BigEasyFlickerFan's stats
- Review count90
- Helpfulness votes11
- First reviewJune 2, 2008
- Last reviewAugust 2, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
4
/
5
Fine bangless thought-filled sci-fi
PostedJuly 23, 2009
Mercifully, there is not a single explosion in this sci-fi movie. This is quiet, intriguing, psychological sci-fi. The back side of the moon is being mined for energy. One man is on site to monitor the operation, and he looks forward to the end of his 3-year contract and to returning home to his family. Then an accident and a concussion cause his mind to seem to play tricks on him. Now he must wrestle with his selves, to understand his fate.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
mostly a sour ill-made mess
PostedJuly 9, 2009
This is not a very good movie. Larry David is the central character, and as such he is not much different from the obnoxious lout from "Curb Your Enthusiasm". That character was a bit socially clueless in his obnoxiousness. But here he is aggressively, intentionally, and monotonously obnoxious. Once again Woody Allen writes a character that is an aging male to whom a beautiful young woman is (very) improbably attracted. Woody, get help! The movie's rewards are fine performances from the other persona, especially Evan Rachel Wood as the sweet innocent Mississippi runaway, and also Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley, Jr. as her parents. But the main character is overdrawn and rude beyond believability.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Pretty good suspenser
PostedJune 24, 2009
Based on the novel that preceded "The DaVinci Code", this movie was a pretty good suspenser. It was much more gripping than TDC, which bored me to tears. Once again Tom Hanks is a Harvard symbologist (what?!), who is recruited by the Vatican to help fix an emergency. The pope has died, the cardinals are about to start voting on a replacement, and the Vatican is facing a horrific bomb threat. Just as with the book, the ending is so implausible as to make you grimace, but up till then it is a pretty good suspenser.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Very good action / suspenser
PostedJune 21, 2009
This movie reinvents the 1974 of (almost) the same name. John Travolta leads a gang of lethal types that hijack a NYCity subway train, ostensibly for ransom but actually for reasons that remain hidden until the very end. Denzel Washington has a desk job as a subway monitor, and he must be the intermediary in handling the situation. Both leads do fine, and the story is tense, and holds one's interest throughout. Very good entertainment; worth a visit to the cineplex.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Affecting but a little slow
PostedMay 15, 2009
Based on a true story, but fictionalized somewhat. LA Times reporter Steve Lopez happened upon a mentally ill homeless man, Anthony Ayers, who was playing classical music quite skillfully on the streets. Thus began their friendship, and Lopez's efforts to help Ayers find a path to stability. The movie is affecting but a bit slow. Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Lopez is too much given over to grimaces and squints. But Jamie Foxx as Ayers is really quite impressive. The movie can make us all sympathize with the terrors of mental illness.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
slow and not very interesting
PostedApril 23, 2009
The stars have appealing screen personas generally, but that doesn't carry this movie. This movie is slow, and not very interesting. Also, it is somewhat confusing, trying to remember who is on whose side in this intrigue. The movie has some nice repartee between the dueling leads. But if the filmmakers thought they'd made a crackling, clever, and brisk good adventure, they fooled themselves.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Amy Adams charms again
PostedApril 19, 2009
This movie was a bit disappointing, but the charm of Amy Adams makes up for a thin plot. She plays the never married mother of the child of her high school sweetheart, who needs money, and turns to an unorthodox line of work -- cleaning up the blood, etc., from crime scenes, suicides, deaths, and the like. Her partner in this is her somewhat irresponsible flakey younger sister. Alan Arkin fills in as the codger-like dad. There wasn't a whole lot of substance to this movie, but it's nice to see indie movies venture forth into novel stories.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
A nice small movie
PostedApril 19, 2009
This is a nice modest movie, somewhat slow, about kids, most of whom are one or another form of social outliers, who are working one summer in a tacky low-budget amusement park (the Adventureland of the title). The male lead is bookish, innocent to the point of being naive, and way-overeducated for this summer stint. But he is likable, and mixes easily with the other park employees. This is a small movie with modest charms, but a nice movie about basically nice young people. It could be brisker! But don't have excess expectations, and you can enjoy it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Well-acted serious movie
PostedMarch 1, 2009
Kristin Scott Thomas gives a very nice performance that sustains this somewhat slow French movie. Fresh out of jail for a shocking murder, she moves in with the family of her substantially younger sister. Slowly her life begins to mesh with theirs, especially the sister's two adopted children. Slowly she begins to come out of the drabness of her shell. The acting of all participants is fine, and the characters are interesting. This is a serious movie, and anything but a light entertainment.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Rock-em, sock-em revenge story
PostedFebruary 26, 2009
This is a testosterone movie. It is a violent and a tense chase/revenge movie. Don't expect redeeming qualities or restraint. Liam Neeson's beautiful feckless 17-yr daughter is kidnapped in Paris by Albanian baddies. Dad shows little restraint in tracking down the bad guys and dispatching them en masse, as he hunts for his daughter. He musta killed 20-25 guys along the way. But the action is swift and relentless. Never mind that Neeson rarely misses his shots whereas the baddies can't hit a barn wall. Never mind that machine gun fire that rakes a car doesn't injure one passenger in it. Just enjoy the high energy, high testosterone mind candy of it all, and exit the theater with a slightly guilty smile on your face.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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