The Stout Republican

Not a good movie. A funny movie, but not a good one. I guess the Spoof film genre isn’t really my bag any more. I watched Naked Gun again recently, and it bugged me too…the silly thing just seems…old. Now, I’m not saying this is a bad movie, it achieves what it sets out to do, a lot of laugh out loud moments, and the message is certainly received…it’s just not good.

Best Part of the Movie was before it, when for some reason a preview of “W” by Oliver Stone was shown…the response? “Boooooooo” by everyone is the audience. Fantastic.

Movies

The Awesome Lives ON!!!!!

Listen,…Do you smell something?

Hollywood’s Columbia Pictures reportedly has hired the co-executive producers of The Office to write a third Ghostbusters movie.

Variety.com said the project being penned by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky would ideally reunite Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, the stars of the first two installments.

However, the studio doesn’t plan to make any deals with the actors until it has a script in hand, the entertainment industry trade newspaper said.

Movies

The slogan is “Our Education. Their Politics.”

It wasn’t that long ago that each meeting of my Marketing Capstone class at college opened with a George Bush joke. You shrug it off, and learn not to say anything…professors at large do not respond well to Republicans/Conservatives. You’re singled out, you’re forced to defend the entire Republican administration, you’re belittled and mocked. Hey…you think differently than your professors, why shouldn’t you be mocked?

Indoctrinate-U, a new documentary by writer/director Evan Coyne Maloney, tackles the inherent bias and slow, subtle death of free speech at our institutions of higher eduction.

Covering everything from speech codes, to the tongue-in-cheek Title IX violations of having a Women’s Resource Center…and no Men’s resource center, Evan does an admirable job of laying out not necessarily how to change the situation on today’s campuses (he’s a film maker, not a politician), but how the current status-quo has led to the well documented one-sidedness of discourse. The very same school that suspends frat members for dressing up in blackface as the Jackson Five, excuses another student for having documented emails saying a conservative student needs to be “f-in” killed for disagreeing with the activites committee. Backed with statistics, and some amazing anecdotal stories, Maloney shows us the slow death of independent thought via aggressive speech codes, and over-the-top punishments for those who refuse to drink the koolaid.

A solid documentary, Maloney travels to multiple institutions over an extended period of time, and inteviews enough people to convince the watcher that the documented occurances aren’t random, but instead are part of an overall break in the self perpetuating system of College.

College Liberals are not going to like this film for the very same reason that the film exists…they won’t be able to accept a dissenting point of view. This movie will get nods of affirmation from the right, especially those of us who lived that every day for 4 years while pursuing our degrees, and the film will more than likely get shouts of hate from the Left. The people who are part of the problem, will only perpetuate it by minimalizing those filmmakers and administrators who choose to bring such issues to light as stupid,liars, and the oh-so-popular “Fascist”.

In an article by Greg Lukianoff (attorney for the organization FIRE) commenting on an article in the NYTimes by Joseph Berger stated:

Despite all of this information, my major contribution to the piece seems to be that I “acknowledged that campus freedom of expression has improved since the low points of the 1990s.” This is my opinion, but I also said: (1) that the situation on campus with regards to speech is actually worse than it appears in “Indoctrinate U”; (2) that speech codes are paradoxically more common than ever; and (3) that I think that the improvement I refer to has been in no small part the result of the attention FIRE and our co-founders Alan Charles Kors and Harvey Silverglate have been able to bring to the problem on campus.

The situation with speech codes doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I only hope that Indoctrinate-U can illuminate the reality of what our tax dollars are really being used to fund, and start what I missed in college, an honest dialogue about ideas.

Movies

It’s over.

We’re Going Blu-ray

Dear Jeremy,

You’re receiving this email because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make our current selection of HD DVD titles available to you for the next several months, we will not be adding additional HD DVD titles or reordering replacements.

Toward the end of February, HD DVDs in your Saved Queue will automatically be changed to standard definition DVDs. Then toward the end of this year, all HD DVDs in your Queue will be changed to standard definition DVDs. Don’t worry, we will contact you before this happens.

You can click here to change your format preferences.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please call us at 1 (888) 638-3549.

-The Netflix Team

Movies

Work on the weekends…international forecasting, business models, currency hedging, and trying to decide if France is still a place worth doing business. Yes…things have been hectic.

