Change Your Image
joecoby45
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Matchstick Men (2003)
Entertaining, and superbly acted. BUT....
Matchstick Men has several things going for it. A great director, good pacing, a fun story line, charismatic characters, and superb acting by all actors involved (especially Cage) . However the movie is marred by the most obvious twist ending of all time.
SPOILER!
I knew Cage was being conned from the first second he told his "daughter" that in order to do a con make sure your not being conned. Least subtle foreshadowing of all time. This was about 50 minutes into the film and from then on I knew exactly what was going to end up happening which kind of ruined the rest of the film for me because I knew what where things were going. Shame.
There were plenty of other hints to that already made me think that was happening, Why did we never see the mother? Why did we never see her go inside the house? ect.
It was still worth watching once. But the so obvious a 4 year old could have seen it coming twist does take it down several points.
Joe (2013)
Powerhouse performance from the great Nicolas Cage.
Joe is not a perfect film. There are some pointless scenes, some subplots that don't really go anywhere or get resolved, and a very poorly developed villain (whos motives are never really that clear, and whos rivalry with the title character are never properly established)
With that being said Joe benefits from stellar filmaking, a compelling main story line, and a powerhouse performance Nicholas Cage as the title role. This is one of Cage's best performances ever, and it reminds people that amidst all his bad films, he is still an incredibly talented actor with serious chops.
Also worth noting is Ty Sheridan, and especially Gary Poulter as the abusive alcoholic father. Its crazy to think that they got an actual homeless person and not a trained actor because it doesn't feel like it. Poulter gives an incredible performance, and its heartbreaking that he died just after filming was done.
Not a perfect film as I said, but a compelling drama none the less.
Silence (2016)
Another masterpiece for Martin Scorsese
Another terrific film by the God of filmaking himself, Martin Scorsese. Silence is an emotionally shattering, and powerful film about a persecution of faith in a tyrannical japan in the 1600's. The movie is long, but is worth every moment.
Melancholia (2011)
Half of a great movie.
This movie is basically two seperate movies sloppily crammed together. The two halves don't feel like they fit at all. The first half is a fairly compelling and interesting look at the wedding night of a woman who is batteling depression and her own inner demons. Good stuff. The second half is about the end of the world....um....what?! How weird. If they instead decided to flesh out more of the first half and get it to 90 minutes and just forgot the second half then this would be an outstanding movie.
Bonus points for great performances, especially by the two leads, and great camera work.
Antichrist (2009)
Pretentious and stupid.
I enjoyed the first thirty minutes or so, but the movie ended up just be non nonsensical and stupid, as well as pretentious and boring. The camera work is great, as is the acting by the two leads. But really nothing of substance is shown.
Slow West (2015)
Lives up to its name.
Slow West is most definitely a slow burn, with slim to no backstory for any of its characters. Making it feel shallow and pointless. Like why am I supposed to care about anyone in this film if I don't know them? The actors do the best with what they are given, but they are given practically nothing.
State of Grace (1990)
Sean Penn and Gary Oldman deliver unforgettable performances in this compelling gangster drama
State of Grace tells the story of an under cover cop (Penn) who returns to his home town after 10 years. He reunited with his best friend (Oldman) and former lover (Wright) as well as working for the crime boss (Harris). During his stay he starts to question himself and where his loyalty's actually lie.
State of Grace doesn't quite deserve the rank of masterpiece like some other movies in the genre (such as The Godfather or Goodfellas) but its a damn good movie which benefits greatly from slick pacing, a compelling story, three dimensional main characters, and some really excellent acting. Special mention must go to Gary Oldman and Sean Penn.
Sean Penn has proven time and time again to be one of the finest and most versatile actors in the world, and this performance is no exception. He plays his role with such subtlety and depth that you really feel like you get to know the character personally and care what happens to him. Its a remarkable performance.
Opposite Penn is Oldman, who is also one of the finest actors in the world. Always the chameleon Oldman disappears completely into his role and what were left with is an eccentric, flawed (possibly psychopathic) but ultimately sympathetic character that, like Penn, we start to care for and understand on a deeper level.
Definitely a recommendation from me. If your a fan of the gangster genre this is definitely not to be missed. If your not a fan of gangster flicks but are still a fan of drama's with compelling characters this is still not to be missed.
