Reviews Written by LyricalATL
-
March 10, 2006
Charlize at her best!!!!!!!!!
Pros: Acting, story
Cons: none
Charlize Theron's Oscar win for Monster was no fluke. Here, she plays a single mother workign in the steel mines of her Minnesota hometown, forced to endure taunts, abuse and threats of rape from the men who don't want women in the mines. Theron more than holds her alongside Frances Mcdormand, Sissy Spacek adn Richard Jenkins, telling the story behind the first class action of sexual harassment lawsuit. The portrayal of sexism in the mines is a bit over-the-top and the delineation between the good guys and bad guys a bit blatant, but the film's climax is well worth the experience. ...
-
March 10, 2006
Memorable!!
Pros: Assemble, direction
Cons: storyline
liev Schreiber turns his considerable talents to directing, with this quirky, smart, funny, and ultimatelymoving treatise on history and memory. The story follows writer Jonathon safran foer to the Ukraine to uncover the truth of how his grandfather escaped the Nazi invasion. More than a writer, Foer describes himself as a collector, talking bits of memrabilla and take on an almost spirtual significance, bridging past and present, Old World and New, the dead the the living. The pieces don't always fit together perfectly; but here the precess of recovering and reassembling the past transcends all else making this one of the more memorable American films of 2005. ...
-
March 7, 2006
Sam Mendes Full Metal Jacket
0 of 1 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: Performances
Cons: Writing
In the latest from director Sam Mendes, Sgt. Siek leads a batallion of colorful troops including Tony Swofford adn Troy to the Middle East, waiting for the U.S. to declare war on Saddam Hussein's Iraq, turning Operation Desert Shield into Operation Desert Storm. Jake Gyllenhaal earned his stripes in attached to a male co-worker. Rarely in military flims are real-life aspects like spousal loyalty and loneliness approaches so openly, giving ou the understanding that a soldier's real battle is waged within. Like the 2003 memoir the movie is based on, the G.I Joe stuff is saved for cartoons. This is the head trip people wanting to revisist the mental side of Full Metal Jacket have waited for. ...
-
March 7, 2006
Clooney makes a bold statement
Pros: Performances, story
Cons: inaccuracies in fact
Writer-director (and co-star) George Clooney brings us the story of Edward R. Murrow, the maverick TV journalist best remembered for talking to task the notorious Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose name name has become synonymous with the Red-scare paranoia and witch hunts that destroyed countless innocentlives in the 1950s. The film makes no bones about the relevance of its subject matter to 2005 America: the parallels between the McCarthy era and the Bush era are chillingly clear. But in the absence of anyone remotely like Murrow from television "news" today, it is often left ot courageous artist like Clooney to act as watchdogs and to speak the truth. He is to be commended not only for his sure-handed direction and fine supporting performance but also for the sheer daring of this supremely patriotic film. ...
-
March 4, 2006
Only for those who enjoyed the 1st
Pros: Very little
Cons: ...
The sequel to last year's twisted gorefest basically recycles everything hat made its predecessor entertaining, but with less flair and a more wearying formula. Cancer patient Jigsaw imprisons a bunch of ex-cons in a house rigged with traps and clues, then throws in the son of a corrupted cop who arrested these lowlifes.
Saw II hinges on the belief that prolonged torture and visceral gore are enough to sustain a film. Gone are the dark sense of humor, suspense and creepy atmosphere, and the so-called final twist is merely a cheap ploy to churn out more sequels if this one proves profitable. ... -
March 4, 2006
Off this flight from the beginning!
Pros: Concept
Cons: Execution
Th directionless thriller finds Jodie Foster as a traveler on a wonderplane built by her former employer. On a trans-Atlantic flight, her daughter disappears. Her husband recently died, and his body rests in a coffin in the hold; the crew thinks the daughter was also killed, and the woman is suffering from delusions. Who cares? Foster's character is one-note, roaming the aisles like a shrew on meth, irritating everyone (including me) in a 6-seat radius. The motives of the crew and sky marshal area unbelievable, athe tension imperceptible. Finally, the film takes an unnecessary hijacking twist, proving that a dumb action sequence can't salvage every single cinematic disaster, after all. Why waste the usually great Peter Sarsgaard in this mess? ...
-
March 4, 2006
A sheer classic
1 of 1 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: The Movie
Cons: features.
