Little Big Man Review

This film could have been terrible. A comedy-drama with a 121 year old Dustin Hoffman telling stories about going back and forth between Native Americans and Whites. But it's not. It's sensational. The performance by Dustin Hoffman is award worthy, but even moreso is Grandfather played by Chief Dan George. This was probably one of the first films ever to portray the white men as the bad guys in a western. However, the movie never turns anyone into caricatures. There is good and bad to every side in this film. The white men of course are shown as villains, but they are never turned into pure evil androids. The native americans are the protagonists, but they are still given darker sides. The film is magnificently directed by Arthur Penn, and I think it is even better than his earlier film, Bonnie and Clyde. The movie also has enjoyable cameos from some of my favorite actors, including Martin Balsam and Faye Dunaway. Of course the action sequences and especially the cinematography are breathtaking, the writing by Calder Willingham really shines in the film's quiet scenes, and I was even tearing up a little at times. The film is nearly 2 and 1/2 hours long, but I wasn't bored once. i adored this film.

Little Big Man - 10/10

Grosse Pointe Blank Review

To say that this is an offbeat movie is an understatement. The film centers around Martin Blank, played by John Cusack, who left Grosse Pointe High School two weeks before graduation and became a hit man. Ten years later, he receives a request for a hit in his old town at the same time as his 10 year high school reunion. And that's just scratching the surface of the strange plot. But, by some strange chance, it works, largely due to the wonderful performances, particularly by Cusack, Minnie Driver as an old flame of Martin's, and Joan Cusack as Martin's assisstant. It also has fantastic writing for the most part. The film is not without its flaws, though. For example, Dan Aykroyd, who I normally adore, plays a rival hit man. He is UNWATCHABLE. Thankfully he is in the film very little. Also, although the dark hit man elements are a strong point of the film, the VERY graphic violence near the end of the movie feels out of place, and brings the movie off its tracks. However, the movie does come together again at the very end and it sums up to be an enjoyable, pretty funny movie that I wouldn't have a problem watching again.

Grosse Pointe Blank - 7.5/10

North Review

No one has seen the movie North. But everyone has seen the Siskel and Ebert review of North. You know what I mean: the review in which Siskel calls the movie "First Class Junk" and Ebert said, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it." I wanted to see it based on that review. And I am going to answer the one question I thought of before I sat down and watched it: Does it suck as bad as they say? Well, yes and no. Yes, it has possibly the most cliched plot of all time. Yes, it has horrifyingly stereotypical caricatures of races such as Hawaiian saying that there are only 12 letters in their alphabet and eskimos sending their elderly out on the frozen waters to die. And yes, the comedy doesn't work. Ever. But it wasn't unbearably terrible. I was never bored watching the film, believe it or not. It was interesting watching this kid going to different places to see his new parents. Although the film is very bad, and without a doubt the worst movie of the career of every person involved (although Jason Alexander WAS in the unbearable Bye Bye Birdie TV remake), it might possibly be worth seeing just to see what Siskel and Ebert were crapping on those years ago.

North - 3.5/10

Leon: The Professional Review

Luc Besson. What can be said about the man? He's a director/producer who makes movies that are rarely great films, but they are always really entertaining. Movies like the Transporter series, the Fifth Element, and my personal favorite of his, the incredibly entertaining Taken. I hadn't seen the Professional before, yet I knew I was in for something good because not only is it considered to be Besson's best film, it is considered one of the greatest action movies ever and is currently number 34 on the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 movies of all time. It was one of the last films that high on the list I had yet to see. And though it doesn't deserve to be nearly that high, it is a very well made, exciting picture. There were some things, however, that I didn't like at all. The relationship between Mathilda and Leon (played by Natalie Portman and Jean Reno, both in outstanding performances) is interesting at first, but eventually it turns into a very VERY creepy relationship that I felt was unnecessary. When a 12 year old girl asks a large hitman to have sex with her, I felt a little uncomfortable. One thing that I haven't decided on yet is my opinion about Gary Oldman's performance. I know it's supposed to be over the top, but at parts it felt like he was going above and beyond over the top and into OVER the over the top. But, of course, the best part is the action sequences with Leon. I feel like his character was so perfect and well acted by Jean Reno that we didn't even need Mathilda. Then again, in the scenes where she wasn't trying to get in his pants, I thought their chemistry was wonderful, and the emotion was really there. So, even though I had some issues with the film, and I didn't like the ending very much either, I still enjoyed it and recommend it.

The Professional - 8/10

Golden Globes Reactions

Yeah, the golden globes were last night. That wasn't good. Well, it wasn't horrible. I liked Ricky Gervais all right and there were some fun moments, but as a whole I felt like I was just waiting for the winners to be announced. Even more than usual. But still, now we have the winners. Let's see what we got here.

Best Picture (Drama): Avatar
Wow. This was a huge surprise. I thought that The Hurt Locker was going to be a shoo-in for this category, but obviously I was proved wrong. I DID love Avatar (I liked it even better than The Hurt Locker), but my vote would have gone to Up in the Air for this one. Just a beautiful film.

