http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/

The Coen brothers are sick, twisted men. This is probably their darkest film yet, and that is one reason I love it. The film is borderline depressing as it beats the crap out of the main character Larry. His wife leaves him for his best friend, His brother is a lazy slob who sleeps on the couch, his kids are spoiled brats, and a pupil of his is trying to blackmail him. Nothing in this poor man's life seems to be going anywhere. Why do all these horrible things happen to him for no explained reason? The film never tells us, it just sits back and casually tortures Larry. All these terrible things happen to him for no apparent reason, heck I'm sure many people would think this is a downbeat drama. The film is similar in many ways to the Book of Job from the bible, and even though I am not religous I have to admit I like that story. This film is not funny in a traditional way, it is very uncomfortable in its humor and it seems to take pleasure in tormenting the characters to a point where you either laugh or cry. Everybody in this film is fantastic and I loved how the Coen Brothers used mostly pretty unknown actors. Michael Stuhlbarg especially stands out with a tormented performance. He isn't a bumbing food who is depressed about his life, he is a hopeful man trying to make the best of life while it beats him to the ground then stomps on his face for the hell of it.

The story is highly symbolic at times and quite metaphorical, which to some might be dull since not a lot happens in the plot for a while As the story progresses you meet various oddball character, a sexy neighbor, a couple of rabbis, and many other strange people. I will keep this review short because i think the film will speak for itself. If you enjoy dark comedies and find pleasure in watching people suffer for almost 2 hours then I highly recommend this film. It has become my favorite Coen Brothers film next to Barton Fink, Fargo, and Raising Arizona. I think the Coen Brothers have made another future classic here. This is a big improvement over Burn after reading, which personally I really liked too. I think the Coen brothers are one of the best directors around. A Serious Man is now my favorite film of the year next to In The Loop

Overall I give it a 10 out of 10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131729/

First of all I have no idea why the film is called Pirate Radio in America, The Boat the rocked is a much better title. I find it hard to judge this film because the American version cut out more than 10 minutes of footage and rearranged the scenes in the film so it looks like the plot is much more convoluted than it was meant to be. This really pisses me off, I am a big fan of Richard Curtis and there is no reason to mess with his work. He is one ot the U.K's finest writers and it is a real shame that his film was messed with. So this will just be a temporary review, I will get the DVD and watch the film the way it was meant to be later. I will say that the main problem with this film is the lack of backstory for anyone. There are tons of characters, most of which are great but some seem like they were just thrown in for filler. There is a sub plot involving one of the characters Carl trying to figure out who has dad is on the ship, but that seemingly important plot gets forgotten and when it is resolved I didn't really care because I had almost forgotten it existed. Another character Mark is described by the characters in the film as the sexiest man alive, yet he never really does anything. While that may be the joke, there was a scene cut from the U.S version involving a midnight orgy, and a stag night. The best part about this film has to be the cast, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Darby, Chris O'dowd, Rhys Ifans, and Kenneth Branagh are all fantastic. Even Emma Thompson makes a quick cameo.They make characters with no real backstory or reason to care about them interesting with their unique charm and personalities.

They are not enough though to make the film much better, it starts out great but the middle drags a bit and brings up sub plots that are either too ridiculous to take seriouslly or not funny enough. There is just too much going on and not enough reason to care about any of it. Maybe the U.K DVD will fix this problem, but right now the film almost seems like a series of sketches on a boat with a vague connection having to do with the British government trying to get rid of them because they think rock music is filthy. This film was pretty disappointing overall, all the serious parts are not done well enough to take seriously because of a lack of connection to the characters, and a lot of the comedy isn't funny enough to make up for it. I hope scenes cut from the U.S version of the film add a lot and made the story more cohesive. Because right now this film feels like wasted potential. On the bright side though, the music is great. If you liek 60's music you will love the soundtrack. That brings up another problem, the historical aspect feels like background at best. There is music from the 60's, but the only way to really tell it is from the 60's are scenes of random people in 60's fashions dancing to the music and a brief mention of what happened to the ship before the credits. Then during the credits they show album covers, some of which are not even related to rock and roll like Kanye West. If the film was trying to show the influence of pirate radio beyond rock that would have worked, but it goes out of it's way to talk about Rock and roll. If you wan't to show the influence of a specific group of people on music, don't spend time avoiding the historical aspect of the story that could have added so much to the film. This is a shame because Richard Curtis is usually good with history, heck his greatest series Blackadder was based around it. The real pirate radio this film is based on has a rich and interesting history, this film doesn't seem to care much about that. It just uses the Pirate Radio as an excuse to show comedy. I don't want to sound too negative, heck this film has some very funny moments. I guess I am just very disappointed, I expected so much more from Curtis.

Overall I give it a 6.5 out of 10.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/

This film is a tale of love that anyone can understand. However as the film says , it is not a love story. It is a story of happiness, depression, and eventual hope for the future. I have had several experiences with a girl I liked who didn't want to get into anything serious, so this film worked for me on that personal level. It does not follow a linear path, the film bounces around between times showing memories of the main character tom's life. This is a very charming film, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Zooey Deschanel are both fantastic leads. She may not be a great actress, but her personality works very well. It is hard for a romance film to stand out these days, they are either too predictable or too quirky. For the most part this is neither, though it does have the occasional scene that tries way too hard to be quirky, such as a really bad dance scene in a park that had the potential to work but just ends up looking out of place and forced. Another scene where the main characters of the film say what they think true love is on a film screen in black and white, which again could have worked but it ends up seemingly like filler. Same with another scene where Tom's feelings manifest themselves on a film screen, it works at first but then it is gets way too long and monotonous. Music also plays a part, but not in a really forced trying too hard to sound hip way, it actually feels like part of the characters. Also this isn't really a complaint, but for a good part of the film I thought they were in New York City rather than Los Angeles. I don't want to spoil anything, but at the end there is a girl who i thought was very poorly cast considering who she is meant to be.

Belle & Sebastian are mentioned, which made me quite happy i also loved the scene where Summer and Tom play a game where they have to yell penis in a public place as loud as they can. I actually used to play that with a friend of mine so it was nice seeing I wasn't the only one who thought of it. Another scene I liked was Tom going to a party Summer is having and the screen splits into two, one half showing reality and the other showing his expectations of what will happen. That was quite an emotional scene. I try to ignore hype when it comes to films, I find it can ruin the experience for some people. This film however was not ruined in the slightest. The forced quirky parts may have annoyed me and there are a few visual gimmicks that don't work, but in the end it is a highly entertaining and slightly cliche romance film. Aside from how non linear it is and the two leads, not tons stands out. Not a bad film at all, but not one of my favorites of the year either.

Overall I give it a 8 out of 10.