Results tagged “Movie Review”

Spoilers ahead!!!!

We have been listening to the hype for months about Avatar. We respect James Cameron and he has done a lot of amazing cinematic events, so we were looking forward to seeing Avatar. Today, we used up one of our free 'baby sitting' coupons - more like crowd control, and went to see Avatar.

First I want to address the positive. Avatar is probably one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. I would love to walk on a planet where the flowers and plants light up when you touch them. A place where there were 10 feet tall graceful blue cat people who lived in harmony with the world around them. A place where people literally had a connection with all around them. The people of the planet, Pandora, were like super connected Native Americans. They had these 'tendrils' in their hair that could connect them to roots of trees, and to animals. It was amazing!

Other than the amazing cinematic magic, I found myself disappointed in the film. It was full of cliches. The overall story reminded me of Ferngully which came out in 1992. The pointy ears of the fairy people in Ferngully. The fact that the fairies were in touch with the magic of the forest. The surfing bulldozer guy who changes his mind and sees the beauty of the forest and falls in love with Ferngully. And then there is the flying bat...

I am tired of going to movies and being preached at and seeing cardboard cut-outs of human beings. I go to movies to be entertained, I really didn't find Avatar that entertaining. I found it had a lot of preachiness that would make a lot of extremes happy. Man raping the planet your particular thing? It's in there. All corporate guys evil and bad? It's in there. Crazy military types that are over the top in their actions? They're in there. Native people who have all the right answers...they're in there.

Please don't get me wrong. I think we need to take care of our planet and I would be morally opposed to us going to another planet and taking over becasue we had the firepower and they had a natural resource we wanted. But this story could have been so much better...so much more interesting...so much more meaningful!

When Sigourney Weaver's character hits on the fact that everything is connected on the planet, I envisioned an end that would somehow include the 'tendrils' of the planet reaching into the earthlings and helping them to understand and see how harmony could have been achieved. Not in a body-snatching way or puppeteer way, but in a 'let us teach you' kind of way. It would have been a better story if it had had a peaceful conclusion where both sides benefitted.

There was so much potential and had it been combined with a better story, this movie would be one to talk about through the ages. Instead, it is a cinematic wonder(visually), but beauty is not enough - the story has to be striking as well. Instead this one was full of holes and cliched characters.

Okay, so it is no secret to those of you who come by fairly regularly that I am a big Johnny Depp fan. So today, when an afternoon appointment got rescheduled, I took advantage of having someone over to keep the kids company and I went to see Public Enemies. I do not know how accurate the depiction was and there was lots of killing going on. Can't have gang movies without that.

But I enjoyed the movie. Johnny Depp and Christian Bale each gave excellent performances. What a lawless time it was. I find it interesting that people so often romanticize or root for people like Robin Hood, John Dillinger, etc. John Dillinger robbed banks. He killed people. But he was also charismatic. When he robbed from the banks, he did not take money from the customers in line. He didn't want to be involved in kidnapping. He appeared to want to keep killing out of the equation. He was just after the money and the good life. But, this is wrong. A wrong against society. Not to be romanticized or encouraged. Dillinger was slippery and clever, and a criminal who in the end got what he deserved.

As to Johnny Depp, I continue to believe he is the best actor of my generation. He is talented beyond many that are out there today. It's not just his looks and charm. It is his ability to become the character he is playing. I find it interesting that he never watches his own movies. I love the fact that he plays such a wide variety of roles and does so with such skill. I hope he will continue to entertain us for years to come.

Over the last week, we have watched several movies. Don't know why, just sometimes we go through spells. They are mostly older movies and some I may have even shared thoughts about before, but thought I would say a few words here about each.

My Bloody Valentine - okay, this was hubby's pick. Not my type of movie at all. Too much gore. Too many holes. Poor dialogue. Poor acting. I had my eyes closed a good part of the time. Nuff said.

