Catfish (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)As many others, I distinctly recall the marketing campaign for "Catfish" that spoke of this quasi-documentary in thriller-like terminology. I was actually surprised by how wide this movie dropped in its initial theatrical release--most current documentaries don't get a full scale media blitz but instead are relegated to the art house circuit. In many ways, I can already see the negative backlash that this approach has caused by setting up expectations that the actual film had little intentions of fulfilling. It's disappointing, really, in reaching for a broader appeal--perhaps "Catfish" was a bit oversold for mass consumption. "Catfish" is actually a very compelling and entertaining character driven piece and I think that the people who approach it with no pre-conceived notions might find this film has a lot to offer about our media obsession. Where David Fincher's "The Social Network" was the great fictional Facebook movie of 2010, I think "Catfish" stands as an interesting counterpoint in the non-fiction category.
In truth, the less you know about "Catfish"--the better. And perhaps that is the reason behind the mysterious trailer that may have been a tad misleading. The story is extremely contemporary. Anyone who has experienced online networking and dating know the inherent perils in believing everything you read. It's simply not prudent. "Catfish" documents a relationship between a successful New York photographer and 8 year old Abby, an artist in Michigan. Abby sends him a painting of one of his published photos and the two strike up an electronic friendship. His brother and friend start to document this blossoming camaraderie and this forms the initial basis for "Catfish." Soon, he becomes acquainted with Abby's entire family and even starts a long distance courtship with her older sister Megan. But as things become more intimate, everything might not be entirely copasetic. The film culminates with the boys traveling to Michigan to meet the family that he has been corresponding with for over eight months.
Let me just say this--nothing that they discover is particularly surprising. Modern audiences are certainly astute enough to sort out the central mysteries. What is surprising, however, is the intricacies involved in these mysteries. The film begins as a lark--funny and romantic. It evolves into a darker picture altogether until the end is infused with a sadness and melancholy which was quite unexpected. I, of course, can only speak for myself. I don't think "Catfish" is for everyone and I understand the frustration of viewers who felt the advertising was a bit of a bait and switch. But, in truth, I absolutely loved this movie. Seriously.
There is also an ongoing debate about the veracity of the film--how much was staged and how much unfolded naturally. I will admit that the casual filming style and equipment wouldn't always have lent itself to the full picture and all access pass that the film provides. But there is a real underlying integrity to what is being revealed. "Catfish" struck me as an honest examination about the truths that we need to tell ourselves to get by. I was thoroughly entertained throughout. "Catfish" made me laugh, made me uncomfortable, and made me sad. And just when I made my peace with the characters of "Catfish," the end credit epilogue slapped me back to reality one more time. I am certainly surprised by the depth of passion I have in defending this film from its nay-sayers, but it is a film that will linger in my mind for quite some time. KGHarris, 1/11.

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In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a storyunfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel’s brother, Nev. Theyhad no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating andunsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shockingproduct of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception andgrace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

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Life or Something Like It (2002) Review

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(More customer reviews)The best way that I feel I can describe this movie is this: I liked it, but I'm not exactly sure how much. There are several reasons why I liked the movie but not a lot of reasons to make me think it's one of the best ever made. First off, any fan of Angelina Jolie shouldn't think twice about seeing this movie. She continues to prove time and again what a versatile actress she is. And if anyone else had played her role, this movie would have come across extremely boring. The rest of the cast was well chosen but they definitely weren't enough to carry the movie by themselves. The addition of Stockard Channing was a very fitting one as she did an excellent job of playing the network news equivalent of Jenny Jones meets Barbara Walters. And Edward Burns does an adequate job of playing Jolie's cameraman and part time love interest.
The story itself had a lot of interesting elements to it. Angelina Jolie plays Lannie Kerrigan, a Seattle Reporter who is living the perfect life, or at least what she thinks is the perfect life. She has the perfect body, the perfect hair, a major league baseball player as her fiance, and is one step away from her perfect network news anchor job in New York City. Everything is running according to plan, when one day, while on assignment she is given some life altering news. A street prophet tells her that in one week she will die. At first she dismisses his prophecy as nothing to be taken seriously, but as his other predictions come true, her perfect world starts to unravel. She is forced to look at every aspect of her life and realizes that everything she thought was so important doesn't really matter. What follows is a mixture of sometimes funny and at times depressing series of events that teach her the true meaning of what a perfect life really is.

