admin
This user hasn't shared any biographical information
Posts by admin
10 Great Quotes From Movies
Mar 26th
Great quotes are lines that we just can’t get out of our head, so let’s have a tribute to 10 great quotes from movies. These lines are timeless and unforgettable and perfectly summarize the movies that they come from as well as entire generations of moviegoers.
- “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse” Don Vito assures his business partners in “The Godfather” that the deal will go through as promised. As for the un-refusable offer, a horses head in the bed got the job done. This is one of the most quotable lines of all time, and like most of Marlon Brando’s dialogue, it’s expertly delivered.
- “I coulda been a contender” Ex-prize fighter Terry Malloy recounts what could have been to his brother in this movie quote from “On the Waterfront.” Marlon Brando expertly delivers this line and pulls the audience in with him.
- “Go ahead, make my day” With a .44 magnum, Dirty Harry doesn’t let anything get in his way as he dares the baddies in “Sudden Impact” with this movie quote. This line perfectly exemplifies not only the character in the movie, but Clint Eastwood’s perceived persona in general as well.
- “May the Force be with you” This great movie quote defined a generation of sci-fi fans and is a stable of all six “Star Wars” films. All kinds of nerdom from all walks of live have recited this line for decades as their personal creed.
- “You talkin’ to me?” As Travis Bickle slides closer and closer to insanity, he delivers this intense soliloquy in front of a mirror in “Taxi Driver.” As he aimlessly wields a gun around the room, we get the sense that this man is on the verge of doing something drastic and nothing can stop him.
- “We all go a little mad sometimes” Another nut job, Norman Bates says this great movie quote with a chilling gaze in “Psycho.” His eyes, for only a moment, delve completely insane with the devilish look of the killer inside him, only to be submerged by the sweet and pleasant Norman.
- “Bond, James Bond” Perhaps the most quoted line on this list, just about everyone has substituted James Bond name for their own at point or another, a testament to the power of this movie quote. Nothing is sexier than seeing Bond introduce himself only to be followed up by an inventive kill while sipping a martini.
- “I’ll be back!” With his Austrian accent, Arnold Schwarzenegger provides this movie quote as the unstoppable robot killer in ‘The Terminator.” The line was unsuccessfully used in later Terminator movies—worst of all in “Terminator: Salvation”—but its power has nonetheless stuck around to today.
- “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” As a 25 foot shark circles the now puny Orca in “Jaws”, Chief Brody provides this great movie quote. In the middle of the ocean with a giant shark and a seemingly tiny boat, the three sailors going up against the man-eater surely have the odds stacked against them.
- “Say ‘hello’ to my little friend!” “Scarface” is full of great movie quotes, but none is as well known as this line given by Tony Montana at the films climax. The “little friend” in question is an AR-15 assault rifle with attached M203 grenade launcher. Be sure to say it with a fake Cuban accent for maximum affect.
From www.screenjunkies.com
Sexuality Movies
Mar 26th
Get ready for things to get hot and heavy with sexuality movies. Sexuality movies serve a dual purpose; they can get your heart pumping with some of the hottest sex scenes to grace the silver screen, but, they also have the ability to make you think about the relationship between love and the complications that they cause in our lives.
- “Romance” (1999)- Don’t let the title of this sexuality movie fool you. While there is a lot of sex in this movie, it is pretty light on romance in the traditional meaning of the word. The theme for this movie is frustration and trying to define the true meaning romance. After years of living together, a school teacher’s boyfriend refuses to have sex with her. To alleviate her frustration, she resorts to a series of dangerous sexual liaisons that leave her feeling hollow. This movie explores the relationship between romance, intimacy and quiet longing.
- “The Great Happiness Space” (2006)- This sexuality movie looks at the Host Boys of Osaka, Japan. Host Boys are groups of young Japanese men who are paid by women for companionship. While women from all sections of society use Host Boys, this movie focuses on a special kind of patron; prostitutes and call girls. When they’re done plying their trade at various clubs throughout the city, these women spend their money on the company of Host Boys. Most of the girls see Host Boys as nothing more than a good time while others spend with the intention of making their Host fall in love with them. It’s an interesting look at the emotional needs of the customers, the Hosts who service them and the difference between psychical and emotional prostitution.
