Gary Oldman...Enough Said

There are a select few actors who will be remembered for all time. Those actors join the ranks of James Stewart, Marlon Brando, and Gregory Peck. Without fail the actors who will join those ranks will be Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, and Gary Oldman.

Gary Oldman knows how to steal the screen. He has done it quietly. However, he has more memorably stolen a screen with very alive and wild characters. I'm thinking of his performances in Dracula (1992,) True Romance (1993), The Fifth Element (1997), The Professional (1994), and my most recent find State of Grace (1990).

The Professional - Great Scene!!!

Netflix describes State of Grace as most Irish mob or Italian mob movies. There is an undercover cop who was once friends with everyone in his old neighborhood. Things are happening behind the scene that even the mob bosses aren't aware of. And there is a wild card or loose cannon in the group. This is where Gary Oldman's character enters the scene as a part of the Irish mob family.

Bram Stoker's Dracula - Dracula Himself

Gary is so crazy and wild it's scary. He makes you feel as though any conversation with this guy may or may not be awkward. You could be put into a situation you don't want to be in and yet you can't help but want to hang out with him just to see what he will do next. Every character Gary plays is so believable it's palpable!!!

Crazy Scene from State of Grace


Gary Oldman will continue to do amazing roles no matter what. It could be a low-key role (Batman Begins & Dark Knight). Or it will be a crazy, roller coaster character who could be either in the same minute. Either way I will watch every movie Gary Oldman is in. One thing will be certain. Gary will outperform everyone.

Great Performances Years Apart

Christian Bale is simply magnificent in The Fighter. The character actor within Christian has come back. A young 13 year old boy puts forth an amazing performance in Empire of the Son in 1987. That same amazing actor has returned in 2011 at the age of 41 to become one of the most well-rounded actors of our time.

If you have not seen The Fighter and would enjoy a true life story about a struggle for life, respect, and the love of a family then you would love this movie. Let's not overshadow Mark Wahlberg's performance just because the Golden Globes and Oscars snubbed him. He lands every line and emotion the same way his character lands his punches.

Better yet is the transformation of Melissa Leo in her role as Micky and Dicky's mom. Wow! In reality Melissa is only 11 years older than Christian. The make-up, wardrobe, and the way she just absolutely delivers makes you suspend your disbelief. Fantastic!

In comparison, Christian's characters in both The Fighter and Empire of the Sun are emotional about their family, they both are imprisoned, and they both transform from what they were at the beginning of the film to the end result. If you haven't seen Empire of the Sun, then you are missing out on a Spielberg film that brings out the best in a child actor. Amazing film! Quite frankly I don't understand why I don't own it. Here I come Amazon.com!

Minus some off camera "explosions" Christian Bale has become one of the most well respected actors. I'm a fan!

2056 Rated ...

I have rated 2056 movies on Netflix so far. Sometimes I find myself addicted to rating movies on Netflix. One of the main reasons I do this is to get the best recommendations from the Netflix system. I'm not sure how accurate that system is. But hey...what are you going to do?

There have been quite a few movies that I have either watched at home, in the theatre or via Instant Netflix. The most recent movie I watched on Instant Netflix was This Is England. This Is England is about 1983 England. According to some other reviewers it is a very accurate depiction of early 80s England. My opinion...stylistic and beautifully filmed! An instant classic.

An 11 year old boy, Sean, is being picked on every day during and after school. He lost his father in the Falkland war and has been living with his mom ever since. One day Sean is taken in by a group of skinheads. But this isn't the skinheads we know about in America. These are more or less punks with short hair who joined up to create a gang of kids who don't belong and like to do their own thing. That is until one of their former members gets out of prison. His views as a skinhead are quite a bit more racist than his former friends.


Unfortunately, the good and the bad are influencing a young Sean.

The acting is great. I love the storyline. The characters are so real and believable. By the end of this movie you will feel quite a bit of emotion for Sean and his friends. If anything else this movie shows how important is to be a part of our kids' lives.

Here Come the Reviews pt. 1

I have decided to start reviewing the movies I own. This could take a while. I own a ton of moview. My collection is probably nowhere near a lot of other people's collection. However, I do not buy movies I have never seen. Also, I will not buy a movie I can't see myself watching multiple times.

There are many directors and writers that have been imitated but never duplicated. Alfred Hitchcock comes to mind. I have a few Hitchcock movies on hand as should everyone else.

Rear Window has one of Hitchcock's go-to boys, James Stewart, starring along side the beautiful Grace Kelly. The set was amazing. If you haven't seen the film it involves a photo journalist who injured his leg in an accident while photographing formula one racing. With his leg broken and in a cast he is forced to stay at home looking out his window into his Greenwhich Village apartment complex. The set was three levels, which meant they had to remove the floor and use the basement on the set. Stewart's character is visited by his physical therapist/nurse as well as his girlfriend (played by Grace).

One would think that one set along with a handful of characters would be boring. That one person has obviously never seen a classic Hitchcock film. Among the neighbors is a ballerina, a pianist, a lonely old lady, a newly-wed couple, and older couple with a dog, and a nosy woman. So there is a lot going on. Yet, there is another couple who seem to not get along too well. This is where it gets interesting.


What Hitchcock plays upon is our human need to be voyers. Because let's face it. There is a lot of voyerism going on in this film. And Stewart's character has brought in both of his skeptics and made them both voyers with him. This movie is one of the most intense movies along with a great set a cool costumes (by Edith Head).

