Here are my top 10 movies of 2006.
The DepartedGenre: Crime/Drama/Thriller Released: 2006 Rating:  I will say this right now, as of 10:31p.m. on October 3rd, that this is the best film of the year. This is the most brutal, most bad-ass flick I have seen in years. The Departed is directed by Martin Scorcese, who also directed such BAD-ASS classics as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas. So, we already start off with an amazing director; now let's take a look at the stellar cast. We have Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Batman), Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Good Will Hunting), Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Basketball Diaries (easily his best flick)), Mark Whalberg (Four Brothers, The Italian Job), Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now) and Alec Baldwin (The Cooler). Stay away from this paragraph if you do not want to know anything about the story, because this will contain some spoilers. The story of the film is very complicated but I will give you a basic breakdown. I need to be careful not to give anything away though. There is basically a good cop/bad cop story going on here. Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio both went to the same school to become cops. Damon actually makes it to being a Sergeant, but he is corrupt, as he is an informant to Jack Nicholson. Nicholson plays the "mobster" type character, who the Massachusetts police force is trying to bring down. Everyone praises Damon on his stellar work, yet he is the one tipping off Nicholson anytime the cops are going to try and bust him. Now, DiCaprio plays the cop who goes undercover to help bring down Nicholson. DiCaprio does not know of Damon's inside job and the other way around. Martin Sheen and Mark Whalberg play two of the head men on the police force who set-up DiCaprio's character. I am already going way too much into detail. Just know there is a lot of tension and a ton of things are trying to be figured out at once. It is one gigantic montage of events. Like I said above, this is the best film I have seen all year. It is amazingly written, directed and acted. Nicholson plays his best role, at least in my opinion from what I have seen, since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He is just a COMPLETE BAD-ASS. Every one line of dialogue is perfect. I loved how he was directed in the beginning. They put shadows over him, so you can just distinctly recognize his face. Nicholson was not the only star though. Every actor was phenomenal in this film. Leonardo DiCaprio may have actually found an out. What I mean by that is, he is always held to his role in Titanic. I honestly think his performance in this film is Oscar caliber, along with Matt Damon's. I really liked Mark Whalberg's character. He was a cocky and arrogant prick, but he had some of the best dialogue in the film. Surprisingly, Alec Baldwin was one of my favorite characters in the film. His PATRIOT ACT line was CLASSIC!! You will know it when you hear it. Overall, the film is just amazing. I want to see it again so bad. The pacing was perfect, even with its running time being at 2 hours and a half. It was never boring and always kept me on the edge of my seat wanting more. It is so freaking violent, that even I was taken back a little bit. I love violent flicks, but this movie was just extreme. I am talking blood squirting all over the place. Scorcese is BACK!!! I would put this film on par with Goodfellas and Casino. I know that is a bold statement, but it is just that good. He got screwed over two years ago for The Aviator, but this film will get him an Oscar for best director. If it doesn't, then someone is an idiot. There were not many problems with the film. There were some editing errors, i.e. jump cuts and continuity stuff, but nothing really major. The movie really felt like one long montage to me. I love montages in films because they just grip you into it. When a whole movie flows like that, it is perfect. You never want it to end. This is a MUST-SEE FILM, hence the 5 BDK rating. I will definitely be seeing again. GO SEE THIS FLICK NOW. HAIL TO THE IRISH!!!!!! Click here to listen to the podcast from 10/6/06 |
The PrestigeGenre: Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Thriller Released: 2006 Rating: MY EIGTH 5 BDK movie of the year!! WOW! That pretty much sums my entire review of this film. My boy Christopher Nolan is back. The Prestige stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men, The Fountain), Christian Bale (Batman Begins, American Pyscho), Michael Caine (Batman Begins) and Scarlett Johannson (Match Point, The Island). The man who is responsible for writing and directing this film, Christopher Nolan, is one of my all time favorites. He is better known for his masterpiece, Memento, which starred Guy Pearce and was told completely backwards. In case you have not seen the film, it is literally backwards. GO OUT AND RENT MEMENTO if you have not seen it. He is just a genius director. He also did Insomnia with Al Pacino. DO NOT READ THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE PLOT LINES OF THE FILM! The Prestige is basically a movie about