Office Space

So, this very well could be the greatest independent film of all time. I wanted to see it in the theater, but it only played in the big city 30 miles away, and only for 7 days. This is the best interpretation of middle America and it's work force. There is always gonna be someone younger and cheaper in line to take your place. The cubicles of America are a stressful place to reside. For Peter (Ron Livingston), his life sucks. The same dreary crap, day in and day out. Dumb job, pissed off girlfriend, and no way out. His girlfriend sends him to a hypnotherapist to relax him, and this is where his life changes for the better. The hypnotherapist puts him into total relaxation, and before he snaps him out of it, the therapist croaks. This leaves Peter into the best time of his life. He doesn't care about anything anymore. No stress, breaks up with his horrible girlfriend and goes after his dream girl-played by Jennifer Aniston. He goes to work still -kinda- and he bucks the system. By not caring he actually makes it through the "restructuring" with flying colors. In reality he gets promoted by being "a straight shooter", yet his hard working friends get canned. This leads him to front a plan to rip off his company for the greater good. They install a virus that takes the unrounded pennies and rounds them down into an account they opened. Brilliant? In theory, sure, but that is the problem with theories. Theories hardly work out. With the exception of The Armageddon theory, most of the time they suck. This one however, well, it sucks. The two year plan was mis-managed into a one day plan, therefore making them less incognito than they wanted to be. Instead of dollars per day, the first day they end up with a balance of $300,000+ and they know they are screwed. This is where the film goes from fun to possible jail time. It was made with no money and is absolutely brilliant. The language, jokes, and workplace are completely perfect and I like it. I have seen this movie a 100 times at least, and it never gets old. Really though, the movie has a secret hero. Melvin? Not quite. The Red Stapler, however, created a new dimension in pop culture. They made 3 red Swingline staplers for this film, and the feedback from people wanting a red stapler was so high, Swingline actually makes a Red one now. That is amazing. Pop Culture wins, and this film did a good job of making a point of that.

NBM rates Office Space - A Work of Cinematic Art

The Killer Inside Me

This is a hard movie to watch. not because of it's pace which is usually the case, but more about its content. I remember wanting to see it back when it came out. It casts Casey Affleck in the lead role coming off of his other leading success Gone Baby Gone. This one seemed to be up my alley until it got out of hand. I like the era, the actors, and the story, but the way it was portrayed kind of turned my stomach which is saying A LOT. Lou Ford (Affleck) is a deputy sheriff in a small Oklahoma town in the 1940's. Not much happens in these settings mostly, so without Lou and his mental problems it would be a really boring film. It follows Lou through his day of doing his job, visiting a local prostitute [who he seems to love], then he goes home where is regular girlfriend is, only to repeat the process day after day. When he feels he is being played by Joyce (Alba - Prostitute) and the son of a local wealthy man, he turns the tables on both of them. This is where is got hard to watch...more than watch...hard to hear. He beats her within an inch of her life, and the film makers thought it was a good idea to make it as real as possible. The moist smacking sound that his fist makes against her face time after time for what seemed like 5 minutes was a little much in my opinion. Then he murders the rich boy in her house to make it look like he beat her, then she shot him. In a small town where the Sheriff can do no wrong, who is gonna say it happened differently? The DA, Howard Hendricks (Mentalist's Simon Baker) thinks there is way more going on. He follows Lou on his day to day, always getting the story, since Lou was the first on the scene. It just never adds up to him, and he thinks he may have a plan to oust him. From here it is cat and mouse, and before you know it, Lou is further in than he planned, which involves other towns folks and his girlfriend  Amy Stanton which is played by the lovely Kate Hudson. The nudity was nice, but the graphic violence ruined it for me in the end. The story has a good twisted ending, not to say there is a twist at all. Don't think I'll ever watch it again, but I did watch it in it's entirety, so I can firmly say that without that one scene it would've got an AWESOME rating based on the great story.


