Legendary actor Charlton Heston has died at the age of 83.
Known for his roles in Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man and most prominently in Ben Hur, Charlton Heston has been well celebrated in Hollywood throughout the years.
Plot: After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires. Starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Ben Foster.
Review: 30 Days of Night is easily the best vampire movie ever made and among the best horror movies in general. I have read the graphic novel that this fim was based on and the film stayed pretty faithful to it. They may have changed a few details and removed needless subplots but overall its faithful.
One thing that sets this apart from all the other vampire films is the way the vamps are portrayed. Instead of the romantic (typical British) vampires that are in most movies these ones are more like animals, such as by howling and hissing and just leaving the blood on their faces. While we are on the subject of blood, it’s gory…really gory.
Overall 30 Days of Night is amazing. Great plot, great cast and a lot of action and gore make this a definite recommendation for fans of horror movies.
5. Robert Rodriguez - The first one of his movies I’ve ever seen was probably Desperado and since then I think I’ve seen all but a few of them (Spy Kids movies and Sharkboy and Lava Girl). He has made a pretty good movie on an almost nonexistent budget (El Mariachi) and also a great movie using only a green screen (Sin City) and pretty much anything else.
Favorite Rodriguez film - Sin City
4. Martin Scorsese - Out of all the Scorsese films I have seen, they have all been amazing. If you are bothered by movies having to much swearing, don’t even think about watching any of his films.
Favorite Scorsese film - I would have to say Casino with Goodfellas and Taxi Driver coming in at a very close 2nd and 3rd.
3. Wes Anderson - If you enjoy only stupid, silly comedies, don’t bother with any of Wes Anderson’s films because they are dry, sarcastic humor. The humor is much more subtle than most comedies. I personally love all 5 of his movies.
Favorite Anderson film - I would have to say The Darjeeling Limited but all the others are really close behind.
2. Kevin Smith- He is pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum of Wes Anderson but his movies are absolutely hilarious one of the best dialogue writers in the comedy world in my opinion.
Favorite Smith film - Clerks II
1.Quentin Tarantino - Nobody writes dialogue like Tarantino. His movies are influenced by many movies but his movies have influenced so many other movies as well. He is also responsible for the revival of Travolta career.
Favorite Tarantino film - Pulp Fiction
It’s been a while since either Alex or I has updated the site at all but I do plan on writing a few articles over the next few days. Here is what you can expect.
5. Adam Sandler - Everone always says how funny he is. He has been in exactly two really funny movies and a bunch of semi funny ones. Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore are his only two really funny movies. Although unlike most people I really enjoyed Punch Drunk Love, which is mostly a drama. It’s probably my favorite Sandler movie.
4. Julia Roberts - She is clearly overrated. Many people always consider her to be one of the best actresses. She is mediocre in my opinion. She has been in many movies that are overrated themselves. The only movies I’ve enjoyed of hers were the Ocean’s series and Closer.
3. Johnny Depp - He is one of my favorite actors but he still is highly overrated. Everyone always says he is the best actor because his roles are diverse. I used to believe this myself, but in actuality he always plays the dark or wacky characters. He hardly ever plays a normal character.
2. Tom Hanks - Some of his roles are amazing, mainly The Green Mile, Road to Perdition, and Saving Private Ryan. Forrest Gump is overrated in my opinion.
1. Denzel Washington - Washington is a great actor, but most of his roles are just variations of one. The only movies of his I really enjoyed were Inside Man, Man on Fire, Training Day, and Deja Vu.
So the 80th Academy Awards were held last night. Overall it was a good show. It was boring at times but was mainly pretty decent. There were a few surprise winners. For example, who really expected Tilda Swinton to win for Best Supporting Actress or The Bourne Ultimatum to win 3 awards (Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing)? Also, how did The Golden Compass beat out Pirates 3 and Transformers for Best Visual Effects?
The only really funny part in the show in my opinion was when Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen were presenters and the whole skit about them arguing which one was more like Halle Berry and which was Judi Dench.
