Family, Musical
3.5 stars
Cute; brings out your inner dork. Kermit The Frog tries to reunite the gang to raise money to save the old Muppet Theater. Jason Segel and Amy Adams play the humans who assist, as well as Segel’s “brother” Walter, a wannabe Muppet. Chris Cooper plays the bad guy who wants to tear down the theater. It is cheesy on purpose with funny sugar coated scenes as well as Kermit’s trademark sentimental songs. There are many, many celebrity cameos. I will always have a soft spot for the Muppets, so therefore I loved it, but I’m biased. The kids in the theater were happily singing along with the closing credit song “Mahna Mahna” as they exited. Appropriate for kids of all ages.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Descendents, The
Indie, Drama
4 stars
Bittersweet film starring George Clooney trying to raise two difficult daughters while his wife lies in a coma and he feels his life begin to unravel. The previews made it look like a quirky, wry comedy and while some parts are funny, it is mostly a somber film with a few sniffles. Excellent acting as well as another interesting plot twist make this a worthwhile story of bonding, healing, closure. Nice story.
4 stars
Bittersweet film starring George Clooney trying to raise two difficult daughters while his wife lies in a coma and he feels his life begin to unravel. The previews made it look like a quirky, wry comedy and while some parts are funny, it is mostly a somber film with a few sniffles. Excellent acting as well as another interesting plot twist make this a worthwhile story of bonding, healing, closure. Nice story.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Sci-Fi, Teen Romance
3.5 stars
Decent, follows the book well. In part one of the fourth book in the saga, sad faced Bella and brooding Edward get married; Jacob pouts has temper tantrums. Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. There’s good and there’s bad. The good is that the wolves are just totally cool, the labor scene was pretty intense, and I loved the honeymoon retreat. The bad is, well, Kristen Stewart’s acting, her ugly engagement ring, the sappy wedding and all the brooding and pouting! Oh, and I was really looking forward to an intense sex scene after three books/movies of chaste anticipation. They could have at least spent as much time on some animalistic sex as they did on the sugar-coated wedding! Well at least I have a sense of humor about it. Twi-hard fans should love it.
3.5 stars
Decent, follows the book well. In part one of the fourth book in the saga, sad faced Bella and brooding Edward get married; Jacob pouts has temper tantrums. Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, Taylor Lautner. There’s good and there’s bad. The good is that the wolves are just totally cool, the labor scene was pretty intense, and I loved the honeymoon retreat. The bad is, well, Kristen Stewart’s acting, her ugly engagement ring, the sappy wedding and all the brooding and pouting! Oh, and I was really looking forward to an intense sex scene after three books/movies of chaste anticipation. They could have at least spent as much time on some animalistic sex as they did on the sugar-coated wedding! Well at least I have a sense of humor about it. Twi-hard fans should love it.
Puss in Boots
Family, Animated
3 stars
Cute, better than most kid’s movies, just not as good as Schrek. Antonio Banderas reprises his cocky cat role from the Schrek franchise, only instead of taking place in the fairytale renaissance era, it appears to take place in Mexico. It’s another cute compilation of fairytales where Puss, Humpty Dumpty and a love-interest feline, Kitty Softpaws, try to get the magic beans meant to grow the giant beanstalk and steal a golden egg. Zach Galifianakis voices Humpty and Salma Hayek voices Kitty. I just thought since Puss is pretty feminine looking, that Kitty should look even more so to distinguish her as a girl. But that’s just me. It’s a very cute movie, it’s just not as good as Schrek. Kids should love it, adults should be mildly amused by it.
3 stars
Cute, better than most kid’s movies, just not as good as Schrek. Antonio Banderas reprises his cocky cat role from the Schrek franchise, only instead of taking place in the fairytale renaissance era, it appears to take place in Mexico. It’s another cute compilation of fairytales where Puss, Humpty Dumpty and a love-interest feline, Kitty Softpaws, try to get the magic beans meant to grow the giant beanstalk and steal a golden egg. Zach Galifianakis voices Humpty and Salma Hayek voices Kitty. I just thought since Puss is pretty feminine looking, that Kitty should look even more so to distinguish her as a girl. But that’s just me. It’s a very cute movie, it’s just not as good as Schrek. Kids should love it, adults should be mildly amused by it.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Like Crazy
Indie, Chick Flick
3.5 stars
Good, but I didn’t like the somewhat ambiguous ending. Two college seniors in LA fall madly in love, but the girl is British and overstays her student visa, putting a big wrench in their budding romance when she tries to return. Of course I loved the falling in love scenes, then it was difficult to watch the long distance romance struggles (having been through some of them myself), but mostly frustrated at how it was their own fault! Also, it was difficult to ascertain the passage of time; it wasn’t until after I saw the movie and read a write-up that I learned the film spanned 7 years – it seemed to be a lot less than that. The lovers are played by Anton Yelchin (Star Trek 2009, Fright Night) and relative unknown Felicity Jones (Cheri, Northanger Abbey). Other characters who complicate things are Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone and the upcoming Hunger Games) and Charlie Bewley (the Twilight series). Moral of the story: don’t overstay your visa if you plan on traveling between different countries again - Duh! Only for diehard romantics.