magic, but with so much more. There are more twists in this film that I have seen in a long time. I will be careful not to give anything away though. The basic plot line has Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale working together as assistants to magicians. Deep down inside, they both want to have their own magic shows. The film starts off with Hugh Jackman dying and Christian Bale being charged with his murder. That does ruin anything; it just sets the audience up for a back story. The film does take place around the late 1800's and in London. A terrible accident happens while they are assistants and they split up. They go off and are always trying to out do each other, by stealing each other's tricks. This terrible accident left Jackman's wife dead and Bale as the blaming person. The pursuit of these guys is to find something that is "real" magic. They, especially Hugh Jackman, are tired of the illusions. You will see what he comes across that is real magic. I know the plot line sounds a little odd, but if I go any further, it will give everything away. In case you are wondering, Michael Caine plays pretty much a manager type character to Hugh Jackman. Scarlett Johansson is an assistant to the magicians. Magic is just the bedding though. The movie is truly about deceit and greed. Wow, I didn't really know that I could get that deep in one of my reviews. Overall, the film is just phenomenal. It will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I had to piss so bad while I was watching the film and I tried to hold it in as long as possible because I did not want to miss a single second, but eventually I had to get up and go. I will tell you right now, that was the quickest piss I have ever taken. The acting was amazing and the story just as good. Wait till you see all the twists in the film. I never saw any of them coming. The whole movie is basically one big magic trick and I am still in shock about the ending. I was always into magic when I was a kid. That stuff really fascinates me. There was another magic film earlier this year which I really liked called The Illusionist. I do feel that The Prestige is a little bit better. It kept me on the edge of my seat more. I seriously am glad that Christian Bale is finally starting to get a lot of spot light. I remember seeing him in American Pyscho years ago and thinking he was an amazing actor. He could be up for an Oscar for his performance in this film. Christopher Nolan really does not try anything fancy like he did in Memento. He just gives you a straight forward film. Remember, I have seen over 110 films this year and only given out seven, 5 BDK ratings. This is the eighth one. GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO SEE THIS FILM RIGHT NOW!!!!! Click here to listen to the podcast from 10/27/06 |
United 93Genre: Drama/History Released: 2006 Rating:  Ok...I am having some trouble figuring out what I want to give this film. It is definitely a touchy subject among a lot of people. For those of you who do not know what this film is about, it tells the story of the UNITED 93 flight that crashed in PA on 9/11/01. The movie basically is told in real time and goes through the events of that day, focusing specifically on this flight. My personal opinion about this film is that it should have been made. I really feel that when people think of 9/11/01, they think of the WORLD TRADE CENTERS and the PENTAGON. A lot of people forget about what happen on the UNITED 93 flight. Again for those of you who do not know, the passengers on this flight stood up for themselves and stopped the terrorists from hitting their target, which apparently was supposed to be the CAPITAL BUILDING. Now, DON'T GET MAD. I DID NOT JUST GIVE AWAY THE ENDING. THAT IS ALREADY A KNOWN FACT that the passengers stood up for themselves. Back to the film itself. The movie actually begins with the terrorists in a hotel room getting prepared for this attack. The entire movie basically goes back and forth from all the control towers to the UNITED 93 story. The one thing that I really found interesting about the film was seeing what the control towers were doing before the Trade Centers were hit. They knew of some weird activity going on. Now in the film, they do show shots of the Towers getting hit, but PAUL GREENGRASS, the director, chose to use the real footage. This leads me to my favorite things about the film. He really directed the film in an amazing way. It was shot pretty much like a documentary. The camera work was just mainly handheld and the focus wasn't consistent at all. It would be all over the place. It was overexposed a lot, which I though added to the crazy feel. Therefore, when he cut back to shots of the actual attack, it appeared to match his film footage. I thought that was really interesting. Now, the movie is "R" rated. There are some pretty graphic scenes of people getting stabbed. There really aren't any surprises in the film. The movie basically tells you the story that you should already know, but just gives you a visual of it. The only problem I had with the film was that the dialogue seemed a little forced at times. I know all the phone calls are real and that is what was