The new job has new responsibilities, and everynow and then I feel like I might be drowning as I’m struggling to keep my head above water in the most difficult, pleasantly challenging positionI’ve ever had. It’s all about Marketing Analysis on the one hand…and now I’m in charge of all International Forecasting based on the company business model (said company will remain anonymous for now…don’t want my politics associated with the company).

I took some time this weekend to go to Wizard World, the smaller version of San Diego’s Comic Con. Not as large, not as glamorous, and certainly not a cool (if that’s a word you’re allowed to use with comics). Josh, my friend Kris, and his gal went to this thing with high hopes, that were promptly dashed with a sub par showing of the industry. At least I got a picture of Gene Simmons. The highlight was attending a panel for a new movie Directed by David Arquette, and starring Paul Rubens. It’s called “The Tripper“, and is (according to Arquette) a Political Themed Slasher. Yes, the Tripper is a loose reference to “the Gipper”, our most favored of Presidents here on the right. Amusing enough, I like slasher films and I can appreciate humor poking at politicians I like…I’m not a liberal, so I don’t expect people to adhere to my “speech codes”…but as amusing as it is, it didn’t stop David from rambling about how it’s a commentary on how the real murderers are people who sit behind Presidential desks and sign papers sending children to their easrly graves…blah blah blah. I wanted to stand up and say:

“Mr. Arquette, as a fan of slashers, and me being a Conservative, how does this movie speak to me?”

Ha! I did however ask what I thought was a good question that deviated from the “Who was the weirdest extra you met?” Really, that was asked 3 different ways with 3 different results. My question was:

“How was it being on the other side of the camera, and as a director, what is your style like? Are you a stick to the script type, or do you give your actors liberties?”

Sounds good to me. The answer was basically, “It was fun, and I let my actors contribute.” Sigh…then back to a prolonged story about how you can emulate a poop covered look (a victim was hiding the the port-a-potty) with oatmeal and peanut butter. I give myself an A for at least trying.

Anywho…I’ve been slacking on the web site, and I apologize…life is like that…free time is a commodity.

Fred Thompson is running?! Maybe? Law and Order does change lives.

Movies, Random

It’s “Bush Derangement Syndrome” to remind all you folks out there.

I saw 300 this weekend. Fantastic, short of Epic, but certainly fantastic. The acting was average, the writing was kinda…hack…and still it’s in my top ten right now. It’s visually stunning, fun, violent, and damn it…entertaining. So what does resident Slate wacko Dana Stevens think?

Here are just a few of the categories that are not-so-vaguely conflated with the “bad” (i.e., Persian) side in the movie: black people. Brown people. Disfigured people. Gay men (not gay in the buff, homoerotic Spartan fashion, but in the effeminate Persian style). Lesbians. Disfigured lesbians. Ten-foot-tall giants with filed teeth and lobster claws. Elephants and rhinos (filthy creatures both). The Persian commander, the god-king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) is a towering, bald club fag with facial piercings, kohl-rimmed eyes, and a disturbing predilection for making people kneel before him.

Remember, Ann Coulter is in trouble for using the “fag” word…

Meanwhile, the Spartans, clad in naught but leather man-briefs, fight under the stern command of Leonidas (Gerard Butler), whose warrior ethic was forged during a childhood spent fighting wolves in the snow. Leonidas likes to rally the troops with bellowed speeches about “freedom,” “honor,” and “glory,” promising that they will be remembered for having created “a world free from mysticism and tyranny.” (The men’s usual response, a fist-pumping “A-whoo! A-whoo!” sounds strangely fratty.) But Leonidas is not above playing the tyrant himself. When a messenger from Xerxes arrives bearing news Leonidas doesn’t like, he hurls the man, against all protocol, down a convenient bottomless well in the center of town. “This is blasphemy! This is madness!” says the messenger, pleading for his life. “This is Sparta,” Leonidas replies. So, if Spartan law is defined by “whatever Leonidas wants,” what are the 300 fighting for, anyway? And why does that sound depressingly familiar?

This last one bothers me…because the reviewer does two things…one, makes Leonidas sound like a tyrant (Bush…muhahaha) and the messenger sound like a victem. And two they fail to inform you of the facts, which frankly I feel foolish for having to even defend. The messenger came with the heads of conquored kings on a string. He told them all they would be slaves. Their women and children taken, and if they don’t like it they would be butchered…might change the dynamic a bit.

