Primer

Working down the list of movies to see, I can across “Primer“. Again, I don’t remember the reason I added it to the list, but I can think of a couple…

Directed by: Shane Carruth
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Cast: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford, Jay Butler, John Carruth, Juan Tapia, Ashley Warren, Samantha Thomson, Chip Carruth, Delaney Price, Jack Pyland, Keith Bradshaw, Ashok Upadhyaya
IMDB raintg: 6.6
My rating: 6.5 [rate 6.5]

There is something magical about $7,000 USD. I guess this is exactly how much money you need to have to make a good movie. Robert Rodriguez proved it some time ago with his “El Mariachi”. Shane Carruth proved it very recently with “Primer”. And although the films are completely different and very separated by the genre, there is something that unites them. The feeling of hard work and fun in the process.

“Primer” is another good take at time travelling. But instead of fancy and expensive visual effects it goes for the phylosophy of the issue. Everyone knows that time travelling is a very confusing, dramatic and plain dangerous activity. But movies usually avoid the confusing and dramatic parts to make more room for dangerous stuff that is easier shown with computer graphics. “Primer”, while being a very low budget film, concentrates more on the confusing part. And in does the job so good that the film itself becomes pretty confusing. It is very difficult to follow it sometimes.

And although it gets a bit too slow in several scenes, I really enjoyed the film. For once there is a movie that makes you think and figure out things instead of providing cheap popcorn entertainment. I’m glad I saw this one.

The Man

The Man (2005)I’m not even sure I picked “The Man” up because of Samuel Jackson starring in it. Most probably it was just a random choice.

Directed by: Les Mayfield
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Eugene Levy, Luke Goss, Miguel Ferrer, Susie Essman, Anthony Mackie, Gigi Rice, Rachael Crawford, Philip Akin, Christopher Murray, Joel S. Keller, John Hemphill, Kathryn Greenwood, Carrie Cain-Sparks, George Ghali
IMDB raintg: 4.9
My rating: 2.0 [rate 2.0]
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Stage Beauty

Stage Beauty (2004)Stage Beauty” was an item on my list of movies to see. But I can’t remember the reason it got there. Nor can I think of one.

Directed by: Richard Eyre
Genres: Drama
Cast: Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Tom Wilkinson, Zoe Tapper, Richard Griffiths, Ben Chaplin, Hugh Bonneville, Edward Fox, Derek Hutchinson, Mark Letheren, Jack Kempton, Alice Eve, Fenella Woolgar, David Westhead
IMDB raintg: 7.3
My rating: 6.0 [rate 6.0]

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A Few Good Men

A Few Good Men” is the film that I’ve seen many times, but never blogged about it. Therefor I could never remembered what it was about and had to refresh my memory with yet another watching.

Directed by: Rob Reiner
Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, James Marshall, J.T. Walsh, Christopher Guest, J.A. Preston, Matt Craven, Wolfgang Bodison, Xander Berkeley, John M. Jackson, Noah Wyle
IMDB raintg: 7.5
My rating: 7.0 [rate 7.0]

This is one of those predictable Hollywood movies that nicely mixes together law and courtroom them with military and adds a personal drama. The film would have been lost on the shelves of history if it wasn’t for the exceptional cast.

Almost every face in the film is familiar. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Pollak, J.T.Walsh, Noah Wyle… the list goes on. Even Cuba Goodings Jr. appears in a short cameo. These are the people who delivered excellent performance and not only saved the film but made it very capturing. Yes, even Tom Cruise was good. And you don’t here me saying this that often.

Country of My Skull

Country of My Skull (2004)Country of My Skull” (aka “In My Country”) is the newest movie starring Samuel L. Jackson. That’s all I knew about his movie when I rented it today.

Directed by: John Boorman
Genres: Drama
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, Brendan Gleeson, Menzi Ngubane, Sam Ngakane, Aletta Bezuidenhout, Lionel Newton, Langley Kirkwood, Owen Sejake, Harriet Lenabe, Louis Van Niekerk, Jeremiah Ndlovu, Fiona Ramsey, Dan Robbertse, Robert Hobbs
IMDB raintg: 5.8
My rating: 3.0 [rate 3.0]

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