All Good Things

Excellent movie. Kirsten and Ryan both did a fantastic job in this true story.

Go see it!

How Do You Know

... when you've seen a good movie? We'll this was not it. I love rom-com's but this one had no romance and no comedy either. It did have bad writing however. I do like Reese a lot but this was not the vehicle for her.

Skip it.

The Fighter

Very good movie. I think Christian Bale will get a nod for a supporting actor.

Go see it. You'll enjoy it.

Inspector Bellamy

Forget it. That's all I can say. This movie has twice the amount of dialogue as a similar length movie and in some cases, the dialogue did not make any sense.

Six Days in Paradise

And 90 minutes of torture. This is a third rate movie with a third rate cast. The only good thing about this movie were the numerous teriffic surfing scenes at the North Shore.

Frankie & Alice

This new Halle Berry really shows her talents. Halle really gets into the character and you believe she has become the person in the film. Basically this film is about a women who has multiple personalties and the doctor who helps her sort it out. It is set around the early-mid 60's or so in Los Angeles. This is a must see film and is only out for one week now for Oscar. It will probably be widely released next year. Almost certainly Halle will get an Oscar nod here!

Black Swan

This was an interesting movie. For a ballet movie, it had a lot of blood and special effects. Portman was really great in this and I'm sure there is an Oscar somewhere for her. It's basially about a girl, Portman, who really struggles to be perfect in her craft and thinks her teacher does not appreciate her. The music is great and the ballet sequences were wonderful too.

Go see it.

The Tourist

The Tourist used to be called the Accidental Tourist when the trailers first came out. I really enjoyed the movie. Angelina and Depp were very good. In a departure from Angelina's previous action movies, she never picks up a gun and only a few people die in this movie. Without giving away the story, it is basically a kind of spy movie. If you are looking for an action picture, not a lot of action but a fair amount. If you are looking for an adventure picture, not much there either as it is set in Venice and stays there. If you are looking for a romance picture, not a lot there either. They don't seem to have much chemistry. Depp surely does not look like the type that Angelina would pick based on her dress and actions in the movie.

Go see. You'll enjoy it as I did.

Reviews

Please excuse me if I don't get to all the films. This is a lot of work. Since I started writing this blog, I've seen about 20 other films that I have not reviewed yet and may never get to.

Movie - Shutter Island

This was an interesting film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He play a US Marshall who goes with his partner Mark Ruffalo to an island where the criminally insane are kept to investigate a disappearance. Apparently, there is more going on than meets the eye. I was engrossed in the movie but I don't think it is his best work. It's not really a scary movie, but sort of a mystery movie. It's a good movie to see, but not really a date type movie.

I did notice one error. It is set in 1952, I believe, and Leonardo mentioned in one scene that there were no electronics in the room at the prison. Electronics only came about when transistors were invented and became in widespread use. I believe that was in the early 60's. Right after he said it, it sounded as if he realized it, but they keep that in and did not correct it. I think the word he was looking for was electrics.

My rating is 3 out of 5 stars.

Movie - The Good Guy

What a fun and teriffic movie. This new movie, starring Alexis Bledel, was fantastic. Basically, Alexis is a New Yorker trying to find a relationship and is with one guy when another comes along. It is funny and had me laughing out loud many times. A feel good movie and it makes you want to root for the underdog, played terifficly by Bryan Greenberg. It is only playing in limited release right now, so better catch it while you can.

P.S. My daughter Katie knows Alexis.

My rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Movie - Valentine's Day

Tomorrow is Valentines Day and that date is usually reserved as a "date" day but this is not a "date" movie. It is however, a chick flick. While I usually like most chick flicks, this one left something to be desired.

It has a big cast and is basically about 10 separate story lines about love, romance, breakup, etc. Some of them are interconnected in one way or another. Ashton, being a florist, has a major role in the movie. This movie does not leave you with any tears nor anything to feel good about. Overall, it's kind of boring.

The first half of this more than 2 hour, overly long movie, was boring. The second half gets better and there are several really funny scenes, especially with the two Taylor's. And, don't forget to stay to the end because there are some really funny outtakes and bloopers during the ending credits.

I'll give it 2.5 stars. It's worth seeing but nothing major.

Movie - Sherlock Holmes

This is a poor adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes business. The filming was done with slow-motion and other effects which just made it crazy to watch. If you are a 10 year old boy you may like it. Otherwise see something else.

We could not really see any cohesive story line. It was basically just a bunch of random scenes spliced together and called a movie!

Rating - 0 out of 5 stars. P.S. We walked out about 3/4 the way through and could not take it anymore.