All in all a solid movie to go and see. The performances were all done very well, with Angelina Jolie being the bright spot in the whole movie. There were several memorable scenes, including the impromptu singing of "Satisfaction" during a bus driver strike. This movie was definitely a feel good comedy from start to finish, with a few sad parts that were necessary to bring the viewer back up. And my personal favorite scene was Jolie and her fiance taking batting practice. It just really cracked me up. This isn't a movie you have to see in theatre's by any means, but would be well worth the rental price sometime for a date night at home.
The Breakdown:
1. Plot-8 (neat structure for a romantic comedy)
2. Characters-8 (very detailed and well developed)
3. Flow-9 (moved along quite nicely)
4. Atmosphere-9 (you can tell a lot of thought went into the setup)
5. Cinematography-8 (not a lot of creativity but didn't look low budget either)
6. Entertainment value-9 (surprisingly attention grabbing for such a simple plot)
7. Replay Value-7 (not a movie I could watch all the time but not necessarily one I would turn off either)
8. Casting/character depth-9 (Great casting for the most part and excellent detail to characters)
9. Relevance to genre-8 (hard to categorize but a good all around movie)
10. X-factors-8 (Angelina Jolie alone makes this movie worth seeing)
83/100

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A reporter, Lanie Kerrigan (Jolie), interviews a psychic homeless man (Shalhoub) for a fluff piece about a football game's score. Instead, he tells her that her life has no meaning, and is going to end in just a few days, which sparks her to action, trying to change the pattern of her life...

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Hackers (1995) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you want a serious movie about hackers, look somewhere else. If you want a really fun movie with good style, Angelina Jolie, and a pulsing soundtrack, Hackers may be for you.
Johhny Lee Miller (aka Crash Override or Zero Cool) moves to New York with his mother. He meets Angelina Jolie (aka Acid Burn) at school and they immediately become rivals. They come up with a hacking contest to prove who is the best. Together with their friends, Lord Nikon, Cereal Killer (my favorite), Phantom Phreak, and Joey (who is nobody without a handle) join up to take on Fisher Stevens as Mr. The Plague.
This movie is chock full of cool scenes, cool people, and skater technobabble. Sure, the hacking scenes are totally unrealistic, the people unrealistic as computer geeks, but with the awesome techno soundtrack and the style they are presented with, it is easy to overlook. Just sit back and enjoy the ride!
I think that most sysadmin types probably have Mr The Plague as their role model. As a villain, he is ultra suave. As a sysadmin, he is over the top. I have never seen a computer guy with this much panache, and I don't suspect I will see another.
After you have made it through the movie a few times you can begin to watch for the fun stuff. Watch Mr The Plague's hands, especially in the flower delivery scene. When they go over to Lord Nikon's place and watch TV, consider what is playing. How many of their secret hacker books do you own?
If I could give this movie more stars, I would. This is by far my favorite hacker type movie, and if you count the number of times I have watched it, it would rank as my all time favorite over all. BUY IT NOW! It is better than Cats, you will watch it again and again.
The soundtrack is available on CD, and if you are a techno fan I suggest looking in to it.