really said, but I found it hard to watch an actor act the line out. It kind of threw me off. I give the movie 4.5 BDKs and I want everyone to see this film, whether it be in theaters or on dvd. This is something that people need to know about. It is a forgotten part of that horrible day. I did not pay to see the film because I went to a screening, but I will go see it again, because I heard that part of the ticket sales will go to the memorial. I would also like to see it in a crowded theater to hear other people's reactions. You definitely want to cheer when these passengers start trying to take over. I know I sound like everyone else, but this was a horrible day for me. New York is like a second home to me and watching that on screen was just heartbreaking. I have this theory, that I am sure other people have thought of, that everyone knows exactly where they were on that day when it happened. I was in an INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY class and I actually saw the second plane hit live. Please see this film!! It isn't the best movie ever, but it is pretty damn good. |
Little Miss SunshineGenre: Comedy/Drama Released: 2006 Rating: MY SIXTH (5) BDK movie of the year!!!!! Little Miss Sunshine seriously is the sleeper hit of the year. It probably will not make that much money and it will not be released in that many theaters, but I hope for the exact opposite. This is a smart, hilarious and perfectly written film about a dysfunctional family who makes a road-trip. The film stars Steve Carell (The 40 Year Old Virgin) as the gay uncle, Greg Kinnear as the father, Alan Arkin as the Grandfather, Toni Collette as the mother, Paul Dano (nerdy kid from The Girl Next Door) as the son, and an amazing little actress named Abigail Breslin as the daughter. This dysfunctional family decides to embark on a road trip from New Mexico to California. They all get packed into an old yellow bus, which looked like a VW. The daughter has qualified for the "Little Miss Sunshine" pageant and the family knows how important it is for her to go. Now, let me say, this is one messed up family. I don't want to spoil anything, so you will have to find out for yourself. The plot is rather simple, but it is the characters that make the film. These are completely memorable characters and their stories are classic. I found myself quoting dialogue the minute I left the theatre, especially the quote about sarcastic people. I haven't really been a big fan of sarcasm and it really put it into perspective for me. Little Miss Sunshine literally has no flaws, at least in my book. Every single joke worked, from the pushing of the car to make it start, to piling dead people in the back of the trunk. It is a wacky ride and will easily be one of my top films of the year. Steve Carell has a pretty serious role in the film, but he is still funny as usual. It was good to see him playing something else. Personally, I thought he stole Anchorman from Will Ferrell. In Little Miss Sunshine, he plays a suicidal homosexual who is forced to live with this dysfunctional family. Greg Kinnear did a hell of a job also as the father. His character just never has anything good happen to him. Kinnear pulled it off perfectly. The little girl in the film, Abigail Breslin, is seriously going to have a bright future. Tell Dakota Fanning to move over, because she is going to be the next big child star. Overall, this film is just flat-out amazing. It is very well written, directed and acted. It is laugh-out-loud fun. I was dying laughing for at least 45% of the film. You always have a smile on your face. I will definitely be going to see this again in the near future. Please check it out right this second. Click here to listen to the podcast from 8/11/06 |
V for VendettaGenre: Action/Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller Released: 2006 Rating: This is the film that stars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. For those of you who do not know who Hugo Weaving is, he played Mr. Smith in THE MATRIX and he was also in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Weaving actually plays the character, V, who is masked the entire time. Natalie Portman plays a woman who gets mixed up with V's plans to terrorize the English government. The basic plot of the film, without giving too much away, is about a guy, V, who believes the the government has wronged him. Therefore, he decides to take revenge on the government by blowing up some buildings. I don't want to ruin any suprises. Basically, he runs into Natalie Portman's character one night and saves her life. Throughout the movie, she starts to believe in what V is doing. That is all I will say about the plot. Right now, in school, I am taking a Free Speech and Ethics course and we are learning about the government and how our constitutional rights are being taken away from us, i.e. free speech. The movie really touches on the fact that governments do take away people's rights, especially free speech. For example, the movie does take place in the future (2015 I believe), and there are hundreds of songs which have been "blacklisted," because of certain reasons. You are not allowed to say anything wrong