Review: Inside Man (2006)

Title: Inside Man
Year: 2006
Starring: Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer
Genres: Action, Crime, Thriller
MPAA: R for language and some violent images
Kids-In-Mind.com: 4.6.10
My Rating: 6.4
Up or Down: Thumb Down
IMDb Rating: 7.7

Synopsis: Four conspirators, led by Dalton Russell (Owen) rob a large bank. They use clever tactics to keep the police away. The lead negotiator is Keith Frazier (Washington). The owner of the bank, Arthur Case (Plummer), who has some secret, unnamed item kept in this branch, hires Madeleine White (Foster), who for a living keeps the wealthy's interests, to retrieve the item. She fails after discovering that taking this item was Russell's main objective the robbery.

My Take: I can't figure out why this film was so well-received. The premise was really cool; the bank robbery was a lot of fun to watch. But probably 20% of this movie B.S. dialogue between cops or redundant interviews with hostages. They took a good forty-five seconds to show an exchange between the cops and an interviewee, the whole content of which was the cops' comment on her large breast size and her cracking a lame joke "Oh, so I violated section 34DD?" Gimme a break... Focus on the movie; you have a cool story and you're making jokes like that? Despite its 86% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, one negative review listed for this film from Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian newspaper in the UK sums my thoughts up exactly. "Supremely annoying and nonsensical."

Concerning the rating: This film's 6.4 puts it in a tie for 146th of 162 films rated. It is tied with the 2004 family comedy "Shrek 2".

Have a film you'd like me to see and review? E-mail me at richard@movienightreviews.net.

Review: The Crucible (1996)

Title: The Crucible
Year: 1996
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen
Genres: Drama, Historical
MPAA: PG-13 for intense depiction of the Salem witch trials
Kids-In-Mind.com: 4.3.2
My Rating: 6.0
Up or Down: Thumb Down
IMDb Rating: 6.9

Synopsis: In 1692, after being dismissed from the service of John (Day-Lewis) and Elizabeth (Allen) Proctor for having an affair with the former, Abigail Williams (Ryder) begins accusing women in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts of witchcraft. Eventually accusing Elizabeth so John could be hers, a witchcraft frenzy spreads through the town, leading to the execution of dozens, as ordered by the Royal Governor, Thomas Danforth (Scofield).

My Take: Daniel Day-Lewis is a superb actor. Winona Ryder's performance was, too, very good. However, this film's downfall is its awful screenplay. The play is a good read; Arthur Miller's allegory of the McCarthy hearings is a good read. However, the poor screenplay makes for some really odd filming and weird dialogue. The acting, once again, is certainly above average, but I have to give this a negative rating due to the absolute atrocity that is the screenplay.

Concerning the rating: The 6.0 puts "The Crucible" in a tie for 150th of 162 films rated. It is tied with the 1987 comedy "Spaceballs" as well as the 2008 teen comedy "Drillbit Taylor".

Have a film you'd like me to see and review? E-mail me at richard@movienightreviews.net.

Review: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Title: The Blair Witch Project
Year: 1999
Starring: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael Williams
Genres: Suspense, Horror, Mystery, Mockumentary
MPAA: R for language
Kids-In-Mind.com: 1.3.10
My Rating: 8.3
Up or Down: Thumb Up
IMDb Rating: 6.2

Synopsis: Three aspiring young adults, Heather (Donahue), Josh (Leonard), and Mike (Williams) go into the woods in Maryland to create a documentary about the legendary Blair Witch. Originally planning to stay for just two days, they get lost and are forced to stay in the woods longer. Strange things happen around their tent and Josh eventually goes missing. Heather and Mike look for him; the movie ends with an ending I'm not going to spoil.

My Take: I was moved to watch this film by the popularity of the new show "Paranormal Activity", the making of which was very similar to "Blair Witch". The way this film was made was awesome. It was marketed as if these three had disappeared in the woods and this was the film they'd taken during their stay in the woods and that the film had been found a year later. The movie was shot by the actors themselves. The thing that made this movie a little bit lower in my book was something that was actually completely necessary for its genre: fluff. They had to sell the reality of this footage by putting in shots that weren't remotely related to anything, including Heather and Mike picking up Josh before leaving for the woods. It made the movie better but simultaneously detracted from it. Still a great show worth watching. I have no idea how it got to be a 6.2 on IMDb; this was a great watch.

Concerning the rating: The 8.3 puts "The Blair Witch Project" in a tie for 33rd with thirteen other movies of 160 watched.

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Review: The Invention of Lying (2009)

Apologies... School has prevented me from doing nearly anything these past two months. I hope to be more active in my rating in the near future.

Title: The Invention of Lying
Year: 2009
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe
Genres: Comedy
MPAA: PG-13 for language including some sexual material and a drug reference
Kids-In-Mind.com: 5.3.5
My Rating: 7.4
Up or Down: Thumb Up
IMDb Rating: 6.9

Synopsis: In a world where people cannot lie and have no concept of lying, Mark Bellison (Gervais) gains the ability to lie. He uses this to his advantage until after he lies to his dying mother of the existence of an afterlife, when the whole world flocks to him to hear what happens after death. Through all this, he tries to gain the affection of Anna McDoogles (Garner), who likes Bellison but dislikes his looks, opting for Bellison's arch nemesis, Brad Kessler (Lowe).

My Take: Honestly, the plot of this movie was absolutely stupid. They could've done so much better with such a cool premise. But, I have to say I enjoyed it just because of the cleverness of the jokes. I laughed heartily, but more because of the premise and the subtle references they inserted than the actual plot. With a better plot, this could be one of my favorite comedies ever.

Concerning the rating: The 7.4 places "The Invention of Lying" in a tie for 99th with "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" and "Happy Gilmore" of 160 films rated.

Have a film you'd like me to see and review? E-mail me at movienightreviews@gmail.com