NBM rates The Killer Inside Me - Good

Juno

With the sure to be brilliant "Horrible Bosses" out this weekend, I wanna review a little sleeper hit also starring Jason Bateman called Juno. This is one of those rare little gems that not only touches on an always "hot button" topic, but actually spends 90 minutes showing the struggle a teenage girl would have dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Juno is one of those girls that ends up preggers on her first time ever. Not a good start to one's sexual growth, but what the story gives us is a comedy wrapped in a drama, wrapped in high school maturity that is almost non existent....unless you have dealt with your own unexpected pregnancy. So when Juno (Ellen Page) and the love of her life, Paulie Bleeker (Cera) finally embrace that their kooky, quirky vibes fit each other like pieces to a puzzle she ends up with child. Struggling with her own identity and now adding this to her plate, she really needs a support system. Her Dad (JK Simmons) takes the news surprisingly well considering his oldest daughter may have "ruined" her life. Her stepmother is the major comic relief, but the film is laced with super fun humor, then it turns dark at times. Her first stop is the clinic where she changes her mind, then she decides to give the baby to a deserving family who wants it. She finds an ad where she meets a man and wife who have been unsuccessful in the baby making process. Mark and Vanessa Loring (Bateman and Jennifer Garner) win the unborn Juno lottery and she becomes very friendly with them. She feels safe with them, and they give her hope that her baby will be loved. She has an especially good rapport with Mark who is 20 years her senior. They have a love of music and horror movies that bond them almost instantly, but when Mark thinks Juno wants more from him, her newly developed world of trust crumbles. The story is so good, and it is written with a passion and it shows. How is Juno gonna handle all this change? Well, or poorly? Paulie is ever present, but like any 16 year old boy, all he is concerned with is that his Mom does not hear about this. I love this film, and as dark as it gets, I love where it ends up. What a brilliantly written/acted movie that should live on for generations. It does not glamorize teenage pregnancy, and it may be one of the best deterrents in the name of Abstinence with our youth today. Very real, very sweet, very Juno.

NBM rates Juno - Phenomenal

Independence Day

Only one movie worth writing about on the 4th of July. The film that changed things. An alien invasion movie like nothing we've ever seen. This movie is so good, I can't pass it by if it is on. I also just learned that Roland Emmerich directed it. I only bring that up because he also directed The Patriot. A review I wrote from a couple days ago. It starts out like any other film of its ilk, but then quickly takes the turn we need. The ships are hovering over every major city across the world, and we wonder if they are friendly or not, then they go and blow 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. At this point, we know they are hostile. Will Smith launched his career as the fighter pilot hero, and Jeff Goldblum is the science nerd who may have a solution to stopping the bad aliens. This movie does a brilliant job of putting in the "jumpiness",out necessarily being scary. When we first get to see an alien up close in lab is where it all goes down. "Is that glass bullet proof?" The aliens have successfully killed millions of people, and destroyed several major cities, but the fight we humans possess inside us is undeniable, and history has proven that even if you are out matched, if you bother the opposing force enough, eventually they will just go away. We fight and try to figure out how to take out the aliens defense system, and if this works we may actually have a fair fight. The White House blowing up is one of the coolest visuals of all time. Solid action, direction, and script make this the ideal action drama, which happens to take place on our Independence Day. Bill Pullman as our POTUS does a great job and delivers one of the best on screen speeches/pep talks in cinema history. I still get chills when I hear it. Never fails.

NBM rates Independence Day (ID4 for short) - A Work of Cinematic Art

Coupe de Ville

This is a film I had never heard of before yesterday when I watched it. It received a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and that is the sole reason I do what I do. How can anything with Alan Arkin be rated zero? That I do not get. The story is not half bad either. Actually I'd say it's a bit better than half good even. I was gonna write about the first Transformers tonight since it is 4 years to the day of its release, but upon further review, I actually already wrote about that film some time back. [Read that Review Here]. So now you get a barely known film from 1990 featuring McDreamy, Daniel Stern, and Arye Gross along with the previously mentioned Arkin. The 3 young men portray 3 brothers with completely different life paths. They do not get along, they do not like each other, and now they have to be stuck in the small space that is a Cadillac Coupe de Ville for a long time. It is set in the '60's and these young men have been tasked with bringing their Mother's birthday gift across the country before their terminally ill Father crokes. The fiasco's these men get into are funny to me, because I am 1 of 3 brothers who not always got along. The way they grow together along the trip is classic and fun and...well, Brotherly. The film goes so much deeper than bringing a car to their mother. It is about the tie that binds and the fact that blood is thicker than water. It also shows that even though we think we may know everything about someone, more than likely we will be wrong about a thing or two. This movie is good for laughs, also good for a lesson much deeper than what we think at first.

