Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movie. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Review: Meet the Robinsons

I took Ty and E to see Meet the Robinsons this weekend in Digital 3D. It was AWESOME!!! The story revolves around a twelve-year-old boy named Lewis. He is an orphan and an inventor. His latest invention is a mind scanner to show memories that might have been otherwise forgotten. Lewis is hoping he will be able to use the scanner to find his birth mother and become a family.

Unfortunately the Bowler-Hat Man shows up and destroys everything, leaving Lewis to believe that he is incapable of actually inventing something that works. Wilbur Robinson appears to whisk Lewis away to the future where Lewis meets Wilbur's unique family. While in the future they search for the Bowler-Hat Man and discover the secrets of the Robinson family.

My mother says you get two chances at having a family. The first family is the one you're born into and it is what it is. The second family is the one you make and it is what you want it to be. I think that is the overwhelming message in this movie. And unlike most kids movies these days, there were no adult innuendos that your children will innocently repeat to your embarrassment. There are two mildly scary scenes - one tempered by humor the other by a happy result - but both Ty and E were ok. Neither one of them jumped in my lap.

I highly recommend if possible that you see this movie in the Digital 3D. I know it'll still be a good story either way but the extra $2 you'll pay for the experience is totally worthwhile. Not to mention your kids will look too cute wearing them. Look around on Google - type "movie: movies [your zip code here]" in the box and see if it's playing in 3D in your area. Out of four local theaters, only one here had it in Digital 3D.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Mass Movie Review 4

Finally I picked a bunch of winners in one weekend!

Kinky Boots
I thought this movie was fantastic! It was laugh out loud funny in places and left me feeling so happy afterward. The premise is this: A shoe factory has been in the Price family for generations. Charlie Price does not want to run the factory but when his father unexpectedly dies he finds himself in the position of having to save it from financial ruin. He finds an unexpected ally in drag queen and cabaret singer, Lola. Lola designs shoes and boots for other drag queens and clubbers all the while fighting to change the prejudices of the conservative staff at Price Shoe Factory among other things. Throw in a little romance for Charlie (not Lola!) and a Milan fashion show and you have all the makings for a silly, fun movie!

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Sarah-Jane Potts


Gridiron Gang

Here's another feel-good movie if that's what you're in the mood for. It was very predictable but it didn't lessen the story's emotional impact. Sean Porter (played by The Rock) is a counselor at a juvenile detention center in California where gang activity is high. He sees the teens coming and going and with a reincarceration rate of 75% he feels there is more that can be done to rehabilitate the teens. He and another counselor, Malcolm Moore (played by Xzibit) put together a football team. The boys must then decide whether the football team is their new "gang" or whether they will hang onto their original gang affiliations. I believe this is based on a true story and it is very inspirational. I have a bad memory so don't quote me on this but I think the first year of running the football program had only two or three boys return to their original gang affiliations while the rest went on to have jobs and families and finish school. Highly recommend this one and while it deals with some really heavy subjects (abusive boyfriends, murder, gang wars, etc.) and there is some language, I thought it was ok for my boys to watch with me. The overwhelming message was one of hope and rehabilitation.

Starring: The Rock and Xzibit


The Relic

This movie is based on the novel bearing the same title by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child which I devoured in a day but was then afraid to go in my creepy basement to do the laundry. I'm only slightly kidding. It is one of the Pendergast novels - in fact it is the first Pendergast novel - but Pendergast does not appear in the movie. I was really skeptical about watching the movie because frankly, how do you have the same story and yet cut out the main character? Some of the movie's other characters, Vincent D'Agosta and Margo Green, took some of the characteristics and actions of the novel's Pendergast and it was ok. I would have liked to have seen Pendergast but the movie version of the story was still pretty good. Now I didn't think it was all that scary but I did know most of what was coming. I felt Steve jump a couple of times but he'd never admit it if you asked him. It was very gory.

