There are plenty of things that I love about sports. One of the great things is that there are plenty of sports analogies to use when describing something. I usually only use them to help emphasis a point or get under someone’s skin.
When discussing There Will Be Blood with my co-worker, I was torn. Before I had a chance to see it I had everyone telling me how great the movie was. After watching it I wasn’t sure if it was a really good movie or just an okay movie with great acting. Often times, like sports, the line is blurred. The movie reminded me of one of the Chicago Bulls teams from the 90’s. Were they a really good team or just an okay team with a few great players. They really only needed a few people to play great and they had chance to win every night. With a few good players, There Will Be Blood has a chance to win big on Oscar night.
The film begins almost like a silent film. There is very little said in the first 15-20 minutes. The films first real dialogue is Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis who would be Michael Jordan) sort of giving the plot of the movie. He introduces himself as an “oil man” and H.W. Plainview (Dillon Freasier who would be John Paxson or Steve Kerr) as his son and business partner. He had to be about 8-10 years old which made that funny to me for some reason. He's the most serious 8 years old I've ever scene.
One night Plainview is paid a visit by a young man who tells him of a town that has oil coming out of the ground. He says that companies are buying up land all around it, but that town is where the oil is. Daniel and son H.W set off to this town to see if it is true or not. The bulk of the film takes place in a small town as Plainview and his colleagues extract oil, and with their shrewd business practices, try to scam the townspeople out of their money. Not that exciting of a plot right? That’s like not having a great team and then some how you land MJ and Pippen.
Daniel-Day Lewis delivers and MJ like performance in the film. He is very believable as Daniel Plainview. I left the film thinking that he was Plainview, a rude oil man who even go as far to say that he didn’t like people and found most of them to be ignorant. The character was so driven that he sacrificed his family, friends, often didn’t like or know the people he worked with. He had a focus kind of like Michael Jordan in some ways.
The other amazing performances comes from Paul Dano (who would be Scottie Pippen) who plays a young evangelical preacher, Eli Sunday. Eli is focused on getting some of the oil money for his family and his church. Dano is one of the great surprises of the movie. I think his performance may go overlooked because of the magnificent job that Daniel Day Lewis does in the film. We know Lewis is great because we’ve seen him in Gangs Of New York, and Last Of The Mohicans. I can’t recall seeing Dano in anything. I was shocked when I looked at the Academy Award nominations this week, and did not see his name on there for Best Supporting Actor. Much like Jordan and Pippen, the two of them together were phenomenal, and by far the best scenes in the movie.
So back to my analogy. The plot is so-so and the rest of the supporting cast is okay, but don’t really do anything to help carry the film. Much like those Bulls teams, two to three major players carry the film (The last 30-45 minutes are incredible). The very last scene is like a 2-on-1 fast break with Lewis and Dano. I’m not quite sure where the line is blurred. Is it really that good of a story? We all know that the actors can make or break a film. We know this is true for most films, but I think it stands to be even more true for There Will Be Blood. I’m not sure if you replace those actors what kind of film you have left. If you replace MJ and Scottie, what sort of team would you have left?
My suggestion: Great performances in this movie. I don’t care if it’s the movie that’s great or the acting. This is one of those must-see-movies of the year and the year just started. It may at some point be overhyped and shoved down our throats as the Academy Awards approach. Try not to let that discourage you. People got tired of hearing about how good the Bulls were, but you have to admit they were a good team.
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Juno
When I first heard about the movie Juno for some reason I thought it was about that small town in Alaska. Why would I want to see a movie about that? Alaska is cold and boring like the last 3 minutes of Sopranos.
Turns out that Juno is a movie about a young woman who gets pregnant in high school and decides to put her child up for adoption. She meets this great adoptive couple early on in her pregnancy and that adds to some more complications in her young life. Like Juno says in the movie, “I’ve been dealing with things way beyond my maturity level.”
The film is a common tale of youth and pregnancy. Juno is played by Ellen Page who was great in Hard Candy and had a minor role in X-Men 3 as Kitty Pride. She delivers in this movie too as a confused teenager. She also has some of the movies laugh-out-loud moments with her witty one-liners. When discussing with the adoptive parents their options she says, “You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.”
