HARRY BROWN

Girl's first, yet again...

This movie is good flick to watch on a rainy day or when you have nothing better to do, but if you missed it in the theatre or you don't need to add another DVD to your collection, I would suggest to rent this film.

Michael Caine puts out a good performance, which is not a surprise. He is a high caliber actor, so he should be good at his job by now. The supporting actors were OK.

Girl's Rating: Worth the watch, if only because Caine makes most movies worth it.

Guy's Review...

This will be the new "Death Wish". Charles Bronson was the man but so is Michael Cane. Even though he's just an old little man he can instill fear in criminals and other degenerates in this little film. I just hope that this is not how the bad districts of England are being run. On the other hand it wouldn't surprise me. I've been there and there's some scary places. I guess I'll get Sir Caine to walk me around the next time I visit so I feel safe.

Guy's Rating: Violent and dark just the way I like it.

AVATAR

Girl's blown-away thoughts...

This movie was unreal. Everyone knows that this movie cost a lot of money, developed new 3D technology and took more than a decade for James Cameron to create. What people don't know before watching the film is whether that's all this movie has to offer. Whether the story holds up, or the acting is any good, or the 3D world and the real world mesh without the awkward movements and spacial dynamics working well. Well... they do. They work so well, you'll be thinking a continuous, long "wooooow" throughout the 3 hour epic adventure on Pandora.

The story is a typical, cookie-cut adventure movie with aliens. Man comes to planet, finds something they want, try (half-heartedly) to get it diplomatically, but end up using force. One loner, ex-marine has a change of heart during the politics due to having fallen in love with one of the native clan's daughters. However, there are some new elements to this adventure love story, such as this ex-marine is a paraplegic, who gets new legs by having an "avatar"created from his twin brother's and the alien Pandora native's DNA - pretty awesome. The scene where Jake Sully gets to run again for the first time is quite touching.

This movie, even with an old story skeleton, plays on some basic human desires. With the 3D technology, you can't help but be captive to the scene when Jake gets to learn how to fly something that looks like a dragon, runs through a forest canopy and jumps from high precipices, free-falling then catching himself on giant trampoline-like leaves. Pretty spectacular... and generally just awesome.

The visual stimulus James Cameron throws your way during this movie is almost overwhelming. Pandora has a massive quantity of phosphorescence, obviously chosen (and rightly so) to highlight the 3D nature of the film. When I say 3D, I don't mean the cheap shit you see at Disneyland or even the semi-impressive shit you saw in Pixar's Up. James Cameron has blown that old technology out of the water, making it almost archaic in comparison. Who cares that this movie might not hit $500 million in the first weekend to make up the costs of this film?! Cameron has patented a film science that film makers will be tripping over themselves to use.

I saw this film yesterday, and I dreamt of it throughout the night. I will definitely be going to see this in theaters again, hopefully in an IMAX. I just can't get over the fact this movie showed such depth, that I could -see- the space between someone standing at the front of the set and someone far behind them... It just blows my mind.

Girl's Rating: Obviously worth the money. No question. All hail James Cameron.

Guy's Gasps...

I've been a fan of sci-fi since I knew what movies were. Therefore I've always enjoyed Cameron's work when it comes to this genre. I heard that he was making "Avatar" way back in the day. I was furious that he didn't release any information and that all the actors involved kept such a tight lip. All I knew was that it was gonna be mindblowing... and mindblowing it was.

A while back the countdown to the movies first trailer started and I have to admit that I was psyched to see moving images from this now myth-like feature. So the trailer came out and I was impressed, but the trailer was not in 3D so I had no real grasp of what it was going to look like.

Night of the showing. As a guy that wears glasses, I hate to have to put another set of glasses on top of them (the 3D-glasses). As it turns out it was well worth the bother and I actually forgot that I had the glasses on. Cameron dazzled me straight away with a cryo chamber scene where we see Jake Sully (Worthington) looking at a floating spec of water. I almost reached out to touch it. After that small display of breathtaking 3D, I knew that things were gonna be amazing. The cryo chamber opens and the adventure starts off.

The 3D and CGI in this movie is so deep and lush that you'll have a hard time keeping your jaw from dropping. On several instances, I elbowed Girl just to see if she was as impressed as I was (she was). All I can say about the effort and hard work that was put into this world of Pandora, is that it was completely breathtaking.

Sure, the story was standard and can be compared to "Pocahontas" and "Star Wars". These types of stories will always be retold. Why can't Cameron do it? Well, he did and I was totally immersed in this story line yet again.

