Duplex

2/5

Duplex is one of those films that has everything going for it. It has a great cast, an interesting story and a great director but sadly the film has mountains of bad jokes and the plot is not believable and it falls flat when it shouldn't.

Duplex is about a new couple (Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller) who move into a duplex with a old woman named Mrs. Connelly (Eilenn Essell)who lives upstairs. The old woman is more than she appears though and causes a lot of trouble which makes people crazy.

The film has lot of bad jokes which is unusual from a film directed by Danny Devito, who who usually puts out quality movies. The film does get old fast and there are many duplicate and unfunny gags.

Another problem with this film as it is simply not believable. Ben Stiller's character gets fined for giving CPR and also he and his wife almost sell the house to raise money to stop the old woman. The film is just not believable and it makes the the film less fun.

The worst thing about the film is that is does have a nice ending and the whole cast does do a nice job. I think if it was more believable and there were some better jokes on top of the good ending, the film would have been a lot better. Instead, it is just a dumb comedy that has been forgotten for a reason and one I will soon forget.

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The Adventures of Tintin

3.5/5

I was really excited to see this movie and afterwards, I left feeling a little let down. I think this film has a lot of good things going for it but it also has a lot of flaws as well. In the end, I think this is a decent "motion capture" film but it could have been a lot better.

The film is a complicated story about a journalist named Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) and his dog named Snowy who go an adventure with Captain Haddock (voiced by Andy Serkis)to stop a pirate and capture some gold.

The main highlight of this movie is the motion capture. It is well done, looks good and quite real. The motion capture also includes some beautiful shots of oceans and deserts.

Another highlight is Jamie Bell who voices Tintin. He really helps move the film along and the character is very likeable due to him. Without him, I don't believe the film would be as good.

Another fun thing about this film is the action scenes. The action scenes are put together really well, are very fun to watch and of course the motion capture is spectacular.

The main flaw in this film is lot of things go unexplained. In many action scenes, Snowy the dog at times, will somehow get away from a villain and end up on a boat or something. Everyone of those scenes is ridiculous and quite unrealistic and it is no doubt a downfall of the film. I like the dog in this film but he really runs rampant and he appears to be way too smart for just a dog. He's seems to go everywhere including apartments and with him being so smart, he just does not seem like a real dog. Just like the dog, the plot is okay but it is hard to follow and I don't see any kid understanding it.

The Adventures of Tintin is film that has some nice motion capture and some nice voice work but really there are too much flaws to completely enjoy it. Overall, the film is a fun ride and has nice things there are some flaws so it is not really a "must see".

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Seven

4.5/5

I must say that I always really enjoyed the director of this film, David Fincher. He made the good serial killer film "Zodiac" and then two years ago made one of the best films of the decade "The Social Network". "Seven" was one of his earliest films and you can really tell he is inspired by other serial killer films like "Silence of the Lambs" but in the end it doesn't matter. Along with "Silence of the Lambs", "Seven" is one of the best films of the 90's and one of the best serial killer films out there.

The film is about two detectives (Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman) who are investigating a serial killer who kills people on seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, pride, envy and wrath.

Morgan Freeman is really good here. He does a nice job and I like how he plays his role. His character is mellow, lonely, calm and collected.

What I like about most horror films is the "kill" scenes but in this one, there isn't one. Usually I wouldn't like that but the shots of the victims makes up for it. They are unsettling, done well and are definitely some of the best scenes in this film.

Another neat thing about this film is how it combines religion and horror. It is quite an interesting idea and quite original. It couldn't have been done better.

Kevin Spacey is wonderful playing the serial killer. He is extremely creepy and very believable.

The main highlight of the film is the ending. The best way to describe the ending is it is jaw dropping and quite surprising. It is definitely one of the best endings I've seen in a film. After I finished watching this film, I could not stop thinking about it which shows how powerful it is and how touched I was by it.

One of the main things I don't like in this film is how there are some interesting ideas but they are never really developed. In one scene, Morgan Freeman tells the story of how his girlfriend got pregnant. That is all we are really told but I think it would have been better if this was developed further and we could learn more about the character. There were also quite a few "rainy" scenes. Usually I am fine with this but here, it seemed like overkill.

Seven is a powerful horror film that has one of the best endings you will ever see. It also has some great acting and is a horror film that you will not soon forget.

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Rushmore

3/5

Rushmore is one of those films that I knew from the beginning was going to be a weird idea for a film. From the plot and also the film poster, I thought it was going to be a hard film to pull off. After watching it, it was just how I thought it would be. Rushmore is a useless film that is really pointless. It never really goes anywhere but at the same time it's not all that bad and also kind of fun to watch just to experience the weirdness.

The film is about a kid named Max(Jason Schwartzman)who goes to Rushmore Academy. He's one of those kids who tries his hardest in school but still ends up failing. One day a new first grade teacher named Rosemary Cross(Olivia Williams)comes to Rushmore and Max falls for her. Herman Blume(Bill Murray)who is an industrialist comes also to the attention to her and the whole movie is them basically them fighting for her.

I really did like Jason Schwartzman's character. His character is very unique and original. Jason gives a good performance and this is a character we've never really seen before in a film. Bill Murray's character is also a nice character and he also does a good job. Both characters also have good chemisry with Olivia Williams' character and they both seem to really like her.

