Movie in a Minute: The Departed

What happens when an undercover cop poses as a Boston mafia member and a Boston mafia member poses as a cop? The Departed happens, that's what. This film marked a cinema milestone as Martin Scorsese bagged his first Oscar. The rumors of a snub are finally put to rest and the statuette made its way into Marty's grip. With that said, The Departed stands as a testament to what a great crew can accomplish. Look for a moment at who worked on this film: 1) Scorsese as director, of course [Casino, Goodfellas, Raging Bull]; 2) William Monahan wrote the screenplay [Kingdom of Heaven]; 3) Brad Pitt as a Producer; 4) Music by Howard Shore [Lord of the Rings trilogy] and 5) actors DiCaprio, Damon, Nicholson, Wahlberg, Sheen and Baldwin. This is, arguably, DiCaprio's best and a great performance by Nicholson and Damon. With four Oscars total (Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Directing and the coup de grace Best Film), The Departed cements a spot in the chronicles of crime drama.
Warning: This film contains crude language, violence and extreme awesomeness.
The Cinema Standard "Movie in a Minute" Rating: 8.8 out of 10; If you're a fan of Scorsese, DiCaprio, Nicholson, Damon or crime drama, please get this movie for your collection.
- - Reviewed by Brady

Movie in a Minute: Babel

Babel comes from the director/producer of Amores Perros, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. The 2006 entry by Inarritu was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, two Suporting Actress nods and other nominations, plus a win for Best Original Score. Babel is an obvious social commentary on the language barrier: the problems it creates, the triumph over it. The film follows four interwoven stories of families in Morroco, America, Mexico and Japan. After the first five minutes, this story quickly becomes tense and never lets up until the credits roll. Relative newcomer roles by Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza (Best Supporting Actress nominees) in addition to star performances from Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett make Babel a movie definitely worth seeing. Warning: Moments of nudity; language; tense drama.
The Cinema Standard "Movie in a Minute" Rating: 8.0 out of 10...look for Dakota fannings little sister, Elle, as Pitt and Blanchett's daughter Debbie.
- - Reviewed by Brady

Movie in a Minute (or less): Epic Movie

Horrible. Pitiful. Worst movie EVER. These don't come close to describing Epic Movie. If you're considering watching this film, please...PLEASE, don't do it. This movie is the equivalent of Ralphie's Christmas present from his aunt (A Christmas Story). The wrapping might be nice, but there's a pink bunny suit inside...and you're gonna have to wear it for a while - shame and embarassment accompanying the event. Just...don't. Save yourself $8 if you're going to the theater, $3 if you're going to rent it or lots of pain and disappointment if you're going to watch it. DISCLAIMER: This movie may cause permanent brain damage, nausea, vomiting, uncontrollable drooling, bowel spasms, coma or death.
The Cinema Standard "Movie in a Minute" Score: -2.3; #25 and moving toward number 1 on the IMDb Bottom 100 worst movies of all time as voted by users.

Movie in a Minute: Rocky Balboa

Another Rocky movie? Are you serious?! YES, I am! Thank you Sylvester Stallone for not leaving it at Rocky V, one of the biggest disappointments in all of filmdom. Written, directed, produced and starring John Rambo, Judge Dredd or whatever stereotypical Stallone action hero you choose. As is very evident in the film, Stallone has aged quite a bit, but still holds his own. Nearly everything about this movie was good. Nearly everything. There were the now cliche lines one would hear from Balboa, but you almost come to expect them. The acting in the film was as good or better than most of the other films (excluding possibly the original). The cinematography made this movie, along with the seemless interspersion of flashbacks from the previous movies. This movie has heart - and a lot of it - which is tough to come by in a film these days. Two things I must mention: 1) The use of black and white with color accents is great and 2) the fight is filmed as if it were a PPV fight (with the exception of the final round, of course) with info boxes and commentary. Awesome job, Sylvester Stallone...just don't make anymore please. Don't judge this movie until you've seen it!
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.3 out of 10
--Reviewed by Brady

Movie in a Minute: The Polar Express

Robert Zemeckis' Polar Express is a fun-filled adventure to...where else, the North Pole. Tom Hanks plays the main character, a boy who has doubts about Santa Claus and Christmas magic. Hanks also plays the conductor, a stern man who - according to himself - "has never been late". To top it all off, Hanks also voices four other characters in the film. Digital motion capture was used for the entire film, and while from-scratch animation is more desirable (according to this article's writer), the film looks pretty good overall. This children's-classic-to-movie hit will take you on a round trip journey to the North Pole, where magic abounds and all one is asked to do is...believe.
The Cinema Standard "Movie in a Minute" Rating: 7.6 out of 10