A Haunting in Connecticut – “Scary and captivating story”
Starring: Viginial Madsen (the mom), Kyle Gallner (Matt), Martin Donovan (the dad)
Plot: The story is centered around a teenager, Matt, that is being treated for cancer at a hospital located in a different town than his home. His parents decide it is best to find a house to rent in town which leads them to move into this particular house. They soon find out that the house was previously a funeral home. As the story progresses, stranger and stranger events begin occurring leading to an interesting ending.
Tamara’s Take: A-
I really enjoyed this movie. I love scary movies although I have been disappointed by a lot of them recently. This one definitely has some parts in it that make you jump and isn’t just a bunch of gore like the Saw franchise. I thought the story was actually a good one too and not something completely ridiculous. That could be because this movie is based on a true story. I find these types of movies the scariest because perhaps it could really happen. Although, not to me because I wouldn’t be moving into any old @ss house in the first place.
The main character, Kyle Gallner (Matt), is a good actor. I have seen him in several other things and I always think he does a good job. He does have a tendency to play the role of the sad, depressed, loner type kid so I wonder if he is really a versatile actor. He is young so I guess we will see in the future if he’s still acting.
If you are a fan of scary movies you will enjoy this movie.
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie review. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Weekend Home Movies
I spent this rainy weekend in the house and on the couch. I wasn't feeling good and I didn't want to venture out into the bad weather so I thought I'd find something to do around the house. What I ended up doing is watching a bunch of movies on HBO/Showtime on Demand. Here's what I watched and what I thought.
Bee Movie (2007): "Cute for kids, somewhat entertaining for adults"
Starring - Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger
Plot - Barry the Bee is distressed over the idea of doing the same job over and over for the rest of his life. He decides to venture outside the hive where he meets a sweet woman who he develops a crush on. While out of the hive he learns that humans eat honey and goes on a crusade to stop them.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm not that into animated movies but some of the Pixar ones are pretty good. At least this movie is kid appropriate which is different from some of the other movies. I do wonder why they have Chris Rock playing the mosquito and was irritated by his character. The most interesting part of the movie to me was when the showed the inside of the hive. Other than that it was just kinda blah.
Evan Almighty (2007): "Stick to sitcoms please"
Starring - Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman and Wanda Sykes
Plot - Evan (Steve Carell) is called by God to build an ark. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't see the very end of the movie because I fell asleep, it was that bad. I love Steve Carell on the Office and his role in Bruce Almighty was great but this was pretty terrible. There are definitely some laughs but overall it is just stupid. Are times that hard Morgan that you have to settle for this? Wanda Sykes was the best part of the movie and she didn't get nearly enough air time. Somebody needs to give her a better movie role. And why does she always play the sassy assistant?? Well I guess because it is a role she is good at.
The Brave One (2007): "Touching while making you think"
Starring - Jodi Foster and Terrance Howard
Tagline - "How many wrongs to make it right?"
Plot - A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
Tamara's Take - B+ I thought this movie was pretty good. I would have given it higher marks but I don't really like Terrance Howard, I think he is pretty much the same character in every movie. This movie really made me think about what I would do in her situation, probably not the same things as this woman but how do you really know what you would do? I like movies that make me connect with the characters and this one did that. I even shed a few tears. I wouldn't really recommend this movie if you are already in a bad mood though, it is somewhat depressing.
Mr. Brooks (2007): "Nothing special"
Starring - Kevin Costner and Demi Moore
Tagline - The man who has everything has everything to hide.
Plot - A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Tamara's Take - B- I love a good thriller movie but I can't really say that this is one. It was fairly interesting and there were some nice twists and turns but overall it wasn't anything special. I wasn't super surprised by anything that happened in the movie but it did keep my interest.
Bottom Line: I don't highly recommend any of these movies. If you had to see just one then I'd go with "The Brave One". The others I would skip unless you were just extremely bored and nothing else was on TV.
Bee Movie (2007): "Cute for kids, somewhat entertaining for adults"
Starring - Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger
Plot - Barry the Bee is distressed over the idea of doing the same job over and over for the rest of his life. He decides to venture outside the hive where he meets a sweet woman who he develops a crush on. While out of the hive he learns that humans eat honey and goes on a crusade to stop them.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm not that into animated movies but some of the Pixar ones are pretty good. At least this movie is kid appropriate which is different from some of the other movies. I do wonder why they have Chris Rock playing the mosquito and was irritated by his character. The most interesting part of the movie to me was when the showed the inside of the hive. Other than that it was just kinda blah.
