The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

This film is certainly a visual achievement that draws on the stifled imaginative minds of adults. The glimpses into "the imaginarium" are pretty breathtaking (I can only wonder what they looked like on a sixty-foot screen). But, I'm sure for some people they'll be misconstrued as an overly vivid acid trip, especially with the movie being directed by Terry Gillaim. Gilliam, in my opinion, is the genius mind that brought the world, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a quintessential cult classic and defining movie for my generation. But, where that movie was great Imaginarium struggled.

First of all, Fear and Loathing, was so intrinsically tied to drug culture that the wild visions and out of the blue dialogue and plot progression seemed sort of normal, but Imaginarium doesn't benefit from something like this, so when unexpected plot twists or peculiar character developments happen in the film it's just very confusing and off putting. But, what helped the film immensely was the casting and acting. Heath Ledger, in his final film appearance, shines in the movie playing an odd philanthropist. Also, Verne Troyer, Christopher Plummer, and relative newcomer Lily Cole turn in great performances. I'm surprised Cole hasn't been cast in any American movies, I see a lot of potential for her, especially playing a similar role to the one she did in this movie.

It's difficult for me to recommend this movie as its overall impression that it left on me was of a relatively disconnected plot, with a wonderful performance from Ledger and incredibly, imaginative images. But, the child in me really liked it and if you can follow that then you may like it also.

Kick Ass

After seeing this movie a friend of mine boasted that, "If you don't go see Kick Ass, you should get your ass kicked". Although, he may have just been caught up in the raucous, hilarious state of mind that the movie puts you in, he might not be totally out of line with his statement.

I thought the movie was very funny, but I wouldn't call it the funniest movie I've ever seen. A solid script and good acting from Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, and relative newcomer Aaron Johnson made the movie watchable during the earlier parts of the movie, before most of the "ass-kicking" started happening. But, the one thing on my mind after leaving the cinema, was Chloe Moretz or "Hit Girl", her homicidal, spunky, Bride-esque character completely stole the show. I was wondering after her first appearance on screen why the film wasn't centered around her instead of the goofy Aaron Johnson. But, Moretz's character definitely added another dynamic to the movie which will only benefit it in the future.

I say see this movie, definitely not with as much gusto as my friend, but certainly with more of a level head on it. It provides a great escape from the stresses of everyday life, as most movies should and will do, but it'll gross you out, make you laugh out loud, and maybe even feel a little sorry for Nicolas Cage.

The Lovely Bones

I really dislike when I see people weighing in on a movie that's been adapted from a novel and their overall beef being, "That the movie didn't do the book justice." I can sort of see where people who say these things are coming from, but I can't agree with them. You have to understand what it takes to create a movie, a good idea, believable actors, a good story, sometimes a lot of money, amongst many other things. So, a lot of times the book just serves as a platform for the movie to garner an audience. Also, producers need to protect themselves from lawsuits by purchasing the rights to a novel, so when they say it's based on a novel it can sometimes only be to give credit to the author or authors.

I wanted to say this after reading the "review" listed on IMDB.com about, The Lovely Bones. It lambasted Peter Jackson, the director of the movie, for doing the book, which the film is based on "little justice". Jackson crafted a story that is compelling and suspenseful, although it may not be perfect in terms of what is in the novel, it does include some top notch acting from Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Ronan which shouldn't been overlooked. I did think some of the heavily fantastical, CGI scenes were very overblown, but Jackson may have included them to illustrate on the imaginative minds of children.

Date Night

I was a little torn while watching the beginning scenes of Date Night, because it seemed like the writers were trying to hard to force the funniness of the two stars, Tina Fey and Steve Carell. But, before long their overall hilarity took over, combined with a bunch of near perfect cameos and outrageously funny scenes this movie had me cracking up more than enough.

More about the cameos though, J.B. Smoove, or Leon in Curb Your Enthusiasm, has a brief appearance as a cabbie in the movie, but it's about 2 minutes that provide a platform for a lot of raucous laughter from the audience. Also, Mark Wahlberg, has a cameo as Holbrooke, a muscular spy and former acquaintance of Fey's character, Wahlberg I'm sure will provide most women with a solid five minutes of the movie that they wont quickly forget. James Franco and Mila Kunis also provide a few laughs with a short cameo, that most of the trailers for the movie kind of spoiled.

