Directed by Guy Ritchie…biggest names being Brad Pitt and Benicio del Toro. The plot, similarily to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is huge mess of people and confusion…in a good way. It’s good, and it’s a style that he makes work.
There are people searching for the monster of a diamond…and people stealing it off of each other, along with a series of rigged boxing matches with a participant that isn’t exactly willing to win and lose when he is supposed to.
Brad Pitt plays Mickey…the gypsy boxer who has a mind of his own. Definitely my favourite character by far…They joke in the film about them having an accent that is not understandable…it not being English or Irish, but seemingly a combination of them both, mixed with pure gibberish. However, I found myself understanding him quite easily…and I’ve come to the conclusion, that his accent sounds extremely similar to that of a Newfie! I know a few people, a friends family actually, that come from Newfoundland and that’s exactly what they sound like. Anyway, off track.
I was actually a little disappointed by how similar I found it to be to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels…
Some of the same actors were used, some of the characters were extremely similar, the plot was a similar tangled web of murders and stealing.
It was still good. I just would have liked more to see something a little different from the director…because I really enjoyed Lock Stock…
The short, witty comments almost make this movie for me. I laughed non stop…
It was good…I’m going to stop, cause Im not even going to attempt to begin to loosely describe the plot.
8/10
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The 25th Hour
So, this one is basically about the day before the main character, Monty, played by Edward Norton, goes to jail. He was caught dealing drugs…and was sentenced to 7 years in jail.
Obviously, it starts off in the morning the day before he is set to go to jail. His entire day/night is dedicated to hanging out with his two best friends Jacob and Frank. They go to a club, Jacob, who is a high school teacher, hooks up with one of his students…awkwardly.
There isn’t much to the plot of the movie…we get a little bit of background information on Monty, see him talking with his father, see that he wanted to become a firefighter when he was a kid. It builds up and it keeps building up the entire movie…you feel sorry for him and he grows on you! You really really like this guy by the end of the movie…I mean, the opening scene is him saving a dog who is dying on the side of the street.
Then comes the ending :P I really really loved the ending. I thought it was really smart. When it first started, I was a little disappointed…I was disappointed maybe that that’s what Monty would choose…but also that it seemed like the easy way out…both for the movie and for Money the character…
Then, it REALLY ended…and I really loved it. It was cruel and terrible and you hate to see a character you have grown to love be put through that, but it was beyond effective.
The acting was really good…I love Ed Norton…and Philip Seymour Hoffman was playing Jacob…
One of the scenes that I keep remembering is near the end of the film…Monty confessed that he is terrified of being raped in jail. He’s a good looking guy, he is terrified he is going to get torn apart. He tries to convince his other friend, Frank, to beat him up…really rearrange his face. He has to really antagonize Frank to get him to do it…by threatening Jacob physically. Eventually Frank does give in, and leaves Monty’s face a mess, but is also himself an emotional wreck. That’s how Monty leaves his friends…that was his goodbye…
He walks away from them face bloody and swollen and Jacob is trying to console a hysterical Frank.
I dunno…I thought it was pretty intense.
Oh! Shit!…I almost forgot my favourite part of this movie lol. Even better than the ending I thought…was Monty’s “fuck you” monologue. I thought it was great…
He is in the washroom, and he looks at himself in the mirror…and he’s ranting to himself…saying Fuck You to all the different races and stereo types found in New York…this goes on for like five minutes, him blaming everyone else in New York for his issues and his fuck ups…and then in the end, the Monty in the mirror kind of comes back and says noo…you know what fuck YOU. Basically, your life is yours…and if anyone fucked it up it was you. You had it all…and you fucked it up (:
I really liked it. Done!
7.3/10
Obviously, it starts off in the morning the day before he is set to go to jail. His entire day/night is dedicated to hanging out with his two best friends Jacob and Frank. They go to a club, Jacob, who is a high school teacher, hooks up with one of his students…awkwardly.
There isn’t much to the plot of the movie…we get a little bit of background information on Monty, see him talking with his father, see that he wanted to become a firefighter when he was a kid. It builds up and it keeps building up the entire movie…you feel sorry for him and he grows on you! You really really like this guy by the end of the movie…I mean, the opening scene is him saving a dog who is dying on the side of the street.
Then comes the ending :P I really really loved the ending. I thought it was really smart. When it first started, I was a little disappointed…I was disappointed maybe that that’s what Monty would choose…but also that it seemed like the easy way out…both for the movie and for Money the character…
Then, it REALLY ended…and I really loved it. It was cruel and terrible and you hate to see a character you have grown to love be put through that, but it was beyond effective.
