DrLaser's stats
- Review count280
- Helpfulness votes157
- First reviewMarch 15, 2008
- Last reviewAugust 14, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
Overall rating
3
/
5
The Darkest Hour - basic cable sci fi
PostedDecember 28, 2011
Two entrepreneurs fly to Moscow to seal a multi-million dollar internet deal. When they find themselves cheated out of it, they wind up in a club drinking their sorrows away with two girls they meet. Suddenly electrical based invisible aliens attack the city falling from the sky, leaving them hiding and in the dark with the guy who cheated them. Its a concept that is novel enough and full of potential, but the script is just middling and misses opportunities to make this movie more than average. The special effects are good, but sparse. Its got the feel of a made for cable tv film. When its on its mark it can be entertaining, but its mark never quite delivers what you hope for. There are some surprises even though most of the plot is predictable. Moscow looks beautiful and its people are treated well by the director. Watch for the man on horseback. He should have been amazing but was just cool. There just isn't much meat on this bone. Wait for it to move to cable and you won't be disappointed. You'll probably like it when you see it at home. Wait till then.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
The Sitter - weak
PostedDecember 21, 2011
The sitter is a weak remake of Adventures in Babysitting. Its opening scene involves Jonah Hill in a totally gratuitous and unnecessary sex scene with a girl who won't reciprocate. It had nothing to do with the remainder of the film, which actually was cute and at times funny. This is a film that in better hands could have succeeded. It's not the worst film ever made, but your money would be better spent elsewhere. Anywhere elsewhere! Really.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
MI - Ghost Protocol- Episode 4
PostedDecember 21, 2011
From the moment you hear that haunting Mission Impossible theme, now updated, you know exactly what you are in for.
When the Mission Impossible team are set up, blamed, and disavowed for bombing the Kremlin, Ethan (Tom Cruise) and three of his team are left alone to stop a madman intent on starting a nuclear war.
Less dark than the last installment, Simon Pegg as the nerdy tech side kick adds a comedic touch to an otherwise non stop action film. JJ Abrams is intent on ratcheting up the intensity of this film. Not satisfied with climbing the measly Petronis Towers in MI 3, Cruise does another insane out of building scene on the130th floor of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Some of the gimmicks that the MI team use are both fascinating and funny, especially the screen that is supposed to mask their presence until Simon Pegg accidentally sticks his face in front of it. Its all classic but not as full of the double crosses you probably expect.
Cruise still can pull off his own stunts as he approaches age 50, but you now begin to feel that he is not quite as resilient as he once was. But this is still his baby, and he knows just how to keep you involved. Its exactly what you are expecting. Nothing more, nothing less.
Some of the gimmicks that the MI team use are both fascinating and funny, especially the screen that is supposed to mask their presence until Simon Pegg accidentally sticks his face in front of it. Its all classic but not as full of the double crosses you probably expect.
Cruise still can pull off his own stunts as he approaches age 50, but you now begin to feel that he is not quite as resilient as he once was. But this is still his baby, and he knows just how to keep you involved. Its exactly what you are expecting. Nothing more, nothing less.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The Descendants - slow but powerful
PostedDecember 10, 2011
Anyone who has had to sit vigil by a hospital bed understands the impact it can have on a family. Here, the mother is on life support and her husband (George Clooney) is overcome with guilt and remorse until he learns from his eldest daughter of his wife's affair. As his emotions run the gamut, we learn his and his family's story. They are descendants of the first King who unified the Hawaiian Islands, Kamehameha. The story revolves around the last remaining huge tract of land that the extended family still owns on Kauii, and now are in negotiations to sell, with Clooney as the administrator of the family trust in charge.
Just as they say there are 12 steps in grieving, we get to see the many phases of this family's coping with the impending death. The film finds its focus through the intricacies of their relationships and the intertwining of their stories.
If you have ever spent any time in Hawaii, you will love the cinematography which captures the majesty of the islands. The soundtrack is dominated by the ukulele typical of Hawaiian music. The story of the ancestry of the family will be familiar to you.
Its all done so very well and subtly. This is a mature subject told for a mature audience and not a Hollywood box office hit. The strong language that the daughters use defines the dysfunction and alienation the family has lived with. Their journey now is to come together and find the things that really matter in life. In the end, they do.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
My Week With Marilyn - The fan and the Showgirl
PostedNovember 30, 2011
This is the story of a young English overachiever, Colin Clark played by Eddie Redmayne, who relentlessly pursues Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branaugh) in 1955 to get a job working in his film production company through family connections. When he finally does and proves himself, its as Olivier's production company embarks on shooting "The Prince and the Showgirl" with Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) as his co-star . Her insecurity and unprofessional behavior create tension on the set. Her husband, Arthur Miller is with her but clearly finds her issues overwhelming. After a late night blow up he leaves to take a break to see his children. Marilyn has taken a liking to Clark, who has been hired as the "Third Director" or as he explains to her, the gopher (go for this, go for that). He is young and naive and totally infatuated. While trying to help her get the film done, he falls for her and gets to spend a week caring for her. Its all quite innocent and fairy tale like.
