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celticjunkie
Reviews
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)
This is a Fantastic Documentary
I cannot believe Joan is over 75 years old and is still a relatively healthy, sharp, and current performer. I just adore her on E! Network's Fashion Police and I wanted to learn more about her, so I watched this documentary on DVD. I am impressed beyond words with her natural talent and work ethic. Although I am not a fan of the Botox and the plastic surgeries, I can see past them to view the funny but insecure genius beneath. The scene where Joan encounters the heckler was heartbreaking but she handled it correctly as a stand-up, and not as a parent. The crowd was paying for funny, not maudlin, and so Joan delivered, despite reservations afterward. I was surprised about her constant worry over money, not something I would have thought she'd be concerned about. (But, goodness, that apartment!) And the honesty over Edgar's suicide and her break with Johnny Carson made for some interesting moments as well. I highly recommend this film for anyone interested in either Joan or in the career of a stand-up comedian/actress.
Love Happens (2009)
My favorite part was seeing the band Rogue Wave
OK, the film is a mixed bag of sorts, part rom-com, part drama. A bit choppy, IMHO. As a fan of Jennifer Aniston, I am willing to let a few things slide in a film because I find her so charming and likable. Aaron Ekhart, who was phenomenal in Thank You for Smoking, seems slightly out of place in a rom-com, but he did his best with the character. I did not feel any chemistry between Aniston and Ekhart, though, and so the credibility of their fledgling relationship took a hit, for me.
My favorite scene in the movie was the inclusion of the indie rock band Rogue Wave and their music (at least 2 songs in the soundtrack). They are the reason I rented the DVD, since I saw on I-Tunes that they have singles from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. I did not know that they would actually appear on camera, and so I was very pleasantly surprised.
All in all, not a terrible film, but not great, either.
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
Haunted me as a child, not anymore
I first saw this film as a very young child, when my parents piled the kids in the back of our station wagon and headed for the local drive-in theater. There was a double feature, and I suppose it was assumed that my siblings and I were asleep in the "way back" of the car. Well, of course I wasn't, and this movie has haunted me since. Now available on DVD, I just had to watch it 38 years later, just to see if it is still as frightening.
It is creepy and unsettling, to be sure. But not really scary. Very nostalgic, for me, and it held my interest throughout. Clearly a low-low budget film, and a great one given that. Not up to today's standards (Paranormal Activity, Blair Witch Project) but with our modern editing and directorial techniques, it really is an unfair comparison.
I did scream within the first ten minutes of the film, but then I simply remained captivated by the story and by the simple techniques used by the director to invoke a sense of mystery and a bit of fear.
Easy Virtue (2008)
2 stars for the costumes only
Wow, this is an especially embarrassing performance by Biel, who is very wooden and so uninteresting as a supposed "free spirit" who marries into the British upper crust during the Roaring 20's (or is it the 30's??). Not only does she look kind of flat and pasty as a platinum blonde, but Biel does not bring the fiestiness that her character is supposed to, and there is not much the rest of the cast can do to salvage the film. Scott-Thomas is good as the prim and proper matriarch, but the film takes her wasted performance down along with it, into the dismal abyss of easily forgotten films.
The costumes and the settings are lovely, as is most of the soundtrack, but I would not waste my time on this DVD unless you are a huge fan of the writing of Noel Coward or the so-called "acting" Jessica Biel.
Duplicity (2009)
A huge disappointment
This was a big let-down. A bit of a snoozer. Julia Roberts was frumpy and boring. Not likable, very flat. There was absolutely no chemistry between her and Clive Owen. The story was confusing and ridiculous. Paul G was the best thing about the film, but even his performance cannot save this film.
What was with all of the hype over this film?? And corporate espionage?? Really?? Is this why we are paying "big bucks" for shampoo and diapers? Because the execs are spending untold millions on these "spy networks?" Yeah, I get it, greed is a really powerful motivator (duh), but so is sex, and why Clive Owen's character would risk his own "career" for Julia Roberts' character is inexplicable. She isn't charming. She isn't sexy. She isn't pretty. She isn't funny. She isn't very nice. At least with Angelina and Brad there was some sexual tension in their (much better) "spy" film.