Sam Worthington was on a late night talkshow. He thanked Cameron for changing his life and that the only reason Cameron choose him was because he said "I'll work for a bag of bananas". Well, it's lucky he got chosen cause he did an amazing job. So did everybody else in the cast of this epic, epic movie.

I saw an interview with Cameron where he said that all he wants to do is make the money back so he can keep making these types of movies. So please go and see it and pay the money. We owe him that because he has raised the bar of cinema forever.

Guy's Rating: New life has been blown into cinema.

Unforgiven

Guy's Take...

As a lover of movies I appreciate every genre that's out there and Westerns happen to be one I'm very fond of. So you might understand that I got a little bit shocked when I heard that Girl didn't really respond to horseriding, six shooters and sleazy saloons. I took it upon myself to show her one of the best (there will be many more) in this genre. I felt that Eastwood's last journey in this world of cowboys and bandits was the right way to start.

Unforgiven is bittersweet. Sweet cause it's awesome and bitter because we know that we will never see Clint Eastwood in a cowboy hat again. Sure, there's a huge library of great westerns with his name on them, but I've worn them out and know almost every line. Clone him and make more spaghetti westerns.

Everything in this movie is pretty awesome. The resurrection of something that should have been tucked away forever (Munny's killing past), revenge of a fallen friend and just doing what you know is right. Munny can never repay what he owes the world, he knows this and is tortured by it. Eastwood's past western hero (Man With No Name) never batted an eye or spoke about regret when he took out his foes. It's almost like Eastwood apologizes for everything bad he did in previous movies with this one.

I know that there might be someone out there that does not enjoy this movie. Let me tell you now that you are wrong.

Guy's Rating: What do you think? If you haven't seen it, hurry the fuck up!

Girl's gander....

Well, obviously I can't say I hate this film. If Guy knows every line from every Western ever made (exaggeration? Yes), he'll probably know how to use the shotgun hidden under the bed... Kidding. We don't have one of those and neither should you. But! It sure is fun watching someone pretend use them on the TV.

I'm a big fan of blockbuster action films, so the Western genre seems like a step down to me. I think a Western flick is like someone took an action movie, took out most of the action, and stuffed it full of some shitty slow-paced story about love and how fast you can draw a six-shooter, throwing in a dude playing a harmonica or a lute or some other instrument equally unimpressive... However, I have to admit that Eastwood is pretty badass, especially when he is playing this Munny character.

I love Greek mythology and Munny is kind of like Hercules... Confused? Let me explain. Hercules forwent killing for love. He settled down on a farm and had kids. Munny does the same. When their wives die, they try their best to walk the high road, but end up falling back into killing. The difference in my odd hero comparison is that Munny does it with a gun and a bottle of whiskey, which, let's face it, is a lot more fun than a throwing spear.

Girl's Rating: Worth the money... and possibly the time to make a rebuttal to my Hercules reference.

The Invention of Lying

Guy first this time...

As a longtime fan of the great Ricky Gervais, I was psyched when I saw the trailer for this movie. It seemed like a solid idea with some great actors to back it up. Especially Gervais, who also took it upon himself to cast the hilarious Louis C.K. as his best bud. Sure all of this sounds like a great recepie for a good movie. This sadens me to say... but I didn't think the movie was that good. Sure the concept held up for awhile, however, 40 minutes in I fel the movie had started to drag.

Girl said after 20 minutes "He's gonna invent religion". This was something that I didn't see coming at all, but as soon as she said it it all made sense. Ricky is and has always been very vocal about his athieism. Here in this movie he gives religion a boost and manages to give it some insults at the same time. This was confusing and well done... at the same time.

Things that I liked. I liked Ed Norton as an angry policeman that got excited (sexually) when he got to beat people up. He also had a severe coke habit, as in cocaine. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a watery-eyed bartender and, of course, the very funny Louie C.K. who plays a down and out alcoholic/loser. All this sound fantastic but didn't impress me in the end.

P.S. There's a scene where Ricky's mom is dying and he tells her that there is a "heaven". He shows off some great acting chops here. I think I smell an academy award in the future (maybe for writing).

Guy's Rating: Wait for the DVD or even until you can find it in one of those two dollar barrels at the gas station.

Girl's thoughts...

Meh. That's my thought. Worth watching once, never to be seen again. I like Ricky - not as much as Guy, but I enjoy the man's creative genius in TV. This movie was a good idea, great first half, then it starts to strain apart. Guy noted Ricky's atheism, and it is nothing but blatantly apparent in this film. If I hadn't already developed respect for Ricky's material, I would have assumed this man had created a film just as a knock knock joke about religion.

