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TheLawnWrangler

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Review Roll 4/20/10 [the Hurt Locker, There Will be Blood, etc.]

By TheLawnWrangler 13 Comments

I decided to do my reviews this way now, doing 5 every other day. These are mainly random movies I pick up or feel like reviewing :D  
Today, we have Safe Men, The Hurt Locker, There Will be Blood, Death at a Funeral (the new one), and Punch Drunk Love.

Safe Men (1998) starring Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn, by John Hamburg. 

 True Heroes... I guess...
 True Heroes... I guess...
4/5 Think the Brothers Solomon meets Bottle Rocket. The bromance between Sam and Steve works, and the mob and crew come off comedically. All the characters bounce off of each other really well, with ease and natural awkwardness. You can feel this movie being friends with movies like Saving Silverman, Dumb and Dumber, and general 90's dumb comedies. It tries to be really good friends with Bottle Rocket or Kicking and Screaming, but they're just acquaintances. Plus, given the plot and circumstances, the movie refuses to really go anywhere farther than it already does; no action... just well thought out stupidity. Nothing truly special or amazing, but a great watch, with some really funny stuff; great dialogue from the man who brought us stuff like I Love You, Man. He's a really good director, making a lot of scenes look good. This seemed to be some sort of a comedic outlet for him; just fun stuff. By the way, the midget in the next movie I'm going to talk about is in this one, too. He's funny.

Death at a Funeral (2010) starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, remake of the 2007 british original. 

    
 Problem? KEITH DAVID IS NOT ON THIS POSTER. And yes, THAT midget.
 Problem? KEITH DAVID IS NOT ON THIS POSTER. And yes, THAT midget.

3/5 A decent ride, but not as good as the original. The comedy came from a place of slapstick, and a lot of punch-line set ups. The sad part is that it's punch line, then end the entire scene. Plus, the dialogue wasn't too good; it was like watching Tommy Wiseau narrate each situation through the characters; stating the obvious. And being somewhat of a dark, dramatic comedy, the original had the proper balance of drama and comedy, giving the dramatic scenes a perfect amount of well timed emotion. While in the remake, the emotional scenes feel unearned and forced, just because, hey, it's a movie about a funeral. Still, an interesting story, as a decent adaptation. Kudos to Danny Glover, James Madsen, and Keith David... everyone else is how they normally are in movies. Honestly, nothing amazing... didn't know what to expect. Hey, I laughed. Isn't that good enough?

There Will be Blood (2007) starring Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano, by Paul Thomas Anderson. 

 DUDE, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE.
 DUDE, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE.
4.5/5 Strong, epic, milkshakes. The only downfall I can find in this movie is that it can occasionally drag on and cause you to lose interest. Other than that, the protagonists are amazingly charismatic and unique; just wonderful to watch. The movie is so intense when it isn't boring, which is a general amount of the time. Sadly, it gets kind of exhausting, having to watch so much power and tension all of the time. But who is complaining? This movie is GOLD. Amazing acting from a well picked cast, brilliant writing and directing from Paul Thomas Anderson, and a general awesome job all around, especially in the score and cinematography. Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano lend strong and often over the top roles to the film, and really make the film special for how it's viewed as special. Strong, often scary words are said and done, giving this movie an amazing edge that other films don't have. This movie is awesome, and don't let anything prevent you from watching this amazing story. 
 
Also, it's okay to laugh.

The Hurt Locker (2009) starring Jeremy Renner, by Katheryn Bigelow.

A laborious, yet strangely intriguing scene, much like the rest of the movie. 
A laborious, yet strangely intriguing scene, much like the rest of the movie. 
3.5/5 Hyped up, yet a bit disappointing. Interesting and relatable characters keep this movie alive, as well as some good writing. The problem here is that the movie seems to not know what it wants to be. It claims to be a drama, but it has tons of tension and action, as well as some social commentary. Hell, I even laughed more than I felt emotion. People prided this movie for it's cinematography and directing, but I found it no better than a movie like the Green Zone; shaky, and a bit too much. The general impression of this film is a nice, big old shrug. It's interesting, and does have some drama that helps you relate more and understand where they're coming from, even though you never would, unless you are or have been a soldier. But again, it just didn't seem like it was enough to make it great or to even properly classify it, because it's even on the edge of being a satire. 
 
