Screen Rant » 5 star movies

‘Blue Valentine’ Review

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 23:13:33 +0000

Screen Rant’s Kofi Outlaw Reviews Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is a love story for our times – a film which examines the elusive nature of love and the weighty burdens of commitment, while also examining the complexity of modern gender roles and new attitudes about the bonds of marriage and family.

Best of all, the film manages to feel both timely and timeless, without ever going so far as to be preachy.

The story centers around Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams), a couple living in small town Pennsylvania with their small daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka). Dean is a high school dropout who makes his living laboring as a blue collar worker – he has many creative and artistic talents, but no drive to be ...

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‘The Fighter’ Review

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 02:41:49 +0000

Screen Rant’s Kofi Outlaw Reviews The Fighter

There are a lot of people who will go into The Fighter expecting to see the next Rocky or Cinderella Man – i.e., blue-collar fighter overcomes personal hurdles and/or demons to become a champion and American icon against all odds.

Well, imagine taking that cinematic cliche and rubbing it in the dirt while still managing to give it a touch of wit and a heavy dose of charm. If you can visualize that strange image, you’ll understand exactly what director David O. Russell has created with The Fighter.

This true-life story follows “Irish” Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg), a welterweight boxer living in the working-class town of Lowell, Massachusetts during the early ’90s. Mickey ...

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‘RED’ Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:03:19 +0000

Screen Rant’s Vic Holtreman reviews RED

RED is awesome.

No, I don’t usually start movie reviews that way, but I’ve seen RED twice (the first time was an unfinished work print) and I liked it even more upon the second viewing. Now keep in mind that I have not read the comic book series that the film is based on (although I did read the prequel comics for the film) – and from what I’ve heard the movie is very different from the print version. I can’t predict how fans of the comic will react to the film, but on its own it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

At the very start we’re introduced to Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), and within moments, without a word spoken, we ...

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‘Flipped’ Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:57:45 +0000

Screen Rant’s Vic Holtreman reviews Flipped

Flipped is a movie that having seen it, I’m really sorry we haven’t covered here on Screen Rant up until now.

It’s also a film that marks the return of the 1980s version of director Rob Reiner, and that’s a mighty good thing. That’s the decade in which he brought us such gems as Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, and the most wonderful and most excellent The Princess Bride.

With Flipped Reiner delivers the nostalgia factor of Stand By Me and the sweetness of The Princess Bride in a coming of age story that just makes you want to grab a blanket, settle into your favorite spot on the couch and enjoy the mellow ride. It’s based on ...

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Inception Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:11:48 +0000

Screen Rant’s Vic Holtreman reviews Inception

So where does one start with a movie like Inception? It’s arguably the most anticipated film of this summer, if not the entire year. Without revealing terribly much in the clips and trailers (thankfully!) it’s been one of the most hyped films of the year as well – if not by the studio, then by movie news sites (including this one) and their readers. Following a monster hit like The Dark Knight is a heck of a task for Christopher Nolan, who not only directed Inception but wrote and produced it as well.

Well now that it’s done and hitting theaters, I believe Mr. Nolan can relax – because this film is all kinds of awesome.

This is one ...

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Collapse Review

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:32:36 +0000

Short Version: Whether you accept them or not, it’s hard to walk away unaffected by the dire warnings of Collapse.

Screen Rant’s Kofi Outlaw Reviews Collapse

Collapse is the new documentary by Chris Smith, director of the 1999 documentary American Movie. The premise is simple: the movie is an eighty minute diatribe by Michael Ruppert, a former LAPD officer and longtime investigative journalist, who has been working for years stringing together what he believes is an imminent doomsday scenario for modern civilization.

The film consists of Smith sitting off camera, interviewing Ruppert in what looks to be a vacant warehouse, while Ruppert lays out his doomsday theory start to finish with archival news footage spliced in to evidence his claims. Along the way we learn about Ruppert himself, his personal history, ...

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Sherlock Holmes Review

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:28:14 +0000

Short version: If you want to finish 2009 with a fun, entertaining movie – go see Sherlock Holmes.

Screen Rant reviews Sherlock Holmes

I had high hopes going in to Sherlock Holmes, and I’m happy to report that director Guy Ritchie, composer Hans Zimmer, Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law came together to exceed my expectations. Now do keep in mind that I am not comparing this to the classic character as portrayed in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories – not being a fan of the genre, I read a Sherlock Holmes story once, a LONG time ago and have no memory of it.

Downey Jr, of course, plays Sherlock Holmes with Jude Law along as Dr. Watson. Rachel McAdams appears on the scene ...

