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Reviews
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Gotta love it
Pulp Fiction is not only Quentin Tarantino's finest movie, it surely can be considered one of the best ever, specifically in the gangster genre. This movie shows clearly that even gangsters are human, they wonder about hamburgers, and know just when to say something witty and unexpected.
It is difficult to really classify this movie as it is both quite funny but deals with generally serious matter and contains quite a lot of violence. However, it is safe to say that it doesn't really matter what kind of movie this is or what it means (if it means anything). All that matters is that the acting, story, and great dialogs are played out to perfection.
I'd say Pulp Fiction is one of my favorite movies of all time, but why that is I still have yet to figure out. I guess it's just that good.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
As true today, as it was back then
You don't mess with the Coca Cola cooperation. One of the many things I learned from this movie. Dr. Strangelove is my personal favorite out of all Kubrick films, and despite being a comedy, it still matches the seriousness and intelligence of his other films. The movie is so well written that everything could be interpreted as a joke or fact.
One of the things that makes this movie somewhat confusing to some is the lack of straight-out humor that some may expect but there is no need for slapstick when there is perfect use of metaphors. I really enjoyed Peter Sellers' triple performance, especially as the demented and conflicted Dr. Strangelove. The whole crew made this an excellent movie, bursting with black humor and the absurdity of bureaucracy.
There are many lessons to be learned from this movie such as the importance of proper communication and trust. Looking back, the movie was as relevant to the Cold War, as it is to Modern Day.
Arrested Development (2003)
Best Show Ever
This show is the best thing TV has experienced in history... and it is canceled. It seems so absurd that it could have been the plot of another episode. I will address the cancellation a little bit later but first let's get to the show.
The main idea of the show is that family is the best and worst thing that will happen to most of us in our lives. Frustrated son Michael Bluth deals with his father's (George Sr.)crooked construction business, all the while trying to keep him from conviction of slight... slight treason.
Michael's son George Michael Bluth played by the now-famous Michael Cera has redefined the meaning of awkward, as his constant denial of love for his cousin Maebe was so difficult to watch that it was actually quite enjoyable. His plain girlfriend Ann (aka plant, egg, ma'am, who?) also adds a great amount of hilarious circumstances to this relationship.
Jessica Walters and Jeffrey Tambor are simply perfect as Michael's parents. Lucille's (J.W.s) racist, old-fashioned views are emphasized and exploited perfectly to make her a very interesting character to watch throughout the seasons. As well her great relationship to George Sr. , who's insane schemes, lessons, rivalries, and simple presence allow him to be hysterical through being human, makes one feel very connected to this show.
Lindsay and Buster also are wonderful for the show with their personality traits. Shallow, materialistic Lindsay with her unhappy marriage is notably the best failure at romance in TV history. Sheltered Buster, hoping to be rebellious and find true love is one of my favorite characters on the show.
However my personal favorites are the impeccable and brilliant David Cross as Tobias and Will Arnett as G.O.B. Tobias has become one of the most quotable personalities on TV through his often poor phrasing and oblivion to his surroundings. Outspoken and keen son G.O.B. hoping to earn his father's approval and to become a successful magician is hilarious as he seems to have no restrictions regarding his actions.
The supporting characters add another dimension of comedy to this show. Tony Wonder, Barry Zuckerkorn, Bob Loblaw, Wayne Jarvis, Steve Holt, Annyong, the Literal Doctor, and especially Frankling Delano Bluth provide so many clever jokes and situations and great dialog as is not matched by any other show on TV.
In fact, the running jokes that this show provides is also second to none: The Cornballer, frozen Bananas, Big Yellow Joint, Marry Poppins, News anchor, bleeps, flashbacks, lessons, suppressed feelings, 'Ain't easy being white', Mrs. Featherbottom, Wrench, Burger King, cousins dangerous...
As to the cancellation, it is clear that the show did not receive enough attention by the mainstream media as it had a bad time on the schedule and 'fox' did not put enough effort into promoting it. It is a shame that such good TV can be taken off the air, but lets keep our fingers crossed for a movie.
Overall, give this show a chance and watch at least the first season if you already have. You will never view family the same way again.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)
Ooooooh no! Let this franchise go already
Alright so this movie has got to be one of the worst films ever made. It made no sense whatsoever. There was a bunch of singing and dancing which I suspect was supposed to cover up the awful acting. That didn't quite cut it though as it simply enhanced the poor performances.
The cast is made of 'actors' who are unfortunately idealized as being what the average person should be like due to the popular Disney Channel. Another thing that bothered me is how little this movie actually reflects of real life. None of the characters face any real problems and therefore the audience would see them as 2D.
Just don't watch it, i spent too many of my waking minutes on this, and I'm definitely glad I saw it on a Tuesday night or else I would have wasted $3 more.
Valkyrie (2008)
Cruise's performance only minor setback
First off, it is important to not go and judge this movie by the poor reviews of Tom Cruise's lack of German accent. Had he donned an accent, it would have been rather difficult to take him serious as a leading person in a plot to murder one of history's greatest villains. It would have distracted from an otherwise decent acting performance.
As well, going into the movie I expected an action-packed thriller but the pacing made up for lack of prolonged action. It was a nice change of theme to a war movie, as it dealt with the story of the Germans, not the Allies.
The side-roles were extremely well cast. I recognized several great German actors such as Christian Berkel, who gave a great performance as Quirnheim. Bernhard Hill's cameo was also enjoyable, especially for those VERY familiar with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (one line may sound familiar).
Overall, Valkyrie was a great movie about politics, courage, and the power of the people. Much better than i had anticipated.
Der Schuh des Manitu (2001)
Turn of critique and laugh it up
This movie is not meant to be intellectually stimulating or life-changing. It is meant to be quotable and overall hilarious. The story is simple: Apache and Friend in trouble, Apache has quarter of treasure map to get out of trouble, bad guy follows Apache around trying to find treasure.
Having said that, the movie is filled with little gems of comedy (see Superperforator or ice cream). It also redefines the use of a pen.
The acting in this movie is also quite good. Dimitri, Ranger, and Abahachi are a well known comedy trio who are excellent sketch comedians. As the movie is in a way a 90 minute collection of sketches with the same characters, the performances seem very natural.
I'd say it's probably the best full-out comedy to come out of Germany in some time.
Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
Loved it!
I went to see this movie hoping for a cheesy laugh-out-loud comedy but instead got a great, intelligent, and well-directed film. It certainly did not lack humor as it provided many memorable jokes such as awkward, "slightly" edited news reports. Also the whole absurdity of hoping to maintain the presence of a fallen republic in an apartment makes the movie worth seeing.
Daniel Bruehl gives a great performance as Alex. He plays the part of the compromising youth who has to deal with adapting to the United Germany outside and keeping the DDR alive inside his mother's apartment.
Good all the way through and people looking for something a little different from the average comedy should definitely check out this movie.