IFC on demand.
-Zach

Best Movie Endings

I haven't done a list in a very long time; so I decided, since it was the end of the year to do a best movie endings list.

1. Pulp Fiction - Well, it is my favorite movie of all time, and the end scene in the diner is one of the best scenes I've ever scene. Key Moment: "The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd."
2. Gone With the Wind - Classic, classic, classic, that's all I have to say about that. Key Moment: "... After all tomorrow is another day!"
   
3. The Shining - The last 20 minutes of this movie is filled with great cinematography, acting, music, etc. But the last slow zoom-in, right before the credits is simply amazing. I won't give it away in case someone reading this hasn't seen it, but it's a must see movie. Key Moment: The zoom in before the credits. A bit redundant? A bit redundant?
4. Halloween - The whole final chase scene is magnificent. Key Moment: I'm aware that the last lines of the movie are very famous, I feel that when Tommy Doyle tells Laurie that "... you can't kill the boogeyman!" is my favorite moment in the entire film.
5. Jaws - Once again, no explination is needed for why I love this ending, everyone loves this ending. Key Moment: "Smile you son-of-bitch!" BOOM.

Well that's it I guess, I'll try to get a review up this weekend.
-Zach

Trick 'r Treat

I have still not gotten over the awesomeness of Trick 'r Treat. It's new horror movie with a trailer with shots that look like shots form The Gingerdead Man, is surprisingly executed as a mixture between Pulp Fiction, John Carpenter's Halloween, and Crash. It may sound strange from that description but hear me out. It's like Halloween because it's an amazingly made horror film about Halloween. Pulp Fiction, because it has several interweaving stories, which combine in a similar way to Crash. The best storyline, by far, is the final one which I don't want to give away, but I will say it contains one of the best horror scenes since Scream (one of my top 20 movies of all time) or maybe even better, I'll have to think about it more. If you are not busy watching John Carpenter's Halloween (and I mean John Carpenter's, that is not Rob Zombie's Halloween its the one from 1978, you know the one that's often considered one of the best horror films of all time) on Halloween this will serve as an almost equal substitute. I'd say it's much better than Paranormal Activity because of the fact that it's more entertaining that uncomfortably creepy making it my favorite horror film of the year.
Trick 'r Treat - 4 out of 4
-Zach

I Saw VI (Does the same joke work 2 years in a row?)

Yes, I actually made it out to see Saw VI this weekend and I have to ask one big question to the makers of this movie. Why are you putting political commentary into your films. The main plot line revolves around a evil health insurance company (I'm not joking). I came to see blood and guts not Sicko 2, but I'm not saying there isn't a lot of blood and guts in this movie. Now that I got that out of the way I want to propose...
My Easy Plan To Stop Jigsaw From Killing People (and to Stop the Saw Franchise From Making Another Movie)

1. Make sure there are no abandoned warehouses or zoos in your area (this new one takes place in a zoo type place).
2. Make sure no one has a job that somehow makes someone's life suck. This includes people who rip people off, I assure you there is to be absolutely no ripping people off. In fact ripping people off is so bad I'm going to make
3. Don't rip people off or deny them coverage for your health insurance.
4. Don't kill people or cause some one to die from inaction, Jigsaw doesn't like killers (that hypocrite).
5. Value your life.

That's it, it's that simple... yet impossible to pull off. This film is slightly above average when it comes to the Saw franchise, of course it doesn't come close to the first Saw, a movie I think is amazing. This movie pretty much feels like, lets see how far we can stretch this one character that died three movies ago. What is surprising about this whole ordeal is that this film is actually affective at an emotional level. I actually felt for the main character, and some of the hard choices he had to make really had me questioning what I would have done in that situation (and this is a Saw movie!!!) I really feel this installment series is really what the previous installments, Saw IV and V were trying to go for. Unfortunately I can't give this movie a perfect score because it employs the use of flashbacks in such a juvenile why it pulled me out of the movie, the people who make these movie need to learn to express their story in the dialog and not revert back to the previous films to tell their story for them. While it isn't as good as paranormal activity, Saw VI is still Halloween fun.
Saw VI - 3 out of 4
-Zach

The Wild Things Are Here!

I saw Where the Wild Things Are in IMAX today, anticipating something great. The main reason I was so enthusiastic about this film based on a children's book I loved when I was much younger was because of the director, Spike Jonze. Spike Jonze is the director of one of my favorite films, Being John Malkovich. ATTENTION: if you are going to this movie expecting to see a light-hearted feel good family films, you will be very disappointed. This is a very emotional, angry, and sometimes depressing film. To get to the point, I was hooked from the first scene of this film in which Max has a snowball fight with his sister's friends. He hides in his igloo to protect himself, when one of his sister's friend crushes his igloo. His sister doesn't do any thing about it and her and her friends drive away. Max goes up to her room and he finds this art project shaped like a heart that he made for her that says "To Claire, From Max" He destroys it. Then he looks down and immediately regrets his actions. The scene is heartbreaking in a way that is unexplainable. All I can say is that many of the more emotional parts of this movie work because of Max Records, a 12 year old actor who plays Max. I believe that Max Records gives one of the best performances of the year and should be nominated for an Oscar. He hits every emotion perfectly and doesn't over do the emotion or make it cheesy, it feels real every moment he's on screen. Another brilliant performance in this movie is by Catherine Keener who plays Max's mom. Now, these wild things are much different from the book, they are real characters and most of them are emotionally unstable. This movie is so damn good I really have to say that I believe this will become an instant classic. There is not a single aspect to the film that wasn't rewarding in some way. The only problem I had with the film was that two of the wild things looked exactly alike and I kept mixing them up. Every person should see this movie, it is really one of the best of the year.

