terlgerl Reviews

Beauty and the Beast (I) (2017)

Magic Lost, Agenda Pushed

[2/10 · 18 January 2018]

Many others have covered Emma Watson's wooden performance and the stereotypical characters. As someone who grew up with, and loved, the 1991 film- I found this to be a huge disappointment. Instead of building on the original, they pushed an agenda. Every other villager was black (really, in the 18th century French countryside?), Belle is a feminist, Lefou is gay, and there was multiple inferences to content inappropriate for kids. At one point three men get "attacked' by the wardrobe and end up in garish, drag-like female apparel. One of the guys breaks out in a huge grin which is a not even remotely subtle promotion of transgenderism. My 9 year old asked about his strange reaction. Why is this crap in a kids movie? The new songs were lame. I wanted to fast forward through them. Especially the "Beast Ballad". The worst thing though is that this movie has no magical quality too it at all. Even the ballroom scene was sadly disappointing and flat. All those talented actors, no doubt a huge budget, the freakin' story already written and they manage to mess it up.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015)

Munk-tale

[7/10 · 18 December 2015]

I took my 3 1/2 year old daughter to see this KID movie. (It is made for kids, people, chill out.) She adores the chipmunks and she loved the movie. It was cute with some genuinely funny moments. There was great music and lots of high-jinks. The roadtrip aspect of it was fun. There was some dancing and language that was semi-inappropriate that went right over my daughters head. I was sad that David Cross didn't come back for this sequel. He was the best part (IMO)of the previous installments. The guy replacing him as the 'villain' wasn't nearly as funny. But still, a fun and upbeat kids movie. We will definitely buy it when it comes out.

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Awful

[3/10 · 29 July 2015]

I didn't expect a great movie but I didn't expect two hours of mind-numbingly bad 'entertainment'. The script was horrible- Jupiter is a sort of space Cinderella. She literally goes from one 'damsel in distress' scene to the next. So her roller-blading, rocket booted, shirtless dog hybrid love interest can rescue her about 29 times in two hours. The villain was annoying, with a forced raspy whisper. Just a train wreck. You know it is bad when you can't wait for it to end and don't give a hoot how it ends. Crazy to think these are the people who created 'The Matrix'. This is yet another example that cool special effects and hot actors can not make up for a stupid plot.

Left Behind (I) (2014)

Unbiased Review

[8/10 · 3 January 2015]

People are hating on this movie because of the Christian message. I suppose if you have no background with the Bible or Christian faith the premise may seem far-fetched. It is a good rendering of the end times as described in the scripture. It obviously didn't have a huge budget or great special effects and Nic Cage (and his hair piece) was the only recognizable actor. We thought the movie was still pretty good. It was definitely interesting. There wasn't tons of gratuitous language or junk. I am glad they stayed faithful to the true message. It wasn't a masterpiece but it was basically a decent flick and no where near as bad as people are claiming.

The Trail (2013)

Watchable

[5/10 · 2 January 2015]

We watched this on Netflix. Pros- no swearing/nudity/excess violence. The lead actress was very good. The film did hold our attention till the end. Cons- the other actors were pretty bad, especially the husband. The plot was pretty implausible. She survived on warm water for weeks? She never encountered the Indians again? She didn't get severe frostbite or hypothermia? Why didn't she take more clothing from the corpses she encountered? Irritating little inaccuracies abound. She wakes up with 'snowflakes' on her face. The snow would have melted. If snowflakes aren't melting on your face you are probably dead. Overall, it was an OK movie. Nothing super great or inspiring.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)

Magical Film

[9/10 · 29 December 2014]

I took my young kids to go see this. Even my two year old sat spellbound. At one point my 5 year old asked with big eyes if the magic was real. In this movie, it was. It was very entertaining, suspenseful for the kids, with many good laughs... what a movie like this should be. The humor and language was mostly family friendly. The scary scenes weren't too intense for the the kids. I got misty-eyed at the last, very fitting- good bye scene with Robin William's character. It was a great final role. There was an impressive cast and appearances from Ben Kingsely and Hugh Jackman. This is an instant classic, we will probably buy the set when it eventually comes out.

Gravity (2013)

Not Perfect but Gripping

[7/10 · 15 December 2014]

It seems people either loved or hated this film. It has strengths and weaknesses... It was very suspenseful and did well to create the feeling of the isolation and terror she felt. The character development could have been better. The dialogue was painfully bad in spots- I had to look away from the awesomely bad barking scene that went on for like 30 painful seconds. The end didn't seem to 'work' very well. Sports illustrated magazine mixed with Planet of the Apes. Very odd and anti-climatic. They should have brought more people in to polish up the script a bit...like adding 'flashbacks' to develop the characters. This could have been a really great movie. Sandra Bullock was good, George Clooney was passable. A good, but not great, film.

World War II: The Last Heroes (2011– )

Excellent

[10/10 · 15 December 2014]

My husband and I love history, especially WW2. We were riveted throughout this documentary series. It chronicles the Allied troops taking back occupied Europe from fanatical Nazis who fought to the death. It weaves stories from the men who fought (and one women!), original footage, and dramatic reenactments (mostly blowing stuff up). Many of the aged veterans tell their stories with deep emotion and seem to remember many details vividly- sights, smells, sounds, etc. From the excitement to the heart-wrenching to the terrifying. The series did an excellent job of making the not too distant history come alive. We have a deeper appreciation of the sacrifices of so many, to keep the world from falling into the hands of an evil dictator. We both had tears in our eyes at the graphic footage of the horrors of what was discovered in the concentration camps by G.I.'s; battle-hardened men who couldn't speak of what they had seen for years. They also don't breeze over the high, high cost these men payed. The ones who survived struggled with what we now know as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They truly were Heroes and their story deserves to be told.

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

A Great Film!

[10/10 · 11 January 2006]

This was hands down, Angelina Jolie's greatest performance. This was a great movie. Though I wouldn't recommend it to people, especially teenage girls, who have struggled with an eating disorder. I saw this movie when I was 13 and it triggered me into developing an eating disorder. It probably wouldn't affect most people that way...but to impressionable young girls with body issues seeing these beautiful actresses all super-thin is very triggering. Other than that it was an outstanding film. Probably my favorite....and I have seen many. The acting was great. The casting was perfect. I liked how they tied in the what was going on at the time (Vietnam War, free sex, drugs, and Rock and roll) into the movie.

Untamed (1929)

Highly Implausible Film

[4/10 · 9 January 2006]

I watched this old 'talkie' late one night on the classic movies station (couldn't sleep). I figured this movie is 77 years old. It was pretty weird watching a movie with young actors that are all dead by now. The movie was semi-interesting but the end was disappointing. Andy is going to leave 'Bingo' when she shoots him in the shoulder. WTF? And he immediately changes his mind about leaving and decides that she is the woman for him. The movie ends about 40 seconds after 'Bingo' shoots Andy. Again, WTF? The two actors never had any chemistry to start with. Andy was good looking...but scrawny and effeminate. Joan Crawford looked good, but what was up with the sweat stains? And the singing? The movie is for the very bored only....definitely not a classic. It seemed like they were filming in sequence and run out of budget or were just sick of making the movie by the end of it.