 

Punch Drunk Love (2003) starring Adam Sandler, by Paul Thomas Anderson.

      I personally draw a minor comparison to the Great Gatsby, or in general, an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. But that's my opinion.
      I personally draw a minor comparison to the Great Gatsby, or in general, an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. But that's my opinion.

 5/5 Uncomfortable is how life feels when you are as lonely, sad, or had the same problems as protagonist Barry Egan, who struggles his way through like with all the nuisances and inconveniences. Paul Thomas Anderson's directing managed to make this movie a pure piece of lovable and relatable art. He's managed to write an amazing love story as well as make every scene have a voice and reason behind it; every beautiful shot, cut, line, and etc. The camera work was masterfully handled, and made everything feel so right, even if it was ridiculously uneasy. This is also thanks to the score by Jon Brion, who did some fine music; ranging from crazy scrap percussion to nice, smooth jazz music. And of course, the man of the hour, Luiz Guzman. Okay, not him, but Luiz Guzman managed to provide some great comic relief when needed, and didn't step on anything; he was there when he needed to be. The real hero here is Adam Sandler, who gave the performance of his life time. Finally he was able to step aside from his regular comedic regime and try something new. You know what? It worked perfectly; almost too perfectly.  His dramatic and truly sad side were all too real, as well as his outbursts of violence and anger. It's tragically real, and purely beautiful. This movie is excellent.      
 
--- 
Thank you for reading! I will be doing more of these, since they will give me more time to work on these smaller, bite sized reviews now!  
Next week, I plan on reviewing The Wackness, Gentlemen Broncos, The Informant!, Hot Tub Time Machine, and Big Fan. 
Now don't do anything stupid today!
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13 Comments

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TheLawnWrangler

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Edited By TheLawnWrangler

I decided to do my reviews this way now, doing 5 every other day. These are mainly random movies I pick up or feel like reviewing :D  
Today, we have Safe Men, The Hurt Locker, There Will be Blood, Death at a Funeral (the new one), and Punch Drunk Love.

Safe Men (1998) starring Sam Rockwell and Steve Zahn, by John Hamburg. 

 True Heroes... I guess...
 True Heroes... I guess...
4/5 Think the Brothers Solomon meets Bottle Rocket. The bromance between Sam and Steve works, and the mob and crew come off comedically. All the characters bounce off of each other really well, with ease and natural awkwardness. You can feel this movie being friends with movies like Saving Silverman, Dumb and Dumber, and general 90's dumb comedies. It tries to be really good friends with Bottle Rocket or Kicking and Screaming, but they're just acquaintances. Plus, given the plot and circumstances, the movie refuses to really go anywhere farther than it already does; no action... just well thought out stupidity. Nothing truly special or amazing, but a great watch, with some really funny stuff; great dialogue from the man who brought us stuff like I Love You, Man. He's a really good director, making a lot of scenes look good. This seemed to be some sort of a comedic outlet for him; just fun stuff. By the way, the midget in the next movie I'm going to talk about is in this one, too. He's funny.

Death at a Funeral (2010) starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, remake of the 2007 british original. 

    
 Problem? KEITH DAVID IS NOT ON THIS POSTER. And yes, THAT midget.
 Problem? KEITH DAVID IS NOT ON THIS POSTER. And yes, THAT midget.

3/5 A decent ride, but not as good as the original. The comedy came from a place of slapstick, and a lot of punch-line set ups. The sad part is that it's punch line, then end the entire scene. Plus, the dialogue wasn't too good; it was like watching Tommy Wiseau narrate each situation through the characters; stating the obvious. And being somewhat of a dark, dramatic comedy, the original had the proper balance of drama and comedy, giving the dramatic scenes a perfect amount of well timed emotion. While in the remake, the emotional scenes feel unearned and forced, just because, hey, it's a movie about a funeral. Still, an interesting story, as a decent adaptation. Kudos to Danny Glover, James Madsen, and Keith David... everyone else is how they normally are in movies. Honestly, nothing amazing... didn't know what to expect. Hey, I laughed. Isn't that good enough?

There Will be Blood (2007) starring Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano, by Paul Thomas Anderson. 

