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Reviews
Vantage Point (2008)
It Was Alright...Entertaining, But Not Great. Hey, At Least They Got The Gun Right!
KIND OF SPOILERS
Eh, wasn't bad, but wasn't great either.
There was a LOT of cheese in it, and that didn't make me feel convinced about anything. The biggest problem was that it felt REALLY disconnected. I liked their attempt to show all different viewpoints, but it got really repetitive after awhile.
The best part of the movie was the last half hour. Things really picked up, and the storyline got interesting. As of EVERY Secret Service-type movie, there IS a mole! VERY impossible too, since the mole joined the Secret Service in an attempt to be in on the assassination attempt. I wont get into too much detail, but the mole would never have made it in, or been able to do that type of protection that quickly after graduating.
The other BEST part of the movie is that they finally got the darn gun right! ALL the agents were using their Sig Sauer P229 pistols. Unfortunately, they were using 9MM bullets (Which IS A Blooper) as I saw when Dennis Quaid's character loaded his gun. No, the Secret Service uses their P229s in a .357 Sig round. But yes, it was refreshing to see the correct gun, after having seen movies like The Sentinel.
Another bit of badness was that at one point in the movie, Secret Service agents are getting knocked off like the Rangers in Black Hawk Down. WHY, does this happen in EVERY movie with Secret Service agents??? And of course, the agents act a bit strange. Like a scene after Dennis Quaid wrecks his car, and a Spanish man starts yelling at him in Spanish. Dennis Quaid whips out his P229, and says "Back off" while he brandishes it. Yeah...you can figure that one out.
The thing that saved it in my opinion, was the ending. I wont tell you it, but it's pretty good, and tries to make you think. I know I got a little off topic, but I'm really critical about guns in movies.
All in all, I give the movie a 7/10, and a decently entertaining popcorn flick.
I'm Not There (2007)
A Great And Original Piece!
Well, words really can't describe the feeling of this movie. In fact, it wasn't my FAVORITE movie. But, it was one of those movies that just pulls at you.
After the movie was over, I was discussing the movie with my friend, (also a big Dylan fan) and found myself stuttering EVERY time I was trying to speak. I was halfway thinking about the movie, and halfway talking about Dylan's life. And also, trying to have a conversation.
The movie does a great job of showing the different elements in Dylan's life. The movie is jam packed with references to his songs and his book "Tarantula" I thought the movie also did a GREAT job of showing his rise and fall through fame. I LOVED Cate Blanchett, and I'm 100% sure that she'll be nominated for an Oscar, for her performance.
Heath Ledger was great too! He had the second biggest part in the film. Bale, had a rather small part, but an interesting part at that. Gere played a very boring part of the story, in my opinion. I was very uninterested in his part, as a lot of other people were. The young boy was great. He did a good job of playing the "phony" Bob Dylan. The one that went around claiming to be from all these different places, and friends with all these different people. Ben Windshaw was my third favorite of all the Bob Dylans. He literally ONLY had like a paragraph of lines throughout the entire film. However, they spaced them out through the whole movie.
The scenes were great too. I just plain out felt like I was watching Bob Dylan's life. Even though the film had it's own metaphors and references.
The film work was great too. The way they did it, was it was sort of a documentary, but also an actual movie. So, they would have scenes with other actors such as Julliane Moore, who would be getting interviewed, and playing a person in Dylan's life. The scenes were also a big part of the film, ESPECIALLY Blanchet's scenes. Her Black & White 60's scenes, blew my mind! And she played a GREAT "Bob Dylan under stress, turned drug addict" part! One scene in particular, was mind blowing in my opinion.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!!
They were at a party, and in this room that was shaped like a cube, and the walls were projecting video. Anyway, as Dylan (Blanchett) who was REALLY messed up at the time, went further and further in the rambling and the craziness, the screen showed images that reflected her tone. As he got worse, the images would get faster and/or stranger. At one point Dylan is yelling at his friend. And on the walls, we see video of Dylan freaking out, and spinning around. Then flipping off the cameraman, and dancing. The music supported the tone of the scene, as well.
The movie was filled with things like that example. AWESOME!!! Great movie!
Premonition (2007)
So So Sad.....Another PG-13 Thriller
Very disappointing. The plot was okay, it wasn't anything I hadn't seen before, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was all the high pitch sound effects and quick cutaways throughout the film. I don't want REALLY loud screeches, or flashing cutaways to make me nervous or scared. What ever happened to the old-style horror/thriller films? They didn't have either of these characteristics, and they were much better and scarier. I wasn't too impressed with Sandra Bullock either, she did a mediocre job at best. Each scene was as predictable as the last. I probably could have directed a better film, or at least a less predictable film. If your looking for something to blow your mind, this ain't it.