hrstar24
Joined Jul 2007
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Reviews6
hrstar24's rating
After seeing and loving The Wrestler, which is also directed by Darren Aronofsky, and hearing all the hype around this movie, I finally decided to watch it. I can say that after seeing the film, all the stories floating around it are true. It is one of the most intense movie experiences I have ever had in my life.
Requiem for a Dream, based on the novel by Hubert Shelby Jr., follows Harry (Jared Leto), his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and his lonely mother (Ellen Burstyn) as they each realize there dreams of money and happiness, only to have them transformed into horrific nightmares by drugs and narcotics.
Darron Aronofsky definitely shows his directing skills in Requiem. Every scene is torn down frame by frame, and then cut back together to give a strange psychedelic feel to the movie. It's a little like Pink Floyds The Wall, except there are actually characters and a plot that we can follow. The editing and directing is definitely the best aspect of Requiem, because it is so imaginative. The music is another brilliant piece that adds to the suspenseful and disturbing vibe.
The overall plot of the movie is isn't very deep, and leaves a slight feeling of being let down, like there was more potential there. Also, there could have been a little more character development because even the main characters seemed a little flat. But other than that, everything else was brilliant. All the actors are in top form, especially Ellen Burstyn who gives a truly amazing performance as a drug addicted old lady. Even Marlon Wayans shows his unique range in the film.
The most famous part of Requiem by far is its reputation for being intense. And the film definitely lives up to its name. This was the first time I have ever felt like walking out of the movie before it was over not because it was bad, but because it is almost too much to take in at once. It accomplishes what horror movies try so hard to do, by creating a truly chilling atmosphere as the characters fall into a living hell. It is this intensity, however, that makes watching the movie so unique that everyone should experience at least once. Requiem grabs your heart as the characters find happiness but doesn't let go as it drags you and its characters into the disturbing and sinister reality of addiction.
Overall, Darren Aronofsky is once again able to create a very unique movie experience with Requiem through great visuals, music, and acting. I recommend that everyone see this movie at least once, because it leaves such a lasting impression on anyone who sees it.
Requiem for a Dream, based on the novel by Hubert Shelby Jr., follows Harry (Jared Leto), his best friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), his girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly), and his lonely mother (Ellen Burstyn) as they each realize there dreams of money and happiness, only to have them transformed into horrific nightmares by drugs and narcotics.
Darron Aronofsky definitely shows his directing skills in Requiem. Every scene is torn down frame by frame, and then cut back together to give a strange psychedelic feel to the movie. It's a little like Pink Floyds The Wall, except there are actually characters and a plot that we can follow. The editing and directing is definitely the best aspect of Requiem, because it is so imaginative. The music is another brilliant piece that adds to the suspenseful and disturbing vibe.
The overall plot of the movie is isn't very deep, and leaves a slight feeling of being let down, like there was more potential there. Also, there could have been a little more character development because even the main characters seemed a little flat. But other than that, everything else was brilliant. All the actors are in top form, especially Ellen Burstyn who gives a truly amazing performance as a drug addicted old lady. Even Marlon Wayans shows his unique range in the film.
The most famous part of Requiem by far is its reputation for being intense. And the film definitely lives up to its name. This was the first time I have ever felt like walking out of the movie before it was over not because it was bad, but because it is almost too much to take in at once. It accomplishes what horror movies try so hard to do, by creating a truly chilling atmosphere as the characters fall into a living hell. It is this intensity, however, that makes watching the movie so unique that everyone should experience at least once. Requiem grabs your heart as the characters find happiness but doesn't let go as it drags you and its characters into the disturbing and sinister reality of addiction.
Overall, Darren Aronofsky is once again able to create a very unique movie experience with Requiem through great visuals, music, and acting. I recommend that everyone see this movie at least once, because it leaves such a lasting impression on anyone who sees it.
The Moon has always been a source of wonder and mystery. It is so far away, yet much closer than the stars. Man has reached the Moon, but there is still so much that is unknown about it. It is a bridge between mystery and fact, and director Duncan Jones uses it as a brilliant setting for his science fiction film Moon.
The movie stars Sam Rockwell as a lunar astronaut also named Sam stationed alone on the Moon for three years. He isn't entirely alone, because the AI computer GERTY (Kevin Spacey) is constantly following him. Energy companies have discovered vast amounts of Helium on the Moon, and they now mine that Helium in order to power the Earth. As Sam begins his last two weeks stationed in the mining facility, his mind begins to break down and he soon realizes he just might not be able to make it back.
