PedS's stats
- Review count386
- Helpfulness votes92
- First reviewMay 31, 2008
- Last reviewApril 27, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.4
Overall rating
4
/
5
Great script and performances!
PostedNovember 16, 2011
"The Descendants" triumphs as a drama about the suffering and joys of family life. Clooney does a tremendous job of playing the husband dealing with his emotions while his wife is dying in the hospital. His family is selfish and offer little support. It's an unlikely setting for a father to bond with his rebellious teen daughter, but that's exactly what occurs. This is not a light movie to sit through by any means, but there are some terrific performances and the script and directing shine.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Herzog's Crime and Punishment!
PostedNovember 13, 2011
Two stupid young men murder a mother, her son, and a friend to take a 72-hr joyride in a red Camaro convertible one night over 10 years ago. One of the murderers was killed by the state of Texas on July, 2010, the other one will get out in 2042 after serving a life sentence. Herzog's pursuit of the full story is relentless, as he questions religious figures, law enforcements, and friends and family of both the victims and killers. This is a sad affair, artfully woven into a profound look at life, death, capital punishment, and human nature. This is not light material to sit through. However, you will be rewarded with the most profound documentary of the year if you talk yourself into going to see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Bloodbath
PostedNovember 12, 2011
Immortals is the type of movie that takes the special effects tricks and styles of previous films such as 300, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and many others and adapts them almost sequentially to achieve spectacular visuals that lack content or substance. This movie is loosely based on the mythical king of Athens, Theseus, and the story of how he was favored by the gods. The writer/director take plenty of creative liberties with the source material and produce a movie that's just geared to make money. There's not much in the way of 3D, so opt for the standard 2D and save yourself some money if you go see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Gripping account of a neurotic historical figure
PostedNovember 10, 2011
Gripping account of early to mid 20th century paranoia as seen through the eyes of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI he had a big hand in creating. This account focuses on his personal relationships and closeted homosexuality and tendency towards transvestite behavior. It also portrays a taskmaster with an impervious sense of patriotism and gut-wrenching determination to get the bad guys. The movie is rather long at nearly 2 ½ hours. Clint is at his best with artful flashbacks that help tell the tale masterfully. I think this is a good film for those who are interested in this historical figure, or the period covered, which turns out to be from 1919-to the late 1960s.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Sex, Drugs, and Christmas
PostedNovember 6, 2011
Harold and Kumar have lost touch with each other in the movie, namely because Harold marries a beautiful latina and moves to the suburbs. Christmas brings them together and they begin to behave like the characters we know and love. Drugs are a big part of this movie. Some of the scenes involving a baby get out of hand and, as funny as those scenes can be, some people may be offended by a baby that climbs the walls after snorting a considerable amount of cocaine. The baby also sneaks some Ecstasy and goes through withdrawals. You may or may not be able to get past these scenes when looking back on this movie. I think it was all within the general tone of the film, tasteless as it was. The rest of it is equally tasteless and, yes, hilarious at times. I think those who liked the first 2 movies will enjoy this one and should see it. Those who are seeing a Harold and Kumar movie for the first time, will be completely shocked...and possibly entertained.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Young love and poetry
PostedNovember 5, 2011
Goethe fell in love with a young woman who was committed to a rich, older man. That's a true story and this movie tries to capture his state of mind and the particulars of the incidents that lead up to him considering suicide and, consequently, writing one of his most famous works, The Sorrows of Young Werther. That novel launched his career and this movie does an excellent job of piecing together the autobiographical aspects of the novel and the poet to produce an incredibly romantic story.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
A good time at the movies
PostedNovember 5, 2011
The movie is light-hearted and funny, but not much else can be said. The acting is just okay, and the story is predictable. It's just funny enough to keep you interested and I had fun. I won't remember this movie tomorrow, if that makes sense. but last night it was a enough to make me laugh and have a good time.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Intense Young Love
PostedOctober 31, 2011
This is a great movie that focuses on an intensely romantic story between an American guy and British girl who fall head-over-heels for each other during their senior year of college. She falls so hard that she decides to violates the terms of her student visa and stay for the summer to spend time with the guy. Well, the computers don't forget and they rat on her the next time she tries to enter the USA. That's when the long distance relationship ensues and the real pain and suffering begin for them both. Marriage for the Green Card, so-to-speak, is ultimately the resolution they seek. It takes a while, 1 hr & 29 min to be exact, for them to be able to continue what they started. By the end of the movie, they are two totally different people. The movie does a great job of illustrating the types of emotional pain that lovers endure to try to be together. But, I won't reveal if they still love each other in the end. You'll have to sit through it for that. Good movie!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Great looking movie...
PostedOctober 30, 2011
Everything in this movie looks great -- the people, the cars, the buildings. There's also enough sci-fi confusion in it to make it an intriguing what-if movie. All that said, here's what's wrong with it: for starters, there's something about have 9000 years left to live that depressed me. I think 100 sounds great, but once you get too far above that, the allure of it all starts to fade. Well, in this movie there's a guy who walks around with 9000+ years on his ticker...and he happens to have millions more where those years came from. Does that sound like a rich man to you? Well, so he hasn't aged in appearance beyond what he looked like when he was 25. So, he wife, daughter, etc all look like they're 25. Again, not very appealing, well except for the wife not aging anyway. Then there are the poor people.... They live day by day with a day or less on their ticker and some are lucky to have that much. They walk around squandering their minutes on thinks like coffee and phone calls. Would you spend your minutes on that if you only had one day left? I'd argue, probably not! I hope you get the picture -- the whole movie is somewhat ridiculous and the characters in it have screwy priorities. I still had some fun watching it unfold and would recommend it, especially to those like sci-fi. It's not Gattaca, let's just leave it at that.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
Preposterous
PostedOctober 28, 2011
"Anonymous" goes out of its way to argue that only a rich English noble could have written the plays attributed to Shakespeare. It portrays Shakespeare as an illiterate who couldn't even tell the difference between an "e" and an "i". It's utterly ridiculous! It also attempts to elevate the dramas of the Elizabethan court to the level of a Shakespearean tragedy, but heads more in the Greek tradition with the Queen giving birth to her own grandson. The setup and characters are week; the script needed to include a more viable Queen Elizabeth rather a walking corpse of a queen conflicted by all the sons she bore from various men. Rhys Ifans is the best thing in the movie and his portrayal of the man who "really" wrote the plays is plausible. Unfortunately, it's not enough to save this disaster from being a waste of time.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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