Movie Reviews

New Moon

Whitfield517 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:59:05 -0800

Wow, I just came back from seeing New Moon and I was great!!!!! I did not get my hopes up before seeing the film because I thought the Twilight movie was sooo bad. But they really stepped up their game in this one. The make up and special effects were ten times better and the acting was much improved over Twilight.
I still had issues with Edward's (Rob Patt) pained facial expressions but overall he did a much better job and was able to not look like he was acting. I also felt like the producers did a great job of selecting scenes and dialgue from the book to put in the film. While New Moon was not my favorite book of the series I truly enjoyed this movie and I just may go see it again.

Movie Review - Inglourious Basterds

SherylD — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:35:54 -0700

This weekend I was one of the many who went to see Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”The movie begins in the idyllic French countryside at the home of a dairy farmer and his three daughters. Down the country road rumble the Nazi soldiers led by the much dreaded Col. Hans ‘Jew Hunter’ Landa (a terrific Christoph Waltz). Landa believes the farmer is illegally harboring the Jewish Dreyfus family. After a most menacing interview, the poor farmer tearfully points to the floor where the family is hiding. The Nazi soldiers riddle the floor with bullets, but the young daughter, Shosanna Dreyfus, crawls out from under the house and begins to run. The startled girl is shaken and covered in blood, but she runs for her life across the countryside. Landa runs out of the house and looks like he has a shot at her, but lets her go with a smirk and a smile.The antithesis to the Nazis, are the “Basterds,” a group of Nazi-scalping soldiers led by the charismatic Lt. Aldo Raine (a very funny Brad Pitt). The “Basterds” were assembled to create an atmosphere of terror throughout the Third Reich. They scalp all of their kills and carve a swastika in the head of the few they let free. Basically, a violent group of warriors that take tremendous pride in, and receive tremendous pleasure from, their work.Through a magical twist of fate the “Basterds,” a now adult Shosanna Dreyfus, and every major Nazi officer-including Hitler and the dreaded ‘Jew Hunter’-cross paths at an illustrious movie premiere. The events that unfold are truly explosive and surprising.This movie is typical Tarantino with a lot of humor, bloodshed and jaw-dropping shockers. To me, it isn’t as brilliant as “Pulp Fiction,” but it’s pretty damn close. There are many parts that are astonishingly wonderful and they all contain either Brad Pitt or Christoph Waltz. These two actors carry this movie and the excellent part is they have very little screen time together. When they finally do, the payoff is a feast for the eyes. I’m not usually a fan of Brad Pitt, but I honestly believe this to be some of his best work. He really embodies the role, which makes it a joy to watch. Unfortunately, along with the positives of typical Tarantino, there are also the negatives. Many scenes drag on far too long, which wreaked havoc on my two-second attention span. If Mr. Tarantino could’ve cut down on the grandiose prose just a tiny bit, the movie would have been that much tighter and that much more pleasurable to watch. In addition, the majority of the movie is spoken in French or German, which means you have to read over 50% of the film. My eyes were exhausted by the ending credits.Bottom line: Not as great as “Pulp Fiction,” but pretty damn close. Excellent performances by Christoph Waltz and Brad Pitt.

www.nakednotions.com

It Happened One Night (1934)

fashion4ward — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:54:20 -0700

I've been wanting and waiting to see this multi-Oscar wining film for a very long time and the other night I finally got the chance. And I was not disappointed in the least. Considering the fact that the film opens with the headline "The Players" (I'm a sucker for old-fashioned gimmicks) and Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert are listed directly below, you know this film has to be a treat.

The film exudes a very light and airy atmoshpere; Gable's handsome and cunning newspaperman compliments Colbert's whimsical, runaway heiress perfectly. He is on a hunt for a big story, while she is trying to escape from her overbearing father. When the two meet, they strike a deal in which he'll get her to New York safely if he gets the rights to her story. But their relationship doesn't end there.

I'm not a big romantic comedy person, but as the first film to win 5 major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay) the one I feel it's most deserving of is Best Screenplay; the witty lines and oil-and-vinegar match of two lovers is beautifully constructed. And it's an overall delight to watch on any "One Night".

