Horrible Bosses (2011)

4/5

Horrible Bosses follows three friends who decide to kill their bosses. Nick (Bateman) has been working late nights and weekends for 8 years to earn a promotion to VP of Sales, only to have the CEO (Spacey) take on the position himself. After an unfortunate event, Kurt (Sudeikis) finds himself under the rule of his old boss's son (Farrell), a cokehead and all-around dick. Newly-engaged Dale (Day) is being sexually harassed by his sociopathic boss (Aniston). When things become too unbearable, they decide their bosses would be better off dead and bumble around in search of a hitman. They end up with Jamie Foxx, who has a hilarious moniker that I will let you discover for yourself when you watch the movie.

As far as comedies go, there is nothing particularly new or unique about this one. However, it is a solid film, filled with raunchy humor and efficient pacing. The jokes come fast and furious, delivered with precise comic timing from lovable characters. Charlie Day pretty much plays himself, which I can't get enough of, and the other two are in their usual good form. The movie breaks no new ground, and (save for one shocking death) is fairly predictable throughout, but does what it sets out to do admirably well. I laughed my way through this movie and enjoyed every moment of it; what more can I say?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1499658/

Margin Call (2011)

4/5

Margin Call chronicles the beginning of the recent economic downfall from the point of view of the insiders within Lehman Brothers who first discovered the impending collapse. Although the script occasionally feels repetitive or simplistic, it is sharp, incisive, and filled with thematics that span far more than this particular financial crisis. It is augmented by a spectacular cast with exceptional performances. It's been a while since I've seen Kevin Spacey in such a phenomenal role, and he does not disappoint here. He brings maturity, subtlety, and humility to a towering character. He delivers his lines with precision, power, and nuance.

The director manages to turn the talk-heavy screenplay into a thrilling, energetic film (although perhaps punctuated by a few too many shots of shocked faces). He makes investment banking vernacular exciting, focusing on power plays to allow us to witness experts do what they do best. For me, nothing is as awesome as seeing professionals perform, and we get all that and more in Margin Call. Highly recommended.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615147/

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

2/5

The Men Who Stare at Goats is a disappointing "comedy" about the US Army's attempt to engineer psychic spies and the adventures of one journalist (Ewan MacGregor) as he tries to cover the story. It was advertised as being based on a true story, but that statement rings false. It's either an inside joke or an outright lie. The plot is so preposterous that it is impossible to suspend your disbelief.

The characters are shallow, unoriginal caricatures of people we've seen a million times before. The acting is only mediocre, even from some of my favorite actors (Kevin Spacey, George Clooney). It's probably not their fault and instead the fault of the terrible writing. The jokes are few and far between. When they do pop up, they fall flat about 25% of the time (and that's a lot for a movie that pauses for expected laughter). Coming out of the movie, I thought it was decent. Sitting down to write this review made me think about it more. And that only made it less and less appealing. Don't waste your time with this movie. Just watch the trailer and pretend the movie is as good as that.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/

Moon (2009)

2/5

Moon is an average science fiction movie in the same vein as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The plot follows space miner Sam Bell (Rockwell) and his robotic assistant Gerty (Spacey) nearing the end of a 3-year stint on the moon. After recovering from an accident, his body begins to slowly weaken and degenerate; he experiences hallucinations, vomits up blood, and loses his teeth. And that's not even the weirdest part.

The plot is interesting, to say the least, which is why I wanted to see the movie. But it failed to live up to my expectations because of atrocious pacing. There was no build-up, climax, or denouement. The movie peaked about halfway in, and after that you just sat and watched events you don't care about transpire. Without any prospect of progression, the audience will find the movie boring and slow, which is what I found it. (I even caught myself nodding off a few times, but perhaps a food coma from a delicious chicken bake was partly to blame).

