Jack Black is in another hilarious movie. He plays Zed who is a lazy and incompetent hunter. The movie begins in what appears to be about 40,000 years ago in North Africa. But after Zed escapes with Michael Cera who plays Oh, they meet some farmers so the time frame leaps forward to about 2500 years ago. Cera is from Superbad and he continues the same monotone voice but he is funny. I think the directors have a lot of credit with that though, since it is more of the situations he is in, rather than his own doing. Unlike Jim Carry who is funny in an empty room and no props.
Zed and Oh are not really friends but they communicate since they are both losers. I am surprised they are allowed to eat since they are totally unproductive. No way Zed would he that physically pathetic but it is a movie and that is part of the hilarity of the movie. June Raphael is Maya and is coveted by Zed. But Zed can not provide anything to her and is just innocently flattered of his overtures toward her. Oh is interested in Eema played by Juno Temple. She is cute and Cera plays the same role now he has in many movies. Hey, it is paying his bills and probably pretty lucrative for him. As long as someone is paying him to play the identical character, he should be smiling all the way to the bank. Oh does not have the guts to ask the girl out and he just screws it up with his dance routine. Zed and Oh take off for a long walk and come across the forbidden tree. No one is supposed to eat fruit from this tree. This plot is borrowed from Adam and Eve. Zed is feeling pretty rebellious and he eats one of the apples from the tree. One of the clan members witnessed this supreme violation. Oh and Zed are expelled from the clan.
This does not bother Zed that much since he wants to find out if the world gives way on the other side of the mountain. It does not. Oh and Zed meet up with Cain and Able. Cain murders Able in funny scene. It is made to be funny, it is not brutal at all if one can ignore the fact that someone was murdered. Oh and Zed leave this town and continue on their adventure. Cable leads them away and explains to them that they could be held accountable since they were right near him during the despicable act.
Zed has a chance to persuade a gorgeous lesbian to have some fun with him but he can not even manage this. If Zed was a company his stock would be a perpetual penny stock.
Oh and Zed become separated from Cain when they come to a trading post. This is when they recognized their former clan members have been taken against their well and are now slaves. Maya and Eema are linked by chains and ofcourse these two wandering baffoons aim to free them. They are not in a seemingly Roman controlled area so the time frame jumps forward by a couple of centuries.
Zed and Oh argue their way to a town called Sodom and Gomorrah. This is after they walk away from a town where the priest has vowed to circumcize them. This is after they stop Isaac from being sacrificed by his father. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is Isaac and he looks as ridiculous as his old acting ally Cera. Jack Black has taken Superbad to the distant past. This movie is hilarious. There are a few slow scenes but many others are creative and wildly entertaining. The movie is just rolling through many of the stories we know, or the ones you should know, but is not criticizing any of them nor trying to make any point. The movie is a comedy and not controversial at all.
Maya and Eema are both slaves and Oh and Zed continue to inform them and plead with them to hang in their. They will free them from their flight. Oh is so pathetic though, he is smart but only book smart. This type of strength is pathetic in most situations and he lacks the resolve to actually come through. Eema is a fool for even considering the notion that this soft boy will save her. This aspect is exhausting but the movie is funny so the viewer can roll along with it. Both these fragile souls would have died along time ago in this period of time.
Zed and Oh become part of the security force in this Roman controlled town and this is just hilarious. They have no military bearing and their about as disciplined as I am around a sitting pumpkin pie. They meet Oliver Platt who is the High Priest and he is a sick human being with strange indulgences. This town is paganistic with little moral fiber.
The gorgeous Olivia Wilde is Princess Inanna in this town. She has her sights on Zed because she believes he has courage. It is not courage it is stupidity that flows through him, he does not even recognize when he should bow. Zed talks and acts like he wants to meet a gorgeous woman and here he has the princess who is stunning and just ruins his chances. The only thing he is good at is consistently finding new ways to get him and Oh in massive trouble. Their lack of sense is funny and when they are in mortal danger, we can just laugh at these morons.
Zed and Oh are both outwitted and enter the town's sanctuary. An area that no one enters, it is supposedly holy. After they are captured, they are propped up to be stoned to death the following day. Zed actually displays some wit here and outsmarts the cheif law enforcement official by requesting only one person can hurl stones their way rather than the entire force of the town. Zed continues this prudence and the town rallies around him. Zed and Oh are then ordered into a lifelong occupation of servitude. Oh questions how this is better when Zed cheers with the crowd like a baffoon. But they are spared.
The following day the town is summoned for another sacrifice. There is an ongoing drought and the town's leaders believe sacrificing a female virgin is the answer to bring forth rain. Twisted fools. The King orders his daughter to be sacrificed. The gorgeous princess is appalled. He also orders Maya to be sacrificed as well I believe. Either way, Zed is motivated to put a stop to this madness. He causes a ruckus and a distraction which sparks a rebellion by knocking down the massive scaffolding that has been erected for a town beautification project. Zed ends up killing or defeating the town's enforcement officer Sargon played by Gone In 60 Second's Vinnie Jones. Zed saves the princess a fiery death and good riddance to the high priest. With the help of Oh, he ends up falling into the furnace of flames. The town cheers. Zed and Oh gain their freedom and perhaps this immoral town can raise their standards.
Zed and Maya embark to Egypt. Oh sticks around with Eema to begin a family and becomes the mayor of the town it seems. A happy ending devoid of the humor that led us up to this point.
This movie is short and the ending is terrible. Nacho Libre is superior. I am not sure what happened. It just fell off a cliff. I was hoping for them escaping this town and God reigning down fire and brimstone as this town is vanquished. Either way, the ending was totally hokey, completely unrealistic. The last 20 minutes seemed like it was edited and directed, written too, by a high school drama club. The first half had some parts that are worth talking about. But this movie does not approach the comedy and satisfaction that Hangover brought us.
If you see this movie instead of Transformers II you should be sacrificed.
I allocate this movie two stars.**
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Let the haters hate, Michael Bay does it again. Unlike the latest Terminator movie, this movie satisfies the hype and like Devastator which sucks up the world around it and spits it out the other end, Bay sucks up the criticism and spits it out as well. I am not sure which part of the body he spits it out, that is another story.
I do not not see where the criticism is emanating from. It has incredible music, far away scenes, scenes that are close to home, hilarious humor, gorgeous woman, bad ass characters, intensity, etc. This movie is not for kids. Though they will see it. This movie has adult scenes and realistic language.
Megan Fox is back and she is gorgeous as ever. Mikaela Banes is her character's name. It is a stretch that a female that hot can be walking around a car shop in that atmosphere while dressing like that. But we will let that pass. Angelina Jolie in Gone In 60 Seconds atleast had coveralls on in her mechanic scene so that is a little more realistic. Mikaela did not seem to be a mechanic but more of an artist, that is believable. After watching the movie a second time, it is her father who manages the car shop. Regardless, her dress and wardrobe are unbefitting her environment, but lets movie onward.
This movie has transformers in all sizes and shapes, even different angles. For example, one scene had a transformer use mini machines to form a robot that was perfectly thin-so that the machine was undetectable to the naked eye until the light hit it at an oblique angle.
Shia LaBeouf is back and is spectacular as Sam Witwicky. Again, he brings his A game. His charisma, acting skills, make those intense action scenes look even more majestic. With that said, his character chooses a school where Freshman are not allowed to drive a car. OK, if one does not have a car, so what? If one has a sorry ass ride, another easy choice. But not only in his car spectacular, it is a loyal alien robot with out of this world capabilities. Forget that college. Go somewhere else.
The movie begins with Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox leading a covert military strike team called NEST. Their primary mission is to root out and locate hiding Decepticans and eliminate them. Optimus Prime and the other autobots are in full operation and working with this US comprised team. Though there may be some English soldiers involves since Matthew Marsden has an English accent. He is Graham and is on this team. Marsden has been seen before in Black Hawk Down. Tyrese Gibson as USAF Tech Sergeant Epps is back and he is outstanding. He is funny and his comments make the movie seem completely genuine. He has one of the best lines in the movie towards end, short and poignant.
The outset of the movie is a huge fight scene involving Prime killing a much larger Deceptican called Demolisher. The Deceptican Sideways is elimanated as well in the fast paced melee. Sideways does not put a fight accept trying to run for cover. Well, he does knock back the Autobot female motorcycle triple team. Sideswipe splits him in half while rolling on one wheel with incredible agility and speed. If that is not balance and hand blade coordination, I am not sure what is. Demolisher busts up Shanghai a little bit and this upsets some liberal politician and ofcourse Obama. How do I know he is a liberal? He is a wimp. This politician, flies to Diego Garcia which is in the Indian Ocean, this is the headquarters of NEST. He argues with Lennox, Prime, and Glenn Morshower who plays General Morshower. I guess Bay liked his last name. Glenn is mainly in 24 as the trusty and loyal Secret Service agent. This politician seems to be on a which hunt and it is totally off kilter. He fails to see the goodness in Prime and the Autobots and in their vital mission to cleanse this planet of the Deceptican threat.
Sam is going off to college and seems to have some of the Allspark with him. A small piece of it scraped off of the Cube and seems to have popped loose when he was packing his luggage for college. When he arrives at college, he meets Leo. Ramon Rodriguez plays this whacky character who leads an IT team in locating secret alien information and posting them on the web. He is Sam's dorm roommate. Sam is trying to consume the college atmosphere when world wide events are beginning to unfold. Prime visits him and asks him for his help in being his human representative since the NEST team is being challenged by the pathetic current administration. Sam does not realize that the spark sent a bunch of secret codes into his brain and the Decepticans know about it. Soundwave has sunk his tentacles into the NEST's satelite and is listening to their communication and anything else that flows through that satellite. Sam rebuffs Prime, he is ignorant of the dangerous situation brewing.
Sam returns to school and is being pursued by Isabel Lucas who is Alice. She is smoking hot but Sam has Makaela which should eliminate any ideas. His bad. Alice seems to have him in her sites but it is strange that bumblebee has her inside, in the passenger seat and does not sense that she is a Deceptican. That is right, an alien robit with as much bite as the Terminator but the TX probably would not have been killed by being smashed like between the car and pole. But the TX's strength was too improbably to be taken seriously. No way she gets up without any affects after being blown up by a missile at point blank range at the cemetary.
Makaela is also in the sights of the Decepticans. Sam gives her the slice of the all spark after it inadvertently turns a bunch of his family's household appliances into some nasty little machines. Good think Bumblebee was there to squash them. Makaela locates the small spy in her garage and captures him alive. Malaela flies to Sam's college and find him being seduced by Alice. Makaela leaves, with Sam in hot pursuit. Alice flips and grabs same with her steal tongue and begins to choke him. This is after Sam paints strange signs all over the dorm room. Leo is pissed. The signs look Chinese. Bay could not help to put a poster of Bad Boys II in the room. Makaela and Leo hear the ruckus, they both return to see the impossible or improbable. A steal tongue ten feet long choking Sam. Makeala throws something at Alice or this nasty robot if I recall correctly, the metal box holding her miniature Deceptican hostage, and this forces this uncaring robot to let go of Sam. The three of them escape into the library and I am not sure why they just hide there. I would not have fun into a dead end. Alice has firepower and seems to have been a special invention, she is called a Pretender. Makeala eventually hotwires a car, smashes it into Alice and they drive off.
They do not escape. When the Decepticans locate Sam they pounce. Megatron returns and with another Deceptican to interrogate Sam. A Deceptican who can switch into a helicopter uses a magnet to pick up the car and carry it across the Hudson into an abandoned wharehouse. Megatron uses his robot minions to pry around Sam's brain. Sam, Leo, and Makaela would probably be killed at this point if it was not for the Autobots. Prime fights off Megatron and the fight ends up in a forest area outside the city. Sam rides with Prime as Makaela and Leo are with Bumblebee. Prime gives chase after Megatron and fights him in the forest. This scene is hectic and pulsating. But it is a trap. Starscream and Grindor join in. Prime kills Grindor and impales Starscream's arm but Megatron stabs Prime through his centerpoint. Prime is out of commission.
The Fallen senses this and comes to Earth and destroys an aircraft carrier. Rampage goes after Sam's parents in Paris with impunity. The Decepticans are sensing an opening. The asinine liberal politician uses Obama's wimpiness and shuts down NEST and the remaining Autbots. The Autobots are pissed and feel betrayed-but they oblige. I do not blame them.
Sam, Leo, and Makaela are with Bumblebee and discussing their options. Two Autobot jokesters are with them. They are straight clowns and bring light to this movie. Unlike Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace, these two are funny. These two have character. Jar Jar was just annoying and undermined that film. Though the Darth Mal saved it. Leo pipes in and says he knows someone who may be able to help them. It is none other than: Agent Simmons. John Turturro is back and is running a meat shop. His sorry department has been wiped off the Federal slate but he has many secrets in his business's basement. He could be a conspiracy freak but he has hard evidence to support his claims. In addition to have full blown experience with the alien machine menace. He has also been running a secret website competing with Leo's. Simmons, with Makeala's Deceptican hostage locate another possible sign that the Autobots and Decepticans have been rummaging around Earth. It is in the Space and Science museum, somewhere on the east coast. They sneak in at the bring of closing using tasers on the security guards. Leo is funny. I can see why Bay kept him around. I would not have thought this movie needed another character but I guess they did. Well, no Anthony Anderson but they had the two trash talking robots. Oh well, it worked out.
