Periodic Movie Review

Talk about anything under the sun or stars - but keep it civil. This is where we really get to know each other. Everyone is welcome, and invited!
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Jebus
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Postby Jebus » Thu Dec 07, 2006 9:25 pm

Casino Royale: Best Bond film I've seen, but that's not saying much. 6/10
Stranger Than Fiction: Could have been great but too much going on. 7/10
The Prestige: Very, very exciting, but got silly and nonsensical at times. 7.5/10
The Queen: Chocked full of lovely dry wit, but also kinda boring. 7/10
The Departed: Not much wrong with this movie except for Jack Nicholson, I'm getting so tired of his s***-eating grin. Also, really could have used the morse code bit from Infernal Affairs. 8/10
Little Miss Sunshine: This could have been good too, were it not for the woeful ending. Still, great feel-good movie. 8/10
Over The Hedge: Apparently I enjoyed it more than some, I'd rather see this again than Casino Royale, anyway. 6.5/10
Just My Luck: One more reason to embrace Lindsay Lohan's death, what a hag. 2/10
The Devil Wears Prada: Meh, very meh. 5/10

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Postby ValentineNicole » Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:27 pm

Deja Vu - **** out of 5

This movie is highly entertaining; however, you must take it as it is. If you start to think too much about it, you will begin to uncover a few plot holes that, though they do not really affect the entertainment value of the movie, will slightly demean it. The action sequences are thoroughly entertaining. It's not a particularly strong four star review; however, you will not leave the theatre unsatisfied. Denzel is brilliant, as usual.

Pieces of April - *** out of 5

I was really torn on this movie. On one hand, it's living proof that Katie Holmes actually can act if you give her a chance. She plays the "little girl lost" role perfectly. This comedy is well-thought out, heart-warming, and entertaining. Partricia Clarkson's performance was dead on.
On the other hand, the movie itself wasn't quite brilliant enough to merit four stars. It does comes close; however it seems a tad too cliche. Oliver Platt's performance seemed somewhat mediocre - nothing spectacular. Sean Hayes's (from Will and Grace) role almost disturbed me it was so badly portrayed. Other than that, it was a rather enjoyable movie. I'd recommend it if you need a feel good type movie.

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Postby Ithilien » Fri Dec 08, 2006 4:50 pm

Ithilien, I actually rather liked the most recent Pride and Prejudice movie and I didn't expect to. I really hated Keira Knightley being cast (though I adore her to death), but I thought she did a fantastic job. The acting is top notch. But what really did it for me is that has to be one of the most goreous movies I have seen. It really is. The scenery, the lighting, the camera work, everything about it's production just floored me. I was REALLY pulling for it to win best cinematography during the Academy Awards... Not to mention best adapted screenplay, because lets not forget the fact that this book is basically impossible to adapt...

I agree with you 100% about The Prestige.

Salaam
It certainly is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. That is undisputable. I must agree that it really should have won for cinematography: I don’t think I ever anything so romantically shot. I think the problem many people have with Keira Knightley is that many people have a strongly developed impression of what Elizabeth Bennet, literature’s most beloved heroine, should be like. I must confess, I couldn’t really see Elizabeth Bennet in her. But all this is subject to personal interpretation.

And thanks for the Casino Royale review. I was supposed to this weekend but then two quizzes, two labs, homework, and scholarship applications came along. gr…

Forgot to mention that I also saw The Departed. It was a little flashier than the original Infernal Affairs and had much more wittier dialogue but it still lacked the same personal trials that the original expressed. Also, the stories did not seem as parallel or equally emphasized: it was more Leonardo DiCaprio’s story than Matt Damon’s. And Jack Nicholson never acts any differently and it’s starting to get…annoying. And Jebus is right: I liked the morse code part too! Still, I liked it a lot. Four stars!
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Postby AnthonyByakko » Tue Dec 19, 2006 4:00 am

Apocalypto

I tried to go into the theater without any preconcieved notions about what I was going to see. There was so much detritus floating around slanting opinions to one side or the other. I really just wanted to go to the cinema and enjoy a little suspension-of-disbelief.

