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Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
1998 | Horror
Jamie Lee returns!
Coming off the pukefest that was the Curse of Michael Myers, filmmakers had nowhere to go but up.

Seeing Jamie Lee Curtis back as Laurie Strode alongside younger versions of Michelle Williams, Josh Hartnett and Joseph Gordon-Levitt gave me a thrill. Unfortunately, the screenplay is substandard and doesn't really give the characters much to do.

Since she was last seen, Laurie has gone into hiding with her teenage son and is now a teacher at a private school in California still haunted by the events on Halloween 20 years ago.

The last act redeems the film a little with the family reunion and final confrontation being enjoyable and nostalgic; however, when the film ends I still had the feeling like an opportunity to make a truly great horror film was wasted.

  
Inception (2010)
Inception (2010)
2010 | Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Remember Leonardo di Caprio from Titanic?

He's virtually unrecognizable here.

Mind-bending action/adventure by Christopher Nolan - who directed The Dark Knight trilogy - following a team of crooks who specialise in extracting information from their targets subconscious whilst said target is asleep.

When a job goes wrong, Cobb (di Caprio) is thrown a lifeline by his target (Ken Watanabe): rather than stealing information, he wants him to implant an idea in another persons subconscious i.e. Inception.

With a quite impressive cast list - Leonardo di Caprio, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, that-now-grown-up-kid-from-Third-Rock-From-The-Sun (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Cillian Murphy, this might take a while to get going but is undeniably visually impressive once it does!

(snap-poll: does the spinner stop spinning at the very end? Yea or Nay?)
  
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
1999 | Comedy
This modern take on the Shakespeare play ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’.

This follows a group of teenagers through school. When new boy Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) starts up at the school he sees Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) he falls in love. There is a problem with anyone who wants to date Bianca and that is her sister Kat (Julia Stiles) a very angry young lady and their father put a rule on when Kat dates Bianca cane date.

Cameron and Michael (David Krumholtz) come up with a play to trick popular boy Joey (Andrew Keegan) to pay Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat, opening the door for Bianca to date.

Can Patrick tame the shrew?

This is a very good teen comedy filled with young too be star actors in Ledger, Levitt, and Stiles. The story is nicely put together and creates characters that are the good ones are liked and the bad ones are disliked. It also has a very nice soundtrack which keeps the montage scenes going very well. There are some very memorable scenes including the moment where Patrick sings from a crowd to Kat, very funny and heart felt performance.v

https://moviesreview101.com/2012/07/14/10-things-i-hate-about-you-1999/
  
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Kim Pook (101 KP) rated 50/50 (2011) in Movies

Sep 10, 2020  
50/50 (2011)
50/50 (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
7
8.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
After suffering for a while with back pain and night sweats, 27 year old Adam goes to the doctors and discovers he has a rare form of cancer with only a 50% chance of survival. This is a story of how he tries to come to terms with his diagnosis. There's happiness, sadness and of course struggles. It shows the reality of how having cancer can affect not only you but those around you too, including the harsh reality of a loved one walking away because they can't handle it.
The movie was enjoyable for the most part, but I do think they should have just kept it as a drama only, rather than try to make it a comedy too. Joseph Gordon Levitt did a fantastic job, but I felt seth rogens scenes needed toning down, they were too full on for this kind of movie.
  
Project Power (2020)
Project Power (2020)
2020 | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
If you're looking for a straight down the middle-of-the-road action flick, then you're in the right place.

Project Power has a decent concept - a new street drug that gives the user a random superpower for 5 minutes is running rampant in New Orleans. Police officer Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is working hard to shut the whole thing down, whilst Art (Jamie Foxx) has a more personal vendetta against the manufacturers of the drug, and will stop at nothing to get to those at the top.

Now, Jamie Foxx is a damn fine actor, and here is no exception. He carries the film along side Dominique Fishback (a teenage dealer who sort of becomes his sidekick). The two of them share some great chemistry, and gave the film a bit of heart.
The usually reliable Gordon-Levitt however seems so uninterested in what he's doing. Honestly looks and sounds like he just doesn't give a fuck, which is a shame - he's usually a highlight for me!

The CGI in this movie is weird - sometimes it looks pretty decent, other times it looks horrible.
The majority of the final action sequence - good. The big scary bearded guy knocking down thick steel doors - bad.
The woman who turns icy - fairly good. The guy who turns into a big angry monster thing - really really bad, like the first Harry Potter troll bad.
Some of the action is entertaining, but it's nothing we haven't seen before from the up and down X-Men franchise.

Project Power isn't a bad film - it's watchable for the most part, it's just a little underwhelming, and I have no doubt I'll have forgotten it in a few days.
  
