Youth in Revolt

Michael Cera... need I say more. He plays his usual uncomfortable, angst ridden teen with normal teenage boy problems. I feel it will only take a couple more roles for the word Cera to be a verb. As in, he looks so Cera (uncomfortable, not smooth, anxious etc...) His delivery is becoming an art form. This film was so great. If you haven't gotten into by the end of the Claymation opening credits, then you have no humor glands. He is Nick Twisp. His life sucks and he is a virgin. His mother is constantly bringing home loser boyfriends. The latest one is Jerry (Galafianakis) who screws over some sailors by selling them a POS Chevy Nova that got them all of 17 miles away before breaking down. "There is obvious evidence that a banana peel is inside the transmission." Brilliant line. This new threat to Nick and his family leads them to take a vaca to a campground/trailer park. This is when his life changes. He meets Sheeni. Love at first sight. His sight, not hers. She knows he has to leave eventually, but they devise a plan to be together after her feelings begin to grow. A number of things must happen, and he knows he cannot do it alone. This is when he creates his alter ego Francois. Francois is the first time Michael Cera doesn't act like Michael Cera. He is debonair, sexy, has a mustache and smokes in every scene. He is mean and honest and speaks for Nick some of the time. First his Dad (Buscemi) must get a job in her town, then he needs to get kicked out of his house by his mother to go live with his Dad. He must get kicked out because she relies on the child support. Needless to say Francois succeeds at this particular task. Well it seems to be going perfect until he moves in with his Pops and at the same time Sheeni's uber religious parents send her to a French boarding school about 2 hours south of his new home. He will not be stopped from being with his love, so he and a new friend who is of Indian (Dot) descent with a British accent head out. They are able to be sneaked in after hours, but it seems that their love is doomed. Justin Long as Sheeni's brother and Fred Willard as a family friend Nick calls for help add so much comedy depth to the already hilarious film. Nick is such a lovable loser who can't seem to get it right. Most of the things he does end in utter disaster. Will Nick and Sheeni live happily ever after? Will Nick be able to get away with all the mischief Francois is causing? To be honest it doesn't matter. The film and dialogue are so brilliant, we don't care how it ends. We are just along for the comedic roller coaster ride that is Youth in Revolt. I highly recommend this movie if you like to laugh. 

NBM rates Youth in Revolt - Phenomenal

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Extract

One might think that the first Mike Judge film I would review would be the epic box office nothingness turned cult film on DVD Office Space, but I am gonna go with his 3rd release that also did nothing at the box office but equally brilliant movie Extract. It revolves around Joel (Bateman) and his Extract business. He hates his life to start. His best friend is Dean, played as a drug addled, bartender by Ben Affleck is awesome. This was the role that I feel got him back on track. Joel desperately wants to sell his business but he has few speed bumps in front of him. He is closer than he has been to selling then an accident occurs which nearly rips off the testicles of one of his employees. This throws everything into disarray. Joel doesn't have a physical relationship with his wife, hates his neighbor (Koechner) who won't stay out of his business, can't control his employees and their bickering and laziness, and now he has to deal with his new temp worker Cindy (Kunis) who seems to be into him. There is way more to her than that though. She is a con artist and she plays every angle. Great scene is when Dean gives Joel a Xanax or so he thinks. Turns out to be a horse tranquilizer. Good stuff. At this meeting he and Dean decide to hire a gigolo to have it off with his wife so he can have an affair guilt free. Great plan right? He has so many things going on his life and can't find a single positive thing about any of it. Turns out the gigolo plan wasn't great. No matter what's going on in your life, watching Joel's troubles will make you find things to appreciate. He seems to be the ultimate good guy who can't catch a break. The conversations with him and the moronic 18 year old gigolo are absolutely classic. Just like he did with Office Space he puts human emotions at their best and worst. His directing his superb, along with his witty writing Extract is a winner. If I watch it another 50 times like Office Space I will love just as much. Gene Simmons as the sleazy attorney was a perfect casting decision, and the always brilliant J.K. Simmons as his upper office right hand man is hysterical. The movie was so far under the radar not many people heard of it or saw it. Don't waste anymore time. Watch it ASAP.


NBM rates Extract - Phenomenal


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Fight Club

Being somewhat of an insomniac last night, I was unable to fall asleep till close to 5am. I began visually stocking my house with new furniture from the IKEA in my brain. I then began to wonder in my current state of delirium if anyone around my current dwelling was awake and willing to hit me as hard as they could, hopefully directly in the ear. Apparently being punched and retaliating turns into an all out fight, which in turn helps one sleep. This is gonna be a tough one to write, because the 1st rule is I can't talk about it, and the 2nd rule is I CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT!! Narrator (Edward Norton) as he is credited is the insomniac I am comparing to. He doesn't sleep. Can't, no matter how hard he tries. One day on a flight home he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) who makes and sells soap. Pleasant exchange, business cards are given and they go their separate ways. Then Narrator gets home to his condo in flames. He has no choice but to call Tyler for a place to stay. A very unlikely friendship blossoms. On their first night out together, Tyler has a strange request. "I want you to hit me as hard as you can." Then, you guessed it, ear shot. A quick retaliatory punch by Durden and that brings the evening to an end. They cannot get past the rush they felt over the initial exchange so they decide to have all out fights in the parking lot of a local bar. Then one night a passer by asks the question in a very desperate voice, Can I be next? Two turned to three and three to six and so on. Now you have a club of people fighting which has moved underground and has begun to be somewhat legitimate. They have rules. Legitimacy. From here Tyler starts doing other questionable tasks behind his new best friend and co-founders back. Enter Project mayhem. A bunch of the club members now are pretty much an army of vigilantes taking on the tyranny of pop culture America. At one point it is minor vandalism and mostly unharmful. Then one of their own gets killed and the rules change. Tyler is out of his mind and Narrator can't stop him, no matter how hard he tries. Meanwhile Marla (Bonham Carter) is a girl Tyler has been seeing all the while see has a very different history with Narrator. He has such an honest disdain for this woman, but he knows Tyler is becoming capable of anything. Marla is now in trouble, and our hero wants to save her from Durden's games. The ramifications of what Tyler's army are doing is way to much to handle for one man, so he enlists the police, which turns out to be one of his worst decisions ever. As Tyler's ultimate plan unfolds Narrator has one final shot to keep him from ruining everything. Not just his life, but America in a sense. It all comes down one awesome final fight between the two once best friends. Marla is in the middle and super pissed, but what are you gonna do? Out in 1999 this was, along with The Matrix, my two favorite movies of that year and probably in the following three years I watched Fight Club no less than 25 times. I haven't watched it in a while, so I need to relive the old days, and enjoy what David Fincher gave to us. I know you will love where Tyler takes you if you haven't yet seen this turn of the century masterpiece film. There is nothing not to love about this film based on an underground casual Club de Fighting.

