Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Twelve Monkeys

Year: 1995
Starring: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt
Directed By: Terry Gilliam
Run Time: 129 Min
Rating: R

     What would you think if I said Monty Python and the Holy Grail in relation to this movie?  I'll get back to that later.  Just some food for thought.  12 Monkeys is what I call an apocalyptic film; in which it shows what our future could be like if certain events were to occur.  I am a big fan of these films for some reason; I like to concept and the creativity that people come up with to how the world will end.  I am not a pessimist nor do I believe any of them could happen (more on that in later posts) but this falls into that category. 
     Bruce Willis plays a character who seems to be in some sort of prison, and has committed a crime that we know nothing about.  Prisoners are chosen at random to go up the the surface of the Earth and to collect data to see if humans can go back to the surface.  A deadly virus was released in 1997, and caused humans to have to go under ground.  5 billion (5,000,000,000) people were killed; and the quest for retaking the planet from the animals is upon the future race of man.  This movie is a little unique in which it seems in the near future (from today) we will have an understanding of time travel, and have the capability to send someone through time, and retrieve them, but without very great accuracy.
     I liked this movie because it took a lot of different aspects and molded it into one.  Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Reality and absolute fantasy.  I touched on a couple of those, but lets look at the reality.  To think that one day in the future, and deranged lunatic animal lover could release a toxic chemical in the air that kills a lot of humans, isn't really all that far fetched.  Think about it... People are already crazed about animal rights and not eating anything that casts a shadow (name that quote) so is it really hard to believe that someone would do that?  In my eyes, no.  But lets be honest, it is completely improbably, but not impossible.  Back to the movie, Brad Pitt costars, as a crazed wild man who is the Creator of the 12 Monkeys group in which Bruce Willis is sent back in time to stop.  I will not give away the film like most critics do, but it does have a twist ending, and does give you a sense that Brad Pitt isn't that bad of an actor.
     All in all, I would give this movie maybe 6 to 7 monkeys (out of 12), possibly 8.  It was creative, and well made, but not really a movie that you would watch over and over again.  Surprisingly it is ranked on the IMDb top 250 at #175, right after "The Grapes of Wrath" and before "Casino".  Not a bad one to maybe rent one night if you are into a different Sci-Fi movie for the night.  Bruce Willis performance is worth the rent, as well as Pitt's.
     Back to my first question, watch this movie, then tell me if you really think that this director is the same as the guy who directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  You don't see many directors jump around in genre that much do you?

Again, feel free to post comment and let me know what you thought of the movie!

TMBro

Friday, September 24, 2010

Dan In Real Life

Year: 2007
Starring: Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche
Directed By: Peter Hedges
Run Time: 98 Min
Rating: PG-13

      My original plan was to go through my movie collection in order starting with numbers.  So that didn't work, but recently I have been watching Dan in Real Life almost every night.  "Why?" you might ask?  Because it is a great night time movie, if you like to listen to movies or music while you sleep, this movie is one that I will rate up there.
     The story is centered around Dan (Carell) who is a writer of a column in which he answers questions about parenting.  He is the father of three daughter, wife had died, leaving him with raising his daughters.  He has a 17 year old daughter, a 14-15 year old daughter we can assume, and a younger daughter who is in the 4th grade.  It is clear within the opening credits that he is a protective father and is a very conservative parent. For any man out there that watches this movie, we can all relate if we have a daughter (ever).
     The story follows the life of Dan, a man in struggles with his life since the passing of his wife.  He has given up on love and has only cared for his daughters.  He is going on a weekend trip up to Rhode Island, where he meets his family.  He meets a lovely lady (Binoche) and finds what he has given up on for so long.  In a twist we find out that she is his brother's (Dane Cook) new prize girlfriend.  The entire movie is about the awkward situation and tension between Dan and Marie.  Without revealing to much, in the end, Dan contradicts his teaching to his daughters, and goes after the girl.  Happily ever after.
     I liked this movie, not just because it is great for at night, but because it has subtle humor and situation that will make you laugh.  The underlying message, love will find you.  There are other messages that we should ignore like stealing your brothers girl friend, and teaching your daughter it is okay to love after knowing someone for three days.  Regardless, this movie is very enjoyable and has a great, great soundtrack.  All songs are recorded by singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche.  If you don't like anything about this movie, you should at least enjoy the soundtrack.
      Overall, I give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars.  Considering I have not yet determined my rating system, I will go with stars for now.  Carell is great in this role and plays the moderately depressed, highly protective, subtle comedian that we can all get behind and laugh with, not at.  Along with his supporting cast, this movie is a good one, give it a chance.

Enjoy the movie!

TMBro


Introduction

Hey Friends

Today will be the first post for my site, "The Movie Bro" which will eventually move out of blog world and into its own domain.  Here, I will start my process of reviewing my entire movie collection.  This will include every thing I own, and those that I rent on Netflix.  Most of my movies most of you have seen, and I am sure most of you will not read reviews for older movies, but my intent is to give you a new perspective and critic review of movies.  I hope that in time, you will come to read my posts daily, and to comment about them, and leave your own input.  I will be more then happy to reply to your comments.

Here is my first question for all you:

What rating system should use?  Stars seem a bit out dated and over used, what do you guys think I should use?

Kevin D.
The Movie Bro