So; did I get it? Does Apocalypto pass the only real test of a movie - would you pay to see it? Yes. A resounding "yes."

The film builds nicely from the beginning. We see the lush beauty of untouched rainforest, feel the primitive pulse of jungle long before the action starts. The viewers feels like they are back in time. You get to know the village and villagers surrounding the star of the film, Jaguar Paw. You see his youthful hope, his young family, and you know what's coming. You know the formula for action/adventure - you know that something terrible is about to happen, but when it does, you are not disappointed or feel like you saw it coming a mile away.

The vast panorama painted of Mayan civilization is impressive. You can see the decay and rot within the society clearly - you know in seeing it, that this is a culture on the verge of collapse. The film's opening quote (as it has no credits/intro in the beginning, which I felt was a refreshing change) was succinct; that great society's cannot be felled until they are gutted from within by their own fear.

The plot is not of great importance; that the young warrior Jaguar Paw must overcome his captors and race to save his family is already known. It merely serves to move us around Gibson's landscape, and particularly, to his centerpiece in the movie - the great Mayan city. The massive ziggurat proudly standing in the middle, high above the common teeming masses, reeks of blood before you even get close. Yes, you will see violence - you will see hearts severed from mens chests, you will see heads taken, rolled down the blood-stained steps of the temple. But it all serves purpose; to show that this society has denigrated, in its zeal, to the point of sacrificing it's unwilling denizens (captive from the outskirts of the city) upon the altar of the kingdom's needs.

Throughout the film, attention is payed to detail. The scarification, tattoos, dress, and eery costuming of the ritualistic characters is all glorious. Yes, blood and gore are rampant in the film - as they were in the time and place the film depicts. Rudy Youngblood (Jaguar Paw) makes a terrific casting decision; he turns what could be a simple, blunted "Rambo" into an approachable, likeable hero. With an unknown cast, a dead language, subtitles and a violent story, this could have easily been poor cinematic fare - but with a little flourish, and even a little comedy, it really makes you happy to have seen it.

I personally give it an 8 out of 10.

As an aside, there was some dumb woman in the back who brought her kids with her - couldn't have been more than 6 and 9, respectively. First of all, the film was subtitled, so they couldn't have possibly known what the hell was going on. And secondly, the violence was NOT for them to see. This is the kind of stupidity we usually just ignore and go about our day, but with all the hubbub lately about the violence in movies, TV and video games causing violence in young people, I thought I should say that you can't blame the medium when the adults are letting the children see what they weren't supposed to in the first place.[/b]

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Postby Young Val » Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:39 am

Dream Girls


utter crap. complete and total waste of ticket price.

they wouldn't commit to making it a movie-musical. so nearly all of the songs were "performed" by the trio, when really a lot of them are plot points. but then every now and then they'd have a song that couldn't be "performed" so they had to burst into song... it was very awkward.

Beyonce, while lovely and talented, was just so completely boring. blah. dull. bland. which is exactly what she gets all uppity about in the latter half of the movie but it didn't hold up at all. YAWN.

jamie fox wasn't either evil enough nor good enough. completely unsympathetic, but again, because i just really didn't care. at all.

the plot was jumbled and vague. too many subplots going at once--all of them boring. and the "big reveals" were a TOTAL let down.


jennifer hudson STOLE the movie. she was the only interesting thing on the entire screen. and she managed to shuffle around in, if not completely fill, Jennifer Holliday's shoes. props to jennifer hudson. the only thing that kept me awake.
you snooze, you lose
well I have snozzed and lost
I'm pushing through
I'll disregard the cost
I hear the bells
so fascinating and
I'll slug it out
I'm sick of waiting
and I can
hear the bells are
ringing joyful and triumphant

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Postby Ithilien » Wed Dec 27, 2006 3:07 pm

Casino Royale****1/2

Finally got around to seeing this movie. A terrific start and possibly the most beautiful opening titles sequence I ever saw. A clever plot that didn't try to lose the audience with over-complexity, quite witty dialogue (the romantic exchanges did border on corny though), wonderful action and exciting suspense throughout most of the movie. I like the new reinvented Bond: more human - he doesn't seem like a mindless killing machine but one that could be ruthless at will. I like the fewer gadgets too. Some of the old ones were just too unrealistic.

