Category: Reviews of Movies
The Princess Diaries: Directed by Garry Marshall. With Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo. Mia Thermopolis has just found out that she is the heir apparent to the throne of Genovia. With her friends Lilly and Michael Moscovitz in tow, she tries to navigate through the rest of her sixteenth year. I bought, then watched this because Stan Lee makes a 5 to 10 second appearance in the second film. I was happy to discover that this isn’t just a fluffy Disney princess story, but is actually a breakout role for the fantastic Anne Hathaway, helped along on...
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement: Directed by Garry Marshall. With Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, John Rhys-Davies. Now settled in Genovia, Princess Mia faces a new revelation: she is being primed for an arranged marriage to an English suitor. Finally, after sitting through nearly the entire movie, I get what I spent money to see: a very typical Stan Lee cameo that had absolutely no reason to be in this fairly well made “fish out of water learning to be a new princess” movie. From my brief internet sleuthing, looks like the late Garry Marshall and Stan Lee...
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot: Directed by Kevin Smith. With Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, Fred Armisen, Diedrich Bader. Jay and Silent Bob inadvertently sign away their names and rights to the new Bluntman and Chronic movie. Now they head to Hollywood to stop the film from being made. Along the way Jay discovers that he is a father. Back when I first watched this I said that I enjoyed the bloopers and other funny stuff during the credits more than the film itself and while that’s still true, I think I enjoyed the film somewhat more now that I’ve...
White Noise: Directed by Noah Baumbach. With Don Cheadle, Madison Gaughan, Douglas Brodax, Carly Brodax. Dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world. An over the top zany adventure in mediocrity that didn’t land for me, but if you enjoy surreal post-apocalyptic stories with dark humor, this might be up your alley. Buy On Amazon!
Contact: Directed by Robert Zemeckis. With Jena Malone, David Morse, Jodie Foster, Geoffrey Blake. Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine. After reading the book for the first time, of course I had to watch the movie again. I’m still thinking that I like the story edits for the movie much better than the story in the book, but at the same time, the book is so much more fleshed out. That’s not necessarily a surprise, but it is what it is. Buy On Amazon!
The Boxcar Children: Directed by Daniel Chuba, Mark A.Z. Dippé, Kyungho Jo. With Illeana Douglas, Mackenzie Foy, Zachary Gordon, Joey King. Four children set out on a journey to find a new home. If you were judge this from the poster alone, or even the screenshots on the back of the dvd, you might think this is a low budget, low effect cash grab involving a 99 year old beloved franchise of books with over 160 titles. Turns out though, that this is a faithful adaptation for the most part, with a competently done soundtrack and well known and recognizable...
Brave: Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell. With Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters. Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse. I spent a weekend with kids, so we watched a couple of kids movies, the first of which was Brave, a movie that I’ve seen at least a dozen times and the film largely holds up to my original opinions of the film. Seeing it...
Teen Titans GO! To the Movies: Directed by Aaron Horvath, Peter Rida Michail. With Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong. A villain’s maniacal plan for world domination sidetracks five teenage superheroes who dream of Hollywood stardom. This remains one of the best DC movies that I’ve seen in the last 10 years, from the perfect soundtrack to Stan Lee appearing not once, but twice, to deadpool not being in it (maybe?) and this being just a trailer or another movie that I think I’ve seen but can’t remember anything about. Buy On Amazon!
This Place Rules: Directed by Andrew Callaghan. With Mike Busey, Andrew Callaghan, Alex Jones, Edward X. Young. Follows events and characters surrounding the January 6th, 2021 insurrection of the U.S. Capital Building in the days preceding the attack. Andrew Callaghan’s gonzo style of documentary creation has long been a fascinating look into whatever event or subject he’s focused on, and “This Place Rules” is no different, with a much too close look and participation in some of the formative events that lead up to the riots in January 2021. It’s well made but exceptionally creepy to watch. Buy On Amazon!
Beyond the Poseidon Adventure: Directed by Irwin Allen. With Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas, Peter Boyle. An extension of the previous film, wherein a cache of adventurers return to the overturned ship to seek several fortunes. It’s a rare sequel that matches or exceeds the preceeding movie, but Beyond The Poseidon Adventure does this by completely changing the genre and featuring the top level talents of Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas, and Slim Pickens. The movie picks up just seconds after the first film finishes with Caine as the captain of an unbelievably small boat finding the upside...
