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The King's Speech
An Academy Award-winning masterpiece
I finally got the chance to see The King's Speech not long before it won the Oscar for Best Picture at last night's Academy Awards. It also won Best Directing for Tom Hooper, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), and Best Actor for Colin Firth, all of which it deserved because it is a fantastic film. It is now one of my favorite movies from 2010, losing only to Inception in the twisted battlefield of my mind. I was absolutely blown away by just how affecting it really is.
It chronicles the speech impediment of King George VI (Colin Firth) and his struggle to overcome it. His wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), seeks out a speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) who has a unique way of assisting his patients. He agrees to help the king, who is not a king at all when the movie begins, with his problem. The two men strike up a friendship which really does provide the backbone for the entire film.
That's probably because the two are portrayed by a couple of the greatest actors in the world today. I went on YouTube and watched a couple of videos of the actual King George VI talking and it is uncanny how much Colin Firth sounds like him. The big speech at the end of the movie is especially impressive. Geoffrey Rush just does what he does best: he has fun with his character while also providing a tremendous performance. It would not be the same movie without him. Helena Bonham Carter doesn't have much screen time but she makes her scenes count.
The biggest draw to The King's Speech will be its cast but aside from that I found it to be a very poignant film. I was touched by several scenes and a lot of them had nothing to do with vocal hindrances or anything of the sort. I have a bad habit of calling out films on their historical inaccuracies and I'm figuring that The King's Speech got a lot of things wrong but it is still a spot-on period piece. The plot of the film takes place from 1925 - 1939 and the setpieces feel very authentic, mainly due to the beautiful cinematography work of Danny Cohen (he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work). The score by Alexandre Desplat (also nominated for an Academy Award) is candy to the ears. If I can find the soundtrack for the movie anywhere, I will be obtaining it.
There's not much else that can be said about the movie. It is just another case of a pretty good script (good enough to win an Oscar anyway) that was elevated to another level by the work of an outstanding cast. In fact, I just can't see a cast getting any better than the one in The King's Speech. I still say that Inception should have won Best Picture and that Christopher Nolan still does not get the attention and respect he deserves, but for now I can rest easy knowing that Jesse Eisenberg did not win Best Actor and that a damn fine movie did win Best Picture.
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By Caleb Acker
Season of the Witch
Better than the critics say
I wanted to see Season of the Witch in its opening weekend but I had a few complications with my daughter that wouldn't allow me to. As always, I logged onto Metacritic to see what the overall opinion of the movie was. I was blown away by all of the negativity and it almost stopped me from seeing the film. But I have a saying: "Opinions are like noses; everyone has one". As I'm walking into the screening room I get a huge feeling of OH NO, I MADE A MISTAKE! Then the movie began.
I may get slaughtered for saying this but I really enjoyed the film. It has great action sequences and a pretty good plot to boot, but what really stood out was the chemistry between Ron Perlman and Nicholas Cage. It was like second nature to them. Claire Foy was also very good as The Girl. All I can say is fans of Nicholas Cage should see Season of the Witch. This is one of the best Nic Cage movies in a long time.
Score: :):):)1/2
Country Strong
Unoriginal but very good
Country Strong started out country strong with Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlung) telling a story from his childhood while performing at an old bar. The music in this film is fantastic. If you are a fan of older country music then you should definitely check it out. Gwenyth Paltrow plays the main character, Kelly Canter, who is in rehab for alcoholism. When Hutton isn't playing at bars he works at the rehab facility Kelly is in. He and Kelly strike up a friendship.
Tim McGraw is fantastic in his role as Kelly's husband, James, who takes her out of rehab a month early to begin a comeback tour. James asks Beau to come out on tour with them to make sure that Kelly remains sober. He also offers to let Beau be one of Kelly's openers alongside Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester). However, when Kelly gets stressed out about the tour and her marriage, things take a turn for the worse.
With an ending that shook me to my foundations I can say without a doubt that Country Strong is a pretty good film. In my opinion it will not get the attention it deserves because of its content. It has been labeled as "unoriginal" and I would agree with that but its contrivances are delivered effectively. Anti-country music folks need not apply.