So BDS is defined as:[a term] usually applied as a derogatory term within the Blogosphere to imply that an opponent cannot be reasoned with or that complaints lack substance aside from anti-Bush hatred, due to the illogical connection to the charge.

If you can’t review a movie based on a graphic novel written before Bush was in office…without referencing Bush…then you’re nuts. Think they’re alone? Nope…no really, click through. I miss the silent majority…because this stupid loud group (who Democrats always defend as just the fringe) sure get a lot of press coverage.

Interesting take on the Hype…That Film’s Real Message? It Could Be: ‘Buy a Ticket’ by Michael Cieply.

Here’s a crazy thought…leave your politics at the door, and watch a simple, straight-forward, fun movie…with Boobies and Battle.

Movies

My favorite band is Metallica. Interesting start, let’s see where it takes us. 
Read more…

Movies

French documentarian Pierre Rehov is screening his new documentary at Liberty Film Festival this weekend, and from the interview I heard with him Friday night, it’s going to be incredible. He examines the justification that Militant Islamists have for blowing up women and children, and how their culture, laws, and lifestyle choices have played into such violence in the name of their God. The film is called “Suicide Killers”, and may very well be nominated for an Oscar.

I’ve done a bit of reading over the last few days on this director, and he has certainly done his research. I wonder if the next documentary he decides to do will examine the treacherous Christians in Texas who, much like blowing up unarmed women and children in public, protest in front of clinics, and don’t want to see gays married (that’s sarcasm for those who don’t pick up on it in text).

Do yourself a favor…abstain from the moral equivalency crap, and the “it’s their culture and the who are we to judge” BS. There is evil in the world…I see people who see only gray as narrow-minded. I understand there is gray, black and white. This isn’t a random group of people who are on the fringe. These “martyrs” have their names and faces plastered in the public square…these are their heroes, their wise men, their role models.

Taking odds on whether Jihad and death will be called for his observations…putting him in the Robert Spencer or Salman Rushdie “criticize and die” category.

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin covers this at HOTAIR. Looks like he’s picking up a bit more…this kind of Momentum is warranted. Check out the link and view her film for more information. I love it when HotAir picks these stories up, because there’s only so much of an audience I can reach…they have real clout.

Movies, Palestine, Terrorism

Before I get too far into this early Monday morning ramble, allow me to take the time to apologize for the lack of any review last week. I can’t claim lack of ample movie time because I actually saw a movie. I can’t claim lack of ample writing time because last week ranked among the highest in my life in terms of inactivity. What was the reason I didn’t write a review?? Writer’s block is to blame. Yes, writer’s block. I’m finding that there are on and off days in writing just like any other hobby I’ve had. Painting, pool….stuff….I ran out of hobbies to list (after only 2?). The point remains though that after I saw the movie I wholly intended to write a review on it, but when I sat down to do so, nothing came out. Seems easy enough from your perspective, seeing as my movie reviews follow a simple format:

Step 2. Introduction

This step includes introducing the movie which I will be reviewing, and at the very least the name of the actor in the title role. “This week I found myself at the theatre watching blah blah with blah blah starring blah blah.”

Step 3. Plot Synopsis

Without giving out any spoilers this is where I give an overview of the movie’s plot and give credit to any other “players” (Spike Lee may have a copyright on that) that didn’t get mentioned in Step 2. “We are introduced to such an such who finds he/she has a rare, incurable and deadly cancer of the torque converter (??) but wants nothing more than to meet his/her father/mother (who abandoned him/her because of their crack addiction when they were in middle school), in hopes of turning his/her life around before he/she dies in lonely obscurity.”

Step 4. Opinion

Loved it. Liked it. I would rather kill your mother than see it again. Contained in Step 4 is my elitest opinion of the movie. Blockbusters are brought to their knees by what I write at this point in the review. Inserted here is my accurate analysis of things that everyone acts like they care about in a movie though no one truly does. Things like camera work and editing. If you say a movie “kicked ass” in my presence without citing the brilliant cinematography in the diner in scene 6, I will make you feel like you answered a basic math question wrong, and God help you if you misquote something within earshot. If you happen to read my negative review before embarking on your movie-going adventure you will come out the other side disappointed in a flick you would have otherwise liked. If you dislike a movie prior to reading my positive review, you will wake up the morning after reconsidering your view without truly knowing why. You are week minded and I am not. That’s why I write movie reviews and you read them.

