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The Hurt Locker (2008)
Cool sounding title (however unrelated). Needs better research/writing.
I will admit that the cinematography in the movie had some cool sequences. I enjoyed that aspect of the movie. The acting was good, but none of it stood out from anything else I've seen this year and I'm not entirely sure Jeremy Renner did well enough to stand out from other actors to earn an Oscar Nomination. This movie does entertain as an Action Thriller, but I cannot take it seriously as a Drama. I know for a fact that whoever wrote the script didn't do much in the sense of research. I'm sure they read a whole lot of first hand experiences from EOD Officers and NCO's, but not much on how operations in Iraq are carried out. It appeared to me that the writer was banking on the US civilian not having any clue on how the military works in a combat zone and then took certain liberties to turn a real world job into a super thriller movie. Yes, this movie is a thriller, but certainly not a drama because the characters don't act like real American soldiers. For the record, "Specialist" is a rank in the Army. I've never heard any Officer or Sergeant refer to a Specialist as just "Specialist". It's always the Soldiers last name. Here is why I can't consider this movie a Drama and take it seriously:
-Partial Spoiler-
A speeding taxi driver doesn't stop for a road block of two HMMWV's (humvies) with crew served weapons (machine guns) mounted on the turrets and shouting soldiers (the driver almost runs a soldier over) but he does stop for a man in a padded suit standing in an intersection with a 9mm Beretta pointing at him
Seriously? The driver and his car would have been Swiss cheese before he got within 20 meters of those HMMWV's. The movie takes numerous liberties like this to produce a thriller affect. I feel if you sacrifice reality for thrill and suspense, then you are making an action thriller, not an action drama. The technical aspect of EOD could be accurate, I know nothing about that, but as far as making an honest representation of the Army and how it operates, the writer came up short, or didn't even try at all. It's a joke to me that this movie was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture (there must not be a lot of good movies to choose from this year). I still think the best theatric representation of how the Army works is Black Hawk Down. Granted, it's a different type of warfare, but it's a good example of what an Action Drama is, and what The Hurt Locker is trying to be, but is not. I would have given this movie a 4, but I gave it a 5 because the cinematography is that good.
SFCs don't sneak off base at night and hold people at gunpoint, then walk back on base without any kind of punishment or investigation.
NCOs don't punch their superiors in the face without and article 15, loss of rank or a general court marshal, not to mention what James did to deserve it.
The movie portrays these actions as if they would be common place in the Army.
-End Spoiler-
I'm sure a lot of people like this movie for the affects and suspense, but I want them to know that it's very far from real (obviously no one goes to the movies for raw reality, they want to be lied to, at least a little bit) combat zone action. It's okay to like this movie if it entertains you, but it certainly isn't Oscar Worthy. I believe the story and the script sacrifice too much reality and accuracy to even be considered. I'm well aware that movies aren't meant to be perfectly accurate. My point is that there is hardly any reality for me to agree with its nomination. If people think this is a good Drama, it makes me feel like Americans are absolutely clueless as to what a soldier's life is like while deployed. This movie gets them no closer. Actually, this movie probably is a perfect example of how the common person thinks an OIF deployment is like, and that is sad.
I'm certain that if you ask any soldier who's been to Iraq (or any other deployment for that matter) if this movie is an honest representation of what they've done for their country, they would quickly tell you that it's a worthless army movie (I'm cleaning that up for you.) The fact that it received the positive reviews that it did is an insult to the real EOD soldiers and the soldiers who have to wait for them to show up on scene.
Doomsday (2008)
Modern mix of past success
If you're in the mood for some sort of action flick, and if you can stomach the sight of cannibalism, then Doomsday might suit your needs.
This movie is a modernized attempt at The Road Warrior, and Rhona Mitra (the heroin) is the new Madam Max. Instead of a nuclear Holocaust (which sets the stage for Mad Max), Neil Marshall (Director) uses some vaguely explained virus to create his almost barren wasteland in northern Scotland. Throw in a bad-ass female mercenary and some cars, and pooof! A wanna-be Mad Max.
Rhona Mitra is certainly enjoyable to watch. Top grade "eye" candy if you ask me. Her acting is good enough. Probably the best her character would allow. This also had the feel of the movie Underworld. Kate Beckinsale and Rhona Mitra could be sisters if I didn't know better.
All in all, this movie is not going to make too much money for lack of a stable story. If you're going to just build a wall around the entire region of Scotland and just leave it alone forever, then why not just nuke the damned place and destroy the virus altogether?
If I were to rate this movie for raw action and cheap entertainment, then I would give it a 8/10. But comparing it to all other movies, then I would give a 5/10.