The Proposition (2005)
A dark and gritty western.
The Proposition is one of the darkest movies I have ever seen. Set in the outback Australia, The Proposition stars Guy Pearce as Charlie Burns. A man who has been sent by the local law enforcement (Ray Winstone) to hunt down and kill his older brother Arthur (Danny Huston) in exchange for a pardon for both him and his younger brother Mickey. The conflict escalates from their.
The movie benefits strongly from breathtaking cinematography and mesmerizing performances all around. In particular Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, and Emily Watson are just magnificent as the main characters of the film. John Hurt also turns in an unforgettable cameo as an aging bounty hunter.
The movie has a couple narrative problems, and there are a handful of scenes that feel unnecessarily drawn out or just unnecessary all together. Overall however the story manages to be compelling throughout especially thanks to its three dimensional, complex characters.
The Proposition is a relentlessly dark film. Filled with graphic violence and many scenes where characters are either in physical or emotional pain. But its a compelling enough watch to make it worth sitting through. At least for me.
The Florida Project (2017)
Not as good as reviews are saying.
The Florida Project is not the masterpiece that many critics have cited it as. Its a decent film that goes on way too long even after its made all its relevant points. There isn't a lot of story here, and that's fine written on paper. Plenty of great movies are not story driven. But typically if your film is less driven by story and more driven by themes and realism than it shouldn't be over 90 minutes. This was almost two hours which is excessive.
The acting by the mom is great, and the little girl is pretty good too for the most part (especially the last scene) and Willem Dafoe, while not having all that much to do, still manages to shine. There are also other good supporting actors too.
At the end of the day it just doesn't feel like it was worth my two hours. Nothing about the story, themes, or production really blew me away. And with the exception of a couple scenes there is nothing stand out about this film.
Inherent Vice (2014)
More like Incoherent vice!
Inherent Vice is an all time low for writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson. A man with incredible talent and whom has made several great films throughout his career. Inherent Vice however is a sloppy mess of a film with a completely incoherent story that is confusing and convoluted throughout. Not to mention its totally uneventful. Nothing of importance ever really happens in this film and plenty goes unresolved.
There are no well developed or interesting characters in the entire story, not even our main character "Doc" played by the incredible Joaquin Phoenix. He and the whole supporting cast do the best they can with what they are given, but that sadly is not much at all.
It really doesn't feel like much effort is put into the production. Its almost as if you can tell the people involved were not feeling passionate about this project at all and who can blame them? Its really crap.
At least with PTA's last film The Master it was very artistic which made up for its lack of a story. Here there isn't any artistic value at all. Its just 2 and a half hours of pointless meandering with undeveloped/uninteresting characters. There is hardly anything redeeming about this.
The Green Mile (1999)
A pretty decent, if unmemorable film.
The Green Mile is a fairly decent movie in most regards. Its well filmed with good production values and has a pretty OK story that overall is entertaining to watch. The performances are also all very good. Especially by Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell, and Doug Hutchinson.
However by the end of the film I just felt underwhelmed. Nothing really special happened in it. The super natural aspects really weakened the story in my opinion. Going into it I was expecting the story to be about a prison guard who works on death row who just so happens to befriend one of his prisoners. So when the whole thing became supernatural I was a little disappointed. If the story was more grounded in reality and had a lot less filler it would have been emotionally gut wrenching. But its not.
Also there is a very out of place violent scene in this movie. A man gets slowly burnt alive because of a villain sabotaging the electric chair. Its a scene that feels taken directly from a Hostel movie. Ugh.
Mother! (2017)
One of the worst films ever made.
I don't know how Darren Aronofsky, a man of such incredible talent, could deliver such an appalling movie. He proved with Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, and Black Swan to be one of the finest directors around so I don't know what happened here.
Without spoiling too much this movie is essentially just a bunch of irrelevant metaphors sloppily put together with no rhyme and reason. Oh Ed Harris is missing a rip it seems in that one scene? Just like with Adam and Eve! Oh what's that a brother kills his older brother? Its Kane and Abel! Oh what's that? A father sacrifices his son to a rabid group of people who tear him apart? Its like the story of Jesus's sacrifice! And what's interesting to note is that none of these stupid visual metaphors/analogies actually make any coherent sense in regards to the actual "story" being told (yes the word story in this film needs to have "" because its just barely qualifies as a story) They are just thrown in their because Darren Aronofsky is pretentious and thinks it makes him look smart. It doesn't. Anyone can do that. Its not impressive.