Step 5. Outro

At this point you are breathless with anticipation. You either can’t wait to see the topic of my writing or you can’t wait to read my next review. Whichever the case may be, my job is done. The only thing to do is leave you with a witty (compared to the people you associate with everyday) last thought. Something short and clever to hold you over till next week, or the week after; whenever I get around to it you’ll be waiting. In the meantime you continue to log on daily, hoping in vain that I may decide to see another movie and treat you to two reviews in one week, in which case Jesus could be cop-knocking at your front door and you wouldn’t answer. In reality all you end up doing is settling on reading whatever current events our resident “rhino” and “anarchist” decide to tack their predictable comments onto.

Step 6. Sign Off

-The Right Wing

Wait. That all seems easy enough. How can one develop a “block of the writer” when one has such a simple step by step method? I’m sure some of you noticed that I skipped Step 1, which is where I got stuck. I’ll cover it now for you:

Step 1. The Pointless Rambling That Somehow Manages to Segue Into Step 2

This step I shorten into a clever acronym: TPRTSMSIS2. That’s right, my acronyms are so much more advanced than the rest of yours that I have numbers in them and still manage a smooth vowel-less delivery. At any rate this is the step that keeps you jackals coming back for more. We at Stoutrepublican have even split up the reviews in such a way so that if all you want is TPRTSMSIS2 you simply stop reading at the movie poster, which is where Step 1 fades into the less important past as Step 2 seamlessly slides into the all important present, with Steps 3,4,5 and 6 waiting just beyond the bottom of your screen in the almost as important future. This step is hard to keep fresh. It has to be funny, but not so funny that I can’t out-do myself next week, and still be out-done be SR who whines about comedic comparisons constantly (notice after “This Week at the Movies” he retaliates with a more comedic than normal pseudo-political insertion almost every time, which I appreciate you all for patting his back for). It is with this step that I developed my block and decided it was better to take a week off than hash out hackneyed sub-par material, regardless of what the standard set before me by other writing staff at Stoutrepublican happens to be.

So with that being said and movie poster being inserted, I will now glide effortlessly from an almost flawless Step 1 into a completely flawless Step 2…

This week at the movies I found myself going solo (with open seating to either side for any company seeking, guardian less highschool girl) to the 9:45 showing of The Prestige.

Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) are two stagehands for a small-time stage magician (Milton played by Deadwood’s Ricky Jay), both with dreams of the big stage. The act falls apart when one of them is blamed for a tragedy during a performance. The two part ways on bad terms and begin their own careers as magicians, all the while sabotaging and one-upping the other. When Bale creates a trick that can’t be duplicated Jackman makes it his purpose to find out what the secret is at any cost. Supporting cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, and David Bowie.

Let me start by saying how much I was looking forward to this movie’s release. From the first preview I saw 6 months ago I couldn’t wait to see it. That sort of anticipation is never good for a movie since only on rare occasion do they live up to expectations set at such a high level. That being said, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen…at the very least this year, probably in my top 25 ever. Brilliant on almost every level. Christopher Nolan directs in such a way that leaves you almost in the dark throughout, but not so much that you’re confused, more like just enough to keep you thinking constantly and replaying earlier events in your head. The timeline of the movie (starting in the middle then filling in the beginning with flashbacks, then following up with the end), has certainly been done but rarely this well. There is a quote where Michael Caine’s character lays out the steps to a good magic trick, they shorten it for the preview so you’ve probably heard some of it at least (the pledge, the turn, the PRESTIGE), but pay very close attention to what he says and it also describes how the movie plays out. For lack of a better term it’s brilliant. The acting is top notch, everyone playing their role…prestigiously?? The depth of this movie extends far beyond what you would expect going in. It examines the acts of depravity people are willing to commit and the level people will sink to for an obsession, and how it affects those around them. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Definitely a drama, I was blown away, 9.5 of 10

I couldn’t find the quote from the movie so chew on the quote from the trailer you jackals:

“Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called “The Pledge”; The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”; The magician makes his ordinary something do something extraordinary. Now if you’re looking for the secret… you won’t find it, that’s why there’s a third act called, “The Prestige”; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you’ve never seen before.”

