DrLaser's stats
- Review count280
- Helpfulness votes157
- First reviewMarch 15, 2008
- Last reviewAugust 14, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
Overall rating
4
/
5
The Girl who Played with Fire Rocks!
PostedSeptember 7, 2010
Once again we are being treated to a sophisticated mystery written for adults who love to think. This is as good as it gets. This second film in the Millennium trilogy is like peeling layers of an onion. With each scene it goes deeper and allows you to appreciate what a good director can do.
I'm only sorry that there is one book left to make into a final film in this series! Noomi Rapace is just wonderful as is Michael Nyqvest. We get to know both of them much better here.
I highly recommend this film to you, but go see The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo first if you really want to appreciate it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Not at all Expendable!
PostedAugust 31, 2010
It is what it is. You come to see this to get what you expect and you get it and more. Stallone knows how to direct action like few others. Plots are incidental. But he does care about the cast. The acting is good as are the special effects, especially if you are wowed by seeing a mean pirate's body actually being blown off leaving only a pair of legs. And where else will you ever see so many of the top 1980s action heroes all together in one film? And who else could bring Arnie back to the movies? The jokes are fitting, the action nonstop.
Sure its a formula, but its a formula that has been time tested and polished. Mickey Rorke keeps surprising us with his acting. As does Jet Li in a role where he is not the top dog.
Its stupid. Its fast. Its fun! Go see it before summer ends!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The Switch - is on!
PostedAugust 24, 2010
Ok, the central plot line is lame, yet its a surprisingly endearing film. Fortunately, the plot is not as important as the telling and that is done so well that you are caught off guard liking this film that the critics hate.
Child actor Tom Robinson steals the show and your heart as he interacts with Jason Bateman, who is clearly at his peak here. Jeff Goldblum is simply terrific in a subdued supporting role.
I had hoped to see another movie but it was sold out and settled for this and am so very glad I did!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The Other Guys - Will Ferrell tones it down
PostedAugust 10, 2010
Mark Wahlberg rarely does comedy, but when he does he's a natural. Will Ferrell tones down his frenetic energy as the "straight man" to Wahlberg's angy cop.
The movie begins with super cop duo Duane "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson dominating the NY scene. They are "The Guys". Ferrell is a police accountant who does their paperwork along with Wahlberg his unhappy partner. They don't go out on assignment and thus are "the Other Guys." Michael Keaton is their boss and has a moonlighting job to support his bisexual son's expensive college. Steve Coogan is the focus of their investigation. Eva Mendes is Ferrell's hot wife.
Of course its all quite ridiculous, but hey, its a Will Ferrell movie. Its not rocket science or Hamlet. Yet it works. Its funny, its uneven, but when it hits its mark its hilarious. Look for Derek Jeter. And stay after the credits for a final scene.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Steve Carell's best movie
PostedAugust 3, 2010
Not as linear as it appears to be in the previews, yet intelligently funny and surprisingly sweet if quite odd and wrong. The dinner itself is less important than the story of acceptance of yourself and others. Paul Rudd plays straight man to Steve Carell's crazy yet intuitive character. Paul needs to cruelly use his new friend Steve as a clown to make brownie points with his boss. Paul's fiance Stephanie Szostak threatens to walk out on him if he does. But Paul feels he needs to do this to get the promotion that will make Stephanie marry him. And of course it all gets insane and quite funny going from giggles to belly laughs. Its quirky and and presupposes you have a wide knowledge of popular quotations to get the jokes, but if you do its very smart and endearing.
Not everyone will get the humor, but its definitely a hoot!
And oh yes, enjoy the reference to Morgan Freeman. Its just beautiful. Stay through the credits for a last little treat.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
INCEPTION
PostedJuly 27, 2010
Christopher Nolan once again uses the device of nonlinear plot lines to tell a multi-layered tale of dream espionage. Part spy story, part sci-fi, and part a story of finding closure in relationships. Its an intellectual derivative of Total Recall where you are not certain of where the dream ends and reality begins... or does it?
