A Beautiful Mind

John Nash is brilliant. Grossly understated, I know... He is a genius. He is quick with numbers. He got a full-ride scholarship to Princeton. But boy, is he awkward. He can't even breathe the right way around women... But that's beside the point.


His first day at Princeton could be better. He has a roommate that annoys him to high heavens, he's not exactly as 'upper class' as most of his classmates, and, like I said, he's an awkward person.

Things start to change when he comes up with a brilliant new idea...a discovery that brought him to the brink of international acclaim. He was given the world on a silver platter after that. He got so much attention, even the government noticed him...

That's when things got messy.

The government asked John to help him break some codes and secret messages that they believed the Soviets were planting in magazines and newpapers. He works feverishly, hiding his work from his coworkers, friends, and his girlfriend. Even after they are married, he doesn't tell her anything that's going on.

Nash begins to get paranoid. Then, a shocking discovery is made that completely changes his life forever...

I loved this movie. It was EXCELLENT. The plot was twisted and amazing and the surprise at the end is unforgettable. I absolutely loved it.

Russel Crowe was astounding. His 'Best Actor' Oscar was clearly deserved. Ed Harris, also, did awesome. Jennifer Connelly did well...Heck, they ALL did well!!

Awesome script. Awesome acting. Awesome plot. However...

THERE WERE SO MANY CONTINUITY ERRORS I WANTED TO CRY. Also, SEVERAL factual errors...there's no ceremony of the pens at Princeton! Alfred Nobel's name is spelled 'NOBEL' not 'NOBLE'!

4 and a half stars.

The Pianist

Wladyslaw Szpilman is the most accomplished pianist in Poland...maybe even the most accomplished pianist in Europe. He plays for Warsaw Radio and greatly enjoys what he does. But when the Germans take over Poland, several anti-Jewish laws go into effect. First, all Jews are required to wear a special patch to identify themselves...then they are forced to move into the infamous Warsaw Ghetto...then they are forced into deportation to death camps.

'The Pianist' is the story of how Wladyslaw escapes deportation becomes a Jewish refugee. In hiding, he witnesses the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the Warsaw City Revolt in August/October 1944. He eventually must hide in the sorrowful ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto when the city of Warsaw is torn to bits by the Germans.
I
can't imagine being in Wladyslaw Szpilman's position...he was forced to watch his family be shipped away to their deaths while he was able to escape. He was forced into hiding, where he couldn't go outside or play the piano. Being a pianist, myself, I can't go for a day without playing, much less four years. It made me sick to watch the Germans torture and kill the Jews -- there was one instance where some Germans raided an apartment across the street from where the Szpilmans were living. Inside the apartment lived an old man in a wheel chair. They took him and threw him over the side of the balcony of the apartment, and of course, he fell to his death. This and many other horrific displays of cruelty were shown throughout the film.

I loved 'The Pianist'. It was definitely difficult to watch the cruelty that man is capable of, but it was excellent. Adrian Brody deserved his Oscar...he was absolutely stunning. I also liked the actors who played his mother and father. You only see them for the first 20 minutes or so, but they do a fabulous job each time they appeared on screen. They camera work was very, very good, and I loved how they depicted the Warsaw Ghetto -- it was exactly as I had imagined it.

5 stars.

Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal Lecter is a sick, deranged, psychopathic madman. He is a former psychiatrist and serial killer who cannibalized his victims. Held under heavy surveillance and security at the baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He is brilliant, cunning, and most of all, psychotic.

Clarice Starling is a young FBI trainee who is asked to help in the case of a serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, who skins his victims. She is sent to interview Dr. Lecter to find out more about how the minds of serial killers work so that the FBI can get more clues on how to catch Buffalo Bill. Hannibal agrees to talk with her only if she will feed his morbid curiosity with details about her own life.

