reign over me: A

Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), who lost his family in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, still grieves over their deaths. He runs into his former college roommate, Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle), and the two rekindle their friendship. Alan, a doctor , vows to help his old friend come to terms with the terrible loss.

Here is the most overlooked and underrated film of 2007. I lived in New York city for three years, I witnessed the second plane hit the towers! I was a half mile away directly across from the financial district over looking the East River. I remember the phone call telling me that my military background in first aid and relief would be needed momentarily (and then the call telling me to stay where I was and help the people in my neighborhood deal with the sudden and short term grief that was thrust upon them).

I saw many people loose their identity that day. When family and dear Friends die so suddenly, a piece of us (larger then we let on) dies with them!

How do we grieve? Is there ever a good way? When will the dead's memory stop haunting our own? How do we honor all we have lost?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, there may not be any answer at all!

Reign over me offers a suggestion of response's to these questions. The attempts at diluting pain through real friendship and love left me hopeful and encouraged, this movie is a journey on finding oneself through the selfless act of helping those in real pain adjust to that pain and survive to help other.

Adam Sandler is brilliant and portrays real tragedy and emotion touching real people, I am one of them, and chances are you are one too.

Also see: Crash, Garden State, Things we lost in the fire.

There Will Be Blood: A++

There Will Be Blood chronicles the life and times of one Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon. Every human value – love, hope, belief, ambition, anger, fear, greed, corruption, deception permeate with the flow of oil beneath his feet.


I had to watch this movie three times before my final grade. Initially this movie is gut wrenching slow, with almost no sound except for the distant sounds of eery harmonics accompanying shots of some of the most spectacular cinematography. Diving deep into the core of mans true values becomes the soul goal of this movie, every scene in this 3hr movie is carried by Daniel day Lewis, his portrayal of an ambitious oil man aspiring to the heights of tycoon stature is scary and overwhelming.

Through Daniel Plainview (Daniel day Lewis) we witness the establishment of cooperate America, in all it's deception, corruption, anger, and fear. The irony of this film is that while watching the movie you are filled with excitement, wonder, and desire (much the same feelings that corporate America pushes on us today through various avenues of false advertising)?

There will be blood becomes extremely conflicting with the introduction of a small town preacher (Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine) who, feeling that he is loosing hold of the tight grasp of fear he has on his small congregation sees a need submit the dominate oil tycoon who entices his followers through money instead of fear.

A gripping tale, pitting evil against evil while asking, is man inherently evil? or only some men?

See Also: The Boxer, In the name of the Father, Thank you for smoking.

Enchanted : B

The beautiful princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is banished by an evil queen (Susan Sarandon) from her magical, musical animated land – and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn’t operate on a happily ever after basis, Giselle is adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer (Patrick Dempsey) who has come to her aid – even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince (James Marsden) back home. Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?

This is a children's story, a virtuous girls dream, and a young boys instructional fantasy on how to find true love. For the last twenty-five years the corporate geniuses and creative marketing minds at Disney have brought us the perfect fairy tales. Packaging happy feelings of love, dreams, and laughter in to two hour films for $7.00 per person annually! Enchanted is no exception to this tradition.


Enchanted has successfully brought our childhood to life, creating a magical world of dragons, handsome prince's, mischievous sidekicks, evil queens, and beautiful princess in real time. Disney brought our old dreams to us and showed how they could thrive in our realities of practicality, cynicism, and pessimism. kudos! I certainly have a hard time living in this world, but I at least have the comfort of knowing that somewhere, somebody in this great world has just broken out in random song to sing about holding hands and hugging trees.

That makes everything little better, and why shouldn't it?

See also: Princess Bride, Snow White, and Sound of Music.

The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: A+

While the infamous and unpredictable outlaw (Brad Pitt) plans his next big heist, he launches preemptive strikes against those seeking to collect the reward money on his head. However, the most deadly threat to James may come from those closest to him. Based on the book by Ron Hansen.


Have you ever had a hero? someone you looked up to your whole life, a person you held in the highest regard, you heard stories of them through the years complementing and creating a larger then life persona that you couldn't help but to admire. You dreamt about meeting and impressing them through your own prowess and ambition, only to come to the realization that the hero you grew up trying to mimic was a cruel and callous, possibly self obsessed egocentric? The realization of this shocking experience forces you to reevaluate your priorities, your personality, your soul being. You become the opposite of everything you aspired to become in your youth, what would you do if met with your fallen role model after this change?

Like Robert Ford, I grew up on the amazing tales of Jesse James. The formidable, daring, and brave robber who stole from the rich Yankees and gave to the poor and suffering confederates who lost so much in the aftermath of our Civil War. As a child I would hear stories of his courageous bank robberies, and smooth escapes. I traveled to his famed cave where Jesse and his gang would divide their spoils, he was to me a "Southern Hero"!