Here's the movie's premise: A scientist (don't ask me his name because I can't remember) goes into the jungle to study a tribe. He collects a relic and some plant material and sends it back to the States. In the movie you see him get onto the ship with the cargo he's sent and the next scene has the ship, empty of all crew and the professor. Eventually D'Agosta (the police lt. in charge) opens the bilge and finds a bunch of corpses with their heads and brains removed. The crates are shipped onto the original destination - the museum - where similar murders begin occurring. It turns out that there is a fungus or spore or something on that plant material that has a lot of the same characteristics as the human hypothalamus located in the brain and the beast that has followed the crates uses that as its food. It's up to Margo Green and Lt. D'Agosta to figure out what the beast is and how to stop it from killing.

Starring: Penelope Ann Miller and Tom Sizemore

Monday, March 05, 2007

Mass Movie Reviews 3

The following two movies I have watched before but it's been many years and I re-watched them just this weekend so I thought I would review them for you. The third movie I happened to catch on AMC this afternoon.

The Fisher King
Shock jock Jack Lucas makes a comment to a disturbed listener of his radio show who then goes to a bar and opens fire on a group of unarmed, innocent bystanders. One of the people killed in the barrage of gunfire was Parry's wife. Parry sinks into a catatonic state and Jack sinks into a depression. Years later Parry wakes and is released to become a charming homeless man who teaches Jack the real meaning of love and life.

It wasn't bad - not awesome but not lousy either. How can you not like a movie that has both Robin Williams and Michael Jeter? There was also a small role for David Hyde Pierce of Frasier fame.

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, and Mercedes Ruehl.


The Four Feathers
Jack Durrance has everything going for him. He's recently engaged to a beautiful woman who is madly in love with him and he is rising up the ranks of the British army all the while surrounded by his four closest friends. When the announcement comes that his regiment will be shipped off to war in the Sudan, Jack resigns his commission. When three of his friends and his fiancé learn what he has done, they each send him a white feather to symbolize what they see as his cowardice. He tortures himself with self-doubt and eventually makes his way to the Sudan and joins up with the British army but this time in disguise. He then attempts to redeem himself in the eyes of his four friends and fiancée.

I really liked this movie. I liked it as much this time as when I'd watched it before. I had read somewhere that Kate Hudson had turned down the lead role of Mary Jane in Spider-Man in order to take the role of the fiancé, Ethne and the comment was made that she must surely be regretting that decision. I don't know why the critics and commenters on Netflix didn't like this movie but I recommend it. There are some battle scenes and some tense moments but mostly it's more of a love story than anything else.

Starring: Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson and Djimon Hounsou


Anatomy of a Murder
When Lt. Frederick Manion's wife Laura was raped he took a gun to the bar where the rapist worked and shot the man to death. He confessed to the murder and now it is the job of lawyer Paul Biegler (played by James Stewart) to help exonerate Lt. Manion. He uses a temporary insanity excuse for a plea of not guilty but is it true or has Lt. Manion tricked everyone, even his own defense lawyer?

I really enjoyed this movie. Shot in 1959, it is a black and white but don't let that dissuade you from watching this movie. The courtroom arguments were as compelling as any Law & Order episode or John Grisham novel of modern times. Excellent movie!

Starring: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara and Arthur O'Connell

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Mass Movie Reviews 2

I've watched a bunch of movies the last two months but I haven't had a chance to review them for you lately so I'll do another mass movie review. I'm going to start with the worst and work my way up to the best.

Gattaca
It's about a guy whose parents chose to have a child naturally with flaws and imperfections rather than have a geneticist manufacture a perfect child. Because of his flaws and imperfections he is classified as being a lesser person and despite his intelligence and hard work, he is a janitor instead of an astronaut. So he trades lives with a man who is genetically manufactured but who has broken his spine and is now paralyzed, all for the singular goal of going to outer space as an astronaut.

This movie has a great premise and some really good (or at least really attractive) actors in it. I'm not sure where or why it failed but it was so boring I fell asleep about twenty mintues to the end of the movie. Steve watched to the end and filled me in on exactly what I missed which wasn't much.

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law with fun little apperances by Tony Shalhoub and Ernest Borgnine.


