Hachi - A Dog's Tale: Hachiko (2009)

A straight-to-video release in the US, this film was actually in the theaters in Japan. It is very loosely based on a true story of a Japanese professor in the 1930's (maybe 40's I forget), who's dog waited every day for him at the train station even after he died.

Entertainment Weekly made a big deal about this being one of Richard Gere's best performances in years. Boy o'boy that sure is setting the bar low. The film start with Gere getting home from the college in a train and walking home, since I live in Texas with a 45 minute commute I'm not sure how realistic walking to and from a train station and never using a car really is in the current setting that they make this film. He finds this abandoned puppy with no identification, after putting up signs to find the owner he eventually keeps him... which you can tell his wife isn't thrilled about. Joan Allen plays his wife, Jason Alexander plays the train attendant, and Sarah Roemer [Disturbia] plays his daughter.

The film is quite sad, definitely to a cheesy and sappy point. It is hard to not let a tear escape at least once. It is almost cruel that the rest of the family didn't give this dog any love, but the film is trying to make a point, and also following the amazing true story they are bending a bit. Anyways, it was able to sneak onto the modern top 250 and there are worse films.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028532/

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Limitless (2011)

Have you ever heard the scientific study that says that humans actually only use 10% of their brain? Well this movie... that I'll go ahead and call a science fiction... plays to the idea that a drug can allow you to use all 100% and achieve your full potential. Great concept... what can they do with it, especially with Bradley Cooper in the lead who can't seem to do anything better than The Hangover films.

Bradley Cooper plays Eddie, a loser who has been unemployed for some time. He lives in a mess of an apartment and aspires to be a writer, but ends up just hanging out at bars telling people how great his writing is going. His girlfriend has given him some time to work things out but just hit the breaking point and breaks up with him. He runs into his ex-brother-in-law who gives him this experimental drug and it is at this point that the movie can clearly make a turn for the worse. We get this cartoon CGI look into what it is like on this drug and able to use your entire brain, I was thinking at this point... more if this and I'll hate this film.

However, the film settles and we get a pretty interesting storyline as we see the side effects of taking this experimental drug. The film becomes a thriller as it becomes clear that others are using it, and what the supply that Eddie has. I was actually quite impressed with this film, it could have been pretty silly but it was done nicely.

A good one to pick up at the video store.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/

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Midnight Express (1978)

I'm not sure why, but I love prison movies. This one is even based on a true story. It won the Golden Globe for best Drama Motion picture, was nominated for 6 Oscars and won two.. but not Best Picture... which it lost to The Deer Hunter which I gave a 9/10. Tough year.

We start the film with Billy Hayes [Brad Davis] strapping two kilos of drugs to himself in a low lit room. He then heads to the airport in Turkey with his girlfriend attempting to catch a flight home. He makes it through baggage claim with no issues even though he looks quite suspicious. When the passengers arrive at the plane they find armed guards checking the passengers one-by-one, turns out there have been several bombed planes in the last week and Hayes didn't bother to turn on the news. He is caught, and almost shot until they realize that it is "just drugs" and not a bomb.


Thanks to the help of the American consulate, he is told that he can be let go if he can lead them to the person that sold him the drugs. Hayes decides to make a break for it instead and is caught trying to run. He is given four years for possession, but the system is corrupt, and 4 years is long enough for them to re-try him for the smuggling a week before his sentence is up and is given life. To this point he has been patiently waiting for his release, but this changes everything. His mental state changes drastically and his goal of escape solidify.

A rare 10/10 for me, I would be happy to add this to my home collection, and if you haven't seen it... you should.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077928/

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3 Idiots (2009)

This Bollywood comedy stars Aamir Khan, who is probably the most popular actor in India at this time. He stars in films such as Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Earth, and Like Stars on Earth.

The only one of those that I have seen is Like Stars on Earth, and I did enjoy it. I gave it a 7/10. This one is about a kid who is thought to be a lazy student but thanks to a good teacher [Khan] he is inspired to become a good student. The 7/10 was because the film is close to three hours, it breaks out in song and dance several times, which works with the kids movie theme.

This movie is about three college students. Khan plays the son of a rich Indian family who puts learning above grades. There is a good moral to the story, but the breaking into song and dance in this film just does not fit. Maybe this is normal in India, but I didn't like it. The head professor, I'm guessing he is the dean... it wasn't very clear to me, is made to look like a moron. I'm not sure why he had to be so over-the-top stupid with crazy hair, a lisp, and crossed eyes; I found this whole dynamic ridiculous.

