‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’ Download and Reviews
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Movie Details
The Men Who Stare at Goats tagline: No goats. No glory.
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| Directors: Grant Heslov | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 6.6/10 out of 12,475 votes |
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Movie Review
“The Men Who Stare at Goats” Plot Summary
A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army’s New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions. add synopsis
I loved this film. Clooney and Spacey were particularly hilarious
The story borrows liberally from the exploits of Joe McMoneagle and Ingo Swann and the cadre of Remote Viewers stationed at Fort Meade, MD, under the operational detachment Project Stargate. Yes, as the film states upfront: ‘More of this is true than you would believe’. There are instances in the film that incorporate actual Stargate operations: tracking submarines, finding a kidnapped American General in Italy and the search for Noriega following the US invasion of Panama. The comedy comes from the disconnect that the professional military hierarchy has from the rest of us. The Pentagon has too much money at its disposal and its internal political dynamics encourage a bizarre mixture of risk-averse yet forward-thinking innovators. This was particularly rampant after our loss in Vietnam. Vietnam and the Cold War combined to pull the Pentagon Brass in a thousand different directions and created a schism in the strategic planning sectors that is ripe for comedic exploration. Grant Heslov deftly captured this cultural watershed through his direction of the film. He ably guided the actors in performances that while sometimes brief, captured the totality of the real absurdity that the military can sometimes give us, while keeping the characters real and grounded and not drifting into farce. Heslov has captured an elusive tone, entirely his own, that I’ve only previously seen in Coen Brother’s films. This is a story I’ve longed to see told on the big screen and it was worth the wait. You could say its a story about the Military-Insanity Complex, but that’s too broad a brush for this slice of American military history. Clooney is brilliantly understated as always, he’s a master of subtlety and an actor that understands how powerful the camera can be. Kevin Spacey is throughly despicable as the film’s only real villain. If the film has any flaws at all its that Spacey is not in it enough. But the most poignant character is beautifully drawn by Jeff Bridges, who in just a few scenes depicts the inevitable trajectory of the innovative free-thinker in a rigid, uncaring system. Bridges shows us the cost of being that individual and Heslov gives the film room to explore this aspect of the story without sacrificing the reason we’re all there to watch: and that is to have a laugh at something that maybe should never have happened but did.
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‘The Negotiator’ Download and Reviews
“The Negotiator” Movie Details
The Negotiator tagline: Chicago’s two top negotiators must face each other. One of them is holding hostages. The other is demanding surrender. And everyone’s holding their breath.
 The Negotiator DVD Cover |
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Hellman |
“The Negotiator” Movie Review
“The Negotiator” Plot Summary
In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth. add synopsis
Exciting procedural thriller
An above average procedural which cashes the potential of Kevin Spacey – and the internal corruption drama of his recent LA Confidential. Hot shot negotiator Danny Roman’s been set up and, in the leave-your-common-sense-at-the-door central act of the film, takes over an entire building and will only deal with the awkward outsider Chris Sabian to negotiate the situation
This is a perfectly cast film. Spacey and Jackson are fine actors and this is really a conflagrated two-hander which requires Jackson to be an action hero occasionally. That’s exactly how it plays out, with Sabian/Spacey’s suspicions being aroused as the rules of negotiation are continually undermined and subverted. The well-executed action in the office block recalls the best bits of Die Hard. 7/10
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‘American Beauty’ Download and Reviews
“American Beauty” Movie Details
American Beauty tagline: … look closer
 American Beauty DVD Cover |
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Sale House Woman #2 |
“American Beauty” Movie Review
“American Beauty” Plot Summary
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation for his daughter’s attractive friend.