"The Dark Knight" is a horror flick

Shiloh Jolie Pitt — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 06:20:25 -0700

Yesterday we went to see this movie, and as usual we enjoyed the Imax Experience - as they call it themselves. The Dark Knight has been filmed in Imax format and the views were totally impressive.

The movie itself, I can only describe as VIOLENT. Almost every 5 minutes there was a violent scene. I spent most of the movie all clenched up and squeezing my hubby's hands. The violence was so distracting that I lost interest long before the movie ended.

Christopher Bale and Aaron Eckhart both looked hot, Michael Caine was as good as always, Maggie Gyllenhal should never make another Imax movie because nobody wants to see her face in such a huge size, it almost looked like she was melting... not pretty.

Heath Ledger deserves a special mention because on his role of the Joker, he could probably be one of the creepiest, freakiest villains ever. I hope that he'll receive an Oscar nomination, he totally earned it. He was a great actor and it was a terrible loss to see him die at such a young age.

I would say that if you enjoy this kind of movies, by all means, go see it. It was well made and the actors performed all very evenly and efficiently.
BUT if you are not too interested in seeing violence against all genders and species, wait for the DVD, or for a second run theater to show it. Paying full price is not worth it in my opinion. Paying Imax price, even less so.

The Dark Knight was inferior to Iron Man, still THE BEST super hero movie ever, imo.

Disappointing.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

pinkflats — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:29:50 -0700

So I feel weird blogging a review of "The Dark Knight" because of all the recent Christian Bale family drama that has sadly surfaced but today is the first time in a week that I'm inspired to write my little heart out so here it goes.

Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" picks up where 2005's "Batman Begins" left off but with a new villian. Out with the Scarecrow and in with The Joker. This time, however, the typical mobsters/bad guys are now scared of Batman. They do all their businesses in the morning, but of course the Joker wants to change that and bring a whole new meaning to the word "anarchy."

glitter-graphics.com

I admit I was a little "eh" with "Batman Begins," but I did end up liking it as I've watched it more through the years. I did, however, got super excited when I found out that Mags (and yes I call Maggie that because we're so close, lol) was replacing the bland Katie Holmes in "The Dark Knight." I thought that this would be the first time that millions of moviegoers will get to see her acting chops and radiating beauty, and I was not going to miss it.

But what I did not expect was me coming out of the movie theater and quickly becoming a huge fan of the other lead actors who were under my radar, in terms of their movies, such as Aaron Eckhart, Christian Bale, and Gary Oldman.

I mean my God, the cast was simply perfect, and I know there has a been a lot of talk about Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker, which he deserved, but Mr. Harvey Dent stole the movie (and my heart) for me.

Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent became more than he was in the comic books. Aaron gave Harvey more layers/dimensions, making him a very complex character. Harvey was so passionate of his morals and ideals that you do start to believe him and stop being cynical that an ethical man like him exists in a city like Gotham...but alas the twist in the end. I. WAS. NOT. EXPECTING. THAT. AT. ALL. (And to those who have seen it, you know what I'm talking about.) Bravo, Mr. Nolan and Mr. Eckhart. Bravo.

"Either you die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

Aaron really had the best lines in the movie.

Next, how hot was Christian Bale? Seriously this a question in dire need of an answer. lol.

Let me just take a moment and reflect the beauty that is Mr. Bale:

Yeah okay. Moving on.

Now to Mags. I've read and heard that she was bad in this movie or that if it was Rachel McAdams, who turned down the role, it would be more believable with Bruce/Batman and Harvey fighting for her.

Okay in comparison with Katie Holmes and any other actresses, my girl killed it alright. As for the lack of chemistry, I thought there was serious love triangle going on. I mean okay she is not the "oh so beautiful" in other people’s eyes but she radiated with intelligence and sensuality that obviously Bruce/Batman and Harvey wants in a woman. And Mags made Rachel Dawes look like she can survive and fight her way in a city like Gotham. Rachel Dawes is her own woman and Mags brought that in the table.