The adoptive mother Vanessa is played by Jennifer Garner of Alias fame. I’m not usually a big fan of her work (I’m still bitter about seeing Daredevil), but she’s even good in this movie. She plays that mom who is unable to bear children. She wants a child so bad and the movie shows the effects on her marriage. Her husband Mark is played by Jason Bateman (He seems to be landing a lot of roles these days). Mark is classic as an old musician who never saw his Rock N’ Roll dreams come true so now composes cheesy tunes for commercials. The relationship between him and Juno is very awkward to watch in the movie. Some of the scenes with just the two of them had a weird feeling to them. I left feeling like he was sort of attracted to his high school kid even though he was older and married.
The supporting characters in the movie are hilarious. Juno’s father Mac MacGuff (J.K Simmons) and boyfriend Bleeker (Michael Cera) are great and add a lot of depth to the characters they play. Bleeker is her nerdy boyfriend who is obsessed with orange tic-tacs. The kid seems to be lost most of the film but that’s what you like about the character. He gets a girl pregnant and she decides to give it up for adoption with no real conversation about it. Her father Mac is a dad who’s dealing with his daughter being pregnant at 16. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. The film takes a very light approach on the subject. Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) makes a nice cameo in the beginning of the movie and has some pretty funny lines in the film.
Juno is a look at how people deal with those situations. What was different about this movie was when they added the comedy to level of the seriousness of the subject matter. There are some very tense/real moments in the film and instead of taking a serious turn, the movie makes light of it with the comedy. It allows you to still get the message but not leave the film feeling heavy. I left Gone Baby Gone feeling like I had been in an emotional battle royal.
My suggestion: See Juno. Great movie that’s full of laughs and also has a nice message too it. Not too preachy and not too funny. It’s a good mix.
Turns out that Juno is a movie about a young woman who gets pregnant in high school and decides to put her child up for adoption. She meets this great adoptive couple early on in her pregnancy and that adds to some more complications in her young life. Like Juno says in the movie, “I’ve been dealing with things way beyond my maturity level.”
The film is a common tale of youth and pregnancy. Juno is played by Ellen Page who was great in Hard Candy and had a minor role in X-Men 3 as Kitty Pride. She delivers in this movie too as a confused teenager. She also has some of the movies laugh-out-loud moments with her witty one-liners. When discussing with the adoptive parents their options she says, “You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events.”
The adoptive mother Vanessa is played by Jennifer Garner of Alias fame. I’m not usually a big fan of her work (I’m still bitter about seeing Daredevil), but she’s even good in this movie. She plays that mom who is unable to bear children. She wants a child so bad and the movie shows the effects on her marriage. Her husband Mark is played by Jason Bateman (He seems to be landing a lot of roles these days). Mark is classic as an old musician who never saw his Rock N’ Roll dreams come true so now composes cheesy tunes for commercials. The relationship between him and Juno is very awkward to watch in the movie. Some of the scenes with just the two of them had a weird feeling to them. I left feeling like he was sort of attracted to his high school kid even though he was older and married.
The supporting characters in the movie are hilarious. Juno’s father Mac MacGuff (J.K Simmons) and boyfriend Bleeker (Michael Cera) are great and add a lot of depth to the characters they play. Bleeker is her nerdy boyfriend who is obsessed with orange tic-tacs. The kid seems to be lost most of the film but that’s what you like about the character. He gets a girl pregnant and she decides to give it up for adoption with no real conversation about it. Her father Mac is a dad who’s dealing with his daughter being pregnant at 16. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. The film takes a very light approach on the subject. Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) makes a nice cameo in the beginning of the movie and has some pretty funny lines in the film.
Juno is a look at how people deal with those situations. What was different about this movie was when they added the comedy to level of the seriousness of the subject matter. There are some very tense/real moments in the film and instead of taking a serious turn, the movie makes light of it with the comedy. It allows you to still get the message but not leave the film feeling heavy. I left Gone Baby Gone feeling like I had been in an emotional battle royal.
My suggestion: See Juno. Great movie that’s full of laughs and also has a nice message too it. Not too preachy and not too funny. It’s a good mix.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Gone Baby Gone
Growing up in Northern California in the 80’s, it seemed like kidnapping was very popular. I think back and it feels like kids were getting stolen every week. I know that was never the case, but I remember having to have a “buddy” to walk home from school with, don’t talk to strangers, and being a latch-key kid. I even remember a kid at my elementary was almost abducted one day after school. I know I’m going to be overprotective when I have kids.
