Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her.
Whilst MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the
threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Neal Purvis,
Robert Wade
Storyline
When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the
world are exposed, MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency.
These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Gareth
Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and
Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M
is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. 007 takes to the shadows -
aided only by field agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) - following a trail to
the mysterious Silva (Javier Bardem), whose lethal and hidden motives
have yet to reveal themselves.
User Reviews
For a life long Bond fan
this is just about the best movie in the series. Has the feel of a
classic Bond movie. LOVED it. I say A
"He knows us. He's one
of us. He comes from the same place as Bond, a place you say doesn't
exist, the shadows." The world's greatest secret agent is back, but is
the need for an agent outdated in today's modern world? After MI-6 is
attacked and M (Dench) is brought under scrutiny by the government Bond
(Craig) alone is left to find out who is behind the attack while M is
trying to both help Bond and defend the need for an agency that has been
compromised. I know that a review is really not needed here, being the
23rd Bond movie either you will watch it or not. I am a huge fan of the
series and was really looking forward to this after hearing this is the
best Bond movie yet. I have really loved the Craig movies but for some
reason they never had the feel of a Bond movie to me, I wasn't sure what
was missing but they didn't have the same feel. Knowing that they were
re-booting the series I was lenient and with this one the re-boot is
complete. This had much more of a feel of a classic Bond movie and by
the end I was excited to see the next one. I got chills watching a few
times and especially at the end. This had possibly the best opening and
ending to a Bond movie ever. I could go on and on about this but I will
just say if you love Bond you will love this, if you have never seen one
then this one will make you a fan. Overall, From Russia With Love is my
favorite Bond movie but this a very close second, and I think may be
more re-watchable. I wanted to watch this one again as soon as the movie
was over. I give this a very high A.
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team
if they are to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from
enslaving humanity.
Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping
agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man,
The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow.
When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury
and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster.
User Reviews
I have got to tell
anyone who will listen that this is one of THE best adventure movies
I've ever seen. It's almost impossible to convey how pumped I am now
that I've seen it. I purposefully avoid hyping myself for movies because
when expectations are too high, nothing seems to be able to reach them.
I usually avoid the hype train whenever possible. That said, I was
jacked to see this movie and was fully aboard the hype train. It
couldn't be helped. So, I was certainly open to intense disappointment
had this movie not been good. I'm so happy to report just the opposite
has happened.
The only word I can think of to describe this movie
is AWESOME. It's amazing work and everything I had hoped for and more.
It's exceptional entertainment for the uninitiated but it has everything
a fanboy could want to be sure. It has every little nuance of what a
fanboy wants to see. One of the MANY things I loved was the tension and
flat out conflict that arises between team members. It's not a two
dimensional "team wonderful that bands together to fight crime ho ho
ho." Most don't like each other at fist and there is so much texture to
be played. That is great because so many of these characters are larger
than life. They have egos and the big guns aren't used to working with
other people or even playing by the rules. Stark, Thor and Banner all
work "the other side of the fence" so to speak. Then there's the Widow,
Hawkeye and Captain America who are used to following orders and playing
within a command structure. They are all thrown together in a wonderful
and, best of all, believable fashion. Again, more than I ever dreamed
possible.
The entire cast really delivered. You needed more than
just action actors or stunt doubles to play all these parts. The pathos
is there but so are the timing and true deep performances. Look, I was
missing Ed Norton as much as anyone on that hype train I talked about
but I'm so happy to say that Mark Ruffalo won me over. I hope he's
locked up for the long haul because we don't need any more changes.
Three was the lucky number for movie Banners. Every other actor in
Avnegers that we've seen before is BETTER than their previous
incarnation (EVERY single one) with the possible exception of RDJ as
Stark. He's great but it's hard to top his take on the character from
the original Iron Man in an ensemble movie. I also have to fully
disclose that I'm insanely attracted to Scarlett Johansson. I thought
her Widow character was amazing but I'm definitely judging that through
rose colored glasses. The character arcs that run there course during
this film will surprise a lot of general audiences expecting nothing
more than a Transformers type popcorn scarfdown.
I honestly don't
want to give away ANY of the movie with this review because this is one
film that needs every scene to be savored. Do yourself a favor and
remain unspoiled. It's how I saw the movie (apart from what the trailers
showed) and even though you're obviously reading this review, read no
others with any kind of spoilers whatsoever. Experience the awesomeness
for yourself. Avengers as a movie and as a team on screen is an
unstoppable force. I'm just going to say, Hulk & Thor combination
equals AWESOME and leave it at that. This movie defines MUST SEE.
Eight years after the Joker's reign of anarchy, the Dark Knight is
forced to return from his imposed exile to save Gotham City from the
brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane with the help of the enigmatic Catwoman.
Despite his tarnished reputation after the events of The Dark Knight, in
which he took the rap for Dent's crimes, Batman feels compelled to
intervene to assist the city and its police force which is struggling to
cope with Bane's plans to destroy the city.
Not being a huge fan of
superhero movies, I didn't have much expectations for Batman Begins.