I guess I am in the minority here, but I can't give it more than 2 stars, and those are only for Paul G.
Adventureland (2009)
Really takes me back....
This film really took me back to another time and place. This was nostalgic for me because I grew up in the 80's and went to the real Adventureland, in Farmingdale, NY (on Long Island), and could easily imagine the characters and scenarios really happening. Well, maybe the park managers (Hader and Wiig) were a bit over-the-top, but the rest of the characters could have been my peers. And the real park is waaaaaaaay smaller than Kennywood, where this film was shot. The park guests were a bit more ethnically diverse in real life, and the throngs of day campers weren't depicted in the film, but much of the rest rings true. I loved the clothes, the music!!!!, the lack of cell phones and texting so rampant among today's youth, the 80's dance moves, etc.
This is a bittersweet story of a young man getting a bit of a reality check when he is forced to get a summer job in order to save money for graduate school. Fresh from the heady world of academia, he meets a slightly different crowd than he is accustomed to.
Jesse Eisenberg -- wow, he looks so much like his sister -- he is perfectly cast in this film, as is Kristen Stewart. These characters are complicated and layered, and these actors do not fail. Worth a watch, you won't hurl from the spinny rides, and you'll get a chuckle. If you are over 35, you'll appreciate this even more.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Important, powerful, violent, heartbreaking
This was one of the best films I have ever seen, and certainly the best one marketed to Anglos about India. ("City of God" with Patrick Swayze is a close second, though.) I made my teen sons watch because they are studying Asia in school, but I'll bet they don't teach content like this! With India emerging as a global economic player, it is evident there is much room for improvement in areas of human rights, and this film says it all (and then some). Totally heartbreaking, very violent, quite moving -- we were glued to the screen. I can only hope that Danny Boyle and the writers were exaggerating some of the more horrific injustices.
Swimfan (2002)
Drowning in predictability
Not sexy or edgy enough to swim with the big fish (i.e. Fatal Attraction), this film drowns in its own predictability. Sloppy direction and editing, a lackluster femme fatale, and a pervasive lack of realism (he carried a beeper? tell me nobody carried a cell phone in a NJ high school in 2002? puh-leeze) make this more of a snoozer than a suspense film.
Having just watched the DVD "Obsessed" with Beyonce and Ali Larter, I can see we haven't improved much in the 7 years since Swimfan was released. Again, predictable and preposterous. But at least Ali Larter had a bit of spark (only a bit, mind you) whereas the evil stalker chick (Erika Christesen)in Swimfan has a face so deadpan and expressionless you'd swear she just had a partial lobotomy.
I Love You, Man (2009)
Good "Date Night" DVD
Plenty of laughs in this "bromance" between a shy, insecure real estate agent (Rudd) and a goofy, man-child (Segal) he meets at an Open House. Lots of supporting talent (Samberg, Curtin, Simmons, the Hulk, et al) and the lovely Rashida Jones as Rudd's patient and understanding fiancée make this quite enjoyable to watch. It is also fascinating to witness the awkward Rudd attempt to forge new male friendships; it's almost a sociological study at times, and I felt a tremendous amount of empathy for him. I thought Segal's character was great -- he wasn't the one-dimensional guy's guy that shows up too often in film, there was some substance there (but his dog-walking routine needs some cleaning up!), and Andy Samberg was great as the gay brother who is socially more of a traditional "guy" than the straight Rudd. I also found it interesting that TMI (too much information) being shared is just as bothersome to guys as it is to us ladies. Definitely worth watching.
Winged Creatures (2008)
Fragments still remain.....
