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acebannister
Reviews
Bike Ride (2001)
Pretty cool.
Bike Ride is a short animated film that tells the tale of a young man who rides his bike for 5 hours to see his girlfriend. It is a mellow, smart and funny story that doesn't try to be anything it isn't. Overall, a cool film.
Zen and the Art of Landscaping (2001)
Smart and funny.
"Zen and the Art of Lanscaping", written and directed by David Kartch is a short film about a young man named David (his friends call him Zen) and what transpires in one strange day of his life. Zen works as a lanscaper for an upper-middle class family. The lady of the house tries to get Zen to help her cheat on her husband. Unfortunately, her son walks in on them instead of her husband. From this point on the movie starts to speed through many revelations between the characters along with the eventual involvement of the man of the house. "Zen and the Art of Landscaping" is witty, smart and overall very well written. The comedic timing of the actors is also very strong. It's a fun, light movie that I would strongly recommend.
Memento (2000)
True creation.
A polaroid picture fades before your very eyes. A tragic story painfully unfolds to you, starting at the end and moving towards the beginning. Memento is a true masterpiece of creativity and masterful acting. Guy Pearce should make the majority of young hollywood actors feel ashamed of themselves. Pearce has emerged as a truly exciting and versatile actor that blows almost everyone out of the water.
Guy Pearce plays Leonard, a man suffering from a form of amnesia that doesn't allow him to retain memories. Thus, he wakes up every morning unaware of what has happened to him previously. He can only recall memories from the time before he contracted his condition. All Leonard knows is that he is in search of the man who has raped and killed his wife. He has tattooed everything he knows about this man to his body so as not to forget. The story proceeds in reverse chronological order, which works because Leonard can't tell how time is progressing anyway, due to his amnesia. Leonard meets many people on his journey, but who can he trust. Many people are intent on taking advantage of Leonard due to his lack of memory (the motel manager who charges Leonard for two rooms). Many people are not what they seem to be. Is Leonard what he seems to be? Will the story end how you expect? No. Memento had me guessing the whole time. Right when I thought I knew "the secret" the story would twist around and I would be left in complete awe.
The movie also stars Joe Pantoliano and Carrie Anne-Moss. Who both do great jobs, especially Pantoliano. Memento is a movie that everyone should see, a gem in a sea of tired Hollywood stories. Christopher Nolan has shown that he can direct a truly new and creative movie. See it now.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Hurts so good.
Requiem for a Dream is a predator. It finds a place inside of you and burrows deep down inside until you hurt. It knows what you are thinking and what you fear. After seeing this movie I felt so sad and so alone that I was immediately in love.
Requiem for a Dream, directed by Pi's Darren Aronofsky, stars Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans...yes, I said Marlon Wayans. Ellen Burstyn plays a Jewish widow, living in New York, named Sara Goldfarb. Leto plays her son, Harry. Jennifer Connelly plays Harry's girlfriend, Marion, and Marlon Wayans plays Harry's best friend Tyrone C. Love. One day Sara gets a call from a man, telling her that she is going to be on a tv show. Sara, who worships the television, gets extremely excited but finds that she can't fit into her favorite red dress. Her friend tells her about some diet pills she knows about. Meanwhile, her son Harry spends the majority of his time getting high on heroin with Marion and Tyrone while dreaming about scoring an uncut pound of heroin to sell. Sara starts taking diet pills and starts to get addicted to the dangerous uppers. Form here each character starts spiraling on the their own road to ruin. The movie soars through every drug-induced emotion with an amazing visual ecstasy. Requiem for a Dream is not only a powerful story but is also a stunning visual masterpiece.
I hope the Gods are honoring Ellen Burstyn right now because she has done an utterly amazing job in Requiem for a Dream. Never have I seen such "no holds barred", totally open acting. She has a true talent. Jared Leto does a great job as well, transcending the majority of immature stuff he has done so far. Jennifer Connelly is a great actress that I think should be in more movies. She is much more interesting than the majority of air-brushed actresses these days. And we can't forget about Marlon. Oh Marlon... WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAKING MOVIES LIKE SCARY MOVIE!!?!?!?!?! Marlon, you have such a breakthrough performance in this movie! Leave that lame comedy crap behind! You can act...well!
Anyway, Requiem for a Dream is a must-see for anyone that does drugs, has done drugs or is thinking of doing drugs because this movie will hit you where it hurts. But it hurts sooooo gooood.