a very well done film that continues to amaze me…
When I first saw this movie in theaters, I found it to be very funny. When I rented it at home, I found it to be very sad and complex. Looking at it now, I realize that it is surely one of the most extraordinary films ever to come out of Hollywood. To some it may look trite or cliched, or maybe too un-ordinary to be worthy of its praise, but the overall impact of this film is extremely powerful. After you’ve seen it, you know you’ve seen something
A few notable elements stand out. The direction is superb; this is visually a superior film, for the director understands the subtle changes in tone. The writing is equally compelling; the story effortlessly interweaves multiple stories to create one amazing movie. The haunting music is also notable. Lastly is the acting. Kevin Spacey has done excellent films before, and he can add this one to the list. He may be a little to witty to suggest the overshadowed character he portrays, but he simply disappears into the role. Annette Bening is also fine; a less strong role, but she is magnificent none the less. As the teenagers, Thora Birch is able to mesmerize us with one intense look; her ‘typical teenager’ role is fleshed out completely. I enjoyed Mena Suvari’s character equally. It seemed that she did not receive as much acclaim, but her performance evokes both innocence and experience, and her scenes toward the end give her a depth unlike any other character. And Wes Bentley, as the video-taping boy next door, is easily the most original character. At first he seems a little tense, but, like Spacey, he sinks into the role. His ‘purpose’ in the film, unlike anyone else’s, is a mystery, thus making him the most enigmatic person
Most films are able to make a lasting impression on its audience, but never has a movie been known to ‘move’ its viewers as much as this movie. It truly says something about life, no matter how predictable or tacky it appears, this film disturbingly shows us how to appreciate our individual lives, so therefore, when they are over, we each have something to remember.
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‘Moon’ Download and Reviews
“Moon” Movie Details
Moon tagline: The last place you’d ever expect to find yourself
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| Directors: Duncan Jones | |||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 8.0/10 out of 35,131 votes |
“Moon” Movie Review
“Moon” Plot Summary
Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.
The sci-fi movie I’ve been praying for…
Let me explain to you why I love the movie Moon so much, why it is such an important film for me and what I hope it means for the future of science fiction cinema
I was born in May 1971 so as I grew up I was exposed to all these new movies full of imagination, creativity and beautiful futuristic designs. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running, Alien, Blade Runner, Outland. These and others embedded themselves in my mind, and as I grew older and revisited them year after year I was impressed on not only an entertainment level but an emotional one as well. A few years ago I began to miss these kinds of films in fact, the only one I saw that even remotely reminded me of them was Soderbergh’s ‘Solaris’ from 2002, and even though I enjoyed it I found my appreciation of it slightly discoloured by Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Solyaris’ from 1972, a film I was never a huge fan of
I blame Star Wars for the decline in thoughtful, story- and character-driven science fiction films. Don’t get me wrong, I was eight when I first saw it and I was fully wrapped up in the Star Wars love explosion in fact, I still am. I still love it and still watch it. It’s just that Star Wars changed the nature of these kinds of films. It started the trend of summer blockbuster action-adventure laser explosion battle movies that we see now. Some of these were great movies but the decline, even the extinction, of deeper meaningful science fiction movies was to upset me for many years
I think I realised this after Independence Day came out in 1996. It’s everything I hate about blockbuster science fiction it had bland characters, an unoriginal storyline, overbearing special effects, awful dialogue and a badly realised conclusion. It was then I realised how much I missed science fiction with much more cerebral content. I wanted to think about what I had seen for days after, be amazed or terrified by the experience. Fireworks are over in a second, inspiration lasts a whole lot longer
I was overjoyed when Soderbergh made Solaris, I’ll not deny that, because I saw it as a return to more thoughtful science fiction. It was excellently realised and shot (the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of the original was my own baggage and shouldn’t have reflected on the quality of the movie) and kept me thinking after the credits had rolled. There was just something missing, something I couldn’t put my finger on. Maybe, in some strange way, the movie had tried too hard to be deep and meaningful
So now I come to 2009 and Duncan Jones’ movie Moon. Here we have a man who grew up with the same movies as me (in fact, he’s only six days younger than I am) and not only wanted to make his own film but also capture the feel and atmosphere of these older flicks. The set design, the story, the special effects were all of the age; models instead of CGI, on-set camera trickery, an involving emotional plot, great design and visuals… this was it. This was the film I’d been waiting for since the mid-1980s, when I’d already exhausted repeated viewings of the old movies and was beginning to become desperate for something less filled with popcorn. The great thing is that I consider Moon to be far better than any science fiction movie that has come out in the last twenty years, and it was done as an independent movie on an incredibly low budget. If these guys can produce this kind of quality film with the resources and talent that they had then this also means that others can do it. Low budgets and cheaper technology means accessibility to filmmakers other than the ones employed by the big studios. That can only be a good thing and promises a great future for science fiction cinema
So thank you, Duncan Jones and all those who helped you make this fantastic, insightful and emotionally charged film. You managed to create something that the Great Movie Machine has failed to do for the last 30 years.
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‘Se7en’ Download and Reviews
“Se7en” Movie Details
Se7en tagline: Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light.
