I'm Reed Fish

I’m Reed Fish directed by Zackary Adler. Written by Reed Fish. Starring Jay Baruchel, Alexis Bledel, Victor Rasuk, Schuyler Fisk, A.J. Cook, Katey Segal, Shiri Appleby, Valerie Azlynn,

I thought this was a intelligent underrated light comedy, and I have to say I was surprised. I think Jay Baruchel, shined in the lead, and I absolutely loved the iea and premise. The story revolves around Reed Fish, a small town radio show host, who is practically the town’s messiah. But when a friend from his past comes bck into town for the summer, he starts questioning his simple smalltown life and relationship, among other things. I thought this movie was fresh, intresting, and a very entertaining light-hearded comedy/drama. Both Baruchel and Bledel carry this movie, and it hought it’s a nice gem of a movie. Films like this prove that you don’t nee a big budget, overpaid actors or an outrageous story to make a good movie. Overall I was impressed with it, never bored throughout the movie, and surprised it was this good .8/10 #424 on favorite movie list.

Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow Directed by Tim burton. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker. Starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones and Christopher Walken. Music by Danny Elfma, Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, Edited by Chris Lebenzon and Joel Negron.

Johnny Depp shines in this film about the haunting story of the headless horseman. Both him and Christina Ricci do well in this stylistic period thriller, which is successful, because its original, fresh, and despite the dialogue which is heavy, its still entertaining throughout. The acting and atmosphere is what sets it apart from mediocre films of its kind.

This movie is suspenseful because the music, cinematography and acting all contribute to keep it frightening, yet compelling. Another solid Johnny Depp performance and film. At times it seemed a bit long, but the third act picks up the pace and does well to finish off strong. I would have liked the build-up to be a bit better, but unlike a lot of films that fall apart trying to finish the story, this film does the opposite and doesn’t do the best job setting up the plot, but the final 25 minutes or so are very good. 7/10

The Wrestler (Directed by Darren Aronosfsky)

ything, was decent. 6/10
The Wrestler. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Written by Robert D. Siegel. Cinematography by Maryse Alberti. Edited by Andrew Weisblum, Msic by Clint Mansell. Starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Wass Stevens and Ernest Miller.
The Wrestler is a gritty story-telling epic of the story of wrestling stars in America, or maybe I should call them wrestling actors. Mickey Rourke is perfectly cast in this oscar-nominated role, and truly carries this film, though Marisa Tomei was also very good as the female lead. Overall, this movie is at times, tough to watch, but very daring, realistic and an overall informative piece that really shows the complexities of a glorified industry whose stars actually have troubles of their own.

Darren Aronofsky’s in-your-face directorial style make this a tough movie to watch, however it was an effective way of driving its point home. Fueled by powerful performances, whether you like this film or not it will definitely affect you. I thought it was a very good movie, though, its not one I would watch over and over. The choice of music and realistic style in which the film unfolds is commendable. 8/10 #452 on my list of favorite movies

Wolverine (X Men Origins) directed by Gavin Hood

Wolverine. Directed by Gavin Hood. Written by David Benioff and Skip Woods. Starring Hugh Jackman, Live Schrieber, Danny Huston, Will I Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Reynolds, Danniel Henney

This is an example of a mediocre super hero movie. I like the fact that Hollywood likes to go back to the root of some comics, an as was the case with tracking back Wolverine’s story. A couple problems I had with this film were the fact that at times Hugh Jackman’s mannerisms just were a bit much for me, an also im not too sure about the supporting cast in this movie, and I was much more impressed ith Zack Snyder’s Watchmen from earlier this year than I was with this movie. Although im a big fan of the Gambit character, and it was cool to see his role playing a big part in the film, although again, I thought the casting choices were definetely flawed. This was not bad from an entertainment perspective and had some bright spots, including a solid score, decent visual effects and cinematography and the writing/directing, although not superb or anything, was decent. 6/10

First Daughter

First Daughter- directed by Forest Whitaker

Now this film is something I’m surprised a guy like Forest Whitaker got involved with. Its an uplifting chick flick which will probably please your average female movie-goer who is not so much concerned with how good the movie is from a cinematic, storytelling, acting or overall film quality perspective. But I just personally couldn’t really believe Katie Holmes in the lead at all, maybe the only refreshing thing was seeing Michael Keaton in this, after not seeing the guy in a movie in a while (least I haven’t seen him in anything in awhile), but the problem was this script and problematic film-making was so bad that it made Michael Keaton seem like Macaulay culkin. Overall this was just a bad idea, bad film about a president’s daughter wanting to go to college and have a “normal life”. Don’t watch this. 3/10

The Pineapple Express (David Gordon Green)

The Pineapple Express- Directed by David Gordon Green. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Kevin Corrigan, Craig Robinson, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Ed Begley Jr. Nora Dunn, Amber Heard, Dana Lee, Jonathan Spencer, James Remar, Bill Hader

Pineapple express is a very funny comedy. It may not be entirely original, as I think it borrowed a lot from buddy pothead movies like Half Baked or Harold and Kumar, however, Pineapple Express has much better acting than the other 2, which somewhat makes up for the lack of innovation. Seth Rogen and James Franco shine in the leading roles.  David Goron Green was a good pick for direction, I liked how he approache the project and his style was very simple yet suitable for this type of comedy. I have yet to see other films from him but Snow Angels, Undertow and All the real girls are all on my list to watch. Overall, well done film, a good comedy with fresh performances, some reworked ideas, but hey they didn’t steal anything, it just didn’t themes or concepts that were terribly new or innovative, except for the double cross joint which was pretty cool.

Pineapple Express is a good comedy, its not the cult classic which some may believe it to be, but I do think it is one that audiences can watch multiple times, have good laughs and not take too seriously. Overall, its one I would recommend to potheads or any fans of the Harold and Kumar movies, Superbad/40yr old virgin/knocked up gang’s movies. Definetely worth a watch. 8/10  #339 on my favorite movies list

Burn After Reading (Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen)

Burn After Reading. Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton an Richard Jenkins. Music by Carter Burwell, Cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki, edited by Joel and Ethan Coen.

The Coen brothers follow-up to last year’s successful No Country for Old Men, is an entirely different project. Burn After reading, is downright hilarious, a solid dark comedy, that does a good job showcasing its actors, the writing ability of the Coen brothers, and their unique approach to comedy in films. Now I didn’t think it was as great as Barton Fink or the Big Lebowski, but it achieves on a lot of the same levels that those 2 films did, as well as the likes of Fargo.

 Brad Pitt and John Malkovich are both very good in roles that are not alike stuff we are accustomed to seeing them in, and Frances Mcdormand, is absolutely hilarious and brilliant as an insecure fitness center worker, who dreams of bettering herself for all the wrong reasons. There are some great exchanges between Brad Pitt and Malkovich as well. Overall I was very impressed with the entire cast, although I thought George Clooney and Tilda Swinton were less impressive than the other four (pitt, McDormand, Malkovich and Jenkins). The movie is a success because it is funny, entertaining, and original. Overall a must see for fans of innovative comedy an the Coen Brothers. 9/10 #189 on my list of favorite movies of all time