Independence Day - I love Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. I love this movie. It is a favorite and we watch it pretty much every 4th of July. There is great dialogue and the President's speech is stirring and who doesn't love Randy's performance and sacrifice! If you have never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and watch it.

War of the Worlds - Tom Cruise. First of all, I really don't like Tom Cruise. Second of all, I liked the original movie best. Third, the best part of this movie was Morgan Freeman's voice over at the beginning and end. Fourth, the gore is just unnecessary and there are too many moments that remind me too much of 9-11.

Signs - another favorite! I love Mel Gibson's performance and Joaquin Phoenix (too bad he seems to have gone off the deep end). This movie is just the right amount of scary.

The Searchers - John Wayne - this is a touching tale. There were a lot of things in it that wouldn't be allowed in a movie today (references, actions...none of which were PC), but it is an excellent story and I never tire of seeing John Wayne. Problems with it include the fact that I don't think any of the Native Americans were actually played by Native Americans. Good parts are the fact that blood and gore was not necessary to be shown for us to know that horrible things were happening.

Cloverfield - actually Daniel and Jack watched that. I saw it once, wasn't overly impressed and didn't want to watch it again.

King Arthur - 2004 version. I am watching it right now. Lots of high quality actors in it. Definitely a different look at King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I like it.

Last week, Daniel and I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

What an unusual movie! It was the first thing that I have seen Brad Pitt in in awhile that I actually thought he gave a good performance. The story concerns a child who is born with the body of an old man. He looks like a baby in size, but his joints, his face...all resemble that of an 80 year old man. As he grows, he begins to get younger. His life is backwards.

This leads to all kinds of interesting conundrums. You know the saying that youth is often wasted on the young...well, this gives a bit of an idea of what it would be like if you were old first in mind, but then as you aged and grew more wise, your body would become young and vigorous.

I found this idea very different and that is hard to come by these days. I am still mulling over the movie and look forward to seeing it again. There were a couple of episodes that could have been left out (they were a bit long and didn't add to the overall story), but that is really the only criticism I have. My hubby didn't like it as much as I did and he felt the movie as a whole was too long.

So we give it 1 1/2 thumbs up!

I borrowed Fool's Gold from Netflix and it came this week. It's been in my queue for awhile. I didn't have very high expectations of it, but thought it would be a fun romance/adventure movie and I wasn't disappointed. It was actually better than I thought it would be (having low expectations can be a blessing). I can never get over how much Kate Hudson looks like her mother (Goldie Hawn).

At any rate, the story is pretty typical, but everyone seems to be having fun with it. What I enjoyed most watching were the diving scenes since we are taking SCUBA Diving lessons later this month and we have been studying our SCUBA diving manuals.

I give this movie 3 stars for being fun!

First, this movie definitely deserves it's PG-13 movie rating and in my opinion, probably R. The things people say and that others think 13 years are okay to hear, just boggles my mind. But enough about that.

This movie is excellent! A real tear-jerker chick flick. But it would be great if you could get your hubby/significant other to watch it with you. It starts out with a fight scene between a young married couple, followed by them making up, followed by his death. It grabs your attention from the first moment, especially if you are part of a couple because you can relate to what is going on between these too. And the love they obviously have for one another in spite of the tensions is very apparent.

After her husband's death, Holly, played by Hillary Swank, goes into a tailspin of mourning until she receives a gift from her deceased husband. From there, she goes on to receive 10 letters that help her to grieve and to live again. It is a wonderful movie!

I give it 4.5 stars!

This past weekend we went to see Night in the Musuem: Battle of the Smithsonian. I hate sequels...they never quite capture the magic of the first. We enjoyed the movie, and I think the shouting Pharoah, the bobble-head Einsteins, and Amelia Earhart, were definitely wonderful characters. We laughed and we enjoyed the story, but it just didn't capture our hearts the way the first one did.

We give it three stars.

