CBGB movie review

A dramady about the very beginnings of the famed rock club CBGB.  The late Alan Rickman in the  lead role as Hilly Krystal the defacto leader of a motley bunch of characters that unwittingly create legendary rock club .

Birdman Film Movie Review Micheal Keaton

I finally got to see the film Birdman. Stars Micheal Keaton as an aging former superhero Character by the same name. I think I'm the only one  the planet to hate this film. Way, way too much useless talk made the movie feel like a dull high school lecture. Plenty of long, continuous camera shots. Normally a neat touch of cinematography, it helped make the film seem long and dull like an arduous march.

Then, there were scenes of odd superhuman activity going on, no doubt to add some artistic touch just came off as silly. Were they perceived or real? who cares.

Inherent Vice Film Movie Revie

Inherent Vice is packed with a big name cast. Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Josh Brolin,Owen Wilson to name a few, but not one inspired performance. Each actor gives there role a very dull performance that never once transforms there lines into something memorable.

In addition this is a very talky film, each scene uses an enormous amount of forgettable lines half of which never advances the plot, and I'm still not sure what the plot is.

Joaquin Phoenix plays I guess somewhat of a flawed lady's-man private investigator. personally I don't see the appeal (fortunately, some of the other characters seem to feel the same way.

Wordy, inspired, uneven plot with a "WTF, did I just watch that?" movie that makes all viewers that feel dumber after watching. 

Movie Review Fury Starring Brad Pitt

The first twenty minutes of "Fury" I really thought we were going to get a unique war film that skips over all the cliche. The opening moments of Fury were all filth and misery. A world where the shattered souls of grizzled soldiers just live a moment at a time and ruled by their own laws and moral ambiguity. I felt we'd get  war film where all of the "Hey Joe where in this together" heroics of right versus wrong are absent.

Lemmy Documentary Film Review

Watch any heavy metal documentary and you are bound to at some point see Lemmy Kilmister. Kilmister, more universally referred to as just ‘Lemmy’, is about as rock and roll as you can get.  He spent his time being a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and ever since has spent decades touring with his own band, Motorhead.   Long hair, leather, denim, mutton-chop mustachioed, macho, grizzled, one look at Lemmy and there is no mistaking it, he oozes  attitude and rock and roll.  The movie “Lemmy” is a documentary about this man.

300 Rise of An Empire Movie Review

So for those of you who saw the Zak Snyder written and directed “300” the fantasy war film about the famous Spartan last stand at Thermopylae, I can say for sure if you’ll enjoy “300 Rise of an Empire” or not. Zak Snyder leaves the directing to Noam Morrow and instead produces (and does the screenplay) to “300 Rise of an Empire” but the result is pretty much the same…

I’ve Loved You So Long Film Review

Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) picks up her older sister Juliette (Kirstin Scott Thomas) from prison. She has been serving a prison sentence for 15 years.  Juliette moves in with Lea, Lea’s husband and children where she wrestles with trying to acclimate to a family she has never truly known,overcome her own personal demons and find a comfortable place in society.

This is actually a hard movie to describe and still have it sound interesting, and, believe me, it is an interesting film. Hopefully my description above does it some justice.  I could have described it as after 15 years in prison, a woman moves in with her sister and absolutely nothing happens that involves action, retribution, suspense, criminal activity, falling from grace or just about anything that typically jazzes up an ex-con film.  In fact, this film needs absolutely none of this and finds its way just fine.

Salinger Documentary Film on PBS Reviewed

"Salinger" is a documentary about the life of the iconic, American author JD Salinger.

I recently saw this documentary film on PBS.   I wrote a review about this film, a very very short one but to the point, over on another site besides my own here.   Check out if I thought that " Salinger " was any good.  Link posted below

My review of Salinger Posted Here

Thanks for stopping by and please check out some of my other reviews right here on this site

The Impossible – Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts in Tsunami

If you have seen the film “Passion of the Christ” , think of  “The Impossible” as  “Passion of the Christ” meets Tsunami.  The film is that much fun to watch.   Basically, McGregor and Watts star as husband and wife vacationing with their three young children in Southeast Asia when a tsunami hits the island.