I enjoyed the psychological drama of the film, but it did leave me with some questions, which I'll get to at the end of this comment. I thought Forest Whitaker was excellent as the cancer patient/gambling addict who has nothing to lose. Dakota Fanning was good, but her character really annoyed me. I still don't quite get the whole God thing. Kate Beckinsale actually looked sort of horrible in this film, which was 100% in character, so I suppose she was effective portraying a lonely, often haggard-looking, neglectful single mom of a colicky baby. (She should never go bottle blonde again!!) What I didn't quite understand (aside from Dakota Fanning and the God thing) was why the doctor kept on poisoning his wife and then rescuing her. Was it to play God? To be her hero? I don't get it. Also, he kept looking up the same things (drug side effects) on the internet. Why? Was his wife a guinea pig? A lab rat? Why did he want to cause her pain?? Another scene I still don't get is a very brief sex scene, mainly in shadows -- who was that? What was that? AND, the biggest question of all (and it is most likely intentionally left a mystery) is WHY did the man shoot up the diner in the first place???
17 Again (2009)
Zac Efron is actually a good actor!
Very "feel good" movie and (like many viewers have said) a pleasant surprise! I was wondering if the stale premise of a character returning to the past to live life over again would ruin the enjoyment of this film, but it did not. The script is very fresh and witty and the cast is excellent. Lots of laughs, especially between Zac Efron and his now-grown best buddy (Thomas Lennon), and between the buddy and the pretty high school principal (Melora Hardin from "The Office"). I was impressed with Zac Efron, whom I have only seen in HSM and felt he was just a pretty face, but the guy can act.
There are a few minor problems, though, starting with the fact that the handsome Efron looks not at all like the comparatively homely Matthew Perry. And they are supposedly the same guy. Sorry, but no amount of life stress is going to make Efron's face look like Perry's. The next problem is that if the main characters (Perry and Leslie Mann) married 20 years ago because she got pregnant, why are their kids no older than 18?? I also had a problem with Hunter Parrish (the son from "Weeds") playing the proverbial bad boy/bully in the film -- despite the bleached blonde hair, he looks too similar to Efron and he is also no bad-ass, not in the least.
OK, so overall, I would have to say this is a funny and entertaining movie and definitely worth the time.
Entre les murs (2008)
Jaime Escalante, he is not
This film is not an inspirational story of the heroic classroom teacher who defies the odds and gets his students to excel in AP Calculus ("Stand and Deliver"), but a very realistic view of the daily battles faced by educators in schools in most major cities. Frustrating, sad, and a bit unsettling, I was fascinated by the drama unfolding in the classroom. Although the film's school is located in Paris, so many of the scenarios could have taken place in New York, Boston, Atlanta, etc. There are, however, marked differences between the American and French public schools regarding procedure, discipline, and even the manner in which the dedicated teacher attempts to connect with his multi-racial class. He makes many mistakes, but it is clear that he is determined to reach out to his students and make them think.
Most of the students "play" themselves in the film, as does the central character, who wrote the script based on actual interactions that took place with those students (see the special features of the DVD if you have it). Much of the script is so realistic that you sometimes forget you are watching a dramatic film, not a documentary.
My biggest complaint is that the subtitles are practically non-existent, and unless you are fluent in French, you should watch it dubbed in English. If you rely on the subtitles you will miss 75% of the dialogue, no joke.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Tom Cruise at his best
OK, so I know I am late to this Vanilla Sky party, but I finally watched this DVD after seeing it sit on my shelf for a couple of years, and I was just blown away. I expected to hate it but I loved it, and my husband and I sat spellbound from start to finish. The film is sometimes a dream, then it is reality, then just a dream, it totally messes with your head. Makes you think. Makes you feel.
Definitely, without a doubt, Cruise's best dramatic performance. Fantastic. He starts the film as a playboy, all full of himself, charming. Then he transforms into a bitter, tortured man. Unsettling to see, whether behind the mask or with his disfigurement showing. I felt his anguish.
And Penelope Cruz, long before her brazen performance in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, making us fall for her. Beautiful, heartfelt. And Cameron Diaz is convincing as the messed-up stalker girlfriend you don't quite expect to see. "Earl" (Jason Lee) is also good as Cruise's only friend. It took me awhile to realize it was "Earl," because he looks so different in this film.