3.5 stars
Good, but I didn’t like the somewhat ambiguous ending. Two college seniors in LA fall madly in love, but the girl is British and overstays her student visa, putting a big wrench in their budding romance when she tries to return. Of course I loved the falling in love scenes, then it was difficult to watch the long distance romance struggles (having been through some of them myself), but mostly frustrated at how it was their own fault! Also, it was difficult to ascertain the passage of time; it wasn’t until after I saw the movie and read a write-up that I learned the film spanned 7 years – it seemed to be a lot less than that. The lovers are played by Anton Yelchin (Star Trek 2009, Fright Night) and relative unknown Felicity Jones (Cheri, Northanger Abbey). Other characters who complicate things are Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone and the upcoming Hunger Games) and Charlie Bewley (the Twilight series). Moral of the story: don’t overstay your visa if you plan on traveling between different countries again - Duh! Only for diehard romantics.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Immortals
Action, Fantasy
2 stars
Dumb, but Jim liked it. A CGI-heavy rendition of the ancient Greek hero Theseus, played by hunky Henry Cavill, in which Hollywood takes many liberties with the Greek myth. In this Hollywood version, Theseus is a peasant mentored by Zeus (Luke Evans from The Three Musketeers 2011) to lead his people against the blood thirsty Heraklions, led by Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion. Theseus also gets help from a gorgeous oracle played by Freida Pinto, whose character’s name is Phaedra. (In case you are curious, in Greek mythology Phaedra was not a pure hearted, virginal oracle, but was Theseus’s deceitful wife). Lots of blood and gore – it mostly felt like a video game to me – but Jim liked all the battle scenes and was happy to see Freida Pinto naked. Only for those who like overly dramatic action films filled with CGI effects.
2 stars
Dumb, but Jim liked it. A CGI-heavy rendition of the ancient Greek hero Theseus, played by hunky Henry Cavill, in which Hollywood takes many liberties with the Greek myth. In this Hollywood version, Theseus is a peasant mentored by Zeus (Luke Evans from The Three Musketeers 2011) to lead his people against the blood thirsty Heraklions, led by Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion. Theseus also gets help from a gorgeous oracle played by Freida Pinto, whose character’s name is Phaedra. (In case you are curious, in Greek mythology Phaedra was not a pure hearted, virginal oracle, but was Theseus’s deceitful wife). Lots of blood and gore – it mostly felt like a video game to me – but Jim liked all the battle scenes and was happy to see Freida Pinto naked. Only for those who like overly dramatic action films filled with CGI effects.
Friday, November 11, 2011
J. Edgar
Drama, True Story
4.5 stars
Very good movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, during his 37 year reign of the FBI, as well as the 11 years preceding that as director of The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI’s predecessor). The film jumps back and forth in time and felt a bit scattered in the beginning but eventually smoothed out. Of course I was distracted because the aged version of DiCaprio looked so much like my Dad! Co-stars include Armie Hammer (Social Network) as Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s right hand man with whom, it is suggested, he had a complicated relationship, and Naomi Watts as Hoover’s longtime secretary. Very well done.
4.5 stars
Very good movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, during his 37 year reign of the FBI, as well as the 11 years preceding that as director of The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI’s predecessor). The film jumps back and forth in time and felt a bit scattered in the beginning but eventually smoothed out. Of course I was distracted because the aged version of DiCaprio looked so much like my Dad! Co-stars include Armie Hammer (Social Network) as Clyde Tolson, Hoover’s right hand man with whom, it is suggested, he had a complicated relationship, and Naomi Watts as Hoover’s longtime secretary. Very well done.
Double, The
Indie, Action
4 stars
Good movie starring Richard Gere as a retired CIA agent who is brought back into the fold by the head of the CIA, Martin Sheen, to work on the case of a Soviet assassin who was thought to be dead. Richard Gere reluctantly takes the assignment and is annoyed he has to work with a cocky young agent who has no field experience, Topher Grace. The plot has some nice twists and turns with danger and intrigue around every corner. Good movie.
