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JakeStevens Blog

  • A Modern-Day "Citizen Kane"?

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    I don't even know where to start. This is an expertly written film - the dialogue is chock full of subtext, an expertly directed film - the cinematography is breathtaking, an expertly scored film - the music goes places you would never expect, and most importantly, an expertly acted film - Daniel Day-Lewis IS Daniel Plainview. In all regards, you need to see this film, especially if you enjoy Kubrickian mastery of form, and P.T. Anderson has that in spades. My biggest question after seeing this...should this have won the Best Picture Oscar? "No Country For Old Men" was stunning, but so was this. It's a tough call, and I'm glad I'm the one who didn't have to make it, because both of those films are fantastic works of art. Do youself a favor and WATCH THIS MOVIE!


  • Made Sense To Me

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    Babel  (2006)

    So I'm checking out some other reviews, and I keep seeing the same basic message, which is along the lines of "complex" and "intricately woven". Really? I don't think it was all that complex if you simply pay attention to the story and to the details. It's just a well thought out story with some great actors in it. In my opinion, this is a MUCH better film than "Crash" in all aspects, as I thoroughly enjoyed this film, while I thought "Crash" was amateurish and the dialogue unrealistic. Watch it with NO INTERRUPTIONS or DISTRACTIONS and I think you'll find it's a fine story (albeit a rather depressing one).


  • Don't Know What It Is...

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
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    The Pledge  (2001)

    ...but I keep coming back to this film. I've probably seen it 10 or 15 times now, and I believe it's because the direction, the script and Nicholson's acting are all top notch. This is a subtle, grim character study - no explosions, car chases or other cliches inherent in your typical police story, so it's no surprise it's didn't do well at the box office. It's slow paced and heavily reliant on your PAYING ATTENTION to small details, including dialogue and knowing glances courtesy of a slowly unraveling Mr. Nicholson, and if you've seen other Nicholson films, you know no one unravels quite like him. If you like your stories complex, dark and expertly made, this is the film for you.


  • Standard Issue Western

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    Written by Jack Nicholson and directed by Monte Hellman, this was shot back to back with "The Shooting", another Hellman-directed, Nicholson-starring Western. It's not bad, it's just not great. Good story, though it's obviously shot with a spartan budget. For fans of Nicholson and Hellman (and perhaps Millie Perkins), everyone else might get bored.


  • Witty, funny, and mostly realistic look at teenage pregnancy in the modern age

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    Juno  (2007)

    After the first five minutes, I was dreading the remainder of this film. It seemed to be too "hip" for its own good, but thankfully, I was wrong. Oh, it's certainly "hip" - it's "hipness" is piled on real thick, which extends into the soundtrack (which I actually wasn't wild about), and the hipest of the hip remains Juno herself, played expertly by Ellen Page. If you think about it, who else could have possibly played Juno than Ellen Page? It's the remaining cast that anchors this film in reality, particularly Juno's father (J.K. Simmons) who delivers his lines with the perfect blend of sarcasm and pathos; you definitely "see where she gets it from". I'm going to be honest: (SPOILER ALERT!!!) I didn't care for the way they handled Mark's (Jason Bateman) dismissal (the "your shirt looks stupid" line just seemed petty and unnecessary, and I thought, in a way, HE was right for wanting to leave his wife: she was overbearing and pushy. It's sad to me that he was the bread-winner WITHOUT having to wear a suit and tie and yet still emasculated by his wife for wanting to be "in a band", even though music more than paid the bills for them. Friggin' trophy wives (END OF SPOILER). My cousin's husband didn't care for the film because he felt that it supported teenage pregnancy, but obviously he's an idiot: You see, at the end of the film, the pain (both physical and emotional) she has to go through and the price she pays for her mistake. And several times in the film, she's heard swearing off sex. All in all, a funny, smart film, and I'll certainly be watching it again to pick up the nuances of the performances.


  • Poop

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    The Number 23  (2007)

    I went into this thinking it might be an interesting film about the mystery of the number 23 (thus, the title of the film), perhaps in the vein of the DaVinci Code (the book, that is) or Zodiac. Instead, I had to endure a cliche story about a murder mystery; blah. I was so disappointed in this film, I'm not even going to talk about it - why waste any more time on this crap than I already have? Skip it...big time.


 

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