Reviews by James B.

Life, death, sex, religion. The Meaning of Life has it all, including the meaning of life. The first Monty Python movie I have seen and it was awesome! Monty Python takes on the biggest question of all time: What is the meaning of life? And drags it out into IV 1/2 sections. My favorite film genre of all time has got to be British comedy's, so naturally I enjoyed this movie. You never know what to expect from a this film, from a half-time show to a musical number about sperm. So bring a bucket, and a sense of humor, you'll need it. 8.0

Depression makes for good movies. Million Dollar Baby deserved every Oscar it got, it even deserved maybe even more. All the actors delivered excellent performances, especially Hilary Swank as Maggie. It's not even the main actors who do great performances, the guy who plays Danger is great too. Million Dollar Baby in the beginning is a very predictable. Maggie is poor and she is really good and she becomes famous. Then it takes an unexpected turn and I'll let you find out the rest for yourself. 9.4

It was a good movie, but I felt it tried too hard to be "Saving Private Ryan" at parts. I also felt there were too many characters. Someone dies in the beginning and everybody in the movie is sad, but you just feel indifferent. I did like the acting though. Another thing I didn't like was, half-way through the movie, we go back to this guy interviewing a veteran. They haven't been doing it all throughout the movie, so why start now? And it doesn't happen again for another half an hour. Pretty unnecessary, if you ask me. It's not as good as Letter from Iwo Jima, but still pretty good. You would probably be able to tell it was Eastwood if it didn't tell you. There something about Clint's movies that make them feel, I dunno, Clint Eastwoodish. 7.7

Let me start off with this, romantic comedies usually always suck. The main character is usually the girl, and she's usually dumb, blond, or both. But (500) Days of Summer was a unique addition to the romantic comedy genre. For one, the characters are easy to relate to. Another thing that separates this movie from other Romantic Comedies is it's actually funny. And not funny because it's bad either. My favorite part was the expectations/reality scene. I don't think anyone in the history of cinema has ever done anything like that. Before I saw this, a lot of people were saying it was snubbed at the Oscars, and I agree. It was a great movie, but a lot of times the academy doesn't pick the best movies. My suggestion is: If you are not an emotionless troll, see this movie. 8.9

I've said it before, depression makes for good movie. This is the most depressing movies I have ever seen, and it's also one of the best. The Pianist is flawless. I hard as I try, I can not think of anything bad to say about it. Adrien Brody's performance is one of the best I've ever seen. Beautifully directed and choreographed. Roman Polanski may be a pervert, but he is an amazing film maker. It's hard to watch, but at the same time, hard to stop watching. Once you start watching it, you need to know what happens to this character, and even though it pains you, you have to finish it. In the end, this film will leave you speechless. It's intense, suspenseful and powerful. A definite must-watch. 9.9

They said it was risky to have one character throughout the whole movie. But with an actor like Tom Hanks, how can you go wrong? You can't. Cast Away is an amazing movie. It's kind of like 2001. It so quiet that sometimes, you just get lost in it. There is probably more character development in this movie than in any other movie I've seen, and there's pretty much one character! The character from the beginning of the movie and the character in the end seem like two completely different people. Don't try to deny the fact that you were at least a little sad when he lost Wilson. It is underrated and was snubbed. My suggestion: See it. I don't care how, rent it, buy, get it off netflix or whatever. Just see it, you won't regret it. 9.5

Although, it was my third favorite film on the best picture list (behind District 9 and Basterds), there was no doubt in my mind that this would win best picture. Sure, Avatar was innovative, but "The Hurt Locker" won for the same reason "Platoon" won. It was real. It didn't bullshit around like "G.I. Joe" (I hope I never see that movie again), but it was actually based on experiences of a guy who went to Iraq. Jeremy Renner was great, as a ballsy guy who finally gets some sense knocked into him. Actually the whole cast does a really great job. I think I need to watch the ending again, I'm not sure I really got it the first time. So my suggestion is: See it. And if you don't take my word, you're going to end up watching it eventually. 9.2

They had a good idea, but they ruined it. The people don't even "not lie" they just talk too much. The waiter didn't HAVE to tell him she was way out of his league, not saying it wouldn't exactly making him a liar. I also thought the part when his mom dies, was kind of depressing. It's the kind of thing you'd expect from a Clint Eastwood movie. It had its good parts where it made you laugh a bit, but not good enough. I thought the movie had potential, but failed to fulfill it. Finally, how the hell did no one else EVER discover lying. I find that stupid. Anyways, that wasn't a great review, it was just me rambliing on, but there you go. 4.3

I did not like this movie. Mos Def was the closest to comic relief this movie got. It is dull, cliched, and confusing. A bunch of times I kept thinking I'd missed a scene. There is no back-round story to the main character, which makes a lot of the scenes confusing. The story is one you might find on a season of 24. Only 24 adds suspense, and good action sequences. In this movie it's just them walking around most of the time. The only thing I liked about this movie were the performances of Bruce Willis and Mos Def. Other than that, it was a suspense-less, snore-fest, not worth your time. 1.2

Avatar, with dragons!

How to Train Your Dragon has incredible visuals. But it seems these guys and James Cameron seemed to have had the same idea, and by that I mean the screenplays are the same.It was actually pretty funny too, something that kids and adults will both like. It was very predictable, which made me remember how much I hate kids movies ending. The good guys win, everyone thinks the main character's dead, then he's alive, yada yada yada. But overall it was a very entertaining, and the 3-D effects are great. My suggestion: See it on the big screen while you still can, great in 3-D and also great if you have kids. 8.3