Primal Fear: (1996) Richard Gere and Edward Norton

(trailer at end of review)

Summery:

Courtroom Drama: This 1996 movie stars Richard Gere as a flamboyant Chicago defense attorney who volunteers his services when a stray teenager from Kentucky (played by Edward Norton) who had become an altar boy in Chicago is charged with the murder of a Catholic archbishop.

Good:

1. Great acting, especially by Edward Norton. Norton was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won a Golden Globe Award in the same category for his career-launching role.

2. Gere is good too.  And I also especially liked Frances McDormand (the actress that played the pregnant cop in Fargo) who played a psychiatrist in this movie.

3. Good pace. I thought in my recent viewing that it started out slow, and seemed dated. But as the main story emerged things started moving faster, and complexities to the story seemed reasonable: sleazy lawyer, sleazy characters who run city government and sleazy church leaders all playing with the life of an inncocent ( as all are until proven guilty) young man. As Gere's character telling says at one point: "Why gamble with money when you can gamble with people's lives? "

4. If you think about this movie, it really makes you think.

5. It takes place in Chicago. (Always a plus with this reviewer.)


BAD:

1. For me the relationship with the city attorney trying the case (played by Laura Linney) and Gere's character was cliche,  Linney didn't have the lines she needed to round out her character.

In essence she is a good character with a job that she tries to perform with integrity. Neither her boss or her opponent (her former boss and lover) show any integrity.She is being played by everyone - yet she comes out as looking like the real bad guy.

Other reviewers opinion:

Primal Fear garnered positive reviews from critics, earning a 72% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes

My Judgement 4/5
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Rated R for brief grisly violence, pervasive strong language and a sex scene


Think about this after watching the movie:

How does the title relate to the film?

In the end does the boy get the correct sentence?

Trailer



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The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Movie Review

Movie quick summery:
Convicted in the late 1940s for the murder of his wife and her lover, banker  played by Tim Robbins is thrown into jail at the Shawshank penitentiary in Maine for two consecutive life sentences. In prison he meets and befriends another lifer, played by Morgan Freeman, who teachs him how to survive in prison.


The Good:1. The movie has excellent acting, excellent cinematography, and great music. Its one of those roller coasters of emotion movies that in the end leaves you feeling good.

2.  One of the best book to film transitions ever.

Stephen King's  may be best known for his horror writing but this is not horror. The movies success starts with the brilliant Steven King novel that it was based on ""Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption"". You can find the novella in a 1982 King collection, ""Different Seasons"", along with a story, ""The Body,"" that became the basis for the another top notch movie the1986 smash ""Stand by Me"".

3. It celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

The Bad:
1. Bad title.

2. It is a prison melodrama, and it does contain violence, and suggest some horrible things - so if your not into that be forewarned...but at the same time it also contains almost no action.

It's not a simple feel good movie- there is a good deal of  brutality in it. As one of the characters explains: " this is no fairy tale world."

3. Some critics have felt that the movie is a little too sentimental, and a little two long (142 minutes).

It is about a 20 year friendship between two men in a prison (in my opinion). In telling that story the narrative highlights the memorable moments. The film is also about long-term imprisonment. The movie is not driving towards it's conclusion. A lot happens, and the film just seems to amble confidently along like the film's main character. The conclusion comes about as just another story among other stories. The story teller just saves the best story for last.

The Bottom Line:
It can be as much a spiritual experience as it is a simple movie.

I remember reading a review about the movie when it came out where the reviewer was upset that the ending was too clarified.WOW - I found it- Washington Post September 23, 1994: "" And leave it to pandering, first-time director Frank Darabont to ensure no audience member leaves this film unsure of the ending. Heaven forbid a movie should end with a smidgen of mystery!"
No one I have ever talked to has felt that way about this movie- just the opposite, they have theorized about what this film means ...is it an disguised story of Jesus?...a simple tale of friendship?...a tale of corruption?...a lecture on faith and 'holding on'?...or is the main character not who we think it to be for 3/4 of the film? ... and what really is the redemption?