And the Manhattan exterior shots, how cool were they? The early scene when Cruise is all alone in Times Square. And the skyline! I did get sad when the Twin Towers appeared in the film, during the rooftop scene at the end, and I remembered that there was some hot discussion about the film when it premiered regarding the shot of the WTC and also Cruise diving from a skyscraper, but it reinforces that the setting was real. (Except...... it would not make sense to show the Towers if the last scene takes place far into the future -- the Towers would be gone, I guess. I don't know. Being from NY I guess I am extra sensitive about films with the Towers in them.) Anyway, this is the 3rd "mind-bending" film with Cruise that I have seen (Magnolia and Eyes Wide Shut being the other 2) and this is my favorite by a wide margin.
Mini's First Time (2006)
Baldwin and Goldblum Should be Embarrassed
Honestly, this is one of the worst movies I have seen in a long time, but at least I saw it on DVD and not in the theater, so I am only out a couple of bucks. Clearly, Nikki Reed cannot act. She is not Drew Barrymore in "Poison Ivy." She is not Mena Suvari in "American Beauty." There is nothing special enough about her or her character to explain why adult male characters portrayed by Alec Baldwin & Jeff Goldblum covet her enough to commit acts of violence and break the law. She is neither hot nor sexy enough to carry this movie, despite the A-listers who co-star. Too bad. The editing is very television-like, very "movie of the week." The movie does not "play" like a feature film, and I hope Goldblum and Baldwin are deeply embarrassed.
Across the Universe (2007)
Stunningly beautiful film
I am blown away by this film for many reasons. Yes, I am a Beatles fan, so perhaps that has colored my perception, but this is truly a creative masterpiece from Julie Taymor & co. The beautiful cinematography, the choreography, the amazing music, the way the film captured the turbulent 60's and used the Beatles' music as a narrative are just a few of the film's merits. I loved the appearances by Bono, Joe Cocker, Eddie Izzard and Salma Hayek. But the two leading actors (Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess) more than just held their own and delivered heartbreakingly tender and gorgeous performances. Wow, wow, wow. I had to watch it a second time, plus the special features on the DVD. The relatively unknown Martin Luther McCoy and Dana Fuchs are outstanding musical talents and were perfectly cast as a Janis Joplinesque and Jimi Hendrix-like duo. I can't wait to get the soundtrack. If you like the Beatles, the 1960's, and musical drama, this is MOST DEFINITELY the film NOT to be missed!!!!
The Unborn (2009)
Creepy and totally ridiculous
I suspended my belief in....well, almost everything, in order to follow the plot line. Of course, I could see the ending right at the outset, because of course she is going to be pregnant with twins (here's your chance, Jumby). And the setting is totally ridiculous: why are the young women all alone in their houses (houses which are more like mansions)??? How convenient in a supernatural/horror flick. And, not being a follower of the Kabbalah or Jewish, what the heck is all that nonsense about the unborn coming back and how exactly is it that a former concentration camp victim looks so darned good (way to go, Jane Alexander) in 2009? And what kind of a nursing home/adult residential community has absolutely nobody on duty at night? Yeah, right. But, all of this dumb stuff aside, I will admit that I screamed several times throughout the film, and I was impressed with Odette Yustman's performance, which was terrific.
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Sophie Kinsella where are you?
This film was a huge disappointment. It was almost cartoon-like (maybe because Disney got its hands on it???) and contained very little of the novel's humor, tension, and honesty. Where was Becky Bloomwood's post-shopping-binge remorse and panic?? Why make Luke Brandon her boss?? Why have Alicia's character played by a transvestite? (Sorry, but she looks like one.) Instead of laughing, I was groaning in disgust, and could not wait for the DVD to end. To top it all off, what a complete and total embarrassment for John Goodman and Joan Cusack, whose talents were utterly wasted in this film. What I did like, though, were those talking mannequins -- how cool was that???