We had just picked up Len's family home movies from the early 70's in East Orlando and had decided in advance that we would go to Cocoa Beach for the weekend since we were already half way there. We had located the movie theater where we would view The X-Files series new movie, I Want to Believe. We had movie times in hand and ready for a paranormal experience. When we get to the box office, we realize that the movie times were different from those published on-line, and we would have to wait 1 hour and ten minutes for our first choice movie for the weekend. Since we were eager to get to our final destination at the hotel, we chose a different movie, and MAMA MIA, was it good!
For years I had never given a second thought to the musical on Broadway of the same name. After all, who wants to go to a theater to see people sing songs from the 70's and 80's. Well, if the Broadway show is as good as the movie, then I have been missing out all of this time. MAMA MIA, the movie, is a beautifully crafted musical with the story of a bride to be, Sophie, (Amanda Seyfried) and her quest to find her father so he can walk her down the isle on her wedding day. This story is told, in part, with music from the Swedish group ABBA and the characters are portrayed by a wonderful cast. Merryl Streep is wonderful as Sophie's mother, who has struggled to make ends meet all of these years raising Sophie on her own, as the owner of a bed-and-breakfast type establishment in the hills of the Greek Isles. (Ms. Streep was also in a movie called Sophie's Choice, no relation to this one)
In an effort not to give the movie away I will just mention the rest of the notable cast but not their roles: Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and Christine Baranski.
The music from ABBA is so very well arranged and appropriately delivered to tell the story in music through out the film.
MAMA MIA, makes you laugh out loud, sing-along, dance in your seat, and cry, but it does so in a manner where you don't suffer too much of any one emotion for too long. Look for this movie to be a contender for Best Musical at Oscar time.
We loved MAMA MIA; here we go again, my, my how can we resist giving you anything less than...... 4-Stars
Monday, July 28, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
BATMAN, THE DARK KNIGHT
Well, what can be said about this summer's Mega Blockbuster Action-Crime-Drama-Mystery-Thriller-Fantasy Superhero Adventure Motion Picture? Excellent, comes to mind.
The Dark Knight is indeed all of what is has been hyped to be. It is a great movie. It is a suspenseful, action packed 2.5 hour movie that is beautifully acted by Christian Bale, as millionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman, Heath Ledger as the psychotic Joker, Michael Caine as Alfred the Butler,Gary Oldman as Lt James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox,who runs Wayne Enterprises.
Other notables are Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two Faced and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, Batman's romantic interest.
I (Len) will say that I had never been a fan of Heath Ledger, God bless his soul, but he was outstanding in this character. We don't disagree that his was an Oscar worthy performance.
Aaron Eckhart was unimpressive as Harvey Dent and Maggie Gyllenhaal is not pretty enough to be a Superhero's love interest but the rest of the cast was excellent in their roles. Eric Roberts (Julia's brother) also has a small part in this movie. The smaller the better where Eric is concerned, we say.
Violence abounds in this latest Batman epic as does treachery and double cross.
The cinematography is stunning as is the editing, costumes and screenplay.
We wish all movies were this good, but that is not going to happen.
Batman, The Dark Knight had a 200 million dollar budget. It has made all of its money back in the first week in wide release.
We give The Dark Knight a spectacular....................4.25-Stars
The Dark Knight is indeed all of what is has been hyped to be. It is a great movie. It is a suspenseful, action packed 2.5 hour movie that is beautifully acted by Christian Bale, as millionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman, Heath Ledger as the psychotic Joker, Michael Caine as Alfred the Butler,Gary Oldman as Lt James Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox,who runs Wayne Enterprises.
Other notables are Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent/Two Faced and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, Batman's romantic interest.
I (Len) will say that I had never been a fan of Heath Ledger, God bless his soul, but he was outstanding in this character. We don't disagree that his was an Oscar worthy performance.
Aaron Eckhart was unimpressive as Harvey Dent and Maggie Gyllenhaal is not pretty enough to be a Superhero's love interest but the rest of the cast was excellent in their roles. Eric Roberts (Julia's brother) also has a small part in this movie. The smaller the better where Eric is concerned, we say.
Violence abounds in this latest Batman epic as does treachery and double cross.
The cinematography is stunning as is the editing, costumes and screenplay.
We wish all movies were this good, but that is not going to happen.
Batman, The Dark Knight had a 200 million dollar budget. It has made all of its money back in the first week in wide release.
We give The Dark Knight a spectacular....................4.25-Stars
Monday, July 14, 2008
Journey to the Center of The Earth and others, July 12th-13th, 2008
Welcome to another installment of Our Two Cents Worth at the Movies.
