Pretty much the best popcorn adventure movie I saw all year, though I don't see many of them, but I did see a few including the awful Pirates 4 and Captain America, so at least I have something off which to base my opinions. Tom Cruise is good here as the lead and his supporting cast gets the job done. Obviously you have to suspend reality to watch this type of movie, but my major complaint comes from the absurdly over-the-top sequences when people get hit int he head multiple times by concrete and metal and seemingly never have so much as a headache. I am willing to enjoy an action movie for what it is, but when a guy drops 40 feet off a moving car parking machine and slams into a substance that looks harder than diamond and gets up and keeps fighting, it is slightly off putting.
**** out of 5
*Note: I have a full length review of this film available if you are interested (email me at mattsci@hotmail.com if you'd like me to send it to you, otherwise it will be posted in full at a later date on a different website)
Gary Oldman is simply awesome as an aging MI6 agent forced out of his position only to be called back, unofficially a year later to help dig up info about a potential mole at the top of The Circus working for the Russians. A bit difficult to follow at times but beautifully shot and one not to be missed.
**** and 1/2 out of 5
I suppose if you are a girl of any age or a sentimentally prone to crying guy you'll enjoy this over the top Spielberg production. I contend this film was shot specifically to pull at your heart strings and see if you will fall in love with the story of a boy and his horse, as preposterous as the story can be and as long winded and plot-lessly defined as it is... Try not to fall asleep because the cinematography is actually amazing!
** out of 5
*Note: I have a full length review of this film available if you are interested (email me at mattsci@hotmail.com if you'd like me to send it to you, otherwise it will be posted in full at a later date on a different website)
David Fincher remakes a Swedish film from 2 years ago based on a series of popular novels and doesn't quite make as good a production of it as the original, but he comes close. A trippy opening sequence is worth the price of admission as Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross give us a very cool score throughout. Daniel Craig doesn't quite work for me as Michael Blomkvist and Roony Mara is no Noomi Rapace from the original, but Fincher is a gifted director and he is able to make this a solid experience.
**** out of 5
How many silent films have you seen? I suggest you make this your first, then. It takes about 15 minutes to adjust your brain but once you fall in line you'll find a truly wonderful picture which will certainly win awards this year, even though it is obvious Oscar bait, and that's ok, because the performances in here are far and away top notch. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll do it all while trying to be silent so as not to disturb those around you.
***** out of 5
*Note - I intend to do a long review of this film in the near future. Email me at mattsci@hotmail.com if you are interested in receiving the final piece.
Michael Shannon is amazing. He really is one of the best actors of our generation and I love that he takes on so many smaller projects. Take Shelter is the story of a man slipping into madness, but trying to keep it together and keep his family together. In small town mid-America the impending doom of storms haunts this man, whether real or imagined, and in building out a storm shelter in the back yard he pushes his career and his family to the brink of insanity. A truly remarkable performance in a very realistic setting, this is one of the very best films of the year.
***** out of 5
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