‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ Download and Reviews
“The Talented Mr. Ripley” Movie Details
The Talented Mr. Ripley tagline: How far would you go to become someone else.
 The Talented Mr. Ripley DVD Cover |
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Sergeant Baggio |
“The Talented Mr. Ripley” Movie Review
“The Talented Mr. Ripley” Plot Summary
In late 1950’s New York, Tom Ripley, a young underachiever, is sent to Europe to retrieve a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy, named Dickie Greenleaf. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.
Elegant, literary thriller
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTSWhilst in Italy, a young American chancer (Matt Damon) assumes the identity of a wealthy playboy (Jude Law) with whom he’s become emotionally obsessed, leading to murder and betrayal on a grand scale
Elegant, literary thriller based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith (the subject of an earlier adaptation, PLEIN SOLEIL, in 1960), in which sociopathic anti-hero Tom Ripley (Damon) cheats, steals and murders his way to a position of huge good fortune, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake. Set against the backdrop of tourist Italy – encompassing Rome and Venice and all points in between – Anthony Minghella’s film is a compelling treat from start to finish, layering detail upon detail as Damon’s friendship with Law blossoms and sours, leading to an inevitable plot twist which introduces a whole new set of complications for the central characters, rendering the audience complicit in Ripley’s escalating crime wave
Damon may seem a little too young and unworldly for such a complex character, but he judges the role with great sensitivity, especially in those scenes where (overtly or otherwise) he indicates a sexual attraction to Law which goes unreciprocated (or does it?), until the characters are driven apart by jealousy, bitterness and – ultimately – violence. His fantasies shattered by harsh reality, Damon finds solace in the arms of a mutual acquaintance (Jack Davenport), the only person capable of taking Law’s place in Damon’s affections, only for their chance of happiness to be snatched away by a cruel trick of fate. Terrific, Oscar-caliber support by Gwyneth Paltrow and Philip Seymour Hoffman (as Law’s fiancee and best friend, respectively); beautiful, classy production values throughout. Followed by RIPLEY’S GAME (2002).
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‘A Scanner Darkly’ Download and Reviews
“A Scanner Darkly” Movie Details
A Scanner Darkly tagline: What Does A Scanner See?
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| Directors: Richard Linklater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 7.2/10 out of 38,974 votes |
“A Scanner Darkly” Movie Review
“A Scanner Darkly” Plot Summary
An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.
Imaginative and original
At first glance, you’d think A scanner darkly was style over substance. That is very much wrong. If you peeled away the trippy layers of rotoscoping, you’d still have a very cool and original movie. The writing is really tight and builds up a great and paranoid setting
The characters are very varied. Keanu Reeves, who does a decent job, is a somewhat apathetic washout, a role that fits him well. For all the Keanu-haters out there, I can say that he is not the sole star of the movie. This movie is much more about his friends, a mixed bag of drug-addicts and dopers
Robert Downey Jr. does a fantastic role as the manic, phony-eloquent pseudo-intellectual Barris. He’s very believable and you can’t help get a bit annoyed by him even as you laugh. He has some great lines, and he delivers them superbly
Winona Rider’s Donna is a character we don’t get to see enough of. The scenes she’s in are good, and she certainly looks and acts like a burnout
Rory Cochrane is even more creepy as Freck, the worst case of the little group. You can feel your skin crawling as soon as he goes on-screen. For those who have read the book: Yes, the opening sequence is the same
Then there’s the under-appreciated Woody Harrelson, funny and realistic as Luckman. His burned-out logical jumps and paranoid outbursts are perfect
A benefit of the rotoscoping is that supporting roles can for once look like natural people. Think about it. In your average Hollywood flick, there are professional small parts actors and actresses. The same small group of people perpetually turning up as doctors, gas station attendants, brokers… how real does that feel? I’m sure Linklater doesn’t care anyway, but it just seems more natural with unknowns when they’re drawn. A small point but there might be something to it
The real benefit of the rotoscoping, of course, is that it looks good. Every frame is like a cutout from a graphic novel or some pop art. For a drug movie, you couldn’t ask for anything better. As tempting as it must have been, the animation team has however limited the really trippy sequences to where it matters. All in all, there are only two or three hallucinatory scenes. The general floatiness of the animation, however, gives the movie a fluid and slightly hallucinatory look in general
Combine all of the above and add a healthy dose of paranoid music by Radiohead and you’ve got a cult classic and a great piece of art. Not to be missed by those who appreciate film.
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‘Rush Hour’ Download and Reviews
“Rush Hour” Movie Details
Rush Hour tagline: Two cops. One is all talk. The other is all action.
 Rush Hour DVD Cover |
Actors:
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Exposition Official |
“Rush Hour” Movie Review
“Rush Hour” Plot Summary
Two cops team up to get back a kidnapped daughter.
Worth every penny!
