"The Hurt Locker"

Usually for a movie that has not been in theaters and just goes straight to DVD it is rare that it becomes a great big hit. That's what happen with this movie The Hurt locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow. This movie in weeks became nominated for many Academy Awards this year. Actually winner of Best Picture, director, and much more for 2010. It outbeat many box office hits like Avatar, Precious, and the blindside and it never was in the box office. Just by looking at all this you can pretty much guess that this movie is a must see. But your probably asking can it live up to the hype? I watched it and let me tell you it does.

This movie stars actors Jeremy Renner as Sgt. First Class William James, Antony Mackie as Sgt. JT. Sanborn, and Brian Geraghty as Specialist Owen Eldridge.

The Movie takes place in Baghdad, Iraq during the Iraqi war.
It takes you into the lives of one bomb squad, Bravo Company, and there experience during their tour in iraq. The movie starts off as three members of the squad doing a routine check of a suspicious object in the road turns out to be a bomb, so they send in there staff sergeant in to defuse the bomb, as doing so the squad members notice something a little suspicious when a butcher comes out his shop with his cell phone looks at the sgt and starts dialing. With Specialist Eldridge being the first one to notice he starts running toward the butcher and orders him to drop the phone. The Sgt sees Specialist Eldridge running and starts to run also but it is already too late because the butcher makes a call and denoates the bomb killing staff sgt. Matt Thompson in the process. While Morning the lost of their head officer they send in Sgt. First Class William James in to take over Bravo Company. Sgt. James is one the best at what he does and holds the record for most bombs disarmed. He is fearless and has many reckless tatics that are not what you would exactly call protical but he gets the job done. Although he gets the job done Sgt. J.T. and Specialist Eldridge have a problem with there new Sgt. and do not agree with his methods because he constantly is putting their lives in jeopardy. So there is much Tension in Bravo Company with the new Sgt and how he is running things. But after the tension the fights and when the smoke clears they are still with each other 100% and after their tour is over Sgt. James returns home and see's his family and it is not the same for him so he decides to go back and begin another tour so he can have purpose in life.

This movie is so intense and realistic it really takes you into the war in iraq and shows you what our soldiers have to deal with on a daily basis. You really get a feel for this movie and it will have you off your seats wondering whats going to happen. The director did an amazing job of choosing the setting of this movie its not really high production film but the lighting, the effects, the music they all capture the mood of the setting and story. Its almost as if they just filmed real soldiers in battle because you don't really see acting in many scenes you see soldiers and how they act under certain circumanstances.

So even though I think Avatar should of won best picture this year, I can see why this movie got the award instead I enjoy watching it. So if you like watching a good war movie, or interested in the military then watched this movie and get a feel for what it is like during wartime. So take time and rent The Hurt Locker at your local Video Store.

"Brooklyn's Finest"

Last weekend I went to go see the movie Brooklyn's finest and let me tell you it was an amazing movie. Best Movie I went to go see in theaters since Avatar came out. It is directed by Antoine Fuqua the same director who made the movie Training Day. So right off the back you know this is going to be a really good cop movie. Also just look who is starring in this movie we have a quadruple threat here with Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Gere.

The movie obviously takes place in Brooklyn, New York and im guessing by the title you should be able to tell this another cop movie, but this cop movie is a full of action and drama with a crazy twisted plot that connects all together in the end. This movie takes you into the lifes of three brooklyn police officers all in the same division but do not know each other. You have Richard Gere as Eddie the veteran cop who after over 20 years on the force is about to retired in seven days but before he does he has to train these rookie cops and actually do some good work his last few days. Eddie is not the above average hero veteran cop that most people would expect. No hes just the average cop that does his job normally and stays within his boundary. He is widowed, a lonely achololic, and desperately looking forward to retire. It seems like everyone in his divison hates him but he doesn't seem to care. Also he see's this prostitute at her house every night and they seem to have a special bond he obviously is her number one customer because he goes there all the time. By the end of the movie he starts to fall in love with her, which I thought was hysterical because im like Richard Gere this is not Pretty Woman so stop falling in love with prostitutes, but she rejects him and he leaves. When he leaves he notices a kidnap girl that was missing get forced into a van he decides to finally be the hero and follow it.

