Tag: movie review

The Experiment

Cast: Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Cam Gigandet, Clifton Collins Jr., Ethan Cohn, Fisher Stevens, Travis Fimmel, Lavell “David Banner” Crump, Jason Lew, Damien Leake, and Maggie Grace

Written By: Paul T. Scheuring (screenplay), Mario Giordano (novel)

Directed By:  Paul T. Scheuring

Genre: Drama/Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Release Date: July 15, 2010 (South Korea), September 21, 2010 (U.S.)

MPAA Rating: R

Summary

A group of men, all in need of money for various reasons, sign up for a psychological experiment that pays $14,000 (if they make it the entire two weeks). Half of them are assigned the role of prisoners, the other half, guards. They are given a few rules, and then essentially abandoned by the people running the experiment.

Power changes people. That’s about all I can tell you about the plot without spoiling too much.

Adrien’s Role: Travis Lee

Travis is laid off from his job at an elder care facility. He has also started a relationship with a woman named Bay (Maggie Grace), who invites him on a trip to India. He spots the experiment in a newspaper, and it seems like the answer to his money woes.

Travis is assigned the role of prisoner during the experiment, and is soon fighting for the rights of the detainees. He endures a lot of backlash, to say the least.

Sadly, this is the type of movie where almost anything I say will give away plot points. What I’ll say is, Travis basically goes through Hell.

In Closing

I’ll level with you: this movie is hard to watch. Seeing the mistreatment, and the gross conditions, is enough to turn your stomach.

However, the performances are good (especially those of Brody and Whitaker), and the story is compelling.

If you can handle it, give it a watch.

Scores

Movie in General: 6/10
Brody Performance: 8/10

Trailer

Predators

Cast: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Mahershala Ali, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozowa, Laurence Fishburne, Danny Trejo

Written By: Alex Litvak, and Michael Finch. Based on characters by Jim Thomas, and John Thomas.

Directed By: Nimród Antal

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Running Time: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Release Date: July 7, 2010

MPAA Rating: R

I Sort of Did This One

In July of 2020, I covered the 10th anniversary of Predators for MovieBabble. I started by live tweeting while rewatching the film. Then, I wrote a ridiculously detailed deep dive type article you can read here, if you’d like. It was a really fun process. ** FAIR WARNING: Either of those links will lead to spoilers. I literally discussed every detail.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I’d suggest staying right here and continuing the one you’re reading. This one I’m typing right now. Hi there. Good to see you.

With all the writing I’ve done on this movie already, it’s kind of strange it has taken me so long to do this post. Yet, here we are.

Summary

A bunch of unconscious, not-so-nice characters, are dropped from airplanes into an unfamiliar jungle environment.

How did they get here? Why are they here? And where are they? They must band together to answer these questions, and more that come up along the way. That’s easier said than done, though, as it seems many of them would rather fight each other.

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Splice

Cast: Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac, Brandon McGibbon, Simona Maicanescu, David Hewlett, and Abigail Chu

Written by: Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant, Doug Taylor

Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Drama

Running Time: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Released: October 6, 2009

MPAA Rating: R

Side note:

Splice has gotten a lot of attention lately, after it was added to Netflix’s streaming service in the U.S. (in July, I believe). If you have noticed reviews popping up all over, that’s why. The reason I’m doing one now, is… well, it happened to come up next chronologically, and that’s how we roll here.

Summary

Clive (Brody) and Elsa (Polley) are geneticists [and a couple], working with a pharmaceutical company to engineer new medications. Their goal is to blend various traits from different species, until a certain protein can be synthesized. So, they splice (hence the title) various genes in an attempt to achieve this.

The couple successfully make Ginger and Fred, a pair of creatures who… well… honestly look like deformed penises. Things start out promising for the pair and their company, N.E.R.D. Then, Elsa gets the idea to engineer more creatures, with human DNA added in this time.

After some small successes, things go a little sideways. Hopefully, I’ve avoided spoilers in this summation. If you feel otherwise, I apologize.

Continue reading “Splice”

What happens at the end?

Some of you may be wondering…

“What happens to this blog when you finish the filmography?”

Well, first of all, I hope Adrien Brody will remain active in the film industry in whatever capacity he chooses. At the present, he has taken a step back from acting, to focus on producing. If this blog becomes focused on things he’s had a non-acting hand in creating, then that’s okay.

There are also some films in the can whose releases have been delayed, such as Emperor and Air Strike (aka: The Bombing, or Unbreakable Spirit). If those ever come out, I’d be happy to discuss them.

Meanwhile…

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The Darjeeling Limited

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image via kissthemgoodbye.net

Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Irrfan Kahn, Anjelica Houston… (and a Bill Murray cameo)

Written by: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman

Directed by: Wes Anderson

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Adventure… really, the genre is Wes Anderson 😉

Running Time: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Released: September 28, 2007 (New York Film Festival)

Disclaimer, of sorts:

I am rating this objectively, like a “real” film critic would. However, this is one of my favorite movies, so if it was based strictly on my enjoyment as a fan, it would be about a nine.

Also, I have a lot to say about this one. My apologies.

A word of thanks: The screen captures used in this article (save for the photo in the header) are from KissThemGoodbye.net. Thank you for your beautiful images (and for saving me a lot of time and work).

Background/Synopsis

The Darjeeling Limited was Adrien Brody’s first collaboration with writer/director Wes Anderson. The story centers around three estranged brothers (Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman) who come together for a trip through India, a year after their father’s death. In true Wes Anderson style, there is dysfunctional family-based humor, and the tragic moments are still beautifully executed.

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Hollywoodland

Cast: Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, Diane Lane, Robin Tunney, Bob Hoskins, Molly Parker, Zach Mills, Kathleen Robertson, Larry Cedar, Jeffrey DeMunn, Lois Smith…

Written by: Paul Bernbaum

Directed by: Allen Coulter

Genre: Crime, Drama

Running Time: 2 hours, 6 minutes

Released: August 31, 2006 (Italy); September 8 in the U.S.

MPAA Rating: R

Background

George Reeves, the man who played Superman on the original television series, passed away via suicide in June of 1959. Some people believed his death was suspicious. At the very least, the circumstances surrounding Reeves’ life and death were somewhat complicated. This film explores many scenarios for what could have happened that night, and it’s very interesting to watch those play out.

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King Kong

My thoughts on Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005), and Adrien Brody’s performance therein.

Peter Jackson, Adrien Brody, King Kong set
Director Peter Jackson, with Adrien on the set of King Kong.

Cast: Andy Serkis, Jack Black, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Kyle Chandler, Colin Hanks, John Sumner, Craig Hall, Evan Parke, Jamie Bell, Lobo Chan…

Screenplay by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Peter Jackson

Based on a story by: Merian C. Cooper, and Edgar Wallace

Directed by: Peter Jackson

Genre: Action, Adventure

Running Time: 3 hours, 7 minutes (there’s also a 3 hour, 20 minute version)

Released: December 14, 2005 (U.S.)

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Background

Peter Jackson dreamed of recreating King Kong since he was a child. The original movie (from 1933) was the very reason he went into filmmaking. With all of that build up, and all those years of work, how did Jackson’s vision turn out?

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The Jacket

Cast: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kris Kristopherson, Daniel Craig, McKenzie Phillips…

Written by: Massy Tadjedin, Marc Rocco, and Tom Bleeker

Directed by: John Maybury

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Released: January 23, 2005 (Sundance Film Festival)

MPAA Rating: R

In my top 10 Adrien Brody movies, The Jacket is number six. So, obviously, I enjoy it. There are just nitpicky things (or maybe valid) things that keep it from scoring higher.

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