Category Archives: FilmReview

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Could Be Sad, Drama, Not Feel Good, Redemption, Violent, War

Brothers (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

When severely traumatized Capt. Sam Cahill (Golden Globe nominee Tobey Maguire) returns home alive from a military mission in Afghanistan after he was presumed dead, he learns that his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), has gotten dangerously close to his grieving wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his kids. Mare Winningham and Sam Shepard also star in this wartime drama about human frailty and battles fought on the home front. Jim Sheridan directs.

“Brothers” from 2009 is an almost exact but Americanized version of the equally well-done Danish film Brothers (2005).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is never easy to see (let alone experience). The two version of “Brothers” deal with Afghanistan. Don’t miss as well the sad film directed and acted by Emilio Estevez The War At Home (1996) which left me stunned. I would like to know if any of our soldiers actually had to endure what happens to Capt. Sam Cahill while a prisoner in Afghanistan.

All three of these films are well-written, well-acted, and difficult to watch.

2009, Car Chase, Crime, Drama, Suspense, Violent

Armored (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Armored truck guards Mike (Matt Dillon), Baines (Laurence Fishburne) and Quinn (Jean Reno) turn against one another after their plan to steal $10 million from their own company goes seriously haywire. A witness throws a wrench into their seemingly flawless strategy, so each man scrambles to save his own skin — whatever the cost to the other conspirators. Nimród Antal directs and Columbus Short co-stars

In the beginning “Armored” seems ordinary. It establishes the tight bonds between the guards who drive the armored trucks (“Rescue Me” anyone ?). But once again stay with the film. Basically the film is much about moral character and how humans react in times of great stress. In fact some of the characters are not just black and white (no pun intended), rather they change as the film progresses. Of course, it IS a car chase film with its usual macho roughness. Matt Dillon is a great changeling. Laurence Fishburne is an overweight disappointment.

One of the more original films in the car chase category that I have seen.

2007, Documentary, True Story, Violent, War

Last Stand of the 300 (2007)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

With factual heft and epic zeal, this informative History Channel documentary chronicles the true story of some 300 Spartan soldiers who held their ground against an onslaught of Persian adversaries — an event that inspired director Zach Snyder’s sleeper hit 300. Digital animation combines with vivid, live-action footage to produce a stirring account of a pivotal battle that would change the course of the Western world

What a difference between this History Channel presentation and the Hollywood version “300” ! Truth is stranger (or better) than fiction. Somehow the History Channel version really comes alive using not only expert historians but also well-drawn maps and troop movement diagrams.

Several things stand out in my mind:

  • Spartan culture was more dehumanized than I realized. There was neither family nor individual. Everything was done for the benefit of the city-state. At birth male babies were inspected and the slightest imperfection doomed them to be left outdoors unprotected until they died. Young boys were forcibly removed from their homes for training. Trainees were taught steal, fight, and kill. They were not considered men until they had secretly killed a slave. Boys were flogged at pillars in a contest to see who flinched.
  • No one really knows how the Persians discovered the rear path to the position in the pass of the Greeks led by Leonidas. Hollywood invented a traitor.
  • I had not appreciated the important role played by the Athenian navy under Themistocles.

Well done!

2009, Car Chase, Crime, Detective, Lawyers, Suspense, Violent

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Michael Douglas stars as corrupt district attorney Mark Hunter in this remake of Fritz Lang’s noir classic about a reporter, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe), who sets himself up as the prime suspect in a murder he didn’t commit in order to expose Hunter’s misdeeds. Nicholas’s plans go awry, however, when Hunter discovers the trap and destroys the evidence that would exonerate the cub reporter. Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Jones co-star.

In this film the suspense is so overwhelming that I stayed glued to my seat the entire time. If at one point the story seems to have too easy a solution, stay with the film to the very last second. More I will not say, but there are plot twists.

Although I marked the film as violent, you do not see any personal attacks, just some threatening scenes and one amazing scene in an underground parking lot.

Jesse Metcalf is John Rowland in “Desperate Hosewives”. Amber Tamblyn is Tibby in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.

If you like suspense, this is a must see!.

2001, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Drama, Religious Theme, Suspense, Violent

Frailty (2001)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Director Bill Paxton’s gripping thriller has evil at its core — and a family in the crossfire. FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe) is trying to track down “God’s Hand,” a notorious murderer who’s resurfaced years after terrorizing a Texas town. The Meeks family — Fenton, Adam and their dad — gets involved when past and present converge and a long-tormented conscience is assuaged. Levi Kreis and Matthew McConaughey co-star.

Because I couldn’t stop watching, I knew I had stumbled on an excellent, suspenseful, psychological thriller and mystery with wonderful plot turns. More I will not say. But if you get confused, you can always read the Wikipedia article. The marvel in the film is that most of the film action takes place at a natural easily explained level of understanding. That, in part, is what makes watching this film so difficult. Indeed there is violence and killing. But the film is too intelligent to engage in explicit gore.

