American Beauty--as far as dramas go--is the closest to perfect I've ever seen. The brilliance comes in the subtlety, as with a lot of Kevin Spacey films. Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about this movie. I'm sure it could have been improved in various ways, but I certainly am not in any position to say what or where.
The writing in
American Beauty, both in script and plot, is brilliant. As a literature nerd and a (very amateur) writer, I couldn't watch this movie without laughing to myself at the perfect imagery the script provides and the mood it sets for the accompanying visuals. Along with the script, the soundtrack of
American Beauty is subtle but right on. Unless I was listening for it, I barely knew it was there. It was simply another element of the mood I was feeling.
I'll spare you a plot summary, but only because I want every person reading this post to watch
American Beauty and find out for themselves. Nearly perfect.
Overall Rating: 9.8 / 10
-Taylor Dobbs
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hands down. I can't get enough of this movie. To be honest, if I haven't mentioned it yet, this is why Kevin Spacey is one of my all-time favorite actors. It's probably a top-five performance. Everything about actor Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham) in this movie is just fantastic, not to mention how hysterical he is. I think almost every time he spoke I pretty much laughed. This movie
is greatness.
American Beauty is one of the first movies where I noticed how great the soundtrack was and how well the music went with each scene. The script is unbelievable and the directing is genius. Alan Ball and Sam Mendes tag team to make one of the greatest films ever made. Thora Birch, Annette Bening, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari and Chris Cooper collaborate to make an unbelievable supporting cast.
I think one of the best underlying aspects of the film are its symbols. Alan Ball uses the color red throughout the movie to represent characters, moods and settings. In the first scene, we see the bright red door, with a white house with a white picket fence and blue shutters. We see, Carolyn Burnham (Actress Annette Bening,) Lester Burnham's wife, cutting her red roses from her garden. Throughout the film, Kevin Spacey's sexual fantasies are represented with the color red using red rose petals. Kevin Spacey's remote control car that he hit the foot of his wife with was a red car. In an important scene with Chris Cooper's character, in the background is a bright red automobile. This theme continues throughout the movie all the way to its end.
To sum everything up, this movie is one of my absolute favorites. Honestly, nothing bad at all about it. I'd be very surprised if anyone disagreed with me. In my opinion best movie we've seen together so far.
Overall Rating: 9.8 / 10
- Josh Berg
12 Angry Men is a classic, I guess I kind of got away with seeing this one by watching it in my Criminal Justice class. This was way different from any other movie, based on 12 juror's trying to come to a consensus for a murder case. 12 Angry Men was probably one of the cheapest movies to make, since it only takes place in one room the entire movie. Each of the 12 individual characters played a significant role, where some were outright hysterical and others were aggravating to watch but in a good way if you know what I'm trying to say. The whole concept of the film was great, from the directing to the acting. Each actor did a tremendous job playing their specific role. 12 Angry Men is a 1957 classic everyone should most definitely see. We have to credit Reginald Rose and Sidney Lumet awesome screenwriting and directing. To name just a few of the great actors, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Ed Begley and much more. These guys did a great job coming together and making a hit movie.