I have watched countless movies glorifying Jesse James, and degrading "The Coward Robert Ford" (or so he is called), the most honest depiction of Jesse James and Robert Ford however (in my opinion) is this movie. The accuracy and honesty of this movie is crushing and liberating to me, how the director Andrew Dominik cuts through the fairytale and myth of one of Americas most notorious thieves/glorified hero's to expose the true man is refreshing and truthful, more to his credit is how he creates true sympathy and apathy for Jesse's assassin Robert ford, branded as a coward for his actions only after being glorified by an adoring public.

I won't reveal anything else about this movie that the title doesn't already expose to you, I found this movie to be more about self preservation then almost anything else. You decide who deserves to be more vilified? Brad pitt gives the performance of his life, he is haunting and intimadating, but Casey affleck (Gone Baby, Gone) is an actor on his way to becoming one of the greats. This is movie shunned by the academy, but not by me, and hopefully not by you either.

Rated "R" for violence

See Also: 3:10 to Yuma, Bobby, and JFK

Dan In Real LIfe: B

Dan Ashburn (Steve Carell) is a devoted single father and renowned advice columnist. When his entire extended family gets together for a reunion in a beach-front house, he unexpectedly meets Marie (Juliette Binoche), the woman of his dreams. She is smart, funny, beautiful and she just happens to be his brother Mitch's (Dan Cooks) girlfriend. The man with all the answers finds that the hardest advice to take is his own.

I am a fan of simplicity, I enjoy complication only when every other effort has been tried and exhausted, the natural flow of life however seems to be of the opinion that complication is good for me. Dan Ashburns life seems to be in the same position as me, and maybe you too!

"Dan in Real Life", is one of the most real movies I have seen in the last few months, Steve Carrell infers the quirkiness of a life spent in selfless service, helping others, advising others, and comforting others in complicated circumstances, while ignoring the joys and simplicities of life that allow us to dismiss or at very least bare the complicated.

The discovery or "Rude awakening" of ones loneliness and singularity can be daunting, "Dan" deals with the how one overcomes this issue through love, the love of family, the love of Friends, and love of a girl and Boy. All the Happiness, Sadness, uncertainty, certainty, and finally acceptance of this solution are shown in complete truthfulness, it is raw in its portrayal and beautiful to see.

There are several Cons to this movie, The script is predictable & seems to lag through several scenes, the lack of explainable interaction between characters, and the over acting of other characters is unrealistic and disappointing. With all that said, this is one to see with the ones you love.

Rated "PG-13"

See Also: Once, Garden State, About a Boy

The Bank Job B

A car dealer with a dodgy past and new family, Terry (Jason Statham) has always avoided major-league scams. But when Martine (Saffron Burrows), a beautiful model from his old neighborhood, offers him a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street, Terry recognizes the opportunity of a lifetime. Martine targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal that spans London's criminal underworld, the highest echelons of the British government, and the Royal Family itself...the true story of a heist gone wrong...in all the right ways.

I sincerely hope I am not alone in my opinion that Jason Stathem has the talent to be a really amazing actor, the tidbits of that hope comes through in short glimmers of very good films (Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, the first Transporter, and more recently Revolver). "The Bank Job" thank god is not only one of those movies he shines in, this is the movie where he radiates like a beam of light.

This movie seems as though it was created for Jason Stathem, he is smart, Cavalier, and Bold while projecting an underlining conscious that proves him ashamed of his past and current criminal escapades. My Adrenalin was flowing from the beginning to the end of this movie, small gasp of horror and cringing pain were given over small amounts of violence that came across vividly due of the realism and knowledge that this all happened in the late 70's, that all of this amazing storytelling is based upon the true story of some very shady characters.

There is no love lost on any of these characters, these people, all of them are jaded criminals, but Jason Stathem and the rest of this movie makes it one hell of an enjoyable experience to root for them!

Rated "R" for Violence, and Language

See Also: The Italian Job, Boondock Saints, and Lock, Stock, and 2 smoking Barrels.

Gone Baby Gone A+

Dorchester, one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Boston, is no place for the weak or innocent. It's a territory defined by hard heads and even harder luck, its streets littered with broken families, hearts and dreams. When one of its own, a 4-year-old girl, goes missing, private investigators Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angela Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) don't want the case. But after pleas from the child's aunt, they open an investigation that will ultimately risk everything – their relationship, sanity and lives – to find a lost little girl.