Late in the film Khan's character is re-united with the girl he loves. It has been 10 years and he has made no effort to contact her? This is just stupid, and played off as comical, I didn't think this was in any way realistic. For a 2 and a half hour commitment I wasn't very impressed with this film. It is about college electrical engineers, so that was one saving grace for me.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187043/

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When We Leave: Die Fremde (2010)

This was the 9th out of 10 foreign films from last year I really wanted to see. Sadly Life, Above All STILL isn't out on DVD, but is projected for a Dec. 6th, 2011 release.

I can't say I knew anything about this one other than it was really depressing... and boy is it. The film is about a Turkish woman in Germany that leaves her husband. Coming from a culture that forbids this activity he becomes alienated from her family. Her husband beat her and her child so she is forced to rely on the German government to provide assistance to basically hide them. She goes back to school and gets a job, but her constant efforts to still be part of the family only anger the men in the family.

This is an all around sad and depressing film. So sad that I couldn't sleep when finishing it and had to switch gears and watch a comedy for half an hour before I could get it out of my head. there is no silver lining and really no message to this film. It really is just an effort to bring light to modern day oppression that some women still face. Good point, but not something I want to commit two hours to.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288376/

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Even the Rain: También la lluvia (2010)

Gael García Bernal [The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mamá También, Babel] and Luis Tosar [Miami Vice] [the two guys on the poster] star in a movie about a filming crew trying to shoot in Bolivia amidst the locals protesting the governments privatization of the water supply. This film was Spain's submission to the Oscar Foreign Film race, and was short listed but did not receive a nomination.

The film they are shooting is actually a controversial film about Christopher Columbus and how the Spanish people treated the indigenous people. So it is only that ironic that the local people are fighting mistreatment from the current government at the same time. The crew actually has to do some inward reflection to see if they actually believe what they are preaching on film. Do they really care about these people? Karra Elejalde plays the man they cast as the rebellious leader of the natives that fight the Spanish on film, and he happens to be a leader off film against the government and water company.

The film has an interesting dynamic with these two aspects, but it fails to create any deep ties between these two at the same time. The more interesting dynamic is between the two directors. Bernal starts as the main character and I didn't feel he performed very well in this film, his character also seemed so adamant about the story they were trying to get on film. Tosar's character starts as a jerk and seems to make the most positive change through the film, at first he exploits the natives and casts them well under what he would if they shot this in Spain. When Elejalde's character confronts him about this, he sees the error in his way and becomes a better person. It actually reminded me of a reading from church I heard the same morning I watched this:

"What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, `I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
-Matthew 21:28-32

I think this should have been the 5th nominee instead of "Outside the Law." But it was still only my 5th favorite.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1422032/

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Kristen Wiig has to be the funniest actress in a leading role right now. After watching her in roles with no freedom... Adventureland, Extract, Date Night, etc she has really shown how funny she can be as of late. She took Paul from being a joke to decently funny, and in her first film as a lead she really excelled.

Wiig is the latest Saturday Night Live comedian to hit the big screen and she has been actually making the weekly show worth watching again. [Along with Andy Samberg]. This film is not a comedy you watch with your parents. It is the kind of humor you would expect from the Farrelly Brothers [Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary, etc] or Adam Sandler [except funny]. Unlike those companies that cater to male humor, fart jokes, etc. This one really does the same thing with women.

The female cast was excellent. Rose Byrne as the "new rich friend" Helen that Annie [Wiig] competes with. Maya Rudolph as the best friend Lillian [also from SNL, I honestly don't find Maya very funny, she was actually more of a serious character in this film, giving Annie's crazy character some balance]. Best of all might be Melissa McCarthy who some would say stole the show.

I really don't need to tell you the plot, the cast was good, the film was funny, and you should check it out.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/

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Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Another IMDB Top 250 film from the 2001 Edition that I was able to find in HD. It has been on the Bubbling Under list, which is the 251-500 on imdb. So he has been hovering outside of the top 250 for quite a while, so I wanted to check it out. I really thought this was some sort of lesbian romance film, so I wasn't really looking forward to it, I was pretty much wrong.

