Archive for June, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
“A man, a woman, and 117 cows.”
I rented this one because I love Karl Urban and was looking around to see what else he’d been in. I honestly rented this one based on the title. Sometimes, that’s all it takes… ;)
The Price Of Milk is about a dairy farmer named Rob [Urban], and his girlfriend Lucinda [Danielle Cormack]. They were perfectly happy, plenty of fire in their relationship until Rob proposed and Lucinda freaked out. Afraid that the spark would die if they got married, Lucinda decides to follow the bad advice of her best girlfriend, Drosophila [the name itself should have tipped her off... fruit flies are a nuisance!... tangent over... played by Willa O'Neil]. In an attempt to make Rob angry, to keep the spark alive a whole slew of things go wrong including a hit and run accident with a strange voodoo woman, a stolen quilt, cow sales and weird wedding dresses.
Both my husband and I loved this movie and I believe my hubs actually bought it because he knew we’d watch it more than once. This story is quick and dirty at 87 minutes long – it’s low-budget, set in New Zealand and very quirky and funny… if you like quirky. It almost has a haphazard fairy tale-like quality to it. Don’t watch it and hope for it to make sense, just go along for the ride and laugh at the weirdness. Take it for what it is – cute, different, funny. No more, no less. ;)
3 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Sep 13, 2001, Toronto Film Festival, Feb 14 USA limited release • Runtime: 87 minutes • Rated PG-13 for drug use and sensuality/nudity
Posted in Comedy, Romance | Tagged Danielle Panabaker, Harry Sinclair, Karl Urban, Michael Lawrence, Willa O'Neil | Leave a Comment »
Monday, June 30, 2008
“Choose Your Destiny.”
Wanted is about a 1,000 year old ‘Fraternity’ of assassins led by a man named ‘Sloan’ [Morgan Freeman], who believe they’re keeping the balance of power by killing people who’s names mysteriously come up in their very original selection process – for whatever reason [it's unclear, but it's believed they are generally 'bad' people who will cost lives in the long run - 'kill 1, save 1,000' as Angelina Jolie's character, 'Fox' says...]. When one of their top assassins is killed, the ‘Fraternity’ decides to recruit the assassin’s estranged son, Wesley Gibson [James McAvoy] taking him out of his horrid, mundane life, replete with cubicle, obnoxious, donut-eating boss and cheating girlfriend/best-friend combo. When he learns he was born with a gift that makes him perfect for being an assassin, he accepts the fact that ‘he is the man’ and is in charge of his own destiny… or is he?
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Posted in Action, Thriller | Tagged Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Common, Terrance Stamp, Kristen Hager, Thomas Kretschmann, Timur Bekmambetov | Leave a Comment »
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The only reason I rented this one was because the poster for it was up in my English class senior year in high school. And Hamlet was my favorite Shakespeare play, so I figured why not?
Rosencrantz & Guildensterm Are Dead is an existential comedy about the story of Hamlet from the two ill-fated characters’ perspective. They go through the movie unaware of their inevitable demise, questioning everything along the way. The dialog is so clever and so funny, I was rolling with laughter through the whole thing.
Update 7-10-08: I just rewatched this one because I didn’t feel good about reviewing it when so much time had passed. I had the details a little wrong… Gary Oldman’s Rosencrantz was very funny in a curious, innocent way… and his memory was REALLY bad. To the point where he couldn’t remember if he was in fact Rosencrantz or Guildenstern, which makes him quite endearing. Tim Roth’s Guildenstern is the more acidic, cynical character who doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor. They go along their journey wondering why a coin is always ‘heads’ 157 times in a row… but never figure it out… they come across a troup of “Tradegians” lead by ‘The Player’ [played by Richard Dreyfuss], and they don’t realize that their fate is demonstrated, over and over, by these tradegians all along the way, as they never seem to leave.