NBM rates Fight Club - A Work of Cinematic Art

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Airheads

"I ain't fartin' on no snare drum." May be one of the best lines ever, especially when you think about all the crazy things rockers will do. You would think that one would be the least of his worries. This is a great comedy about a rock band struggling to make it in the music industry. First off there's Chazz (Fraser) on lead vocals and guitar. Then the brothers Rex and Pip (Buscemi and Sandler) on Bass and Drums. What I love about this film is the reality of it all. How hard they make out to be to make it in that industry. Chazz spends his days trying to book gigs and get his music in front of the right people. Pip is a pool boy who plays the "quiet cool" card with the ladies which in turn gets him "more bumper than a body shop." See what I mean? The one liners and slang are brilliant. Rex is by far the most memorable character. He plays the guy we've all seen before. Too lazy to get a real job, so he stocks the shelves at a "Toys R Us" type of place. He spends most of his days at work stealing inventory for personal use (Incredible Crash Test Dummies- which Pip is very happy about) to better items like water pistols that look so real they are no longer allowed to sell them. One day they reach their breaking point. They break into a local rock radio station, during business hours which I think makes it less illegal, to hang out with local DJ and hero among the rock stars. Ian (Mantegna) are having a live interview when they are about to be kicked out by the station manager Milo, (Michael McKean who plays complete opposite of his Spinal Tap character who turned it up to 11). Let's just say their "powerslop" tunes don't get a shot at that point. Now the fun begins, enter realistic water pistols from earlier, filled with pepper sauce and shoved in the executives face. Hostage situation anyone? When Pip is sent out to check the police situation that has risen to due the hostile take over being broadcast live, it turns into one of the funniest one on one standoffs ever. Now The Lone Rangers are a bit more famous than they've ever been. How do you pluralize The Lone Ranger? ?? Shouldn't you be The Three Rangers? You lost me. Funniest scene ever? The parking lot has turned into a rambunctious place to be. Slackers, rockers, cops, and Swat are now present. Ernie Hudson heads up the police team with his right hand,  Officer Wilson (Chris Farley), while the rockers are running a radio station, playing tunes, and giving stuff away to listeners. The film is non stop funny beginning to end and so quotable. We meet a very young, Billy Idol look alike played by David Arquette. Then we get the greatest list of demands ever penned to paper. Naked pictures of Bea Arthur, football helmet full of cottage cheese, a giant baby bottle. Classic stuff. The Judd Nelson character Jimmy Wing  is the prick music label exec who shows up to give this crazy trio of media firestormers a record deal. His logic behind signing them now is good too. "If its in English, its a gold record for sure." Will our new favorite band make it, go to prison for life, or die trying. Like I said, a brilliant movie loved by people and hated by critics. If you haven't seen it, I feel sorry for you. You have harbored an unknown emptiness for the last 15 years. Now you know, its the lack of Airheads in your life. One last thing, Who would win? Lemme or God? Is that a trick question???


NBM rates Airheads - Phenomenal


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Eastern Promises

Dare I say it? I have to say it. You wouldn't! I would! VIGGO'S BEST MOVIE!!! The film starts off quickly. I girl is dying while giving birth. A midwife named Anna (Naomi Watts) delivers the baby successfully, but the mother doesn't make it. She had a journal on her, but being in London, and written in Russian she only has a few options to get details about who this young woman was. Anna's uncle could translate it, but being a man, he doesn't want to meddle in other's affairs. Unfortunately Anna is female which I think is latin for "meddler". Seriously though, she just needs to find next of kin for the care of the baby. Inside the Journal is a business card for a local Russian restaurant. She visits for answers and meets Semyon. The owner and generally nice man. He offers to translate only to realize he and his are mentioned in the journal as rapists of the girl who dies. More precisely, his son. His son is classic silver spoon brat, who is not held accountable for any of his actions. The worse news that she does not know right away is the man she just met is the Boss of a major Russian Mafia family.  Viggo is Nikolai. He is the family's driver, enforcer, and baby sitter of Kirill (Vincent Cassel who is the punk son mentioned earlier). He and Viggo are about the same age, but it really comes across that Viggo is annoyed at his immaturity and antics most of the time. Nikolai is one of the most intimidating on screen characters ever. He scared the be-Jesus out of me, because you really feel that he would not think of ending you at any given moment. It's probably his lack of vocals and long dead stares. He has real issues with Anna poking around, yet Semyon seems to like her. Nikolai is a valuable asset to the family, because he gets results. That is why he soon becomes a target of a different crime family. One of the worst possible scenarios for a knife fight take place. Why? Naked in the steam room. Fighting full force with "the bits" swinging to and fro. No thanks. I guarantee you will have absolutely no clue what's to come. I remember watching and saying, WHAT!!! THAT'S AWESOME!!!  Like I said, Viggo's best. It should've won him an Oscar. He was beat by Daniel Day Lewis for "There Will Be Blood". I have no doubt that you will like this film right up until the end, and at that point you will LOVE this film.

NBM rates Eastern Promises - A Work of Cinematic Art

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What Does the Future hold?