The film is based on a true story, and thanks to some message board links on imdb I saw some profile pictures of the real people behind these characters, and I have to say they are a little scary. Hilary Swank plays Brandon, a young man with a sexual identity crisis. Brandon has girl parts and hopes to eventually get an operation to become a man. He has been in trouble for using a fake drivers license and skips a court date after spending some time in a small town in Nebraska. He makes some friends at a bar and falls in love with Lana [Chloë Sevigny]. Lana's mother's friend John Lotter [Peter Sarsgaard] is much older than Lana but has always had a thing for her, he is very leery of Brandon and you get the feeling that this is becoming a dangerous situation.

Peter makes John Lotter a much more handsome man than he is in real life, I think Kimberly Peirce should have cast someone a little more scary in this role, but I don't want to take anything away from Peter's excellent performance. Swank won her first Oscar for this film, and she definitely deserved it. This one is definitely worth checking out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171804/

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The Robe (1953)

Winner of the golden globe for the best dramatic film in 1953 and nominated for four Oscars and won two. Another cinemascope release, and one that I was able to find in high def, which made it look really nice.

Starring Richard Burton, who plays Marcellus a Roman tribune who is assigned the task of putting Jesus Christ to death. He then wins Jesus' robe in a game of dice after the crucifixion and becomes haunted by what he has done. He returns to Jesus' home town to learn more about the man he killed and becomes a Christian himself in the process.

I have to say that I was a little bored for the first 15-20 minutes, I wasn't sure how the film was going to develop and felt it was getting to the point in a roundabout way. After the film got going and the plot became clear it was a really moving film. It is the 1950's so in high def it doesn't do the sets favors at some times. It is clear the "night sky" is a backdrop in a studio, but when you look past some of this you really have an excellent film here.

Personally I would have given this my Oscar vote that year over From Here to Eternity.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046247/

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Scream 4 (2011)

Just over 10 years now since Scream 3's release, we rejoin this horror series with a decade having passed in the characters lives as well. A little bit of a jump on horror month for me, and one that I thought I might have to do some research into what happened in the previous films before watching. As long as you remember who is who, you are fine, this review should provide a refresher for you as well.

Neve Campbell plays Sidney Prescott, the victim in the previous films who currently making her rounds on a book tour talking about her survival. David Arquette is Dewey Riley the police chief, who used to work alongside his now wife Gale Riley [Courteney Cox]. Gale has made a living off of selling her detective stories of stopping Ghostface as a slasher movie series. So the killings start again, but this time Sidney's younger sister Jill [Emma Roberts] and best friend Kirby [Hayden Panettiere] are running from Ghostface.

A few scary moments, and a typical Wes Craven Scream twist, both good and welcome. Some really bad acting, which I actually expected more from in this series. For all the work I did figuring out what happened in the previous movies it wasn't worth my time.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262416/

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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

The fourth film in the Pirates series, this one of course uses the 3D gimmick, and replaces Keira Knightley with Penélope Cruz in the leading lady role. Part of me gets annoyed that this series is still going, while part of me is happy that something other than really bad horror films keeps their series going. What about James Bond or Star Trek, we don't say "really? they are making another one?" For me it helps that it is still Johnny Depp, if they replace him I'll stop watching [I don't see this happening].

So we've fought pirate ghosts then the kracken, recovered the heart of Davey Jones, and gone to the edge of the world in the previous films. This time we fight Blackbeard and search for the fountain of youth. The film is full of daring and silly escapes, it almost reaches the Bugs Bunny level when Jack Sparrow gets out of the king quarters and escapes the Spanish troops by swinging on trees. It makes it clear that there will be more films in the future, no surprise, and if this annoys you then why even start watching this one, right?

Could it have been better? Yes. Did I dislike the storyline, costumes, music, etc.? No. Could the dialogue have been better... definitely. We started to slip into kids movie realm with this film, which might be hard for the series to recover from. Guess we'll see in a few years.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1298650/

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Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007)

Simon Pegg has now been in a number of films, and impressively a number of these have gained enough popularity in England to create a buzz in the US. A co-worker suggested this film to me when they learned that I had run several marathons so I thought it was worth a shot. It is actually directed by David Schwimmer [Ross from Friends], who has directed 4 tv movies, 10 episodes of Friends, and a couple episodes of the spin-off Joey. However, this was his first feature film.

Simon Pegg plays Dennis, who runs away from his pregnant fiancee, Libby [Thandie Newton], on their wedding day. Five years later he is a loser who still has feelings for Libby but can't seem to even take care of himself. When Libby gets a new boyfriend Whit [Hank Azaria, known for his many, many, many voices on The Simpsons], who is successful and runs marathons, he decides to prove his love by running a marathon also.

