Tobey Maguire

The bond of brotherhood runs deep; a bond that is nearly unshakable. One brother returns from prison to a future uncertain a past to forget, one brother is sent to war, leaving his wife and family. Brothers is about the changes that happen, the uncertainty of emotions, the strength of Brotherhood. One brother is lost, declared dead. His brother finds the connection that was lost in him, finds a family to protect, to love, building powerful connections with the family he never had, through their grief and morning. A lost brother surviving the odds, taking extraordinary steps to see his family again, the dead returns, himself altered, his family not the same. No one truly survives war; no one can be trained to watch another die. Murder can not be taught. The ravages of war are those of the soul. A brother returns and comes face to face with who he was and what he has become. Brothers is a small film, this is not a grand production, despite the presence of three extraordinary young actors, the story failed to enthrall me. Natalie Portman gives another great subtle performance as the grieving war widow, she struggles with the loss of her husband, and fights with her own mixed feelings over her brother in law, finally finding her life turned on its head once again by the unlikely return of a changed man. Jake Gyllenhall plays the brother returning from prison to a life unlived, he finds new meaning in the adopted family of his missing brother, in this family he sees what he has missed, and the difficult feelings that develop with his sister in law. Tobey Maguire?s loving father turned victim of war is very moving, his being is warped my conflict and violence, the life he lived no longer makes sense in light of his actions on the battlefield, Under attack by feelings of jealousy, regret, and anger. His transformation from a loving honorable father into a tortured emotional wreck is worth of praise. As a whole I found the film to be slightly disappointing, it never rose from the shadows of the actors it presented. There performances were powerfully, giving gravity to the parts they played, but the film suffers with a lack of development. The plot is simple, minor characters are not well defined, the entire film seemed focused on its actor to a fault. Outside of my admiration for the talent on display I was not captivated. Worthy of viewing to witness the future of Hollywood on display, the film was lackluster beyond its talent.

You can't ask for much better than Stiller, Black and Downey Jr. in this offbeat and seriously funny comedy (note it finally kicked the Dark Knight out of the #1 spot). Tom Cruise's cameo as slimy movie exec Les Grossman is priceless. Downey Jr. manages to steal the show in a tour-de-force role (acutally, 3 roles perhaps?) as bad-boy Aussie ultra-Method actor (Russel Crowe, anyone?), who goes ultra-character in his African American role, then outwits some bad guys by playing a Japanese samurai type for a too-brief yet funny scene. Stiller and Black are great as usual, as are the rest of the supporting cast. Great opening "commercials" and "trailers" open the film, and tie directly in to the central characters. Funny parody of Hollywood with awesome actors and some great cameos. I can't wait to own this one so I can watch it again! (the gag reel should be good..)

If you want to read more about TROPIC THUNDER, check out the MovieRetriever.com review in the BARKS WITH BITE blog by clicking HERE!

Should've stopped with Spidey 2, this one takes on way too much and flops miserably compared to rest of series.

Michael Douglas (and most of cast) is excellent in this film; highly recommended to see this