Hello readers, I come to you today for your opinions and comments. Today marks the exact half way point of my initial goal. 6 months ago today I began writing reviews and have not missed a single day. 183 reviews seems crazy to me. I need feedback from all of you who read. What to do when the total reaches 365 reviews? Keep going with the Daily Review program? Write reviews for movies currently in theaters only, which would max out at most 4 per month? or quit all together? I am having so much fun doing this, and I do feel I have honed my literary skills over the last 180+ reviews. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post about how you feel about my current process. Do you like what you have read over the last 6 months? What should I improve on? Please let me know anything that is on your mind. Thank you, The Jester 

**BTW, this is not todays post. Today's review will be on the film Eastern Promises.

We Own the Night

Last night we watched The Other Guys again and brought up the discussion of how awesome Eva Mendes is. That lead me to pose the question to A-Bomb as to whether he had seen We Own the Night. He has not and I pity him. Coincidentally it also stars Mark Wahlberg. Its a brilliantly told story of a family of coppers along with an outcast member who is on the other side of the law. Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is the outcast who has little to do with his Father Bert Grusinsky (Duvall) and older brother Joe Grusinsky(Wahlberg). He wants so much separation is uses his mothers maiden name as his last name as to cut off all affiliation with his kin. He runs a club for a Russian family who adore him. He is living the life. Hot Girlfriend, loads of coke, good money, and no worries. Set in the mid eighties, its absolutely perfect. When cops begin to be targeted, this really puts Bobby in the middle. He makes an honest living as far as he is concerned. His Pop and Bro tell him his boss is involved in way more activities than club ownership. Illegal ones. He doesn't want to believe it, due to he fact that he sees the Russians as more family than his actual family. Then his Bro is put in charge of a new drug task force. He raids his brothers club arresting him and several others. Bobby hits a turning point when Big Bro gets shot in the face. He lives and eventually is fine, but Bobby realizes at that moment that family is still family. He tries to help which turns into one of the most intense scenes in the film. He wears a wire. Never a good idea. Let's just say it goes terribly wrong and now he has to be put into protective custody. Its a great film with a great moral, and a brilliant ending. It's one mans journey through good and bad. Joaquin delivers a heck of a performance. I saw this in the theater, and it was one of those rare films that keeps you remembering it a week later. In my opinion you can't go wrong with anything Robert Duvall is attached to. Add in Joaquin, Wahlberg, and Mendes and you are in for a good time, guaranteed.


NBM rates We Own the Night - Phenomenal


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Suicide Kings

Where to begin. The word awesome comes to mind. How can you go wrong with Christopher Walken as a crime boss and Henry Thomas as a dumb kid in a time for desperate measures? I guess you could add Jay Mohr to the mix, but I gotta say, he is actually not bad in this. Ill go one step further and say he is good. Walken plays Carlos Bartalucci, a well known mafioso. His skull cracker is Lono Veccio (Dennis Leary). A man who really enjoys his work, Leary plays it to perfection. Then there is the fraternity of rich kids who are all friends that always look out for each other. When Avery's (Henry Thomas) sister is kidnapped the ransom is set at $2 MILLION. Although the boys come from rich families they cannot take this issue to their parents, so they devise a plan. Kidnap the mob boss and hold him for ransom until he pays the other ransom. He is wealthy, so maybe he will understand where the guys are coming from. At first he is calm and cool with the, "Do you guys know who I am?" attitude, but it quickly turns to anger and then fear. The tables turn so much and so often it gets us wondering what's actually going on. After his initial negotiation with the young men, the threats begin. Undeterred from their plan to get his sister back they are unphased. Meanwhile Carlos' enforcer, Lono, is out on the streets doing everything he can to find the sister which would ensure the release of his boss. Since there is always someone with him around the clock Carlos is able to get inside each one of their heads trying to convince them to either let him go or make them turn on each other. He comes close, but with the twist and turns and new info that comes to light regarding the girls disappearance, everyone and everything is extremely stressed. The big question by the end is, who's playing who? and what exactly is the game here? It's a brilliant tale with superb acting. The other young men that join Avery in this horrible idea are Brett (Jay Mohr). He is the alpha male type that is all go and no quit. Ira (Johnny Galecki). The bookworm type gets roped into the whole deal because his folks are out of town and they need a place to stash the mobster. T.K. (Jeremy Sisto), is the pre med student who wants no part of anything, but has no choice, also he gets to test what he learned in school. Lastly we have Max (Sean Patrick Flannery). He is Avery's best friend, the most level headed guy in the room, and somewhat of a decision maker. Each friend has a role, just like any group of friends in real life. These guys would die for each other.....or would they?


NBM rates Suicide Kings - Phenomenal


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Mr. Brooks

This movie proved once again, somebody out there still has an original idea. I have been touting Mr. Brooks for years. Of all the people I know (12) only one man actually had seen it. We shall call him Ilett (pronounced eye-let). He is a smart man, a wise man, a well dressed man, and he agreed with me about the brilliance of this film. Not only one of Costner's best roles as of late, but one of his best ever. How this film didn't breach the "Fresh" point of 60% on RT is beyond me. Earl Brooks (Costner) is a sick man. He has issues, a vice of un-repair if you will. He is a family man, single daughter, loving wife and his demons are always in his thoughts. He has been able to stop his other life for a while, but every once in a while he needs that taste. His disease? Serial Killing. He is perfect at what he does. A perfectionist. It's his nature. That characteristic crosses over to his job and home life. He needs to be the best. He feels it's a genetic disorder what he does, he must kill to keep a level head. Once his daughter goes off to college and life is pretty normal, the voice in his head is telling him what he must do. This time he gets sloppy. Not so much sloppy as unlucky. A photographer/perv (Dane Cook) catches him in the act while peeping. This turns out to send his life in several new directions. The peeper doesn't want to turn in him. In fact he wants to participate in the next one. Blackmail nonetheless. If this new babysitting gig isn't bad enough, he now for the first time, has a cop looking in his general direction. Tracy Atwood (Demi Moore) is a career detective and loves what she does. Especially getting the bad guy. What really freaks out Mr. Brooks is when the news of a murder on his daughters campus reaches his ear. All the while his daughter came home for the weekend. HMMMMM, he thinks. Uh oh, it is genetic and my daughter may have killed someone. Now he has to figure that one out and clean it up if need be. It's a very intense ride with some great cinematic aspects added in. I love suspense films and this one is certainly that. A great cast, great story, and brilliant ending really set Mr. Brooks apart from other films of the same genre. This also did another huge feat. It proved that Dane Cook can be taken seriously as an actor in the business. He is absolutely brilliant and will earn your respect way before the final credits roll.

