REVIEW: 21 [2008]

“Did that dazzle you?” Not long after reading Ben Mezrich’s novel Busting Vegas did I see my first preview for 21, a film based on his previous novel about card counters. The idea of MIT students getting recruited by their professor to take down Vegas is an intriguing yet not so unique concept. Busting Vegas had more interest with its elaborate scheme to win big without needing to count cards in the traditional sense. However, the book was well put together and so I wasn’t averse to checking out this…

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REVIEW: The Yards [2000]

“Your mother needs you now” After watching the latest entry from director James Gray, We Own the Night, my interest in seeing his previous work waned immensely. Not that I hated the film, it just wasn’t quite to the quality that I had heard his earlier stuff was. Maybe some of that had to do with Mark Wahlberg as a clean cop, for some reason I can’t believe him in roles like that, and it is a shame. However, after viewing The Yards, my opinion has completely turned around. I…

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REVIEW: Rendition [2008]

“This is my first torture” I was very willing to give Rendition the benefit of the doubt when it came to all the negative press I had read concerning it. Even about three-quarters of the way through, I still thought it was jumbled and a bit incoherent, but otherwise a solid tale reaching its conclusion. And then the bottom fell out. Not wanting to necessarily ruin the film for anyone, but the conclusion flips everything you held to be fact about what and when things have been happening on its…

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REVIEW: You Don’t Mess with the Zohan [2008]

“Hey, it’s Sony guts” What has happened to Adam Sandler? Billy Madison is one of my all-time favorite comedies, the romance-inclined Wedding Singer is fantastic, and his forays into serious fare—Punch-Drunk Love and Reign Over Me—have shown the talent hidden beneath the 5-year old trapped in a 40-year old body routine. As far as his production company’s new work goes, in my opinion, a lot is left to be desired. Sadly, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan does nothing to alleviate those feelings. Yes the trailer looked absolutely horrible, but…

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