Stories within stories within stories within stories take you deep in the world of the subconscious. Some will find it confusing while others will marvel at the richness of the many simultaneous levels as they seamlessly interact. DiCaprio and crew work together with the ease of master craftsmen moving through intricate detail without ever appearing to take a moment to think about their craft. Peeling back the layers of the onion to find yet another one. Yet in the end the heart of the story is its heart. Finding a way to reach closure through the parts of life that tear at our souls the most. Its simply fascinating.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The Sorcerer's Apprentice is good summer fun
PostedJuly 20, 2010
Nick Cage works seamlessly with director John (National Treasure) Turtletaub once again to make another fun summer action fantasy for the whole family. NYU student Jay Baruchel plays the shy science nerd who suddenly finds his destiny at the side of the Master Sorcerer Nick. Alfred Molina is their perfect evil foil. There is lots of fun "inside humor" here. My favorites were the homage to Disney's Fantasia and the sarcastic Star Wars line used by the villain's apprentice.
Although this is not the top movie of the season, at the end most people in the huge full theater I watched it in applauded. That says it all!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Cyrus is quirky more than comedic
PostedJuly 13, 2010
Cyrus has all the characteristics of an indie film, good actors, oddball story, good directing, and a small budget. Its sweet and more than a little uncomfortable and does not quite meet your expectations. The tension between the characters is the engine around which this story unfolds. New boyfriend John C. Reilly and ex wife Catherine Keener are drawn into the odd world of new girlfriend Marisa Tomei and her never to leave the nest son Jonah Hill. Its more interesting than funny. The jokes never go to the extremes where you think they will nor do the fights reach the extreme levels they too appear to be headed. Instead there is a slow methodical crescendo of uncomfortable tension as the clinging son tries to undermine the new boyfriend and in so doing disrupts the lives of the ex wife and her fiance as well. Emotions become games and spread like a virus from Cyrus. Interesting not overpowering.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Good for Kids and Families
PostedJuly 9, 2010
Set in a pleasant suburb, we meet a man named Gru (Steve Carell) who at first seems nice until we realize his life's goal is to be despised. He is a mad scientist who goes to a special banker (Russell Brand) to try to get financing for his most dastardly and biggest theft ever and is turned down in favor of the new evil kid on the block. Distraught he decides to steal a shrink ray from this evil kid named Vector (Jason Segel), so he will be able to complete his own plan, but Vector lives in a fortress. Every attempt by Gru to enter is met with failure typical of Wylie Coyote trying to beat the Roadrunner.
Enter three orphan girls who are going door to door selling cookies. When Gru sees them he realizes he has found his back door into the Vector's Fortress. And so he adopts these previously unadoptible girls much to their delight. To Gru they are just a means to an end but to them he is....DAD!
Once he gets what he wants he sees them as disposable. But soon like the Grinch, Gru too grows a heart and his world changes for the better as he fights to get them back and in so doing becomes the success as a Dad that he never dreamed of as an evil man.
Its a story with a good message that families will delight in. The 3D is just ok until the end credits. Julie Andrews is the voice of Gru's nagging mother
But it is the Minions, Gru's Weeble shaped helpers that steal the show and who provide the endless comic relief. They're cute and lovable and ever so funny. In the end, this is the story of a wicked man named Gru who with the love of his three daughters, Grew into a fine Dad.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Toy Story 3D - a fitting end to the trilogy
PostedJuly 6, 2010
Good cinema revolves around good stories, good directing, and good acting. This movie fills that bill. Its a story of coming of age of a child and the aging out of his toys. Those who have grown up on this tale will find it a fitting ending. It has something for everyone. And like Tom Hank's cowboy Woody, it never lets you down.
Andy, the boy who owns the toys is leaving for college. His toys are being left behind and end up at a day care center. Its a metaphor for seniors being left in an old age home. But there's a dark side. The center turns out to more like a concentration camp. An escape is planned. Its certainly not what you would expect but the story line works and shows the true meaning of friendship and loyalty.
A highlight is when Barbie meets Ken. They are just wonderful. Adults will laugh out loud at some of the sight gags not meant for the kids. Teens will relate to their own journey as they watch the characters they grew up with also come of age.
Pixar has done it once again!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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