Showing Tag: " crime" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: From TWA in Baton Rouge to the CIA in Mena, American Made Independent Aviation Consultant Barry Seal Transforms Into the Gringo Who Always Delivers

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 30, 2017, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
American Made





Directed By: Doug Liman

Starring: Tom Cruise, Sarah Wright, Domhnall Gleeson, Alejandro Edda, Mauicio Mejia, Jesse Plemons, Lola Kirke, and Caleb Landry Jones


Tom Cruise gets no love from moviegoers these days.  This is abundantly clear to me.  While I’ve been fairly excited about this weekend’s American Made, I can’t say the same for all the folks with whom I’ve discussed the crime film.  I get it.  I really do.  Some see Tom Cruise as a man with Scientology baggage and to...

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REVIEW: For Susan, The Creativity of Nocturnal Animals Is a Heartbeat Away from the Real World

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 24, 2016, In : 0.00% Water 
Nocturnal Animals





Directed By: Tom Ford

Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Isla Fisher, Armie Hammer, Laura Linney, Andrea Riseborough, and Michael Sheen

If you've been reading my posts this awards season, you've probably noticed that I haven't given too many sober ratings as of late.  With the Oscars on the way, you would think there would be something fantastic that would come my way.  So far, this has not been the case.  That's about to change for the...

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REVIEW: Hell or High Water, Comanche Brothers Toby & Tanner Howard Set Their Sights on Texas Midlands Bank

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, August 28, 2016, In : 0.00% Water 
Hell or High Water





Directed By: David Mackenzie

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, and Katy Mixon


August may be a poor time to catch high quality big budget blockbusters.  Jason Bourne and Suicide Squad are most certainly potent examples of this.  Still, it's an excellent time to catch great independent or low budget films.  After all, the month of August is really the preamble to awards season and the glut of prestige films on the way in the next several months.  I'...

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REVIEW: In the Land of Wolves, Sicario Kate Macer Fights the Coming Medellin

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 3, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
Sicario





Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, and Jon Bernthal


There are lots of great movies out there, but there are few that I would characterize as beasts.  There's a certain raw energy that marks these kinds of movies that's unmistakable.  The Wolf of Wall Street had a beast-like ferocity.  Whiplash raged.  Mad Max: Fury Road roared into theaters earlier this summer.  These are the kinds of great movies we don't get every day.  Th...

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REVIEW: Just Saying, Johnny Depp Is Psychotic & Cerebral As Top Echelon FBI Informant Whitey Bulger In Black Mass

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 19, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Black Mass





Directed By: Scott Cooper

Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Corey Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, and Dakota Johnson

Johnny Depp's career has hit a trough in recent years.  Despite the billion dollar successes of Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides several years ago, film duds such as The Tourist, Dark Shadows, Transcendence, and The Lone Ranger loom large on his recent filmography.  Believe me, these duds a...

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REVIEW: If We Run All Night With Jimmy the Gravedigger Conlon, We'll Cross This Line Together

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 14, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Run All Night





Directed By: Jaume Collet-Serra


Starring: Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman, Common, Ed Harris, Génesis Rodríguez, Vincent D'Onofrio, Boyd Holbrook, and Nick Nolte

"Wherever we're going, we'll cross this line together."
-Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris)

It's abundantly clear that Taken marked a turning point in Liam Neeson's career.  As Bryan Mills, he became the action star we know and love today.  Well, he may be getting ready to arrive at another turning point in his career.  In a recent inte...

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REVIEW: With the Toledo Panic Button & the Little Blind Mouse, Focus Is All Con Artists Nicky & Jess Really Need

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 28, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Focus





Directed By: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa

Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Adrian Martinez, and Gerald McRaney

Will Smith used to be the king of the box office.  Between his 1996 breakout blockbuster Independence Day and his 2008 hit Hancock, Smith reigned supreme with 12 out of 14 of his films crossing the $100 million mark domestically.  So what the hell happened in the last seven years to change this?  Smith took a four-year hiatus from the box office and came back ...

