Name: Neals_reviews
Most Recent Reviews by Neals_reviews
Marooned on the dark side of the moon, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) starts seeing things - himself. When he crashes his lunar rover on a mission, he awakens to find his sealed outpost repopulated with another version of himself. Director Duncan Jones was obviously highly influenced by the classic 2001. Sam Rockwell doesn't fail to amuse in this quirky tale, the whole movie is centered on him I think he's a very underated actor who shines quite brightly in this dark film. The movie taps on issues dealing with the nature of human experience, isolation & coping with technology in the near future. An interesting story worth viewing for an hour & a half.
Neal Damiano
Film Critic
Romantic comedies are predictable most of the time, so it's how we get there that matters "The Proposal" seemed to be getting there with some flames & creativity. Headed by a couple of actors that are not new to the comedic genre. Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds are both well fit for clever bantor, they play off each other quite well right of the top. Although I'm not a huge fan of Sandra Bullock her chemistry with Ryan Reynolds is right on.
Margaret(Bullock) is a high powered book editor who is facing deplortation to her hometown of Canada unless she comes up with a plan. A quick thinking exec declares she get engaged to her unsuspecting assistant Andrew (Reynolds) who she has tormented for years. He agrees to help but not without a few conditions of his own. The put on couple heads to Alaska to meet his eccentric family & the big wig city girl finds herself in a fish out of water scenario.
Funny moments ensue but the director Anne Fletcher crushes any good will it forms when it takes a predictable turn towards gushy.
Neal Damiano
Film Critic
The political thriller State Of Play is one for the time capsule, a homage to print journalism that is being released at a time when newspapers are gliding into obscurity. It feels like a political thriller on a certain level but superficially it is the murder of a young woman. A rising congressman's mistress that drives the story. Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey who represents the last of the old school journalists & also happens to be good friends with the politician in question, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). Cal's & the congressman's shady interests are revealed when the police & the Washington Post investigate the killing.
Crowe completely delves into the character, however he & Affleck never feel like a good match for each other. For one the age difference is hard to ignore to believe they're college roomates. Second the chemistry never seems to blend.
Neal Damiano
Film Critic
Mickey Liddell’s directorial debut The Haunting of Molly Hartley is anything but haunting as it fails to even scare. A cross between Rosemary’s Baby & the Excercist but falls short of scary. This film is like watching a possessed episode of 90210 & loses its flavor faster than a stick of bubble gum. The film centers around a girl trying to find out if she’s the devils spawn or if her mother is just completely out of her mind. Molly (Haley Bennett) is turning 18 very soon, but despite the fact that she has near perfect skin & enrolled in the most prestigious private school in New York her life is anything but perfect. Her mother was recently institutionalized after trying to stop her daughter from eternal damnation with a pair of scissors. Adjusting to a new school & her mother locked up in a mental institution aren’t the only troubles facing Molly. She is being haunted daily with visions of her murderous mother & hearing voices from beyond.
Molly is also being outcast at school because of her romance with the popular Joseph Young (Chase Crawford). Fellow outcast, the bible preaching Alexis (Shanna Collins) is trying to convert Molly to Christianity. Her guidance counselor insists that the weird hallucinations are nothing more than effects from her recent trauma. As her visions grow stronger each day, she is forced to consider that her fate was sealed the day she was born. The story is very predictable even for a supernatural plot & the acting is weak. It seems the film is loaded with moments to make the viewer jump in substitute for an interesting plot. The themes are there, a girl dealing with issues of religion & salvation but it lacks anything interesting or new.
Neal Damiano
Film Critic
Clint Eastwood is known for playing the classic antihero that we all love in Gran Torino he’s no different. Eastwood redefines what it is to be a grumpy old man here with his trademark Dirty Harry snarl & grunts.
Walt Kowalski is a marine veteran & retired auto worker & an unapologetic bigot. Who just lost his wife while his discontent for society grows stronger so does his alienation from a world literally becoming foreign. Walt spends his time tending his house in a Detroit suburb, drinking beers, & cleaning his most treasured posession a vintage 72 Gran Torino which he helped assemble at Ford plant where he used to work.
He’s the only white man in a neighborhood filled with Asians, Hispanics, & African-Americans. Walt hates all - he despises his own family as much as the trash as he puts it that pollute his street. One night in a twist of fate Walt catches the son of his neighbors trying to steal his cherished car. Instead of hurting the boy or calling the police Walt decides to protect him from the gang bangers that forced him into robbery. The boy in gratitude agrees to work for Walt doing odd jobs & they form an unlikely bond. The storyline is predictable the characters all too familiar but you can’t help to watch Eastwoods charisma he radiates on film & is very believable in this character.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
Mickey Rourke returns back to Hollywood with the highly praised The Wrestler. Darren Aronofsky took a big chance casting Rourke in this role but anything worth of interest was built on chance. Aronofsky took the timeless & ever strong Champ formula combined with an amazing cast. The down & out has been makes a comeback we have seen it before with the Rocky series etc. But Rourke’s vulnerbility which we ever hardly see is captivating.
