Michael Jackson has met his match

Recently, I watched two thrillers that both impressed me. Shutter Island (2010) is more of a brainy thriller, while The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is more of a creepy thriller. Both are very well made films.

Shutter Island stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal investigating the disappearance of a patient at Shutter Island mental hospital. Through some pretty creepy happenings and a massive storm, the good marshal finds out some things, though not really what he was looking for...

DiCaprio never lets me down. He is a spectacular, hardworking actor who has a knack for picking good films. The film kept the suspense up until the end. The very end. The last line even. Make sure you watch carefully.

Shutter Island runs 138 minutes and is rated R. Not really a family film. I give it a solid 8 ramheads out of 10.
The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster as an FBI trainee who was given the task of interviewing the notorious Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a serial killing Psychiatrist cannibal who is locked up in high security prison. Dr. Lecter is exceedingly creepy, very well mannered and really intelligent. Foster's character is interviewing with the intent of catching another serial killer named Buffalo Bill who likes to skin his victims.

Hopkins and Foster are both brilliant in this classic. The thrill and suspense (and creepiness) never lets up until the end. The Silence of the Lambs runs 118 minutes and is rated R. Also not a family film. I give it 9 ramheads out of 10 for being a "classic" that didn't let me down.

The American Dream is a Sham

The feeling I get after watching Revolutionary Road (2008) is that of sadness, hopelessness, and warning. Let me explain.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (together for the first time since Titanic) as Frank and April Wheeler, a young and "special" couple with two kids living in a suburban neighborhood. They were the couple that the others were always jealous of. Outwardly, they were perfect. Inwardly, they both were quite miserable.

Frank hates his job and is getting little love at home. April fails at acting and isn't getting much love from Frank. Neither of them are happy and they both just expect the love to come. They live in the remembrance of when they were in love. The excitement is gone, but they just expect it to be there. They think that moving to Paris will save their relationship. Through many regrettable acts, many fights, and much stubbornness, this couple almost makes it. I won't give any more away.

While watching this film, I couldn't help but wonder if their relationship with each other would be different if they had faith. Not faith in each other--though that wouldn't hurt--but faith in God. They both are so selfish, there is no room for love. Faith would change that. Just a thought.

I also noticed that if they really put the effort into loving each other, they both would be better off. They place the blame for their problems on each other and "this place of hopeless emptiness", while they should really look at themselves and figure out what they each could do for each other. Love is not easy and it is not just feelings.

The film is really brilliant. It was very difficult to watch at times, but it really has a lot of meaning and though it is set in the 50s, has great application to couples today. The acting was phenomenal. DiCaprio and Winslet are two of the best in the business and they work so well together. Their characters are so real. They are not transparent; they are deep and emotional. The music really helps set the mood and is very well written.

Overall, I was impressed. Revolutionary Road runs 118 minutes and is rated R. NOT a family film. I give it 8 ramheads out of 10.

I dreamed a dream

No, this post has nothing to do with Susan Boyle. It does have to do with dreams. Inception (2010) is a film all about dreams.

This is going to be a spoiler-free post, so if you haven't seen it yet, don't worry. Inception, in general terms is a brainy action-adventure film that deals with going into dreams with more than one person. That's all I'm going to say.

My first impression of this film was "Wow, that was COMPLEX!" In all honesty, this might have been the most complex and biggest 'thinker' movie I've ever seen. (The Matrix series is a close second.) You need to be pretty intelligent to successfully watch this film.

The concepts are amazing. The writing and imagination is quite incredible. The characters are relate-able humans, but still are incredibly impressive. The acting was phenomenal. Leonardo DiCaprio is an extraordinarily talented actor. He gets into the role like none other. The supporting cast was solid (Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe). The music was excellent. Hans Zimmer rarely disappoints.

Inception was stunning, brain exercise that really worked. This is what movies are all about. I would give it an Oscar (or a few). Christopher Nolan does it again. It runs 148 minutes and is rated PG-13. I give it what it deserves: 10 ramheads out of 10.
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Titanic UPDATE: 3D?

So guess what I recently heard and never told you? Yeah, that's right, Titanic is going to be back in theatres in 2011 in 3D. This is two things: cool and selling out. I will go and see it (with my fiance) but I know they are doing it to make some more money. Oh well....it's kind of a win-win for those who like the movie and a nuisance for those who don't. I'm ok with that.

Titanic is a Great Movie, So What?

