Movie Reviews

The Hunt For Red October — I’ve been wanting to watch this for years. Despite being out for so long, it was extremely well done. You really can’t go wrong with Sean Connery too often, but Alec Baldwin impressed me in this one. This is probably my favorite Clancy-inspired movie to date. The only complaint is the horrendous green screen / blue tint garbage that is the last 5 minutes. Unbelievably bad.

Good Morning Vietnam — Another movie that was lost at the bottom of my to-do list for years. I must admit, the first hour about put me to sleep. I really had to fight through boredom to finish this movie. I enjoyed the story eventually and Robin Williams is always great. I’m happy to have finally watched it, but definitely not something I’d see again just for fun.

Blood Diamond — The stand out movie of the batch. Edward Zwick. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou — all contributed to make this an outstanding movie. Not only was is thourghouly entertaining, but it was built around a real life sociopolitical context that people should be made aware of. Most of the critics wish that they had gone in one direction instead of combining the two. I actually loved the fact that they were combined. Smash mouth entertainment and a little conviction at the same time. Good stuff.

The Shining — I don’t prefer these types of movies. I’m not a horror movie kind of guy. But this was high on my culture deficiency radar, so I had to sit through it. I’m happy to say I wasn’t spooked silly, but I’m sad to report that this movie was a chore to sit through. Not until the last 35 minutes did I perk up and feel blood moving through my veins. Jack Nicholson makes a great nut job, but this movie wasn’t worth my time. By the way, did you know redrum spelled backwards is murder?

Boondock Saints — Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way now, Willem Dafoe makes for an ugly woman. And if you can get by with the steady barrage of a certain word that rhymes with stuck (once every .5 seconds, I counted) this movie isn’t half bad. I really enjoyed the story after it got rolling. It just took about 20 minutes to get rolling though. If you enjoy vigilantly justice, this movie might just be for you!

Filed under: Blood Diamond, Culture, Edward Zwick, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Movies, Reviews, Robin Williams, Sean Connery, Tom Clancy

Perspective

Great tag by Nick Fielder.

Here’s a great scene from one of my new favorite movies.

I tag: Aaron, Jason, Dave, Conner, and Joel to find one of their favorite movie scenes on YouTube and blog it. Then you guys feel free to tag others.

Filed under: Baseball, Jack Nicholson, Movies, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Perspective, YouTube

Movie Reviews

Big Nothing — A poor mans Snatch or Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Only without the great soundtrack or tight writing. It does star Simon Pegg and has its moments. It kept me mildly interested through the entire movie. The plot is absolutely absurd, but they were going for that. One of those nothing-goes-right kinda movies. Not something I’m interested in watching again, but it was good for a few laughs.

Disturbia — I’ve said it before but Shia LaBeouf is one of my favorite actors. This movie grabs your attention quick. The first five minutes are wonderfully done and set the stage for a nice little spooky comedy in the mold of Scream. I usually don’t get into the Saw and Grudge type movies, but this one was more my speed. Just enough suspense to keep it intense without having a heart attack. I was entertained.

True Romance — Ummm…. another one I had to stop at the 32 minute mark. I’m pretty sure I’m not being a prude with this one. It was really awful. I think it would be more appropriate to watch Risky Business in church than to recommend this to anyone. (Sorry Jason.) It was billed as similar to Pulp Fiction, but it fell way short and went too over the top in the vulgarity department. Two thumbs way down.

Capote — Truman Capote was not only a freak, but he was a punk as well. And I suppose he was an accomplished writer too. Philip Seymour Hoffman did an outstanding job in this movie. Jason complained about the pacing, but I didn’t really mind. It was a captivating story and I enjoyed watching the emotions play out. After watching this, I’m thinking about reading To Kill a Mockingbird and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. And I suppose In Cold Blood as well.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest — I can’t give this movie enough praise. I’ve always thought Jack Nicholson was alright but, good night, he was outstanding in this movie. That was the best I’ve ever seen Danny Divito as well. This movie shot instantly to my must own list. This movie has won enough awards and received enough reviews that I really can’t add to it. Just see it if you’ve never had the chance. One of the best movies I’ve seen all year, maybe ever. (And that’s saying something.)

Filed under: Culture, Jack Nicholson, Movies, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reviews, Shia LaBeouf, Simon Pegg, Truman Capote