about the government or you will be killed. For example, there is a scene where a t.v. station runs a show mocking the "Chancellor" of England and he is found and killed. I have been reading alot about this film and many people have been arguing whether or not V's character is a terrorist or something else. I really feel that V's character was not a bad character at all. He was trying to help fix this corrupt government and he was fighting for a good cause. When you watch the movie, you will find out why he is so pissed at the government. I do not want to ruin that for you here. There are a lot of amazing dialogue pieces in the movie. Some in particular include; "People shouldn't be afraid of their government, their government should be afraid of them" (people actually clapped when he said that). I really felt for V's character a lot. He just seems like a guy that I would agree with. Now don't get me wrong, I do not agree with the killing of people, but I do agree with his cause. I do not want to make my review too political, because BDK really isn't a political person. It just touched on a lot of subjects that I have been dealing with in class. Back to the actual film. This film was absolutely amazing. I really cannot think of any flaws that really stood out. I was just on the edge the whole time. I went and saw it with CK and my buddy Dan and they loved it. CK agreed with the 5 BDK rating and Dan said he would give a 4.5. There are just so many bad ass scenes in the movie. There is one particular scene at the end that will make you freak out because it just so amazing. It deals with V killing a bunch of people. You will know it when you see it. You probably know that this film had something to do with the Wachowski brothers, the people who brought you the MATRIX. They actually only produced the film. I believe they also wrote the film. Overall, a very amazing film. It will definitely make you think about our government. They actually mention the U.S. government in the movie and say that we will be at a second civil war sometime in the future. Go check it out!! RIGHT NOW!!! Keep in mind that is my second 5 BDK movie of the year (2006). I have already seen dozens of movies this year, so that is pretty good. Anyways, IM me or EMAIL me if you have any more questions about the film. |
Clerks IIGenre: Comedy/Drama Released: 2006 Rating: Say, would you like a chocolate covered pretzel? I caught a screening of Clerks 2 on June 15th at the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). That was my first time ever going there so I was pretty damn exited. This is obviously the sequel to the AMAZING first film entitled, Clerks. Now, let me say right off the bat here that I am MASSIVE Kevin Smith fan. For those of you who don't know who Kevin Smith is, he wrote and directed Mallrats, Dogma, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jersey Girl. He is also famous for playing SILENT BOB in all of those films except for Jersey Girl. This time around, the film picks up 10 years later and the characters are working at "Mooby's." The QUIKSTOP has burned down and Dante (Brian O'Holloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson) needed a job. Dante is actually engaged in this film and is planning on moving out to Florida with his fiance, played by Kevin Smith's wife. I don't want to give any more plot points away. The film also stars Rosario Dawson and has appearances by Wanda Sykes, Ben Affleck and Smith's producer, Scott Mosier. The movie is downright hilarious. I remember reading something a while back that this was his dirtiest script ever and it definitely is. There were jokes in this film that were just completely disgusting. Trust me on this, you will never think of DONKEYS the same ever again (wink wink). Now, this isn't just your normal gross out comedy. The thing about Smith is that he knows how to write unique and very interesting dialogue. If you have seen the original Clerks, you know about the Star Wars dialogue and the infamous "37" dialogue. This movie is no different. There are dialogue bits in this film that will go down in history also. The LORD OF THE RINGS vs. STAR WARS dialogue was absolutely hilarious. Again, I don't want to give too much away. This time around, he brought an extremely emotional side to the film also. This seriously is all around great movie. It will make you laugh and make you want to cry at some points. You can definitely tell that Anderson and O'Holloran have improved their acting skills but there is still that same classic delivery where it sounds like they are just reading their lines. That is what made CLERKS so good. When Smith shot the first film, he just used friends of his as the actors. Who knew that it would become a huge HIT one day? If you ever get a chance, you should check out the documentary on the Clerks 10th anniversary DVD. It is called "The Snowball Effect." It goes into great detail about the process of making the original film. Overall, this really was a great film. It is ABSOLUTELY hilarious and it will definitely have you grossed out. Just a little side note; the film used to be called Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks, but that joke got old after