toolmanproductions's reviews

The Mexican cartel have stooped to a new low. They are now resorting to kidnapping people and forcing them into b grade soft porn flicks.

Please give generously to stop this form of human trafficking.

On the lighter side of things, it is a difficult movie to watch. At least everyone had a turn at speaking some lines which would be a plus for any actor. The downside would be the level of flesh you would have to reveal in order to get those lines. You'd be working pretty hard to keep your clothes on in this flick. Sympathy goes out to the pizza boy who had the unfortunate luck to make a delivery to the set and forced to work as evil Hench men number 6 for the extra tip.

Just when you though there was now way you could top the effort in 'Darkstorm', Baldwin has come up with a beauty in 'Earthstorm'. We pray that he gets over his drug addiction or replace the word drug with any other vice that comes to mind, there must be some excuse for taking these roles. But we live in a world of relativism, and relatively speaking he may not be as good as Alec, or have Adam's comedy. But enough said on that matter, because those boys look like they could put down. Anyhow the movie is worth the trouble if you need to play a practical joke on a friend, how you seen this great movie and couldn't stop watching it. Good trick on getting your name marked off on someones xmas list.

This film was a pleasant surprise. Casey Affleck and Phoenix have produced a masterpiece. It is a shame that the film has stirred up so much bad press with one review comparing box office revenue of this film to Casey's brother Ben Affleck's film. It's not too subtle message that his brother's film is somehow superior. I also enjoyed Ben's film however they are different entities, being the difference of chalk and cheese, of comparing apples to oranges.

I love the loose documentary style and excellent motivated editing. The film also has a wonderful denouement, where several scenes appear to have little to no action. A ferry crossing where two men share a quiet beer. A father and son that sit at a table and say nothing. They are scenes with little action but speaks volumes to the underlying story.

A portrait of the struggling working class American family. It's the guy with the low paid backbreaking removal job. It is the parents that argue over the meat loaf. It's the couple that buys discount vodka, that rents the cheap motel room to rekindle lost love.

Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling are improvising, inventive masters of their craft. Gosling is blessed with a concentration and natural fluidity of body movement. I love the way both actors can pressure each other to search and find those buttons That turn the narrative around.

It's the narrative of love at first sight juxtaposed to the narrative of domestic violence. Gifted filmmakers that can be both cruel and kind toward the story matter.