My Favorite Movies

There was one movie that I was dying to see in 2007 - No Country For Old Men. There has been a great buzz surrounding this film, critics have been hailing No Country as a masterpiece, a classic and a film to be challenged. Things only got better as it was nominated for 8 academy awards, and took home four, including best picture and best director.

I was a little apprehensive at believing all of the praise, I didn't want to set my expectations too high, but I almost couldn?t help it when I viewed the trailer and clips over the internet and on television. I have been a fan of the Coen brothers since Fargo, and by the looks of it, they were back in their element, and had directed the greatest film of their careers.

I will admit, I watched No Country on the big screen, alone. I had no one to go with and was not going to miss the opportunity to see this in the theater. Right from the get-go the movie is intense, the character Anton Chigurh played by Javier Bardem is arrested and brought into the county jail for processing. However his stay is quite short as he manages to escape by strangling the officer with his handcuffs, and stealing the police cruiser. Chigurh begins his path of destruction with the help of his trusty oxygen tank and stun gun attachment.

Meanwhile Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin), a middle-class welder is out hunting antelope when he stumbles upon what appears to be a drug deal gone wrong. 3 vehicles, many dead bodies, and a truck bed filled with heroin. After a few minutes of inspection, and after collecting a few guns for his collection, Moss finds one dead man farther away from the others. With that man is a black satchel. Inside that satchel is 2 million dollars, cash, in 10 thousand dollar bricks. Moss can only wonder what to do, but at that point, who would leave that money? It?s a big, life-altering decision, which it seems that Moss did not put that much thought into.

Later that night, Moss returns to help out a man who was left alive, but finds that the man had eventually succumb to his injuries. But now Llewelyn has a problem, two men driving a truck have come to the scene, and have spotted his brown ford truck. They slash the tires, and eventually spot Llewelyn running for cover. While avoiding gunshots, Moss manages to get away, but not without a few wounds. Now, fearing for his life, and his wife?s, he derives a plan. Send his wife to her mothers, and flee with the money, hoping to lose the trail of whoever is chasing him.

Anton Chigurh is now on the look out for the satchel that contains the 2 million, and is leaving a bloody mess behind him to get to it. Llewelyn soon discovers that Chigurh has found him, and has been to the hotel room he is staying at, not to mention his trailer home.

Sherriff Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is caught up in the search for mass murderer Anton Chigurh, and discovers that a man he knows, Llewelyn Moss, is the pursued. Also joining the hunt for Chigurh and Moss is Carson Wells, a Texas ranger who?s mission is to locate either one of the men, or the money.

Llewelyn Moss eventually runs into trouble as Chigurh closes in, and Moss also discovers how the mad-man has been tracking him. Now more than ever, staying one step ahead is more important than anything, as Llewelyn experiences one too many close calls. Carson Wells finally tracks down Moss at a hospital, where he warns him that Anton Chigurh is not going to stop, and that to continue running is foolish. With greed being the number one motive, Llewelyn ultimately makes the choice to keep running with the 2 million dollars. With solid performances, and some of the most intense scenes in recent movie history, No Country has, for me, been one of the most thrilling and memorable movie experiences. Bloody, gruesome and bold, this film is over the top, but balanced. I am hard-pressed to find flaws, No Country is almost a perfect movie. My expectations were fulfilled, and surpassed, my mind could not stop spinning after the credits rolled.

With an ending that seems almost abrupt, but suiting and effective, No Country For Old Men becomes the definitive film about the consequences of greed. The smallest thing can bring your world crashing down, all it takes is one misguided choice.

This is one of the most amazing films I have ever come across. For good reason,

Everything about this raw, unapologetic movie is outstanding, I was completely blown away.

Look Closer. This movie is art on film, one of my top favourites, American Beauty truely is beautiful. Immediately you get a feel for Lester's character, as he goes through a mid-life crisis, and tries to reconnect with his family. Lester's daughter Jane is unsure of herself, and her best friend Angela is a outwardly confident teenager. Jane and her new neighbor Ricky become involved, as she tries to avoid her father at all costs. Carol, Lester's wife, is having a meltdown of her own. Her realestate business is crumbling and she begins an affair with "the realestate king". Everything around Lester Burnam is out of sorts, yet everyone seems to think he is the only crazy one. However, Lester is the most rational, finally doing the things he wants to do, and begins his life for the first time. Tragedy strikes this movie, but it is more of a feeling of completion at the end. Things finally come to a close, but leave much for the imagination.

Words cannot describe everything wonderful about this movie. This is an emotional experience.

Review Coming Soon.

A fantastic drama, brilliant performances and an ending that does not disappoint

There is something utterly unsettling about the realism of this movie. The murder scenes, the Zodiac letters, it all feels as if it were happening right now. Zodiac is a movie that pulls you in, you feel like you're right there as everything takes place. Although you may know the true story, Zodiac keeps you guessing with excellent suspense and mystery.

