High-school teacher Dan struggles with his past, his ideals and all his inner thoughts about life. In the classroom he is mostly a man of great passion, staying far away from the boring history lectures. But outside, he looks to escape his mental pain with drugs.
One day, one if his students catches him doing drugs in the bathroom at school. Not judging him, they start to build up a relationship. But because of Dan’s own addiction, he isn’t the best role model to keep the student from making her own wrong choices.
Half Nelson. Is it the craftsmanship of Ryan Fleck or Ryan Gosling? I guess we should say Ryan Fleck, he's the director and co-writer after all. But if it wasn't for Ryan Gosling, I'm not sure if we would be talking about this movie. He gives such a passionate and touching performance.
On the other side though, would we be talking about Gosling if it wasn't for this story? A very real and emotional journey. It's sad, while inspiring. And a political comment, without being preachy -- or preaching at all. But it also shows some problems are just too complex. And we shouldn't always be looking for a plain right or wrong.
Because Amelie’s parents mistakenly thought she had a serious heart defect, she was brought up overly protective and never had a normal live. She rarely had any contact with people and therefore Amelie created her own world of love and fantasy. As an adult she moves to Paris, where she finds a box that belongs to the former occupant of her room. The box is filled with childhood memories and this is when she decides to make her fantasies a reality. She is about to change the lives of the people around her, in a very peculiar way.
'Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain' (French title) is a combination of originality. First, we have the magic of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with his own unforgettable visual style and storytelling – and with some help of cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. Then, there's the story itself, full of quirks and charm. And lastly, Audrey Tautou, so genuine, funny, sweet and romantic. And with a pair of eyes you will recognize for the rest of your life. With two of those, you could probably pull off anything. But although Amelie might have grown up like a naive little girl, the movie itself certainly is not.
It's not every day you see a movie where everything falls together so perfectly. Lets not forget the incredible soundtrack while we're at it. If you will see only one French movie in your whole life, this should be the one. A overdose of positivity you cannot miss out on.
After getting back to Texas from fighting in Iraq, Brandon King tries to put everything behind him and start over with his life. But just when he is about to, the military orders him back in. He either has to go back into Iraq, go to jail or leave the country. This choice questions everything he stands for and King refuses to go back.
War, it's probably to men what romances are to women. There are millions of stories to tell. But therefore it's also difficult to get to something unique, without turning into something laughable. Stop-Loss seems to have the right ingredient though. A proper mix of substance and entertainment. A critique, without forgetting the importance of a story. With the director of Boys Don't Cry and actors Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this is most likely the future of Hollywood at work. Or is it the present?
Somewhere in the desert, Llewelyn stumbles upon a horrible bloodbath. Checking out the scene, he finds both parts of the deal. A truck full of drugs and a bag full of money. While he thinks everyone is (about to be) dead, he takes the money, well knowing this could mark his own death.
Although this isn't a work of incredible depth, it is a work of great craftsmanship. Of course it's directed by the Coen brothers, so they have twice the manpower. But a daring atmosphere, great pace, beautiful scenery and a very crazy Javier Bardem, makes this one puppy not to leave in the kennel.
What's the most impressive is the tension. I think it will be a while before people can watch another movie with Bardem without having hesitation to trust him. A big winner for the Oscars? You just can't stop what's coming..
Henry Roth is a real ladies man and has been breaking the hearts of the female tourists of Hawaii for quite a while. One day he meets Lucy at a local cafe. She seems different than the girls he usually dates and she lives on the island. He decides to ask her out on a date. Everything went perfect and they even spend the night together. But the next morning Henry is in for an unpleasant surprise. Lucy doesn’t remember anything and starts freaking out.
While Henry has to win Lucy over every day, since she is suffering from a short-term memory loss, he has to come up with a new idea each day to introduce himself to her. This makes the movie quite different than other romantic comedies and creates some fun moments. I have to admit, after a while this progress starts to become a bit repetitive, but still the movie has a lot of funny parts. It is really nice to see that the end of the movie isn’t an average happy ending. They found a solution, but did not magically change Lucy’s situation.
"Sounds like a dandy alright! You're right, it's nice to have a movie you can take the whole family to, and the whole family can enjoy it. We need more [....]"