September Dawn (2007)
Slander in the Form of Movie Making
Upon watching this movie, the sense of overwhelming slander hit me in the face like a semi. Mal-representation of Mormon culture was beaming from the dialog, the story and the acting. It appeared to me that the people who wrote and produced this movie don't have any major love loss with Mormons or Mormonism.
THE FLASHBACK
Lets begin with the fact that they displayed a flashback (a memory of Jon Voight's character) of Joseph Smith's murder. The fact that Jacob Samuelson (played by Jon Voight) was also present in the room when Smith was killed is a blatant lie, revealing the writer's ignorance on the actual historic events that occurred (or he did it to fuel the anti-Mormon fire that blazes throughout the movie.) Only four men were present in Carthage Jail when Smith (Brigham Young's forerunner) was killed: Joseph Smith, his brother Hiram Smith (who was also killed in the attack in the prison), John Taylor, and Willard Richards.
CONVIENIENT Clichés TO UMBRELLA THE SLANDER
Romeo and Juliet must be rolling in their graves. The Bishop's (Voight) son, who is also a Horse Whisperer (Redford eat your heart out), becomes enamored with a girl who belongs to the "gentile" fold of immigrants of which the Bishop, no wait, "Brigham Young" (according to the movie), orders the execution which takes place on September 11th. One thing is for certain, this movie was only produced to make money off of controversy (if it did make any money at all). I think most of their budget went to getting Jon Voight cast because everything else in the movie was horrible.
Tombstone (1993)
I'm Your Huckleberry
Few Movies can claim historic one-liners such as Tombstone. The most popular of which being that teasing prompt from Doc Holliday to Jonny Ringo, "I'm your Huckleberry. That's just my game." Kevin Jarre (writer) can die a happy man knowing that every movie buff who calls himself a man will continue to utter "I'm your Huckleberry" from their lips as a taunting provocation towards an opponent. George P. Cosmatos (Director) rounds up a cast filled with so much talent for the genre that you could say the movie was almost doomed to become one of the most popular westerns in fandom. First of all, all characters have to sport a real man's mustache, and Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot (especially Sam), Val Kilmer and Bill Paxton meet the cowboy challenge with flying colors. Even though Russell's portrayal as Wyatt Earp was solid, Val Kilmer nearly hijacks the movie with one of the best performances (arguably) of his acting career as Doc Holiday. He almost steals the movie from the main protagonist, Wyatt. The historical accurateness concerning the Earps and Clantons at the OK Corral is good enough to indulge the history buff to a satisfactory level. Some facts would clash, but minor details are most often sacrificed to the movie gods so that maximum enjoyment for the audience can be achieved. The movie involves many themes. Obeying the Law. Love. Loss of love. Addiction. Retribution. Loyalty has a strong influence in the movie on both the Cowboy side and the Earp side of the conflict. The Action is good and heroic, but the greatest part of this movie is the dialog. This aspect is were Tombstone shines above all other western films. A dialog which bleeds with hate, revenge and history.
AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
Disgrace to Arnold
This movie had no originality or thought to it, other than the obvious being that it's a sequel. Seriously, if I'm just a movie-goer who can pull out these flaws, who do producers pay to write these stories and proof them? Too many concepts/lines from the original Predator were stolen for this new failure of a movie. One being the predator walking over a catwalk of a power plant while the alien is hiding underneath, (a deliberate play on the scene when "Dutch" hides from the Predator underneath the fallen tree trunk bridge in the original Predator) and the most despicable part of the movie is finalizing the plot as "trying to make it to the chopper so that they can escape". Even the semi-lead character shouts "Get to the Chopper" as he is left behind to ward off the aliens. I am a fan of the original Predator, but any predator vs. alien movie will never do very well unless you take the human element out of the story. The only solid performance in this movie was from a different species that doesn't even talk. And the predator's actions contradict each other. What happened to the concept that the Predator was a hunter and wouldn't kill people who are no major threat? Even the Predator in Predator 2 wouldn't kill a boy with a gun, because it knew he was no threat. The newest of the Predators is killing humans left and right, humans who would bring no honor in killing. I guess all that honorable-hunter instinct goes out the window when the Alien/Predator half breed goes into the maternity ward of the hospital and impregnates already pregnant women turning them into alien water balloons, having their guts splashed all over. I especially hated the end when it said, "a movie by the brothers Strause" as if they are some great dynamic story-telling duo. Like "The Brothers Grimm" They should have left Arnold to his masterpiece bellow, "Run! Get to the Choppa!". Stealing this phrase is a line that should never be crossed. The Brothers Strause should stick to making their Nickelback videos. I wouldn't be proud to stamp my namesake on that movie as if it would be some great success. Now every time I see "The Strause Brothers" on any movie I'll expect to see something so grotesque as having the beauty and sanctity of a pregnant woman giving birth degraded to shameless violence without any regard to taste and class. The Strause brothers are horrible, next to the Cravens. I give this movie a 2. One for having a Predator in the movie, and 1 for having an Alien in the movie. I honestly think they put "Requiem" in the title because it sounds cool. Do "The Strause Brothers" even know what Requiem means??