NBM rates Mr. Brooks - Phenomenal

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Employee of the Month (2004)

A little known indie flick that is absolutely brilliant. Indie films are usually good, but when we are offered one with an all star cast it's usually a real treat. We usually get a completely different look at what the actors involved can actually do. Basically it follows the hellish week that David Walsh (Matt Dillon- who BTW is NO Johnny Drama) is having as his entire life unravels. He is some yuppie schmuck bank employee. His numbers are good, his attitude is right and the day he expects a little pat on the back he is actually given his walking papers. Pissed as he may be, he has the rest of the week to finish up before he is no longer needed. The dinner date he has with his fiance' Sara (Applegate) and her parents the night of his release may be the most uncomfortable dinner in history. Lets just say there are certain conversations that are had between a man and his wife/fiance'/girlfriend that should not be held in front of her parents. That's what happened. So now he has lost his job and girl in the same day. This is where we meet Jack. Played by the always brilliant Steve Zahn. He has a bit of a "Jesus" look to him in this film. I like it. He looks awesome with a beard. He is a bit of a low life. He "cheers" David up by taking him to a strip club, getting drunk, and constantly affirming that he is better off. As he goes in for his final day to clean out his desk, more poop hits the fan that is David's life. A bank robbery is happening and David is taken hostage. This is where the story begins to twist. What is actually going on? Is David in on it? Where is Jack during all of this? It is a short thrilling movie that keeps the audience guessing. I do not own it because it plays so often on IFC (Channel 131 on Dish and 797 on UVerse). If you ever get a chance to watch this little seen gem, do not miss out. Stream it if you have to. Its only 90 minutes and it does not stop changing directions all the way to the very end. I love the direction of this movie. The way scenes are shot is a lot of misdirection. We see this, so we think that. It's fun. Trust me. Its worth it. After you see it and begin promoting it to your friends they will ask this question, "The one with Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson?" Respond with, "No, this one features Real actors."

NBM rates Employee of the Month - Phenomenal

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2012

I will admit I had very little hope for 2012. Not only did I have barely the right amount of desire to watch, but with a run time of 2 1/2 hours it was going to be a commitment. My mentality doesn't make the situation any better. If I start a movie, I must finish it. I cannot leave it without knowing what happened. I quickly realized that like most critically dumped on movies, this one was not bad at all. I found myself really enjoying it. The absolute absurdity of the action scenes was definitely over the top, but so much fun to watch. The special effects were flawless. Anytime you have a movie that relies 100% on it's "AWE" factor and thus uses CG to the fullest. There is a big possibility they will mess it up. Not the case with 2012. Every explosion, earthquake, fireball, ground collapsing, tidal wave, and the airplane scenes were all phenomenal. I do like the fact that it all started in California. Because if its gonna be the end of the world, I would have a little comfort knowing that at least LA was the first to go for all the years of dealing with hearing about LA. Even at the long run time, it was never slow. It flowed extremely well. What really brought it home for me was the Woody Harrelson character. He plays a conspiracy theorist who blogs and has a radio program broadcasting live from Yellowstone. He knows the end of the world is coming and he is happy about it. His on screen time is brilliant and you really feel like he is just being himself. Apparently the US gov't has devised a plan to assure the survival of the human race. 1 Billion euros gets you aboard the ship (Noah's Ark style). The tides will rise so high, they would need a vessel to handle it and hold a good number of population fro re-growth. Three vessels await in China and I was into it until the very end. Oliver Platt is great as usual, along with Danny Glover as the POTUS and a great performance by the soon to be household name Chiwetel Ejiofor. John Cusack is always good and his life is in a bit of disarray. Ex wife, kids who don't respect him, and their new step dad who is a rich doctor. Luckily the rich Doc has taken a few flight lessons which helps them stay alive more than once. I was more impressed than I thought I could ever be, and if you had the littlest shred of inclination to see 2012 then you should watch it. Just allot enough time to complete in a single sitting.

NBM rates 2012 Awesome

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Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

I'm not saying this will be the first and last documentary I ever review, but don't be surprised if it is. I never liked Joan Rivers. She just annoyed me, and she looked funny. It wasn't until I watched her on The Celebrity Apprentice did I grow a fondness for the woman. She's rude, crass, says what's on her mind, and she revolutionized comedy for women to the point of banishment from several clubs. She is a brilliant American and now I cannot get enough of her. She has the "shock" factor. By that I mean you never know what she is gonna say or who she will offend. This film documents her struggles as a stand up comedienne going strong with 40+ years in the business. I enjoyed the time frame it spanned. It's short at only 90 minutes, I actually didn't want it to end. It begins before her Celebrity Apprentice fame and ends well after. Its amazing to me how hard she has to work. She works that hard for a couple reasons. She needs the cash, and she doesn't ever want to be forgotten. She is a very vain woman. I still can't stand her daughter Melissa, but what are you gonna do. The documentary shows so much awesome vintage footage of her stand up act back in the 60's, 70's, all the way to present day. The segment on how NBC, (or Johnny Carson) black balled her from ever appearing on that network was astounding. Celebrity Apprentice was her first appearance on the network since she pissed off Carson. She was his co-host and friend, but when someone offered her her own show she jumped at it. Expecting him to be happy for her as they were such close friends, he actually never spoke another word to her EVER. He felt betrayed. It took a year and a half to film the footage that only spans 90 minutes. To hear her comedy today and see her act decades ago, you realize why she is so special. She will make a grown man blush without even trying. She will piss people off, but she doesn't care. That's why she has lasted. Thick skin, and a brilliant wit, along with an insane work ethic, I don't see her stopping any time soon. This Doc made me realize if she is ever in town or nearby doing her act, I won't miss it. She is a living legend and at her age, you just never know how much longer she will be around. Its such a fun movie to watch. It feels like you are watching a comedy show with reality mixed in. Her joke catalogues are the craziest thing I've ever seen. She has every joke she has ever written logged away and categorized like a library does with its books. Amazing film, and an amazing lady.