Subspecies: The Case of the Teething Vampire

It's almost Halloween. We all know what that means. Now is the time to watch as many cheesy (a.k.a. B-movie) horror flicks. What an interesting genre. You get so much from so little.

Some of the movies I have watched this Halloween season include: Warlock, Fright Night, Phantasm, and Subspecies.

Subspecies is about a couple of vampire brothers. One is really evil looking and drools constantly. The other is half human and cannot believe his older, nasty looking brother killed their father for what is called a bloodstone.

Interestingly enough, the plot lot isn't bad. The bloodstone is a constant flow of blood from saints (don't ask). This way they didn't have to feed from humans. The setting is awesome, shot within ancient Romanian castles. Yes, they are really in Romania. The older brother gets hooked on the bloodstone like it's crack. And he wants more so he goes out and starts to feed on three visiting, female doctoral students. Naturally.

You will enjoy the silly ending as the demons, created from the older brothers Nosforatu fingertips (again...don't ask), take the head (still alive) of the older brother away. Gee, I wonder what is going to happen next. You guessed it. Subspecies Two. You gotta love it. Right?

Seen Them All

We finished up all of the Academy Award nominees for 2010 Best Picture. This year they went to a 10 film format. I'm not a fan of this format. It broadens what should be an elite group of films for the year. For me, it says that you only have to hit certain categorical marks to make the top 10. I sincerely hope they go back to five nominees next year.

My rankings:
Who should have won? Inglorious Bastards. This movie had it all. The cinematography, dialogue, story, acting, and directing was all superb. I love this movie. And I'm not just saying that because I am a Tarantino fan.

Who actually won? Hurt Locker. Okay...I will put this one in second place. It did win the Academy Award for Best Picture. I can see why. The acting is tremendous. There are some seriously tense moments, and it portrays reality in the world of war. But for me I felt as though I was watching yet another war film.

Up next is Up In the Air. Clooney is magic. The gal from Twighlight (that's what I call her) did pretty good. I just wasn't sold on the characters. It needed a little more heart.

What's the opposite of down? Up. Simply put this animated, instant classic set the premises with an antogonist in an home on air. The storyline does a fantastic job of making you have an emotional attachment to the lead character. After that it is another animated film with lots of funny moments.

Avatars are pretty cool. Ah, Avatar. I watched this in regular 2D. (I'm sick of 3D crap) This was a really fun ride. But it is almost like the ride got stuck at the top. In other words, it was too long. Speed it up and get to the climax. This was way too hyped up by James Cameron. He just thinks his ideas are the best and thinks everyone else should feel the same way.

Precious. Oh my God! I'm depressed. Thank you for making me watch this, but crap! Great for a one-time watch.

Blind Side. Well, I'm not sure about this one. It was extremely cheesy at times. The touching moments "may" have put this one into the nomination round. I don't know. I don't get why it made it. Don't try and sell it to me. You shouldn't have to do that.

Disctict 9. Wow! Shocked! I started out thinking why is this here amongst the best picture nominees? A sci-fi movie (not Avatar). Come on! Then the movie got really serious, and I was impressed. Thank you, Peter Jackson.

An Education. Just so you know I just sighed really heavily and my wife asked me if I was alright. I sighed because I have to write a review for this. What the heck? This movie just pissed me off. You spend the entire movie yelling at a teenager saying, DON'T SCREW UP YOUR LIFE! Then she doesn't. If that ruined it for you, then good. Don't waste your time. I suppose you could watch it for the acting and if you are in the mood for a period piece set in England. Oh, there's a shocker! A period piece set in England. Enough said.

Serious Man. Seriously? What is wrong with this guy? He is a jew in the midwest. That's your first clue. It doesn't exactly roll of the tongue. The Cohen brothers create another movie where somebody gets crapped on the entire time. Be more creative, bros! I really found nothing positive about this movie other than my life rules compared to this chump.

In summation, go with your gut and watch what looks good to you. Don't let critics ruin it for you.

To Tell You the Truth

The Invention of Lying was not good. That is exactly how it would have been reported in the fictional world created by co-writer, co-director, and star Rick Gervais. It's unfortunate that Ricky would lay such an egg. He is such a tremendous talent in the world of comedic acting.

Forget that I am a Christian and believe in God. The part of the movie where he essentially pokes fun at religion isn't what makes the movie bad (although it adds to it). The dialogue in terms of how people tell you precisely what is on their mind. I mean they don't even hold back. It should be called The Invention of Lying and Tolerating Over-Sharing! Seriously? Do they have to say everything? A simple yes or no question turns into an unwanted reasoning behind each answer. Nobody has thoughts or inner monologue. It all barfs its' way onto the scene in this film.

Yes, Ricky is still funny in this but that is only parts of the movie. I loved all the cameos throughout the movie. Here is the deal. I'm really hoping Ricky can be in a better movie next go around. Hopefully, he doesn't start turning out Will Ferrell performances. And I used to really love Will Ferrell. But he has been tanking with his last films that have come out. Probably the last 4 or 5 have not been good. Here is to hoping Ricky turns things around. He is way too funny and brilliant to keep this cycle of horridness going.

That is pretty much all I have to say. I rarely tell people to flat-out not see a movie. I'm doing it this time. My apologies.