- “An Affair of Love” (1999)- A film that was a bit ahead of its time, this sexuality movie takes a look at the budding hook-up culture that developed in the age of the internet. He and She meet online, and after exchanging a few emails, decide to meet in person for some naughty time. It would have been really easy for this movie to take a turn for a romantic drama as he and she continue an affair, but the fact that the pair decides to part ways just when it seems their relationship looks to take a turn for the serious makes it a compelling story about the sometimes positive possibilities of sex without the complications of love and relationships.
- “Lie with Me” (2005)- This sexuality movie looks at what happens when casual sex throws you a curve ball and asks for a relationship. Leila is a happily unattached woman who enjoys her sexual conquests. But when she beds a man who wants more of a commitment from her, their lives begin to get a little more complicated and not always for the better. It’s a hot and steamy look what we do when confronted with a choice between the emotional safety of casual sex and the risk of emotional attachment.
- “Sex and Breakfast” (2007)- Highlighted by a brilliant performance by Macaulay Culkin, this sexuality movie is the story of a young couple who has so little spark left in their love life. At their wit’s end, the pair go to a therapist who suggests that they visit a sex group. At first, the group is just hot, sweaty, sexy fun, but it doesn’t take long for the introduction of new partners to affect their relationship.
From www.screenjunkies.com
Sucker Punch Review
Mar 26th
Sucker Punch is a movie that had all the potential to be something special. At it’s heart is a good idea but it fell flat in the execution. Despite being out for barely two days, Sucker Punch is already proving to be a very polarizing movie. I was curious as to how audiences would react to it seeing how I was in fact really looking forward to it, but then the reviews came in. So far, the reaction to this movie has been decidedly mixed, with reactions ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative, and I can see why. Sucker Punch is a movie that knows how to push fanboy buttons, and do it well, but as a movie as a whole it falls flat. I saw it with three other friends and the four of us were split down the middle on our opinions of it, and that seems to be the case all around. Needless to say, Sucker Punch is a movie that has “cult film” written all over it, but I think it’s going to fall flat in the mainstream circuit.
Sucker Punch tells the story of Baby Doll, a young girl committed to a mental institution by her evil step-father. While there, she finds that the evil head doctor is using the girls in the asylum for his brothel he runs on the side (I guess, but more on that later) and she escapes into a fantasy world while also plotting her escape. On the surface, it sounds like Pan’s Labyrinth but with more guns and explosions, and it’s an idea that could have worked and given us something special. I was intrigued the first half hour or so of the movie, but then soon found myself…bored. Sucker Punch’s key flaw is that it just doesn’t engage the audience, and one main reason why is the fight scenes.
As I said earlier, Sucker Punch knows how to push geek buttons. You have hot girls in skimpy, anime attire, robots, dragons, orc, and steam punk Nazi zombies (yes, I thought that was an awesome idea too). The fight scenes are like something out of a video game: hot girls have to fight monsters to get to their objective, they even get a little briefing in the beginning and have to fight a boss at the end. The fight scenes are big, loud, and pretty, but they don’t add anything to the movie. The best action movies, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Die Hard, Inception, all use the action scenes to advance the plot of the movie, something is always at stake to make us doubt if our heroes will win, but with Sucker Punch, the movie could have easily cut out the fight scenes and not missed a beat. The action scenes all take place in Baby Doll’s head so there’s no sense of danger, we know this isn’t a real world so we never doubt if she’s going to get killed by whatever monster she’s up against. In the world, we see the characters nab whatever object their after, the map, lighter, etc, so we know they already have it so we don’t need a big flashy action scene to show it again. The movie really just stops in it’s tracks for these massive action scenes and I found myself sick of them after the second one.
These all leads to the big flaw that there is no sense of danger, nothing at stake. We’re told that Baby Doll has five days until she gets lobotomized but we never get that sense of a ticking clock. The girls all go for the various items needed to escape, but they get them with all too much ease. The villains are so over the top that we never really fear them, and they really don’t do anything dastardly, so we find ourselves not caring.
Another big flaw is the characters, or caricatures as they should be. All our heroes really are is hot, barely clothed girls, video game avatars going from point A to point B. Baby Doll, our main, character, really doesn’t have anything to her other than to look concerned and tell everyone her plan. There could have been some great character guilt with the plant earlier in the movie that she accidentally killed her sister, but this is never brought up again. All the other supporting cast is just kinda “there”, and one point one of them died and I barely batted an eye.