Ethan Hawke plays Narc police officer named Sal. Now Sal is kind of a crooked cop because of the simple fact he has a family to take care of. As a family man he has a wife and I think about five kids with twins on the way. I don't know almost every scene a new kid pops up so its hard to keep track. Any way the house they live in is not big enough and is worn down, so with little space and his wife getting sick from the mold in their house he desperately wants to move. He has the perfect dream home in mind that he wants he set up the deal and is ready to go, the only problem is he doesn't have all the money to get the house. So through out the whole movie he tries to get all the money no matter what it takes even if it means taking the drug money from the raids he takes part in. By the end of the movie his deadline is the next day and he desperately need the money now, but with the final raid called off he decides to take matters into his own hands and go by himself to the drug house and take the money for himself.

Finally we have Wesley Snipes as Caz and Don Cheadle as Tango, Two O.G. gangsters and each other best friend. Only difference between them is Tango is a undercover detetive who is deep undecover and Caz doesn't know anything about it. He has been undecover for over 8 years and has even serve time in jail he is there to pin Caz and his gang and to stop their drug business. The only problem is Tango has lost everything by going undercover, his wife, who he is as a person, and he desperately wants to get his life back before it is to late and he is lost completely. Caz is the head of the gang and is a respected icon in his neighborhood, he has just gotten out of prison and he to is done with the life in the streets and wants to get of the game before its to late too. My favortie quote in this movie was said by Tango "Everybody knows, that these streets, They got an experation date." It shows that they know when enough is enough, but by the end things go wrong and they get betrayed by one of their own who wants to take control and Tango wants revenge so he goes to where their hang out is to seek it.

Eddie, Sal, and Tango all three of these police officer's stories, life, and problems all lead them to the same point, destination, place, and time, and all their stories connect together all just like that. I like how the director made all the paths lead up to the same point, and its funny how they all don't know that there all in the same police division. In order to see how it all unfolds go see the movie in theaters because trust me its worth it. All the main actors in this movie did an amazing job in each of there roles you really buy there part and get into their stories because of the acting ability. None of them really interact with each other except for Wesley Snipes and Don Cheadle and they took the cake because they had really good chemistry together. So the director did a good job wit picking the cast, the setting, and creating the story. Because you really get the look and feel on how Brooklyn, New York is and it's police department. So I give this movie 5 stars and two thumbs up.

"Pulp Fiction"

The third movie I decided to watch is Pulp Fiction. It is written and directed by Academy Adward Winning actor, writer, and director Mr. Quentin Tarantino. Now this is my favorite movie that I watched so far I really enjoyed it.

This movie contains many actors and actress including Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Maria De Medeiros, Eric Stoltz, and Rosanna Arquette.

I believe this is the only movie that I will say that all the actors in this film worked 100% amazing together. I completely bought every single one of the characters because everybody sold their roles in the own unique way. I would have to say though the two that worked together the best shockingly were Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta their chemistry and charisma towards one another really made this movie. Its a shocker because before this film I would never think to put John Travolta and Samuel Jackson as partners but they worked great together in selling their characters. I also personally think because individually they are both really good actors and are able to stay in character perfect on their own but together they were able to do it too. They sold the role of them being two tough hit men that work great with each other but not only are they tough they are pretty funny and sarcastic which adds a bit of comedy to the movie. This makes it more realistic because they get off topic alot and discuss weird stuff that is funny which makes it more believable because in real life no one has that tough guy look im mad and going to kill you attitude all the time. So they did a good job of doing both.

The plot to this film is kind of twisted and confusing in a way because of the fact that there is not just one plot or conflict in the movie there is several but they all have a way of connecting with each other at the end. I really don't like movies like this that jump around from story to story because sometimes it gets confusing and is difficult to follow and slowly looses the audience attention but this movie is exception because they did a good job with it. Basically its about these two hit men Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and they work for a guy name Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) and they are sent to retrieve a special brief case for Mr. Wallace and take out a few guys too. Then you have Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) who is a Professional Boxer who gets paid off by Wallace to throw a fight but he kind of disagrees with it but still takes the money. Then you have Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) newly wed to Marsellus, but while Marsellus is out of town for business he wants Vincent to take care of her and keep her company while he is away. Finally you have your not so average couple Ringo (Tim Roth) and Yolanda (Amanda Plummer) who at the begining of the film decide to rob at diner at gun point. But in the begining it leaves you with a cliff hanger but thats when all the pieces of the puzzle come into play.

I like how it was in a 60-70s theme and you can tell that off the back just by the settings, the lighting, camera effect choice, clothing, hair styles, etc. It really made you feel that you were in that era. Also my favorite quote and scene in the movie was the part when Jules and Vincent collect the brief case and Jules askes Bret (of the guys in the apartment) to desribe to him what Marsellus Wallace looks like. Now I can't really repeat the quote he said to him because of the profanity but I think that scene is Hillarious.

