What You Say
Member comments and reviews, all in one place. Enough said.
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Gigante (2009) is an eccentric film about the period of time before meeting the one you have fallen for. Calling it a love story would not do it justice; I call it a "pre-love" story, with drama and some comedy put in the mix. It is simple yet extremely well acted and directed movie that could have easily been uninteresting given the subject matter. The cast and crew pulled it off by making a truly memorable film.
Jara is in his mid 30's and loves hardcore rock and enjoys playing video games with his nephew. Always wearing a Biohazard or Motörhead t-shirt, black cargo pants, and army boots he walks the streets of Montevideo following Julia while trying to balance his interest in her while not being aggressive. Great music along with the sites and sounds of the city fill the void when little talking takes place.
He first saw Julia through the security cameras at a large grocery store where he is a guard and she works in the janitorial department cleaning up the store overnight. Unaware of Jara or his infatuation for her she goes about her days. Through his walks and persistent watching he learns more about her and finds things he made need to do to better himself to have a chance and a few things they could have in common.
Jara's life and job become at risk when his determination to know more about Julia come to a head. While watching her one night at work he sees her go with another man she has laughed with at work into an area of the store without cameras; he can not take not knowing! This sometimes scary but possibly sweet simple man must decide his next move. He has followed her to her house, cinema, internet cafe, and even on a date with another man (he follows the guy also). Has he become a stalker or is he still the guy that anonymously left a flowering cactus for her in an isle at work?
This is the most realistic story of a relationship I have ever seen. The situations he gets into will certainly make you feel his uncomfortableness that we all have felt when trying to engage another person we like. A perfect time to introduce himself to her passes by when he hides behind a wall at a club he is a bouncer for when she tries to get in without having the cover charge.
8 out of 10 - Spanish with English subtitles - If you enjoy a good visual story with well developed characters and a look at real life this film is for you. It is available for pre-order from Amazon for its February 2010 release.
Dain Binder
www.dainsmoviereviews.comSeptember 27, 2009 at 10:54 p.m. UTC
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Good Night, And Good Luck. looks at the early years of television and journalism principles; specifically the on-air clash in the 1950's between Edward R. Murrow of CBS and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. With an outstanding cast, including McCarthy himself through archival footage, this film comes alive with intense emotion while depicting the historical See It Now shows and journalism integrity.
Sen. Joseph McCarthy abused his position of power when he claimed many U.S. citizens were Communist Party members. By instilling fear he was able to cripple people's lives with uncorroborated hearsay evidence. Edward R. Murrow (David Strathairn) decided to report the known facts of McCarthy's tactics on his show with the assistance of his right-hand man, Fred Friendly (George Cloony). With Murrow's strong following he was able change the course of history.
The film was produced in black and white and with impeccable acting and props I felt I was living through the events and they unfolded. Of course it must have been much more extraordinary back then; but, having not grown up in that time this is the closest I will ever come to understanding the impact of those events.
You do not need to be a history buff to enjoy this movie. A little light reading would not hurt though if you are not familiar with Murrow and McCarthy; I found it useful to have my computer at hand to lookup up some lesser known people I was curios about (but didn't need to know to have the film make sense).
David Strathairn did an excellent job portraying Murrow right down to the infamous Camel cigarette always in hand. The additional cast of George Clooney, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella all showed their talent on the screen. I was particularly impressed with Ray Wise who played Don Hollenbeck - his superb (although small) role with stay with me for a long time.
9 out of 10 - Rated PG - Watch this one for the historical importance and amazing film making.
Dain Binder
www.dainsmoviereviews.com/2009/09/good-night-and-good-luck-movie-review.htmlSeptember 11, 2009 at 11:42 p.m. UTC
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Somers Town (2008) is fresh and lighthearted coming of age story that has real-life charm and drama. It is serious yet fun look at growing up. The people you meet and the situations you get into, as well as your dreams, truly shape who you are. Being filmed in black and white gives it a clean feel that enables you to focus on the events and characters without distraction. The original music by Gaven Clark is refreshing and perfectly fits the style of the film.
Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) has just arrived by train in the Somers Town area of London after leaving his hometown of Nottingham. He is an extremely open and chatty young man that befriends a lady, Jane, on the train. Meanwhile, Marek (Piotr Jagiello) is walking with his dad (Ireneusz Czop) to his job where he is working on a new track for the train. Marek goes off on the town taking photographs along the way. That evening Marek and his dad head home for some diner that Marek cooks up in their cramped kitchen. They enjoy each others company and have fun and open chats about life while learning the English language. They moved from Poland looking for a new start after his marriage failed. The shy and reserved Marek takes to the streets again to photograph at night after his father goes out for a nightcap.