The line between reality and fantasy became a big debating point as well. Some of my friends thought that the whole thing with the asylum being used as a brothel was all in Baby Doll’s head, and at times this does seem the case, but we’re never given sufficient evidence to doubt or prove this. The time frame was another point of debate, because it seems to present a 1950′s type feel but then plays modern music.
All in all, Sucker Punch really fell short of being something special. Zack Snyder has proven to be a capable director but I think he was just trying to do too many things with this: a women in prison movie, a fantasy, a video game movie, etc. I still have faith for the Superman movie because Snyder won’t be doing the script, unlike with Sucker Punch. While this movie is big, pretty, and expensive, it’s really nothing more than a teenage boy’s fantasy come to life, complete with hot girls with no personalities fighting cool monsters.
From www.comicbookmovie.com
Kullanari kuttam Movie Review
Mar 26th
Kullanari kuttam starring Vishnu and Remya Nambeesan in the lead. The movie is about Vishnu and how he falls for his love lady and get her back filled with all romance comedy and many more with a power pack performance of Vishnu and Remya.
Kullanari kootam is a story which has set in Madurai .the film has all essentials such as comedy romance songs which is believed to be a family entertainer.The story starts with Vishnu whose characters is to take upon what comes to him happily and move life with luck and happiness. Remya Nambeesan is Vishnu ‘s lady love who comes as a local Madurai girl with full of naughty and fun loving. It s all about the fair and war in love .
The film is directed by Sri Balaji and songs have been composed by carnatic percussionist Selvaganesh. The buzz about the movie was that when the audio was launched by Oscar winner A.R. Rahman . The songs have been already popular for its varities.
KULLANARI KOOTTAM Cast & Crew
Director: Sri Balaji
Producer: Ashish Jain V
Music Director: Selvaganesh
From www.supergoodmovies.com
sleepover turns into real life horror movie
Mar 26th
SIX boys cowered in the dark as a knife-wielding man threatened to kill them during a suburban sleepover from hell.
The group of mostly 12-year-olds yesterday told how their neighbour went on a rampage, screaming they “were going to die” and trying to batter down the door to their townhouse in the Brisbane suburb of Capalaba.
The three-hour ordeal ended only when Brett Hayes, 50, was shot in the groin by a policewoman after he allegedly lunged at her with six 30cm knives.
An investigation has been launched into the shooting as police defended their response to several frantic calls for help.
Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett said police had visited the unit block “on a couple of occasions” earlier in the night, but were unable to find the source of a reported disturbance.
He brushed aside reports that police took more than an hour to respond to calls for assistance.
“On a busy Friday night, resources are stretched and priority is given to various jobs as they come in,” he said.
The sleepover was being held at the townhouse of a 14-year-old boy, who had invited school friends aged 12 to 14 over for the night.
Just before midnight, the boy said Hayes had knocked on the door and asked whether the boys wanted to take a walk with him.
Their refusal sparked a three-hour rampage, during which they cowered in the dark while Hayes threatened to break the door down.
The boy said Hayes returned many times during the three hours, smashing against the lower-floor glass door, pounding on windows and fences and screaming threats.
One boy said the scariest moment was sitting in the house with the lights off as Hayes scratched at the door and shouted to the boys that they “were going to die”.
As well as three calls to police, the boy also made a desperate phone call to his mother, who was working a late shift. She arrived shortly before the shooting.
Eyewitnesses say two female police officers ordered Hayes to return to his townhouse, a few doors down from the boy’s home. But onlookers watched in horror as Hayes allegedly rushed out of his home armed with knives, lashing at the officers.
One said he was just metres from one of the officers who shot Hayes in the leg just before 3am after he allegedly ignored three warnings, lunging at the officer with a blade within centimetres of her face.
The mother of one of the boys at the sleepover said her son was still trying to deal with the terrifying ordeal.
“They will have nightmares for ages,” she said. “You don’t want your 12-year-old around guns, knives and shootings.”
The mother said she was disappointed with the police response time.
No charges had been laid against Hayes, who spent last night in hospital.
From www.news.com.au
My moment with Elizabeth Taylor
Mar 26th
The recent death of Elizabeth Taylor brought back memories of my brief encounter with the British-born movie star in a New York City theatre 30 years ago. In August 1981, I had gone to visit a friend, Barbara, who was a medical intern at New York-Presbyterian Hospital located near the majestic George Washington Bridge.
Besides the general round of sight-seeing, we had also purchased tickets to see Amadeus — the fictionalized stage play, which had its U.S. première on Broadway in 1980, written in 1979 by the English dramatist Peter Shaffer.