As time goes on, Clarice finds out more and more about how the Hannibal and Buffalo Bill are connected. But the FBI is running out of time...the daughter of a well-known politician has been kidnapped by Buffalo Bill, and according to the research of the FBI, they have three days before she is killed and skinned.

GREAT movie!! I, personally, find it fascinating from a psychological point of view. Hopkins delivered a creepy performance, and though it was more thanks to brilliant camera work rather than acting, he won a well-deserved Oscar. Jodie Foster was very good, as well, and her Oscar was well-deserved, also.

5 stars. 5 Oscars isn't nearly enough credit for this film.

Phone Booth

Stuart Shepard is a slick New York publicist who has a knack for dishonesty. He flirts with young, impressionable clients while he is married, he lies to get his way, he makes promises he knows he can't keep, only to lie his way out of those, as well.

Every day around lunch time, Stuart calls Pam, a particularly attractive young woman who's hoping that Stuart can get her noticed. On this particular day, he hangs up the phone, only to have it ring. He picks it up and hears a chilling voice at the other end of the line, telling him that unless he gives in to the demands set before him, disastrous consequences would occur. Thinking it was just some lame psycho who sits at home with nothing better to do than terrorize people, Stuart blows him off, but then things start to happen. The person on the other end seems to know a lot more than he should...like where Stu lives, where his wife works, Pam's cell number...also, the little red light from a sniper rifle right in the middle of Stu's chest proves that the man on the other end isn't kidding when he says that Stu will be killed if he hangs up.

It turns out that the man on the other line is an extreme moralist...he's noticed Stuart's habits and believes very strongly that his dishonesty is wrong. He slowly and painfully forces Stuart to reveal his sins not only to his wife, but to the world...on pain of death. It reminded me of a book I read by Ted Dekker where the main character keeps getting threatening phone calls and if he doesn't 'confess his sin' something bad will happen.

'Phone Booth' was...ok. I guess it really could have been better. Kiefer Sutherland delivered a brilliant performance as the moral extremist, and Colin Farrell did a good job, too, but the story wasn't all there. No matter how good the actors are, I don't think anyone could have made this one fly. It was just weird. Not much scenery or camera work were involved, because the entire story took place on one city block, but for such a setting, it was all done well. They didn't use very many of the same shots twice, which made it more interesting to watch.

3 stars. Meh. I still love you, Kiefer.

Troy

'Troy'...a marvelous adaptation of Homer's epic poem. This film tells the famous story of the brutal war and proves that long after the men involved were dead and turned to dust, their names and stories live on, no matter how twisted by myth and legend their real stories became.

The movie starts out in a time of peace. The Spartans and the Trojans are celebrating a newfound peace agreement and alliance of sorts. Things get complicated, however, when the 'oh-so-smart' Trojan prince, Paris, (who is played by the oh-so-nauseating Orlando Bloom) decides to have an affair with the Spartan king's wife and take her with him across the sea back to Troy.

Of course, all of Sparta is outraged and takes off in their ginormous fleet across the sea after the Trojans. Lead by the greedy Agamemnon, the Spartans are sure to win, if only they can get the help of Achilles, who is rumored to be partly immortal. The only problem is, Achilles is more interested in getting laid than serving under Agamemnon, whom he despises. Achilles is eventually convinced by his mother to go to war and be remembered rather than have a peaceful life and be forgotten.

Hector, Paris's brother, goes to work immediately to prevent any consequences of his brother's retarded actions. Of course, the peace talks are virtually non-existant, and the Trojans have no choice but to go to war with the Spartans.

I liked this movie a lot. Eric Bana, Brad Pitt, and yes, even Orlando Bloom, have excellent chemistry on screen and react well to the events and dialogue. The script was well written, the camera wrk was amazing, and I must say that the scenery was astounding.

I can't say much for the movie's histrical accuracy... For example, the Trojan War is said to have taken place over several years, and this movie made it seem like it took a few weeks at most. Characters that die in the poem live in the movie and characters that shouldn't die in the movie live in the poem. But, despite the many historical and continuity mistakes, I can say that this movie made for excellent entertainment.