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The Stoning of Soraya M. Review

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:34:41 +0000

Short version: The Stoning of Soraya M. is an important film that needs to be watched – especially considering the current world political climate.

Screen Rant reviews The Stoning of Soraya M.

The Stoning of Soraya M. is based on a true story and a book by Iranian-French journalist Freidoune Sahebjam. It is about the stoning death (murder, more accurately) of a 35 year old woman in a small village in Iran during the rule of Khomeini in 1986.

James Caviezel plays Freidoune, an Iranian expatriate visiting Iran on assignment when he runs into Zahra (played with usual intensity by Shohreh Aghdashloo), Soraya’s aunt, who convinces him to visit her to listen to her story. He is reluctant at first (seemingly sharing some native attitudes about womens’ lack of worthiness), but Zahra’s ...

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‘UP’ Review

Kofi Outlaw — Sat, 30 May 2009 15:11:37 +0000

Short Version: UP is arguably Pixar’s finest achievement to date, and is surprisingly mature (and moving) in its subject matter. Oh, and the 3D visuals are pretty awesome too.

Screen Rant Reviews Pixar's UP (in digital 3D)

There’s nothing better than an easy review: Pixar’s latest summer offering, UP, is a fantastic film. Simply fantastic. Seriously, if Ratatouille and Wall-E deserved to be in the running for Best Picture of the Year (as many said they did at the times of their releases) then UP certainly does.

It’s that good.

The film – which was written by Bob Peterson (Finding Nemo, Ratatouille) and directed by Peter Docter (Monsters, Inc.) – delivers all the things we’ve come to expect from a Pixar animated feature: gorgeous visuals, a strong story rife with ...

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Let The Right One In Review

Kofi Outlaw — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:37:25 +0000

Short Version: Let The Right One In is one of the greatest vampire movies ever made; a worthy Oscar contender for International Film of the Year.

Screen Rant Reviews Let The Right One In

I just had to see Swedish director Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel, Let The Right One In, as soon as it hit American theaters this past Friday. There had been such fervent buzz about how good this film was that I, as a fanatical follower of the vampire genre, could not ignore the opportunity to see if the film lived up to the hype.

Well, having seen the film and already scheduled a second viewing, I can tell you that Let The Right One In deserves every amount of praise it’s earned: it sets ...

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Gran Torino Review

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:17:01 +0000

Short version: It’s really very simple: If you’re a Clint Eastwood fan going way back, you’re going to LOVE Gran Torino.

Screen Rant reviews Gran Torino

You know I’m getting pretty used to taking heat for my movie reviews, and I have no doubt that it’ll happen again for this review of the Clint Eastwood written and directed film, Gran Torino. But you know what? I don’t care, and I don’t apologize for my reviews. You may be entitled to your opinion, but you know what? So am I – like it or not. So… onward.

Gran Torino is the story of Walt Kowalski, an old veteran of the Korean War. As the film opens we see that his wife has just died, and within seconds of his appearance we know exactly what sort of character Walt ...

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Review: Hot Fuzz

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:35:17 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A fantastic send-up of loner cop action hero movies, with a final half hour that makes it the funniest thing I’ve seen this year.

Hot Fuzz is the funniest movie that most people haven’t seen this year. Sure, everyone is fawning over Superbad, which was OK, but if you’re an action movie fan, especially of stuff along the lines of Die Hard or Lethal Weapon you really need to see this movie.

Hot Fuzz was made by the same folks who showed us that zombies could be funny in Shaun of the Dead. It stars Simon Pegg (who co-wrote the script) and Nick Frost. They were the same on-screen team in Shaun. Here Pegg plays officer Nicholas Angel, a by the book, excels-at-everything-he-does officer who is so good that he’s making the rest of the London ...

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Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

Vic Holtreman — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 01:40:07 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: The Bourne Ultimatum hits it out of the park as a smart, action-packed and compelling spy thriller which puts the series at 3 for 3.

Rarely do you get a movie trilogy where all three films are fantastic. Actually, the only other trilogy that comes to mind that fits that description is Lord of the Rings. Now we can add The Bourne Ultimatum to that list of one.

I gave the first two films very high marks (5 stars for Identity and 4.5 stars for Supremacy) and this one lives up to the standards set by the first two completely.

The movie opens with a brief recap of the events at the end of the previous film, showing Jason Bourne’s escape via train from the authorities in ...

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Review: Enemies Of Happiness

Vic Holtreman — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:23:14 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A powerful documentary about a young woman who risks her life for human rights in Afghanistan and gives insight into what daily life is like there.

