A happily unconventional couple spends Christmas in the most conventional way--with their dysfunctional families.
I saw this the day after Thanksgiving, still trying to recover from Australia, the fact that it was only an hour and twenty two minutes was already a huge plus. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon don't really have a lot of chemistry as a couple, nevertheless as individual actors they are always entertaining. The flick is peppered with the regular Vince Vaughn comedy crew and is a tad crude in parts, but still kind of funny. Totally predictable, it was fun holiday fluff.
Forgettable? Yes. But at least you won't have to try and block it out.
**1/2 Rentable
Rated PG-13 (for sexual content and language)
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Australia
A British aristocrat travels to Australia to save her marriage and sell their cattle ranch. After a rough introduction to the country opens her eyes to what her husband was trying to accomplish she agrees to stay and help save the ranch from the local bullies, no pun intended.
OK so that is a broad brush at trying to describe this movie. The fact of the matter is, that I have already blocked out most of it. I went and saw this at 9:30 PM, by 10:30 I was starring at my watch in unbelief--I still had two more hours to go and lost interest 40 minutes ago! How do I attempt to explain this....I went and saw it because I loved Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet both of which were directed by Baz Luhrmann and thought that this too would be fun and worth seeing. Tst tst tst. As luck would have it, that was not the case.
Granted I went in with high expectations, thinking it would be some sort of romanticized historical drama about how Australia came to be. You know kind of a Titanic meets Braveheart sort of a deal. No, this was more like City Slickers meets The Wizard of Oz --I know, it just doesn't sit right, does it? The story is weak and the plot is muddled. I'm not sure the actors themselves really knew what the main focus of the story was. Oh yeah did I mention that it was way too long?
*1/2 Barely Rentable
Rated PG-13 (again I blocked most of it out, violence maybe?)
OK so that is a broad brush at trying to describe this movie. The fact of the matter is, that I have already blocked out most of it. I went and saw this at 9:30 PM, by 10:30 I was starring at my watch in unbelief--I still had two more hours to go and lost interest 40 minutes ago! How do I attempt to explain this....I went and saw it because I loved Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet both of which were directed by Baz Luhrmann and thought that this too would be fun and worth seeing. Tst tst tst. As luck would have it, that was not the case.
Granted I went in with high expectations, thinking it would be some sort of romanticized historical drama about how Australia came to be. You know kind of a Titanic meets Braveheart sort of a deal. No, this was more like City Slickers meets The Wizard of Oz --I know, it just doesn't sit right, does it? The story is weak and the plot is muddled. I'm not sure the actors themselves really knew what the main focus of the story was. Oh yeah did I mention that it was way too long?
*1/2 Barely Rentable
Rated PG-13 (again I blocked most of it out, violence maybe?)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
BOLT
Bolt, the TV super-dog is a pop-culture hero, he however doesn't know that it is all make believe. When filming one of the episodes, Bolt unknowingly escapes from the Hollywood set only to end up in New York City. There he captures a cat and forces her to help him make the trek to locate his owner, Penny. Along the way they enlist the help of Rhino a star-struck hamster that is also unable to tell the difference from TV and reality.
This is actually pretty clever. The hamster absolutely steels the show and the pigeons cracked me up. I can't say that the story is as endearing as any of the Pixar flicks, or any of the characters for that matter. The set up takes way too long, but I suppose is somewhat necessary and the ending is predictable albeit funny in its attempts to make fun of the movie industry in general.
Over all the movie was semi-entertaining. Its not Pixar--but then again can anyone really compete with them?
** 1/2 Rentable
Rated PG (no clue why--it should be G)
This is actually pretty clever. The hamster absolutely steels the show and the pigeons cracked me up. I can't say that the story is as endearing as any of the Pixar flicks, or any of the characters for that matter. The set up takes way too long, but I suppose is somewhat necessary and the ending is predictable albeit funny in its attempts to make fun of the movie industry in general.
Over all the movie was semi-entertaining. Its not Pixar--but then again can anyone really compete with them?
** 1/2 Rentable
Rated PG (no clue why--it should be G)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Quantum of Solace
Bond, James Bond, is back in the sequel to the very well done series reboot, Casino Royale. 007 is chasing the men behind the death of his lost love, Vespa, while simultaneously uncovering their plot to take over the world through a certain natural resource.
This Bond is a fun and entertaining movie. It starts with 4 different non-stop action sequences, the beginning car chase is the best of them all. Daniel Craig proves again he's one of the best Bond's in the series, he especially fits the more realistic direction these last two Bond movies have taken. You can definitely see the influence the Bourne films have had on Bond, which is a good thing in my mind, but I'm afraid America has taken over the best spy/assassin thrown for now, shame Britain. The problem with this Bond is the story. It's quite confusing and uses a very round about way to get to the main point You kind of forget Bond's motives until you're reminded of them at the very end. Although I really like the direction of the new Bond films, I have to call them out on the lack of use of the famous theme song. It is very subtly used, almost unnoticeable, in certain points, but you really don't hear it blare until the closing credits. I realize they're going away from some of the cliches and camp of past Bond films but reducing the theme song's impact is highly unnecessary. You'll also notice the absence of 007's most famous line, which appeared almost perfectly at the end of Casino Royale.
