Archive
Major Update 3
Now that the new semester has settled in, you can expect me to finish what I started around Christmas.
Milk
Director:
Gus Van Sant
Writer:
Dustin Lance Black
Cast:
Sean Penn as Harvey Milk
James Franco as Scott Smith
Josh Brolin as Dan White
Emile Hirsch as Cleve Jones
Released: 2008
Studio: Focus Features
Box Office: $31,841,299
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
IMDB Score: 7.9
Format: HBO
I had no intention of ever seeing this movie because films about the struggles of homosexuals are just not my thing. But alas, I came across it on HBO. I was pleasantly surpsised. I knew it had been nominated for the best picture Oscar and that Sean Penn had won Best Actor. The reason that I don’t like this movie more than I do is (I’m just going to right out and say it) this movie is very gay. Sean Penn and James Franco making out is not something I ever want to see again.
Favorite Performance:
Sean Penn as Harvey Milk
Favorite Quote:
Harvey Milk: How do you teach homosexuality? Is it like French?
Grade:
B+
Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire
Director:
Lee Daniels
Writer:
Geoffrey Fletcher
Cast:
Gabourey Sidibe as Precious
Mo’Nique as Mary
Mariah Carey as Ms. Weiss
Paula Patton as Ms. Rain
Released: 2009
Studio: Lionsgate
Box Office:
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
IMDB Score: 7.6
Format: Theater
Its about a 16 year old girl pregnant with her second child by her own father. She is physically, emotionally, verbally, and sexually abused by her mother. She can’t read or write. She gets kicked out of school. Her family is on welfare. But she finds a glimmer of hope and clings to that and tries to get out of her situation. Precious is a very difficult film to watch. Its not for everybody. It impeccably acted and it would be the biggest travesty in Oscar history if Mo’Nique doesn’t win.
Favorite Performance:
Mo’Nique as Mary
Favorite Quote:
Mrs. Lichtenstein: You’re 16; you’re still in Junior High School; and you’re pregnant with your second child. Is that correct?
[No reply]
Mrs. Lichtenstein: Are you pregnant, again?
[Mrs. Lichtenstein huffs, exacerbated]
Mrs. Lichtenstein: What happened Clareese?
Clareece ‘Precious’ Jones: I had sex, Mrs. Lichtenstein.
Grade:
A-
Moon
Director:
Duncan Jones
Writers:
Duncan Jones and Nathan Parker
Cast:
Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell
Kevin Spacey as GERTY (voice)
Released: 2009
Studio: Sony Classics
Box Office: $5,010,163
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
IMDB Score: 8.0
Format: Blu-ray
I was slightly disappointed by this movie. I thought I was going to like it a little better. Its still pretty good though. It about a man stationed on the moon at a mining outpost alone for 3 years with nothing but a talking computer for company. I’m not going to give away the plot because this is not one of those films that even if you know how its going to end the journey is still fun. This is another difficult film to watch because Sam Bell is the only character on screen for 99% of the movie.
Favorite Performance:
Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell (by default)
Favorite Quote:
Sam Bell: You look like a radioactive tampon.
Grade:
B
Avatar
Director:
James Cameron
Writer:
James Cameron
Cast:
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine
Stephen Lang as Col. Miles Quaritch
Joel Moore as Norm Spellman
Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon
Released: 2009
Studio: Fox
Box Office: $595,752,416 (as of 1/31/10)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
IMDB Score: 8.6
Format: 3D Theater
Never before has a movie looked so beautiful upon a screen. The world of Pandora designed by James Cameron and his crew is so breathtakingly mesmerizing and stunning, that I can forgive the film of all its storytelling faults. Avatar is perfectly suited for the big screen. It is a spectacle meant to be seen in 3D. Cameron spent over 10 years working on this film, because he had to invent the 3D technology required to fulfill his vision. It has paid off with Avatar now being the highest grossing film of all-time worldwide, and within the next few days domestically, passing Cameron’s previous movie, Titanic.
Avatar is the best film that I’ve seen in 2009. Not because of the acting nor the plot, but because of the experience. I got so wrapped up with what was happening on the screen that the movie seemed like it wasn’t nearly as long as its runtime.
It’s the story of a crippled ex-marine, Jake Sully, traveling to the distant planet Pandora to take control of an Avatar, a body of the native Na’vi. The humans are there to mine unobtanium, an expensive commodity back on Earth. Jake’s mission is to befriend the Na’vi and to negotiate their relocation from a rich unobtanium deposit. The story is very derivative of several other films, most notably Pocahontas. Following is a link to a very funny Mad Lib comparing the plot of Pocahontas to the plot of Avatar:
As I stated earlier, I can forgive the film for being unoriginal story wise, because it presents that story in such an outstandingly original way. Zoe Saldana did a remarkable job as Neytiri even though her character is entirely motion captured. Really my only gripe is that Sigourney Weaver’s avatar looks too human and not enough like the other Na’vi.
Favorite Performance:
Zoe Saldana as Neytiri
Favorite Quote:
Col. Quaritch: If there is a hell you might want to go there for some R&R after a tour on Pandora.
Grade:
A
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