Jon Stewart did a pretty good job even though I don’t find most of his material funny. I thought it was a classy move to bring Markéta Irglová back out to give her acceptance speech for her win for Best Song from Once (she also starred in the film) being it cut to commercial after her co-star/co-performer gave his speech.
And while we are on the subject of getting ripped on acceptance speeches, how about that one lady that one for one of the smaller awards (can’t remember which) and only got like 30 seconds for her speech, but that old guy that got the honorary award got 3 plus minutes.
One last thing, where was Brad Renfro in the In Memoriam montage?
Overall, I was very happy about who won for most of the awards and it was a pretty solid show for coming off the heels of the 3+ month writer’s strike.
Plot: Llewelyn Moss, a man out hunting, stumbles upon a drug related massacre where he finds a truckload of heroin, and a bag full of cash. He impulsively grabs the cash and then begins to realize he is being chased by various people sent by the corporation behind the massacre to retrieve the cash. Among those sent after Moss is a vicious psychopath named Anton Chigurh. Also looking for Moss is local Sheriff Bell, who quickly realizes he’s out of his element once he witnesses Chigurh’s savagery. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.
Review: Before watching No Country for Old Men, I heard everyone saying how amazing it was and they definitely were right. The movie is very violent but not overly violent. Instead of showing all of the murders a few of them are implied, which in my opinion was the smart move because I think too much violence in this film would have taken away from the amazing plot.
The characters were wonderfully casted. Jones is great as always as is Brolin. Bardem hasn’t had many starring roles if any at all besides this, but judging by this movie he is going to become a great actor for sure. Bardem’s Anton Chigurh is one of the coolest cinematic characters ever. Woody Harrelson’s character was kind of useless but still I liked him and did add a little bit to the movie.
This movie was amazing overall. It does end a little sudden. Although some viewers may not like this, I personally enjoyed how they ended it. I recommend this film especially if you enjoy some of the other Coen brothers movies, mainly Fargo.
Plot:Set in New York in the late eighties, two brothers, one’s a cop determined to uphold the law at all costs and the other is a high-end club manager which happens to be bankrolled my the Russian mafia. Coincidentally, it’s the same Russian mafia that the cop brother is trying to bring down. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall.
Review: Mostly all of the reviews I read or heard for We Own the Night were negative. So when I began watching it I wasn’t sure what to expect. I think the problem was that most people thought it was going to be like The Departed, which in some aspects it is, but overall it is much different. The main reason I enjoyed this movie was because it broke a lot of clichès, which I won’t mention because they would all be spoilers. A few parts were slow but it never stays that way for too long. Overall this movie was a really good movie. I recommend it unless you are looking for a movie exactly like The Departed or something similar.
Plot:When a child goes missing, two Boston private investigators are hired to help find her. Based on the novel Gone Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane (also wrote Mystic River). Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, and Ed Harris
Review: I saw Gone Baby Gone in theatres before I read the book. I really enjoyed the movie in theatres so I decided to read the book. When I was doing a little research on the book I found out that it was actually a part of a series and Gone Baby Gone is the fourth book in the series. So I decided to read all five of the books. After I finished reading all five, I rewatched Gone Baby Gone. As I watched the movie I realized they changed a few details and how some of the events occurred but overall stayed pretty close to the source material. There were parts I liked in the movie better than the book and vice versa but overall the movie is amazing and really makes you think at the end. If you seen the movie and liked it I recommend reading the books and if you read the books I recommend watching the movie.
Plot: In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit. Starring Sylvester Stallone and Julie Benz
Review: When I first heard about this movie I thought there was no way it was going to be good. The main reason for this was because Stallone is 62 years old. Then when I started to see the TV spots my view started to change. The reasons for this were that Stallone looked great for his age and that it looked relatively violent. Relatively violent is the biggest understatement…ever! This movie made the half hour beach scene at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan look like a G rated kiddy movie. There were chunks of body and body parts flying everywhere. To top it off the story was good also. This one is better than all 3 of the other Rambo movies. Amazing action, a great story, and, a believable cast made this a great action movie. I was very surprised by this movie. Definitely worth your time.