**Rerun's Movie Reviews**

[pklipe57]

Thanks YLGuy.

[YLGuy]

No problem.  I have not seen "21" so please leave a review after you rent it.

[cariad]

We watched the irresistably titled Before the Devil Knows You're Dead the other night. It was pretty good, but I would not have chosen to see it had I had accurate information. For some reason, I had it in my head that it was a remake of one of my all-time faves, Dog Day Afternoon. The two films actually do share similar plot points - robbery gone wrong especially - but they are movies with two very different tones. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was clever, but pretty joyless, showing the absolute worst that people can be. The story was interesting enough, but I just felt a bit bad after seeing it. I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but this role of his did nothing for me. I guess three stars for me? Apparently, I missed the cinematic brillance of it all - I read a few critiques after the fact and it was nothing but raves. 

[Wattle]

UP in 3D   


First day of the school holidays here. 

[marti824]

UP is the best.  I loved it.

[cariad]

My husband and I had the flu a few weeks ago, so we've been watching quite a few movies. I think many of them have already been reviewed here, but here it is anyway:

The Pianist: So sad, but absolutely stunning. It's based on the life of a Polish pianist during the Nazi occupation.

The Darjeeling Limited: I really liked this one, because my sense of humor runs really dark and quirky, and this one definitely hit those notes. It's a comedy about three brothers determined to have a spiritually transformative experience in India. I did not care for the prologue - I found it annoying.

Thank you for Smoking: This one was just OK. It's a comedy about a Big Tobacco lobbyist. The only part that acutally made me laugh was one of the conversations he had with his friends, an alcohol lobbyist and a firearms lobbyist.

Lives of Others: A drama following the career of a member of the German Secret Police, and the people he spies on as part of his job. It was clever and sad, but nowhere near as depressing as The Pianist.

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in the 1960s: I have never followed Frank Zappa's music, and always wondered what was so bloody wonderful about him. This is a really in-depth analysis of the band. There is little personal information about Frank Zappa - nothing about his family, no splashy scandals, it's all about talking about the music. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.

Doubt: I did not see the play, but I really enjoyed the film. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep were brilliant. I don't know how to summarize the plot without spoiling it, so I won't.

We have Persepolis checked out, but have not watched it, so no opinion, yet.

[Chris]

Cariad, I too still wonder about Frank Zappa Music. Next door neighbors I had in one place I lived had me watch their music video and could not comprehend how they thought it was the best. To each is their own, but it put me to sleep out of boredom or was that the Old Style I was given?

[cariad]

Next door neighbors I had in one place I lived had me watch their music video and could not comprehend how they thought it was the best.

Oh, you poor guy! Just seeing the few clips in the Zappa film made me realize this was not my thing. I now understand why most people have heard of Frank Zappa, but cannot name any of his songs, and could never hum one.

The film actually made it sound perfectly normal to not really get or enjoy his music. He was more about playing with the form and possibilities of music, and there were little musical references to other works in his pieces (Stravinsky, for example) that would just go straight past me if no one pointed them out.

He was also kind of a jerk to the band in many ways. So, I don't think we're missing much. I love his song and album titles, though. Hard to resist an album entitled "We're Only In It For The Money" that spoofs the Sgt Pepper cover. 

[cariad]

We finally watched Persepolis. It's a biographical film based of the life of an Iranian author of graphic novels, and the movie is done in her striking style of animation.  The film follows her life from the last days of the shah, to the early 1990s. 

The story was amazing, not surprisingly. As interesting as the animation was, I would have enjoyed it more if it had just been a standard, live-action film. It was difficult for my husband and me to keep many of the characters straight since drawings just aren't as memorable as human faces. Also, the film is in French, so our native French speakers on IHD may enjoy it more, but getting used to the animation while trying to read subtitles was just a bit too much work for me.

I'm glad I put in the effort, though. If you see it, you will likely gain a surprising new perspective on the struggles of average Iranians through the revolution and the war with Iraq.

[kitkatz]

Unless you like stupid jokes and gross humor, do NOT watch unrated Talledega Nights.  My hubby watches Nascar so I got most of the jokes and humor.  A few places made me laugh but overall, only one

[Chris]

Flash of Genious

Greg Kinear as a Profesor who took on the automotive industries for years over his invention that took a toll on his family over the years due to the legal process.

A little slow at times, but a good movie that is not realy about cars. it's about one man's struggle to take on a big company against all odds and coming up on top.

 

[Chris]

Unless you like stupid jokes and gross humor, do NOT watch unrated Talledega Nights.  My hubby watches Nascar so I got most of the jokes and humor.  A few places made me laugh but overall, only one

I never could finish watching that film and pretty much any film he is in. Took me over 4 months to see the whole movie of Blades of Glory.

[cariad]

Saw The Gods Must Be Crazy last night. Well, I've seen it before, but not in over 20 years. It's about a Bushman who finds a Coke bottle, assumes it is from the gods, and brings it back to his family, where it becomes a source of much contention.

It was cute. A lot of it is done in a faux nature program style, and the film is shot with its own offbeat look - a lot of sequences are sped up for more of a slapstick element, like an old Benny Hill program. The story doesn't always make sense, but it really captured the feel of Africa for me - the way that everyone is so resourceful and will work out a fix for anything. My husband cheered for the old Landrover....

[YLGuy]

I saw The Blind Side this weekend.  Excellent movie and a great story.

