Scarface Review

Now I know that I haven’t written a review in a while and that is due to a number of factors, the main ones being that I have a class that I am taking at the community college that takes up a large chunk of my time, the fact that I am a poor college student in an area where it costs nearly an arm and a leg to go to the movies, and possibly the biggest, the fact that the movies that have been out as of recently have been  complete and uder shit.  Now those of you who just got of the the 7 o clock showing of Charlie Mc Cloud or have been watching the trailer for the new F-film Vampire’s Suck can go ahead and say that I am wrong, but for the most part, there are a few big summer movies, and the Huge blockbuster has already landed upon us in the form of Inception, so many of the movies that I have been watching are in the form of DVD (and in one case VHS) form.

One of these movies that I have been dying to see for a while that’s reputation precedes itself as one of the greatest cult classics of all time is the Al Pacino epic Scarface. Now although I have been pressured to see it for a large portion of my natural born life, it always seemed to just be one of those “Oh, i’ll see it sometime” movies, partly because I already knew the ending before watching it.

A main part of the movie that I really liked was the fact that the whole movie showed the way that greed can truly get to you.  At the beginning, Tony Montana has nothing, and the viewer can see him change as the wealth comes towards him.  During the scene where Tony Montana is in the bathtub in his mansion that he had fought so hard to get, his friend Manny sums up what has happened to Montana very well.  He pretty much calls Tony out, saying that he isn’t hungry anymore.  The hunger that he had in the beginning; that hunger that fueled him to get higher had disappeared because he had already achieved everything.  Greed had consumed his whole being, which, if you look around America, is happening to all of us.  From young ages, we are trained that we always want the biggest house, the best job, and this movie showed what happened to a person who really did achieve all that and more.  Because of his greed, he kills everyone around him or destroys relationships so much as to turn his previous friends into enemies.  He has this enormous wealth, this extreme greed, but it changed him from the person he was into the very type of person he hated.

This film is in many ways the epitome of cult classics.  Within any group of friends, there Will be that one who swears by scarface and says that it is the best movie ever. In my opinion, I think that scarface is a good film that shows a good message of what can happen when greed takes over your life.  Is it one of the best? That is hard to say, because having seen it much later than I had seen my current favorite film The Godfather, its hard to make a side by side comparison, but if you have time, I would definitely recommend that you check this movie out, you won’t regret it.

Scarface: 5 out of 5

Superhero fans unite!

Over at a website that I go to, screened.com, they have a trailer up for the new Thor movie.  Now its a full 6 minute long trailer, and it seems to hype the movie quite well, so if you are into that kind of film, I would definitely go check it out (it was the trailer shown at this years comi-con which happened last weekend) because I don’t know how much longer it will be there.

Inception Review

I’ve been meaning to write a review for this film for a while, but everytime that I try to start, it’s almost as if I can’t even find the words to describe it.  In case you haven’t heard of this movie, Inception is the Christopher Nolan summer blockbuster that many probably know from the trailer that “doesn’t really say what the story is about but makes you want to see it even more anyways.”  It stars some pretty big names in the lead roles that you have probably seen in other movies, and even the lesser known actors seem to play their roles very well, just like all of the other Christopher Nolan directed movies, which include The Dark Knight and the cult classic Memento. In order to properly review this movie without giving away too much as to ruin it for those of you who havent seen it yet, I want to quickly touch on the main actors and actresses that made this movie the caliber that it is.

The main character, named Cobb, is played by an ever-impressive Leonardo DiCaprio. He does a very emotionally fitting job of playing a main character who, for all intensive purposes, has more problems going on than all of the rest of the cast put together.  DiCaprio does an impressive job of capturing the character of one who is so close to falling into a sense of insanity, yet holding onto a single sliver of his past that keeps him alive and sane.

Cobb’s partner in crime is named Arthur, and is played by the Very underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Really every movie that I have seen that he has been in has been a fantastic one, and he compliments DiCaprio well, with both of their characters sharing that sauve “we-know-what-we-are-doing” vibe that leads the viewer to believe that they have been doing this for a while.  Arthurs character doesn’t really delve any deeper than skin deep, which I thought was ok considering the amount of “past” that Cobb has.

The third of the “main” characters is played by one of my favorite actresses of the past decade, Ellen Page. She plays the “architect” (which I won’t go into anymore so that it doesn’t ruin anything) that is introduced to Cobb by a cameoed Michael Caine.  After they have met, Cobb has to do the traditional “see if she lives up to her expectations”, but luckily this part doesn’t take too long, and within moments, they are back to doing “the regular routine”.

