Caesar (script) "Although many of us know what the fates of these characters will be, the point of revisiting this historical saga is to remind us why its themes are still relevant today. It's almost impossible not to view Caesar through the prism of current events and that gave Orloff's script thematic resonance. While this story was clearly a cautionary tale about power and politics, neither Caesar nor Pompey are simplistically branded the bad guy..." (full review)
Open Water "The script is tight and natural and portrayed with truth as the two main leads work off of each other very well. Lighting, sound and design are pretty much vacant as the minimal feel of a documentary again heightens the tension for the audience. The film is short (80 minutes or so) but the lack of screen action makes it feel very long which detracts you from loving it - I am not sure if it was intentional or a budget issue but mid-way through you do urge it to get going..." (full review)
Saw "The film is shot and edited very well with snappy cuts to keep you jumping and the lighting works well, mixing up the set pieces of action and horror to great effect. If you enjoyed "Seven" or "The Game" and laughed at "Chucky" or "Freddy's Nightmares" then this has all of them influencing the outcome. It is far from perfect but what this film does have in abundance is raw talent and the balls to get it on screen..." ( full review )
The Notebook by 'JimB' "I absolutely loved this movie. The best way to describe this to you is that it floored me. There have only been a small handful of films that have done this in the last 10 years and no I am not comparing them, just stating that these are films that have affected me personally: Braveheart, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, In the Bedroom, Fellowship of the ring, and now the Notebook. I couldn't believe it either. I personally am not a fan of tear jerker chick movies but damn I could barely breath when this was over. I was in a sold out show and when the credits began to roll no one moved. No one made a sound. After about 20 seconds people applauded and then finally began to get up. Honestly I could not even try and talk until I got to the car. It was one of the movies where I had been holding back for so long that trying to speak would set off the waterworks. The use of James Garner and Gena Rowlands as the story tellers in this movie is genius. They bring a maturity to the movie that is sorely missed from most love stories. Garner especially was good and he stole every scene he was in. Another surprise is Ryan Gosling who I have never seen before. He has very powerful screen presence for someone who appears to be in his early to mid twenties. He is not the typical pretty boy that you see in this type of film which was also a pleasant surprise. Rachel McAdams whom I also have never seen before was stunning and very difficult to keep your eyes off of her. She has the best smile I have seen since first seeing Julia Roberts smile in "Pretty Woman". It is a heartbreaking and uplifting story all at once and in the end you pray that love like that truly exists. It sounds corny I know, but that is the only way I can describe it. I don't want to go into plot details as I wouldn't want to ruin the suspense that not knowing created for me. My best advice is not to know anything about it before you see it. My fiance who drug me to this thing had recently read the book and said it followed it pretty close. What a great surprise this movie was. I highly recommend it. *1/2"
The Terminal by 'JimB' "First let me say that I believe Tom Hanks to be a genius when it comes to picking film roles. He is perfect in this movie and should be nominated again for a stellar performance. It was just such a good movie until the last 10 minutes just ruined it for me. It still ended okay but they spend two hours getting you to love Tom Hank's character only to punch the viewer in the stomach at the end and then leave it that way before you can fully recover. Spielberg and his editing team made the mistake of making a romantic-comedy, only to end it on a sour note. It made a * star movie into a * 1/2 star movie. You should leave a romantic-comedy with a smile not a sigh. The key word there being comedy. Maybe if they removed some of the dramatic elements which just seemed out of place this would have been better. Finally my last complaint is Catherine Zeta Jones. Actually her acting was fine but her character was good for the first half and then just nose dives. What they should have done was cut her out of the movie completely and then just call it a comedy. Overall, I would still recommend it because the first hour and a half is really good. *1/2"
