Youth in Revolt
Release Date: 2009
Director: Miguel Arteta
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast: Michael Cera (as Nick Twisp / François Dillinger) and Portia Doubleday (as Sheeni Saunders)
Based On: C.D. Payne's epistolary novel of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
My Rating: 6.7
Length: 89 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $18 million/$19 million
Youth was kind of a weird and awkward comedy that actually turned out to be a decent show. Michael Cera is one of the few people who can pull off such awkward characters with awkward lines that can be that comical. That coupled with a decent supporting cast resulted in a decent comedy within a decent storyline of a deviant alter ego. I also evidently felt the same as 23,000 odd other IMDB voters as we both gave it a mid to hi 6, a mid-quality film.
American Psycho
Release Date: 2000
Director: Mary Harron
Genre: Thriller
Main Cast: Christian Bale (as Patrick Bateman) Willem Dafoe (as Donald Kimball) and Reese Witherspoon (as Evelyn Williams)
Based On: Bret Easton Ellis's novel of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
My Rating: 5.3
Length: 101 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $7 million/$34 million
I really didn't enjoy this film much at all, as it was rather confusing and really creepy. I had kind of hoped it would share some similarities to another alter-ego thriller, The Number 23. However, the film differed greatly from the solid presentation The Number 23 put forth. This week's films contained 3 alter-ego films in a row, this one and it's even worse sequel being the worse of the three. I just really couldn't get into the film with the character that Bale played, granted it was a very good performance, I am not moved by ultra-creepy sex-driven psychopaths that are delusional. That aspect is something I also dislike in films when they lead the audience to believe one thing for a 95% of the film, before changing the entire plot in the film's closing moments. I don't like being deceived, and neither should any other audience.
American Psycho 2: All-American Girl
Release Date: 2002
Director: Morgan J. Freeman
Genre: Thriller
Main Cast: Mila Kunis (as Rachael Newman) William Shatner (as Prof. Robert Starkman) and Geraint Wyn Davies (as Dr. Eric Daniels)
IMDB Rating: 3.9
My Rating: 3.8
Length: 88 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $10 million/Unknown
A straight-to-DVD, very poorly IMDB-rated, and sequel to a poorly-constructed initial film in my opinion, Psycho II had the probability of being a very poor film as well. Per my projections, this film was really bad, possibly worse than bad. Kunis had absolutely no purpose for her killing's in the film besides getting into the FBI to solve murder cases, highly hypocritical. Horrendous acting, horrendous '90's pop soundtrack and audio effects, and a mostly scattered plotline. The only positive of the film came in a decent twist towards the end of the film in that it explained Kunis's extravagant plot to get into the FBI. Beyond that minor bright spot, stay away from this awful psycho-thriller.
Requiem for a Dream
Release Date: 2000
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Genre: Drama
Main Cast: Ellen Burstyn (as Sara Goldfarb) Jared Leto (as Harry Goldfarb) Jennifer Connelly (as Marion Silver) and Marlon Wayans (as Tyrone C. Love)
Based On: Hubert Selby, Jr.'s novel of the same name.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
My Rating: 5.4
Length: 101 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $5 million/$7 million
Requiem's extremely different camera splits and extreme drug use really creeped me out throughout the film, as its dark and sadistic themes made it hard to find a positive moral. The hole that the main characters dug themselves in with their addictions was insurmountable in the end, and the realism and negativity really gave the film a sad sense of truth, falsified happiness. As real and moving this film was, and even with its quality acting by most involved, I could not bring myself to like that depressing of a film.
Black Sheep
Release Date: 1996
Director: Penelope Spheeris
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast: Chris Farley (as Mike Donnelly) David Spade (as Steve Dodds) and Tim Matheson (as Al Donnelly)
IMDB Rating: 5.6
My Rating: 6.1
Length: 87 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/$32 million
Extremely similar to Tommy Boy and many other cheaper 1990's comedies, Black Sheep was a clean and comical at times comedy in which Farley and Spade attempted to reconcile their screw-ups and save the situation, in this case Farley's brother's governor campaign. Not much in depth or character development, Black Sheep did manage, however, to stay consistent throughout it time limit, and remained a good comical piece, typical of Farley's usual solid works.