Crank
I am madly in love with Jason Statham. I'll just confess that right now. The guy is hot and he knows Kung Fu. Just thinking about the oil fight scene in The Transporter is enough to melt me into a puddle. However much I love Mr. Statham and wanted to love this movie, it stunk. I mean it was horrible. Finally about half way through I realized either it was so bad it was funny or I have a very twisted sense of humor because I started laughing. Once I decided it was a comedy and not an action/drama I actually liked the movie a little bit.

This one is about a hit man who gets injected with some "Chinese $#!%" that slows his body down until eventually his organs just quit working. The only way to counter the injection is with adrenaline so he must keep moving, keep shooting, keep performing dangerous stunts and also apparently have sex in a public place.

My favorite scene in the whole movie was during a shoot-out. Bullets were flying and the camera was grabbing typical random shots of car windows imploding because of random bullets and things of that nature. They panned to an old woman sitting in her apartment with a green parakeet in a cage. One of the random bullets flew through her window and the bird ended up as a splat of green feathers on the far wall. I HOWLED. I laughed so hard I cried.

So if you like really dumb movies - so dumb they're funny - then rent this one. Otherwise, don't waste your time.

Starring: Jason Statham and Amy Smart.


Tian di Xiong Xin ("Armageddon")
Again, I have the hots for the main actor in this movie, Andy Lau so I was prepared to like the movie no matter what. It wasn't bad but there was only one scene in the whole movie that involved Kung Fu. The premise was kinda weird too.

The movie starts when a scientist is pretty much vaporized at the same time Andy Lau's satellite company loses a bunch of their satellite signals. The movie sets me up the whole way for it to be a sci-fi thriller and I was expecting there to be some crazy outer space weaponry that allowed someone to be microwaved via satellite, similar to the weapon used in Brimstone by Preston and Child. In reality it turned out to be the literal end of the world and Andy Lau was supposed to be set up as a sort of Antichrist, a job offer which he then turned down (sorry to spoil the ending for you).

All in all it wasn't the worst movie I watched. It was a little weird and I probably wouldn't watch it again. I do not recommend it if you're looking for lots of action.

Starring: Andy Lau, Michelle Reis, and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang.


The Seat Filler
A struggling law student, Derrick, takes a job filling empty seats at celebrity awards shows in order to make enough money to pay off his school debts. At one occassion he finds himself sitting next to a gorgeous and famous singer, Jhnelle and they seem to really click. She mistakes him for the seat's actual occupant, a famous celebrity lawyer Al. He woos her using the lawyer's identity believing that if she knows he is really a broke law student and not a rich lawyer, she will not look twice at him. Eventually her exboyfriend does a little research and exposes Derrick for what he really is, a seat filler. The question remains can Jhnelle be in love with a nobody?

The plot sounded so much like a cute little romance novel that I couldn't resist the rental. I actually ened up watching it on Netflix's new "Watch Now" feature which worked great with absolutely no pauses to allow the bandwidth to catch up to the movie. I wasn't thrilled that I couldn't fast forward or rewind (at least that I could see) but there was a pause feature that comes in handy when watching a movie while children are awake in the house.

Anyway the actual movie ended up being very light and very cute. I enjoyed the romance. Don't watch it expecting some big piece of drama. It plays out exactly the way romance novels play out. They only lightly touch on conflict and everyone ends up happily ever after. Perfect escape movie.

Starring: Duane Martin, Kelly Rowland and DeRay Davis.


The Hiding Place
I'm sure most of you know the story of Corrie Ten Boom but if you don't, I highly recommend you read her book rather than watch this movie. While the story stayed true to the original there were parts that were glossed over or completely cut, probably for length purposes.

Corrie, Betsie and Casper "Papa" Ten Boom hid Jewish people in their home during the Nazi occupation of Holland in the 40's. Eventually they were caught and sent to concentration camps where their faith carried them through the horrors of their daily lives.