Gone Baby Gone is a film about missing girl that the whole city is trying to find. The story starts as private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend/partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are asked by the family of the missing girl to help find her. The more questions the ask, the more questions seem to arise. The case of the missing girl starts to affect them personally more than it does professionally.
The couple is helped by gritty detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) who tries to help them piece together the puzzle and bring the little girl home.
This movie was unexpectedly good. I went in thinking it was going to be a bore fest or another “who done it” that shows it’s poker hand way too early and I’d be spending the last hour of the movie praying it doesn’t end that way. Michelle Monaghan is great in the movie as the apathetic partner who wants to help find the girl. She’s secretly moving up on my personal Hot 25 list. She was great in Heartbreak Kid and in Gone Baby Gone. I think it’s the light freckles. I’m not sure really, but she’s solidified her spot. Amy Ryan is great as the drug addicted mom Helene McCready. A few years ago I would volunteer for this homeless teen feed at one our local YMCA’s. She reminded me of a lot of the moms that I would see come in and out of there.
It was great to see Michael K Williams aka Omar on The Wire make a cameo in the movie. The Wire is by far my favorite show on TV and I’m always excited when I see one of the stars in something else.
Casey Affleck does a really good job in the film as well. I wasn’t sure if he could be the star of the movie, but he handles it well. He was most famous for his roles in the Oceans movies. I thought he was definitely headed down the same path as Tito Jackson, Frank Stallone, Omar Gooding, Haylie Duff, and my all-time favorite Don Swayze.
My Suggestion: This film is a great look at what is right or wrong , and if there is any gray area or if the line you cross is ever blurred. I loved the ending. It leaves you with a “what would you do” debate with strong points for either side to be made.
Gone Baby Gone is a film about missing girl that the whole city is trying to find. The story starts as private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and his girlfriend/partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) are asked by the family of the missing girl to help find her. The more questions the ask, the more questions seem to arise. The case of the missing girl starts to affect them personally more than it does professionally.
The couple is helped by gritty detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris) who tries to help them piece together the puzzle and bring the little girl home.
This movie was unexpectedly good. I went in thinking it was going to be a bore fest or another “who done it” that shows it’s poker hand way too early and I’d be spending the last hour of the movie praying it doesn’t end that way. Michelle Monaghan is great in the movie as the apathetic partner who wants to help find the girl. She’s secretly moving up on my personal Hot 25 list. She was great in Heartbreak Kid and in Gone Baby Gone. I think it’s the light freckles. I’m not sure really, but she’s solidified her spot. Amy Ryan is great as the drug addicted mom Helene McCready. A few years ago I would volunteer for this homeless teen feed at one our local YMCA’s. She reminded me of a lot of the moms that I would see come in and out of there.
It was great to see Michael K Williams aka Omar on The Wire make a cameo in the movie. The Wire is by far my favorite show on TV and I’m always excited when I see one of the stars in something else.
Casey Affleck does a really good job in the film as well. I wasn’t sure if he could be the star of the movie, but he handles it well. He was most famous for his roles in the Oceans movies. I thought he was definitely headed down the same path as Tito Jackson, Frank Stallone, Omar Gooding, Haylie Duff, and my all-time favorite Don Swayze.
My Suggestion: This film is a great look at what is right or wrong , and if there is any gray area or if the line you cross is ever blurred. I loved the ending. It leaves you with a “what would you do” debate with strong points for either side to be made.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Michael Clayton
George Clooney is on a short list of actors who I’ll see in most movies. I start to believe that he is that character (maybe not Batman) and you get sucked into the movie. I loved him in Syriana, Oceans 11, Out Of Sight and From Dusk Till Dawn.
I had to see Michael Clayton! I thought there was way too much hype. The first article I read about the movie was all about the Oscar Clooney was going to get for this role. That’s always a red flag for me. Some of these movies that are nominated for Academy Awards are sometimes good movies, but not fun to watch. Clayton was an exception.