Where the Wild Things Are - 4 out of 4

-Zach

A Serious Man and a Short Review of Paranormal Activity

This weekend I saw A Serious Man and Paranormal Activity. Since they are both in limited release and will both probably be released wider in the next few weeks I decided to wait until Monday to blog. I'll Start with A Serious Man.

"This is a seri... I'm a seri... I'm, uh... I've... tried to be a serious" blogger, "ya' know, tried to do right, be a member of the community. Raise the... Danny, Sarah, they both go to school, Hebrew school, a good breakfast, well Danny goes to Hebrew school, Sarah doesn't have time. She mostly... washes her hair, apparently there are several steps involved, but you don't have to tell Marshak that, just tell him I need help. Please, I need h-help." That line besides the word blogger is part of an important scene in the Coen Brothers' new film, A Serious Man. This film is truly extraordinary, it is much better than the Coens' previous film, Burn After Reading (a movie I gave a four-star review last year (I wonder how many stars this movie will get)). The visual style of the film is so mature and brilliant, as well as the absolutely fabulous screenplay. This dark comedy will have you thinking for weeks, I am already planning how I will see it again. This is a film that has many questions and not many answers. The main question the film is asking is why do bad things happen to good people. The good person in this situation is Larry Gopnik played brilliantly by Michael Stuhlbarg, unfortunately many terrible things happen to Larry, starting with his wife requesting a divorce so she can leave him to be with a man named Sy Ableman, played by Fred Melamed, who gives by far the best performance in the film. I really don't want to go too far into the plot in order not to give anything away because the plot is so amazing. Besides the Coens and the Actors the next person who should be praised is Roger Deakins, who is in my opinion the best cinematographer working today. I will leave you on a hopeful note, "We're going to be fine."

A Serious Man - 4 out of 4

Paranormal Activity is an interesting supernatural-horror film that has a lot more brains behind it that the average modern horror film. It is like The Blair Witch Project and The Exorcist combined. It takes place entirely in one house, which creates a sense of isolation. I don't want to go too much into plot because once again, its just so good. The two main actors are amazing, and it caps the whole thing off as an extremely realistic fright fest. With some moments seemingly impossible to pull off without CGI, but no CGI is visible. If you're looking for a great scary movie to see this Halloween Paranormal Activity would be your best bet.

Paranormal Activity - 4 out of 4

Both Paranormal Activity and A Serious Man will most likely be expanding within the next few weeks. Also, I would like to note that if any of you readers have noticed the huge amount of 4 star reviews this year, there are not that many because I'm going easy on the films its just because I only go to movies that get good reviews from other people, and also, it just happens to be a great year in film.

-Zach

What Will Destroy America First, Big Business or Zombies?

This weekend I saw two movies, Capitalism: A Love Story and Zombieland. Lets begin with what I believe is the inferior movie, Zombieland. Now don't all get on my case saying I didn't like this movie. I did like this movie, there are some parts of Zombieland that I loved. But in comparison I'd have to pick Capitalism, but we'll get to that later. Zombieland is a rip-roaring action-packed zombie/road-trip action/gross-out comedy/character driven drama/horror movie. Yeah that's a lot of hyphens and backslashes but you can consider this movie on all those levels, and to its credit it manages to merge them all together into a rather cohesive film. The action is awesome, the comedy is funny, and the performances are on the whole average. I feel that the only thing wrong with it was that it kind of lacked a real aim, they weren't really driving across the country for any reason other than to go to a theme park. They should have replaced Woody Harrelson with Chevy Chase, got rid of the zombies and changed the theme park's name to Wally World, now that I think about it, the theme park featured in the climax of the movie did look a bit like Wally World.

Zombieland - 3 out of 4

Now, lets talk about Capitalism: A Love Story. Michael Moore is a force unlike any other. He creates a riveting portrait of American business's relationship with the government and the American people. This film is the wake-up call that our country needs in this time where our economy is the center of our concerns. He sets up the movie with a tale about a Utopian America in which all people benefited from capitalism. He then goes on to show us how it took a steep downward plunge to today. Moore brings together mounds of newsreel footage, testimony, and his attempts to get into cooperate buildings with a seemingly infinite amount of skill and passion. When Moore makes a film he is always really passionate about the topic in question. Weather you agree or disagree with his opinions or tactics, you would be doing a disservice to yourself if you didn't check this film out. Capitalism: A Love Story is, in my opinion, the most important and relevant film in years and it hopefully will cause people to want to act to make our country a better place.