Extra Information:
The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards (including best picture), 2  Golden Globes, USA, 2 Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Awards - and didn't win any.

The original movie did not do well in theaters. But once released on video it became recognized. The Wall Street Journal ran an article about how the video version ""Shawshank"" groundswell in April 1999, at the time it was occupying first place in the Internet Movie Database worldwide vote of the 250 best films; it's usually in the top five.
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Director: Frank Darabont
Writers: Stephen King (short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption"), Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and Bob Gunton

Elite Squad 2 (2010) review

~I am writing this on the night of the Academy Awards (Kings Speech wins best picture.)


I have just watched one of the best movies I have ever seen- Elite Squad 2 (2010).


I had refrained from watching this, though I thought Elite Squad (2007) was brilliant- because I find that most often the sequels are lacking the intensity of the original (think Matrix). This movie is better in my opinion than the excellent original (you need not see the first to fully appreciate this movie -this movie stands on it's own.)


I watch a lot of movies and review very few. Time is limited. To be a movie `critic' does not necessarily mean that you need to criticize a movie. I try to review movies that I like.


(The reason I watched this movie had everything to do with the reviews on the Internet Movie Data Base http://www.imdb.com/ .)


Brazil put the film "Lulu, the son of Brazil" - up to represent the country at the Academy Awards, and why not push for a positive depiction of your country with a rags to riches story? --" The true story of a working class boy who moves to the nation's financial capital at a young age and becomes one the most influential politician in Brazil's history." I have not seen that movie yet. the movie did not get selected as one of the five in consideration for the award. "In a Better World"  from Denmark won, which was a huge upset for critic favorite Biutiful, which hailed from Mexico


Elite Squad 2 is much more `intense' than it's predecessor ( by the same director). It, like its predecessor, is described as an "action, crime, drama, thriller". And it succeeds in all those areas.


The IMDB gave the movie "Kings Speech" (based on collected criteria) an 8.4. And this sequal " Elite Squad 2-   an 8.6. 


It might be possible to argue, that as an United States citizen that I cannot fully understand the psychological depth of this movie. I would have to agree. But for me, because of how well it was .. choreographed --the film transcended it's location - and simply was a great film.


However it for some was more than just a `movie'. There are references in other reviews that it was almost a `truthful' documentary about the state of affairs in Brazil. It definitely touched in the pulse of that country= "about 11.1 million paying viewers made Elite Squad 2  the most seen movie in Brazilian cinema history. It also became the highest-grossing film of all time in Brazil, beating Avatar(2009)'s record."


Consider this review: 

"I saw the film in its world premiere in Paulinia, São Paulo. 1,500 people in the audience. Perhaps, 1/3 industry members and 2/3 non-industry members. It was a collective catharsis, I only remember a group experience of the same intensity watching Crouching Tiger in its Cannes premiere. 

The audience applauded the film five times, the last a standing ovation." 

(Emphasis mine)

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So what is it all about? No spoiler.


A man, who is the leader, of what we in the US would call SWAT, is involved in a prison uprising that gets out of control. He is the narrator of the film. He is divorced. He has a young son. His wife has remarried a very left wing professor . The two major social problems (the plot of the movie) that the government seeks, through its police to eradicate, are drug dealers and arms dealers. 


With that short scenario you can predict both violence and emotional conflicts, which the movie provides.


The director and writer of the film José Padilha has made several documentaries- thus there certainly, in my opinion- at times, a documentary feeling  within the film (though not boring). Padilha  studied business studies, politics and economics in Rio de Janeiro, followed by English literature and international politics in Oxford.


The star is Wagner Moura  who seems to me as an unlikely choice, but who he makes his role work (he is also the narrator of the movie) by his personal intensity.

--

How does it end? - Open, in my opinion, for further development, ( I hope so) but not necessarily. It is a full movie, and what I here consider a possible open ending, might actually be to let the future of the story be considered by the viewer.

Review: Love and Other Drugs with Anne Hathaway & Jake Gyllenhaal

(No spoiler review)

The movie Love and Other Drugs, got mixed reviews - it also recieved two Golden Globe nominations: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Jake Gyllenhaal  & Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Anne Hathaway. 