So after watching and reviewing this film Pulp Fiction I most definetely recommend it to anybody who enjoys a good story and likes to be entertain. But be warn this movie is probably the longest one I seen yet out of my reviews. I seem to have a habbit of always picking the longest movies to write about. So if you have time on your hands watch Pulp Fiction its a really good movie.

"PLATOON"

The Second Movie I decided to watch was Platoon. Directed by Oliver Stone in 1986. Which won an Academy Adward for best picture along with 3 other awards that year. Platoon is a war movie which takes place during the Vietnam War. So when a naive rookie joins the squad he quickly realizes that war is hell and right away regrets his enlistment into the military. The rookie name is Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen, he his not what you would call soldier material. He college drop out rich kid who voluntarily join the army while everyone else was drafted, simply because he wanted a different experience out of life so why shouldn't the rich people do their part in the war. The movie is basically about his experience and his part in the war. Thorought the movie he narrates what is going on and what he feels through letters that he writes to his grandmother. I personally think that part is kind of cheesy that his writting to his grandmother throughtout the movie, but I guess it shows the reality within the characters.

This Movie has many characters and many famous actors in it. Taylor's Platoon consits of soldiers named King played by Keith David, Big Harold played by Forest Whitaker, Rhah played by Francesco Quin, Bunny played by Kevin Dillon, Junior played by Regggie Johnson, Francis played by Corey Glover, Lerner played by Johnny Depp, Crawford played by Chris Pedersen, Gardener played by Bob Orwig, Manny played by Corkey Ford, Tex played by David Neidorf. The main characters in the movie though are Chris Taylor of course played by Charlie Sheen, Sgt Elias played by Willem Dafoe, Sgt. Barnes played by Tom Berenger, and Sgt O'neil played by John C mcginley.

The Characters all in all acted and potray the characteristic that your typical soldiers back then would have, they had all types of characters in their platoon. You got your typical redneck bastard who just enlist to shoot something which is Bunny which Kevin Dillion did a good job in doing because alot of actors over do the part that they play as a hick and it looks fake, but Kevin Dillion did just enough where you bought it. You also have the chill mellow guy in the squad that everyone likes because he brings a postitive attitude/energy and raises morale a bit which is Keith David Character King. Now Keith David I personally think is an amazing actor and you can take him serious in every role he plays. Now some actors I think over did their part for instance Tom Berenger who played Sgt. Barnes he did a good job but he over did it and he wasn't really clear when he spoke it was like he was grunting for most scenes, and what with all the scars come on. John C McGinley character Sgt O'Neil I didnt really get his character he was really like up and down throught the whole film so it was kind of sketchy he didn't do that good of job as i felt that he could have. Charlie Seen Character Chris Taylor was kind of the same way he was really on and off one second he is a scared rookie next he is going insane trying to be a bad ass hero and also it seem like he was trying to be funny at times. But I dont really care for Charlie Sheen as an actor he tries to be funny when hes not. The only person that I think was same through and through and did an amazing job was Willem Dafoe with his Character Sg. Elias, I bought his role and he sold it good as the good guy/hero you could say. Which is why he won best supporting actor.


This movie I would say is very time comsuming and somewhat confusing if you don't know whats going on. Its long but I enjoy somewhat it I got to be honest I didnt care too much for the story which is basically that the two commanding officers in the platoon are fighting with each other and cause basically you could say a civil war within the squad causing soldiers to pick sides. All because Sgt. Barnes kill an innocent civilian and some of his men where acting like savages and Sgt. Elias did not approve of it so after them getting into a fist fight he threatens to write a report about what he and his men done to the captain and Barnes threatens for him to not. And that when the conflict occurs. Other then that there are some action packed scenes not as much as I would like but it would do. This movie does a good job of showing the intesity and realization of the Vietnam War, not only with the setting and the battles but within the charaters themselves because war changes people drastically.


Platoon may not be the best war movie of all time in my book but its pretty good. So I say go watch it that is if you have time because its a long one.