I rented this because my friend's daughter needed to get the story read for a class. Her teacher gave her permission to watch the movie instead of reading the book but it wasn't available in the store so I bumped it up my queue for her. I had read the book years and years before but the story is no less moving now than it was then. Unfortunately it was made in the 70's and I believe by a Christian studio so the quality of the filmography is not what it would be if the movie were made today. It is also very slow moving without tension despite some very scary situations. However that being said, the movie does stay true to the story and the main message of Corrie's book which is Christian love and forgiveness. Well worth the rental.

Starring: Jeannette Clift, Julie Harris, and Arthur O'Connell.

You can read a much shortened version of "The Hiding Place" here: "The Secret Room"


The Illusionist

Edward Norton plays Eisenheim, a magician in the early 1900's Vienna. He falls in love with Sophie, a girl who is above his social station and they plan to run away together. She is caught and he spends the next fifteen years or so wandering and learning to become an illusionist. When he returns to Vienna he finds Sophie is engaged to marry the Crown Prince who is an cruel man plotting to overthrow his own father. Eisenheim attempts to free Sophie from her engagement and a mystery ensues as a result.

I don't want to say too much because I'd hate to ruin the movie for you. I did figure the mystery out right away but it didn't spoil anything for me. I highly recommend this one, especially if you like romantic, mysterious, period-pieces.

Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell (another hottie and a good "bad guy"), and Paul Giamatti.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Mass Movie Reviews

I watched a lot of movies over this holiday season so I'm going to try to do a quick review of all of them.

Joyeux Noël
This is another of my wonderful little French movie finds however the language of the movie is not entirely in French. It takes place on Christmas Eve during the trench war of WWI amongst the French, German and Scottish forces. They realistically use French, German and English throughout the movie. Based on a true story, I highly recommend this as a holiday movie for you and your family next year. It was an amazingly touching story and I was delighted with a cameo performance by Michel Serrault.



The Black Dahlia
I was so interested to see this movie since I tend to like true-crime stories and this one is a particularly fascinating story because they never figured out who the murderer was despite the numerous suspects. I was sorely disappointed. The movie was much less about the Black Dahlia and much more about the soap opera worthy drama of two police officers who were investigating the crime. Granted I was pretty sick when we watched this one but the drama was so uncompelling that I was unable to stay awake. Steve had to tell me what happened in the end and it turns out although I slept through more than half the movie, I didn't miss much. Starring Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank.



Lady in the Water
I am a huge fan of M. Night Shyamalan so I was very excited that this one had been released to DVD. He wrote this story as a bedtime tale for his children and I would say that it very much had that feel to it. It reminded me of stories that S3 has read in the past few years - not exactly at an adult level but definitely past Dick and Jane. I don't think they marketed this movie to children but other than one scary beast, it's very appropriate for most of the 10 - 13 year old set (I don't think Ty could handle it but he's easily frightened). There is a big demon-like dog that jumps out at unpredictable times that is startling (I screamed like a girl!) but the fright is over quickly and there is very little to no tension in the rest of the story. I loved it! Starring Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard and M. Night Shyamalan.



Nacho Libre
We were lazing about one of the days after Christmas and decided to buy this one from PPV. I slept through most of it since I was not feeling well but what I saw was a little slow and not very funny. However S3 liked it a lot so I'm guessing if you liked movies like Napoleon Dynamite and The Benchwarmers you'd probably also like this one. I think I remember hearing my sister and her family also enjoyed this movie. Starring Jack Black.





Invincible
I had wanted to see this one in the theater so badly but we were just too busy and never made it so again, I was thrilled to see it had been released on DVD. It's about the Philadelphia Eagles and a 30 year old underdog, Vince Papale. Dick Vermeil was brought in as a new coach in 1976 and decided to try something radical - he held open try-outs for the Philadelphia Eagles. Vince Papale was encouraged by his friends to try out despite the fact that he only ever played one year in high school and back-lot football with his friends. The story chronicles both Papale's and Vermeil's struggle to make it in the world of professional football. I'm not a huge fan of football but I really, really enjoyed this movie. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Greg Kinnear.