First, I am not a martial arts film fan. I am however someone who enjoys being entertained and this film does just that. Wrapped around a thin plot it is a buddy/buddy film that works. Just as Mel and Danny made the Lethal Weapon films work, Jackie and Chris fit together just as well. The clips they show you in the trailers are not the only good scenes in this movie, the films full of them. All in all, well worth the time and money.
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‘Magnolia’ Download and Reviews
“Magnolia” Movie Details
Magnolia tagline: Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours.
 Magnolia DVD Cover |
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Reno Security Guard |
“Magnolia” Movie Review
“Magnolia” Plot Summary
An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
An extraordinarily moving and serious film
Magnolia is an extraordinarily moving and serious film. Its central concern is the question of what happens when people who have done bad things go unpunished in life. The two people in question Earl Partridge and Jim Gator are both being claimed by cancer ‘early’ but also after very prosperous and well-respected lives. They have both damaged their children one by direct abuse, which the film represents with unparalleled honesty and success and the other by leaving him to nurse his dying mother. Claudia Gator and Frank Mackie express this damage in their everyday lives and remain solidly opposed to reconciliation with their dying fathers. These relationships are reflected in a third abusive father-child relationship, which is still at its outset that between Stanley the child prodigy and his father, who violently exploits his son for gain on a child quiz show. Stanley’s possible future is mirrored in the life of ex-quiz quid Donnie Smith, who has been broken by his early ’success’ and is a figure of fun and hopelessness. The culmination of the film is Stanley going to his father’s bedside and delivering the words ‘Dad, you need to be nicer to me’. We are therefore left with the hope that either following a reform of his father’s behaviour or more likely through Stanley’s new found strength of character, Stanley will be saved from the permanent damage we see in Donnie, Frank and Claudia. The foil for this action is Jim Kurring, a policeman who seeks to do good. Against the backdrop of the other characters, his optimism and moral compass seem strongly tempered by naivety. He is also religious, which while it is not condemned is clearly not a solution for the other characters in the film. But his agency is still the main motor for good in the film. In the closing scene we see him providing the beginning of a rehabilitation to Claudia, which is a strongly positive closing note even if there is still along way to go for her. He also lets Donnie off a criminal charge, and we hope that Donnie will respond to this kindness by recognising the problems confronting him and beginning to take hold of his life. In these respects he is the main agency for good in the film. He does not, however, interact with the other ‘victims’ Frank and Stanley. Stanley begins to act as his own saviour. Frank is the least likely to undergo a serious reform or rehabilitation but we do at least see him weeping, which is an advancement on his previous behaviour. This is not the ‘nom (sic) plus ultra of pretentiousness and self-satisfied smugness’ or ‘a relatively unique vision’. This is real art, which examines human relationships with profound intelligence and honesty. There is not ‘much to admire and to cherish’ here: there is much to learn. It is natural for humans, as animals, to put themselves first in certain situations. But selfishness can cross a line when those on the receiving end are left with little hope of ever becoming functional people, let alone happy. The film challenges viewers to reach into their lives and ask which of their own relationships contain these elements. If a viewer empathizes with the parents, they are forced to confront the lifelong consequences of selfish parenting on a younger generation, as well as the non-forgiveness these parents are confronted by before death. But if a viewer empathizes with the children, he or she is also immediately forced to confront the basic humanity of the parent-perpetrators, as well as their obvious fallibility. This is most touchingly evident in Earl Partridge’s second wife falling in love with him for the first time on his deathbed. Depending on their age, they may empathize with both parents and children hence the final song, sung in part by all of the characters, with the chorus line ‘It’s not going to stop till you wise up’. The last line adds ‘ so just give up’, not as a serious incitement but as a challenge to continue. It is a challenge that intelligent viewers will take up.
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‘The Sum of All Fears’ Download and Reviews
“The Sum of All Fears” Movie Details
The Sum of All Fears tagline: 27,000 Nuclear Weapons. One Is Missing.
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| Directors: Phil Alden Robinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 6.3/10 out of 36,952 votes |
“The Sum of All Fears” Movie Review
“The Sum of All Fears” Plot Summary
CIA analyst Jack Ryan must thwart the plans of a terrorist faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia’s newly elected president by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore. add synopsis
Well Made Thriller
Sum of All Fears is an enjoyable thriller and the type of movie the Hollywood studios have always been good at making. It’s slick, expensive-looking, well-acted and two hours of far-fetched fun. Ben Affleck plays CIA Agent and superman Jack Ryan PhD. Ryan is a former marine, linguist, all-round polymath who usually saves the world from impending disaster. Affleck is youthful and convincing as Ryan and makes him seem fallible and likable. Ryan becomes a confidant of the wise and sensible CIA Director Bill Cabot (Morgan Freeman) and acquires a beautiful and successful girlfriend (Bridget Moynahan) who believes he’s a historian. The plot is complicated and involves a new Russian leader (Ciaran Hands) who spouts anti-U.S. rhetoric. A Russian chemical attack on Chechnya increases the tension between the two countries. An Israeli atomic bomb is found in the Egyption desert,a relic of the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict. Neo-Nazi terrorists (led by Alan Bates) want to provoke a nuclear conflict between America and Russia. They acquire the bomb from a South African arms dealer and explode it in Baltimore. The U.S. blames the Russians and the two countries are about to commence all-out nuclear war until Ryan works out what is happening and all ends happily. The message is that the new Russian leaders are reasonable men signifying that the world has moved on from the Commie bashing flicks of the 1980s
The idea of a terrorist nuclear attack is topical, but unfortunately the Neo-Nazi villains seem very 1970s. The film has good character actors in supporting roles (e.g., Liev Schrieber, James Cromwell). I much prefer Afflek’s Ryan to that of the 52 year-old Harrison Ford who by 1994’s Clear and Present Danger seemed too old and surly to play the role.