We went to see Race to Witch Mountain at the Dollar Movies this week. I liked the Witch Mountain movies that I watched as a child and so was looking forward to seeing this. This movie stands on its own. There were a couple of nods to the original movie (they ended up in a RV and Ike Eisenmann who played Tony in the original movies, played a sheriff in this one).

The movie was fast paced, fun and kept all of our interest throughout the film. If you take it for what it is...a fun, kid friendly movie, then your family should enjoy this Disney creation!

We gave it 4 stars.

Back in the early 1970s, I rushed home every day after school so I could watch Star Trek reruns in the afternoon. I loved Star Trek! The handsome Captain Kirk, the witty Dr. McCoy, the logical Mr. Spock (whom my father would fret me by calling squirrel ears). The adventurous journeys, the exotic aliens, the witty comments, and the chemistry among the original cast all kept me mesmerized. The worst punishment I remember from my childhood was I wasn't allowed to watch Star Trek for a whole week because I didn't listen to my babysitter one day!

Little did I know that just an hour away, my future husband was just as aptly watching the show that would launch four decades of great science fiction. He liked the show so much that he asked his mother to take him to the ABC tv station so he could meet the crew. He was sure that the Enterprise was there at the studio and he could get on board if only his mom would take him there.

Over the years, we have watched all of the Star Trek movies and the Star Trek mutations. Our least favorite was The Next Generation series. Captain Picard was just too 'nice'. Probably our favorite was Deep Space Nine. Voyager was also good. We tried watching Enterprise, but at the time, the channel it was on didn't come in very well and we got tired of watching the snowy show, but what we saw of it did look good.

So on to yesterday. We had been waiting in anticipation to see the new Star Trek movie. Some of the early trailers had us concerned about how they were running the storyline and the changes that it looked like were being made, but we were still growing very excited seeing what J.J. Abrams came up with (after all, we love LOST).

We got tickets for us and for the kids and seated ourselves front and center. The next two hours flew by. The action, the characters, the laughs...J.J. Abrams has come up with a hit! Not only has he recreated the show so as to attract a whole new generation of fans, but there was so much about the movie that was put in to appeal to those of us who have followed these characters for years. And while the story centered on Kirk and Spock, the other characters were given much stronger roles than in the usual series. Sulu, the sword expert. Uhura, the communications expert, and Chekov...the whole reason he looked so young was because he was a genius! I loved this movie!

J.J. Abrams could not have done a better job than what he did. We are ready to go see the movie again!

We give this movie two thumbs up!

I heard about this movie when it first came out but am only now getting ready to see it. I am sorry I didn't see it sooner, but so very glad that I saw it now.

The Kite Runner is based on a best selling novel by Khaled Hosseini. This is a wonderful story of two children. One who is fiercely loyal and one who, as many children will, abandons his friend in the worst kind of way. We are given some insight into life in Afghanistan. First with the invasion of the Soviet Union and then under the tight rule of the Taliban. One child and his father flee, the other child is left behind to make live as best as he can in a horrendous situation.

20 years pass and an opportunity for redemption of a childhood wrong appears. It is seized upon and we are reminded of the love and friendship of two young boys and their loyalty for one another.

I enjoyed learning more about Afghanistan, its people, and their traditions. I loved the story. It pulled me in at the beginning and held me through the very end. I give this movie 5 stars!

Goodnight Mr. Tom is just one more example of why I love Netflix. Netflix suggested that based on other things I had enjoyed, I might enjoy this movie as well. And sure enough, I thought it was an excellent story! I had never heard of it and chances are I wouldn't have run across it if it hadn't been for Netflix. I would have missed out on a very touching story.

From Netflix:

A bitter old man is transformed when he takes in a war refugee in this moving Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Michelle Magorian's World War II novel. When young Willie (Nick Robinson) is evacuated from London and sent to live in a small village, grumpy Tom (John Thaw) begrudgingly agrees to harbor the boy. Gradually, Tom manages to coax the distrustful lad from his shell, and when it's time for Willie to return to London, the two realize the depth of their bond.