Tomo is out on the streets trying to get someone to buy him some beer. With only an army style duffel bag and the clothes on his back he is in for a rough road to make a life in London. When he is relaxing some local kids come upon him and start slightly pestering him for a drink and start bothering him a little - after they finish his beer he attempts to get away. They catch up to him in the ally and beat him up really bad and take all of his things. With no money or clothes and nowhere to turn he looks up Jane (Kate Dickie) from the train. She buys him lunch and gives him a little cash to get the train back home to where he ran away from.
Tomo spots Marek looking and some pictures in the restaurant. He is taken back by the beauty of the women in the photographs, as is Marek. Marie is from Paris and works as a local lunch spot. The two quickly become friends and start what will become a very memorable summer of their younger years. They meet Graham, who is an odd neighbor that recruits the boys to help him with a little venture of his and offers life guidance. Without his dad’s knowledge Marek has Tomo staying in his room with him. They spend their days pining for Maria and just being teenagers in London.
9 out of 10 - I really liked this movie. The true to life and sometimes crass script is flawlessly acted by the cast. It has a soothing quality and the moments of difficulty offset by funny situations bring this film together so well. I wish the movie never ended; I even watch it again a couple days later and enjoyed it even more. Shane Meadows directed this amazing movie. This is a wonderful film for just about everyone to watch - be sure to pick up this independent film when it comes out on DVD in December.
Dain Binder
http://www.dainsmoviereviews.com/2009/09/somers-town-movie-review.htmlSeptember 7, 2009 at 6:00 a.m. UTC
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Witty, haunting, incomprehensible.
April 17, 2009 at 9:31 p.m. UTC
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Oh, so, good! Clever characters make this show what it is.
February 15, 2009 at 6:03 a.m. UTC
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Good news everyone! I own all four seasons of Futurama on DVD! :D
February 15, 2009 at 6:02 a.m. UTC
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5/10
December 29, 2008 at 2:52 a.m. UTC
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sjkauffman on Jumper
Interesting, but didn't end dynamically.
October 28, 2008 at 2:50 a.m. UTC
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Daniel on Dead Space
This game scares the junk out of me. For fans of Resident Evil / Silent Hill series.
October 27, 2008 at 6:05 p.m. UTC
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A southern sob story that would hold its own on Lifetime. My wife liked it, I guess the plot moved along well enough, and the acting was pretty okay, so I can't really say that I thought the movie was terrible.
From a critical perspective, I think that the idea that a "career dream job" and having a child to raise on your own equates to happiness in life is a bit humanist and feminist-esque, so you have to be aware of the Chopin on your shoulder the whole time. In an age of political correctness though, this movie blends in perfectly in Hollywood.
For an antithesis to this film, see Fireproof. I admit that the budget may not have been as big, the actors are mostly second-rate, and the message is overtly Christian, but the idea of a "doomed marriage" being able to be saved through the grace of God is much more needed than another story of self-empowerment.October 24, 2008 at 2:24 p.m. UTC
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This game took about two seconds to beat. But they were very memorable seconds. "RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!"
October 30, 2008 at 11:01 p.m. UTC
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Had great potential, but dropped the ball.
October 28, 2008 at 2:52 a.m. UTC
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GUILTY OR INNOCENT!
October 24, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. UTC
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I can honestly say that I have never had more fun playing an RPG than I had playing Grandia. Okay, it might be a tie between this and Chrono Trigger. The world is huge, the characters are fun, and the battle system is not annoying at all. If you haven't played it, keep an eye out for it at a discount rate on ebay. You'll be glad you did :)
October 24, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. UTC
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A lot of fun and one of the most energetic movies I've ever seen--a blisteringly fast pace and heart-pounding techno score keep the story moving. Only eighty minutes long, including credits, it felt like nothing.
October 17, 2008 at 5:43 p.m. UTC
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Part Rocky, part Karate Kid, this film gets the job done. Our hero Mike Terry is an admirable fellow who fights for truth and justice, qualities befitting a jujitsu black belt. The final half hour demonstrated some of the same problems many films possess in their portrayal of crowds as unwitting adherents to group-think. Plus Tim Allen's character goes missing. But Redbelt's heart is in the right place.
October 17, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. UTC
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Uhhhh, this game rocks. Enough said.
October 16, 2008 at 4:42 p.m. UTC
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The best game in its genre. Even better than Halo (gasp).
October 15, 2008 at 4:12 a.m. UTC
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This movie is replete with radness.
October 14, 2008 at 1:21 a.m. UTC
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This is the best Marx Brothers film ever made. If you are looking to dive into one of their films, but don't know where to start this is it. It doesn't get any better than this.
October 15, 2008 at 8:47 p.m. UTC
dbin78 on Gigante