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QUICKIE REVIEW
No Strings Attached
The date movie for people who hate dating
I'm not gonna take much time on this one. I really liked No Strings Attached. It is funny and sweet and Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are excellent. The best thing about this movie are the hilarious jokes that pop up when Kutcher and his friends are drinking together. There wasn't a dull moment in the entire film. This is a movie that you can take your girlfriend to see...or you can have a guys' night out.
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SECOND OPINION - Review by Buddy Acker
I had mixed emotions about No Strings Attached. I thought a lot of the jokes fell flat but there were also a lot that made me smile and some that even made me laugh out loud. I disagree with Caleb about Ashton Kutcher; I still find him to be extremely annoying and really wanted him to just shut up in a lot of scenes. I guess he does okay every now and then, especially with a great co-star like Natalie Portman. I liked her more than anything else. The ending is extremely predictable and I usually hate rom-coms but in the case of No Strings Attached, in my opinion, the good far outweighed the bad.
Score: :):):)1/2
Unknown
Much better than Taken
Wow, what a unique experience Unknown was. It starts out with Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones), in a cab in Berlin where Harris will be giving a paper at a biotechnology conference. When he and his wife arrive at the hotel room he realizes that he left his briefcase at the airport. He quickly gets in another cab and heads to the airport.
On the way the cab crashes and Harris hits his head on the window, causing him to black out. When he wakes up he finds out that he has been in the hospital for four days. He has no memory of the crash, only of his wife. When he asks around about his wife he finds out that no one has asked about a Martin Harris. While eating dinner, he sees the announcement for the conference that he was going to make the speech at and remembers why he was there. He signs release papers from the hospital and heads to the hotel where the conference was held.
When he arrives he sees Elizabeth. However, when he walks up and hugs her she has no recognition of who he is. The rest of the film is about Harris seeking his identity. The cast is great and this is a very strong psychological thriller. The ending will shock you. I saw Unknown with two of my relatives and we talked about it for an hour after the credits rolled. It is a film that I would like to see again someday.
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The Rite
Another exorcism movie?
Rating: PG-13 (disturbing thematic material, violence, frightening images and language including sexual references)
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, and Alice Braga
Ever since The Exorcist hit theaters in 1973, movies dealing with the issue of exorcism have played a big role in Hollywood. There have been some good ones (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism) and there have been some bad ones (Stigmata, Constantine). I am happy to say that The Rite falls into the sorta-decent category. Anthony Hopkins is certainly the driving force behind my recommendation of it. He is just great, especially in the last thirty minutes or so.
The plot makes sense but leaves much to be desired. I am absolutely getting sick of this whole idea of filmmakers thinking that exorcisms have to be portrayed in disgusting ways. Here the trick is a girl spitting up bloody nails. It’s pretty scary, sure, and it has probably happened to someone in an actual exorcism, but come on now. It’s also happened in at least a dozen other movies. Let’s get something new up on the silver screen.
A lot of The Rite is highly unoriginal and some of it is extremely dull but overall it’s scary in the right places and does a great job of showing just what a wonderful thing faith can ultimately be. I think that every Christian should see this movie if they can get past the language and the other things I have already mentioned. As far as the religious aspect of it, it’s very positive and strong. Everything else ranges from decent to helplessly mediocre.
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1/2
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The Five Best Movies of 2010
By Buddy Acker
This list will probably change in time because I have not seen every movie in 2010 (I am not rich). But out of the ones that I have seen, these are undoubtedly the five best:
5. The Ghost Writer
The Ghost Writer is a phenomenal political thriller that is not so much about politics as it is about moral decency. The main character, referred to as simply “The Ghost” throughout the film, attempts to uncover the truth about a former Prime Minister. He comes to discover that this man did some truly horrible things during his time in office and begins to question whether or not he should be involved in the mess he’s found himself in. The answer is a simple “no”. Roman Polanski does a terrific job as director, aiming not only to please thrill-seekers but also those of us, such as myself, who enjoy a little something called “conversation” in their movies. The dialogue is top-notch. The only issue I had with The Ghost Writer was Polanski’s tendency to rush certain scenes. Aside from that, it’s great.
