Adaptation

I rarely praise anything with Nicolas Cage in it. Raising Arizona would be one of his greatest in my opinion. But last night I was jus browsing through random movies and saw Adaptation. Not sure how this one slipped passed me. The movie is very self aware of it's existence, quite literally in fact. Brilliant writing on Charlie Kaufman's part whose fictional twin brother Donald, is also credited for writing. Kaufman (who wrote Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) throws very original dialog around in this movie. It's very slow at the beginning but picks up a little later. Cage has an excellent performance in this very original, not-so-Nicolas-Cage-Role. He performs a perfectly timed awkward man, with nothing going for him, struggling to write about a real book, The Orchid Thief. It follows Meryl Streep as a writer for The New Yorker, who wrote the book, in her dry existence meeting a man who is an orchid poacher. Chris Cooper in a very hillbilly way, pulls off this character. He teaches her about the subtle beauty in flowers and thats what the book is about. Cage struggles to put this together and finds himself discovering things about the author and the subject he didn't quite expect. The movie is very quirky, funny, and at times brutally dramatic. I would recommend this movie.

Se7en

This movie is pretty old, and it's not that popular. I encourage everyone to watch it. David Fincher puts a very well written script to life. Based on the seven deadly, sins this movie follows Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) and Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) as they travel through seven days of murders exemplifying the  seven deadly sins. This movie is a brutal, cold depiction of what kind of evil things can happen through the eyes of a madman. You can see glimpses of Pitt's acting ability and Freeman is sly in his hardened, seen everything detective. I wouldn't call it a Horror movie, but it's a very shocking ending. with a appearances by Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey, this is a very well made movie.

Top Five Movies of 2012

5) The Amazing Spiderman - This seemed like a remake a little too soon. i'll be honest, I had no interest in watching Andrew Garfield play Peter Parker. But its spiderman, I HAD to see it. It stays much truer to the Comic book with a little bit of glamour. but you need a certain new age spin on it. I think we can all agree that Toby McGuire is a little less than the spiderman look. He was pretty good in the first one, the second one was just kind of like getting a hand-job... the third held no excitement at all. But back to my point, this is how the movie should have been made. Despite the absence of MJ and the replacement love affair with Gwen Stacy, played by the charming Emma Stone, the movie just holds together. 

4.) The Avengers - There isn't a single person in america that can say they have not seen The Avengers. This movie is packaged with all the hollywood product placement, make-up, multi million dollar sets and ridiculous hackneyed costume designs. But damn is this movie entertaining. It pulls you in with the action. The arguments of the different heroes is entertaining and comedic (thanks to Robert Downey Jr.). This movie lived up to the hype, it serves as a spectacle of how advanced technology in cinema is getting. You can argue that some of the movies leading to this one were a little terrible, some predictable and a very few were okay. Whatever. This is a great movie. 

3.) The Hunger Games - Gary Ross methodically and masterfully pulls this one off. Some Movies will never be as good as the books, it's a truth in many books that become movies. This was not as good as the book by any means, but it was very well done. The casting of this movie is what sells it. Jennifer Lawrence is no stranger to drama, She shows very good promise as a great actress, I believed her all through the movie. Her physical ability, her beauty and her skillfully portrayed fearful tragic girl caught in the middle was spot on Katniss. Josh Hutcherson is creating space between the child star he once was to a very "Leading Man" actor.  Throw in great performances from Elizebeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley and the one and only Donald Sutherland and you have a movie. A great movie at that.

2.) Moonrise Kingdom - Take a quirky plot and great actors and you have a genuine heart warming tale of two twelve year olds who fall in love and run away together. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward are astonishing and perfect as Sam and Suzy. The cinematography is so abstract and vintage, the two just seem to dance all over the screen. This movie is an instant classic.  The story is a frenzy of a mess as everything falls apart after they run away together. Written and Directed so seemingly effortlessly by Wes Anderson, it's definitely Oscar worthy as far as Best Original Screenplay is concerned.... not to mention the big names such as Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartzman and Harvey Keitel all putting there spin on their characters in such a profound and silly way. The story is set in 1965 and wonderfully inventive. It's an honest and heartfelt movie. One of my personal favorites.

