Posted by barb on Jan 16, 2005 in
Movies 3/5 stars
I found that I was distracted because I had read the first two books. I kept trying to find the elements of the books in the movie, and most of them were certainly there, but a bit mixed up. A binding thread had been added to the movie that was not present in the books, which was absolutely necesary, and it worked fairly well.
Overall, a great performance by all the actors, great art direction, and a fun, if easily forgetable, distraction for a matinee showing.
I was distracted becasue I had read the first two books. There was a lot taken away from the books, of course, but also a binding thread was added to make the movie more cohesive. It worked, and it was necessary
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on Jan 15, 2005 in
Movies 2/5 stars
Two years after his girlfriend disappeared from his life, Matthew (Josh Hartnett) hears her voice at a restaurant, but can’t catch up to her in time. He is supposed to be on his way to China to close a large deal for the business of his new girlfriend’s brother’s business and he’s ready to propose to this new girlfriend. However, he can’t pass up the chance to find his ex-girlfriend, who he’s still in love with.
I was expecting more from this movie. The trailers made it out to be more sinister or more mysterious or more something than it turned out to be. I found that I was often confused (and not in a good way).
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on Jan 15, 2005 in
Movies 3/5 stars
This was a cute movie — Jennifer Garner plays a 13 year-old who makes a wish to be thirty, flirty, and thriving. A fun distraction for a couple hours.
Tags: reviews
Posted by barb on Jan 2, 2005 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
This is another biopic, which seems the genre to be this past year. The film follows the young Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) before he becomes a complete recluse. We see the beginnings of mental instability (schizophrenia?), but at the focus is the innovations and spirit of the young Hughes.
DiCaprio has come over from heart-throb-annoying actor to someone that I can watch and be sucked into the dilusion. There was a time when I shunned any movie he was in (after Titanic) just because he was in it. I might be turning around to seeing almost anything he’s in now. Brad Pitt never made that transition for me.
The film does drag just a bit in the middle, but not for too long. There are a lot of cameos by actors that I know — Edward Herrmann (from Gilmore Girls on the censorship board, Brent Spiner (from Star Trek Next Generation) as an airplane designer, and Jude Law as Errol Flynn. A fun distraction for an afternoon.
Posted by barb on Dec 26, 2004 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
This documentary digs into the lives of five cinephiliacs — people obsessed with movies. The people in this group average at least two movies per day (probably more for the ones that don’t have regular jobs). They schedule their films meticulously, factoring in subway times, etc., to maximize the number of films they can see in one day. These are not films at multiplexes, for the most part — these are the older films that film societies and restored movie-houses show, though the occasional trip to a multiplex is not out of the question.
This was not nearly as depressing as American Movie, though I came out wondering what kind of life these people have. I suppose that if this is something that gives them joy, that’s their business, but on the other hand, it seems that they are missing out on so much more in life (like girlfriends/boyfriends, for one thing).
Posted by barb on Dec 26, 2004 in
Movies 3.5/5 stars
Something like Hitchcock-light. Not quite so shocking/gripping/Hitchcockian as other of his films, but good just the same.
The basic story is that two strangers meet on a train, Bruno has a problem with his father, Guy has a problem with his wife who won’t give him a divorce. Bruno proposes that they could trade murders, then neither murderer would have a motive, thus making it hard to solve. Guy half-heartedly agrees, more to get rid of Bruno than because he takes him seriously. A short while later, Guy’s wife has been murdered, and Bruno starts to push him to take care of his father.
One of my problems with the film was not Hitchcock’s fault. I kept picturing Danny Devito in Throw Mamma from the Train saying “criss cross”. Sigh. Never see a comedic re-make before you see the original.
Posted by barb on Dec 18, 2004 in
Movies 2.5/5 stars
It’s a good diversion for a Saturday morning, but not much more than that. Bridget Jones continues her neurotic persuit of happiness, this time off the single’s market and in a relationship. That doesn’t make things much easier, mostly due to Bridget’s paranoia. Not bad, not great.
Posted by barb on Dec 14, 2004 in
Movies 2.5/5 stars
Standard end-of-the-world, let’s-ignore-real-science, and how-about-we-create-some-completely-unbelievable-scenarios kind of movie. Not bad, as long as you’re looking for special effects and not looking for a great story. One plus: the NASA scientist was a woman — this is the first movie I can remember where a NASA person was a woman.
Posted by barb on Dec 6, 2004 in
Movies 3/5 stars
Okay, so I’m a sucker for cute romantic comedies. Despite the Christmas back-drop, that’s what this is. The latest Santa Claus discovers that he needs to be married by Christmas in order to continue being Santa. If he has not found a Mrs. Claus, bad things will happen to Christmas.
I liked it. There I said it. Scoff if you want, but I thought it was cute.
Posted by barb on Dec 4, 2004 in
Movies 4/5 stars
We watched Trekkies several years ago, and found it a fun documentary on the “out there” Star Trek fans. Some people complained that it made Trekkers look like freaks, but as someone pointed out in Trekkies 2, a documentary about the average Star Trek fan would be fairly boring.
With Trekkies 2 we look the broader picture of Trekkers across the world. In the first movie, they only looked at US Trekkers, but this one travels to Germany, Brazil, and England. They were even there for the first ever Star Trek convention in Serbia.
There were also a few follow-ups with people from the first film. They caught up with Barbara Adams, who had gone to jury duty in her Federation uniform prior to the first Trekkies. They also talked with Gabriel Köerner, who was a teenager in the first Trekkies, and it was speculated by someone that he would never get sex. He is now married. The extras on the DVD included a fan film by Köerner.
This one can stand by itself. The first Trekkies included more on the history of Trekkers, but that’s not necessary to enjoy the stories of Trekkies abroad.