Law Abiding Citizen

After watching his family die at the hands of two senseless criminals, Clyde Shelton (Butler) decides to take justice into his own hands when one of the two criminals walks free due to a bungled investigation. Not only does Shelton target the killer, but also others heavily involved in the broken justice system, particularly DA Nick Rice (Foxx) who gave the freed killer a plea bargain. Clever concept and full of quirky dialogue. But it begins to slide down more and more into unrealistic circumstances; as if it wasn't on the verge of being far-fetched in the first place. The movie leaves you in the center of the characters' motives. Not once does the film attempt to make a stand for anything. The entire movie has a 'decide for yourself' logic, pretty much making the existence of the film lack any purpose. The two leads were great; along with a strong supporting cast, especially Colm Meaney as a somewhat comedic relief.

8MM

Upon finding a supposed snuff-film in her late-husband's safe, Mrs. Christian (Carter) hires private investigator Tom Welles (Cage), recently garnering praise for his work from the prestigious political circle that Mr. Christian was a part of, to investigate the authenticity of the disturbing S8-film. Unlike a lot of Joel Schumacher's unfair criticism of being passed off as a second class director (the guy isn't trying to make "Chinatown" or "Casablanca" people!), the criticism behind this film has more basis than the typical Schumacher putdown. The film begins very promising, with a creepy and twisted tone that you wouldn't expect Schumacher or Cage to be a part of. When the film nears its second plot-point, it starts to spiral down into a revenge film, praising vigilantism, as if to say, "Don't worry. Our protagonist still isn't as bad as the antagonist." The realism—and insight and/or voyeurism, if you will—of the subject matter, while disturbing, can be commended for its bravery to pull no punches. But the heartbeat of any pros about the film is stopped ¾ of the way through the film by an over-the-top conclusion… and there isn't even a twist in the end! Yes, the ending is that out of place with the rest of the film.

"Nip/Tuck"

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A series following the personal and professional lives of the two plastic surgeons at McNamara/Troy, played by Walsh/McMahon respectively. Joely Richardson's character is one of the biggest contradictory characters of all-time, as the wife of Walsh. The series begins interestingly, with an almost day-in-the-life feel of two friends in the exact same profession, except their characters are on the total opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. Season 1 does an excellent job of flexing its muscles of creativity, while Season 2 successfully upstages the first season by proving itself to be the peak of the series. Season 3 turned even the traditional viewers into fans by focusing mainly on the unforgettable anonymous rapist The Carver. The fall of the show after Season 3 is amazingly quick, like a plummet off a cliff with no downhill to break any falls, when Season 4 attempts to go back to its roots but fails miserably. The remainder of the series is nothing more than soap-operatic plots, one being less believable than the last; it appears that Ryan Murphy began to embrace the fact that the show had jumped the shark long before the effort level of creativity disappeared. The series ends with no catharsis, however the creators would like to think differently; but the truth of the matter is, unlike "King of the Hill" which also had a not-too-little-not-too-much series finale, the show concluded with closing doors that had already been closed before but reopened. After Season 3, the show resorted to either completely dropping story lines, reopening story lines that were concluded, or creating a new storyline that's strikingly familiar to one already done on the show before. Not the worst of shows, but an embarrassing one to admit you like. Many fans will blame The Carver for the show's plummet; but the truth of the matter is, the show couldn't top The Carver hype. The Carver is the only true reason to recommend this show to anyone.