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated 7500 (2019) in Movies

Jun 28, 2020  
7500 (2019)
7500 (2019)
2019 | Drama, Thriller
Joseph Gordon-Levitt... outstanding (0 more)
A 'small film' that packs a big punch
I'm not sure if there is an "IQ" table of Hollywood stars, but I would reckon if there is then Joseph Gordon-Levitt would rate pretty highly. Whenever I see him interviewed he comes across as a highly articulate and intelligent bloke. And that intelligence filters through into his choices of movie role. If you look back at his filmography on IMDB the first thing you notice is that his output is pretty sparse and selective, and the next is that the projects he's done mostly deliver a pretty strong hit rate: "500 Days of Summer"; "Inception", "Looper", "The Dark Knight Rises"; "Don Jon".... the list is impressive.

Here he stars (and really stars) in a small German film. It only had a $5 million budget and in some ways it shows: the speaking cast totals about a dozen; the single location used is the cockpit (an Airbus A320 simulator somewhere? Or a set? The production design is so good, it's difficult to tell) ; and the "score" is so minimalistic (a solo piano piece over the end titles) that it doesn't even merit an IMDB music credit!

But in many ways this is a case of 'small is beautiful'. For this is an extremely tense and claustrophobic action picture.

The Plot: German Captain Michael Lutzmann (Carlo Kitzlinger) and American Co-pilot Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are about to pilot an Airbus A320 on a routine flight from Berlin to Paris. By coincidence, also on the flight is Tobias's partner and mother of his son, stewardess Gökce (Aylin Tezel). Shortly into the flight, three terrorists - Kenan (Murathan Muslu), Daniel (Paul Wollin) and youngster Vedat (Omid Memar) - take over the aircraft. Tobias issues a "7500" (hijack in progress) code. All that is protecting the injured pilots and the security of the 80 people on the flight is the cockpit door.

The film starts slowly, building atmosphere through the pre-flight chit-chat between the pilots and a leisurely take-off. I loved this development of character by Oscar-nominated shorts director Patrick Vollrath. But when the action starts, it starts with a bang and continues in truly tense and visceral style. There's a sense of creeping dread when you realise the terrorist's use of hostages to get the door open, and of who the hostages might be.

I note that one of the "thanks" for the film was director Paul Greengrass, who of course made the outstanding 9/11-themed "United 93" back in 2006. It would be fascinating to understand whether this was a "thank-you" for the inspiration the classic film gave Vollrath, or if there was some practical consultancy undertaken there.

Star of the show here is Joseph Gordon-Levitt who delivers a peerless performance as the pilot under extreme stress. Veering cyclically through terror, emotional breakdown and calm 'training-kicking-in' modes, it's a performance that is almost Oscar nomination-worthy in my book. He's on screen for virtually every shot of the film, and really earned his fee here. He makes for a very believable pilot.

I've read other comment that says the terrorists are rather 2-dimensional in their attempts to "do a 9/11". And to a degree I agree. A nice angle though is the relationship that develops between Tobias and young Vedat in the second half of the movie. There's a 'Stockholm Syndrome' vibe going on here, but this never quite gets resolved satisfactorily.

As such, unfortunately this 'back 9' never really quite lived up to the promise of the first 45 minutes for me. And as a single-location story that had nowhere else to go, the abrupt ending will not be to the liking of some I'm sure.

Not to be confused with the 2014 horror "Flight 7500", this is for once a B-movie that's real nail-biter. The movie doesn't pull its punches, and although there is little of the more graphic violence actually shown, the mind can fill in the gaps effectively which makes for some upsetting moments. Although it never quite lives up to its early promise at only 93 minutes it is strongly deserving of your attention. The movie is available for viewing via Amazon-Prime.

(For the full graphical review please check out One Mann's Movies here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2020/06/28/one-manns-movies-film-review-the-7500-2020/ .)
  
Pinocchio (2022)
Pinocchio (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Family
3
5.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Another day, another "live action retelling" of a Disney classic that manages to disappoint. With the exception of Maleficent and most of The Jungle Book (and I guess Aladdin wasn't completely horrible), these Disney remakes have been duds, thanks to the general air of hollow souless-ness that surrounds them. This is precisely the main detriment with Pinocchio. It's existence in the first place invites comparisons to the original, a truly beloved animation. In turn, this remake offers nothing of value. Anything new on display feels vapid, and everything familiar is far superior within the source material. You have to ask "well what was the point"? It was the same with Mulan. It was the same with Cinderella. It was the same with The Lion King, and I have no doubt that it will be the same with Hercules when that eventually arrives. Disney seem content with shitting out lifeless rehashes for a quick buck and it's probably not going to change.
Tom Hanks tries his best. Monstro looks kind of cool. Jiminy Cricket being voiced scarily accurately by Joseph Gordon Levitt is low key hilarious. Otherwise, this movie is only good for fire wood.
  