Evan Almighty (2007): "Stick to sitcoms please"
Starring - Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman and Wanda Sykes
Plot - Evan (Steve Carell) is called by God to build an ark. Yeah, that's pretty much it.
Tamara's Take - C- I'm going to be completely honest, I didn't see the very end of the movie because I fell asleep, it was that bad. I love Steve Carell on the Office and his role in Bruce Almighty was great but this was pretty terrible. There are definitely some laughs but overall it is just stupid. Are times that hard Morgan that you have to settle for this? Wanda Sykes was the best part of the movie and she didn't get nearly enough air time. Somebody needs to give her a better movie role. And why does she always play the sassy assistant?? Well I guess because it is a role she is good at.
The Brave One (2007): "Touching while making you think"
Starring - Jodi Foster and Terrance Howard
Tagline - "How many wrongs to make it right?"
Plot - A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.
Tamara's Take - B+ I thought this movie was pretty good. I would have given it higher marks but I don't really like Terrance Howard, I think he is pretty much the same character in every movie. This movie really made me think about what I would do in her situation, probably not the same things as this woman but how do you really know what you would do? I like movies that make me connect with the characters and this one did that. I even shed a few tears. I wouldn't really recommend this movie if you are already in a bad mood though, it is somewhat depressing.
Mr. Brooks (2007): "Nothing special"
Starring - Kevin Costner and Demi Moore
Tagline - The man who has everything has everything to hide.
Plot - A psychological thriller about a man who is sometimes controlled by his murder-and-mayhem-loving alter ego.
Tamara's Take - B- I love a good thriller movie but I can't really say that this is one. It was fairly interesting and there were some nice twists and turns but overall it wasn't anything special. I wasn't super surprised by anything that happened in the movie but it did keep my interest.
Bottom Line: I don't highly recommend any of these movies. If you had to see just one then I'd go with "The Brave One". The others I would skip unless you were just extremely bored and nothing else was on TV.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Movie Review - The Watchmen
The Watchmen - Released March 6th, 2009: "Not Your Typical Superhero Movie"
Starring:
Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (yeah, I didn't know who any of these people were either)
Tagline: "Justice is coming to all of us. No matter what we do."
Plot:
The movie is set in 1985 during the tension with the Soviet Union. A decade prior to this a group of masked heroes were forced into retirement. When one of them is murdered the rest band together to investigate his murder which leads them to discover things they had not planned on uncovering. They must work together to not only save themselves, but the world. (I can't say anymore without possibly spoiling parts of the movie.)
Tamara's Take: B+
First let me say this, I understand why a large amount of people were disappointed by the movie. The trailer is very misleading and would have you believe that this movie is an action-packed superhero movie when it in fact is not. I am the first to admit that I am usually very annoyed when I am expected one thing and I end up getting another. This time I wasn't bothered by it at all.
I thought the movie was great. The action scenes were amazing, the choreography of the fight scenes was flawless and kept me intrigued. I am often bored by fight scenes. There WAS a lot of talking in the movie and the movie could have been about 30 minutes shorter but that still didn't make it a bad movie. This movie contained a large amount of imagery and small connections all throughout the movie. I LOVE stuff like this. I want to be challenged intellectually, I want to be surprised by the ending of the movie. This movie is not for those that want to just sit and watch some fighting and explosions. This movie is for someone that wants to use their brain, sadly not many people do.
The one issue I did have with the movie was Dr. Manhattan. Now I know he wasn't a regular human being and he could manipulate time and space but that DOES NOT excuse him from covering up his man parts. It was completely unnecessary for him to be strutting around with his blue thang swangin in the wind. What value did that add to the movie? NONE and it was quite disturbing.
Bottom line: If you like superheroes and also like movies that discuss social issues then check it out, otherwise don't.
Starring:
Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (yeah, I didn't know who any of these people were either)
Tagline: "Justice is coming to all of us. No matter what we do."
Plot:
The movie is set in 1985 during the tension with the Soviet Union. A decade prior to this a group of masked heroes were forced into retirement. When one of them is murdered the rest band together to investigate his murder which leads them to discover things they had not planned on uncovering. They must work together to not only save themselves, but the world. (I can't say anymore without possibly spoiling parts of the movie.)
Tamara's Take: B+
First let me say this, I understand why a large amount of people were disappointed by the movie. The trailer is very misleading and would have you believe that this movie is an action-packed superhero movie when it in fact is not. I am the first to admit that I am usually very annoyed when I am expected one thing and I end up getting another. This time I wasn't bothered by it at all.
