Clint Eastwood Review: Unforgiven

I know I said this would come out on Sunday, but my blogspot account was acting funny and I’ve been delayed for other reasons. I was also going to start this with a different film, but since today is Clint Eastwood’s 81^st birthday, I decided to celebrate it by reviewing my favorite film of his, Unforgiven. Enjoy…

The story of Unforgiven begins with the brutal cutting of a prostitute in Big Whiskey, Wyoming. The men responsible are held for their crimes, but the sheriff (played by the always terrific Gene Hackman), goes rather light on the punishment. This angers the prostitutes and they set a $1,00 reward for anyone who can kill them.

It is then we are introduced to William Munny (Mr. Eastwood), a former gunslinger turned farmer and single father (wife died before the film began). He is asked by a young kid (Jaimz Woolvett) to help him claim the reward. The boy says his name is the Scholfield Kid, and he brings a lot of clout (though we never really learn his real name), but as the film goes on we learn more about him that may question his tales. At first, Munny is reluctant, but after seeing what the money could do for his family, he rides off, and recruits Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), to help take down these wrongdoers.

The sheriff, however, doesn’t like this plan and will do anything in his power to keep people from coming. This includes the horrible beating of a gunfighter, English Bob (Richard Harris, better known as the first Dumbledore) in broad daylight right in front of everyone in town. The women begin to lose hope. Can Munny bring justice when the justice itself is so corrupt as is? Will our three heroes complete this mission without having any bad repercussions? Can we have hope in having multiple scenes exemplifying why Clint Eastwood is such a badass?

The film won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Director and Picture, both for Eastwood (he would latter repeat this in 2004 with Million Dollar Baby). In my mind, this is arguably his best work, and definitely ranks as one of my favorite films of all time. The cast is brilliant all around, particularly Eastwood and Hackman (who won an Oscar for his role). Their scenes are filled with such tension and suspense that you could down right pass out they are an awesome pair. The writing is superb; it gives the Western a noire-feel we don’t get much of in such a genre, and its rather welcomed.

What sets this apart though is the direction, which is rather top notch. Clint Eastwood takes his time with each shot, giving us the raw emotions of the characters in each scene. He gives everyone a chance to grow and express him or herself, without weighing the film down or destroying the pace. This is one of the best-paced films I have seen, and we can also thank the editor Joel Cox (who won the other Oscar), for his assisting Clint with the pacing, it’s really terrific.

Clint Eastwood is a man I say can do no wrong. He has made missteps in his career, but honestly you can say that about anyone. With Clint Eastwood, any missteps are easily forgiven, because he has a film repertoire that includes such classics as Unforgiven. I implore anyone who is reading this, if you haven’t watched it yet, go watch it, you will not regret this

Unforgiven’s Critical Grade: A+

Note: I have made a rule to only give an A+ to films that have Sam Neil in it, but I shall make an exception for such a film as this.

Project Eastwood

Hello all,
As you have noticed, I am rather bad at keeping a good tab on my blog, what with seeing movies being rather expensive and the movies I had seen being ones that have been out for quite sometime at the time of my watching them. Rest assured, I have every intention of reviewing more movies the more chances I have to see them. However, this is on a different matter. I have decided (that is I actually had this idea for awhile) to do a few minor movie projects to help bring films you might not have heard of to your attention. The first one of these projects would be on Clint Eastwood. I know he is a rather main stream man, but I have his 35 years/35 films, and many of which aren't as main stream as the one's that are. So, I shall, or at least try to, every Sunday, review a Clint Eastwood movie from this package. I will also be reviewing other movies, both in theaters and ones I believe need more attention than they have, as well as maybe more on those Oscar Mishaps I did before. So, until then, go see a movie or two, I would suggest Kung Fu Panda 2 or maybe Midnight in Paris (if you can find that one), and enjoy...
p.s. I picked this picture because when I found it, for some reason cracked me up......

Film Review: Thor

So, before I begin this review, I must warn all you readers that about three or four hours before I went and saw Thor, I read through about 9 Thor comics to prepare myself with some knowledge of the material before I went and saw it. So, just to prepare you all, this review will be done by that sort of fellow. Now, without further ado, my review of Thor.

The movie Thor tells the story of the mighty god of thunder named…. well Thor (played by newcomer Chris Hemsworth). He is the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), who is weary of the years of being ruler of Asgard and must decide between the rather brash Thor, or his brother, the deceptive Loki (Tom Hiddleston). After a brief scuffle in Asgard caused by the frost giants, Thor’s brash arrogance leads him to start up a war that was resolved ages ago. Because of this, he is banished to earth and, I guess, think about what he had done.

While on earth, we meet the human counterparts of the film. There is Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), and Kat Dennings character (her name is Darcy in the film, but really apart from a few jokes at the beginning her character quickly takes a back seat to everything). While on earth, Thor must learn humility in order to gain back his spot in Asgard. During all of this, however, Loki and his sly ways makes plans in order to make Asgard his (which is helped with Odin’s failing health), and to end this war with the frost people once and for all, but not in the way Odin would’ve preferred. It is now up to Thor to save not just his world, but all worlds from Loki before it is too late. Will he learn his lesson? Will the other worlds be saved? Will this film not suck?