With the fragment from the all spark, they ignite Jetfire. An SR-71 resting in display. He is a former Deceptican. He transports them to Egypt using a space bridge. Jetfire is old and wise. The final scene is evolving around Egypt. The Pyramids are a center of attention once again in a film. The Decepticans have the Destructacons in the vicinity. This forms into Devastator. The NEST team drops off that brain dead politician in the middle of no where. And after Sam calls in and informs them of their coordinates, the NEST drops their team in the area. But Starscream locates them and shoots out a electronic jamming pulse. All communication is deal. With the Decepticans closing, Epps says the obvious, they are "going to get their asses whipped." And that is saying alot since this movie is a full flung blockbuster with a myriad of memorable lines. It does not quit. The best statement of the movie. This movie is so real, one would never think that special affects were used. Bay is seeking the gold metal.
The final fight involves airfighters, a navy rail gun which is still about 10 years out, and Simmons making this awesome phone call to a navy captain. This rail gun is used to knock down Devastator who is ripping apart the top part of the pyramid. They have have hover crafts in this movie. The marines are on their way after communication is finally open.
Prime returns to life after Sam finally reaches him. This is right after Sam has a near death experience where he meets the Dynasty of Primes. In the storyline, they have sacrificed themselves to save Earth by using their bodies to conceal the key to the sun harvester. I am sure some religious folks could be upset that Sam does not meet God as many people think of him. But it is fiction and the goodness of Sam and the sacrifice is amazing. A blast from Megatron is what almost lethally imperils Sam. This scene that I am describing is not unlike the first magnificent film when Sam has to run with the allspark across a full blown war zone in Mission City/LA. Sam's parents are grabbed as hostages and as a ruse to suck in Sam. Rampage and the Decepticans drop them off in the middle of this war zone. Decepticans have cool miniature surveillance machines as well. These types of miniature spy machines are being researched as we speak.
Apparently the largest Egyptian pyramid has been used to conceal this massive device that has the power to consume the energy of the sun. It is called a sun harvester. The Decepticans are known to destroy stars, even with life forms present. Nice fellows. Jetfire kills Scorponok which is no small feat but is hurt in the fight. Sam gives the Matrix of Keys to Prime by stabbing him in the chest with it. Prime reawakens but is still weak. Jetfire merges with Prime and Prime flies to the top to the pyramid and destroys the sun harvester. He eventually kills The Fallen. Prime is a living powerhouse again which brings hope to the Autobots and the brave NEST team. Prime's power almost destroys Megatron but Megatron and Starcream escape-to fight another day. Transformers III is on its way. Starscream makes a comment about why he chose to be a coward at the end but I did not see that. He was firing missiles at Bumblebee and the one who located Sam probably with Soundwave's help. But Starscream did not confront Prime in Jetfire mode so that is what he could be referring too. After watching the film a second time, Starcream was insinuating to Megatron that they should retreat and survive. Starcream should not have used the word coward though, this only damages his own reputation further in terms of how Megatron thinks of him. Starcream should have just said, after the Fallen was vanquished by Prime and Devastator was devastated and communications were reopened by the US Military, that retreating from that current battle would be the prudent choice.
Starcream's voice sounded weaker in this film and two different times he is bitched around by Megatron. Megatron seems to have tank treads on his feet in this amazing second version.
I think this movie set the bar higher. It was better than Wolverine and Star Trek. Terminator does not even come close. The imagination here is unequaled. The big knock on the first Transformers movie was the 20 minute scene in the middle where Sam was looking for the glasses in his house. Makeala was in his room and his parents found out. It was just a slow scene, bathroom break time. None of this occured here in this supersize sequel. There was not two minutes of boredom. In fact, it was overwhelming. I will probably see this movie again this weekend.
I allocate this movie five stars.*****
I do not not see where the criticism is emanating from. It has incredible music, far away scenes, scenes that are close to home, hilarious humor, gorgeous woman, bad ass characters, intensity, etc. This movie is not for kids. Though they will see it. This movie has adult scenes and realistic language.
Megan Fox is back and she is gorgeous as ever. Mikaela Banes is her character's name. It is a stretch that a female that hot can be walking around a car shop in that atmosphere while dressing like that. But we will let that pass. Angelina Jolie in Gone In 60 Seconds atleast had coveralls on in her mechanic scene so that is a little more realistic. Mikaela did not seem to be a mechanic but more of an artist, that is believable. After watching the movie a second time, it is her father who manages the car shop. Regardless, her dress and wardrobe are unbefitting her environment, but lets movie onward.
This movie has transformers in all sizes and shapes, even different angles. For example, one scene had a transformer use mini machines to form a robot that was perfectly thin-so that the machine was undetectable to the naked eye until the light hit it at an oblique angle.
Shia LaBeouf is back and is spectacular as Sam Witwicky. Again, he brings his A game. His charisma, acting skills, make those intense action scenes look even more majestic. With that said, his character chooses a school where Freshman are not allowed to drive a car. OK, if one does not have a car, so what? If one has a sorry ass ride, another easy choice. But not only in his car spectacular, it is a loyal alien robot with out of this world capabilities. Forget that college. Go somewhere else.
The movie begins with Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox leading a covert military strike team called NEST. Their primary mission is to root out and locate hiding Decepticans and eliminate them. Optimus Prime and the other autobots are in full operation and working with this US comprised team. Though there may be some English soldiers involves since Matthew Marsden has an English accent. He is Graham and is on this team. Marsden has been seen before in Black Hawk Down. Tyrese Gibson as USAF Tech Sergeant Epps is back and he is outstanding. He is funny and his comments make the movie seem completely genuine. He has one of the best lines in the movie towards end, short and poignant.
The outset of the movie is a huge fight scene involving Prime killing a much larger Deceptican called Demolisher. The Deceptican Sideways is elimanated as well in the fast paced melee. Sideways does not put a fight accept trying to run for cover. Well, he does knock back the Autobot female motorcycle triple team. Sideswipe splits him in half while rolling on one wheel with incredible agility and speed. If that is not balance and hand blade coordination, I am not sure what is. Demolisher busts up Shanghai a little bit and this upsets some liberal politician and ofcourse Obama. How do I know he is a liberal? He is a wimp. This politician, flies to Diego Garcia which is in the Indian Ocean, this is the headquarters of NEST. He argues with Lennox, Prime, and Glenn Morshower who plays General Morshower. I guess Bay liked his last name. Glenn is mainly in 24 as the trusty and loyal Secret Service agent. This politician seems to be on a which hunt and it is totally off kilter. He fails to see the goodness in Prime and the Autobots and in their vital mission to cleanse this planet of the Deceptican threat.
Sam is going off to college and seems to have some of the Allspark with him. A small piece of it scraped off of the Cube and seems to have popped loose when he was packing his luggage for college. When he arrives at college, he meets Leo. Ramon Rodriguez plays this whacky character who leads an IT team in locating secret alien information and posting them on the web. He is Sam's dorm roommate. Sam is trying to consume the college atmosphere when world wide events are beginning to unfold. Prime visits him and asks him for his help in being his human representative since the NEST team is being challenged by the pathetic current administration. Sam does not realize that the spark sent a bunch of secret codes into his brain and the Decepticans know about it. Soundwave has sunk his tentacles into the NEST's satelite and is listening to their communication and anything else that flows through that satellite. Sam rebuffs Prime, he is ignorant of the dangerous situation brewing.
Sam returns to school and is being pursued by Isabel Lucas who is Alice. She is smoking hot but Sam has Makaela which should eliminate any ideas. His bad. Alice seems to have him in her sites but it is strange that bumblebee has her inside, in the passenger seat and does not sense that she is a Deceptican. That is right, an alien robit with as much bite as the Terminator but the TX probably would not have been killed by being smashed like between the car and pole. But the TX's strength was too improbably to be taken seriously. No way she gets up without any affects after being blown up by a missile at point blank range at the cemetary.
Makaela is also in the sights of the Decepticans. Sam gives her the slice of the all spark after it inadvertently turns a bunch of his family's household appliances into some nasty little machines. Good think Bumblebee was there to squash them. Makaela locates the small spy in her garage and captures him alive. Malaela flies to Sam's college and find him being seduced by Alice. Makaela leaves, with Sam in hot pursuit. Alice flips and grabs same with her steal tongue and begins to choke him. This is after Sam paints strange signs all over the dorm room. Leo is pissed. The signs look Chinese. Bay could not help to put a poster of Bad Boys II in the room. Makaela and Leo hear the ruckus, they both return to see the impossible or improbable. A steal tongue ten feet long choking Sam. Makeala throws something at Alice or this nasty robot if I recall correctly, the metal box holding her miniature Deceptican hostage, and this forces this uncaring robot to let go of Sam. The three of them escape into the library and I am not sure why they just hide there. I would not have fun into a dead end. Alice has firepower and seems to have been a special invention, she is called a Pretender. Makeala eventually hotwires a car, smashes it into Alice and they drive off.
They do not escape. When the Decepticans locate Sam they pounce. Megatron returns and with another Deceptican to interrogate Sam. A Deceptican who can switch into a helicopter uses a magnet to pick up the car and carry it across the Hudson into an abandoned wharehouse. Megatron uses his robot minions to pry around Sam's brain. Sam, Leo, and Makaela would probably be killed at this point if it was not for the Autobots. Prime fights off Megatron and the fight ends up in a forest area outside the city. Sam rides with Prime as Makaela and Leo are with Bumblebee. Prime gives chase after Megatron and fights him in the forest. This scene is hectic and pulsating. But it is a trap. Starscream and Grindor join in. Prime kills Grindor and impales Starscream's arm but Megatron stabs Prime through his centerpoint. Prime is out of commission.
The Fallen senses this and comes to Earth and destroys an aircraft carrier. Rampage goes after Sam's parents in Paris with impunity. The Decepticans are sensing an opening. The asinine liberal politician uses Obama's wimpiness and shuts down NEST and the remaining Autbots. The Autobots are pissed and feel betrayed-but they oblige. I do not blame them.
Sam, Leo, and Makaela are with Bumblebee and discussing their options. Two Autobot jokesters are with them. They are straight clowns and bring light to this movie. Unlike Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace, these two are funny. These two have character. Jar Jar was just annoying and undermined that film. Though the Darth Mal saved it. Leo pipes in and says he knows someone who may be able to help them. It is none other than: Agent Simmons. John Turturro is back and is running a meat shop. His sorry department has been wiped off the Federal slate but he has many secrets in his business's basement. He could be a conspiracy freak but he has hard evidence to support his claims. In addition to have full blown experience with the alien machine menace. He has also been running a secret website competing with Leo's. Simmons, with Makeala's Deceptican hostage locate another possible sign that the Autobots and Decepticans have been rummaging around Earth. It is in the Space and Science museum, somewhere on the east coast. They sneak in at the bring of closing using tasers on the security guards. Leo is funny. I can see why Bay kept him around. I would not have thought this movie needed another character but I guess they did. Well, no Anthony Anderson but they had the two trash talking robots. Oh well, it worked out.
With the fragment from the all spark, they ignite Jetfire. An SR-71 resting in display. He is a former Deceptican. He transports them to Egypt using a space bridge. Jetfire is old and wise. The final scene is evolving around Egypt. The Pyramids are a center of attention once again in a film. The Decepticans have the Destructacons in the vicinity. This forms into Devastator. The NEST team drops off that brain dead politician in the middle of no where. And after Sam calls in and informs them of their coordinates, the NEST drops their team in the area. But Starscream locates them and shoots out a electronic jamming pulse. All communication is deal. With the Decepticans closing, Epps says the obvious, they are "going to get their asses whipped." And that is saying alot since this movie is a full flung blockbuster with a myriad of memorable lines. It does not quit. The best statement of the movie. This movie is so real, one would never think that special affects were used. Bay is seeking the gold metal.
The final fight involves airfighters, a navy rail gun which is still about 10 years out, and Simmons making this awesome phone call to a navy captain. This rail gun is used to knock down Devastator who is ripping apart the top part of the pyramid. They have have hover crafts in this movie. The marines are on their way after communication is finally open.
Prime returns to life after Sam finally reaches him. This is right after Sam has a near death experience where he meets the Dynasty of Primes. In the storyline, they have sacrificed themselves to save Earth by using their bodies to conceal the key to the sun harvester. I am sure some religious folks could be upset that Sam does not meet God as many people think of him. But it is fiction and the goodness of Sam and the sacrifice is amazing. A blast from Megatron is what almost lethally imperils Sam. This scene that I am describing is not unlike the first magnificent film when Sam has to run with the allspark across a full blown war zone in Mission City/LA. Sam's parents are grabbed as hostages and as a ruse to suck in Sam. Rampage and the Decepticans drop them off in the middle of this war zone. Decepticans have cool miniature surveillance machines as well. These types of miniature spy machines are being researched as we speak.
Apparently the largest Egyptian pyramid has been used to conceal this massive device that has the power to consume the energy of the sun. It is called a sun harvester. The Decepticans are known to destroy stars, even with life forms present. Nice fellows. Jetfire kills Scorponok which is no small feat but is hurt in the fight. Sam gives the Matrix of Keys to Prime by stabbing him in the chest with it. Prime reawakens but is still weak. Jetfire merges with Prime and Prime flies to the top to the pyramid and destroys the sun harvester. He eventually kills The Fallen. Prime is a living powerhouse again which brings hope to the Autobots and the brave NEST team. Prime's power almost destroys Megatron but Megatron and Starcream escape-to fight another day. Transformers III is on its way. Starscream makes a comment about why he chose to be a coward at the end but I did not see that. He was firing missiles at Bumblebee and the one who located Sam probably with Soundwave's help. But Starscream did not confront Prime in Jetfire mode so that is what he could be referring too. After watching the film a second time, Starcream was insinuating to Megatron that they should retreat and survive. Starcream should not have used the word coward though, this only damages his own reputation further in terms of how Megatron thinks of him. Starcream should have just said, after the Fallen was vanquished by Prime and Devastator was devastated and communications were reopened by the US Military, that retreating from that current battle would be the prudent choice.
