Showing Tag: ""brad pitt"" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Up 489% on Its Initial Investment, The Big Short Serves Up One Damn Good Ice Cream Sundae With Sprinkles & A Cherry On Top

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 24, 2015, In : 0.00% Water 
The Big Short





Directed By: Adam McKay

Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, Rafe Spall, Marisa Tomei, Finn Wittrock, John Magaro, Adepero Oduye, and Max Greenfield

It's amazing how the best films can catch moviegoers by surprise.  2015 hasn't been a year boasting the strongest awards season contenders.  Sure, we have Bridge of Spies, Room, and Brooklyn.  The problem is, however, that there seems to be no front runner.  This isn't a year o...

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REVIEW: Fury – Ideals Are Peaceful, History Is Violent

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, October 20, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Fury
SoberFilmChick




Directed by: David Ayer

Starring:  Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Scott Eastwood

World War II has been depicted in countless films, most famously in Saving Private Ryan. With the war on ISIL raging, the conflict in the Ukraine, and the never ending turmoil in the Middle East, a World War II film feels oddly timely.  David Ayer’s Fury is a compelling drama that depicts the savagery and the emotional and physical trauma that war inflicts on ...

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REVIEW: #HaveYouBeenBad? For All Its Drugs, Diamonds, & Cheetahs, The Counselor Strangely Doesn't Fit the Bill

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 26, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor 
The Counselor





Directed By: Ridley Scott

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Brad Pitt

Some movies seem like the perfect recipe for success on paper but unexpectedly turn out to be failures on the grandest of scales.  Until today, the best example in recent memory was the 2007 thriller Lions for Lambs.  The film starred Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford.  To top things off, Redford was playing multiple roles by sitting in the director's chair ...
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REVIEW: 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northrup Brilliantly Plays the Fiddle as Georgia Runaway Platt to Survive Until Freedom is Opportunity

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 19, 2013, In : 0.00% Water 
12 Years a Slave





Directed By: Steve McQueen

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, and Adepero Oduye

In a review two months ago, I wrote about how filmmakers are taking us to school this year.  With films like Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels' The Butler, and even 42, we've gotten a healthy dose of black history from Hollywood.  We've arrived at our fi...
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REVIEW: In World War Z, the Number 12 Train Helps the World's Best Serial Killer Mother Nature Infect Everyone Except the 10th Man

Posted by James Brown on Friday, June 21, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
World War Z





Directed By: Marc Forster

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox, and David Morse

I've rarely seen a film more plagued with production issues than World War Z.  There have been twenty million rewrites to the screenplay, an adaptation of the 2006 novel by Max Brooks.  The movie, which has been in the works for six years, had a really hard time getting financing.  To cap off this movie's woes, casting changes took place throughout filming.  With all of this, ...
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REVIEW: Like America, Killing Them Softly is All About the Almighty Dollar

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 1, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 

Killing Them Softly





Directed By: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard

In recent years, a lot of people have begun to think that America has lost its way, that we're on a downward trajectory as a people, and that the highest offices in government go to the highest bidders.  While we can certainly debate the first two points, there's no debating the final one.  After all, we live in an America where th...


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REVIEW: Happy Feet Two Thinks It's a Champion But Will Only Rock You a Little

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 19, 2011, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Happy Feet Two





Directed By: George Miller

Starring: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Pink, Sofia Vergara, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Hank Azaria, Johnny A. Sanchez, Lombardo Boyar, Carlos Alazraqui, Michael Cornachia, Danny Mann, Meibh Campbell, Lil P-Nut, and Mark Klastorin

There is one theory about movies that almost never fails.  Sequels cannot outdo original films.  There are a few rare exceptions to this like The Empire Strikes Back, The Lord of the Rings: The Return...
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REVIEW: Moneyball Has a Perfect Batting Average

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 25, 2011, In : 0.00% Water 
Moneyball





Directed By: Bennett Miller

Starring: Brad Pitt, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, and Casey Bond

Most sports movies capture the thrill of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.  They delve into the joys of winning and the sorrows of losing.  They do nothing more than depict competition and what drives it.  That's your basic sports movie.  Anything beyond that is a bonus.  Given this, I went into Bennett Miller's Moneyball expecting a decent baseball fl...
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REVIEW: The Tree of Life Is a Motion Picture That Says a Thousand Words

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, August 16, 2011, In : 0.00% Water 
The Tree of Life






Directed By: Terrence Malick

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain

Never before have I seen a film that captures life.  That's a huge concept with a range of implications.  It's a nearly impossible endeavor for any filmmaker.  However, Terrence Malick has proven me wrong.  Malick's The Tree of Life does the impossible in a grand way.  From grappling with the meaning and scope of life to questioning the purpose of faith, Malick covers a broad array of topics.  The ...
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