This films starts Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) strips off his clothes in a deposition. Clayton (George Clooney) is sent in by the firm to clean up the mess and help hold his friend together. Edens has spent the six years defending a $3 billion lawsuit against a new agrochemical company U North. After being convinced that his friend has just been off his meds. Clayton starts to realize that maybe he’s not really crazy at all. Maybe some of the gibberish that was coming out of his mouth actually meant something.
Tom Wilkinson is great as the crazed man who’s come to his senses. He plays the crazy role so well. Everything from buying large amounts of French bread to his obsession with a children’s book and making the connections with the case.
Clooney is amazing as well. His character has so many layers. You see his frustrations with the firm, his family life, his relationship with his son, even his gambling problem. As the movie moves forward, you begin to see how the corruption gets to him. There is a sense of realism too it. He reminded me of myself in some ways. A company man who’s doing his job and trying to get his stuff together. Trying to have a healthy balance between his family and finances and work. That’s most people in America who struggle with striving to be “well off” and having to manage that with the relationships they have.
My suggestion: Check out Michael Clayton. Not a “feel good” movie, but is a mature movie (no not like that) and is a harsh look at corporations and how they may work. It’s what one of my co-workers would call a “shot of reality”.
I had to see Michael Clayton! I thought there was way too much hype. The first article I read about the movie was all about the Oscar Clooney was going to get for this role. That’s always a red flag for me. Some of these movies that are nominated for Academy Awards are sometimes good movies, but not fun to watch. Clayton was an exception.
This films starts Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) strips off his clothes in a deposition. Clayton (George Clooney) is sent in by the firm to clean up the mess and help hold his friend together. Edens has spent the six years defending a $3 billion lawsuit against a new agrochemical company U North. After being convinced that his friend has just been off his meds. Clayton starts to realize that maybe he’s not really crazy at all. Maybe some of the gibberish that was coming out of his mouth actually meant something.
Tom Wilkinson is great as the crazed man who’s come to his senses. He plays the crazy role so well. Everything from buying large amounts of French bread to his obsession with a children’s book and making the connections with the case.
Clooney is amazing as well. His character has so many layers. You see his frustrations with the firm, his family life, his relationship with his son, even his gambling problem. As the movie moves forward, you begin to see how the corruption gets to him. There is a sense of realism too it. He reminded me of myself in some ways. A company man who’s doing his job and trying to get his stuff together. Trying to have a healthy balance between his family and finances and work. That’s most people in America who struggle with striving to be “well off” and having to manage that with the relationships they have.
My suggestion: Check out Michael Clayton. Not a “feel good” movie, but is a mature movie (no not like that) and is a harsh look at corporations and how they may work. It’s what one of my co-workers would call a “shot of reality”.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
No Country For Old Men
I watch a ton of movies and have grown fond of the Coen Brothers work. Raising Arizona is one of my favorite movies. You could imagine my delight when I heard they were writing/directing No Country For Old Men. I’ve never read the books. Books are only good for burning (really I love to read), but everyone said the book was amazing. I knew I was going to see it no matter what the reviews said. I was reading one of my favorite sports writers Bill Simmons of ESPN’s weekly football column and his said “if somebody has a good explanation for the last 25 minutes of that movie, I'd love to hear it. Everyone at my theater applauded when it was over, like something special had just happened. Meanwhile, I was sitting there going, "Wait, it's over? What the hell just happened?" That’s exactly how I felt.
The movie starts as hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the aftermath of a deadly shootout and 2 million dollars in cash. Like most people he takes the money and makes plans to leave town. Moss knows that whoever lost this money will be looking for it very shortly, but what he doesn’t know is that he’s being tracked by killer/psychopath named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones lays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell who is trying to track the killer and find Moss to help keep him safe. The movie picks up quickly and is a very tense atmosphere for the first 100 of the 122 minutes this movie runs.
This is one of those films that is very character driven. You feel for Moss’ character. He’s like most of us. What would you do if you found $2,000,000? Most people would keep it and leave town just as fast as they found the money. Moss is a regular guy that has an idea that’s he’s gotten into some trouble but really has no idea the type of people he’s mixed up with. The movie sparked an interesting conversation with me and my roommate. He says he’d keep it and head out of town. I said I’d plead ignorance or turn the money in. I feel he’d always be looking over his shoulder wondering if whoever lost the money was coming to collect. He says I’d always be wondering, “What if I just kept the money?” I think we are both right.
