SHERLOCK HOLMES: Adorable and fun and intriguing. I loved the character portrayals.
NEW MOON: I neglected posting this mini-review after attending the midnight showing on 11.20.09 because I thought I would write a whole post about it. But I didn't. I liked the movie. Bridget's review said what I was thinking. Except for this: "Go Team Jacob!" (ha ha)
MAMMA MIA!: Some VERY cute scenes, others (mostly the boring slow songs) I fast-forwarded through. The story was heart warming and fun, however.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE: I thoroughly enjoyed this creative story about changing relationships.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE: Very similar to "Lars" actually. Slow-moving, but sweet, thought-provoking, and mildly humorous.
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL: A very thoughtful movie. Quietly funny.
EAGLE EYE: LAME.
THE MUMMY 3: We came THIS close to just turning it off halfway through, but forced our willing suspension of disbelief to new heights and pushed through to the lame ending.
PRINCE CASPIAN (CHRONICLES OF NARNIA): Fairly enjoyable to watch, but it was one of those movies--like most grand epics are for me--that I don't tend to remember much about later. Probably my own fault more than the film's.
WANTED: Quite graphic, in a comic-booky way, but a very exciting action flick. The fight choreography was creative and entertaining; that stuff usually bores me.
HANCOCK: An innovative story, executed perfectly. Really fun.
WAITING...:I've been there. And I adore Ryan Reynolds. Yet the movie was disappointing. Clearly the goal of satirizing restaurant work was of more import than creating a decent movie, but even the restaurant humor would have been much more funny by using the art of subtlety.
17 AGAIN: Yeah, the concept's been done before, but still a cute, wholesome movie.
WALL-E: More confusing than entertaining. Story based on a shaky premise full of unanswered questions. And the characters just weren't that loveable, although I have to give credit to Pixar for making a pretty darn cute robot.
THE ULTIMATE GIFT: Some distractingly poor acting in parts, an expected level of cheesiness, but overall a nice story. No mistaking its adaptation from a book, because portions of character development and storyline seemed absent that I imagine were covered more clearly in the written form.
THE PROPOSAL: Perfect movie for my night out with girlfriends. Our row laughed out loud A LOT. And I have a huge crush on Ryan Reynolds, he is adorable.
SEVEN POUNDS: Warning: bring a box of tissues. This movie wasn't just good, it was good for you.
500 DAYS OF SUMMER: Actually went to the theatre for this one, and LOVED it. The story elements were so real and vivid, but captured very creatively.
NEW MOON: I neglected posting this mini-review after attending the midnight showing on 11.20.09 because I thought I would write a whole post about it. But I didn't. I liked the movie. Bridget's review said what I was thinking. Except for this: "Go Team Jacob!" (ha ha)
MAMMA MIA!: Some VERY cute scenes, others (mostly the boring slow songs) I fast-forwarded through. The story was heart warming and fun, however.
DEFINITELY, MAYBE: I thoroughly enjoyed this creative story about changing relationships.
HENRY POOLE IS HERE: Very similar to "Lars" actually. Slow-moving, but sweet, thought-provoking, and mildly humorous.
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL: A very thoughtful movie. Quietly funny.
EAGLE EYE: LAME.
THE MUMMY 3: We came THIS close to just turning it off halfway through, but forced our willing suspension of disbelief to new heights and pushed through to the lame ending.
PRINCE CASPIAN (CHRONICLES OF NARNIA): Fairly enjoyable to watch, but it was one of those movies--like most grand epics are for me--that I don't tend to remember much about later. Probably my own fault more than the film's.
WANTED: Quite graphic, in a comic-booky way, but a very exciting action flick. The fight choreography was creative and entertaining; that stuff usually bores me.
HANCOCK: An innovative story, executed perfectly. Really fun.
WAITING...:I've been there. And I adore Ryan Reynolds. Yet the movie was disappointing. Clearly the goal of satirizing restaurant work was of more import than creating a decent movie, but even the restaurant humor would have been much more funny by using the art of subtlety.
