The Passion of the Christ - 9/10
Setting aside my atheism and just looking at it as a film, it is such a moving and powerfully told film to the point where I would be a fool to deny its impact on me. The story of Jesus is a truly powerful one, and for once it felt like I was just watching a well told film about these people rather than just some celebratory Jesus showcase you see on the religious channels. I was not watching it for Jesus, but as just a film. The story of Jesus is a very powerful one, no doubting that. That combined with Gibson's vision made it something I think everybody can cling to emotionally. The pacing is good and gets the main points across. I liked the structure of the main story being his capture, torture and crucifiction, while flashing back to him and his disciples and his teachings. Caviezel should also be praised. It's pretty striking of how he looks so much like Jesus. I would have judged it with the same eyes if it were bad, but thankfully, it was anything but.
I need to see ****ing Braveheart now. Just let Gibson keep making movies. He's an artist whose art shouldn't be judged based on the artist's own life.
Casino - 8 or 9 out of 10
I was always put off by this because it just seemed like Goodfellas in a Casino. It seemed that way to me in the beginning, but then I forgot about that entirely because it became a film of its own and had something different to say. Sure Peschi still plays a psychopath, but a different kind, sure Sharon Stone could be like Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas, but she's a different kind of wife. Sure there's narration, but there's different kinds. The film is nearly three hours long but it never feels slow or dull. Scorsese's style helps the story along to make it continuously interesting. The acting too. I was never bored.
Flags of our Fathers - 8 or 9 out of 10
I may or may not like this more than Letters from Iwo Jima, but it's difficult to decide because it's such a well made film. I didn't think it would be this good. It looked like the weaker little brother to Iwo Jima but it isn't at all. It's its own story of heft and emotion I shouldn't put the two side by side. They're compansion pieces, but very different looking and sounding companions.