The acting was really good…I love Ed Norton…and Philip Seymour Hoffman was playing Jacob…
One of the scenes that I keep remembering is near the end of the film…Monty confessed that he is terrified of being raped in jail. He’s a good looking guy, he is terrified he is going to get torn apart. He tries to convince his other friend, Frank, to beat him up…really rearrange his face. He has to really antagonize Frank to get him to do it…by threatening Jacob physically. Eventually Frank does give in, and leaves Monty’s face a mess, but is also himself an emotional wreck. That’s how Monty leaves his friends…that was his goodbye…
He walks away from them face bloody and swollen and Jacob is trying to console a hysterical Frank.
I dunno…I thought it was pretty intense.
Oh! Shit!…I almost forgot my favourite part of this movie lol. Even better than the ending I thought…was Monty’s “fuck you” monologue. I thought it was great…
He is in the washroom, and he looks at himself in the mirror…and he’s ranting to himself…saying Fuck You to all the different races and stereo types found in New York…this goes on for like five minutes, him blaming everyone else in New York for his issues and his fuck ups…and then in the end, the Monty in the mirror kind of comes back and says noo…you know what fuck YOU. Basically, your life is yours…and if anyone fucked it up it was you. You had it all…and you fucked it up (:
I really liked it. Done!
7.3/10
Monday, June 14, 2010
A Scanner Darkly
Another one based on a novel by Philip K. Dick…and another one I have yet to read.
It was made in 2006…which surprised me…I thought it was older than that.
Takes place in the future, I can’t recall how far exactly…or if they even tell you?…Basically, a big majority of the country is addicted to drugs…in particular, this new drug, Substance D. Police surveillance is very invasive and intense…Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is meant to go undercover as a drug user…make friends with other drug users (Robert Downey Jr, and Woody Harrelson).
Arctor ends up getting hooked on drugs himself and falls in love with a girl, Winona Ryder, who is providing him with the drugs.
He ends up totally immersed in this new lifestyle…and the hemispheres in his brain are no longer functioning properly…causing him to lose the ability to distinguish between himself as a cop and a drug addict.
I was actually really impressed with the acting in this movie…aside from Keanu Reeves. I’ve never really been a big Keanu Reeves fan, and…I just wasn’t feeling it. Woody Harrelson especially was hilarious. Robert Downey Jr. was really quirky and odd. Even Rory Cochrane was hilarious with his portrayal of a heavy drug user…his facial expressions were just priceless.
The animation was really neat…and I’m sure took an incredibly long time to complete…but I think it was worth it. It made it different…added to the whole…I dunno. I felt like the whole movie I was wondering what was actually real. Were these people believing what they were seeing? Or seeing what they were believing?…kinda thing.
The beginning was a little slow, but it definitely worked itself out in the end…I really loved the ending.
Arctor is sent to rehab to recover…after the cops supposedly figure out that he is actually addicted to drugs too. We find out that their intention all along was to get Arctor addicted. The reason being that the number one rehab center, where people addicted go to recover, is suspected of actually manufacturing and distributing Substance D. In order to get anywhere near the center, you need to be heavily addicted to substance D. The girl, Winona Ryder, who he fell in love with as his drug dealer…was actually his boss. This was unkown to him, because everyone in that field of work wears these scramble suits that make them look like multiple people at once and change very frequently. She was one of the ones most responsible for setting him up. Their hope was to get him in the center, and hope that he still had a little bit of sense left in him, enough to find proof and be able to relay it back to the cops. He is actually sent to do farm work in the rehab center, and stumbles across rows and rows of blue flowers…which just so happen to be what they use to make substance D. The movie ends with him tucking a blue flower into his boot, and saying that its for his friends when he gets to go back and visit in a few months, at Thanksgiving…and that’s how its left off. I really liked the ending…I was hoping that they were going to put a twist in it.
I also liked…after the movie ended, but before the credits, there was a scrolling list of people dead/damaged because of extensive drug use. It was good, overall…and I think I liked it more than Blade Runner…which I’m not sure if that’s strange…from the ratings I’ve read, it seemed like Blade Runner got better reviews…but I found this more entertaining…and had more ‘huh…’ moments :P
8.7/10
It was made in 2006…which surprised me…I thought it was older than that.
Takes place in the future, I can’t recall how far exactly…or if they even tell you?…Basically, a big majority of the country is addicted to drugs…in particular, this new drug, Substance D. Police surveillance is very invasive and intense…Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is meant to go undercover as a drug user…make friends with other drug users (Robert Downey Jr, and Woody Harrelson).
Arctor ends up getting hooked on drugs himself and falls in love with a girl, Winona Ryder, who is providing him with the drugs.
He ends up totally immersed in this new lifestyle…and the hemispheres in his brain are no longer functioning properly…causing him to lose the ability to distinguish between himself as a cop and a drug addict.