What really helps propel this movie is the villain Chigurh. From the first time you see him on screen, he creeps you out and every time they show him you know something bad is going to happen. It wasn’t just his haircut and odd facial expressions. Or even his strange way he engaged in conversations that made you feel like it made sense to him and nobody else. Maybe it was the fact that he killed people with an air pressure can and filled his victims head with air. It could have been the sick sense of honor that he displays. A little bizarre but definitely made you fear the guy if you didn’t already. He is easily one of my favorite movie villains. He was everything you want out of a villain. Chigurh was smart, sick, fearless, and didn’t seem to care who got in his way.
The movie hits its climax and I’m sitting in my seat thinking “Oh this is going to be goooooooooooooood” that’s about the same time the movie took an unexpected/unnecessary turn for the worst. I was looking around the theater thinking maybe I leaped like the guy from Journeyman into another movie. There has to be a worst feeling than that in life, but it has to rank pretty high. Somewhere between having a blind date with a real blind person and realizing you sent a Valentine’s Day card for Keesha in an envelope addressed to Jamie (that pain never goes away). I’d like compare it to having a date with Beyonce and then she invites you back to her place. You think it’s “go-time” and you get to her house and Jay-Z is there relaxing on the couch. It just didn’t end like you hoped it would. Kind of hard to tell your friends you had a great time without mentioning the disappointment at the end. That’s how I feel about No Country. Could have ended great if the Coen Brothers didn’t have Jay-Z on the couch for the last 25 minutes.
My suggestion: Go see it if you want to. The first 100 minutes are very good and it really gets you hooked into the story. I wouldn’t be mad if you saw it but when you see a hotel pool for the first time this is your sign to quickly get up and leave. When Beyonce invites me back to her place I’ll say, “No I think I’ll just call it a night” and always wonder what might have been. Maybe that’s the same logic that would have me give the money back.
My grade: 3.0 – You did great on your homework, but failed the final miserably. Better luck next time.
The movie starts as hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon the aftermath of a deadly shootout and 2 million dollars in cash. Like most people he takes the money and makes plans to leave town. Moss knows that whoever lost this money will be looking for it very shortly, but what he doesn’t know is that he’s being tracked by killer/psychopath named Chigurh (Javier Bardem). Tommy Lee Jones lays Sheriff Ed Tom Bell who is trying to track the killer and find Moss to help keep him safe. The movie picks up quickly and is a very tense atmosphere for the first 100 of the 122 minutes this movie runs.
This is one of those films that is very character driven. You feel for Moss’ character. He’s like most of us. What would you do if you found $2,000,000? Most people would keep it and leave town just as fast as they found the money. Moss is a regular guy that has an idea that’s he’s gotten into some trouble but really has no idea the type of people he’s mixed up with. The movie sparked an interesting conversation with me and my roommate. He says he’d keep it and head out of town. I said I’d plead ignorance or turn the money in. I feel he’d always be looking over his shoulder wondering if whoever lost the money was coming to collect. He says I’d always be wondering, “What if I just kept the money?” I think we are both right.
What really helps propel this movie is the villain Chigurh. From the first time you see him on screen, he creeps you out and every time they show him you know something bad is going to happen. It wasn’t just his haircut and odd facial expressions. Or even his strange way he engaged in conversations that made you feel like it made sense to him and nobody else. Maybe it was the fact that he killed people with an air pressure can and filled his victims head with air. It could have been the sick sense of honor that he displays. A little bizarre but definitely made you fear the guy if you didn’t already. He is easily one of my favorite movie villains. He was everything you want out of a villain. Chigurh was smart, sick, fearless, and didn’t seem to care who got in his way.
The movie hits its climax and I’m sitting in my seat thinking “Oh this is going to be goooooooooooooood” that’s about the same time the movie took an unexpected/unnecessary turn for the worst. I was looking around the theater thinking maybe I leaped like the guy from Journeyman into another movie. There has to be a worst feeling than that in life, but it has to rank pretty high. Somewhere between having a blind date with a real blind person and realizing you sent a Valentine’s Day card for Keesha in an envelope addressed to Jamie (that pain never goes away). I’d like compare it to having a date with Beyonce and then she invites you back to her place. You think it’s “go-time” and you get to her house and Jay-Z is there relaxing on the couch. It just didn’t end like you hoped it would. Kind of hard to tell your friends you had a great time without mentioning the disappointment at the end. That’s how I feel about No Country. Could have ended great if the Coen Brothers didn’t have Jay-Z on the couch for the last 25 minutes.
