Reviews - Extreme Critic

Extreme Critic

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Seeing as how this movie is a fantasy, I'm more inclined to like it because it is my favorite genre. I found this movie to be completely enjoyable from start to finish. It definitely could have been much more than it was, but it was still a grand adventure that I loved.

One thing that could have made this movie better was more convincing acting from the two leads. Don't get me wrong, they were very good for the most part, but it seemed like their performances kinda fell short when it was supposed to really count. One example is Claire Danes's(Yvaine) monologue about being in love with Tristan. It is a wonderfully written bit, but isn't as emotionally powerful as it should have been because Danes just wasn't that convincing in that moment. You may disagree with me, but that's how I feel. Charlie Cox's performance was much more believable during the climax, I thought. Up to that point the romance between Tristan and Yvaine just wasn't that believable, but by the end I was sold.

On the subject of the script. It is a faithful adaptation of the novel and the script is just so good. That being said, there are many moments where the wonderful script isn't done justice because of less than stellar acting. Mostly by the leads, like I said earlier.

The supporting actors are just superb though. With the likes of Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ricky Gervais, and Ian McKellen, as the narrator, how can you go wrong? Actually lots could go wrong, but not so with this movie. Each of the previously listed supporting actors steal the scene every time they are on screen. Especially De Niro as a gay Pirate(Have you ever tried to get blood out of a silk shirt? Nightmare!)

I have to admit I was a little turned off by the movie the first time I watched it. I was caught off guard by it's whimsical, odd ball approach to what is basically a fairytale. After I watched it though I found myself thinking about it more and realized how well that approach worked for the movie. It added a much needed originality to an otherwise standard story. Without it the movie, and the book for that matter, would have been cast aside as just another adventure/fairytale and be ultimately very forgettable. The story is structured and paced very well and builds to a very exciting climax complete with the Happily Ever After.

I highly recommend this movie. It is a very family friendly film, but at the same time can be enjoyed by fans of the genre of all ages.

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Posted By: Ben Whitcomb - Category: Reviews

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Blood Diamond (2006)

September 9th 2008 00:26

I cannot stress enough how much I wish more people would open there eyes to Leonardo DiCaprio. I have met many people who, when they hear his name, still scoff and mutter something about his role in Titanic It seems that after his role in Titanic, because so many people saw that movie over and over, the general public had enough of Leo for a while and a lot of people labeled him as a one trick pony. That is so not the case. I mean look at some of his other roles, even before Titanic, like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?", which he was nominated for an Oscar for. He's been nominated two other times, once for this movie and another for "The Aviator". He is a brilliant actor with an incredible career still in front of him.

Now onto the rest of the movie. Since I've already mentioned DiCaprio, I also need to mention Djimon Hounsou. While DiCaprio's acting was top notch I felt Hounsou was more believable in his role as a refugee. The acting in this movie is the best thing it has to offer.

The film does get preachy at times, but it's definitely some thing we need to hear. There is a great lesson that we, as Americans, can learn from the events portrayed in the movie. What I took away from it was that we should pay more attention to the violence in the word or even in America, and find out about what causes it and do what we can to end it.

I addition to the film's two Oscar nods for acting the film was also nominated for three others. It didn't win any and it's understandable, because even though the technical achievements of the film are good, nothing really stands out. The script was good, but some of the transitions from acting to dialogue could have been better.

This film has gone down as one of my favorites and I can honestly feel good about recommending it to everyone.

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Posted By: Ben Whitcomb - Category: Reviews

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JFK (1991)

September 8th 2008 04:18

When this movie was release it was either loved or hated. It was very controversial. The haters labeled it as propaganda. I don't want to talk about that stuff right now. I honestly have no idea what Oliver Stone's intentions were for making this movie. I really don't care because controversy and propaganda aside, this is a very fine, well thought out movie.

First of all, on paper, this movie looks ridiculously boring. Thanks to the acting, editing, and score, that's not the case. All of that put together creates an incredibly engaging movie from start to finish.

The amount of information that got put into this film is staggering. I cannot imagine the amount of research that must have gone into the writing of the script. Oliver Stone does a great job with releasing the right amount of information through out the movie. Not to much at one time, but not too little that you lose interest. You can tell how passionate Stone was about this project.

John Williams produces another fine score to help keep the film's mood and momentum going. As I said earlier the score was a big part of why this film didn't lag or become boring.

The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, only winning two: Best Editing and Best Cinematography. Out of those two things I really have to mention the editing team of Joe Hutshing and Pietro Scalia. It was their editing, I think that was the real reason the movie didn't become stale half way through this 3-hour movie. The cuts from shot to shot or scene to scene was more of a style you would see with an action flick not a courtroom drama. It really worked well here and helped to keep the audience engaged.

This film isn't for everyone. In fact I was very unsure of how I would feel about the movie after I watched it, but I am glad I did because if you can push the controversy and your own opinions of the events portrayed aside you find what is really here. A very good movie.

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Posted By: Ben Whitcomb - Category: Reviews

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Iron Man (2008)

September 7th 2008 21:44

My biggest concern with this movie is over dependence on the actors to make the story and dialogue believable. I don't think the script is as strong as it first appears. Just as bad acting can make a script seem weaker than it is, the great cast of Iron Man delivers the story so well it seems much stronger than it really is. In my opinion, movies should not have to rely on the cast to do that. Not that the script was bad, it just could have been much better

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On the Waterfront (1954)

September 6th 2008 17:56

I usually have a very hard time understanding and enjoying older movies. It's not easy for me to connect with them. But when I watched this movie for my film analysis class I found myself captivated by it from start to finish. This film open up a whole other world of films to me and for that it hold a special place in my heart

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Forgetting Sarah Marshall

September 6th 2008 01:55

Am I the only one who didn't find this movie funny? Don't get me wrong, I like this movie overall. The romantic aspect of this film was very strong. After every joke I thought to myself, that's a really good joke, why am I not laughing at it? I think it was the comedic timing. The joke was funny and clever, but it just didn't seem to fit into the moment. The jokes must have been much funnier on paper. I also found myself put off by how many times it would jump to a scene with a couple secondary character out of nowhere. That works for shows like The Family Guy and 30 Rock. Those shows have had the opportunity to establish that as their style, but it just seems so out of place when it happened on the movie, and it happened a lot. They were supposed to be funny, but left me saying: "Huh

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Posted By: Ben Whitcomb - Category: Reviews

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