Starcream's voice sounded weaker in this film and two different times he is bitched around by Megatron. Megatron seems to have tank treads on his feet in this amazing second version.
I think this movie set the bar higher. It was better than Wolverine and Star Trek. Terminator does not even come close. The imagination here is unequaled. The big knock on the first Transformers movie was the 20 minute scene in the middle where Sam was looking for the glasses in his house. Makeala was in his room and his parents found out. It was just a slow scene, bathroom break time. None of this occured here in this supersize sequel. There was not two minutes of boredom. In fact, it was overwhelming. I will probably see this movie again this weekend.
I allocate this movie five stars.*****
Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Proposal
This is one of those movies that falls apart right in the beginning. It is a cute little movie that has about five minutes of oringinality. Sandra Bullock is Margaret Tate who plays an editor of a powerful publishing company. She is paid well, holds alot of clout, and is compensated well. The problem she cared little for US immigration policy by not completing some simple paper work. It is not as if this involved another job or making some extra money, she chose not to complete some paper work in time. The deadline has passed.
Why her employer is notified about this and not her is beyond me. Perhaps she is just tossing away the paper work. But that does not make a lot of sense. No one with her situation would jeopardize it by shirking on some necessary paperwork.
This cockamamy plan she quickly concocts involves Ryan Reynolds who is Andrew Paxton-her executive assistant. She is called into the President's office who has apparently called in the company's legal representative. This is in New York. Their hands are tied and the INS has ordered her to leave or be deported. She is Canadien and her Visa has expired. She would have to remain in Canada for a year which would wreck her career with the American company. She is devastated but her ego is so massive and overwhelming, she blackmales Ryan into marrying her. She calls him into the President's office and informs them that they are about to get married. How a superior can marry a helping hand and not violate any company policy is another story.
Andrew should have rejected her right in the beginning. Her being deported is her problem. They would have put a lazy incompetent in her position and the company would have taken a hit. The President would realize his errors and would have had to make a move. Andrew would have benefited since he then could possibly become an editor and perhaps get his own book published. This movie is complete fiction but it is pleasant. The Eddie Murphy movie called Imagine That is superior to this one. I am not sure when Bullock will be in another good movie. She was in Crash but it has been a long time since A Time To Kill.
This movie does have a strong point made by Maggie that INS is more worried about terrorists than her. She brings talent and drive to America, deporting her is asinine. I hope INS does not spend too much time on her case. In fact, at the end, the INS detective who Andrew and Maggie met in the beginning flies to Alaska to give them a second chance to admit their sham. What a waste of tax payer money. And he gets cocky about it as well. His priorities are misconstrued. She does not hold state secrets nor is a threat to anyone-atleast not physically.
Mary Steenburgen is Grace Paxton who is Andrew's mother. Craig T. Nelson is Joe Paxton, the father. Mary is still pretty and she is nice in the film. Craig has the difficult part since he is plays a hard headed father who seems to have been disagreeing with his son for many years now. He is tough on his son which is realistic. This movie is not a total loss.
Betty White is Andrew's Grandma Annie. I have always liked her. But she loses it at the end and has a heart attack because of it. She was screaming at Joe for always fighting with Andrew. Andrew's relationship with his father is familiar but worse than most. Annie survives but Maggie escapes back to New York.
Most of the movie occurs in Alaska. Joe and Grace are quite successful. They own almost all of the businesses in town. Joe wants Andrew to return and continue the family businesses. Not sure why he turns this down, he could possibly spread the small empire. Andrew has a cute local girl who he could pursue as well. But Andrew does not want to remain in the small town, up in the middle of no where. Tough call.
Maggie has been Andrew's supervisor for 3 years. She has ran him ragged, she does not have a life of her own. Her character is comprable to Meryl Streep's disgusting character in The Devil Wears Prada. Hard to believe that character was based on a true homo sapien. After they inform the company leadership of their intention and surpass INS for the time being, the weekend is on the verge of commencing. Andrew's family is having a party and Maggie takes advantage of this. So they fly to Alaska. Maggie is a city girl but her wardrobe is just ridiculous. She over packs. The funny thing about this is that Andrew knows she needs him more than he needs her so he picks on her and forces her to carry her own luggage. The movie would have been unbearable if it was the other way around.
There is some funny parts in Alaska. Maggie and Andrew agree to get married in Alaska, in the barn. No joke. Certainly not Maggie's dream. They are about to get married by one of the family employees. Not even a priest. The movie is sort of strange her. Another odd part is when Annie is dancing around the fire in a pagan worship of nature in the middle of the forest. Hollywood is often anti church but this is just striking. The guy marrying them is also the guy who strips for the females in an all woman's club. Whatever.
The musical score is nonexistent. I did laugh in several scenes but nothing was spectacular. The tiger scene in Hangover was hilarious for example.
I allocate this movie one star.*
Why her employer is notified about this and not her is beyond me. Perhaps she is just tossing away the paper work. But that does not make a lot of sense. No one with her situation would jeopardize it by shirking on some necessary paperwork.
This cockamamy plan she quickly concocts involves Ryan Reynolds who is Andrew Paxton-her executive assistant. She is called into the President's office who has apparently called in the company's legal representative. This is in New York. Their hands are tied and the INS has ordered her to leave or be deported. She is Canadien and her Visa has expired. She would have to remain in Canada for a year which would wreck her career with the American company. She is devastated but her ego is so massive and overwhelming, she blackmales Ryan into marrying her. She calls him into the President's office and informs them that they are about to get married. How a superior can marry a helping hand and not violate any company policy is another story.
Andrew should have rejected her right in the beginning. Her being deported is her problem. They would have put a lazy incompetent in her position and the company would have taken a hit. The President would realize his errors and would have had to make a move. Andrew would have benefited since he then could possibly become an editor and perhaps get his own book published. This movie is complete fiction but it is pleasant. The Eddie Murphy movie called Imagine That is superior to this one. I am not sure when Bullock will be in another good movie. She was in Crash but it has been a long time since A Time To Kill.
This movie does have a strong point made by Maggie that INS is more worried about terrorists than her. She brings talent and drive to America, deporting her is asinine. I hope INS does not spend too much time on her case. In fact, at the end, the INS detective who Andrew and Maggie met in the beginning flies to Alaska to give them a second chance to admit their sham. What a waste of tax payer money. And he gets cocky about it as well. His priorities are misconstrued. She does not hold state secrets nor is a threat to anyone-atleast not physically.
Mary Steenburgen is Grace Paxton who is Andrew's mother. Craig T. Nelson is Joe Paxton, the father. Mary is still pretty and she is nice in the film. Craig has the difficult part since he is plays a hard headed father who seems to have been disagreeing with his son for many years now. He is tough on his son which is realistic. This movie is not a total loss.
Betty White is Andrew's Grandma Annie. I have always liked her. But she loses it at the end and has a heart attack because of it. She was screaming at Joe for always fighting with Andrew. Andrew's relationship with his father is familiar but worse than most. Annie survives but Maggie escapes back to New York.
Most of the movie occurs in Alaska. Joe and Grace are quite successful. They own almost all of the businesses in town. Joe wants Andrew to return and continue the family businesses. Not sure why he turns this down, he could possibly spread the small empire. Andrew has a cute local girl who he could pursue as well. But Andrew does not want to remain in the small town, up in the middle of no where. Tough call.
Maggie has been Andrew's supervisor for 3 years. She has ran him ragged, she does not have a life of her own. Her character is comprable to Meryl Streep's disgusting character in The Devil Wears Prada. Hard to believe that character was based on a true homo sapien. After they inform the company leadership of their intention and surpass INS for the time being, the weekend is on the verge of commencing. Andrew's family is having a party and Maggie takes advantage of this. So they fly to Alaska. Maggie is a city girl but her wardrobe is just ridiculous. She over packs. The funny thing about this is that Andrew knows she needs him more than he needs her so he picks on her and forces her to carry her own luggage. The movie would have been unbearable if it was the other way around.
There is some funny parts in Alaska. Maggie and Andrew agree to get married in Alaska, in the barn. No joke. Certainly not Maggie's dream. They are about to get married by one of the family employees. Not even a priest. The movie is sort of strange her. Another odd part is when Annie is dancing around the fire in a pagan worship of nature in the middle of the forest. Hollywood is often anti church but this is just striking. The guy marrying them is also the guy who strips for the females in an all woman's club. Whatever.
The musical score is nonexistent. I did laugh in several scenes but nothing was spectacular. The tiger scene in Hangover was hilarious for example.
I allocate this movie one star.*
Friday, June 19, 2009
Imagine That
I have and will always enjoy being entertained by Eddie Murphy. In part, because he is exactly that, entertaining. Not with nominal appeal, actual appeal. He is hilarious and has talent that only a few possess.
He plays Evan Danielson who works as a professional trader with a small but mighty brokerage firm. This firm is based in Denver which I enhanced the movie since I have weary of movies that take place in the same old cities-New York and LA. Denver is a sizeable city and there is nothing wrong at all for a movie with that as its setting.
Evan has moved up the ranks in this firm and is on the verge of becoming its CEO. He has some serious hurdles he must eclipse though. Two of them in fact. His relationship with his daughter and family are becoming troublesome and could affect his mindset. He also has some fierce competition with firm newcomer Johnny Whitefeather played by Thomas Haden Church. Interesting seeing this actor in a comedy like this. I am sure he was excited to have this opportunity to play in a light hearted film such as this.
Johnny is a rising star and he is challenging Evan to consume the mantle of this small but prestegious outfit. Evan uses his Indian charm and charisma to woo potential clients and guide him to making smart investing choices. It is pretty incredible though, and mostly fictional, how he was able to gain access to already firm's clients that have been working with Evan. That would never occur. Ronny Cox from Beverly Hills Cop plays Tom Stevens, Evans supervisor. Wow, time just flies by. Tom and Eddie's characters butted heads on investigative protocol in those movies every time. Those were action comedies set in the 1980's. This modern day comedy has them on a more cordial relationship. Ofcourse it is amacable since Tom is considering retiring to Wakiki and distributing the reigns to Evan.
But Tom has a risky strategy and possibly one that could devastate his plans. The clients or investors could see these co working competitors as a headache and just move to another brokerage firm that is more pleasant. No company would risk this. They would expect this newbie to bring some of his contacts with him and for him to generate his own business for the partnership. In addition, Evan in real life, would go berzerk not stand for a co employee to take over his meetings with clients he has been working with for years. And Tom would not upset a long time winner for him and his company and undermine him like this. Oh well, it is just a story.
Evan not only has this native American man to be concerned about. He has his cute daughter
Olivia Danielson played by Yara Shahidi to contend with. Olivia has a tendency to spend alot of her free time and even school time in a fictional setting. She goes to another world and talks to these imaginary friends. Why the mother is not concerned about this is beyond me. The daughter is not that young and even if she was, a counselor would probably have to be sought out. Peer pressure usually comes before the counselor though. Olivia's school mates would harrass this tendency out of her. A couple of crying episodes and this manifestational proclivity would be rooted out.
Evan is called away from work at a pivotal moment since his daughter refuses to return to class after morning recess. A small blanket she has acts as a portal to this fallacious dimension. This days seems to be a wash. Ofcourse Evan also works out of the home. Anyone who has ever worked sales can attest to this, sales is never ending. Evan takes her to work with him the next day. When he steps out of the office, Olivia scribbles all over his notes for his presentation with this retirement fund. Evan, in a pit of rage, grabs the notes and walks into this office and embarrasses himself. He offers the advice that Olivia's goofy friends have told her and she colors the responses on Evan's notes. Evan spits this garbage out like only Eddie Murphy can do. After the meeting is adjourned and Johnny is on cloud nine, Evan is summoned into Tom's office. Tom is amazed. Evan's advice on which companies are hot turn out to be true. Evan is shocked but keeps that feeling concealed.
The plot of the movie unfolds here. It is totally fiction though, a CEO or powerful manager would ever allow another co worker to talk to already tied in customers. But OK, looking past this, Evan builds a relationship with his daughter and enters this world. It is never revealed if this real but Evan plays along with it for professional and personal reasons. Olivia is always the one who talks to these imaginary characters but somehow they offer 100% correct investment advice using symbolic and wacky language. Olivia is the interpreter. Johnny uses Evan's old working partner to discover what Evan is doing. Johnny realizes the blanket is the key and seeks his own out and forces his son to find an imaginary world to offer him investment advice. Pretty sickening. A local Indian tribe informs Johnny the blanket works best through the innocence of a child. The night before Tom wants the buyout firm to choose a new CEO, Evan and Johnny try to find the ultimate answers.
Evan is married to Nicole Ari Parker who has gorgeous and stunning eyes. Tricia Danielson
is her given name in this movie. She has divorced Evan probably because he has been a poor father and too consumed with his career.
