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Orphan (2009)
Orphan (2009)
2009 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
For the Coleman family the idea of adopting a beautiful little Russian orphan girl is no easy task, having overcome a number of heart breaking obstacles from alcoholism to the loss of a child. But Ester (Isabelle Fuhrman) seems to be a perfect fit for the family; she is independent, clever, and interested in the arts. When a series of dangerous yet untraceable events begin to occur whenever Ester is around, the Coleman’s wonder if their bad luck is over.

When I entered the theater I expected a creepy female version of Damien adorned in a lacey Victorian dress. But “Orphan” was surprising and interesting in ways than I ever could have expected. More like the 2002 film “He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not” than part of the “Omen” series, “Orphan” packs a punch… and a stab and a gunshot or two.

The full-bodied story starts straight from the films shocking beginning. Yes at times the plot does take some significant suspended belief, a recently recovering alcoholic adopting a child, for instance.

But “Orphan” is an emotional roller coaster splicing unexpected comedic moments with stabbing suspense.
The mix of hauntingly familiar music and color filled imagery make this not just another suspense film but a more artistic take on the genre. Film themes range from love, trust, and childhood, to the ongoing questions of good and evil.

Additionally reoccurring use of color, sex, and connection to family are well woven into the film. Not to mention the use of classic horror elements such as the creepy tree house used in conjunction with newer style choices such as some subtitling and scare turned laughter moments.

A thrilling and full-bodied story “Orphan” is a chilling tale with an interesting while not entirely believable plotline. People will talk about this one.

The DVD release offers sharp sound and picture quality and numerous bonus features including an alternate ending to the film.
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies

Nov 4, 2019 (Updated Nov 4, 2019)  
Joker (2019)
Joker (2019)
2019 | Crime, Drama
The Killing Joke
I finally saw Joker yesterday with a full crowd of people in the theater. Which i was surpise of because it has been out for a month now. But the crowd and i loved Joker.

This is my favorite movie so far of this year. It is psychological, horrorfying, and it takes the Joker charcter on a whole nother level. Joker takes place in the 80's and as a origin movie, Joker is dark, twisted, moody, and terrorfying movie.

Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy and Robert De Niro are excellent in this movie. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Frances Conroy should get nomiated for the oscars.

Joaquin Phoenix takes elements from Cesar Ramero's Joker, Jack Nicolson's Joker and Heath Ledgar and make its it his own. His laugh is perfect. Its scary and so phenomal.

Lets talk about the plot: Forever alone in a crowd, failed comedian Arthur Fleck seeks connection as he walks the streets of Gotham City. Arthur wears two masks -- the one he paints for his day job as a clown, and the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel like he's part of the world around him. Isolated, bullied and disregarded by society, Fleck begins a slow descent into madness as he transforms into the criminal mastermind known as the Joker.

The way their protray Gotham City in the 80's is perfect. Gotham City, this time is New York City and I think thats perfect.

Joker is the first live-action theatrical Batman film to receive an R-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, due to its violent and disturbing content. It is also the best DC film since The Dark Knight Rises.

Joker is a memorizing movie, it is psychological, it is twisted, dark and gloomy.

Joker is a highly reccordmend movie, if you havent seen it yet, than i highly reccordmend you see it.
  
The Good Liar (2019)
The Good Liar (2019)
2019 | Drama
Acting (2 more)
Actors
Story
Unexpected violence (2 more)
Unexpected adult themes
One random scene of nudity for no reason
A Good-ish Thriller
I had the pleasure of attending the premiere of "The Good Liar" on November 6 in New York City. (I won a sweepstakes to attend.) I was already interested in seeing the movie, but getting to watch it in a theater full of the people who made the movie was thrilling.

"The Good Liar" is the story of two people in their 70's who meet on a dating app. The man, played by Sir Ian McKellen, is clearly a con man. We get to see him interact with the woman - a fantastic Dame Helen Mirren - with a certain old man, kind hound-dog attitude, then immediately leave the room and work on a scam to steal thousands of pounds from unlucky rubes.

It seems, at face value, that he is indeed a good liar. But things are not always clear cut in a game of shells, and although we don't know what Helen Mirren's character is doing, it starts to become clear that she hasn't been completely honest about herself...