My suggestion: Go see it if you want to. The first 100 minutes are very good and it really gets you hooked into the story. I wouldn’t be mad if you saw it but when you see a hotel pool for the first time this is your sign to quickly get up and leave. When Beyonce invites me back to her place I’ll say, “No I think I’ll just call it a night” and always wonder what might have been. Maybe that’s the same logic that would have me give the money back.
My grade: 3.0 – You did great on your homework, but failed the final miserably. Better luck next time.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
American Gangster
I love watching movies that are “based on a true story”. I’ve always viewed those stories as 3 parts truth and 1 part “Hollywood”. I know that my life would have some exciting ups and downs to it, but my usual day-to-day activities would probably bore you to death. I couldn’t imagine people watching my life unfold on a big screen as I toggle through my fantasy football team or look for new cologne at Macy’s. American Gangster is based on the life of Frank Lucas. Driver turned kingpin who ruled the streets of Harlem for years. Thankfully his life wasn’t as mundane as mine so it made for a much better motion picture.
American Gangster starts as crime boss Bumpy Johnson passes away and Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) vows to get the money back that people owed Bumpy. At a lost to find ways to make money, Lucas comes up with the idea of getting heroin straight from Vietnam and bypassing the middleman. He outsmarts the competition and because the main supplier to the inner-city drug scene in New York City. Lucas becomes a major figure and draws the attention of New Jersey policeman Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe).
The movie does a great job of showing multiple sides of the drug game. You are able to see how the lifestyle affected his wife and his family. The supporting characters did a great job (Cuba Gooding Jr. as Nicky Barnes especially), but Crowe and Denzel basically ran a two man game for the entire film. Both actors are so far beyond talented that it makes the movie work.
After watching the movie I had a ton of questions so I went to my own person history expert, my dad. I asked him how someone was able to make so much money in the 1960’s.
Dad Fact #1
He said that a lot of the soldiers from Vietnam were coming home drug addicted. Some picked up habits while serving overseas and others received morphine to help with the pain of lost appendages, but were not adequately shown how to kick the drug. This means you had a ton of junkies with money coming home from the war.
Dad fact #2
My dad concludes that Vietnam had the best weed and “everyone knew it” He had a friend in the military who would take whole duffle bags full of weed off the plan and nobody ever checked him. Seems crazy, but I guess a lot of that stuff really happened.
Since the American Gangster opened there have been interviews with Bumpy Johnson’s family, officer Ritchie Roberts, Nicky Barnes and even Frank Lucas. There are conflicting reports as to what actually happened and what details were left out or added. What we do know is an amazing story about a man who made choices in life. Life is about the choices you make and he chose to sell drugs. I wonder how different his life would be if he decided to do something else.
My Suggestion: I there was one movie out to see this fall it would be American Gangster. It’s informative, sad, intriguing, cool, and will definitely start a few conversations.
My Grade: 3.5 – Great job. We’ll done, but not sure if you showed enough work.
American Gangster starts as crime boss Bumpy Johnson passes away and Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) vows to get the money back that people owed Bumpy. At a lost to find ways to make money, Lucas comes up with the idea of getting heroin straight from Vietnam and bypassing the middleman. He outsmarts the competition and because the main supplier to the inner-city drug scene in New York City. Lucas becomes a major figure and draws the attention of New Jersey policeman Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe).
The movie does a great job of showing multiple sides of the drug game. You are able to see how the lifestyle affected his wife and his family. The supporting characters did a great job (Cuba Gooding Jr. as Nicky Barnes especially), but Crowe and Denzel basically ran a two man game for the entire film. Both actors are so far beyond talented that it makes the movie work.
After watching the movie I had a ton of questions so I went to my own person history expert, my dad. I asked him how someone was able to make so much money in the 1960’s.
