‘A Beautiful Mind’ Download and Reviews

December 18, 2009 by Paul Wall  
Filed under Biography, Drama

“A Beautiful Mind” Movie Details

A Beautiful Mind tagline: The Only Thing Greater Than the Power of the Mind is the Courage of the Heart
A Beautiful Mind - DVD Cover

A Beautiful Mind DVD Cover

Actors:
  • Tanya Clarke
  • Russell Crowe John Nash
    Ed Harris Parcher
    Jennifer Connelly Alicia Nash
    Christopher Plummer Dr. Rosen
    Paul Bettany Charles
    Adam Goldberg Sol
    Josh Lucas Hansen
    Anthony Rapp Bender
    Jason Gray-Stanford Ainsley
    Judd Hirsch Helinger
    Austin Pendleton Thomas King
    Vivien Cardone Marcee
    Jill M. Simon Bar Co-Ed
    Victor Steinbach Prof. Horner
    Becky
    Directors: Ron Howard IMDB Rating: 7.9/10 out of 117,427 votes

    “A Beautiful Mind” Movie Review

    “A Beautiful Mind” Plot Summary

    After a brilliant but asocial mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn to the nightmarish.

    Beautifully done

    Now this is the Russell Crowe I know and love. The Insider, L.A. Confidential… and now chalk up another calculating masterful performance

    A Beautiful Mind tells the autobiographical story of John Forbes Nash Jr. a distinguished professor from Princeton who went on to make some great theories and win the nobel prize. The centerpiece of the story is the fact that John Nash suffers from schizophrenia a debilitating condition for most people which leaves them helpless. Thus it is amazing that Nash has been able to achieve what he has. For the most part of the story his hallucinations turn out to institutionalize him at one point, when he thinks the Russians are trying to secretly send him coded messages through news publications

    First off the main performance by Crowe as Nash is amazing. This is the performance that I know he is capable of, complicated, passionate and serious, none of this gutteral one line BS that he uttered in Gladiator. Here we have a marvelous performance that Crowe spins as we watch Nash fall into despair, every twitch, eyes darting, and Nash’s helplessness this is not an easy task for any actor. Nash is a recluse, almost an autistic savant, we see how he trys out his theories by writing on glass windows and stuffing himself in a corner of the library. He is seriously gifted, but a social misfit. Early on we hear how Nash describes how a grade school teacher mentioned that he was born with 2 heapings of brain but only 1/2 of heart

    Ron Howard’s direction is great in exposing Nash’s life. Probably the best scenes involve the use of how Nash comes up with his theories such as why the dynamics of a colleagues tie is so bad, or how a plan to get all of his college buddies laid leads to a theory that makes him famous

    Also what else can I say about Jeniffer Connely who plays his wife in the film. She is passionate and gives a full perfect 10 performance as well as the wife who is trying to survive with a husband she can’t help. But the greatest achievement of this film is how it portrays mental illness from the perspective of the person suffering it

    Most films that deal with someone with a mental condition always place the focus on the people who are outside the person suffering, watching from a distance, trying to understand. Here we have a film that literaly puts us in the mind of the sufferer, as to what it is to live with such a debilitating illness. We get Nash’s sense of accomplishment, but also his demons and paranoia. And probably the most important thing is that we understand that mental illness isn’t something that gets cured, the people have to live with it, and it never goes away

    Also Crowe and Connely age in this film wonderfuly, so many films try to age actors/actresses in makeup and it doesn’t work, but here it is done flawlessly..Minor faults in the film deal with that some of the supporting characters are reduced to props and people we don’t know, and at one point the film bogs slightly when Nash is trying to return to Princeton to study. But these points are minor since the performances of the main characters are so well done, and the stories focus is on them to begin with

    Crowe will probably get the best actor for this. Great film

    Rating 8 out of 10.