However, the movie completely flopped near the end of the movie. It was utterly boring, slow, and left me saying "Huh? What just happened? Don't tell me this is how it finishes!" Then it jumps right back into action again to close the film. Other than that, it was a thoroughly exciting film!

Blood Diamond *****

I went into this movie with my eyes already rolling. I made the mistaken assumption that this was just another Hollywood attempt to be "meaningful" and accusatory of society: something I thought would be ironic coming from the notorious lifestyles of the entertainment industry.

It was an intensely powerful film. It presented events that were happening around the world without the blatant attempt at being a tear-jerker and making you feel "sad" until the film was over. Told from the perspective of the smuggler, the journalist, and the father, it was incredibly frank and thus moving. The story was simple which seemed to make it so much more meaningful. It didn't just emptily condemn "conflict diamonds" but explained how many people have been victimized in many ways, why smugglers continue to do what they do, and what little can be done to stop this. In the end, all the movie tries to do is place the story of these people before you and let you decide. I think everyone came out of the theatre not exactly "loving" it but impacted immensely.
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Postby Seiryu » Wed Dec 27, 2006 5:15 pm

The Pursuit of Happyness From the moment the movie started, it was depressing. This is the second serious movie Will Smith has done (I think. I do know the other is Ali,) but the movie wasn't as serious as one might expect. There were several jokes in there, but nothing overly outlandish. The movie really makes you appreciate what you have as well as tells a story about a guy who had nothing and now has everything. Good things do happen. Okay, so the acting was decent, the humor was good, the story kept my attention, the only thing I had trouble with was the slang. I wasn't sure some of the way they talked in the movie was true to the 1980s or whatever, but some of it didn't seem believable. Oh well, I was born in 1985, what do I know, right? 8/10

Night at the Museum Not really what I was expecting, truth be told. I thought it'd be a light hearted comedy, mainly slapstick and I wasn't expecting much because of Ben Stiller and though laughed more at what was going on around him than Ben Stiller, I felt he did a decent job. The story, as you can probably guess, is that things are coming alive in the museum and a unsuspecting night guard gets caught up in the mess. Come to find out, the other night guards know, but none of the other employees do. At first Stiller decides to keep his job because of his kid (he wanted to quit before, but remembered his kid) and then he was almost fired when there was a mess left by the exhibits. Ricky Gervais (sp?) from the British version of The Office should've had a bigger role. His character was a jerk, sure, but there was something interesting about him. Either way, it made for a good movie to see on Christmas (which is what I did) and was enjoyable. 7/10
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Postby Craig » Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:32 am

Eragon

Crap. I'm just gonna throw that out there for all of you to read, it's crap. But I kinda dug it. Now, before you get all mad at me hear me out... I'm a sucker for anything with dragons and good looking elves (even if they don't have elvish features, I mean, what the hell was that? But hey, she WAS in Playboy). So, for me it already gets a passing grade. Plot? Hah, just thing Star Wars: A New Hope, change the name from Luke to Eragon, Obi Wan to Brom, Princess Leia to Princess Arya, Vader to Morzan, Palpatine to Galbatorix, and finally Jedi to Dragonrider. Eragon, as much as it borrows from The Lord of the Rings, steals it's entire plot from Star Wars. But hey, it's got dragons and elves...

If you have to see it, wait until it comes on your Netflix.

Grade: D (because it has hot elves)

Salaam

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Postby Seiryu » Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:44 am

I liked the book, but I'm kinda not sure if I want to see the movie. Saphira looks bad ass, though.
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Postby locke » Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:03 am

Pursuit of Happyness - feel bad movie of the year, extremely well made with great script and performances, but hard to get through. Basically a real life story of Job.

Dreamgirls - an utter transcendent, luscious, perfect triumph of a movie. my only complaint is the ending is too easy and tidy considering the Stepping on the Bad Side number earlier in the film contradicts the ending. My favorite of the Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Dreamgirls trio. I'm so excited to get to see it again on Saturday, this time with family and friends! Beyonce didn't bother me, she performed quite well. I loved how Jamie Foxx defferred all his scenes and gave a performance of such quiet power than he carried the entirety of the drama aspects of the film on his shoulders. Jennifer Hudson was spectacular.