4 stars
Good movie starring Richard Gere as a retired CIA agent who is brought back into the fold by the head of the CIA, Martin Sheen, to work on the case of a Soviet assassin who was thought to be dead. Richard Gere reluctantly takes the assignment and is annoyed he has to work with a cocky young agent who has no field experience, Topher Grace. The plot has some nice twists and turns with danger and intrigue around every corner. Good movie.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Anonymous
Drama, Period
4 stars
Compelling argument that William Shakespeare did not actually write the plays that bear his name. Jim and I both thought it was well done though we both found it difficult to keep all the characters names straight, especially since there were two sets of actors playing the same characters at different ages. The film also went back and forth in time a lot which got me confused every time I thought I had all the names straight. Vanessa Redgrave and her real life daughter Joely Richardson played Queen Elizabeth I at different ages. Rhys Ifans played –I swear it was Earl of Essex but I’m looking at the cast credits now and it was the Earl of Oxford (see what I mean?!!) and Rafe Spall (who co-starred in One Day this year) plays Shakespeare. My complaint? It’s one thing to surmise that someone else wrote the plays, but it’s quite another thing to defame Shakespeare by portraying him as a selfish, sleazy buffoon. Good movie, but go in with a clear mind to keep track of all the characters.
4 stars
Compelling argument that William Shakespeare did not actually write the plays that bear his name. Jim and I both thought it was well done though we both found it difficult to keep all the characters names straight, especially since there were two sets of actors playing the same characters at different ages. The film also went back and forth in time a lot which got me confused every time I thought I had all the names straight. Vanessa Redgrave and her real life daughter Joely Richardson played Queen Elizabeth I at different ages. Rhys Ifans played –I swear it was Earl of Essex but I’m looking at the cast credits now and it was the Earl of Oxford (see what I mean?!!) and Rafe Spall (who co-starred in One Day this year) plays Shakespeare. My complaint? It’s one thing to surmise that someone else wrote the plays, but it’s quite another thing to defame Shakespeare by portraying him as a selfish, sleazy buffoon. Good movie, but go in with a clear mind to keep track of all the characters.
In Time
Drama, Action
3.5 stars
Interesting concept. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a parallel universe or the just future without cell phones, but people are genetically engineered to not age beyond 25 and any years beyond that are earned or spent as currency. Justin Timberlake stars as a working class guy from the poorest community or “time zone” who gets lucky by receiving 100 years from a rich guy who’s decided to call it a day (pun intended). Amanda Seyfried co-stars as his love interest. I thought the concept seemed like a combination of Robin Hood, 1984, the Patty Hearst saga (young people will have to Google that) and even Bonnie & Clyde. There were lots of chase scenes and action. Decent movie, but you should probably wait for video.
3.5 stars
Interesting concept. I’m not sure if this was supposed to be a parallel universe or the just future without cell phones, but people are genetically engineered to not age beyond 25 and any years beyond that are earned or spent as currency. Justin Timberlake stars as a working class guy from the poorest community or “time zone” who gets lucky by receiving 100 years from a rich guy who’s decided to call it a day (pun intended). Amanda Seyfried co-stars as his love interest. I thought the concept seemed like a combination of Robin Hood, 1984, the Patty Hearst saga (young people will have to Google that) and even Bonnie & Clyde. There were lots of chase scenes and action. Decent movie, but you should probably wait for video.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tower Heist
Comedy
3.5 stars
Cute movie, though most of it has been given away already by the previews. Alan Alda stars as a Bernie Madoff type character and the staff at his NYC high-rise decides to steal back the money he swindled from their pension funds. Co-stars include Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck (who always sounds like he has marbles in his mouth), Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe, Michael Pena as well as Eddie Murphy making a long awaited comeback to the big screen. There are some good laughs, I just wish the previews hadn’t given away the whole story. Fun movie.
3.5 stars
Cute movie, though most of it has been given away already by the previews. Alan Alda stars as a Bernie Madoff type character and the staff at his NYC high-rise decides to steal back the money he swindled from their pension funds. Co-stars include Ben Stiller, Casey Affleck (who always sounds like he has marbles in his mouth), Matthew Broderick, Gabourey Sidibe, Michael Pena as well as Eddie Murphy making a long awaited comeback to the big screen. There are some good laughs, I just wish the previews hadn’t given away the whole story. Fun movie.
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