I thought the movie was great. The action scenes were amazing, the choreography of the fight scenes was flawless and kept me intrigued. I am often bored by fight scenes. There WAS a lot of talking in the movie and the movie could have been about 30 minutes shorter but that still didn't make it a bad movie. This movie contained a large amount of imagery and small connections all throughout the movie. I LOVE stuff like this. I want to be challenged intellectually, I want to be surprised by the ending of the movie. This movie is not for those that want to just sit and watch some fighting and explosions. This movie is for someone that wants to use their brain, sadly not many people do.
The one issue I did have with the movie was Dr. Manhattan. Now I know he wasn't a regular human being and he could manipulate time and space but that DOES NOT excuse him from covering up his man parts. It was completely unnecessary for him to be strutting around with his blue thang swangin in the wind. What value did that add to the movie? NONE and it was quite disturbing.
Bottom line: If you like superheroes and also like movies that discuss social issues then check it out, otherwise don't.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Movie Review - Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th (2009) - "Been There, Done That"
Starring: Nobody you'd really know. Pretty much a bunch of B and C and D list actors which is somewhat expected.
Synopsis: If you've seen any of the Friday the 13th movies then you should already know what to expect. A bunch of kids go out in the woods. There is lots of debauchery (sex, drugs, etc.) and then the killing starts. There was definitely plenty of killing going on this movie, just like there was in all of the previous movies of this series. That pretty much sums up the movie, but then again doesn't that sum up any standard horror film?
I learned by doing some research that this movie is supposed to be a remake of the first four movies in the franchise. I didn't know this until after I saw the movie but it was pretty apparent during the movie. They took key parts from each of those movies but put a more current spin on them. The movie was based in current times which made sense. You have to look at this movie as a new starting point instead of trying to fit it in with the previous versions. There were things I liked and dislike about this movie.
Likes: They showed how Jason got the mask. They stuck to the standard scary movie rules (slutty girls die first). They gave a little background on why Jason was doing the killing (but I kinda already knew that).
Dislikes: Jason ran! WTF?? Jason doesn't run, he just walks around and then appears behind someone and kills them. Also they had this thing with tunnels that I thought was strange.
Tamara's Take: Wait for the TV release
Unless you are just a really big horror movie/Jason fan then I'd recommend skipping this movie. I enjoyed it because I am both and it was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. I am still somewhat confused as to why they remade the movie in the first place (since it really added nothing new to the franchise) but that tends to be the trend nowadays. It seems like the movie industry is becoming more and more uncreative with all these remakes. When it brings in money I guess that's all that counts!
Starring: Nobody you'd really know. Pretty much a bunch of B and C and D list actors which is somewhat expected.
Synopsis: If you've seen any of the Friday the 13th movies then you should already know what to expect. A bunch of kids go out in the woods. There is lots of debauchery (sex, drugs, etc.) and then the killing starts. There was definitely plenty of killing going on this movie, just like there was in all of the previous movies of this series. That pretty much sums up the movie, but then again doesn't that sum up any standard horror film?
I learned by doing some research that this movie is supposed to be a remake of the first four movies in the franchise. I didn't know this until after I saw the movie but it was pretty apparent during the movie. They took key parts from each of those movies but put a more current spin on them. The movie was based in current times which made sense. You have to look at this movie as a new starting point instead of trying to fit it in with the previous versions. There were things I liked and dislike about this movie.
Likes: They showed how Jason got the mask. They stuck to the standard scary movie rules (slutty girls die first). They gave a little background on why Jason was doing the killing (but I kinda already knew that).
Dislikes: Jason ran! WTF?? Jason doesn't run, he just walks around and then appears behind someone and kills them. Also they had this thing with tunnels that I thought was strange.
Tamara's Take: Wait for the TV release
Unless you are just a really big horror movie/Jason fan then I'd recommend skipping this movie. I enjoyed it because I am both and it was actually a lot better than I expected it to be. I am still somewhat confused as to why they remade the movie in the first place (since it really added nothing new to the franchise) but that tends to be the trend nowadays. It seems like the movie industry is becoming more and more uncreative with all these remakes. When it brings in money I guess that's all that counts!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Movie Review - Revolutionary Road
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, and Michael Shannon
Synopsis: A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950's struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Grade: A
Review: This movie was GREAT!! When I saw the previews I thought it looked interesting but I couldn't really tell what it was about. What the movie ended up being about is life, love and the pursuit of dreams. The acting was excellent and you could truly feel the emotion in their words. The words and interactions touched on things that everyone should be able to relate to. It really makes you think about your life and what you're doing with it.