Yeah, that's right. I really enjoyed Titanic (1997) and declare it my favorite "Chick-Flick" of all time. This movie really gets to your heart. James Cameron, the director did an excellent job of movie-making. I read that he was a super perfectionist and I'm glad, he made this movie what it is. I also read this movie was extremely expensive, I'm also glad about this, money helps. On to acting....

Kate Winslet does a sensational job convincing me of her character, her struggle against the upper-class expectations, her situation. Leonardo DiCaprio is just a good all-around actor. He's convincing and easy to like. This movie features a lot of good acting from, not only the main character, but the supporting roles and extras as well.

The thing that really gets me about this movie is the historical accuracy. I don't claim to be a historian, but nothing in this movie is completely absurd and I can comfortably believe it as history or close to it. I read that the center propeller is done wrong, but who cares? I like how they work in some historical characters: John Jacob Aster, Molly Brown, and Thomas Andrews (the ship builder). They even work in some historical people who were crew members and some in smaller roles. Details go a long way. It made me happy to read that some of the smaller roles represent actual people, not just movie fakes. This film really does a good, believable job of representing the time period. The costumes, the attitudes, and the actions of all the characters convinced me that they were in the early 1900s.

I like the history a lot, but the plot combined with history is what made this film the highest grossing film of all time and won it 11 Oscars. The love story. Classic, but not copycatting anyone. It gets you right in the heart. They really excelled in the area of romance and did an excellent job transitioning to the quick survival mode during the hour and a half of sinking. This movie kept me on my toes and didn't lose my interest for one second, even though it was three hours long.

The technical aspects of this movie are excellent as well. The special effects are very good, the sinking of the ship was almost entirely done by computer. For 1997, these are top notch effects. The music was also sensational. I am currently listening to the soundtrack, which happens to have won an Oscar, a Grammy, and became the best selling orchestral soundtrack of all time. It really brings the already amazing movie to the top tier of movies.

Like I said before, I really love this movie. It is rated PG-13 and runs 194 minutes. I wouldn't let anyone too young see it.

Even though this movie wasn't perfect, I'm still going to go ahead and give it 10 ramheads out of 10.

Part II of my Summer Mini-Reviews

Yeah, I know, I haven't posted in a long time...I've been working and traveling and watching movies. SO, without further ado, REVIEWS:

The first movie I'm going to review is one I watched this morning.

Lord of War -2005-
Lord of War stars Nicolas Cage as an arms dealer who sells to anyone and everyone who will pay him. He marries a model, lives like a rich man and single-handedly supplies guns to thousands of RUF and other "revolutionary" and "patriotic" forces in Africa with child soldiers. This movie is loosely based on actual events (meaning it happens, just not with Nic Cage). It is sad to face the fact that this happens. It is rated R and runs for 123 minutes. Don't show this to anyone under 18. It is very well done and I give it 7 ramheads out of 10.
Lord of War's depiction of wars in Africa reminded me of another movie that deals with similar conflict.

Blood Diamond -2006- Blood Diamond stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the role of a South Afrikaner who smuggles "blood diamonds", those diamonds that are sold to fund conflicts. He gets word of a large red diamond and wants it for himself. DiCaprio does a tremendous job with the accent and the character. He's a very good actor and he's very believable. The story is extremely moving and does a good job of getting its point across. Here's another essay I wrote about the movie: http://www.scribd.com/doc/18651478/Blood-Diamond The movie is rated R and runs 143 minutes. I wouldn't show this to anyone under 15ish. I really suggest watching this movie. It will change your perspective of the world. I give it 9 ramheads out of 10.
This brings me to another movie I watched starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I watched it last night.

Catch Me If You Can -2002-I've always enjoyed this movie. It is a little long, but so what. Leonard DiCaprio and Tom Hanks both do an awesome job. They are convincing, they are easy to like, and they are funny. This movie is based on the true story of Frank Abignale Jr. and his amazing feats of impersination, check fraud, and stealing of millions of dollars, all before his 19th birthday. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you've seen it, watch it again. This movie is rated PG-13 for some language and runs 141 minutes. I give it 8 ramheads out of 10.Finally, I'm going to give a quick review of the Ocean's 11-13 movies. -2001, 2004, 2007-

These movies are funny, clever, and packed to the brim with big name actors. The endings are always awesome. I recommend these movies to pretty much everyone. They are rated PG-13 and run between 113 and 126 minutes. I rate them 7 ramheads out of 10.