Indie, Drama
3.5 stars
Fun movie with a great early 50’s soundtrack as a pampered Renee Zellweger leaves her cheating husband, Kevin Bacon, and travels the country in a gorgeous convertible ’53 Cadillac searching for a suitable rich husband to care for her and her two preppy teenage sons. While not an especially deep or original movie, the two teenage boys were great - Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma, Gamer) and Mark Rendell (Charlie Bartlett) - and the string of suiters were fun: Chris Noth, Eric McCormick, David Koechner and Nick Stahl (Sleepwalking). Executive produced by George Hamilton which he describes as "a fictional story based on a real story loosely about me". Fun movie.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Sorority Row
3 stars
Horror
Much better than Halloween II, but still a basic slasher film with plenty of topless chicks (a teenage boy’s dream movie). The plot line is only slightly different from I Know What You Did Last Summer as a practical joke goes terribly wrong leaving a sorority girl dead (Yay! They killed off Audrina Patridge early!) which leads to the mysterious murders of those involved come graduation time. Carrie Fisher co-stars as the house mother. Other sorority chicks: Leah Pipes, Briana Evigan, Rumor Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman and Caroline D’Amore. As I said, it’s a basic slasher flick if you’re in the mood for one.
Horror
Much better than Halloween II, but still a basic slasher film with plenty of topless chicks (a teenage boy’s dream movie). The plot line is only slightly different from I Know What You Did Last Summer as a practical joke goes terribly wrong leaving a sorority girl dead (Yay! They killed off Audrina Patridge early!) which leads to the mysterious murders of those involved come graduation time. Carrie Fisher co-stars as the house mother. Other sorority chicks: Leah Pipes, Briana Evigan, Rumor Willis, Jamie Chung, Margo Harshman and Caroline D’Amore. As I said, it’s a basic slasher flick if you’re in the mood for one.
September Issue
Indie, Documentary
3.5 stars
Interesting film that shows the stresses, photo shoots and hurt feelings involved in meeting the deadlines for Vogue’s September Issue. This movie has been touted as “the real Devil Wears Prada” as Anna Wintour heads up the magazine and whatever she says goes. I didn’t see her as quite the beast she has the reputation for, just a hands-on boss who wants to put out the best magazine. I was mostly surprised by how frumpy-dumpy these fashion industry folks are (except of course for Wintour who’s always immaculately put together). Quite a contradiction! Only for those folks interested in seeing how a magazine company runs, and maybe to see how Wintour compares to her depiction in Prada. I liked it.
3.5 stars
Interesting film that shows the stresses, photo shoots and hurt feelings involved in meeting the deadlines for Vogue’s September Issue. This movie has been touted as “the real Devil Wears Prada” as Anna Wintour heads up the magazine and whatever she says goes. I didn’t see her as quite the beast she has the reputation for, just a hands-on boss who wants to put out the best magazine. I was mostly surprised by how frumpy-dumpy these fashion industry folks are (except of course for Wintour who’s always immaculately put together). Quite a contradiction! Only for those folks interested in seeing how a magazine company runs, and maybe to see how Wintour compares to her depiction in Prada. I liked it.
Ponyo
Family, Animated
*Review written by my friend, Diane…
Ponyo is a Japanese animated film and the animation is marvelous. Ponyo is a goldfish, daughter of a once-human wizard who is trying to restore the earth and sea to their pristine conditions. Ponyo meets Sosuke and, to her father's distress, wants to become a human girl. Sosuke and his mother live on a hill, remote from his school and her work in a senior home, conveniently his school and her senior home are in close proximity to one another and they commute together every day. Ponyo finally succeeds in becoming a girl, capable of wizardry as her father is, and she and Sosuke (both 6) love each other. She does not want to revert to her former state. A terrible typhoon blows up and Sosuke and Ponyo are separated from Sosuke's mother. Ponyo's mother enters the scene and decides that Ponyo should be able to choose a human state if Sosuke demonstrates that he can take care of her. It is quite sweet and has its scary moments, but none too scary for young children. Quinn and Shea are 7 and 5 respectively and they said that they liked it, but did not discuss it beyond that. There were very young children in the theater and they giggled and expressed awe in appropriate spots.
*Review written by my friend, Diane…
Ponyo is a Japanese animated film and the animation is marvelous. Ponyo is a goldfish, daughter of a once-human wizard who is trying to restore the earth and sea to their pristine conditions. Ponyo meets Sosuke and, to her father's distress, wants to become a human girl. Sosuke and his mother live on a hill, remote from his school and her work in a senior home, conveniently his school and her senior home are in close proximity to one another and they commute together every day. Ponyo finally succeeds in becoming a girl, capable of wizardry as her father is, and she and Sosuke (both 6) love each other. She does not want to revert to her former state. A terrible typhoon blows up and Sosuke and Ponyo are separated from Sosuke's mother. Ponyo's mother enters the scene and decides that Ponyo should be able to choose a human state if Sosuke demonstrates that he can take care of her. It is quite sweet and has its scary moments, but none too scary for young children. Quinn and Shea are 7 and 5 respectively and they said that they liked it, but did not discuss it beyond that. There were very young children in the theater and they giggled and expressed awe in appropriate spots.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Extract
Comedy
3.5 stars
Amusing comedy starring Jason Bateman (Juno) as the head of a small manufacturing company full of slackers called Reynolds Extract. Things go awry when Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show) shows up as a scheming opportunist and Ben Affleck, as a stoner bartender, supplies some prescription drugs at an inopportune time. It's written by the same folks who did Office Space. J.K. Simmons (Juno, I Love You, Man, Burn After Reading) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Sunshine Cleaning, Star Trek) co-star. Good movie.
