The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Review

As everyone around young Bruno becomes more aware and adapts to the changes around them, the little eight year old boy fortunatley stays the same and is left in the dark about the truth of his new home, his new servants, and who he and his family actually are.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a mystified story seen through the eyes of an innocent eight year old boy. The film takes place during World War II. Bruno’s parents deliver some news that they will be moving out of their home in Berlin and to a new location in the country side. Bruno feels as if they are ripping him out of his comfort zone and throwing him into a strange and untolerable new residence. Bruno’s father is a soldier in the German army, and his father insists that sometimes it is a soldeirs duty to move to where they ask him to move and that his family needs to respect that. Once the family arrives in the new location in the country side, Bruno starts to explore his surroundings by taking an adventerous leap into the back garden, leading into the deep woods. As Bruno travels furthur he discovers another side, or possibly another world. He sees a little boy in a striped outfit with a unique number on his chest sitting on the other side of a barbed wire electric fence. He approaches the boy and discovers that his name is Schmuel. All he knows about Schmuel is his name and the fact that he’s playing a strange number game with all the rest of the people on the other side of the fence. What bruno never fully understands is the fact that it’s a concentration camp for Jews and he never really fully comprehends why Jews are bad. Bruno’s tutor at home dictates to him at every lesson why Jews are the enemy and the Germans are the heros, but Bruno never get’s the explanation behind this that he wants to hear.

Eventually Bruno finds himself visiting Schmuel almost everyday. Bruno brings him food, they converse, learn more about each other, they play checkers, and ultimatley form a strong bond between one another, until one day Bruno decides to dig under the fence, throw on a pair of the striped pajamas that Schmuel has gotten him, and enter another world that Bruno knows nothing about. I’ll stop here. See the movie.

All I’m going to leave you with is: this movie has inspired me to go out and by the popular book by John Boyne. It was THAT powerful. And because of Tash Kelly, thanks

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has recieved 4 stars out of 5.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

Taken Review

“I don’t know who you are, but if you don’t let my daughter go, I will find you, and I will kill you.”

Taken is another one of those silly, corny, techno thrillers where every scenario and action sequence is completely blown out of proportion and not plausible in any size, shape or form. But guess what? People eat this type of shit up! It’s filled with non-stop action, keeps you on the edge of your seat, and has you saying either, “this guy is badass” or “how the hell did he just do that?”

I’m going to start off by saying I DESPISE these type of films, but this time it was different. Taken had one thing that other silly, corny, techno thrillers don’t have, a credible actor with superlative skills in the art of characterizing. All I’m going to say is that if this movie had starred anyone else other than Liam Neeson for the lead role, I wouldn’t have put my time or two cents into this film.

Taken proves one thing and one thing only. An extraordinary actor can make a careless and deficient film viewable and somewhat enjoyable for the masses.

Taken is about a retired CIA agent by the name of Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who is seperated from his wife and most importantly his daughter Kimmie. Kimmie lives with her mom and her very rich step father from whom she gets practically anything she wants or desires. despite the fact that Bryan doesn’t see his daughter much, she’s the most important thing to him in the world and he will stop at nothing to keep her happy and safe. One day, Kimmie proposes and/or requests to her father to sign a legal form to allow her to travel to Paris with her friends because shes under-age. Bryan is quite skeptical about allowing her to do this and doesn’t know if it is the best of ideas considering she is only 17 years old. Keeping in mind that Bryan’s job involved keeping people and things safe, you can sort of sense that he is a very uptight yet protective father. Eventually Bryan’s ex-wife (Kimmie’s mother) coerces Bryan into signing the document to let Kimmie go to Paris. Bryan believes he never did it on his own volition and never really had a choice. He trusts his daughter to do the right thing and to be safe with her friends. Unfortunately to Bryan’s dismay his trust in her fails the instant she arrives as she her and her friend are kidnapped by lurking European shadows who keep quite the low profile. Bryan has 96 hours to find and save his daughter, or else he might never see her again.

Taken has recieved 3 stars out of 5.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

Milk Review

“My name is Harvey Milk! And I am here to recruit you!” -Sean Penn

After seeing Milk yesterday, there’s been only one question that’s been bothering me for the past 24 hours and that question is, how the hell did Sean Penn play a straight guy in all of his other films?