NBM rates Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work - Phenomenal

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Gone Baby Gone

Ben Affleck's debut as a writer director is anything but disappointing. As Ben makes the decision to get behind the camera he in turn gives his brother Casey the break of a lifetime that Hollywood failed to over his career. Boston based, Ben needed someone who he knew could be authentic. Casey was the right choice. After seeing his performance you will watch anything with his name on it. Not only him, but Michell Monaghan as his girlfriend/partner in business, and introducing Amy Ryan as the mother of a kidnapped daughter who was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal. She was perfect. Patrick (Casey) is hired to help find the missing child. He is a P.I. and he is brought in by the brother in law and sister of Helene (Ryan) who believe the police are not doing a good enough job. Helene is a single mother living with the family members previously mentioned. Her Aunt and Uncle seem to be more concerned than the child's mother. They spend most of their time watching after the kid, and one night she just vanished from the home. Police chief  Jack Doyle played by the always solid Morgan Freeman who plays a bit of a broken man with one big passion. Finding lost children. He had a child taken and never recovered so that is his goal in life. Ed Harris plays top cop detective who does not get along with outside help, meaning P.I.'s are not welcome or informed. What Patrick is able to achieve that cops cannot is the word on the street. He is welcome in the seedy places, and can get info from low lifes to a certain extent. Much to the dismay of the real police, he is able to get tips that turn into leads, that have the possibility to turn into arrests and recovery of the girl. The number one suspect is a Jamaican drug/gun runner with a bad attitude. The way the story twists and turns really gets the best of our P.I. team. They are falling apart due to stress and lack of communication. He doesn't know how much longer he will be able to deal. It's a great story, acted and directed to perfection. If you haven't seen this, you ought to. The ending will grip you and make you wonder which direction would you take in the same situation.

NBM rates Gone Baby Gone - Phenomenal

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True Grit (2010)

It's funny to watch the exact same movie filmed 40 years apart, and to watch both of them within a few weeks of each other. After watching John Wayne's version and reading that the new version was more closely based on the book, I think I expected more. Throughout I only spotted a couple of different scenes or scene additions. The Dude definitely did the part of Rooster Cogburn really different. He talked out of the side of his mouth, had a raspy voice, I assume from all the whisky and cigarettes he has smoked, but his demeanor was similar to The Dukes 1969 version. Crude and humorous. He fights for what he believes all the while he acts like he doesn't care about much of anything. It is quite easy to tell when his feathers get ruffled. LaBeouf (Damon) gets under his skin the most, and their arguments are perfect. The similarities are that LaBeouf is still a jerk Texas Ranger, Rooster is a drunken buffoon most of the time, and Mattie Ross is way too smart for her own good. It is acted to perfection. I'm still not sure how I feel about Damon playing LaBeouf, but Barry Pepper as Ned Peppers, originally played by Robert Duvall, is brilliant. His scruff and bad teeth combined with his missing lip was grossly appealing. The ending was a bit different, but I actually prefer the ending in the Coen Brothers version. Its a little darker, which really brings it home. I do love the cut of Jeff Bridges as opposed to John Wayne. Rooster is supposed to be grungy and drunk, but the John Wayne version was too clean. Bridges had the long greasy hair, and it played well. I will say as much as I love Bridges and anything with The Coen Brothers attached, I actually like the original True Grit a little bit better than this superb remake. I like the girl who played Mattie Ross in the new version a little better than the Justin Bieber looking original Mattie Ross. No complaints about either True Grit.

NBM rates True Grit (2010) - Phenomenal

Grown Ups

It's like the Expendables , cast wise, of comedies. Unfortunately it didn't deliver as I'd hoped all those brilliant comedians would. It felt like there was no script. These guys just wanted to get together and film how many one liners and zingers they could do in an hour and a half. Don't get me wrong, the jokes were funny, most of the time. The brotherhood the gents have with each other really took the viewer back to his childhood. I say his and not her because if you watch this film you will know even though there are women cast members,  its a guy movie that women won't understand. The women in the room may have laughed, but they also asked why men are so dumb(?), and do you guys really do stuff like that? The story follows this group of guys that grew up being best friends, but now as adults they are brought back together by the death of their beloved youth basketball coach. With one weekend to reconnect they all seem to be exactly the same, only older. With a cast that includes Sandler, James, Schneider, Spade, and Rock plus Collin Quinn, and cameos by Norm MacDonald and Steve Buscemi whats not to like? It was hard for me to watch Steve Buscemi as his normal goofy comedic self after having been enthralled with his "Boardwalk Empire" character Nucky Thompson. When it was funny it was hysterical, when it tried really hard to be funny, it sort of failed. Overall it was a funny flick with very little plot. This is not the caliber of comedy that you find yourself memorizing backwards and forwards, or keeping it on a continuous loop in the garage. It was what it was. The three scenes that were hilarious were "arrow roulette", Kevin James on the rope string, and the guys "taking shifts" at staring at Rob Schneider's daughter in the film. The constant belittling of each other, with all the stories from when they grew up together did a good job of making you think back to your childhood. I do think this film holds the record for the most punchlines inside 90 minutes. Just an opinion.

NBM rates Grown Ups - Great

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Love & Other Drugs

Lets start off with a few details. This movie is very ADULT. Love is for all the love that takes place (sometimes graphically), and the other drugs are not illegal narcotics, but in fact highly touted pharmaceuticals. Jamie (Gyllenhaal) is a failure in every aspect of life, while is younger, unattractive, fat brother just sold his company for $35m. While not feeling well about his short comings he decides to pick a profession and stick with it. At the point the only thing he has ever been awesome at and consistent at is landing women. Enter drugs: He applies to be a pharmaceutical rep, which basically means he has to try and get the Doctoral community to use his company's drugs rather than someone else's. He sucks at this job too, but he is good with people and since most of the people he needs to get through to in order to get some face time with the high and mighty doctors are women, Well he has a few parlor tricks. Being Mentored by the brilliant Oliver Platt, their conversations alone are quite entertaining. After being constantly shown the door by the "Big Gun" in the medical field (Hank Azaria in a bit of a tone downed role for him), he goes to some desperate measures to get his then wonder drug on the shelves. He works for Pfizer and they are pushing Zoloft to replace Prozac. He schemes and finally gets the Doctor to spend some time with him. In his office he meets Maggie (the very non princess diaries version of Anne Hathaway.) She is a 26 year old in stage one of Parkinson's disease. She lives fast with no attachment. She figures without attachment she cannot be abandoned. She meets her match with Jamie. At first it's a relationship based first on lust, then on his desire of not being rejected. He is not used to women rejecting him and he doesn't know how to deal. He pursues and eventually the lust transforms into something neither of them wanted. As for his work, he basically got his teeth kicked in the entire time he had to sell Zoloft, then it happens.... Viagra is invented by Pfizer and he lobbies to be the lead carrier and distributor of the new wonder drug for his company. He goes from zero to hero over night. He is able to sell the one thing he considers himself an expert at. On the other side Maggie is getting worse. I don't know if worse is the right way to describe it, I think that it may be the first time he has seen her this bad and it scares him. His view towards life changes at the annual Rep Convention in Chicago. Another convention was happening across the street and Maggie sneaks away. It's a Parkinson's convention. People with it tell stories about survival and how to cope/thrive. This is where Jamie asks a question he shouldn't have. I understand why he did. It all comes down to being naive. From this point on the story goes from a sexy fun loving romp to a dark spiralling path of self destruction. Now, being the "great" guy he is, he decides to find a cure. His non stop going puts strain on her and him for that matter. This movie is nothing like I expected, but was way deeper and very real. As I said earlier it was made by adults for adults. No children should watch this film, unless you feel like explaining a great many things turning a 2 hour movie into a 4 hour movie. It did a great job of appealing to men and women. On the other hand it was marketed poorly. Even when it was done, My wife and I discussed that the previews suggested nothing of what we just saw. It is a hard movie to categorize. It's romantic comedy, drama, human interest, and regular comedy.