4. True Grit
True Grit doesn’t try to be an exact remake of the 1969 film of the same name. It separates itself and, in my opinion, actually surpasses the original. Why do I say that? It’s because The Coens took the best the first film had to offer and made it better. That’s the only reason I can come up with. Not only that, but the remake is exciting, charming, and funny. Hailee Steinfeld steals the show as Mattie Ross and Jeff Bridges is wonderfully endearing as Rooster Cogburn. This is by far the best Western I have seen in years. The only contradiction to that is that it’s not really a Western at all, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. Well, it is, but not really. I can’t quite explain it. But I guess that’s the truly great thing about True Grit: it defies not only explanation but also expectations.
3. Black Swan
The creepiest movie I saw in 2010 was Black Swan. It was also the most daring, provocative, and unexpected movie-going experience of not only the year but my life. I mean, my jaw hit the floor on certain parts of this movie. I could not believe my eyes. I also felt a cold chill creep up my spine several times while watching it. The dream that Nina (AMAZINGLY played by Natalie Portman) has about turning into a swan still makes me shudder thinking about it. It’s one of those movies that I think everyone over the age of 16 should see despite its disturbing content. And that’s because the movie is a perfect example of the lengths that human beings will go to achieve their goals. Sometimes, the best approach is to just let it be because, as this movie shows, stress can literally drive a person crazy.
2. The Social Network
Perhaps the most true-to-life movie of 2010 was David Fincher’s The Social Network. It may have not been an actual account of what happened when Facebook was founded but who wants to see that movie anyway? Talk about BORING. Anyhow, The Social Network features the absolute best spoken dialogue of the year. The scenes where two or more people are interacting are just as exciting and intense as any explosion in any action movie. The film is also a social commentary on how technical and selfish the world has become. It is just plain fantastic and would have been a shoo-in for my favorite movie of 2010 if not for…
1. Inception
How do I explain my love for Inception? A large majority of all big-name critics loved it. Audiences obviously loved it as evidenced by its combined $292,576,195 in the box office. My best friend loves it. Caleb loves it. But here’s the thing: nobody can quite explain it. Not even I can. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is where the true genius of Inception lies. It makes me want to watch it again, and again, and again until I understand it. I want to watch it once more even now. I want to take in every scene line-by-line until I have all two hours and twenty-eight minutes of it memorized. Inception shows us that the dreams we have are beautiful things indeed but that’s not all that the movie is getting at. I think the whole idea to take away from it is to enjoy life because there will come a day when things won’t go the way we expect them to go. We will have hardships. We will fail miserably at a lot of things. The beautiful part is, we will always have our dreams no matter what. We can always leave the past behind and look forward to something better. We can even have a dream within a dream…or a dream within a dream within a dream. The possibilities of this crazy little thing called “existence” are endless so don’t take one day for granted. That’s the message I took away from Inception. Other people may have taken it at face value or gotten a different vibe. That’s okay too. The splendor of any great movie, song, or work of art is that it can be interpreted different ways. Inception is a great movie.
These five movies were, in my opinion, the five best movies of 2010.
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QUICKIE REVIEWS - All reviews by Caleb Acker (with a second opinion by Buddy Acker)
Paranormal Activity 2
A disgrace to the original
Ok, I’m not going to waste much time on this. This is one of the worst movies I have ever had the displeasure of seeing. It spits right in the face of the original film. It starts out with people talking and that takes place most of the movie. When something did actually happen, the audience was so zoned out that they didn’t even care. It sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks, sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Score: Zero
Jackass 3D
Eh......ewww
I watched this movie three times while it was in movie theaters. The first time happened to be my first 3D movie experience. I enjoyed myself. The second time was in a drive-in and it wasn’t anything special. The third time it was extremely annoying and stupid. I have always been told that if you watch a movie 3 times and it gets old then it’s nothing special. Then again, whoever said anything special would ever come from the Jackass franchise deserves a swift kick in the head. It would be perfect for a bachelor party setting. I just wouldn’t recommend watching it while you snuggle with your loved ones. Also, do not digest any food before viewing unless you want to be cleaning the carpet later.
