Movieislands

Movie: Madeas Big Happy Family

• Director: Tyler Perry
• Release Date: April 2011
• Writers: Tyler Perry
• Run Time: 106
• Genre: Comedy, Drama

Tagline: The Godmother

Review: Madea jumps into action when her niece, Shirley, receives distressing news about her health. All Shirley wants is to gather her three adult children around her and share the news as a family.

But Tammy, Kimberly and Byron are too distracted by their own problems, Tammy can not manage her unruly children or her broken marriage, Kimberly is gripped with anger and takes it out on her husband, and Byron, after spending two years in jail, is under pressure to deal drugs again.

It is up to Madea, with the help of the equally rambunctious Aunt Bam, to gather the clan together and make things right the only way she knows how, with a lot of tough love, laughter, and the revelation of a long buried family secret.

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Movie: Arthur

• Director: Jason Winer
• Release Date: April 2011
• Writers: Peter Baynham, Steve Gordon
• Run Time: 110
• Genre: Comedy

Tagline: Meet the worlds only loveable billionaire.

Review: Apparently this movie is not for everyone, it was however, for me.

This movie is not going to change the way you live your life or love your family, but it achieved what it set out to do. It made me laugh. Not only was this movie incredibly funny, but I thought the cast was successful in creating likable characters with more depth than one would expect from this caliber of movie.

I find most comedies of late fall apart in the latter half when jokes themselves are not enough, and the story has to actually advance some sort of plot. Interestingly enough in Arthur dealt with this nuisance excellently. The plot was wrapped up efficiently while still maintaining the high level of comedy as seen throughout the picture.

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Movie: The Lincoln Lawyer

• Director: Brad Furman
• Release Date: March 2011
• Writers: John Romano, Michael Connelly
• Run Time: 118
• Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Tagline: NTGUILTY

Review: Agatha Christie would be proud of the five twist ending to THE LINCOLN LAWYER. The film is clearly top notch and street smart. Its the most efficient, solidly crafted courtroom thriller since PRIMAL FEAR and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. It has so many twists and turns that its likely that Agatha Christie would be proud of it.

It also reignites the career of Matthew McConaughey as an actor, not just a charismatic star. He manages to be smoothly appealing despite playing a corrupt lawyer who has no scruples in defending guilty clients as long as they provide the cash flow he demands. Its only after defending RYAN PHILLIPPE from a charge of murder and rape that he realizes he does have a few scruples left. And the plot twists provided by the screenwriter John Romano from the novel by Michael Connelly, are deftly handled for maximum shock effect. Brad Furman keeps the direction tight, forceful and swift moving.

The cast surrounding McConaughey has been selected with care and all of them offer realistic performances. Marisa Tomei is appealing as his ex wife who knows his shortcomings but is still attracted to him, and William H. Macy delivers a solid performance as his investigator friend. Ryan Phillippe is excellent as the client whose surface appearance belies the fact that hes as street smart as his sleazy lawyer, and FRANCES FISHER is outstanding in a small but pivotal role as the young mans protective mother.

Not since the days of PRIMAL FEAR and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION has there been a more intelligent script than this one, designed to baffle and blindside the viewer in the course of unraveling some startling surprises.

By all means, highly recommended for fans of this genre.

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The Unreal Universe
A Book on Physics and Philosophy

Pages: 292 (282 in eBook) Trimsize: 6" x 9" Illustrations: 34 (9 in color in eBook) Tables: 8 Bibliography: Yes Index: Yes ISBN: 9789810575946