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REVIEW: Mortdecai – An Offbeat Action Comedy That Never Realizes Its Full Potential

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, January 26, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Mortdecai
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  David Koepp

Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany, and Jeff Goldblum

Johnny Depp has entertained us for decades with quirky, fun characters from his roles in Cry-Baby to Edwards Scissorhands to the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  Depp thrives on playing weird, offbeat characters.  Recently, however, his choices have missed the mark.  From The Lone Ranger to Transcendence, Depp has had flop after flop.  Sadly, Mort...

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REVIEW: To Fuel His American Dream, Abel Morales Endures A Most Violent Year On the Most Right Path

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, January 20, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
A Most Violent Year





Directed By: J. C. Chandor


Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, and Albert Brooks

Margin Call, All Is Lost, and A Most Violent Year all have something in common, and it's not just that they're the first three feature films by prolific director J. C. Chandor.  These terrific movies have not gotten the recognition they deserve at the culmination of awards season.  The corporate thriller Margin Call about the 2008 financial crisis notched ju...

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REVIEW: Blackhat – R.A.T.s, Hackers And The Sexiest Man Alive Could Not Save This Film

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, January 17, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Blackhat
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  Michael Mann

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Wei Tang, Viola Davis, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany, Yorick van Wageningen, and Leehom Wang

Every week, it seems like there is news of another data breach.  We have seen major companies get hacked, including Target, Home Depot and many more.  There was even a story about some mysterious Russians stealing over a billion passwords.  However, the attack on Sony brought cyberterrorism to the forefront more than any other ...

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REVIEW: Taken 3 – Take Me Away From This Tired Franchise

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, January 11, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Taken 3
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  Luc Besson

Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott, Sam Spruell, and Leland Orser

In 2008, Taken transformed Liam Neeson into a bona fide action star at age 55.  Known for Schindler’s List and Gangs of New York, among other films, Neeson became a kickass protagonist who could draw people to the box office for an action thriller.  Unfortunately, Taken 3 is a pathetic attempt at cashing in on the success of the first ...

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REVIEW: Inherent Vice – Great Cast, Great Hair, But Long, Rambling Plot

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, January 10, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Inherent Vice
SoberFilmChick




Directed by:  Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Sasha Pieterse, Jena Malone, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, and Martin Short

As the credits rolled at the end of Inherent Vice, the patrons in my audience remained in their seats, confused and uncertain.  After two and a half hours of the hippie detective dramedy, we were left wondering what it is we had just seen and what, if ...

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REVIEW: Despite Some Engaging Blackjack, Roulette, & English 101, The Gambler Doesn't Quite Reach the F*ck You Position

Posted by James Brown on Friday, December 26, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Gambler





Directed By: Rupert Wyatt

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Michael K. Williams, and Jessica Lange

Some of you may know this already, but I'm getting ready for abdominal surgery in the next week and a half.  I'll be out of commission for some time and will be handing over the STMR reins to the Sober Film Chick for a while.  One of the many reasons for which I'm having the surgery so early in the year is so that I can make my annual trip to Las Vegas in late February...

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REVIEW: An Ornithologist, Philatelist, & Philanthropist, Golden Eagle John du Pont Leads Wrestler Mark Schultz to Olympic Gold at the Foxcatcher Estate

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, November 23, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Foxcatcher





Directed By: Bennett Miller


Starring: Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Vanessa Redgrave


I don't know the story of John du Pont.  I was just a kid when the multimillionaire wrestling enthusiast committed the heinous acts that made his name infamous.  Not an Olympics enthusiast, I'm not terribly familiar with Mark or Dave Schultz either.  Alas, the only gold medalist in the wrestling space with whom I'm familiar is Mr. Kurt Angle.  I know.  I should know more, but it mak...

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REVIEW: To Be The Equalizer For Russians Teddy & Pushkin, Old Man & Gladys Knight Pip Robert McCall Gets On That Midnight Train to Georgia

Posted by James Brown on Friday, September 26, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Equalizer





Directed By: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, and Melissa Leo

Television and cinema are inextricably bound to one another.  As such, there are numerous examples in which stories are brought to life across the two media.  Some success on the big screen can foreshadow future success on the smaller one.  Take the Marvel Cinematic Universe for instance.  The success of The Avengers has created a home for its fol...

