Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Lost in Translation movie review

June 29, 2010 - #33/100
Lost in Translation (2003)

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an American film actor. He visits Tokyo to film a few commercials. It's easy to tell that Bob is far past his prime, and he is dealing with a mediocre marriage. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young woman who has recently married a traveling photographer, is just trying to find her place in the world. Her husband is too busy working, leaving her to be bored by herself each day. One night, Charlotte meets Bob at the bar in the hotel. Throughout the movie, the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens. Charlotte needs hilarity in her life, and Bob is able to provide that. Bob just needs someone to talk to, and Charlotte is able to provide that. Together, they are able to release the feeling of mediocre lives. But, towards the end of the movie, both of them begin to realize that their adventures in Tokyo will soon be over, and they will both have to return to their mediocre lives. Nothing monumental ever seemed to happen in the movie, but it somehow managed to keep my attention. The acting is practically flawless, and the entire movie is subtle and down-to-earth. If you like to watch movies that are different than the cliche box office hits, then this just might be a movie that you should consider watching.

I gave this movie 8/10 stars on imdb.com.

James and the Giant Peach movie review

June 27, 2010 - #32/100
James and the Giant Peach (1996)

From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline comes James and the Giant Peach. When I was younger, I remember seeing bits and pieces of this movie, but I vaguely even remembered what happened. Anyway, an orphan named James lives with his two aunts. He is basically a slave for them, doing whatever they demand. A mysterious man shows up and gives James magic boiled crocodile tongues, which will grant any wish or desire. But, James trips and spills them everywhere. One of them ends up touching a peach, and the peach drastically grows. Venturing inside the peach, James meets a spider, a ladybug, a centipede, a grasshopper, and an earthworm. He then goes on an adventure, hoping to reach New York City. Part of the movie is in live action while the other part of the movie is in stop-motion animation. Growing up, I never read the book. So, I can't honestly say whether or not the movie closely follows the book. Overall, it was a good children’s movie. I think that I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had watched it at a younger age. The thing that probably bothered me the most is that the little kid who played James couldn’t sing well at all, and he had several singing parts throughout the movie. But, he was a pretty good actor. Personally, I enjoyed Henry Selick’s the Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline more than James and the Giant Peach.

I gave this movie 6/10 stars on imdb.com.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Toy Story 3 movie review

June 22, 2010 - #31/100
Toy Story 3 (2010)

Andy is all grown up, and is ready to depart for college. After much deliberation, Andy puts Woody (Tom Hanks) in his box labeled 'college,' and puts Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of the gang in a bag that is meant to be put in the attic. However, the bag is mistaken as trash. The toys manage to barely escape that disaster, and crawl into the car and get in a box that will be delivered to a daycare. Not wanting to be separated, Woody gets in the daycare box, as well. But, daycare isn't what they expected at all. They are put in a room where the children basically demolish every toy that they can get their little hands on. Therefore, it's time for Woody and his gang to bust out of the daycare, and find their way back to Andy. Wow. Before viewing this movie, I didn't think that it would be possible for Toy Story 3 to be better than 1 or 2, but I was seriously mistaken. This was, by far, my favorite out of the trilogy. Disney Pixar always manages to keep audiences of all ages entertained by having enough comedy, action, and drama in each of their movies. If you are a fan of animated movies, then this would be a must see. I'm already anticipating the next time that I will be able to view this movie again.

I gave this movie 10/10 stars on imdb.com.

Forget Paris movie review

June 21, 2010 - #30/100
Forget Paris (1995)

Mickey Gordon (Billy Crystal) is a professional basketball referee. In the beginning of the movie, Mickey's father dies. It is easy to tell from the beginning of the movie that Mickey never got along well with his father. But, he wanted to grant his father's last wish, which was to be buried in France. Therefore, Mickey heads to France to bury his father. Upon arriving to France, Mickey learns that the body was accidentally sent to the wrong airport. In comes Ellen Andrews (Debra Winger), who is an American living in Paris who works for the airline. She helps Mickey through the entire ordeal, and they get to know each other better. The rest of the story between Mickey and Ellen is told in flashback by their friends at a restaurant while they are waiting for them to arrive. For the most part, the entire movie is about the hardships of marriage, and ways to overcome those hardships. For example, Ellen moves back to the US to be with Mickey, but she's not happy. Random issues like this arise throughout the movie. It's hard to say whether this movie is a romantic comedy or a drama. So, I sometimes had a difficult time deciding whether I should laugh, or if it was supposed to be a serious moment. Overall, it wasn't a bad movie, and I'd probably watch it again. The acting wasn't bad. But, I think if I wanted to see a romantic movie from around this same era, then I'd just stick with When Harry Met Sally.