Without a doubt one of the most overlooked, if not the most overlooked movie, director, and leading men of 2008. "Gone Baby Gone" rips your heart out and asks your conscience to decide between right and wrong on issues you have never been confronted with. There are conflicts inside each of us, "Gone Baby Gone" asks us to face our conflicted conscience and choose sides. Casey affleck is directed brilliantly by his brother Ben Affleck, who seems to capture the raw emotion of the Boston streets where good is good, bad is bad, and everything in between is "salt of the earth" hard working people that live with it all and never say a word.

It is clear that Ben Afflecks future is behind the camera, but Casey Afflecks future (lets hope) is just beginning. Fresh off of two gripping performances ( The assassination of Jesse James, and this movie) lets hope that his next script choices are not only better than his brothers, but he picks roles that show more of his dramatic layers. Morgan Freeman, and Michelle Monaghans acting is unscrupulous, but the real story is the undiscovered and untold history of Casey Afflacks character Patrick Kenzie. Guessing his story is why you should see this movie.

Rated "R"

See Also: Good will Hunting, Layer Cake, Crash

The Darjeeling Limited B+

Three American brothers Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman,who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other – to become brothers again like they used to be before their Father died and their mother (Angelica Houston) abandoned them to become a Nun in the mountains of the Himalayas.

At first glance this movie is something that no one gets, the type of show where we are so caught up in our own sense of reality that anybody Else's idea of reality is silly imagination, at first glance. As I sat listening to the opening song, and observing the characters so immersed in their roles as brothers trying to forget each other for the past year, yet willing to commit to reunite with each other to show there destain, mistrust, or success to one other. I was fascinated by their honesty hidden under there weak facade. This agreed upon "Spiritual Journey" Through India on the train "The Darjeeling Limited" brings these closer then they ever imagined through many sad and funny unexpected events.

Wes Anderson is a master a capturing amazing acting and making it look mediocre, the simplicity and quirkiness of his scripts complimented by his astonishingly bright and dark collaboration's of cinematography make for a very pleasing movie experience, why its pleasing I do not know, but that's probably my own sense of reality getting in the way of my imagination.

Rated: "R" for language

Also See: Rushmore, The life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and The Royal Tenenbaums.

Once: A+

An Irish street musician/ Vacum repairman (Glen Hansard) is waiting on someone or something to motivate him, when one day he meets a Czech immigrant girl (Marketa irglova) who becomes his inspiration to pursue his passion and in the process creating an unexpected friendship....


Every once in a while a movie, a song, peace of poetry, picture, phrase, or direct conversation cause's within us an epiphany that re inspires our youthful ideas of achieving what all odds say is impossible. Ideas of success, despite insurmountable obstacles, all because we knew deep inside that nothing could stop our passion or extinguish our tenacity for what we most desire. Once is one of those moving pictures, in cinematography, storytelling and arraignment this show expresses freedom.

The acting done by self professed "non-actors" is raw and refreshing, neither of these actors take acting too seriously and that is makes the acting so convincable and real. All of the songs featured in the movie were written and composed by Glen Hansard, making his performance of those songs in the movie so convincingly brilliant. The film from start to finish took 2 weeks, $500,000.00 and was filmed in its entirety with hand held video cameras.

This movie is moving, beautiful, and full of passion, if you see one movie that will lift you spirits and rejuvenate your soul ONCE is a must.

Rated "R" for language.

Stardust: C+

To win the heart of Victoria (Sienna Miller), a beautiful but cold object of his desire, a young man named Tristan (Charlie Cox) ventures into the realm of fairies to retrieve a fallen star. What Tristan finds, however, is not a chunk of space but a star in the form of a beautiful woman (Claire Danes) being chased by competing brothers and a trio of witches needing to restore their ultimate powers and youth.

Aside from the usual nerdy scifi movies like "Lord of the Rings", Star Wars, and Star Trek I have no affiliation to movies such as Stardust and often make fun of those who do!

This movie with all of it's flaws was enjoyable enough to make me eat some of those harsh words I may have said to hardcore fantasy/scifi geeks over the years! Allow me to elaborate?

The acting in stardust starts out mediocre at best, the music starts out to load, the storyline / writing is confusing and unfocused for the first thirty minutes of the film, and just as your preparing to pluck your eyes out, blow your eardrums, and seriously contemplate suicide the movie slows down, becomes quieter, and starts get good! The main reason for this is the saving grace of Robert Deniro! yes, you read right, Robert Deniro. He single handed Makes this movie into the next generations "Princess Bride", What Deniro does as in all of his other movies is make the actors opposite him look really good, because he is really good. His character is a complete departure from "normal Deniro", this move is so unexpected that you are taken completely of guard, unlike Travolta in "Hairspray" the departure Deniro takes really works, is outrageously enjoyable and changes the whole pace, tone, and emotion of the show.

I found myself grateful for finishing the movie, and was left feeling the way the movie wanted me to? Happy (good job Bob).

Also see: Princess Bride, Eragon.