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REVIEW: Practicing the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, Private Detective Matt Scudder Takes A Bloody Good Walk Among the Tombstones

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 20, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
A Walk Among the Tombstones





Directed By: Scott Frank

Starring: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Eric Nelsen, Brian "Astro" Bradley, Sebastian Roché, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

It's been a rough year at the movies, but the fall is finally here and in full swing.  We've gotten through the hurdles of a rather dismal summer box office season full of duds.  With the fall, we can say goodbye to being inundated with explosions, wild nonsense masquerading as humor, and unwanted sequels or reboots (i.e. Trans...

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REVIEW: Despite Dealing With Cousin Marv, Eric Deeds, & Rocco the Pit Bull, Bartender Bob Handles The Drop For the Chechens

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 14, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
The Drop





Directed By: Michaël R. Roskam

Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Gandolfini, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and Ann Dowd

We've lost a lot of cherished figures in the world of entertainment in the last couple of years.  For those actors who were still in the game at the time of their passing, I'm always impressed by how many completed projects they have in the pipeline.  Take Philip Seymour Hoffman for instance.  We've already seen him in God's Pocket and ...

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REVIEW: In Australian Western The Rover, Three Robbers Get a Bloody Lesson in Why Not to Steal Another Man's Car

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, June 22, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Rover





Directed By: David Michôd


Starring: Guy Pearce, Robert Pattinson, and Scoot McNairy

I've been begging for something fresh and original over the last several weeks. In my reviews of The Signal, The Grand Seduction, and Think Like a Man Too, I've been critical of filmmakers for not taking the road less traveled and offering up the same old predictable, formulaic stuff.  Well, my wish is apparently director David Michôd's command.  His latest film, The Rover is unlike anything I've seen...

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REVIEW: Unlucky S.O.B. Dom Hemingway, a Man With No Options, Suddenly Has All the Options in the World When the Pendulum of Luck Swings His Way

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 13, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Dom Hemingway





Directed By: Richard Shepard

Starring: Jude Law, Richard E. Grant, Demián Bichir, Emilia Clarke, Kerry Condon, Jumayn Hunter, and Mãdãlina Diana Ghenea

"Oh.  I'll tell you who I am.  I'm the f*cker who'll tear your nose off with my teeth.  I'm the f*cker who will gut you with a dull cheese knife and sing Gilbert and Sullivan while I do it.  I'm the f*cker who'll dump your dead body in a freezing cold lake and watch you sink to the bottom like so much shit.  I am that f*cker.  Th...

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REVIEW: Dark Vengeance – Literally Made For Television

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Tuesday, March 4, 2014, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Dark Vengeance
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Keoni Waxman

Starring: Steven Seagal, Warren Christie, Sarah Lind, Tzi Ma, Meghan Ory, and George Takei

As a child of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, I have a certain affinity for cheesy martial arts/crime/sci-fi fare.  I grew up on films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal.  For heaven’s sake, I’ve seen Cyborg multiple times. Thus, I am not opposed to the resurgence of 80’s actors, who are provi...

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REVIEW: #HaveYouBeenBad? For All Its Drugs, Diamonds, & Cheetahs, The Counselor Strangely Doesn't Fit the Bill

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 26, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
The Counselor





Directed By: Ridley Scott


Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt


Some movies seem like the perfect recipe for success on paper but unexpectedly turn out to be failures on the grandest of scales.  Until today, the best example in recent memory was the 2007 thriller Lions for Lambs.  The film starred Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford.  To top things off, Redford was playing multiple roles by sitting in the director's chair ...

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REVIEW: Runner Runner – Richie Furst Fails in This Online Gambling Drama, #nodisrespecttobenaffleck

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, October 5, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Runner Runner
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Brad Furman

Starring: Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie, and Ben Affleck
`
I knew that Runner Runner was going to be a bad movie.  I am not a part of the “I hate Ben Affleck” fan club.  To the contrary, Affleck has had some great films: Good Will Hunting, Dogma, Argo, and The Town to name a few.  I did not join the countless fanatics that practically shut down Twitter when Affleck was cast as the new Batman.  I think he is a radically d...

