Quick & Good Movie Reviews
This is a story of dark and light. There is a futuristic colony in Africa and a very advanced tribe. They possess a special natural occurring element that has powerful healing and weaponized properties. They have determined to keep their special weapons and technologies private. The acting is very well done, costumes wonderful and the story holds together. It has a mostly black cast and a token white guy. EXPEKT – O – METER...
This is a great little story that offers a lot of laughs and a very cleverly told story. It is part animated and also has actors. It is shot kind of in a Roger Rabbit style. Those crazy wabbits seem to inspire this technology. It is very well done and takes us along on this merry little rabbit tale with a British accent. It is highly entertaining for kids of all ages EXPEKT –...
This looks and feels like a TV Soap Opera. Something about it that seems kind of like, after the sex, it found itself looking for a plot. So let’s drive a plot in under it as a distraction from all the skin and sex. No-one will notice if it works or not. It kinda works but you know, sex sells even if it is a soap opera quality film. When there is more sex,...
Thanks Clint!! This is a great story, simply told. Clint Eastwood directed this true account of 3 Americans on vacation in Europe who disrupted a terrorist attack on a train. We get to learn about these three guys who played themselves in the movie. They grew up together and acted as a team in this potentially lethal situation. It is shot in a hand help camera style that seems less professional and yet, more...
The acting is superb. Daniel Day Lewis plays a tyrannical, perfectionist high end dress maker. He torments all who come near him in the work place. Only his sister can reel him in. He attracts a woman who becomes his muse. She has no idea what is going on with this on again off again suitor. She proves to be his match in many surprising ways. The twists and turns the story takes makes...
This is one of those movies that sticks with you or at least me. It is gritty, authentic and compelling. It follows the stories we hear about the frontier life and t’s challenges. It has an authentic feel to it and the acting adds to that flavor. It is shot on location in beautiful western settings. Dangers emerge from both the elements and the people. It moves along somewhat slowly but that all adds...
This movie over delivers and then again drags everything out by about 45 minutes of too much information and silly macho scenes. I had great expectations but walked away kind of sad at the delivery. The surprise ending is good but not worth the 2 plus hour wait. It kind of goes flat for the entire middle part. The rolling out all of the key plot elements at the beginning disturbed me as well....
This is one of the best done war movies I have seen. It brings us into this high risk first assault on the Taliban in Afghanistan shortly after the aircraft crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. Jerry Bruckheimer, the director, knows how to reenact war sequences and did a stellar job on this one. It is a docudrama that shows the terrible price of war and how families and warriors are affected. This...
It all starts so simple, seemingly. This plot twists, then morphs again and again. It is a week done story that takes us farther down a rabbit hole we have few references in. There is a lot of manly man stuff. How can Liam Nissan get punched in his face 20 times, hard too and still walk. I guess there are miracles in life. Beyond that stuff, this is a very good story. Go...
Thank You Stephen Spielberg for this richly textured expose of the story of the Pentagon Papers. He takes us through how they were made public. It is all back story that started with a reported hearing one thing from a statesman in private about the war and an entirely different message being delivered publicly. This sets him off on a voyage of discovery to bering the facts about the trans-presidential policies of this war...
Wow! What a gripper of a movie. This is a docudrama of an event I somewhat remember. J. Paul Getty’s grandson was kidnapped. A ransom was demanded. This is the basics of this plot. It takes us through all the pain the family went through in their process of recovering their son. It was a very public, high profile kidnapping and oh what a story. The acting is excellent with “A” list actors and...
This is a true story about a very glamorous and enterprising woman who figured out high stakes poker. It seems she might have gone a bit too high in the process. She started life as a champion skier. An accident dashed those dreams. Her dad instilled greatness in her so she took a road less traveled and excelled at it. Her crash was destined to come by the company she was attraction. She crawled...
Alright, I know, I know!! I sneaked in to see a scene of this silly movie and came back the next day to see the whole thing. I was so glad I did. This is a very clever movie with a lot of laugh lines. It also has some good acting. I was drawn into it. There are scenes of a gal inhabiting a mans body that are particularly funny. Jack Black plays the...
In this tribute movie to PT Barnum, Hugh Jackman worked his behind off dancing along with a wild and crazy group of entertainers to bring a lot of energy to this dynamic musical. It was a joy to be with, even if it was just in a theater. Hugh offers a tribute at the beginning. It is very well done, frenetic, entertaining and high energy. The scenes with Zac Efron and the aerialist was...