It is quite obvious that the main intention of Moon was to pay respect to the older science fiction movies like Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it is a great homage to the genre indeed. GERTY is possibly one of my favorite AI computers ever in a movie, because it constantly shows its mood through a series of different smiley faces, and has Kevin Spacey's voice. The overall story of Moon is pretty good, and it definitely tugs a bit on your emotions because the main character Sam is so real and relatable. It is a bit more of an art film, but I have found that the mixture of art and Sci-Fi is a brilliant combination.
The absolute key ingredient to making Moon was finding a capable actor because it is essentially a one man show, and they picked a winner with Sam Rockwell. Rockwell gives one of his best performances to date, and while it might be a little early to predict I can see him getting an Oscar nomination for his role. The other great thing about this picture is the special effects. Since the budget was so low this could have been a disaster, but the shots of the Moon Rovers and Harvesters were astonishingly realistic, and a typical movie goer would think this had at least a 40 million dollar budget. It is amazing how much more was accomplished with this tiny budget compared to the $200 million dollars poured into Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Overall Moon is a complete film. It isn't groundbreaking, but it accomplished everything it set out to be, which are a great homage and a chance for Sam Rockwell to really show his acting prowess. I found myself leaving the theater with a great feeling of satisfaction that I have only received from a couple movies this year so far.
9/10
The movie stars Sam Rockwell as a lunar astronaut also named Sam stationed alone on the Moon for three years. He isn't entirely alone, because the AI computer GERTY (Kevin Spacey) is constantly following him. Energy companies have discovered vast amounts of Helium on the Moon, and they now mine that Helium in order to power the Earth. As Sam begins his last two weeks stationed in the mining facility, his mind begins to break down and he soon realizes he just might not be able to make it back.
It is quite obvious that the main intention of Moon was to pay respect to the older science fiction movies like Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it is a great homage to the genre indeed. GERTY is possibly one of my favorite AI computers ever in a movie, because it constantly shows its mood through a series of different smiley faces, and has Kevin Spacey's voice. The overall story of Moon is pretty good, and it definitely tugs a bit on your emotions because the main character Sam is so real and relatable. It is a bit more of an art film, but I have found that the mixture of art and Sci-Fi is a brilliant combination.
The absolute key ingredient to making Moon was finding a capable actor because it is essentially a one man show, and they picked a winner with Sam Rockwell. Rockwell gives one of his best performances to date, and while it might be a little early to predict I can see him getting an Oscar nomination for his role. The other great thing about this picture is the special effects. Since the budget was so low this could have been a disaster, but the shots of the Moon Rovers and Harvesters were astonishingly realistic, and a typical movie goer would think this had at least a 40 million dollar budget. It is amazing how much more was accomplished with this tiny budget compared to the $200 million dollars poured into Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
Overall Moon is a complete film. It isn't groundbreaking, but it accomplished everything it set out to be, which are a great homage and a chance for Sam Rockwell to really show his acting prowess. I found myself leaving the theater with a great feeling of satisfaction that I have only received from a couple movies this year so far.
9/10
The problems with all of the Harry Potter movies so far have been that the director hasn't had complete control over the project because not all the books were out, so the complete story wasn't known. That meant that should a detail that becomes important at the end be left out, massive problems could be caused. This gave the Potter films a very rushed and very complex plot, which alienated audiences. Half Blood Prince is the first movie out since the final book was released, so director David Yates had complete creative control, and let me be the first to say the improvements are incredible.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is entering his sixth year at Hogwarts, and now that Lord Voldemort has announced his return to the world, war has broken out. The movie starts with the Death Eaters (Voldemort supporters) attacking a muggle (non-wizard folk) bridge, killing many people. Harry then returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and must struggle with two different things: Malfoy (Tom Felton) plotting something against Hogwarts after joining Voldemort, as well as what all 16 year old boys struggle with, women. Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) also explore Voldemort's past in order to try and find out his weaknesses.
