WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989) - Apr. 29, 2008
An above-average romantic comedy about a couple who, over the course of a bit more than a decade, run into each other a few times and then proceed to become good friends and fall in love. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are both very good as the couple, and have definite chemistry together. The film is quite well written, though it is mostly plotless and feels a bit meandering at times. Still, it is a good film and justifiably a classic in the genre. ***
Short reviews of all the movies I see, rated out of four. Reviews containing spoilers are marked with an (S).
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY (2008) - Apr. 26
An enjoyable follow-up. Like the first one, it's mostly episodic, and like the first one, some of the bits work better than others. But it's pretty much always entertaining, and a decent enough entry in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre. ***
An enjoyable follow-up. Like the first one, it's mostly episodic, and like the first one, some of the bits work better than others. But it's pretty much always entertaining, and a decent enough entry in the "lots of stuff happening in a short amount of time" genre. ***
Friday, April 25, 2008
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008) - Apr. 25, 2008
A pretty routine romantic comedy elevated by some really funny performances, and some laugh-out-loud funny moments. Jason Segel proves that he definitely has what it takes to be a leading man. Like pretty much all Judd Apatow productions, it feels slightly overlong, but not nearly as much as some of his other films. ***
A pretty routine romantic comedy elevated by some really funny performances, and some laugh-out-loud funny moments. Jason Segel proves that he definitely has what it takes to be a leading man. Like pretty much all Judd Apatow productions, it feels slightly overlong, but not nearly as much as some of his other films. ***
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Baby Mama
BABY MAMA (2008) - Apr. 23, 2008
Basically entertaining up to a certain point, and... that's all I wrote when I first watched this film, and now it's about a month later and I've pretty much completely forgotten it. I think that tells you all you need to know. **
Basically entertaining up to a certain point, and... that's all I wrote when I first watched this film, and now it's about a month later and I've pretty much completely forgotten it. I think that tells you all you need to know. **
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Palm Beach Story
THE PALM BEACH STORY (1942) - Apr. 20, 2008 (Second Viewing)
A classic romantic comedy. Both Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea are perfect in their roles, and Preston Sturges' writing and direction are superb. Romantic comedies of this caliber almost never get made anymore, and I'm really not sure why. ***1/2
A classic romantic comedy. Both Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea are perfect in their roles, and Preston Sturges' writing and direction are superb. Romantic comedies of this caliber almost never get made anymore, and I'm really not sure why. ***1/2
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Forbidden Kingdom
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (2008) - Apr. 19, 2008
About a kid from Boston who travels back in time and finds himself on a mission in China, with help from Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Rob Minkoff's workmanlike direction suits the material fine but tends to be a bit bland (though all things considered, that's that's not really something to complain about too much in an action film these days -- it could have been so much worse). The characters never really become people we care about too much, so it slows down a bit between the fight scenes. The fight scenes are good though, particularly the inevitable fight between Chan and Li. **1/2
About a kid from Boston who travels back in time and finds himself on a mission in China, with help from Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Rob Minkoff's workmanlike direction suits the material fine but tends to be a bit bland (though all things considered, that's that's not really something to complain about too much in an action film these days -- it could have been so much worse). The characters never really become people we care about too much, so it slows down a bit between the fight scenes. The fight scenes are good though, particularly the inevitable fight between Chan and Li. **1/2
Monday, April 14, 2008
Walk Hard
WALK HARD (2007) - Apr. 14 (Second Viewing)
I quite enjoyed this. John C. Reilly's hilarious performance goes a long way to making this as good as it is; Jake Kasdan's direction is also quite good, and his script with Judd Apatow is good as well. ***
I quite enjoyed this. John C. Reilly's hilarious performance goes a long way to making this as good as it is; Jake Kasdan's direction is also quite good, and his script with Judd Apatow is good as well. ***
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Ruins
THE RUINS (2008) - Apr. 13
A satisfyingly violent adaptation of Scott Smith's novel. I wasn't sure if the whole notion of killer vines would work on film (it could have looked pretty silly), but they pulled it off fairly well. It's definitely not as good as the book, but it's entertaining and well made, for the most part. ***
A satisfyingly violent adaptation of Scott Smith's novel. I wasn't sure if the whole notion of killer vines would work on film (it could have looked pretty silly), but they pulled it off fairly well. It's definitely not as good as the book, but it's entertaining and well made, for the most part. ***
Friday, April 11, 2008
Street Kings
STREET KINGS (2008) - Apr. 11
Featuring Keanu Reeves as a cop so grizzled he takes his gun with him into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and drinks vodka out of little airplane bottles, this was a cheesy film -- but it was the best kind of cheesy. It was a really enjoyable cop thriller about a gritty cop trying to solve the murder of his ex-partner. It's pretty predictable all the way through and hard to take too seriously, but it was very entertaining and featured some really good performances, including a scenery-chewing turn by Forest Whitaker. ***
