Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

I used to watch this movie all the time when I was little. I thought it was great then, and I still really enjoy it today. Thought I'm a fan of Tim Burton, I strongly believe that his version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cannot even compare to the original with Gene Wilder. It's funny, entertaining, and a bit odd. Yeah, the singing is sometimes off, but it doesn't take away from how good this film is.  It's both whimsical and creepy at the same time. I'd recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys witty and weird films.

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Air Force One

Unlike Vantage Point, this was a great action movie about terrorists kidnapping the president. It reminded me of Die Hard which I think is a fantastic action film. Air Force One was very entertaining and exciting. Yes, it was a unrealistic, cheesey, and sometimes lacking good special effects, but I still enjoyed it very much. I've never thought of Harrison Ford as a president sort of character, but he was actually very good. Though I still think that it was weird for the president to have Indiana Jones-like fighting abilities. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who'd like to see a fun and thrilling action movie.

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Vantage Point

I'd heard some good things about this movie and I haven't really seen a new release for a while, so I decided to check this out. Overall, I thought this movie was pretty lousy. The story was kind of messy, most of the characters were boring or weird, and the scenerios were ridiculously unrealistic. The ending was also very disappointing and there was no surprising twist which I was hoping for. The only twist in the movie is halfway through the film and it's even revealed in the trailer (thank goodness I didn't watch it). I found myself laughing multiple times during this film and I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be comedic. The idea of the movie was good, but it was not presented well and this ended up being another bad action/thriller with a bunch of special effects and car chases added just to make it seem decent. I wouldn't recommend it to most people unless all you care about in a movie is action and explosions.

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Hot Fuzz

I was very excited to see this after watching Shaun of the Dead two weeks ago. Although I think I liked Shaun of the Dead more than Hot Fuzz, this was still a great movie. I guess I'm more familiar with the zombie genre than buddy cop films. But I thought this movie was hilarious anyway. The action scenes are really cool and fun too. And like Shaun of the Dead, the way it's shot is really interesting. My only complaint about it would be that it feels a bit long, but the ending is still good. Not many good comedies can be hilarious and still have an engaging and entertaining plot. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys action movies or comedies, and expecially if you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead.

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American Beauty

I'd heard some good things about this movie and I've always thought Kevin Spacey was a good actor, so I decided to see American Beauty. In my opinion, this was an amazing film. It felt both real and dreamlike at the same time. Yes, it was pretty weird, but I usually enjoy movies that are sort of bizzare and offbeat. The story was really interesting and slightly disturbing. All the characters were very compelling and the cast all had fantastic performances. Overall, I thought this movie definitely deserved the title of Best Picture in 2000. The only thing that bothered me about the film was that the ending confused me for a second. But I rewinded it back a minute and then I understood. I'd recommend this film to anyone who likes black comedies or dramas with dysfunctional families.

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Jurassic Park

Surprisingly, I had actually never seen this movie before. Overall, I thought this was a really fun action/adventure film. The concept is really interesting and original and the plot felt like it was made for Spielberg to direct. The special effects were also really great and definitely believable. It certainly made me glad dinosaurs are still extinct. My only complaint about the movie is that the characters aren't very interesting, but it's still a very exciting film. I'd recommend it to any fan of Spielberg or adventure-y sci-fi movies.

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Ed Wood

I saw this movie for the first time a few months ago. At first I thought it was pretty good, but not that great. Then a couple months later I saw Plan 9 From Outer Space which definitely made me appreciate Ed Wood more. So a few blocks from where I live, we have this neat little movie theater that shows some really good movies from all decades. Sometimes, they even have guest appearances. So when I found out that they were playing Ed Wood on Wednesday night and Martin Landau and the writers of the film were going to be there, I was very excited. The movie was great on the big screen and I certainly enjoyed it more a second time. It was funny, and sweet and overall pretty entertaining. It's not your average Hollywood movie, though. All the actors give outstanding performances. Martin Landau IS Bela Lugosi. (By the way, I met him at the theater on Wednesday and he was a very nice guy.) Johnny Depp was also really great. If you compare his role as Ed Wood to any of his other roles, you'll probably see two very different characters. But this movie is really not for everyone. It's a bit odd and is sort of like an aquired taste. I had to see it twice to fully appreciate it.

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Shaun of the Dead

I've been wanting to see this movie after I saw Night of the Living Dead a while ago. Overall, I thought it was a really great movie. It was such a perfect balance of horror and comedy. And it was different from other zombie films because it felt much more real. I also thought all the actors were really great. You could tell that this movie was really well made. There were some really great and interesting shots and it was very well staged. This film definitely deserves to be placed among the best zombie movies out there. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys creepy comedies and doesn't mind gore.

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