Schindler's List

The critically acclaimed epic story of a Nazi (Neeson) who witnesses the atrocities bestowed upon Polish Jews during the brutal Nazi Reign. Ooh, Spielberg is so genius with his use of coloring and his pulls-no-punches portrayal of WWII! Just the type of film Hollywood loves to pat themselves on the back for and tell themselves that they're edgy and honest. However, the reality is, the use of symbolism in this film is so shallow, even a sixth grader can interpret its meaning. What's the point of symbolism if there's nothing to search for? It seems a bit redundant, because any meaning behind this film, aside from the ugliness the Jewish people endured during WWII and the sacrifices Schindler made, is there on the screen. There's nothing to search for. There's no ambiguity for each individual to take something personal away from it. The symbolism serves no purpose. Not to mention other Spielberg flaws; he underestimates his audience… as usual, and continues the story when its finished… as usual. Keep in mind when watching that not everything in this "masterpiece" is historically accurate. Ralph Fiennes chooses to play Amon Göth as a theatrical villain, rather than a three dimensional evil and twisted man. Christoph Waltz makes Fiennes look like an amateur as Hans Landa in "Inglourious Basterds". That's another thing, why is this in English? Is it so Hollywood doesn't have to read subtitles, while the rest of the world has to? Certainly a movie to judge for yourself.

Shutter Island

Scorsese's first feature-length film since "The Departed" finds itself wallowing in the shoes of a meaningless and predictable thriller. DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, who's investigating the disappearance of a dangerous mental patient (Mortimer). Accompanied by a new partner (Ruffalo), Teddy begins to question whether they're investigating an escapee or if the patients and staff on Shutter Island are involved in a conspiracy that will hinder their investigation and even their safety. The film neither starts nor ends on a high note, there is no peak in this "thriller", and the clichéd choppiness of the filming in order to create a sense of delusion ceases to impress in the slightest. From the beginning, you know how this one will end. The splendid acting by all actors, including even those who are portraying minor characters, is grade A; and the claustrophobic mood of being stuck on the beautiful, but creepy, Shutter Island is where Scorsese's talent can be seen. There is also some noteworthy scares.

The Machinist

Bale shows his determination at being a method-actor, in this delusional thriller by Brad Anderson, by losing a record-breaking sixty-three pounds (Bale wanted to lose more) in order to render the appearance of a man who hasn't slept in over a year. Trevor Reznik (Bale) is an industrial working insomniac whose grip on reality is slowly deteriorating and struggles to find answers to such mysterious events that begin to unravel in his everyday life: hangman post-it notes on his refrigerator, a new coworker named Ivan (Sharian) that seems to bring doubt every time he appears in Trevor's life, and a waitress (Sánchez-Gijón) who has befriended Trevor and also has a strikingly familiar relationship with her son Nicholas (Moore) that Trevor had with his mother. An overall original, interesting and thrilling film; with Anderson creating an uneasy mood of paranoia and distrust. The film tends to linger for a little while after it has made its point.

The Shield

A cleverly written crime-drama about the officers in The Barn (a rundown Los Angeles police station), finds itself a bit redundant at many points in its seven season, yet ceases to lower the adrenaline rush. Michael Chiklis steals the show as the memorable (yet at times, over-the-top) Vic Mackey, who runs the Strike Team, a tactical unit of three other detectives, when behind closed doors are all corrupt. Throughout the series we see how the Strike Team dodges bullets from deadbeat criminals and cooks up excuses to get around close-calls with the honest officers. The grittiness camera-work creates realism, but its far-fetched story-arc makes everything a bit contradictory. While intense and fulfilling upon first watch, it's hardly worth re-watching since each episode is mainly buildup after buildup to a climatic season finale. Unlike a lot of endings, though, it closes most of (if not all) open doors and loses any mercy it once had for its characters, making it one of the greatest series finales of all-time. The whole series is worth the watch, just to see its satisfying and unforgettable conclusion.

Happiness

The story of three grown sisters (Adams, Boyle and Stevenson), their parents (Gazzara, Lasser) and the colorful (yet dark) characters that find their way into each of the five Jordan family members' everyday life. The five main characters are somewhat of an oasis in the film, being the most normal and least dark of all the other characters, which gives us breathing room to absorb the sinister characters that surround them. Funny, disturbing and eye-opening; the concept, character interaction and dialogue are wonderful. While unpleasant and, at many times, vulgar; in the end, it is a truly remarkable film.