A goofy liberal named Alec Baldwin played a part in The Departed where he was a conservative or atleast praised The Patriot Act. I always thought that was fascinating. Here we go again, Martin Sheen's turn. IMBD does not give him credence for this film. Martin is a wealthy privateer who wants to swallow up this brokerage firm but not before he knows it has a strong leader. This is what pits Evan and Johnny against each other. Both resort to acting like goof balls. Evan wins and Johnny is finally shown for the imposter he is. He is only 1/32nd Indian if that makes any sense. Johnny has been acting like he was 100% native American. In reality, Martin would have been more upset with Tom for allowing this nutcase to run away with this act and even challenge a long time outstanding performer like Evan. Oh well.
When the blanket and the so called fake world are needed, Evan's daughter is attending a friend's party. Ofcourse if she is living in a parallel universe, she would not have any actual friends. Evan's friend, the human whisperer, is too shallow or narrow minded to see the bond that has been recently formed by Evan and his daughter. This former NFL star does not allow Evan near his daughter which is crime. Nevertheless, Evan is too focused to realize his daughter is at the party. He did not think ahead. He did not have a contingency plan which anyone who has excelled in the business world would know about.
The ending has Olivia saying good by to these friends and is willing to relinquish the blanket. This blanket for many months now, I assume, perhaps a year, has become a part of her like her left arm. She would scream whenever Evan tried to separate her from it.
Evan is able to seek some solace though on that Friday night and works up an outstanding plan for Martin. But this Saturday meeting will cause him to miss his daughter's recital. After Johnny flops and is called out by Martin, Evan walks out. This impresses Martin and appears a couple hours later in the park where Evan is with his family. Martin will head this brokerage firm. He has earned it and grew along the way.
The movie was interesting. It was not Coming to America but still good. It had some legs to it and involved topics which I can relate too-investing and decision making.
I give it three stars.***
He plays Evan Danielson who works as a professional trader with a small but mighty brokerage firm. This firm is based in Denver which I enhanced the movie since I have weary of movies that take place in the same old cities-New York and LA. Denver is a sizeable city and there is nothing wrong at all for a movie with that as its setting.
Evan has moved up the ranks in this firm and is on the verge of becoming its CEO. He has some serious hurdles he must eclipse though. Two of them in fact. His relationship with his daughter and family are becoming troublesome and could affect his mindset. He also has some fierce competition with firm newcomer Johnny Whitefeather played by Thomas Haden Church. Interesting seeing this actor in a comedy like this. I am sure he was excited to have this opportunity to play in a light hearted film such as this.
Johnny is a rising star and he is challenging Evan to consume the mantle of this small but prestegious outfit. Evan uses his Indian charm and charisma to woo potential clients and guide him to making smart investing choices. It is pretty incredible though, and mostly fictional, how he was able to gain access to already firm's clients that have been working with Evan. That would never occur. Ronny Cox from Beverly Hills Cop plays Tom Stevens, Evans supervisor. Wow, time just flies by. Tom and Eddie's characters butted heads on investigative protocol in those movies every time. Those were action comedies set in the 1980's. This modern day comedy has them on a more cordial relationship. Ofcourse it is amacable since Tom is considering retiring to Wakiki and distributing the reigns to Evan.
But Tom has a risky strategy and possibly one that could devastate his plans. The clients or investors could see these co working competitors as a headache and just move to another brokerage firm that is more pleasant. No company would risk this. They would expect this newbie to bring some of his contacts with him and for him to generate his own business for the partnership. In addition, Evan in real life, would go berzerk not stand for a co employee to take over his meetings with clients he has been working with for years. And Tom would not upset a long time winner for him and his company and undermine him like this. Oh well, it is just a story.
Evan not only has this native American man to be concerned about. He has his cute daughter
Olivia Danielson played by Yara Shahidi to contend with. Olivia has a tendency to spend alot of her free time and even school time in a fictional setting. She goes to another world and talks to these imaginary friends. Why the mother is not concerned about this is beyond me. The daughter is not that young and even if she was, a counselor would probably have to be sought out. Peer pressure usually comes before the counselor though. Olivia's school mates would harrass this tendency out of her. A couple of crying episodes and this manifestational proclivity would be rooted out.
Evan is called away from work at a pivotal moment since his daughter refuses to return to class after morning recess. A small blanket she has acts as a portal to this fallacious dimension. This days seems to be a wash. Ofcourse Evan also works out of the home. Anyone who has ever worked sales can attest to this, sales is never ending. Evan takes her to work with him the next day. When he steps out of the office, Olivia scribbles all over his notes for his presentation with this retirement fund. Evan, in a pit of rage, grabs the notes and walks into this office and embarrasses himself. He offers the advice that Olivia's goofy friends have told her and she colors the responses on Evan's notes. Evan spits this garbage out like only Eddie Murphy can do. After the meeting is adjourned and Johnny is on cloud nine, Evan is summoned into Tom's office. Tom is amazed. Evan's advice on which companies are hot turn out to be true. Evan is shocked but keeps that feeling concealed.
The plot of the movie unfolds here. It is totally fiction though, a CEO or powerful manager would ever allow another co worker to talk to already tied in customers. But OK, looking past this, Evan builds a relationship with his daughter and enters this world. It is never revealed if this real but Evan plays along with it for professional and personal reasons. Olivia is always the one who talks to these imaginary characters but somehow they offer 100% correct investment advice using symbolic and wacky language. Olivia is the interpreter. Johnny uses Evan's old working partner to discover what Evan is doing. Johnny realizes the blanket is the key and seeks his own out and forces his son to find an imaginary world to offer him investment advice. Pretty sickening. A local Indian tribe informs Johnny the blanket works best through the innocence of a child. The night before Tom wants the buyout firm to choose a new CEO, Evan and Johnny try to find the ultimate answers.
Evan is married to Nicole Ari Parker who has gorgeous and stunning eyes. Tricia Danielson
is her given name in this movie. She has divorced Evan probably because he has been a poor father and too consumed with his career.
A goofy liberal named Alec Baldwin played a part in The Departed where he was a conservative or atleast praised The Patriot Act. I always thought that was fascinating. Here we go again, Martin Sheen's turn. IMBD does not give him credence for this film. Martin is a wealthy privateer who wants to swallow up this brokerage firm but not before he knows it has a strong leader. This is what pits Evan and Johnny against each other. Both resort to acting like goof balls. Evan wins and Johnny is finally shown for the imposter he is. He is only 1/32nd Indian if that makes any sense. Johnny has been acting like he was 100% native American. In reality, Martin would have been more upset with Tom for allowing this nutcase to run away with this act and even challenge a long time outstanding performer like Evan. Oh well.
When the blanket and the so called fake world are needed, Evan's daughter is attending a friend's party. Ofcourse if she is living in a parallel universe, she would not have any actual friends. Evan's friend, the human whisperer, is too shallow or narrow minded to see the bond that has been recently formed by Evan and his daughter. This former NFL star does not allow Evan near his daughter which is crime. Nevertheless, Evan is too focused to realize his daughter is at the party. He did not think ahead. He did not have a contingency plan which anyone who has excelled in the business world would know about.
The ending has Olivia saying good by to these friends and is willing to relinquish the blanket. This blanket for many months now, I assume, perhaps a year, has become a part of her like her left arm. She would scream whenever Evan tried to separate her from it.
Evan is able to seek some solace though on that Friday night and works up an outstanding plan for Martin. But this Saturday meeting will cause him to miss his daughter's recital. After Johnny flops and is called out by Martin, Evan walks out. This impresses Martin and appears a couple hours later in the park where Evan is with his family. Martin will head this brokerage firm. He has earned it and grew along the way.
The movie was interesting. It was not Coming to America but still good. It had some legs to it and involved topics which I can relate too-investing and decision making.
I give it three stars.***
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3
I guess I should have known what a motor man was before I saw this movie. I know it has something to do with a city's Department of Transportation.
Denzel Washington performs well in another movie pointing the hero finger at him. Walter Garber is his name and he is a director in the transportation department in NYC. Washington is not the reason to watch this movie. His character is not that appealing but that was the way it was written. John Travolta is the reason to watch this film. He has taken some time off and he had a heavy personal loss. He is the villian in this movie but this villian is meaner than his crazy persona in Broken Arrow. He shared the nutcase role in Faceoff with Nicolas Cage. That character, probably one of the most wicked of them all, Castor Troy, was a long lasting and a professional terrorist. The character in Pelham, named Ryder, is a bad ass in his own right. He is not a true sociopath though, no way. He is only interested in making a fortune.
Ryder hijacks a subway train and directs the conductor to take the subway train into a strategic location. Ryder demands $10 million from the city of New York in cash. The viewer thinks this is about that money and only that money. But the movie is good to me since I enjoy financial discussions. This cash demand from the city is only a ploy for something bigger.
Luis Guzmán is one the team of Ryder's. Phil Ramos is his name and he used to be a subway conducter but he tossed that away with stupidity and spent time in prison because of it. Ryder and Ramos spent time in prison together and that is where they most likely hatched this devious plan. Two other hired guns were on the team as well to keep the hostages at bay and to ward off police SWAT teams that ofcourse would be called into this conflict.
Ryder negotiates with Garber for the most part. He treats others like trash and has the advantage since he has hostages at bay. And he has shown the willingness to kill. He kills the conductor right in the beginning when the city does not satisfy one of his demands quick enough. One the people Garber treats poorly is James Gandolfini's character who is the Mayor of the city. He is an average mayor but he is not Rudolph Guliani. And the great mayor is shown some respect in the beginning with a sharp comment centering on his resolute image.
John Turturro is the city's hostage negotiator named Camonetti. When they let Garber go home in the beginning, relieving him of this situation, Camonetti takes command. Ryder is not OK with this, and this is what leads to a hostage to be vanquished. Garber is quickly run down but it is right after the conducter is shot down in cold blood by Ryder.
Ryder made some comments in the movie about him serving breakfast, so I thought he worked at Ihop or something like that. But I knew he had financial knowledge right in the beginning since he quickly turned to numbers with Garber. It is later revealed Ryder siphoned off money from a public employee's retirement fund, something like this and this is why he was sent to prison. Two million dollars though was not recovered and this is the cornerstone of this crime. Ryder creates panic in gold or the market in general by this heinous act and he has shorted the market. He may have used a spot or timed by since he mentioned this in the beginning. Either way, he was betting the market would decline and at the end of this movie, he turned $2 million into over $300 million. Incredible. An outstanding plan.
Ryder's plan is ingenious because he probably told his partners in crime they would all receive $2.5 million dollars. He made them carry the money bags at the end which probably did not bother them at all. This made them an obvious target for the police. He probably did not even inform these knuckleheads how much money he was going to come out with. And if his plan did not work, he would have a little more money than what he started off with but in cash. The main problem though is, he has sinned greatly. Mayhem needed to be created to spark this market plummet.
The movie had some good hip hop music at the outset. It was exciting. Ryder had a potty mouth and the work f--- and its brothers and sisters were used repeatedly in this movie. This did not bother me that much. It was just interesting because I have never heard Travolta toss this language out with so much frequency. I doubt that many Wall Street guys like this are mavericks like this, or as cold hearted. Many Wall Streeters have courage, farsightedness and are willing to take risk, but Ryder is cut above them all. He is also greedy and tossed away his life, two different times.
I really like the plan. But this movie is a remake, it is not original. It is hard to judge. It is not Star Trek or Wolverine by no means but it was entertaining.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
Denzel Washington performs well in another movie pointing the hero finger at him. Walter Garber is his name and he is a director in the transportation department in NYC. Washington is not the reason to watch this movie. His character is not that appealing but that was the way it was written. John Travolta is the reason to watch this film. He has taken some time off and he had a heavy personal loss. He is the villian in this movie but this villian is meaner than his crazy persona in Broken Arrow. He shared the nutcase role in Faceoff with Nicolas Cage. That character, probably one of the most wicked of them all, Castor Troy, was a long lasting and a professional terrorist. The character in Pelham, named Ryder, is a bad ass in his own right. He is not a true sociopath though, no way. He is only interested in making a fortune.
Ryder hijacks a subway train and directs the conductor to take the subway train into a strategic location. Ryder demands $10 million from the city of New York in cash. The viewer thinks this is about that money and only that money. But the movie is good to me since I enjoy financial discussions. This cash demand from the city is only a ploy for something bigger.
Luis Guzmán is one the team of Ryder's. Phil Ramos is his name and he used to be a subway conducter but he tossed that away with stupidity and spent time in prison because of it. Ryder and Ramos spent time in prison together and that is where they most likely hatched this devious plan. Two other hired guns were on the team as well to keep the hostages at bay and to ward off police SWAT teams that ofcourse would be called into this conflict.
Ryder negotiates with Garber for the most part. He treats others like trash and has the advantage since he has hostages at bay. And he has shown the willingness to kill. He kills the conductor right in the beginning when the city does not satisfy one of his demands quick enough. One the people Garber treats poorly is James Gandolfini's character who is the Mayor of the city. He is an average mayor but he is not Rudolph Guliani. And the great mayor is shown some respect in the beginning with a sharp comment centering on his resolute image.
John Turturro is the city's hostage negotiator named Camonetti. When they let Garber go home in the beginning, relieving him of this situation, Camonetti takes command. Ryder is not OK with this, and this is what leads to a hostage to be vanquished. Garber is quickly run down but it is right after the conducter is shot down in cold blood by Ryder.