The main improvement made to Half Blood Prince is definitely the writing. Writer Steve Kloves returns to the series with much improved dialogue and this time around the jokes are actually pretty funny. The characters are much more real this time, for example Helena Bonham Carter as the cynical Bellatrix Lestrange seems much creepier this time around since she has more screen time. Yates uses his creative control as he shifts the focus mostly onto the love triangles and adolescence instead of Voldemort and Malfoy like the book did. This isn't a bad thing at all, since Yates has added scenes to really flesh out every character which causes the audience to actually care about the story. While the pacing faltered a bit at the ending, it did succeed in producing a similar feeling of hopelessness and mystery which reminded me a lot of Empire Strikes Back. Let me warn you now, not that it's a bad thing, the movie ends with a big TO BE CONTINUED? Michael Gambon also makes a dramatic improvement to his acting in Half Blood Prince. His last attempt to play the quirky but brilliant headmaster was a disaster, as he failed to capture the lightheartedness and warmth that Dumbledore conveys in the books, fans went as far as dubbing him Angrydore. Gambon is in much better form this time around, as well as all the other actors. Unfortunately Radcliffe gets overshadowed in most of his scenes, but it's hard to shine with a cast like Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and newcomer Jim Broadbent who plays the new Professor Slughorn. The special effects have also improved with this film as the spells and magical objects look even better, and when our characters explore the Weasly twins wizard joke shop the visuals are astounding.
While many of the flaws of previous Harry Potter movies were fixed, like the plot is actually understandable to non book readers this time, Half Blood Prince is not flawless. Most of story that Yates changes or leaves out are great improvements for the movie, there are a couple that he definitely should not have touched. The climax in the cave is brilliant, but instead of leading to an even bigger climax like the book did with an epic battle, the movie completely leaves this part out. There was a lot of build up for a massive battle, but it seemed to be for nothing.
Overall Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is leaps and bounds ahead of all the other Potter films, but what stops it from true greatness is the anticlimactic ending. It is ¾ of a great movie, which makes it still worth while. Since the next and final Harry Potter book is being split into two movies (which allows more time to connect with characters and subplots), I expect more great things from David Yates with this series.
7/10 + 2 for trolls = 9/10
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is entering his sixth year at Hogwarts, and now that Lord Voldemort has announced his return to the world, war has broken out. The movie starts with the Death Eaters (Voldemort supporters) attacking a muggle (non-wizard folk) bridge, killing many people. Harry then returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and must struggle with two different things: Malfoy (Tom Felton) plotting something against Hogwarts after joining Voldemort, as well as what all 16 year old boys struggle with, women. Harry and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) also explore Voldemort's past in order to try and find out his weaknesses.
The main improvement made to Half Blood Prince is definitely the writing. Writer Steve Kloves returns to the series with much improved dialogue and this time around the jokes are actually pretty funny. The characters are much more real this time, for example Helena Bonham Carter as the cynical Bellatrix Lestrange seems much creepier this time around since she has more screen time. Yates uses his creative control as he shifts the focus mostly onto the love triangles and adolescence instead of Voldemort and Malfoy like the book did. This isn't a bad thing at all, since Yates has added scenes to really flesh out every character which causes the audience to actually care about the story. While the pacing faltered a bit at the ending, it did succeed in producing a similar feeling of hopelessness and mystery which reminded me a lot of Empire Strikes Back. Let me warn you now, not that it's a bad thing, the movie ends with a big TO BE CONTINUED? Michael Gambon also makes a dramatic improvement to his acting in Half Blood Prince. His last attempt to play the quirky but brilliant headmaster was a disaster, as he failed to capture the lightheartedness and warmth that Dumbledore conveys in the books, fans went as far as dubbing him Angrydore. Gambon is in much better form this time around, as well as all the other actors. Unfortunately Radcliffe gets overshadowed in most of his scenes, but it's hard to shine with a cast like Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, and newcomer Jim Broadbent who plays the new Professor Slughorn. The special effects have also improved with this film as the spells and magical objects look even better, and when our characters explore the Weasly twins wizard joke shop the visuals are astounding.
While many of the flaws of previous Harry Potter movies were fixed, like the plot is actually understandable to non book readers this time, Half Blood Prince is not flawless. Most of story that Yates changes or leaves out are great improvements for the movie, there are a couple that he definitely should not have touched. The climax in the cave is brilliant, but instead of leading to an even bigger climax like the book did with an epic battle, the movie completely leaves this part out. There was a lot of build up for a massive battle, but it seemed to be for nothing.
Overall Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is leaps and bounds ahead of all the other Potter films, but what stops it from true greatness is the anticlimactic ending. It is ¾ of a great movie, which makes it still worth while. Since the next and final Harry Potter book is being split into two movies (which allows more time to connect with characters and subplots), I expect more great things from David Yates with this series.
7/10 + 2 for trolls = 9/10