Capitalism: A Love Story - 4 out of 4

-Zach

Whip It

I saw the preview of Whip It on Saturday. It is the directorial debut of Drew Barrymore who does a fine job directing and acting. Ellen Page gives a fine performance and who I believe is one of the funniest people on the planet, Kristen Whig, is at the top of her game. A major strength of the film is the cinematography which makes you feel like you are inside the roller-derby. The love story didn't work which is one of the flaws of the movie, it seems that Page's character immediately falls in love with some guy, simply by looking at him which is not a realistic thing at all. There are also some other problems I had with the realism of their relationship later in the film. A good thing about the plot is the main focus of the story. It sets the roller-derby as a backdrop for the story at home with her parents, instead of the conventional route of setting her story at home as a backdrop for the sports story. In all though it is a wonderful, inspirational story about a girl discovering to take her own path and not the one her parents laid out for her.

Whip It - 3 out of 4

-Zach

The Informant!

The Informant! is an interesting comedy staring Matt Damon who gives a surprisingly great performance. Steven Soderbergh also directed the Ocean's series, but as you may expect from a director as versatile as him, this film is completely different than them. This wacky, twisting, espionage movie starts out slowly but slowly escalates until it explodes in the final act into chaos. The type of comedy it employs is not joke based comedy but comedy that becomes funnier when you think of the plot as a whole. It isn't laugh-out-loud funny but it is more of the type of thing in which you find your self giggling as you exit the theater. There is another side to the plot of this movie also, one that I don't really want to give away but it really makes the movie. If it ended in a more conventional Hollywood way it would not be nearly as satisfying as it was in the end.

The Informant! - 3.5 out of 4

-Zach

Movies I Saw Away

I went away again over the last few weeks. I saw a few movies over my vacation so I'll give them all short reviews and ratings.

First I saw The Final Destination. I felt it was a worthy installment in the series and at an equal level with the previous ones. Don't expect anything of any substance here, just some light gory fun.

The Final Destination - 3 out of 4

Next, I saw Paper Heart. It is a very sweet movie. I was touched by many of the stories told and the movie still holds a lot of truth.

Paper Heart - 3 out of 4

I also saw Taking Woodstock which I found rather dull and uninteresting. I felt there were some amazing scenes but on the whole it is not worth seeing.

Taking Woodstock - 2 out of 4

Finally I saw Extract which I thought was very funny and Mila Kunis and Jason Bateman were both very good as well as many others.

Extract - 3.5 out of 4

I will probably see a movie this weekend and I'll try to get around to reviewing it.

-Zach

Inglourious Basterds

Wow... Inglourious Basterds is so amazingly awesome. I'm still blown away thinking about the final action scene. Now, Quentin Tarantino is my favorite director, and Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie I've ever seen, but I don't let my bias get in the way of how I feel about this movie. About the plot, if you are expecting to go into the movie and see 153 minutes of Americans killing Nazis I have to inform you that Inglourious Basterds is not that movie. Instead the film consists of many long scenes of that amazing Tarantino dialogue, slowly building up suspense to the final powerhouse of Nazi killing awesomeness (and I'm talking really awesome). Besides the final action scenes there is another one in a tavern that is also fantastic. I know you will probably hear this in every review of this movie but Christoph Waltz is perfect as Hans Landa, sometimes you are scared by him and sometimes he makes you laugh, sometimes he is being very pleasant but is extremely terrifying at the same time. His talent is best exemplified in the first scene of the film in which he interrogates a man hiding Jews in his house while the Jews are under the floor-boards listening, it is an amazingly intense scene yet it still involves some comedy and the way it ends up is not how you would expect it to. There is also comedy in many other moments in the film, but I'll opt not to give them away because of the sheer hilarious surprise they turn out to be. One more thing I have to mention is that this film is very gory and not for the faint of heart, but you won't find yourself feeling bad for Nazis when they are hurt because, well... they're Nazis. I'd if you are squeamish see this movie anyway and cover your eyes during the gory scenes. In comparison to Tarantino's other movies, I'd say if you had Kill Bill Volume 2 except at the end instead of facing Bill, The Bride faces a Crazy 88 of Bills in the House of Blue Leaves than it would remind me of Inglourious Basterds in the way that it is a sequence of events building up to the huge climax. This movie might be higher than 500 Days of Summer on my best films of the year so far list, but I'll have to see it a second time to confirm my suspicion (any excuse to get to experience this masterfully made epic again).
Inglourious Basterds - 4 out of 4
-Zach

District 9... FROM SPACE!!!!!

