TheMovieRhino's stats
- Review count647
- Helpfulness votes412
- First reviewNovember 16, 2008
- Last reviewMay 26, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
5
/
5
The Mechanic - Satisfy Your Crazy Action Cravings!
PostedJanuary 31, 2011
Better than Bronson's original by a longshot. Statham cements his status as the king of high-octane, action "shoot-em-ups" in "The Mechanic". Obviously this is not a "moral primmer" for anyone. It is a very well done, violent, gritty, escapist, revenge flick. Seasoned, revered actor Donald Sutherland adds some heft while the rest of the movie team do a great job with cinematography, sound, editing, dialogue, script and pacing - for the genre. Non-stop, crazy, violent doings here. Not for the faint of heart, kids under 17 and/or people that have a non-eclectic movie palette limited to intricate plot and dialogue considered "higher end" (like the excellent recent film "The King's Speech"). Kudos to director West and his entire team!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
The Rite: First 1/2 has "bite", 2nd 1/2 is "lite"
PostedJanuary 31, 2011
The Rite, for me, was a tale of two movies. Anthony Hopkins was great, as he almost always is, throughout the film. Comparing "The Rite" to "The Exorcist" is comparing apples and oranges. The Rite is based on a book written by a Catholic priest about his knowledge and experience, firsthand, with actual exorcisms.... and has it's basis firmly entrenched in that book. The Exorcist is fiction. The second half of The Rite falls short for me as it goes a bit sideways and exaggerates visually what it does not need to exaggerate. This change in mood and atmosphere was like splashing cold water in my face and had the opposite effect of what I am sure were the director's intentions. Worth seeing for Hopkin's performance alone.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
We all get jacked around a bit in Casino Jack....
PostedJanuary 24, 2011
The problem with Casino Jack is not the acting .... or even the story .... the problem is that it plays fast and loose with the facts (as they actually are known) regarding this lobbyist scandal of a few years ago. If you can turn a switch in your head so that while viewing this film you see it more "fictinonish" - using the scandal to make a statement about many and varied excesses that seem to bore their way into lobbying relationships in Washington DC - then it might work for me. Trouble is I doubt most will do this. Thus it simply drips, thick and heavy, of propaganda. Spacey and Lovitz and most of the remaining front line acting crew are good and fun to watch. I would have been more pleased if they would have emphasized the "fill in the blank" nature of the movie. This is the price I pay for being a political junkie.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Mesrine: Killer Instinct - A Crime To Miss It....
PostedJanuary 23, 2011
A detailed and transfixing tale of the "stew of events" and "biological, sociological genetics" that went into creating the most notorious criminal in France in the last 50 years. Director Richet and lead actor Cassel are near-perfect in this fact-based tale of drama, suspense, crime and intrigue. Vincent Cassel is so good that you really cannot take your eyes off of him when he is on screen and he is on screen virtually 100% of the film. A remarkable accomplishment in film-making. This movie is part 1. Be sure to see part 2 which is Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 soon after seeing part 1. Not to be missed!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 is "Bloody" Amazing!
PostedJanuary 23, 2011
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 is a mesmerizing character study about the final days of France's most notorious criminal of the last 50 years. You cannot take your eyes off the screen and Vincent Cassel's portrayal! Magnifique! This is a part 2 movie. Be sure to see part 1 - which is Mesrine: Killer Instinct - first. Both films are great and they each have their own style and unique "persona". I watched both, back to back, with only 30 minutes in between and neither movie felt tedious or boring. A grand achievement by lead actor Cassel, director Richet, and the entire creative team!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
The Dilemma Has A Personality Disorder....
PostedJanuary 23, 2011
Because Ron Howard tries too hard and tries to make this movie do too much it ends up failing as a comedy and as a redemptive, dramatic buddy movie. It really is all over the place and it often lingers too long in some of it's tangential meanderings. There are a couple of scenes of Vince Vaughn digging rhetorical graves for himself that are truly funny - even hilarious. There are scenes of Vince doing Vince Vaughn .... at his best (the toast to his girlfriend's parents on their 40th anniversary dinner for example) that are gut-busting funny (I had tears from laughing so hard). These last maybe a total of 15 minutes when compiled and it is just not enough to recommend the movie. Ron Howard should have relaxed in making this movie and allowed his inner-slapstick self to take control. No quandary .... no dilemma here - skip this one!
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
The Green Hornet: A Nice Buzz....or A Nasty Sting
PostedJanuary 23, 2011
I can see 2 different reactions to The Green Hornet .... and both can be well-explained and justified. For many the mere presence of Seth Rogen in this movie - especially playing the title character - will "doom" the experience. I totally get that. For others (and I find myself more in this category) they will be able to "go with the flow" and see this as a new updated take on the famous radio serial hero and his sidekick Kato. I have been tiring of Rogen playing "Rogenesque" characters in his recent films and was not looking forward to his next film. Being a comic book to movie "obsessive nerd" I was going to see The Green Hornet and keep an "open mind". I liked the movie! In this version Seth Rogen's personality actually works (much of the time). The movie's low points are the times it goes to far in "forcing the action and dialogue" to connect to the next plot line. But ... hey .... it's a goofy comic book movie about a "not too well defined, somewhat obscure comic book-ish hero" ... so why not? The serious "don't change anything about my Green Hornet" folks are not gonna like this one - no matter what. For the rest of us we might get a "kick" out of this new Kato and his mal-adjusted, "trying to be better", crime-fighting partner.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Make Your Way To See "The Way Back"...
PostedJanuary 21, 2011
Not sure what drives Ed Harris to make films where he lives at the very edge of existence - scrounging off the earth and crawling towards the smallest glimmer of hope - but he is certainly very good in these movies. "The Way Back" is an amazing story about escapees from a Siberian gulag in 1940 Russia that somehow traverse nearly 4000 miles, on foot, through Siberian frozen wilderness, through the Mongolian desert and over the Himalayan mountains to freedom. This film is based on true events. It is soberly told with high end cinematography and sparse dialogue. The story of the journey speaks for itself. I often found myself shaking my head and cringing at what these men (and one woman) faced and what they needed to do to survive. Experience this amazing movie in a theater for the maximum effect and appreciation. Not to be missed.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+4points
4of 4voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Made in Dagenham Will Make Your Day - See it!
PostedJanuary 11, 2011
Even with some heavy English accents that are sometimes hard to decipher, especially in the first 30 minutes, this "small movie" about a true historical event of major importance is easy to absorb, enlightening and very entertaining! Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins and the rest of the acting crew do a "splediforous" job of inhabiting their characters. We believe everything about the events in this well-told tale of the beginning struggles of women for "equal pay for equal work". It all works in this movie about work! TheMovieRhino loves well-made movies about little-known historical events that have made huge impacts in modern society and culture. Made in Dagenham is just such a movie. Seek it out ... and see it!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
Little Fockers Has Very Little Left To Offer....
PostedJanuary 11, 2011
....it has simply run it's course. The "organic" humor that came so naturally in the first Fockers films is now feeling "forced" and often "over-worked". There are a few funny scenes in Little Fockers that are original and worthwhile but not enough to recommend spending first-run movie ticket money. Best to save some dough and rent this one later. Hopefully all of the Little Focker cast and crew will realize that this "gravy train" has reached the end of the line and they can all get about finding something fresh and new.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.