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Brian Raferty recommended Election (1999) in Movies (curated)

 
Election (1999)
Election (1999)
1999 | Comedy

"Granted, it’s a little shameless for the guy who wrote a book on 1999 movies to include a pair of entries from that year on his list. But whenever I made a top ten for that year, these are the two films that constantly duked it out for the number one and number two slots. One’s a tightly structured, egalitarian high-school-set comedy that’s as wise about the nightmares of adolescence as it is about the doldrums of middle age; the other’s a happily absurd fable of reinvention that’s part sci-fi, part broad comedy, part media satire. But both are remarkably kind to their flawed heroes, and each one wrestles with the kinds of social and cultural dilemmas—from identity theft to burn-it-all-down political posturing—we’d be dealing with two decades later."

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Revolutionary Road (2008)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
2008 | Drama
The acting (0 more)
Dull storyline (0 more)
So boring!
As their eyes meet across the room at a party, April and Frank hit it off and dance together. They become a couple and get married, unfortunately their marriage is problematic, they are always arguing and Frank is sleeping around. As an attempt to rekindle their marriage and start fresh, Frank and April decide to move to Paris.
First off, the acting in this movie is fantastic but that's a given as they were brill in Titanic. The storyline itself though, I found pretty boring, it just didn't feel like there was much of a storyline other than the story of a couple in a loveless marriage, and it wasn't interesting enough to keep me engaged. It's one of those movies I can recommend for a good performance, but I can't recommend it for its story sadly.
  
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
1988 | Classics, Documentary, Documentary
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Another documentary. [Director Errol Morris has] got so many movies that I love and there are so many other documentaries that I love too. But The Thin Blue Line is interesting to choose right now because now there is a resurgence of true crime documentaries — a lot of them [are] series like Making a Murderer or The Jinx. But Thin Blue Line was kind of the original true crime documentary that really sort of made you question police tactics and I think anyone who’s into Making a Murderer or Serial or The Jinx — or any of these shows right now, and podcasts — and hasn’t seen Thin Blue Line should check that out. It’s just a well-made movie in general but it’s also a fascinating story of a crime that someone may or may not have done."

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Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020)
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020)
2020 | Action, Horror, Thriller
Was a little wary heading into this one as Train to Busan is one of the best movies I've seen over the past decade and maybe one of the best I've ever seen. Still, was excited when the opening credits began and we were off on another adventure. The film does a great job of keeping the action and excitement coming, but everything is watered down compared to the first film. The character development is weaker, as is the plot. You're not able to fully connect with the characters the way you were in Train to Busan. Don't get me wrong. There are a few moments in Peninsula that will tug at your heartstrings, but they feel formulaic and forced here, where they just seemed a natural part of the original's story. Still, two hours well spent.
  
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Fantasy
Almost certainly one of the best three Bill & Ted movies. The amiable rockers (now middle-aged and not exactly successful) discover they really do have to write the song that will save the world, or reality will explode.

More of the same as the first three, really: either deceptively clever or deceptively stupid, depending on where you're standing, with very funny performances from Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, who spend most of the film acting opposite themselves in increasingly outlandish prosthetic make-up. Rather generously, much of the film is given to their daughters, in a plotline leading up to a rather predictable climactic twist (clearly, white dudes are not capable of doing anything worthwhile any more). The message of the world coming together through song rings a bit false right now, but that's hardly the movie's fault). Amusing and difficult to dislike.
  
The Yards (2000)
The Yards (2000)
2000 | Drama
5
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
For Family
The Yards- is a decent crime drama thriller with a good cast. I think the cast is good, just needed a bit more crime and thrills. Needed that action. Thats this movies down-side that it doesnt have enough of crime, thrills and action. Its also slow and takes it time.

The plot: After serving time in prison for taking the fall for a group of his friends, Leo just wants to get his life back on track. So he goes to the one place he thinks will be safe -- home. There he takes a new job with his highly connected and influential uncle. But in the yards, where his uncle now pulls the strings, safe is not how they do business. Unwittingly, he's drawn into a world of sabotage, high stakes payoffs and even murder.

Its okay.
  
All the President's Men (1976)
All the President's Men (1976)
1976 | Classics, Drama, History
Superior movie that still sets the gold standard for recent-fact-based-drama and heroic-journalists-investigate-corruption movies. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are assigned to what looks like just a weird break-in at the Watergate offices of the Democratic party, but discover a trail that ultimately incriminates some very big names indeed.

Proof that you can make a gripping thriller without actually including a single car chase or fist-fight; much of the film is people on the telephone making notes, but it's still a captivating story. Solid performances, decent structure, perhaps lacks a big climax, but you can see its influence on many other acclaimed films since (The Post and Spotlight are cut from the same cloth, and in the former case features some of the same figures). And yet Rocky still won the Oscar. Conspiracy!!!
  
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007)
2007 | Action, Comedy, Horror
7
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I used to be a plumber
Jack brooks: monster slayer pays homage to movies like Evil dead, from dusk till dawn & gremlins.

After witnessing his family's brutal murder as a child, he grows up with an unquenching fury he is constantly fighting.
After accidentally unleashing an ancient evil during a plumbing job, his client/professor (Robert Englund) becomes possessed and mutates into a gruesome monster with an undying hunger.
This results in Jack facing his fears he can no longer run from and discover the purpose of his inner rage.

This is a great movie that honestly pays off, a low budget project that deserves a franchise.

Starring Trevor Mathews & Robert Englund

Story by: John Ainslie; Jon Knautz; Trevor Matthews; Patrick White
Directed by: Jon Knautz
Release date: October 9, 2007 (Sitges Film Festival); July 25, 2008 (Canada); August
  
The Mummy (2017)
The Mummy (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure
Before my week off I managed to squeeze in a screening of The Mummy before whizzing home. I was a little bit on the come down from stress, but I don't think it massively changed my mind that I was confused by this movie. I really wish everyone had left off with the "it's a reboot" thing. Say it's a reimagining of the mummy monster movie, but saying it's a reboot really makes you want to compare to the original, and quite frankly, every mummy movie is a bad knock off of the original. I liked some of it... That's as enthusiastic as I can get about it. The ending for me was too bizarre. And afterwards when I looked into it leading in to the Dark Universe... well, I wept a little for classic monster movies.
  
Every Day (2018)
Every Day (2018)
2018 | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
6
7.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A shy teenager falls for someone who transforms into another person every day.



David Levithan knows how to write around good subject matter. Consistently pleasing novels that make excellent movies. And this one was no exception to that.

The feel good factor about this one is high. And while I love a good romance I find it difficult to believe that even a hormonal teenager would choose to believe such a wild story.

"I wake up every morning in someone else's body." A plot point with lots of potential story lines. But lots that I think I would have enjoyed more than this. That fact doesn't take away that I enjoyed this a lot.

A film with no end and no beginning though... why are you guys doing this to me? Where was the origin story? Where was some resolution?