District 9 is a film bleeding with originality, as well as many other thing. It is a story about how the human race doesn't learn from its mistakes and how money is more important some people than any single life they ruin while trying to gain it. With absolutely fantastic special effects and jaw-dropping set pieces this is defiantly one of the best films of the year. The beginning of the movie is shot like a documentary and it seamlessly converts into a narrative very quickly. The protagonist named Wikus van der Merwe starts out as a mild-mannered kind of average weakling of a guy. He slowly turns into a Rambo-eske character after a substance begins to turn him into an alien. Sharlto Copley gives a fantastic performance as Wilkus. The action in the movie is so cool and so heart stopping it makes my time seeing this film in the theater one of the most intense film experiences of my life. This is director Neill Blomkamp's first feature length film and I've hear rumors he is in the running to direct the Halo film. If Halo is any where as good as this movie I'll be first in line to see it.

District 9 - 4 out of 4

-Zach

In the Loop

In the Loop is a British farce centering around the communication or the miscommunication between the U.S. and U.K. governments. The whole movie is about words. In the very beginning the U.K.'s Secretary of State for International Development says that war is "unforeseeable." Apparently that made his department look bad and it starts a whole chain of events that leads to mass confusion and hysteria. The satire is spot-on the entire time. But the stand out feature of the film is the screenplay which was written by five different people is so amazingly funny that I had some of the best lines running through my head while chuckling to myself while other people stared at me wondering "what's that guy laughing about" for several hours. There is so much cursing and fowl-mouthary in this movie and the usage of these words is perfect. Notable performances are those of Peter Capaldi (the most fowl-mouthed character in any film this year, probably), James Gandolfini, and Steve Coogan. My favorite moment in the film (which is featured in the trailer) is when a man says to his assistant "this will be easy peasy lemon squeezy" and his assistant replies to him "No, it'll be difficult difficult lemon difficult!" In the Loop is one of the funniest movies of the year.

In the Loop is in limited release and is available On Demand.

In the Loop - 3.5 out of 4

-Zach

Funny People

Funny People is a movie I can't describe what I really mean to say about this movie but I will try. Well before I start to talk about my dislikes of the film I just want to make it clear that I did truly enjoy this movie but for some reason I don't feel as connected to it as I do to Knocked Up or Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which was produced by Apatow). I think the main reason is that I did not want Adam Sandler's character to succeed at regaining the love of his like, who is played by the love of my life, Leslie Mann. This is mainly because he is just not a nice guy. On the other hand, the character played by Seth Rogan I was with the entire time. I really love Jonah Hill as Seth Rogan's roommate. I also loved the scenes of Adam Sandler's Character, George Simmons's Movies which were parodies of the type of movies Sandler makes. Unfortunatly shortly after the beginning of the movie there was about 20 minutes which I can't pinpoint exactly, but they struck a wrong chord, I'm not sure exactly why but it just didn't feel like the rest of the movie, but other than that I think Funny People is one of the best comedies of the summer so far.

Funny People - 3 out of 4

-Zach

(500) Days of Summer

500... 500 romantic comedy cliches, 500 bad romantic comedies, 500 times I feel like shooting myself in the face while watching the average modern romantic comedy. Enter: 500 Days of Summer. 500 Days of Summer is a non-linear, sometimes whimsical, sometimes sad, mish-mosh of a romantic comedy... and it is probably the best film of the year so far. I really can't think of a moment of the movie that didn't fit into the overall puzzle that is this film. To tell the truth, this film is inspirational not only the subject matter and the execution but an inspiration to all film makers. It is a feel-good movie that had me intrigued and invested in the relationship between Tom and Summer throughout. Yes, an amazing romantic comedy can still exist and not be in the Apatow vein like Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Knocked Up. I don't want to give away some of the more creative moments in the film because it will take away some of the sheer enjoyment you will have when experiencing them. Also, Zooey Deschanel give the performance of her career, she is the element of the film that ties it all together because if she hadn't given the amazing performance that she did, the relationship the is then anchor of the film would become de-legitimized. To sum it up, 500 Days of Summer is a mind-blowingly amazing expression of creativity and pure awesomeness that is an absolutely fantastic movie-going experience.

500 Days of Summer - 4 out of 4

500 Days of Summer is now open in limited release and will be in wide release August 7th.

-Zach

New "Basterds" Trailer

Looks amazing.
-Zach

Whatever Works

The new Woody Allen film, Whatever Works, is not as good as Vicky Cristina Barcelona but it is still great. It is amazing to see Allen return to his home city of New York. The city is filmed rather well and it adds to the movie. Larry David gives an amazing performance which now leads me to believe he may get many more acting roles. Evan Rachel Wood looks much different than she did the The Wrestler which I found strange, but none the less she is still very funny. The film is full of great performances and lines and is in my opinion, very memorable. Whatever Works is definitely one of the best comedies of the year so far.

Whatever Works is in limited release and will be released wide on July 3rd.

Whatever Works - 4 out of 4

Also, I may not post for 3 weeks because I will be in Italy, if I see a movie and get to an internet source to post, I will.