I won't spoil anything else in the plot: this is the kind of movie that unravels slowly as it builds with twists and turns. You should go into it with no more knowledge than what I've posted above.

If that was it - if the whole movie was a fun cat-and-mouse game between two phenomenal actors - I would have given it a higher score. But the movie also has a dark underbelly that surprised me and turned me off a bit. There is one gratuitous shot of nudity at the beginning of the film that makes little narrative sense and feels shoehorned in. There are a few moments of unexpected, brutal violence. And the reveal at the end relates to adult themes that left me feeling unsettled when the movie ended.

In short, I liked the movie quite a lot, but I wouldn't recommend it to my mom.
  
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
2016 | Horror
Horror and Suspense movies always intrigued me, especially the ones based on true events or are historically based. The fact that it happened to someone actually made me more invested in the story and prompted me to think of the ways that I would deal with that situation should it arise. After watching The Conjuring 2, I hope that day never happens.

Conjuring 2 finds us catching up with Ed and Lorraine Warren as they travel to Enfield, England to help a family suffering from a paranormal encounter. After gaining a measure of fame for their experience, the Hodgson family is sought out by the Catholic Church and the Warrens in order to determine if the incidents are real or fabricated. They discover that this case pushes them to the limits of their faith and results in them becoming the targets of this demonic possession.

The film itself is a stronger story, filled with more suspense and depth than the first film and goes far beyond Annabelle, which, at times had me not connect at all with the family and I found myself cheering for the doll. The chemistry between Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring, Insidious series) and Vera Farmiga (The Departed, The Conjuring) and Frances O’Connor drive the story and ensure that audiences become invested within the storyline and circumstances and not just for the “frights.”

Sequels can often be plagued with problems, tropes, and going overboard with certain themes and ideas in order to retain its core audience. This is not the case with The Conjuring 2. The story and approach are fresh. Aspects of the film are not predictable. There are no massive holes within the plot. Time was invested within the writing and filming to ensure a solid story, suspense, and impact on viewers beyond their exit from the theater. The Conjuring series looks as though it is just getting started. Personally, I look forward to the remaining stories of the Warren family even if it means sleeping with the lights on after viewing.
  
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
2011 | Action, Adventure
Captain America: The First Avenger is a return to form for the Marvel comic-book film universe, and a solid final lead-up to the multi-hero film The Avengers, coming next year.

Chris Evans does a fantastic job of introducing us to the wiry little guy with guts who eventually becomes Captain America. Such unashamed, honest virtue is different from the typical superhero movie we’ve come to see over the last few years, and for good reason: internal conflicts often make for dramatic films. However, I don’t think such unwavering idealism would have worked with any other comic-book character than Captain America. Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones add heart to the movie, but the soul of this movie really is the Captain. Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull plays a satisfying villain here, but his motives aren’t clarified enough to warrant his fervor for evil. Hayley Atwell, playing love interest and British agent Peggy Carter does a more convincing job in her role than Hugo Weaving does in his.

The plot of the film was pretty standard fare. Hero battles villain. The ending was more climactic and earnest than I had expected walking into the theater, and it gracefully sets up the Avengers movie. Like many of the other Marvel movies of recent note, there is a decent amount of self-deprecating comic book humor that helps break up the slower parts between action scenes.

The effects of the film were solid. They were pulpy enough to feel like a Marvel universe, rather than our own, but they still carried the action to an exciting level. The art department and cinematographer did a good job recreating the 40’s asthetic throughout the film, though there was enough exotic comic book elements to bring you back into a world where superheroes really do exist.

Despite its own flaws, this is one of the better Marvel films to come out since Iron Man, and count me in to watch The Avengers next year.
  
Beastly (2011)
Beastly (2011)
2011 | Drama, Sci-Fi, Romance
4
6.6 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The beauty and the beast story has officially entered the world of modern fashion in the new film Beastly. In this adaptation we meet Kyle (Alex Pettyfer) a rich kid who believes that a handsome exterior is all that counts in this world. That is until he slights emo student witch Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen). Kyle soon finds himself with a beastly appearance, cursed until he can overcome his new fractured form and make someone fall in love with him. Adding to the cast is Kyle’s love interest and all around nice girl, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens). Also notable is Kyle’s mentor/tutor Will played by Neil Patrick Harris.