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
1998 | Horror
A pretty meh reboot.
H20 finds Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role of Laurie Strode. For 20 years she's been in hiding from Michael Myers, she's been staying at a college campus with her son John (Josh Hartnett), but Michael is hunting them down.

H20's plot is less weird than the last couple of outings in the franchise, but it still feels a bit silly. The movie opens up showing Michael Myers doing some investigation to find out where Laurie disappeared to, which it just so happens that the nurse from the original movie had in her house. It was kind of a dumb start, and it never fully recovers from it.
There were 3 different masks used, resulting in obvious differences from shot to shot. One mask was particularly terrible, it looked like a clown mask.
The movie does benefit from a decent supporting cast including the likes of Michelle Williams, LL Cool J, Adam Arkin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and even Janet Leigh.
Tonally, H20 is somewhat cheesy, it shouldn't be taken too seriously, though who would at this point in the series?

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later will entertain fans of the series and horror fans alike. But don't expect it to be anything especially good.
  
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Darren (1599 KP) rated 50/50 (2011) in Movies

Jun 20, 2019  
50/50 (2011)
50/50 (2011)
2011 | Comedy, Drama
9
8.3 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Verdict This comedy drama will make you laugh but it will also make you cry. The actor from everyone is among some of the best you will see with ever character being a believable and someone who everyone could have in their own lives. I found the comedy level is the perfect level to complement the serious nature of the movie. This is a movie that everyone will enjoy it has everything you need in a good movie without have to have anything over the top happening, you should watch this movie.

Story Mark 10/10 Perfect story

 

Comedy Mark 9/10 Light heart comedy on serious issue

 

Friendship Chemistry Mark 10/10 Adam and Kyle look like lifelong friends

 

Romantic Chemistry Mark 9/10 Adam chemistry with Katherine work perfectly and you can see Adam and Rachael falling apart

 

Star Performances Joseph Gordon Levitt he put in one of the best performance of the year and of his career so far.

Anna Kendrick great performance to keeping up her good record of strong performances

Seth Rogen most likely his best performance of his career right up there with his performance in Funny People.

Favourite Character I have to go with Adam just seeing how he deals with the situation is just incredible.

Least Favourite Character Rachael watch and you will see why.

Best Part It’s pretty much perfect never to funny or sad.

Worst Part Hard to find one

Best Quote Adam ‘’See, but… that’s bullshit. That’s what everyone has been telling me since the beginning. “Oh, you’re gonna be okay,” and “Oh, everything’s fine,” and like, it’s not… It makes it worse… that no one will just come out and say it. Like, “hey man, you’re gonna die.”

 

Similar Too – Funny People

https://moviesreview101.com/2011/11/23/5050-2011/
  
Looper (2012)
Looper (2012)
2012 | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
In the world of 2072, it is learned that time travel has been invented and is declared illegal by all the governments of the world. Naturally, the criminal elements of the future embrace the technology. Apparently getting rid of bodies and people in the future is tricky because of innovative tagging and tracking technology.

The criminal bosses of the future send a man named Abe (Jeff Bridges) 30 years into the past to serve the criminals of the future with a new type of hit man called a Looper. In the new film “Looper” Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, a Looper who never lets morals get in the way of his job. He is happy to promptly dispatch anyone sent from the future without a second thought.

Joe is well paid for his work, and is happy to enjoy the drugs and women that come with his job. Yet Joe desires to leave it all one day and travel to France. For a Looper to be retired, he is forced to kill a future version of himself, and in doing so, gets a fantastic retirement payout and 30 years to live it up since that is how long it will take for time travel to be invented. Naturally an older version of yourself cannot be sent back to be killed by your younger self for at least 30 years. But the increase in retirements is a bit disconcerting for Joe.

Things change drastically for Joe when his older self (Bruce Willis), appears and manages to escape before he can be killed by his younger self. For a Looper to have his target escape is a serious infraction, and in no time, Joe finds himself not only hunting his older self, but also on the run from his former friends and allies who have made him both older and younger a priority.

At this point in the film, I was hooked, as my mind raced with twists, possibilities, and the promise of the film. Sadly the momentum grinds to a halt in the second half as the older Joe attempts to ally with his younger self to stop a future crime boss while he is a child. This quickly becomes a very blatant “Terminator” rip off as older Joe attempts to locate and kill children who may be the future crime lord while younger Joe is biding his time hiding from his former associates while protecting a young child and his mother from his older self.

It does not take much thought to see where this is going but sadly the remainder of the movie is underwhelming and disappointing as the film recycles scenarios that we have seen many times before in better movies. The second half lacks any real action and climactic finale to give the audience the well-deserved payoff they waited for.

Willis, Bridges, and Gordon-Levitt do solid work but seem to be going through the motions as they never really earn any sympathy from the audience. Much like last year’s “In Time”, “Looper” has a great premise that starts well and then fails to live up to its potential.