Strangely, this movie felt like it fell into the category of romantic comedy to me, I was expecting just a comedy, but there were a few scenes that lingered at length on relationship issues. Maybe they were meant to serve as potential bathroom breaks for audiences just there to laugh, but overall they didn't seem too forced and both stars are solid enough actors to keep your attention.

Crazy Heart

The major beef that some folks had with this movie was that it was just a mediocre plot that was transcended by an Oscar winning performance. During the earlier stages of this movie I could sort of agree with that, but this film grows on you as it progresses. Jeff Bridges performance is likely the reason for this because as you watch the movie you see the changes in his life begin to affect him and make him a better man. I started to feel for Bridges character and hope for him to be able to turn his life around and find love and a family.

One of the most interesting things about this movie to me, is how an incredible performance can make a movie that probably wouldn't have had that much appeal for people, very relevant. I probably wouldn't have even given this movie any consideration or watched, but the Oscar nod was enough for me and so many others. This makes serious, not hot topic film making with commercial viability in mind something that is attainable when you see a movie like this. It gives hope to young filmmakers who dream of making it in Hollywood because if they can create something with not a lot of money that depicts a character doing something that looks incredible on screen there will be an audience that wants to see what they've made. I apologize if that comes out a bit garbled, but I just really wanted to get that out.

Crazy Heart does include a great performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal, also Colin Farrell turns a solid supporting role which shows some great acting range as well.

Brooklyn's Finest

There's one word that comes to mind when I think about this movie, Authenticity. Everything about this film felt so real, or authentic, from the set's to the acting. Antoine Fuqua followed up Training Day with another gritty movie that explores the world of crooked police work amongst other controversial topics. From the first scene with Ethan Hawke to one of the final ones with Don Cheadle a piece of the puzzle is revealed in a way that even though the ending is obvious it isn't any less entertaining when it arrives.

I loved the acting in this film, especially the performance from Cheadle, who plays an undercover cop. Ellen Barkin, who has a very minute role, also does an exceptional job at being believable and evoking emotions in the viewer (I admit I wanted to rip her head off as bad as Cheadle's character at one point).

The cinematography in the film was rather exceptional as well, with views of Brooklyn that were telling enough to almost be considered a character in the film as well.

Kristen Stewart

I'm taking this opportunity to write my first post completely about an actress. Kristen Stewart, is the lovely subject I've chosen, and you most likely know her from the Twilight series. She's been acting for most of her life, with television credits going all the way back to 1999. Her first major role was in Panic Room alongside Jodie Foster, but she didn't catch her big break till 2008 when the Twilight movie became a phenomenon.

I chose Kristen because she's a pretty controversial actress, there seems to be a 50/50 split of people that love her and those that can't stand her. I think this has to alot to do with her being in the Twilight movies. Inherently all the buzz from teenagers and young adults about these movies causes some people to have a negative opinion. Like any fad in America, there will be those who jump on board and those that protest blindly. I'm not sure why the actors would get caught up in something like this when all they wanted to do was advance their careers, but Kristen did make a reported $2 million up front for the first Twilight movie and supposedly their are talks about writing a fifth book to later become a movie. Anyone who can make that much money at the age of 18 is definitely doing something right and isn't capitalism one of the primary foundations of this country? So, basically what I'm thinking is don't dislike her for being Twilight, find a better reason that if you must.

I had a discussion recently with a guy friend about what makes Kristen attractive and he agreed with me that its her "plainness", basically that she doesn't have any exceptional features and that she incorporates a "girl next door" look. I think this contributes to a substantial part of her male fan demographic and also contributes to the portion of females that don't like her. I've heard comments from women that I'm friends with that she doesn't try hard enough with her appearance. They may have a leg to stand on too after seeing her at an MTV Movie Awards about a year ago. But, is jealousy or whatever it really is reason enough to dislike an actress? Shouldn't some merit be put on how she does actually acting in the films that she's in? I think it should, and if your on the fence or leaning toward the Kristen-haters side, I suggest you check out Adventureland and let me know what you think about her after seeing that.