However viewing the 2005 Christopher Nolan production, I was pleasantly
shocked. Then after my huge expectations for, "The Dark Knight",
Christopher Nolan blew my expectations to the dust. Will the same happen
with the 3rd and last film, "The Dark Knight Rises"? Quite simply, Yes!
My big expectations were once again, blown away. What a production!
This is a true cinematic experience, to behold. The movie exceeded my
expectations in terms of action, and entertainment. The editing, sound,
score, visuals, direction and action are all top notch.
The film
contains a fine cast of talented actors. Christian Bale, of course
still makes is a great Batman. Michael Cain is fantastic, as he always
is. He gives such a powerful performance, he really ought to be
considered for an Oscar nomination. Tom Hardy as Bane is utterly
terrifying, at times, and completely ominous. Anne Hathaway as
Catwoman/Selina Kyle is a scene stealer. She is completely engrossing.
Everyone is so great, the dynamic scenes between the actors are so well
done, so well written, and so well directed. The Dark Knight Rises is is
emotionally riveting and amazing to view.
At a running time of
almost 3 hours, the film never becomes dull, which is pretty impressive.
The movie's action sequences are spectacularly well created and very
intense. The dialogue between the character's are intelligent and highly
believable. The movie's soundtrack is terrific and really exemplify's
many of the movie's scenes. Extremely well editing and sound use really
develop many of the movie's action scenes, so it's not just explosions
and visuals like in many other movies. Nolan creates a grand, dirty,
engrossing world, and his action sequences just hum.
In
conclusion, this film is a gorgeous reminder that great writing and
direction can enhance any movie-going experience, even superhero movies,
which are usually thought of as mindless entertainment. I am wholly
satisfied with Christopher Nolan's vision and thank all who worked on
this film for bringing such an intricate interpretation of its very
famous literary source. I cannot recommend this film anymore than I
have, I just have to say everyone and anyone should see it.
A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role
of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her
mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Mark Heyman (screenplay),
Andres Heinz (screenplay) (as Andrés Heinz).
Storyline
Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose
life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with
dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica
(Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic
director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth
MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan
Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer,
Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer
who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black
Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan
role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the
two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friends hip, Nina
begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that
threatens to destroy her.
User Reviews
Zero
understanding of ballet leads to ridiculous major premise: "ooh, to do
zee black swan you need to be The sexeee!" This is utter nonsense.
Anyone who knows anything about ballet and in particular, Swan Lake,
knows this. But the writer tries to get away with this huge, vulgar
misunderstanding--and he doesn't get away with it.
Uses every
cliché in the book, and every vile sexist cliché, too: baad mommy (the
cake! the cake!,ooh!, the horror, the horror!), classic controlling
abusive artiste dom male who uh feels that masturbation is the answer to
everything; pseudo-ballerina actresses who look, speak, and act like
leftovers from teen slash movies.
A waste of time from start
to finish, and a tragic waste of fine actors. I don't know how or why
this movie got made. I had been looking forward to seeing it; having
seen it, I'm so sorry I went.
A U.S Marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.
Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay),
Dennis Lehane (novel)
Storyline
It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to
investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island
Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island
for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been
brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose
radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright
sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising
lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would
break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the
mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the
puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything -
his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.
User Reviews
Counting down the days until I can add this to my DVD collection...
Similar to my rating
for this film, you can argue that 9 out of 10 people who watch this
movie, it will not be their first Scorsese film. Most of us know the
genius that he is and coming into this showing we should expect
brilliance, and gladly he delivers a captivating storyline driven by
great acting. Unfortunately with the release of Shutter Island was also a
press release that Taxi Driver may be remade, so that news made me
hesitant to care, but I'm glad I was wrong.
Shutter Island is the
story of Teddy Daniels, A U.S. federal marshall sent to the island with
his partner Chuck Aule to search for the disappearance of a patient.
Each scene provides a turn against their leads and compels them to look
for more whilst searching in places we couldn't comprehend, including
their minds. Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo feed off each other and
supply great performances for their characters as expected, but some of
the other characters whose names are riveted on the posters or marquees
are sensational as well. The two that stuck out to me most were Ben
Kingsley (Dr. Cawley) and Michelle Williams (Dolores, Teddy's wife),
each of whom brought so much dramatics and new questions to the movie,
developing plot twists and controversy. I don't think this film would be
the same without them.
Even to begin explaining details of the
plot and how everything comes to fruition causes me to feel migraines
alike the ones Teddy gets in the movie, therefore I won't ruin anything
for you now. Take my honest word that if you enjoyed any Scorsese movie
in the past or have enjoyed movies that include surrealism, Shutter
Island combines the two into an intense thriller that boggles the mind
and possibly even "corrode it, rusts it". Also, if you are hesitant to
watch this film because the trailer perceives it as a horror film with a
lot of "jumpy" scenes, ignore that. I had the same feeling entering it,
and there was only one towards the very end, but it was worth the
shock. You will miss so much detail trying to cover your eyes for a few
minutes sporadically throughout that it's not worth it. Take the risk of
jumping out of your seat for once, because it was the best scare I
could ask for.
