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Movie Review/Thoughts
Jul. 10th, 2007 06:25 pmOK, I am hugely behind on some of my movie reviews. So, here is a bunch of them. I am trying to avoid spoilers but ... there is dead space between them to help avoid spoilers as well.
Shrek 3
While some people would say it isn't innovative because it was set in the same world as Shrek and Shrek 2; I personally found it highly enjoyable. The plot did not head in some of the directions I expected coming in based on the promos and continued to surprise me here and there through the movie. I would have liked to see more of Donkey than we did but my preference for equines may be part of it. I don't recall any major music bits like in the first one but I can forgive that. I think this is a good solid movie and I plan to own it at some point.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
I enjoyed seeing the movie, and hearing the howls of laughter from some of the people I was seeing it with was nice. However, it was a bit confusing in places and could have used more set-up or explanation. The effects were, in my opinion, sub-par in several places and gratingly so in one and the end was a bit of a fizzle. The whole movie seemed to build to this grand event and it was such a non-event. So, this is a fun movie but not high quality.
Georgia Rule
I had high hopes for this based on Garry Marshall and Jane Fonda being in it. I expected Lindsay to be obnoxious (type-cast much?). However, I found the acting throughout to be problematic. The plot was stupid and offensive. There was a complete lack of any sympathetic characters. For some of you who read my LJ, there are some trigger issues in the movie that are NOT well handled. I will give the movie credit for keeping me guessing about the truth in places but it was not anywhere NEAR a save.
The Invisible
This felt like an independent film. It has some interesting twists and some graphic points. However, some of the "plot necessity" points of the movie were hard to completely disbelieve. The topic is not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination and could also cause some uneasy nights for some people (but not as much as Georgia). Again, I had trouble having sympathy for one of the major characters (Anna). I did feel for Justin. The ending was a bit hokey as well, but it was a nice break in the day.
The Waitress
Another small film. The script is very snappy and has some very good imagery. Like Georgia, there are no real sympathetic characters in this movie and has some potential trigger issues of a different type. However, it is a wonderfully put together movie and I love the pie imagery throughout the movie. Andy Griffith's character is wonderfully portrayed. I wish I had a little more back-story on the lead character but that isn't really necessary. I'm not sure I would call this movie "enjoyable" because of some of the subject matter but it is a worthwhile movie to see. Nathan Fillion is almost unrecognizable in his role. I did find it hard to watch the movie, knowing some of the ending and the poingancy of it in the real world.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
I don't know canon for the Fantastic Four and I quite honestly don't remember that much of the first movie. That said, I found this a fun romp but more of the check your brain at the door type. I would have like to have some idea of the significance of a few things and I had trouble keeping some of the characters straight. The guy next to me really loved it though.
Ratatoille
Pixar rocks my socks. I am glad they explained the title in the movie (beyond the obvious) but did it fairly subtlely. The only Pixar nod I know I saw was the bike and it was nicely moved in. I found the main character (Remy) very engaging and fun. I can see the comment that Java made about the re-using of models; however, I had no trouble keeping people straight and don't see a problem with model re-cycling ... I mean we use actors in more than one movie. Some of the plot was fairly obvious from the beginning but there were some surprises throughout and a lot of good humor. Very solid movie, I look forward to seeing it again (and owning it). The pre-movie short is precious. I loved the expressions on the faces. Also, we now can look forward to Wall-E
Nancy Drew
While this is a nice idea and they did a fabulous job of dressing Nancy to match the books, she was too perfect. She was more of an Encyclopedia Brown than I remember. Seeing the movie did make me want to re-read some of the books I have (just what I need more stuff in the to-read list). The mystery is nicely handled and some of the chase sequences are fairly well done. I LOVED the way the credits (opening and closing) looked like the books and the movie both. Basically it was a nice bit of fluff but I think we both would have been happier if we could have seen something else (like Ocean's 13).
Shrek 3
While some people would say it isn't innovative because it was set in the same world as Shrek and Shrek 2; I personally found it highly enjoyable. The plot did not head in some of the directions I expected coming in based on the promos and continued to surprise me here and there through the movie. I would have liked to see more of Donkey than we did but my preference for equines may be part of it. I don't recall any major music bits like in the first one but I can forgive that. I think this is a good solid movie and I plan to own it at some point.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
I enjoyed seeing the movie, and hearing the howls of laughter from some of the people I was seeing it with was nice. However, it was a bit confusing in places and could have used more set-up or explanation. The effects were, in my opinion, sub-par in several places and gratingly so in one and the end was a bit of a fizzle. The whole movie seemed to build to this grand event and it was such a non-event. So, this is a fun movie but not high quality.
Georgia Rule
I had high hopes for this based on Garry Marshall and Jane Fonda being in it. I expected Lindsay to be obnoxious (type-cast much?). However, I found the acting throughout to be problematic. The plot was stupid and offensive. There was a complete lack of any sympathetic characters. For some of you who read my LJ, there are some trigger issues in the movie that are NOT well handled. I will give the movie credit for keeping me guessing about the truth in places but it was not anywhere NEAR a save.
The Invisible
This felt like an independent film. It has some interesting twists and some graphic points. However, some of the "plot necessity" points of the movie were hard to completely disbelieve. The topic is not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination and could also cause some uneasy nights for some people (but not as much as Georgia). Again, I had trouble having sympathy for one of the major characters (Anna). I did feel for Justin. The ending was a bit hokey as well, but it was a nice break in the day.
The Waitress
Another small film. The script is very snappy and has some very good imagery. Like Georgia, there are no real sympathetic characters in this movie and has some potential trigger issues of a different type. However, it is a wonderfully put together movie and I love the pie imagery throughout the movie. Andy Griffith's character is wonderfully portrayed. I wish I had a little more back-story on the lead character but that isn't really necessary. I'm not sure I would call this movie "enjoyable" because of some of the subject matter but it is a worthwhile movie to see. Nathan Fillion is almost unrecognizable in his role. I did find it hard to watch the movie, knowing some of the ending and the poingancy of it in the real world.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
I don't know canon for the Fantastic Four and I quite honestly don't remember that much of the first movie. That said, I found this a fun romp but more of the check your brain at the door type. I would have like to have some idea of the significance of a few things and I had trouble keeping some of the characters straight. The guy next to me really loved it though.
Ratatoille
Pixar rocks my socks. I am glad they explained the title in the movie (beyond the obvious) but did it fairly subtlely. The only Pixar nod I know I saw was the bike and it was nicely moved in. I found the main character (Remy) very engaging and fun. I can see the comment that Java made about the re-using of models; however, I had no trouble keeping people straight and don't see a problem with model re-cycling ... I mean we use actors in more than one movie. Some of the plot was fairly obvious from the beginning but there were some surprises throughout and a lot of good humor. Very solid movie, I look forward to seeing it again (and owning it). The pre-movie short is precious. I loved the expressions on the faces. Also, we now can look forward to Wall-E
Nancy Drew
While this is a nice idea and they did a fabulous job of dressing Nancy to match the books, she was too perfect. She was more of an Encyclopedia Brown than I remember. Seeing the movie did make me want to re-read some of the books I have (just what I need more stuff in the to-read list). The mystery is nicely handled and some of the chase sequences are fairly well done. I LOVED the way the credits (opening and closing) looked like the books and the movie both. Basically it was a nice bit of fluff but I think we both would have been happier if we could have seen something else (like Ocean's 13).