Filmgeek's stats
- Review count15
- Helpfulness votes2
- First reviewJuly 18, 2008
- Last reviewApril 25, 2011
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
5
/
5
New faces, new roles
PostedApril 25, 2011
This plot-driven picture worked well without an A-list cast...but some of the cast have A-list potential. There is a delightful interaction between Schilling and Bowler, reminiscent of Mulder and Scully of "The X-Files". James Marsden makes his first screen appearance as a villain. What was remarkable was his performance as a villain who pretends to be victim, rather than victimizer, the sort of true sociopath who can accuse his victims of having no feelings. The picture is badly mismarketed, in that it was heavily promoted to xenophobic political extremists, who prefer pictures on war and violence, to films that provoke thought. The crowd who made a success of "The Patriot", found little here to cheer about. This is a film for those who realize there are no easy answers to life's challenges, and want answers, albeit difficult ones.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Oscars Deserved
PostedNovember 25, 2010
The best acting out of the versatile Anne Hathaway, ever seen to date. Herskovitz and Randolph deserve an Oscar nod for Best Screenplay, Hathaway for Best Actress, Gyllenhaal for Best Supporting Actor. The story arc will floor most viewers. This film will grab you by the eyeballs and you'll hang on by the edge of your seat. It is social commentary wrapped in high drama, masquerading as a mere sex story. A must-see.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Seyfried Rescues Lame Script from Failure
PostedMay 21, 2010
Chalk another win up to Amanda Seyfried. The go-to-gal for wildly-improbable storylines did it again. With a storyline so wildly contrived and cliche, and several characters more wooden than Pinnochio, by rights this film should have been a dismal failure. The only well-written parts appear late in the film, done magnificently by Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. But the young Pennsylvanian Seyfried waded right into the mess from the outset, turning plot-driven awkwardness into character-driven substance. Bravissima, Amanda! Film school students take note: Great writing cannot rescue truly lame acting. But great acting can sometimes rescue lame writing. This was one of those times.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
Would make great comedy, but needs more humor
PostedMay 11, 2010
The writer seems to have started with a psychological thriller and tried to add comedic elements. This is fundamentally a story about people who fear abandonment...and the things we do to avoid feeling abandoned. Although there are funny elements throughout, which the cast delivered well, the continuity just isn't there. I wish this had been tried as a stage play first, as the film would be better for the live audience interplay.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Drama and Action in One Package
PostedDecember 23, 2009
Kathryn Bigelow deserves Oscar consideration for helming this picture. She brings in all the elements of an action blockbuster but one: There are no fearless superheroes...only demented psychopaths, and peaceable people trying, each in their own way, not to become the thrill of the day for psychos playing with lives and ordnance, waiting gleefully to make more gore. Anyone who relishes Tony and Ridley Scott's work, will welcome Bigelow's fresh viewpoint, on what began as Bush's war, and became a playground for sadists. Unlike the psychos in HOSTEL, Bigelow's psychos look as real as they are. For everyone who never understood why foreign "fighters" came to Iraq to join al-Qaeda, their motives are made obvious here.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
1
/
5
Vapor-thin plot...can't believe Silver bought this
PostedSeptember 11, 2009
Although the cinematography is stunning and the stunts are eye-catching, the writing was so atrocious that it defies the imagination to figure why Joel Silver produced this script, without a Page One rewrite by someone with storytelling skills. Every aspect of this crime thriller, would have been explained more easily in another way. Starting with the basics: Why is an NOAA research base, normally guarded by U.S. Marines, being watched by a single civilian Deputy US Marshal? And why did the object of the crime take a 25,000-mile detour through the Antarctic?
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Laughed Myself Sick
PostedMarch 4, 2009
This is an exceptionally funny movie about a bunch of people who take fiction way too seriously. It's the best satire on sci-fi fans since Bill Shatner's SNL appearance, at which he told a StarTrek fan, "Get a life!".
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Is Fanning the next Hepburn?
PostedFebruary 19, 2009
PUSH, like CASINO ROYALE, is written for collectors. Enough hidden detail and plot twists to reveal something new on the 20th viewing, it will be a welcome addition to a collector's video library. With gritty cinematography that's an homage to Tony Scott's MAN ON FIRE, this second Dakota Fanning action film makes her a dramatic force. When she's 30 and directing, PUSH will be remembered as her break-the-mold role. See it, at least once, on film.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Breakout roles
PostedFebruary 15, 2009
To encounter a serious dramatic actor like Liam Neeson in an action film is surprising, to say the least. One doesn't expect to see Mr Neeson in red meat and red wine kinds of roles. That he does it believably deserves kudos. Famke Janssen is a bit of a fish out of water, as she transitions from X Woman and Bond girl to a serious dramatic role. Maggie Grace was badly directed, coming off a tad silly. Still and all, a decent film, but not Luc Besson's best work.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
If not us, Whom?
PostedDecember 30, 2008
At long last, a filmmaker has put Hitler into context. The Holocaust is not merely a tragedy for 6 million Jews...it was part of a global killing spree that claimed over 50 million lives. Only a few saw Hitler for what he was, and fewer dared to try to stop him. Heroism at its finest is on display here.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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