Other parts played by Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy bolster the “stardom” of the movie, and ultimately the quality of the plot.  One of the things that I really enjoyed about this film is the fact that whether or not you watch the trailer, you don’t really know what is going on, and in fact if you do watch the trailer, you may be more confused as to what would happen with the movie as opposed to if you just watched the movie without the trailer.  While the trailer is confusing, the story does make sense over time, I think for me, it was about 15 minutes in that I put all of the pieces together, and once that happens, the movie takes off.  It blends a sci-fi vibe with realistic settings, and there are a few scenes that are very action packed.  This movie will have you talking with your friends after, comparing opinions on what happened, which I personally love when going to the movies.

Up until the last minute, I can assure you that you will be on the edge of your seat if you go see Inception.  With an all-star cast, a plot that will keep you guessing, and an ending that can only be described as marvelous, this is the summer movie that we as fans have been waiting for, and I am here to tell you that it doesn’t disappoint.

Inception:

5 out of 5

Revolver Review

Ok, so although my review is a couple days late (I was going to write it before my trip to Canada, but I ended up getting caught up and busy and was not able to put it up until now,) I fully intend on bringing you the review…NOW!!!

Any Guy Ritchie film has a few things going for it from the get-go: All have stars that you have probably seen before; all have an Extremely “British” feel; and a personal opinion is that all should be watched when you are completely cognizant of your surroundings (a.k.a. not tired, intoxicated, in other words operating on a “clean” mind), yet every time I seemed to have watched one of Mr. Richies films, that last part has always evaded me.  Even though I try to soak it all in, watching his movies, which are already somewhat muddled, while tired is quite a Herculean task.

Out of all that I have seen though by Mr. Richie, I would have to say that Revolver sticks up there as one of my favorites.  Maybe it was Andre 3000, maybe it was the well done leads by Jason Statham and Ray Liota, but Revolver goes past other Richie classics (Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) as my favorite piece of work that he has done.  I thought that Andre 3000 and “that guy from the Sopranos” (Vincent Pastore) played the role of Jake Green’s (Statham) allies very well, and Liota delivers a certainly memorable performance as the films villain Dorothy Macha.  All of the other parts for the most part are quite minor, as a large part of the dialogue is an internal monologue of Greens head as he tries to figure out the situation that he has found himself entwined in. While the film does wear itself thin at points (much like many of Ritchie’s pieces), the parts that are played are very consistent, and Statham plays the “Ritchie Role” as I like to call it, very well because, well, he Is very British.  The monologue idea seemed to work Quite well in my mind because there is really no better way to convey a sense of “what just happened” more than putting the viewer in the mind of the person whom that event just happened to.

Its hard to say whether or not I would recommend this movie, because Ritchie has a style that is very off-kilter from many other directors. The style and humor that he goes for may deter many people from watching, but I would suggest that you do try to get your way through this movie, because the jokes are more mainstream than in other Ritchie productions, and the twist at the end is something that a viewer would never really expect unless looking for it directly.

If you happen to like Revolver though after watching it, or are enthused to watch it after reading this review and enjoy it, I would highly recommend that you watch his other movies, mainly the two previously mentioned, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and if you really enjoy those two, you could even delve deeper into Ritchies catalogue (the only other film of his that I have seen is Rock n’ Rolla which I can’t have an opinion on because I was VERY tired and was falling asleep throughout the movie).  I have done some delving with the Coen Brothers filmography (I still need to see The Hudsucker Proxy), and I can say that it is a very rewarding thing to see how the directing has changed throughout the films that they have made.

In summation, Revolver is definitely a movie that I would recommend you see. A Classic? Maybe Not, but a movie that you can watch and get some laughs with some close friends? Definitely. While the movie (and most of Ritchie’s works) appeal mostly to those of us with the XY chromosome, laughs can also be had by the ladies, which makes this a very solid Comedy/Drama/Action film.

Revolver: 4 out of 5

Saw VI Review

Let me preface this review by saying that every time I tell people that I watch the Saw movies, they always ask the same question…why?  I hope to answer this question in this review in addition to giving a review of the movie itself.

Saw movies have become a staple in American society, but I always wonder how they have become so.  Every year for the past 7 years, they have released a new Saw movie around Halloween time, but whenever I show excitement, my friends show disgust towards me, asking why and how I could like a movie that, and i’ll be completely honest here, makes its fame off of the incredibly gory and sadistic ways that people are killed.

Just to clear the waters, this fact is not the reason that I enjoy watching these movies, now back to my review!

The reason that I initially got interested in the Saw movies was, just like everyone else, the suspense factor; how these two people trapped in a room could get out, and whether they had the “will to appreciate life”.  But unlike many others who watched the films in this series, my devotion towards figuring out the entangling story lines and pseudo complex characters never wavered.  I knew that although I may have to muscle my way through a gory scene or two, that would be made up by the oddly interesting sense of suspense that the movies gave off.  If I could make it through a few scenes where people get brutally dismembered, I would in turn be rewarded with the end-of-the-movie twist, that Saw movies have always been good at.  I say good in the fact that most of these twists come out of left field, something that the viewer never suspects, but makes them wanting to come back for more.