Ryder made some comments in the movie about him serving breakfast, so I thought he worked at Ihop or something like that. But I knew he had financial knowledge right in the beginning since he quickly turned to numbers with Garber. It is later revealed Ryder siphoned off money from a public employee's retirement fund, something like this and this is why he was sent to prison. Two million dollars though was not recovered and this is the cornerstone of this crime. Ryder creates panic in gold or the market in general by this heinous act and he has shorted the market. He may have used a spot or timed by since he mentioned this in the beginning. Either way, he was betting the market would decline and at the end of this movie, he turned $2 million into over $300 million. Incredible. An outstanding plan.
Ryder's plan is ingenious because he probably told his partners in crime they would all receive $2.5 million dollars. He made them carry the money bags at the end which probably did not bother them at all. This made them an obvious target for the police. He probably did not even inform these knuckleheads how much money he was going to come out with. And if his plan did not work, he would have a little more money than what he started off with but in cash. The main problem though is, he has sinned greatly. Mayhem needed to be created to spark this market plummet.
The movie had some good hip hop music at the outset. It was exciting. Ryder had a potty mouth and the work f--- and its brothers and sisters were used repeatedly in this movie. This did not bother me that much. It was just interesting because I have never heard Travolta toss this language out with so much frequency. I doubt that many Wall Street guys like this are mavericks like this, or as cold hearted. Many Wall Streeters have courage, farsightedness and are willing to take risk, but Ryder is cut above them all. He is also greedy and tossed away his life, two different times.
I really like the plan. But this movie is a remake, it is not original. It is hard to judge. It is not Star Trek or Wolverine by no means but it was entertaining.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Holes
Shia LaBeouf stars in this movie. He has two names since he was given a nickname in the prison camp he was sent to. It is working juvenile hall. Stanley Yelnats IV / 'Caveman' are his two names. I wanted to watch this movie since I wanted to see Shia in one of his first movies. This was back in 2003, the last full year I was in the navy. I did not see this movie then because it was not appealing and I had no idea Shia would become a major star. Though knowing he would be an international sensation still would not have compelled me to either rent this movie or go out of my way to see this movie over the ones I chose to see at that time.
Shia is a regular teenage boy who happens to be in a family that has a terrible string of luck. They had a curse or hex put on them by a black female European gypsy. I do not believe in this stuff and I am not sure how bad his family's luck was or is. They have a home and seem to eat all of their meals. Bad luck? An American fallacious idea. Go to most of Mexico, the Sudan, or Venezuela, one will see bad luck beyond comprehension. Especially in Sudan and Somalia.
Jon Voight is hilarious in this movie. Pretty incredible he would take on a part of Marion Sevillo / 'Mr. Sir'. But he did. So Transformers was not the first time Shia and Jon have been included in the same movie. In Holes, Mr. Sir is just a goofball. This movie has some fictional lizards that chase humans but they do not call for anyone to act like a total nut like Sevillo does.
This movie centers around these kids digging holes. I am sure they receive one day off a week, but every other day is focused on each one digging holes. They must dig a hole every day that equals the depth of how the tall the shovel is. They dig in the hot sun, in the Texas desert. It is a dried up lake bed and this cheap labor is being exploited. I do not care much and neither should society since everyone of them accept Shia is a child criminal. Punishment is due. The punk teenagers are told that digging holes will build their character. Which carries some truth but there is another reason they are digging these holes every day in orange coveralls.
Sigourney Weaver plays Warden Walker who slaps the crap out of Mr. Sir in one scene which is hilarious. Mr. Sir is a hilarious name as well. The Warden is obsessed with these holes. This area has some history in it. I am not going to explain this. This film has alot of characters in it that is for sure. Patricia Arquette plays Miss Kathryn 'Kissin' Kate' Barlow who rejected the mayor's proposals toward her and she fell for a local black handyman. So the mayor and his sinister buddies burned down her school house. So Kissin Kate turned to murder and mayhem and kissed the fellows after she killed them. She turned herself into a monster when it would have been justified to avenge just the fellows that burned down her school house. Where were the parents on this town, their children just lost their school house? Whatever. But this town and lake no longer exist 100 years in the future. It resembles not an oasis but a dust bowl.
Every time I see Weaver I am looking around for aliens and waiting for her to pull out a powerful machine gun with a flame thrower attached. She is a peculiar warden and is nice to the children only if it involves digging holes. Shia is teaching a friend to read in the evenings while this is a tradeoff for this boy digging his hole in the day. Not a bad deal. This boy loves to dig holes and is curious to also learn how to read. The warden puts an end to this after their work mates complain. They are jealous of this arrangement. Most losers would be. And the world is full of them. They do not even care that this child is illiterate. Their priorities are so sloppy and twisted.
The doctor is not any different. Tim Blake Nelson from the outstanding movie Brother, Where Out Thou, plays Dr. Pendanski. He does call these wayward youths by their proper names but he does not care a lick that this young boy can not read. He is derogatory in nature and directs the word stupid at him relentlessly. This is horrible and his license should be pulled or he should be given additional training. When this boy knocks him out with a shovel, that is hilarious. The so called doctor deserved it.
Pendanski is not a doctor as it turns out. Somehow Walker was able to set up shop and the state provided her with cheap labor. Sevillo is arrested at the end, apparently he is in violation of his parole. All three have broken numerous laws. But in typical Hollywood fashion, the authority figures are the villians and the gangster, losers, punks, cheaters, and theives are given a free pass.
Mr. Sir is not just not bright. He should have learned after he had his sunflower seeds stolen do not keep his keys in the ignition. He should have ensured that only one to two juvenile delinquents could fill up their containers with water. Do severly reduce the chance for any shenanigans involving his truck. Well, his truck is hijacked by Caveman and eventually driven into one of the holes that was dug out. He runs after this, finding Zero hiding out in a hole in the middle the desolate landscape. Apparently Kissin Kate has left behind some food sealed in some jars that still has some flavor and value to it. She ended up being killed by one of the lizards in the area that has a lethal bite to it. She died happy and satisfied though. No lizard of this size and poisonous mortality exists in the world and in America. Running and jumping at humans, I do not think so.
Caveman and his friend Zero, climb this mountain at the end that looks like a thumb. Both almost die doing this. At the summit, they find some running water and massively large and delicious onions. They return and find the treasure the warden has been using the free labor to dig for for many years. Caveman's family has hired a lawyer who is putting pressure on the warden to release Caveman. The warden's greed cost her, she should have relinquished cavemen and she could have continued her treasure quest. She should have said Caveman ran off and cooperated right in the beginning with the outside authorities. This juvenile detention center reminded me of the work camp Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence spent time at in the magnificent movie called Life.
This movie was entertaining. A couple scenes from the past were sort of dull and uninteresting. This gave Shia a spotlight. I am surprised he did not obtain more roles after this. His small roles in iRobot and Constantine seem like poor follow ups to this work but it is what it is. Shia's curly hair in this movie was suprising. This was a full length movie with many characters. But I am tired of seeing producers portrary odious characters as OK human beings. Some of those kids would improve once they were released, too many would recidivate though. The movie was a success though and carried a solid storyline. Too many movies now are just too short.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
Shia is a regular teenage boy who happens to be in a family that has a terrible string of luck. They had a curse or hex put on them by a black female European gypsy. I do not believe in this stuff and I am not sure how bad his family's luck was or is. They have a home and seem to eat all of their meals. Bad luck? An American fallacious idea. Go to most of Mexico, the Sudan, or Venezuela, one will see bad luck beyond comprehension. Especially in Sudan and Somalia.
Jon Voight is hilarious in this movie. Pretty incredible he would take on a part of Marion Sevillo / 'Mr. Sir'. But he did. So Transformers was not the first time Shia and Jon have been included in the same movie. In Holes, Mr. Sir is just a goofball. This movie has some fictional lizards that chase humans but they do not call for anyone to act like a total nut like Sevillo does.
This movie centers around these kids digging holes. I am sure they receive one day off a week, but every other day is focused on each one digging holes. They must dig a hole every day that equals the depth of how the tall the shovel is. They dig in the hot sun, in the Texas desert. It is a dried up lake bed and this cheap labor is being exploited. I do not care much and neither should society since everyone of them accept Shia is a child criminal. Punishment is due. The punk teenagers are told that digging holes will build their character. Which carries some truth but there is another reason they are digging these holes every day in orange coveralls.
Sigourney Weaver plays Warden Walker who slaps the crap out of Mr. Sir in one scene which is hilarious. Mr. Sir is a hilarious name as well. The Warden is obsessed with these holes. This area has some history in it. I am not going to explain this. This film has alot of characters in it that is for sure. Patricia Arquette plays Miss Kathryn 'Kissin' Kate' Barlow who rejected the mayor's proposals toward her and she fell for a local black handyman. So the mayor and his sinister buddies burned down her school house. So Kissin Kate turned to murder and mayhem and kissed the fellows after she killed them. She turned herself into a monster when it would have been justified to avenge just the fellows that burned down her school house. Where were the parents on this town, their children just lost their school house? Whatever. But this town and lake no longer exist 100 years in the future. It resembles not an oasis but a dust bowl.
Every time I see Weaver I am looking around for aliens and waiting for her to pull out a powerful machine gun with a flame thrower attached. She is a peculiar warden and is nice to the children only if it involves digging holes. Shia is teaching a friend to read in the evenings while this is a tradeoff for this boy digging his hole in the day. Not a bad deal. This boy loves to dig holes and is curious to also learn how to read. The warden puts an end to this after their work mates complain. They are jealous of this arrangement. Most losers would be. And the world is full of them. They do not even care that this child is illiterate. Their priorities are so sloppy and twisted.
The doctor is not any different. Tim Blake Nelson from the outstanding movie Brother, Where Out Thou, plays Dr. Pendanski. He does call these wayward youths by their proper names but he does not care a lick that this young boy can not read. He is derogatory in nature and directs the word stupid at him relentlessly. This is horrible and his license should be pulled or he should be given additional training. When this boy knocks him out with a shovel, that is hilarious. The so called doctor deserved it.
Pendanski is not a doctor as it turns out. Somehow Walker was able to set up shop and the state provided her with cheap labor. Sevillo is arrested at the end, apparently he is in violation of his parole. All three have broken numerous laws. But in typical Hollywood fashion, the authority figures are the villians and the gangster, losers, punks, cheaters, and theives are given a free pass.
Mr. Sir is not just not bright. He should have learned after he had his sunflower seeds stolen do not keep his keys in the ignition. He should have ensured that only one to two juvenile delinquents could fill up their containers with water. Do severly reduce the chance for any shenanigans involving his truck. Well, his truck is hijacked by Caveman and eventually driven into one of the holes that was dug out. He runs after this, finding Zero hiding out in a hole in the middle the desolate landscape. Apparently Kissin Kate has left behind some food sealed in some jars that still has some flavor and value to it. She ended up being killed by one of the lizards in the area that has a lethal bite to it. She died happy and satisfied though. No lizard of this size and poisonous mortality exists in the world and in America. Running and jumping at humans, I do not think so.
Caveman and his friend Zero, climb this mountain at the end that looks like a thumb. Both almost die doing this. At the summit, they find some running water and massively large and delicious onions. They return and find the treasure the warden has been using the free labor to dig for for many years. Caveman's family has hired a lawyer who is putting pressure on the warden to release Caveman. The warden's greed cost her, she should have relinquished cavemen and she could have continued her treasure quest. She should have said Caveman ran off and cooperated right in the beginning with the outside authorities. This juvenile detention center reminded me of the work camp Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence spent time at in the magnificent movie called Life.
This movie was entertaining. A couple scenes from the past were sort of dull and uninteresting. This gave Shia a spotlight. I am surprised he did not obtain more roles after this. His small roles in iRobot and Constantine seem like poor follow ups to this work but it is what it is. Shia's curly hair in this movie was suprising. This was a full length movie with many characters. But I am tired of seeing producers portrary odious characters as OK human beings. Some of those kids would improve once they were released, too many would recidivate though. The movie was a success though and carried a solid storyline. Too many movies now are just too short.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
The Combination
No one in this movie is worth mentioning. There is not alot of acting in this movie, just people acting like people. This movie occurs in Sydney, Australia. The movie centers around the Lebanese minority and recently arrived immigrants. Many of the youth have turned to gangs and selling drugs. Apparently they have chosen not to give life a chance before they toss it away. I have little sympathy for these types. I thought Australia was more stringent on who they allow in their country. I guess they are as foolish as America.
This gang consists of minorities, not just Lebanese.
One brother was just released from prison and the younger one is headed that way. I suppose it is better he has an N.W.A. and Tupac poster on his wall than Osama bin Ladin. Ice Cube makes better music than he did 20 years ago, but that is another story.
The older brother falls for a native female Australian. Obviously that generates a cultural clash. We have seen this before. The parents of the girl offer her an ultimatum, lose the brown skin boyfriend or move out of our nice home. The older brother does not have a place of his own, he works at a gym for a few hundred dollars a week. He did not have any where to live when he was released from prison.
The younger brother has prolems of his own. His friends have formed a gang and a couple are selling drugs for a local drug trafficker. They have obsene and intimidating haircuts illustrating they want to be seen and recognized. One carries a gun as well and is a menace to society. The older brother knows that his younger brother is headed no where fast and they argue about this issue on a number of occasions. The younger brother realizes his older brother is correct and was on the verge of jumping off the path to no where. But he sucked back into the mess when his older brother locates the $15000 worth of cocaine and has flushed it down the toilet. Not good. The older brother wins the subsequent physical confrontation but the problem still remains.