Sean Penn is a terrific actor with superlative skills that outreaches most actors of his time. Sean Penn is one of those guys who can walk onto a set and act out a role that the majority of us might not necessarily be interested in, but by god does he convince us that he is INDEED THAT character and not Sean Penn. He convinced me that he was mentally challenged in I Am Sam and he most definately convinced me yesterday in Milk that he was an openly gay man running for Supervisor of office in San Francisco and was willing to stop at nothing to fight for what he truely believed in.

In 1968 Harvey Milk had established that he was unsatisfied with his situation in life because he felt as if he hadn’t accomplished anything and was nearing 40 years of age. He decided that he would be the first openly gay man to run for office in San Francisco, CA, not to win the election, but to do something much more than that, prove a point. Harvey Milk was angry at the fact that the gay community around the entire world was demonized and put down by the majority of heterosexuals. Milk wanted to run for office, stand up for the equivalent and significant others around him, and to fight for gay rights. Harvey Milk lost many elections over the next 9 years, but kept his head up high and continued to fight for what he believed in, fairness and equality. Harvey’s ultimate mission was to give a shout out to all the closet gays and give them strength to come out and be open with him and his fellow supporters so they were able to create an army against the anti-gay heterosexuals.

In 1977, Harvey Milk accomplished his dream by being the very first openly gay man to be elected into office as supervisor of San Francisco. To the dismay of all of his fellow supporters and believers, Harvey was shot and killed not to long after being elected into office.

Milk is a true, inspiring and heartfelt story about the life of Harvey Milk and how his life unfolded before the very eyes of his believers and his enemies.

Milk has recieved 4.5 stars out of 5.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

I Love You, Man Review

Sydney Fife played by the hilarious and talented Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) is probabaly single handedly, no questions asked the most intriguing character i’ve ever been introduced to in a movie. The guy is just likeable! I can honestly say I wish I had a best friend who uses a personal masterbation station to center himself when times get rough.

Peter Klavin (Paul Rudd: Role Models, Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin) is a nerd of potsy like proportions who basically has no knowledge as to how to communicate with guys or be one of “the boys.” Peter is one of those sheltered men who goes to work and then comes home and watches chick flicks with his girlfriend, astoundingly to his enjoyment. The funny thing is that Peter has absolutely no problems with being social with women, but when it comes to making guy friends, he’s completely uncapable. The movie starts off with Peter proposing to his girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) of 8 months and she gladly accepts. Peter is soon then reminded by not only his fiancee, but his family members as well that he’s never really had a “best friend” per say. Who the hell is going to be Peter’s best man!? Enter Sydney Fife!

Peter is a real-estate agent who attempts to sell a large mansion owned by the popular Lou Ferrigno at an open house type ordeal when he first encounters Sydney. Sydney tells him that he’s not actually interested in buying the house, he only attends these type of get togethers so he can munch on free grub and meet good looking women. Peter goes out on a limb by asking Sydney for his phone number and Sydney politely obliges Peter with one of his business cards and peter does the same. The two then pretty much hit it off by setting up a “man date” for fish tacos and several rounds of whiskey. Peter is suddenly introduced to a crazy, weird but heartwarming guy who is completely comfortable in his own skin and is willing to open up new experiences and opportunities for the soft spoken and ever so sheltered Peter Klavin.

I Love You, Man was and is probably one of the BEST “buddy-buddy” movies I’ve ever seen. The movie had me in tears of laughter more then 90% of the time. And the most unique thing about I Love You, Man is the fact that it’s pretty much a starless cast. The two main stars, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, are two actors of whom are usually used to fill up space in other movies such as Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin etc. Their two drop-dead hilarious comedians that not many people are familiar with but should be!

GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

I Love You, Man has recieved 5 stars out of 5 stars. (2nd film to recieve a “Superior” rating in 2009)

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

District 9 Review

District 9 is primarily about an on-going twenty year struggle of co-existence between two divergent life forms: humans and aliens.

Twenty years ago, we as human beings didn’t think twice about sharing Earth with anyone else until a large spacecraft was spotted over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Why didn’t this massive ship come to a halt and hover over New York City or Washington D.C. or somewhere in Los Angeles? Why did the aliens choose Johannesburg of all places? Twenty years later, humans still don’t have the answers, but are trying desperately to seek them out.