This movie shows a side of the war that we see in movies such as one of the versions of Peter Pan and The Chronicles of Narnia. The backdrop for war hid many atrocities that might have otherwise been discovered. It was only through the stroke of fate which brough these two main characters together, that two lives were saved.

I give this movie 5 stars:)

When Peter Jackson's version of King Kong came out, Daniel went to see it, but I couldn't for some reason or another. Well, this weekend he came home with it for us to watch. I really, really enjoyed it. Just watching the scenery and 'monsters' were awesome. And what a love story! I think I saw the original version of King Kong years ago, but it didn't strike me so much as a love story. Watching Peter Jackson's vision of King Kong, it was apparent that the movie was an amazing love story.

It is long and there are upsetting scenes (after all, there are monsters), but I highly recommend this movie. Watch it and immerse yourself in it the way Peter Jackson meant. It gets 2 thumbs up and 5 stars.

When I saw previews for The Changeling, my ears immediately perked up to listen because one of my favorite scary movies is The Changeling with George C. Scott. I thought at first this was to be a remake.

But, as I listened and watched, I realized that this was a different animal all together. It was based on a true story and directed by Clint Eastwood. So last night, Daniel and I sat down to watch it. If you enjoy true story movies, you will probably like this movie. Let me tell you that it is not for those weak in the stomach and if you absolutely cannot stand anything with violence to children, you may want to skip it.

The story starts out with a mom and her son and very soon the son is missing. Months later, the LAPD brings this woman another child who she says is not her son and despite the overwhelming physical evidence, the LAPD says she is mistaken. The way the system treats this woman is an appalling story. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the movie and we give it two thumbs up or five stars:)

Last night the kids and I watched an oldie but a goodie! They had never seen Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but it was a favorite of mine when I was growing up along with Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. So I had put this in my handy dandy Netflix queue and this week it arrived.

Angela Lansbury does a lovely job as always in this entertaining Walt Disney film where we are treated to a juxtaposition of animation and real life special effects. The story is an enjoyable one and the kids laughed at all the right spots (you worry about that sometimes with these older films). The movie is 2 hours and 19 minutes long, but the kids sat there, enraptured, through the whole thing.

So if your children haven't seen this age old film, I highly recommend it for your next family movie night!

Here is another treasure I found on Netflix. I really enjoyed this movie. I found it to be interesting and suspenseful. It is a long movie, clocking in at 172 minutes.

From the Netflix movie jacket:

Television Armand Mastroianni helms this faithful adaptation of Phillip M. Margolin's best-selling novel, co-startting Brooke Shields, Lou Diamond Phillips and Marilu Henner. When an Oregon woman disappears without a trace, the only clue is a withering black rose with a note that reads 'gone but not forgotten' Now it is up to a tough female attorney to follow the evidence, find a missing private eye and unravel the mystery.

I am not sure about the Oregon part since the story takes place in Sacramento and New York. This is a story of heinous crime, injustice, and how the past comes back to kick us in the butt. I also enjoyed seeing the way the lawyers and paralegals were at work, though I have no idea of how accurate that part was.

Not everyone likes the movie Gone But Not Forgotten, so you will have to check it out for yourself.

Wow...sometimes, you just get lucky and manage to pull not one, not two, but three good movies in a row! This is what I did on Saturday! And I wanted to share some great movie titles with you in case you were looking for something wonderful to watch next weekend!

First off, I must say again how much I love Netflix! Without that awesome company and their easy to use website, there are so many movies I would never have watched and in all likelihood would never have even heard about! THANKS NETFLIX!!!! I wouldn't know what to do without you!

Okay....on to the good stuff!

