Review of The Informant! What's the exclamation point for?

The Informant, directed by Stephen Soderberg and starring Matt Damon, follows real-life Mark Whitacre, as he works for a corn company and becomes a corporate whistle blower once he accuses his company of price-fixing. Really, this movie could have ended up being overly dramatic or overly comedic, but it ends up resting in the middle, with an odd, mixed overtone throughout. On one hand you've got Matt Damon who's thinking about how steam rises up from indoor pools in the winter, and on the other you've got Joel McHale trying to stop a multi-million dollar theft. It's just weird. But the movie does has its moments, when Matt Damon does his voice overs they really are funny and, in a way, cute. They provide most of the comedy in the movie, and it also lets you get into the character's head a little bit but not enough to destroy the plot. I was surprised how everything was kept concealed well and not unintentionally given away at indefinable moments. The score was a nice touch, it gives you the feeling that this is a crime caper, like how Damon's character feels it is, when it really isn't.
The Verdict:
The Informant! was good, but not great. At times it dragged on and parts that were supposed to be entertaining really weren't. Damon gives a nice performance and the suspense is able to silently build up while keeping things joyous. All in all, The Informant is a bit, dare I say, corny?
I give it 3.5 stupid puns at the end of a review out of 5. 3.5/5

Dual Review- A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Naturally.

I've got a dual review for you, folks. I don't usually do two reviews combined but unusual circumstances call for unusual measures. A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More are directed by Sergio Leone and star Clint Eastwood, two of the three films in the "Man With No Name" trilogy. So I'll give a review of both and then give a score of both of them at the end.

A Fistful of Dollars- The first film in the trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars is also a remake of the film Yojimbo, which was a Japanese film. So Clint Eastwood winds up in a town somewhere near the Mexican-American border. Of course, who isn't looking for money? Clint meets with the owner of the bar in town and finds out that there are two factions fighting against each other. He decides to work for both sides and ultimately pinning each one against each other all while making some money in the process. It's a very good story, more or less original. The better mark was cinematography and special effects, amazing for the time and still blew me away. Even better was the amazing score from Ennio Morricone, making some of the best scores of all time, and this was no exception. Altogether, A Fistful of Dollars was a great film, but I could still tell that Leone still had some improvements to make. I'd give this movie, individually, a 4.5/5.

For a Few Dollars More- Definitely the better of the two, For a Few Dollars More gave the illusion that it was a direct sequel to the first movie in the trilogy. That isn't true, in fact, there is no allusion to the first film at all. Weird, huh? Nevertheless, the story is even better than the first, following a lone bounty killer, Clint Eastwood, who decides to take out the wildest man in Texas, Indio, played fantastically by Gian Maria Volonte, for a hefty ten-thousand dollars. But he isn't the only one. Lee Van Cleef, another master killer, is out for Indio too. They decide to work together and share the bounty. Also, this film takes place all over Texas and New Mexico instead of just one town, like in the first. The shootouts are amazing, swift but action-packed. The score is better here as well, yet another from Ennio Morricone, but provides a more haunting undertone to go with the wild moments. Leone definitely learned from his mistakes and put in more tight angles, and better cinematography. I'd give this movie, individually, a 5/5.

The Verdict:
Leone and Eastwood both knew what they were doing, kings of the cinematic west. But with a few missteps here and there in A Fistful of Dollars it's not a must-see, but a should-see. For a Few Dollars More is much better and improvements were made, making it a better experience. Together, these two great films earned themselves a perfect 5/5.

I know what else you were thinking. Where's the review for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? Well, I'm saving that one for a special review and I'm just as excited to see it as you are to read the review, right?

Quick Reviews!

I've been sick these past couple of days so I obviously watched a lot of movies. So I'm just going to name the movies and give a one sentence review and a score.

