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amamoviecritic2
amamoviecritic2's stats
- Review count5
- Helpfulness votes1
- First reviewJuly 20, 2008
- Last reviewFebruary 9, 2009
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.2
amamoviecritic2's Reviews
Overall rating
3
/
5
Exodus 2
PostedFebruary 9, 2009
amamoviecritic2
This is one of those troubling stories that emerge out of the history of our time because most of us are not familiar with the event. Unfortunately, the story (even though vivid for the heroics that emerges) is still staid and tried. It is a rescue play replete with daring, action, violence, intrigue, romance, and issues of uncertainty. Certainly survival matters are portrayed well, adversity is compounded, and the Jewish sense of Exodus is well plotted. The problem comes in the lack of shedding any new light on the real drama of evil that hasn’t already been tried. There are solid characterizations, but it just does rise above an action-adventure flick. I think a Discovery Channel documentary might have done better.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Slam Down
PostedFebruary 9, 2009
amamoviecritic2
This movie is a medley of masochistic mayhem! I don’t know that Mickey Rourke (as Randy, the Ram, Robinson) deserves an Academy award for this work as he does not seem to be acting very far removed from his own descent into chaos. But do take note that he will captivate you in this despondent and pathetic view of a man who makes choices that confirm his own internal pain while seeking vindication through the arena of false approval found in blood-thirsty fans. Marisa Tomei (as the struggling stripper who bares out fully in her character) and Evan Rachel Wood (as his dissonant daughter) are running parallel lives of despair. This is a carefully crafted complex character study which will erode your ability to keep distance.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Well Read
PostedFebruary 2, 2009
amamoviecritic2
Which is greater: shame-based behavior on a grand, murderous scale, or shame-based behavior on a singular, personal scale? Which is more needed: justice or forgiveness? What is more tragic: sex void of love or love void of reconciliation? This is a complex and compelling movie based in a holocaust background that cannot be removed from the contamination of that event. Kate Winslet (as Hanna) and Ralph Fiennes as (Michael), and to be sure, David Kross (as the teenage Michael), play out their respective roles with determined sensitivity that brings their characters into our living room awareness and personalizes the tragedy unfolding before us with paralyzing angst.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
More Chances Than This
PostedFebruary 2, 2009
amamoviecritic2
I know that it is billed as a romantic-comedy, but I am not sure it is really much of either. This film has it high points and even makes the point that falling in love for older people has built-in quirks rather well, but it falls short of giving any of the characters much of a chance to build needed depth and substance. The result is character sketches: Harvey (Dustin Hoffman) a disaffected musician with secretive ambitions to perform jazz caught in a spin cycle of job pressures, loneliness, aging, and a distinct father-daughter dissonance; Kate (Emma Thompson) a disappointed maiden caught in a futile cycle of job-mom-job-mom, loneliness, aging, and a detouring mother-daughter dependency.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
The Dark Night
PostedJuly 20, 2008
amamoviecritic2
Wow! This is a sensational sequel; no, a movie in its own right. The ensemble of actors is exceptional. The themes and storylines are coherent. The artistic and special effects are fetching and conducive to creating a dark and despairing world. The portrayal of evil is raw, lethal and unnerving. Heath Ledger as The Joker should receive an Academy nod for his performance. The hero, as found in the visage of Batman, is tainted by his own internal struggle to ascertain what is good in a corrupt world. There is no other Batman than that represented by Christian Bale’s creation. The best in man, as exemplified by DA Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who is struggling with issues of justice, shows how anger and hate can corrode the exterior (as surely as fire can remove flesh), to reveal a base and hostile inner working. The mythical story holds up very well. The filming builds within the imagination a powerful image of destruction without needing to show blood, guts and gore. Double wow!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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