Letters from Iwo Jima - dour, depressing f****** up Japanese soldiers for two hours. Seriously crazy racists. but that was Imperial Japan for you. Americans were downright tolerant by comparison. The military is so abhorent that you're ready to embrace every Rummy reform by the end of the film, no matter what your political inclination--anything to get away from the idiocy of command... oh wait... well f***... there's still idiocy of command. Damn. Honor is stupid, that's pretty much the point of the extremely well made and affecting film and the main character, Saigo, played by Kazunari Ninomiya, makes the movie work because of his very American sensibilities (ie he wants to get home to his wife, all the other Japanese want to die). In a way there are just as many problems with LfIJ as there were with M$B.


Rocky Balboa - hell yeah. Some of the best writing and one of the most emotionally moving performances of the year. But dammit the way they presented the fight (like it was on TEEEE-VEEEE! yeehaw!) was unbelievably frustrating. but 95% of the movie is great.

Perfume Story of a Murderer - darn near one of the most perfect and surprising movies of the year. Just a superb and wonderous bit of storytelling. Don't miss it!

Marie Antoinette - they finally cut the idiot's head off, thank God. Plese let me reenact the French revolution because this movie made me want to kill them all again. I got Sophia's point twenty minutes in, that too much money and not enough to do transforms anyone into a loathsome example of humanity. Then she had to repeat it again and again and again and again and again (and again) and again and again and again for the next hour and thirty minutes.

United 93 A very good, respectful movie I basically refused to connect to. Sorry, I don't care if it's important I didn't want to see it, I did see it, I dont' want to see it again. yeah it's well made, so what.


---------------
Here comes Mr. Jordan - terriffic movie from the 1940s with one of Claude Rains' best performances ever. Wonderful script, great concept brought off near flawlessly. The basis for Quantum Leap came from this movie, imo.



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Postby mr_thebrain » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:05 am

it's hard to "like" a movie like united 93. i suggest everyone see it. but you can't like it. it was well done and it's a very good movie. i went into watching the dvd thinking "i can't believe i'm going to watch this... hollywood making money off the tragedy of that day..." then i watched it. it isn't one of my favorite movies. but i respect it, recommend it, and will never ever purchase it. if you want to watch it, rent, don't buy. and after you watch the dvd... watch the special features thing. after watching that i felt a whole lot better for having watched the movie.
Ubernaustrum

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Postby fawkes » Thu Dec 28, 2006 1:21 pm

Perfume Story of a Murderer - darn near one of the most perfect and surprising movies of the year. Just a superb and wonderous bit of storytelling. Don't miss it!
... It's out already? How did I miss that?
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Postby AnthonyByakko » Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:35 pm

The Seventh Seal (1956)

If you don't mind subtitles, have a taste for the metaphysical, and like black & white classics, this is for you. Rewatching this existential-yet-grounded film always lifts my spirits (which may seem odd to those who've seen it). In the story, a knight named Antonius Block and his squire Jons are returning from a decade-long hitch in the Crusades to their native Sweden; along the way, encountering various townsfolk and hearing ominous news about the plague ravaging Europe as well as other disturbing signs that seem to indicate the end of the world is near. While on their journey, Death himself comes to visit the knight - his time has come. But Antonius knows that Death is an avid chess player, and as he himself has a taste for the game, challenges Death to a match for his life. Along the way, the knight asks some of the most basic, cosmic questions; the ones we always ask ourselves in the dark, when we're most fearful of our uncertain existance. He looks everywhere for what he wants most, "knowledge" - he seeks out God, the devil, and questions Death about the nature of life, anyone who might be able to give him certainty in the most uncertain world of the Dark Ages. It's four-star fare in the classic sense. Death is characterized beautifully, a haunting yet human looking figure, and Antonius Block is played with vulnerability and range. As far as my favorite classic films go, Kagemusha, Seven Samurai, Twelve Angry Men, etc, this is in the top 5.
Death: "Don't you ever stop asking questions?"
Antonius: "No. Never."