The film is mainly a comedy, but could be called a romantic comedy. There are many elements that felt like a tv sitcom to me, which makes sense to me because this has been the director's background. So if you know what you are getting yourself into, you might like it. There are better Pegg films, and coming from a running I didn't find the marathon portion to be anything special like I was hoping.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425413/

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Last Tango in Paris: Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972)

So this is a very dirty movie, there really isn't much to say to defend it as art. Banned in a number of countries, rated 18+, NC-17, X in all other countries, which most artistic films have at least a few rating groups that are ok with mild sexuality.

The film starts with a young woman, Jeanne [Maria Schneider] looking for an apartment in Paris. She is given the key to look at an apartment and finds a middle-aged American man inside, Paul [Marlon Brando]. The man looks homeless, or on drugs, who knowns... but he isn't handsome and instead of being freaked out... they have sex.

She takes the apartment, and we eventually learn that Paul recently had a wife that committed suicide. They maintain a strictly physical relationship and do not even exchange names. During the film they both sodomize each other. First Paul does it forcefully to Jeanne, then she does it in revenge later. Maria Schneider, who passed away recently commented that she always regrets that scene, and that the tears were very real in that scene because it was unscripted and Brando didn't get her much of a choice.

Aside from finding this film offensive, I just found it to be boring. A romance... not really, a horror... maybe. Part of the 1001 Movies to See Before You Die, and I can say that it is not an essential view for anyone.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070849/

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East of Eden (1955)

John Steinbeck's East of Eden was a very popular film, less for the quality of the film, and more for what happened surrounding the film. The film stars James Dean who died in a car crash around the time of this films release, and was then awarded the first posthumous nomination in Academy Awards history. Of course, Rebel Without a Cause, is the film that made him a cult icon, but this was the one and Giant [his second consecutive posthumous nomination] sum up his three film career.

Not really that challenging to watch his entire filmography, and having seen the other two some time ago it was time for me to watch this one. It is one of only a handful of film I've seen in Cinemascope, and thank goodness it was probably the first I've seen on a widescreen TV. Cinemascope is that really narrow widescreen that has black bars on widescreen televisions and is almost unwatchable on televisions a decade ago, and this one is 2.55:1 ratio, when most Cinemascope is 2.35:1. Anyways...

So the film is about a pair of brothers with a very "religious" father. James Dean plays Cal, the younger brother who can't seem to do anything right. In typical Dean fashion he is rebellious, lacks direction, but is good deep down. Cal has figured out that his mother, who his father told him was dead, is actually alive and working in a burlesque on the bad side of town. Cal does everything he can to win the affection of his father but he can't seem to do anything right.

It is a well written film, but a little dull at times. I prefer his two other films over this one.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048028/

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How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Winner of 5 Oscars and nominated for 5 others. This film will forever be known as the one that beat Citizen Kane [8/10]. Not only Kane, but it also beat out Sergeant York [8/10] and my favorite of the list The Maltese Falcon. The simple fact is that in 1942 this was the better film, get over it film buffs but a working class drama was more popular than an Orson Welles drama.

I'm sure you can see from the bottom of this post that my 6/10 means that I would rank it fourth out of the four I've seen from that year. It was however a decent film. Maybe my 6/10 is a little harsh because I just gave a few other films a 6/10 that I didn't like as much, so if I gave 0.5 points than I would give this 6.5/10.

So the film really centers around the youngest brother of the Morgan family in a Welsh mining town. He watches as his brother grow up and leave the home, as the mine goes through a strike, and as his sister goes through marriage problems that the whole town whispers about.

The film is really not that bad, and I can easily say there are some much weaker best picture winners, this one is spoken about a lot simply for who it beat that year. If you are going to watch all the Best Picture winners, you won't be disappointed by this one.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033729/

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State and Main (2000)

Part of Peter Traver's Top 10 list from 2000, I gave this comedy I haven't heard much about a shot. Come to find out that the cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles, and a few other faces you would recognize. Also there is an uncredited cameo by John Krasinski at the very end.

The film is about a film cast and crew looking for a new town after being forced out of their previous one. The new town they come upon is a sleepy little town in Vermont that boasts about their "old mill" which is a centerpiece in this film. Come to find out that the mill burned down in 1960 and the script now needs some major work since the title was "The Old Mill."