-Zach

Transformers: Revenge of the F***ing Stupidest Movie of All Freakin' Time

Transformers... Michael Bay... If you put these two things together is it possible to make something good? The answer is yes, Michael Bay proved that in a little movie I like to call Transformers. I wish I could say the same about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The action I am okay with, its everything else that fails. To make it simple, words can not describe how much this movie annoyed me. I even found myself covering my eyes at certain parts of the story, not because they were frightening but because how cringe-inducingly bad they were. In the car, on the way home from the movie theatre I made a list of quotes that exemplify how extremely stupid this film is. The Fallen is actually the name of a Decepticon who wants to harnes the power of the sun for energy and also to get revenge on Earth because the humans wronged him in some way that is unclear. In a scene early in the film The Fallen says something to the extent of, "I can only be killed by a Prime and Optimis Prime is the only Prime left." That is proabably one of the laziest examples of story telling I have ever seen, couldn't have the screenwrites presented that information in a different way then to have the villian just say it for no reason at all. Also, I took note of a line that was mentioned in Roger Ebert's Review of the movie. I had actually written it down before I read his review. The line is said by the amazing John Turturro while climbing a pyrmid to stop a Decpticon from activating a machine that will destroy the sun. He says TO HIMSELF, "Oh no! The machine is buried in the pyramid! If they turn it on, it will destroy the sun! Not on my watch!" Might I add that the fact that this machine will blow up the sun had been mentioned at least ten times before this point in the movie. There are so many things wrong with this movie it would take me at least ten more pages to list them all. To end I just want to mention that I saw the movie in IMAX, and yes, it did look amazing but that dosn't justify how horrible the movie was.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 1.5 out of 4

-Zach

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Denzel Washington and John Travolta both give very good performances in a very good Thriller, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. The suspense is built up gradually and beautifully. Almost the whole movie consists of a conversation between the subway and MTA. The dialogue is excellent and the action scene at the end is pretty satisfying. There is not much to write about because the movie dosnt move around too much and there aren't to many aspects of it. That isn't a bad thing, it just leads to a shorter review.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 - 3.5 out of 4

-Zach

The Proposal and More!!!

I saw a screening of The Proposal last month. To tell you the truth, it was not as bad as I expected. I imagined it would not be funny and it would have a very predictable ending. When I finally saw the movie, I laughed more than I expected. The ending was predictable, but there was a big surprise that I wasn't expecting. A performance in the movie that I really enjoyed was Betty White as the grandma, I thought she was extremely funny, and also I always love Sandra Bullock. On the whole this was an above average romantic comedy.

The Proposal - 3 out of 4

The Proposal will have 800 sneak peeks on Saturday June 13th and will open in wide release on June 19th.

Also, I saw Land of the Lost last weekend and I thought it was below average for Will Ferrell.

Land of the Lost - 2.5 out of 4

But the movie you should see this weekend is called Moon with Sam Rockwell. I saw it at Tribeca Film Festival and it is one of the best movies of the year. If you want to read my review check out the post called "Tribeca Film Festival: Part 2."

Moon - 4 out of 4

The other weekend I also saw Drag Me to Hell which is the best horror movie to come out in years and should be seen by every 80's horror movie fan.

Drag Me to Hell - 4 out of 4

This weekend I'm going to see The Taking of of Pelham 1 2 3, and hopefully write a review. Also, I have already prepared the website for my most anticipated film of the year, Inglourious Basterds. I have updated the movie news, poll, and movie videos, all to be about the new Tarantino film.

-Zach

Up

Wow, I was completely blown out of my chair as I watched Pixar's fabulous new film, Up.  Up is undoubtedly the most beautiful, touching, truthful, amazing, funny, exciting film of the year.  It is also my favorite movie of the year so far.  With rousing visuals that will astound even the most cynical viewer.  At some parts of the movie I was watching with my mouth open and I said out-loud "WOW," and I didn't even see it in 3-D.  The movie starts off with Carl meeting Ellie who he soon realised is the love of his life.  The film continues with a five minute montage set to music beautifully showing the rise and fall of their marriage without dialogue.  Carl Fredrickson is one of the most endearing animated characters of all time.  Russell, the boy scout could have turned into a Rhino(from Bolt)like performance, instead he is an amazing character and his friendship with Carl is believable and in a way beautiful.  He is infatuated with the wonders of life and adopts many of the creatures he finds along their journey as his own temporary pets.  Their travels are truly epic and the action scenes are of massive proportions.  They are all masterfully choreographed and are breathtaking.  The morals presented in the story don't feel preachy at all.  The film was sending chills down my spine the entire time.  Up is defiantly the must see film of the summer so-far.  Don't judge this move because it's animated and rated PG, it is a movie to be enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Up - 4 out of 4

-Zach

Terminator Salvation

With a director named McG, Terminator Salvation's got to be great, right?
Wrong. Terminator Salvation is an insult to the other 3 movies. The
third movie isn't a gem but this new one makes it look like one.
Christian Bale is horrible in the movie; I know he can act, for proof
see American Psycho. The action sequences are good but they don't
measure up to the ones in the other installments. If you want to see a
good action movie this weekend, I'd suggest you stay home and rent
Terminator 2.

Terminator Salvation - 2 out of 4
-Zach

New Inglorious Basterds Clip

Heres a clip from my most anticipated film of the year, Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. This weekend I will review the new Terminator film and will post and early review of Up.