The Ugly Truth- Funny, and a charismatic performance from Gerard Butler, but fails to deliver in the story category. 3/5

The Boondock Saints- Bloody, violent, and sarcastically funny, The Boondock Saints is a good St. Patrick's Day watch. 4/5

Pineapple Express- A hilarious romp full of cannabis. 5/5

Dirty Harry- With a fantastic leading role from Clint Eastwood and an interesting story to boot, Dirty Harry is a real romp to watch. 5/5.

Magnum Force- One of the many sequels to come from the Dirty Harry franchise, Magnum Force loses its step a bit but still manages to entertain. 4/5

Review of Law Abiding Citizen. It's gonna be Biblical. Really? No, not really...

Law Abiding Citizen, directed by F. Gary Gray, and starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler, follows the story of a man whose wife and daughter were murdered and raped so when he finds out that only one of them gets officially nabbed, he decides to wait ten years and then give everything he's got to bring the corrupt justice system down on a stupid assistant district attorney's head. Well, Jamie, you've finally done it. You've given the most boring performance of your career. And you know what? I honestly don't care because Gerard Butler actually did a decent job in his role! The supporting cast is also boring, all giving performances that could have been done better by amateurs. The plot is a bit messy as well, but it's easy enough to follow along so that you don't get tangled up in any conspiracies. The dialogue was good too and Butler's ability to deliver it well helped. But we both know why you're here and it's because you want to know how sickeningly cool it looks. It looks sickeningly cool. Hey, you may not like gore, but I sure do.
The Verdict:
LAw Abiding Citizen suffers from generally flat acting, a pat plot but suspenseful pacing, predictablity. But if you can get past the weak points you'll find a darkly humorous, gross, but good filmmaking. And, even when I popped in the DVD, I knew, It's like a game of Clue, only you know in the beginning that the Butler did it. I give it 3.5 T-bone steaks out of five. 3.5/5.

A One Sentence Review of Our Family Wedding.

Don't see it. 2/5.

Review of Precious. What can I say, I'm a sucker for New York sob stories.

Precious got a few Oscar nominations this year, and for good reason. Directed by Lee Daniels and starring Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, they turned Precious, what could have been just another generic sob story, into the most emotionally moving film of 2009. Precious has been beaten all of her life, sexually abused most of her life, and had one of her father's children and pregnant with another. And living in Harlem doesn't help much either. The direction is good, and the cinematography is great. To my knowledge, there was only one male character that actually got more than twenty seconds of screen time but even without almost any male characters, the actresses who portray are all amazingly casted, especially Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. As an abusive mother and helpless daughter, they work so well together, and Mo'Niuqe turns out the best female role I've ever seen. Mariah Carey is here too, but after her film Glitter, I was extremely skeptical, she was able to break the barrier as her role as a social worker, barley.
The Verdict:
Precious, in the end, was a great film about real life trials and tribulations, and sending a message that if you were in a position like Precious was, then you aren't alone. All you really have to do is watch the news and you'll know the story of Precious, but watching it can help you get an understanding of all of the nameless "Preciuos" girls out there who don't have a voice.
I give it five stolen buckets of fried chicken out of five. 5/5.

Review of Memento. What movie did I just review?

Memento is the Psychological Thriller starring Guy Pearce and directed by Christopher Nolan, who you may better know as the director of The Dark Knight, adapted his brother's short story, and the outcome is a fantastic mystery. Guy Pearce has a condition that makes it so he can't remember anything that happened after his wife's death. This film combines mind-blowing twists and turns by shifting through time, starting at the end and ending at the beginning, also providing noir-esque scenes describing someone he knew before his memory loss. There really isn't much of a supporting cast, mostly just Guy Pearce, "That Chick From the Matrix," and Joe Pantoloiano, they provide good chemistry considering almost every time Pearce interacts with them it's as if it was the first time he had met them, and that was a bold move, but one worth taking.
The Verdict:
Think of Memento as a puzzle. Throughout, you think you know what pieces fit, but you find out that that they don't. So you have to search for them until... What was I saying?
I give Memento five indestructible photographs out of five. 5/5.