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SECOND OPINION - Review by Buddy Acker
I honestly did not think that Jackass 3D was bad. It has bad moments, such as a man eating an apple while it is lodged in a pig's asscheeks, but it also has some very funny scenes, such as the attempts by the members of the Jackass crew to stand behind a jet engine. However, I would suggest that Johnny Knoxville hang it up at this point. Jackass has become extremely predictable and Knoxville has already proven himself to be a capable actor in other mediums. Move on, sir. But if this is their attempt to say goodbye, well, they may not have went out with a bang, but there is still a strange hint of sadness in my heart for some reason.
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Burlesque
Cher still has it
I am a huge Cher fan and when I heard she was in this movie I wanted to see it. However, when I heard the news that Stanley Tucci was also in it, I knew I had to. It did not disappoint. The movie starts off slow with Aguilera working in a diner complaining about her life. She then leaves the diner in search of her true calling. She rents an apartment in New York City. After a day of disappointing job searches, she ends up at a nightclub named Burlesque where she meets the owner, played by Cher, and her assistant, played by Tucci. She begins work there as a waitress. She auditions to become a showgirl. From this point on the movie doesn’t slow down. It is truly a fantastic film and I do not think it got the attention it deserved.
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Morning Glory
Beyond glorious
Strangely enough this was one of the movies I was truly excited to see. Now I know why. This was an exceptional movie. Harrison Ford is the best thing about it. He still has a few good ones in him. Rachel McAdams is great as the main star. Diane Keaton also plays a great role. This movie teaches a valuable lesson: never give up. There is always a light at the end of every tunnel.
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For Colored Girls
A messy adaptation of a great poem
I have always been a fan of Tyler Perry’s work. With a cast that is composed of Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Divine, Phylicia Rashad, Kimberly Elise, Macy Gray, and Janet Jackson, there is no way this movie could have gone wrong, right? WRONG! The many separate plots in and of themselves were decent. However, the lack of time with the cast is ridiculous. That is exactly the reason why there can’t be several main characters in a movie. Goldberg was only involved in the movie twice. Jackson only showed four times. The rest of the cast is barely introduced. The only thing For Colored Girls has going for it is the drama. At points in the movie, I literally had to take deep breaths to stop from suffocating. I respect Tyler Perry for finally crossing the line with his films. If this would have had one particularly interesting character or a focused plotline, it would have been considered a classic in my view. However, since it doesn’t do a great job of establishing characters and it sways back and forth until the end of the film, I can’t quite recommend it.
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On DVD Now
Easy A
Easy does it!
The creative Easy A doesn’t get everything right but it is funny and charming. Emma Stone does a wonderful job in the lead role as Olive. She is a truly great young actress. This movie will get her noticed. I liked the plot with the whole take on The Scarlet Letter and the fact that the ridiculous Demi Moore version was made fun of (as it deserves to be) but some of the jokes are ones that I’ve heard in a thousand other movies and they didn’t make me laugh this time around. I also didn’t like how Christians were portrayed. I’ve been a Christian for nearly my whole life and I have never, ever acted like Marianne (Amanda Bynes) does in this film. That whole deal was a little over-exaggerated. But the movie is good. It tackles a lot of issues that teenagers have to deal with and treats most of them as they should be treated. I would suggest that anybody over the age of 15 check out Easy A.
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The Ghost Writer
Politics from Polanski's perspective
The Ghost Writer is one of those movies that will not be for everybody. A lot of people may find it boring. It was right up my alley. In my opinion, it’s one of the defining movies of 2010. I have always enjoyed a good thriller and this ranks right up there with the best of them. Roman Polanski is one of the best directors in history and this has his mark all over it, especially the shocking ending. I would even go so far as to say that The Ghost Writer is Salt without all the action but with better and more interesting twists. It is also the slightly better movie (but I can’t give a movie ![]()
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3/4 on my scale).