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REVIEW: Prisoners Is One Intense Abduction Thriller Chock Full of Snakes, Torture, and Mazes

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 21, 2013, In : 0.00% Water 
Prisoners





Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano

It's official.  The awards season has begun at the box office.  Though we've had some early contenders such as Fruitvale Station, Blue Jasmine, and The Butler, we've now hit that time of year where we'll see more of the movies that will be competing for golden statuettes in January and February of next year.  Last year around this time, we had Pau...

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REVIEW: In 2 Guns, Robbing Tres Cruces is Worse Than Robbing the Bank Across the Street From a Diner With the Best Donuts in Three Counties

Posted by James Brown on Friday, August 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
2 Guns





Directed By: Baltasar Kormâkur


Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, James Marsden, Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos, and Fred Ward

The summer movie season is starting to wind down.  It's been an underwhelming summer to say the least.  With bomb after bomb after bomb hitting the box office, we've been continuously disappointed.  The duds have included films like After Earth, White House Down, The Lone Ranger, and R.I.P.D.  Though there have certainly been standouts lik...

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REVIEW: With the Angel of Vengeance Running the Show, Only God Forgives Is Drive on Crack in Thailand

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, July 20, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
Only God Forgives





Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vithaya Pansringarm

Ryan Gosling has been all about re-teaming with his past directors this year.  He did just that in The Place Beyond the Pines with his Blue Valentine director Derek Cianfrance.  He's doing it again this weekend by getting back together with his Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn in Only God Forgives.  Despite repeat collaborations with directors who each took Gosling's caree...

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REVIEW: The Bling Ring Hits Up Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, & Orlando Bloom for Cash & Clothes But Completely Misses the Mark

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, June 22, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
The Bling Ring





Directed By: Sofia Coppola

Starring: Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Georgia Rock, Emma Watson, and Leslie Mann

Earlier this year, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers rocked the box office.  It was an oversexed movie with a purpose about four teen princesses turning to a life of crime for the chance of having a legendary spring break.  Showing a life of crime and partying in all its decadent glory, Korine dished out some potent commentary on what the myt...

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REVIEW: In Now You See Me, the Four Horsemen Employ the Targeted Deception and Misdirection of Magic for the Eye and for Shrike

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 31, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Now You See Me





Directed By: Louis Leterrier

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Mélanie Laurent, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Common

"Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it'll be to fool you."

-J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg)

Everyone loves a good magic trick.  It's the stuff that makes you put faith in the impossible, the inexplicable.  It's just hard to translate the awe and wonder of magic to the big screen.  Jus...

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REVIEW: From a Porn Lab to the Mob, The Iceman is One Cold-Blooded Contract Killer

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, May 19, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
The Iceman





Directed By: Ariel Vromen

Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, and Erin Cummings

Michael Shannon might just be the most underrated actor of his generation.  Despite a very impressive filmography and a long list of memorable characters on screen, Shannon has never attained mainstream popularity and is still relatively unknown to the movie-going public at large.  It's unfortunate because he's a really prolific ac...

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REVIEW: My Brother the Devil is a Terrorist, Not a Homo???

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 11, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
My Brother the Devil





Directed By: Sally El Hosaini

Starring: James Floyd, Fady Elsayed, and Saïd Taghmaoui


I was just having a conversation yesterday about homosexuality in Islamic culture.  Though I wasn't particularly interested in the conversation at the time, another individual and I were discussing how being gay is more than just taboo to Muslims.  It's comparable to a mortal sin and can often have fatal consequences.  It's so fitting that I ended up seeing Sally El Hosaini's My Brother th...

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REVIEW: Sun Gym Bodybuilder Danny Lugo is a Doer Trying to Gain the American Dream, But Teaming with El Dad & Torturing Pepe Only Bring Pain

Posted by James Brown on Friday, April 26, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
Pain & Gain





Directed By: Michael Bay

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Harris, Rob Corddry, Anthony Mackie, Tony Shalhoub, Rebel Wilson, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Nicole Lee, Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau, and Bar Paly

We've been seeing quite a bit of The Rock lately.  Unfortunately, he's had more misses than hits.  He starred in the less than memorable Snitch back in February.  He was then the lead in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which was just a decent action flick by any standard.  From what I've hea...