I gave this movie 6/10 stars on imdb.com.

America's Sweethearts movie review

June 20, 2010 - #29/100
America's Sweethearts (2001)

Gwen Harrison (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie Thomas (John Cusack) are both movie stars who are currently trying it apart for a bit. Little does Eddie know, Gwen plans on filing for a divorce to end the marriage entirely. But, before their marriage fell apart, they were an amazing couple on-screen and off. Therefore, they must get back together and promote a movie that they had made while they were still in love. At the premier weekend for the press, the print of the film is taking a while to show up. So, a publicist named Lee Phillips (Billy Crystal) shows up and tries to divert the attention of the press towards Gwen and Eddie, making it seem as if their marriage is still perfectly fine. So, to the press, Gwen and Eddie still seem to be getting along with each other. But, Gwen actually has another man in her life named Hector while Eddie is finally realizing his attraction towards Gwen's sister named Kiki (Julia Roberts). Overall, I enjoyed this movie. But, I really like John Cusack and Julia Roberts, so that probably had an effect on my decision. For the most part, the movie was predictable. Near the very beginning of the movie, it was easy to tell that Eddie had an attraction towards Kiki, and would probably end up with her. Even though the plot was predictable, it still managed to keep me immersed and entertained. It's not the greatest romantic comedy, but I still enjoyed it.

I gave this movie 7/10 stars on imdb.com.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Shrek Forever After movie review

June 12, 2010 - #28/100
Shrek Forever After (2010)

In the beginning of this movie, Shrek (Mike Myers) seems to be living a mundane life at his swamp with his wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and their three children. At a birthday party for the children, Shrek seems to finally crack. He has had enough. In comes Rumpelstiltskin. He makes a deal with Shrek, giving him an entire day to himself. Of course, Rumpelstiltskin cheats Shrek, and messes up everything by making it as if Shrek had never existed. The only way to break the spell is for Shrek to kiss his one true love, which is Fiona. Also, he only has twenty-four hours before he disappears forever. So, he has a very limited amount of time to try to convince Fiona that she loves him. The thing that probably bothers me the most about the last two Shrek movies is that it seems that they aren't as adult friendly as they used to be. For example, the first Shrek movie contained funny jokes that only adults were supposed to be able to understand. Therefore, it managed to keep children entertained, as well as adults. The last two Shrek movies seem to be lacking this factor. Puss in Boots and Donkey still managed to make me laugh, as usual. But, other than that, I didn't really laugh out loud that much. So, overall, Shrek Forever After was an entertaining movie, but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations.

I gave this movie 6/10 stars on imdb.com.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Killers movie review

June 11, 2010 - #27/100
Killers (2010)

Jen (Katherine Heigl) goes on vacation with her parents since her boyfriend has recently dumped her. Upon arriving to the location, she meets Spencer (Ashton Kutcher). Instantly, there is an attraction. Throughout the vacation, they hang out in order to get to know each other better. But, Spencer leaves out one huge detail about his life; he is a government-hired super-assassin. But, he decides to give up that risky life after meeting Jen, and tells his boss that he no longer wants to work for him anymore. Three years later, Jen and Spencer are married, living in a neighborhood, and both have normal jobs. But, Spencer's past comes back to haunt him when someone hires people to kill him. Therefore, even their neighbors are turning against Spencer in hopes of making a large sum of money if they are able to kill him. I just couldn't take Ashton Kutcher's role seriously. In pretty much everything I've seen him in, it's a romantic comedy. It was hard for me to think of him as some awesome guy who could kill bad guys. So, most of the acting in this movie wasn't that fantastic. The storyline was insanely horrible, and most of it didn't even really make sense. I think it's safe to say that I'll never be watching this movie ever again.

I gave this movie 3/10 stars on imdb.com.