3.5 stars
Amusing comedy starring Jason Bateman (Juno) as the head of a small manufacturing company full of slackers called Reynolds Extract. Things go awry when Mila Kunis (That 70’s Show) shows up as a scheming opportunist and Ben Affleck, as a stoner bartender, supplies some prescription drugs at an inopportune time. It's written by the same folks who did Office Space. J.K. Simmons (Juno, I Love You, Man, Burn After Reading) and Clifton Collins Jr. (Sunshine Cleaning, Star Trek) co-star. Good movie.
All About Steve
Comedy
3 stars
Sandra Bullock plays another misfit in a misfire of a movie. This time she’s a geeky woman with a head full of trivia who happily dances to the beat of her own drum. After a blind date with Bradley Cooper (Hangover), she misinterprets his line to blow her off and sees it as an invitation to follow him around the country as he works as a cameraman for news reporter Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways). From the previews I thought it would be fun and goofy, but I was mostly disappointed. Wait for it to come out on TV.
3 stars
Sandra Bullock plays another misfit in a misfire of a movie. This time she’s a geeky woman with a head full of trivia who happily dances to the beat of her own drum. After a blind date with Bradley Cooper (Hangover), she misinterprets his line to blow her off and sees it as an invitation to follow him around the country as he works as a cameraman for news reporter Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways). From the previews I thought it would be fun and goofy, but I was mostly disappointed. Wait for it to come out on TV.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
“Best of” list for what’s in theaters right now:
Best GUY movies:
The Goods: Live Hard * Sell Hard – Hilarious and crude!
Inglorious Basterds
Best CHICK Flicks:
Julie & Julia
Adam
Best DATE Movie (my favorite of the summer!):
(500) Days of Summer
Best KID Movie:
Aliens in the Attic
*Sorry, G-Force stinks...
Play the Game belongs in there somewhere, but not sure how to categorize it; Best Senior Movie seems too exclusive.
The Goods: Live Hard * Sell Hard – Hilarious and crude!
Inglorious Basterds
Best CHICK Flicks:
Julie & Julia
Adam
Best DATE Movie (my favorite of the summer!):
(500) Days of Summer
Best KID Movie:
Aliens in the Attic
*Sorry, G-Force stinks...
Play the Game belongs in there somewhere, but not sure how to categorize it; Best Senior Movie seems too exclusive.
Play The Game
Indie/Romantic Comedy
4 stars
Adorably funny comedy starring Andy Griffith as a lonely widower whose slick pickup artist grandson tries to teach him how to meet women. Meanwhile, the grandson (Paul Campbell of Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica) meets his match with a spunky girl played by Marla Sokoloff (The Practice). Costars include Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Liz Sheridan (Seinfeld). Plenty of adult humor and even a senior sex scene, thankfully filmed from the shoulders-up. Griffith’s scenes are hilarious. I was in a theater full of seniors who all applauded at the end of the movie. Though the bit they added on at the end (which most folks should have already surmised and felt patronizing) was unnecessary, I loved it.
4 stars
Adorably funny comedy starring Andy Griffith as a lonely widower whose slick pickup artist grandson tries to teach him how to meet women. Meanwhile, the grandson (Paul Campbell of Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica) meets his match with a spunky girl played by Marla Sokoloff (The Practice). Costars include Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Liz Sheridan (Seinfeld). Plenty of adult humor and even a senior sex scene, thankfully filmed from the shoulders-up. Griffith’s scenes are hilarious. I was in a theater full of seniors who all applauded at the end of the movie. Though the bit they added on at the end (which most folks should have already surmised and felt patronizing) was unnecessary, I loved it.
Halloween II (2009)
Horror
2 stars
Plenty of carnage, not enough of a story. The movie starts out with the aftermath of a killing spree and two screaming survivors but never really develops the characters enough to care about them. The screaming never ends as the movie focuses on one survivor (Scout Taylor-Compton) with her horrible dreams and visions as the end of October approaches. I got really sick of her baby-voiced screaming and whining. While my memory is not the best, the storyline didn’t seem to flow properly from the previous Halloween in 2007 (which was far better). This time they even added a couple of ghosts – Michael Myers’s mother and his younger self – which didn’t make a whole lot of sense and was pretty dumb. Also, Myer’s psychiatrist (Malcolm McDowell) is now a much hated book author who apparently exploited Myer’s previous victims for profit but those details are never fully explained either. As usual, a few losers that have nothing to do with the plot get axed for fun. Brad Dourif costars as the sheriff (“Billy” from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and the voice of Chucky). If all you want to see is carnage and a few topless chicks, go for it. I was definitely disappointed.
2 stars
Plenty of carnage, not enough of a story. The movie starts out with the aftermath of a killing spree and two screaming survivors but never really develops the characters enough to care about them. The screaming never ends as the movie focuses on one survivor (Scout Taylor-Compton) with her horrible dreams and visions as the end of October approaches. I got really sick of her baby-voiced screaming and whining. While my memory is not the best, the storyline didn’t seem to flow properly from the previous Halloween in 2007 (which was far better). This time they even added a couple of ghosts – Michael Myers’s mother and his younger self – which didn’t make a whole lot of sense and was pretty dumb. Also, Myer’s psychiatrist (Malcolm McDowell) is now a much hated book author who apparently exploited Myer’s previous victims for profit but those details are never fully explained either. As usual, a few losers that have nothing to do with the plot get axed for fun. Brad Dourif costars as the sheriff (“Billy” from One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and the voice of Chucky). If all you want to see is carnage and a few topless chicks, go for it. I was definitely disappointed.
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