Below are my reviews of the movies I saw at the Savannah Film Festival this fall, followed by some additional comments.
Reg: Regular Hollywood movie with big budget.
Ind: Independent film with low budget.
Movie | Type | Genre | Movie | Rtg | Comments |
Black Swan | Reg | Suspense | Natalie Portman | 4 | Stunning |
The Conspirator | Reg | True story Lincoln Assassination | Unknowns | 4 | Redford movie filmed in Savannah |
Beneath Hill 60 | Ind | True story WW I | Unknowns | 5 | A must see movie |
Nice Guy Johnny | Ind | Modern day “The Graduate" | Ed Burns and unknowns | 5 | Very funny! |
Automorphosis | Ind | Documentary about people who turn cars into art | Unknowns | 4 | Very interesting |
Night Catches Us | Ind | Objective story about the Black Panthers | Actor from the Hurt Locker | 4 | Very informing |
You Don’t Know Jack | Reg | The true story of Jack Kevorkian | Al Pacino, John Goodman, Brenda Vaccaro | 5 | Very good |
Don’t Go Into The Woods | Ind | Slasher/Musical about teenagers | Unknowns | 4 | Very funny for a certain audience |
The Kid | Ind | True story of boy that grew up with child abuse. Goes on to become best selling author | Unknowns | 5 | Moving |
Gods and Monsters | Ind | True story of the H-wood director of Frankenstein | Ian McKellen Brendan Fraser | 4 | Funny and interesting |
Blue Valentine | Ind | Drama about poor relationships | Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams | 1 | A downer |
Made in Dagenham | Ind | True story about equal pay for women | Unknowns | 4 | Very informing |
Another Year | Ind | Story about relationships | Unknowns | 2 | Too slow with thud of an ending |
127 Hours | Reg | True story about hiker who cuts arm off to stay alive | James Franco | 1 | Tedious film about survival |
Additional Comments:
Beneath Hill 60: Simply one of the best war films ever made. A true story about an unknown aspect of how WWI was fought. A drama with no core and a love story to boot!
Nice Guy Johnny: Made by Ed Burns on a $25,000 budget. Can download via iTunes. Number seven at the Apple Store at this time.
You Don't Know Jack: Regular movie with Hollywood budget but a must see.
Don't Go Into The Woods: Young people will like this movie. A "B" style horror movie that the actors sing songs through!
The Kid: A true story about how even with the worst upbringing, the human spirit can prevail. Also shows how big an impact positive role models can have.
127 Hours: Do not waste your money. If you think James Franco is hot, rent another movie he has been in.
In Closing
I will follow up this blog with some observations about various, powerful life learnings that impacted me by various films.