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‘Bruce Almighty’ Download and Reviews
“Bruce Almighty” Movie Details
Bruce Almighty tagline: How would you handle the most awesome responsibility in the universe?
 Bruce Almighty DVD Cover |
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Bruce’s Soundman |
“Bruce Almighty” Movie Review
“Bruce Almighty” Plot Summary
A guy who complains about God too often is given almighty powers to teach him how difficult it is to run the world. add synopsis
Very Funny!
This film is the best film Jim Carrey has ever made. Carrey did not have his usual face making stuff in this film. He was both funny and sad. Carrey played a reporter named Bruce Nolan. Nolan blames God(Morgan Freeman) for everything that goes wrong in his life. Then, God comes down from heaven and gives Bruce his powers. As I said before, Carrey did an excellent job. I also thought that Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston were great as supporting actor/actress. The plot was good because it had many subpoints in the main point. This movie can be funny(Bruce’s dog) as well as sad(the ‘break-up’). The script worked well, too. I am glad they made a sequel to this film. I rate this film a 9/10.
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‘The Insider’ Download and Reviews
“The Insider” Movie Details
The Insider tagline: Warning: Exposing the Truth May Be Hazardous
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| Directors: Michael Mann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 8.0/10 out of 65,060 votes |
“The Insider” Movie Review
“The Insider” Plot Summary
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a “60 Minutes” expose on Big Tobacco.
yes this was great.
SPOILERS THROUGH: There is very little that I can add to many of the glowing reviews. I thought The Insider was incredible. Flawless from beginning to end. It’s in the IMDb top 250 and small wonder. It was a superb movie
There are so many elements in this movie that are fascinating. The journalistic issues. The issues of whistle blowing and doing the right thing. In my view both the main characters are heroes. The fact that this is based on a true story makes it that much more fascinating
Pacino and Crowe both, in my opinion, gave flawless performances and both were excellent at drawing the viewer in(let me change that) SWEEPING the viewer in to their lives and the things they were fighting for. There are many movies that take on important issues but lack the ability to keep the movie interesting. That’s not the case here as the movie literally simmers from start to finish and through the last hour or so, I don’t think I moved. That’s the type of film this is and it is absolutely outstanding
This was one of the best roles I’ve seen Al Pacino in and though I have not seen a lot of Crowe’s work, he is wonderful here and well cast
The supporting cast was wonderful too. There have been so many movies made about deception and dishonesty, it’s nice to see a movie where the main characters are courageous and heroic. The Insider is all at once absorbing, disturbing, thought provoking and triumphant. In other words, it’s everything a good movie should be. This is a long movie but the time goes very quickly and it’s not the type of movie that could have been any shorter. (It actually could have been even longer.) Everything from the acting to the camera work(some of it quite unusual) to the story itself is top notch and this is an example of a great film and that rare movie that myself and my film going friends can actually agree on. My vote is 10 of 10.
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‘Dogville’ Download and Reviews
“Dogville” Movie Details
Dogville tagline: A quiet little town not far from here.
 Dogville DVD Cover |
Actors:
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Ben |
“Dogville” Movie Review
“Dogville” Plot Summary
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado town. In exchange, she agrees to work for them. As a search visits town, she finds out that their support has a price. Yet her dangerous secret is never far away…
Hard to digest, but great.
Tough. Once again Lars von Trier tortures the audience (as he did previously on Dancer in the Dark) by upraising the darkest side of the human being. From the beginning you know that things can only get worse, but I doubt that one can figure out neither what’s to come nor the powerful conclusion. Nicole Kidman’s interpretation is perfect – intense, poignant, passionate, you name it. She is fantastic and so is the small cast locked inside Dogville’s scenario (a wonderful creation – I wonder how something so simple can bring such a strong effect). Again, the entire cast is fantastic and for that goes an extra credit for Lars von Trier. His capability of pushing actors to the limit and extracting painful emotions from them creates a heavy atmosphere, full of tension and, at the same time, so familiar. It is not that Dogville represents the essence of our communities, but it exposes some aspects of our lives that we prefer to hide under the carpet.
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