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Changeling (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" is not easy to watch, but I implore you to give it a try. This is filmmaking at its finest. It's all at once heartbreaking, infuriating, touching, empowering, and immensely compelling, which is to say that it taps into core human emotions without being manipulative. It tells a story so absorbing, it's as if the movie is happening to us instead of just passing before our eyes. This is appropriate given the fact that it's a true story and not merely based on a true story; screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski relied on actual articles, transcripts, and testimonies to document the story of Los Angeles native Christine Collins, whose nine-year-old son, Walter, disappeared in March of 1928. Five months later, the LAPD returned a boy Collins knew was not her son. Because the police refused to admit that a mistake was made, they deemed Collins an unfit mother and subsequently had her committed to a mental institution. But she wouldn't be silenced, and with the help of some key figures, she took on one of the most shameful cases of police corruption in Los Angeles history.
Angelina Jolie gives yet another wonderful performance as Collins, an honest, caring woman who was clearly striving for independence in a male-dominated society. She works diligently as the supervisor for a telephone company, so much so that she's offered a managerial position. As a single mother, she's firm yet nurturing, and she's upfront with her son (Gattlin Griffith) about why his father left before he was born. After Walter's disappearance, and after the wrong boy is returned to her, she initially faces the LAPD on her own, which leaves her with little since it's a tyrannical system motivated by power, not justice. There's a pivotal scene in which Chief of Police James E. Davis (Colm Feore) makes the following announcement: "We will hold trial on gunmen in the streets of Los Angeles. I want them brought in dead, not alive, and I will reprimand any officer who shows the least bit of mercy on a criminal." This is immediately followed by a shot of officers executing a line of criminals in the middle of a dark street. An elimination of the competition. For a system this dishonest, a persistent woman like Collins is seen as nothing but a disruption.
Of all the authority figures in this film, Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) is by far the most deplorable. He's obstinate and domineering, bullying Collins into taking in an imposter child, who was found with a drifter in DeKalb, Illinois. Jones has the nerve to question Collins as a mother, claiming she was so happy her son was taken that she's now resorting to phony accusations. Her insistence that he carry on the investigation lands her in a dehumanizing psychiatric hospital, where numerous disruptive women are sent to endure constant medicating and cruel electroshock therapy. A kindly but broken prostitute (Amy Ryan) tells Collins that there's absolutely no winning with the doctors. If you smile too much, you're delusional. If you smile too little, you're depressed. If you're neutral, then you've lost touch with basic human emotions. All anyone can do is learn how to behave properly.
The only person on Collins' side is Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a Presbyterian minister and community activist who made it his life's work to expose the corruption of the LAPD during radio sermons. When Collins is committed, Briegleb takes it upon himself to publicize the disappearance of her son and rally the public to support her. This puts tremendous pressure on the LAPD, as does the recent discovery of a crime scene; buried beneath a chicken ranch in Wineville, California are human remains. A mechanic named Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner) becomes the primary suspect in a string of murders. I don't want to reveal any more about this case, but I will make it a point to praise Harner for not playing Northcott as a fanatical stereotype.
Apparently, Straczynski inserted newspaper clippings into copies of his screenplay, just as a reminder to the actors that everything being depicted actually happened. "The story is just so bizarre," he said, "that you need something to remind you that I'm not making this stuff up." Indeed, a lot of what Collins goes through is so outrageous that it's just shy of being funny. She knows, for example, how tall Walter is, for she measured his rate of growth on a wall. The boy who was returned to her is three inches shorter than the last notch. Collins also notices that this boy has been circumcised; she knows for a fact that Walter has not been. A doctor sent by Captain Jones assures Collins that, after months of improper care and nutrition, children can actually shrink. As for the circumcision, well, she should never put it past a kidnapper to do something extreme.
But what about the LAPD? Should she put it past them to do something extreme, such as returning the wrong child and knowing about it? It's easy to watch this movie and feel just as emotionally drained as Collins; there are moments where I wanted to scream, others where I wanted to cry, and many where I didn't know how to feel. This is not a criticism. The success of a movie like "Changeling" depends on a strong emotional gamut that reflects what the audience thinks and feels. This is, without a doubt, one of the year's best films, a powerful human drama dedicated to the ideals of hope and perseverance.

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Wanted (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Wanted" is a mile-a-second action picture that never lets up. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) suddenly finds that his life as an ordinary office worker is over. A beautiful woman, Fox (Angelina Jolie), crashes into his life and introduces him to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins led by the mysterious Sloan (Morgan Freeman). Wesley is informed that his long-lost father was murdered while working for the Fraternity and Wes has been chosen to target the rogue member who did it. Before he can complete his assignment, he must first uncover the dark secrets behind the Fraternity to understand why he was selected and how he figures in its plans.
The main attraction of "Wanted" is the amazing use of CGI special effects, from glass panes shattering as bodies fly through them to bullets redirecting their trajectory in mid-propulsion. Jolie manages to look as comfortable in action flicks as in serious dramas like the recent "Changeling." She is quite the action babe and easy on the eye. McAvoy, who showed his acting chops in "The Last King of Scotland" and "Atonement" seems an odd fit for "Wanted." He looks as if he's doing this one to pay for the new swimming pool. He's fine in the early scenes as a drone-like worker lost in a huge company, but his transformation into this almost-indestructible super assassin is harder to accept. Bonus extras on this two-disc DVD include an extended scene; behind-the-scenes featurettes on the film's stunts, visual effects, and origins in the graphic novel; and a making-of documentary.

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Gia (Unrated Edition) (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a terrific movie and I was thrilled to see Angelina Jolie playing this part, (I first saw her in Hackers). But in case you don't know this, the DVD is missing 6 minutes of the movie. the only way to have the extra 6 minutes is to have gotten the original release on VHS (or recorded in from HBO). After Angelina became more popular, 6 minutes of her nude scenes were deleted from later re-releases of the movie including this DVD. But it still is a good movie.