17 AGAIN: Yeah, the concept's been done before, but still a cute, wholesome movie.
WALL-E: More confusing than entertaining. Story based on a shaky premise full of unanswered questions. And the characters just weren't that loveable, although I have to give credit to Pixar for making a pretty darn cute robot.
THE ULTIMATE GIFT: Some distractingly poor acting in parts, an expected level of cheesiness, but overall a nice story. No mistaking its adaptation from a book, because portions of character development and storyline seemed absent that I imagine were covered more clearly in the written form.
THE PROPOSAL: Perfect movie for my night out with girlfriends. Our row laughed out loud A LOT. And I have a huge crush on Ryan Reynolds, he is adorable.
SEVEN POUNDS: Warning: bring a box of tissues. This movie wasn't just good, it was good for you.
500 DAYS OF SUMMER: Actually went to the theatre for this one, and LOVED it. The story elements were so real and vivid, but captured very creatively.
RUN FATBOY RUN: Quirky and hilarious.
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU: Very enjoyable in spite of (or because of?) the fact that I could personally (and somewhat painfully) relate to each woman's unique relationship situation.
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL: Not as bad as all the reports I'd heard, but still challenged the most willing suspension of disbelief. Almost as though paying homage to the old Indy movies, but audience expectations have come a long way since the 80's.
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL: Absolutely hilarious. Better than the average Rom-Com.
THE X-FILES: Used to love the X-Files, but this movie was a huge disappointment. Overly contrived plot, awkwardly forced dialogue, weak character development.
SHOOTER: Not a bad movie, but kind of forgettable.
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN: So, so funny in an adolescent sort of way. Hummus finally gets some well-deserved time in the spotlight in this film, including the birth of this apt definition: "a very tasty, diarrhea-like substance."
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2: I'm proud to say my husband and I both love these movies. The first was better, but this one was still enjoyable. Such wholesome, fun stories.
KUNG FU PANDA: We laughed out loud many a time. One of the better animated features of late.
more depth than I anticipated.
THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES: Typical youth fantasy in the style of Jumanji, et al.
AMERICAN GANGSTER: A powerful story and very well done.
VANTAGE POINT: Pretty fun. Some unexpected twists made up for the less-creative plot contrivances.
TAKING CHANCE: Everyone should see this movie.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: Quietly paced. Gripping. Chilling. I doubt the brilliant Coen Brothers could have chosen a less evocative title, however.
TAKEN: If you are not as lucky as I, you will have to pay for an entire seat to see this movie. But you'll only need the edge of it, because this movie was fast-paced and full of thrilling yet emotionally charged action. I liked it.
REVOLVER: I really liked this movie, in spite of the fact that I am still baffled by it. I can't entirely make sense of the plot and underlying philosophy.
THE GOLDEN COMPASS: Creative story, clearly adapted from a novel--the plot was far too intricate to develop so briefly. Then all of a sudden it ended while the protagonist announced all of the conflicts they still needed to resolve. Setting up for the sequel of course, but will it ever be produced?
SLEUTH: It took only a few moments for me to correctly guess this movie was based on a stage play. As if Kenneth Branaugh as director shouldn't have given that away. Slow beginning, but a fun twisty plot if you don't mind the theatrics of a two-man cast.
MEET THE ROBINSONS: Possibly the least entertaining animated feature I've seen in a long time. I actually was a little bored, and I usually love these fun movies. Had a cute ending, though.
SWEENEY TODD: Grotesquely gut-wrenching. Passionately heart-wrenching. Perfectly cast, performed, and artisitcally designed. This ain't no Rogers & Hammerstein. Sondheim, Burton, and Depp form a magical trio.
THE CONTRACT: Premise: great. Execution: poor. So disappointing when filmmakers lack respect for their audience to such a degree that they overlook the glaring holes in the story. (i.e. "wouldn't the charaters just [do this?]" and "why did the kid [do that] when in real life he would have just [done this other thing?]"
