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mgndyer
Reviews
Answers to Nothing (2011)
dark character study
This movie surprised me. There were some really great performances from people I didn't expect, namely Dane Cook. He seems to be a very divisive person in pop culture and I found his performance emotional and honest. It was a sort of a slow story that was all building to the twists at the end. It felt like Crash or other movies where all of these random stories collide in dramatic ways.
Some parts I sort of got bored with the pacing of the story. But there were also some really nice moments. Like when the amazing Elizabeth Mitchell buys baby clothes and stuffed animals and can't tell the check out lady she doesn't have a child. And then she has the box in her trunk full of baby clothes. That was beautiful acted and very emotional.
I also thought all of the scenes with the paralyzed brother and the recovering alcoholic sister. It just felt real and raw and I like it.
Good movie if you want something a bit on the dark side.
Against the Current (2009)
good, reflective film
Overall a good movies. The story slowly built as we learned more and more about each of the characters. The movie was a bit boring at some points as what felt like half the movie. This was probably because of the numerous montages of boats and swimming on the Hudson river. While this was beautiful and the music was generally good it made me loose interest during those sequences. But I found the story to be moving and the acting was well done. I particularly like Justin Kirk. He brought a lot of much needed humor to the film that dealt with some really heavy stuff. Over all a good watch if you want a quiet reflective movie. I would recommend it to pretty much anyone.
The Other Dream Team (2012)
Fun and Inspirational story of sports bringing people together
As a casual basketball fan I only some what excited to see this documentary. But The Other Dream Team surpassed all of my expectations. It is a great story of an underdog team that has just want to make their country proud.
The film had a lot of work to do to set up the long and complicated history of The Soviet Union and the smaller Eastern European countries, like Lithuania. I really enjoyed hearing the personal accounts of what it was like to grow up during the cold war and what it was like to be on the very strict Soviet Union national basketball team.
It is also fun seeing an Olympic experience through the eyes of a country that is not the United States. Many people know the narrative of the 1992 US Basketball 'Dream' Team and this story of the Lithuanian National team only makes that years events more important.
There are some amazing photos of the team over the years that were so fun. Especially all of the photos the team in the tye-dye shirts. So fun.
I laughed, I cried. It was great.
Greenlit (2010)
Great doc
This was a really informative documentary that didn't take itself too seriously. I really enjoyed watching this movie. I had no idea the amount of waste that the film industry creates. It seems as if a lot of Hollywood stars are big supporters of creating a more green culture but that is not really practiced in their own industry. It was really interesting seeing the difficulty of making even one film more 'green'. But the film shows the complexities of creating a green set and how it can be more costly and make the jobs of the crew more difficult.
I would recommend to anyone who is interested in how films are made and those concerned with 'green' culture.
Dead & Breakfast (2004)
Fun and funny film
I should preface this by saying that I usually avoid horror movies, particularly horror films that tend to be on the gory side. But i really enjoyed this movie and and all of its goriness. The movie is really funny. I actually found myself laughing out loud which isn't common while watching a 'scary' movie. The story is pretty standard. A group on their way to a wedding have to stop for the night at a bed and breakfast. The group then has to do with a bunch of sort of hillbilly zombies. While the film appears to be made a small budget, that sort of adds to the charm. I also really enjoyed the musical interludes. They were really funny and a highlight of the film for me. Overall just a lot of fun.