mattmav45

Simply a helluva film. I watched this one in my early high school years and as a result was not able to give it the attention or respect it deserved. This is a surreal and haunting look into PTSD. The imagery in the film goes a long way into providing the background and support into the delusions and paranoia at hand here. Tim Robbins is fantastic in this. A couple of scenes stick out to me. When Jacob was placed in the ice bath and had the dream where he was still with his family, I interpreted this as showing that his life post-war was a complete and utter surreal nightmare. He even tells his wife that he was dreaming he was with another woman that worked at the post office, and that in of itself was a nightmare. In retrospect it appears Jacob never did return from the war. Finally, the last scene in which he supposedly dies in the war. I didn't necessarily interpret this at face value. Instead, I thought it was a symbolic way of saying that the war, for all intents and purposes, killed Jacob. As the film eloquently showed, there was no real chance of living thereafter. This is a film that consistently reaches greatness and surprised me in the best kind of way. Damn good.

Jacob's Ladder (1990).

When it's not ridiculous and implausible it's cheese-filled and cliche-ridden to the point of self-parody.

This is a film that is somewhat hard for me to review. First things first, the actual story at hand here is fantastic. I'm by no means a racing fan, but I was invested here. In fact, the underlying story picks up the film on more than one occasion. Every time I felt myself getting disinterested, the story tended to have a big event occur and things would pick up. Hemsworth and Bruhl are both serviceable in their roles, but it is Bruhl who seems to carry the film in stretches. It does seem like at times things are simply glossed over (Hunt's descent into alcoholism and the falling out with his wife is handled very poory), but in the end this film doesn't really ask much of the viewer except to be entertained. In the end, I enjoyed this because I felt enough was done to feel invested and care about a rivalry in a sport I generally don't give a rat's ass about. It's a fine-tuned mainstream Ron Howard drama, and there's nothing wrong with that.

This is one one of those films that should exist in a world where you get commended for simply trying. In the real world this is an inconsequential and rather silly film. It can be best described as unfocused, cheap, hammy, and boring. Let's be clear, The Rock is fucking awful in this.

This is a film that merely exists. Sure, it hits its mark every now and then, and has brief, sporadic bursts of fun. In the end, none of the above matters when you story is not only contrived, but told in a boring, uninteresting manner. There were prolonged stretches of boredom and incompetence that led up to a simply awful ending. One of those films that as a whole neither disappoints nor delivers.

1. Her 2. Wolf of Wall Street 3. Stoker 4. Spring Breakers 5. 12 Years A Slave 6. Mud 7. Prisoners 8. You're Next 9. Pacific Rim 10. The Hunt 11. Inside Llewyn Davis 12. The Place Beyond the Pines 13. Dallas Buyers Club 14. Side Effects 15. The World's End 16. Europa Report 17. Gravity 18. The Spectacular Now 19. This is the End 20. Captain Phillips 21. Upstream Color 22. Wrong 23. The Conjuring 24. Trance 25. Don Jon 26. Saving Mr. Banks 27. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 28. Frozen 29. Fast and Furious 6 30. Sightseers 31. The Iceman 32. Monsters University 33. Frozen 34. Man of Steel 35. Star Trek Into Darkness 36. American Hustle 37. The Way Way Back 38. Evil Dead 39. The Great Gatsby 40. Maniac 41. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 42. Prince Avalanche 43. Curse of Chucky 44. Pain and Gain 45. Oblivion 46. Iron Man 3 47. Drinking Buddies 48. Byzantium 49. The Croods 50. World War Z 51. Meet the Millers 52. Now You See Me 53. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 54. The Call 55. Despicable Me 2 56. Redemption 57. Olympus Has Fallen 58. Scenic Route 59. Elysium 60. Oz: The Great and Powerful 61. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 62. Warm Bodies 63. Dead Man Down 64. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters 65. The Lone Ranger 66. Beautiful Creatures 67. The Last Stand 68. Gangster Squad 69. Jack the Giant Slayer 70. The Heat 71. The Hangover: Part III 72. Room 237 73. The Purge 74. Texas Chainsaw 75. Safe Haven

Hell yes to Her. At the moment I have Her and Wolf as 1 and 2 on the year.I wouldn't mind Wolf, Her, or 12 Years winning BP. Anything else would be a disappointment.IMO.

I must say, what a great weekend for movies I've had. Her yesterday, and now the powerhouse Wolf of Wall Street. Sure, it's bloated and is definitely excessive, but when portraying the exploits of the top 1%, not only is it expected, it's simply a lot of fun. DiCaprio is already a master of his trade, but this is a career-defining performance. Jonah Hill also only again shows that he has serious chops outside the comedy realm. This character study/satire hybrid is the funniest film of the year, and just a 3-hour blast of debauchery and immorality. Simply put, sit back and get bloated as fuck.