-The Right Wing

Movies

Definition time a’la The American Heritage Dictionary!(great deal marked down from $60)
stress (strs)
n.

1. Importance, significance, or emphasis placed on something.
2. Linguistics.
   1. The relative force with which a sound or syllable is spoken.
   2. The emphasis placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a word or phrase.
3. 1. The relative force of sound or emphasis given a syllable or word in accordance with a metrical pattern.
   2. A syllable having strong relative emphasis in a metrical pattern.
4. Accent or a mark representing such emphasis or force.
5. Physics.
   1. An applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body.
   2. The internal resistance of a body to such an applied force or system of forces.
6. 1. A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression.
   2. A stimulus or circumstance causing such a condition.
7. A state of extreme difficulty, pressure, or strain: “He presided over the economy during the period of its greatest stress and danger” (Robert J. Samuelson).

job¹ (jb)
n.

1. A regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one’s trade, occupation, or profession.
2. A position in which one is employed.
3. 1. A task that must be done: Washing the windows is not my job.
   2. A specified duty or responsibility.
4. 1. A specific piece of work to be done for a set fee: an expensive repair job.
   2. The object to be worked on.
   3. Something resulting from or produced by work.
5. Computer Science. A program application that may consist of several steps but is performed as a single logical unit.
6. Informal. A difficult or strenuous task: It was a real job to convince them to drop the charges.
7. Informal. A bad or unsatisfactory piece of work: The stylist did a real job on my hair.
8. Informal. A state of affairs: Their marriage was a bad job from the start. It’s a good job that we left early to avoid the traffic.
9. Informal. A criminal act, especially a robbery: a bank job.
10. Informal. An example of a specified type, especially of something made or constructed. Often used in combination: a new building that is just another glass and steel job; a cowboy hat that is one of those ten-gallon jobs.

Now pay close attention to the sixth definition of the word stress and the first definition of the word job. Using my extremely high IQ, I will combine these two words with the uses previously specified, making a brand new word: “stressjob”. Or maybe: “jobstress” or maybe I’ll separate them again realizing that my qualifications don’t bleed over into making new words (wording?). However, taking ques from the American Heritage Dictionary (the paperback got 4 stars and the hardback got 5? “The definitions were right on” says dictionary review monthly, “but the binding was two easy to bend.”), I will still attempt to combine the two completely different ideas into one all encompassing description.

job stress (jb strs)
n.x2 or 2n

1. A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to a regular activity performed in exchange for payment, especially as one’s trade, occupation, or profession.

Now I believe we have all at some point experienced stress at our jobs as sure as I believe that chunky peanut butter is a Jew-hatched plot to take over the world. But until now, and I mean just now (Remember? When I came up with the word job stress?), we never really knew how to describe this feeling.

Now let me give you an example of some of my own personal history on the topic.

My first job was as an in store miniature painter for a hobby store called Boardwalk Games (where geeks abroad unite away from the scrutiny and humiliation of the public…so they can scrutinize and humiliate each other privately…ugh). At this point in my life I thought stress was finding a ride to work (didn’t drive at that time), and dealing with nerds who said very very stupid things all day long. Shortly after I gave that up, I found myself in a different art field; the art of the sandwich, or as my work shirt dubbed me: “Sandwich Artist”. During my year at subway I felt like stress was looking at a line to the door for a solid 2 hours during the dinner rush while dealing with a manager who was unwilling to do any of the menial tasks he felt were the responsibility of the minimum wage employees. After a year with no raise I left there to become a sports bar chef at both the world famous “Hooter’s” at Pasadena, and the Antelope Valley famous “Coach’s” in Rosamond. My stress threshold was maturing as I realized that never before had I felt real stress in a job, which I knew now was a commute to Pasadena for one job while trying to juggle a second job schedule, and spend my money on an entirely new concept which was paying to stay somewhere. The apartment I gave my hard earned bucks to called this concept “Rent“.

