DrLaser's stats
- Review count280
- Helpfulness votes157
- First reviewMarch 15, 2008
- Last reviewAugust 14, 2013
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4
Overall rating
4
/
5
The Soloist
PostedMay 5, 2009
Once in a while you see a film where an unlikely pairing creates a dynamic chemistry. Usually its in action buddy films. This is a small Indie film filled made with grace where the teaming of Downey and Foxx suprise you with its deep subtle emotions and intellectual themes.
Downey plays Steve Lopez, an LA Times reported who stumbles upon a homeless man (Foxx) playing a violin who once went to Julliard. What begins as a story for his paper turns into something far more powerful as Lopez finds deeper meaning in his own life through his interaction with a man who is both homeless and schizophrenic. The pacing is slow yet powerful. This will be a contender for many awards.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
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5
Crank HIgh Voltage - for cult viewers only
PostedMay 1, 2009
If you loved Tarantino's Grindhouse, you'll be right at home here. The plot is totally implausible starting with Statham surviving a 10,000 foot fall only to have his heart harvested. Sure, that could happen.
This movie is not for kids or the faint hearted. Its all violence, nudity, and profanity. But it does have a self mocking sense of humor and a cast of very interesting people like David Carradine, Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, Dwight Yoakam, Corey Haim, Lauren Holly, and Ron Jeremy to name a few.
The ending at first is totally unsatisfying, but improves during the credits. Most who saw it at the theater I was in hated it.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
17 Again - funny and fun
PostedApril 21, 2009
Forget all the negative reviews the critics gave this. Its a hoot. The basic plot isn't new. A man gets a second chance to live his life over as his teen self and tries to get it right. But what makes the film work are a combination of personalities and situations. His best friend is the uber nerd turned billionaire, free to indulge his most extreme fantasies like wearing Vulcan pointy ears or a cloak of invisibility at the most inappropriate times. And somehow the timing works. Efron seamlessly becomes Matt Perry. But its his interaction with his teenage kids that is the focus of the story. The lessons he learns from being there with them save both them and in the end him.
Its better than you'd expect for both adults and kids!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
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5
Monsters vs. Aliens - a hit
PostedApril 14, 2009
Are you ready for some fun? Well this is it. You MUST see it in 3D! Its worth every extra penny. And don't leave when the credits roll or you'll miss the little bonus scene.
Great story and great actors doing the voices. Think of Dorothy in Oz. The writers use lots of metaphors and references that you'll recognize and laugh at. Clearly they are giving adults a real treat here and if you love old sci fi films and tv, you'll have lots to like. Kids at the theater loved it too!
There's a nice story in the metaphor about how a woman grows and finds herself and that's the real message.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
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5
Sunshine Cleaning
PostedMarch 31, 2009
Amy Adams life is at a cul de sac when fate affords her a chance at using her skills as a maid to clean up bloody crime scenes for good money. With the help of her sister (Emily Blunt) they form a business. The cleaning becomes a metaphor for cleaning up their own lives and finally growing up. Alan Arkin does his usual magnificent job as her dad and acts as a counterpoint for her troubled son. Jason Spevack plays a one armed counter clerk who becomes integral to her success in more ways than one. All these flawed characters interact and grow. Its not a formula film that aims to tie up all the loose ends and that will disappoint some, but its a solid film with good acting and well worth watching.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Knowing
PostedMarch 24, 2009
In the end the message here is about gloom and doom. The whole mystery of the numbers is a red herring and has little to do with the film's message which is only revealed at the very end. In some ways this is a movie about faith like Signs, but just not as well crafted and with a far less satisfying ending. The special effects were done quite well especially the plane crash but that's not enough to carry the film. Its a pity since it is well acted and exciting at times. Some will find this film interesting, but others will walk away either depressed or disappointed as I did.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
Race to Witch Mountain
PostedMarch 17, 2009
Dwayne Johnson makes this movie work. Its a Disney formula family entertainment adventure about two good alien kids being pursued by bad government agents and a bad alien. Cab driver Dwayne must help them get to Witch Mountain to save both their world and ours. The pacing is good and the cameos add a little spice here and there. Anyone who seems tangential to the story is brought back in so there are no loose ends. Its a great movie for kids. Many applauded at the ending. Dwayne has a great sense of timing and is likable and funny. He clearly has a future in these films.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Watchmen - a different superhero film
PostedMarch 10, 2009
This is not another Ironman or Dark Knight and not for kids. Set in an alternate timeline where Nixon is still president, superheroes are complex. Someone is killing them. Rorschack, a Watchman, narrates as he writes his journal. The characters and story are dark yet intellectual, confronting existentialist issues. In the end this is an old fashioned detective tale . The CGI effects are stunning, yet the real intrigue is in the misdirection of who the characters are. It takes a while to explain, but its necessary for the plot.
Half the people who saw the screening I was at didn't get it, the other half loved it.
Half the people who saw the screening I was at didn't get it, the other half loved it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The Reader
PostedMarch 3, 2009
Post WWII German guilt is the focus of The Reader. There is a dysfunctionality in each realtionship depicted. Family life is distant at best. Adult Winslet's relationship with a 15 year old leaves him detached and damaged. Years late she reappears as a symbol of guilt and personal shame that leads to her downfall. Fiennes plays a tempered role balancing pain and truth and keeping a secret.
Its a powerful movie in the tradition of Truffaut. Only at the end is truth revealed and healing begins.
This is not a blockbuster, rather its an adult work of quality and craftsmanship. Not for children.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
The International
PostedFebruary 26, 2009
This is director Tom Tykwer's best film since Run Lola Run. There as here he is best at action sequences. This movie delivers one the longest and most exciting action scenes inside the amazing Guggenheim Museum.
The story follows detective Clive Owen as he tracks down a killer who is working for a big International bank. However this is a film in which you are never sure who is the bad guy. And the alliances are enough to make your head spin. Naomi Watts is miscast in her role but it doesn't matter.
Although its a good film, its not up to the current level of what's out in the cinema. One of us liked it, one felt undecided.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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