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Leaves of Grass (2009)
A enjoyable black comedy
There are so many movies nowadays that feel like that same thing over and over and over again. Movies that deal with superheroes. Movies about talking robots. Movies about making fun of other movies. "Leaves of Grass" is a film.
Edward Norton, in probably his finest performance yet, stars as twin brothers Bill and Brady Kincaid. Bill is a classics professor at Brown University, whereas Brady is a dope dealer in Oklahoma. Their mother, Daisy, resides at a retirement home, though she is still young.
The plot begins with Bill arriving in Oklahoma because he has received news that Brady has been murdered, shot by a crossbow ("They're inexplicably popular where I come from..."). But soon Bill founds at his brothers death has been grossly exaggerated: Brady is not dead, but is in debt to a local drug lord and hatches a plan to get rid of the debt that involves Bill, and so on.
Overall, "Leaves of Grass" is a funny, sometimes violent, but above all, an involving comedy. Some critics dislike the movie for its abrupt tonal changes but I actually quite like them. It's unexpected and original and I don't think I've seen a film before that changed genres quite so much.
There are only a few problems with "Leaves of Grass". Sure, the lead acting is great and the writing is phenomenal (actually, one of my favorite scripts) but I felt that some of the minor performances, such as the one from DeVito and Campell, were a bit flawed. And Tim Blake Nelson could have done so much better with the directing. I just felt like the whole film was shot like a TV show, the way it looked.
But besides those minute flaws, "Leaves of Grass" is an enjoyable black comedy.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Pretty good
I watched this only because Ted Levine was in it and was pleasantly surprised. It's a very good thriller. Worthy of Academy Awards. I just thought Ted Levine was amazing in his role. It's hard to play someone like Buffalo Bill considering the fact that Levine is almost always a cop in his other movies. Anthony Hopkins was creepy. But cool. Jodie Foster was good. Southern accent. She deserved winning the Oscar. Anthony Heald was also very good. All in all, it was a good movie that was worth watching. Kept me at the edge of my seat from thirty minutes in. But I didn't really get the bit about the butterflies. Oh well. That is all.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
One of my favorite films.
I watched this film early this year and I have to say that I am very glad that I watched it. Even though Reservoir Dogs is an almost flawless film, I have to say that Pulp Fiction beat it. But barely. Resservoir Dogs was my favorite film after I watched it and it still is in my top five. The non-linear storyline, the violence, the profanity. I love it all. In my opinion, violence and profanity are what make a good movie. And the overall writing of the movie, so to speak.
One thing that I don't understand is why this movie is named as one of the most violent films. It's violent, don't get me wrong, but it's not THAT violent. At all. There are a few violent parts but if you ask me, which you wouldn't, it's not that violent. Pulp Fiction is a different story.
But all in all, Quentin Tarantino is an amazing director/screenwriter and he has been a HUGE influence in my screen writing. Inglorious Basterds was pretty damn good but he needs to write another movie like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.
I encourage anyone who hasn't seen this movie to see it right away.