Foxcatcher Movie Review

Stars:
Channing Tatum
Mark Ruffalo
Steve Carell


Foxcatcher is based on true events that took place during the late 1980s. Olympic wrestlers/brothers, Dave and Mark Schultz, are recruited by eccentric millionaire John Du Pont to form the next official U.S.A Olympic wrestling team.

However, it quickly becomes clear that Du Pont is less interested in the sport of wrestling and more interested in impressing his aging mother. Thus, he allows his insecurities to get the best of him and takes out his frustrations on Mark and Dave.

All three actors give powerful performances throughout each scene. All of which leads up to a very dramatic conclusion.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Foxcatcher a solid 8.5 tamales.

The Equalizer - Mini Movie Review

I was thoroughly surprised by The Equalizer! Surprised and delighted. Denzel Washington really shines in this movie. He plays a badass ex-hitman of sorts who inevitably comes out of retirement in order to help the innocent. I highly recommend you rent/stream it!

I give it 8 out of 10 tamales! 

Exodus Gods and Kings - Mini Movie Review

Christian Bale as Moses? Believe it or not, he actually delivers a very powerful performance in this movie. Who knew a bible tale could be retold in such a fantastically secular manner? Not me. I highly recommend renting/streaming this movie.

I give it 8 out of 10 tamales!

Boulevard : Starring Robin Williams

http://www.comingsoon.net/movie/boulevard-2015#/slide/1

Martha Marcy May Marlene Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Elizabeth Olsen - Martha
Sarah Paulson - Lucy
Hugh Dancy - Ted
John Hawkes - Patrick

Director: Sean Durkin
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Rated R


Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) escapes from an abusive cult and reunites with her older sister. Though, the details of her time spent in the cult are sketchy, it quickly becomes clear that her mind has been reprogrammed by the leader Patrick (John Hawkes).

Martha struggles to assimilate back into modern society. Her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson), does what she can to make Martha feel comfortable but she has no idea where she was for the past couple of years.

Lucy is also preoccupied with trying to get pregnant so she can start raising her own family with husband Ted (Hugh Dancy). Ultimately, they decide to get Martha some professional psychiatric help.

This movie is full of great performances. Elizabeth Olsen really shows her range as an actor. It's hard to believe she's related to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. The cinematography is quite unique and so is the story.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Martha Marcy May Marlene 8 tamales.


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Closer Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Natalie Portman - Alice
Clive Owen - Larry
Jude Law - Dan
Julia Roberts - Anna

Director: Mike Nichols
Release Date: December 10, 2004
Genre: Drama/Romance
Rated R


Closer is a raw, messed up love story. It's an interesting love story but still a messed up one.

Alice (Natalie Portman) meets Dan (Jude Law) in the streets of London. She is hit by a taxi then rushed to the hospital. Dan accompanies her. She gets a couple of stitches and they get to know each other better. Dan is a writer of obituaries and Alice is a free spirited American. They soon enter into a committed relationship.

A year or so later, Dan gets his first novel published and has Anna (Julia Roberts), a photographer, take his picture for the inside jacket cover. Dan immediately takes a liking to Anna and begins a passionate affair with her.

Then Larry (Clive Owen) is introduced to Anna via a clever chat room prank. Anna and Larry then start dating one another and eventually become entangled in an almost cyclical love triangle.

Both couples find themselves ensnared by something far too complex to be called love.

I recommend watching this movie only if you're interested in seeing a movie that strays away from the traditional love story.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Closer 6.5 tamales.


Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

Bright Lights, Big City Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Michael J. Fox - Jamie Conway
Phoebe Cates - Amanda
Kiefer Sutherland - Tad Allagash
Dianne Wiest - Mother

Director: James Bridges
Writer: Jay McInerney  (novel & screenplay)
Release Date: April 1, 1988
Genre: Drama
Rated R

Bright Lights, Big City is one of Michael J. Fox's lesser praised movie credits.

Jamie Conway (Michael J. Fox) is a young writer living in New York City who turns to drugs and alcohol to block out the memories of his dead mother, played by Dianne Wiest, and estranged wife, Amanda (Phoebe Cates).