Before this occurs the younger brother's gangster friend shoots a white schoolmate at a club. This is a murder and he is promptly arrested. Racism resides in strength in Australia. This movie shows clips from the white rising up and pounding a few minorities for acting stupid at a beach several years ago. I remember seeing this on the news. This plotline involved some native Australian schoolmates in a rivalry opposed to the immigrants moving in and not assimilating. This same friction occurs in many countries. Including Las Angeles and certain other cities and countries. The French, English, and other western European countries have similiar concerns and have already faced race riots from minorities. Primarily from Arab immigrans who just do not get it, refuse to assimilate, and some have chosen to act like hooligans. The Europeans should not have allowed these folks in their country but they needed the labor. The US has allowed a large influx of Mexicans to perform the dirty and agriculture work but Mexicans are mostly Catholic and not that much different than the Pakistani and native English citizens for instance. I wish the USA would form a zero immigration policy unless the immigrant brings a trade, vital skill, and/or higher educational accomplishments to the table. 310,000,000 people is enough for us. Australia has tough standards but apparently there has been some miscalculations.
Back to the story. The older brother knows the situation is at a climax when the professional gangster shoots up his home with is bother and grandmother in the home. This is now Lebanese on Lebanese violence. Though the large muscle who works with this gangster appears to have some Pacific Islander in him. The older brother goes to the gym late at night to pound the bag-to release some steam. His supervisor, the gym owner, inquires about his frustration. He can see the distrurbed countenance. The older brother says he needs to come up with $15000. His manager agrees to lend him the money if he takes back the boxing license and boxes for the manager. The older brother states he will be the best boxer he has ever seen. Hence, the title, the combination refers to his quick hands.
They pay off the aggressive drug dealer and the older brother warns him to stay away from his family. The bad ass gangster does not take wind. Two days later, he drive by shoots the younger brother with a sawed off shotgun. He even has the temerity to make an appearance at the funeral. Audacity beyond comprehension. Even the devil would say that is bold.
The brother wanted to pound him there but his supervisor said not yet and stood in between them.
The only brother now goes home and loads his handgun up. He leaves, with his mother's blessing, but not his girlfriends. The latter, ofourse the latter, already has revealed she is pregnant. To her consternation, she is watching things quickly and possibly unravel. This is after the brother has unleashed his true feelings to her. She is a pretty blond, this is a wise decision. Why she has put herself in this position is always befuddled me? Just because he stuck up for her in a park which occured earlier in the film?
The living brother somehow knows where this violent prone drug dealer lives. He disarms him by sneaking up on him and sticking his gun to his face. The drug dealer has not made any friends in the neighborhood. He pleads to his neighbors to call the police. How ironic. Atlantis Morisette knows about that. His neighbors do not call the police but urge the brother to destroy this damnable human being. The brother puts the gun down and the drug dealer realizes he will have a chance with his fists to live on. No chance. The brother is a trained fighter. And he offers a fusillade of punches to this killers face. A bullet would have been more kind and humane. The neighbors are crowding around this event. One of them, the nearest neighbor is goading the brother on. The brother stops his flurry of devastating combinations, he is about 2-3 punches from probably mortal results, gets up, and hands the gun to the most vocal neighbor. The neighbors here are all white. Funny thing, the brother probably would have completed the mission if it was not for the nearby pressure. This reminds me sort of Training Day, when the gangbanger(s) refuses to shoot Ethan Hawk and tells Denzel Washington you have to handle your own business in that neighborhood and slides him a piece on the street pavement.
Not sure if the Australian resident will finish off this gangster. It would be murder if he did. But the neighbors know this clown is a clear and present danger to them all. The brother does not seem to consider that if the neighbors do not take this obvious baneful person out, a month later, this atrocious criminal could come after him. But I think he knows that the community has marked him and his predatory days in the area have concluded.
The brother returns home to his life as a professional boxer and father. His mother will have a grandchild. Evil was vanquished. Regarding his brother, his brother made harmful decisions and this almost cost him a loss of a family member. It did cost him his own life. The sad thing is, the dumbass mother may never fully forgive the oldest brother for not setting the best example for his younger brother. But where was the father? Did she run him off? She was not instrumental in their upbringing. She was hands off and naive. Being a single mother is tough though but blaming it on the older brother is repugnant though.
The movie had some good music and told a powerful story. Not much originality here though. Societies all over the world have experienced and are exeriencing this similiar cultural epidemic. It will persist, unfortunately.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
This gang consists of minorities, not just Lebanese.
One brother was just released from prison and the younger one is headed that way. I suppose it is better he has an N.W.A. and Tupac poster on his wall than Osama bin Ladin. Ice Cube makes better music than he did 20 years ago, but that is another story.
The older brother falls for a native female Australian. Obviously that generates a cultural clash. We have seen this before. The parents of the girl offer her an ultimatum, lose the brown skin boyfriend or move out of our nice home. The older brother does not have a place of his own, he works at a gym for a few hundred dollars a week. He did not have any where to live when he was released from prison.
The younger brother has prolems of his own. His friends have formed a gang and a couple are selling drugs for a local drug trafficker. They have obsene and intimidating haircuts illustrating they want to be seen and recognized. One carries a gun as well and is a menace to society. The older brother knows that his younger brother is headed no where fast and they argue about this issue on a number of occasions. The younger brother realizes his older brother is correct and was on the verge of jumping off the path to no where. But he sucked back into the mess when his older brother locates the $15000 worth of cocaine and has flushed it down the toilet. Not good. The older brother wins the subsequent physical confrontation but the problem still remains.
Before this occurs the younger brother's gangster friend shoots a white schoolmate at a club. This is a murder and he is promptly arrested. Racism resides in strength in Australia. This movie shows clips from the white rising up and pounding a few minorities for acting stupid at a beach several years ago. I remember seeing this on the news. This plotline involved some native Australian schoolmates in a rivalry opposed to the immigrants moving in and not assimilating. This same friction occurs in many countries. Including Las Angeles and certain other cities and countries. The French, English, and other western European countries have similiar concerns and have already faced race riots from minorities. Primarily from Arab immigrans who just do not get it, refuse to assimilate, and some have chosen to act like hooligans. The Europeans should not have allowed these folks in their country but they needed the labor. The US has allowed a large influx of Mexicans to perform the dirty and agriculture work but Mexicans are mostly Catholic and not that much different than the Pakistani and native English citizens for instance. I wish the USA would form a zero immigration policy unless the immigrant brings a trade, vital skill, and/or higher educational accomplishments to the table. 310,000,000 people is enough for us. Australia has tough standards but apparently there has been some miscalculations.
Back to the story. The older brother knows the situation is at a climax when the professional gangster shoots up his home with is bother and grandmother in the home. This is now Lebanese on Lebanese violence. Though the large muscle who works with this gangster appears to have some Pacific Islander in him. The older brother goes to the gym late at night to pound the bag-to release some steam. His supervisor, the gym owner, inquires about his frustration. He can see the distrurbed countenance. The older brother says he needs to come up with $15000. His manager agrees to lend him the money if he takes back the boxing license and boxes for the manager. The older brother states he will be the best boxer he has ever seen. Hence, the title, the combination refers to his quick hands.
They pay off the aggressive drug dealer and the older brother warns him to stay away from his family. The bad ass gangster does not take wind. Two days later, he drive by shoots the younger brother with a sawed off shotgun. He even has the temerity to make an appearance at the funeral. Audacity beyond comprehension. Even the devil would say that is bold.
The brother wanted to pound him there but his supervisor said not yet and stood in between them.
The only brother now goes home and loads his handgun up. He leaves, with his mother's blessing, but not his girlfriends. The latter, ofourse the latter, already has revealed she is pregnant. To her consternation, she is watching things quickly and possibly unravel. This is after the brother has unleashed his true feelings to her. She is a pretty blond, this is a wise decision. Why she has put herself in this position is always befuddled me? Just because he stuck up for her in a park which occured earlier in the film?
The living brother somehow knows where this violent prone drug dealer lives. He disarms him by sneaking up on him and sticking his gun to his face. The drug dealer has not made any friends in the neighborhood. He pleads to his neighbors to call the police. How ironic. Atlantis Morisette knows about that. His neighbors do not call the police but urge the brother to destroy this damnable human being. The brother puts the gun down and the drug dealer realizes he will have a chance with his fists to live on. No chance. The brother is a trained fighter. And he offers a fusillade of punches to this killers face. A bullet would have been more kind and humane. The neighbors are crowding around this event. One of them, the nearest neighbor is goading the brother on. The brother stops his flurry of devastating combinations, he is about 2-3 punches from probably mortal results, gets up, and hands the gun to the most vocal neighbor. The neighbors here are all white. Funny thing, the brother probably would have completed the mission if it was not for the nearby pressure. This reminds me sort of Training Day, when the gangbanger(s) refuses to shoot Ethan Hawk and tells Denzel Washington you have to handle your own business in that neighborhood and slides him a piece on the street pavement.
Not sure if the Australian resident will finish off this gangster. It would be murder if he did. But the neighbors know this clown is a clear and present danger to them all. The brother does not seem to consider that if the neighbors do not take this obvious baneful person out, a month later, this atrocious criminal could come after him. But I think he knows that the community has marked him and his predatory days in the area have concluded.
The brother returns home to his life as a professional boxer and father. His mother will have a grandchild. Evil was vanquished. Regarding his brother, his brother made harmful decisions and this almost cost him a loss of a family member. It did cost him his own life. The sad thing is, the dumbass mother may never fully forgive the oldest brother for not setting the best example for his younger brother. But where was the father? Did she run him off? She was not instrumental in their upbringing. She was hands off and naive. Being a single mother is tough though but blaming it on the older brother is repugnant though.
The movie had some good music and told a powerful story. Not much originality here though. Societies all over the world have experienced and are exeriencing this similiar cultural epidemic. It will persist, unfortunately.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Land of the Lost
In this latest Will Ferrell incarnation, he fights and befriends dinosaurs and much more. The movie is not boring but the plot is so weak it is even more ridiculous than Harry Potter. Harry Potter's special effects are mesmerizing and certainly a massive dose of eye candy. This movie was based off a show that was on in the 1980's on Saturday morning. I probably did not watch it because it was pointless. The lizard people were so bizaare and fake, it was like a Holloween costume party. The costumes cost about $75 a piece, I am not sure of the intent of this movie. Hangover is 10 times the movie this is. This movie actually has negative value.
Dr. Rick Marshall is Ferrell's characters name. That is correct, he is a doctor which is already pretty outlandish with that frame of thought. Anna Friel was the pretty face in this movie. Which is not saying much since this movie was devoid of attractive females until the final scene. Holly Cantrell becomes the love interest of Marshall which is predictable. She is not really that appealing, I do not see the reason she won this role at all.
Danny McBride becomes Ferrell's sidekick in this movie. He does his job as Will Stanton who is a loser living in the middle of desert hawking dud firecrackers and who has a makeshift cave water ride. Marshall is a washed up scientist who has a theory that a parallel universe exists. The science in this movie is nothing that stimulates the mind like Star Trek. It is absurd and there is only about two real sentences describing Marshall's belief. Marshall finishes his electronic device with the inpiration from Cantrell. Marshall is ostracized from mainstream science for sharing his bizaare beliefs and attempting to promote them. So he resorts to teaching elementary science to make ends meat. This is perhaps the first real job he has ever had.
Cantrell appears out of no where since she confirms Marshall's theory when she finds a dinosaur imprint near a cigarette lighter imprint. They both are of the same time/era-something like that. Marshall busts his hump all night and completes his fantastical creation. Cantrell and Marshall go out to this location and they meet crazy boy Stanton. During his cave aquatic tour they are sucked into another dimension. They confront and run from a tyranosaurus rex. They run around the desert and in and out of a jungle. They are surrrounded by a velociraptors but are not attacked. Preposterous. The velociraptors were busy attacking an ice cream truck which appeared out of no where with the ice cream vendor. And he had white skin. Whatever.
The trio meat and save Jorma Taccone who is Cha-Ka from being killed by one of his own. He is a caveman who has a clear face but the rest of his body is fully covered with hair. Laughable. Cha-Ka betrays them at the end with the lizard race but the trio seem to over look this.
Marshall and Stanton grubbed on a giant lobster with Cha-Ka. This was mouth water. They had a giant lemon as well, that would be wonderful. Too bad they ended up performing some strange acts, or what appeared to be, with Cha-Ka. Cha-Ka gave Stanton and Marshall a natural hallucinogenic which led to these unmentionable acts. The movie is zany which very little suspense. Fellell was the right choice for this movie but I am not sure why a better script could not have been concocted.
This movie had some weak music. There were some funny scenes, most of them in the beginning. Stanton had the final laugh since he chose to remain back in this centerpoint universe because he was a loser in reality, why not give it a shot? I call it a centerpoint village since apparently everything from earth's past, or anything, can end up here. A viking boat is the first thing they come across for instance. He made the correct decision. Him and Cha-Ka become tight friends on their journey back to Cha-Ka's desert village. Upon arrival, about 6 gorgeous, half naked woman approach Stanton to spread the welcoming committee. He hit the jackpot.
Ferrell has a funny scene when a giant mosquito is just sucking his blood out of him. His loyal friends just sit their motionless. Anyone who loses that much blood would have to be put on life support and require a huge blood infusion. Oh well, the movie progresses.