Throughout this mess of a film there are also some sloppy metaphors about mother earth (which Jennifer Lawrence is supposed to represent, but wait I thought she was supposed to be the virgin marry? Oh fuck it) But again in terms of the actual story being told nothing of importance is ever said.
The acting is fairly decent all around. Nothing great by any means. But not bad either. Both leads are competent but they really don't have a lot to work with given the shallow screenplay.
This movie is also unbearably loud and annoying at times. There are several angry mob scenes that give me a combination of epilepsy and a migraine. Its not fun, and they last FOREVER!!
Darren Aronofsky might be a man of amazing talent but he shows none of it here, only his pretentiousness. What a shame... Hopefully he delivers next time.
Spider (2002)
Very intriguing movie.
Spider is a very unique film in regards to how it tells its story. Unconventional doesn't even do it justice. Without spoiling anything Spider is about mental illness. The basic premise is that a man who has just been released from an asylum and put into a home is recreating events from his childhood that led to a great tragedy. Throughout the movie you are constantly wondering what is/was real and what is/was fantasy. Its very intriguing.
My only real gripe with the film is that it drags every now and again. There are too many scenes that go on longer then they need to with unnecessary padding. Perhaps if it had been trimmed by about 15 or so minutes it would be perfect.
Still definitely worth a watch if your into the more weird indie stuff. Plus the performances are just fantastic. Ralph Fiennes has practically no dialogue throughout the film but still manages to have a great presence and create an interesting character. He is truly one our finest. Miranda Richardson and Gabriel Byrne also excel in their supporting roles.
Shot Caller (2017)
Could have been better.
Shot Caller has a lot going for it. It has an interesting story written on paper, as well as a compelling main character. Unfortunately the execution is a little sloppy. The movie resorts to a lot of cliches that could have done without. Plus the character development feels lacking whick makes you feel a lack of investment throughout the film. There are also some plot problems I had with how a man who simply caused a car accident ended up in high security prison.
However Shot Caller is still worth a watch thanks to a gritty/indie style of film making, some individual great scenes, a lot of suspense, and an incredible lead performance (as well as great supporting performances as well)
Gone Girl (2014)
The best film of David Fincher.
Director David Fincher has completely outdone himself with this psychologically chilling masterpiece. The film delivers in every way. Its superbly directed, has great cinematography, is written brilliantly, and contains phenomenal performances by its two leads and the entire supporting cast matches them. My only gripe is the casting of Neil Patrick Harris as a stalker. I feel like maybe someone more intimidating would have made his role way more memorable. But then again I might be biased because I am a big fan of How I Met Your Mother so I can only see him as Barney.
Lawless (2012)
Entertaining, yet very flawed movie.
Lawless is directed by John Hillcoat and written by Nick Cave. The two had previously collaborated on western masterpiece The Proposition, which is one of my all time favorite movies. So I was a bit disappointed with Lawless. as it was a deeply flawed movie.
First lets start with what Lawless gets right. For one it looks great. The shop composition is fantastic. It also largely works as a period piece with realistic and accurate aesthetics all around ranging from the costumes to the environments. Its overall well directed and edited too. And last but not least it contains a stand out performance from character actor Guy Pearce who gives by far the most memorable performance in the film as the main bad guy.
The biggest flaw however is the script. Which has many plot holes/contrivances and wooden, uninteresting characters. Not even great actors like Tom Hardy or Jessica Chastaine manage to shine with their roles. There simply is not enough to these characters to make you care.
Also Shia Labeouf feels miscast to me. He does an alright job for the most part but he does not have the charisma or screen presence to be the lead of the film (especially not when he has to go toe to toe with actors like Guy Pearce, Tom Hardy, and Gary Oldman) he also doesn't know how to do a southern accent properly or consistently (to be fair Hardy also has trouble with this)
There are individual great scenes in this film. But it does not add to being a solid film all around thanks to a incomplete feeling story with too many contrivances, and wooden one dimensional characters. Also why did this movie hire Gary Oldman (one of the finest actors of all time) for a role that amounted to nothing more than a cameo?!?!