All Quiet on The Western Front Movie Review

“All Quiet on the Western Front” was released in 1930, it is completely in black and white.  For some of you who think this makes for a poor film, you are really missing out.  ,  All Quiet on The Western Front is one of the great war films.  Based on the novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque, it follows the day to day suffering of young infantrymen during World War One.

Lincoln Starring Daniel Day Lewis Review

I watched Lincoln last night for the first time on DVD .  I enjoyed it so much that I actually watched the film twice, which is a rare feat to watch the same movie two times consecutively with no other movies watched in between.

World War Z Movie Review - Nothing Like The Book

I'm not sure if it is fair to judge a film based on the book from which it was adapted but I'm going to give it a shot.  I read Max Brooks book "World War Z" and really loved it.  It is set years after a global war against a zombie apocalypse.  The book is a series of flashbacks by scientists, military personnel, civilian survivors, politicians, etc. describing their experience during the war.  By the end of the book you have a really good idea, what happened, why it happened, where it happened, the strength of humanity, the flaws of humanity, why some survived, why many didn't, how the war was resolved, etc.  Pretty fun stuff and fairly plausible in a, well, zombie kinda way. 

Stake Land Vampire Movie Apocalypse Review

I admit, I’m hooked on the whole Zombie Apocalypse thing and “Stake Land” is pretty much the exact same style end-of-world film except in this case it is a vampire apocalypse. I’ll be honest, I liked the film even though I could tear up each cliché implausible scenario, one piece at a time.  I’ll mercifully brief though.

Drive - Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan Movie Review

A man with no name (Ryan Gosling) works during the day as a Los Angeles  movie stuntman driver and at night he works as a getaway driver for various thieves.  A loner, he befriends his neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son (Kaden Leos). Irene’s troubled husband (Oscar Isaac) returns from a stint in prison and this triggers a series of events that dramatically change the routine of their lives.

Goon - Pro Hockey Enforcer Fight Movie

Doug Glatt (Shawn William Scott) is hired into an unlikely hockey career because he can fight.  A "Goon" in hockey is a player whose main job is to intimidate, and beat up, other teams.  Doug is hired as a goon.


Shawn William Scott plays a dead-pan dopey yet likable brute in Glatt.  This might not be a break out role for Scott but he does well in a comic-violent role that can be hard to pull off.

Kontroll – Budapest Underground Train Crew Film

Kontroll is a dark, grimy, noir-like fictional film about the miserable existence of Budapest ticket inspectors prowling the underground subways checking customers for their tickets.  

42 – Jackie Robinson Breaks Baseball Color Barrier

Boy did I enjoy this film.  It is fun to watch, has some really good feel good moments and introduces a fine actor I haven’t heard of before in Chadwick Boseman who stars as Jackie Robinson, the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier.

 With all that in mind, the film lets itself down.   Yes, this is a good, “feel good” film but it could have been so much better.    

The Twilight Samurai

I've always thought of the Japanese samurai as the disciplined, gung ho, warrior both admired and feared by friend and foe alike. The Twilight Samurai is a film that quickly teaches an unfamiliar audience that the samurai lives a life radically different than what you might think.

The Intouchables - Rich Paralyized Man Befriends Criminal Caretaker

An ultra-wealthy, aristocratic, Frenchman (Monsieur Philippe played by François Cluzet) is surrounded by uber-decadent furniture, a mansion home, cars, and personal staff needs a caretaker (he has plenty but apparently he needs one more). He’s a quadriplegic who needs 24 hour care. The hiring process begins. After many dopey interviewees are rejected, a poor, French, African ex-convict barges into the interview. He is Driss (played by Omar Sy) He speaks to the stuffy staff rudely in a sort of I don’t care how rich you are attitude and leaves.

Of course, he gets hired. Over the course of the movie his street-smart approach both lifts the spirits of the staff while tempering their snobby attitude. Same goes for the man he cares for.

Still Walking - Japanese Family Drama Film

Set in Japan, a Japanese family meets every year to remember their adolescent son killed twelve years earlier saving another young boy.

The deceased son is revered and missed presumably because his parents expected great things from him. By contrast, the parents are disappointed in his surviving brother who is kind, well intention, but failed to achieve the success that was expected from him.