theoutlawtorn1080 Reviews

Notorious (2009)

powerful, but typical biographical fare.

[7/10 · 16 January 2009]

when i first heard notorious b.i.g. at 13, i was immediately blown away. his flow was some of the best i have ever heard. when he passed away, it left a hole in the hip hop community that will never be filled again. this film takes a look at his life story. the film looks at his relationship with his mother, and the streets. two totally different worlds that biggie is deeply in love with. he starts out as a loving mamas boy and grows to a greatly respected drug dealer and extremely talented rapper. his skills blow away everyone in his neighborhood and soon catches the attention of an aspiring c.e.o. by the name of Sean "puffy" combs. Combs starts his own record label, Bad Boy records, and immediately signs biggie. from there its a roller coaster ride as biggie takes the hip hop world by storm. and mo' money mo' problems as his beef with tupac takes a tragic turn that changes the hip hop world forever. newcomer jamal woolard makes his big screen debut, and shines as biggie. he has a natural charisma that captures biggies essence in every way. angela bassett plays voletta wallace, biggies mom, and her performance is great as always. the rest of the cast does a surprisingly good job, playing their roles as real people, and not caricatures of famous people. this film ran at around 120 mins and felt real and i had a great time watching it. this film brought back so many memories of my teens and made me realize how much the world misses the notorious b.i.g.

The Dark Knight (2008)

more than a simple "comic book" movie.

[10/10 · 18 July 2008]

Christopher Nolan has created a monster in "The Dark Knight". With this film, he has set the bar so high for comic book movies, that i doubt anyone else will be able to touch it for a very long time. Him and his brother, Johnathon Nolan, have crafted something special that not only goes beyond the label that this particular type of movie is given, but breaks the walls into a totally different genre all together. Of course the story on everyone's lips is the tragedy of heath ledger. Now while i agree that ledgers final performance was quite possibly the best of the year, there is SO much more to this film. It plays like a well crafted crime drama on par with some of the best of all time. This film runs with a extremely swift 152 min run time, and amazingly, has no fat to speak of. Every story line running thru this film is so tightly wound around each other, that the logical conclusion of every situation is allowed to play out under its own momentum. And the films conclusion is so well done and so satisfying, that i did not feel the stomach pains that come with the need to see what will happen in the next movie. but i will be waiting patiently for the inevitable next chapter in this amazing crime saga.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

return of a hero that never left.

[8/10 · 13 June 2008]

some say that this is a sequel to the 2003 ang lee film. others say its a stand alone reboot of the franchise. i say that this film is AWESOME!!! there is truly no comparison to the 2 films. other than the main character, the films are two totally different monsters (pun intended). while ang lee's version was a dark cerebral look into one mans psyche and how repressed anger can turn on your best intentions , director Louise leterrier's hulk is straight out dumb action. this movie starts out with a bang that rivals most big summer blockbuster's climactic scenes, and ends with such a big bang and holy s*** moment that i have to go see it again just to take it all in. in this film, Bruce banner (Edward Norton) is all ready on the run and ready to hulk out at any minute. and they don't waste any time. within 5 minutes the action starts, and it doesn't stop til the end of the film. there is an attempt to inject real emotional weight to the characters, but this attempt falls short and almost compromises the entire structure of the film. but the action and fight scenes are so fast and furious and SO WELL DONE, that you quickly get out of that rut and get right back to the action. definitely worth every penny to see over and over again.

The Happening (2008)

better than expected: definitely give this one a chance.

[7/10 · 13 June 2008]

M. Night Shyamalan. this name brings fear to many different people for many different reasons. its funny, every one gets upset because he doesn't deviate from his patented pattern of surprise endings, and demolish him when he finally does. But ill tell you one thing, his movies are good. Especially this one. Mark wahlberg plays a science teacher who is trying to escape from a mysterious illness that causes the infected to kill themselves. Even though the plot revolves around wahlberg and zooey deschanel, every now and then he'll throw a news report or two to keep the audience up to date on whats going on around the east coast. as the conspiracy theories are being thrown around the outer horn, the main characters come to a shocking conclusion as to the source of this mysterious affliction. yea the plot is over the top ridiculous, but Night has a way of making the plot seem not only plausible, but his talent helps the film avoid the corn that might associate itself with this kind of film. trust me, there are a lot of haters out there that cant understand that every one of his films are different unto themselves. well this particular film is definitely one of the best thrillers of the year, Shyamalan or not.

Superman Returns (2006)

the best comic book movie ever!!!

[9/10 · 28 June 2006]

With the history of superman on film we get a mixed bag. from the brilliance of Superman's 1 @ 2, to the utter crappy 3@4. Brian singer decided to take the best of the franchise and uses them as back story for superman returns, by far the best superman on film ever. the story begins with the fact that superman has been gone for 5 yrs. the characters are just as excited to see him return as the film goer, and when he does, he comes in with a literal bang. as soon as routh gets on screen, its impossible not to see a hint of the great Christopher reeve channeling thru his performance. hes even got the subtle differences between Clark Kent and superman down cold. Kevin spacey is perfectly cast as the over the top villain. he abandons the comic portrayal of gene hackman, and substitutes a character that is not only dangerous but truly evil. just that stare that Kevin spacey gives when hes staring straight into the camera sends chills down my spine. the rest of the supporting characters were perfectly cast, from jimmy Olsen to the kid who played Lois' son.

there were only a couple of things wrong with this film. i felt that the love quadrangle between supes, Clark, Lois, and Richard, was really under written. i mean the way it was portrayed, poor Richard never had a chance. there wasn't even a small hint that Lois even loved him. and i felt that the ending played out too soon. they spend the whole movie setting up the climax and its over in a heartbeat. besides Luther basically had the same plan from part 1, only instead of breaking off the west coast, hes creating a new east coast. and i think they shouldve explored the fact that the kid is superman's, but i think they will go further into detail in the sequel.

the flick is about 2 1/2 hrs but it felt like 30 mins. the movie is so well paced and so action packed that you cant help but be sucked in. like i said above, the movie ended with me wanting more, and thats what good stories are supposed to do.