MASSIVE REVIEW MONDAY 11/8/14: 45 MOVIES REVIEWED!!!

Playing catchup was never so much fun!!!  45 MOVIES PEOPLE!!! CHECK IT!

Batman: Mask of Phantasm – (1993) – 3.5 – Spurning from the excellent, “Batman: The Animated Series” from the early to mid 1990’s, “Mask of the Phantasm”, maintains the same flavor of noir grit.  This story explores an interesting facet of Batman lore.  It is about how Bruce Wayne almost decided to choose love over the Batman.  It is a great view into yet another layer of the tortured psyche of Bruce

The East – (2013) – 2.5 – Hipster idealist flick about corporate revenge, too slow and fizzles out.

Running Man – (1987) – 3.25 – Classic Arnold, some of the best lines of his career, great popcorn fun.

R.I.P.D. – (2013) – 1.5 – Not even Jeff Bridges can save Ryan Reynolds and this un-inspiring plot.

Man of Steel – (2013) – 2.75 – One of the better Superman films, (not saying much) but that ending misses the emotional mark

Edge of Tomorrow – (2014) – 3.5 – Surprising, a lot of action and video game style retries. Minus for Scientology subtext.

National Treasure – (2004) – 2.75 – Not the best movie ever, but it’s a fun ride and of course that crazy Nic Cage

The Patriot – (2000) – 3.75 – If you don’t like this patriotic movie starring two Australians, you’re not a red-blooded American.

Guardians of The Galaxy – (2014) – 4.25 – One of the best movies of the summer and one of the better Superhero flicks ever. Funny, Action packed, did not disappoint

Draft Day – (2014) – 2 – A hilariously NOT in-depth look at the NFL bullsh!t melodrama

Noah – (2014) – 2.75 – Ambitious film, doesn’t have enough to really engage the audience throughout its excessive length.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – (2014) – 3.5 – Solid follow-up to the excellent CAP 1 – kudos to making a relevant superhero plot-line

The Amazing Spiderman 2 – (2014) – 2.5 – Very disappointing series in general, Peter is unlikable and Jamie Foxx is laughable

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – (2014) – 2 – About what I expected, but some extra bad re-imagining details by Mike Bay

The Fisher King – (1991) – 3.75 – Probably in the tops of Robin Williams performances, good story, well handled by Gilliam

The Hustler – (1961) – 3.5 – Classic Pool Paul Newman movie, slightly dated film style but a solid story all the same.

There Will Be Blood – (2007) – 4.75 – The best Paul T Anderson film cooped with the single best acting performance in film history by Daniel Day-Lewis

Midnight in Paris – (2011) – 4.5 – One of my favorite Woody Allen films. You can’t help but feel the whimsy watching this one.

The Tao of Steve – (2000) – 4 – To me personally this movie is very relevant, a great 90’s indie pic.  It’s about so many people of our generation. With themes of relationship/courtship philosophy, and moving on to the step of life from a 20 something’s perspective.  Probably one of the best low-budget indie films of all time.

Bloodsport – (1988) – 3.25 – Classic JCVD! Awesome manly movie. A real fun treat to watch.

Kickboxer – (1989) – 2.75 – Not as good at Bloodsport but fun training montages, and JCVD dance party

The Quest – (1995) – 2.75 – Very Slightly better than Kickboxer, as it has some epic martial arts battles.

Insomnia – (2001) – 3.75 – Chris Nolan film, handles the subjects of murder and insanity, well crafted film

The One I Love – (2014) – 3.75 – Very interesting film, if not for some crazy unexplained details, this would be a great one.

The Zero Theorum – (2014) – 2.5 – Interesting start, great Terry Gilliam World, but the big picture reveals itself muddled

The Conversation – (1974) – 3 – Solid Gene Hackman suspense film. Francis Ford Coppola directs.

The Hunt for Red October – (1990) – 4 – Probably the best of the Jack Ryan/Tom Clancy films. Sean Connery leads the excellent cast.

Croupier – (1998) – 3.25 – Interesting lead character in a non traditional setting of a Card dealer in a casino. Cheap ending.

Galaxy Quest – (1999) – 3.25 – Super fun fanservice film.   For trekkies and non trekkies alike.

Leon (The Professional) – (1994) – 5 – When people ask me what my favorite film of all time is, I tell them “Leon.”  From the artfully violent opening sequence, to the heart of relationship between mob hitman Leon, (Jean Reno) and newly orphaned 11-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman), to the brilliantly crazed crooked cop Stanzfield (Gary Oldman) this Luc Besson (Taken, The Fifth Element) project hits all the notes.  It is simply put one of the best movies of all time.

Moneyball – (2011) – 3.75 – Solid front office sports film. Also just a good business life lesson, a bit melodramatic.

Opportunity Knocks – (1990) – 3 – Personal Bias, Fun Chicago Dana Carvey Con Man Movie.

Be Kind Rewind – (2008) – 3 – The movie plot is fairly dumb but the brief movie parodies are awesome.

Little Caesar – (1931) – 3 – Very old school gangster film, classic acting but a fairly simply plot by today’s standards.

Whiplash – (2014) – 4.5 – This is my favorite movie of the year so far. JK Simmons is one of the best villains of all time. I often found myself bouncing in my seat or tapping my toe to all the drums and jazz.  It is a relatively simple plot that allows the strength of the direction and performances to shine very brightly.

Nightcrawler – (2014) – 4.5 – Very unique characters exacts his twisted vision of the American dream. One of the best of the year.

Blood Simple – (1980) – 4 – The first Coen Bros movie is one of their best. I have to think it was a very meta dark comedy for its time.

Cheap Thrills – (2014) – 2.5 – If you were having a rough stretch of luck what dumb shit would you do for money….depressing things.

13 Sins – (2014) – 2.75 – Similar to cheap thrills but with more sinister game show-y overlords

Blue Ruin – (2014) – 3 – Decent indie revenge film.   For an unrealistic premise the film, the film is portrayed with a great sense of realism and fragility.

Deepstar 6 – (1989) – 1 – Horrible creature feature starring Lloyd Brown from Seinfeld, Serenity Now this bullsh#t sucks

Warrior – (2012) – 3.5 – Crazy dual Rocky storylines with two brothers and an alcoholic dad. Nick Nolte is great in this.

Gone Girl – (2014) – 3.5 – Very interesting film, good not great.  The plot itself is well crafted and very involving.  Thus, it deserves the extra run-time to express its details.  However this pulls away from the adding the extra touches of depth to character, and the 3rd act was too abrupt and unsatisfying.

Red Dawn – (1984) – 3.5 – Classic WWIII teenage guerilla warriors movie. A bit cheesy but still great. WOLVERINES!!

Hard Target – (1993) – 1.5 – This movie would get 0 stars if it wasn’t so hilariously bad.  It’s about rich people who pay to hunt bums in New Orleans.  A ridiculous amount of ridiculous makes this movie a laugh after laugh.  Wilford Brimley, (The “diabetes” guy) plays JCVD’s Cajun uncle…..priceless.