Sunday, December 28, 2008

Slumdog Millionaire

Title: Slumdog Millionaire
Directed by: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto
Genres: Crime, Drama, Foreign
Running Time: 2 hour.0 minutes
Release Date: November 12th, 2008
MPAA Rating: R

Review: This is one of the films receiving a lot of buzz for this year's award season, and when you watch it is not hard to see why. It is an amazing film. The look and feel is fresh, very real, and it has a great energy throughout. The music is great, and the child actors are absolutely stunning. This is a picture of the real India, a picture that is easily recognized if you have ever traveled this amazing country the cheap, down & dirty way. A must see film that stands out as one of the best of this year.

Grade: 9

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Religulous

Title: Religulous
Directed by: Larry Charles
Starring: Bill Maher, Tal Backman, Larry Charles
Genres: Documentary, Religion
Running Time: 1 hour.41 minutes
Release Date: October 1st, 2008
MPAA Rating: R

Review: Bill Maher is snarky, funny and on his own doubt-spreading soap box in this documentary about religion. Having some serious doubts myself I found the movie interesting, and it brough up quite a few points I have been soap-boxing about myself. but less neutral and with more of a slant than is documentary-appropriate. Definitely a discussion-inducing film worth a watching with an open mind, no matter what prechings you prescribe to.

Grade: 7

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Pineapple Express

Title: Pineapple Express
Directed by: David Gordon Green
Starring: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, James Remar, Joe Lo Truglio
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Running Time: 1 hour.45 minutes
Release Date: August 6th, 2008
MPAA Rating: R

Review: Another James Franco film, that i absolutely adore! Before Pineapple's release I had several severe laugh-attacks after catching the trailer in the theater, while waiting to see another film. Those laugh attacks came with some pretty high expectations for the funniness of this film. And, when i finally saw this film back in August, I was not disappointed. In fact, it had me laughing so hard, I almost peed my pant! Everything from James France's charming pot dealer, Seth Rogen's hilarious state of panic, the entire casts collective potty mouth, and the I-learned-how-to-fight-through-playing-video-games-fight scenes, to the ridiculously over-the-top violent action had me in constant state of laughing delirium throughout the whole film. I just saw this movie again last night, and I loved it just as much as I did the first time I saw it. It is, hands down, the funnies movie I have seen since Knocked Up. And it is a very strong contender for this year's Funniest Movie. However, I have yet to see a few of the other, rumored to be funny, movies out this year, so don't count your chickens or whatever... No matter how you slice it, this is a fantastic film, that i highly recommend.

Grade: 9.5

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Milk

Title: Milk
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Allison Pill, Emile Hirsch
Genres: Drama, Biopic, Politics
Running Time: 2 hour.8 minutes
Release Date: November 26th, 2008 (limited), December 5th, 2008 (expands)
MPAA Rating: R

Review: I love this film! Sean Penn is charming, and perfect in the role as courageous human rights activist Harvey Milk, who fought so hard (& never gave up) to [finally] become the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. And, James Franco (love him!) is gorgeous throughout the whole film. Their love story is smile-inducing, and absolutely beautiful, and to see it portrayed like any other love is amazing. This film will make your heart swell in your chest as you watch it, leaving a sweet taste of hope after it is done. The film is a tad long, but not enough to bring the grade down. This is a fantastic film, that i would highly recommend.

Grade: 8.5

Cadillac Records

Title: Cadillac Records
Directed by: Darnell Martin
Starring: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, Gabrielle Union, Columbus Short
Genres: Drama, Biopic, Musical
Running Time: 1 hour.48 minutes
Release Date: December 5th, 2008
MPAA Rating: R

Review: Since having studied American music history, and having been really intrigued by the music legends from that time, I was looking forward to seeing this movie. The music really carries the film, which would be expected, but perhaps not to this extreme extent. It is a hell of a story, but here it is told with murky historic details (where the hell is Phil?). The cast pour their hearts out in the music with electrifying results, and Beyonce kills "At last". All in all, the movie lands on a middle-of-the-road 5, but without the music (a 7) the film itself would end up with a failing 3.

Grade: 5 (just FYI, hubby gave it a 4)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Frost/Nixon

Title: Frost/Nixon
Directed by: Ron Howard
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Toby Jones, Matthew MacFayden
Genres: Drama, Adaptation, Politics
Running Time: 2 hour.2 minutes
Release Date: December 5th, 2008 (limited)
MPAA Rating: R


Review: I've been looking forward to seeing Frost/Nixton for months and it did not disappoint. If you are, like me, interested in American politics, and American history it is a really interesting, fact-based movie from a fascinating time in this country. The movie is a duel between the recently ousted President Nixon, and David Frost, and it is beautifully executed. The movie belongs to Frank Langella, as Nixon, who is a perfect Tricky Dick. It is not hard to see where all the buzz is coming from, and i am definately recomending this one.

Rating: 8