Movie Reviews By Movie Reviews Pro

A Serious Man

Rating:

Movie: A Serious Man (2009)

Studio: Studio Canal

Info: Click Here

Runtime: 105 min

Website : filminfocus.com/a_serious_man

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xadxvj

Review:

The Coens appear to be in overdrive at present, spitting out cinematic gems with phenomenal speed and style. From the intimidating and enigmatic No Country for Old Men to the anarchic and whimsical Burn After Reading, there appears to be no end to their ability to redefine both themselves and, in the process, American cinema. A Serious Man is no exception.

The story focuses on the seemingly mundane life of Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a neurotic college professor with a domineering wife, two self-obsessed kids and an idiot-savant brother. Gopnik is a man who likes to live his life with precision and regularity – he is after all a mathematician. However, when the unexpected begins to muscle its way into the cosy but dysfunctional life he has created for himself, the good professor quickly starts to unravel.

Cue his cheating wife and her nauseating but hilarious suitor; cue the son who spends his time finding ways to raise cash to buy marijuana and Santana albums; cue the temptingly sexy neighbour who likes to sunbathe naked in her back yard. In search of a way to overcome his troubles, Gopnik visits a series of Rabbis, two of which offer pretty much useless advice (but the second of which provides the Coens with the opportunity to deliver one of their most dazzling cinematic sequences yet). The third, and allegedly wisest, Rabbi refuses however to see Gopnik, who becomes obsessed with the idea that, if he can just talk to the Rabbi, then his problems will be over. This desperate search for answers, as his marital and financial problems continue to mount, seems though to only lead to more questions.

Channelling the despairing spirit of The Big Lebowski’s German nihilists, A Serious Man carries forward the same brutal themes about the random nature and cruelty of life that were laid out so bleakly in No Country for Old Men. Tapping into their own Jewish upbringing, the Coens deftly manage to portray the rituals and traditions that people invent for themselves as both a perfectly worthy and a perfectly ridiculous way to spend their time. It’s as though they are saying, enjoy the show for now – but don’t forget that the big, bad wolf is waiting outside the door to devour you.

And yet, the way they tell you these cruel truths still makes you laugh and marvel at the beauty of it all.

-Paul Meade

Comedy, Drama, Family, In Theaters

Zombieland

Rating:

Movie: Zombieland (2009)

Studio : Pariah Films

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 80 min

Website : Zombieland

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbr8u3

Review:

It probably doesn’t help that I came into the theater already expecting it to be good because I’m a big Woody Harrelson fan, but to be frank I enjoyed Zombieland. To a point, at least.

Reese and Wernick’s zombiesploitation film features a classic scenario popularized from decades of undead films, comics, and internet memes: a virus gone bad, flesh-eating humanity, and a list of rules about what to do if you’re one of the living few. The result is a grindhousey romp through the U.S., and it is mostly successful, but there are two major faults that I must point out.

Jesse Eisenberg, who after this year’s Adventureland seems like another candidate for an Apatow film, isn’t strong enough to hold up this film as its leading role. While his pathetic demeanor provides premature laughs, he cannot seem to keep it up through the film beyond a funny run. Luckily, having Woody Harrelson seems to keep the film going along, as his buddy role as a zombie serial killer and Twinkie connoisseur is hilarious, right down to his facial expressions that not only tell you how pissed off he is, but how much he loves those yellow pastries.

The other fault lies in a midsection of the film involving Bill Murray’s mansion. I’m a big Murray fan, but at the same time I felt like the theme of surviving the apocalypse suddenly stopped at that point. In fact, every scene at that point has almost nothing to do with the apocalypse and more to do with teens doing whatever they want, at least until the climax. There’s so much potential you can cook up with a zombie-filled Hollywood, but it never gets considered and is instead replaced with Murray fandom and non-zombie things, and for such a short film it hurts the pace.

But that aside, it’s still relative fun to watch. I’m probably being partial because of Woody, but it’s definitely worth a group watch on DVD just because you can skip over that mansion scene.

-Donald Lee-

Action, Comedy, Horror, In Theaters Zombieland

Black Dynamite

Rating:

Movie: Black Dynamite (2009)

Studio : Destination Films

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 90 min

Website : Black Dynamite

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x80qe8

Review:

Blacksploitation is back, can you dig it? Michael Jai White and the entire blacksploitation genre jumps into action in this movie that parodies everything we loved and loved to hate about these cheaply made movies. The film is littered with visible defects that people have made careers picking at, from people looking at the camera, to awkward silences, misread lines, visible boom mics, and bad editing. Combine this with every cliché you associate with blacksploitation: from Black Panther movements, to martial arts bad guys, to a singing funkadelic narrator, to murdered drug-using brothers, to the white man bringing the black man down and you have everything Black Dynamite is about. It wouldn’t even be fair to say that Black Dynamite doesn’t jump the shark unless you say it does it wielding Colt 45s John Woo style to Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries as a synchronized team of great whites swim in concentric circles by a steam catapult-powered ramp. It goes above and beyond over-the-top with a vividly cheap budget and I can’t help but love the movie for it.

Although people will likely poke at the genre of the film and the inherent racism and sexism involved with it, I honestly was reminded of the days I watched Kentucky Fried Movie’s A Fist Full of Yen, where a parodied version of Bruce Lee movies and all its conventions accurately portrayed the Brucesploitation (yes, people actually use that term) back in the day. Even better, both movies not only understand their genre, but also were smart enough to never abuse this fact unless it was to throw another parody into it.

So if you have a chance, sit your butt down and remember: doughnuts don’t wear alligator shoes.

-Donald Lee-

Action, Comedy, In Theaters black dynamite

Tetro

Rating:

Movie: It’s Complicated (2009)

Studio : Universal Picture

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 120 min

Website : It`s Complicated

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbapxy

Review:

The movie is fun with a laid-back plot. It has some great moments and scenes and it is very well casted.

The story is about a woman named Jane, beautifully played by Meryll Streep . She is a mother of three young kids and runs a bakery for a living. She has been divorced for a long time but still has a strong friendship with her ex husband Jake, played by Alec Baldwin who is now married to a much younger woman. When Jane and Jake get together for their son’s convocation things start to get spicy and hot between them. After the ceremony they decide to meet up for a meal and this is when things take an about turn. They both start falling for each other once again.

Later in the movie Jane starts to become attracted to an architect Adam, played by Steve Martin. The two meet when Adam is given the task to renovate Jane’s kitchen. Adam who also is recently divorced starts showing his admiration for Jane but eventually finds himself lost in an old affair between Jane and Jake. It is a funny and innocent love story where Jane reconnects with her ex-husband and secretly meets up with him behind their children’s and partner’s back.

The movie is a light romantic comedy and as it starts proceeding it gets more exciting and complicated. John Krasinki has done a marvelous job and he has outperformed everyone. The best part of the movie was the scenes between Baldwin and Martin.

Streep looks amazing and does a wonderful job in the movie playing the role of a woman above the age of 40 who gets caught in the maze of love.

Although the movie is a little slow in the beginning you become absorbed in the story. It is a highly edged romantic comedy about love, divorce and relationships. If you are eager to watch something like that then you would really enjoy the movie. The movie is all about Jane and how her previous life takes over her present life. It can be a good way to feel love in the air once again.

-Donald Lee-

Comedy, In Theaters, Romance it`s complicated