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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:23 am

He could never remember how the little horse-shaped ones moved.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII

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Postby AnthonyByakko » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:27 am

Or what they were called.

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Postby AnthonyByakko » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:38 am

OH S*** I RUINED THE JOKE. :oops:

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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:40 am

"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII

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Postby AnthonyByakko » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:56 am

You and your "books."

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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:04 am

:(
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII

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Postby AnthonyByakko » Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:22 am

Don't give me that look!

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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:34 am

Image
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII

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Postby AnthonyByakko » Fri Dec 29, 2006 1:35 am

Don't make me get the hose!

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Postby Soara » Fri Dec 29, 2006 5:45 pm

I recently saw a German movie that came out last year called Sophie Scholl: The Final Days. WOW. Definitely is at the top of my favorite list.
Sophie Scholl was a college student in Germany in the 1940's (this was a true story) who was part of a resistence group called The White Rose. They printed leaflets denouncing Hitler and distributed them. Sophie and her brother were arrested distributing leaflets at their university. They were both tried and sentenced to death, as well as other members of the group.
Trust me, you CANNOT miss this movie. What makes it so amazing is mostly Julia Jentsch's performance (who plays Sophie). (I believe she won the German equivilant of an Oscar for her performance). Her acting was so real I felt like I was watching a tape of a real person. Seldom can movies realistically convey how a person who had just been sentenced to death would react, but this movie came pretty darn close.

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Postby Craig » Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:42 pm

Before Sunrise a movie by Richard Linklater (Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, School of Rock) that was made in 1995. I've only seen one other of Linklater's films, Waking Life, and I absolutely hated it. Actually, that doesn't take it far enough. I really, REALLY wanted to just turn it off and forget I ever started watching it. But I stuck through it and finished it. Waking Life struck me as pretentious drivel that was all about making a point vs. telling a story. So... I was nervous to watch Before Sunrise. But I'm glad I did, because I was suprised. It does follow the same basic structure of weird discussions about even stranger topics, followed by some sort of understanding by the characters. But this time there seemed to be heart behind it, not a man trying to make a point. It was about love, about being spontaneous and doing what you feel, and I connected with that. I recommend it for people who enjoyed movies like Garden State or Eternal Sunshine; movies that are love stories at heart, but take a strange angle at telling the story.

The Descent, best horror movie ever? I can't say that as I haven't seen too many horror movies, but I tell you what, it's far and away the best horror movie I have ever seen. Period. It takes a while for the story to get rolling but when it does it'll take your breath away or give you a panic attack. At one point I had to pause it, it's that intense. It's chaotic, it's claustraphobic, and bloody. And that's even before the creatures deside to make an appearance. It's the only horror movie I have in my collection (over 200 DVDS now).

Salaam

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Postby Craig » Sun Dec 31, 2006 8:35 pm

Babel

I have to agree with most of what Val said in her original post. There is no doubt that Babel is a well crafted film, from the camera work (love the handheld moments!), to the amazing editing, to the haunting soundtrack the film making is flawless. The story is complex, so much so I won't try to describe it as it will take far too long (and Val did a terrific job of it already), but more than just a story this movie addresses big issues and puts them on an intimate scale. It was a solid movie, all the way around, but in the end I feel like it almost bit off a bit more than it could chew. It had a lot to say and that's probably it's biggest downfall, it tries to say too much. But hey, you can NEVER criticize a filmmaker for that.

8/10

Salaam

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Postby Eaquae Legit » Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:12 am

Night at the Museum

I have to say right off that I loved this movie. I will buy it again, and only my budget will keep me from going back to see it again in theatre.

They avoided a lot of common pitfalls I see in movies. They don't play up any rivalry or lingering tension between Stiller's character (Larry) and his ex-wife. They don't play up any rivalry between Larry and his ex's fiancé - well, not anything more than one might expect in normal people. They don't play up the potential romance between Larry and the attractive museum tour guide. It's there, but it's not a huge focus of the movie, and it doesn't take over or become his big motivation.

The focus is on Larry, his relationship with his son, and becoming an adult human being. Larry begins the movie moving into yet another of his big schemes: "This time, this is the one, I can feel my moment is coming!" He gets a job as the night guard at the Museum of Natural History in a desperate attempt to create some stability for his son.

