Goranjake Reviews

Miami Blues (1990)

A dark comedy crime story with some great performances

[8/10 · 12 May 2016]

A violent and often hilarious crime story of living the American Dream through any means necessary, even if you know it won't last forever. Fred (played ruthlessly by Alec Baldwin) is a man who doesn't seem to think ahead all the time. He comes to Miami to make a living after getting out of prison. He wants to start over, but that doesn't mean he's giving up the crime gig. Committing crimes to Fred seems like a drug, the first thing he does getting off the plane is steal and then another more violent crime right after that.

Getting to his hotel he orders a hooker. The innocent hooker is Suzy Waggoner, or Pepper, who seems oblivious and always has her head in the clouds. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives Suzy a believable innocence and is responsible for most of the emotional expression throughout the movie. Suzy coming into Fred's life seems unexpected to him, but it gives him something to work toward, the American Dream.

Fred Ward plays an at times pitiful Sgt Hoke Moseley. He is always two steps behind Fred when it comes to solving the crimes he's committed. The real relationship and core of this crime story, is between Suzy and Fred. Suzy asks Fred not to do any more crimes. She doesn't go out of her way to investigate and she doesn't ask questions out of fear of the truth. All of this leads up to a fantastic third act that, while exciting, does all of the characters justice.

Georgia (1995)

A tough story of sibling rivalry with one of the best performances I've ever seen

[8/10 · 12 May 2016]

"How did if feel to pull me out?" Sadie scornfully asks her sister after interrupting a drunken performance. "If felt like a thousand pounds of dead weight, Sadie."

Sadie (exquisitely played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) is, throughout most of the movie, an anchor chained to Georgia. The movie begins with Sadie making a trip to stay with Georgia for an undetermined amount of time. During this time, Sadie picks up gigs and finds a lover. All of the things she does seem to be distractions for Sadie because she can't come to terms with the fact that she may not be the best singer.

Sadie's presence is a black hole, she is someone that shares her misery with those surrounding her. She may not even realize this, that her attitude is not enthusiastic, but rather chaotic and detrimental. Even trying to be seemingly positive, Sadie winds up asking questions that bring up bad memories for her and Georgia.

If there's any complaints I have, it's that we don't see many effects of Sadie unto the people around her. However, maybe this is for the best. Since the story is told through Sadie's point of view, it is interesting to see at least some effects of her behavior without having them fully realized.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

An absolute mess of a movie

[3/10 · 25 March 2016]

Know, that before reading this, I don't read comics. I only watch movies and judge them from a critical standpoint on how I think a movie should be made.

What a disappointing, incoherent experience. There were several plot points in the first half that weren't fully realized and that I can't recall to be honest. We are shown the murder of Batman's parents for, what, the fifth time in a movie? We really needed that. Batman wants to stop Super Man because he did a lot of collateral damage and Super Man wants to help Earth without explaining to Batman why.

Amy Adams and Irons are underused, Gadot delivers her lines as if she is asking questions, Afleck kind of just talks in a grunty voice. Jesse Eisenberg as Luther is absolutely terribly annoying. I don't care if that's what the character is supposed to be. In my opinion, a villain should be INTIMIDATING. His tactics are just silly and he doesn't come across as a genius at all like he is apparently supposed to be.

Flesh+Blood (1985)

If you're looking for a X-rated good time...

[8/10 · 1 February 2016]

This movie is directed by the same man who was responsible for Robocop and Starship Troopers. Paul Verhoeven directed this before coming to Hollywood as his first English movie and is a good indication of what he was to become. Flesh+Blood holds absolutely nothing back when it comes to the medieval customs of rape, murder, and the plague.

It stars Rutger Hauer, who is decent, and plays a good enough half villain, half alright guy. Jennifer Jason Leigh kind of wallows with the other B-list actors, but she really does have some parts that shine. It's interesting the things that she goes through in this movie, simply because I can't imagine another actor/actress doing the same. She said while filming her nude scenes in the castle, her feet and hands would turn blue.

It's worth seeing if you want a good laugh at the exploitative nature of the medieval times. Try not to take the movie TOO seriously (although at times, that's difficult, mainly some scenes where Leigh's agony is too much to take lightly).

Jack and Jill (I) (2011)

A staple in cinematic history of poor comedy

[2/10 · 5 April 2015]

The ending of Jack and Jill has Al Pacino, played by none other than Al Pacino, telling Adam Sandler's character to burn every copy of the commercial he is filmed in. This may be a simple joke, or it may be Adam Sanlder letting the audience know that he is aware how bad this movie is. He may realize it was an excuse to spend over 90 million dollars on the movie to give some cash to his buddies and get some product placement in.

In a way this may be Adam Sandler's masterpiece. He proposes the question whether all film is "art". Is a Pepto Bismol commercial art? This movie is at it's core a money-making mechanism. It effortlessly piles on the product placement revolving around Adam Sandler's character who is, you guessed it, in the advertising business.

The movie's jokes include the usual fart and physical drivel that most poor comedies have. I enjoy this type of comedy sometimes, when it is done at the right time and situation (Dumb and Dumber is one of my favorite movies). Every joke in Jack and Jill falls completely flat. Punch lines are seen from a mile away and the viewer is left filling in the blanks before they appear on the screen.

