Flirting With Disaster

Poor man’s Trading Places: It’s really tough to beat Trading Places, but Flirting With Disaster made a real strong go at it. It’s missing a few more laugh-out-loud lowbrow comedy moments, but otherwise it hits all the right places for a comedy. ★★★★☆ Josh and I convinced another friend to watch Flirting With Disaster before […]

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Spartacus

Poor Man’s Braveheart — I know I am supposed to like Spartacus more, but I just found it a little less fun ★★★★☆ Everyone knows the quote, “I am Spartacus!” However, fewer know the other 3 hours and 14 minutes of film that surround that scene. Spartacus is Stanley Kubrick’s story of the titular character […]

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Princess Mononoke

Poor Man’s Ferngully: Both movies have environmentalism at their core. However, I found Ferngully to be more fun and satisfying. ★★★☆☆ As you may remember, I did not look kindly upon The Wind Rises, but Josh is nothing if not persistent. Princess Mononoke is an animated film centered around Ashitaka, a prince from a small […]

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The Thief and the Cobbler

Poor Man’s Aladdin — no need for a clever comparison here. It just is. ★★☆☆☆ This week David assigned me an animated film. I’ve been dragging him to our local theatre’s showings of Studio Ghibli movies and I think he wanted to return the favor. This movie is about a poor orphan boy growing up […]

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Moon

Rich Man’s 2001: A Space Odyssey: I don’t love Kubrick and I find most of 2001 pretty slow. Moon’s by no means a perfect movie, but it’s got thrills and is definitely a more fun movie. ★★★★☆ This week I watched a 90 minute Twilight Zone-esque movie called Moon. The opening monologue tells you that […]

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Rope

Rich Man’s Carnage: both movies are strong limited storytelling and excellent adaptations of stage plays. Honestly, it’s hard to choose between these two as they are both exceptional but Rope gets the edge for being filled to the brim with wordplay. ★★★★★ I have always secretly dreaded Alfred Hitchcock movies. I was afraid that I […]

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Rounders

Rich man’s The Man with The Golden Arm: Both films have elements of addiction and how an addict’s relationships are affected by their lifestyle. Rounders is definitely slicker and more fun. ★★★★★ Damn it, Josh has really hit it out of the park the last couple of weeks. T2 kicked ass. I watched Ex Machina […]

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Along Came a Spider

Poor Man’s Se7en. Morgan Freeman has been a few days way from retirement for his entire career but this movie’s villain doesn’t hold a torch to John Doe. ★★★☆☆ Earlier today, I heard someone describe The Eagles as rock and roll for people who don’t want to put the effort into liking music. This analogy […]

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World’s Greatest Dad

Rich Man’s Heathers: Both films are definitely in the dark comedy genre, but I feel like World’s Greatest Dad has more meat on the bone. Out of the two, it definitely made me think more. ★★★★☆ World’s Greatest Dad is a black comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, who, if you’re a 90s […]

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The Devil’s Advocate

Rich Man’s Lord of War — they are both highly-stylized tales of men who struggle with morality and consequence in worlds devoid of them, but The Devil’s Advocate offers more satisfying answers. ★★★★☆ The Devil’s Advocate is the 1997 courtroom drama starring Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and Al Pacino. Keanu Reeves plays hotshot Florida attorney […]

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