NBM rates Love & Other Drugs - Phenomenal

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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Artistically and visually masterful. One of the most "fun" movies I have ever watched. Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead fame directed this film, or crafted it, if you will. He has catapulted on my list to top 5 directors. His attention to detail and in which the scenes are delivered in perfect comic book/graphic novel fashion is unlike anything I have ever been witness to. The story itself is great and greatly delivered by it's actors, but that's not what makes SPvtW a brilliant film. It is plain and simple, the direction. Scott (Cera) is a very non astounding human being. Never quite sure where he belongs. He starts off dating a 17 year old high school girl and takes a lot of crap for it. His sister, room mate, and fellow band mates know she is just a rebound for him. Then one day he has a dream. A dream of a girl he has never seen. Ramona Flowers. Then he sees her in the flesh. Let the obsession begin. He finds ways to see her and hang with her and the relationship blossoms...that is until the "Evil exes" enter the picture. Ramona has 7 evil exes that Scott must defeat in order for her hand. The first ex shows up at a show he is playing. He is taken a back at first but quickly gets in the game. The fighting scenes and choreography are stunning. Fast and accurate. I like the constant effects used on screen. The cast of characters are perfect. The jokes are hilarious, and the cameo of Thomas Jane as "The Vegan police" is awesome. His band mates along with his gay room mate Wallace (Kieran Culkin - to which A-Bob omb claimed he just eclipsed the entire career of his Bro Macaulay. I agree). The evil exes must be defeated in only a way for that specific person. Scott must adapt as the fight continues and find his opponents weakness. The descriptive words, colors, and digital wizardry are all superb aspects of this film. What most films do that use these type of effects give up on them after the first few times they are done. This however uses them throughout with fervor. It does not fault at what it claims to be. It actually backs it up. Like I said, the story is Phenomenal, but the overall delivery....

NBM rates Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - A Cinematic Work of Art

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The Social Network

David Fincher...need I say more? Another masterpiece by a master in his own right. I would not have guessed a film about a bunch of Harvard computer nerds founding Facebook (hit the link if you have not heard of this). Facebook is only 6 years old, but really more like 3-4 years old if you consider when it went mainstream. Mark Zuckerberg is the classic case of a guy who is too smart for his own good. He alienates everyone because they don't measure up. He can't shut off his brain, which gets him into trouble. He is anti establishment, anti social, and socially unaccepted. His path to notoriety started one night in his dorm room when he was drunk. He hacked a bunch of the Universities clubs facebook directories. He then started facemash, where girls in that school were pitted against each other for the title of who is hotter. The site crashed the Harvard mainframe, and made Zuckerberg hated by all. His genius, however,  catches the eyes of super twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (both played by the spectacular newbie Armie Hammer). They need a man of his skills to start an exclusive website for socializing. They hire, or so they thought, Zuckerberg to build it. He then builds facebook using his own code and theories of how a site like this would work and with $1000 from his best friend Eduardo (new Spider-Man Andrew Garfield) they launch the site to rave reviews. Within a couple weeks it is the talk of the campus. He has created a monster, and that's when it gets interesting. Winklevoss' are none too happy with having what they say is their idea stolen. The drama continues as the site expands to other campuses around the country. Soon they are getting close to the 100,000 user mark, then they know they have something. Meeting with potential advertisers follows, but to no avail. Getting close to being out of money they meet Napster founder Sean Parker, Played by the brilliant Justin Timberlake. This role did nothing for me, but reaffirm that I believe he will win an Oscar before his movie career is over. He is the key to what they need. With Parker in their corner, Mark begins to believe. Eduardo is a little more hesitant with the new guy in the picture. The way the film is shot, it constantly goes from Mark's depositions, then flashing back to the creative days. Back and forth it goes, and it was the right way to shoot the film. If it had been chronological, the first hour would have been awesome and the second hour would have been a bunch of angry peeps arguing in a room. The flow of the film was perfect. As for the way Zuckerberg is portrayed, he seems to be kind of a dick. He quickly fills the role of cocky and arrogant. He feels untouchable because when it's all said and done, no matter what happens, he know he is still smarter than you. The Social Network paints a pretty in depth, detailed picture. Is it accurate. How are we to know. Everybody is going to have their own side of the story, and that's what they will stick to. As for Mark, He is the worlds youngest billionaire, but at what price....

