Maxim’s Movie Reviews and Opinions Blog

Gomorra (2008)

“Gomorra” (English title “Gomorrah”) is a Golden Globe-nominated contemporary drama about mafia in Naples. Directed by Matteo Garrone, written by Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso and Roberto Saviano based on the book by Roberto Saviano.
The plot: Five stories of people from Naples, Italy, living in the world of corruption [...]

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The International

The plot: An Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are trying to bring to justice a bank that had become an institution of choice for international organized crime and involved in international arms trade. They are unable to get any potential witnesses to talk [...]

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Death Race (2008)

The Death Race is an action movie based on 1975 film Death Race 2000 and written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Both movies were produced by Roger Corman. The original movie was starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. The new movie has Jason Statham in the main role.
The plot: In the [...]

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Pineapple Express (2008)

After Seth Rogen and his buddy Evan Goldberg wrote the script for Superbad when they were 15 years old, they also were itching to write a script for an action movie, but with a twist. Nobody has done this before: if an action movie married a stoner comedy and they had a child, and [...]

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The Dark Knight (2008)

By now everyone knows that The Dark Knight (a.k.a. Batman Begins 2) has been a boxoffice record-setting sequel to the 2005′ Batman Begins. This menacing graphic novel made for screen was directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed the original Batman Begins and written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, the [...]

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Wanted (2008)

Russian director Timur Bekmambetov is already known to American audience by his films Night Watch: Nochnoy Dozor and Day Watch: Dnevnoy Dozor and the next part, Twilight Watch: Sumerechniy Dozor based on Sergei Lukyanenko’s bestselling book. That movie went out in limited release. Those who are old enough remember two dramatic movies he made about Soviet [...]

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Road To Perdition (2002)

The plot: Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works as a hit man and enforcer for crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), whom he views as a father figure. However after his son witnessed a killing he has done Rooney’s own sun (Daniel Craig) kills Mike’s wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and other son, [...]

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The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The plot: Andrea Sachs’s (Anne Hathaway) dream was to become a journalist. A naive young woman, she comes to New York and scores a temporary job for the Runway [fashion] magazine working as an assistant secretary to ruthless, if not sadistic, chief editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Andrea puts up [...]

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Director: Julian Jarold
Writers: Kevin Hood, Sarah Williams
Producers: Jeff Abberley, Robert Bernstein, Julia Blackman, Graham Broadbent, Noëlette Buckley, Nicole Finnan, James Flynn, Tim Haslam, Morgan O’Sullivan, Douglas Rae, James Saynor
Original Music: Adrian Johnston
Cinematography: Eigil Bryld
Winner of American People’s Choice Award (Best Independent Film)
The plot: this is a biographical movie about Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway – [...]

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Shrek The Third (2007)

The plot: when the frog-king ‘croaks’, Shrek (Mike Myers) is looked at as the next successor to the throne of the Far, Far Away. Shrek, however, believes he is not the right candidate for wearing the crown, and dreams of returning to his Swamp to live with Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) [...]

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This movie from the first seconds seemed to be a hospital drama ala “ER”. It began with a message: “Every year 3,000,000 anesthesias are performed. One in 700 people ends up awake during the surgery – a condition known as “anesthetic awareness” when patient is paralyzed but is still awake”. So it appeared that [...]

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An intelligent high-powered legal thriller, this is not a action film, so it’s a departure from shaky camera of the Bourne films. Very realistic. The title is appropriate: a story of a man who’s a great lawyer, not such a good friend, and an unsuccessful family man. There’s a little of The Firm, Civic Action and Erin Brokovich – a crusade of individual against an evil corporation, but for the most part the focus of the movies is drama of human beings who just happen to be lawyers.

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Slow with almost useless dialogs in the beginning but redeems itself in the second half with more action, drama and Brad Pitt’s best dramatic role.

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