The production — which won five Tony awards — featured Ian McKellen as the jealous and evil Antonio Salieri and Peter Firth (who had replaced fellow actor Tim Curry) as a hyperactive, impulsive and, of course, gifted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
About five minutes before the play was to start, people were jolted from their casual conversation by the appearance of a couple heading down the aisle to their seats near the front.
“It’s Elizabeth Taylor,” whispered the starstruck young woman seated next to my companion.
Taylor was accompanied by her then husband John William Warner — Republican politician, who served as secretary of the navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States senator from Virginia from Jan. 2, 1979, to Jan. 3, 2009.
As with millions of other people around the world, I had been captured by Elizabeth Taylor’s magnetism on the silver screen — having seen many of her movies: Butterfield 8, Cleopatra, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Taming of the Shrew, to name just a few.
How true were the words of former New York Times movie critic Vincent Canby when, on the occasion of Taylor’s being honoured in 1986 by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, he wrote (as was recalled in the NYT tribute to Taylor on March 23, 2011): “More than anyone else I can think of, Elizabeth Taylor represents the complete movie phenomenon — what movies are as an art and an industry and what they have meant to those of us who have grown up watching them in the dark.’”
During the play’s intermission, I approached Taylor, who was combing her thick dark hair in front of a full-length mirror on a pillar, in the small downstairs lobby where she was waiting for her husband who had gone to use the men’s room.
“Ms. Taylor, I just want to express my appreciation for your talent as an actress,” I said, as her expressive deep violet eyes caught my reflection from behind. “I’ve really enjoyed your movies.”
“Why thank you very much,” she said with a wide and friendly smile turning to face me just as the tall silver-haired Senator Warner reappeared.
“That’s very nice of you to say.”
Then, it was time to return for the second half of Amadeus.
At the play’s conclusion, in a tribute of respect and affection by her fellow thespians, the entire cast acknowledged Taylor’s presence by bowing in her direction.
“That was worth the price of admission,” I said to Barbara as we slowly filed out of the theatre hoping, but not succeeding, to catch one last glimpse of Taylor.
It was an indelible moment.
As I reflect on the life of Elizabeth Taylor, a fitting line from Shakespeare’s play Antony and Cleopatra comes to mind: “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety.”
Martin Zeilig is a freelance writer.
From www.winnipegfreepress.com
Books, music, movie stores face stiff competition from online retailers
Mar 26th
The retail business of selling books, music and movies has changed forever. Some superstores that specialized in such merchandise are under stress from the Internet and mail order, with Blockbuster busted and Borders staggering.
Yet, small-town bookstores seem to hang on in their own niches with varying results, with one local store, Oblong Books and Music, expanding its Rhinebeck space. Other local bookstores have had choppier histories, and most proprietors say it’s a tough business, but one they love.
“We do it partly because of passion,” Dick Hermans said, referring to independent bookstores such as his. He began his Oblong store in Millerton 35 years ago and is now adding 1,000 square feet to the existing 2,800 square feet in the Rhinebeck store.
The loss of big-box booksellers may help the little guys, he thinks. “I do think there’s a chance for indies to expand right now,” he said.
For consumers of books, music and movies, the online revolution has opened up new ways to buy and enjoy even as it threatens to wipe away favorite haunts for those who like to do hands-on browsing.
A frequent buyer of books and music at Oblong is Sherry Smith of Rhinebeck, who hopes the hands-on and local option stay forever.
“They’re my favorite place. We’re lucky to have them,” Smith said. “To me, books will never die. They keep forecasting that will happen. They’ve been forecasting that for years. It will never happen.”
E-books are definitely happening, however. The Association of American Publishers reported that January sales of e-books rose 115.8 percent in a year to $69.9 million. That sum exceeded the total for adult hardcover books, $49.1 million, down 11.3 percent, or for adult mass market books, $39 million, down 30.9 percent. Adult paperbacks brought in $83.6 million, down 19.7 percent.
All categories overall were down 1.9 percent to $821.5 million.
The hometown bookstore business is not an easy one. Scott Meyer, owner of the Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook and in Red Hook, is closing the Red Hook store he opened in 1999.
From www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
10 Best Chinese Movies With English Subtitles
Mar 26th
The 10 best Chinese movies with English subtitles are extremely entertaining, insightful and emotional. Because they have English subtitles, English speaking viewers can watch these movies to gain insight into Chinese culture. Whether dramatic, romantic or full of action, each of these Chinese movies shines.