4 and a half stars. I am a sucker for continuity, and this movie did not have it.

Crash

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen...and it's also the hardest to do a review on.

There's no concrete storyline. It's about a bunch of people who live in Los Angeles who don't know each other, but they all interect with each other in several different ways throughout the two days in which the movie takes place.

So in order to do an accurate review for this movie, I'll have to give character descriptions and you'll have to watch the movie to see how these come into play.

The Cast: a black police detective with a drugged out mother and a thieving younger brother, two car thieves who are constantly theorizing on society and race, the distracted district attorney and his irritated and pampered wife, a racist veteran cop (caring for a sick father at home) who disgusts his more idealistic younger partner, a successful black Hollywood director and his wife who must deal with racist cop, a Persian-immigrant father who buys a gun to protect his shop, the Persian-immigrants daughter who tries her hardest to keep her father from killing someone on the fly, a Hispanic locksmith and his young daughter who is afraid of bullets

One thing they all have in common: They are all affected by the racial issues in America today. The DA of LA (played by Brendon Fraser) wants the black vote but doesn't think he can get it because he feels that he comes across as too unconcerned and too concerned with race at the same time ('cause that makes sense...). When his car is stolen from him and his wife (Sandra Bullock) at gunpoint, his wife freaks out on every person who has a different shade of skin than herself, causing much tension. The locksmith who was changing the locks on her home happens to be a Hispanic who she makes discriminatory comments against. He's an honest man who has a wife and daughter who care very much for him, and he for them. Then you have the thieves that stole the DA's car...one of them is fairly down-to-earth, yet he's retarded for sticking around with the other loser who takes everything as discrimination. Then you have the racist cop...when the report comes in that the DA's car has been stolen, he and his non-racist partner pull a similar vehicle over, knowing the entire time that this is not, in fact, the stolen vehicle. When he sees that the driver and passenger are not pasty white with blonde hair and blue eyes he pulls them over. He majorly violates the female passenger, whose husband sits and looks on helplessly...he doesn't want to cross a racist cop.

OK...maybe this isn't going to work. I've only described about 4 characters and I'm just not doing the movie justice. There is no way to tell you the full synopsis of this movie. You just have to see it.

The acting is phenomonal!! Sandra Bullock was awesome and I didn't know Ludacris was so gifted in his acting (I haven't seen 2 Fast 2 Furious, so maybe I should check that out). I always enjoy watching Brendon Fraser and I really liked the man who played the locksmith (his name escapes me at the moment...). There were maybe 2 continuity issues in the entire film and no continuity problems makes me happy.

The movie deals with heavy racial discrimination and the effects it has on everyone. It's a challenging film to watch, but it is one that everyone should see. It's probably not a film you should sit your 6-year-old down to watch, but all who deal with these issues should definitely see this movie. Whether your a victim or an offender or even just a bystander, racism affects us all, and 'Crash' shows that full well.

5 stars. Wow.

Firewall

Jack Stanfield is a successful security specialist who has designed a highly complicated security system for Landrock Pacific Bank. He lives with his wife and two children in New York.

When an eager young businessman shows interest in the system, Jack thinks he's making the deal of a lifetime...but it turns out that the businessman is really a criminal mastermind named Bill Cox who is set on stealing millions of dollars from LPB. Holding Jack and his family hostage, he instructs Jack to give in to his every demand or the consequences will be severe.

For several days, Cox dictates Jack's every move. He has him under audio and video surveillance at his office and has set one of his goons on him to make sure he doesn't make any 'detours' between work and home. Bill and his team are holed up in the Stanfield's home and keeping them under lock and key.

Looking to protect his family, Jack cooperates with Cox, but every move he makes further incriminates him and every moment that passes brings him and his family closer to almost inevitable demise.

When Jack turns the tables on Cox, the stakes are higher than ever and the Stanfield family is in extreme danger...will he succeed?

