Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely entertaining but only a positive experience if entertainment is all you want. This was a mess of a movie with just enough explosions and “drama” to keep audiences unaware that this was a poorly made film.

Technically any good? The acting from all involved was just fine. The FX were solid and believable across the board (if not a little corny). The music was inventive and actually did some very cool things. The script, however, was a heavy-handed, plot-challenged, lightning-paced mess. Batman felt stapled into the movie, so much so that I felt the film should have been called “Two-Face.” Joker is in it (duh) but he feels more like he’s stapled in, as well. The plot (what there is of it) congeals around Harvey Dent’s story arc. Sure, it’s all from Batman’s point of view, but don’t expect to see him do anything more interesting than good stunts and talk too much. The Batman from Batman Begins had to wrestle with his past, confront his demons and go against his mentor. In this he does almost none of that.

How did it leave me feeling? Disappointed. As the audience was clapping I was wondering what movie they’d just seen because the one I saw had gaping plot holes where characters would vanish from the movie randomly and return only when the plot called for them. The film I sat through featured characters openly discussing morals in blatant, obvious, and boring terms. In the second-to-last (of four) climaxes, as Batman explains to Joker what he’s just be shown, I found myself wondering why the movie felt the need to have Batman explain what we’d just seen. Imagine, as Luke is flying away from the destroyed Death Star, he contacts Vader on the radio and explains the morals behind what he did.

Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It. Honestly, the stunt work will make more sense on the small screen and I don’t think it’s worth the money to sit through the bad script. If I knew then what I know now, I’d have saved my $12.

Check out my absurdly long diatribe against this movie.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? I was definitely glad I saw it, let’s put it that way. Judging “positive” versus “negative” with movies like this is hard since the movie is so very depressing.

Technically any good? On a technical level, this film is AMAZING. The acting, the cinematography, the make up is astonishing. This film also manages to capture the emotional aspects of what happened to this man. The only problem I had with it was that I wanted to know more facts about the situation. Several single-sentence explanations of his condition are given to us over the span of the movie and never truly create a real picture of what was going on with him. I don’t need everything handed to me, but there were a lot of things I just didn’t get because the filmmaker decided that the answers were inferred strongly enough or that the audience didn’t need to know. Still, not knowing what was happening to the poor guy was very distracting.

How did it leave me feeling? Like no one’s life could get much worse than being entirely paralyzed, save for your left eye. It also reaffirmed my belief that assisted suicide should be 100% legal! If this ever happens to me and I decide I’m done trying, for god’s sake, let me go!

Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like this kind of movie. I think this is an important film because it makes you think about life and suffering and what it’s all worth. On the other hand, I don’t want to recommend it to everyone because it really gets you to feel what Bauby went through–which was really horrible.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? HELL, YES. Wow, up until now I’ve really not liked Paul Thomas Anderson as a director, but this movie was positively Stanley-Kubrickesque.

Technically any good? WAS IT EVER. On every level this movie did impressive things with itself. First off, the story was perfectly solid–granted, it’s a little cliche, but it’s done really well. The script was INCREDIBLE with no dialogue for a goodly chunk of the movie. Then, the acting was equally incredible by all involved–Daniel Day Lewis is the Caucasian Javier Bardem. INSANELY good he was in this. In fact, it was his voice in the commercials that made me want to see this movie in the first place. The direction, while GREAT is evident–as in, this doesn’t feel like other movies. You sense a director’s hand in this simply because it’s so good. It’s kind of like that amazing view of a mountain or an ocean that makes you think you’re looking at God’s handiwork. Not to say that PTA is God–I’m just saying it feels like an artist made it. This can be both good and bad, depending on your point of view. Personally, I’ll take this kind of more obvious direction over any other kind any day.

Oh yeah and the music was great, too–minimal, for sure–but still great.

How did it leave me feeling? Stunned–I was really, really happy with this movie. Don’t let me over-hype it, though. I’m sure some people found this movie jarring, disturbing and depressing–I know I did–but that’s what art makes you do sometimes. This is the first movie I really wanted to see again in the theater.

Final Rating? STM - SEE THIS MOVIE - FIVE STARS!!! Don’t wait for DVD! Go see it now!!

And once you’ve seen it, check out IDrinkYourMilkShake.com to see what other folks are saying about this movie.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? If you like incredibly well-made movies, YES. While not entirely fulfilling generally speaking, the film makes up for it in the “just damn good, otherwise” department.

Technically any good? While the script does sneak in a few contrivances and conveniences, over all I found the film a joy to watch, mainly because all of the lead characters seemed smarter than me. I’m not some brainiac, but most characters in movies these days are dumb as posts, so, I thank the script for being so smart. The acting was AMAZING. EFFING JAVIER BARDEM!!! MAN!!! But honestly, everyone was spot-on in this movie. From the wife to the lead (Josh Brolin) to the supporting lead (Tommy Lee Jones) to, of course, EFFING JAVIER BARDEM!!! The Coen Brothers have finally made a film that you could call a spiritual sequel to Blood Simple. You’re lucky this is a Pocket Review because there’s not a whole lot more that should be said about this film aside from the answer to the next question.

How did it leave me feeling? TENSE! Not only did I have a massive burp to release after the credits rolled, but for hours afterward, I kept sighing to release the tension the film built up in me. While the film is not perfect, you WILL be on the edge of your seat. OK, one last question and there’s seriously nothing else that needs to be said about this movie in a review:

Final Rating? GSN - GO SEE NOW. You will thank me for it.

EFFING JAVIER BARDEM!!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely entertaining–which is good because I kind of expected it to suck.

Technically any good? As you can tell from the posters and trailers, the CG FX are incredible. However, I felt that they kind of fell short. There was still no real emotion in the faces and there were only moments where I felt that certain shots could have been mistaken for actual photos. I kept flashing back to supermarionation (Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett and even Abe Lincoln in Disneyland’s Hall of Presidents), to be honest. However, I was still able to enjoy the movie. The script was cool, dialog good (though unfortunate at times) and the story was updated in interesting ways, compared to the original poem, but I think there were some odd choices that made me seriously question the execution of the plot. There were comic relief moments that seemed contrived and stupid and there was an over-all lack of character development that left me with thrills but nothing to leave the theater with.

How did it leave me feeling? Excited, but realizing that the best reason to see Beowulf is for the spectacle. So, see this on the big screen if you’re ever going to see it at all and preferably see it in an IMAX theater in 3-D to make sure you get the full effect of the spectacle.

Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like - though this is NOT a kids’ cartoon! There is serious violence and (effectively) a lot of nudity for a PG-13 film–between the nudity and violence I have to admit that I’ve seen much tamer R-movies than this PG-13er.