Ewan McGregor does a fine job in the role of the ghost. Pierce Brosnan is good as Adam Lang and Olivia Williams is incredible as his wife Ruth. Kim Cattrall (Samantha from Sex and the City) should also get some credit here. She puts on a quality performance. Why does she always play the whore though? Nah, I’m kidding; I like her (I just hope she doesn’t take on another Sex and the City sequel). All of the performances by the lead actors and supporting cast, from Tom Wilkinson (conspicuous by his absence) to Timothy Hutton, range from good to great.
But the real star of the show is Alexandre Desplat’s score. It is majestic. He deserves two Academy Award nominations this year, one for this and one for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. I also have a feeling that The Ghost Writer will be nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. But it’s not a faultless experience. My main complaint about it would have to be its sudden and abrupt change in pace from time to time. McGregor is talking to someone and then, OH GOSH, he’s discovered another secret. It really throws off the balance that Polanski usually makes strides to achieve. But in the scenes that really matter, the ones that cover each little bit of deceitfulness and paranoia, all the makings (and the deliverances) of a great movie are there.
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Resident Evil: Afterlife
Twice as good as Extinction
I’m going to get utterly crucified for saying this but Resident Evil: Afterlife is not a terrible movie. It really isn’t. I actually enjoyed the first Resident Evil although it was nothing like the game (I am a devoted gamer) and I have a raging inferno of distaste in my heart for Apocalypse and Extinction because they are terrible. But I noticed a big change in Afterlife. Sure, the unnecessarily gory action sequences and unexplainable pieces of the plot are still there but I also noticed that Paul W.S. Anderson actually threw in some conversation between folks this time and here’s the thing—for the most part, it actually makes sense! I also liked the addition of Claire (Ali Larter) and Chris (Wentworth Miller) Redfield, Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts), and Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) to the story. That tickled my fanboy bone. I was hoping for a little Leon Kennedy action though. And what the hell is up with K-Mart? K-Mart?! Are you serious?!
Okay, so the movie is admittedly kind of bad. But I liked more of it than I hated. I just did. Milla Jovovich does a good job as usual as Alice. I’ve never been impressed by Larter and she doesn’t do anything here to change my mind. She’s a blonde, she’s pretty, and that’s it. And of course I rolled my eyes at the sequel set-up. Then again, I also did that when Extinction ended on a sort of cliffhanger and Afterlife turned out waaaayyyyy better than I had anticipated. Keep it up, Mr. Anderson. I was, in the beginning, a fan of this series. If you churn out more of the good next time and leave out most of the crap (or at least portray it in a campy way), I may just hop back on the bandwagon once more. For now, though, I’m still hesitant.
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The Town
Don't vacation in Charlestown
The Town is a well-disguised genre flick. It’s the same stuff that’s been done in movies like Heat but with a fresh coat of paint. Fortunately, that coat of paint makes it shine like a new Ferrari. Ben Affleck does a terrific job as director (and as lead protagonist Doug MacRay). He obviously knows Boston from the inside out and presents Charlestown with all its flaws in a gritty and realistic way. I really loved Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, and The Town is similar in a way.
But it’s not quite as good as that movie or as Richard Roeper makes it out to be. There are a couple of key scenes that drag on forever and, and I don’t know if this bugs anybody else, but what is up with these Boston accents in films as of late? It got on my nerves in Shutter Island also. Does everyone from Boston talk like that? I was born in Pittsburgh, PA and raised in Alabama and I’m probably going to get called a hick for questioning something like that but I just can’t get past it. Oh well.
Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, and Blake Lively are all good (despite their accents). I dug the undeniable chemistry between Affleck and Hall. The heist scenes are all exciting and well-done. They got my blood pumping. For a movie that lasts for a little over two hours, The Town is reasonably endearing and entertaining throughout. But after all the hype I heard about it and all the attention that went into it, I have to say that it’s really kind of…ordinary.