Regardless of which side you are on in regards to the current war, you will be entranced by Enemies of Happiness. It is an important film which humanizes the people of Afghanistan by showing the daily struggles of everday people and how the lingering ways of the previous regime still hover over their lives.

The films opens at a government meeting in 2003, where Malalai Joya, then a 25 year old woman and outspoken critic of the Taliban (which marks her as incredibly brave right from the start) is given the opportunity to speak ...

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Review: United 93

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 06 May 2006 00:17:49 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A gripping, realistic portrayal of the events of 9/11 centered on the passengers of United Airlines flight 93 that’s hard to watch but must be seen.

Where to start with this one? A sense of anxiety would be a good place… as in the feeling I had come upon me from the very first frame of United 93, lasting all the way through to the very last frame of the film where the screen abruptly goes black.

There’s no question that this is a very powerful, and important film covering what happened on September 11th, 2001 and focusing on the passengers and crew of the one airliner that did not make it to its intended target. Some have said that it’s too soon for a movie depicting these events, but I disagree. It seems to ...

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Review: Serenity

Vic Holtreman — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 15:51:32 +0000

In case you haven’t heard, the history of the TV show Firefly (upon which Serenity is based) harkens back to that of a little known television show from the 60′s. You may have heard of it… it was called Star Trek.

Like the original Star Trek back in the 60′s, Firefly gained a strong, hard-core following right from the outset. The problem was that the show (brainchild of Joss Whedon whose previous huge hit was Buffy the Vampire Slayer) aired on FOX network. It wasn’t the fact that it was FOX so much as the fact that they showed episodes out of the intended order and instead of giving the show a chance cancelled it after only 11 episodes had aired.

Almost immediately the call went out among the small but dedicated fanbase to try to get another network to pick up the show. Unfortunately none of the networks wanted ...

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Review: Kung Fu Hustle

Vic Holtreman — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 05:51:57 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A hyperkinetic, Looney Toons inspired combination of kung fu, comedy and action that will leave you alternately awestruck and laughing out loud.

I often comment that I find it much more fun to write reviews of a bad movies than of good ones. Well folks, here’s a definite exception to that rule. Kung Fu Hustle starred, was written and directed by Stephen Chow, and if there is any justice at all, this film will make it to U.S theaters in it’s current form. Stephen was also the writer and director of last year’s Shaolin Soccer (which I have decided I must go out and rent immediately), a movie that was “improved” by studio execs with dubbing and recuts and died a quick death at the box office as a result.

On the ...

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Christmas review: Elf

Vic Holtreman — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 03:33:13 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A family-friendly, funny and heartwarming holiday film with a great heart that is well worth watching more than once.

When was the last time that you’ve seen a movie that completely and utterly surprised you?

Last year a friend of mine and I left the wives at home, rounded up our kids and took them to the movies, as has become our annual Thanksgiving tradition. Around the holidays at least, it is possible to find family-friendly G or PG rated movies. Whether they will be any good is another story entirely.

Lacking any other holiday movies to which I could bring my then 7 year old, we settled upon Elf. Will Ferrel? Yet another “Saturday Night Live” alumnus? I figured hey, even if I think it stinks, at least the kids will probably ...

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Review: Super Size Me

Vic Holtreman — Sun, 14 Nov 2004 04:42:00 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

The short version: You REALLY need to watch this movie before you go through another fast food drive-thru: It’ll cure you of “Mac Attacks”, guaranteed.

Super Size Me is the brainchild of Morgan Spurlock and it’s a heck of a concept: Eat nothing but McDonald’s food for 30 days straight… breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If it ain’t on the menu, he won’t eat it. He sparked to this idea one Thanksgiving as he was lying on the sofa post-dinner and happened to see a news item about the two teenaged girls whose parents were suing McDonald’s for making them obese.

In light of today’s 60% obesity rate in the United States this is an extremely important documentary. It’s an eye opening and shocking look at ...

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Review: Collateral

Vic Holtreman — Fri, 06 Aug 2004 15:09:35 +0000

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: Slow paced with spurts of intensity that will suck you in due to the excellent acting by Cruise and Foxx make this a must-see.

I have not yet read any reviews of Collateral so you’re getting this fresh, without any subconscious influences concerning what others are saying, and I’ll say this: Collateral has… weight.

By that I don’t mean that it’s heavy, but that it feels like it has substance, it draws your attention. Sure, that’s what a movie is supposed to do (dramas, anyway) but how many times have you sat through a film that feels more like the Cliffs Notes version of a movie? Kind of like “Movie-Lite”? That’s certainly not the case here.

The film opens with the Dreamworks and Paramount logos in black and white, with the opening scene of the ...

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