NMP1206

After being a rent-head for many years, I was shocked to hear that not only was RENT being made into a movie, but the majority of the original cast was going to be in it. I was very pleased with hearing these news. But as time went by, I started thinking about all the ways this movie wouldn't work. One- Chris Columbus is the director (even though he did great with Harry Potter, I would have chosen many others before him). 2- Although the original cast is the only perfect cast for the show, they are a little too old for their roles and 3- It was shot in San Francisco instead of the location of the show, New York City. Even though there were these things I was worried about, I went to the movie with the highest hopes for the film.

PLOT: 8 bohemians (some with AIDS) in NYC struggle with life, love and starving to make art and beauty in the world they live in.

Here are my thoughts of the final version of the film:

DISLIKES: 1- It should have been shot in NYC. It didn't look very believable at times, especially when the snow fell. 2- :::::::SPOILERS HEREIN:::::: They SHOULD have kept "Goodbye Love." The film, the story is not the same without it. It doesn't make sense! After Angel dies, they all fight and then it goes right into "What You Own". The fight between Roger and Mark was extremely necessary to show you that these men are hurting, fighting and depressed. That song also shows you that Mimi is dying. You don't know whats going on without that part of the song :::::::END SPOILER:: 3- They should have had more of Angel and Benny. You don't sympathize with Angel that much, and you don't hate Benny as much as you do in the show because they don't have enough screen-time. Basically, after "Take Me Or Leave Me", the film failed...except for the ending.

LIKES:

1- The Cast. Everyone was amazing, and they were very believable in their roles as young starving artists. Yes, Jesse didn't look as young as the others did, but that doesn't take away from anything. 2- The Whole first half was wonderful. Best numbers were "La Vie Boheme", "Out Tonight" "Take Me Or Leave Me" "Rent" and "Tango: Maureen". 2- The ending. Thats all i'm going to say.

All in all, a great film, but it won't have the same effect on you unless you see the Broadway show first.

I don't think people realize from the trailers and reviews of Brokeback Mountain, just what this movie is about. Its been called "the greatest movie ever made about 'gay cowboys''' but, there's more to this film than that. Brokeback is more about finding real love with someone, that in society is forbidden, and about their longing to make this secret love real and unhidden. Its not just about 2 gay guys 'going at it'. You rarely see them do any really "controversial", but you don't need to see those sort of things to make you realize this love is real. Ledger and Gyllenhaal show us their true acting talent, followed with a great supporting cast, including Elma, played wonderfully by Michelle Williams. Now, I know I can't convince those with hardcore beliefs to see this film, but no-one can understand or criticize anything without experiencing it first. Just because I won't convince y'all, that doesn't mean I can't try. so here's my closing statement:

Do yourself a favor, go see "Brokeback Mountain" so it can live in your memory forever.

I am a fan of Cameron Crowe's work. Say Anything is a rarely great romantic comedy, Jerry Maguire is a beautiful moving picture, and Almost Famous still remains in my top 3 films. I was looking forward to Elizabethtown mainly because its been 4 years since i've seen a Crowe film, and 5 years since i've seen a good one (not a fan of Vanilla Sky.) I heard not so good criticisms of this film, but critics never stop me from seeing a film. Although I did enjoy this film, I can see why some people did not enjoy it. It was a slow-paced film, lots of dialogue and LOTS of music (some-one called this film one big soundtrack). For me, the main reason why I enjoyed this film was because I could relate to the plot. This was a very personal film for Crowe, it being about losing his Father unexpectedly, something I can unfortunately relate to. It was definitely an emotional film for me and I thought that it was beautiful at times, especially the ending: ****SPOILER**** The road-trip Drew takes with the book that Claire gave him with the places we has to stop at and the CD's he has to listen to as he goes along I like very much. ***END SPOILER***. So like I said, this film is not for everyone. The movies about 2 hours long and is a little slow-paced, but it strikes chords with you. You will remember this film. Maybe not forever, but at least for a number of minutes after you leave the theater.

So many television series are being turned into movies these days. Some shows turned into movies are Charlie's Angels, The Brady Bunch (which was pretty good) and just recently, we had The Dukes of Hazard (which was not good at all). When I heard that Bewitched was being turned into a movie, my first reaction was "Oh no, that will suck." But when I heard the plot for the movie (Bewitched is being remade into a TV show with a washed up actor and an unknown who happens to be a real witch), I thought "That might work". I was very wrong. The script was not a good script at all, and although the acting was very good, the talents of Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell and Shirley MacLaine could not save this film from being just plain terrible. Although it did have some cute, funny moments and an excellent supporting cast (Schwartzman, Chenoweth and Carell are names worth mentioning), this film wasn't worth the 7 bucks I paid to see it.