The irony is fun and Rosencrantz’s antics are the best part for me. I enjoyed the characters enough and remember the story of Hamlet well enough that it kept my interest the whole time, but it wasn’t as funny as I remembered… and I can see why people may think the rhythm and pacing are off. But I still enjoyed it 15 years later. =) 3 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Feb 8, 1991 [USA, debuted at the Venice and Toronto film festivals in Sep 1990] • Runtime 117 minutes • Unrated [but I would say it's a strong PG-13 to R for some of the sexual subject matter and visuals]
Posted in Comedy, Drama | Tagged Donald Sumpter, Gary Oldman, Iain Glen, Joanna Miles, Ljubo Zecevic, Richard Dreyfuss, Shakespeare, Tim Roth, Tom Stoppard | Leave a Comment »
Thursday, June 26, 2008
“The system wanted them to become soldiers. One soldier just wanted to be human.”
I rented this movie a few of years ago when Colin Farrell blew up. I was actually surprised with this one. I guess I tend to expect someone like Farrell’s earlier work to be hokey, but it’s actually a lot better than some of his more recent stuff… [don't tell him I said so...lol].
Tigerland is a story that centers around Pvt. Roland Bozz [Farrell], an anti-war enlistee among a sea of drafted guys, who wants to experience Vietnam first hand so he can write about it later. ’Bozz’ is naturally rebellious but also very smart. He starts getting busted on-purpose to prolong his stay in Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana when he sees how some personalities just aren’t cut out for the brute reality of war and helps come up with ways to have the weaker guys discharged before they’re shipped off to war. The more he’s busted, the longer he has to stay. For the most part he doesn’t get along with most – including his superior officers – because of his disdain for war in general, but eventually the brass start to realize what he’s doing, and admit that he has leadership potential. The last week of training takes place in the swampy, Vietnam-like Tigerland where the dangers are real and things hit the fan as some lose their minds…
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Posted in Drama, War | Tagged Afemo Omilami, Clifton Collins Jr., Cole Hauser, Colin Farrell, James MacDonald, Joel Schumacher, Keith Ewell, Matt Gerald, Matthew Davis, Michael Shannon, Nick Searcy, Russell Richardson, Shea Whigham, Tom Guiry, Tyler Cravens | Leave a Comment »
Thursday, June 26, 2008
“Hang On Tightly… Let Go Lightly.”
We rented this movie years ago and watched it on New Year’s Day – after the ball dropped. We cracked open the champagne, had our toast and popped this movie in… and I was at the edge of my seat – literally – for the entire movie. I was riveted. It could have been the champagne, but my hubs loved it as well. It was our first encounter with Clive Owen and we were instant fans. He was dark, intelligent, mysterious and handsome… very James Bond-esque. I later found an article I had saved when they were trying to find the next James Bond before Timothy Dalton won the role and Clive Owen was a candidate even back then, before any of us knew who he was…
Croupier is a dark thriller about Jack Manfred [Clive Owen], a writer who uses his father’s connections to get a job at a posh London Casino as a croupier to pay the bills. He’s had past experience and is hired straight away, taking the job against his own better judgement. The longer he works there, the more it takes over his life. He lets his relationship with his girlfriend die as he allows himself to be seduced by one of the regular gamblers [played by Alex Kingston of ER fame]. Turns out her creditors are after her and she manages to convince Jack to be the inside man for a heist she’s been planning. He goes along, using the situation as the plot to his next book, not knowing how the story will end…
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Posted in Crime, Drama, Thriller | Tagged Alex Kingston, Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Mike Hodges, Nick Reding, Nicolas Ball, Rhona Mitra | Leave a Comment »
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
“It Mu5t Be Found.”
Wow. THAT is a cheesy tagline… But it fits.The Fifth Element is another fav of ours. We saw it a few times in the theater and have bought it several times. My husband came home with it on Blu-ray the other day and we don’t even have a player yet… lol… he keeps trying to buy one but no matter where he goes, the one he wants is always sold out. Damn you Sony and your winning format with no inventory to back up your dang victory!