 DUDE, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE.
 DUDE, HE DRANK YOUR MILKSHAKE.
4.5/5 Strong, epic, milkshakes. The only downfall I can find in this movie is that it can occasionally drag on and cause you to lose interest. Other than that, the protagonists are amazingly charismatic and unique; just wonderful to watch. The movie is so intense when it isn't boring, which is a general amount of the time. Sadly, it gets kind of exhausting, having to watch so much power and tension all of the time. But who is complaining? This movie is GOLD. Amazing acting from a well picked cast, brilliant writing and directing from Paul Thomas Anderson, and a general awesome job all around, especially in the score and cinematography. Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano lend strong and often over the top roles to the film, and really make the film special for how it's viewed as special. Strong, often scary words are said and done, giving this movie an amazing edge that other films don't have. This movie is awesome, and don't let anything prevent you from watching this amazing story. 
 
Also, it's okay to laugh.

The Hurt Locker (2009) starring Jeremy Renner, by Katheryn Bigelow.

A laborious, yet strangely intriguing scene, much like the rest of the movie. 
A laborious, yet strangely intriguing scene, much like the rest of the movie. 
3.5/5 Hyped up, yet a bit disappointing. Interesting and relatable characters keep this movie alive, as well as some good writing. The problem here is that the movie seems to not know what it wants to be. It claims to be a drama, but it has tons of tension and action, as well as some social commentary. Hell, I even laughed more than I felt emotion. People prided this movie for it's cinematography and directing, but I found it no better than a movie like the Green Zone; shaky, and a bit too much. The general impression of this film is a nice, big old shrug. It's interesting, and does have some drama that helps you relate more and understand where they're coming from, even though you never would, unless you are or have been a soldier. But again, it just didn't seem like it was enough to make it great or to even properly classify it, because it's even on the edge of being a satire. 
 
 

Punch Drunk Love (2003) starring Adam Sandler, by Paul Thomas Anderson.

      I personally draw a minor comparison to the Great Gatsby, or in general, an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. But that's my opinion.
      I personally draw a minor comparison to the Great Gatsby, or in general, an F. Scott Fitzgerald story. But that's my opinion.

 5/5 Uncomfortable is how life feels when you are as lonely, sad, or had the same problems as protagonist Barry Egan, who struggles his way through like with all the nuisances and inconveniences. Paul Thomas Anderson's directing managed to make this movie a pure piece of lovable and relatable art. He's managed to write an amazing love story as well as make every scene have a voice and reason behind it; every beautiful shot, cut, line, and etc. The camera work was masterfully handled, and made everything feel so right, even if it was ridiculously uneasy. This is also thanks to the score by Jon Brion, who did some fine music; ranging from crazy scrap percussion to nice, smooth jazz music. And of course, the man of the hour, Luiz Guzman. Okay, not him, but Luiz Guzman managed to provide some great comic relief when needed, and didn't step on anything; he was there when he needed to be. The real hero here is Adam Sandler, who gave the performance of his life time. Finally he was able to step aside from his regular comedic regime and try something new. You know what? It worked perfectly; almost too perfectly.  His dramatic and truly sad side were all too real, as well as his outbursts of violence and anger. It's tragically real, and purely beautiful. This movie is excellent.      
 
--- 
Thank you for reading! I will be doing more of these, since they will give me more time to work on these smaller, bite sized reviews now!  
Next week, I plan on reviewing The Wackness, Gentlemen Broncos, The Informant!, Hot Tub Time Machine, and Big Fan. 
Now don't do anything stupid today!
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xyzygy

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Edited By xyzygy

Man I loved There Will Be Blood. Not to mention most of the soundtrack was done by the guitarist of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood. Such an awesome movie in every way and my favorite Daniel Day Lewis performance.

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TheLawnWrangler

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Edited By TheLawnWrangler
@xyzygy: Johnny did the soundtrack?! Christ, the man has talent! Agreed, Lewis was phenomenal. 
 
By the way, out of curiosity, where did your user name originate? If i can recall, Stephen Colbert changed his middle name to something similar to that in order to have his name worth more points with the new rules of Scrabble. Just curious XD
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xyzygy

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Edited By xyzygy
@nofx4208: My name actually is a word, except the word is spelled syzygy. It's an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when three or more constellations eclipse one another. I love anything that has to do with space :P I didn't know Colbert did that! I wonder if it was actually that word... 
 
Do you remember the part in TWBB when  
 
SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.
 