a while so SMITH decided to drop that and just keep the simple name, which was a very smart move. If you are a Kevin Smith fan, please go see this movie. I will say this though. If you really don't like his work, then of course this is not going to be a 5 BDK movie to you. To me, being a massive Kevin Smith fan, I really though it was his best overall film that he has ever done. Obviously, the original film will be a classic, but he really matured his skills. Let me clarify that statement though. The first film will always have a place in my heart and goes down in my books as one of my favorite movies of all time. It is way more original than Clerks 2 will ever be, but the times have changed and Smith has gotten better at what he does. It is only natural that he would make a better overall film. If you haven't seen the other films, you might want to check out CLERKS at least before you see this. SNOOGANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
Lucky Number SlevinGenre: Crime/Drama/Thriller Released: 2006 Rating: WOW!!!!!! It is currently 3:50AM and I just got back from my buddy's theater. We just watched LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN. Generally at this moment in time, I would be tired as hell, but I am PUMPED UP. THIS MOVIE WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!! Ok, check it out. The film stars Josh Hartnett (40 Days and 40 Nights), Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci and a couple of other smaller stars. The movie really has not gotten that much hype, but I am telling you right now...GO SEE IT!!!! The basic plot line deals with (not giving anything away), a guy named SLEVIN who has been mistaken for a guy named NICK FISHER. Two crime bosses, one played by Morgan Freeman and the other called "The Rabbi" played by Ben Kingsley, both need money from this "NICK FISHER" guy. Josh Hartnett some how ends up in Nick Fisher's apartment and is taken as him. Morgan Freeman tells Hartnett that 96,000 dollars that he owes him can be paid off if Hartnett will kill Ben Kingsley's son. But, "NICK FISHER" also owes BEN KINGSLEY money. So basically, Hartnett is getting screwed because they think he is someone else. OK OK OK I will stop there. There is so much going on in this film and there are definitely a lot of twists and turns. From the trailer, you should basically know that Hartnett's character has been mistaken for another guy and he has to kill people. Bruce Willis plays an assassin in the film and his character is pretty mysterious throughout. I really do not want to give too much away. If you want to email me to find out more information, you can. I just don't want to ruin for other people. Just remember, the movie takes a lot of unexpected turns. Now, the direction of this movie was just amazing. The guy who directed it, Paul McGuigan, did an amazing job. Now , as you all know, I want to be a filmmaker. A lot of his shots were just plain genius. There is a specific scene where Lucy Liu's character and Josh Hartnett's character are having a conversation in the kitchen and the camera keeps going behind a pillar during the conversations. So there are many seconds of just blank screen as the conversation is going on. You will have to see it to understand. Another amazing shot is a shot where he does this crazy pan from one building to another. In one building you have one crime boss (Morgan) and in the other you have the RABBI (Kingsley). Ok, enough about the shots, though they were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. The script was pretty much perfect. I loved all of the dialogue. There are so many quotes. The movie is very violent. There are so many scenes where people get shot. Seriously though, I haven't seen a movie this good in a while. I wish I could tell you guys more, but I don't want to ruin it. GO SEE THIS FREAKING MOVIE. If I had enough money I would pay for all of you to go see this. The beginning of the film is great, with Bruce Willis in an airport. You will see what happens. Bruce Willis mentions this thing called "Kansas City Shuffle" and that is basically what happens in the movie. PLEASE GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It has an amazing cast and it is just perfect. My buddy Dan said he would give it 5 BDKs and so did my buddy TRISTAN. EMAIL ME OR IM me and let me know what you think. I want to go see it again. Peace out DONKEYs!!!! Oh and a couple more things as I am sitting here reading through my notes. Ben Kingsley's character and voice is so amazing in this movie. Some other shots that were just plain awesom were the shots of the chess games. There is one shot that reminded me of a shot from LAYER CAKE where the camera was under the table and you were looking up at the characters as they played chess. Sorry y'all, I am rambling on. I AM JUST SO CISED RIGHT NOW. This is the THIRD 5 BDK movie of the year and I think I have seen over 40. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!! PEACE Click here to listen to the podcast from 4/7/06 |