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REVIEW: With Bank Robbers, Corrupt Cops, and Bitter Sons, The Place Beyond the Pines is the Place Where Luke and Avery Show Their True Colors

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 6, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
The Place Beyond the Pines






Directed By: Derek Cianfrance


Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, Rose Byrne, Mahershala Ali, Bruce Greenwood, Harris Yulin, Dane DeHaan, Emory Cohen and Olga Merediz

"If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like thunder."

-Robin (Ben Mendelsohn)

I am a big advocate of filmmakers who take creative risks.  Many are so afraid of crashing and burning that they don't think or do anything outside the box, particularly in main...

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REVIEW: Spring Break Forever Bitches! These Four Little Chickies' Trip to Florida Seems Like a Dream

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 23, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Spring Breakers





Directed By: Harmony Korine

Starring: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, and Gucci Mane

I came into Spring Breakers with some pretty low expectations.  The trailer simply didn't make the sale for me.  A gangster party movie with some all grown up, scantily clad teen princesses and a thugged up James Franco didn't leave me expecting much.  There are so many ways that a movie like this could go wrong.  In my mind, there was no way this thing ...

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REVIEW: In Revenge Flick Dead Man Down, 719 Is All About Killing the Devil Slowly, Not When You Find Him

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 9, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Dead Man Down





Directed By: Niels Arden Oplev


Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper, Isabelle Huppert, and Wade Barrett

Noomi Rapace's career has been on the rise for quite some time now, and it's well-deserved given her raw acting talent.  In the last couple of years, the original girl with the dragon tattoo has gotten some major exposure on the big screen.  Rapace had a supporting role alongside Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shado...

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REVIEW: Snitch – The Rock Enters The Drug War To Save His Son, But Doesn’t Quite Lay The Smackdown

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, February 24, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Snitch
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring:  Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Michael Kenneth Williams, Benjamin Bratt, Jon Bernthal, Rafi Gavron

I am a huge fan of Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.  He is an amazingly charismatic wrestler and he has parlayed that into an impressive movie career (i.e. The Rundown, Fast Five).  Thus, I was enthusiastic about his new movie Snitch.  I anticipated a butt-kicking father out for justice for his son.  I thought it had the potential to be a ...


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REVIEW: With Murder, Insider Trading, & Conspiracy, Sleepwalking is One of the Milder Side Effects of Depression Drug Ablixa

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 9, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 

Side Effects





Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Ann Dowd, Vinessa Shaw, Polly Draper, and David Costabile

In this first full week of February, I'm going to go ahead and declare it.  Our January slump is over!  We've been plagued with junk movies for weeks now, but that rough patch has finally come to an end.  Some good movies are hitting theaters once again.  The director up at bat this weekend is Steven Soderbergh, and he kn...


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REVIEW: For Stand Up Guys Pacino, Walken, and Arkin, It's Time to Kick Ass or Chew Gum?! Seriously?

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Stand Up Guys





Directed By: Fisher Stevens

Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Mark Margolis, Katheryn Winnick, Vanessa Ferlito, Addison Timlin, and Lucy Punch

Al Pacino is my favorite actor in all of film history.  He is the consummate performer on the big screen, the small screen, and stage.  If you say Pacino is in something, I'm watching whatever it is.  It doesn't matter whether he's playing Michael Corleone, Sonny Wortzik, or even Joe Paterno.  I'm d...


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REVIEW: Even With the Chaos from Danzinger and Chicago, Parker Doesn't Follow Through on Delivering a Decent Action Flick

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 25, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 

Parker





Directed By: Taylor Hackford

Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, Clifton Collins, Jr., Bobby Canavale, and Nick Nolte

Jason Statham is one of the busiest action stars in the business, but it's rare that he actually produces something good.  In the last two years alone, he's appeared in The Mechanic, Killer Elite, and The Expendables 2.  This guy is clearly in the habit of making bad movies.  That's why it's so fitting for him to grace theaters dur...


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REVIEW: Like the Bolton Village Sale, Broken City Just Doesn't Add Up

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 19, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Broken City





Directed By: Allen Hughes

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barry Pepper, Kyle Chandler, Natalie Martinez, and Jeffrey Wright
 
January must be trash collection month at the box office because Hollywood keeps dumping crap onto the big screen.  Our latest junk film is Broken City, a crime drama starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  If released any other time of the year, it's something that would have been considered a worthwhi...


