In the Theaters

jipster

long time that I've actually laughed out loud watching a film

"The Waterboy" was the last laugh out loud (all movie long) movie I've seen. .. which was about 5 years ago.

"Knocked Up" was good, but overrated.

ateixeira

Well, I liked Knocked Up, even if the previews did give too much away.

So Juno should be great. I loved the previews. Can't wait to see it!

kyfdx

I made a big mistake and read the book first..

Great book.. probably a great movie, but I ruined it for myself..

If you like the Coen brothers, I highly recommend it... very violent..

Laugh out loud? ELF.. hands down..

ateixeira

I have to remember to rent that one. Wife wouldn't be into that type of movie.

kyfdx

Mine, either....

I was the creepy old man over in the corner by myself... :surprise:

Karen_S

I don't think this is in the theaters anymore, but Julie Christie has been nominated for an Oscar for this film. She got the SAG award for it last Sunday.

I rented the film a couple of weeks ago and her performance was incredible. I don't know if someone in her personal life suffers from Alzheimer's, but she nailed it. I'm kind of glad I didn't see it in a crowded theater. Sometimes films that cause deep emotion are best viewed in private.

PS: Each year I say I am going to watch every nominated film and performance before the Academy Awards show. So far I've never managed to do that.

ateixeira

Loved this clever movie, and I hope she gets the Oscar for her performance.

She did a great job balancing having an ascerbic wit, yet being naive at the same time. Very neat balancing act.

Plus the dialogue was just phenomenal.

ateixeira

Juno was last week, this week we saw...

The Bucket List.

You go on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. It begins dark and depressing, takes you on a wild ride, then brings you back down again.

The life lessons are deep and meaningful, and I like the transformations that occur for the characters.

My wife even got a tad emotional. My favorite part was when he kissed the most beautiful girl in the world. I hope that doesn't give too much away.

Karen_S

Saw it. Loved it! However, I rather doubt she will get the Oscar. Too new, too young, BUT there have been upsets before. I think the best chance this film has for an award is for best original screen play.

ateixeira

Yeah, Oscars may favor an older actress who might have deserved to win in the past, but didn't.

okko1

saw meet the spartans the other day no oscar there

ateixeira

Vantage Point.

In an intersting twist on movie-making, you basically see the same sequence 8 times, from different - you guessed it - vantage points.

It's a good action flick that lacks any real surprises. They give away too much as you go along. No mystery to solve here, so if you want clever writing move along.

ateixeira

The Spiderwich Chronicles

Took the kids to see this, and while it was clever, I'm having a hard time remembering enough about it to even write this review.

I think that says enough right there. It wasn't bad, but wait til the video comes out and save your money.

ateixeira

Fool's Gold

A very predictable yet funny romantic comedy. If you can suspend your notions of disbelief for a couple of hours, and like the two leading actors, you'll enjoy this film for its entertainment value.

Just keep a lid on expectations, and you'll enjoy it.

ateixeira

Definitely Maybe

Great, great date movie. Exceeded expectations.

This is a serious romantic comedy about a funny guy who falls in different kinds of love.

The story has twists and turns as each of 3 women come in and out of his life. What I like about it is that it's not a fairy tale, but rather more a story of bad timing.

The plot keeps you guessing all the way to the end, and is worth watching in theatres.

The wife liked it even more than I did. :shades:

ateixeira

If you like indy films, this is a good one.

It's a story about 3 different groups of people trying to watch the World Cup Final, Brazil vs. Germany. Cameras follow one group in Mongolia, another in the amazon jungle in Brazil, and a 3rd Touareg tribe in Niger, Africa.

Hilarity ensues. You'll need to read subtitles but it will crack you up.

It'll make you appreciate what you have, maybe even make you feel a bit spoiled. :shades:

Karen_S

I enjoy the Indys, but usually have to wait until they are available on Netflix! I've not heard of this one.

ateixeira

This is a film about a few MIT students who try to beat the system in Vegas.

It's pretty exciting but doesn't get in to their "system" very much. They talk about what codes to use and very briefly about card counting, but they do not discuss when to hit, split, or double down. I was sort of hoping for more.

The characters are interesting, and they gave good chemistry on screen.

I'll give it a B+. Enjoyable, but could have been even better. It's a bit long, so make sure you watch it somewhere comfortable.

Karen_S

I guess I'm still a kid at heart because I still love animation. This one did not disappoint and I especially liked Jim Carrey as Horton. Surprisingly, he played it rather straight. The one that didn't seem to fit was Carol Burnett. I've always loved her, but her voice with the kangaroo character just didn't quite fit for me.