Little does he know that an ancient Egyptian tablet brings the museum's displays to life each night. They run amok.

The second night, Larry has read up on his history and comes prepared. I expected this to be his "triumphant" night, where he beats the odds and all is well. They run amok again. (Teddy Roosevelt's wax figure saves his ass both nights.)

The third night is his last chance before he is fired and disappoints his son again and maybe permanently. Spoilers follow, highlight to read. The old night guards break in and start stealing fencable items, and are going to pin it on him. Somehow Larry has to not only stop all the exhibits from running amok, he has to organise them to stop the thieves. He has to protect his son (who he's brought with him so he can explain what a rough time it can be). He has to convince Attila the Hun to stop trying to literally rip him limb from limb. And when he gets a break, he's got to help Teddy Roosevelt's wax figure make contact with Sacajawea's. Oh, and round up all the exhibits that have escaped, before the sun rises and they all turn to dust.

I don't normally go in for car chases, but a T-rex versus a stagecoach was pretty enjoyable. I actually thought Owen Wilson was funny for once. Ahkmen-ra was a bit of a Deus ex Machina, but if you accept the premeses of the movie, he does make sense.

I loved the PhD student. Her sentiments towards her dissertation felt realistic to me, except the bit about starting over. Her reaction to meeting Sacajawea was exactly right.


In the end, all is well, and my one "What happened to...?" moment was filled in during the credits.

For sheer enjoyment, and a notable lack of plotholes, 8.5/10. Maybe even 9/10.
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Postby luminousnerd » Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:02 am

Erm...this ended up being more of an actress review than a movie review. Alas...

Tonight [when this was written, it was tonight. now it's a few days ago] I viewed Charlotte’s Web, a movie adapted from a children’s novel. I must say the movie was very well pulled off…except for one thing.

Get Dakota Fanning OFF the screen.

She can’t act. She never could, but now it’s worse. She gets worse in every single movie she does! She IS NOT AN ACTRESS! How is it that so many people just fall for her? They love her! She has way too many fans, and it’s getting out of hand. Everyone just sees a cute little girl on the screen, and they think, “aww, she’s cute, and she’s young, and she’s a girl, and she’s on the screen! She must be good!” No one seems to stop to think about the fact that during the movie, instead of thinking about the movie, they are thinking about HOW CUTE DAKOTA FANNING IS!

She takes your attention away from where it should be, and that is because she is not real! There are very good actors out there, whose faces are all over the place, who haven’t got a problem with this! Because they can act so well, that even though their face is so familiar to us, we still see them as the character during the movie and not as the actor.

But this isn’t so with Dakota Fanning. She’s a semi-decent actress, I’ll give her that. But she isn’t nearly good enough to overcome the fame that makes her face so recognizable…so NOT the character she is supposed to be.

What other little girls do we have for roles like these? Well, I suggest AnnaSophia Robb, whose stunning performance in Because of Winn-Dixie didn’t get as much attention as it deserved. She isn’t popular enough yet to be tested, but when she is, I think she will pass the test of overcoming the familiarity of her face.

In short, Charlotte’s Web was a great movie, but could have been 87 times better with a good actress in the lead role.

From my blog: http://www.luminousnerd.com/2007/charlottes-web
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Postby Seiryu » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:03 pm

I have to agree with Eaquae Legit. Night at the Museum was rather enjoyable.

Okay, on to why I'm posting:

Mirrormask: Whether you're a fan of Neil Gaiman, strange movies driven by CGI backgrounds and characters, or you just like the strange and bizarre, Mirrormask works for you.

Helena, a daughter of circus performers just wants a normal life. One night before going on, she curses her mother and while she's out juggling with her dad, Helena's mother faints. She is whisked to the hospital where (and they never really got into what her mother had...) her mother had to have surgery.

Racked with guilt, Helena returns to the only thing she ever finds comfort in: drawing. One night, she slips into a very odd world that would make Lewis Carroll raise an eyebrow. There, she is befriended by a masked juggler, who helps her in a world where the people of the shadows and the people of the light are on the verge of war (or something like that.)