Thank You For SmokingGenre: Comedy Released: 2006 Rating: I was really debating on giving this a 5 BDK rating, but I have decided against it. It was an almost perfect film, but I can't justify this as being at the level of V FOR VENDETTA. I caught this film in limited release. It was playing over at AMC GEORGETOWN theaters. This film stars Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello (You can see her recently and naked in A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and THE COOLER), my man WILLIAM H. MACY (BOOGIE NIGHTS-his best role, THE COOLER), Adam Brody (THE O.C.) and Robert Duvall (The Godfather). The movie is basically about a guy who is a lobbyist for cigarettes. He works for a company that tries to find ways to promote the sale of cigarettes. Basically, he tries to make it look good to smoke them. He has two really good friends, one of which works for a pro-fire arms company and the other who works for a pro-alcohol company. I can't remember the specific names of their companies. I forgot to bring my notepad with me, so my OCD is trying to mess with me right now. I like to take notes during films because I like to be able to prove that I saw the movie. I have a ticket stub this time though, so I am straight. Anyways, Eckhart (the tobacco lobbyist) and his three friends call themselves "THE MOD SQUAD" (MOD=MERCHANTS OF DEATH), because they all promote things that are harmful to humanity. Throughout the movie, you basically see Eckhart dealing with people who are against his job and smoking in general. There really is not a solid story line. In one part of the film, he is trying to get movie companies to start advertising cigarettes by putting them in movies. They want to make a movie where Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta Jones are in space and after they have sex, they smoke cigarettes. You have another part of the story where Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek) is writing an article about Eckhart for a newspaper. I don't want to go into too much detail. The movie does have a point though, and you will see that at the end of the film. I thought it was very very well written. It was directed by Jason Reitman, which I did not know this before my buddy Josh IMed me and told me that he is IVAN REITMAN's son. Ivan Reitman directed the Ghostbuster films. I believe I read that this is Jason Reitman's first movie. He has a good film here. There is some really good dialogue in the film. My favorite line was when Katie Holmes asked Eckhart if the wine they were about drink was good. I am not going to say the line here because I want you to hear it from him. Just listen for it. It is so bad ass. Eckhart's character is definitely a bad-ass in my opinion. Oh, I forgot to mention that he has a son in the movie, played by Cameron Bright (who is really an amazing actor for being a kid). Overall, I thought the movie was excellent, just a little bit shy of a 5 BDK rating. Hopefully, it will come out into wider release soon so that everyone can see it. If not, right now it is playing over in Georgetown and in Bethesda. If you have any questions about it, or if you don't feel like seeing the movie and want to know the bad-ass line that I mentioned above, feel free to IM me at FRMDSKTILDWN or email me at BDK@BDKREVIEWS.com Peace out... |
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of KazakhstanGenre: Comedy Released: 2006 Rating: And the award for most politically incorrect film of the year goes too... "Hello...My name a Borat!" Who knew that a character like Borat would have such a cult following. I just returned from a hosting a screening of this film, which I want to say thanks to everyone who came out, and I am still thinking of some of the jokes. By the way, there were over 400 people at that screening tonight. If you have ever heard of "Da Ali G" show or have been paying attention to anything media related lately, you know exactly who this guy is. Borat is a character created by a man named Sacha Baron Cohen. It is one of the three characters that he plays on his show, along with ALI G and Bruno. Someone had a smart idea to make a "movie film" out of this Borat character and they basically landed on a goldmine. The flicks actual title is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That is definitely mouthful. The plot follows the Borat character, which is basically a stereotypical mock of a person living in Kazakhstan, to the United States to spread his culture. While in the United States, Borat watches a episode of Baywatch and wants to travel from New York to California to marry Pamela Anderson. I know the plot sounds retarded, but it is his humor which makes the movie so good. His jokes are extremely crude and offensive, yet some of the funniest damn things I have ever heard in my life. The movie basically just slams Jewish people. His comment about Jewish people and 9/11 was so wrong. The funniest part about this entire situation is that HE IS JEWISH in real life. Therefore, he is making a mock out of his own religion, which is not so bad. If he was not Jewish, he might have a harder time getting away with a lot of the jokes in the film. It is such a double standard. One thing that I wanted to bring up in review was whether or not some of the scenes were staged in the film. There is a scene in the trailer where he is talking to an