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12/28/10 - A great night out at the movies
Why I enjoyed my Tuesday night
Two reasons:
Black Swan
The performance of a lifetime
Black Swan is one beautifully grotesque movie. It is extremely dark and disturbing. It is also very true to human nature and the lengths that some people will go to get what they want. It utterly terrified and touched me at the same time. It redefines “getting the part”. When the credits rolled, I instantly wanted to see it again. It’s easily one of the best movies of 2010.
Black Swan contains moments of sheer scary brilliance that even the best horror films don’t even touch on. There are scenes which include the following: skin being ripped from a person’s finger, a woman jabbing a nail file into her own face, and a brutal murder involving a mirror shard being stabbed into someone’s abdomen. Each of these scenes serves a very specific and meaningful purpose. They establish the protagonist’s slow descent into the realm of insanity. The pacing in this movie is phenomenal.
Speaking of that protagonist, her name is Nina Sayers and she is brilliantly portrayed by the gorgeous Natalie Portman. Portman deserves to be and will be nominated for an Academy Award and it certainly would not hurt my feelings if she just so happened to win it. This is without question her finest performance to date. Vincent Cassel gives a remarkable performance as Thomas Leroy. Kudos also to Mila Kunis, whom I really like in almost anything. She is most widely recognized as Jackie from That ‘70s Show but she has done a great job at establishing herself as a fine actress. The sex scene involving Portman and Kunis is both shocking and interesting and I don’t mean “interesting” in a perverted way.
She just wanted that part so badly. That’s all it was. She knew she would have to sacrifice a lot to get it. But she didn’t suspect that she would go this far. Her mother tried to warn her. She waved it off as her being too “overprotective”. She should have listened. But she got the perfectness she was always aiming for. Unfortunately, it came at an irredeemable cost.
Go see Black Swan. It was well worth the $8.50 I invested in it.
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True Grit
Better than the original?
And, directly after Black Swan, I saw another instant classic, True Grit. The Coen Brothers have done it again. However, for the first time in their careers, they have crafted a Western. But True Grit is not a Western in the traditional sense of the word. Actually, it’s not really one at all; it just simply takes place in the Old West. Everyone has seen the trailer by now so I’m sure they know that it’s about a little girl who hires a man to hunt down the man who killed her father. But, as is the case with all of the Coen Brothers films, it’s about so much more than its surface reveals. It’s about determination, friendship, surprisingly, and, of course, what it takes to have true grit.
The Coen Brothers have always written fantastic dialogue. Every scene in True Grit crackles with wit and, in a lot of instances, humor. My favorite scene involves Cogburn and LeBoeuf (Matt Damon) having a shootout with pieces of cornbread. I haven’t laughed that hard in quite some time on any movie. It reminded me of the absurdity that the Coens brought to the table with the highly underrated The Big Lebowski, which also starred Jeff Bridges in probably his most recognizable role as The Dude.
Bridges is one of the best actors in the world and he hams it up in the best way possible as Cogburn. In the original True Grit from 1969, John Wayne portrayed Cogburn and it garnered him his only Oscar ever. Bridges will receive a nomination but he probably could care less because he played the part how he wanted to and that’s that in his mind. No, the real star of True Grit is Hailee Steinfeld. She portrays Ross and, oh gosh, she is amazing. This girl is 14 years old and she steals the whole movie. She’s already been nominated for a SAG Award and will undoubtedly be on the list of Academy Award nominees. Matt Damon and Josh Brolin don’t do anything on their parts to garner special attention but they do some pretty good work.
True Grit is not perfect nor is it the Coens’ best movie but I’m willing to overlook the small stuff in favor of the big picture. It doesn’t get any more exciting than the gunfight scene between Cogburn and a group of outlaws. It doesn’t get any funnier than target practice on cornbread. It doesn’t get any more touching than when Cogburn carries Ross the rest of the way after her horse dies. For a pure adrenaline rush and the bittersweet feeling of ultimate closure, it doesn’t get any better than True Grit.
