tháng 7 2011 ~ The Larsen Film Review

Let Me In (2010)

From a Danish film in the last review, we now turn to a Swedish film that got a Hollywood makeover... much like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is getting one this winter. The original film: Låt den rätte komma in was good [6/10] but not "great," I'm lead to believe that its...

From what I have traced of my heritage I have more Danish in me than any other nationality, so it was pretty exciting to see that both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Foreign film were won by this film. It was also nice to see that it was actually a GOOD film. The trailer......

I do remember this film coming out and through it was a kids film. It didn't peak my interest then, but for the sake of finishing a movie list [the modern 250] I gave it a chance. Charlie Cox stars as Tristan, a young man set out to win the love of a girl by catching a falling...

Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg star in a mid-90's film will little to do about sports, and a lot to do with teenage drug usage. I think I would have liked this a lot more if I would have watched it when in high school. Jim [DiCaprio] and Mickey [Mark] are best friends...

Like I have been doing for several years now with documentaries, I am now starting to watch more foreign films. Films shortlisted by failing to get a nomination. With 80+ submissions [one each from most major countries] there are a lot to choose from. For an LFR first I'll plug...

I have really been enjoying the Oscar documentaries and have been finding more and more of the short listed films from the last years. This one, which was shortlisted last year, but not a finalist projected to be on that final list by a number of Oscar predicting websites. It...

Not a pretentious film, but one that is embraced by pretentious people. I've read reviews with lines like, "Though not for everyone, it is a must see for anyone who treasures cinema." So... since this film made no sense to me don't know how to treasure cinema? A film make in...

Another Happy Madison film, maybe it is the nostalgia of Adam Sandler films of the 90's that keep bringing me back. Honestly I don't know why I bother with films I know will be bad, sometimes to just have to see for yourself. Adam Sandler plays a plastic surgeon who is scarred...

I managed to get ahold of the blu-ray of this epic adventure film and I have to say it was worth the quality. A film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman which has everything going for it... except the runtime. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Score, and not necessarily...

The thrilling conclusion to the epic decade long movie series... lived up to the hype. Maybe the incompleteness of "Part1" helped set this one up for success... I don't know. What I do know is that all the action was saved for this film. Making a journey to the other side reminded...

At this point I'm not a stranger to Chow Yun-Fat films. The Killer is probably one of his more popular roles and I just found it to be ok. So maybe I didn't go into this one with the most open mind. It does have to be one of the strangest movie posters I've seen. The baby...

I have to say this is the front runner for the worst movie of the year for me. It was about the time that the opening credits were concluding that I realized this would be just awful. Written, directed, and starring Sylvester Stallone, and what does he know about writing scripts? He...

Paul Giamatti won a Golden Globe for his performance as Barney Panofsky in a film about a man who lead a very colorful and exciting life. We start with Giamatti drunk and calling his ex-wife in the middle of the night saying mean things to her new husband. We then flashback...

An indie dramady made on a shoestring budget on a 30 day shoot that grossed $4 million. Starring Alan Rickman [Severus Snape], Chris Pine [Star Trek], Bill Pullman [While You Were Sleeping], and Rachael Taylor. The film focuses on the rise of the Napa Valley and California...

This is a "kinda" interesting film independently released in Britain with a number of stars you should know. It seems like a film for the MTV generation and was nominated for 5 Saturn awards winning one. Directed by Mark Romanek who is better known for his music videos, like...

You would probably be more familiar with David Cronenberg's other major film, The Fly. However, Cronenberg has been making science fiction/horror films for decades. Videodrome, The Dead Zone, Dead Ringers, and Naked Lunch are some of his other 80's horror/scifi films that...

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher star as Emma and Adam in this romantic comedy that doesn't try and dance around the topic of sex. They meet at summer camp as middle school age kids then again in college and just after. Emma fresh out of medical school working on her residency,...

Directed by Andrea Arnold an Oscar winner for the Live Action Short Film Wasp in 2003. Arnold took a cast of no name actors and put together a film that won the BAFTA [Best British Film] last year. The film in some ways reminded me of Precious, partially because of the apathetic...

It has taken me a while but I finally got around to watching the 5th documentary nominee from last years Oscars. I feared that this film would be artistic and boring but was surprised at how good it really was. The documentary follows Brazil's most famous artist Vik Muniz as...

Before I give my opinion on Matthew McConaughey and his abilities let me say that there are probably a dozen actors that could have done this role well. McConaughey needs to thank his agent for finding him a good script and director because this could be his best film. McConaughey...

Everything you need to know about this movie you can learn from the movie poster: Jennifer Aniston is shocked that Jason Bateman decided to "use his seed" becoming her sperm donor. The movie is pretty one dimensional so you can pretty much just fill in the plot yourself. They...

I'm going to be meaner than I should in my review of this film and I need to tell you why from the start. I watched this film simply because it beat out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the Saturn award for the best Internation Scifi, Action, or Horror film. The saturn awards...

This is one of those movies that you really have to ask yourself, "is this even worth my time?" The first sign of a film being really bad is if you see a lot of commercials for it. That means that it is so bad they are afraid your family and friends won't suggest it, so they...