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    ‘Independence Day’ Download and Reviews

    September 6, 2009 by Paul Wall  
    Filed under Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

    “Independence Day” Movie Details

    Independence Day tagline: We’ve always believed we weren’t alone. Pretty soon, we’ll wish we were.
    ID4 - DVD Cover

    Independence Day DVD Cover

    Actors:
  • Lisa Jakub
  • Bill Pullman President Thomas J. Whitmore
    Mary McDonnell First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
    Jeff Goldblum David Levinson
    Judd Hirsch Julius Levinson
    Margaret Colin Constance Spano
    Will Smith Captain Steven ‘Steve’ Hiller
    Vivica A. Fox Jasmine Dubrow
    Randy Quaid Russell Casse
    Robert Loggia General William Grey
    James Rebhorn Albert Nimzicki
    Harvey Fierstein Marty Gilbert
    Adam Baldwin Major Mitchell
    Brent Spiner Dr. Brackish Okun
    James Duval Miguel Casse
    Alicia Casse
    Directors: Roland Emmerich IMDB Rating: 6.5/10 out of 141,707 votes

    “Independence Day” Movie Review

    “ID4″ Plot Summary

    The aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, Man’s best weapon is the will to survive.

    Great sci-fi movie

    Since it’s release in theaters 11 years ago, Independence Day has taken a lot heat. While I personally disagree that this movie is so horrible, it is easy to beat up the film seeing that its directed by one of the most boring directors of our time, Roland Emmerich

    However, I believe this is his finest work. The first act is all about the build-up of the alien invasion and the attacks. This takes about fifty minutes, which also develops many (too many) characters and their places in the apocalypse

    The attacks are good, but it is not unexpected. The special effects give it its credibility, and the second act begins the day after

    In the wake of the devastation, mankind is limping on to survive, all main characters personally affected in someway by the attacks. While everybody does a good job bringing out the emotional side of the attacks, Will Smith is the only one that degrades this. After battling the aliens and failing, he has a close encounter with an alien and reacts unrealistically, punching it and sarcastically greeting it. Then he’s dragging it through the desert, screaming at it because he is missing a barbecue. HELLO?!? This is an alien race far superior to our own and it has single handedly brought mankind to its knees, and all he can do is yell at it for ruining his day? His performance is plausible but not his role. Thank God this is the only thing that I did not like in the second act

    After Will Smith brings the alien to a secret alien research facility in Area 51, the doctors decide to perform an autopsy. The autopsy scene is a classic. It is probably the best sci-fi scene I have EVER seen. It could fit into a 50’s classic, and makes the movie so great

    At the end of the second act, they finally figure out how to take down the alien’s shields and destroy their monster-sized spacecraft. This is where the lousy third act begins

    July 4 is the opening of the third act, in which they round up as many pilots as possible. One is my least favorite character, a guy named Russell who claims he had been kidnapped by aliens 10 years earlier. The guy is lackadaisical cornball. He has one good line (Hello, boys. I’m back!!!!). All pilots around the world, including Russell will be in the ultimate battle. They will fight the alien ships while Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum plant a virus inside the mother ship. This is sadly the only interesting part of the third act, the rest of it from before being a cornball of cliches

    The interior of the mother ship is so breathtaking, I actually found myself wishing somehow their ship would malfunction and they’d be stuck inside, forcing them to venture through the space frigate for about an hour in a style reminiscent to ‘Alien’. But seeing that the movie is already 2 1/2 hours, I guess they decided to not to

    Jeff Goldblum’s and Will Smith’s chemistry work wonders while they’re in the mother ship, and every moment inside it is really good

    The movie shortly ends after their departure from the mother ship, so it pretty much comes to a screeching halt. The world is still in ruins, and Emmerich leaves us to ponder how humanity will get back up

    All in all, the movie manages perfectly for 81% of the movie. I would’ve given it a 9.0 if it weren’t for Will Smith’s comic relief in the second act, Russell, and mainly cliched third act. 8.1/10.

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