One of the best-reviewed films of the year was also one of its most purely enjoyable-an ol'fashioned Western shoot-'em-up inwhich the good guys win and the bad guys get precisely what they deserve. Viggo, in a revelatory turn, exchanges the regal nobility of Aragorn for the deceptive gentility of Tom Stall, a small-town diner owner who clearly adores his wife, kids and community. Only when his gun-blazing heroics in dispatching 2 would-be robbers catch the attention of Mafia toughs claiming him as one of their own do we realize that not everything is as it seems in this perfect picture of Midwestern familial bliss. Brilliant supporting turns from Maria Bello (who should have been nominated for an Oscar for her portrayl), Ed Harris, and William Hurt only serve to fortify director David Cronenberg's dazzling exploration of the dark side that lies barely hidden below humanity's sufrace, producing whatis arguably the best work in his career. ...
-
March 2, 2006
Harry Potter is my hero
Pros: all
Cons: none
With its considerably darker tone and often disturbing imagery, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the best of the series to date, offering a complex film that will without doubt please the fans. The production design is spectacular as is the lingering sense of reality achieved by director Mike Newell, who injects a new sense of gravitas. At over 2 1/2 hours, the film drags at times, although Harry Potter fans will probably not complain. But those who have not seen the previous films or read the books may be somewhat confused, as this fourth film does not go over old ground, nor is it totally self-contained.
It seems like an eternity ago that young Harry Potter arrived for his first and second year at Hogwarts under the directing baton of Chris Columbus. There was a deepening of the tone when Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron came onboard, and now Newell raises the stakes considerably. It's as though screenwriter Steven Kloves (who adapted each of the previous films from J.K. Rowling's books) has added additional layers of density to the characters.
By now we know what life is like at Hogwarts. The uniqueness of items like the astonishing floating candles, the quiddich game and the richness of the surroundings are taken for granted and not displayed as a novelty. They become even more memorable - like the prefects' bathroom, where a myriad of taps channel foamy water into a large, extravagant pool over which a mermaid in a stained glass window gazes. It's not in order to solve the riddle of the dragon egg that we empathise with Harry as he immerses himself into the water. It's more to do with his self-consciousness that the giggly ghost Moaning Myrtle is seeing him without his clothes. ... -
March 1, 2006
A pleasant change
Pros: Soul Food, Didn't I, Mistreating Me
Cons: Don't Speak, Ghetto
Ms. James said on a promo on VH1 that she wanted to bring real soul back. While I doubt this album will start a soul revival, it will remind folks that the essence of good soul never changes.
The first two tracks "Music" and "Good Time" are both decent. James gives a great performance on both of them. But the "soul" doesn't show up on this album until "Soulfood".
"Soulfood" from the vocal performance to the production is a exceptional track. The fact that James does not come across as "gimicky" while comparing her love of someone to Soulfood is a testament to her writing ability. Lucky for us, this isn't even the best song on the album, at least in my opinion. That award goes to "Mistreating Me".
"Mistreating me" is what soul is all about. Everything about this track is classic material. Leela's voice is like sweet cake on this track and it is her best performance on the album. The production is top notch as this song starts off with very subtle instrumentation and by the end of the song we've got moody electric guitar and trumpet playing all which provide a perfect backdrop for Leela's voice.
Other five star standouts on this album include "Rain", "My joy", "When you love somebody", "Prayer", and "Didn't I".
This album does have some misteps, hence my rating of 4 stars. "Don't speak" seems a bit forced to me but I have to give Leela a bit of a pass on this because "Don't Speak" was built for Gwen Stefani's voice. "Ghetto" is a typical "he is my man now, you messed up with him, leave us alone" song, and Wyclef's rap left little to be desired. Probably the worst song on the album but not unlistenable by any means.
This album probably isn't the best the soul album you have ever heard. But it is a oasis in today's industry which is filled with trite, over hip-hop infused, forgettable r&B by the likes of destiny's child, ciara and all their other MTV co-conspirators. So if you are sick of that stuff, do yourself a favor and buy the best soul album of the year in 2005 (a kin to The Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige). ...
See the list of Top 100 Reviewers
Phillip's in a class from the rest
Pros: Everything
Cons: none
This oscar-nominated film follows Truman Capote during the creation of "In Cold Blood" a book about famil without provocation. Phillip Seymour Hoffman may not have been born to play Capote but its impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. Fleshing out the cast is Catherine Keener as Harper Lee and Chris Cooper (!) as teh sheriff trying to keep the murder case under control. As charismatic killer Perry Smith, Clifton Collins Jr. makes themost of his star turn. The film is a remarkable blend of contrasts: the egos of media darlings and killers, the icy winter landscape of Kansas and Capote's own emotional uncertainty. In that complexit, the movie achieves a powerful emotional pull. ...