The Green Mile begins with an elderly man by the name of Paul Edgecomb, who is living in a retirement community. Paul breaks down from past memories and decides to tell his friend Ellie his life story. Now we get to see Paul as a young man (Tom Hanks) as a prison guard on death row.
Things had been pretty ordinary up until the point where a new inmate was being brought in. Paul, as well as the other guards are astonished, an enormous black man accused of killing two little white girls. During this time, the depression, this was the most evil thing anyone could conceive. The man accused is John Coffey, a seemingly gentle man with little intelligence.
Percy Wetmore, a young rookie with a nose in the air treats all of the inmates as if they were the lowest form. Paul, as well as the other guards, is extremely irritated with Percy and wish for nothing more than for Percy to move on and leave.
Paul and Brutus (Brutal) discover a lone mouse wandering around the prison and try to catch him, without success. Then, the mouse takes a liking to Del, and Del names the mouse Mr. Jingles, much to the dismay of Percy. Del claims the mouse is special, a circus mouse with many talents, the guards agree to humour him.
Paul suffers from an intense bladder infection that nearly renders him helpless, and one day on the block, John Coffey takes a hold of Paul and knocks the wind out of them both. John claims he has ?helped it?, uncertain of the meaning, Paul doesn?t question what happened. Then, as if by miracle, the bladder infection vanished, and Paul has no way of explaining it. Confused but curious, Paul questions John as to what he did to him, and begins to see the man?s divine powers.
Percy ends up stomping on Mr. Jingles, Del?s mouse, and appears to be quite satisfied with himself. John Coffey immediately insists that the guards give the dead mouse to him, and that he can ?take it back.? Paul agrees, and brings John Coffey Mr. Jingles. Again, they all witness a miracle. The mouse is revived, and appears to have not a scratch on him.
Now, the guards all question if John Coffey would be able to help their warden?s wife, who is sick with a brain tumour. They devise a plan to bring John to her, and erase the tumour from her body. With one of the more emotional scenes, John heals the warden?s wife, and she returns to perfect health, with no memory.
The guards and John Coffey return to the Green Mile, to let John rest, who seems to be sick with the illness he pulled out of the woman. During this time, John spills the illness into Percy, who goes insane from the experience, and shoots an inmate by the name of Wild Bill.
John tells Paul he must give some of his gift to him, to let him see what Wild Bill has done. With the joining of their hands, Paul sees the two little girls John apparently raped and murdered, alive and well. There is Wild Bill, doing odd chores for the family, eventually Bill takes the two girls in the night, rapes them and kills them.
John Coffey is too late, and cannot bring the two little girls back to life, and he is discovered with their bodies. Paul is completely dazed, unable to form words. He can truly see that John is innocent, he had never been involved in the crime he was accused of.
As John?s execution nears, Paul begins to question what is the right thing to do. Can he truly allow one of God?s miracles to die? The film reaches an emotional volcano, one of the saddest moments in film history. Afterwards, Paul decides he can no longer work as a prison guard, and transfers out.
Now, many years later, Paul invites Ellie to take a walk. He leads her to an old shed, where Mr. Jingles the mouse still resides. Ellie is completely at a loss, and can only now begin to absorb the story she was told.
One of the most emotional films I have come across, The Green Mile is beyond any doubt, one of the most beloved films in my collection. The acting, writing and overall tone, it is all beautiful and cannot be properly described. I can only recommend this film to anyone who has yet to experience it.

Review Coming Soon.

Review Coming Soon.

