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Arbitrage

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  • Title: Arbitrage
  • IMDB: link

arbitrage-dvdBy outward appearances Robert Miller (Richard Gere) has it all. The hedge fund manager has a thriving family business, a loving wife (Susan Sarandon), and devoted children (Brit Marling, Austin Lysy). And one moment on a deserted street will threaten to take it all away.

While getting out of town for some alone time with his mistress (Laetitia Casta), Miller loses control and crashes her car. Although he walks away with minor scrapes and bruises, his mistress isn’t so lucky. While trying to navigate the complicated sale of his company to an elusive businessman (Graydon Carter) and hide using his company’s money for personal use from both his family and the IRS, Miller cannot afford the scrutiny an accident like this would bring.

Fleeing the scene with the help of the son (Nate Parker) of a longtime employee, Miller tries to keep one step ahead of an investigation led by a cop with a hard-on to take him down (Tim Roth), and make sure the sale goes through.

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Ted

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  • Title: Ted
  • IMDB: link

ted-blu-raySeth MacFarlane‘s Ted is an interesting idea that runs out of steam well before the final credits start to roll. Mark Wahlberg stars as manchild John Bennett. As a lonely child John wished his teddy bear would come to life and be his best friend. After his wish was granted and the notoriety and celebrity of a talking child’s toy has worn down Mark continues to live with Ted (MacFarlane) almost 30 years later, much to the displeasure of John’s current girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis).

For all the uniqueness of crafting a story centered around a walking, talking teddy bear, Ted is fairly pedestrian in what the script sets out to do. Ted is nothing more than the average bad influence the girlfriend wants to get her boyfriend away from to start a legitimate life together. The story doesn’t quite work because John is wholly responsible for Ted’s existence, something Kunis’ character should, but never quite does, understand.

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The Return of the King

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  • Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  • IMDB: link

lotr-return-of-the-king-posterAlthough the final entry in director Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the one which took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, I’ve always felt The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the most problematic of all three films (and not only because of the 18 or so separate endings).

We begin with the film shoehorning a big section of The Two Towers into this film (while ignoring more than half Tolkien’s final novel) by including an extended sequence of Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), and Gollum‘s (Andy Serkis) journey along Cirith Ungol before even reaching the giant spider Shelob‘s lair (all of which actually takes place in The Two Towers), and finally to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.

The rest of the film focuses on Gandalf‘s (Ian McKellen) return to Minas Tirith to unsuccessfully rally the Steward of Gondor (John Noble), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) finally accepting his destiny and journeying through the Paths of the Dead, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields between Mordor and the combined forces of Rohan and Gondor.

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The Two Towers

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  • Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  • IMDb: link

“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”

lotr-two-towers-poster

The second film from director Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy is, in my opinion, the best and most under appreciated film of the series.

Although Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam‘s (Sean Astin) slow journey to nowhere with Gollum (Andy Serkis) grows a bit tedious at times (as it does in the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as well), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers provides many of the trilogy’s best sequences including the battle at Helms Deep and introduces several new characters in Gollum and the warriors of Rohan who will play important roles not only in this film but in the upcoming final battle with Sauron and the armies of Mordor.

The film begins with Frodo and Sam striking out on their own for Mordor and Mount Doom. Meanwhile Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) hunt down Peregrin Took (Billy Boyd) and Merry Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan) who were taken by Saruman‘s orcs, who mistakenly believe one of the two Hobbits to be carrying the One Ring.

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The Fellowship of the Ring

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  • Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • IMDB: link

“One does not simply walk into Mordor.”

lotr-fellowship-of-the-ring-posterThe first film in Peter Jackson‘s trilogy adapting J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings is most viewers’ favorite of the series (although not mine). Despite being made more than a decade ago The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring holds up pretty well beginning by introducing the various races of Middle Earth as well as our main cast of characters who will volunteer for the suicidal mission of marching to Mount Doom.

Jackson slowly builds the story which begins by introducing us to the Hobbits of the Shire, particularly Bilbo (Ian Holm) and Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). The occasion of the wizard Gandalf’s (Ian McKellen) journey to the Shire for Bilbo’s 111th birthday and the discovery of the true power of the ring Bilbo found on his previous adventure leads young Frodo and his best friend Sam (Sean Astin) on an adventure with Peregrin Took (Billy Boyd) and Merry Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan) which will cause the Hobbits leave the warmth and safety of the Shire for adventure and to prevent the return to power of the dark wizard Sauron.

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