Drama, Comedy
3.5 stars
Predictable; but fun to see Clint Eastwood as a grumpy old man again. Eastwood plays a baseball scout with failing vision who prefers to use his instincts rather than technology when choosing players. Amy Adams plays his daughter who follows him on a scouting trip after she learns of his vision problems. Justin Timberlake plays a fellow scout and John Goodman plays Eastwood’s boss. It’s a nice story, but you can see the outcome a mile away. Also, I happen to like sentimental scenes, but Clint Eastwood singing the children’s song “You are my Sunshine” at his wife’s grave just made me cringe. Cute movie; it’s just not as good as we’ve come to expect from Eastwood.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Samsara
Indie, Artsy
5 stars
Spectacular imagery balanced with a few disturbing scenes. This film is pure imagery backed by hypnotic, even spiritual music from many different cultures. There is no dialogue, no narrative, no story. The screen is filled with gorgeous images of ancient architecture in far off lands, natural landscapes such as an exploding volcano, a time-lapse view of the sun rising over the desert, as well as cultural rituals and close ups of people from around the world. The title is a Sanskrit word meaning “Ever turning wheel of life”. The message in this film would be the sheer masses of the human population, human consumption and waste. There are disturbing images of meat packing plants, and children scavenging through garbage dumps looking for salvageable items. Not all of it is pretty, but it’s life. The stunning photography and exposure to people and places some of us may never see in a lifetime makes it all worthwhile.
5 stars
Spectacular imagery balanced with a few disturbing scenes. This film is pure imagery backed by hypnotic, even spiritual music from many different cultures. There is no dialogue, no narrative, no story. The screen is filled with gorgeous images of ancient architecture in far off lands, natural landscapes such as an exploding volcano, a time-lapse view of the sun rising over the desert, as well as cultural rituals and close ups of people from around the world. The title is a Sanskrit word meaning “Ever turning wheel of life”. The message in this film would be the sheer masses of the human population, human consumption and waste. There are disturbing images of meat packing plants, and children scavenging through garbage dumps looking for salvageable items. Not all of it is pretty, but it’s life. The stunning photography and exposure to people and places some of us may never see in a lifetime makes it all worthwhile.
Friday, September 14, 2012
The Words
Drama, Intrigue
3.5 stars
Intriguing story with an unsatisfying ending. Bradley Cooper stars as a man who published an unknown author’s book manuscript as his own, only to have the true author, Jeremy Irons, confront him. This story unto itself would have been great, but the film opens with Dennis Quaid as the book author who wrote this tale about Cooper and Irons. I really liked this movie right up until the ending where it just fizzles out. They give you enough clues to fill it all in for yourself, but I would have preferred more details about Quaid’s life, or even better, just leave the Quaid character out of the story completely. Good movie, just don’t expect a great ending.
3.5 stars
Intriguing story with an unsatisfying ending. Bradley Cooper stars as a man who published an unknown author’s book manuscript as his own, only to have the true author, Jeremy Irons, confront him. This story unto itself would have been great, but the film opens with Dennis Quaid as the book author who wrote this tale about Cooper and Irons. I really liked this movie right up until the ending where it just fizzles out. They give you enough clues to fill it all in for yourself, but I would have preferred more details about Quaid’s life, or even better, just leave the Quaid character out of the story completely. Good movie, just don’t expect a great ending.
Cold Light of Day
Indie, Action
4 stars
Good movie. Henry Cavill’s (The Tudors, Immortals) family gets kidnapped by terrorists and he must figure out whom to trust and do whatever he can to get them back. Bruce Willis costars as Cavill’s Dad, who happens to be a CIA spy. Sigourney Weaver plays a colleague of Willis. Lots of action as Cavill runs all over Madrid with seemingly everyone chasing after him while his family’s lives are in the balance. Good movie.
4 stars
Good movie. Henry Cavill’s (The Tudors, Immortals) family gets kidnapped by terrorists and he must figure out whom to trust and do whatever he can to get them back. Bruce Willis costars as Cavill’s Dad, who happens to be a CIA spy. Sigourney Weaver plays a colleague of Willis. Lots of action as Cavill runs all over Madrid with seemingly everyone chasing after him while his family’s lives are in the balance. Good movie.
Bachelorette
Comedy, Raunchy
1 star
Hated it. Simply Awful. Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) plays a sweet chubby girl getting married to her prince charming, when her horrible “friends” show up as her bridesmaids only to trash talk her behind her back, snort coke at her rehearsal dinner, make toasts about themselves, and ruin her wedding dress with everything from blood to semen after tearing it first. The self centered bridesmaids from hell include Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan (True Blood, Hot Tub Time Machine). I did laugh about something near the beginning, but I was so horrified by the rest of the film that don’t even remember what I ever thought was funny. Forget this horrible attempt at ripping off Bridesmaids and rent the original Bridesmaids instead.
1 star
Hated it. Simply Awful. Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) plays a sweet chubby girl getting married to her prince charming, when her horrible “friends” show up as her bridesmaids only to trash talk her behind her back, snort coke at her rehearsal dinner, make toasts about themselves, and ruin her wedding dress with everything from blood to semen after tearing it first. The self centered bridesmaids from hell include Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan (True Blood, Hot Tub Time Machine). I did laugh about something near the beginning, but I was so horrified by the rest of the film that don’t even remember what I ever thought was funny. Forget this horrible attempt at ripping off Bridesmaids and rent the original Bridesmaids instead.
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