This movie is a wild and colorful ride… let me see if I can sum it up for you: the movie takes place in the not-so-distant future involving an ex-military-man-turned cabbie [Bruce Willis], a priest and his apprentice [Ian Holm & Charlie Creed Miles], a strange he-she entertainment host that makes buzzing noises [Chris Tucker], a greedy empire owner looking to profit on ‘Evil’s’ sloppy seconds [Gary Oldman] and his alien henchmen, the President [Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, aka "Zeus" of wrestling fame] and his men [lead by Brion James], an alien opera singer [Maïwenn Le Besco] and the ultimate weapon engineered to destroy “Evil” when it attacks Earth every 5,000 years [Milla Jovovich]. She’s a fragile girl, who catches up on what’s been going on with us humans in the last 5 millenia and starts to question if we’re worth saving at all… there. I dare you to try to tell anyone else the same thing [who hasn't seen the movie] and not have them accuse you of being insane! =)
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Posted in Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction, Thriller | Tagged Brion James, Bruce Willis, Charlie Creed Miles, Chris Tucker, Eric Serra, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Neville, Lee Evans, Luc Besson, Luke Perry, Milla Jovovich, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Tricky | Leave a Comment »
Monday, June 23, 2008
“No Law.”
Uh… luckily the movie is better than the tagline – IF you like Michael Mann movies. If you’re not a huge fan, you may not like this one. Being that my Mr. and I are MM fans, we loved Miami Vice. We saw it in the theater twice… Obviously this movie is a departure from the 80s TV show. It’s much more dark. Like Heat, this one is a detailed crime drama…
Detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett [Colin Farrell] and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Tubbs [Jamie Foxx] get a call from a former snitch during a nightclub prostitution sting, which opens the door to a much bigger case. They’re asked to help the FBI flush out an information leak as part of a joint task force as they go undercover as ‘go boat’ racers by day, drug shipment transporters by night. What starts out as a simple information game to find out which organization is compromised, turns into a once in a lifetime chance to infiltrate a Cuban drug lord’s organization at the highest level. The question is, can they pull it off without losing themselves or their loved ones in the process…
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Posted in Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller | Tagged Barry Shabaka Henley, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Farrell, Eddie Marsan, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Isaach De Bankolé, Jamie Foxx, John Hawkes, Justin Theroux, Li Gong, Naomi Harris, Pavel Lychnikoff, Tom Towles | Leave a Comment »
Monday, June 23, 2008
“In a future where freedom is outlawed, outlaws will become heroes.”
I think my hubs and I were two of the few people who actually saw this one in the theater. And we were blown away… Equilibrium is a very stark look at the possible future of mankind after the supposed third world war. In an effort to prevent a fourth, a very strict government regime takes over, banning all forms of art, books, and emotions. The entire population is required to take a drug called ‘Prozium’ – which wipes out one’s ability to feel. And skipping your daily dose is punishable by death. Christian Bale plays John Preston, a ‘Cleric’ who’s job is to punish ’sense offenders’ who resist the rules. Until one day when he accidentally misses his Prozium dose and realizes he’s the only one that can stop the madness.
Equilibrium was definitely ahead of it’s time. With a terrific supporting cast, a somewhat interesting and original fighting style [involving hand-to-hand firearm combat], splashy fight scenes and a cool soundtrack, this movie is definitely worth a watch for any Christian Bale fan, or fans of action and/or sci-fi. It’s a scary vision of the future… 3 1/2 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Dec 6, 2002 • Runtime: 107 minutes • Rated R for violence
Posted in Action, Science Fiction, Thriller | Tagged Angus Macfadyen, Christian Bale, Christian Karhmann, Dominic Purcell, Emily Siewert, Emily Watson, Kurt Wimmer, Matthew Harbour, Sean Bean, Sean Pertwee, Taye Diggs, William Fichtner | Leave a Comment »
Saturday, June 21, 2008
“Saving The World. And Loving It.”