I love horror movies, particularly slashers. There are so many emotions involved with these types of films, and those that are well made can feel more like a ride rather than a movie. Watching a horror movie on the big screen is quite a different experience, you can?t pause it, turn it off or lower the volume. In my opinion you can?t get the full effect of a true horror movie until you?ve seen it in theaters.
When I got the news of a Friday the 13th movie, I was ecstatic. I have been a fan of the originals since I was a child, however I was never able to watch any in the theaters because they were made before my time. Granted, I was able to see Freddy vs Jason (which I loved) in theaters, but that just wasn?t the same.
I had first heard rumors about the reboot (no, I am not going to say remake) of Friday the 13th about two years ago, however my interest kind of died when the updates did. Then a screenshot emerged, and casting was beginning to spill out, I realized yes this is actually going to happen, it?s not just whispering anymore, it?s confirmed. Then finally there was a set date, February 13th. When this was announced, it seemed so far away, but then it slowly crept up on us and at last I was able to watch my most anticipated movie of 2009.
Now my expectations were ranging, when Marcus Nispel was named as director my expectations went up. I love The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and thought he had made one of the best slashers in years. However my expectations lowered when Derek Mears was cast as Jason, I didn?t know much about him and didn?t know what to expect. By now I was expecting something average, but not terrible.
Now let?s get to the film, I went to the midnight screening, it was sold out and absolutely packed. Going to see a scary movie with a full audience is always fun, I might add. Anyways, the film starts out recapping a bit of the original, while scrolling through the opening credits we see a young camp counselor trying to fight off Pamela Voorhees, Jason?s mother. Anyone who has seen the original Friday the 13th knows that Jason?s mother seeks revenge after her son drowns because of neglectful camp counselors. The opening sequence was exactly what I was looking for, something new yet familiar.
Now the audience is introduced to 5 young adults who are on the hunt for marijuana suspected to be growing near Camp Crystal Lake. Their plan is to harvest the plants and sell them for a profit, of course. I wasn?t sure if I entirely keen on this new plot idea, but it was something new for the series, and drug material always had its place in the F13 films. As anyone can guess the young adults run into some trouble once they set up camp, and well I am not going to spoil the outcome.
6 weeks later we meet Clay Miller, who is searching for his sister Whitney, who was one of the four that disappeared. Clay?s character, portrayed by Jared Padalecki is the typical nice guy, although he?s very stereotypical, he?s quite likeable.
The unlikable characters are introduced as well, a new group of kids on their way to stay at their friend Trent?s parent?s fancy cabin. On the way they stop at a gas station to fill up, and run into Clay who is handing out posters for his missing sister. The run in doesn?t go so well as Jenna, Trent?s girlfriend, has to break up an argument. The spoiled kids go on their way and arrive at a beautiful cabin by Crystal Lake. Of course their intention of going to the lake is to get high, drink and fool around.
I suppose I should reveal a little detail on the main characters here, even though they are quite predictable. We have Trent, the spoiled kid driving his parent?s Cadillac Escalade. There is Jenna, Trent?s girlfriend who seems quiet and cautious, much like Clay. Chewie is the Asian party guy, and Lawrence is the ever essential black character. Chelsea and Nolan are the frisky, attractive couple, and Bree is the vixen of the movie.
Now that I?ve gone through the standard Friday The 13th characters, I can dive a bit into the story. Clay goes around to several properties to hand out the missing posters of his sister Whitney, and after a creepy encounter with an older lady who informs him to quit looking, he comes upon the cabin the party people are occupying. Jenna invites Clay inside for a drink and questions him about his sister, as to be expected Trent is not happy with Clay being invited inside and demands that he leave, upset by this, Jenna leaves with him.
Jenna helps Clay continue his search and they decide to explore the abandoned camp, where they discover unsettling clues as to what happened to those 5 people 6 weeks prior.
Not to mention Clay and Jenna run into Jason, who just happens to be transporting a dead body back to his cabin. Luckily they avoid him and are able to run back to Jenna?s friends to warn them that someone is lurking around and has been killing.
The others are at first unconvinced, but then terrified as Jason discovers the cabin and begins picking them off. I don?t want to spoil any deaths here, but I will add some are quite satisfying. Now everyone?s running for their lives, trying to avoid Jason, who is smarter and quicker this time around. Clay and Jenna escape back to the abandoned cabins of the camp, where they soon discover Jason?s secret down beneath.
Friday the 13th was just so entertaining when it really got going, I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Derek Mears as the new, revamped Jason was excellent. He portrayed the famous character in a way that hasn?t been done before, and perhaps just what was needed to make this icon terrifying again.
I truly felt this was a true slasher, it was like watching those classics with a modern twist to it. The acting was cheesy at parts, but other wise good. The gore wasn?t excessive but it was still hard enough to make you cringe. To me it felt like a Friday the 13th film, like it belonged in the series I?ve come to know and love.
I know not all fans of the series are going to appreciate the new Jason or the new take on the classics, but I had an open mind and I felt we needed something new if there was going to be another film made, not just a remake. I am going to say I loved this film. I was entertained, I enjoyed this movie, and am going to watch it again and again. Isn?t that what these kinds of movies are for?

Brilliantly chilling

Review Coming Soon.

3:10 to Yuma was a delight to watch, a feast for the eyes and for the mind. This is one of those movies that you really get locked in. You forget you're in a theater, and anticipate what's going to happen next. Perhaps if you have seen the original then you might know the story, but for those who haven't, expect to be surprised and entertained. Outstanding performances from Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, and an excellent role for Ben Foster. For me personally, not a dull moment. The movie only loses points because the character William was not as believable. They could have cast him better, or perhaps given him less on screen time. Despite that one flaw, the film made up for it in so many ways. In my opinion this movie shouldn't be missed by western fans, or movie fans in general.

Compelling and underrated, a great film

Wonderful, really captures human emotion

A film everyone should see

Awesomely outrageous
Great humor with some added touches, I loved this movie.