I can see how this might have been better 10 years ago, but I didn't find it to be anything special, and this wasn't Hoffman's best performance... he is still quite green.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120202/

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Lolita (1962)

After taking a little time off from writing it feels like a long time ago that I reviewed Killer's Kiss and mentioned that I saw this Kubrick film. I really struggled to understand this film, is it supposed to be a comedy? or drama? did they really have a lot of dark comedies in the 60's? I just can't take Peter Sellers seriously, and it is hard to take someone who plays multiple characters to trick someone on film as a dramatic role.

So the film is about Professor Humbert Humbert [James Mason] who looks for a room to rent while working at a college. He answers an ad placed by Charlotte [Shelley Winters], a widow with a daughter. It is clear he doesn't care for her, and is about to pass on the room until he meets her daughter, Lolita [Sue Lyon]. Through a serious of strange and awful events he runs off with Lolita convincing a new town that they are father and daughter, when it is clear they are more than that.

Thanks to "The MPAA Code" they are often vague, but you get the point. The film ends a little boring and pathetic which is frustrating because it is two and a half hour commitment... the opposite of Killer's Kiss which clocks in at about an hour.

I would have liked this more if it was a little more fun or serious, I didn't like it being in between. Also if it was about 45 minutes shorter.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056193/

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The Mission (1986)

As I was putting together a movie list from my 501 Must See Movie book I came across this film and wanted to see it right away. I found it at the library the next week, but it still took me a while to get to. Nominated for 7 Oscars including best picture, and winner of 1 [Cinematography], starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, and Liam Neeson so quite a cast.

Based in the 1700's in remote area of South America ruled by the Portuguese. We start with a tribe of natives strapping a Jesuit missionary to a cross and throwing him over a waterfall [the movie poster]. The church sends in a missionary they felt would have more luck with, Father Gabriel [Jeremy Irons]. He gains the trust of the natives and they start building the church, meanwhile slave traders have hired men to hunt the natives down. Robert De Niro plays Mendoza, who is a slave trader/hunter who after some "family turmoil" begins to turn his life around.

This film starts as an action/adventure, then turns into a political drama for the second half as the church in Portugal gets tangled in the politics of who owns the land the native are own and if the missions can remain on the land. I would have liked more action and less politics, but it was good nonetheless, just not good enough for a worth watching grade.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091530/

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Billy Elliot (2000)

Nominated for three Oscars in 2001 and on the imdb top 250 2001 Edition, a list I am making little effort to finish at the moment. This film came out recently in high definition so I decided to give it a shot.

Categorized as comedy, but probably closer to just a drama. The film is about a boy Billy [Jamie Bell] who lives with his father, older brother, and grandmother. His father and brother both work in the coal mines, but are currently on strike. This provides an interesting and comical [at times] backdrop for the film. Billy is in boxing class, and his father is trying to groom him to be a boxer like he was. He becomes distracted by the strike and Billy, who is a horrible boxer, takes interest in the dance class that shares the gym.

The teacher sees talent in Billy and thinks he can get into a private dance school with his families support, a tall order given who his father is. A cute enough story for young kids, and popular enough that they actually made a musical out of it. I was unable to determine if this is actually based on a true story, but it wasn't bad.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249462/

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The Beaver (2011)

Mel Gibson stars as a mentally unstable father, who after failing to commit suicide, takes refuge by speaking through a Beaver puppet he found in a dumpster. Jodie Foster stars as the wife of Gibson in her 3rd film as director. Her first time to direct in 16 years and she didn't make it easy on herself casting Gibson. As well all know Gibson is going through a rough patch in his life as he is struggling with alcohol abuse.

The film, which stars these two actually spends 1/2 of the film focusing on his son, Jared [Zachary Booth], and the issues he is dealing with not wanting to be like his dad, but unable to escape his family. Jennifer Lawrence stars as the valedictorian who seeks out Jared to help her write her graduation speech, which is just as much a stretch of the plot as Gibson with a beaver on his hand.

The film is disturbing at times, then silly at other times, at no point do we get the impression that the beaver can actually speak for itself and Gibson never tries to be a ventriloquist. The beaver is the gimmick, but Booth and Lawrence kept this from being a 4 or 5 for me. I still wouldn't suggest it, but it could have been much worse.


Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1321860/

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A Room with a View (1985)

Winner of three Oscars at the 1987 awards show, art direction, costumes, and adapted screenplay. It was nominated for five others including picture and director, and it lost to Platoon [you won't hear me arguing that decision].

This film is the screen debut of Helena Bonham Carter who plays opposite Julian Sands for the lead roles. Supporting characters feature Daniel Day-Lewis as an almost unrecognizable pompous socialite and Judi Dench as a novelist. Also Maggie Smith, as Charlotte, you might remember her from the Harry Potter series.


The film is a romance about a young girl who travels with her Aunt to Florence, Italy. In their hotel they find themselves "without views," when the Emerson father and son exchange their rooms it becomes clear that Lucy has a thing for George.

Good acting, fantastic costumes, set, etc. but just not a film made with me as a target. Probably really good if you like romances, but I'll pass.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091867/

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The Caine Mutiny (1954)

This was a fairly controversial film in the 1950's because, as the film's disclaimer says at the start, this is fiction and there has never been a mutiny in the US Navy. It was more than slightly frowned upon to make a film that didn't show the military in the best light less than a decade removed from World War II.

The film starts with Ens. Willie Keith [Robert Francis] a young man fresh out of the academy preparing for his first real assignment. We get the sense that he is immature and does not make the best and most mature decisions. He favors his mother over the girl he really loves because she isn't in the same "class" and wouldn't meet mother's approval. He seems sure that he will get a job aboard a battleship, but to his dismay he gets assigned to the Caine. The Caine is a beat up ship that has seen a lot of action, the crew is informal and the captain is unorthodox which upsets Ens. Keith. When the captain is reassigned the navy brings in Lt. Commander Queeg [Humphrey Bogart], so our lead character really isn't on the screen for the first 20-30 minutes of the picture.

The immature Mr. Keith is immediately impressed by Queeg's desire to clean up the crew. Lt. Keefer [Fred MacMurray] is immediately against Queeg and convinces Lt. Maryk [Van Johnson] and Ens. Keith that action needs to be taken.

The film turns into a courtroom drama, and by seeing Ens. Keith mature, which is reflected in his personal life as he introduces his girlfriend to his mother and they get engaged. At the same time though, he is still siding with Keefer and Maryk against Queeg, and the film eventually turns into a courtroom drama. This is when José Ferrer is introduced and we get [I feel] the best performance in the film.

Good, not great, based on a book and play, I am glad I watched it. It was better than I was expecting.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046816/

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This Is It (2009)

I have been meaning to watch this one for a while. Honestly I was waiting for an opportunity when I didn't need to pay full attention. I've seen this one categorized as a documentary, but you aren't learning anything, there is no narration, and I don't consider a few lines about his passing a storyline. You could almost call this a musical, but it is more like a DVD you get for free with a music CD at the record store. Just a raw performance music video is really what it is, so I'll call it a musical.

The film starts with interviews of the extras, talking about how much they love Michael then we hit the stage. The film basically goes through each final take on each song he had planned for his final tour which he called "This is it."

There are some pretty cool sets, and it seemed like there was a different set for each song. It really would have been an amazing concert to attend. The thing that struck me the most was his passion for saving the environment. He seemed to think the world was going to end in 2012 because of how humans were treating the environment. This really made me think... what exactly has this mulch-millionaire done himself?

He SHOULD and COULD have done a lot, so before I assumed he hadn't I did some research. His song "Heal the World," is said to have created an awareness for the environment with a younger generation. He is given a lot of credit for writing some songs, and I will commend him for that. His videos really did reach a lot of people and send a strong message internationally, and at the end of the video there is a note to donate to his charity "Heal the World Foundation." Jackson established two foundations with his millions of dollars, this one and one and "Michael Jackson United Negro College Fund Endowed Scholarship Fund." This one is an endowment, so he put $1.5 million in it in 1986... and that was it. The Heal the World Foundation lost it's tax exempt status in 2002 when it failed to file yearly tax statements. The reality is that he was a hypocrite, he took no real actions to help the environment. None of his charity work helped the environment, he just made money on songs about helping the environment telling people to do their part without doing his own. I'm not going to get into his personal life, not necessary, but this alone bothered me. You need to be a big Jackson fan to find this one worth your time.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477715/

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Thor (2011)

I think 1/2 of the fun when watching a comic book movie is learning the background of the character. The process of going from a normal person to a superhero brings out the imagination in all of us. I think this is why films like Iron Man do so much better than their sequels. The beginning is the most intriguing part. Battling the bad guy takes a back seat to the rise to power, or learning how to use the tools, etc.