He also works in the fact checking department of a very popular magazine. Unfortunately, his boss is a very shrewd woman who insists that there be absolutely no errors or typos in any of the articles. With each new assignment, Jamie finds it more and more difficult to please her.

Of course, staying out all night at the clubs with his privileged friend, Tad Allagash  (Kiefer Sutherland), also doesn't help his work situation. Eventually, Jamie realizes that he needs to slow down or else run the risk of burning out way too soon.

This movie is really good at pointing out all the greed and individual decadence that was prevalent during the 1980s. I also feel the role of Jamie Conway is one of Michael J. Fox's best lead performances.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Bright Lights, Big City 7 tamales!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

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The Giver Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Brenton Thwaites - Jonas
Jeff Bridges - The Giver
Meryl Streep - Chief Elder
Katie Holmes - Jonas's mother
Odeya Rush - Fiona
Alexander Skarsgard - Jonas's father
Cameron Monaghan - Asher

Director: Phillip Noyce
Release Date: August 15, 2014
Genre: Action / Fantasy / Drama
Rated PG-13

The Giver could be likened to movies like The Hunger Games and Divergent but that would be an over simplification.

Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) appears to be an ordinary teenager living in a somewhat dystopian community set sometime in the distant future. His friends, Fiona (Odeya Rush) and Asher (Cameron Monaghan), look just as ordinary as him.

In fact, everyone in his community looks pretty ordinary. They all dress in the same drab clothing and are completely devoid of all emotion. By which I mean they were all genetically engineered and modified to the point of no longer being able to feel any discernible emotions.

The sole purpose for doing this is to ensure the propagation of a completely gullible and non-rebellious race of people. Oh and in addition to not feeling emotions they also cannot see colors. They only see in black and white, even though they have no concept of black and white.

Then the day comes for Jonas and his friends to graduate and be assigned their lifetime careers. Asher is assigned the position of pilot, Fiona is assigned the position of nurturer and Jonas is assigned the position of Receiver. As in receiver of memories. The collective memories of all mankind throughout all of history.

Luckily, Jonas is trained to receive these ancient memories by the current Receiver (Jeff Bridges) who can now go by the title The Giver.

The Giver shares many wonderful memories with Jonas but he also shares some very hateful and violent memories with him. Jonas finds it hard to stomach them all but he is still grateful for being shown a forgotten yet important aspect of being human.

The more memories he receives the more he evolves into a distinct individual. Of course, this is considered to be very wrong by the elders of the community. The Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) eventually notices Jonas becoming individualistic but the only thing she can do to try to get him to stop is threaten his friends and family with uncertainty.

This movie has a great story, great performances by each actor, great special effects and great cinematography.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give The Giver 8 tamales!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

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Street Poet Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Jeff Stearns - Jake
Tara D'Agostino - Marni
C. Thomas Howell - David Settles

Director: E. Paul Edwards
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Genre: Drama
Rated R

The life of a poet is not an easy one. It's filled with many hardships and struggles. But there are moments of great creative expression as well.

Jake (Jeff Stearns) is your typical angst ridden poet struggling to get his poetry heard and read by the masses.
Enter Marni (Tara D'Agostino) a talent scout for a major publisher who is very interested in getting Jake's work published. She takes Jake to a well known poet's, David Settles (C. Thomas Howell), book signing/reading with the hope of inspiring him to become more marketable.

Jake is reluctant to conform but he eventually realizes this could be his only shot at being a nationally recognized published poet. So, with some vigorous training and coaching from Marni, he becomes a lean mean poetry machine.

Marni also signs him up for something called a Poetron Slam. Which is just one big spoken word contest in which hundreds of poets compete for prize money.

In between all the training, Jake and Marni become intimate with one another. By which I mean they get it on!
You know what I mean. Eh? Eh? Ha, ha, ha, ha!!

But seriously… Jake learns of Marni's life threatening illness and freaks out a little bit but eventually looks past it.

There's a lot of really well written original poems in this movie. Unfortunately, most of the actors have a hard time conveying the raw emotional attributes of each poem. But they deserve applause for trying.