Of course he will...he's played by Harrison Ford. Ford always wins. Except in 'What Lies Beneath'...

Overall, it was a very good film. Obviously it was very high-energy and very suspensful, which seems to be a specialty of Harrison Ford. The script was well-written and the storyline was interesting, which made up for the many holes in the plot. The fighting choreography was AWESOME and I liked the villain. The camera work was unremarkable but it wasn't bad.

I liked it...I'd suggest seeing on the big screen.

4 and a half stars.

Kingdom of Heaven

It's 1184...a young blacksmith named Balian (played by Orlando Bloom) has just lost his wife and child to what is suspected to be suicide. The Cursades are raging in the East, and Balian is perfectly content to go about his miserable existence. Then Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) rides through his village and tells Balian a most shocking secret...that he is really Balian of Ibelin, Godfrey's son. Balian is given the choice to go with Godfrey and fight the Lord's fight in Jerusalem or go about the rest of his life in complete misery. Scared that his wife's soul is being tormented in Hell for her sin of suicide, he goes with Godfrey in an attempt to redeem her soul.

When their camp is attacked, Godfrey is almost certainly doomed to die. In his final moments, he asks Balian to swear a most solemn oath: to protect the helpless, safeguard the peace, protect the king, and work toward harmony between religions and cultures, so that a kingdom of heaven can be established on Earth.

Balian takes his oath very seriously. He is soon promoted to a very high place under the king in Jerusalem much to the dismay of the king's sister's husband (Guy de Lusignan), who is almost certainly going to be king when the current king (Baldwin IV), who has leprosy, passes away. Guy wants a war and will do anything to get one.

Inevitably, Baldwin dies and Guy de Lusignan assumes the throne along with Sibylla, Baldwin's sister. With the help of Baldwin's advisor, Tiberias (Jeremy Irons!!!), Balian does his best to keep peace and order in Jerusalem while Guy marches off to war and almost certain death against Saladin, a powerful and greatly feared Muslim military leader. When Guy's army is lost, Saladin's armies march on Jerusalem. Can Balian defend a city whose spirit is distorted with despair and whose walls are crumbling to the ground?

Find out.

This movie was good. I must confess, the only reason I watched it was because Jeremy Irons was in it. Then again, the only reason I didn't watch it was because Orlando Bloom was in it (hopefully you have enough brain power to figure that one out...). As always, Bloom drove me NUTS, but I gotta say, he did OK. Jeremy Irons had little presence in the movie, but he did well :) I really liked the actor who played Baldwin (Edward Norton), even though you never saw his face since his character was a leper. Since his face was always hidden behind a mask, he had to boost his abilities up a couple of notches to give a quality performance, and truly, he came through.

I really like that both the Muslims and the Christians were portrayed as victims and aggressors. One was not favored above the other, and both had issues and triumphs. Though I can't say it was very accurate historically, it made for good entertainment.

The one major issue I had with the movie was character development. I really wanted more information on Godfrey since he was killed off so quickly. I hate to say it, but I really didn't care that Godfrey was killed. Sure, it's Liam Neeson, and I'm always sad when he dies in films, but with Godfrey as a character, I was not affected in the slightest by his death.

And, ok, fine, I admit it...Orlando Bloom did good. For him, anyway.

4 and a half stars. Look closely...there are some orange construction cones directing the horses and riders where to go in some of the battle scenes.

Die Hard 3: Die Hard with a Vengence

When the credits rolled for Die Hard 3, I sat up, muted the TV, put down the remote and exhaled for the first time since the first thirty seconds of the movie. It's highly intense and extremely well done, just like the two before it. However, I must say that this was my favorite of the three.

Once again, we join John McClane on another one of his wild adventures. This time, we're on his turf in New York City. On this particular day, John is on suspension for Lord knows what, but he's called in to the office when a department store is blown up downtown and the man who claims responsibility asks for John by name. The man claims to be 'Simon' and wants to 'play a game' of 'Simon Says'. The rules are that John must complete the tasks given him in the specified amount of time or there will be 'another big bang in a very public place.'