NBM rates Coupe de Ville - Awesome

The Patriot

With the 4th of July upon us, there are a number of films that come to mind, and being 2 days prior to the actual 4th I want to discuss the Epic film The Patriot.  I saw this in the theater and loved it, but the mentality of this event in our nations history when you're 18 as opposed to 29 is much different. As much as I liked the film, at 18 "Freedom" is just another word in the realm of our normal existence. Now at 29, with a brother in the military, recently back from Afghanistan it holds a slightly different perspective in my mind. Freedom is everything and The Patriot not only show our fight for freedom during the Revolutionary War, but it really focuses in on one man's struggle to raise his family alone in the midst of all the fighting. It is not about a lowly farmer who can't fight, so he feels helpless. Not that at all. Benjamin Martin (Gibson) is actually a war veteran and hero, known for his relentless hunting, killing, and ruthless scalping of the French army several years earlier during the French/Indian war. At this point in his life, he just wants to keep his 4 sons and 1 daughter safe from war. His eldest son has a different plan. Gabriel (Ledger) wants to fight for his country and enlists where he sent to the lines to fight. Benjamin knows he cannot stop him, but he can stop his other, younger sons and continue to protect them. When a ruthless British Colonel kills his second oldest son Thomas, he has no choice but to retaliate in the form of lending his war skills to the cause. The movie is brilliantly shot. The action, dialog, and directing are all top notch. When Benjamin goes after his recently captured son, this is where we see what he is capable of. I don't recall seeing so much blood in a single scene. When he whips out his Indian tomahawk, you better be on his side or you won't be happy when he is done. His new lot in life has nothing to do with winning the war, but more like winning the battle. I know it doesn't make sense, but all he sees is red, and all he wants is the scalp of the Colonel that turned his world upside down. The historically based revenge flick is the perfect 4th of July film. There is another one that competes for that honor which you probably know what it is, but will definitely know come Monday. 

NBM rates The Patriot - Phenomenal

Transformers : Dark of the Moon

Was I stoked about the 3rd installment in the franchise the reinvented film making? You bet your bottom $. I was a little sad that I had to wait 2 days after it's release to finally make it, and the fact that my wife and The AP saw it before A-Bomb and I. This vexed me the most because of the loads of crap they gave us in 2007 when the first one came out, and we were giggly school girls over it and watched it 4 times on the big screen. Now they get to see it before us!!!!! Whatevski. We still had an awesome time. I was anticipating this movie for my own reasons. I love Transformers. The action Bay is able to give us is unmatched by anyone in Hollywood today and I love it. The louder, the better is what I say. Another reason I was anxious was the amount of people that stated the obvious, "It is better than the second one", and the amount of people that even dared to say it was better than the original. PEOPLE, PLEASE SHUT YOUR BLASTPHEMIST PIE HOLES!!!!. Thank You. I will confirm this right now. It does not even come close to touching what the first one is, does, or how it will be seen in 20 years. It is better than #2, and Rosie Whiteley steals the show. All I have to say about her is, ...Megan who? In this one we get a lot of back story about the civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons. It is very cool back story and unlike one and two, the focus really stays on them for the entirety. Sam is still the star and Shia delivers in only a way he can. He is great at what he does, and I never feel like he isn't trying to give it his all, and I appreciate that. Sam has now saved Earth twice, been given heroic medals and accolades, but is currently out of college and unemployed. He seems to be going through a mid life crisis at 22. He  feels worthless without being part of the cause any more, and doesn't know how to move on. John Malkovich delivers plenty of comedic relief which is always appreciated. Then we have his new girl Carly. She (Rosie Whiteley) seems to be the bread winner in the relationship, but she doesn't mind. She works for Dylan (McDreamy) as the curator of his classic car museum. He seems to have a thing for her, and Sam doesn't like it, plus he plays the snotty millionaire prick to perfection. When the Decepticons try to take over our planet because theirs has been destroyed the Autobots want to help, but our Government sends them packing. It also features one of the coolest stunts of all time. The soldiers flying through Chicago in their little suits is so cool. The action is brilliant, and the jokes were better than in the previous films. I thought there was little wrong with this film, and if you slightly like the other 2, you will love this one. It is a pretty strong plot with outstanding acting. It also showed a trailer for Captain America that I had not seen. I have wanted to see this movie for a little while now, but A-Bomb had, and I quote, "NO DESIRE". Finally, after months of ad campaigns and TV spots, and multiple trailer, they finally gave him a reason to say, "Now I have changed my mind". As for Dark of the Moon...


NBM rates Transformers 3 - Phenomenal

Mission Impossible II

I know I reviewed the original MI not too long ago, but with the trailer release of MI 4: Ghost Protocol (see sidebar to watch), I need to write about another MI movie. This time I will write about the most poorly reviewed of the franchise, which I actual love. John Woo helmed this one - hence the pigeons. I don't mind John Woo at all, plus Sir Anthony Hopkins and Thandie Newton have been added to the cast. Good start? Yep!! Plus you factor in Tom Cruise's outstandingly gorgeous long locks, you have a guaranteed hit. It starts off with a thrilling opening scene followed by that awesome intro music and I am hooked. The story is about the interception of two highly deadly tubed viruses by the IMF that will be used to extort insane amounts of money to save the population. Ethan Hunt is back and it is awesome. The stunts, the love interest, the Ducati - it is all so perfect. I honestly do not understand why people hate this movie. I feel it is exactly what this franchise is about. I think what I love about this franchise the most is the fact that since its introduction in 1995 it has only spawned 3 (great) films, going on 4. Transformers has its 3rd out in 4 years. I like that MI is spending the time to write awesome scripts and never rushing to theaters. The second installment also holds a small piece of my heart for sentimental reasons. This was the first thing me and my future wife did together, "before we together." I like to think MI 2 helped us form a bond with each other that would only be destroyed by HollowMan a couple weeks later, and then be rebuilt by Gone in 60 seconds. Either way, I love the ripping off of faces in MI 2 as we first saw in the first one. I will see the 4th one in the theater because I think it looks awesome, but also that this franchise has never done wrong and I strongly feel it will go 4 for 4.