This weekend we had Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser as a scientist, looking for his missing brother, who discovers an incredible and fantastic dangerous world deep in the center of the Earth.
While it doesn't score many points for originality since this movie has been made numerous times from the original book by Jules Vernes in 1864, this action-adventure, sci-fi-fantasy, probably packs the best special effects and graphics of any of its predecessors.
At 92 minutes it is barely feature film length. Hollywood is getting lazy charging more for less.
Remember when most movies were over two hours long and admission was a fraction of what it is today? Now we pay through the nose to see a 90 minute remake. Is creativity dead in America?
We love Jules Verne so we enjoyed seeing this latest adaptation. We give Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008..............................................3-Stars
ON DVD -
Mad Money - This comedy starring Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Christopher McDonald is entertaining and fun to watch.
The premise involves three female employees of the Federal Reserve Bank who decide to steal money scheduled to be destroyed. Diane Keaton was at her criminal best and Katie Holmes plays ditsy, very well.
If some light comedic entertainment is for you, then we recommend this movie to you.
We give Mad Money..................................................2.75-Stars
Lars and the Real Girl - Nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay written directly for the screen, this movie did not disappoint.
Ryan Gosling triumphs in this role as a delusional young man who finds love and friendship with a mail-order doll bought through the Internet.
But even more bizarre than that, is the townspeople willingness to go along with the acceptance of the doll as real in order to help this young man who they have known and loved since he was a kid.
The movie is funny, warm, poignant, interesting and entertaining.
We loved Lars and the Real Girl and we give it.............................................3.5-Stars.
Cleaner - This straight-to-DVD crime drama is actually very good.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris and Eva Mendes, this movie is well acted, suspenseful and easy to watch.
Jackson, a former police officer who now has his own business as a Cleaner of crime scenes and other bio hazards, is unknowingly involved in a cover-up.
It was interesting and fun to watch. We give Cleaner...........................................3-Stars.
Revolver - We must say that this was one of the toughest movie to watch in a long time. Not because of the gore and violence of which there is plenty, but because of the way the story is told; using the character's inner voice and flashbacks.
Not even Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, who wears very little clothing in this movie, and
Vincent Pastore can save the story telling. And much to our dismay this movie was written and directed by Guy Ritchie. (No wonder there are rumors of Madonna divorcing him; I would too if he makes movies like this.)
The movie could have been more interesting if the viewer were allowed to understand what is happening at any given time.
We give Revolver..........................................2.5-Stars.
This weekend we had Journey to the Center of the Earth starring Brendan Fraser as a scientist, looking for his missing brother, who discovers an incredible and fantastic dangerous world deep in the center of the Earth.
While it doesn't score many points for originality since this movie has been made numerous times from the original book by Jules Vernes in 1864, this action-adventure, sci-fi-fantasy, probably packs the best special effects and graphics of any of its predecessors.
At 92 minutes it is barely feature film length. Hollywood is getting lazy charging more for less.
Remember when most movies were over two hours long and admission was a fraction of what it is today? Now we pay through the nose to see a 90 minute remake. Is creativity dead in America?
We love Jules Verne so we enjoyed seeing this latest adaptation. We give Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008..............................................3-Stars
ON DVD -
Mad Money - This comedy starring Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes and Christopher McDonald is entertaining and fun to watch.
The premise involves three female employees of the Federal Reserve Bank who decide to steal money scheduled to be destroyed. Diane Keaton was at her criminal best and Katie Holmes plays ditsy, very well.
If some light comedic entertainment is for you, then we recommend this movie to you.
We give Mad Money..................................................2.75-Stars
Lars and the Real Girl - Nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay written directly for the screen, this movie did not disappoint.
Ryan Gosling triumphs in this role as a delusional young man who finds love and friendship with a mail-order doll bought through the Internet.
But even more bizarre than that, is the townspeople willingness to go along with the acceptance of the doll as real in order to help this young man who they have known and loved since he was a kid.
The movie is funny, warm, poignant, interesting and entertaining.
We loved Lars and the Real Girl and we give it.............................................3.5-Stars.
Cleaner - This straight-to-DVD crime drama is actually very good.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris and Eva Mendes, this movie is well acted, suspenseful and easy to watch.
Jackson, a former police officer who now has his own business as a Cleaner of crime scenes and other bio hazards, is unknowingly involved in a cover-up.
It was interesting and fun to watch. We give Cleaner...........................................3-Stars.
Revolver - We must say that this was one of the toughest movie to watch in a long time. Not because of the gore and violence of which there is plenty, but because of the way the story is told; using the character's inner voice and flashbacks.