-Zach

Angels & Demons: Quick Review

I'm sorry, I'm busy this week so I don't have time to give a full review of Angels & Demons.  I felt the movie was very well made and directed, I found it very exciting.  I believe this movie is tons better than The Da Vinci Code, and Tom Hanks hair isn't as distracting.  I like the twists and turns the movie took and I felt the main plot was very compelling.  In all Angels & Demons was a worthwhile experience.

News- I saw a screening of The Proposal on Thursday, I'll post a review when the film is closer to release.  Also, I am probably going to a screening of Up this week and I will review that after I see it.  I get my screening tickets from filmmetro.com.

Angels & Demons - 3 out of 4

-Zach

Star Trek: An Early Review!

I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Star Trek, starring Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock. Pine gives a fine performance, Quinto is rather one-note though. Eric Bana plays an amazingly well written villain. Leonard Nimoy gives a surprisingly good performance as Spock from another dimension. A great thing about the movie is the accessibility, I have seen approximately two episodes of Star Trek and I completely understood everything that was going on in the movie. I many not know the name of these planets, I may not know what "red matter" is, but I was still invested in all the story lines from start to finish. I usually don't give a plot synopsis, but because this is an early review, I will. The story follows Captain Kirk from his life as a child, to him becoming captain of his own starship. The film doesn't spend a lot of time on Kirk's days in Starfleet Academy, basically he cheated on a test and was put on probation. He later fakes his way on the the USS Enterprise, gets himself kicked off again, meets Spock from another dimension, fakes his way back onto the USS Enterprise and is immediately sent on a mission. He becomes first officer because Captain Pike, knew about his father. As you can see, the plot is pretty average. Once the movie gets passed the Starfleet Academy stuff, its pretty much non-stop, very exciting action. Star Trek is a great start to the summer movie season and can be enjoyed by anyone.
Star Trek will be released this Friday, May 8th.
Star Trek - 3.5 out of 4
-Zach

Tribeca Film Festival: Part 2

The last two movies I saw at the festival were, The Girlfriend Experience and Moon.
The Girlfriend Experience - A Manhattan call-girl, a trip to Vegas, a personal trainer, all these things form the plot of an amazing, stylistic movie called The Girlfriend Experience. The director of the film is the one and only Steven Soderbergh. While doing her call-girl "duties"the main point of discussion is the Economy and the election. At one point the call-girl, Chelsea, and her client at sitting on a balcony in the morning, the client is reading the newspaper and her asks her "So, do you think the bail-out is going to work?" She replies with a no, end of scene. The film is so simple yet there are numerous complexities. Sometimes, the film acts as a slice-of-life style film, such as when Chelsea and her client see Man on Wire and she explains how they both enjoyed the film, the audience sees them walk and talk about the film. Other times, it acts as an plot-based, emotional roller coaster, such as when Chelsea arranges a weekend getaway with her client, which violates the conditions set up by her and her boyfriend intensifying their relationship, when she arrives at the place, her client doesn't show up. The Girlfriend Experience is a fantastic film and is a must-see summer movie.
The Girlfriend Experience will be in limited release, May 22nd.

Moon - Moon is a gripping sci-fi flick about a man serving a 3 year contract, mining for an alternate energy his isolation drives him insane. After an accident on the job, he wakes up in the infirmary and notices he is hallucinating as he sees himself across the medical table. He soon comes to realise this man who looks just like him is not a hallucination. As the plot unfolds a conspiracy is unfolded that will surprise everyone who comes to see the movie. It was influenced by 2001: a Space Odyssey, Alien, and Silent Running, all these influences are evident as the movie goes on. Sam Rockwell gives a fantastic performance. The screenplay is complex and intense. Moon is a must see movie.
Moon will be in limited release, June 12th.
The Girlfriend Experience - 4 out of 4
Moon - 4 out of 4
-Zach

Tribeca FIlm Festival: Part 1

So far, I've seen 5 movies at The Tribeca Film Festival.  Don Mckay, Serious Moonlight, Handsome Harry, Midgets vs. Mascots, and Black Dynamite.  Here are my mini-reviews.

Don Mckay - So far, this is my favorite film from the festival.  It is an absurd, very dark comedy with a plot, very hard to explain past the first 15 minutes.  It involves Don Mckay, a high school janitor returning to his home town to see his childhood girlfriend off to her grave.  By the end, dead bodies are everywhere and everyone in the audience has a great laugh as someone is hit over the head with a frozen roast.

Serious Moonlight - Meg Ryan plays a wife who ties up her husband to mend their marriage.  A much less dark comedy than Don Mckay.  The laughs are big when they happen, but most of the humor is derived from the ridiculousness of the situations the characters get themselves into.

Handsome Harry - A on-the-whole well crafted thriller.  At many points it got very slow and boring, but the performances were all excellent.

Midgets vs. Mascots - A completely non-PC comedy about a competition between Little People and Mascots.  It had many over-the-top hilarious slapstick moments, and a surprise cameo by Jason Mews at the end.