Like I said before, Jason Schwartmzan plays a very unique character but what comes along is some very unrealistic parts. He smokes and drinks and does a lot of other dumb things. I really don't see the point of the drinking and smoking and there is no way the school would allow that. I also love one scene where Max tries to build an aquarium and somehow he gets the contractors out. There no way that's going to happen and no contractor is going to listen to a 15 year old kid.

The film also wanders and has a bad ending. The film really goes nowhere and nothing is added to the film. The ending also is one of those endings where the film just ends and really adds nothing to the film. If this film had a decent ending added to the good acting and the cool characters, this would no doubt be a better film.

When it's all said and done, Rushmore is unrealistic and a somewhat dumb 90's comedy but at the same time it is somewhat good due to originality of the plot and the characters and the fine acting.

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Dark Water

4/5

Dark Water is one of those horror films that a lot of people say is underrated and was even was on some critics' list of best horror films of the decade. The film also has the talented Jennifer Connelly in it and this is definitely a good thing. I think Dark Water is a forgotten horror film that definitely is a must pickup even if you are not a horror fan.

The film is a remake of a Japanese film of the same name. The film is about Dahlia (Connelly) who moves her daughter to an apartment in Roosevelt Island after a divorce with her husband. After moving in, weird stuff starts happening all around the apartment. She thinks it might be the troublemaker kids that live in the apartment or her ex-husband. What she doesn't know is that she might be doing this to herself.

What really made this film so great is the atmosphere of the film. The film has a cool kind of out-of-date feel and kind of has the same feel of the first "Spiderman" movie. The film is also outstanding due to the actors from Connelly to even the cool John C. Reilly. Also Ariel Gade does an amazing job as the young girl in the film. She really moves the film and considering her age, her acting is really top-notch.

Another great thing about this film is it is always moving. Sadly a lot of films now have a lot of slow parts and sometimes the films don't really pick up until near the end. This film is not like that and there never is a dull moment. There is a twist which is another highlight of this film. During the whole film, you are really wondering what the twist is and once it does come, you are left with a good feeling.

What I didn't like in this film is some of the actions of Connelly character. While she trying to figure out what's going on in the apartment, she wanders into other people's apartments and then she's walks out like there is nothing wrong with that. Also with the twist, there are hints about what is to come, but everything is thrown to the side even though everything is still a mystery.

Asides from some flaws, Dark Water is really a good film due to an interesting twist, good acting and a nice atmosphere. Sadly this film fell of the face of the earth and is not really remembered. If you can find this movie, pick it up.

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Insidious

4/5

Insidious is one of those horror films that sadly I missed at the theaters and I finally picked it up for my birthday. Insidious has little originality in it but the film is still done really well and is a fun ride in many ways.

The film is about a family who move into a house and one day one of the children slips into a coma. After that, the house is different with weird noises and sometimes people just showing up. The family finds themself in utter chaos but what they don't know is that they might be doing this to themselves.

All actors put together a really good performances together especially Lin Shaye. She does a wonderful job and she can be pretty creepy at times.

The ending scene was so hard to put together but they did so well with it, making it seem so real and so realistic. Also, for a film that is only PG-13, the film can be pretty intense at times.

The ghost and the monsters in this are very cool, very well done and are very realistic. They can also be pretty creepy. I also really enjoyed the music and at times it can be pretty intense. The twist at end was really good and fine way to end this movie.

One of the main flaws is the coma scenes in the film. The characters are never with the kid that has the coma and they basically leave him alone. I've never known anyone that has been in a coma but I'm pretty sure that you always have to be around that person with the coma and that person always has to be in someone's sight. Also, one of the smaller characters in this was really annoying and cracks a lot of bad jokes.

The film does have "Poltergeist", "Exorcist" and many other horror classics in it but the film is a thumbs up because of the cool characters, the interesting story and the great twist at the end.

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Real Steel

2/5

When I first heard of the idea of Real Steel, I thought it sounded pretty interesting but would be hard to pull off. I finally decided to check it out and I must have say Real Steel does have promise but falls just short.

Real Steel is about Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) who is a former boxer who now fights Robots so to get his son Max through a financial deal with his Max's uncle after Max's mother and his former wife dies. He has three weeks with his son Max before he has to give him back to Max's aunt and uncle who go off on a trip. During the three weeks, his son finds an odd robot which changes his life dramatically.

First, I think the highlight of the film is Max played by Dakota Goyo. He does a very good job and hopefully he will get more roles because of this. The robots are very well done and realistic. The action scenes are put together real well and they are very fun to watch. Hugh Jackman's character is a very big problem though. Jackman's acting is fine but his character is not likeable at all. He is mad at everything and it seems he wants a different life.Even though the action scenes are pretty awesome, there are very few. I know you need to develop the plot but there are only three big action scenes in two hours.

The robots were cool but how they found the main one was ridiculous. They find it on a cliff in a junkyard. In all my fifteen years of living, I never heard of a junkyard with a cliff in it and I would have to believe that would break some type of safety standard. Real Steel has moments of fun and some great action scenes but has bad direction and some bad moves ruin this film.

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