Monday, November 3, 2008

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)


9/10

What a funny film! "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" had me in stitches from beginning to end. We have seen the plot line before, guy gets dumped by a girl he idolized and goes through hell until he meet that special girl, who opens his mind and sets his heart free, causing him to realize how imperfect his former love truly was. One example of this is "Along came Polly". But what really got me with this film was how believable and yet totally parodied the character were. There are some classic scenes through out this film, keep an eye out for the Dracula Rock Ballad in particular! The cast is awesome in every role, the comic timing is super fine tuned and the film ties it all up with a whole lot of heart! "Finding Sarah Marshall" is a film I think almost anyone will enjoy!

The Plot:

Peter is a composer and a likable sad sack who's devastated when his girlfriend of five years, Sarah Marshall, the star of a cheesy CSI-style crime show, dumps him. He weeps, he rails, he mopes. Finally, his step-brother Brian suggests Hawaii, so Peter heads for a resort on Oahu where, as he's checking in, he sees Sarah and her new beau, Aldous, a polymorphous perverse English rocker. The weeping and moping starts again, until Peter is rescued by Rachel, a thoughtful hotel clerk who invites him to a luau and to hang out. Although he constantly runs into Sarah and Aldous, Peter starts to come alive again. Will Sarah realize what she's lost, and what about Rachel?


The Cast:


Jason Segel ... Peter Bretter

Kristen Bell ... Sarah Marshall

Mila Kunis ... Rachel Jensen

Russell Brand ... Aldous Snow

Bill Hader ... Brian Bretter

Liz Cackowski ... Liz Bretter

Maria Thayer ... Wyoma

Jack McBrayer ... Darald

Taylor Wily ... Kemo

Davon McDonald ... Dwayne the Bartender (as Da'Vone McDonald)

Steve Landesberg ... Dr. Rosenbaum

Jonah Hill ... Matthew the Waiter

Paul Rudd ... Chuck

Kala Alexander ... Greg

Kalani Robb ... Helpful Hawaiian Waiter

Trailer:



The Movie:

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Burn After Reading (2008)



5/10

This film tried so very hard to be awesome and it almost was. They had the cast, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich to name just a few. They had the quirky storyline and they had some classic situations throughout the film. So what happened? They tried too hard!

This film was pushing so hard to hit so many characters that even some great performances from the all-star cast couldn't cover the fact that every character was far and away too cliche to keep me interested! Brad Pitt's dumb gym jock was just too dumb, George Clooney's Needy playboy was just too cool and then too desperate, and Malkovich was just there to get pissed off and look beaten down! I can't wait til this film gets remade, by a director with a little more sense of subtlety! (Sorry I do like the Bros other work)

The Plot:

Burn After Reading, is a new comedy thriller from Academy Award winners, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski).

At the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in Arlington, Virginia, analyst Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) arrives for a top-secret meeting. Unfortunately for Cox, the secret is soon out: he is being ousted. Cox does not take the news particularly well and returns to his Georgetown home to work on his memoirs and his drinking, not necessarily in that order. His wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) is dismayed, though not particularly surprised; she is already well into an illicit affair with Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), a married federal marshal, and sets about making plans to leave Cox for Harry.

Elsewhere in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, and seemingly worlds apart, Hardbodies Fitness Centers employee Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) can barely concentrate on her work. She is consumed with her life plan for extensive cosmetic surgery, and confides her mission to can-do colleague Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt). Linda is all but oblivious to the fact that the gym's manager Ted Treffon (Richard Jenkins) pines for her even as she arranges dates via the Internet with other men.

When a computer disc containing material for the CIA analyst's memoirs accidentally falls into the hands of Linda and Chad, the duo are intent on exploiting their find. As Ted frets, "No good can come of this," events spiral out of everyone's and anyone's control, in a cascading series of darkly hilarious encounters.


The Cast:


George Clooney ... Harry Pfarrer

Frances McDormand ... Linda Litzke

John Malkovich ... Osbourne Cox

Tilda Swinton ... Katie Cox

Brad Pitt ... Chad Fieldhiemer

Richard Jenkins ... Ted Teffron

Elizabeth Marvel ... Sandy Pfarrer

David Rasche ... C.I.A Officer

J.K. Simmons ... C.I.A Superior

Olek Krupa ... Krapotkin

Michael Countryman ... Alan

Kevin Sussman ... Divorce Lawyer #1

J.R. Horne ... Divorce Lawyer #2

Hamilton Clancy ... Peck

Armand Schultz ... Olson

The Trailer

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Goodfellas (1990)

9/10

One of the greatest gangster films of all time! I think it is the combination of characters, the full blooded Italians, half blooded wise guys, that gives this film that little something more than many of the other greats. I also love the way the film rolls from the golden years of the Mafia to the more recent shadier dealings and the loss of glamor etc. Now throw in the all star cast (Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and a whole lot more!) and there is nothing more that needs to be said to hype this film up any more. Oh did I also mention that this is a Martin Scorsese film? nuff' said watch it if you have een under a rock the last 18 years, watch it again if you haven't!

The Plot:

The lowly, blue-collar side of New York's Italian mafia is explored in this crime biopic of wiseguy Henry Hill. As he makes his way from strapping young petty criminal, to big-time thief, to middle-aged cocaine addict and dealer, the film explores in detail the rules and traditions of organized crime. Watching the rise and fall of Hill and his two counterparts, the slick jack-of-all-trades criminal Jimmy Conway and the brutish, intimidating Tommy DeVito, this true story realistically explores the core, blue-collar part of the mob.


The Cast:


Robert De Niro ... James 'Jimmy' Conway

Ray Liotta ... Henry Hill

Joe Pesci ... Tommy DeVito

Lorraine Bracco ... Karen Hill

Paul Sorvino ... Paul Cicero

Frank Sivero ... Frankie Carbone

Tony Darrow ... Sonny Bunz

Mike Starr ... Frenchy

Frank Vincent ... Billy Batts

Chuck Low ... Morris 'Morrie' Kessler

Frank DiLeo ... Tuddy Cicero

Henny Youngman ... Himself

Gina Mastrogiacomo ... Janice Rossi

Catherine Scorsese ... Tommy's Mother

Charles Scorsese ... Vinny


Trailer:



The Movie:

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