In
2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the US mortgage market. In
their research they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
Brilliantly staged and cast drama manages to show and explain the reasons for the international financial crisis 2007-2008 and expose its perpetrators, fast-paced and tinged with irony, although it doesn't shy away to reveal the tragic dimensions of this historic event.
An astronaut undertakes a mission across an unforgiving solar
system to uncover the truth about his missing father and his doomed
expedition that now, 30 years later, threatens the universe.
Brad Pitt is magnificent as the calm, withdrawn astronaut in this visually striking sci-fi adventure, but the Daddy angle and its finale sure drags the whole experience down.
A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and
success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's
Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.
This Tarantino movie shows all the panache, high production quality, good set pieces, cinematic allusions and top performances and cameos, for which the director is generally celebrated, - so there's lots to be found here to please the senses - but it's essentially without a plot and therefore outstays its welcome; it's very superficial and mainly a buddy movie with outstanding DiCaprio and Pitt chemistry combined with a heavy streak of nostalgia for a bygone Hollywood era - and the Manson family (plus Sharon Tate) angle is cynically pitched in as a stilted plot device.
A grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945.
Although the horrors of war are depicted with more visceral detail and realism, well cast and with excellent cinematography, this is still an old-fashioned WWII war drama with a heroic ending.
In 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a
female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines,
and when they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the
pressures of war.
Old-fashioned WWII espionage romance
drama has a good cast and production value, but doesn't quite convince
as it only partially reveals its mystery.
On rewatching: Still good to watch, but one does wish a happy ending for Marion Cotillard.
In 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a
female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines, and when they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the
pressures of war.
Old-fashioned WWII espionage romance drama has a good cast and production value, but doesn't quite convince as it only partially reveals its mystery.
A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.
Fascinating left-field (and downbeat) thriller plays out its plot like an ancient tragedy about guilt and fate; excellently directed with a stellar cast of characters.
Maltin*1/2: "Grimly fascinating train wreck of a movie. Novelist Cormac McCarthy, in his first screenplay, provides an all-star cast with dialogue so dense it's indecipherable...Opens with a sexy sequence under the bed-sheets with him [Michael Fassbender] and Cruz, but it's downhill from there. Fetishists might check out the scene where cold-blooded Diaz makes love to a Ferrari, but there's nothing else to recommend here, despite a formidable lineup of actors."
[N.B.: I usually force myself to write my 'review' in a single sentence only, but in this case I might need to add some thoughrts. Before watching this movie I was aware that it had got quite a few negative reviews and it was rumored that the plot was impossible to follow. However, I found no problem following the story; maybe I was in advanatge, since I've read all of McCarthy's novels and knew what to expect of him. The script is indeed unusual as it is elliptical, but it is construed to enable you to connect the dots. Similarly, you needn't know the full background of the characters' motivations, since it is based on the one central motive: greed. That said I find this to be an amazing and excellent movie, but slightly inferior to No Country For Old Men, which you can comapre it with.]
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster,
incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to
track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Another Tarantino wannabe ruffians satire with some interesting performances, but also offering some disagreeable humor and a hardly coherent plot; the makers are obviously quite convinced of their own cleverness.
Halliwell*: "Chaotic and hectic thriller involving American, Russian and English low-life, Irish gypsies and dodgy boxing promoters; the narrative moves quickly without getting out of the morass, while Brad Pitt goes over the top in a parody of his Fight Club role."
Maltin***: "Writer-director Ritchie's follow-up to LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is a similarly energized, violent farce about sleazy underworld...Pitt is amusing as a garble-mouthed Irish gypsy fighter. Fresh, funny, and full of punch."
A United Nations employee traverses the world in a race against
time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and
governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.
Unusual variation within the Zombie genre has some good moments and is extremely well produced, but the episodic structure of the story, the unconvincingly construed ending and especially the fact that the movie is made for a PG-13 audience will disappoint diehard fans.
Maltin***: "Intense, involving horror movie has us rooting for Pitt and the good guys he encounters in his globe-trotting race to find a cure without being eaten alive. Lots of scares but no graphic gore, which is quite a novelty."
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