THE FRENCH CONNECTION [1971] review

I did not even realize at first I was watching the famous car chase scene in THE FRENCH CONNECTION, it is that unusual and original. Yet another movie that was long in my mental queue awaiting watching. The movie has long periods with little to no dialogue, making it good for non-native English speakers to be able to enjoy. I think I will make it a point to see more Gene Hackman movies. In the past year I have seen him in HOOSIERS and THE CONVERSATION, especially liking the character in the latter. Overall CONNECTION is a very simplistic movie, interesting for its grit rather than its intricate plot. Basically it is a 2-hour on screen chase and tail by two determined NYC detectives against and up and coming Brooklyn criminal and a big shot French drug dealer.

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THE TOWN [2010] review

During the credits of THE TOWN there is some exposition on screen saying that Charleston (Boston area) has mostly law abiding citizens despite it also being the bank robber capital of the world in order to not make anyone deadly afraid of setting foot there. Too late. The whole movie was a emergency alert to avoid the one square mile town. It is always strange when movies try and make bad people into the protagonist of films and to be “good guys.” You have to question whether you can root for some people stealing a whole bunch of money shooting their way out of a building surround by police. There is no rational way you should, which is why the movie THE TOWN is an irrational form of entertainment.

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SIN CITY [2005] review

Does a movie like SIN CITY need to be made? Does it even need to exist? Does that much violence need to be contained and preserved? More importantly, is it something I need to watch? Something I should even expose myself to? Why did I suddenly watch SIN CITY tonight? I cannot remember what sparked me to put it #1 in my Netflix DVD queue. There were some parts of decency in the movie, but do they outweigh all the carnage? Does the stylized black & white cinematography that washes all color out of the blood make it ok? With so many questions, the simple answer might be no one really needs to or should see a movie like this.

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RED DAWN [1984] review

RED DAWN proved to me what I had long independently thought, that one has to be ready for anything at anytime.  Hence, it is just preposterous that in the past decade so many people started to wear flip-flops all the time.  A Man always wears some form of shoe.  Anytime I see a guy walking around town in flip flops I just shake my head.  RED DAWN literally hit the ground running.  I was surprised the action starts basically from the first minute, and that the movie was no holds barred hardcore.  Movies are so sanitized now.  Seeing a history teacher get shot right off the bat, I knew I was in for a good circa 1980s action film.

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TRON [1982] review

I am usually very accommodating and respective of legacy special effects, but after seeing TRON I am even more excited to see what current day special effects can do to enhance the story telling of that visually awesome universe.  I also learned that Moses in South Park is from the MCP in TRON, though no popcorn necklaces were desired in the latter.

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ZODIAC [2007] review

If you were avoiding ZODIAC because you thought it was a horror or slasher movie, do not hesitate to see it because it is not that type of movie at all.  There is some violence, but it is all concentrated in the opening thirty minutes and requires only minimal looking away.  Besides that, it is a great mystery thriller that made me very eager to see what happened next.

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PARANORMAL ACTIVITY [2007] review

I very, very rarely watch scary movies, and basically never watch true horror or slasher movies.  WIth it being Halloween Eve and me noticing on Netflix streaming the availability of PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, I decided to risk it.  I will have no trouble sleeping tonight as PA is not really that scary at all and features a set pattern of scary comes at night, relax during the day, repeat like ten times, so that there are few, if any surprises.

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