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Final thoughts:
Wow. December 28, 2010 was a great night at the movies. I had the honor and privilege of sharing the experience with my brother Caleb and Jennifer Cortina, my very best friend in the world. I saw two movies that will both go on my top ten list of the year. Of the two, Black Swan was probably my favorite (Caleb disagrees). I connected with it on a primeval level while my enjoyment of True Grit came more from what was happening on-screen. But both are terrific. I’ve read all of the critics’ reviews. They generally like both films but disagree that they are the stuff of greatness or will be remembered years from now. I don’t care what the critics say. I loved both movies and will remember them the rest of my life.
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Tangled
Not a Disney classic but still worth a watch
Tangled is a disappointment when compared to the recent Disney classics like Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up, but it’s still miles better than a lot of other Disney and most Dreamworks animated films. The most recent Dreamworks movie I saw was Megamind and, while that movie was decent, Tangled was better. It retells the story of Rapunzel in such a way as to not completely maul it but actually improve on it in some aspects. Still, it could have been better and, coming from Disney, it should have been.
It starts out with the story of a kidnapped princess named Rapunzel. She is locked away in a high tower by an evil woman who, by touching the princess’s magical glowing hair, is able to regain her lost health and vitality, therefore keeping herself in a youthful state. However, the woman discovers that if Rapunzel’s hair is cut, it turns brown and loses its power and so she tells Rapunzel that her hair must be allowed to grow, and grow it does. By the time that Rapunzel grows from an adolescent into a young woman, her hair has reached such a length that it can be lowered from a 100 foot high window and still touch the ground with no difficulty.
Every year on her birthday, Rapunzel sees off in the distance small lanterns rising into the sky and stares in wonderment at them, dreaming of one day traveling away from the only home that she’s ever known to discover the source of these strange lights. Then one day, a man named Flynn Rider accidentally stumbles across the tower where Rapunzel is being held captive and helps her escape. They embark on a journey toward two separate destinations but along the way they both realize that maybe what they both wanted was not what they really need.
While writing my reviews, I sometimes get into that habit of trying to explain the plot of a movie and get a little over-wordy. Call it me being an amateur with my just having started Buddy’s Film (and Game) Insights, but I’m just trying to perhaps force people into being interested in something that they either are already interested in and don’t care to hear more about or will never be interested in no matter what. Interest in Tangled will come in several factors, but the two main ones will be these: a) a person has children or b) a person doesn’t have children but they still enjoy animated movies out of nostalgia or whatever. Mine’s definitely the second reason and my brother, who enjoyed Tangled a great deal more than me (he gave it a 5 out of 5 and will hopefully be writing a second opinion for it on here), has a daughter but also just enjoys Disney movies.
I really liked the way that the folks over at Disney re-imagined Rapunzel, but they needed to balance out trying to establish their characters while still advancing the plot, which they failed miserably at in certain areas. Rapunzel’s hair is magical, but how did it become magical? Did she inherit it from her birth mother? Did it happen by accident? Was she blessed with it by some holy being? Did an enchantress put a spell on her? It’s never explained. Also, we never learn anything about the woman who kidnapped Rapunzel other than her motives. Her name or where she came from is never revealed unless her name is “Mother”, which is what Rapunzel calls her. I would have liked a little more back-story on her. Even Flynn Rider, who tells Rapunzel that he doesn’t like getting into his back-story, ends up eventually sharing it nonetheless.
But the animation is as good as ever. It’s downright beautiful in some instances. I’m glad I saw this in 2D so I didn’t have to suffer through the dimness of the 3D format. Any scene involving the horse or chameleon was great. Mandy Moore and Zachery Levi do great voice work as Rapunzel and Flynn Rider respectively. The plot, though holier than a church, makes plenty of sense and is easy to follow. There’s not that much bad I can say about Tangled. I just wish that there was a little more there.
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SECOND OPINION - Review by Caleb Acker
This is one of the most shocking films of 2010. It is a true testament to the fact that adults can also enjoy a good kids’ movie. This has got to be one of my favorite animated features ever and 3D really did help it a lot. I saw it twice and it was better the second time. Flynn Rider definitely made the movie for me. And Mandy Moore did a fantastic job as Rapunzel. My favorite scene had to be the musical number with the tavern gang. It isn’t a great movie if it doesn’t tell a great story. Tangled shows that even the rottenest of people can change their ways.