I was actually really impressed with the acting in this movie…aside from Keanu Reeves. I’ve never really been a big Keanu Reeves fan, and…I just wasn’t feeling it. Woody Harrelson especially was hilarious. Robert Downey Jr. was really quirky and odd. Even Rory Cochrane was hilarious with his portrayal of a heavy drug user…his facial expressions were just priceless.
The animation was really neat…and I’m sure took an incredibly long time to complete…but I think it was worth it. It made it different…added to the whole…I dunno. I felt like the whole movie I was wondering what was actually real. Were these people believing what they were seeing? Or seeing what they were believing?…kinda thing.
The beginning was a little slow, but it definitely worked itself out in the end…I really loved the ending.
Arctor is sent to rehab to recover…after the cops supposedly figure out that he is actually addicted to drugs too. We find out that their intention all along was to get Arctor addicted. The reason being that the number one rehab center, where people addicted go to recover, is suspected of actually manufacturing and distributing Substance D. In order to get anywhere near the center, you need to be heavily addicted to substance D. The girl, Winona Ryder, who he fell in love with as his drug dealer…was actually his boss. This was unkown to him, because everyone in that field of work wears these scramble suits that make them look like multiple people at once and change very frequently. She was one of the ones most responsible for setting him up. Their hope was to get him in the center, and hope that he still had a little bit of sense left in him, enough to find proof and be able to relay it back to the cops. He is actually sent to do farm work in the rehab center, and stumbles across rows and rows of blue flowers…which just so happen to be what they use to make substance D. The movie ends with him tucking a blue flower into his boot, and saying that its for his friends when he gets to go back and visit in a few months, at Thanksgiving…and that’s how its left off. I really liked the ending…I was hoping that they were going to put a twist in it.
I also liked…after the movie ended, but before the credits, there was a scrolling list of people dead/damaged because of extensive drug use. It was good, overall…and I think I liked it more than Blade Runner…which I’m not sure if that’s strange…from the ratings I’ve read, it seemed like Blade Runner got better reviews…but I found this more entertaining…and had more ‘huh…’ moments :P
8.7/10
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Departed
I thought it was a pretty decent film. I read that it was based off another film ‘Internal Affairs’, a Hong Kong movie or something? and might want to check that one out too.
The plot was okay, decent...nothing special or unexpected really…. I mean, I don’t think…
Basically you got two cops…one is undercover for the good guys, one is undercover for the bad guys.
I liked the ending ish...I won't say exactly what happened in case someone wants to see it, but I really wasn't expecting what happened when the elevator door opened. It surprised me at first…but then the more I thought about it mehh…it lost its appeal.
Uhm, this is another one with Leo...huh, I've been watching a lot with him in it lately (I’ve seen Shutter Island, Revolutionary Road, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape all within the past week). I really liked him in it, I thought his acting was good, and he is incredibly good looking to boot. And Jack Nicholson!! He was old and fat lol! (I’ve also very recently seen him in ‘The Shining’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest’) Once I got over that, I really liked him too, the perfect asshole. I think that’s how a total dick is supposed to be played. I think the assholes always come off too full of themselves and it just turns me off.
Now, negative aspects of the film, some of the situations just seemed a little bit too far-fetched. I know its Hollywood; I know it’s a movie blah blah blah. I always keep that in mind, but this went a bit over that.
I hate Matt Damon. That’s it. I think he's a terrible actor in the first place, and I thought his character was pretty one dimensional. I think that’s all the acknowledgment that guy deserves, I really despise him. Same with Mark Wahlberg…oh man, after I saw The Happening, I can never look at him the same again. I never thought he was a good actor…but that movie…fuck.
Also, believe it or not, all the 'fucks' just desensitized me to the word, and then when it could have really made an impact...it didn’t.
Uhm...also the love triangle between the two guys and the shrink...what really was the point of that? I’m probably just being really thick, but in the beginning the way they played it up, I expected it to be really significant later on…and it just wasn’t…I don’t think.
7/10
The plot was okay, decent...nothing special or unexpected really…. I mean, I don’t think…
Basically you got two cops…one is undercover for the good guys, one is undercover for the bad guys.
I liked the ending ish...I won't say exactly what happened in case someone wants to see it, but I really wasn't expecting what happened when the elevator door opened. It surprised me at first…but then the more I thought about it mehh…it lost its appeal.
Uhm, this is another one with Leo...huh, I've been watching a lot with him in it lately (I’ve seen Shutter Island, Revolutionary Road, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape all within the past week). I really liked him in it, I thought his acting was good, and he is incredibly good looking to boot. And Jack Nicholson!! He was old and fat lol! (I’ve also very recently seen him in ‘The Shining’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest’) Once I got over that, I really liked him too, the perfect asshole. I think that’s how a total dick is supposed to be played. I think the assholes always come off too full of themselves and it just turns me off.