"Death Note"

Light Yagami, an intelligent high school student, embarks on a crusade of secrecy after finding a notebook known as the Death Note, which gives him the power to kill anyone when their name is written inside of it. He attempts to rule the world, killing criminals by writing their names in the Death Note. A Shinigami (a "death god") possess a Death Note and can only be seen by a person who uses it. Ryuk is Light's Shinigami, and the two (neither friend nor foe) journey together as Light attempts to take out every bad guy and ultimately by God of a new world. But trouble arouses when a brilliant detective, known as L, takes on the case and begins to outwit Light. A triumph in the manga world. The show always keeps its audience on edge and their ceases to be a dull moment. Merciless to the end, the characters are very three-dimensional and the story is satisfyingly unpredictable. In a tale with such a controversial main character, it finds itself explaining (or justifying) things through dialogue instead of action, which kind of feels like we as the audience are being underestimated. Perhaps maybe some of us are, as there tends to be a line between the fans who support and who are against Light Yagami. A truly powerful series.

"The Wire"

Set in Baltimore, with story lines of crime and law intertwined with each other. The show mainly follows Jimmy McNulty (West) and his fellow detectives and superiors; as well as street level drug dealers of the Barksdale Organization, led by Avon Barksdale (Harris). Corruption becomes a subplot and seasonal theme including: the city port (Season 2), the political scene (Season 3), the school system (Season 4) and the media (Season 5). Praised for its realism, which includes some slow spots as well as the killing off of its most well-developed characters at random points in the series. While things slow down and speed up at many points of the series, there ceases to be anything remotely uninteresting. The amount of characters that come and go become very overwhelming to the point that you stop becoming shocked when a character is written off. It's lack of a main character and it's predictable finale are flaws, but easily overlooked by intriguing story lines.

The Stepfather

Update of the 1987 film of the same name, with Walsh taking the title role. Walsh's stepfather is just as charming and just as convincingly psychotic as O'Quinn's was. The film starts out very promising, with a smart story and plenty of scares and creeps; but it begins to deteriorate when the hero (Bagley) is introduced, and who is even more unlikable than the purposely unlikable stepfather. The dark mood continues and the film remains watchable, until the middle of the film has passed and you realize that there's nothing building, only just an approaching climatic sequence which will probably be sudden, dull and disappointing. And as predicted, it is. Like "Disturbia" in a lot of ways, and shares similar pros and cons. Walsh doesn't really escape Dr. McNamara, but the passive-aggressive personality works well in this film. O'Quinn declined a cameo appearance.

"The Sopranos"

"The Godfather" of television, but aside from it's acclaim and mobster characters, the two are nothing alike. Tony Soprano is forced to go to a psychiatrist after a series of panic attacks. His psychiatrist learns that Tony is actually part of two families -- in one family he is a loving father yet not-so-perfect-husband, and in the other family he is a ruthless wiseguy. After analysis, Dr. Melfi concludes that Tony's problems actually derive from his mother Livia, who's suspected to have borderline-personality disorder. Gandolfini is rightfully praised as the main character; yet Bracco and Marchand aren't nearly as recognized for their equally and talented performances as the psychiatrist and mother, respectively. Falco, Imperioli and DeMatteo are acclaimed for their brilliant supporting roles. Van Zandt (from the E-Street Band) plays his first and only role as Tony's best friend, and is quite convincing and latching. Chianese, the only recurring actor to have actually appeared in a Godfather film, plays Tony's uncle and on-and-off nemesis. Many fans also enjoyed characters played by Pastore, Ventimiglia, Curatola, Proval, Pantoliano, Lip, Sciorra and Buscemi. Tony's children are "okay" but not notable (with the exception of Iler's stunning performance in the third-to-last episode, "The Second Coming"); Sirico and Schirripa are unconvincing and over-the-top, but the show is too strong for them to hold it back. Even as the show continues for over six season, it ceases to have a dull or predictable moment.