- “Secret.” When a new student at a prestigious music university encounters a lovely girl playing the piano on his first day, he is stunned when she tells him that she cannot share the name or any information about the song with him. The two form a deep friendship, but he cannot leave the unknown music behind. “Secret” is one of the best Chinese movies with English subtitles.
- “Lust, Caution.” Set during World War II, this Chinese movie with English subtitles tells the story of a young woman who gets caught in the politics and games of a spy. Soon, it’s clear that her involvement might not have been random and that she might have more than her life at risk.
- “Blind Mountain.” When Bai finishes college she accepts a job harvesting herbs. But when she arrives in the remote village, she finds that she has actually been sold into slavery and tat she is expected to carry children. In a country where very few women remain, the most frightening aspect of this movie is the very same one that makes it so good: the possibility of it being a true. “Blind Mountain” is one of the greatest Chinese movies with English subtitles.
- “Curse of the Golden Flower.” When the Emperor unexpectedly returns home, it’s obvious that his explanation of wanting to spend time with his family is a lie. His return unravels a family that has been precariously based on lies, some as shocking as a sexual relationship between the Empress and her step son. The “Curse of the Golden Flower” tells the tale of the most powerful family in China as they struggle to acquire their desires, no matter what it costs their family members.
- “After This Our Exile.” After his mother’s death, a young son turns to stealing to support his alcoholic father. Still, though, he doesn’t give up on his desire to leave poverty behind him. The movie shows how family and desires are not always in accord, and how sometimes being selfish is necessary.
- “Shanghai Triad.” In this subtitled Chinese film, a young boy is recruited by his uncle to work as the assistant to a mob boss’s wife. As he grows up, he becomes more and more enmeshed in the criminal world, and more in love with the woman he is dedicated to serving.
- “To Live.” Following a Chinese family from 1940-1970, this movie shows what it means to live in the country during its most tumultuous times. Over the years the family turns from wealthy landowners to poverty stricken workers, forcing them to reevaluate the meaning of life.
- “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” This famous Chinese subtitled movie tells the tale of two warriors sent to find a criminal and the magical sword he stole. On their journey, however, one of the warriors falls in love with a unstable girl, her inability to return the warrior’s love threatens the journey’s success. Internationally acclaimed, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is a great Chinese movie with English subtitles.
- “A Girl from Hunan.” When a young girl travels to the countryside to be with her two year old betrothed, she isn’t surprised when she assumes the role of his nanny. What does surprise her, though, is the lives the other women in the village live; soon she finds herself reading and having an affair. When she discovers she’s pregnant, the fate that awaits her is either death or slavery. This touching film about a girl discovering what she thought was out of her grasp is one of the best Chinese films with English subtitles.
- “Temptress Moon.” When the patriarch of a family who turned his children into opium addicts dies, his daughter has no choice but to take over running the household. Being unsophisticated, however, she finds that the repercussions from her several mistakes could be more severe than she realized. “Temptress Moon” is a great English subtitled Chinese film.
From www.screenjunkies.com
1947 lynching case inspires movie
Mar 26th
Greenville’s Willie Earle lynching trial, which sparked O.J.-like international coverage in 1947, has inspired artists for 53 years.
Dame Rebecca West wrote a sort of journalistic novella, “Opera in Greenville,” in The New Yorker. State poet laureate Bennie Lee Sinclair wrote a novel, “The Lynching.” Centre Stage-South Carolina director Doug McCoy and playwright Granville Burgess have toyed with, though never mounted, stage versions.
Now local filmmakers John Sexton and Jeff Sumerel think the time is right for a movie treatment. Sometime between January and March, they plan a script reading — followed by casting and shooting — of a docudrama about two fictional women whose relationship is tested by the factual lynching trial, South Carolina’s last.
“It is extremely rare,” Sexton said, “that a film done with real facts about a real incident about a real place is ever done in that place and is ever done with people who live there. Every single element of this project is going to come from South Carolina.”
Willie Earle was an unemployed black laborer who, on Feb. 15, 1947, hired a white taxi driver to drive him to his mother’s home near Liberty. Around 10 p.m., the driver was discovered near his wrecked cab, bleeding from a knife wound that would prove fatal.