We just got back from seeing Get Smart, and I have to say, I loved it. I went in skeptical, and not sure I even wanted to see this movie because Steve Carrell’s humor doesn’t always do it for me. Case-in-point: 40 Year Old Virgin. I just didn’t think it was that funny… So, that being said, I went in with no expectations and came out laughing. I also had an issue with how young Agent 99 is with Anne Hathaway playing the character [my parents used to watch the original Get Smart all the time, so Agent 99 for me will always be Barbara Feldon]. They do have a ‘logical’ explanation for it though, and the fact that they even addressed it at all made it okay with me. =)
For those who don’t know anything about it, Get Smart is about CONTROL Analyst, Maxwell Smart, a man who is too good at his job to be promoted to field agent, even though he passed the test with flying colors… the 8th time around… and trained under CONTROL’s best field agent, Agent 23 [Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson]. That is, until, the secret CONTROL headquarters is breached and all field agent names are compromised. The Chief [Alan Arkin] has no choice but to promote Smart to help fight the diabolical ‘Seigfried’ [Terrance Stamp] and the evil KAOS organization, and thwart their plot to extort $200 Billion from the U.S. As Agent 86, Smart is partnered with the much more capable and experienced Agent 99, who together, against all odds, make a great team.
This movie is laugh out loud funny at times. The dialog is awesome and the chemistry is great, even down to the side characters like Smart’s nerdy scientist buddies Bruce and Lloyd, played by Masi Oka [of Heroes] and Nate Torrence. Both Alan Arkin and Dwayne ‘don’t call me the rock anymore’ Johnson had me in stitches, and Steve Carrell was perfect. This movie was a lot of fun and I’m already looking forward to the sequel! If you love action comedies, see this one on the big screen if you can.
3 1/2 out of 5.
~ HELENA
Add’l Info: Released: Jun 20, 2008 • Runtime: 110 minutes • Rated PG-13 for some rude humor, action violence and language
Posted in Action, Comedy, Crime | Tagged Alan Arkin, Anne Hathaway, Bill Murray, David Koechner, Dwayne Johnson, James Caan, Ken Davitian, Masi Oka, Nate Torrence, Patrick Warburton, Peter Segal, Steve Carell, Terence Stamp, Terry Crews | Leave a Comment »
Friday, June 20, 2008
“Big Cops. Small Town. Moderate Violence.”
We’re big Simon Pegg fans [wrote and starred in Shaun of the Dead], so we raced to the theater to see this one – and we weren’t disappointed. Hot Fuzz is hysterical! This is the story of Nicolas Angel, the finest police officer London’s ever seen. In fact, he’s too good and is dismayed to find out that he’s being transferred out to the sleepy town of Sandford [so he stops making his collegues look bad]. The decision went all the way to the top of his precinct and the Chief Inspector [Bill Nighy] had to tell Angel himself when he refused to believe the news.
When he gets there he’s paired up with new partner, Danny Butterman [Nick Frost], son of the friendly, bumbling police chief Frank Butterman [Jim Broadbent]. Danny is a huge action movie fan, his favorite being ‘Bad Boys‘, so when he meets his ‘big city’ partner, he hopes his dreams of action, gun fights and car chases will become a reality. All seems calm and tranquil in the almost crime-free town [which coupled with Danny's over-enthusiasm for action depresses Angel] until a grizzly ‘accident’ happens that causes Angel to dig deeper. As more and more ‘accidents’ occur, it’s up to Angel and Butterman to get to the bottom of it, as Butterman’s dreams of becoming a real life ‘Bad Boy‘ come true. And everyone becomes a suspect.
For the fun, the action and originality, this movie is a solid 4 out of 5. If you love Shaun of the Dead, see it. If you’ve seen Hot Fuzz and loved it, see Shaun of the Dead. These guys claim to have seen ‘every action movie ever made’ and write movies based on what they’d want to see, and they’re good at it. Part spoof, part awesome. Love it!
~ HELENA
Add’l Info: Released: Feb 14, 2007 • Runtime: 121 minutes • Rated R for violent content including some graphic images, and language
Posted in Action, Comedy, Crime, Mystery | Tagged Bill Nighy, Edgar Wright, Jim Broadbent, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Simon Pegg, Timothy Dalton | Leave a Comment »