Ferrell wins the t-rex's support at the end and this massive beast kills about 100 lizard men. Then Ferrell squares off with some sinister lizard man bent on destroying the earth. He overcomes this challenge is not really revealed. I guess it is because Stanton puts the Hitler like lizard in a choke hold. This movie was made for 10 year olds. Glad I saw it for free.
This movie is still better than Wicker Man. Ferrell did make me laugh several times. But this movie is a far cry from Taladega Nights. I am not sure who the developers of the show were. They must have signed off on this picture. If they were the designers of this terrible film, they get what they deserve. I am sure this will be a failure. Ben Stiller has this one beat but Hangover devastates both of these. Hangover is probably the best comedy in 2009.
I allocate this garbage movie one star.*
Dr. Rick Marshall is Ferrell's characters name. That is correct, he is a doctor which is already pretty outlandish with that frame of thought. Anna Friel was the pretty face in this movie. Which is not saying much since this movie was devoid of attractive females until the final scene. Holly Cantrell becomes the love interest of Marshall which is predictable. She is not really that appealing, I do not see the reason she won this role at all.
Danny McBride becomes Ferrell's sidekick in this movie. He does his job as Will Stanton who is a loser living in the middle of desert hawking dud firecrackers and who has a makeshift cave water ride. Marshall is a washed up scientist who has a theory that a parallel universe exists. The science in this movie is nothing that stimulates the mind like Star Trek. It is absurd and there is only about two real sentences describing Marshall's belief. Marshall finishes his electronic device with the inpiration from Cantrell. Marshall is ostracized from mainstream science for sharing his bizaare beliefs and attempting to promote them. So he resorts to teaching elementary science to make ends meat. This is perhaps the first real job he has ever had.
Cantrell appears out of no where since she confirms Marshall's theory when she finds a dinosaur imprint near a cigarette lighter imprint. They both are of the same time/era-something like that. Marshall busts his hump all night and completes his fantastical creation. Cantrell and Marshall go out to this location and they meet crazy boy Stanton. During his cave aquatic tour they are sucked into another dimension. They confront and run from a tyranosaurus rex. They run around the desert and in and out of a jungle. They are surrrounded by a velociraptors but are not attacked. Preposterous. The velociraptors were busy attacking an ice cream truck which appeared out of no where with the ice cream vendor. And he had white skin. Whatever.
The trio meat and save Jorma Taccone who is Cha-Ka from being killed by one of his own. He is a caveman who has a clear face but the rest of his body is fully covered with hair. Laughable. Cha-Ka betrays them at the end with the lizard race but the trio seem to over look this.
Marshall and Stanton grubbed on a giant lobster with Cha-Ka. This was mouth water. They had a giant lemon as well, that would be wonderful. Too bad they ended up performing some strange acts, or what appeared to be, with Cha-Ka. Cha-Ka gave Stanton and Marshall a natural hallucinogenic which led to these unmentionable acts. The movie is zany which very little suspense. Fellell was the right choice for this movie but I am not sure why a better script could not have been concocted.
This movie had some weak music. There were some funny scenes, most of them in the beginning. Stanton had the final laugh since he chose to remain back in this centerpoint universe because he was a loser in reality, why not give it a shot? I call it a centerpoint village since apparently everything from earth's past, or anything, can end up here. A viking boat is the first thing they come across for instance. He made the correct decision. Him and Cha-Ka become tight friends on their journey back to Cha-Ka's desert village. Upon arrival, about 6 gorgeous, half naked woman approach Stanton to spread the welcoming committee. He hit the jackpot.
Ferrell has a funny scene when a giant mosquito is just sucking his blood out of him. His loyal friends just sit their motionless. Anyone who loses that much blood would have to be put on life support and require a huge blood infusion. Oh well, the movie progresses.
Ferrell wins the t-rex's support at the end and this massive beast kills about 100 lizard men. Then Ferrell squares off with some sinister lizard man bent on destroying the earth. He overcomes this challenge is not really revealed. I guess it is because Stanton puts the Hitler like lizard in a choke hold. This movie was made for 10 year olds. Glad I saw it for free.
This movie is still better than Wicker Man. Ferrell did make me laugh several times. But this movie is a far cry from Taladega Nights. I am not sure who the developers of the show were. They must have signed off on this picture. If they were the designers of this terrible film, they get what they deserve. I am sure this will be a failure. Ben Stiller has this one beat but Hangover devastates both of these. Hangover is probably the best comedy in 2009.
I allocate this garbage movie one star.*
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Hangover
This movie is original. Who would think that that could be said about a movie where some guys go to Las Vegas for a bachelor's party and have a wild night? Not likely to be a fresh idea. The reason this is original is because the wild night was not shown but the affects of this psychotic episode is revealed in the consequences of what occured during the night the following day.
Bradley Cooper is Phil Wenneck and is up and coming movie star. His buddies are relatively unknown. One is Ed Helms who plays Stu Price. Another is Zach Galifianakis who plays Alan Garner.
Justin Bartha from National Treasure plays Doug Billings. It is his bachelor's party where these loony tunes occur. Doug is kidnapped by some Chinese criminals since the drugged up friends stole one of these criminal's money. About $80,000 in a black satchel bag. Mr. Chow is this man's name. Doug is snatched up sometime in the night and then shown to his friends the following night. Chow wants $80000 which does not belong to him since Alan is the one who actually one the money in the casino.
OK, these guys go to Vegas and plan on having one wild night. The last thing that is shown is them shooting the crap on the roof of the hotel/casino. During this time, their friend drugs them. Alan believes it is ecstacy which does not make it any better. Doing that is just unwise and a violation of trust at best. It is actually roofies, some nasty exotic drug. While on this drug, they do some incredible things. This drug warps ones memory and logic, the next scene they are shown crashed out on the floor in their villa with a tiger in the bathroom. No joke, a full grown tiger.
Heather Graham plays Jade in this movie who is a stripper. She marries Stu during the night when he is blasted off some roofies. This is not a drug that I know that much about. But they are married and Jade is gorgeous. Stu is on the verge of marrying a terrible woman who bitches at him all of the time and during their relationship, screwed a bartender on a cruiseline. His friends loath her, she is not appealing in any way. Stu is a dentist and pulled one of his teeth out. That is just crazy, he did not even feel the pain. Anyone who has had a tooth or teeth issue, knows this is lunacy since that pain is amazingly acute.
Mike Tyson is himself in this movie. He no longer has a tiger but he does in this movie. He also has a mansion. These three nutcases somehow made it to his home and stole his tiger. They pissed in his pool, or one of them did. This movie was hilarious. And the scene that involves them and this tiger is one of the reasons. How or why this tiger does not kill one of them while they are drugged out is beyond me.
Tyson wrecks Stu with a sucker punch while singing In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Just destroys him. Hilarious. Majestic song as well. Never gets old.
Stu dumps his horrendous girlfriend at the end and will probably return to Jade. Which is wise considering she works hard, seems nice, is a team player, and is gorgeous.
Funny man Mike Epps is Black Doug in this movie though he objects to being labeled by his skin color. Chow kidnaps Doug but these three fools believe it is their friend Doug. This is the Doug that sold Alan the rufies. How or why Chow grabs him and his associate(s) kidnap him is beyond me. They did win 80K though and this money somehow ends up near Doug-the white Doug.
The groom Doug goes with them to Tyson's home at 0300 in the morning and leaves his jacket at Tyson's home-in the tiger cage. This is what leads Tyson and his body guard to their villa later on that day.
The three characters return to the villa to seek out that money. They need that money since Chow offers them an exchange, 80K for Doug the next day at 1200. The money is not there though, they rip the Villa apart. The villa costs $4200 a night. They only planned to be there for one night. Two nights is approaching. Alan sort of makes up for his drugging his friends here. He is apparently good at black jack. His math skills are exceptional. The casino notices and before they try to grab the chips from his winnings, Jade comes through. She falls back and fakes a fainting episode. Her stunning looks would distract any pit boss and security guard. Well, it is not as if he won a million dollars. But Alan does win 82K. Wow. He was talking trash on the way to Vegas about how easy it is and he backed it up. So they make the exchange with Chow but Chow gives them black Doug. Epps is always funny as well.
This movie does not have any wasted scenes. It is probably the funniest movie of the year.
Tyson is impressed with the guys stealing a police car. That was funny. Yes, these fools stole a police car and this is how they transported the tiger up to their room. The tiger just walked with them out to the police car. They sexually assaulted the tiger as well. Ridiculous.
The exchange does not go their way, they want their money money back. Black Doug is happy to be free though. Stu has an epiphany during a converstation out in the desert with Black Doug. Stu determines Doug is on the roof. He is. On the drive back to Doug's wedding, Doug spits out the fact that he coughed up 80K in chips the night before. The group is ecstatic. Doug is sunburned and the wedding takes place.
Entertaining movie, humorous script. It is not politically correct, another reason to support this film. It is the funniest movie since Pineapple Express.
I allocate this movie four stars.****
Bradley Cooper is Phil Wenneck and is up and coming movie star. His buddies are relatively unknown. One is Ed Helms who plays Stu Price. Another is Zach Galifianakis who plays Alan Garner.
Justin Bartha from National Treasure plays Doug Billings. It is his bachelor's party where these loony tunes occur. Doug is kidnapped by some Chinese criminals since the drugged up friends stole one of these criminal's money. About $80,000 in a black satchel bag. Mr. Chow is this man's name. Doug is snatched up sometime in the night and then shown to his friends the following night. Chow wants $80000 which does not belong to him since Alan is the one who actually one the money in the casino.
OK, these guys go to Vegas and plan on having one wild night. The last thing that is shown is them shooting the crap on the roof of the hotel/casino. During this time, their friend drugs them. Alan believes it is ecstacy which does not make it any better. Doing that is just unwise and a violation of trust at best. It is actually roofies, some nasty exotic drug. While on this drug, they do some incredible things. This drug warps ones memory and logic, the next scene they are shown crashed out on the floor in their villa with a tiger in the bathroom. No joke, a full grown tiger.
Heather Graham plays Jade in this movie who is a stripper. She marries Stu during the night when he is blasted off some roofies. This is not a drug that I know that much about. But they are married and Jade is gorgeous. Stu is on the verge of marrying a terrible woman who bitches at him all of the time and during their relationship, screwed a bartender on a cruiseline. His friends loath her, she is not appealing in any way. Stu is a dentist and pulled one of his teeth out. That is just crazy, he did not even feel the pain. Anyone who has had a tooth or teeth issue, knows this is lunacy since that pain is amazingly acute.
Mike Tyson is himself in this movie. He no longer has a tiger but he does in this movie. He also has a mansion. These three nutcases somehow made it to his home and stole his tiger. They pissed in his pool, or one of them did. This movie was hilarious. And the scene that involves them and this tiger is one of the reasons. How or why this tiger does not kill one of them while they are drugged out is beyond me.
Tyson wrecks Stu with a sucker punch while singing In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Just destroys him. Hilarious. Majestic song as well. Never gets old.
Stu dumps his horrendous girlfriend at the end and will probably return to Jade. Which is wise considering she works hard, seems nice, is a team player, and is gorgeous.
Funny man Mike Epps is Black Doug in this movie though he objects to being labeled by his skin color. Chow kidnaps Doug but these three fools believe it is their friend Doug. This is the Doug that sold Alan the rufies. How or why Chow grabs him and his associate(s) kidnap him is beyond me. They did win 80K though and this money somehow ends up near Doug-the white Doug.
The groom Doug goes with them to Tyson's home at 0300 in the morning and leaves his jacket at Tyson's home-in the tiger cage. This is what leads Tyson and his body guard to their villa later on that day.
The three characters return to the villa to seek out that money. They need that money since Chow offers them an exchange, 80K for Doug the next day at 1200. The money is not there though, they rip the Villa apart. The villa costs $4200 a night. They only planned to be there for one night. Two nights is approaching. Alan sort of makes up for his drugging his friends here. He is apparently good at black jack. His math skills are exceptional. The casino notices and before they try to grab the chips from his winnings, Jade comes through. She falls back and fakes a fainting episode. Her stunning looks would distract any pit boss and security guard. Well, it is not as if he won a million dollars. But Alan does win 82K. Wow. He was talking trash on the way to Vegas about how easy it is and he backed it up. So they make the exchange with Chow but Chow gives them black Doug. Epps is always funny as well.
This movie does not have any wasted scenes. It is probably the funniest movie of the year.
Tyson is impressed with the guys stealing a police car. That was funny. Yes, these fools stole a police car and this is how they transported the tiger up to their room. The tiger just walked with them out to the police car. They sexually assaulted the tiger as well. Ridiculous.
The exchange does not go their way, they want their money money back. Black Doug is happy to be free though. Stu has an epiphany during a converstation out in the desert with Black Doug. Stu determines Doug is on the roof. He is. On the drive back to Doug's wedding, Doug spits out the fact that he coughed up 80K in chips the night before. The group is ecstatic. Doug is sunburned and the wedding takes place.
Entertaining movie, humorous script. It is not politically correct, another reason to support this film. It is the funniest movie since Pineapple Express.
I allocate this movie four stars.****
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Home
This is a documentary on our gorgeous planet. This movie is not dispelling the belief that humans are at fault. Human beings are challenging the environment. But should human beings stop progress and drive around lawn mowers that are marketed to us as actual cars? Why can we not have fun on our jet skis and ATV's? We only live once. Environmentalists should stop having children and perhaps we would be better off.