I must admit, I had my reserves about this film. Being a huge fan of Iron Man, I believed this to be something less like that and more of a bridge to the Avengers. Granted at parts it felt as such, but really, Iron Man was made at a time where Jon Favereau wanted to make it, Thor was made at a time where Avengers was coming up, so it did feel weak at parts. Still, I thought it was better than what I was expecting.

You get your money’s worth on the visuals, which aren’t blindingly obnoxious, but actually rather beautiful and amazing. Yes, there were some weird parts with the CGI, but I am a nitpicker when it comes to visuals, which are second to me in a great film. As far as story goes, while its not up to the level as the first Iron Man or Spiderman 2, I liked it a lot. It gave us plenty of character development and went at a nice pace. Some people I talked to said his lesson in humility happens way to quickly, I don’t think so. I think it was more subtle and sort of here and there in the film, but that’s for you to judge. The direction by the great Kenneth Brannagh was good, but had way too many tilted angles. Overall though, I was satisfied with my visual experience.

The acting is the real star here, as everyone in this film was perfectly cast. From the Warriors Three to the human counterparts to the mighty God of thunder, there wasn’t a weak link in the bunch (the Warrior’s Three in particular really looked the part). Chris Hemsworth is really the driving force behind all this, and he was the best part, every scene in the film he was in I believed him and enjoyed his presence, same goes for the always terrific Anthony Hopkins as Odin (such a strong performance there as well. I had a few problems with Loki (I felt he should’ve been a little more childish as the deceptive one), but honestly, that’s more of me being a nitpicker.

Many reviews will tell you that the part in earth, or Midgard as its called in the comics, will drag, and that’s partially true. But to be fair, anything would drag compared to the beauty that is Asgard. Thor is a great movie worthy of it placement as the beginning of the summer. Sure, it may not compare to some of the summer openers that came before it, but I think if we get something like Thor as a beginner rather than Spiderman 3 or Xmen: Wolverine, I’ll take it any day.

My Final Grade for Thor: B+

Jack's Reviews: Battle: Los Angeles

Hello everyone, so don't expect many of these over the next few weeks as I am finishing up college, I am luckily on break and got a chance to see a film I have been wanting to see for a while. Enjoy:

Imagine a world in which aliens were to invade the world. Coming from the sky, crashing into our coastlines and other areas around the world, its an event we didn’t see coming. Now, we are under attack from forces unknown and we must fight back or else it is all over. What will we do? Can we defeat them? Have I heard this before?

To start off, no I am not talking about Independence Day. In fact, I am talking about Battle: Los Angeles, a film by South African director Jonathan Liebesman. The story folds out as a race of alien invaders come down to earth and attacks earth for our supplies, namely our water. As cities around the world seem to fall, it looks as though Los Angeles has become the last stronghold in the fight for survival. It is up to Staff Sergeant Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), and his rag tag crew of marines to fight back this army from beyond the stars and save our planet, before its too late.

Now, I know I might be sounding sarcastic as I right this, but this is about as best I can write the plot to this film. The action is top notch, sometimes a little too much at times to the point where I have to look away just to take a breather. The aliens aren’t all that scary, in fact they are hardly shown, and when we finally get to see them, you will understand why we rarely see them. The script can take the biggest blame of all, its rather laughable. Every other line is one of them saying something you’ve heard millions a time over in other films, its really quite unspectacular. The acting is rather lacking, we have Michelle Rodriguez in a role we’ve seen her play many times before, which isn’t a bad thing but we also don’t see enough of her to really enjoy her presence as I’ve had in the past, much like with other alien film plots, District 9 being an exception to the past few years.

Aaron Eckhart might be the one big exception to the poor dialogue and acting here, and ultimately the one who anchors the film. He has done great work in the past and this is far from his best, he helps make some of the dialogue and scenes in general feel real and powerful. Other than him and some of the action scenes, which shows hints of Black Hawk Down among other films, Battle: Los Angeles is a film with high ferocity, but little left to be desired. If this film helps us learn anything at all its that aliens never come for peace, whether or not that makes us more xenophobic, or I guess Baaraparchuterphobia (I just googled fear of aliens), this film doesn’t exactly make our planet a very welcoming environment. If anything, we are slowly showing them ways to improve their defense when attacking us. So for goodness sake, either stop making alien films or make a good one that doesn’t give away too much, is that too much to ask?