Another way to look at this movie is a "so bad it's good movie". I can think about it now and chuckle at how absurd some of the jokes trying to be told were. I laugh at how a ridiculous idea was actually turned into a movie. It almost seems as if Sandler knew he was going to be parodying himself when he produced this movie.

The only reason I spared this movie a 1/10 is because of Al Pacino. I think I laughed twice during this movie and both were because of Al Pacino. One more thing to boost the rating to a 2/10 is the ending quote. It's as if the movie suddenly became self- aware when Al Pacino says "Burn every copy of this.". This last line makes you wonder just how Adam Sandler has been able to make $300 million by churning out movies like this one. The biggest surprise isn't that he managed to do it once, it's that he does it several times and it looks like he will be able to continue doing it into the future.

I don't hate Adam Sanlder, I like Happy Gilmore and Anger Management to an extent. I just find it fascinating that he is able to make millions while so easily making a terrible "movie". The box office proves Sandler does indeed have an audience, so can you really blame him for making stuff like Jack and Jill?

The November Man (2014)

At least it had Bronson shooting some people

[3/10 · 3 October 2014]

This one was difficult to follow most of the time, but it had enough blood to satisfy my thirst.

It starts out with 007 chasing someone and his blonde friend shoots a guy and I guess he kills a kid too. 007 gets mad and the movie kicks into action... or a bunch of useless talking and then action.

Bond is asked by this CIA guy to find some eye-candy girl and she's stealing the presidents photos or something. Well 007 finds her and then she dies and he's said because he wanted to get lucky.

The film continues and a lot of twists happen (I only know this because they start talking more intensely).

All you need to know is 007 is back, or wants to be at least, and he's good enough to cause some violence good enough for a last minute rental.

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

Terrible in terms of film making, but I loved it

[3/10 · 8 August 2014]

Don't go in expecting this movie about giant robots to have a script equivalent to that of the Godfather's, go in expecting those robots to be fighting around humans who like to crack a joke every 5 minutes.

The editing is probably the worst I've seen in a while, but there's enough distractions to ignore it. The script is definitely the worst thing about the movie because at some points your not sure it's a comedic part or trying to be serious. But more often than not, there are laughs to be had.

The movie is full of explosions and lots of shiny robots. Characters are all shallow and more specifically all the transformers are good for are cheesy one-liners but it's in good nature. I would like to see the day come where the robots actually have some character development involved, but whatever.

All in all, if you do see it, watch it for what it is: a big dumb movie about robots and humans fighting each other.

Hercules (I) (2014)

Fails as a masterful take on a legend, but better than you might think

[6/10 · 25 July 2014]

With Ratner in the picture you may believe this movie is trash without having to watch it. However, let me tell you, Hercules isn't as bad as Ratner's past.

Dwayne the Rock is not terrible, still not a very believable Hercules despite his frame. The movie has plenty of laughs and a decent story to tell with a twist only people familiar with the myth. Rock is surrounded by somewhat shallow, but entertaining characters.

Action sequences are superfluous and (surprisingly) lacking in CGI, minus the final act.

I'll say give it a chance, it's a pleasurable popcorn movie.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Highly stylistic combined with a witty script and fantastic performances

[10/10 · 18 July 2014]

Two years ago I saw Moonrise Kingdom and was left feeling somewhat empty. After seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel I can most definitely say Wes Anderson has gotten his mojo back.

People bash Anderson for using style over substance but I think he blends the two wonderfully in this movie. We see M. Gustave develop (sort of) as he struggles through hardships he isn't familiar with.

There is also a reoccurrence of dark humor and sudden jolts of excitement throughout. But I shan't spoil anything.

Overall I highly recommend it, I saw it with my family and they all loved it as well.

The Butler (I) (2013)

Over longed and obvious try hard of a movie

[3/10 · 24 January 2014]

I am being extremely generous by giving this a 2/10 for the two kind of clever one-liners. This movie, at over 2 hours long, is grueling to watch because of the pace and simply boring dialogue. The actors seem like they are in a trance or some kind of stoned state of mind.

The way presidents are displayed is done in a way trying to be brutally honest that all they want is power. I somewhat agree with this stereotype, but having Johnson on a toilet for a cheap laugh is just lazy.

I usually am alright with movies and try to see the good over the bad but I could not stand this movie. I may have to name this the lamest and over hyped movie of the year.

Shutter Island (2010)

A film that successfully tricks

[9/10 · 1 November 2013]

Going into this movie I figured it'd be a cool mystery with nothing more to it. This movie has a cover of a generic film but deserves to be better recognized. Upon the thrills throughout the movie it seems to let you know what's happening and brilliantly fools you while doing so. What's so good about it is the way it starts and continues fluidly without looking clunky. The setting is perfect, never letting the viewer think this is a cheap Hollywood set. Dicaprio gives a deep performance and is able to change levels of intensity appropriate to the scenes. To me it seemed like every bit of dialogue had purpose for later in the movie that works spectacularly for the premise. This movie actually fooled me and even question my own sanity afterwards. People will be mad they didn't understand or that the movie tricked them, but the truth is that this film is powerful and thought provoking if your upset toward it or not.In this movie the insane are accurately depicted and we get to see what it's like in a way... Martin Sorcese and Leo are made for each other it seems, and I can't wait to see what they dish out next.