I really like Tara D'Agostino's portrayal of Marni. When I did a Google search I was bummed to see that Street Poet is her only acting credit. Apparently, she's now involved in selling Aflac insurance.

Tara D'Agostino! If you're reading this… PLEASE return to acting! PLEASE!

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Street Poet 6.8 tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

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Movie Quote: Superbad

Tiny Furniture Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Lena Dunham - Aura
Grace Dunham - Nadine
Jemima Kirke - Charlotte
Alex Karpovsky - Jed
Laurie Simmons - Siri

Director: Lena Dunham
Writer: Lena Dunham
Release Date: November 12, 2010
Genre: Drama/Comedy
Not Rated

Tiny Furniture is one of those movies you kind of want to hate but don't because there is something very relatable about it.

Aura (Lena Dunham) is a recent college graduate returning home with a degree in film theory. Though she's not exactly thrilled about moving back in with her artist mother, Siri (Laurie Simmons), and over achieving sister, Nadine (Grace Dunham), she knows she has very few options.

She's also still getting over being dumped by her college boyfriend. Nevertheless, she remains somewhat hopeful about the future.

It doesn't take long for her mother and sister to start getting on her nerves. Luckily, she reconnects with childhood friend Charlotte (Jemima Kirke) at a party. Charlotte is really good at being spontaneous and helps Aura temporarily forget about her troubles.

Aura also meets Jed (Alex Karpovsky) at the same party. Jed is known for making philosophical/comedic sketch videos and posting them on YouTube.

Aura becomes somewhat interested in Jed and attempts to date him but then backs off once Jed makes it clear that he is interested in having an open relationship.

The bulk of the movie goes on and on in a similar fashion. Lena Dunham has said in interviews that Tiny Furniture is semi-autobiographical. That's an accurate categorization for it.

Personally, I believe the world needs more female writer/directors like Lena Dunham.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Tiny Furniture 7.5 tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

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World's Greatest Dad Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Robin Williams - Lance Clayton
Daryl Sabara - Kyle Clayton
Alexie Gilmore - Claire

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Release Date: August 21, 2009
Genre: Indie film/Drama
Rated R

Lance Clayton  (Robin Williams) is a struggling writer who teaches poetry at a private school. He's written five unpublished novels and amassed piles of rejection letters from various publishers. Add to that having to raise a troublesome teenage son and you have the makings of a pretty frustrated guy.

Troublesome is really just a polite way of describing Kyle (Daryl Sabara). He's a straight up perverted asshole who doesn't appreciate everything his Dad has done for him. Although, his behavior does appear to be nothing more than a defense mechanism designed to keep him from getting too close to people, he's still quite vexing.

One morning, Lance walks into Kyle's room only to find him in the middle of choking himself while masturbating. Lance then tries to talk to him about masturbation but drops the subject upon seeing how uncomfortable it makes Kyle feel.

Luckily, Lance's flaky girlfriend, Claire (Alexie Gilmore), provides him with some minor relief from his frustrations. Of course, the fact that she's also a teacher at the same school means they have to keep their relationship a secret. This too frustrates Lance to no end.

Unfortunately, just when Lance is starting to find some kind of middle ground with his son, Kyle accidentally chokes himself to death. Lance becomes visibly distraught. This scene alone is very emotional and portrayed quite well.

In an effort to make his son's death seem less humiliating, Lance repositions Kyle's body in the closet and types out a deeply poetic suicide note.

After some time has passed, Lance returns to his teaching position only to discover that Kyle's suicide note was downloaded and printed in the school newspaper. Every student who reads it immediately feels some kind of connection to Kyle. The same goes for the faculty.

Lance then decides to write and publish Kyle's journal. Of course, Kyle could barely string two sentences together; let alone write an entire journal filled with thought provoking entries.

Still, Kyle's journal quickly becomes the number one book to read throughout the school. In fact, it becomes so popular that it grabs the attention of big name publishers and nationally syndicated talk shows.

I won't spoil the end but eventually all of Kyle's "fans" are revealed for the hypocrites they truly are.

