Strangers on a Train (1951) - Movie Review

I’ve only seen a few Alfred Hitchcock films, all of which were amazing to watch, and Strangers on a Train did not lessen Mr. Hitchcock’s reputation.  Like many classic films Strangers on a Train has a gripping plot with a simple yet effective delivery since they can’t rely on the ever so popular movie magic effects of today’s film industry.  

Many classics I’ve seen are unbearably slow to me after being desensitized by modern films, but Strangers on a Train was a relatively fast moving classic bringing viewers deeper and deeper into the plot and struggles of the characters.  The essential plot itself is fascinating and I found myself still thinking about the genius and simplicity of it all days after the credits finished rolling.  Hitchcock also does a great job building up the tension and anxiety through the characters and situation.  Scripting and basic cinematography are fantastic to go along with Hitchcock’s other films.

Perhaps it’s a change in times but there were a few segments I found unintentionally comical because of overly ridiculous situations.  For instance, an old man crawling under a speeding marry-go-round platform in an attempt to reach the controls which are strategically positioned in the center of the out-of-control ride.  Even though this took away from the seriousness, I can’t really consider this a flaw and I can’t really point out anything else I didn’t enjoy.

Overall, Stranger on a Train was an intriguing and well orchestrated classic by Hitchcock.  Of course, viewers have to watch it with an open mind that it was released in 1951, but regardless I think most people with a brain will not be disappointed.

Rating: 90%

Unstoppable (2010) - Movie Review

Unstoppable fits well with today's genre of action thriller movies without the typical guns and mindless shooting.  The film kept me on the edge of my seat pretty much throughout the entirety of the movie and I enjoyed the emphasis on the flaws of corporate bureaucracy.  I have to say that Unstoppable reminded me a lot of Speed (1994) of which I am a fan of, but maybe just because it was the first rated-R movie I watched.

Unstoppable is engaging throughout the film and is well paced, meaning it was never too slow or too much to take in at one time.  It also had a few spots of gentle humor among the tension of the plot and situation which I thought kept the mood lighter.  The numerous different situations in the film are also well explained through depictions in the media coverage of the event.  Nothing was too outrageous but it helped me understand exactly what was happened or going to happen at all times.  At the end of the day, you come to watch this film for the suspense and action, which is well designed and built up.

The major flaw of Unstoppable is character development.  I am a big fan of Denzel and from Star Trek (2009) I guess I can consider myself a Chris Pine fan as well, so I expected great performances from both. However, since the movie isn't quite a dialog driven flick and lacked character development, I was quite disappointed with the contribution the two actors were able to fit into the film.  I'm not saying they aren't great actors, I'm just saying the film didn't really allow for them to shine on stage.  Another thing that I noticed but didn't bother me that much was the choice in music.  I felt like the soundtrack was taken straight out of Black Hawk Down (2001) or some other modern day warfare movie.  It was fitting for an action film and wasn't too displaced in Unstoppable, but did make me raise an eyebrow a little.

Overall, if you're looking for a thrilling and action-esk movie that doesn't involve a lot of bullets and gratuitous explosions while at the same time you don’t have character development on the top of your movie rating criteria, Unstoppable is a decently entertaining film to watch.

RT Rating: 70%

127 Hours - Review

I loosely knew of Aron Ralston’s story from before, but I still had no idea what to expect when going to watch 127 Hours. It’s hard to imagine a movie to be really exciting when the majority of the movie is set in a narrow canyon under a boulder, but to my surprise it was an artistic, well filmed movie that was exciting and a blast to watch.

One of the big things I look for in movies is pace, and even though 127 Hours was only 94 minutes long plot-wise it didn’t really encompass much but regardless I found that it was engaging from start to finish. The design of the film really puts you right next to James Franco and I felt my heart and mind struggling with the character the whole time. The filmography is also well done and considering 80-90% of the movie is filmed in close quarters I never felt that the angles became repetitive or boring. I also liked how the writers used Aron filming himself on his camcorder to bring a deeper understanding of what was going on in his head. It wasn’t the most original thing, but it was very appropriate.

As far as flaws, there wasn’t anything I can really put my finger on that I didn’t like about the movie except for the name. The film never really clearly explain the name, but I can take a pretty good guess at what it represents. Although, having said I thoroughly enjoyed the movie I have to say that it's definitely not for everyone. Even though I thought it was engaging, at the root of it all there isn’t a whole lot going on, but that's not really a fault of the movie or anyone at all really. Also, it gets pretty gory and hard to watch at some point.

Overall, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I came out pleasantly pleased. Great filming, great pace and great acting. It’s not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it.