"GOODFELLAS"

The first movie I decided to watch was the movie Goodfellas directed by one of the world's most skillful and respected directors in the business. Its Now believe it or not I never seen this movie despite all of the very good things that I have heard about it. Now this movie does live up to the hype thanks to the amazing Talents of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta. Now I personally think all three of these actors work really well together, they sell all of their scenes beautifully. They abousolutely potray the characteristics that a mob crew would have. You got the kid who wants to be part of the scene and is cool with everybody never is no trouble, a kid you could trust and count on which is Ray Liotta character Henry. Then you got the the big shot who everybody loves, basically the guy no one messes with and pretty much in charge of everything which is Robert De Niro's character Jimmy. Then finally you have the loud mouth, show off, funny wise guy in the crew which is Joe Pesci character Tommy. Now Joe Pesci did an outstanding job of being that guy it was perfect from his looks, to his voice, and his short height he was perfect for the part and he deserve his award for best supporting actor in this movie. I have to admit though he did such a good job of playing his role in the movie he made me hate now only his character in the movie but Joe Pesci himself. Why? you ask because he was the guy that always started trouble in the group. So cocky and self center yeah funny at times but he took everything so seriously and it got kind of annoying. There were times like man why do you have to be such a cocky jerk? For example in one scene where Tommy and the gang are at their hangout ther personal bartender a harmless kid who they called spider, was serving them drinks and he forgot to give Tommy his drink. So Tommy gets all mad and worked up over it he makes fun of the kid so bad and that he is working so slow, and he pulls out his gun and start shooting by his feet to make him dance because Tommy sees himself as kind of a cowboy, but anyways he accidentally shoots spider in the foot and doesn't even care. The next day their back having drinks and the kid is serving them drinks with a huge bandage on his foot and Tommy gives him crap about it, then spider speaks up from himself against Tommy and says go "F@*# yourself Tommy". So while everyone is laughing about it Tommy pulls out a gun and shoots the kid to death. Now that was a scene that makes you say what you got to do that for? but Joe Pesci did a good job of playing his role and keeping in character. Robert De Niro also did the same thing but throughout the entire movie and also in every movie he does. He is always does an amazing job of playing the role of the top guy who knows what he's doing and knows what he talks about and is always the guy that is well respected in every movie. Also the person that no one messes with. (Similar to Al Pacino). Ray Liotta by himself not that much I wasn't buying that whole innocent living the dream role he was playing throughout the movie, But with scenes with Robert De Niro though he did an excellent job mainly because Robert De Niro helped him out and look like he was keeping him focus.

Now this movie is based on a true story it is about a kid named Henry Hill (Ray Liotta Character) who wants to be part of the Gangster scene as far back as he could remember. So as a kid in New York City with his father being Irish he had to go work and help out. So he got a job at this resturant/bar across the street that was run by the mob and after time went by he learn alot from them and started getting money and respect from everybody. He love that scene so much he stopped going to school and started working their full time. His parents didn't like the fact of what he was doing, but as time pass and he got older he got deeper in the mob life. This movie is basically about the life of Henry Hill from his perspective with him narrating his life throughout the whole movie. We see three decades in the the life of a mobster and how it changes peoples lifes. Now Henry is part of a crew with Tommy and Jimmy, and they call themselves Goodfellas because they're wise guys as Henry so plainly puts it. Now the conflict is actually is introduced in the begining of the film when Henry Jimmy and Tommy are driving and then they hear something going on in the car, so they pull over, open the truck and see that the guy is still alive that they thought they whacked so they kill him brutally. Then it goes back to the begining to show you how it all happened.

So the problem is When Tommy gets upset at a party for one of a high ranking member of the family that just got released from prison. Him and the made man Billy get into an arguement over something little and Tommy takes great offense to it and was causing alot of problems and was told to leave. He comes back later on at night when everyone is gone except for Jimmy, Henry, and of course Billy. Henry and Jimmy Know whats coming so Henry closes and locks the door while Tommy takes care of business and starts beating Billy to death, with Jimmy helping him. So with Tommy Killing Billy a made man in the family that is a huge problem. Simply because that is a big no no in the Mafia you are not aloud to kill a made man in the family without the go ahead from whose ever in charge. or else your as good as dead. So with Billy body on their hand the three of them drive out and dump the body. As the years passed they pull of a number of heist especially a big one worth six million dollers which gets Tommy notice and he is offered to become a Made Man. This is a big honor for the whole crew. So as Tommy goes to what he think is the ceromony for him to be honored, He actually is set up walks into an empty room and realizes right away whats going on but it is to late and he is shot in the back of the head, as revenge for murdering Billy. After that everything goes down hill Henry becomes a junkie and gets in the drug game is arrested several times and basically becomes broke and is desperate. Jimmy becomes paranoid and has everyone involved in the heist whacked one by one. As life is crumbling down Henry does the unthinkable and betrays his family goes into the witness protection program and testifies against Pauly and Jimmy the top guys in the crew and has them locked up and everything comes to an end.

I really like this movie enjoy watching and the acting to was amazing I give it 5 stars. So if you enjoy watching action packed Mafia crime movies this one is for you.