Matthew McConaughey, for once, is not a glamour boy. He, and all the actors, play their parts to perfection.

Toward the end of the film the film offers a new perspective. If anyone watches this film, please let me know how you reacted to this change.

2001, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Drama, Drugs, Horror, Imperfect, Medical Theme, Mystery Film, Occasional gore, Suspense, Violent

From Hell (2001)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Johnny Depp stars as an opium-huffing inspector from Scotland Yard who falls for one of Jack the Ripper’s prostitute targets (Heather Graham) in this Hughes brothers adaption of a graphic novel that posits the Ripper’s true identity. Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane co-star in this genre-bending drama that marked Albert and Allen Hughes’s laudable attempt to break out of their pigeonhole as “black directors.”

Dark, gory, not Depp’s best. In a sense this is a mystery story: who is Jack the Ripper ? It’s almost as this film goes out of its way to discredit the Victorian power structure and especially the royal family. Give this film a shaky B and find something else.

2009, Acceptable for children, Could Be Sad, Drama, Feel Good For All, Love Story

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire (Rachel McAdams). Also starring Ron Livingston as Gomez, the soul-stirring romantic drama was adapted from the best-selling Audrey Niffenegger novel by Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter behind the beloved weepy Ghost.

Finding a film suitable for everyone, children included, is a rare event. This sweet, gentle fantasy romance is easy to watch. If at first it seems confusing, stay with it. Eventually you will take the disappearances and reappearances of Henry for granted.

Rachel McAdams was Della Frye in State of Play (2009) and Clare Cleary in “Wedding Crashers”.

Eric Bana was Henry Tudor in “The Other Boleyn Girl” and Avner in “Munich”.

Great date film!

2009, Acceptable Trash, Comedy, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Medical Theme, TV Series

Nurse Jackie (2009)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

The great Edie Falco (in a Golden Globe-nominated role) stars as feisty emergency room nurse Jackie Peyton, who boldly navigates the storm of patients, doctors, fellow nurses and her own demons at a New York hospital — occasionally with the aid of unprescribed prescription drugs. A wicked combination of dark comedy and poignant drama, this Showtime series also stars Eve Best, Haaz Sleiman, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze and Peter Facinelli.

Following the “acceptable trash” tradition of such important TV series like “Arrested Development”, “Nurse Jackie” fits right in there with its mixture of medical cynicism, sexcapades, etc. Throw in some pathos and family drama (e.g. a daughter with anxiety syndrome). Finally there is a heavy emphisis on drug addiction. Nurse Jackie herself is addicted to pain pills and has daily midday sex with the pharmacologist who supplies her with the pills from the hospital storeroom. All of which should paint a picture of total nonsense which is not for everyone.

I LOVE TRASH!

2008, Drama

An Education (2008)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

Jenny’s (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan) Oxford-bound teen life is undistinguished in 1961 London until she’s given a different kind of education after being immersed in the beguiling but hazardous world of cultured and much-older David (Peter Sarsgaard). Even Jenny’s father, Jack (Alfred Molina), is intrigued by him, but her school’s unimpressed headmistress (Emma Thompson) works to keep Jenny’s entire future from crumbling under David’s influence.

Carey Mulligan will just put a smile on your face. And Peter Sarsgaard is charm itself. Without giving anything away, let’s just say you are beguiled into denial for a seductive temporary ride. Emma Thompson has a very minor role, EXCEPT she does place into focus the plight of women in the 60’s: What career choices were available to women graduates of Oxford in that period ? Let’s see – you could teach other women to get into Oxford so that they could then teach … etc.

After all, Jenny is just a teenager. So be kind and tolerate her “education”. Great film!

2009, Acceptable for children, Sci-Fi, Violent

Avatar (2009)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

Disabled Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) travels to planet Pandora to become an avatar, ingratiate himself with the natives and help Americans mine lucrative unobtainium. But he finds himself in an interstellar conflict after falling for Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). James Cameron writes and directs this Golden Globe-winning CGI odyssey that has broken box office records. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang co-star.

To see this film in IMAX 3D is an unforgettable experience in sight and sound. After three hours of pounding sounds my ears were numb. Also after the three hours I was physically tired, probably from the tension and never ending fast action. Bt it was worth it. According to the Wikipedia article, work on the film started in 1994. I can appreciate why it took 15 years to produce. The amount of detailed graphics are overwhelming. It took a wonderful creative imagination to invent such a beautiful planet and amazing creatures.

As for the content, possibly less said the better. Gosh, in 2154 we nasty humans are treating the Na’Vi just the same way we treated the American Indians. Gosh aren’t American corporations greedy bastards ? Gosh aren’t U.S. Marines unfeeling brutes ? Gosh will Sigourney Weaver ever escape her “fighting strange monsters” pigeon hole ? And who on earth is Sam Worthington ?

Personally I wouldn’t mind a ride on one of those dragon critters.

OK for kids as long as you don’t mind them losing their hearing and having nightmares.