Dad Fact #1
He said that a lot of the soldiers from Vietnam were coming home drug addicted. Some picked up habits while serving overseas and others received morphine to help with the pain of lost appendages, but were not adequately shown how to kick the drug. This means you had a ton of junkies with money coming home from the war.
Dad fact #2
My dad concludes that Vietnam had the best weed and “everyone knew it” He had a friend in the military who would take whole duffle bags full of weed off the plan and nobody ever checked him. Seems crazy, but I guess a lot of that stuff really happened.
Since the American Gangster opened there have been interviews with Bumpy Johnson’s family, officer Ritchie Roberts, Nicky Barnes and even Frank Lucas. There are conflicting reports as to what actually happened and what details were left out or added. What we do know is an amazing story about a man who made choices in life. Life is about the choices you make and he chose to sell drugs. I wonder how different his life would be if he decided to do something else.
My Suggestion: I there was one movie out to see this fall it would be American Gangster. It’s informative, sad, intriguing, cool, and will definitely start a few conversations.
My Grade: 3.5 – Great job. We’ll done, but not sure if you showed enough work.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Convict Radio
There are few actors who seem to have roles in movies that I like. Don Cheadle happens to be one of them. I know if I see a trailer and it looks a little suspect and at the very end it says “Starring Don Cheadle” I’ll say “Hmmm doesn’t look half bad” The first time I can remember seeing him was on Hanging With Mr. Cooper. If I think about it, the first time I really saw him was when he played Rocket in the movie Colors. From then on it just seemed like a string of movies that I enjoyed Rosewood, Out Of Sight, Family Man, Traffic, Swordfish, Oceans 11., The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, Crash, Hotel Rwanda and now Talk to Me. This has to be one of the best movies I’ve seen this summer. Anything is better than Pirates of the Caribbean (yes I’m still bitter)
Talk To Me is based on the life of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene (Don Cheadle) who was an ex-con turned radio personality in the D.C area. The movie follows Petey as he leaves prison and lands a job as the morning DJ at WOL-AM. Petey is given the job by Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is in search for new talent to compete with a rival radio station.
During the film you see how Petey spoke to the people, for the people. It reminds me of one of my friend EJ landed job on ESPN to talk about sports. I could see him being completely bias to the Yankees, Lakers, and Barry Bonds. He would completely ignore Hockey, Soccer and Tennis. Petey’s story reminded me of sort of voice that’s missing today. He was a voice on the airways who wasn’t concerned about ratings, sponsors, or the FCC. He just wanted to “tell it like it is”. He wanted to talk about race the way people talked behind closed doors. He wanted to bring up topics that were on people’s hearts and were just too afraid to discuss. People didn’t just tune in to hear the great soul music he would play, but to hear what Petey had to say. 9 times out of 10 they felt the same way.
You don’t just see Petey as this great libertarian, you also get a chance to see his faults and how that had influence on his life. The same traps that our celebrities run into today. Alcohol, women, more alcohol, and more women.
One of the great storylines of the movie was Petey’s relationship with Dewey. Two men with different ways of doing things, but the same heart for the people. The movie does a great job of depicting their relationship as Petey goes from convict to radio icon.
This movie also has a wonderful, humorous performance from Taraji P Henson as Vernell, Petey’s girlfriend. Her hilarious outburst and even more hilarious choice of clothes really give the movie that extra laugh to help you swallow some of the seriousness in the film.
Talk To Me is a great film. Although it doesn’t fit with the rest of the Summer Blockbusters we’ve seen, it’s well worth the price of admission. It’s better than most movies I’ve seen this summer. I’m hoping this movie inspires some people to speak up and speak out like Petey did.
My suggestion: Go see it. If not for Don Cheadles performance at least for Petey’s story and for some of the movies funny moments.
My Grade: 3.5 – Keep it up. Maybe your parents will buy you a new car…………..or at least say they will to keep you working hard in school.
Talk To Me is based on the life of Ralph Waldo “Petey” Greene (Don Cheadle) who was an ex-con turned radio personality in the D.C area. The movie follows Petey as he leaves prison and lands a job as the morning DJ at WOL-AM. Petey is given the job by Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is in search for new talent to compete with a rival radio station.