To human beings, the aliens are known as “Prawns.” Prawns are these disgusting looking creatures that are a cross between a grasshopper and a lobster, or something that your pet cat regurgitated after a hefty sized meal, which is actually appropriate considering the Prawns favorite food to consume in the film is cans of cat food.

The film begins as a documentary. It shows researchers, scientists, and local Africans answering questions about how they feel regarding coexisting with these Prawns. The Local Africans are dumbfounded by the fact that after twenty years the Prawns are still here, and their spacecraft is still hovering over Johannesburg. The researchers and scientists share mutual feelings about the Prawns. The bottom line being that they don’t know how the monstrosity of a spacecraft arrived or why it’s still here. All they know is that a large area has been allocated for the Prawns’ to reside in, known as District 9. Eventually the locals demand that the Prawns be moved to a location far away from the town. Wikus van der Merwe is the main character in the story.

Wikus van der Merwe is a calm, friendly guy who is a member of a private security force known as the MNU. He is appointed the head man, by his boss, to lead a movement into District 9 that will try to evict these Prawns and resettle them to a safer location far away from the city. Wikus van der Merwe, a large team of his fellow bureaucrats, and soldiers invade District 9 and attempt to hand out eviction notices to the aliens. The Prawns are not interested, and want no part of the eviction. They slam doors in the faces of the MNU, scream at the humans in their own language, basically tell them to piss off, and to leave them alone. The intriguing part about this story is that the Prawns don’t speak English, but they can understand it when the humans talk to them. The humans can understand the Prawn language, but again have no knowledge of how to speak it. I suppose after 20 years of coexistence we should be able to interpret and comprehend a strange language, right?

Eventually, Wikus and his team start to break into empty houses and search for clues about the Prawns. Wikus discovers a small canister with the “Prawn” symbol on it, which should have indicated to Wikus not to touch it. As Wikus fiddles with the canister he is sprayed in the face with a strange liquid. A few hours later, abnormal side effects happen to the innocent, but unfortunately curious Wikus van de Merwe. Black liquid starts to drip out of his nose, his finger nails start to come off, eventually his vision is affected, and he passes out. Wikus wakes up in a hospital bed to the sight of a doctor leaning over him. Wikus discovers that the doctor leaning over him is examining his left arm, which is no longer human. His entire left arm is making a slow transformation to becoming Prawn.

Wikus van de Merwe becomes the most valuable and wanted human being on the planet. He is the only human to ever have half Prawn and half human DNA. The MNU hunts him down and attempts to use him as a guinea pig to discover the inner truths about District 9 and the Prawns. Wikus soon becomes a mystery to everyone around him and retreats to the only place that is going to keep him safe, District 9.

District 9 has received 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

Watchmen Review

They Watch over us, but who watches them?

The answer is…..?

Watchmen is one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time. They grace us with their presence on the colorful and animated pages of a book but now they take a leap into reality and show us a different side of who they really are on the big screen. Watchmen at one point in time was said to be “unfilmable.” I thought the transposing of the story onto the big screen from the comic was nothing short of splendid.

Watchmen contains a great amount of compelling and riveting use of CGI and editing that will keep the viewer on the edge of their seat and repeatedly asking the question, “What’s going to happen next?”

After every twist and every turn, just when you think a conclusion to this heartpounding story will strike, a new dilemma is thrown into the mix to scramble the story into something you didn’t think was possible.

The movie Watchmen, is about a team of masked warriors who watch over the world during a time of despair and ultimately attempt to fix a world that is losing hope. In their journey to better mankind, they discover that the world isn’t the only thing that is losing hope, but the six masked heros themselves are the ones that are breaking down inside and losing a grip on their own lives that they once thought they controlled.

The Watchmen nurture the world of crime and abomination, but who nurtures them?

Watchmen has recieved 5 stars out of 5 stars.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

Funny People Review

For a short period of time I found myself not willing to put the time and effort into writing any more reviews but then as I was watching Funny People I quickly realized the meaning of time and how it seems to elapse at a very fast rate before our eyes. Life is short, so if you have dreams, conquer them now. Don’t bother waiting because you might just miss out on a few golden opportunities. Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) made George Simmons (Adam Sandler) quickly realize what he was missing out on and put things into clear perspective for the bewildered super star comedian who is in the midst of a battle with cancer throughout half of the film.

