Best movie of this year hands down!

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Clark Kellogg is a student from Vermont about to start university in New York. Things don't get off to a good start; the man who gives him a ride from the station steals his money and his luggage then his main lecturer says he must by $700 worth of books. He sees the thief again and chases him; he catches the man but he tells Clark the money is gone… but he can get him a job. The job turns out to be working for Carmine Sabatini, a man who strongly resembles 'The Godfather'. The job sounds suspicious $500 to pick up a package at the airport and deliver it to a specified address. The package turns out to be a Komodo dragon. The job doesn't quite go to plan but it is ultimately delivered. Later he learns that the dragon is due to be the main course at the 'Gourmet Club' an illegal restaurant where people pay a fortune to dine on the most endangered species. Soon government agents are putting pressure on him after being tipped off by his step-father and Carmine's daughter Tina is convinced that Clark will marry her! Clark is clearly out of his depth.I first saw this film in the cinema while on holiday then forgot about it till recently when I picked up the DVD… I must say I really enjoyed it. The story is obviously silly but it is played relatively straight and provides plenty of laughs. Matthew Broderick is on fine form as Clark and Marlon Brando is great fun as he sends up his character from 'The Godfather'; as this is directly referenced it could easily have broken the suspension of disbelief but actually it worked amazingly well. The rest of the cast are solid too; most notably Bruno Kirby who is a lot of fun as Victor, the thief who introduces Clark to Carmine. The scenes between Broderick and Brando are one highlight of the film; another is the scene where the Komodo dragon escapes and causes havoc in a shopping mall… even if the film doesn't actually feature a real Komodo dragon; that would have been far too dangerous and impractical! The ending feature a nice twist that doesn't feel out of place with what happened before. Overall this is a fun film that I'd certainly recommend to anybody wanting good inoffensive entertainment.

While The Freshman had some qualities in common with bigger crime films, it took a very different spin on old standards. Where most crime movies focus on dark themes and serious, sometimes violent social issues, The Freshman focused on the humor in difficult and strange situations. In the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Matthew Broderick in the role of Clark Kellogg. His stepfather, Dwight, is a pro- animal and environmental extremist, the definition of a tree hugger. After years of humiliation at the hands of his stepfather, young Clark has no qualms about leaving his home to start school in New York. However, during his first day in the big city, he is scammed out of all his money and schoolbooks.In order to re-earn the money required to remain in his classes, Clark decides to attend a suspicious interview with a potential employer, Carmine Sabatini (Marlon Brando.) Clark decides to accept the offer of a flexible job with few hours and big money. He is not terribly worried about the situation- until he finds out his first job is to transport an endangered kimono dragon (How will his stepfather feel about that?). While I liked the movie, In terms of plot, this film fell short: it was pretty clichéd, and story elements were typical of other gangster films. Contemporary audiences will not be surprised when Kellogg is roped into the crime gang and works his way to the top, because we saw the same thing happen in The Godfather, with Michael Corleone. Plot line aside, this film is very enjoyable. It is an encounter of the blurred kind, an adventure as crazy and as unexpected as it can get. Despite occasional plot clichés and fixes, it's a brilliantly told tale. It really nails its comedic angle; it seizes you in its first seconds, captivates you for two short hours and leaves you feeling a little happier than before.

The Freshman is a crime comedy film starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick together with Bruno Kirby and Penelope Ann Miller.It was written and directed by Andrew Bergman.Clark Kellogg is an aspiring director who arrives in New York City to attend film school. However, moments after he arrives in the city, he's robbed by Victor Ray, leaving him no money for the $700 in books required by his instructor, Arthur Fleeber. A few days later, Clark runs into Victor and demands his money back, but Victor has already lost it on a horse race in which he wasn't entirely sure the animal he bet on was a horse. Instead, he offers to fix Clark up with a job with his boss, an "importer and exporter" named Carmone Sabatini.Clark's adventures with Sabatini are just beginning when he's instructed to pick up a package from the airport. Clark is expecting it to be contraband, and he's right, but not in the way he figured -- it turns out he's accepting delivery of a komodo dragon, which is to be served at a "gourmet club" specializing in dishes prepared from endangered species.Buoyed by the charm of Matthew Broderick in the title role and Marlon Brando as a caricature of his Godfather persona, the film benefits from solid casting, a clever premise, and sweet humor.It's a nice premise, film informing life, and Bergman's film succeeds thanks to its sprightly pace, modest but fully realized ambition and Brando's sublime comedy performance.It is definitely one of the best comedic films in the 1990's.

It's rare that a Hollywood comedy is truly original, but this one manages for the great majority of the time. Terrific supporting performances throughout (especially by Paul Benedict, and the complexly off-the-wall Maximllian Schell), and Brando is brilliant enough that he can somehow pull off a simultaneous outrageous self-parody, while still getting us to take the character seriously enough to follow the story and even like the guy. And Matthew Broderick, always solid, deserves kudos for not getting blown off the screen by Brando's much bigger than life charisma. This is full of odd and inventive moments, and while the ending is a bit pat, for most of it's length it's joyfully completely unpredictable.