This is a very smart and funny movie with some current human concerns thrown in for impact. I liked this a lot. It was very thorough in bringing us up to speed on the entire Downsizing Program. Then we were off to life in Downsizeville and all of its ups and downs. The second half of the movie takes some very interesting twists and turns to wrap up in a very human look over...
This is a documentary or docudrama, more correctly about what Winston Churchill walked into when he was appointed as Prime Minister of England in 1942. Hitler was gobbling up European countries like M&Ms. The British army of 300,000 men was backed up to the British Channel in France about to be over run by the advancing German Army. Which was then the most lethal killing machine the world had known. Churchill not only had...
It could have been a pretty good movie if they had cut out all that stuff in the middle and shortened it by about an hour. They missed on the relationship stuff. The acting was not great and it was all and all a bit of a yawn. Pretty good ending segment but……….Come on guys! This is Star Wars you are messing with. Please get it right. Sheesh!! The last one was pretty good...
These guys were trying to do something that never happened. All of the A list actors were just walking thru their scenes. This is true schlock of a movie. A waste of perfect good time. EXPEKT -O – METER Before 7.5 – After 3 > >...
Movies like this are the reason movie reviewers hang up their blogs. This a very a forgettable movie except for James Francos’ naked body being stuck in my head. I need a thought enema. It is terrible with the effect of making a mockery or anything we call terrible. Just pass on this. I have no idea why this talented crew took on this project. It is very strained entertainment. EXPEKT – O –...
WOW!!! A great one only comes around a few times a year. Give yourself a treat and see this movie. It has a broad spectrum of emotions that I do not remember ever being so tightly packed into a screen work. This one clicks on all levels. It has a spectrum from menacing to sweet tenderness and state secrets to simple humanity, with some great laugh lines sprinkled in. . There is also, of...
This is a wild and crazy screenplay that somehow made it to the screen. A bit of a miracle in itself. Where to start? See it, for one. It is wacky, crude, funny, unpredictable and has a lot of laugh lines. I mean belly laughs if you are twisted enough. Now you better know who I am. It has a great cast: Woody Harrolson, Francis Mcdormod, Sam Rockwell (one of my favorite bad guys)...
This is the story of Charles Dickens in 1843 and all of the torment he brought to himself and his family in mining “The Christmas Carol” story from himself. It was masterfully presented. Christopher Plummer plays Scrouge who became the Dickens muse in writing the story. It is brilliantly presented. They really made the story come to life. I walked out with a greater appreciation of life and all of it’s struggles. EXPEKT –...
This is Fun , Educational, and spectacular. It is the story on the Mexican day of the dead, La Dia de las Muertas. I learned many new things about this deeply rooted Mexican Holiday. I have been in Mexico and seen the decorated grave sites. This fun and up beat Disney animation movie brings the stories, rituals and beliefs of this holiday to life. I liked the POV and had a lot of fun...
This is a riveting story of a legally skilled lawyer on the ropes after his partner suddenly slips into a coma. The story has several unpredictable plot twists as this savante of a lawyer struggles to find his footing. It is expertly acted by Densel Washington and Collin Ferrell. I was completely drawn in by this story. It is a bumpy ride but one worth sitting through. EXPEKT – O – METER Before 7...
This is a quite quirky, coming of age story. It is told from the main characters point of view and narrated by her at times. It has a lot of humor in it, some innocence and a lot of teenage angst. It is a very viewable movie. It truly grew on me in an emotionally endearing way. The dad is a big teddy bear and the mom the combative one wanting the best for...
I was surprised how much I laughed during this movie. I was entertained. The writing and acting was more natural and less pratfallish than these usually come across. There is plenty of beef cake, gals with Mark Wahlberg and Mel Gibson playing father and son rolls. It is a goofy improbable story but there is a story and some cute scenes. EXPEKT – O – METER Before – 7 – After 7.5 > >...
This is a great little movie! It has enough intrigue, period touches and great acting to get two thumbs up from me. The all star cast brings this story to life with great flare. There is an upper crustliness to the whole story. The train is first class, when first class actually meant something. It is pre-cell phone so people actually talk with each other. It is fun to watch and have this mystery...
This is a surprisingly good movie for a Marvel Comics production. The crew is relaxed, jokey and obviously having fun in this sequel. The story is way far fetched but why not? After all, it is a comic book on film. It has a some laugh lines and many improbabilities but is none the less a super hero romp filled with plenty of surprises. Kate Blanched plays the “bitch from hell” part and does...