In my humble opinion, Meryl Streep is the greatest actress... period. Her talent is unbelievable, it is out of this world. I rented this movie expecting another amazing Meryl Streep performance, but got much more than that.

"The Deer Hunter" is an emotionally powerful film about normal men who went to war and their lives were changed forever after it. Not only is Meryl Streep in this film, but so is one of the greatest actors of all-time, Robert De Niro. When you have 2 amazing actors together in one film, it is bound to be excellent. Also in this film is a very young Christopher Walken, John Savage and John Cazale (this film is the last out of 5 films he made).

I like War films a lot. My favorite war films are Vietnam films (for what reason, I don't know). Out of every Vietnam film I saw, this is the most powerful, saddest, yet beautiful one out of all of them (and there are so many great Vietnam films). It shows what happens to innocent people when they are forced into the horrors of war. It's heavy, emotional, and ... well, I know i've called it this word many times in this review, but it's beautiful. Plain and simple. It is definitely worth your time.

10/10

In 2001, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing "The Phantom Of The Opera" on Broadway with my sisters and mother. Like everyone else I saw the show with that night, I was blown away. Everything about it was amazing. When we heard that they were turning The Phantom into a movie, we were so psyched. Flash forward to a month ago when we all saw the movie (with some of our friends tagging along). Let me just say the film was wonderful. They kept almost every song, and only changed a couple of things (they changed the timing of when the chandelier falls). I thought that the film was perfect... until the Phantom began to sing. Something about his voice bothered me. I think that his voice was way to deep for the phantom, and frankly his voice wasn't that good at all. He was also too angry. I look at the Phantom as a misunderstood man, but he portrayed the Phantom as an angry man who wanted revenge on the world... I don't know, maybe he's supposed to be that way. Other then that, the film was wonderful. Emmy Rossum as Christine was excellent, as well as Patrick Wilson was as Raoul. I give it a 9 out of 10.

Stanley Kubrick makes extremely disturbing, and yet extremely good films; examples of his disturbing movies are "A Clockwork Orange" "The Shining" "Eyes Wide Shut" and the film I am reviewing "Full Metal Jacket". Full Metal Jacket is a two-segmented film; the first segment is basic war training and the second segment takes place in Vietnam itself with former trainee, Joker. Let me just say that the first segment is what makes this film so disturbing. Everything that Sgt. Hartman puts the character Leonard through, and what happens to Leonard towards the end... bone chilling. It's one of the best Vietnam films I have seen. i love war films, especially Vietnam films for some weird reason. Full Metal Jacket compared to other war films is... different. It's kind of surreal, but I wasn't in Vietnam (obviously) , so I can't say if the stuff that happens in this movie veterans can relate to or not. Overall, it's a heavy and disturbing (the best word to describe this film) masterpiece.

10/10

I absolutely love movie musicals. I have finally admitted to myself that musicals are one of my favorite film genres. I am also a HUGE fan of Broadway shows, and I think that Chicago is one of the few movies that was better then the Broadway show. When Chicago first came out in movies, I saw it with my entire family (parents, sister, aunt, uncle...) and we all loved it! My sister and I were obsessed with it for a while. It's just a really REALLY great movie, with amazing songs (All That Jazz, Cell Block Tango, We Both Reached For The Gun, I Can't Do It Alone, Mister Cellophane, Razzle Dazzle... basically every song is great!) I recommend it for anyone who likes Musicals and anyone who doesn't like musicals, because it's not your average Movie Musical. It's way more than that... it's Chicago!! (i am very corny)

10/10

Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe are an unlikely pair, but they are great together in this beautiful look at the Samurai's way of life. Tom Cruise performance is this film is brilliant, but for some reason the academy chose to ignore him. I think he at least deserved a nomination, but this role was not your average Tom Cruise role. It was risky and he pulled through. Ken Watanabe got the nomination instead of Tom, which I was very happy with. He was excellent and very convincing. In my opinion, he steals the show as Katsumoto. I love Samurai films, so I enjoyed it very much. Not a lot of people favor Samurai films, but it's not your average samurai movie. It's deeper and more emotional. I thought this film was great and I know that this film won't be everyone's cup of tea, but its worth a sip.

9/10

The Shawshank Redemption is a Beautiful, Touching film that can not be described in words how truly wonderful it is. I mean, come on, what can I say about this film that hasn't already been said? Everyone I know (almost everyone) loves this movie. My sister (at the moment) has never seen this movie! I beg her everyday to watch it with me but she keeps putting it off. She has NO CLUE what an amazing film she isn't watching. The impact that this film has had on me, along with everyone else who has seen it, is massive. This film makes you realize how wonderful life is and how great people are (even those in jail). It defines the word Hope better then Webster's dictionary does.Also, it is in my opinion, the best film adaptation of a Stephen King story.