Not even Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, who wears very little clothing in this movie, and
Vincent Pastore can save the story telling. And much to our dismay this movie was written and directed by Guy Ritchie. (No wonder there are rumors of Madonna divorcing him; I would too if he makes movies like this.)
The movie could have been more interesting if the viewer were allowed to understand what is happening at any given time.
We give Revolver..........................................2.5-Stars.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Movies Reviewed Over 4th of July Weekend
We traveled to South Florida for the 4th of July weekend to spend it with my family and these are the movies we shared:
At The Movies:
Hancock: This much anticipated action/adventure movie starring Will Smith, the king of the 4th of July weekend blockbusters, falls way short of being a satisfying film under any circumstance. Even Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron could not save this mediocre movie.
Hancock tries to reinvent the superhero movie, but it looses interest in its own story.
Even the special effects seemed like an afterthought and contrived.
Interesting premise but poor execution. It almost feels like the movie was not complete. Like they forgot to show a reel halfway through the movie.
Don't let the box-office numbers mislead you. If you want to see a superhero movie, see Iron Man and the Hulk. This is by far the most disappointing Will Smith outing in his successful movie career. I sure hope there is no sequel planned.
The best part about the movie was that we took my sister to see it with us and she liked it.(Or was polite enough to say she did)
Hancock gets a not very Super........................................................2.5-Stars
On DVD:
Flawless - Demi Moore and Michael Caine star in this 1960's crime drama set in London, about a retiring janitor bitter at the circumstances surrounding his wife's death, and an American woman executive under appreciated in the London Diamond Corporation. Together they plan to steal a handful of diamonds, but then the plan changes.
It was well done; slow at times, but interesting and entertaining nevertheless.
Flawless carves out...............................2.5-Stars
Vantage Point - This Dramatic thriller is very interesting in its story telling.
The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives. Starring, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and Matthew Fox. The movie is suspenseful, well acted and entertaining.
We give Vantage Point .................................................................3.0-Stars
Astronaut Farmer - A former NASA astronaut forced to early retirement so he could save the family farm, never gives up his goal of space travel, and builds his own rocket against all odds.
Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen, this movie while slow at times, is entertaining and engaging.
We give Astronaut Farmer a solid......................................................................2.75-Stars
Bone Dry - Luke Goss and Lance Henriksen star in this psychological thriller about a man (Eddie) being chased at gun point through an unforgiving Mojave desert by an unknown and mostly unseen assailant(Jimmy). The movie is compelling and engrossing. If you don't like theatrical violence, this movie is not for you.
Bone Dry comes up with.......................................................................................3.0-Stars
Reservation Road - Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connelly, this movie is about one man's battle with revenge and justice and another man's battle with guilt and remorse, after the accidental death of a ten year old boy. The movie is moving and heartfelt; overall very well done.
We give Reservation Road.......................................................................................3.25-Stars
Thank you once again for visiting our little piece of cyberspace.
We hope you join us again next week as we bring you Our Two-Cents-Worth at the Movies.
At The Movies:
Hancock: This much anticipated action/adventure movie starring Will Smith, the king of the 4th of July weekend blockbusters, falls way short of being a satisfying film under any circumstance. Even Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron could not save this mediocre movie.
Hancock tries to reinvent the superhero movie, but it looses interest in its own story.
Even the special effects seemed like an afterthought and contrived.
Interesting premise but poor execution. It almost feels like the movie was not complete. Like they forgot to show a reel halfway through the movie.
Don't let the box-office numbers mislead you. If you want to see a superhero movie, see Iron Man and the Hulk. This is by far the most disappointing Will Smith outing in his successful movie career. I sure hope there is no sequel planned.
The best part about the movie was that we took my sister to see it with us and she liked it.(Or was polite enough to say she did)
Hancock gets a not very Super........................................................2.5-Stars
On DVD:
Flawless - Demi Moore and Michael Caine star in this 1960's crime drama set in London, about a retiring janitor bitter at the circumstances surrounding his wife's death, and an American woman executive under appreciated in the London Diamond Corporation. Together they plan to steal a handful of diamonds, but then the plan changes.
It was well done; slow at times, but interesting and entertaining nevertheless.
Flawless carves out...............................2.5-Stars
Vantage Point - This Dramatic thriller is very interesting in its story telling.
The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives. Starring, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and Matthew Fox. The movie is suspenseful, well acted and entertaining.
We give Vantage Point .................................................................3.0-Stars
Astronaut Farmer - A former NASA astronaut forced to early retirement so he could save the family farm, never gives up his goal of space travel, and builds his own rocket against all odds.
Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Virginia Madsen, this movie while slow at times, is entertaining and engaging.
We give Astronaut Farmer a solid......................................................................2.75-Stars
Bone Dry - Luke Goss and Lance Henriksen star in this psychological thriller about a man (Eddie) being chased at gun point through an unforgiving Mojave desert by an unknown and mostly unseen assailant(Jimmy). The movie is compelling and engrossing. If you don't like theatrical violence, this movie is not for you.
Bone Dry comes up with.......................................................................................3.0-Stars
Reservation Road - Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Connelly, this movie is about one man's battle with revenge and justice and another man's battle with guilt and remorse, after the accidental death of a ten year old boy. The movie is moving and heartfelt; overall very well done.
We give Reservation Road.......................................................................................3.25-Stars
Thank you once again for visiting our little piece of cyberspace.
We hope you join us again next week as we bring you Our Two-Cents-Worth at the Movies.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Last of the June Releases both start with a W. 6-28-08
This weekend at the movies did not disappoint. There were two solid movies grossing over $110 million combined. Both were excellent in their own genre. Here is Our 2-Cents Worth:
Wanted - This action thriller starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angeline Jolie was a non-stop-edge-of-your-seat drama. The premise of the movie involves the conversion of an everyday neurotic account manager into an enforcer of perceived justice: an assassin.
The movie is very well done and it is not predictable in any way. We want Wanted to get......................3.5-Stars
Wall-E - This cartoon adventure set in the distant future involves a waste collecting robot (WALL-E) who has resigned himself to a lonely life on an abandoned planet earth. But one day a probe robot is sent to investigate the planet (EVE) for new life. This precipitates a space journey that will decide the future of humanity.
But the secondary premise of this movie is what wins your heart and that is that even robots can desire and fall in love. The animation was spectacular, but we have come to expect that from Pixar Films.
The voices are by relative unknowns with the exception of the ships computer, done by Sigourney Weaver and one of the ship's crew, John, voiced by John Ratzenberger.
WALL-E is an EntErtaining, hEart warming animatEd film and wE think it dEsErvEs............................................................................. 3.75-Stars
On Video (They both start with T)
27 Dresses - Catherine Heigl stars in this romantic comedy about a young woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. The road to her 28th bridesmaid experience is for her own sister's wedding. This is full of comedic resentment. When will it be her turn? Tune in to see.
We give 27 Dresses - 2.5-Stars.
10,000 BC - This prehistoric epic highlight's the life of a young mammoth hunter in his quest for answers about his father and the future of his tribe. But what he really wants is his childhood sweetheart and will go to extremes to get her.
With a cast of relative unknowns, the movie is interesting and worth watching.
We give 10,000 BC.............................................2.75-Stars.
Thanks again for checking us out. Please come back next week as we bring you Our 2-Cents Worth at the Movies on Hancock.
Wanted - This action thriller starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angeline Jolie was a non-stop-edge-of-your-seat drama. The premise of the movie involves the conversion of an everyday neurotic account manager into an enforcer of perceived justice: an assassin.
The movie is very well done and it is not predictable in any way. We want Wanted to get......................3.5-Stars
Wall-E - This cartoon adventure set in the distant future involves a waste collecting robot (WALL-E) who has resigned himself to a lonely life on an abandoned planet earth. But one day a probe robot is sent to investigate the planet (EVE) for new life. This precipitates a space journey that will decide the future of humanity.
But the secondary premise of this movie is what wins your heart and that is that even robots can desire and fall in love. The animation was spectacular, but we have come to expect that from Pixar Films.
The voices are by relative unknowns with the exception of the ships computer, done by Sigourney Weaver and one of the ship's crew, John, voiced by John Ratzenberger.
WALL-E is an EntErtaining, hEart warming animatEd film and wE think it dEsErvEs............................................................................. 3.75-Stars
On Video (They both start with T)
27 Dresses - Catherine Heigl stars in this romantic comedy about a young woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times. The road to her 28th bridesmaid experience is for her own sister's wedding. This is full of comedic resentment. When will it be her turn? Tune in to see.
We give 27 Dresses - 2.5-Stars.
10,000 BC - This prehistoric epic highlight's the life of a young mammoth hunter in his quest for answers about his father and the future of his tribe. But what he really wants is his childhood sweetheart and will go to extremes to get her.
With a cast of relative unknowns, the movie is interesting and worth watching.
We give 10,000 BC.............................................2.75-Stars.
Thanks again for checking us out. Please come back next week as we bring you Our 2-Cents Worth at the Movies on Hancock.
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