Black Dynamite - An absolutely hilarious throwback to 70's blaxploitation films.  With too many "rolling on the floor lauging" moments to count.

Black Dynamite will be released this September.

Don Mckay - 4 out of 4

Serious Moonlight - 3.5 out of 4

Handsome Harry - 3 out of 4

Midgets vs. Mascots - 3.5 out of 4

Black Dynamite - 4 out of 4

-Zach

State of Play

I saw the film, State of Play starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.  Both of them gave rather good performances but nothing to write home about.  The best thing about this movie it the plot.  It involves a huge conspiracy involving a company doing some shady business-work.  One major strength of the plot is that I knew what was going on in the movie the entire time, and that is very rare in a movie with a plot as complicated as this.  Also, many of the twists the plot took where unexpected and very compelling.  Plus, Jason Bateman from Arrested Development (my favorite TV show) gives a stellar performance in a pivotal scene.

State of Play - 3.5 out of 4

-Zach

Sorry

Hey guys sorry I haven't been posting these past few weeks, I was skiing in Utah.  Now, I'm back, and I did see a few movies.

Adventureland - 3.5 out of 4

Duplicity - 3 out of 4

Sunshine Cleaning - 3 out of 4

Observe and Report - 4 out of 4

-Zach

P.S. - Above is a photo I took in Utah.

Bart Got a Room

I saw Bart Got a Room about a year ago at the Tribeca Film Festival.  William H. Macy was at the screening along with the director and star.  Surprisingly I remember most of the movie which is a very good sign.  I remember many of the hilarious moments also.  William H. Macy is one of my favorite actors, and he delivers with every moment in this movie, his hair dew is also amazing.  Alia Shawkat is from my favorite TV show, Arrested Development, she did rather well.  Brandon Hardesty, who is amazing on YouTube (ArtieTSMITW), is completly under-used.  He is only in five short scenes, but in those scenes he does very well.  Cheryl Hines is also in the supporting cast.  The film probably won't go down in history, but it still is a very good independent comedy.

Bart Got a Room is opening in limited release, Friday, April 3rd.

Bart Got a Room - 4 out of 4

-Zach

(The pictures are from the screening I went to in New York)

Top 5 Movies to Watch on April Fools Day

I said I'd make a list this week and it's April 1st so... here's a list of movies to watch on April Fools Day.

1. Airplane
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. Blazing Saddles
4. Animal House
5. (If you're looking for something a little more modern) Forgetting Sarah Marshall
   

Okay, so theres the list.  As for this weekend, we might put one or two reviews up.

-Zach

Update

Don't expect any reviews up until next week.  I'm going to an advance screening of a movie tomorrow, I am not permitted to blog about the movie until its release in November.  I will tell you it's an animated movie based on a Roald Dahl book and it's directed by Was Anderson (look it up you'll find it), I don't know what I will get in trouble for saying.  I may try to make a movie list this week or something, check back to see that.  Also, Ben and I will both try to make it to the Tribeca Film Festival in April, we'll keep you posted on that.

-Zach

I Love You, Man & The Great Buck Howard Review

Finally after 2 weeks, I'm back!  I'll start with my review of The Great Buck Howard starring one of my favorite actors, John Malkovich.

The Great Buck Howard - A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of viewing one of my favorite actors, John Malkovich, play Buck Howard!  This movie also stars, Colin Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks who makes an appearance in this movie (he also produced it).  Colin Hanks gives a fine performance, but the real star of the film is Malkovich who gives an outstanding performance as a has-been mentalist still hanging on to the little ounce of fame he still possesses.  Malkovich's performance alone is worth the price of admission.

The Great Buck Howard is currently in limited release and available on video on demand and pay-per-view.

I Love You, Man - I liked this movie a lot.  First of all, the cast is amazing, Paul Rudd, Jason Siegel, and  J.K. Simmons are all favorites of mine.  The movie is not as funny as Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but not many things are.  Surprisingly, Apatow is not involved with the movie.  The screenplay is very good, it is written by John Hamburg (who also directed) who also wrote Meet the Parents.  In all, none of the performances were as good as the ones in Buck Howard, but it defiantly scores more laughs.

The Great Buck Howard - 4 out of 4

I Love You, Man - 4 out of 4

-Zach

Moviequest Finally Watches the Watchmen

Yes... I finally saw Watchmen, approximately one hour after finishing the graphic novel.  I thought this movie was a masterpiece.  Zack Snyder has shown a real development in his directing skill, it is hard to believe this is his third major film.  Every performance is spot on, including a star-making role by Jeffery Dean Morgan who plays The Comedian.  The most amazing aspect of the movie is the writing, Alan Moore should have seen the movie before taking his name off it.  One of the problems with the movie is that they couldn't fit in the Tales of the Black Freighter (look out for the director's cut) and decided to release it on DVD as a separate feature.  Also, my favorite scene in the novel involving a perfume/snow-globe metaphor has been taken out.  If you read the book and liked it, there is no way you won't like this movie; this is possibly the most faithful graphic novel adaptation ever.  Yet, the ending is slightly different than in the novel.  If you havent read it, don't start now; run out and see the movie then begin to read the book, it will seem even more amazing if you see the film first.