10/10

For some reason, I wasn't thrilled about seeing this movie. My friends asked if I wanted to come with them and I went even though I wasn't interested in it (one, because it looked kind of predictable and two, it stars John Travolta, which lately isn't something that helps out a movie). Once the movie started, I liked it. It's got a great score and it doesn't tell the movie from beginning to end, which I like. Joaquin Phoenix was really great. He chooses good movies and he really gets into his character. Also, John Travolta was excellent in this. Its a funny, touching, and very sad movie. One of my friends (who wants to be a firefighter) was very touched by it and she cried at the end. I didn't cry though, because I'm weird like that.

8/10

Disgusting, Disturbing and Hard to watch at times. I love this movie. It is a wonderful unique film, and in my top 10 of favorite films. Brad Pitt is so incredibly hot in this film, I don't know where to begin. I also loved Edward Norton in this film. He is a great promising actor who has got a lot of talent. Like I said this film is disturbing at times, but I have no problem with that, but other people might. A lot of fighting, a lot of blood, but a lot of shirtless men at the same time! Great plot with an excellent twist that I never saw coming. For anyone who has never seen this film, go out and rent it, it is a must see and a classic.

10/10

My sister, our friend Sarah, and I all went together to see "Spiderman" opening night. When the sequel came out, we promised to go to a matinée. Opening night of spiderman was like going to a rock concert thats how packed it was (It was so packed it took us a half hour to leave the theatre!). When we went to go see number 2, we thought that the matinée would be better. We were so wrong. It was as packed as the opening night was 2 years ago. This all has nothing to do with the movie, I know, but I have to include the massive impact that Spiderman has on our culture. Spiderman 2 kicked major ass. It was excellent. The story was great and the villain was better. The ending gave me chills. The whole Peter and Mary Jane story was good, (even though I felt that the villain didn't have to use her as bait again). Overall an excellent entertaining movie that is better then the first.

10/10

I love "The Sixth Sense". I think it is an absolutely amazing film. "Unbreakable" was excellent along with "Signs", but I unfortunately can't say the same about "The Village". I went to see this movie expecting something completely different from what I received. Don't get me wrong, I think that this is a great film and worth watching, but I think that Shyamalan can do better. The twist was the best part of the whole movie. The plot was good but the movie was kind of slow. Not as much as suspense as other of his films. Also, not as much Joaquin Phoenix as I thought there would be. Bryce Dallas Howard was excellent as Ivy and she did a great job for her first movie. Overall it is worth watching, but not as memorable as his other films.

This movie was really great. It was unlike any other film this year. It's got robots attacking New York City, Wonderful cinematography, archive footage of Laurence Olivier and Angelina Jolie (my fav. actress). It also stars Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow who are superb and they're chemistry is great. I admit, at times this movie is predictable, but who said there was anything wrong with that. The cinematography in this film was beautiful. It has to win or at least be up for an Oscar in that category. It is a very clever and funny movie (especially the ending) and it is worth your money... my suggestion to anyone who wants to see this movie, see it on the big screen.

9/10

My sister and I went opening week to go see "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. We went expecting a really good film, because the writer of Eternal Sunshine is Charlie Kaufman who wrote other great movies like 'Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation". After the movie was done, My sister and I just looked at each other. We could tell by each other's expressions that we just saw more than a good movie. We saw, as my sister put it, "A F*CKING GREAT MOVIE!" Believe me when I say that it is unlike any other movie you will ever see. It's original, clever, funny, touching, and more very entertaining. It should be up for an Oscar this year. If they don't nominate this film, they are idiots.

10/10

Zach Braff makes his directorial debut with Garden State, a really good first movie. I saw this movie with 3 of my friends, and through out the whole movie we were laughing and we were touched by it. After it was done, we all felt good to live in New Jersey and we all realized that the movie made us feel good, period. Natalie Portman blew all of us away! She was hysterical (especially the part where she meets Zach and can't believe he's not retarded) and in my opinion, she is the best character in the movie. After seeing this movie, I am now know what to do when a dog humps my leg (kick it in the balls).

9/10

Quentin Tarantino is a genius. If you are a fan of his or not, you must agree that his talent is exquisite. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is an (extremely) bloody masterpiece about a female assassin who was attacked on her wedding day, put into a coma for 4 years, awakes from the coma and swears revenge on Bill, her former leader and lover. Yes, this film is very bloody, but it's a Tarantino film. Do you expect these characters to kiss and make up? Tarantino has never made a bad film. All of his movies (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2) are all in my Top 10 Films of All-Time. You can't get any better than this film, you just CAN'T.

10/10