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
Just another japanimation movie
I was very disappointed with this movie. It falls in line with all the other pitfalls any anime would produce. Poor dialog, poor plot, and very unstable characters. The story is at best the spawn of an elementary school child's imagination. How this movie made the IMDb top 100 is beyond my comprehension. I really think the rating formula is flawed if this movie beat out Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and Forrest Gump. How did that happen? Flawed rating system maybe? The only thing remotely good about this "movie" was that the animation was good, but if I wanted just the art and no good story or plot, then I'd just go to an art gallery instead. I cant stand it when in ALL Japanimation films, the camera angle will just focus on an inanimate object for like TEN SECONDS! There is a part in this movie were the girl says goodbye to the "River Spirit Boy" and their hands pull away from each other as they part. After their hands leave the frame, the director seams fit to film the ground for another 5 grueling seconds! The whole movie is like this!
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Great Blend of Movie Making
I've never seen a film mesh so well with many of the elements of movie making. Sound, Cinematography, acting, dialog, plot and especially the music. The music itself is it's own character. It adds so much emotion to the movie, especially at the end. Michael Mann did a great job of bringing James Fenimore Cooper's novel to the silver screen. (even though it is a remake, technically). Daniel Day-Lewis delivers his best, as he always does. All the actors played their part to it's fullest. Mann presents and eerie feeling of how brutal the fighting was during the French and Indian War. I would say it was an energetic, splendidly real and violent description on how the warfare was handled during that specific conflict on the northern American continent.
The Kingdom (2007)
Gets the heart rate going.
The story and the characters are solid, with the exception of Jamie Fox's character, Ronald Fluery. He doesn't put off the emotion that I would imagine a person in his situation would emanate. Maybe it was Jamie Fox. I can't be quite sure. The truth is that I kept thinking that this role was written specifically for Denzel Washington. Jamie did the best he could, I suppose. He did good enough, but he came off more as a FBI poster boy than a believable FBI agent. Jennifer Garner really holds the movie upon her shoulders. She does the best job of acting, the rest of the cast cant keep up with her. Jason Bateman and Chris Cooper do a good job, but only under Jennifer's shadow.
I enjoyed the movie because it allows you to see the insurgency from the other side, not within the insurgency itself, but through the eyes of the innocent people the terrorists hide behind while claiming divine justification for the people they kill. The movie ends with great perspective on the War On Terror. The last half hour is really fast paced and you cant help but feel your heart creeping up your throat.
Lady in the Water (2006)
Don't be confused! It's not a Horror! Its a Fairy Tale!
M. Night does it again! He produces yet another stand alone story that makes you wander what his kids dream about at "night". Like his other movies, this film, although the pivotal character is not human, emphasizes the importance of overcoming your own self doubt realizing that love is a key tool to hurdling life's obstacles that we, ourselves, put before us.
Like a chess game, Night moves his pieces (characters) in a playful game of "who am I and how do I contribute to the story?". From Building-Maintenance-Guy to Weirdo-Wight-Lifting-Attendant, each character discovers within him or her their importance in a pivotal moment in mankind's history. Who would have thought that all this orbits around a mystical Lady in some Water?! The underlying theme is that believing in yourself is the key ingredient to working real life miracles. Don't ever give up hope! Also, there is a lot of enjoyable humor. This is not a horror. This quite in fact, a bed time story. There's even a book for kids written by M. Night Shyamalan based on the movie. (or vise-versa) I enjoyed the story very much, due to it's originality and clever acting. And, as you may notice, Night has dipped into his bag of proved actors from earlier movies and has used some of them again in this fairy's tale. Hey, if it's not broken, then don't fix it. Right?
The Hills Have Eyes II (2007)
Gross Misrepresentation of the Army.
I only rented this movie (I dare not waste my money to see this movie in theaters) to view how the Army was portrayed in the film. The acting was very cheap. I can understand why. The story hardly warrants any funding. How did this movie get produced anyway? Oh yeah, Wes Craven. If you have ANY military background and call yourself patriot to the USA, then don't bother considering this movie to take up even ten minutes of your time. Really, pondering what goes on in dog's brain warrants a higher priority than considering to watch this movie. The only thing that this screenwriter KNOWS about the Army is that they changed to the new ACU digital uniforms. But, by all means if you enjoy raunchy and grotesque birth and rape scenes and you hate the Army, then by all means, waste your time and watch this movie, you probably have nothing better to do anyway. Well, maybe Paris is writing a book on her jail "experience", that might gobble up your precious time more so than this movie.