NBM rates Mission Impossible II - Awesome

Diggstown

I remember the first time  saw this brilliant film. I was like 12, and it was a Friday night, pizza night, movie night and Diggstown was that evening's movie. It follows a con man fresh out of prison looking to score big time. Gabriel Caine (Woods) ends up in a boxing town named for the former heavyweight Champion Charles Macum Diggs. The town is Diggstown, and the only thing to do here is box or watch people box. Diggstown is now being run, more or less, by John Gillon. Gillon is played by Bruce Dern in one of his best performances - The 'burbs aside. So, Gabriel moseys into town, heads to the local boxing facility, and insults the fighters right to Gillon's face. He then claims he knows a guy who could fight and beat any 10 Diggstown boxers in a 24 hour period. Intrigued, John makes a wager on this. Small for him, but huge for Gabriel. Now Gabe just needs a fighter. "Honey" Roy Palmer (Gossett Jr.) is that fighter. He is 48 years old, hasn't boxed in years, and doesn't like Gabe very much. They used to be partners, but that went south. Differences aside, they go after Gillon and his fighters. Honey Roy has little time to train before his first fight. The fighting is good action, but the story around Gillon and Caine is really where it's at. As the 24 hours withers away, the bets get bigger and bigger. Fighters are bribed, and even killed if they don't give 110% for Gillon. Honey Roy has something to prove. Not ot himself, but to Caine, who he says ruined his chance at the championship. The comic relief is played by the always funny Oliver Platt. 8 fighters down and 2 to go. This is when it goes from ordinary to extremely interesting. It has now turned into a game of wits....and it looks like Gillon has the upper hand. Most the fights are quick, but as is expected, the last one is the pressure cooker. I love this film. The corruption inside this small community is baffling. Can "Honey" Roy win an entire town for his former friend? Watch and see.

NBM rates Diggstown - Phenomenal

Dodgeball : A True Underdog Story

Some days I really struggle trying to figure out what film to write about. Then other days it is easy, because maybe I've seen something recently that needs a review. Tonight was one of the harder nights, but before I was able to put too much thought into it, A-Bomb texts me "Tomorrow we are going to pecker slap those weinies from Globo Gym." And that settled it. It has to be Dodgeball. An absolute hilarious film about the world of competitive Dodgeball brought to you exclusively by ESPN 8, better known as "The Ocho". The story of big gym wants to take over little gym in all its glory. Globo Gym wants Average Joes to not only go away, but disappear for forever. Average Joe's is own and operated by slacker Peter Le Fleur (Vaughn) who run his ever failing gym, but refuses to give up. On the other end of the wealth/success ladder is former fattie turned super stud exercise guru White Goodman (Stiller). When Le Fleur turns down White's offer for a buy out, the war is on. Le Fleur is also being audited by the uber hot Katie Veatch (Taylor) who has no idea where to begin with Average Joe's. Her and White's dialogue are hilarious throughout. So now we have a Dodgeball tournament with a purse of a half a million dollars which will not only save Average Joe's from it's money troubles, but will stick it to White and Globo Gym. Because the "athletes" from Average Joe's are not all that athletic, they don't have much of a shot at winning the tourney. Old Patches O'Houlihan comes to train them. Old O'Houlihan is played by Rip "I broke into a bank that looked eerily similar to my own house strapped with my 9" Torn, while young Patches is played by Hank Azaria. He teaches them enough to get into the tourney through district play, but they have a long road ahead of them. Shenanigans ensue and this is one of the dumbest most quotable movies ever. "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood. Nobody!!!!" Brilliant. Needless to say, this is a comedy I have seen about 10 times and it is always enjoyable. With the "Davids" beat the "Goliaths" in this tall tale that single handedly launched a new realm of adult Dodgeball leagues all around the country? I'm not even joking. That just happened. And remember, if you wanna play the game, but aren't sure if you will be good or not, there is one simple rule to help you, "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."

NBM rates Dodgeball - Awesome