Blue Valentine (2010)

During the 26th Annual Sundance Film Festival in January 2010, many films were introduced to the world. Many films that went on to do well among public audiences. Films such as Winter’s Bone, Waiting for Superman & Happythankyoumoreplease. Another film, directed by Derek Cianfrance, entitled Blue Valentine also seemed to get a lot of attention due to its deep drama induced story about a married couple played by Ryan Gosling & Michelle Williams. After a good showing at Sundance as well as other festivals, Blue Valentine finally found its way into theaters nationwide.

The story begins with the couples’ daughter Frankie (Faith Wladyka) looking for her dog, Megan, who has gotten out of the yard. After not finding her, she wakes up her father, Dean (Ryan Gosling) who playfully disturbs the slumber of his wife, Cindy (Michelle Williams). The audience is then introduced to the occupation of both; Cindy is a nurse while Dean is a painter. Like every other married couple, they go through their trials and tribulations as we are taken through a routine day in their life. The story is filmed in such a way that shows the two as they are in the present while flashing back to tell the origin of how they came to be.

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Takers (2010)

With all of the films chronicling the schemes and usually well thought out plans of bank robbers and thieves, the introduction of Takers didn’t really have me too excited.  The only difference that I could really see judging from all of the trailers and sneak peeks were that these particular robbers were very well dressed.  The John Luessenhop directed project takes us into the lives of a pretty close knit bunch living the high life and reaping the benefits of their chosen illegal career field.

            The team of takers consist of a rather ensemble cast headed up by Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba).  His second in command and best friend, John (Paul Walker), helps to run their crew of determined heister's.  The film begins with the group about to pull off another job on an unsuspecting banking establishment.  They are crisp, fast, strategic and downright perfect in their execution of obtaining their goal without managing to hurt any innocent patrons or employees.  Detectives Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) & Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez) are the police officials assigned to the case.  Both cop with their own personal story among the many sub-plots included in this film.

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January 25th DVD Releases

The action comedy Red leads the new release charge this week along with The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by its side.  Disney's Secretariat also races across the release finish line to entertain families from their DVD players.  Much to many movie goers delight, Saw: The Final Chapter signifies the end of the franchise as well to a cease fire on grossing people out.  For Russell Crowe fans, one of his finest, A Beautiful Mind releases on Blu-ray.  Other great films are The Color Purple & Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Happy viewing!

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Tron: Legacy (2010)

Almost three whole decades after its predecessor, Disney brings us back to the grid with Tron: Legacy. Funny as it may seem, the special effects used to create the virtual world in the original film was seen as some pretty state-of-the-art stuff back in 1982. It almost seems kind of unfair to compare to it to this sequel. Technology has taken a giant step or two in the last thirty years or so. The grid, as Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) calls it, is now brought to us in crisp 3-D.

Since creating the uber-popular video game, Tron, Flynn has taken over the company known as ENCOM. He has turned it into a very likeable and successful software giant until he mysteriously disappears. His son, Sam (Garret Hedlund), has no plans on filling his father’s shoes despite owning controlling shares in the international empire. After Flynn’s disappearance, the higher-ups in the company begin to take it in a direction that he had never intended. Despite not wanting a part in fixing the company, Sam occasionally drops in to make the developers who work there jobs a little tough.

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January 18th DVD Releases

Takers comes to us on DVD this week which according to some females is filled with "man candy".  Ryan Reynolds lays in a box in Buried. Bobby DeNiro, Milla Jovovich & Edward Norton Jr. in Stone and Timothy Olyphant's performance in the 1st season of Justified.  Also a primetime soap opera classic, Dallas, releases it's 14th season on DVD.  Yeah, 14th.  Death Race sequel and the comedy about "losing it", The Virginity Hit drop as well.  Go get 'em!

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The Golden Network?

                I am aware that I am not on the committee that chooses the nominees and the winners of such award shows as the Oscars, Critic Choice Awards and the Golden Globes.  Neither are the insightful and film savvy amateur critics that I share my love of movies with.  But I can still put in my two cents where I see fit.

                I am not in dislike of the screenplay written by Aaron Sorkin for Faceboook origin story, The Social Network, nor did I dislike the overall film.  I actually enjoyed the movie directed by David Fincher by I don’t think it was the absolute best of last year’s big screen pictures.

                As everyone may very well know by now, the film took home four awards from the Golden Globes.  I did not stay up to watch the entire program but I was surely not expecting it to win so many.  I did anticipate it would capture a couple of awards in the major film categories, but 4?  Especially being placed up against another film that I personally thought was the Movie of the Year for 2010.

                You can probably guess which one that is without me even hinting at it but I’m going to tell you anyway.  The mind tingling project written and directed by one Christopher Nolan was well deserved of its numerous nominations.  I was hoping the committee which apparently is the Hollywood Foreign Press Association that chooses these things would also be aware.  Inception seemed to be shunned during these awards and was held without a win in any category in which it was nominated.

                No, the film wasn’t perfect, not many are.  But it was very well near to being so.  These two movies are slightly and vastly different on a couple levels.  One being that Inception is more of a film that challenges the mind.  It makes you think, makes you wonder and just simply forces you to pay attention to it.  It jumps around the screen screaming “Look at me, look at me!”.  The Social Network also demands your concentration but in a different way.  It’s a true story that depicts real life drama unfolding before your eyes.

