Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer is a griping thriller based on the Michael Connelly novel of the same name. It stars Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller a criminal defense attorney who represents wealthy clients that are less than savory. Oddly enough he has no office to speak of as he does all of his dealings out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. The next case he takes, the one that sets up the movie's events, is that of a wealthy young man named Louis Roulet(Ryan Phillippe). Roulet has been accused of assaulting a woman in her home, that woman turns out to be a "lady of the night". On the surface it appears that this is a straightforward case with Roulet being set up by the prostitute, but as Haller delves deeper into the case he soon finds himself in a dangerous game of cat and mouse.

The Lincoln Lawyer is a top notch crime drama/thriller. Matthew McConaughey's Mickey Haller is one of the most likable characters I have seen in recent movies. The way that he plays the character is that of a man who knows the injustices of the judicial system. His most prevalent flaw is the fact that he exploits this for the gain of his client's which he mostly thinks/knows are guilty. Even with this glaring negative it's hard not to like him. Throughout the movie Mickey goes through a transformation which betters him as a human being, but that change isn't going to change overnight.

The other character that stood out for me the most was Louis Roulet. Ryan Phillippe was able to start out as a scared young socialite and effortlessly transitions into a more sinister, antagonistic character. The rest of the star studded cast which includes; Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy and John Leguizamo performed well and helped fully immerse me in the story.

The story was well written and the pacing of the film was perfect. Whenever I found my mind on the verge of wanting to wandering off, the film would throw what I thought I knew right out of the window and hook me back in. I have no real complaint about the movie, the actors or the way it all played out.

Overall, The Lincoln Lawyer is one of the best crime drama/thrillers that I have seen in the past few years. If you have the money and the chance to see it you should definitely....

.........GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sucker Punch

This weekend from the "master of slow motion action" Zack Snyder, comes Sucker Punch. A unique tale of a young woman who, due to the actions of her father (or was it her step-father, not sure on that one) is thrown away to an insane asylum. While there she is immediately given the name Baby Doll and added to a group of other pretty girls who are forced to dance for men. All this is directed by an evil orderly. Not a bad way to make some extra money. At first Baby Doll is reluctant but then she comes around. And that's where things take off. Every time Baby Doll starts dancing we are taken on an adventure ride in her mind. The first time we're there with her we learn from the Wise Man that she must obtain certain items in order to break out of the asylum. It's a wild story line.

Emily Browning stars as Baby Doll. The other girls are played by Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jamie Chung. We also get performances by Oscar Isaac (bad guy), Scott Glenn (Wise Man) and Carla Gugino.

The first thing I like about Sucker Punch is the unique story. In 1975 movie watchers received an eye opener with the Oscar Award winning One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. That film brought to light the horrors of many mental institutions. News reports followed over the next decade that brought this problem further to the public eye. People were stuck in there, some needing help some not, that were abused and must have been longing from a way to escape. That's really what I would say Sucker Punch is about: finding a way to escape. It's a concept that isn't limited to mental hospitals either. I think everyone at some point or another in their lives can identify with escaping something or everything. The way all that is told in Sucker Punch is original and brilliant.

Visually the movie is stunning. It may not seem so much so at first because we've pretty much have come to expect that from Snyder. The slow motion action is there and it is well done. You never know what to expect on the different missions. There's all sorts of things Baby Doll and the girls have to contend with. I wonder if there is any symbolic meaning in all the monsters and characters?

I always like to comment on music in movies. The music here is outstanding and very much important in this movie. The soundtrack is made up of new versions of a wide variety of classic songs. Two of which are sung by Baby Doll herself (Emily).

Well I have no real complaints about this movie. I know alot of people out there haven't spoken too kind about it (some people don't like anything)...But it works for me and I think it's probably the best movie out there right now

...GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should be able to check out the soundtrack here: http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/5