Like Nowhere in African I watch this foreign Oscar winner while watching all Oscar winner for the last decade. I've seen in on several Top 100 foreign film lists as well as in the 1001 Movies to See Before You Die book. I understood the premise but I was fairly disappointed. Several...

This is a first for the LFR, a 2nd review of a film. At the same time my previous post on this film said I would re-review it around this time. Interesting enough though I found that I gave it the same 6/10 even when I understood what was going on. The film explains the meaning...

The best film I have seen in a little while, and a good example of why it it worth checking out older foreign films. This story is very complex and has many elements that make it worth watching. I like a film that takes a while to explain the plot to someone. An Oscar winner,...

Even though we are a few weeks away from western/war movie month I wanted to watch this western film because I happened to have the opportunity to see it in HD. Directed by Walter Hill and starring all 3 Carradine brothers, the Keach brothers, and the Quaid brothers. I found...

It might be important for me to tell you that I can't write a review for a part 6 of a series of 8 films without spoiling the previous films. So if you haven't seen the earlier films and intend to do so I'll do my best not to "ruin" anything. This is one of the films that I...

I remember watching the Oscars and seeing the scene of the tsunami in this film. I thought I had seen a critical scene... well not really. I had the perception that this would be an action film, instead I found that the tsunami scene alone was nominated for visual effects and...

Ironically I watched this on just after "The Vikings" and found it to be a sci-fi action film where a man from another planet finds himself on Earth at the time of the vikings. James Caviezel plays the hero Kainen, an actor I recognized but couldn't put my finger on. You will...

I just kinda had this one left over from action movie month. Not a film from the action book, but an adventure/action from the 501 Must See movie book that actually looked pretty interesting. A pairing of Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas that probably helped lead to the casting...

Kate Winslet and Judi Dench split starring roles in this film about the biographical film about the novelist Iris Murdoch. Winslet plays Iris as a college age woman who meets her eventual husband, John Bayley [Hugh Bonneville]. Dench plays Iris from the point that she starts...

Part 5 of the Harry Potter series is where I got lost the first time I watched this film. The first four films can really be watched and enjoyed without having seen the others, and without having to remember anything from the previous films. This one is the first were someone...

My favorite Harry Potter movie out of the first 7. Directed by Mike Newell and featuring some of the most entertaining magic in the entire series. The tri-wizard's tournament comes to Hogwarts and when someone puts Harry's name into the cup he is forced to compete alongside...

After a short break between part two and three we see a real difference in the three main characters' ages. The directing change to Alfonso Cuarón made for a change from the slapstick comedy of wizardry to the artistic shots of a tree changing with the seasons. In this adventure...

Unlike the first film, this Chris Columbus takes a turn for the more mature. The villains are a little more difficult to defeat and the story gets much more complicated. We introduce Dobby and learn a lot more about the dark lord. We get yet another professor of the dark arts. Despite...

In preparation for the final Harry Potter movie this month I went back and re-watched the entire series. I don't plan on writing extensive reviews for each film and will do my best to remember what came from each movie. Having not read the books and watching the movies spread...

The frontrunner for the worst movie of the year for me is this cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare's play. Nominated for an Oscar for Costume Design and greatly overlooked by the production company with respect to promotions. Helen Mirren plays the main character, a magician...

I'm so so very tired of "homage" films labeled as indie or cult films. I really expected nothing out of this film. Honestly a little humor or good one liners would have been enough [kind of like Dead Snow or Army of Darkness]. The film was cheaply made, and it looks cheap. Made...

I remember hearing about this indie hit several times but missed the dvd release and it fell out of my radar. After being nominated for a Saturn award I quickly went out and found it. The film managed to win several smaller film festivals for editing, screenplay, etc [not for...

Let's just say that I like Gene Kelly in musicals more than I like him in a wig pretending to be an expert swordsman. A selection to the 101 Action movie list, and definitely not my favorite version of the classic story. This film is overly cheesy and actually harder to follow...

The king of swashbuckler film, Mr. Errol Flynn. A man known just as much for his off camera adventures as on. A man charged with statutory rape three times, hence the term "In Like Flynn," he lead a very colorful lifestyle. Known best for his film The Adventures of Robin Hood,...

Nominated for 8 Oscars, and winner of two in a dead category "Assistant Director," I guess they were REALLY good at getting coffee on the set. Back where there were 12 best picture nominees [and you think 10 is a lot right now], this film lost to John Ford's The Informer....

This film was suggested to me by a friend, and since I've been on a Luc Besson kick in action movie month, I was sort of expecting this to be an action movie also. Besson having done films I just watched such as District B13, La Femme Nikita, and Taxi. This film language film...

Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin star in a drama about the chaotic operations of an airport in a snowstorm. The film which somehow made it in the Action 101 book but really has very little "action." The film starts with Lancaster as the head of an airport in the middle of a snow...

This is an interesting inclusion on the Action 101 book in that it proves that the book "101 Action Movies to See Before You Die" is NOT the 101 Best Action Movie films. This King Hu Hong Kong Kung Fu [that was a mouthful] is considered the pioneer of the entire genre. A pretty...

I have to say that this movie looked bad from the start, but since I loved Zack Snyder I had to give him a chance. I can't even say that I have much of an opinion either way of Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning. The two have been in a number of films that were just ok, but since...

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