                I respectfully disagree with these decisions but I suppose that is what award shows are all about, aren’t they?  I personally do not really care for the glare and glamour that they consist of.  Sure some of the jokes and antics are quite funny and amusing.  But I would simply like to know who won what and leave it at that.  But that’s just me.  How about spreading the wealth a little?  That’s all I ask, especially to those who really deserve it.  Now on the Super Bowl of film award shows, The Oscars.

And Now, Without further Ado...

I am very proud to announce the much long-awaited return of my fiction story, "Another Chance" Cafe.  As I stated before, I have moved it over to Movie Sense's sister-blog, Pointless Scribble.  I apologize for such the long hiatus.  So in order to keep up with the ongoing tale, just simply click on its link to the right over there, kick back, relax and feel free to become entrenched.  Take a sec to also follow this new blog as well and tell all of your friends and family.  I will continue to keep putting out film reviews and discussions on this one as well so do not fret.  I hope the next part of the story suits your liking.  Enjoy...

The Green Hornet (2011)

With this summer already set to be jam packed full of super hero stories which production companies all hope will become super blockbusters, 2011 begins with a different type of hero. The popular character, The Green Hornet, which was brought to audiences in many different production markets throughout the early 1900s and originally created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker meets new foes…in 3-D.

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the party happy and neglected as a child son of media mogul James Reid (Tom Wilkinson). Britt’s father, who wrote and published articles about the crime and corruption taking over the city of Los Angeles, unexpectedly dies and leaves his newspaper publication to his irresponsible son. After grasping the fact that his father is gone forever and a seemingly innocent prank turns violent, Britt realizes that he needs to do more with his life.

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The Girl who Played with Fire (2009)

The famous Lisbeth Salander has returned along with all of the complicated character attributes that her personality carries. Stieg Larsson’s second installment in his Swedish Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, continues the intriguing story of Salander and her criminal-journalist friend, Mikael Blomkvist. After the opening chapter, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, proved to be so successful, audiences couldn’t wait for this equally compelling sequel.

After Blomkvist is released from prison and Lisbeth takes up an indefinite absence from the world, she continually checks in on her rapist parole officer Nils Erik Bjurman (Peter Andersson). She threatens him to make sure he keeps up his role of their agreement to continue writing positive reports about her. Having had enough, Bjurman hires an unknown figure to “take care of her” for him. As this shady deal is coming together, a new journalist who has been recently welcomed onto Blomkvist’s team at Millennium, is found murdered along with his girlfriend. The two were planning on writing and releasing an expose about illegal sex trafficking along with all of its orchestrators and participants.

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Even More Trailers!!

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January 11th DVD Releases

January The controversial but also weirdly inspirational story of Facebook and its creator, Mark Zuckerberg, hits shelves this week.  Along with it, one of Kevin Costner's greatest, and longest, roles, Dances with Wolves, joins another acting great, Boby DeNiro, in one of his most memorable films, Raging Bull.  Can't forget about the Spring Break horror remake, Pirahna and if you like television series' that are on DVD, great week for you, because there are a plethra of them dropping tomorrow.  Enjoy!

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True Grit (2010)

Filmmaking brothers Joel & Ethan Cohen take up the reigns of their latest film to put out their adaptation of the 1968 novel, True Grit, written by Charles Portis.  The first film adapted from the novel shares the same title and stars western film vet John Wayne himself in the lead role of  U.S. Marshall Rueben Cogburn.  The Cohen Brothers have made it clear that their goal with this film was to make as close to the original story contained in the novel as possible.  Steven Spielberg also shares producing duties on this project. 

                Jeff Bridges takes up the role of old, fat and usually drunk U.S. Marshall Rueben “Rooster” Cogburn who is chosen by 14-year old Mattie Ross (Hallie Steinfeld) to pursue and catch fugitive Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) who murdered her father.  During her search for a suitable lawman to take up this task, she comes across Texas Ranger LaBoeuf who is in his own hunt for Chaney to obtain an award that is up for his capture. 

After consistently being turned down to accompany Cogburn on his quest for Chaney, Mattie sets out after him only to find that he has made a deal with LaBoeuf to split the reward money.  They reluctantly allow her to come with them as they search for her father’s killer.  On

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Jersey Shore: Season 3

It's 2011 and that means one thing...Season 3 of Jersey Shore!  Ok, maybe the New Year means a lot more than "GTL". But for at least tomorrow night, nothing else on television will quite grasp the attention of the fans of the six italian roommates as they mark their return to Seaside Heights, NJ.  Much anticipated new exploits and of course drama will be on full display as they find themselves dwelling within the same walls they did about a year and a half ago.  After the second consecutive early departure from the ousted Angelina last season, new roommate Deena takes her place and makes quite the early splash on the scene the very first day.  As witnessed on the Season 3 sample aired on Mtv, she shows Mike "The Situation" a little bit more of herself than she intended as well as getting into it with the super couple, Sammie & Ronnie.  Judging from the Season 3 trailer, it seems like this third round will prove to be even wilder and more out of control than the first two.  Yes, the shore will once again never be the same as the gang crashes into town to fist pump, find girls that are "DTF" and by all means avoid grenades.  Back to Jersey, Back to Crazy!!...