Sticking closely to the predictable and extremely overdone plot, Beastly offers audiences very little they have not seen before. Kyle is overdramatic. Lindy is suspiciously like the character Vanessa Hudgens played in “High School Musical”. And we learn that Neil Patrick Harris, while always funny, does not play a convincing blind man.

The film does have good scenery and a soundtrack that is high school appropriate. Moreover, the wardrobe is strikingly impressive. But trite dialogue and poorly paced emotional cues give the film a juvenile comedic result. Beastly is amusing and a little funny, however it completely misses the emotional connection expected from a teen adaptation of a famous romantic tale.

Further distracting from the film’s romantic plot are the numerous hollow side stories and plethora of unnecessary character details. From the sudden trip to Kyle’s family cabin to the violent fight between Lindy’s father and a drug dealer, the movie includes numerous scenes that should have been cut.

But still, even with all the downsides, I had no interest in leaving the theater, because Beastly was a high budget train wreck. Not unlike a B-movie in quality and dialogue yet with an impressive budget, an Olsen sister, and some serious face tattoos, “Beastly” is simply cheesy.
  
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Judy Greer recommended Singles (1992) in Movies (curated)

 
Singles (1992)
Singles (1992)
1992 | Comedy, Drama, Romance

"I think I’m going to go with Singles, and it’s because of a very specific time in my life. Soundtrack is really important to me, and I’m a child of ’90s grunge. That movie was Seattle, Nirvana, Pearl Jam — it’s the greatest soundtrack. My favorite band was Smashing Pumpkins and my favorite song by Smashing Pumpkins is “Drown,” and that’s on there. Plus, I loved all the different storylines being woven together. I love Cameron Crowe, and the idea of these people living in Seattle and looking for love. I was a senior in high school when it came out. I mean, I saw it in the theater like three times. I was like, “Oh my God, this is gonna be my life. I’m gonna move out of my parents’ house, and I’m gonna go and try to make it in the city somewhere, and it’s gonna be like this.” And, you know, Bridget Fonda as Janet was just the greatest character. I was like, “I’m gonna be like her. I am kind of like her. But not the pathetic parts of her, the great parts of her.” But everyone was just was trying to find themselves, find love, find a career, find a path, find their life. It was really aspirational for me at the time that it came out, so it really scratches that itch that I had then, and it will always be that meaningful to me. I recently made my husband watch it. I can’t remember if he had seen it or if he just didn’t remember it, but I just could tell, even though he loved it and appreciated it, like, it didn’t kill him the way it killed me. And you know, he was like, “Yeah, no, it’s good. I like it.” But he is obsessed with Almost Famous, and I love Almost Famous, but that was more meaningful for him. Singles is just… the movie, the music, the time, the look, the actors, the wardrobe, the backdrop of Seattle. Just all of it."

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The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
1964 | Biography, Drama, History
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Next choice I’d say would be The Gospel According to St. Matthew, by Pasolini. I saw that movie for the first time when I was 23 years old. I’d gone to church every Sunday and catechism every week for my whole childhood, but I never paid attention; I was always daydreaming in church — and all of a sudden I went to go see this movie, and I knew everything in the movie. I guess all of my Catholic upbringing I had absorbed through some sort of osmosis. Here was this movie which was this Biblical story which was told so beautifully: the cinema was so simple and so beautiful. He had, you know, Odetta playing “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” as the three wise men found Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. It was, you know… I started sweating while I was watching the movie. The whole left side of my body went numb while I was watching, and I was sure that I was having a heart attack. It was all that I could do — you know, I didn’t want to because it was the greatest movie I’d ever seen — but it was all I could do to crawl out of the movie theater and knock on the projectionist’s door and ask him if I could call my girlfriend. I called my girlfriend and told her I thought I was dying, ’cause I was seeing the greatest movie I’d ever seen, and she showed up. I remember it had been snowing in Colorado and she had all this dirty snow on the roof of her car and I was eating all this dirty snow because my mouth was just parched. And I remember being in the emergency room and thinking that when the doctor walks through, if he looked like Jesus from The Gospel According to St. Matthew, I knew that meant I was dead. Fortunately the guy didn’t look anything like Jesus."

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