Watchmen - 4 out of 4

-Zach

My opinion on calling movies "overrated"

I can't stand the term overrated, mostly because it is a pretentious term.  Saying a movie is overrated is like saying that your favorite movie is automatically the greatest movie ever made because it is your favorite.  My favorite film of all time is The Shawshank Redemption, but I do not think I am in any position to call it the greatest film of all time.  Calling a movie "overrated" is like saying "A lot of people think this movie is fantastic, but it actually sucks because I don't like it."  No one is in the position to say that.  I am not calling out anyone in particular, but that's the way I feel.  I think that instead of a person using the term "overrated," they should say "I don't like it as much as most people do."  I know that takes longer to say, but what the heck?  Anyway, here are movies that I don't like as much as many people do.

Full Metal Jacket - I am really not a fan of this movie.  Although I like pretty much all of Stanley Kubrick's other films that I have seen, this is my least favorite.  It is not my least favorite war movie ever (Pearl Harbor, anyone?), but I still don't like it very much. 

2 and 1/2 out of 4

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - I do not in any way dislike this movie.  I think it is very well made, and it is a very creative story.  I also think that the performances are very good, Kate Winslet in particular.  However, I think that everyone really likes this movie a lot better than I did.  I didn't really find it interesting at all, and I found it a bit boring.  I actually liked the plot about the doctors trying to stay focused than the story about Joel and Clementine.  But still, it is not a bad film in any way.

3 out of 4

From Here To Eternity - Once again, I do like this movie, and the performances are great.  I just don't understand what all of the hubbub is about.  I like it, but I personally do not enjoy it quite as much as most.

3 out of 4

Bonnie and Clyde - Please don't hurt me.  I know how many lovers there are of this movie. There are many impressive scenes, but it just did not measure up, for me, to what many people have said.  I also did not enjoy the final death scene as mush as most people.  I still think it is great, but not phenomenal.

3 and 1/2 out of 4

Once Upon a Time in the West - I like most of Sergio Leone's films.  Although I am a big western fan, I couldn't get through this movie.  Because of my boredom and the fact that most of the time aI had no idea what was going on.  It took me about 4 sittings to finally get through it.  The cinematography, however, was great.  It was just okay. (Even though it has the best line ever, "How could I trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders?  He can't even trust his own pants!")

2 and 1/2 out of 4

That's pretty much it.  If you agree or disagree with

 either my disdain for the word "overrated" or my choices of movies, please leave me some comments.  Thanks.

-Ben

Opinions On the Oscars

Hey, it's Ben.  After watching the Oscars last night, I had no problem with the winners at all whatsoever.  I had seen all of the films that won the major awards, and I was happy with all of them.  However, what upset me was that there were absolutely no surprises.  Except for foreign language film (I thought it was between The Class and Waltz with Bashir, but Departures took the award), I predicted all of the awards.  But, here are my opinions on the winners:

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

If anyone is a regular reader of the blog, they know how much I love this film.  I am so glad that it won best picture, and I hope it will be remembered as a great film for years to come.

Best Actor: Sean Penn (Milk)

Even though I was pulling for Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn is great as the gone-too-soon Harvey Milk, and any other year he probably he would have been my choice.

Best Actress: Kate Winslet (The Reader)

Kate Winslet is so fantastic in this movie that I completely lost myself in the film.  Like many other people are saying, if someone plays a character who seduces a 15 year old b

oy, abandons him, and sends thousands of people to their deaths in Auschwitz, and still makes the character sympathetic, this must be a great actress.  And, of course, Kate Winslet is one.

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

Not only is it the best part of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's performance is one of the best villains in movie history.

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Even though Marisa Tomei was my choice, Cruz is brilliant in this movie, and it shows that she will have a long and great movie career in the future.

Best Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)

Once again, not a surprise, but still fantastic direction by Boyle.

Best Animated Film: Wall-E

A wonderful, inspiring movie, with both great animation and great heart.

-Ben

Ratings for Oscar nominees

Here is every film I've seen that's nominated for an Oscar's rating.

Benjamin Button - 4 out of 4

Frost/Nixon - 4 out of 4

Milk - 4 out of 4

The Reader - 3.5 out of 4

Slumdog Millionaire - 4 out of 4

The Wrester - 4 out of 4

Tropic Thunder - 4 out of 4

The Dark Knight - 4 out of 4

Revolutionary Road - 3 out of 4

Rachel Getting Married - 4 out of 4

Changeling - 4 out of 4

Bolt - 0 out of 4

Kung-Fu Panda - 3 out of 4

WALL-E - 4 out of 4

Man on Wire - 4 out of 4

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 4 out of 4

Presto (Short Film) - 4 out of 4

Wanted - 3 out of 4

Happy-Go-Lucky - 4 out of 4

In Bruges - 4 out of 4

-Zach