Jack’s Grade: C+

Oscar Season: Jack's Overall Predictions

Ok, so I fell a bit behind in my predictions, so here is my ticket for most of my picks (based solely on my opinion) for tomorrow’s Oscars (I didn’t do the short films cause those would simply be shots in the dark), enjoy:

Best Picture:

• 127 Hours – Danny Boyle and Christian Colson
• Black Swan – Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, and Brian Oliver
• The Fighter – David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, and Mark Wahlberg
• Inception – Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas
• The Kids Are All Right – Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, and Celine Rattray
• The King's Speech – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, and Gareth Unwin
• The Social Network – Dana Brunetti, Ceán Chaffin, Michael De Luca, and Scott Rudin X
• Toy Story 3 – Darla K. Anderson
• True Grit – Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, and Scott Rudin
• Winter's Bone – Alix Madigan and Anne Rosellini

Best Director:

• Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
• Ethan Coen and Joel Coen – True Grit
• David Fincher – The Social Network X
• Tom Hooper – The King's Speech
• David O. Russell – The Fighter

Best Actor:

• Javier Bardem – Biutiful as Uxbal
• Jeff Bridges – True Grit as Rooster Cogburn
• Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network as Mark Zuckerberg
• Colin Firth – The King's Speech as Prince Albert / King George VI X
• James Franco – 127 Hours as Aron Ralston

Best Actress:

• Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right as Nic X
• Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole as Becca Corbett
• Jennifer Lawrence – Winter's Bone as Ree Dolly
• Natalie Portman – Black Swan as Nina Sayers
• Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine as Cindy

Best Supporting Actor:

• Christian Bale – The Fighter as Dicky Eklund X
• John Hawkes – Winter's Bone as Teardrop
• Jeremy Renner – The Town as James "Jem" Coughlin
• Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right as Paul
• Geoffrey Rush – The King's Speech as Lionel Logue

Best Supporting Actress:

• Amy Adams – The Fighter as Charlene Fleming
• Helena Bonham Carter – The King's Speech as Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon / Queen Elizabeth
• Melissa Leo – The Fighter as Alice Ward
• Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit as Mattie Ross X
• Jacki Weaver – Animal Kingdom as Janine "Smurf" Cody

Best Writing (Original):

• Another Year – Mike Leigh
• The Fighter – Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson
• Inception – Christopher Nolan
• The Kids Are All Right – Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
• The King's Speech – David Seidler X

Best Writing (Adapted):

• 127 Hours – Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy from Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
• The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin from The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
• Toy Story 3 – Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich; characters based on Toy Story and Toy Story 2
• True Grit – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen from True Grit by Charles Portis
• Winter's Bone – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini from Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Best Animated Feature:

• How to Train Your Dragon – Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
• The Illusionist – Sylvain Chomet
• Toy Story 3 – Lee Unkrich X

Best Foreign language Film:

• Biutiful (Mexico) in Spanish and English – Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Dogtooth (Greece) in Greek – Yorgos Lanthimos
• In a Better World (Denmark) in Danish, Swedish, and English – Susanne Bier
• Incendies (Canada) in French and Arabic – Denis Villeneuve X
• Outside the Law (Algeria) in Arabic and French – Rachid Bouchareb

Best Documentary:

• Exit Through the Gift Shop – Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz X
• Gasland – Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
• Inside Job – Charles H. Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
• Restrepo – Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
• Waste Land – Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Best Score:

• 127 Hours – A.R. Rahman
• How to Train Your Dragon – John Powell
• Inception – Hans Zimmer
• The King's Speech – Alexandre Desplat
• The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross X

Best Song:

• "Coming Home" from Country Strong – Bob DiPiero, Tom Douglas, Hillary Lindsey, and Troy Verges
• "I See the Light" from Tangled – Alan Menken and Glenn Slater
• "If I Rise" from 127 Hours – A.R. Rahman, Rollo Armstrong, and Dido
• "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 – Randy Newman X

Best Sound Editing:

• Inception – Richard King X
• Toy Story 3 – Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
• Tron: Legacy – Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
• True Grit – Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
• Unstoppable – Mark P. Stoeckinger

Best Sound Mixing:

• Inception – Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo, and Ed Novick X
• The King's Speech – Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen, and John Midgley
• Salt – Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan, and William Sarokin
• The Social Network – Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, and Mark Weingarten
• True Grit – Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, and Peter F. Kurland

Best Art Direction:

• Alice in Wonderland – Art Direction: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
• Inception – Art Direction: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
• The King's Speech – Art Direction: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr X
• True Grit – Art Direction: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Best Cinematography:

• Black Swan – Matthew Libatique
• Inception – Wally Pfister
• The King's Speech – Danny Cohen
• The Social Network – Jeff Cronenweth
• True Grit – Roger Deakins X

Best Makeup:

• Barney's Version – Adrien Morot
• The Way Back – Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk, and Yolanda Toussieng
• The Wolfman – Rick Baker and Dave Elsey X

Best Costume Design:

• Alice in Wonderland – Colleen Atwood
• I Am Love – Antonella Cannarozzi
• The King's Speech – Jenny Beavan X
• The Tempest – Sandy Powell
• True Grit – Mary Zophres

Best Film Editing:

• 127 Hours – Jon Harris
• Black Swan – Andrew Weisblum
• The Fighter – Pamela Martin
• The King's Speech – Tariq Anwar
• The Social Network – Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter X

Best Visual Effects:

• Alice in Wonderland – Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas, and Sean Phillips
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz, and Nicolas Aithadi
• Hereafter – Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski, and Joe Farrell
• Inception – Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, and Peter Bebb X
• Iron Man 2 – Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright, and Daniel Sudick