Best Picture (Comedy): The Hangover
Are you serious?? Are you flipping serious? Don't get me wrong, The Hangover was funny enough, but 500 Days of Summer was way more deserving. Not only because it was my favorite movie of the year, but it was a beautiful love story with great twists in it. The Hangover was good. But it was just another Apatow-esque comedy. Not BRILLIANT like 500 Days. And DEFINITELY not best picture caliber.

Best Actor (Drama): Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
I haven't seen this movie yet, so I really don't have an opinion. I want to see the film; it looks like an interesting movie along the lines of The Wrestler. They probably gave it to Bridges, though, as something of a lifetime achievement award, like Paul Newman in The Color of Money or Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. I would, though, have gone with George Clooney. Then again, his is the only performance out of those I've seen.

Best Actress (Drama): Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Another big surprise. I thought it would have gone to Carey Mulligan, or POSSIBLY Gabourey Sidibe, but Bullock's performance was very good.

Best Actor (Comedy): Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes)
I can't believe this one. I am still shocked. He was good, and his performance was one of the best things about Sherlock Holmes. But Best Actor? Seriously? I think Joseph Gordon Levitt definitely should have walked away with this. He was fantastic in 500 Days. And I also loved Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man.

Best Actress (Comedy): Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)
She was fine. She wasn't fantastic in Julie and Julia, but she was probably the best out of these nominees. I'm still shocked that Zooey Deschanel wasn't nominated for 500 Days of Summer. I'm going to pretend she was nominated and say that she won.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
He deserved it. And he got it. Nuff said.

Best Supporting Actress: Monique (Precious)
I did not see Precious, so I don't really have an opinion on her win. (Though what I've seen of the performance was great.) Still, I definitely would have gone with Anna Kendrick from Up in the Air. She was outstanding.

Best Director: James Cameron (Avatar)
A huge shock. I thought Kathryn Bigelow would have taken it away for this one. But still, James Cameron directed this revolutionary film, so he deserves a hell of a lot of credit. I've seen all of the nominated films in this category, but I'm not sure who I'd go with. Maybe Jason Reitman? Or maybe Tarantino? Or maybe I'd go Cameron or Bigelow or even Eastwood? Who knows. (Interesting fact: Did you know that James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow used to be married? You learn something new every day, huh?)

So, all in all, it was an interesting ceremony with a ton of surprises. Now it's on to the Oscars.

Sherlock Holmes Review

When I heard there was going to be an update on the classic Sherlock Holmes stories starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, the film shot up my anticipation meter. When I heard that the new film was going to be directed by Guy Ritchie and it was going to be an "action-y" James Bond flick, I rolled my eyes and thought it couldn't possibly be any good. I was, though, pleasantly surprised with the film, and I enjoyed it. The mystery is really intriguing throughout. The story really keeps you guessing, which, unfortunately, gets annoying. Although at the beginning it is interesting to have very few answers, it gets on your nerves. The performances, though, are fantastic. I loved Robert Downey Jr. as the famous sleuth, and I can definitely see him carrying more films when the inevitable sequels come. But the one main problem I had was definitely the pacing. There would be a rousing, action filled sequence for a short time, then long scenes with constant, uninteresting dialogue, and then another short action scene. This pattern worked at the beginning and at the end, but the middle of the film really suffers. The best part of the film was definitely the final 15 minutes. The action is brilliant, and even though the explanation at the end feels kind of forced and trying to tie everything together, it's without a doubt the best part of the movie. It wasn't without it's flaws, but I really liked the film, and I recommend it.
Sherlock Holmes - 7.5/10

My Top 50 Favorite Movies

I'm probably going to make a video of this list on my page, but I couldn't think of anything better for my first official post. I love all 50 of these films. I KNOW there are some I'm forgetting, but I can't think of them now, so here are my current favorite movies of all time.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
2. 12 Angry Men (1957)
3. Jaws (1975)
4. Tootsie (1982)
5. The Apartment (1960)
6. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
7. Fargo (1996)
8. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
9. Field of Dreams (1989)
10. City of God (2002)
11. Magnolia (1999)
12. Back to the Future (1985)
13. The Godfather (1972)
14. Forrest Gump (1994)
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
16. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
17. Alien (1979)
18. Annie Hall (1977)
19. Psycho (1960)
20. Some Like It Hot (1959)
21. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
22. Pulp Fiction (1994)
23. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
24. The Deer Hunter (1978)
25. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
26. Three Kings (1999)
27. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
28. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
29. Casablanca (1942)
30. Lost in Translation (2003)
31. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
32. Star Wars (1977)
33. ET (1982)
34. North by Northwest (1959)
35. Toy Story (1995)
36. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
37. The Truman Show (1998)
38. Paths of Glory (1957)
39. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
40. The Producers (1968)
41. Memento (2000)
42. Raging Bull (1980)
43. The Shining (1980)
44. Aliens (1986)
45. The Graduate (1967)
46. Touch of Evil (1958)
47. Seven Samurai (1954)
48. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
49. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
50. American Beauty (1999)