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Lastly this movie is just overall perfect and complete. It was great in editing, Nolan knew when to add music, when to take it out, cinematography, script and many more. Nolan brought human aspects to a franchise that started out as funny caricatures. For me, TDK is up there with Ben Singer's "X-Men 1 and 2" as far as legendary comic books getting the right movie treatment they deserve.

I just don't know what else to say beside that "The Dark Knight" is as brilliant as Fincher's "Zodiac" and Curon's "Children of Men." Funny thing here is when the award seasons came around these two movies were M.I.A. Let's hope that is not the case with Nolan's "The Dark Knight."

Oh and one more thing

...BAM!

I just had to do that, my dears. Lol.

Iron Man (2008)

Shiloh Jolie Pitt — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:00:19 -0700

Yahoo says:

"Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man."

I say: The BEST superhero movie ever!!!! A great, entertaining story, excellently directed, the whole cast was outstanding. And I can't even stand Fishsticks Paltrow but the genius of Robert Downey Jr. totally made her bearable. I am so happy to see that he is out of drugs because he is an awesome actor!
Terrence "Buttwipe" Howard and Jeff Bridges were perfect in their roles, funny, witty and credible. Playing along in perfect sync with Robert Downey Jr.'s sarcastic humour.

AND IF YOU DIDN'T SUCK IT UP AND LEFT BEFORE THE CREDITS STOPPED ROLLING, YOU MISSED ONE WHOLE SCENE THAT WAS THE CHERRY ON TOP OF THIS WONDERFULLY CRAFTED, DELICIOUS, MOVIE!

This movie ROCKS!!!

Jumper

rosabelle — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:37:51 -0700

Jumper was a movie that held my interest throughout the whole thing but also a movie that had no real purpose. I think the only reason it held my interest because of the non-stop action in it which keeps my interest any time of the day, so if you're an action lover than I say go for it and see it because you'll probably like it, but if you like movies with a little more moral than this is most definitely not the movie for you. Me, I try to give all movies a chance which is why I even considered seeing this movie in the first place. And the fact that Hayden Christiansen is a hottie! Oh yeah and Samuel L. Jackson is also in this movie playing the villain with really freakish white hair so that's also a reasonable reason to see this movie.

The Strangers

x_juicyfruit — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:20:58 -0700

After returning from a wedding reception, a couple staying in an isolated vacation house receive a knock on the door in the mid-hours of the night. What ensues is a violent invasion by three strangers, their faces hidden behind masks. The couple find themselves in a violent struggle, in which they go beyond what either of them thought capable in order to survive.

Every time I saw the previews I had to look away. Killers freak me out enough, but especially killers in masks. However, I decided to be brave and see the film.

I have to say that it was much better than I ever anticipated it being. In a sea full of remakes and overdone ideas, a good old slasher film was good to see. Especially if you're a horror film fanatic, like myself.

I thought the acting was good. I love Liv Tyler and her counter-part Scott Speedman, although a fairly new actor, did a good job, as well. One might think that showing fear is easy to make real, but it isn't quite.

I enjoyed that the ambiance was more bumps in the night rather than blood and guts, although there is some blood throughout the movie - not enough to make one gag.

Overall I give this a 4/5. I had a couple problems with it, but those are just little things that you can't really understand until you see the film.

Also, it's based on true events.

The Strangers (2008)

wren — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:17:58 -0700

My bf and I went to see this last night, and we were both on the edge of our seat the whole time. I don't often like scary movies of this sort, but was interested in this as it was based on true events. I'm giving it 4 stars out of five because I really liked it, but not totally loved it.

Fandango calls The Strangers a "terrifying suspense thriller", and that's what I found it to be. It's about a couple in a somewhat secluded house who become the target of 3 masked scary meanies. It goes through how the couple fight for their lives.

I'm now kinda scared to go to my family cabin later this summer.

Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?

The Bucket List

rosabelle — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:23:42 -0700

The Bucket List was a very funny yet serious movie. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson (is that how you spell his last name?) had good chemistry in this movie. Almost like a couple! The places they went and the things that they did (or almost did) certainly catches your attention in the movie. They went all out of America which was so cool. I recommend this movie to people of all ages.