The old Sandler was great, I think we can all concur with that, but I truly believe the NEW Sandler is that and just a little bit more. Sandler has this ability to contain an entirely different actor within that we are not necessarily familiar with. The majority of us are expecting Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore or even the Big Daddy type of Sandler, but in Funny People he’s showing us more of the Punch Drunk Love or Reign Over Me Sandler, which is the one I adore. The new Sandler shows an above and below viewpoint that brings you a deeper side of who he really is and what he’s capable of portraying on screen for his viewers.

Funny People explores two separate worlds. It tells the story of how Ira Wright (Rogen) an average Joe who does anything he can to and fit in with the big boys at open mic night at local improv bars. Then it tells the story of a struggling, filthy rich comedian by the name of George Simmons (Sandler) who is too caught up in his own self to realize whats actually going on around him in the real world. The story is pretty predictable but for some odd reason is actually quite realistic. Sandler plays the overly obnoxious, self absorbed and very famous comedian who discovers early in the story that he’s looking at a tough road ahead because of detestable news from his doctor about having cancer. Simmons then hits up a local improv bar where he discovers the hidden talents of the mischievous yet shy Ira Wright. He calls Ira up on the phone and offers him a job to basicially do Simmon’s bitch work, write him jokes and mystifies him into being his friend because of the fact that Simmons is a lonely un-married man with no “real” friends per say. Simmons has no problem getting laid by complete strangers and bringing foxy ladies to his pad, but when it comes to making guy friends he becomes instantly clueless and fails to triumph. Eventually, Simmons warms up to Ira, when Ira has been warmed up to Simmons all along and they become a duo rather than just “co-workers.” Simmons is the type of guy who doesn’t like displaying his feelings to anyone, not even the girl he’s in love with not to mention the one and only woman in his life he “almost” married, Laura (Leslie Mann). As the story unfolds, Ira makes Simmons become comfortable in his own skin and opens a new side that’s full of endless possibilities.

I enjoyed Funny People immensely because it gives the audience a taste of the past and the present. The past being Adam Sandler and the present being Seth Rogen. Back in the 90′s and early 2000′s everyone was always talking about Sandler. Now ever since Superbad and Knocked Up, everyone has been talking about Seth Rogen. The guy is doing well for himself and has sky rocketed in the past two years in quite the positive fashion.

The majority of folks will be very opinionated about Funny People, but I thought it was a great flick that shows you a different aspect of what Sandler is capable of executing on screen. Seth Rogen also does a great job supporting him in one of his BEST roles that he’s ever done. Many won’t like Funny People because of the sole fact that this isn’t “classic” Sandler. Times change, Sandler is starting to take a different turn in his career and let others step up and take the spotlight of slapstick comedy. Enter Seth Rogen! This is your time to shine!

Funny People has received 4 stars out of 5.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

Paper Heart Review

Paper Heart is an extraordinary tale that starts off as a make believe documentrary but then hits a few unexpected bumps along the way. The documentary abruptly starts with the main star, Charlyne Yi standing in a crowded street with a microphone in her hand asking random passer-by’s about their views and beliefs on the subject of love. As everything is being recorded by Charlyne’s camera and audio crew, each stranger gives their own insight on love and shares a story from their past experiences with Charlyne. All Charlyne wants to know is, will she ever find true love?

The unique thing about Paper Heart is that every actor excluding one, plays themselves in the film. Michael Cera is Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi is Charlyne Yi, but the character of Nicholas Jasenovec is played by actor Jake M. Johnson. Nicholas Jasenovev is the actual director of the film Paper Heart, but in the film he has Jake M. Johnson portray himself.