Robin Williams' performance throughout this movie is stellar. He was a great comedic actor and an even greater dramatic actor. I believe most people tend to overlook that fact.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give World's Greatest Dad 8.5 tamales.

(Rest in peace Robin Williams.)

Sideways Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Paul Giamatti - Miles
Thomas Haden Church - Jack
Virginia Madsen - Maya
Sandra Oh - Stephanie

Director: Alexander Payne
Story by: Rex Pickett
Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
Awards: Academy Award for Best Writing
Adapted Screenplay
Release Date: October 12, 2004
Genre: Comedy-drama
Rated R

Take two near middle aged men, send them to Santa Barbara Wine Country and have them drink copious amounts of wine. That’s the foundation of Sideways.

Miles (Paul Giamatti) is a struggling writer who teaches English to 8th graders when he's not writing. When his friend, Jack (Thomas Haden Church), announces his engagement Miles plans a week long bachelor's vacation in Santa Barbara Wine Country.

Jack sees it as an opportunity to sleep with as many women as possible before getting married. Miles just sees it as a bonding experience and a chance to teach Jack a little bit about wine.

Along the way, they drink many glasses of wine and meet two interesting ladies.

Maya (Virginia Madsen) waitresses at a restaurant called The Hitching Post. Miles has had a bit of a crush on her since first meeting her the year before. Jack tries to get Miles to ask her out but Miles hates being forced into doing something.

Later, they meet Stephanie (Sandra Oh) at a local vineyard. Her and Jack immediately hit it off. It turns out Stephanie and Maya are best friends and completely open to going on a double date with Jack and Miles. Miles is reluctant at first but loosens up after a couple of glasses of wine. Maya is definitely attracted to him but she respects his personal space.

Jack and Stephanie throw caution to the wind and dive head first into a passionate relationship. By passionate I mean they do it like rabbits every chance they get.

Eventually, Miles let's it slip to Maya that Jack is getting married. Maya then tells Stephanie who then beats Jack's nose to a bloody pulp.

There's lots of vineyard lingo used throughout the movie but it's not too difficult to follow.

Each actors' performance really stands out. Their characters are easy to relate to. I would say I identify with Miles the most. I know what it’s like to be a struggling writer.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Sideways 8.5 spicy tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

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The Science of Sleep Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Gael Garcia Bernal - Stephane Miroux
Charlotte Gainsbourg - Stephanie
Emma de Caunes - Zoe

Director: Michel Gondry
Screenplay: Michel Gondry
Release Date: September 22, 2006
Genre: Fantasy/Drama
Rated R

Dreams and reality become one in The Science of Sleep.

Stephane Miroux (Gael Garcia Bernal) reluctantly moves back into his mother's French apartment while she is away on business. He is promised a job as an illustrator at a calendar producing company. Of course, the job turns out to be more monotonous than he was led to believe.

Upon returning from his first day at work, he notices some movers moving a piano up to the apartment of a new tenant. They struggle to lift the piano up the curved staircase.

Stephane then attempts to help them but as soon as he grabs one end of the piano one of the movers loses his grip. Stephane's hand is then crushed by the piano.

His new neighbor, Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), then appears and scolds the movers for losing their grip. Luckily, Stephane's hand is not broken. But it is bruised.

Stephanie then invites him into her apartment so she can render first aid. She also introduces him to her friend Zoe (Emma de Caunes). Stephane is immediately attracted to Zoe and attempts to impress her with one of his "inventions".

In addition to being an illustrator he considers himself to be an inventor. His inventions include, but are not limited to, 3D reality glasses, a mind reading helmet and a time travel device that only allows the user to travel back one second into the past.

He eventually gives up on pursuing Zoe but he also struggles to accept the notion of having any kind of romantic relationship with Stephanie.

In between all of this, Stephane frequently retreats into his own dream world. These are the scenes that are the most vivid and elaborately designed.
Stephane's dreams have a very child-like quality to them.

Unfortunately, he often has trouble differentiating his dreams from reality. It seems to be the main source of his frustration and inspiration.