Helena finds a queen who is in a coma (she oddly enough looks like Helena's mother) and decides to go in search of a relic that will bring the queen back to consciousness. Upon the journey, Helena discovers the relic is a mirrormask. On her way to find the mask, she is captured by the queen of the shadows, who believes Helena is her missing daughter. (The queen of the shadows also looks like Helena's mother.)

And from there, I will leave you because the rest is spoilers. Much of what is seen in the movie is metaphorical to what is going on in her life, which leads one to believe it was in fact a dream, but there are ambiguous signs that it was not.

While the world Helena is sucked into is drab, many of the creatures and scenery are astonishing. It's hard to distinguish what was created by Jim Henson studios and what is CGI at times. 7.5/10--The plot could've been better, but it was still quite an enjoyable movie.
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Postby mr_thebrain » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:25 pm

to be honest, i think that dakota fanning does a good job in her movies in spite of the fact that she's so cute. for her age she's pretty dang good. and i look forward to watching her on screen in years to come.. assuming she doesn't fall prey to CAS (child actors syndrome)

i think she outacted tom cruise in war of the worlds... of course a cardboard box could outact tom cruise... heck even ben affleck could outact him. (though the cardboard box would win if there were some situation that the cardboard box, tom cruise and ben affleck got in a all out act to the death brawl) that's beside the point. she's cute... sue her. i haven't seen charlotte's web. but i've seen a few of fanning's other movies, enough to say that she is usually right up there with the bigger actors.
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Postby Eaquae Legit » Fri Jan 05, 2007 3:34 pm

I 100% agree with you on the cardboard box thing.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII

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Postby locke » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:19 pm

Night at the Museum (5 of 10) <--that still means I liked it, I just had issues)

There is so much potential for this to really be great, and a lot of the movie is wonderful, very funny stuff.

But invent a consistent and believable system for your fantasty damn it! Nothing made any sense at all, the invention was on the level of really bad fanfic and/or Grignr. Fine for ten year olds but the film could have been so much better!

grrrr....
So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Postby Seiryu » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:29 pm

Little Miss Sunshine--This movie is about a road trip an entire family takes (including a suicidal gay uncle and a sex depraved grandpa) where the whole goal is to get the daughter to a Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The casting for the girl was perfect. She had somewhat of a pretty face, but she was plain and chubby.

The film starts will the suicidal gay uncle (played exceptionally well by Steve Carell...the whole reason I rented the movie) in the hospital, saved from an attempt to slit his own wrist. His sister comes in and brings him home where the family is this somewhat poor, somewhat oddball family. As mentioned before, the grandpa is sex depraved (he's the paternal grandfather), the son has taken a vow of silence until he gets into flight school, and the father is trying to sell a self help program.

When the gay uncle and the mother's sister calls about the little girl Olive getting runner's up and a chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, the family weighs the options to fly or to drive. Since the mother is the only one that works, they can't afford to fly and so the whole family goes. They take an old yellow VW bus.

Eventually everything along the way goes to hell. The movie is well acted by people such as Greg Kinear, Steve Carell (as mentioned earlier,) Toni Collette, and Alan Arkin. Even the little girl did well acting.

The plot is simple and doesn't demand much, but what I thought made this a good movie is the dysfunctional family. The fact that they were trying to hold it all together and yet ended up as the insane group of people really drove the plot well.

8/10--I think I'll watch it again before I ship it back to Netflix.
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Postby Jayelle » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:40 pm

Did you notice that it's based on the Grapes of Wrath?
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Postby Young Val » Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:14 pm

i didn't notice that, and i know that epic pretty well.


shed some light for me, Jan? i think my brain's broken.
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well I have snozzed and lost
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I hear the bells
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I'm sick of waiting
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hear the bells are
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Postby Jebus » Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:07 pm

(though the cardboard box would win if there were some situation that the cardboard box, tom cruise and ben affleck got in a all out act to the death brawl)
Is there anyway to say "I found this funny" without sounding like a tool? LOL is gay and I've never been a huge fan of smileys. I suppose this little rant will have to do as my means of communicating the fact that it got a chuckle from me.


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