The Shape of Water (2017)
Entertaining throughout, but also forgettable.
The Shape of Water excels in several different departments. Its really well helmed in terms of directing and shot composition. The lighting and set designs were exquisite. The main performance by Sally Hawkins and main supporting performance by Richard Jenkins were amazing (Michael Shannon also delivers a delicious but fairly one note role as well) However the movie just feels forgettable, nothing about the story or the way its told is that great. Its hard to put in words exactly why but just from a subjective point of view the story was lacking a bit.
I didn't really care that much about the characters. The romance felt forced and rushed to me. The main character basically falls in love with the amphibian just after a couple of meetings with him. The character does explain to here dad at one point why she is in love with him (in an attempt to get him to help her free it) but based on the scenes we have actually seen with the two of them it didn't feel justified.
There are some plot holes that are forgivable but a little distracting, and also some out of character moments. But those are just nit picks. A bigger problem would be the anti climatic ending but I won't get into spoilers but lets just say it was unsatisfying.
Overall this is a decent film for sure, one that is overall entertaining and is never boring, but don't expect it to knock your socks off or anything (unlike the directors last fantasy film Pans Labyrinth which I truly regard as one of the greatest films ever made).
Sunshine (2007)
Sci-Fi Gold
Danny Boyle outdoes himself with this science fiction masterpiece, which offers a suspenseful and unpredictable story with interesting, well developed characters. The basic premise is that a crew of astronauts must reignite the Earth's Sun with a nuclear bomb in an effort to prevent it from going out permanently. That's the main story point of the film but ultimately Sunshine is really about the characters. More specifically their interactions with each other, the tough choices they have to make, and their ultimate deterioration as people throughout the dangerous and deadly voyage.
Sunshine is both entertaining and suspenseful throughout its 100 minute run time. Its extraordinarily well directed and acted and has great special effects and shot composition as well. If there are a couple flaws in the movie it would be some poor choices of editing towards the end of the movie and some questionable character logic every once in a while. But besides those little nit picks this is one of the finest Sci Fi movies of the century. Definitely give it a watch.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Incredibly pretentious and pointless film.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is essentially a 30 minute short tediously dragged out for 2 hours. Due to its bloated length the movie is filled with pointless and unpleasant sequences that add absolutely nothing to the plot. Such an example is a terrible scene in which Collin Farrell tells his son a long story about how he jerked his own father off. Its a pointless scene shoved in there to make the audience feel uncomfortable. Uncomfortable scenes in movies are perfectly fine so long as they serve some kind of purpose, this did not.
The writer/director of this film probably thinks he is some kind of visionary but he is anything but. He just thinks that making a full length movie with a paper thin/nonsensical story and flat monotone characters delivering their lines in the most robotic way possible constitutes a work of are. It is not, its shit. And what's interesting to note is that is exactly what made his last film, The Lobster so unbearable. He didn't learn anything from that piece of shit he just did the exact same thing again.
The movie is redeemed slightly by good composition (even though many scenes in this movie look like they were stolen directly from a Kubrick film) and a great performance from Barry Keoghan as the main antagonist. Like all other characters he is also robotic and monotone but it works splendidly with him as it makes his character totally creepy and unpredictable. Kudos to Barry he really delivered some award worthy work here. All the other actors/characters are just dull.
This writer/director is clearly the most pretentious film maker working today. He thinks he is the next Kubrick when in fact he is just a non talent hack who writes stupid stories with robotic characters. Lame.
Ah-ga-ssi (2016)
Incredible movie, with an impressively original and unpredictable story.
The Handmaiden succeeds as a mesmerizing piece of cinema thanks to a rich story full of twists and turns that you won't see coming, excellent camera work, superb directing, excellent costume design, and unforgettable performances by its ensemble cast. I won't reveal what the story is about as that is something you must see for yourself, but take my word for it, its worth a watch.
The Revenant (2015)
Amazing in every regard except for story.
Its a shame that in a movie with such exceptional directing, acting, cinematography, music, and production design that the story couldn't have been amazing as well. That's not to say that the story here is necessarily bad it just feels a little thin especially for a 2 1/2 hour film.