Movie - Book of Eli

Denzel Washington is perfectly cast in his role of a survivor after a war causes tremendous devastation. Mila Kunis also starred and did a good job too.

Basically, most books in the world were burned but a few survived. Denzel happened to have one and reads it while following a journey that he believes the book is telling him to do.

The barren landscape and grey colors of everything are a bit depressing. Everybody seems to think after some war that everything will be grays and brown. That is not the case and I hope some filmmaker will be brave enough to see the truth.

Go see it. It's a good film.

Rating 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Movie - Extraordinary Measures

We went to the premier of this earlier this week. It opens on 1/22. It is an interesting and heartfelt movie. This is the first film for CBS Films. The basic premise is that Brenden's 2 kids have an incurable disease and that they won't live past the age of 9. Brenden is doing his research on-line trying to find a cure.

I thought that Brendan was miscast. I could not picture him as a caring father looking to help his 2 kids. I just didn't see the passion that was needed. Maybe you can see that but I could not. Harrison Ford was excellent in his role of a rather excentric scientist who works with Brenden to find a solution.

The other problem is typically a movie like this is better suited for a TV movie or a cable movie. Over all it was a good movie and I enjoyed it.

Rating - 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Movie - Leap Year

What a terrific movie! Amy Adams and Matthew Goode had such chemistry and I loved their playful interaction!

The basic premise is that Amy wants to get married and is under the idea that she can go to Ireland where her boyfriend is at a conference and propose on Feb 29, leap year. Due to plane trouble, the plane lands a ways from Dublin and she hires a driver, Matthew Goode, to drive her to Dublin. Their adventures, flirting and fighting are what make this a must see movie.

The scenery, the Irish music, dancing and accents make for good viewing.

Amy did an excellent job and I think this is her best performance ever. While not Oscar calibre, it is a very enjoyable and fun movie.

We did notice one error during the movie and studios are supposed to have a continuity person on staff to review this. When she gets to the train station and has 3 hours to kill, apparently she checked her luggage, but the next scene has her without her purse. What women goes out without her purse, especially since her character is all dolled up with high heels and a dress all the time? Somebody should have caught that!

I'll give Leap Year 4.5 out of 5 stars. Great job!

Movie - Youth in Revolt

It should have been subtitled, "Or Until The Audience Revolts". While I like many teen comedies, this one doesn't do it. I sat next to 3 boys, who appeared to be about 15-16. As I recall, they only laughed once. That about sums it up. This movie is one where the trailer contains all of the best scenes and if you have seen the trailer, there is no reason to spend your hard earned money to see the other 90 minutes of filler junk.

The basic premise is Micheal Cera plays a young man living with his mother and his mother's loser boyfriend. The loser boyfriend gets killed not to far into the movie and it is no big loss. He goes on vacation with them and finds his dream girl. She flirts with him but as with almost all teen movies, she as a jock boyfriend. Anyway, Micheal flirts back and creates this alter-ego bad boy persona. Bad news! Micheal plays dual rolls with both the good boy and the bad boy. Without this alter-ego, the story would have been just as good, if not better. It just messed up the entire movie.

I'm a fan of Micheal Cera and he did do an adequate job here but there was not much of a story to work with. I hope he chooses better rolls in the future.

This movie is aimed at the 15-16 year old audience, but as proven at this showing, even they didn't think it was very funny.

I'll give it 1 out of 5 stars. Straight to DVD would have been better.

TV - The Good Wife

This TV show with Julianna Margulies is probably one of the best shows ever made. It has suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. In a lot of ways, this is like a Tom Clancy movie rolled into a 1 hour TV drama.

Julianna plays the wife of a convicted politician who goes back into law after leaving it to raise her family. They have riveting cases and the cast of characters is terrific. I hope they keep it straight and not come up with some wildly crazy and unrealistic scenarios, like some other shows did in recent times.

You've got to see it!

Movie - The Lovely Bones

Excellent Movie! Ronan was wonderful in her portrayal of a young girl who was murdered. Mark Walburg was terrific and this is probably his best performance ever as a franic father searching for his daughter and her murderer.

This is the story of a young girl who disappears and the search to find her. It is narrated by Ronan throughout the film. Peter Jackson directed and also did an excellent job. The special effects were just the right amount and not too overwhelming. It is suspenseful and has you on the edge of your seat. It is not widely out at the moment but will be out at more locations soon.

I give it 5 stars!

Movie - Crazy Heart

While I generally don't like movies about losers, this was a great movie. Jeff and Maggie did a great job. It's basically a movie about an aging singer trying to get back on his feet.

It has some great scenes and location shots too.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

Delay

Sorry for the delay in new posts. I was in the hospital for the first time in my life. What an experience. Anyway, I am fine and will resume posting.