Leo and Kate are both wonderful actors and this movie was no exception. Their emotion was so real and raw that it made me really connect with them. Micheal Shannon was also wonderful. His role was a small but extremely significant one. He played the "crazy" son of their neighbor, although I don't think he was actually crazy. He just said the things that others were afraid to say.
The tag line of the movie is "How do you break free without breaking apart?" and that one line fully captures the idea of the movie. How DO you break free without breaking apart? How do you live the life you want and desire while also making sure that you meet all of your responsibilities? What is more important, being emotionally satisfied or doing the things that "need" to be done? The movie doesn't give you the answers but it makes you asks all of these questions.
To me a good movie is one that makes you feel and makes you think and this one definitely does both. I wish I could put into words how wonderful this movie was but I can't so you should just go see it!
Synopsis: A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950's struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Grade: A
Review: This movie was GREAT!! When I saw the previews I thought it looked interesting but I couldn't really tell what it was about. What the movie ended up being about is life, love and the pursuit of dreams. The acting was excellent and you could truly feel the emotion in their words. The words and interactions touched on things that everyone should be able to relate to. It really makes you think about your life and what you're doing with it.
Leo and Kate are both wonderful actors and this movie was no exception. Their emotion was so real and raw that it made me really connect with them. Micheal Shannon was also wonderful. His role was a small but extremely significant one. He played the "crazy" son of their neighbor, although I don't think he was actually crazy. He just said the things that others were afraid to say.
The tag line of the movie is "How do you break free without breaking apart?" and that one line fully captures the idea of the movie. How DO you break free without breaking apart? How do you live the life you want and desire while also making sure that you meet all of your responsibilities? What is more important, being emotionally satisfied or doing the things that "need" to be done? The movie doesn't give you the answers but it makes you asks all of these questions.
To me a good movie is one that makes you feel and makes you think and this one definitely does both. I wish I could put into words how wonderful this movie was but I can't so you should just go see it!
Movie Review - Gran Torino
Starring: Clint Eastwood and a bunch of other people I had never seen before.
Synopsis: Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a Korean War vet living in a Detroit neighborhood that has seen an increase in the amount of Asian people living there. Walt bonds with his next door neighbor as he protects him from a local Asian gang.
Grade: C
Review: This movie was just OK. The acting was somewhat sub par and I am usually a Clint Eastwood fan. He may just be getting a little too old. The movie was not supposed to be funny but I found myself laughing often (not really in a good way). Walt is extremely racist and makes some sort of offensive comment every 5 minutes. I understand that this is who his character is supposed to be but it got a little ridiculous at one point. Not to mention, if some old man was walking around calling me and my family swamp rats he would have at least gotten cursed out, if not slapped.
The acting of the other characters was low quality and I did not connect with them. The parts that were supposed to be moving weren't because I did not find the acting believable. They were unable to evoke any emotion from me. I also didn't particularly like the ending of the movie and whenever I don't like the ending it just pretty much ruins it for me. Oh and Clint Eastwood growled through the entire movie which was kind of annoying.
The only reason I didn't give the movie a lower grade is because it IS Clint Eastwood and he IS a great actor. I just think the movie would have been better if the other actors in the movie had been better.
Synopsis: Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) is a Korean War vet living in a Detroit neighborhood that has seen an increase in the amount of Asian people living there. Walt bonds with his next door neighbor as he protects him from a local Asian gang.
Grade: C
Review: This movie was just OK. The acting was somewhat sub par and I am usually a Clint Eastwood fan. He may just be getting a little too old. The movie was not supposed to be funny but I found myself laughing often (not really in a good way). Walt is extremely racist and makes some sort of offensive comment every 5 minutes. I understand that this is who his character is supposed to be but it got a little ridiculous at one point. Not to mention, if some old man was walking around calling me and my family swamp rats he would have at least gotten cursed out, if not slapped.
The acting of the other characters was low quality and I did not connect with them. The parts that were supposed to be moving weren't because I did not find the acting believable. They were unable to evoke any emotion from me. I also didn't particularly like the ending of the movie and whenever I don't like the ending it just pretty much ruins it for me. Oh and Clint Eastwood growled through the entire movie which was kind of annoying.
The only reason I didn't give the movie a lower grade is because it IS Clint Eastwood and he IS a great actor. I just think the movie would have been better if the other actors in the movie had been better.
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