Simply a masterful work of cinema. It's one of those rare films that continually evolves and improves throughout its run time. It's at times hilarious, fun, insightful, and ultimately heartbreaking. I'd say it's equal part devastating character study into a grieving human struggling to cope, and complex meditation into what it means to be human, and the inevitable, inherent disconnect between the human and electronic worlds. I'm honestly having trouble finding words for this review, as there is simply so much to think about and analyze from a film standpoint. I will say without question the cinema world needs more minds like Spike Jonze and actors like Joaquin Phoenix. I give this rating and make this proclamation maybe every 2-3 years, and I must say it always feels damn good. Without further adieu: Masterpiece.

You know, about a half hour in I was surprised to notice that the film was turning into somewhat of a guilty pleasure for me. It's similar to when you watch a film drunk or on another substance of choice, and feel so good you don't really give a rat's ass what's actually taking place on the screen. Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall as the time progressed. I guess it's a testament to how bad this film was that it exceeded my expectactions, and yet it's still simply awful. What the fuck is Renner thinking here?

At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I'm just going to drop the charade and say that there is a very strong Movie of the Week vibe that pervades throughout this film. The acting of course is a strength, but in the end everything about this watching experience screamed safe and conservative to me. I would rather a film be ambitious and take chances. Even if they don't always work, at least creativity and ideas are present. To me, there's nothing worse than not feeling anything about a film. This film is the equivalent of network television in cinema. France's version of The Blind Side. And damn it, one was more than enough.

It's a very good film, let's get that out of the way. It easily immerses itself into the new movement of teen films that treat the characters involved with realism and their issues with respect. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are both very good in their roles, and each is impressive enough that the duo pretty much carries the film. The drama here feels natural and real, which is basically all you can ask for with a drama, particularly involving teens. And yet, I still couldn't shake the feeling that the film still fell into a bit of melodrama towards the latter half. The first half was great stuff, and while the second half was good, it tended to fall prey to a bit of plot device melodrama. The resolution just felt a little too easy, Sutter's change and character arc just didn't feel real enough to me. Of course, I'm not bashing the film in any way. In fact, perhaps I'm being hard on it as a result of seeing some missed potential. Nonetheless, this is still a very good drama. Sure, there are some problems, but what film doesn't have those?

Simply a fantastic film. Lynch at his most accessible, but let's be real here, this is still a very Lynch experience. At its core this is a black take on human nature and society in which everyone involved simply sees John as a means to an end in some form or fashion. Not really much good happens to John, and yet it is the upbeat, positive moments in which human nature is shown in a positive light that are most memorable. Such a vivid world on display here, nearly impossible to not be sucked into the somber mood and tone. Deserving of classic status.

It's not one of those documentaries that will wow you with creativity or artistic flair, but rather its strength lies in the information it wishes to share, and how it shares that information. In all honesty, the SeaWorld stuff, while interesting, was not very surprising to me. Just another big corporation doing everything it can to make mega-profits and do everything in their power to protect its interests/investments. The most interesting aspect of the film to me was that humans still have not grasped the idea that some things are best left in the wild. These attacks occurred over a substantial amount of time, and not just at Seaworld. I feel like a great amount of human nature was on display in this film. Not only are humans inevitably stubborn (particularly when money is involved), but they also tend to overvalue their own intelligence, especially when it comes to their knowledge of handling and understanding wild creatures. It was quite apparent to me while watching the film that nobody really knew why the whales were behaving in a particular manner. Interesting things to mull over. Good stuff.

One of the more bizarre experiences I've had watching a film, and I mean that in the best way possible.It's kind of hard to describe to others. This is certainly the type of film that you either go all-in and enter Brazil's world, or resist and end up with a meh experience. As for me, I've only seen this once and it's already hard to keep the word "classic" from continually popping up in my head.Creative ambition at its best.

Brazil (1985).

So American Hustle is up for BP, and Lawrence is up for Best Supporting Actress. I see Streep yet again is up for Best Actress. Boring, and yet so predictable.

/thread.IMO.

Brad Pitt remains a sore thumb in an otherwise fantastic film. Simply a huge WTF, and a shame in all honesty. His character being "Canadian" was icing on the cake, simply brutal.Rest is the film is a beast.

When you have a 55-inch 1080p Smart TV with a home theater system, what's the appeal of going to a theater where you get raped up the ass every time? IMO.

Typical mundane fodder for the kids. I will concede that you could do worse for a 100-minute run time, and it had some genuinely funny parts.In the end, I won't remember a damn thing about this film in a days time, the film had all the weight of a 12-year old anorexic.

I'm not really sure what the hell they were trying to do here, but this was pretty awful. It's one thing if the documentary was supposed to serve as an analysis of obsession and fanaticism, but instead these theories are simply presented in a straightforward, bland fashion. After about 30 minutes you stop giving a rat's ass and wish they would just call these morons out for the lunatics they are.

I'm one of those rare ones that find the Cohen Brothers hit or miss.That being said, I really enjoyed this, and would place it fourth in the Cohen library after Lebowski, Fargo, and No Country. Such impressive design and atmosphere on display here, the film simply has a lot of soul.It must be pointed out this film will only improve upon each re-watch.

Streep is simply boring. She picks roles solely for awards and is consistently hammy. The best best actors are those who do all kinds of films and come across natural in their roles.The Iron Lady?LMAO.