All in all it's a fun time, worth a trip to the theater, but it doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor.
*** out of 4 (Rated PG-13 for the same reasons every Bond is PG-13)
This Bond is a fun and entertaining movie. It starts with 4 different non-stop action sequences, the beginning car chase is the best of them all. Daniel Craig proves again he's one of the best Bond's in the series, he especially fits the more realistic direction these last two Bond movies have taken. You can definitely see the influence the Bourne films have had on Bond, which is a good thing in my mind, but I'm afraid America has taken over the best spy/assassin thrown for now, shame Britain. The problem with this Bond is the story. It's quite confusing and uses a very round about way to get to the main point You kind of forget Bond's motives until you're reminded of them at the very end. Although I really like the direction of the new Bond films, I have to call them out on the lack of use of the famous theme song. It is very subtly used, almost unnoticeable, in certain points, but you really don't hear it blare until the closing credits. I realize they're going away from some of the cliches and camp of past Bond films but reducing the theme song's impact is highly unnecessary. You'll also notice the absence of 007's most famous line, which appeared almost perfectly at the end of Casino Royale.
All in all it's a fun time, worth a trip to the theater, but it doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor.
*** out of 4 (Rated PG-13 for the same reasons every Bond is PG-13)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Quantum of Solace
Bond is back in this direct sequel to Casino Royale, which literally picks up one hour after the last movie left off. Bond is in pursuit of those that blackmailed Vesper Lynd. It leads him to a multi-million dollar environmental organization that has ties to his own government.
OK so I know that my synopsis of the film is pretty flimsy, but it is hard to give more information with out giving too much away. Also unlike previous 007 flicks where we have, action, action, action...slow down and catch the audience up with the plot, action, action, action...throw in a love scene and a few plot hints and then finish off with a tad more action. We are all familiar with the formula-right? But no, this one is just non-stop action and they hope you are paying close enough attention to pick up the few plot points along the way.
I don't know that this was as good as its predecessor, its lack of theme song usage and other certain 007 reliables were a tad offensive to me, nevertheless I particularly enjoyed that most of the film took place in Bolivia--even if it was filmed in Chili. But totally worth seeing on the big screen and speedy enough that one may consider seeing it a second time.
*** Must See
Rated PG-13 (for violence and some sexual content)
OK so I know that my synopsis of the film is pretty flimsy, but it is hard to give more information with out giving too much away. Also unlike previous 007 flicks where we have, action, action, action...slow down and catch the audience up with the plot, action, action, action...throw in a love scene and a few plot hints and then finish off with a tad more action. We are all familiar with the formula-right? But no, this one is just non-stop action and they hope you are paying close enough attention to pick up the few plot points along the way.
I don't know that this was as good as its predecessor, its lack of theme song usage and other certain 007 reliables were a tad offensive to me, nevertheless I particularly enjoyed that most of the film took place in Bolivia--even if it was filmed in Chili. But totally worth seeing on the big screen and speedy enough that one may consider seeing it a second time.
*** Must See
Rated PG-13 (for violence and some sexual content)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Changeling
Christine Collins comes home to find her son, Walter, missing. After months of searching the LA police department shows up at her office with the news that Walter has been found alive in Illinois and is on his way home. To her horror, the boy that is returned to her is not her son. To make matters worse, the police department is determined to prove that they have in fact done their job and that the boy is Walter.
This movie, based on a true story, is amazingly difficult to watch, nevertheless Clint Eastwood does a great job of recreating LA in the late 20's. Angelina Jolie, who is normally seen in power femme fatale roles does an incredible job as the reserved, soft spoken single mother during a time when very few people publicly denounced the authorities. Granted it gets horrifically frustrating at times, but again that is part of the era. What was totally unexpected is the gruesome twist that pops up mid-flick. All the more horrifying when you remember that this is a true story.
The score is really well done and completely draws you in and again the pacing and characterization can get a tad exasperating but all in all it is very well made and albeit grisly, still entertaining.
*** Must See
Rated R (some violence and disturbing content)
This movie, based on a true story, is amazingly difficult to watch, nevertheless Clint Eastwood does a great job of recreating LA in the late 20's. Angelina Jolie, who is normally seen in power femme fatale roles does an incredible job as the reserved, soft spoken single mother during a time when very few people publicly denounced the authorities. Granted it gets horrifically frustrating at times, but again that is part of the era. What was totally unexpected is the gruesome twist that pops up mid-flick. All the more horrifying when you remember that this is a true story.
The score is really well done and completely draws you in and again the pacing and characterization can get a tad exasperating but all in all it is very well made and albeit grisly, still entertaining.
*** Must See
Rated R (some violence and disturbing content)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