I've yet to see another movie with the same look and feel as The Science of Sleep.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give The Science of Sleep 8 delicious tamales!

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

(I post mini reviews and pearls of wisdom on Twitter.)

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Lars and the Real Girl Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Ryan Gosling - Lars Lindstrom
Emily Mortimer - Karin
Paul Schneider - Gus
Kelli Garner - Margo
Patricia Clarkson - Dagmar

Director: Craig Gillespie
Screenplay: Nancy Oliver
Release Date: October 12, 2007
Genre: Comedy-drama/Indie film
Rated PG-13

Lars and the Real Girl is an interesting movie, to say the least.

Lars Lindstrom  (Ryan Gosling) is an extremely shy guy who finds it difficult to socialize and make friends. Even talking to his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) can be a very daunting task to him.

Then, one night, Lars tells Gus and Karin that he's met someone via the internet. They are surprised and pleased to hear that he is finally opening up enough to start dating.

Moments later, Gus and Karin are shocked beyond belief when Lars introduces them to Bianca the life sized love doll. They immediately jump to conclusions and believe that Lars has lost his mind.

Lars remains completely calm and relaxed as he explains where Bianca came from. He tells them she's from Brazil and did missionary work for a number of years until she decided on a change of scenery. She was also stricken with a terrible disease at a young age which caused her to be confined to a wheelchair from then on. Her wheelchair and luggage were of course stolen upon her arrival in the United States.

Gus and Karin then decide to get Lars some psychiatric help. So, they convince Lars to take Bianca to see their local physician Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson).

While Lars and Bianca wait in the waiting room, Gus and Karin speak with Dagmar in her private office. Dagmar has both an MD and a PhD. She quickly comes to the conclusion that Lars' recent lapse in sanity is not due to depression or any other kind of chemical imbalance.

Lars has adopted a delusion. If for no other reason than to help him work through his social anxieties.

Gus and Karin then inform their community of neighbors to ensure they'll be able to tolerate it. Unfortunately, most of their neighbors have trouble tolerating it at first but they eventually do.

One person who never really shows any signs of intolerance is Lars' coworker Margo (Kelli Garner). Although, Margo's crush on Lars no doubt helps her see past the possibility of Lars being clinically insane.

This movie doesn't have tons of fancy CGI effects or intense action sequences but it doesn't need them. Instead, it relies on a great original story and a very skilled cast.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give Lars and the Real Girl 8.5 tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist

(I post mini movie reviews and pearls of wisdom on Twitter.)

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About Last Night Movie Review by Ryan A. Loera

Stars:
Kevin Hart - Bernie Litgo
Michael Ealy - Danny Martin
Regina Hall - Joan
Joy Bryant - Debbie Sullivan

Director: Steve Pink
Release Date: February 14, 2014
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rated R

About Last Night is loosely based on a 1986 movie with the same title. In fact, it's so loosely based that it's an entirely different story.

Bernie Litgo  (Kevin Hart) hooks up with Joan (Regina Hall) upon meeting her at a bar. After a night of raucous sex, Bernie brags about it the next night to his friend Danny Martin (Michael Ealy).

Joan (Regina Hall) also talks about it with her friend Debbie Sullivan  (Joy Bryant).

Bernie and Joan then get the bright idea of introducing Danny and Debbie to each other. With the hope that they'll hit it off. Which they do for a while but then ultimately just end up causing each other needless stress.

Personally, I was less interested in Danny and Debbie's relationship and more interested in Bernie and Joan's relationship. But not for its romantic quality, for its comedic quality. Kevin Hart and Regina Hall make a great comedy duo. Their back and forth joking never seemed forced or belabored. I'd like to see more of that from them in future movies.

The rest of the story I found to be hastily written and carelessly stitched together. Maybe huge chunks of it were edited out to keep the running time under two hours. I don't know for certain but that's what it seems like.

I suppose it's an okay movie to watch when there's really nothing else to watch.

On a scale of 1 tamale to 10 tamales I give About Last Night 4.5 tamales.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter! My twitter handle is @buddhkist