I do want to say that I laughed quite a few times during this movie, and it did make me choke up when Ricky's mother dies. The acting was high quality and the famous actors were spread throughout the film like seasoning, which was kind of cool. I'm glad he has such support from his peers, but sadly, the story lacked some serious substance in the last half to make this a huge hit. In the end, it just made me feel sorry for everyone.

Girl's rating: Worth watching at least once (by whatever means), especially for those of us who love a good stab at Jesus.

The Girl's First Pick: Gladiator

Ladies first...

This movie is very special to me, for a very lame reason. I believe it's one of the first movies I cried to, consistently, as an "adult". Sure, I cried in Dumbo when he was taken from his mother, or in Pinocchio when it gets all drunk and scary... But Gladiator was my first when it came to being moved by the emotional anguish and epic story of a single character. Plus Russell Crowe showed what it meant to be superhero sexy male to my teenage girl mind. Maximus: The epitome of what a girl wants. He is strong, he is handsome, and he will not have sex with other women even after you are dead... Oh, the loyalty! Another bonus about the character? Maximus is a great name to chant no matter where you are - the arena or the bedroom, your pick.

In all seriousness, however, this movie has the perfect combo of cinematic elements. Ridley Scott, once again, amazes the masses with his movement of story, character and action in one flowing, epic mass of blood, sweat and romance.

Girl's Rating: Worth the money, over and over again.

The Guy...

I remember sitting down to watch this in the theatre with two of my friends. I had no idea what I was about to watch and had no preconceived thoughts about it what so ever. I knew that I loved "Braveheart" and wanted something similar to that. Well, I got it and then some. Opening scene when they take on the brutes in Germania, how cool was that? Fucking arrows flying all over the place... That huge guy with the club that was on that little hill, like he was the king of the hill...

Then the movie just kicked in (not that it wasn't entertaining all ready). I mean the story: Betrayal, death of family and a failed execution of our hero. You know you are hooked in and you know it's gonna end at some point, in this case you don't want it to.

For the actors (Crowe, Phoenix, Harris and Nielsen), they all did an amazing job here and deserved everything that came their way. So did the great Ridley Scott who made a moviebond with Russel Crowe, who's appeared in several of his movies after this adventure.

Remember the scene where Maximus drags his hand through the wheat? Like that scene hasn't been reused after this movie, where it is actually good... I almost got angry when I saw look-a-like Gerard Butler do this in "300". It doesn't matter, for "300" will soon be forgotten when "Gladiator" will live on in movie history for a long, long time.

Guy's Rating: Worth the money and the fact that your girlfriend will think that you're a pussy compared to Maximus.

The Guy's Kickoff Pick: Blade Runner

The Girl's take....

I'm going to say what I want to say first, as I don't have much to say at all and I know the Guy does. Blade Runner is a great movie. Visually, the story is compelling, the acting was well done (for the most part), and I love Ridley Scott movies. As I only had one issue, I can't say much else... What my partner here will say, which I disagree with, is that Roy Batty is one of the best villains of all time. Someone wrote a great speech at the end about space and war and life, but does that make the character great? The pivotal confrontation between our hero and the villain is Roy chasing Rick while howling like a possessed dog, spontaneously changing his mind about killing Ford, speaking more words than he ever did five times over the whole film, then disappearing into the night... Blade Runner is a great movie, but don't put it on a pedestal.

Girl's Rating: Worth the money. Worth the Oscar Nominations. Not surprised it did not win.

The Guy's take...

I was born in august 1983, this means that I was raised in an era full of sci-fi and Nintendo games. One of those sci-fi's was Blade Runner. My dad was a hardcore fan of space and everything that came with it. He loves Star Trek, a passion I didn't follow at all... Back to the movie at hand. I've watched this masterpiece more times than I can count now and I still find it entertaining and I leave the TV with a sense of satisfaction. It was well before its time and a flop when it came out. It has now turned into a cult classic that has been released in many different "cuts". I know Girl said that the main villain Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) wasn't that impressive. Well as she said, I find him to be one of the greatest villains of all time and the most interesting character of the piece. His fear of dying and the search for his creator will leave no heart untouched (maybe Girl's).

Let's talk about Harrison for a sec. He might have thought at that time that he had made a huge mistake in playing this bitter Blade Runner. When we look back now we can se that he made very impressive choices in his work as an actor. Even though his character here is boring you'll still be trucking along with him to find all of these Replicants.

The skyline and mechanics of this made up future is also something to revel at. When you get this on Blueray (and you will), you will all see that they hold up even to today's standard. Ridley Scott was and is a master when it comes to making movies look amazing.

Should this movie be remade? ... NO!

Guy's Rating: Worth the money, even if you wanna buy every different cut and format.