Following the pattern of such successful smashes as Crash, Traffic, and Babel (all of which earned Best Picture nominations, with Crash winning the top prize), Henry Alex Rubin’s (Murderball) first non-documentary film, Disconnect is a movie that tells three distinct stories at the same time that have little connection with each other and only minor overlapping, but one in which many of its main actors are not on the screen at the same time. It’s a formula that, when done correctly, is magical but when done poorly, can be a disaster. Disconnect was done right. It is a daring movie and deals with not just one but three of the most prevalent technological safety issues of the day, which are cyberbullying, security fraud/identity theft, and the predatory practices of recruiting minors to become online porn performers. Each story could be its movie, but Disconnect does an awesome job of telling all three and showing the raw emotion associated with each. On top of that, the performances are top-notch. And while this movie came in at 68% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned only $1.4 million at the box office. Both are much too low for a movie of this magnitude, officially classifying Disconnect as a hidden gem I think everyone should see. Continue reading Disconnect (2013)→
2 Guns is not my type of movie because it isn’t sure what it wants to be. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it contains relationships between the characters that seem meaningful. At times, it’s a terrible drama. At times, it’s a comedy that isn’t funny. At times, it’s a lame attempt at a shoot ’em up in Quentin Tarantino style. Its lead actors are all over the place. In short, it’s a movie that doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s also a movie that wastes the talents of two great actors, Denzel Washington (Training Day, American Gangster) and Mark Wahlberg (Shooter, The Italian Job). It’s a little ironic because this was Washington’s first movie since his outstanding performance in Flight and the last movie Wahlberg shot before his outstanding performance in Lone Survivor. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a movie that either of these actors wishes they had not done, but it is a movie that I wish they hadn’t done. Continue reading 2 Guns (2013)→
It took the entire year to find it, but the last must-see movie of 2013 proved to be the most emotional and tear-jerking movie of the year. With apologies to 12 Years A Slave,which was very gut-wrenching at times, Lone Survivor is the movie that plays with your heartstrings like no other. Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter, The Perfect Storm) gives the performance of his lifetime as Marcus Luttrell, the only surviving member of a four-person Navy SEALs team on the now infamous failed Operation Red Wings mission of 2005. The covert mission is simple enough. The four SEALs are to find notorious Taliban loyalist Ahmad Shah, a man currently residing in a village in Afghanistan who is responsible for killing 20 US marines a week earlier. Intel has informed him of his location, and the team knows what to look for because Shahd has no ear lobes. They are informed of the terrain, the mission’s dangers, and the engagement rules. The mission’s main goal was reconnaissance and surveillance of Shah and then informing the waiting military team, who had the authorization to launch an air strike on the village to take out Shah and his men. Continue reading Lone Survivor (2013)→
Philomena is a fine little movie that has somehow been classified as a great movie worthy of Best Picture and Best Actress (Judy Dench – Notes on a Scandal, Shakespeare In Love) nominations. In my opinion, neither are deserving. This movie, though only 1 hour 38 minutes, never felt super slow, but it still did feel long. I think that had to do with the story not winning me over. In a year where there were many decent movies but not many great ones, Philomena will not be remembered. I think when people go back and remember 2013, the list isn’t very deep. People will remember 12 Years A Slave, Gravity, and possibly Frozen (I’m not an animated movie type of guy, so I won’t see this movie, but I understand how great others think it is). Continue reading Philomena (2013)→
The Spectacular Now was one of those movies that, before watching it, I thought I was going to be stupid, then I thought I would love it, and ultimately wouldn’t know how I would feel about it until its conclusion. This was based on the movie’s trailer. Then as I began watching the movie, I thought the same things. Had I seen this exact movie before? Probably. Was it going to be filled with cliche after cliche after cliche? Most definitely. Was there going to be some sort of twist or reaction to an event that would separate it from the other movies in this genre that I had seen before? I hoped so. Was the acting good enough and the characters believable for me to think I was part of a real story and not just watching a melodrama played on the screen? Probably not. With all of those things said, it’s a cute little film that I recommend watching, especially if you are in the 17-22-year-old range. Continue reading The Spectacular Now (2013)→
Following the pattern of such successful smashes as Crash, Traffic, and Babel (all of which earned Best Picture nominations, with Crash winning the top prize), Henry Alex Rubin’s (Murderball) first non-documentary film, Disconnect is a movie that tells three distinct stories at the same time that have little connection with each other and only minor overlapping, but one in which many of its main actors are not on the screen at the same time. It’s a formula that, when done correctly, is magical but when done poorly, can be a disaster. Disconnect was done right. It is a daring movie and deals with not just one but three of the most prevalent technological safety issues of the day, which are cyberbullying, security fraud/identity theft, and the predatory practices of recruiting minors to become online porn performers. Each story could be its movie, but Disconnect does an awesome job of telling all three and showing the raw emotion associated with each. On top of that, the performances are top-notch. And while this movie came in at 68% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned only $1.4 million at the box office. Both are much too low for a movie of this magnitude, officially classifying Disconnect as a hidden gem I think everyone should see. Continue reading Disconnect (2013) 
2 Guns is not my type of movie because it isn’t sure what it wants to be. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it contains relationships between the characters that seem meaningful. At times, it’s a terrible drama. At times, it’s a comedy that isn’t funny. At times, it’s a lame attempt at a shoot ’em up in Quentin Tarantino style. Its lead actors are all over the place. In short, it’s a movie that doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s also a movie that wastes the talents of two great actors, Denzel Washington (Training Day, American Gangster) and Mark Wahlberg (Shooter, The Italian Job). It’s a little ironic because this was Washington’s first movie since his outstanding performance in 
It took the entire year to find it, but the last must-see movie of 2013 proved to be the most emotional and tear-jerking movie of the year. With apologies to 
Philomena is a fine little movie that has somehow been classified as a great movie worthy of Best Picture and Best Actress (Judy Dench – Notes on a Scandal, Shakespeare In Love) nominations. In my opinion, neither are deserving. This movie, though only 1 hour 38 minutes, never felt super slow, but it still did feel long. I think that had to do with the story not winning me over. In a year where there were many decent movies but not many great ones, Philomena will not be remembered. I think when people go back and remember 2013, the list isn’t very deep. People will remember 
The Spectacular Now was one of those movies that, before watching it, I thought I was going to be stupid, then I thought I would love it, and ultimately wouldn’t know how I would feel about it until its conclusion. This was based on the movie’s trailer. Then as I began watching the movie, I thought the same things. Had I seen this exact movie before? Probably. Was it going to be filled with cliche after cliche after cliche? Most definitely. Was there going to be some sort of twist or reaction to an event that would separate it from the other movies in this genre that I had seen before? I hoped so. Was the acting good enough and the characters believable for me to think I was part of a real story and not just watching a melodrama played on the screen? Probably not. With all of those things said, it’s a cute little film that I recommend watching, especially if you are in the 17-22-year-old range.