Annapolis
This one is about a guy who's mother's dying wish was to see her son rise above being a ship builder and attend Annapolis. Somewhere along the storyline it changes from a movie about the struggles of a new student at a tough Naval academy and turns into a movie about boxing. It wasn't a horrible movie but it was very predictable and a little hokey. Not bad if you're looking for mindless entertainment for two hours but I'd have been mad if I'd paid $10 a ticket to see this one. Frankly, the best part of watching this movie was seeing Tyrese Gibson with his shirt off. Oh Mama! Starring James Franco, Donnie Wahlberg (remember NKOTB?), and Tyrese Gibson.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Review: Une Hirondelle A Fait Le Printemps (The Girl From Paris)

Ah, another French movie. I seem to be on a kick lately, don't I? In reality I enjoyed Michel Serrault's performance in Le Papillon that I looked for more of his movies. I would say that The Girl From Paris was a good movie but not quite as wonderful as Le Papillon. M. Serrault's performance was wonderful as a grumpy old farmer who, because of his declining health, decides to sell his family farm to a young woman from Paris. She has dreamed of the countryside and of becoming a farmer and quit her job to attend farming school in persuit of that dream. Soon both the old farmer man and the young city woman realize they have a lot to learn from each other. By the end of the movie I was wishing it wasn't finished yet, I so thorougly enjoyed the story.

"Simply Delightful" and "Endearing" are perfect ways to describe this movie.

Starring: Michel Serrault and Mathilde Seigner

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Review: A History of Violence & Digging to China

A History of Violence is the story of a regular husband and father who behaves heroically during a robbery of a local diner. Unfortunately for him, some mobsters from Philly see the publicity his heroics generate and come to pay him a visit. They believe he is not Tom Stall at all but rather a runaway mobster by the name of Joey.

This has to be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. There is so much wrong with
this movie I'm not sure I can even remember it all. Let me start with the easy things. First of all, it's full of language typical of "mob" movies. Secondly it has tons of gratuitous sex scenes that add absolutely nothing to the story and last entirely too long, even on fast forward. The storyline was incredibly unbelievable, wandering, and finally ended leaving me scratching my head. I seriously just finished saying to Steve, "That can't be the end, it was too easy. Plus it's only been an hour and a half," when the credits rolled. I should have been grateful it was only an hour and a half. It was too boring to be an action movie and too full of gore to be a drama. I have no idea why the critics liked this one.

Please do yourself a favor and
just avoid this stinker.

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Maria Bello and William Hurt


I caught Digging to China on the Independent Film Channel on Saturday. Harriet Frankovitz is an independent ten year old girl during the late 60's living with her mother and her sister in a resort motel complex which was part of her mother's divorce settlement. One day a car belonging to a mentally retarded man, Ricky and his mother breaks down near the complex. Ricky and Harriet become fast friends and together they overcome some major life events.

I bawled off and on during this movie. It was wonderful! The relationship between Ricky and Harriet was so genuine and beautiful there must have been a connection between the actors in real life. There were no great surprises and the movie ends pretty much the way you would expect it to end but this little several-month slice of their lives was a joy to watch.

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Evan Rachel Wood, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Cathy Moriarty

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Review: Victory & M:I 3

Victory, set in the early 1900's, is the story of a hermit, Heyst (played by Willem Dafoe) who travels to a nearby port in the Dutch East Indies to gather his father's belongings. While there, he stays in a hotel owned by a racist German where an orchestra made up of all women plays every night. One night the orchestra leader agrees to sell the violinist to the German hotel owner but Heyst helps her to escape. They travel back to his mostly deserted island and fall in love.

In the month that passes a new set of travelers arrive at the German's hotel. Unfortunately for him, they are disruptive and scary and he decides he must get rid of them or go out of buisness. He remembers Heyst stole the violinist from him so he makes up a story of betrayal, deceit and treasure and puts Heyst and his island in the center of the story. So the three men, Mr. Jones, Ricardo and Pedro travel to the island to find the treasure and bring their disruptive and scary lives with them.