The Jane Austen Book Club movie review

June 10, 2010 - #26/100
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Near the beginning of the movie, Sylvia's husband dumps her for another woman. So, Sylvia's two friends Bernadette and Jocelyn decide to organize a book club in hopes of keeping her mind occupied on other things. Bernadette manages to convince Sylvia's daughter Allegra to join the club, as well as a random woman named Prudie (Emily Blunt), who happens to be a young teacher. Jocelyn runs into a man named Grigg (Hugh Dancy), and he decides to join the book club, as well. It isn't until later on that we figure out that Grigg mostly joined in hopes of getting to know Jocelyn better. So, there are five women and one man, making six total. There are six Jane Austen novels. Therefore, the club decides to to read one novel each month, meet up, and discuss what they have read. Along with reading the novels, the viewer realizes complications amongst each person's life. For example, Prudie is thinking about cheating on her husband with one of her students, Jocelyn is oblivious to Grigg's attraction and instead focuses on trying to get Grigg and Sylvia to date, and Allegra is constantly having relationship issues. Can any of Jane Austen's wisdom from any of her six novels provide insightful advice to these five women and one man? If you aren't an avid fan of Jane Austen, then this movie can be very confusing to you. I, however, am and avid fan. Overall, I thought that the movie was pretty good. I especially enjoyed it near the end when they managed to use Austen's novel Persuasion and apply it to their real life situations. It shows that Austen's novels do actually provide insightful advice to its readers. The only thing that I didn't care for very much in this movie was Sylvia's daughter, Allegra. Her character got on my nerves. Other than that, I enjoyed watching this movie.

I gave this movie 8/10 stars on imdb.com.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Junebug movie review

June 6, 2010 - #25/100
Junebug (2005)

Madeline, from Chicago, is an art gallery owner. Her husband George was originally from North Carolina. An opportunity arises in North Carolina where Madeline could potentially close a deal with a reclusive artist. Therefore, since they will already be in the area, George decides to introduce his wife to his family. Each of the family members all contain different personalities. The two personalities that stuck out the most would be Johnny, George's brother, and Ashley (Amy Adams), Johnny's pregnant wife. Johnny was a cranky person while Ashley was the exact opposite. She was thrilled whenever Madeline arrived, and her up-beat personality lasted throughout most of the movie. Personally, I thought that Amy Adams was perfect for the role of Ashley. Amy always seems to have a bubbly personality. I thought that this movie was pretty good. Amy wasn't the only person who shined in this movie. I actually thought that all of the acting was pretty good. It was different from any other movie that I've ever seen, but sometimes I felt like the movie dragged in a few places. Even though it could have dragged a bit, it still managed to keep my attention. I've always been a fan of movies that are slightly odd and random. It may not be the greatest movie ever, and it may be completely random at times, but at least it's not cliche.

I gave this movie 7/10 stars on imdb.com.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Six Days Seven Nights movie review

June 4, 2010 - #24/100
Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

Robin Monroe (Anne Heche) and Frank Martin (David Schwimmer) go on vacation in hopes of a romantic getaway. Upon arriving at the airport, they are forced to travel in a small plane flown by Quinn Harris (Harrison Ford), accompanied by Quinn's love interest. While relaxing on their vacation, Robin has to travel somewhere nearby for work. Therefore, she finds Quinn and asks if he would be willing to take her. While taking the trip, they end up flying into a storm and crashing on a nearby island. Robin and Quinn hate each other, so they obviously bicker non-stop back and forth. While they are experiencing all kinds of turmoil, Frank and Quinn's love interest are spending more time together while trying to find Robin and Quinn. This movie didn't really keep my attention that well. I actually fell asleep the first time I was watching it and had to re-watch it the next day. The acting was decent. David Schwimmer's acting / character got on my nerves. Eh, I probably wouldn't watch this movie again.

I gave this movie 4/10 stars on imdb.com.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

A Walk To Remember movie review

June 2, 2010 - #23/100
A Walk To Remember (2002)

Landon Carter (Shane West) is your typical popular guy that does something bad in the beginning of the movie. His bad actions end up forcing him to participate in after-school community service. Jamie Sullivan (Mandy Moore) is far from popular. Landon's crew generally likes to make fun of Jamie as she walks by. While completing his community service work, Landon gets to know Jamie pretty well. Of course, they end up falling in love. But, Jamie has a secret that she had been keeping from Landon, which is the fact that she has cancer. The cancer had become non-responsive to treatments, meaning that Jamie would soon die from her illness. Generally, I enjoy romantic movies, but I just thought that this one was okay. Most of it seemed a bit cheesy, at times. I also thought that Landon's character transformed too fast from being a bad guy to being a sweet, loving guy. It just didn't seem like something that would happen so quickly in real life. Overall, the acting wasn't bad, and it did manage to keep my attention, but I'm not sure as to whether or not I'd ever watch it again.

I gave this movie 6/10 stars on imdb.com.