Just like the others in the series, Saw VI captures this suspense and tension in its traditionally, blood-filled way.  Instead of having the tension of a cop investigating the areas where jigsaw was, this one captured tension by taking the viewers knowledge of who the new Jigsaw Killer was, and placing him right in the area where he can do the most damage, the center of the police agency of this nameless town.  The tension culminates in a scene where the department is unscrambling one of the tapes from jigsaw, as the one who recorded that message stands in the room with the two police chiefs in charge of the jigsaw case.  Lets just say that once they finish decoding the message, and find out who it is, things don’t go too well for the chiefs…

But now that I have given the reasons why I like saw, I have to inform you, my loyal viewers, that from a cinematography point of view, this movie is pretty bad.  Besides Tobin Bell, most of the acting is pretty dry and for a large part of the movie just consists of people screaming as they realize they have woken up in a Jigsaw trap.  For example, Agent Hoffman after the title card is listening to one of the tapes of the “tests” (the one that is shown at the very beginning of the movie), and after they become cognizant, the audio he is listening to is nothing more than two people screaming as they have to “sacrifice” the most amount of flesh.  Unsurprisingly, there are no really big name actors in this film, and as hard as it is to admit it as a Saw fan, I can see why.

My recommendation?  If you haven’t seen the others, start with Saw 1, and see if its the type of movie that you would enjoy.  Around Saw 3 or so, the traps start getting more and more sadistic, so if you can stomach your way through the first 5, and enjoy them, I think that Saw VI is a good rental, but other than that, I would skip this one.

Saw VI: 2 out of 5

Toy Story 3 Review

I guess I am still trying to find the words to describe what Toy Story 3 is exactly.  Magical, Fantastic, Amazing, all come to mind, but none of them really seem to truly convey what this gem is.  Now as you may or may not know, I am a HUGE pixar fan; the way that they can just control the viewers heart and bridge generational gaps so well is just mind-blowing to see, and they not only do this, they do it better with every film they make.  You can ask ANYONE what their favorite pixar movie is and anyone, young or old, will give you an answer within seconds.  Although these answers may differ, the fact that they can give you an answer so quickly shows that they have seen multiple pixar productions and have had discussions about which are the best.

Now Toy Story 1 was one of the first movies I ever saw, so it had a special place in my heart from the get-go, and when I first heard the premise of Toy Story 3 (Andy going off to college), I thought it was just so amazing that Pixar had aged Andy along with all of the small kids that in 1995 sat restlessly in the theater ready to see a magical story about Toys who came to life.  Before Stephanie Meyer had even considered writing Twilight, kids could relate with the pokey Woody, or the much more technical Buzz Lightyear, and his iconic line “To infinity… And Beyond!”

4 years after the release of Pixar’s maiden voyage into film, the sequel, Toy Story 2, was released.  While new characters (such as the female woody, Jessie, and Woody’s horse, bullseye) were introduced, the same magic of watching these Toys encounter lessons that not only kids but also parents could learn from was ever present.  As these new toys and old toys teamed up and traversed new, exciting, and large, worlds, Pixar took the 5 year olds from 1999, and the 5 year olds from 1995, and melded them, so that everyone, young and younger, could become immersed in this world.

Now the way that Pixar melds generations shines through in Toy Story 3, the latest in this magical franchise, released on June 18th, 2010.  Now I am not going to write too much on the story, but I will just say that out of all three movies, the story and setting of this one was the most unique and awe-inspiring out of all.  The characters are all so unique, the humor is funny not only to the small kids, but also to the more grown-up kids, and every single one of the toys not only has a story to tell, but will tell it with a personality and flavor.

Much in the vein of Pixar movies, this film also evokes emotions unlike any other piece of media in any other genre.  The movie had me laughing one minute, and on the verge of tears 20 minutes later, signs of a true masterpiece.  And not only were these emotions real and raw, the exact same emotions I was going through, I knew every other person was experiencing the same as I was.  As we sat there, our eyes fixated one the screen, we became lost, once again, into this fantastic, marvelous, familiar world.

Every movie that Pixar makes seems to be better and better and bridging the gap between the generations, making movies easier to watch, whether young or old.  Toy Story 3 does the best out of any of the Pixar movies to date.  Now I may have a bias seeing as I grew up on Toy Story rather than Cars or Wall-E, but being able to laugh at the same time as a 9 year old sitting three seats away from me at the same joke is just such a quality and art that has been lost in movies for so long, and seeing it brought back truly warms my heart.

TOY STORY 3:

5/5