Of course they had to do some considerable padding of the story to make it a full-length film, but I think it was better than other Seuss adaptations.

ateixeira

I liked it too, we saw it this past weekend with the kids.

My son is 5 and he didn't understand the concept that they were tiny and lived on that spec. When I asked which was bigger, the Horton or the rat, he said the rat was smaller.

So he was a bit young to really get it, but he did enjoy the physical humor. Well, animated physical humor, anyway.

My wife thought it was OK, but she rarely likes animated films, so that's actually a good review coming from her.

Kirstie_H

this past weekend. Incredible acting & writing, but not one for the kiddos... lotsa violence/gore, but the filming and story are worth it for adults.

jipster

Saw it last night. Was disappointing as the reviews were pretty good. A lot of, "What a idiot!" moments. Despite giant octopus creatures, that are too stupid to break the grocery store windows to eat all the customers, people still wandered out into the parking lot area to see what was going on. Some drama towards the middle and end. The ending was another "Dough!" moment. Rates 2 "Jip"Stars.

ateixeira

Anyone even remotely interested in the whole Immigration issue should take a close look at this foreign film (Mexico, Spanish with English subtitles).

Powerful movie about family connections. Loved it.

PF_Flyer

I think they're running out of ideas in Hollywood :shades:

Coming Attractions

Karen_S

Saw this last weekend. Pixar proved yet again that it has some mighty fine talent there. Very little dialogue, but it didn't need any. Loved it and the message conveyed.

jipster

My daughter (13) saw that movie. She didn't care for it much... thought it was over-rated.

michaellno

In order of how much we (wife and daughter, aged 20) liked them:

T1: Wanted (action genre)
T1: Get Smart (comedy genre)
3: Hancock
4: The Happening
5: Don't Mess with the Zohan

jipster

I saw this movie with my wife last night. We both thought it was decent. I would recommend holding off on paying $18 for movie tickets, and rent it when it comes out on DVD. It comes in at 2 1/2 "Jip"stars.

Will Smith was pretty good in the movie. But, the writers tried to go in too many different directions. They just didn't have the skills to pull it off... could have been a very good movie.

michaellno

$18? Ouch!

At our local theater, the first showing of the day (usually between 10 and 11 AM) costs only $5, and anything before 6PM is only $5.50.

There would have to be a good reason for me to see a movie at night.

... could have been a very good movie.

Yeah, everything we've seen so far this summer has made us think the same thing. So much potential wasted .. especially with "The Happening". Seeing Marky Mark run around in the Pennsylvania woods for an hour got a little boring at times. Neat premise, however.

jipster

... was sold out 2 hours before the 8 o'clock showing.

Hellboy 2 sucked. It was given 3 stars and rave reviews in our newspaper.

I'd give it 1 1/2 Jip "stars"... cause boy was I gyped. :sick:

kyfdx

I thought HellBoy II was mildly amusing... I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that didn't love the first one, though...

jipster

ahhh.... finally a movie with a little kick to it. King Fu Panda was a very good movie, saw it the other day with my two kids who both said they loved it. It was a cleverly written and funny movie... a bit of a rehash of the Star Wars premise, where good triumphs over evil in the end. The first 30 minutes was a tad slow... mediocre, but the last hour more than made up for it. Rates 3 Jip"stars".

ateixeira

We actually liked Zohan. They sort of spoofed people who stereotype, so we sort of gave it a pass in that regard, and it was hilarious. I can see how some people may be offended but again I think the whole thing was a spoof. The humus scenes cracked me up.

Kung Fu Panda was pretty good. My 6 year old liked it the most, because it had a lot of physical comedy. I thought it was pretty good, but not up to the level of Finding Nemo or even Cars.

For Hancock - I agree with jipster, it was pretty good, but could have been great. They give you one good twist and then didn't know where to go from there. The first half was better than the 2nd half.

My wife's in PR so that made her like it even more.

We're going to see Get Smart tonight, most likely. Hope we like it.

Mr_Shiftright

the Dark Knight sucked. You didn't miss anything. Well that's not entirely fair. The special effects were great, the explosions were loud and some of the characters were interesting in small doses.

But give it a D for plot (what the HELL is going on?) and the "message" is so belabored that you're begging for mercy after 2.5 hours of being hit over the head with the obvious.

About 2 stars, maximum.

it's not a movie, it's a comic book.

I don't care what the hype says. There are two things you must not do in a movie:

1. totally confuse your audience
2. make them restless

ateixeira

Tell is like it is, shifty.