The acting by Sam Rockwell was riveting, as it had to be to support the one-man show. Kevin Spacey's performance was acceptable, but his role was uninteresting. The editing was annoying (especially during the fight scene) and the special effects were wholly unconvincing. The rest of the technical aspects of the movie were nothing to write home about, and indeed I choose not to write home about them. Moon was an interesting concept, with some excellent moments, but on the whole should be avoided by the general public.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

21 (2008)

2/5

21 is a laughably bad movie; it is a fake version of a true story wherein six MIT students counted cards to win big from blackjack tables in Vegas. Except of course for the second and third acts, where things go wrong and become right again thanks to our hero. The story lacked creativity and insight. The writing was atrocious, the characters one-dimensional, the acting flat. Even Spacey was disappointing; while he wasn't bad, he just didn't have any opportunity to be good with the script. The music was always out of place. The scenario was exceptionally unrealistic: who believes that the only way to go to med school is with tuition for four years pre-paid? "Don't have $300k in your pocket? Can't go to med school!" And how can the idiot who believes this have gotten a 44 MCAT?

At the same time, there were a number of parts I enjoyed. Some of the action and exciting moments were gripping. There is one devastating moment in the film, where everything comes crashing down, and I really felt what the character felt. Several of Spacey's lines are brilliantly delivered, especially his vicious insults. The Asian dude is hilarious. It's fun to laugh at, but even then it's not worth it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478087/

Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)

4/5

Ordinary Decent Criminal is a very entertaining crime flick. Kevin Spacey plays a gangster who is also a family man. The characters are all pretty unique and interesting, and Spacey's acting is surprisingly distinct from his other roles. The movie takes on a Heat-esque theme as a cop takes on the job of tracking him down, finally resorting to the same tactics Spacey's character used. There are some very clever heist scenes that make you want to be a criminal yourself because of how fun it looks. It leaves you with the feeling, why didn't I think of that? I could be a millionaire by now.

The negatives. I thought a lot of the music choices were odd and didn't fit the mood very well. Also, the accents take a little while to get used to. Some of the dialogue and plot had nothing to do with the overall movie, even though they had the potential to make it very interesting. It's not particularly ground-breaking or innovative as far as crime movies go, but what it does, it does well. So, some unexplored avenues, some heavy accents, and some awkward music. Otherwise, a very entertaining, very clever movie that I would recommend if you like Kevin Spacey or Irish accents.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611/

Edison Force (2005)

1/5

"Sometimes the most important questions are the ones you decide not to ask." Like why is the elite tactical squad full of insane crack addicts? Why is every single member corrupt? Why are they allowed to kill people on a whim? And on these flights of whimsy, why do they leave living witnesses? I guess you probably wouldn't ask important questions if you were retarded, which is exactly what this movie is. Maybe it's telling us not to question the gaping plot holes or Justin Timberlake's heinous "acting," but looking that deep into it is giving the movie too much credit. Besides everything (characters, plot, and plot holes) being rehashed from all the bad crime movies and none of the good ones, it is clearly set in another dimension. One in which things don't make sense. Do not watch this movie. It is not so bad that it is good; it is so bad that it is worse than the good that's below bad.

By far, this is the worst movie I have even been close to considering watching this entire year. Perhaps my entire life. The only saving grace was the one scene with Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman chit-chatting. I think they were just ad-libbing though.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389957/

American Beauty (1999)

5/5

There is only one movie I have seen more often than this one (The Usual Suspects) and that is because I didn't know time management back then. This movie showcases so many veteran actors at the top of their game, and newcomers standing their ground when they share the screen. Their work is made possible by a script that makes perfection itself jealous. The characters are real, not fictitious, and this is how they speak; their words aren't twisted to get quotable sentences in there. Everything about this movie is real. Mendes's direction is spectacular. The music (masterful in its own right) starts before the visuals of the last scene have ended, pushing the narrative onward and keeping you interested. The composition and framing work on a thematic level. In fact, every aspect of this movie keeps its theme first and foremost. "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it. And my heart is just going to cave in."
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0169547/