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1/2
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Secretariat
Predictable yet unexpected
QUICKIE REVIEW
Secretariat is easily one of the most predictable movies I have ever seen but it is still enjoyable to some degree, thanks mainly in some part to the great performances of Diane Lane and John Malkovich. I knew from the get-go how this movie would play out and I was correct on every level but there were a few surprises along the way to keep me interested in it. The horse races themselves are incredibly well done. They are really exciting. I also found myself caught up in the story of the horse itself. Secretariat is based on a true story, so in having to distinguish between what was scripted as compared to what really happened I found myself believing in more of the movie than I had expected. On the same night that I saw Secretariat, I saw another, better Disney movie, Tangled. But it’s a rare feat for Disney to make a live action film that holds up with the best of their animated features and unfortunately Secretariat does not do that. At all. But it does work. On some fundamental level, it holds up.
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1/2
SECOND OPINION - Review by Caleb Acker
Diane Lane deserves all the respect in the world for her role in this film. A film rarely starts out slow and jumps out so great that it just grabs my attention. Well, this was one of those movies. At times my heart pounded so hard that it hurt and at times my eyes were watering from crying so much. It is filled with raw emotion. John Malkovich does a fantastic job playing the trainer but Lane is just incredible.
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1/2
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Avatar
Overrated but still great
Avatar is smooth-sailing for about an hour and a half and then after that it becomes essentially a Fern Gully sequel, albeit a very good one. James Cameron is undoubtedly one of the finest directors in the world and he does nothing to ruin that reputation with Avatar. Each individual scene is meticulously planned out and delivered upon from a creative standpoint. This is the most impressive movie to date CGI-wise. However, the plotline keeps it from being a masterpiece.
My hat is off to Cameron for his new 3D technology. All of the CGI-rendered environments and facial animations are just breathtaking. I was a little skeptical of the praise going into the actor-to-avatar transition before watching Avatar but all that skepticism melted away as the movie went along. Let me say this now: the Na’vi look and move like real beings. They smile, cry, express anger, etc. just like a human being. That’s probably because they ARE human beings or at least are being portrayed by actual ones. Whatever the actors do on one side the avatars replicate perfectly on the opposite side of the camera. It is pretty amazing to say the least.
But I have a bone to pick with the screenwriter. What was his name? Oh yeah…James Cameron. Well, Mr. Cameron, you may be a visionary, but you are not Shakespeare. Your explanation of the Na’vi’s customs is about as vague as it gets. What? Tree of Life? What the heck is that? It could have been called The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil for all I cared. Never mind…then I would have to try and connect it back to Adam and Eve. Let’s stick with the leaky faucet and not turn it into a waterfall. And for goodness sake, sir, there is no way you can sit there and tell me that you did not copy a good portion of the story from Fern Gully. It is so obvious that it may as well have been tattooed on Sam Worthington’s forehead. The scene in which the giant tanks start cutting down trees in the Na’vi’s forest is the worst scene in the entire film.
The little bit of goodness that this takes away from an otherwise remarkable film is nonetheless noticeable. In a two hour and forty-two minute movie there is a large margin for error and, speaking of margins, I wish Cameron had scribbled “Fix this” in his a little more. I mean, I remember all of his good-to-great movies like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, and Titanic. Out of those three, True Lies is my favorite. It was fun and entertaining and so was Avatar but after Cameron spent twelve years on Avatar, it should have been close to the best movie ever, and it wasn’t.
The Hurt Locker won and deserved to win the Academy Award for Best Picture for last year. Avatar walked away with a plethora of other Academy Awards and a Best Picture Golden Globe. It deserved some of the adulation that it got but I will admit that it is very overrated. Some other folks probably don’t think so. And, seeing as how this is the highest-grossing movie in history, James Cameron probably doesn’t care. In fact, he’s already working on the sequel. Let’s hope it’s as good as all of his other movies have been. He didn’t take time off this time. Could that be a mistake?
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1/2