Extremely similar to Tommy Boy and many other cheaper 1990's comedies, Black Sheep was a clean and comical at times comedy in which Farley and Spade attempted to reconcile their screw-ups and save the situation, in this case Farley's brother's governor campaign. Not much in depth or character development, Black Sheep did manage, however, to stay consistent throughout it time limit, and remained a good comical piece, typical of Farley's usual solid works.
The Ex
Release Date: 2006
Director: Jesse Peretz
Genre: Comedy
Main Cast: Zach Braff (as Tom Reilly) Amanda Peet (as Sofia Kowalski-Reilly) and Jason Bateman (as Chip Sanders)
IMDB Rating: 5.6
My Rating: 5.3
Length: 92 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: Unknown/$5 million
The Ex proved to be a really subpar romantic comedy that had an unrealistic and inconsistent plotline, as well as lackluster acting and hardly a resolution. The cast was especially bland, and I really didn't have much good to say about the film, beyond that nothing was absolutely awful, just boringly simple. Really not a good, even decent film, suggested only if you need something to fall asleep to, or to feel better about your own life.
Transporter
Release Date: 2002
Director: Louis Leterrier and Corey Yuen
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Jason Statham (as Frank Martin/The Transporter) Shu Qi (as Lai Kwai) and François Berléand (as Inspector Tarconi)
Based On: BMW Films' The Hire series
IMDB Rating: 6.6
My Rating: 6.6
Length: 94 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $21 million/$44 million
I had seen and currently own the second installment of the Transporter series, thus I had some prior knowledge of the series. Transporter 2, which I again had already seen, was the worst in the series, as it occurs in the States is about transporting and securing a boy. This first film in the series gave decent background on the origins of Frank Martin, as well as a better storyline in delivering a girl while racing throughout the streets and alleys of Europe. The action and car control of Martin made it a thrilling watch. There were really no major flaws, just the lack of a telling plot that most action/car chase films do not incorporate.
Transporter 3
Release Date: 2008
Director: Olivier Megaton
Genre: Action
Main Cast: Jason Statham (as Frank Martin) François Berléand (as Inspector Tarconi) and Natalya Rudakova (as Valentina)
IMDB Rating: 5.9
My Rating: 6.7
Length: 104 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $30 million/$109 million
The 3rd film in the Transporter series had almost an identical plot, Frank Martin transporting a woman to a destination for pay, though the plot shifts when obstacles arise and situations change. I felt like this installment had slightly better car escape scenes than the first did, including a scene in which Martin drives his trusty Mercedes out of a lake he escaped into. Overall a solid action series, with not much plot depth or character development. But, as far as action films go, you could do much worse.
Syriana
Release Date: 2005
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Genre: Drama
Main Cast: George Clooney (as Bob Barnes) Matt Damon (as Bryan Woodman) Amanda Peet (as Julie Woodman) and Jeffrey Wright (as Bennett Holiday)
Based Loosely On: Robert Baer's memoir See No Evil.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
My Rating: 5.1
Length: 128 minutes
Budget/Gross Revenue: $50 million/$94 million
Syriana proved to be an extremely confusing and politically-heavy drama that didn't overall impress me. The entire plot hinged around oil-drilling, terrorism, corruption, and politics, 4 topics that really don't interest me much at all. It also reminded me of the average-drama also starring George Clooney, Michael Clayton, minus the oil-drilling and terrorism. I have somewhat been in a Clooney fix lately, though I am not a huge fan of him, he does provide some comedy within his dramas (Men Who Stare at Goats, Michael Clayton, and The American). Overall the film was saved from disaster by the always-respectible acting of Damon and Clooney, but not anything that I would recomend to most.
This week's film list was mostly rated high by IMDB with multiple in the post-7 range, as well as award-winning with multiple awards and nominations. However, I didn't feel that most of those high ranked films were anything amazing, as most are popular for aspects that don't interest me in the film industry. Not my favorite week of watching by any means.
Stay informed,
Jarid Holliday
Stay informed,
Jarid Holliday
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