DrLaser's stats
- Review count280
- Helpfulness votes157
- First reviewMarch 15, 2008
- Last reviewAugust 14, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
Overall rating
3
/
5
Blackthorn - not a sequal to Butch Cassidy
PostedOctober 18, 2011
Sam Shepard's performance is strong in this Indie tale of the aging Butch Cassidy told with flashbacks of his time with the Sundance Kid. He is living in Bolivia having not been killed as in the earlier film. Although the cinematography is visually strong, the directing is not and the resulting ride is somewhat bumpy. Unlike the George Roy Hill version with Redford and Newman, this one lacks charm and wit. Its a stark vision of a final adventure of an old man. Cassidy seems to be mismatched from his history as a bank robber.
Although the acting is good, the film never really grabs hold of anything compelling. Its certainly interesting, but as dry as the high dessert in which its told.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Real Steel - the audience cheered - many times!!
PostedOctober 12, 2011
Its not often that a movie that you have low expectations for, actually gets you to cheer aloud again and again, with the rest of the audience. The chemistry between the runaway dad and his reconnected son just simply works on every level. I loved this movie!
Set in the near future where robots fight as a form of entertainment, Hugh Jackman, a poor excuse of a fight promoter is on a quick spiral to palookaville when fate intervenes and he is reunited with a son he does not want but who helps him rediscover who he is. This film has so much heart it will take you by surprise and lift you up.
Although not great art, this movie is very much a winner. Give it a chance!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
50/50 - really more like 100%
PostedOctober 4, 2011
A surprisingly wonderful film about coming to grips with cancer told in a sensitive, compelling, yet funny way. Joseph Gordon-Levitt give a powerful yet subtle performance, and who knew...Seth Rogen actually can act!
This is a very different take on disease and it works by focusing on relationships. Cancer becomes the tool to magnify how people deal with each other in ways both good and bad and in revealing the best and worst in those closest to us, and ultimately in ourselves.
You almost feel guilty laughing at a subject that is so serious, but the humor is genuine and the story is told so well. Based on a true story, this film will leave you uplifted. See it for the laughs. See it for the acting. And most of all, see it for beauty of what life can offer especially when its at its most fragile.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
The Debt - the cover up and the guilt
PostedOctober 3, 2011
Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain carry this film as the past and present versions of a Mossad agent assigned to capture a hideous Nazi war criminal living in comfort behind the Iron Curtain. But just as in real life, the unexpected can turn any plan on a dime and lead to unexpected consequences. This film explores how living a lie can have its toll on all the lives around you, even when the lie is meant to be done for a good reason.
This is a suspense filled story centering on espionage with action, yet its more of a psychodrama that concerns itself with how a cover up can create a path of destruction for all those involved.
Although well told and intellectually compelling, I found the ending less than satisfying. See it mostly for the fine performances.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Sarah's Key - unlocks a remarkable story
PostedSeptember 20, 2011
This film is a rare gem that has not gotten the attention it deserves. The story is both powerful and sensitive. The directing and acting are top notch. A woman today is researching a story of Paris during WWII only to discover that her husband's family is tied to it in a troubling manner. The film jumps between her story and that of Sarah, a young girl who in 1942 is taken with her family by the French police ultimately to be relocated to a concentration camp. She hides her younger brother in a secret closet and locks it with a key. But her success in keeping her brother safe from capture may have trapped him in that locked closet to which only she has the key. Yet there is so much more and the metaphor here is of the key which unlocks the lives of all it touches. As the story moves through time from that of the writer today to Sarah's world of war torn Paris, the transitions are seamless. The writer's tale is as compelling as that of Sarah. This is a story of relationships and humanity.
There is no black and white, nor good and bad, rather there is a spectrum of gray where even a prison guard can be a hero. The ultimate beauty of the story is in following its impact on the lives of the generations who were not aware of it.
The story takes place mostly in France and America and uses both languages. At times it is subtitled but easy to follow.
Beautifully told, intelligently directed, and well acted, this may be one of this years finest films. I highly recommend it to you.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
The Help - superb
PostedSeptember 17, 2011
Not so many decades ago in Jackson, Mississippi there was a huge divide between privileged white housewives and the hired African American help they had raise their children and clean their homes. This is the story of a young woman returning home from college after growing up in this world. She decides to interview the help for a book that may start her on a career as a writer. But it does so much more. It changes all their lives.
The story is told in a powerful yet subtle way with pathos and humor. Some of the humor is actually hilarious even though its not comedy. Just watch for the scene with the pie!
This is an ensemble film where each actress seems to rise to a great performance. Each of the several separate stories converge and diverge around the central theme of the interviews for the book. Its powerful and dramatic with many surprises in the individual stories as they are fleshed out. For those who did not live through this era, this film is a must see. You'll be glad you did!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Our Idiot Brother - innocence can be funny!
PostedSeptember 10, 2011
Paul Rudd plays a sweet innocent hippy working in a green market when he finds himself set up by a fully uniformed policeman who tells him he needs some pot. Paul is an innocent who only wants to help those he meets and ends up in jail, losing his girlfriend, home, and dog due to his niceness. When he returns to his Mother's home and then crashing at the homes of his three sisters, this same innocence unravels the complications and delusions of their lives. With the innocence of Forrest Gump and the timing of Tommy Chong, our hero sees the truth in each of his sisters lives and forces them to confront it leading to disaster after disaster. Yet, like a double negative being a positive, a disaster of a disaster can also result in something good. And that's just what this film is. Something good and entertaining. Its not big on plot but it is a good story that is well acted. If you like Paul Rudd you'll enjoy this.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Fright Night - fear and fun
PostedSeptember 6, 2011
Originality is tough at this point in a vampire movie, but this remake of Fright Night takes its own direction and works just as well as the original only differently. I liked it!
The cast was great with just enough humor, suspense, special effects, and attractive, and geeky stars. Some of the special effects really do catch you by surprise especially if you see it in 3D (which works well). Although laced with comedy, there are some real scares here. Unlike the original, the vampire story is linked with the vampire hunter's own, making it a more interesting back story. Go see it!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
30 Minutes or Less - maybe less
PostedAugust 16, 2011
This movie is about a pair of good guy buddies who become the victims of bad guy buddies, both sort of dumb. The plot is about being forced to rob a bank by being put in a bomb vest. But the reason is ridiculous. The bad guy needs the money so he can hire a hit man to kill his lottery winner Marine vet father. The humor is somewhat sporadic, but when its on a roll it can be pretty funny. Although crude and filled with strong language, its less in your face than any Seth Rogan film I've seen. In fact its tame by comparison. This is definitely a frat house film that will be passed around the dorms. Its not brilliant, but it is original. There's an extra scene after the credits end.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
Cowboys and Aliens - not a blockbuster but ok
PostedAugust 11, 2011
As the title suggests, this is a Western. But in today's climate of political correctness, Indians can't be the bad guys, so in an attempt to find a villain and lure in a wider audience, the bad guys are aliens. This way both the Cowboys and Indians can have a common enemy. Its ok, nothing more. Although the special effects are professional, the action good, and the stars are big league, the story is middle of the road. I'm a big fan of both Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford but they aren't given much to work with. Its a fun film, but nothing memorable. This is more of a good late night dvd than a theater experience. You would expect people in the old west to be shocked beyond belief were they to confront an Alien culture with high technology. Here its just written off as the work of demons. Take it for what it is and go in expecting a
western and not a sci-fi flick and you might enjoy it.
western and not a sci-fi flick and you might enjoy it.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.