jamaalrgreen

Amour was the final chapter in my quest to see every film nominated for best picture this year. I had the pleasure of watching this piece of art in and nice Art House theatre in NYC as an assignment for school. With the ambiance set I was ready to view the gem of European cinema. Having only seen one other film by Director Michael Haneke was not prepared however for the film itself. Amour is a fantastic work deserving of its nomination of best picture and best foreign film. It is the story of and elderly couple at the tail end of their golden years and the challenges that old age can present. Is there anything you won't do for love? I give kudos to the director for this film two main characters are in the golden years, it is completely dialogue driven, it takes place in one location and there is no soundtrack or real score. It survives totally on the dialogue and interactions of it leads. It is an extreme challenge to keep it interesting and Michael Heneke does with its stark and sometime depressing subject matter. It is a beautifully written and shot film. However it is real in its depiction in the challenges of getting old and how we deal.

I would say this film is an excellent film with a pace,direction and storytelling style more accustomed to European audiences. A great film that I would probably never watch again. 8/10

Gangster Squad is the semi true account of the rise to power of notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and the off the books police squad put together to take him down. The films leads are Josh Brolin and Sean Penn and the fast rising star Ryan Gosling.Josh Brolin is solid as Sgt John O"Mara while Ryan Gosling was a bit flat as the smooth ladies man Officer Jerry Wooters. Sean Penn who is always brilliant gives a spirited performance as Mickey Cohen. One my even say there is a tinge of over acting on Penn's part but it is not his fault. The rest of the characters are so flat and surface level that Sean Penn's character seems like the only one with a pulse. I will say that Giovanni Ribisi was excellent in his role as the wire tap man Conway Keeler. It was a reserved performance and a change from his usual maniacal antagonist role. For the most part the film is just surface level with plenty of good action and tough guy lines at the right moment but you never really feel deeply either way for the good guys or bad guy. The films photography is phenomenal from Oscar winning DP Dion Beebe.( Miami Vice) Over all it is a popcorn film but don't expect to be wowed. 6/10

Movie Reviews

Texas Brainsaw Massacre 3DD

If you are a big fan of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre you may want to pretend this film was never made. It can in no rational way stand with the original except in name only. However even in an irrational world this film struggled with basic plot and story development. It was pretty clear that the original draft of this film could have easily been a draft for Scary Movie or some comedy spoof of Scooby Doo.It did have all the right things to make it fit right in with modern horror films but executed everything so poorly you may have thought they were making it up as they went along. As bad as it was you were kind of entertained by the motivation to see if it could get any worse. The basic plot is about a girl who inherits a property belonging to her family that she never knew. It's when she finds out who her relatives are that the story begins.-dun-dun-duuuuuuuuh!!!

I'm not going to comment on the acting because it is a teen slasher film so if you have high expectations then you may have deeper issues than this film. This film had beautiful girls, buff studs and sexual tension from the first narrative scene. Modern Horror. The lead actress was so anatomically perfect it was as if she were ripped from an adult anime film. The most entertaining part of the film centered was centered around how much attention this film wanted you to focus on the lead characters breast. Shot after shot combined with a specific wardrobe selection teamed up to say look at these(boobs) because they are important. Not to ruin it but yes indeed a breast became the turning point in the film. You are lured in with breasts shots but sadly the stars never leave the dressing room after all the build up.There were more impossible and improbable plot turns in this film than a choose your own adventure book. And also the signature fall when you are being chased maneuver is a go to play in this film. There is much to be desired and plenty to perhaps laugh about but in some way it was still entertaining for all the wrong reasons. I probably will not watch this again but will never forget what I saw either. Leave your brain and natural human instincts at home before viewing and you may enjoy this.

5/10 stars