bgart5 Reviews

About a Boy (2002)

Poignant

[10/10 · 27 January 2005]

This was a more personal movie than I expected. First of all, I was very much like Marcus when I was 12. Picked on all the time, son of a single mother, stood out more than I wanted to (which wasn't at all).

And if I had the money, I would be very much like Will. Maybe not as shallow, but you never know.

On the technical side, this movie was very well done. Hugh Grant can act, and can act very well. The kid who played Marcus was awesome. The supporting characters don't just come in when the story demands it, but they exist out of the frame too. You believe that these people have lives outside of what we see.

I think what I liked best was that Will (Hugh Grant) isn't a charictiture of the 'shallow/loner' guy. His character changes subtly. Hugh Grant plays him very balanced. You know that there is something deeper that he just isn't showing us.

Nicholas Hoult's work as Marcus is also very well done. He doesn't play Marcus as just a cute kid. He plays him as a real kid. I can see Nicholas actually being like this off set. One scene that sticks out in my mind is when he's sitting in class, thinking about the song 'Rainy days and Mondays' and starts to sing it out loud, oblivious to the fact that he's in class. I can't speak for everyone, but I for one know that I have done this. I connected with this character. I believe that Marcus is real, and his problems are real.

See this film. It's not laugh out loud funny, but it's honest. If you want an intelligent movie to watch on a rainy day (or Monday), enjoy this one.

Shades of Black (2001)

Short film at it's best...

[8/10 · 3 January 2005]

There are a lot of short films out there on the internet, and most of them are crap. You can spend hours filtering through dredge (more if you are chained to the scourge of a 56k connection, grrr) before you find one as well done as this one.

Everyone involved is very talented. The acting was very well done, considering the one person we see the whole time doesn't speak and is wearing sunglasses. He gets the point across through the gestures of his hands, how he holds himself, the way he sits in the chair. The directing is excellent. The director stays with the story. You'd think that every short film would stay with the story, but unfortunately no, they don't. It still takes a creative director to keep us interested.

All in all, this was one of the better short films out there.

8/10

Seabiscuit (2003)

Though he be but small, he is fierce.

[12 October 2003]

This is a terrific movie. It's a little long, but the pacing, and the flow is wonderful. It's a modern classic. Enough history to make keep you informed, enough drama to keep you entertained. Beautifully shot. John Schwartzman (Cinematographer) should be givin an honorary award just for this film. I don't like the Acadamy Awards, but I think Seabiscut should win one. Great movie!!! ****out of****

The Matrix (1999)

Well...it was nice.

[31 January 2003]

The effects were, wow. The action, top of the line. The acting, well Fishbourne was cool and Weaving was good. The story...okay, stop right there.

I just can not get into the story of this movie. I like where they went with it. I think that it was original as far as a Hollywood movie goes. But I just think it went from really cool to just streching too quickly. If it had been more about Neo not knowing whether he was in the Matrix or not at any givin time (ala eXistenZ, which I realize draws far too many comparisons for the Matrix, much more than the Matrix deserves) or something more "mind-bending" than I think it would have been better.

They had ample opportunity to make this a great thinkers movie, but opted to make it a really flashy action movie.

Oh, and to all those people who say "Oh, but it could happen!" Shut up. If pulling the plug didn't work, than just sit them out in the rain for a while. Belive me, computers are only smarter than humans until they run out of hard drive space.

The Caroline Rhea Show (2002–2003)

Better than Rosie

[20 December 2002]

I was about twelve when the Rosie O'Donnell show came about, and I watched it for a good while. Eventually though I started to notice the energy level drop. It became boring, just another talk show.

But Caroline Rhea is a breath of fresh air. She's just having fun and it shows. If your up some morning and want something fun and light to start your day, flip on Caroline...you wont regret it.