NBM rates The Social Network - Phenomenal

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Easy A

Easy A totally surprised me. I do love the future Mary Jane, Emma Stone, ever since her first role in Superbad. She seems so likable and unique. She doesn't try and be something she's not, which is funny because that's all she did throughout Easy A. This film follows Olive who is not only unpopular, but unknown. The entire film is filled with analogies, which could get old, but these are new and fresh, I continued to enjoy them. The all star cast just kept popping up new familiar faces. Olive is a bit of a do-gooder. Not in the realms you may think. She hates to see people unhappy and decides to help them. One normal day, she is pressured by her best friend to tell her about the sex she had the previous weekend. The problem was she didn't and has never had sex, but that didn't stop the rumor mill from churning. All of the sudden she is less than nobody. She is now re invented. The "God Team" hates her, but other than that she has now arrived as somebody. She enjoys her new notoriety, even though it's based on false pretenses, she's not hurting anyone. One day a boy she knows comes to her with a proposition. He's gay, but not out. At the same time he is mistreated because fellow classmates think he may be gay and high school is getting more and more painful for him. He devises a plan and reluctant as she may be, Olive likes to help people. If they were to put on a charade at a huge party where everyone will see, maybe his rep will turn for the better. They have one of the funniest no sex sex scenes ever. All of the sudden that guy doesn't hate life so much. Word spreads through the loser/nerd/undateable community of her charity work. She takes on more and more and her payments will crack you up. Various gift cards are issued before the "Service" is rendered. She becomes an all out Whore of the school to help lots of people, but one day it becomes to much. She can't handle the whispers anymore. Her dad is played by Stanly Tucci and I must say, he delivers the performance of the film. So funny. But Thomas Haden Church delivers the line of the film, "What is it with your generation's need to document every thought? I gotta say, they're not all diamonds. I mean, who cares what you ate for lunch." The rant continues and the reason this PG-13 comedy works is the dialogue. The bad language is limited, no real sexual situations, but the conversations alone are worth listening to. If I had an audio book of the one liners, and jokes, it would make for an entertaining trip. This film goes to show that comedy still exists without being super raunchy, perverse, and laden with male nudity.

**A special Thanks to "The Chagrinch" ( A concerned Reader) who informed me that Emma Stone is actually to play Gwen Stacey and not Mary Jane in the Spider-Man reboot. My assumption that a natural red head would be MJ was short sided, especially given the history of the franchise which cast an extremely red headed Bryce Dallas Howard as the white headed Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man 3.

NBM rates Easy A - Phenomenal

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Bad Boys



...and some skittles





As we discussed yester night as we watched this brilliant action comedy again, this may be one of the funniest/best buddy cop films ever made. Unapologetic in it's extreme existence. Michael Bay is known for over the top films. This was really the launching point of Will Smith's action career. He has done pretty good since playin' Mike Lowery. His partner Marcus (Martin Lawrence) did awesome in the film considering he was a comic first and an actor second. You would not have guessed that watching it. It also gave us the stunning Tea Leoni. She is witness to her best friend being murdered by some Frenchie with a knack for heroin sales. He actually broke into the police department's evidence hole and stole several thousand kilos of heroin from a bust made by the aforementioned Mike and Marcus. No fear, Joey Pants is here. Pantoliano that is. He plays the Captain, who as A-Bomb put it, "plays the super nervous, screaming cop perfectly." I agree. His constant fear for his job makes his actions (basketball scene) hilarious. As if it's not bad enough that their biggest bust has been nabbed and they once again have to find these drugs, but they are constantly getting into situations. Bad ones. A Car jacking, shootouts, bag over the head, shot, thrown through a window, and a near drowning in a kiddie pool. Good thing these guys are "Super Cops". They will stop at nothing to protect their witness and get the bad guy. A stunning race to the finish line finishes out this awesome action film. The language of the film is also a point to be made. A-Bomb pondered how many of Marcus' lines may have been improvised using his comedic background. I think he was right. They just seemed to natural and stupid that writers would not have put them in there. But with originality, comes flair. It just adds a little spice. One of the funniest scenes is when Marcus and Mike must switch lives for reasons I won't go into. That leads to Marcus having to explain to his witness that he is not gay, and all the pictures of his partner in his (Real Mike's) apartment are symbols of every time he saved his life. Will the good guys, which are actually Bad Boys win in this adrenaline fueled Michael Bay replica of all his other films? I also love the running gag about how Marcus' driving resembles that of a grandmother, but as we know, he learns how to really drive by the conclusion

NBM rates Bad Boys - Phenomenal

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The Town

Being a huge fan of Ben Affleck's decision to stop acting some years back, I was quite impressed with his directing. He successfully reinvented himself, and he did it behind the camera. Gone Baby Gone was his directorial debut which I'll review another day. That film got me backing him as the next Eastwood. As for his second feature The Town, I have never been more excited about a rental. Probably because I failed on 3 occasions to make it to the theater. It did not disappoint. Gripping, exhilarating, intense, and unique. I say unique and not original because unique refers to the details. Original would be if it were the first film ever about a bank heist. The film follows four friends who knock off banks and armored transports in Charlestown, which is South Boston. Its also the #1 area for bank robberies in the nation. This particular crew headed up by Dougie (Affleck), with his BFF Jim (Renner) running second lead, these guys know every detail of every job before it even happens. The crew is rather successful, but Jim's hot headedness is gonna be the end of Doug, or so he thinks. The film follows Dougie's struggle with being a gangster, taking care of family, and wondering what to do next. Jim does a bad thing opening the movie. He takes a hostage. She is mortified and knows she is gonna die. They release her and don't think anything of it, until they do. Jim wants to snuff her out, but Dougie doesn't roll that way. He "meets" her and asks her out. She is very forth coming with what she has endured and let's Doug know what little detail she has. This leads to one of the most stressful scenes ever watched. At about 40 minutes into the film, I was sitting there and all of the sudden my heart was beating out of my chest. Any film that can feel that real is doing its job. The heat on the crew is turned up by the Feds on the case. That plus he is falling for the hostage girl has him re-evaluating everything. Jim is has real issues with Dougies new lot in life and is starting to feel betrayed. Dougie has to agree to one last job because his girls life is being threatened if he walks away. It is the mother of all heists. With Feds closing in each day they know they must be perfect. They also know its a bit of a suicide mission, but these guys are fearless. Affleck once again returns to his Boston roots with The Town. They say, write what you know. He knows this. The people, the language, the way things are and if all his films revolve around bean town I would be ok with that. We've got Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone, and now The Town. It was actually pleasant to see him back in front of the camera as his performance is splendid, but I do feel he was out shined by his co- star Jeremy Renner who is a little too gritty for my taste. You can always tell Affleck is always a little uncomfortable around him, like he may just snap. He's tired of the life and has a decision to make....if only it were that easy.