Now, negative aspects of the film, some of the situations just seemed a little bit too far-fetched. I know its Hollywood; I know it’s a movie blah blah blah. I always keep that in mind, but this went a bit over that.
I hate Matt Damon. That’s it. I think he's a terrible actor in the first place, and I thought his character was pretty one dimensional. I think that’s all the acknowledgment that guy deserves, I really despise him. Same with Mark Wahlberg…oh man, after I saw The Happening, I can never look at him the same again. I never thought he was a good actor…but that movie…fuck.
Also, believe it or not, all the 'fucks' just desensitized me to the word, and then when it could have really made an impact...it didn’t.
Uhm...also the love triangle between the two guys and the shrink...what really was the point of that? I’m probably just being really thick, but in the beginning the way they played it up, I expected it to be really significant later on…and it just wasn’t…I don’t think.
7/10
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Blue Velvet
I really enjoyed this movie...I’m starting to become a pretty big David Lynch fan. It’s dark, full of dark humour, it was great.
It starts out with the main character, Jeffery, and he finds an ear lying in the middle of a field. Eventually, he gets all wrapped up in the investigation following the discovery of the ear, and discovers some things about his town I’m sure he found surprising and disturbing :)
My favourite character was night club singer, Dorothy. I just felt like she really developed especially compared to the other female role, Sandy, played by Laura Dern. I just really don’t like Laura Dern, I think she’s a terrible actress. For me, she’s never really brought anything that I haven’t seen before, nothing interesting, nothing. Plus, she sucks ass at crying…Like, really. It’s terrible. The first movie I saw her in was Novocaine I think…which may be why I dislike her so much :P
Okay, on to something else I really loved. The scene where the cameras slowly zooming in towards the grass, then it takes us into the dirt and there’s all bugs and shit. Yes, I’m aware I do the scene no justice. I liked the whole introduction into a dirty sketchy kinda world underneath everything else that is seemingly perfect.
I also thought it was really neat. When the main character found the ear in the field and we were taken on this eerie trip like through…into the ear. And I totally didn’t even notice (shame on me) that the camera never came back out…until the very end of the film, when all is well, and we get the same journey except out of the ear.
Something I kind of noticed was that when a scene was kind of portraying innocence, that kinda thing, the dialogue and everything seemed really cheesy, and dumbed down kinda, and when the darkness was added back into the film everything seemed to improve. I don’t know if that was on purpose…I mean, I got the feel that it was, but I could be wrong. I thought it was neat anyway.
The music and sounds were fantastic, and the contrast between the black and white and colours, most notably the red curtains that kept popping up, were incredible.
Would recommend it for sure!
Although, with saying that, there is some nudity/sex/rape etc…just wanna put that out there.
8.5/10
It starts out with the main character, Jeffery, and he finds an ear lying in the middle of a field. Eventually, he gets all wrapped up in the investigation following the discovery of the ear, and discovers some things about his town I’m sure he found surprising and disturbing :)
My favourite character was night club singer, Dorothy. I just felt like she really developed especially compared to the other female role, Sandy, played by Laura Dern. I just really don’t like Laura Dern, I think she’s a terrible actress. For me, she’s never really brought anything that I haven’t seen before, nothing interesting, nothing. Plus, she sucks ass at crying…Like, really. It’s terrible. The first movie I saw her in was Novocaine I think…which may be why I dislike her so much :P
Okay, on to something else I really loved. The scene where the cameras slowly zooming in towards the grass, then it takes us into the dirt and there’s all bugs and shit. Yes, I’m aware I do the scene no justice. I liked the whole introduction into a dirty sketchy kinda world underneath everything else that is seemingly perfect.
I also thought it was really neat. When the main character found the ear in the field and we were taken on this eerie trip like through…into the ear. And I totally didn’t even notice (shame on me) that the camera never came back out…until the very end of the film, when all is well, and we get the same journey except out of the ear.
Something I kind of noticed was that when a scene was kind of portraying innocence, that kinda thing, the dialogue and everything seemed really cheesy, and dumbed down kinda, and when the darkness was added back into the film everything seemed to improve. I don’t know if that was on purpose…I mean, I got the feel that it was, but I could be wrong. I thought it was neat anyway.
The music and sounds were fantastic, and the contrast between the black and white and colours, most notably the red curtains that kept popping up, were incredible.
Would recommend it for sure!
Although, with saying that, there is some nudity/sex/rape etc…just wanna put that out there.
8.5/10
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