This movie could be classified as a quirky comedy, a love story/melodrama, a guy's flick with college fratboy humor, and a corporate commentary. {Note: Part of the movie is based on  the book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman" by author Jamie Reidy, himself a former Pfizer sales rep, }

This hodgepodge of thematic areas that the film covers does make it a bit uneven, but it is not confusing. The thing that reviewers call the `tone' of the movie shifts quite a bit. And like most `serious films' it tries to be emotionally manipulative. (It's success in that department depends on the viewer). There is plenty of nudity from the leads -(Hathaway's breast and Gyllenhaal's but) and both fit into the category John Lennon would call: "beautiful people."

The director Edward Zwick is  better known for his action movies movies that include `The Last Samurai (2003)', `Defiance',  `Blood Diamond', `Glory', and  `Legends Of The Fall'.

 From a technical perspective the filming itself is great. The story-line however seems chopped - as though there are obvious missing scenes. 

Personally I found the actors playing the secondary characters lacking. Oliver Platt, who plays Jamie's sales manager, for me was too boring. Josh Gad, who plays the Jamie's little brother was just wrong. Here, I mean, that the actor selection was ineffective - and changing those two actors could have greatly improved the film.

The basic synopsis of the movie is:  a smart guy who is the black sheep of a successful family becomes a pharmaceutical salesman (Gyllenhaal). His (first) product is the anti-depressant Zolof, and he is trying to break into a market dominated by Prozac. (This is historically accurate. And a certain `deepness' in the film begins - because the second drug in the anti-depressant game has less side effects. But the first drug has a strong foothold that is held by the practice of `bribing' doctors) . Using bribery himself (Gyllenhaal), has a chance meeting with Maggie (Hathaway).  After events, I won't spoil, they  `hook-up'. 

It is at this juncture that a moment (in my opinion) that this great movie dialogue comes:

Maggie Murdock: What's your game? 

Jamie Randall: My game? 

Maggie Murdock: Oh I'm sorry. Right. This is the part where we talk about where we come from and what we majored in in college. 

Jamie Randall: : You have beautiful eyes. 

Maggie Murdock: That's it? That's the best you got? 

Jamie Randall:  I'm serious. They're beautiful. 

Maggie Murdock: Let's go. 

Jamie Randall:  Excuse me? 

Maggie Murdock: You want to close right? You want to get laid? 

Jamie Randall:  Now? 

Maggie Murdock:: Oh right, right, right. I'm supposed to act like I don't know if it's right. So then you tell me that there is no right or wrong. It's just the moment. And then I tell you that I can't while actually signalling to you that I can, which you don't need because you're not really listening. Because this isn't about connection for you. This isn't even about sex for you. This is about finding an hour or two of relief from the pain of being you. And that's fine with me, see, because all I want is the exact same thing. 

I admit that I do not watch many so called comedies, chic flicks, or romance films.  I admit also to finding the line: "This is about finding an hour or two of relief from the pain of being you"; disturbingly right on- and one the reasons I watch films. 

If you are prone to contemplating `deeper meanings and connections' and `ying/yang opposition and interdependent correlatives' this film offers food for those type of thoughts, 

In conclusion - perfect or great  this film is not. Watch-able and intellectually `prodding' (as in "isn't it interesting that..") it is. 

I admit that I have never seen Broakback Mountain white Gyllenhaal and Hathaway. I admit also that I am biased by the fact that Gyllenhaal's early film `Donnie Darko' is a favorite.

In the end I give it thumbs up - 7/10 - Paul Grant (follower of Basho)

One reviewer wrote:  

"I get that a lot of people think this is just a super cheesy movie. I actually felt the same way when I first saw the trailer, and thought it was just another 'Friends With Benefits' or 'No Strings Attached'. Truth is that this movie does have a lot more going for it than just comedy or cheese. I actually cried in this movie, and was greatly amused by the jokes. The actors have chemistry, the dialogue is good. It was a good movie. Don't think this trailer shows the whole move. Trust me.... It actually doesn't."

TRAILER:

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