Reviewer Profile

Nick Ledgerwood Movie Reviewer Profile

 
Reviewer Score:
105


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Reviews

Title Year Rating Rank Review
Tombstone19931001
Kings Speech, The2010902
Lincoln2012902 - Daniel Day-Lewis did what he always does: Gets crazy into a role and knocks it completely out of the park. He’s probably the favorite to win Best Actor, though I would like to see the Academy recognize someone else. Otherwise? There’s not much to see about this film. When Spielberg, Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones are all involved in a film, what do you expect?
Silver Linings Playbook2012902 - Far and away the best acted movie of the year, and the nominations show. If anything, I think it was a snub to Chris Tucker not to give him a nomination nod. Given how stacked the Supporting Actor category is I’m not surprised, but it might have been nice. As for the leads, I was blown away. I have never seen a Jennifer Lawrence movie and, despite the fact that she was nominated in 2011 for Winter’s Bone, I had extremely low expectations going into this movie. Everything about her performance was flawless. She displays a range in her emotions and expressions far beyond someone of her age and experience. The star, however, if Bradley Cooper. I have long found him to be a quality actor, but he completely blew me away in this movie. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, have done some research into mental disorders, and have worked with and known several people that are bipolar and schizophrenic, and never have a seen a more realistic portrayal in film. These characters are not coddled and protected, but they are also not vilified. They are stigmatized by other characters in the film, but not by the film itself. They are real people with real emotions and real problems that just happen to have to adjust their world view around their illness. It was a beautifully done movie and, despite my desire to see Hugh Jackman take home the prize for Best Actor, I think that far and away the most deserving actor is Bradley Cooper.
Gladiator2000855
Toy Story 32010855
True Grit (2010)2010855
Up in the Air2009855
A Beautiful Mind2001809
Dark Knight Rises, The2012809 - The internet community, for reasons I do not understand, has given the movie an ungodly amount of shit. I watched it as part of a movie marathon with both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and, framed in such a way, I found it to be a worthy conclusion to Nolan’s Batman saga. Where there aspects I didn’t like? Yes. But there were way more things that I loved about it. I think Tom Hardy was amazing as Bane, that the plot twist was pulled off very well (even if it was a bit predictable), and that it closed out the story nicely. I especially loved that the ending was, in my opinion, open to interpretation. I for one like to believe that Wayne did not survive and that Alfred is merely living out, once again, the fantasy that he has put forth earlier in the film.
Good Night, and Good Luck.2005809
Inception2010809
Les Miserables2012809 - Let me start by saying this: I love this musical. I could (and do) listen to the soundtrack of the stage production over and over again. I was both extremely excited and hesitant when I heard about this movie. However, I think it was pulled off beautifully. Probably the two star performances in my eyes came from Anne Hathaway (a loss for her at the Oscars would be a travesty) and Eddie Redmayne (in my opinion a snub for a nomination, even if he wasn’t a likely candidate for the win). Both of them conveyed an extraordinarily amount of emotion in their voices and, especially for Redmayne, in their faces. You can visibly see the pain they are experiencing. As a fan of the musical, probably the most disappointing performances came from two people I thought would knock them out of the park: Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen as the Thenardiers. These are among the two most popular and well known characters from the play (and possibly all of Broadway), but I found the performances flat vocally and over the top visually. There was none of the subtlety that I was expecting and wanting out of the characters. As I side note, I love Hugh Jackman. I think he is a great actor and did very well in his performance as Jean Valjean. He is in a profoundly difficult category to win this year and, having seen many of the films nominated in the best actor category, he probably doesn’t deserve to win. However, I would love to see him win for one simple reason: this will probably be the only chance he gets.
Departed, The20067514
Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close20117514
Green Mile, The19997514
AVENGERS, The20127017 - I think anyone who saw this movie will agree that it was pretty awesome. While it doesn’t have the beauty, storytelling, and quality of acting of a Chris Nolan epic, it was a hell of a lot of fun and the only movie on this list I found deserving of a repeat visit to the theater. I give props to Mark Ruffalo for his performance as Hulk. The revolving door on the role of Bruce Banner hasn’t been pleasant for anyone, but I think he painted the portrait of a tortured, exhausted soul better than either of his predecessor. Everyone else was business as usual….playing the parts exactly the same way they had before.
Crash20047017
Looper20127017 - This movie was far from perfect. Just like any movie involving time travel, it fell victim to tremendous plotholes (if young Joe kills himself, there is no old Joe and the events of the movie could never have happened. And also, couldn’t he have just shot his hand off or something?). However, those are the sorts of things that you have to expect going into a time travelling thriller and learn to live with. Overall, I found this movie to be compelling and unique. I especially love the way they conveyed the changes in the stories timeline through old Joe’s memories.
Ray20047017
Sixth Sense, The19997017
Social Network, The20107017
Blind Side, The20096523
Mystic River20036523
No Country for Old Men20076523
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring20015026
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King20035026
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers20025026
Snow White and the Huntsman20124029 - Kristen Stewart is in it. She is supposed to be “fairer” (read as: prettier than) Charlize Theron. There are fairies that look like Gollum. Just…awful.