As my jobs evolved, so did my idea of what stress was, until now at the age of 22 I have finally discovered “True Stress” in swimming pool sales and design. To spend literally 100 hours a week working, knowing that on a good week 90 percent of that work is useless, and on a bad week all 100 percent might as well have been spent staring at a wall. I get paid if I sell a pool, and only if I sell. The Winter season comes around and is so slow that I pine for all the useless work I did that Summer. At least you have a chance to sell something when you’re working. More and more lately I find myself at an estimate promising a drawing in less than 2 days. We set a return appointment for let’s say 10:00 on Friday morning, “That’s this Friday right” is always my confirmation question as I write down the appointment time and day on a business card that I leave with them before giving a very professional, very practiced handshake (Handshake Review Monthly gave it a 9.8 and called it the “Handshake to look for in 2006″) and wave a “See you on Friday morning” goodbye. I spend as much as 8 hours drawing, labeling, sometimes coloring, then pricing, pricing pricing. I make my price breakdown legible and easy to understand. Friday morning comes and I’m ready. I approach the door through the sprinklers that almost always come on as I pull up to the house. My finger hits the buzzer. Wait. Ring again and be sure this time to listen for the doorbell, making sure that it did in fact ring. Wait. No show. Phone call to the customer. “Hi its Josh the pool guy…oh that’s ok I forget as well sometimes…would you like to reschedule?…Oh you already signed?…Did you want to see the plan and price anyway?…Oh ok well good luck with your new backyard.” Hang up. Less than 48 hours ago I was standing face to face with you confirming my return time for 10:00 on Friday morning. If you were standing face to face with me now I’d take my shoe off, and I’d somehow find a way to solidify the concept of 10 hours of time, and work, and innovation, and preparation, and high hopes, and drop that concept into my sock right before I whip you in the face with it in front of your wife and kids so that even though it’s too late to teach YOU that other people’s time is worth something, THEY will come away from the ordeal having learned that valuable lesson.

True Stress…

Yesterday I saw a movie. It ran for 149 minutes start to finish. In that 149 minutes I experienced a stress that made my life seem easy. Just watching this film stretched me thinner than my busiest week in the Summer, and had me more agitated than my slowest week in the Winter. The movie I refer to is The Departed.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon star as Billy Costigan (Leo) and Colin Sullivan (Damon) in Martin Scorsese’s newest dramatic thriller. The beginning follows the path of both as they rise quickly in the ranks of the Boston State PD. The only twist being that since Sullivan was young he was in the employ of a big time crime boss named Frank Costello, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson. Neither of the two are aware of each other during their time at the academy and the way it’s shot makes it seem like it could be at separate times, though I believe it was shot that way to imply that they never crossed paths once. Sullivan graduates, still with strong ties to Costello (he refers to him on the phone with the code name Dad, which further demonstrates how strongly Costello is in charge of Sullivan), and is quickly promoted to a Special Investigation Unit whose job is to take down none other than Frank Costello. Meanwhile Costigan reaches his own crossroads and decides to take a job as an undercover officer whose job is to infiltrate the ranks of the very same Costello who has already done so with the Boston PD. Sullivan plays the eyes and ears of Costello from within the unit and keeps him from getting taken down numerous times all the while keeping up the SUI charade. With only two people alive who know what Costigan’s real role is, and with only Costello aware of Sullivan’s allegiances, the two find themselves in a race to find and expose each other with life ending consequences for both should they lose. Supported by Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Kirsten Dalton.

Fantastic, Brilliant, Top Notch, Mediocre (?). Loved this one. First thing is the Acting. Everyone person in the movie is great. For all you Leonardo DiCaprio haters out there, well just go to hell I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind, but Leo played someone who was being pressured from all sides perfectly. Nicholson had sinister down to a T so much so that just to see him in a scene made you uncomfortable. And Matt Damon is the epitome of a sleazy charming liar. Hilarious support from Damon and Baldwin break the tension a bit, but not so much so that the movie loses any thrill. Next stop writing. Some of the most quotable dialogue since Goodfellas as far as I’m concerned, from the opening line onward, every line is so well placed that Shakespeare would plagiarize this if he was alive today (or ever was…Jew conspiracy?). Scorse in the driver seat has never let me down yet. Using music and camera work he made you feel as paranoid as Liotta in Goodfellas. Lights and darks gave you the sinister feeling of being stalked like Nolte in Cape Fear, and I’m not sure how but the stress that he puts you through in this movie alongside DiCaprio is unbelievable. I wanted nothing more than to sleep for a day after this experience. Fantastic from start to finish.

On the Drama scale (it’s not really action) I give this one 9 out of 10.

Till next time I’ll be drinking alone to wear this one off.

-The Right Wing

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Movies