Charlyne makes it clear in the beginning of the film that she has never been in love and that she’s not quite sure the actual feeling exists, despite what her interviewee’s tell her as she interviews them in her documentary. Charlyne embarks on a quest across the United States and gathers material concerning love from complete strangers. One of these locations include Los Angeles, CA where she meets a boy her age by the name of Michael Cera. She converses with Michael at a local party and tries to ask him a few questions about love, but Michael is to shy to answer. Despite Michael’s anxiety towards the subject of love, he immediately becomes fascinated with what Charlyne and her camera crew is doing. It just so happens that Michael knows Nicholas Jasenovec, the director of this documentary. Michael meets up with Nicholas when the camera’s stop rollling for the evening and they have a discussion about Charlyne. Eventually Michael becomes apart of Charlyne’s life in such a way that Nicholas Jasenovec feels the need to incorporate Michael into the documentary that they are making.

As Michael and Charlyne start to date, Nicholas Jasenovec and his crew is right by their side making sure that they capture every moment of their strange and fortuitous relationship. Eventually Michael grows tired of all the cameras and microphones always being around him and Charlyne. All Michael and Charlyne want is some privacy of their own but Nicholas and his camera crew never seem to allow it. How will the behavior of Nicholas Jasenovec and his crew affect Michael and Charlyne’s relationship and most importantly how will it affect Nicholas and Charlyne’s documentary?

*Note to reader* Paper Heart is a limited release film that might be difficult to find in your area. I had to travel to Kendall Square in Boston to see this movie. It’s a great and deeply affecting flick that i encourage you to see. If your unable to see it while it’s in theaters, because of its limited release, make sure you check it out when it’s available on DVD. To all my readers who enjoy my reviews, thanks.

Paper Heart has recieved 5 stars out of 5 stars.

1 star= Bad Movie
2 stars= Needs Improvement
3 stars= Good Movie
4 stars= Very Good Movie
5 stars= Superior Film

Saw VI Review

The Saw franchise is a series of psychological thrillers that keep their fans thinking, guessing, contemplating and making their own interpretations of what’s going to happen next as the grand scheme unfolds.

Part VI focuses primarily on Detective Hoffman (Costas Mandylor), who has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw’s legacy. Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is dead and has personally handed his life’s work over to his worthy accomplice Detective Mark Hoffman. We learn at the conclusion of part IV, that Hoffman is involved with Jigsaw’s life work and in part V, it’s revealed that Hoffman has been involved since the get-go. A flashback was shown from part I displaying one of Jigsaw’s famous games being set-up by the both of them. Originally, Jigsaw took two people under his wing from the very beginning, Hoffman and Amanda (Shawnee Smith), a young woman who escaped and beat one of Jigsaw’s twisted and sadistic games.

The only reason Jigsaw has taken these two people under his wing is because of the fact that he has a serious case of brain cancer and knows that eventually someone will need to carry on his life lessons once he is no longer among the living. Amanda is eventually tested. She fails and dies in part III, which leaves one accomplice remaining, Detective Hoffman. This never ending story now leaves us at part VI, Hoffman’s test.

Part VI starts off right where part V left off. Special Agent Peter Strahm (Scott Patterson) fails his game and his ultimately crushed by two walls caving in on his body. Detective Hoffman emerges from the glass box that Agent Strahm threw him in and examines what’s left of Strahm’s body. Hoffman finds one of Strahm’s hands in full form and utilizes it in his favor. For every sadistic game that Hoffman sets up, he uses Strahm’s hand and rubs his finger prints over the crime scene to make the FBI believe that Strahm is behind the grand scheme.

Eventually, the FBI discovers a tape from a previous trap in part V with Jigsaw’s voice on it. They realize that the voice on the tape isn’t actually Jigsaw’s but another person that distorted their own voice to sound like Jigsaw. As the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a large game into motion. What Hoffman doesn’t realize, is that he is actually being tested by another unknown accomplice of Jigsaw, who’s been involved since the beginning. Who is the other accomplice? Will Hoffman prevail in his test? Or will the new unknown accomplice triumph and take Hoffman’s authority and make it their own? Live or die Detective Hoffman, make your choice!

I believe that part VI is an excellent installment to the franchise and gives dedicated fans a new perspective on what’s going on. Additional background information is revealed and questions are answered that were up in the air from previous parts in the Saw series. In retrospect, I believe Saw I is still superior over all other installments, with Part V being my second choice, but Part VI brings a lot to the table and delivers a new and twisted entree for Saw fanatics. Don’t miss out on chapter VI in this never ending tale.

Saw VII is in production and is expected to be released in 3-D sometime next year.

Saw VI has received 4 stars out of 5

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