[cariad]

Saw The Queen a few weeks back. I really enjoyed that one, though I have no interest whatsoever in modern English royalty. Helen Mirren was divine as the queen, and the man who played Tony Blair was so eerily like him you could easily forget you were watching a movie. It tells the story of the days after Princess Diana died, and how the royal family reacted (or didn't).

Recently saw Bend It Like Beckham, which was a disappointment. It had its moments, but I thought it could have been a much more interesting film about cultural issues. It is about an Indian teen who loves soccer, but her traditional parents are horrified at the thought of her playing.

Finally, saw Coraline at my son's request. Yeow! This was a really, really scary, creepy film. I thought I was going to have nightmares, and was on high alert for one of the kids to come down crying at 3AM. The story was clever, so I would truly recommend it, but know that you are getting a psychological horror film that just happens to be animated. It's about a lonely, somewhat obnoxious girl who finds an entryway to a parallel world inhabited by her "Other Mother" and "Other Father".

[Hanify]

Went to se Where the Wild Things Are last week.  Hmmm.  I think it was very sad and very adult for a children's film.  Quite depressing.  Beautifully filmed and really good effects though.

[Mizar]

Has Anyone else, ever, seen this Movie. The Title, is " Coupe de Ville " It's about Three Young Men, Brothers, who have to deliver a Car, from Detroit to Their Parents in Florida. It has never been, released, on DVD, for Unknown Reasons. What a great Movie. I used to Own the VHS Copy, but Someone " Borrowed " it and never returned it. I know, why. It is to Good, to let go of. The Movie was Released, in 1990.

[jennyc]

watched the 'hangover', it was my pick and if my hubby was the slapping kind i'd have a huge red mark on my forehead. No where near as funny as they made out. story line was ok, but it could have been made a whole lot better. hubby thought the photo montage at the end was funnier than the movie

[cariad]

We managed to squeeze in a few films during the holiday week.

Gran Torino or as we started referring to it, Dirty Harry does Retirement. This was Clint Eastwood as his squintiest and raspiest. Not an uplifting story, but interesting and well-done. It's about a coarse and old-fashioned racist interacting with the Hmong population that has moved into his neighborhood.

Bolt and Monsters vs. Aliens were both watchable if you must watch kid films. I had a few laughs from each, the kids seemed to prefer Monsters vs. Aliens.

Milk was so, so good. Sean Penn is heavenly as an actor. For the non-Americans out there, it is the true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to hold public office in America. It tells the larger story of the national political war on homosexuals in the late 1970s and how San Francisco evolved as the center of homosexual tolerance in the US.

[Chris]

Has Anyone else, ever, seen this Movie. The Title, is " Coupe de Ville " It's about Three Young Men, Brothers, who have to deliver a Car, from Detroit to Their Parents in Florida. It has never been, released, on DVD, for Unknown Reasons. What a great Movie. I used to Own the VHS Copy, but Someone " Borrowed " it and never returned it. I know, why. It is to Good, to let go of. The Movie was Released, in 1990.

It has ben on Comedy Central a few times, but forgot who's in it. Think one of them was Patrick Dempsey, but forgot who the older brother was. Alan Arkin was the father.

[paris]

Cariad, I thought Milk was brilliant, also.  Sean Penn was incredible.

YL, I loved The Blind Side.  Especially, since it is a real story.  Loved it.

Hanify, Where the Wild Things Are has been a favorite children's book in our family since my grown children were little. They all love it and maybe that is why they also like the movie.   They couldn't wait to take their kids and they all enjoyed it.   Good thing there are movies for all of us, right?  LOL!

I want to see Precious.  Have to wait until my movie buddy gets back from New York City! 

[Bajanne]

Saw "Princess and the Frog", "Alvin and the Chipmunks", "Christmas Carol" and "Avatar"
Of course I enjoyed the first three immensely and had a fun time watching them.   Avatar was more than enjoying a film.  It was a fantastically crafted movie, action packed and rivetting, but the honesty was a bit too much for me, and I wept for every culture that has had to stand the rampage of those whose only claim to superiority was their superior gun power.
I plan to see '2012 soon.

[monrein]

Bajanne, I too found Avatar amazingly touching and profound, beautiful and ghastly, joyful and sad, all at the same time.  My niece and nephew wanted to see it and I agreed to go along but had no real expectations as I'm usually very disappointed when movies are super hyped by their commercial promotion.  I saw it in 3 D and was blown away quite simply.  Now, I plan to see it again in Imax 3 D with my husband but regardless of format I'd recommend it highly.

Of course I thought of the Arawaks in Jamaica who are no more, thanks to the destructive forces of colonialism.

[cariad]

We watched The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen last night on television. I missed the last bit when I fell asleep, but I don't care. It could have been a really cute film about famous book characters in new settings, but instead it seemed that the characters were used because the filmmakers were too lazy to think up unique personalities. My husband is not much of a reader, and did not know the Dorian Gray story, so the movie ruined that surprise. (Not that he was ever going to read it, but it's the principle of the thing.) Tom Sawyer was one of the 'extraordinary gentlemen' which was a bit of a puzzler to us both.

[cariad]

Sunshine Cleaning was enjoyable, but for a film that tried so hard to be off-beat, I found it oddly predictable from the opening scene. I give it good marks for not reveling in the gore of the situation. I am fairly squeamish, and the subject matter of this film could have easily haunted me for a long time.