Perhaps we should allow a disease like the swine flu to thrive for a few years to thin us out?
The earth is wonderful but is man the cause for higher temperatures? This has not been proven and Al Gore should read Michael Crichton's excellent book title State of Fear. The earth's temperature has fluctuated for millions of years but now the wacky environmentalists want to impose their beliefs onto us. They want us to drink their kool aid and to stop having fun-limit our living of life. I am not sure why hybrid vehicles can not look gorgeous and bad ass like some of their gas guzzling counterparts. That is one of their mistakes. Environmentalists who act like automobile engineers should make a electric hybrid resembling a 67 Ford Mustang. That is one solution to make it easier for people to make the transition to more environmentally friendly vehicles.
As long as those vehicles do not run on ethanol. Does anyone still believe, who is not a foolish and selfish Iowan corn farmer, that corn based ethanol should be used to fuel automobiles? I hope not. We should be running cars on sugar based ethanol but the farm lobby will not allow us to buy sugar from Brazil. They toss a tarriff on Brazilian sugar which artificially augments the price. This is not right. Where is Obama on this one?
Why should we alter their lives for faulty science? Should every human drive a hummer? No, but power can save lives. What happens if someone needs four wheel drive to get somewhere they have to go and the surface is unpaved? What happens if someone needs to get up hill or across the city in a short amount of time? They need some power that perhaps a electric vehicle can not provide.
Why do environmentalists meet us half way with natural gas? The US has abundant reserves of this liquid. If the Obama administration allowed the private sector to drill for this element on federal land, thousands of high paying positions could be created in a few months. Tens of thousans in a few years. It would keep more American money in America. But this would make too much sense for our malignant politicians and naive plebians.
There are some elaborate plans that I have seen on Discovery channel to create enery using green methods. I am all for this. A farm in a high rise building in the middle of the city-outstanding. The US should build win mills, T. Boone Pickens is right. He believes we should be building energy infrastuctures across a variety of formats. The French do one thing right, they receive 80% of their power from nuclear power plants. Why can we not? Because our environmentalists are too stupid and diabolical to allow this to occur. Obama has passed cap and trade which the left loves. This only increase energy costs for Americans which drives up the cost of living. Reducing spending and saving power which leads to other issues. America voted for Obama though and they will reap what they sew. They/We already are and have.
Nevada receives about 335 days of sunlight. Why are solar panels not littered all over that state that is not being used by the US Airforce? Because environmentalists are worried about some plant or bug that may or may not be affected. Beyond idiotic. There is no winning with them. Conclusion, environmentalists are the innate problem, all the way to the core.
This is not really a movie but a documentary.
I offer it one star for being disengenous. It should be zero stars but it provided some pretty scenery.*
Perhaps we should allow a disease like the swine flu to thrive for a few years to thin us out?
The earth is wonderful but is man the cause for higher temperatures? This has not been proven and Al Gore should read Michael Crichton's excellent book title State of Fear. The earth's temperature has fluctuated for millions of years but now the wacky environmentalists want to impose their beliefs onto us. They want us to drink their kool aid and to stop having fun-limit our living of life. I am not sure why hybrid vehicles can not look gorgeous and bad ass like some of their gas guzzling counterparts. That is one of their mistakes. Environmentalists who act like automobile engineers should make a electric hybrid resembling a 67 Ford Mustang. That is one solution to make it easier for people to make the transition to more environmentally friendly vehicles.
As long as those vehicles do not run on ethanol. Does anyone still believe, who is not a foolish and selfish Iowan corn farmer, that corn based ethanol should be used to fuel automobiles? I hope not. We should be running cars on sugar based ethanol but the farm lobby will not allow us to buy sugar from Brazil. They toss a tarriff on Brazilian sugar which artificially augments the price. This is not right. Where is Obama on this one?
Why should we alter their lives for faulty science? Should every human drive a hummer? No, but power can save lives. What happens if someone needs four wheel drive to get somewhere they have to go and the surface is unpaved? What happens if someone needs to get up hill or across the city in a short amount of time? They need some power that perhaps a electric vehicle can not provide.
Why do environmentalists meet us half way with natural gas? The US has abundant reserves of this liquid. If the Obama administration allowed the private sector to drill for this element on federal land, thousands of high paying positions could be created in a few months. Tens of thousans in a few years. It would keep more American money in America. But this would make too much sense for our malignant politicians and naive plebians.
There are some elaborate plans that I have seen on Discovery channel to create enery using green methods. I am all for this. A farm in a high rise building in the middle of the city-outstanding. The US should build win mills, T. Boone Pickens is right. He believes we should be building energy infrastuctures across a variety of formats. The French do one thing right, they receive 80% of their power from nuclear power plants. Why can we not? Because our environmentalists are too stupid and diabolical to allow this to occur. Obama has passed cap and trade which the left loves. This only increase energy costs for Americans which drives up the cost of living. Reducing spending and saving power which leads to other issues. America voted for Obama though and they will reap what they sew. They/We already are and have.
Nevada receives about 335 days of sunlight. Why are solar panels not littered all over that state that is not being used by the US Airforce? Because environmentalists are worried about some plant or bug that may or may not be affected. Beyond idiotic. There is no winning with them. Conclusion, environmentalists are the innate problem, all the way to the core.
This is not really a movie but a documentary.
I offer it one star for being disengenous. It should be zero stars but it provided some pretty scenery.*
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Great Debaters
Denzel Washington is Prof. Melvin B. Tolson who educates at Wiley College Texas. He is also the coach of the school debate team and is a born leader. On top of this, he is pushing the charge against the rich land owners and powers at be. Melvin is called a communist and he may be one. He never discloses this. But he is fighting for equal treatment since the local politicians, Sheriff and wealthy business folks are in cahoots to maintain the corrupt and unfair status quo.
Denzel allows an unknown actor to receive some proper face time on the large screen and his name is Nate Parker. Henry Lowe is the character's name who plays a sort of a rebel without a cause. He attends college but then disappears for a few years without a trace nor explanation. With parental guidance, he is a loose cannon but one heck of a speaker and orator. Melvin sees potential in this lad and invites him to tryout for the debate team. What do you know, Lowe passes the test and debates with explosive conviction.
Oddly, Melvin insists and chooses to write the debates. So his team has a scripted debate. Does he not realize this could impact his team? It does, when about to battle Harvard, Harvard changes the subject within 48 hours of the debate forcing the three Wiley teammembers to write their own affirmitive or negative arguments.
What an honor to make this debate team? They were able to travel around and see parts of the country they normally would not have seen.
Forest Whitaker has a powerful role in this film as well. He plays Dr. James Farmer Sr. who is also a Professor at this small black college. Farmer's son is on the debate team despite being much younger than the rest of the team. His son is incredible at researching topics but is unhappy that he is not able to debate. In other words, he grows tired of sitting the bench.
The team loses a charismatic member who is forced to quit because of Melvin's supposed communist leanings. Melvin never admits he is a communist but since he is rumored to be secretly heading and organizing private meetings with while and color share croppers, his enemies decide to spread rumors about him. In 1935 America, being labeled a communist, even before the Cold War began, was akin to being anti Jesus Christ. This is what undermines Melvin's progress despite only wanting equal treatment according to the law.
One of Melvin's enemies in the town is Sheriff Dozier who is played by the hard working John Heard. Usually Heard does not play controversial figures such as this one but he pulls it off well. This is a time in US history when equality between the races was few and far between. But Melvin is leading poor blacks and whites to stand up against the forces that wish to keep them down. He is doing this simultaneously while leading the debate team. It seems being on the debate team was almost akin as being on the hoop team. Though conventional sports or sports members are not discussed in this movie.
This movie has an outstanding quote that I have not heard since Viggo Mortensen uttered it in GI Jane. "I have never seen a wild thing feel sorry for itself." This was written by famed novelist D. H. Lawrence. Though I enjoyed this quote more in GI Jane than I did in this newer film.
This was based on a true story. Denzel did the same thing in a movie years ago called Antwone Fisher. This is where he gave Derek Luke a shot at making a name for himself. Denzel does the same here for a few other young actors and actresses. The culmination of this movie is when Wiley College defeats the ranking national champion in a debate at their school-Harvard. And Wiley College did not even have its stud Lowe coordinate the debate. Lowe turned it over to his female teammate and Farmer's son. All characters in reality went on to fight the good fight, have productive careers, and continue to work hard for themselves and the community.
This movie had a frightening scene when a black man was shown after he was burned to death. It appeared he was skinned before he was lynched. Or he was burned alive. Lowe in the movie said that sometimes blacks are skinned before they are lynched. Either way, it was an unlawful and horrendous act. Devious is not an accurate description, every man involved in this heinous act should have been shot immediatly after convicted of murder. The sad thing is, none of these barbarians would ever face trial. But they would be presented with the ultimate punishment on their judgement day.
Jurnee Smollett plays the female teammate Samantha Booke. Booke is an excellent debater and she turns this into a law career in the state of Texas. She participated in one of the Freedom Rides set forth by the inspirational leader Martin Luther Jr. later on in her life in Alabama. She speaks with passion and uses sound research to support her points of view.
In this final debate at the illustrious Harvard, Melvin was not in attendance. Melvin could not leave the state on condition of his arrest by the Sheriff. Melvin does arrive midstride into the debate though. He did not want to risk any interuption to the debate team if he tried to cross the border headed to the northeast.
This movie's music was nothing to write home about. There were a few humorous scenes. The movie was written well and there were some outstanding arguments made on both sides on every debate. The acting was solid and the script even superior. But it was not a blockbuster and not that eventful.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
Denzel allows an unknown actor to receive some proper face time on the large screen and his name is Nate Parker. Henry Lowe is the character's name who plays a sort of a rebel without a cause. He attends college but then disappears for a few years without a trace nor explanation. With parental guidance, he is a loose cannon but one heck of a speaker and orator. Melvin sees potential in this lad and invites him to tryout for the debate team. What do you know, Lowe passes the test and debates with explosive conviction.
Oddly, Melvin insists and chooses to write the debates. So his team has a scripted debate. Does he not realize this could impact his team? It does, when about to battle Harvard, Harvard changes the subject within 48 hours of the debate forcing the three Wiley teammembers to write their own affirmitive or negative arguments.
What an honor to make this debate team? They were able to travel around and see parts of the country they normally would not have seen.
Forest Whitaker has a powerful role in this film as well. He plays Dr. James Farmer Sr. who is also a Professor at this small black college. Farmer's son is on the debate team despite being much younger than the rest of the team. His son is incredible at researching topics but is unhappy that he is not able to debate. In other words, he grows tired of sitting the bench.
The team loses a charismatic member who is forced to quit because of Melvin's supposed communist leanings. Melvin never admits he is a communist but since he is rumored to be secretly heading and organizing private meetings with while and color share croppers, his enemies decide to spread rumors about him. In 1935 America, being labeled a communist, even before the Cold War began, was akin to being anti Jesus Christ. This is what undermines Melvin's progress despite only wanting equal treatment according to the law.
One of Melvin's enemies in the town is Sheriff Dozier who is played by the hard working John Heard. Usually Heard does not play controversial figures such as this one but he pulls it off well. This is a time in US history when equality between the races was few and far between. But Melvin is leading poor blacks and whites to stand up against the forces that wish to keep them down. He is doing this simultaneously while leading the debate team. It seems being on the debate team was almost akin as being on the hoop team. Though conventional sports or sports members are not discussed in this movie.
This movie has an outstanding quote that I have not heard since Viggo Mortensen uttered it in GI Jane. "I have never seen a wild thing feel sorry for itself." This was written by famed novelist D. H. Lawrence. Though I enjoyed this quote more in GI Jane than I did in this newer film.
This was based on a true story. Denzel did the same thing in a movie years ago called Antwone Fisher. This is where he gave Derek Luke a shot at making a name for himself. Denzel does the same here for a few other young actors and actresses. The culmination of this movie is when Wiley College defeats the ranking national champion in a debate at their school-Harvard. And Wiley College did not even have its stud Lowe coordinate the debate. Lowe turned it over to his female teammate and Farmer's son. All characters in reality went on to fight the good fight, have productive careers, and continue to work hard for themselves and the community.
This movie had a frightening scene when a black man was shown after he was burned to death. It appeared he was skinned before he was lynched. Or he was burned alive. Lowe in the movie said that sometimes blacks are skinned before they are lynched. Either way, it was an unlawful and horrendous act. Devious is not an accurate description, every man involved in this heinous act should have been shot immediatly after convicted of murder. The sad thing is, none of these barbarians would ever face trial. But they would be presented with the ultimate punishment on their judgement day.
Jurnee Smollett plays the female teammate Samantha Booke. Booke is an excellent debater and she turns this into a law career in the state of Texas. She participated in one of the Freedom Rides set forth by the inspirational leader Martin Luther Jr. later on in her life in Alabama. She speaks with passion and uses sound research to support her points of view.
In this final debate at the illustrious Harvard, Melvin was not in attendance. Melvin could not leave the state on condition of his arrest by the Sheriff. Melvin does arrive midstride into the debate though. He did not want to risk any interuption to the debate team if he tried to cross the border headed to the northeast.
This movie's music was nothing to write home about. There were a few humorous scenes. The movie was written well and there were some outstanding arguments made on both sides on every debate. The acting was solid and the script even superior. But it was not a blockbuster and not that eventful.
I allocate this movie three stars.***
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