During the film you see how Petey spoke to the people, for the people. It reminds me of one of my friend EJ landed job on ESPN to talk about sports. I could see him being completely bias to the Yankees, Lakers, and Barry Bonds. He would completely ignore Hockey, Soccer and Tennis. Petey’s story reminded me of sort of voice that’s missing today. He was a voice on the airways who wasn’t concerned about ratings, sponsors, or the FCC. He just wanted to “tell it like it is”. He wanted to talk about race the way people talked behind closed doors. He wanted to bring up topics that were on people’s hearts and were just too afraid to discuss. People didn’t just tune in to hear the great soul music he would play, but to hear what Petey had to say. 9 times out of 10 they felt the same way.
You don’t just see Petey as this great libertarian, you also get a chance to see his faults and how that had influence on his life. The same traps that our celebrities run into today. Alcohol, women, more alcohol, and more women.
One of the great storylines of the movie was Petey’s relationship with Dewey. Two men with different ways of doing things, but the same heart for the people. The movie does a great job of depicting their relationship as Petey goes from convict to radio icon.
This movie also has a wonderful, humorous performance from Taraji P Henson as Vernell, Petey’s girlfriend. Her hilarious outburst and even more hilarious choice of clothes really give the movie that extra laugh to help you swallow some of the seriousness in the film.
Talk To Me is a great film. Although it doesn’t fit with the rest of the Summer Blockbusters we’ve seen, it’s well worth the price of admission. It’s better than most movies I’ve seen this summer. I’m hoping this movie inspires some people to speak up and speak out like Petey did.
My suggestion: Go see it. If not for Don Cheadles performance at least for Petey’s story and for some of the movies funny moments.
My Grade: 3.5 – Keep it up. Maybe your parents will buy you a new car…………..or at least say they will to keep you working hard in school.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Children are our future
Children Of Men
Whitney Houston once sang "I believe that children are our future ". What if we lived in a world without children? What if we had no future? Children Of Men is a dark look at a future that none of us want to see.
The movie opens in London and the year is 2027. The city is mourning the death of the world's youngest person who happens to be 18 years old. The film follows Theo (Clive Owen) who is an ex activist/alcoholic as he assist Julian (Julian Moore) in leading the world's first pregnant woman in 18 years to safety. A fictional or non fictional group called The Human Project. As the movie moves on Theo starts to realize that everyone has their own agenda about what they want to do with the baby.
This is one of those movies you watch and ask yourself "Why didn 't I see this sooner." It's really a hard movie to sell because of the subject matter. The movie is dark at points and none of the characters seem to truly be happy. Men reminds me of one of those funny mirrors you see at a circus. It' s reflects what it sees but distorted in a distorted way. The movie was a reflection of what happens in our society today from the burning of the livestock to the immigrants being treated like anim als. Although this is not a "feel good " movie, it is thought provoking and will make you think about the future of our nations.
My suggestion: See the movie now. This may be a late hit among movie lovers or one of those films that's shown in film school.
My grade: 3.33 – Your parents are happy and may even let you take that weekend trip with your friends.
Whitney Houston once sang "I believe that children are our future ". What if we lived in a world without children? What if we had no future? Children Of Men is a dark look at a future that none of us want to see.
The movie opens in London and the year is 2027. The city is mourning the death of the world's youngest person who happens to be 18 years old. The film follows Theo (Clive Owen) who is an ex activist/alcoholic as he assist Julian (Julian Moore) in leading the world's first pregnant woman in 18 years to safety. A fictional or non fictional group called The Human Project. As the movie moves on Theo starts to realize that everyone has their own agenda about what they want to do with the baby.
This is one of those movies you watch and ask yourself "Why didn 't I see this sooner." It's really a hard movie to sell because of the subject matter. The movie is dark at points and none of the characters seem to truly be happy. Men reminds me of one of those funny mirrors you see at a circus. It' s reflects what it sees but distorted in a distorted way. The movie was a reflection of what happens in our society today from the burning of the livestock to the immigrants being treated like anim als. Although this is not a "feel good " movie, it is thought provoking and will make you think about the future of our nations.
My suggestion: See the movie now. This may be a late hit among movie lovers or one of those films that's shown in film school.
My grade: 3.33 – Your parents are happy and may even let you take that weekend trip with your friends.
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