John must play Simon's deadly game as he races around New York City with Zeus, an unfortunate pawn shop owner who saved John's butt while he was trying to complete one of Simon's demands. Simon poses more and more puzzles and riddles, and for the most part, John and Zeus solve them.

John has no idea why Simon has chosen him to pick on, but he soon finds out that Simon is actually Simon Gruber, the brother of Hans Gruber. As you may recall, Hans Gruber is the sucker that John was forced to shove out a window on the 32nd story of Nakatomi Tower in Die Hard 1.

So John and Zeus are running around the Big Apple, racing against time to solve the puzzles Simon is posing. But there is a bigger plot underneath everything...it's not just vengence Simon wants.

This was an amazing film. I absolutely loved it. Bruce Willis does an excellent job, as always, and I have always loved Samuel L. Jackson, who played Zeus.

Side note: Jeremy Irons is officially the best villain in the history of film. There is no comparison. I can't believe I haven't heard more about him...the only other film I've seen with him in it is Lion King (where, surprise surprise, he played the villain). He should be some kind of Hollywood god...and I'm sure he is in the Euro-version of Hollywood, seeing as how he's in several European films. He's actually been in several films that made it big in the US, but he's been overshadowed b so many of the other stars in them that he went virtually unnoticed. Apparently, he's in Kingdom of Heaven, but I haven't seen that yet since I'm disgusted by Orlando Bloom. I guess I'll have to swallow my pride and watch it...for Jeremy, it's worth it.

5 stars. Yeah, it was super unrealistic, but DANG I loved it!!

Signs

I remember the first time I saw this movie...it was my thirteenth birthday. Four of my best friends and I went with my parents and brother to see it in the theaters. Then, I was scared spitless (OK, maybe not THAT scared, but it was an excuse to snuggle up to my then-boyfriend...). I really liked it despite how 'scared' I was.

Now that I'm older, it really doesn't scare me. It really takes a lot to scare me. I get startled easily, but it's been a while since I've had a good scare.

If you're looking for a scary movie, Signs isn't the best way to go, but if you're looking for a great thriller with a really well-put-together storyline, I would definitely suggest it.

Graham Hess lives with his brother and two children on a farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He is a former reverend who has wandered from the faith in light of his wife's recent death. One morning, he wakes up to his young daughter's screams and runs outside to find his two children standing in the middle of their corn field, which now sports a gigantic, 500 ft. wide crop circle. Graham, thinking it's a prank, calls the local police to investigate the strange signs in his field, but the circles are done too perfectly for a work of human hands. When similar crop circles pop up across the globe, the entire world begins to ask the classic question -- 'Are we alone?'

Stranger things begin to happen. Unidentified lights appear over several major cities, people report sightings of non-human creatures sneaking through their yards... Graham encounters them on two occasions, once in his field at home, and once more at the home of the man who killed his wife.

After the second encounter, he prepared his household for the worst. And the worst comes -- in several ways.

In this movie, we watch several questions cross Graham's mind...Is there someone looking out for us? Could it be that God really does exist in the midst of horrible circumstances? Could it be that we really are not alone in this universe?

I really enjoyed this movie when I was 13 and I appreciate it even more now. Mel Gibson, who plays Graham, does an awesome job, as always. Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Graham's brother Merill, is an excellent comic relief and does an amazing job. I love the actors who play Graham's children. For their ages, they are definitely talented.

M. Night Shyamalan is by far one of my favorite actors. I am very seldom disappointed in his work, and I'm hoping that his new movie, "Lady in the Water", will be as good as all of his other films (though I'm really hoping it will be much better than "The Village" -- that film could have ended in countless ways, and yet he chose to blow it with THAT ending...)

5 stars. This movie got far less credit than it deserved.