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REVIEW: In the Matter of Progress vs. a Better Future, Gangster Squad Loses Its Badge

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 11, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Gangster Squad





Directed By: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, and Robert Patrick

2012 was the year of long movies.  Many of them were good, but they were long.  The Avengers, Skyfall, and Lincoln all flirted with the two and a half hour mark, while The Dark Knight Rises, Les Misérables, and Django Unchained blew right past it.  Those are some long movies.  Because of this I made a New Year'...


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REVIEW: Like James Barr's Crime Scene, Jack Reacher is Too Good to Be True

Posted by James Brown on Friday, December 21, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 

Jack Reacher





Directed By: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog, and Richard Jenkins

"There's this guy.  He's a kind of cop, at least he used to be.  He doesn't care about proof, he doesn't care about the law, he only cares about what's right.  He knows what I did.  You can't protect me.  No one can."
-James Barr (Joseph Sikora)

Last year around this time, I was raving about Tom Cruise in his fourth outing as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible...


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REVIEW: Despite the Comedy, Home Looks Like a Much Better Option Than Deadfall

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 8, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails 

Deadfall





Directed By: Stefan Ruzowitzky

Starring: Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Kate Mara, Treat Williams, Kris Kristofferson, and Sissy Spacek

We're in this annual post-Thanksgiving slump at the box office.  All studios want to capitalize on the holidays, so releases are clustered around Turkey Day and Christmas.  Between the holidays, we're stuck with several weekends of nothingness.  Last year, it was something we just witnessed at mainstream theaters.  This year, however, the ...


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REVIEW: Like America, Killing Them Softly is All About the Almighty Dollar

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 1, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 

Killing Them Softly





Directed By: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard

In recent years, a lot of people have begun to think that America has lost its way, that we're on a downward trajectory as a people, and that the highest offices in government go to the highest bidders.  While we can certainly debate the first two points, there's no debating the final one.  After all, we live in an America where th...


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REVIEW: The Moonshine Bootlegging Bondurant Brothers May Think They're Invincible, But Lawless Shows All Their Flaws

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, August 30, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Lawless





Directed By: John Hillcoat

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, and Dane DeHaan

On paper, Lawless may be the perfect movie for me.  I've been in need of a good crime movie as of late.  They're so rare these days.  On top of that, it's about moonshine bootlegging during Prohibition.  That's just about as good as it gets for the SoberFilmCritic.  That being said, Lawless doesn't fully realize its potential as director J...
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REVIEW: He May Only Find Pain When He Gets Back in the Game, But The Dark Knight Rises to the Occasion

Posted by James Brown on Friday, July 20, 2012, In : 0.00% Water 
The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR)





Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Morgan Freeman


During a summer blockbuster season that's offered moviegoers ass-kicking Avengers, web-slinging heroes, time-traveling secret agents, and weed-smoking teddy bears, the Dark Knight has finally arrived!  It's been four years since Christopher Nolan's landmark film The Dark Knight, and not much has chan...

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REVIEW: For the Love of Strong Weed, Savages Gets Down to Bloody Business

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 8, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Savages





Directed By: Oliver Stone

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, Emile Hirsch, and John Travolta

We're at the peak of the summer movie season.  There is something for everybody right now.  We've got a lot in theaters, but we really hadn't had a movie that gets down and dirty in a bloody, brutal way until now.  This weekend Oliver Stone comes to fill this void with his new movie Savages.  With all the sex, drugs, and guns in this flick, you'll...
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REVIEW: Ryan Gosling Puts the Pedal to the Metal in Drive

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 18, 2011, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Drive






Directed By: Nicolas Winding Refn

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Albert Brooks, and Ron Perlman


Every once in a while, a movie comes along, and you don't quite know what to make of it.  You know you enjoyed it, but you feel that something is missing that's keeping you from running to the mountaintops shouting how great the movie is.  You wonder if it could have been just a little better.  Nicholas Winding Refn's Drive is one of those films.  Do...
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