NBM rates The Town - Phenomenal

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Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Tonight is a discussion on the institution of marriage. Marriage for the most part is hard like the couple in this film show us. Unlike my marriage which resembles that of Adam and Eve, pre Eve using womanly evil to ruin the perfect world. Marriages fall into ruts and things get old. Eventually you have a choice. Go on and not say a word or kill your spouse and be happy for the remainder of your days. John and Jane Smith (Pitt & Jolie) seem to have the perfect marriage, except for the fact that it is all a lie. Unbeknown st to each other, the other one is living a double life. Its funny that you can't be mad at him or her in this plot. They both have "jobs" that make them very wealthy. The jobs in question are that they are assassins. Each is the best in their own respects and working for different competing firms, and they have no idea they are each other's enemy. They are unhappily married and then one day it happens. They find out what the other one is. This new revelation leads to one of the funnest all out, no holds barred fight scenes ever put down. I mean who would not want to punch their wife in the face for all the years of crap? No one. Wrong, Everyone! Women are automatically allowed to beat us and we can' t say a word about it. Now the tables have turned. I can imagine how hard it would be to comprehend what was taking place. All the sudden you have to kill your wife, the home keeper/ attorney, or whatever. Thing is you can't. Not because of love or morality, because she is unkillable and has an equally good chance of offing you first. That would take some time to process. After this new found info about each other, they realize they no longer need to lie to each other and they may be soul mates after all. They take on their employers who have hired it out to have them killed. Since they didn't kill each other, which everyone was hoping for, now the plot thickens. We find out things about their relationship that is fall on the floor hysterical. Like when John finds out the man that gave her away at the wedding was an actor, because both her parents are dead. He then proclaims, I told you he looked like the guy from fantasy island. The hardest part for him is to admit that his wife may actually be better than him at this profession. He has to let go and start to trust her. The way the film begins and ends is absolutely genius. Couples counseling. It goes from them both in the room answering questions to one on one sessions and it is great commentary. This film has three of the best action sequences I have ever seen, let alone in one movie, let alone with a great plot and acting. I must have seen this film over 15 times by now and I need to watch it again. As for my Utopian marriage, if I ever get divorced, BEWARE, It is a conspiracy. Someone has killed me, cloned my likeness (memories in all) like the movie "The 6th Day", and my clone cannot deal with the World that is Lisa. Although, if we did have to kill each other, I must admit she would have the upper hand. I mean, do you know how hard it would be to shoot a running, zig zagging, flailing walking stick? Pretty dang hard. Just sayin. Also I do believe I will duplicate John's under the shed arsenal storage house in my next home. It's Awesom-nomenal.

NBM rates Mr. and Mrs. Smith - Phenomenal

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Wargames

What an astounding film based on the almost non existent world of early 1980's computer video games and government hacking. These words were not widely used back when Wargames was released. I should know. I was 1 at the time. Matthew Broderick plays super smart computer nerd David. David's number 1 priority is to hack to computer software servers to be able to play the newest yet to be released video games. He finally gets in with a password of JOSHUA. Joshua was the name of the programmers son. His son and wife were killed in a car wreck and he died shortly after. Once inside the program he has a list of games to play. He and his new friend, Jennifer (Ally Sheedy), decide to play...... Global Thermonuclear War. He and Joshua play against each other as Russian and USA. What David is unaware of is he is not playing a video game. He has actually broken into the back door of the NORAD super computer system. This system Has begun it's countdown for WWIII. Still unaware David is arrested and interrogated by the government for espionage. Dabney Coleman plays McKittrick who is in charge of the programming system for the government. Without the original programmer, there doesn't seem to be much hope. Barry Corbin is the hot shot General Beringer who must make the hard decisions. You see David played at Russia and with his first move he launched missiles at major US cities. He turned off his computer and went about his business. NORAD systems are going haywire showing that the Russians have launched, but there is no confirmations and David is no help, because "It's just a game."  Watching this film as a newborn, toddler, preteen, teen, and now adult, I must say when you understand the ramifications of World War involving nukes it does become way more intense. Just the very thought of the world coming to an end, let alone because of a video game fiasco, would make you lose your appetite. David with the help of Jennifer and eventually McKittrick need to fix this issue without having the US actually start a nuclear war. David's need to help and not go to prison for the rest of his life keeps him going and striving for a solution. A brilliant tale of something once unfathomable. Computers in charge. Yeah, that'll never happen....or will it?

NBM rates Wargames - I'm gonna go with A Work of Art, because of the brilliant insight into how the government would be ran in the future by more machines and less human brains.

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Donnie Darko

May very be one of the most confusing, provocative films ever laid down. It seems simple enough, but after watching, you will wonder what has happened and begin spinning your brain in several different directions. Donnie is played by a very young, post October Sky Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is set in the late 1980's, and lasts a duration of the month of October. Donnie is a very disturbed young man. Did I say man? Genius more like it. Mad Genius. He is constantly at his sisters and parents throats. His real life sis, Maggie, is also his on screen sister. They have one of the greatest on screen dinner conversations ever. His parents don't understand him, so he is put in therapy a couple times a week. He's doped up by his doctor, which may or may not lead to some possible hallucinations. On October 2 he wanders out of his house in the middle of the night where he meets Frank the bunny. Frank informs him the world will end in 28 days 6 hours 42 minutes and 12 seconds. With this new information his wheels start turning. That night changes everything. While he is out talking with Frank a jet engine crashes through the roof of his house and lands on his bed. The funny thing is where it came from. No one knows. This info gets Donnie wondering about time travel, wormholes, and seeing the future. He consults his teacher played by Noah Wylie. They have good conversations, but not much comes of it. Eventually Frank asks (tells) him to do things. Bad things. Enter Jim Cunningham (Patrick Schwayze). A self starter, inspirational speaker brought into Donnie's school to help the kids with moral. His program is based on two extreme emotions. Love and Fear. Donnie has big issues with this logic and by questioning the establishment he is getting more bad attention and into more trouble than before. Jim ends up being the building block of the community until Donnie confronts him and brings it all down. So with each day coming closer to the end of the world, we begin to wonder about Frank and time travel portals and what Donnie will figure out. It twists and turns and gets weirder and weirder, but for some reason makes sense. Then it all ends in a way so unforeseen by me and let the debate begin. I have my theory and every time I watch it, it gets more intense than the time before. What's funny is on RT the theatrical version is rated 84%, but the Director's cut which adds 20 minutes or so hits 91%. I have the directors cut and if anyone needs to borrow this brilliant film, just ask. Add smaller roles by Drew Barrymore, and Mary McDonnell ("Stands with a Fist"), who plays Donnie's mother.

NBM rates Donnie Darko - A Cinematic Work of Art

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