I'm pretty sure I put this movie in my queue because of Rufus Sewell but I didn't realize it was based on a novel by Joseph Conrad. The scenery was beautiful and although it wasn't a heart-pounding scary story, it was interesting. It reminded me what would have been an adventure story in the 30's maybe. I enjoyed it but unless you're in the mood for a slower moving period piece, I wouldn't recommend it.

The cast includes: Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Rufus Sewell and Irène Jacob as the violinist.



I confess I did not want to watch Mission: Impossible III. Between the lousy second movie in the series and the recent insanity displayed by the movie's star Tom Cruise, I was really very disinterested. However we were hanging out with friends and the majority ruled so I watched it.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was definitely more entertaining than M:I 2 and I managed to forget what a flake Tom Cruise is during the 126 minute show. If you like action/adventure movies, you'll like this one. I still won't recommend it to you though. Tom Cruise is still a flake.

This movie stars Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ving Rhames.



PS All the Tom Cruise links point to different places for your entertainment.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Review: The Inside Man

In the Inside Man, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) has come up with the perfect bank robbery but nothing is what it seems and it's up to Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) to figure it all out before it's too late. Jodie Foster makes an appearance but wasn't in the movie quite as much as I had expected she would be.

This is what I call a "brain movie." It's not packed from one end to the other with action, but instead with intrigue. And while the movie answers all the questions I might have asked, there is still a feeling of "What happens next?" even as the credits are rolling. I believe Steve may have even said, "That's it?"

All in all, it was a good movie. We were only slightly disappointed in the ending.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Review: Lucky Number SLeven

Lucky Number SLeven is about a case of mistaken identity. SLeven has a very bad day culminating in finding his girlfriend in bed with another man. He contacts his friend Nick who invites SLeven to come stay with him in New York until he can get back on his feet. Unfortunately SLeven is mugged on the way to Nick's apartment and once he gets there, things just get worse. Nick's apartment is empty but some Mob thugs mistake SLeven (who now has no ID) for Nick who owes them $90,000. The mob boss agrees to erase the debt if SLeven will participate in murder.

I thought it was a great movie! Some of the plot twists are predictable but it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the movie for me. I will warn you, in typical "Mob Movie" fashion, there is a lot of graphic violence and over-usage of the Fword.

Awesome cast includes: Josh Hartnet, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley.

Friday, October 20, 2006

I Heart Wolverine

Hurrah! I've just read that Hugh Jackman is planning a solo Wolverine movie. It's to be a prequel to the X-Men movies. One article quoted Jackman as saying, “I don’t want this to feel like X-Men 4. I want this movie to be different in feel. I don’t want it to feel like we’re just flogging a dead horse.”

Read more about the Wolverine movie on VH1.com and Comicbookmovie.com.

Personally, I'm guessing it'll be a bomb since these things usually are (e.g. The Scorpion King, Catwoman, Speed 2 just to name a few) but it won't keep me from watching it. Especially if we get to see Hugh without his shirt again. Whoa baby!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Review: Le Papillon & The Lake House


Le Papillon (the Butterfly) is a story about an old man, Julien who collects butterflies and a child who is neglected by her mother. Else, the little girl, stows away in Julien's car and they end up bonding while hunting the rare Isabella butterfly across the French countryside. I was nervous at times when the story would flash back to the mother because she and the police felt that Else had been abducted and I worried that Julien would end up in trouble once they returned home. Without giving anything away, the story ended leaving me feeling satisfied and happy. It is in French with English subtitles which I know is off-putting to some people but it really was such a genuinely sweet movie, it's worth putting up with the subtitles. Hollywood doesn't seem to know how to make a flim like this.



Now The Lake House. This movie made me think of a mixture of Love Letters and The Butterfly Effect. It's the story of a couple who meet across the span of time - two years to be exact - through their letters that are left in the mailbox at the lake house where they've both lived at some point. I figured out pretty early on what was going on and I worried that I was watching a movie with a lousy ending but yet again without giving anything away the story left me feeling satisfied and happy. I'm sure there are people out there who could pick the reality of the story to pieces, finding flaws and contradictions everywhere but really it's a nice romantic story and well worth the two hours.