There are definitely elements of a compelling story here, especially when it comes to the internal and external conflicts of the two main characters, Hugh Glass and John Fitzgerald (played marvelously by Leonardo DiCaprio in a career best performance and Tom Hardy) Hardy in particular is the most fleshed out and interesting character and has several monologues that let you get to know him as a person and its pretty riveting.
The movie clearly is not trying to be story driven, instead its more focused on imagery and themes and does both very well. In fact basically everything about this movie is spectacular hence the high rating, but if it had a better story this could easily be a 10/10 and one of the greatest films ever made. Still worth a watch at least once, especially if your interested in making films yourself someday because their is plenty of mastery here both behind and in front of the camera.
To talk a little more in detail about the acting its superb all around. I'm not always the biggest fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, in fact I think he has given many overrated/underwhelming performances, but he knocks it out of the park here with a subtle and nuanced performance. DiCaprio shows a ton of emotion here despite not having very many lines which is not something I would have thought was in his ability's but I was proven wrong here.
Tom Hardy is exceptional as the main antagonist of the film. He does a good job making his character not feel evil necessarily, but like an ordinary man who's trying to survive and painfully unfeeling towards his fellow man due to his past. Its Hardy's best work since Bronson.
Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson are also both totally believable in supporting roles as well.
Brimstone (2016)
Great cinematography and an impressively committed performance from Guy Pearce are not enough to make this memorable.
As a movie there is plenty of impressive things about Brimstone. For one its an ambitious movie with how it try's to tackle its big story (dividing into four parts played out of sequence). However It doesn't really feel necessary to be non chronological when watching it, but it does lend itself to some pretty good reveals here and there. I for one would have found the movie better if it just stuck to the first and last chapter and had some of the backstory explained cleverly with good dialogue. This would have made the movie tighter and less lengthy.
Some other impressive things about it are its production design, cinematography, and performances by its entire cast. Special mention must go to veteran actor Guy Pearce who gives an impressively committed performance as per usual. Always the chameleon, Pearce disappears completely into the role and he is what makes this movie most memorable. With that being said his character as well as most characters in this movie are fairly one dimensional and lack depth. Maybe make his villain a little less evil with a sympathetic side and maybe make Fanning's protagonist role a little less perfect and add a darker side. Just a thought, but as an aspiring screenplay writer I find its a good idea to add as much dimension to your characters as possible to make them not feel so black and white.
Another problem I had with this movie was the way it went over the top with its extreme violence and sadism. They could have just as easily made their point (whatever it was) without excessive gore. Here are a couple examples...
In part one of the movie a character is stabbed by The Reverend but instead of just having him be stabbed and bleeding to death we see his intestines have been brutally ripped out of him and wrapped around his neck like a noose. I don't see how that was necessary except for shock value. In fact this movie riddled with shock value and it makes me think that i'm watching a B rate horror film as opposed to a western thriller which is not a good thing.
Another example is in a couple places in the movie a young girl is horribly whipped (yet again by The Reverend) It didn't add to the story it just made it uncomfortable.
In summary Brimstone is a good movie with plenty of potential for greatness but unfortunately it squanders that potential with excessive violence/sadism, and a drawn out story with too long a run time. Shame, it could have been something special with a little more focus.
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Terrific film about a terrible film.
James Franco give a phenomenal performance in this dramedy which details the behind the scenes making of The Room.
Wind River (2017)
Boring and pointless.
This movie was awful. Its plot is boring and clichéd and its characters are paper thin and uninteresting. Elizabeth Olsen is terribly miscast. Her acting ranges from boring to cringe worthy and she ruins a lot of this film as she gets the most screen time.
The movie sets up a mystery early on with some girl we don't know or care about and the pay off after an hour of boring, drawn out nonsense is that the whole thing (spoiler alert) was done by some guys who were evil for no reason. They brutally murder their friend and rape his girlfriend for no reason at all, they just do it because they are meanie heads. What a great screenplay!
The movie sets up a mystery with the worst pay off I have ever seen. It has dull characters that are impossible to care about and a nonsensical plot/story full of clichés and contrivances. What a nightmare.
War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)
Drawn out and clichéd.
This movie is a complete joke. The plot is tediously drawn out for almost 2 and a half hours with not much of anything significant happening. The movie is called War for the Planet of the Apes but no such thing happens. The apes are basically in the background for a war that's actually between humans. The fu*&*?!?! I thought this was going to be about apes vs humans but I guess not.