Posts Tagged ‘movie review’

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Movie Review: Fame (1980 & 2009)


07 Mar

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I have now seen both versions of Fame (1980 & 2009). It makes me sad that we can’t make a movie for and about teenagers that is rated R anymore. The original was rated R. It dealt with serious issues facing teenagers, many focusing on sex, including abortion and homosexuality.

The new version is rated PG. The most dramatic focus was placed on parents who wanted their daughter to play classical piano, and she wanted to sing.

The issues facing teenagers did not get less complicated in the 30 years between these movies. So why are we pretending they did?

Movie Review: Killer Elites


12 Feb

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I love Jason Statham and Clive Owen- love them. So, forever ago when I saw previews for a movie that included them both, I knew I would see it eventually. Of course, we don’t see anything in the theater, so I didn’t see Killer Elites until last night.

It was a slightly more serious movie than I would have hoped. Both men have a history of doing tongue in cheek action movies, but considering this was supposedly based on a true story, I guess they couldn’t get away with the ridiculous.

Now if only there had been some shirtless scenes.

Movie Review: Drive


05 Feb

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I don’t get the appeal of Ryan Gosling. Watched Drive last night and first thought the character had Asperger’s. Later decided that no, his problem went beyond not getting social clues to having no moral compass.

The movie was quite violent. In some cases it was handled well, but in others it was just gratuitous. Did Blanche’s head really need to be blown off?

Of course, we missed the end- not certain how much of it. Our 24 hours ended while Gosling and Albert Brooks were killing each other in the parking lot, but all we were seeing was shadows.

Movie Review: The Debt


04 Jan

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I vaguely remember hearing about The Debt when it first came out. I do love Helen Mirren. But we rarely go see movies in theaters, and it is one that flew enough below the radar that I had completely forgotten about it.

We watched it tonight. It was a little more drama than action, but well-acted drama, which matters. I’m pretty sure I had heard the basics of the story before (thanks to a writing friend), but that didn’t mean I knew what was going to happen. The ending was certainly not uplifting, but still satisfying. And I’ll take that.

Movie Review: Bangkok Dangerous


20 Dec

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Nicolas Cage is now rich, famous, and eccentric enough that he pretty much only does movies he wants to do now. But he apparently has bad taste in movies, because I don’t know that I can name the last Nic Cage movie I actually liked.

Bangkok Dangerous wasn’t exactly a bad movie, but it wasn’t a good movie either. The romantic plot made very little sense, the action plot was formulaic, with a natural set up for a sequel I hope they never make.

Once upon a time, seeing Nic Cage’s name on a movie wasn’t an instant turn off.

Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are


19 Dec

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I very much remember Maurice Sendak’s art from when I was a kid, but I cannot honestly say I remember the story, other than Max gets sent to bed without dinner, goes to Where the Wild Things Are and then comes home. That allowed me to enjoy the story of the movie without comparing it to the book.

It was a quiet movie, in many senses, and I very much appreciated the way relationships were shown. However, I do not get why he got to eat chocolate cake after running away, since there was never an apology to his mother.

Movie Review: Hobson’s Choice


14 Nov

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Hobson’s Choice is a favorite of a dear friend, so on Saturday night, I joined in her annual Thanksgiving viewing. She describes it as a romance without all the pesky romantic bits, which is a rather fair assessment.

It is also the story of how one woman took control of her own future, in a time when women had very little control, even over their own lives. (The movie is set in turn of the century Victorian England.) The ending is happy, not just because this is aHollywoodcreation, but because the protagonist wouldn’t have it any other way.

Movie Review: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant


14 Oct

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Someone please tell me that the books aren’t as bad as this movie. As my husband said, ham-fisted is too gentle a descriptor. No scene could make a point without it being followed up by someone explaining the point in the next scene.

The acting was terrible (and I like a lot of the actors in this). We had to assume it was because the script was so bad, they couldn’t get through it without the camp.

I really am all for anything that gets kids to read, but could we limit the movie making to stuff that’s actually good?

Movie Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time


08 Sep

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When we first saw previews for Prince of Persia, I remember commenting “Jake Gyllenhaal…?” But that kind of miscasting was the least of (or at least only one of many) the problems with this movie. I really don’t know if I should blame the script, the direction, or the acting. All of it was bad- and sadly not in the so bad I enjoyed it kind of way. It was just bad.

To top it off, let me tell you- when you give Ben Kingsley that kind of facial hair, it’s a dead give away that he’s the bad guy.

Movie Review: Tangled


07 Sep

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The songs weren’t that great (though I did love the duet in the boat) but for once, the songs were not what made this movie. I loved Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, but without the musical numbers, those movies wouldn’t have been nearly as good. That wasn’t true of Tangled.

Tangled was a fun coming of age romance with or without the music. The animals were appropriately cute and personable (loved Maximus who was more like a dog than a horse). And, of course, it was perfect that the hero was willing to sacrifice himself for her freedom.

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