FRED CLAUS: I love Vince Vaughn, and he was the best part of the movie. It was kind of fun in a kooky way, but I was mostly disturbed by the scene after Fred saves Christmas by delivering all the presents, in which the elves gather around Santa's magic snow globe and watch children all over the world opening their presents accompanied by a very solemn version of the hymn, "Silent Night." The juxtaposition of the holy birth of Jesus in the song with children ripping open shiny new bikes and hula hoops was unsettling.
FREEDOM WRITERS: Yes, we've seen this true-story adaptation a dozen times: the inexperienced yet passionate teacher overcomes opposition and inspires inner-city kids with no future to form interracial connections and apply their minds through [insert sport or school subject here]. Just like in 3:10 to Yuma, it took me 20-30 minutes to feel sympathetic enough toward the characters to want to see what happens. The emotions seemed to run deeper in this film than others of the same genre, and in the end I really enjoyed it.
3:10 TO YUMA: Western flicks, not usually my favorite. It took me about 20 minutes to get connected with the plot, but from then on it was awesome. However, it was a shame to have Christian Bale looking so horrid for 2 hours.
THE INVASION: Really, really bad. If the cheesy zombie-movie plot weren't enough, the filmmakers over-exerted themselves in trying to emphasize a political/existential point about the human race. Also, instead of letting the audience react to the story as it unfolds, they kept using lame dialogue and camera angles to reiterate the obvious.
27 DRESSES: Every conflict and subsequent resolution was predicted within the first five minutes of the movie, because we have all seen this one a dozen times set against slightly different backgrounds. Still cute, but I enjoyed it a little less than I expected.
WHY DID I GET MARRIED?: For the first half of the film it was painfully evident that this is an adaptation of a stage play. But the second half redeemed itself with some meaningful dialogue and more genuine performances.
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH: This is the first movie I've seen where I believe the entire thing was shot in front of a blue screen. That turned me off. It was probably more fun than I give it credit for, since I "watched" it while simultaneously working on a computer project.
WAITRESS: More spiritually profound than expected: very witty, honest, and an overall delight from start to finish!
BEE MOVIE: Definitely some laugh-out-loud lines, held together by a
...creative... idea for a story. Animated fantasy is great, but for my willing suspension of disbelief to remain intact, I prefer either humans OR whimsical talking creatures, not interaction between the two.
AUGUST RUSH: I thoroughly enjoyed this film, in spite of the child's strange raspy intonation throughout. The acoustic guitar pieces were incredible, and both love stories enchanting.
MARTIAN CHILD: I love John Cusack, and the kid was cute, but the plot was a little tedious...like a short story attempting to fill feature length.
IN THE LAND OF WOMEN: Story a little bit slow, but a cute and sincere relationship drama with genuinely funny moments.
GOOD LUCK CHUCK: I am continually amazed at the kind of CRAP that passes for a movie. We've hit a streak of bad ones.
THE INVISIBLE: Meh.
LUCKY YOU: What was bad: the story, dialogue, acting, direction, and editing. What was good: for about 25 minutes near the end they departed entirely from the horrible sub-plots and focused on an intense poker tournament so I felt more like we were watching ESPN than the awful movie.
REIGN OVER ME: Great character drama with echos of post-9/11 heartache. Have Kleenexes at the ready.
THE DEPARTED: This sat around in our DVR for months before we finally decided to watch. LOVED IT more than expected, even with the brutal Scorsese ending. Kept thinking about it for days...the ultimate sign of a very good movie.
NEXT: Very interesting concept, with plot holes big enough to drive a semi-truck through. Disappointing.
3 comments:
I saw this one on an airplane. Airplane movies are doomed to fail because you just don't get the viewing the movie deserves. But still. Next was terrible. The main damage (that I remember, anyway) was that Jessica Biel slept with a skeezy stranger she met in a diner. What the???? Just because we know he's Nicholas Cage doesn't make it OK. In fact, I think it makes it worse.
We were incredulous that she was even cool with giving him a ride in the first place. This was a good movie for a plane because it doesn't deserve more of a viewing than you gave it.
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