That song was amazing. It's called Convergence.
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TwoOneFive

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Edited By TwoOneFive

i think the Hurt Locker is the most overated movie of the year by far.  
 
its basically Lethal Weapon in Iraq- thats awesome. but not best picture and best director worthy. that was the biggest crock of shit ever. Everyone knows JC deserved the best director oscar. if not him than definitely tarintino. 

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ArchScabby

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Edited By ArchScabby

Haven't seen Hurt Locker, but I thought There Will Be Blood was overhyped.  Although I think when I watched it I wasn't in the right mood.  Maybe I should give it another go.

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TheLawnWrangler

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@TwoOneFive: Agreed, and that's an excellent impression; Lethal Weapon in Iraq. I actually saw some Shawshank Redemption like chemistry going on, but it was just too scattered for me to care too much. I think Tarantino was robbed in general at Oscar night, as well as Reitman for his adaptation award :O 
 
@ArchScabby: it's definitely a movie that demands your attention, and without it, it's just a strange movie that you'll kind of laugh at, but totally disregard if no one spoke about it. I completely suggest a second watch! 
 
@xyzygy: the spoiler box didn't work, but I'll definitely look for that song. And that's really interesting, man. Nice word drop! and I wouldn't be surprised... Colbert is a smarter man than others think
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KaosAngel

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Edited By KaosAngel

If I can be honest, I didn't like Hurt Locker all that much...sure I'm not an elitiest movie snub...but I just thought it was alright.  
 
I think District 9 was a better polished movie and everything that should make it the best movie of 2009, but instead this and Avatar win crap.

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TheLawnWrangler

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Edited By TheLawnWrangler
@KaosAngel: completely agreed, it was far from anything amazing. At first, I didn't think much of District 9, but even District 9 was 10x better than Avatar and the Hurt Locker. 
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TwoOneFive

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Edited By TwoOneFive
@nofx4208 said:
" @TwoOneFive: Agreed, and that's an excellent impression; Lethal Weapon in Iraq. I actually saw some Shawshank Redemption like chemistry going on, but it was just too scattered for me to care too much. I think Tarantino was robbed in general at Oscar night, as well as Reitman for his adaptation award :O 
    
yeah I think James Cameron was robbed more than anyone for best director, but Tarintino was certainly robbed as well if Bigelow won. Sigourney Weaver was right when she said the only reason she won is she is....well, female. I don't mean to take away what a terrific job she did, its just that being female pushed her over the top. nobody will remember this movie ten years from now. Avatar on the other hand...
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Hot_Karl

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Edited By Hot_Karl

I agree with your sentiments on the three films I've seen out of this list (Funeral, Hurt Locker, There Will Be Blood). I think I liked the latter film a bit more than you did, but I'm a huge Daniel Day-Lewis fan, so he can basically do no wrong in my eyes.  
 
Hurt Locker is an odd movie- I saw the film before the "hype" back in September- it was a thought-provoking film for sure, but it wasn't my favorite or the best I had seen that year (District 9 was/still is). A good film, but I'm not sure if it's necessarily a great one. 
 
I'd never seen the original film, but I knew that Funeral had tonal issues and pacing problems when I saw it. It definitely had its moments- the infamous toilet scene with Tracy Morgan automatically washes out the bad taste from Cop Out, while James Marsden was hilarious whenever he was on screen. Still, it was too broad to work. A lot better than other movies of its ilk (Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, any Tyler Perry movie), but I'm still intrigued by the original. I'll watch that one soon. 
 
Lastly, I've been interested in watching Punch-Drunk Love for a while now, but I've never got around to it. It won't happen anytime soon, but someday I'll watch it. Promise. Same goes for Safe Men because as you and I know quite well, Sam Rockwell is amazing and I'll watch just about anything he's in.

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Laharl

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Edited By Laharl

The hurt locker stunk, it was as unrealistic as avatar. 
There will be blood was awesome, lewis is one hell of an actor......A BASTARD IN A BASKET!!!!!!!

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TheLawnWrangler

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Edited By TheLawnWrangler
@Laharl: DRAAAAAAAAIIIIINAGE, Eli, DRAINAGE 
 
@VinceNotVance: i look forward to the two of us RULING THE SCREENED.COM FORUMS 
check out Safe Men and ESPECIALLY Punch Drunk Love... amazing movie from the man who made There Will be Blood :P