When I saw that Simon Pegg was involved in another film, how could I say no? Especially when said movie was called Run Fatboy Run? If you’re not not sure who Pegg is, you might recognize him from his collaborations with Nick Frost in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. One surprise was to see the film was directed by David Schwimmer. I’ve never been too hip on his acting skills. He just always seems to play Ross from the TV show Friends.
Anyways, back to the movie. This reminded me a lot of About a Boy. The plot really isn’t the same, but there is a child involved and a man is trying to impress a woman. Oh, and there are the British accents as well. Pegg plays Dennis Doyle, a bit of a loser, who had the girl of his dreams but freaked out the day of the wedding and literally ran off. Libby, played by Thandie Newton, is said girl who several years into the future is now set to marry Whit, played by Hank Azaria. Doyle sees there only one thing he can do to prove he’s more of a man than Whit, and that is to run a marathon.
I’ll agree this film may be a bit cheesy, but it’s one of those “feel-good” stories, and probably something most of the family can enjoy. With the holidays coming up, I always start thinking about movies that aren’t too annoying that would be appropriate to watch with the family. There are some usual Pegg antics and hilarity in here, especially with his Indian landlord. Hank Azaria has been good in every role I’ve ever seen. Strong cast, good story, and funny to boot. You should probably check this out.
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Fälscher, Die, or The Counterfeiters is based on the true story of Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history. During WWII, the Nazis had a great idea in 1936 to destroy the economies of their foes by counterfeiting large amounts of currency and flooding the markets. By 1945 the Germans had successfully created 8,965,080 British banknotes valued at £134,610,810. Their efforts were then turned towards the US dollar, but due to some sabotage on the part of the Jewish prisoners and Allied Forces winning the war, large amounts of US currency were never printed.
This film follows the story of Salomon Sorowitsch, the best counterfeiter at the time, and Adolf Burger, an expert printer, as they simultaneously try to stay alive and foil the Germans plans. Housed at Sachsenhausen, these special prisoners were kept apart from the rest of the camp. They were given nice clothes, plenty of food, real beds to sleep in, showers, and even had music playing all day long. I am by no means an expert on the Nazi camps, but I had never heard of this kind of treatment before.
Towards the end of the war the countfeiters at Sachsenhausen were moved to Ebensee, but the operation was never started back up again before the camp was liberated. Many of the banknotes were thrown into a nearby lake and were recovered by divers years later.
This is another great film for any history buff. Very interesting and enjoyable. Some of the special features even include interviews with Adolf Burger.
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If you’ve seen the TV show, Reno 911, you have a pretty good idea what this movie would be about. Written and directed by Robert Ben Garant, otherwise known as Junior, this film seemed to just do everything they couldn’t do on television.
The story is a bit ludicrous, yet not that far from the truth. If you’ve watched any of the COPS shows, you’ll know just how stupid some people can be. Here we have the whole Miami police force locked down because they’ve all be contaminated with something biological. Luckily the Reno Sheriff’s Department is there to save the day.
It was all fun and silly until they lost me with the gratuitous nudity and sex jokes. I’m all for a raunchy film. I love Kevin Smith’s work, however, there’s a time when stuff is just pointless and meaningless. It’s hard to explain, but that’s the way I feel. Definitely don’t want to watch this one again.
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Here’s an amazing story that has really been needing a film - Ghengis Khan. Mongol is an amazing film that chronicles that story of Temudjin, who eventually became known as Ghengis Khan. One reason this is somewhat feasible is because there are many written accounts about this man and how he ruled the Mongols.
The story is really amazing how the young son of a slain ruler is kidnapped, enslaved, and jailed - yet never gives up. He just keeps getting back up. I can’t really comment on how Temudjin really was, I’m sure the peoples he conquered weren’t exactly happy to be conquered. He seemed to be just in what he did though, and he didn’t forget those who were kind and who helped him. Some parts of the film really personified “an eye for an eye.”
I’m not exactly what language was being spoken in the film, but I assumed it was the native Mongol tongue. That’s always something I enjoy about films. Not so great though for those of you who detest subtitles. To that I say you should get over it cause you’re missing out on some good films.
One aspect I wasn’t sure what to expect was the war factor. I’m glad to say this wasn’t turned into an action flick. That would be interesting to watch, but this was mainly focused on Temudjin’s life and his relationships with people, including his best friend who eventually became his enemy. Definitely rent this and check it out if you’re into historical films, like history, or are into Asian culture.
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I had high hopes for this movie. It just looked so “feel good.” That’s probably why I was disappointed with it. The cast was promising touting big names like Robin Williams, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, and the talented Freddie Highmore. It also looked like it could be good like the popular indie flick Once.
I think the hardest aspect for me to buy in to was the magical realism portrayed in the story. You have a very musically talented man and woman who fall in love and “make a baby” one fateful night. The girl’s father decides she doesn’t need a child because she has her career as a cheloist. So the baby boy is given up for adoption and has been living in an orphanage. So one day the boy is exposed to music and he turns into Mozart on steroids. He believes the music he creates will bring his parents back together and reunite them as a family. That’s what made me roll my eyes at this movie.
Performances were ok. Everything seems very much like a Charles Dickens’ story. Highmore did pretty well and the music was interesting. You have to remember though, that musicals rarely float my boat. They’re just not my thing. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get into the story very well. I’d be interested to see what other think. I’m kinda feeling like maybe the movie wasn’t so cheesy, but just not my style as with Across the Universe. I’d love to hear any thoughts anyone else has.
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Before I even start, I must admit that I had been avoiding the 4th Rambo installment for a while. It just seemed a little ridiculous to me that Sylvester Stallone would be doing another Rambo and another Rocky movie. It was only after several friends tried to assure me it was good, that I decided to add it to my Netflix list. Now, after seeing it, I must admit that Rambo totally redeemed Rambo III.
I think one of the big factors contributing to the worth of this film was Stallone stepping in as a writer, and directing the film. He’s obviously had a lot of experience acting, writing, and directing and was aware “the people” would not abide more of the same considering what happened with Rambo III. Another contributing factor was Stallone trying to shed some light on the atrocities currently happening in Burma.
Action. If there’s one thing this movie has, it’s action. I’m pretty sure Robin would say something along the lines of, “Holy belt-fed machine guns, Batman!” Liz walked in and saw a short clip during one of the featurettes on the DVD and uttered, “gross!” I must say I wasn’t grossed out, I actually thought it was kind of cool. That must be the little boy in me.
The story was pretty general. Rambo helps some people, against his initial instinct, and eventually ends up saving them. I really appreciated the “wandering warrior” theme that has prevailed throughout the series. Parts of the original score were also worked into this score which reall tied the films together. The execution of the story is really what made it work for me though. Stallone really pulled off the Rambo character as an older version, still searching for meaning in his life and slightly enraged at the atrocities around him.
If you’re even a tiny bit a fan of First Blood, I highly suggest you check this one out. It’ll be well worth your time. I only hope Rambo V builds off of the success of Rambo.
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