Laid Off Movie Reviews

Since I’ve been laid off I’ve been extremely busy. Reading books, designing websites, promoting Sound and Show, and the list goes on and on, but I can only work so much – sometimes I have to play.

Here are my movie reviews for some of the movies I’ve seen in 2009.

Gran Torino

The best movie I have seen in the last probably 5 years. Clint Eastwood is phenomenal. Gran Torino makes you stop and think about who you are and what it means to be an American, but it also teaches you about love and sacrifice and acceptance. I am a firm believer that if everyone in the world stopped for just a moment to learn about the people around them that we could eradicate racism, ignorance and hate. Go see Gran Torino and see the messages within the message.

Slumdog Millionaire

Never before have I been so happy to be an American. In just a couple of hours Slumdog takes you through the lifetime of 3 kids who overcome obstacles that are so unbelievable that it is almost beyond my cushy American comprehension. What I love about movies like Slumddog is that they educate and entertain at the same time.

Taken

By far the best action movie since the Bourne movies, but I think it is better than Bourne. Liam Neeson steels every scene in this action thriller that takes us on a non-stop crash course in slavery, human trafficking, and killing. At no point does this movie slow down or disappoint. The action scenes are fresh and new and even though I’ve scene every stunt imaginable, I was still impressed with some of these.

Doubt

This movie is not a “feel good movie of the year” kind of flick, but the acting and the drama keep you entertained. A movie that deals with something as horrific as child molestation, lies, rumors, gossip and how those things can destroy peoples lives is something that is a hot button in the world today. Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymor Hoffman and Viola Davis all deserve Oscars for their performance in this film. It’s just plain brilliant.

Coraline in 3D

Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher add their famous voices to this 3D spectacle, but I’m not sure it was necessary. The story pretty much carries itself and although it is a little dark and creepy I couldn’t help but parallel the story to real life. In Coraline there is this monster/spider woman that uses a doll to spy on your life and to see what you don’t like about it. Then this spider creature creates an artificial world that fulfills all your desires. This fantastical world comes with a catch, in order to stay in this perfect universe you have to give up your eyes and have them replaced with buttons. When Coraline doesn’t comply she must fight to save her life and the lives of her parents. As dark and demented as it is, the story is poignant and I recommend going to see it.

The International

Clive Owen rarely disappoints and this movie is no exception. The story is new and somewhat timely considering that banks are crumbling all around us, but… there were a few times that this movie drags and you want them to just get on with it already. The best part of this movie is an intense shootem’ up scene in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. This scene alone makes the movie worth watching.

He’s Just Not That Into You

Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johanssen – how could this movie not deliver? Well, it does and it doesn’t. If you are looking for a fun date movie then you will be disappointed. This movie is filled with mixed messages and it involves cheating and divorce and yes, while those are real life issues I just don’t like the way they go about presenting them and how people deal with them. Relationships and dating are hard and sometimes he is into you, he just doesn’t know that you are into him. Girls need to get better sometimes at sending signals and guys need to get some balls sometimes. Cause yeah, he’s into you, he just doesn’t want to get rejected for the 5000th time. But I digress. This movie I think is actually just worth renting.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

The 3rd movie in the series but the least entertaining of the three. The storyline is pretty weak and so are the special affects. I’d say save your money on this one.

At the dollar movies now is Australia, The Tale of Desperaux, and 7 Pounds which I’m surprised I didn’t see when they first came out.