Rating: 90%

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Review

So I've recently started writing reviews for movies on RottenTomatoes.com and I figured I'd share them here as well.

----------

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was an artistic and well paced movie. I've read the books and I have to say that the movie did a great job depicting the scenes just as I imagined them. Not many movies based on novels can boast on this subject. The difficult part of making lengthy movies is pace, which I believe the Harry Potter series has been nailing in the last two movie releases. The storyline is obviously pretty solid but can get confusing to those who haven't read the books, and since it's based off the novel I can't really criticize.

There were its downsides though. The previous movie, the Half-Blood Prince, really pushed the situational humor of which I am a big fan of and didn't feel was as present in the Deathly Hallows. However, this can go either way for many viewers. I also find that the movie lacks tension and therefore robs the climactic scenes of their potential. In other words, the movie felt stimulatingly flat and constant. One other style of action films that I saw in the Deathly Hallows was the super shaky camera and viewers not knowing with even 50% confidence what is going on.

Overall, I thought the movie was absolutely beautiful, well paced and being a Harry Potter fan I loved watching it despite its flaws.

The Old Man and the Vegetables

I recently got a request to blog some of my more popular stories from the past, and this was the first one that came to mind. I might be digging my own grave here because I think everyone knows my stories already, but after this I’ll know they know them. Knowing that still won’t keep me from telling them though! Enjoy.

----------

The stories of the Old Man and the Vegetables dates back to my high school years. I was at a planning retreat with the leaders of my youth group from church. We were at one our favorite retreat sites near Six Flags in New Jersey. It was a popular site among our group because it was run by Korean folks and they made home-cooked Korean food for our meals. That’s really the only reason why we like going there...

So they have a gym/chapel area in the central part of the facilities and in there was a random refrigerator in the back. The fridge side was completely empty and cleared of all its racks while the freezer side was empty save some packs of frozen vegetables. We figured the fridge side was large enough to fit a person, so we had the great idea to hide someone inside and tell others from our group to check out the fridge because “it’s really cool inside.” We thoroughly freaking a couple people out and caused one of our friends to immediately squat on the floor to start crying.

This was all good and fun until I managed to freak myself out by asking the questions, “Wouldn’t it be scary if we opened it and there was an old man inside? And then he would get out, open the freezer, take some vegetables, get back into the fridge and when we open it again....he would be gone?!?!?” If you don’t know me that well I scare incredibly easily. I mean, I literally just freaked the crap out of myself with a simple statement about an old man in the fridge. This is when everyone’s real fun started and my nightmare retreat begun.

Later that night we were getting ready for bed when I was in a stall taking a leak when the lights suddenly went out. The door opened for a moment and I can hear light footsteps going all about the bathroom as I start anticipating the cheap scares to happen around me. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t try anything while I was in the stall for fear of possibly seeing me indecent or getting urinated on, so I started to plan my escape. Luckily, my stall was close to the bathroom exit, so I quietly unlocked the stall door, quickly swung it back and ran as fast as I could out of the bathroom while yelling in order to drown out the frightening screams of everyone else hiding in the bathroom. Yes, I didn’t wash my hands, but I think it was worth not getting the bejesus scared out of me.

Later, we went out to a diner for a midnight snack and during the ride we did nothing but tell ghost stories. That wasn’t near as bad as what happened when we were all getting ready for bed though. I had taken a shower and was walking back into the big room all the guys were sleeping in. I noticed the lights were out and everyone was in their beds sleeping. When I had entered the bathroom only minutes before everyone was still up and about talking and not really ready to jump into bed yet. Unfortunately, I didn’t think anything of it. I was sleeping on the top bunk of a (believe it or not) queen sized bunk bed. When I felt something like a large rock in my sleeping bag as I climbed into my bed. I extracted it from the jumble of sheets and pillows to find it wasn’t a stone...but a frozen pack of vegetables! At that moment I realized I was being setup, but it was too late to brace myself for terror. Someone was hiding in my sleeping bag waiting for me and at that moment they jumped out screaming and I screamed back in fear while holding up the frozen vegetables in a poor attempt to protect myself. Of course it wasn’t the old man in my sleeping bag, but one of the other group members. The lights flicked on and everyone had a good laugh including myself, but inside my heart was still racing with fear.

There were no more attempt to give me a heart-attack or an accident in my pants with cheap scares for the rest of that retreat, but I sleep lightly that night in anticipation that one of the old man’s minions would come and stalk me in the night. Who knew an imaginary old man with vegetables can cause so much fear in an individual and bring so much entertainment to others.