Reveiw - The Soloist

The Soloist...Iron Man vs. Ray Charles...only one will be left standing. That was humor. Not inappropriate for a film which includes a notable amount of humor. Okay, moving along...

The Soloist is, without a doubt, one of the most important movies that has been made. It stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Mr. Lopez and Jamie Foxx as Mr. Ayers (you'll get the significance of that during the movie). The basic story centers around Lopez, a writer for the LA Times, who has a random encounter with a homeless man, Ayers, who has an incredible talent for playing stringed instruments...and who suffers from schizophrenia. Ayers sets out to write a ongoing story about Ayers and grows increasingly attached to him - attempting to overcome his past failings of dedication in previous relationships.

The film forces the viewer to acknowledge the depravity that takes place in the United States, the leader of the free world. It challenges the viewers perception of who homeless people are. It presents different view points of the question of whether people suffering from mental illness should be forced into going to an instituion or be made to take medication. It demonstrates the role that a person can have on a mentally ill person by offering friendship.

As stated above this movie is very important and I believe everyone should see it. I want to see this movie again and will own it when it comes out on dvd.

The Soloist - GO NOW!!!

{Note - this isn't the most best grammatical review I've done but my computer is being dumb so I have to deal with it.}

Review: Obsessed

Obsessed tells the tale of an office flirtation that is taken way too far. You know how it goes, it starts off "innocent" and then it snowballs into something quite ugly. Idris Elba plays the successful young businessman that has climbed to the top. He has what seems to be the perfect life with his wife (Beyoncé Knowles) and son. This all comes to a screeching halt when a new woman (Ali Larter) begins to work in his office. Before you know it stuff happens, lives are thrown into disarray and you have on your hands a decent thriller.

Yes, this type of story has been done before, but I have to say that I enjoyed the way it played out. The acting was par for the course and their is definitely no danger of this movie receiving any Academy Award nominations. With that said the movie moves swiftly, you are never bored and their is something here for everyone.

I was literally on the edge of my seat towards the end wanting to know what would happen. With that said Obsessed knows what it is and doesn't try to be something it's not. If you go in without any expectations, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. Bottom line....

Obsessed - Go Now!!!!

Review - State Of Play

State of Play is the story of a reporter Cal McAffrey (played by Russell Crowe) and his investigation into a murder of a young woman linked to his old friend Congressman Stephen Collins (played by Ben Affleck). This film is made in the tradition of espionage films of the 1940s - 1950s.

Despite a couple of cheesy moments the acting was very good. The movie involved alot of characters and they all performed very well. However, the problem for me was the story itself. The story is constantly developing at a rapid pace. Before the half way point of the movie I was pretty much lost. I didn't know who was doing what and what everyone's name was. Most of the plot development involves hearing a person's name pop up somewhere and it's really hard to understand what just happened if you couldn't remember who that person was. Giving that fact it's pretty difficult to write too much about this movie.

This may turn out to be one of those movies that get better with time after seeing it multiple times on FX. That's pretty much all I can say at this time. Perhaps I'll see again at the dollar movie theatre.

State Of Play - FX It.

Review: Observe and Report

First of all I want to say to all the parents, "Hire a babysitter". There are some R rated movies, although they are few and far in between, that children can sit through. This is not one of those movies. If you are looking for laughs, then you came to the right place. If you don't like crude humor well....

Observe and Report starts off with big laughs and keeps them coming right until the end. And while the plot starts to wear thin during the last 20 or so minutes I was curious as to how the movie would end. I was pleasantly surprised with how the movie concluded.

O&R is basically an adult version of Paul Blart: Mall Cop. If you liked that movie, you will most certainly like this one. At least I got to see one good movie today.

Observe and Report - GO NOW!!!!!

Review: Dragonball Evolution

The long awaited and controversial film based on the popular anime and manga has finally been released. I'm not gonna lie to you either, most everything that makes up the Dragonball series has been changed. Fans of the series will notice the sudden and non-subtle changes in the plot very soon.

I realize that for the movie's sake it is impossible to put every detail of the anime and manga into the movie, I get that. What I don't get is the radical changes in minor details such as character biography.

The movie does have some small redeeming qualities though. Most of the CGI and special effects are pretty good considering what type of movie this is. At other times though some of the effects are down right bad (think about the last Indiana Jones movie).

However, Dragonball Evolution suffers from some fatal flaws. Namely the anti-climactic ending that you arrive at way to soon. The ending indicates that more movies in the series may be on the way. If so, they have a long way to go. No matter how much I want to like this movie, I just can't. Bottom Line.......

Dragonball Evolution - FX It

Review: Fast & Furious

Explosions flare, engines rev, and this is all within the first ten minutes. Fast & Furious is the lastest installment in The Fast & The Furious franchise. This movie shows the reunion of the cast from the first movie, The Fast and the Furious (2001 film). The movie is well paced and seldom strays from the action.

The story doesn't challenge you in any way, so if you're looking for that, this is the wrong movie for you. With that said the plot flows and doesn't try to be anything it's not. It should be said that this movie is placed somewhere in between 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift, so fans of the series will see a familiar face.

The acting is par for the course and is never over the top. With explosions, fast cars, and gunfights Fast & Furious gives you what you paid for so....

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mini Review: I Love You Man

I know this review is of a movie that has been out for two weeks, but hear me out on this one. I Love You Man is actually a pretty good film. The basic story is about a man who is engaged, there is only one problem, he has no close friends to be his best man. The movie follows his search for a friend that could be his best man. This movie has plenty of laughs and even more, if you're okay with some crude humor thrown in. If you're like me and still haven't seen it I have two words for you.....

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!