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Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Gone in 60 seconds is story about a retired car thief who is forced back into the business when his kid brother ends up on the wrong side of a psychotic gangster. Nicolas Cage's assignment is simple enough, for $200, 000 he must steal 50 cars ... or his brother dies.
This movie was blasted by every critic that I saw, however, I think that the critics were overly harsh. Gone in 60 seconds is a high adrenaline, car chase film that requires the viewer to use the same powers of "willing suspension of disbelief" that are necessary for most of Nicolas Cage's action films. Nicolas Cage and a fairly impressive supporting cast (including Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo, Angelina Jolie) give decent performances despite a script that under used them. Giovanni Ribisi is perfect in the role of Nicolas Cage's over confident younger brother.
Great acting, however, is not what this film is about. This film is about fast cars and lots of action, which it delivers. After a brief introduction to the characters, we get to watch how the thieves stalk the individual cars, a part that I found interesting. After this point, it is pretty much a none stop car chase scene, which was fairly well filmed and has a pretty good soundtrack to keep your adrenaline pumped.
This may not be the most original or deepest film out there but it is another good action film that is worth renting.

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Academy Award(R)-winners Nicolas Cage (1996 Best Actor, LEAVING LAS VEGAS; ADAPTATION, MATCHSTICK MEN) and sexy Angelina Jolie (1999 Best Supporting Actress, GIRL INTERRUPTED; LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER) ride an unstoppable wave of speed and adrenaline in this hot, egdy action hit from high-octane producer Jerry Bruckheimer (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, PEARL HARBOR). Legendary car booster Randall "Memphis" Raines (Cage) thought he'd left the fast lane behind -- until he's forced out of retirement in a do-or-die effort to save his kid brother (Giovanni Ribisi, LOST IN TRANSLATION, TV's FRIENDS) from the wrath of an evil mobster! But with speed to burn and attitude to spare, Memphis hastily reassembles his old crew -- a rogues' gallery including Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall (1983 Best Actor, TENDER MERCIES; OPEN RANGE) -- and floors it in a full-throttle race to pull off the ulimate car heist: 50 exotic beauties in 24 hours -- and the cops are already on to them! Directed by Dominic Sena and written by Scott Rosenberg, GONE IN 60 SECONDS is an action-packed thrill ride that comes out fast and never slows down.

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Shark Tale (Widescreen Edition) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Oscar (Smith) the fish leads a normal life. He is just an average guy working at the Whale Wash. One day, he wanders into shark territory and is chased by Frankie. Unfortunately for Frankie, the chase ends in his death, not at Oscar's hands, but by pure accident. Oscar sees as an opportunity to "be someone", and quickly takes the credit. The fish world begins to call him the "Shark Slayer", two female fish begin to show their interest, and the shark godfather (DeNiro) makes it his business to find the murderer of Frankie...his son.
"Shark Tale" is yet another animated movie that will appeal to both children and adults. The difference is, this time it almost seems made for adults first and kids second. The most obvious references are to "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas", two movies that no kids should have seen. Also, advertising placement has run amok in this movie. Every way you turn in the city, there are obvious "fake ads" for real products that is very distracting. Most everything in this movie is overkill, in fact.
The voice talents are credible and the animation is good, although I found Oscar to look kind of creepy with his near human-looking face. "Shark Tale" also is nothing like "Finding Nemo", which is both good and bad. Good, because it is not retreading material that is not too old yet. Bad, because "Finding Nemo" was so much better. "Shark Tale" is a decent movie that will be enjoyed by most, and I did laugh a number of times while viewing it, but my advice is to wait for DVD.

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A comic catch from the studio that brought you Shrek, Shark Tale is a hilarious hit and "a wonderful under-the-sea adventure for movie lovers of all ages!" (Clay Smith, Access Hollywood)Oscar (Will Smith), a lowly tongue-scrubber at the local Whale Wash, becomes an improbable hero when he tells a great white lie.To keep his secret, Oscar teams up with an outcast vegetarian shark, Lenny (Jack Black), and the two become the most unlikely of friends.When his lie begins to unravel, it’s up to Oscar’s loyal friend Angie (Renée Zellweger) and Lenny to help him stand up to the most feared shark in the water (Robert De Niro) and find his true place in the reef.

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Girl, Interrupted (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Winona Ryder is back from several years of lull in any highly memorable roles in major movies, and she is right on form with possibly her best performance yet. But that is certainly not all this movie has to offer. She plays Susannah Kaysen, an inpatient for a year at a mental hospital, who wrote the book about her real life story on which this is based. Not only Susannah but several of the other inpatients are most memorable characters. Angelina Jolie won Best Supporting Actress for playing Lisa, a sometimes menacing and always interesting patient there because of her anti-social personality. Other quite meomrable characters include a pathological liar who is Susannah's usually sweet roommate, played by Clea DuVall, and the Sullen and obsessed Daisy, who will eat nothing but chicken from her father's rotisserie, played by Brittany Murphy. Through her own struggles and interactions with the others, Susannah confronts in a memorable way some of the hot issues of the late 1960's, making this almost a nostalgia trip as well as a riveting human drama.

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