Amazing Grace is a powerful, powerful movie! I know so much about the fight against slavery here in America, but knew very little about the fights fought elsewhere in the world. This story tells how the English turned the tide in their own country without falling into Civil War. From the cover: Based on a true story, this historical drama starring Ioan Gruffudd tells the story of William Wilberforce, an 18th-century English politician who fought for the abolition of slavery. Despite staunch opposition, Wilberforce waged an aggressive campaign using boycotts, petitions and slogans. This story will remind you of the power one determined person has (with help from the Almighty!) I give this movie five stars!

It seems like to me that as Daniel and I grow older, our tastes in movies have diverged. He is more into the shoot them up, blow them up, or deep philosophical movies. I, who didn't care much for romance (at least not the Harlequin variety) as a kid, find myself turning more to love stories, children's movies, light hearted family entertainment, and good mysteries and horror stories (without the gore).

But there are still movies that we can watch together and both say "Hey, that was really good". This weekend we watched Reign Over Me. Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle star in this movie. Other notables include Donald Sutherland and Liv Tyler and Jada Pinkett Smith.

When I saw Adam Sandler was in this movie, I was sure it was a comedy and I am not a huge Adam Sandler fan. But let me tell you, folks, Adam Sandler can act and his performance in this movie is simply outstanding!

This story will make you laugh, make you cry, and help to put life in its proper perspective. We all get so caught up in what we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to act and how we are supposed to react, that we forget how to live. We find ourselves so focused on the expectations of others, that we forget about the expectations we have for ourselves.

Have a box of tissues handy as you may need to dab at your eyes a time or two. Or better yet, just let the tears fall and realize that life is made up of many different feelings and that's what makes it so darn good (and bad).

We give this movie 2 thumbs up and five stars!

With Halloween around the corner, scary movies are the ones we have been watching. We decided to go into the movie archives (our movie shelf) and pull out some movies that we hadn't seen in a lnog time...long enough that basically when we saw the DVD title, we couldn't remember what the movie was about. Allof them were good. Two out of three were very good and I would recommend them to you.

Tales from the Hood is a movie of stories. Much like Twilight Zone - The Movie, Cat's Eye, and Creepshow, there is an overall story that surrounds a few other stories. I liked the stories in Tales from the Hood. The language leaves a great deal to be desired and it has some bloody moments, but the stories are very good and if you can get your ways past that and the very bad language, you will enjoy the inventive scary tales!

My friend, Nikowa, recommended that I watch Gone, Baby, Gone so that she and I could talk about the moral dilemma presented in the movie.

This is not the kind of movie I normally watch, mainly because it is a movie that revolves around harm to children and that is just a topic that I prefer to stay away from. But I trusted Nikowa's recommendation and decided to watch it. A couple of my favorite actors are in this movie: Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. They did a superb job.

This movie is rated R. There is a lot of bad language in it. There are horrifying scenes in it. But stick it out to the end, because at the end, you are going to be presented with a moral dilemma that will make you think and wonder what you would have done. And it will give you something to talk about around the water cooler until LOST comes back on in January!

This movie is 15 years old and Johnny Depp looks like a kid though he was in his mid 20s at the time. I picked out What's Eating Gilbert Grape because I went through Netflix one day clicking on Johnny Depp movies left and right. I have seen his recent movies, but not the older ones and I wanted to take a look see.

From the Netflix envelope:

Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) lives in a backwater Iowa town and is "man of the house" to his retarded brother, Arnie (Leonardo Dicaprio), a couple of sisters and his dangerously overweight mother. Despite all of the crushing responsibility, Gilbert perserveres. But will he ever be able to live his own life? Rated PG-13.

This family reminds me of one of those families, where it seem slike everything that can goes wrong does go wrong. I like the way the story shows how people can persevere inspite of incredible odds. To me, it was a depressing film and I wouldn't have been able to hang in there the way Gilbert did for as long as he did.

Johnny Depp's performance was very believable. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance should have won an award. He did an excellent job and couldn't have been very old at the time.

I gave this movie 3 stars. I liked it, but didn't love it.