1.) The Dark Knight Rises - Well the end of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy has come to a close, but went out with a bang... Literally. There isn't a bad thing to say about Christian Bale, he plays Bruce Wayne as a wounded helpless old man who rises from the ashes to save Gotham City. Bale does a good job playing the last minute hero. I did notice the elephant in the room in the movie... well, Tom Hardy. Hardy's Bane is just the thing of nightmares. Full of destruction, powerful, huge and god dammit scary as hell. Bane's voice is like a terrible echo in your mind of cruel thoughts, wonderfully acted. Anne Hathaway puts an interesting take on Catwoman, vengeful and full of deceit. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is magnificent as the lone wolf fighting for Gotham when all hope is lost. Michael Caine is great in the little bit of movie he is in, not to mention Gary Oldman, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew Modine. The Dark Knight Rises is the best movie of the year.... So far that is. 

Movie of the Day

Timothy Olyphant and Katie Holmes (before the Cruise)

   The movie of the day is simply titled "Go". Written by John August and beautifully directed by Doug Limen, this movie is the shit. Drugs, guns, car chases, and a lot of people who are still in movies today. This gem came out in 1999. It doesn't seem to get as much praise as it should in my opinion. Watch this movie if you have not seen it. it throws a lot of pop culture of the time at you and in my opinion, theres nothing better than to see the temporary fads that failed. Please watch, excitement will follow.

Can I Get an AMEN!?

Tom Hanks Representing his disdain for pork-rinds 

My friends can attest to the fact that i have a raging cinema boner for Tom Hanks. I will argue to the bone that Tom Hanks is one of the greatest actors of the last thirty years. Call me weird, gay, stupid or whatever. The fact of the matter is Tom Hanks has played everything. From a child trapped in an adults body in Big (first oscar nomination), a comedic walking calamity opposite Shelly Long in The Money Pit, a homosexual Lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia opposite Denzel Washington(second Oscar nomination, and first win), a slow, questionably retarded soldier, pingpong champion, all american football player, shrimp boat tycoon, etc, in Forrest Gump(third nomination, second consecutive oscar win), A soldier in WWII looking for Good Will Hunting(Matt Damon pun) in the Speilberg masterpiece Saving Private Ryan, (fourth Oscar nomination) A Guard for inmates on death row opposite Micheal Clarke Duncan(rest in peace) who discovers the inmates special gift. Finally, the classic man on a desert island opposite Wilson Vollyball, (unnoticed by the academy for Best Supporting Actor) who finds himself stuck there for years and decides to venture back and is saved by a boat (Fifth Oscar nomination)... not to mention he has been the Voice of Woody the cowboy in Pixar's Trilogy Toy Story (fucking tear jerkers). To top it all off, he's a genuinely kind person. So is my obsession with Tom Hanks lust or true love. well, he's failed to disappoint me... (Larry Crown being a mulligan, everybody gets one) With Cloud Atlas on the rise of premiering October 26th in the US, I know i will be in line for tickets immediately. so if you think this is an advertisement? your wrong, it's actually a religion. before you write this off, just ask yourself one question....  WWTHD?

Lawless

After watching a gritty, downright historical would-be masterpiece, i find myself feeling slightly indifferent. Tom hardy doesn't really step away from the immortal Bane. His performance is bare, and ineffective. This is pretty disappointing. i mean, he has a pretty impressive career. i understand his character is a withdrawn, tough hillbilly, but he seems to mail this one in. The true star of this movie is Shia Lebeouf. He fLAWLESSly pulls off a character with deep complex emotions, being a careless, lust seeking young "boy" in his older brothers shadow. Shia pulls off so much emotion in a very confining movie. He may not get an Oscar nomination for this movie, but his acting is knocking on the door.  Guy Pierce is malice, with his early 1900 city slicker big shot hairdo. His chicago intellect and evil intentions, are magnificently performed. Let us not forget Gary Oldman, who briefly graces us with his thug presence. i'm talking boys N the hood gansta. he's just a short part in this movie, but unforgettable. This movie is enjoyable. thats really all I have to say about it.