My brother loved it and wanted to see it again and take me. I think I'll wait for the DVD.

michaellno

Saw this last Friday with the spouse.

Was not a bad movie at all .. Costner does what he seems to do best, play the "aw, shucks, down and out" character (see "Tin Cup").

What was good was the way that the political system was portrayed. Total pandering to this one guy whose comments were often taken out of context.

And, I suspect we'll be seeing quite a bit more from the actress who played his daughter.

Mr_Shiftright

Well if you're a SFX geek or comic book addict you might want to see it twice, but it's really a mess of a movie. Yeah, rent it on DVD and save yourself $7 bucks.

kyfdx

$7?!?!

Where is that? Grandma's RKO theater?

$9.75, when I went last Thursday..

ateixeira

I think he means a rental is that much cheaper.

Movies around me have hit $10, and a rental it around $4.50 or so.

The dollar ain't what it used to be, though.

kyfdx

Yeah.. that makes sense...

I liked The Dark Knight... I figured the Heath Ledger role was mostly hype, but it really was the highlight of the movie.. I'd give it a B-minus..

But, what's with Batman's voice? Is there a frog in there? :surprise:

Karen_S

But, what's with Batman's voice? Is there a frog in there?

Helloooo, that's part of his disguise. :shades:

I agree. Heath Ledger's performance was the highlight of the film. I like Maggie Glynnhall(sp?), but this wasn't a great role for her to show off the talent. She was outstanding in Sherry Baby.

kyfdx

Gyllenhall, I think.. (but prob missed a letter..)

Disguise? Maybe he would do better if less people were in the inner circle? Alfred, Morgan Freeman, the girl... geez...

Seriously... the voice bugged me... maybe, he should try a British accent? lol.

Mr_Shiftright

Heath Ledger looks good because everyone else's character was so wooden and boring. He's the only animated actor on the entire screen. The rest are either robots or you could say their lines before they do.

The Joker is traditionally a role for hams and he hammed it up pretty good. Too bad he didn't have a better script to play with. There was a lot of "cut and paste" to fill up those 2+ hours.

Yes, I meant save $7 DIFFERENCE. Of course, not me, I get senior rate now (whoopie). I would have felt short-changed at $10, but at $6.50 Dark Knight only over-charged me maybe $2.50.

jipster

The Joker is traditionally a role for hams and he hammed it up pretty good

Robin Williams got beat out for the role of the Joker by Heath Ledger. Williams can look pretty creepy, as shown in some of his past movies, as well as being halarious. I think he would have been a great Joker.

Having not seen the movie, if my past expectations of big blockbuster movies are any indication, this Batman movie will probably be a flop. It seems a movie built around special effects trumps anything that has a decent script or character development.

kyfdx

Uh.. jip? Where you been? Batman is setting box office records, everyday.. it's going to the 2nd biggest grossing film of all time, behind Titanic..

jipster

Titanic was an awesome movie... 5 BIG Jip"stars".

High grossing movies don't impress me though. I've been to so many, only to be disappointed. If the Dark Knight ends up being half as good as advertised, I will be quite surprised.

Mr_Shiftright

I think people will merely laugh at Dark Knight in a year or two. Even Titanic is starting to look kind of silly.

If Dark Knight wins an Oscar I am never going to another movie theater showing first-runs, for the rest of my life. I'll take up indie film festivals because good taste is now finally dead. :P

To present my film critic credentials ---I predicted, very loudly, at a party that Gladiator would win the Oscar. I was ridiculed, scorned. HAH! (snapping fingers) :shades:

I like movies with good special effects, if there's also a plot and good acting. I thought films like "The Aviator" and "Apollo 13" were excellent.

Even violence is okay if it's done right. "No Country for Old Men" had me on the edge of my seat.

Dark Knight had me off my seat wishing for the ending.

Mr_Shiftright

Anyone seen Journey to the Center of the Earth yet?

I love this kind of stuff but I was wondering if it's a turkey, or worth watching.

ateixeira

OK, once you get past the Peirce Brosnan singing part (he can't hold a note to save his life), and give it a chance (Meryl Streep gets better as the movie goes on), this is actually a fun and entertaining movie.

I kept feeling like at any given time someone was going to break out into song...LOL.

Basically, if you like ABBA, you will like this film. I do, so I did. My wife loved it. One of the better musicals I've seen lately, but definitely a chick flick, so take your woman to earn some credits so you can watch Batman again.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe the second time you see it you can figure out the plot? :P