Williams does not imitate Marilyn, she acts her. Its light as a feather and tickles your heart. Branaugh who like Williams is not a look a like for Olivier, acts him and exposes his frustrations and realizations quite well. Judy Densch is fabulous as always, in a small role.
Think of this as an actors film with the actors playing actors in a film. Its hopelessly wonderful and goes exactly where you know it will.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Tower Heist - entertaining and cute
PostedNovember 29, 2011
This is no Mission Impossible, nor is it Wall Street, but its sort of fun in a mild way. The story takes liberties with a Madoff-like ripoff and creates a fantasy where his victims launch a plot to get even after he has made off with their pension funds. Sure its implausible, but with a cast comprised of Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and more, it has its moments, some of which are quite funny. Where the plot and script are thin, the cast tends to fill it out by force of personality. Though not great cinema, its pleasant family fun.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Martha Marcy May Marlene - escaping a cult mindset
PostedNovember 16, 2011
In this film, darker and starker than Winter's Bone, Martha flees from an upstate NY farm run by a cult. After almost being retaken, she goes to live with her sister in a beautiful lake home in Connecticut. The story is told in a series of flashbacks that edit at moments of similarities like her sister planting bulbs switching to the young women on the farm working their vegetable garden. As the film progresses we begin to see the way the cult controls its members who we are led to believe are runaways without strong family ties. Their personalities and individuality are systematically stripped away and replaced with obedience and no small measure of fear.
This easily could have taken the easy route and become a typical cult film or a horror film, but the director chose to focus on how the cult has altered Martha's mind. Martha never explains what she has been through to her sister or her husband long after she is far away in the nest of safety. Her behavior is still locked into the way she lived when with the cult and shocks her sister who thinks Martha simply broke up with a boyfriend. Yet Martha's actions say otherwise leading her sister to slowly recognize that Martha needs professional help before she loses all touch with reality.
The film grows shocking at this stage, when we see the true depths of darkness Martha has experienced under the control of her cult. We are left at the end wondering whether Martha's tenuous grasp on her sanity has fractured or whether the cult has found her.
Both slow and chilling, this is a very well made intellectual study of the effect of a cult on a mind. Though at times heavy handed, it is unquestionably powerful.
The long name of the film refers to the names the cult has added to her given name.
First time feature film director Durkin, and actress Elizabeth Olsen emerge as strong forces in cinema. Not for everyone, but it will leave you thinking and more than a little concerned the next time you hear acorns falling on your roof.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
The Skin I Live In - Pygmailon on acid
PostedNovember 8, 2011
A story of revenge and love in which a doctor creates a woman, falls in love with her, and is inevitably destroyed by his creation. In some ways this is a Pygmalion meets Frankenstein story where a brilliant but vindictive plastic surgeon has created an illegal trans-genetic skin. But the metaphor of it being skin deep resonates in this very European adult story with lots of nudity, drug use, and rape, yet without prurient content. It shocks you as you begin to comprehend the depth of the story as it unfolds in a nonlinear way jumping backwards several times to fill in the blanks and complex family, professional, and serendipitous connections. The story centers on sex reassignment surgery so be prepared.
Almodovar is clearly a master film maker and this is a very strong work with excellent performances especially by Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya. Not your run of the mill story.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Take Shelter - is it paranoia or preparation?
PostedNovember 1, 2011
Are premonitions real or delusions? That is the central issue in the very dark and intense character study of a man on the edge of losing his sanity as he prepares his family for what he believes is an impending apocalypse. Michael Shannon does a near perfect job of portraying the evolution from sane to psychotic. Jessica Chastain plays his frightened but dedicated wife. Their journey is both fascinating and frightening. This is a very unique art house film that will have a very limited distribution and defies easy categorization. Is this about mental illness or science fiction? The directing is quite tight as is the somewhat sparse script. Not a film for those looking for a happy diversion, but fascinating and provocative.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
The Way - simply inspirational
PostedOctober 25, 2011
Martin Sheen has lost his wife and is judgmental of his son who has left his doctoral program to find meaning in his life. When his son (Emilio Estevez) dies in a mountain storm, Sheen goes to retrieve the body only to find himself compelled to finish his son's journey and as walks he finds his way. Visually striking, emotionally compelling, and spiritually uplifting, Estevez has found his mark in directing. There is pathos, humor, catharsis, and inspiration.
This is the story of four travelers who find themselves through each other. Though there are religious overtones, this is not a story of religion. Its a journey of a man's discovery and how the death of his son has given him a chance to find himself. Its beautifully told and a real treat to see! Bravo Emilio!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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