The part of this film that failed for me is that the background on Thor himself takes less than 10 minutes to explain. The viking gods or whatever is quick and confusing... or maybe just not that interesting... I'm not sure. Point being, the action and conflict starts so early that their is no intensity for a conclusion. Chris Hemsworth is handsome and actually quite good as Thor, he has some witty humorous parts after being sent down to early. Natalie Portman good, Anthony Hopkins good, Stellan Skarsgård good, there really wasn't anything wrong with the cast or acting here... it was the screenplay and probably directing.

Thor gets his hammer back at some point in the middle and I honestly didn't care at this point. Whatever... time to fight the bad guy... I hate to be so critical but this was just a forgettable comic action film, I'm sure there will be a sequel because Disney is still paying off their Marvel acquisition. Not worth your time.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800369/

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Source Code (2011)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this science fiction action film about a man who wakes up in someone else's body on a train about to be bombed. There, that is your one sentence on what this movie is about, I don't want to say much more. I've heard it compared to a action film with Groundhog Day repetition, I didn't get that... and I don't know if that is the best thing to call it. I don't like spoiling films, especially since this is a mystery first, science fiction second, and action film third.

Jake wakes up as Colter, a friend of traveling mate Christina [Michelle Monaghan] the girl, who is a friend but you can tell there are commitment issues here. Between train bombing sequences Jake's character communicates with "Goodwin," in what is the mystery of the film. Goodwin is played by Vera Farmiga, who you would remember from  Up in the Air, and will probably wonder what she has been up to for the last two years... picking bad films to work on...

[Spoiler] I just have to say the ending sucked. I can't write this review without talking about it. It reminds me of an interview I read with Brad Pitt where he discusses how the ending of one of his early films was re-written because it "didn't test well," he decided from that point on to write in his contract that changes like this couldn't be made on film from the start. For example, the ending of Seven didn't test well, but Pitt fought to keep it how it was, thank goodness because easy happy Hollywood endings don't fit all stories. I really wonder if this was changed because it didn't test well, because it just didn't make sense and I can't see a screenplay writer that came up with this creative sci-fi plot ending it that way.

You could skip this one and wouldn't miss out on much.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945513/

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The Man from Earth (2007)

This has to be one of the most interesting films that I have seen in a few years. It is a science fiction film with no special effects and no action. How does that work you might ask, well the entire film is a conversation. We really only have one set and the cast is filled with people that have played movie extras and television stars. Don't expect any Oscar performances from this group, and get past how fake the dialog is to begin with.

The film starts with our lead character, John Oldman [David Lee Smith], a professor that after 10 years decides to up and quit his job. All of his colleagues drop by to say goodbye since his departure seems so sudden. He tells them that he really doesn't have a plan and they push and push until he tells them the truth. The truth is that do does not age, for the length of the film they question him on this point and he is able to answer all of their questions with thoughtful and precise detail. It is really a well thought out script, I came up with a few questions of my own and they answered them not long after. I had planned on starting this one in bed and finishing it on the treadmill at the gym, but it is not the type of film that you can be distracted during to enjoy. I watched the whole thing [87 minutes, short...] in bed when I should have been sleeping.

If you watch a lot of movies and can't find anything fairly new, then this is a "B" film I would highly suggest.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/

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Killer's Kiss (1955)

For some reason I thought this was Stanley Kubrick's first film. I was wrong, it was his second. Fear and Desire (1953) was his first, but nevertheless I have now seen 12 of his 13 feature films [I will review Lolita next week, #12], I've seen a higher percentage of his films than any other acclaimed director... save maybe Quentin Tarantino.

The interesting thing about this film is that Kubrick did just about everything except act. Maybe he has done this on other films, but I happened to notice that he is credited for directing, writing, producing, editing, and cinematography. This film has been on my to watch list for about 4 years now. I think I got it from netflix back when I got a bunch of Hitchcock films I plan on watching this October. It is a very short film noir movie with a 67 minute runtime and a plot that is far from deep. Basically about a boxer who gets mixed up with a girl who's boyfriend is violently jealous.

Compared to his film The Killing, made directly after this one, I really didn't like it at all. I gave The Killing a 10/10 [review here], and I would suggest you spend your time with that one instead.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048254/

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