older guy about how to tell jokes. It is the scene where the older guy is saying to pause and then say "not" at the end of any jokes. That older guy was actually at the screening that I hosted and I asked him about whether it was staged or not. The older guy said that he had no idea a movie was being made. He was just told a guy from a different country wanted to learn things. Ok, so that part was not staged, but what about some of the other things. For example, the Pamela Anderson thing is questionable. I think it was real, but a lot of people feel that it was planned. See for yourself and then e-mail me. Overall, the film is EXTREMELY FUNNY and offensive. I don't think I have been so taken back by a film in a long time. It was just insane. I will not lie; I have never really seen too much of his show, but I might have to go check out some of the DVDs now after seeing the movie. The movie is actually pretty nasty at times. There is a scene where Borat is wrestling this huge dude, while they are butt-naked in a hotel room. It was freaking hideous to watch, but extremely funny. The movie is definitely worth seeing in theatres and with a very large crowd. I was in a sold out movie theatre and it just made the whole experience a million times better. The crowd would be laughing so hard that you couldn't hear some of the movie. Anyways, go check it out in theatres. I would recommend going to see it RIGHT NOW, but if you are not that cised to drop 10 bucks on a ticket, go check out the matinee, hence the 4.5 BDKs. |
Running With ScissorsGenre: Comedy/Drama Released: 2006 Rating: I first want to start of by saying that this film is absolutely amazing. I went into the film knowing nothing about the plot line at all. All I knew was that it was based on a best-selling book. Well now after seeing the film, I can see why it was a best-seller, even though these days it seems like every book is on the best-seller list. That is a whole different topic though. Augusten Burroughs wrote his memoirs and entitled them Running With Scissors. Since it is such an amazing story, Ryan Murphey decided to pick it up and make it into a film that contains an amazing cast, including Alec Baldwin (The Departed, The Cooler), Annette Benning (American Beauty), Gwenyth Paltrow (Great Expectations) , Evan Rachel Wood (main star of Thirteen), Brian Cox (X-Men 2), and Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love, which also starred Gwenyth Paltrow). Ok, so far we have a best-selling book and an amazing cast. Well, they have sealed the deal with an amazing film. The film tells Augusten Burroughs's life-story and all of the tough times he went through. Augusten Burroughs is played by a relatively new actor to me. He goes by the name, Joseph Cross, and was recently seen in Flags of Our Fathers. Burroughs's mother (Benning) and father (Baldwin) are always fighting. They eventually get a divorce because the mother is going crazy and she wants to be a famous poet. She is always going through breakdowns and it is driving the father crazy. Meanwhile, Augusten is witnessing all of this. By the way, this movie is really hard to sum up in a plot line because so much happens. It would be like me trying to sum up my life in one plot line. Augusten's mother seeks help from a doctor, who is played by Brian Cox. Cox is just as crazy as the mother. For some reason the mother wants Augusten to live with the doctor while she goes off on her own to be creative. While living with the doctor, Augusten grows close, yet far, from his family. The doctor's daughters, played by Paltrow and Evan Rachel Wood, are nutcases too. Augusten turns gay and starts dating a man in his 30s, who is played by Joseph Fiennes. Basically, the movie is showing you how dysfunctional families can be and how much they can screw up your life. Overall, the movie is downright hilarious, yet heart-breaking at the same time. I haven't had my emotions messed with more than that in a long ass time. One minute you are laughing so hard you are almost crying and the next minute you feel depressed. There were so many classic scenes in that movie. Most of the funny scenes were with Brian Cox. He would say the most random lines of dialogue. I would put some here, but it would ruin them. Just remember the question Augusten asks him about his other door in the Dr.'s office. It is an extremely well-written story and well-written screenplay. You will be shaking your head the entire time wondering what the hell is going on. Remember, what you are watching is real life. This is somebody's story. There really is no beginning and no end. You are just thrown into the story and watching it like a fly on the wall. I give the film 4.5 BDKs because it is definitely a strong movie. It is not a big action adventure, feel-good film, but it definitely worth seeing in theatres. If you are hesitant about it, definitely check out a matinee. If you are really interested in seeing it, then get off your ass and go see it right now. The decision is yours on whether you see the matinee or go see it RIGHT NOW, hence the 4.5 BDK rating. Enjoy it! Click here to listen to the podcast from 10/27/06 |
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