Featuring Keanu Reeves as a cop so grizzled he takes his gun with him into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and drinks vodka out of little airplane bottles, this was a cheesy film -- but it was the best kind of cheesy. It was a really enjoyable cop thriller about a gritty cop trying to solve the murder of his ex-partner. It's pretty predictable all the way through and hard to take too seriously, but it was very entertaining and featured some really good performances, including a scenery-chewing turn by Forest Whitaker. ***
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Bruiser
BRUISER (2000) - Apr. 10
Blech. I think Romero should stick to films with zombies in them. Though this had a decent enough premise -- a put-upon working schlub snaps and gets revenge on those who have wronged him -- it almost immediately strikes all the wrong notes and by time the end credits have rolled, it's become a ridiculous mess. Romero takes a good premise and completely squanders it; he attempts to make the film some sort of fantasy, but fails miserably. And WHAT IS THE DEAL with the scene in which the protagonist puts a beer bottle in a tennis ball launching machine while one of his enemies is practicing his swing? You expect the beer bottle to launch out and nail the guy in the head, or something -- anything -- but there's absolutely no payoff. Why would they even set something like that up if they're not going to do anything with it? It's an insult to the audience. *1/2
Blech. I think Romero should stick to films with zombies in them. Though this had a decent enough premise -- a put-upon working schlub snaps and gets revenge on those who have wronged him -- it almost immediately strikes all the wrong notes and by time the end credits have rolled, it's become a ridiculous mess. Romero takes a good premise and completely squanders it; he attempts to make the film some sort of fantasy, but fails miserably. And WHAT IS THE DEAL with the scene in which the protagonist puts a beer bottle in a tennis ball launching machine while one of his enemies is practicing his swing? You expect the beer bottle to launch out and nail the guy in the head, or something -- anything -- but there's absolutely no payoff. Why would they even set something like that up if they're not going to do anything with it? It's an insult to the audience. *1/2
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Three Kings
THREE KINGS (1999) - Apr. 8, 2008 (Third or Fourth Viewing)
Yeah! Though I remembered this being really good, it was perhaps even better than I remembered. First and foremost is David O. Russell's direction, which is truly impressive. Newton Thomas Sigel's cinematography is equally good; this is a very good looking film. The film works really well both in its dramatic and comedic moments, and all the performances are quite good. Good stuff. ****
Yeah! Though I remembered this being really good, it was perhaps even better than I remembered. First and foremost is David O. Russell's direction, which is truly impressive. Newton Thomas Sigel's cinematography is equally good; this is a very good looking film. The film works really well both in its dramatic and comedic moments, and all the performances are quite good. Good stuff. ****
Saturday, April 05, 2008
The Seven-Ups
THE SEVEN-UPS (1973) - Apr. 5, 2008
Roy Scheider is quite good in this film about a group of cops investigating a string of kidnappings. The film was expectedly slow-paced, and somewhat hard to follow at times, but it was well made and never boring. Plus, it featured what had to be one of the best car chases I've ever seen. It was almost ten minutes long, and it was awesome; most contemporary directors (Michael Bay, Paul Greengrass, etc.) could learn a thing or two from this film. The ominous score by Don Ellis was also a highlight. ***
Roy Scheider is quite good in this film about a group of cops investigating a string of kidnappings. The film was expectedly slow-paced, and somewhat hard to follow at times, but it was well made and never boring. Plus, it featured what had to be one of the best car chases I've ever seen. It was almost ten minutes long, and it was awesome; most contemporary directors (Michael Bay, Paul Greengrass, etc.) could learn a thing or two from this film. The ominous score by Don Ellis was also a highlight. ***
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Mr. Baseball
MR. BASEBALL (1992) - Apr. 2, 2008 (Second Viewing)
A somewhat cheesy but enjoyable film about an aging baseball player who's forced to play in Japan after his team trades him. The whole thing plays out exactly like you'd think it would, but it's well made and features an expectedly charismatic lead performance from Tom Selleck. ***
A somewhat cheesy but enjoyable film about an aging baseball player who's forced to play in Japan after his team trades him. The whole thing plays out exactly like you'd think it would, but it's well made and features an expectedly charismatic lead performance from Tom Selleck. ***
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) - Apr. 1, 2008 (Third or Fourth Viewing +1)
WOW. I knew that this was a masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made, but nothing could have prepared me for the awesomeness of seeing this on the big screen (other than the removal of the intermission, which kind of sucked). This is a monumentally great film, and seeing it in a movie theatre was amazingly hypnotic. I don't think any director ever has or ever will be able to so perfectly match visuals with sound; this is a mind-bogglingly well directed film. Stanley Kubrick is the master of cinema, and I highly doubt any director will ever be able to surpass him (though PT is actually getting scarily close). ****
WOW. I knew that this was a masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made, but nothing could have prepared me for the awesomeness of seeing this on the big screen (other than the removal of the intermission, which kind of sucked). This is a monumentally great film, and seeing it in a movie theatre was amazingly hypnotic. I don't think any director ever has or ever will be able to so perfectly match visuals with sound; this is a mind-bogglingly well directed film. Stanley Kubrick is the master of cinema, and I highly doubt any director will ever be able to surpass him (though PT is actually getting scarily close). ****
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