Randy “The Ram†Robinson knows nothing more in life but wrestling. A fallen has been wrestler from the 80’s glory days now lives in a trailer & doing his performances in second rate venues. His regular life is falling apart as he tries to romance a local stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) along with his bitter angry aloof lesbian daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). His fighting days are coming to an end after a savage match that brings on a heart attack. But he feels there is still one last desperate fight in him.
You can gather from the plot the script is not very original but this film does an excellent job of capturing the grimey authentic feel in the world of pro wrestling & Aronofsky’s desirous direction. Rourke’s performance is phenominal you literally can’t help but watch him. I would not be surprised if he took home the oscar for this.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
Gus Vant Sant has become the film making crusader for gay rights over the years with his films. He returns with Milk the story of Harvey Milk, a gay man who moves to San Francisco & experiences bigotry due to his sexual preferences. Driven by a passion to provoke societal change & acceptance, Milk becomes the first openly gay man ever appointed to public office in 1978. In the span of his career, he fights a group of conservatives who try to enact a California referendum which would rob homosexuals of civil rights. Van Sant does a great job of capturing the times of the seventies the cinematography is done quite well. But he does lack on centering on the main theme there seems to be many subplots going on as each character is introduced. The acting is amazing every one put on a stellar performance. Emile Hirsch is almost unrecongnizable as Cleve Jones an activist & Milk’s colleague. James Franco does an excellent heart felt performance as Milk’s early on boyfriend. Penn is phenominal as Harvy Milk definitely should be up with an oscar for this one. Great story about the underdog never giving up for what he believes.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
Christine Collins, a single mother who lost her son & then was victimized by the police, reopens a sore wound in the chronicle of LA. Officials affirmed the case closed when they gave Collins an imposter child. When Christine complained at first she was ignored & then thrown in a mental institution. With the help of a brave minister the case gains national attention resulting in suspension or dismissal of several civic figures.
The real - life crime becomes comparable to a Mickey Spillane novel, one filled with crooked cops, pyscho killers, & hapless innocents. Even tempered from the start it evolves into somewhat a horror film then into a courtroom drama each part a little more implausable, a little less gratyfing. The one thing that remains the same is Angelina Jolie who manages to cry out every tear from her eyes throughout the whole film. It is a time period peice that takes place in 1928 Jolie's costumes are a little unflattering & her acting seems forced at times in this. The relationship between Collins & her nine year old son seems cool, but at times distant even when her son goes missing her demeaner is calm & reserved.
For most of the movie Clint Eastwood maintains the straight from the hip style that has become his signature tradmark. adopting an objective viewpoint but also collaborating cinematic devices. But unfortunetly I feel he gets to confined in the somewhat facts of the case which can seem absurd to today's beliefs. The thin plot of the Changeling doesn't make a good argument against injustices in the legal system rather the capabilities of a immoral cop. Despite all the talent here the Changeling comes off more of a period version of a Lifetime movie.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
Coen brothers follow up to their award winning No Country for Old Men is no surprise for this left of center filmmaking duo - its complete opposite. A sort of Fargo on speed. Burn is a crazed crime caper about two dim witted gym employees (Pitt & McDormand) who try to extort a disgruntled CIA agent (Malkovich). When they come across a CD - Rom with important classified information on it.
All sorts of hijinks ensue in this dark comedy a modern day cat & mouse chase when intelligence meets absurd stupidity fueled by greed. Malkovich steals the show with severe anger managment issues dropping the F word every five minutes in the film. It's a nonstop laugh ride McDormand proves she can play comedy. Pitt out does himself in this role almost cartoon like with the dumbness.
This film is a nonstop ride you won't want to end but what would you expect from the Coen brothers, the masters of quirky storytelling.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
Notable similarity to an actual case that was publicized quite a bit in Los Angeles where a police officer was accused of harassing an interacial married couple that were his neighbors. Lakeview delivers the darkside of humanity in this thriller. Samual L Jackson plays Abel Turner the neighbor from hell that no one wants to have living next to them. Jackson is a well respected veteran on the Los Angeles police force who gets some unwanted neighbors moving in to the neighborhood. Chris & Lisa are an interracial married couple who move right next door to the racially charged cop. Jackson at first greets the couple with a sick sense of humor pretending to car jack them as they pull up. But it soon takes a sick turn as Jackson's discontent for the couple builds he becomes quite a nuisance flashing his security lights into their bedroom window every night & breaking their air conditioning system.
The final straw hits when Abel breaks into the garage & slashes the car tires. Very similiar to the film Unlawful Entry, where is this couple to turn to as they go to the police none of the officers believe Abel would conduct this type of behavior.Tensions flare between the two households throughout the whole film. Jackson seems to want justice to take hold on his end but were not really sure for what. Labute displays the classic abuse of power type film but does it with such suspense & style. Samual Jackson is so convincing it's scary.
Neal Damiano
Film Journalist