Earle, drunk and in possession of a bloody knife and jacket, was arrested at his mother’s house and placed in the Pickens County Jail. The next night, approximately 15 off-duty cabs headed to Pickens, and the drivers pulled Earle from the jail. His body was found the next day, mutilated by stabbing, beating, kicking and shotgun fire.
Twenty-eight cab drivers and three businessmen were indicted on counts of murder and conspiracy, and in a May trial covered by Life magazine, London newspapers and the Soviet news agency Tass, all 31 were acquitted.
Sexton, 44, first learned of the trial 15 years ago, and was amazed he’d never heard of it before — even though his grandfather had been a Greenville policeman at the time.
From www.greenvilleonline.com
Movie Review: “Limitless”
Mar 26th
Print This Article
Email This Article
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Contact The Dagger
With the first sleeper hit of the first quarter of 2011, Bradley Cooper pulls off a dramatic action role as a man discovering the limits of the capable human intellect, a turn sure to help the actor’s burgeoning career.
Originally a vehicle meant for Shia LaBeouf, who had to bow out after his motorcycle crash in 2008, “Limitless” shines as a cerebral thriller.
Out-of-work writer Eddie Morra (Cooper) is rejected by his girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish), confirming his belief that he has no future. That all vanishes the day an old friend introduces Eddie to MDT, a designer pharmaceutical that makes him laser-focused and more confident than any man alive. Now on an MDT-fueled odyssey, everything Eddie’s read, heard or seen is instantly organized and available to him. As the former nobody rises to the top of the financial world, he draws the attention of business mogul Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), who sees this enhanced version of Eddie as the tool to make billions.
But brutal side effects jeopardize his meteoric ascent. With a dwindling stash and hit men seeking to eliminate him to get the MDT, Eddie must stay wired long enough to elude capture and fulfill his destiny. If he can’t, he will become just another victim who thought he’d found invincibility in a bottle. (Summary by Relativity Media)
Not to show a full-on man-crush on Bradley Cooper, but he quickly dispels any doubts that he can pull off a leading role in a film. De Niro does not show up until a limited role late in the film, and the rest of the cast reads like a casting call from regional dinner theater. Of course, it is easy to shine when your competition is essentially non-existent. De Niro does put Cooper in his place late in the movie with an emphatic soliloquy about paying his dues that will have you pressed into your seat with its intensity, but outside that moment he is as memorable as a bout of ether.
A few creative visuals are used early in the film to explain the effects of MDT without getting bogged down in dialogue-driven explanations—a good choice by director Neil Burger, who does not have wide film-making experience. Gradually these tricks fade away to focus on the ways Eddie is going to use the drug to pull his life together. He frequently speaks of a “great plan” he developed to make a difference in the world, while his reality amounts to little more than nailing any woman within a 10-foot radius and attempting to amass a lordly sum of money via brokerage-trading algorithms.
It is never made clear if winning back his girlfriend, making absurd amounts of money, or the aforementioned man-whoring is the end game of the “plan,” all of which is accomplished with minimal effort or reason. Maybe there’ll be a sequel where the “plan” is explained as he cures cancer, adopts orphans from a third-world country, and wins the war on terrorism using mind bullets.
The major criticism lies in the lack of continuity in the story line. Obviously the mind-altering camera play from the effects of MDT could explain this away, but it seemed more the essence of lazy writing than intent. Some story lines don’t resolve, others resolve with a quick one-liner, and others get a sharp 180 contrary to the current flow of the overall storyline at the time of resolution. If nothing else, there should be a significant number of deleted scenes on the DVD release hopefully showing all the scraps left on the editing room floor, cuts forced by a studio that picked the film’s brevity over its continuity.
Eddie’s super brain works best under the suggestion that human potential is limited only by the skill of the person writing your dialogue. The questionable premises raised by the lack of thought by the screenwriter are like the proverbial house built on sand – the less time you spend there the better. While it is easy to pick apart the writing, the film is enjoyable to watch and Cooper’s performance comes in with both guns blazing, more than enough to distract you from the flaws.
“See It/ Rent It/ Skip It”: See it. Watch Bradley Cooper attempt to dispel the rumors he is secretly gay by making love to as many D-list actresses as possible in 105 minutes. My count was 8.
THREE STARS out of four.
Directed by Neil Burger. Written by Leslie Dixon (screenplay), Alan Glynn (novel).
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language.
Runtime: 1 hour, 45 min
From www.daggerpress.com