 Se7en DVD Cover |
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Library Guard |
“Se7en” Movie Review
“Seven” Plot Summary
Police drama about two cops, one new and one about to retire, after a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his MO.
one of the best-made films of its era and genre
Despite cliches, and a very depressing finale, this is one of the best-made films of its era and genre
The strengths of the film include an odd relationship between the two lead cops, who seem loosely based on the two lead cops of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series, but who (thankfully) never play for laughs, and never really become ‘buddies’ – the young cop is too arrogant, and the older cop has too much experience, which the young cop refuses to acknowledge. The two characters are also brilliantly acted by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt (probably his best performance).
There’s one odd flaw in the film – about half-way through, I found that I had learned to ‘expect the unexpected’ from the film, which meant that the rest of the film was predictable in a bizarre way – simply decide where the expected move would be, and then expect the unexpected move instead. The most obvious instance of this is in the finale itself, which could be guessed at least 5 minutes ahead of time
Normally, this would be a formula for disaster – but fortunately, the high quality of the film-making twists the film into an edge-of-the-seat suspenseful waiting game as we watch with horror the one cop’s encounter with the insanity of pure evil
I didn’t want to admire this film (to be honest, I dislike Brad Pitt something fierce), but I’m afraid I must – very professionally made, it delivers its promised suspense all the way.
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‘L.A. Confidential’ Download and Reviews
“L.A. Confidential” Movie Details
L.A. Confidential tagline: Off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush…
 L.A. Confidential DVD Cover |
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Mickey Cohen’s Mambo Partner |
“L.A. Confidential” Movie Review
“L.A. Confidential” Plot Summary
A shooting at an all night diner is investigated by three LA policemen in their own unique ways. add synopsis
This is how a proper crime story should be told!
LA Confidential is a sprawling epic tale of crime, corruption and justice in Hollywood and the LAPD, with a cast to match. A truly gripping crime saga exposing the seedy underbelly of the City of Angels, where cops never let the truth get in the way of justice, and everyone knows everyone else’s dirty secrets
Criminally overlooked at both the box office and the Academy thanks to the all-conquering and over-achieving Titanic, LA Confidential will far more likely stand the test of time to be thought of as one of the best films of the 90s, and possibly the best cop film ever
After cops give a number of inmates a beating in retaliation for two of their own being put in hospital, the career-minded Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) agrees to testify to what he saw, turning in his fellow officers. When one of the cops forced out turns up dead as a result of a shooting, Exley, hothead detective Bud White (Russell Crowe) and fame-obsessed Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) all work to find the answers. However, as they uncover the truth, it leads to more questions, of corruption, blackmail, bribery and conspiracy
The film superbly portrays the dual nature of Hollywood; glamorous parties and beautiful people, and the seemingly ever-present crime and corruption, even in the police. Danny Devito’s opening monologue perfectly sums it up – ‘There’s trouble in paradise’. This is not the city at the end of the rainbow, the city where dreams come true
A series of stellar performances from an all-star cast makes it impossible to pick the star, although Kim Basinger richly deserved her Best Supporting Actress. Kevin Spacey is terrific as ever, while Russell Crowe shows that Gladiator wasn’t his first muscles-with-a-heart role. But the real standout is probably Guy Pearce in a career-making performance as the one officer determined to what is right and just, regardless of the potentially disastrous consequences for him. However, LA Confidential is a true ensemble piece, and everybody holds their own among the starry cast. Few will have made many better films, before or since
Curtis Hanson directs in a career-defining role, the sweeping direction echoing the sprawling nature of both the story and the city. The story is a slow-burner, gradually unraveling all the twists, but instead of clearing up the mystery, the waters become muddier as the trio of officers are forced to work together. Hanson masterfully commands the James Ellroy’s source material, weaving it into a gripping multi-layered tale. The characters are extremely well developed, all three-dimensional, with no clear-cut heroes and villains. White (Crowe) in particular is the classic film noir anti-hero, the violent cop with a heart-breaking story, thinking with his muscles rather than his brain. LA Confidential is a classic 50s noir film told for the 90s, and keeps you guessing right up to the final scene as to how high the corruption goes. The two-hour running time is never felt
A superb thriller and the perfect antidote to the rash of mindless action-comedies that frequently come out of Hollywood today, LA Confidential harks back to how film-making used to be all about telling a story. And what a story it is. One of, if not the best film of the 90s.
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