I have taken on a challenge to myself to watch at least 100 movies in 2012 that I have never seen before. This is where I intend to review and rate them, so bear with me.
While Labyrinth has been around for a while, and is even considered to some to be a cult classic, I had never watched it before. I never realized that it was a Jim Henson movie, so once I discovered that I decided to give it a chance. I'm a huge fan of anything muppets, and have been since I was a little kid. Labyrinth was extremely 80's with a young Jennifer Connelly as the main character and David Bowie as the evil goblin king.
One night while babysitting her little brother, Sarah (Connelly) is annoyed with him and her parents for making her watch him in the first place. Sarah has a very vivid imagination, and tends to read a lot of mythical novels. So, voicing her frustrations, she wishes that Jareth the Goblin King (Bowie) would come and take her little brother away so she can be an only child again. When this actually happens and the baby is taken away, Sarah realizes quickly that she has made a huge mistake and must go through an extreme maze to rescue her little brother. The film is full of colorful characters, and was quite comical. I enjoyed all the big hair and 80's rock and roll soundtrack. I can see why a lot of people grew up with this film being one of their favorites.
Continuing with the theme of watching new-to-me Marilyn Monroe movies, I watched the film How To Marry A Millionaire. This movie was a huge deal when it first came out in 1953, because it was one of the first to use Cinemescope. This technique would allow the audience to view more of the picture and provided a better quality. Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall play three young women with one goal only: find rich men to take care of them for the rest of their lives. Their plan starts with all three ladies renting an apartment in a building known to have many wealthy residents. To pay for their rent, Schatze Page (Bacall), who has come up with the entire plan is somewhat of the ring leader, sells almost all of the expensive furniture in the leased apartment. The story line follows the three ladies while they try to find a wealthy bachelor to marry and take care of them. Of course in the middle of all this, they do not realize that they are falling love with men who seem to not even meet their requirement of millionaire status.
How To Marry A Millionaire was full of cute and hilarious scenes, including Monroe's character Pola Debevoise constantly running in to things because she refuses to wear her glasses. Obviously this film is not the best movie for feminists since the women seem to find self worth and importance based solely on the attention from men. However, I thought it was great, and see why it's a classic. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to be whisked away by unrealistic glamour and humor.
I've had the movie Fanboys for a while in my collection, and never watched it, and now I wish I would have watched it sooner. The cameos in this movie are insane and extremely funny. From William Shatner, to Seth Rogen (as two different hilarious characters).
A group of nerdy, Star Wars obsessed best friends decide to set out on a journey to break in to Skywalker Ranch, they have no idea what is in store for them. Eric (Sam Huntington), Windows (Jay Baruchel), Hutch (Dan Fogler), and Linus (Chris Marquette) have been friends and loyal Star Wars fanatics since they were little. When they find out that Linus has cancer, they decide they need to see the uncut version of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phanton Menance 6 months early, which is located in a secret chamber on George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. There all kinds of hilarious hijinks that take place along the way, and every obstacle threatens their chance at seeing the film. Kristen Bell plays the female counterpart of this geek troop and she does a pretty good job at it. I literally laughed out loud during this movie, and would watch it again any time. It's a nerd's favorite type of movie, especially a science fiction nerd. There's two different hilariously amazing cameos by Seth Rogen, where he plays a Trekkie and a Southern Pimp in Vegas. I highly recommend Fanboys to anyone who loves to laugh.
Many of my friends have recommended She's the Man to me for years, and I have always put it off. I mean, really? Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, and Robert Hoffman are not my idea of Oscar winners. However, I set my judgements aside, and gave this movie a chance.
When Viola (played by Amanda Bynes) finds out the the girl's soccer team at her high school will be cut and she's not allowed to join the boys team, she takes matters in to her own hands. Meanwhile, her twin brother Sebastian (James Kirk) is supposed to transfer to a different school, but instead runs off to London to play a show with his band. To cover for her brother and in turn prove that she is just as good as the boys, Viola decides to impersonate her brother at his new school, join their soccer team, and beat her school at their first match. Of course, this is all easier said than done. Viola ends up falling for her roommate, Duke (Channing Tatum) who is falling for a different girl, Olivia (Laura Ramsey), who in turn is falling for Viola as Sebastian. Whew.
Overall, I thought this movie was hilarious, and Amanda Bynes physical comedy was really funny. While She's the Man is definitely not picture of the year, it was cute and made me laugh. So, if you're looking for a fun pick-me-up type of movie, then She's the Man is just the ticket.
This cult classic film is quirky and hilarious, with a little touch of disturbing. The Little Shop of Horrors, the original version from 1960, stars Jonathan Haze as Seymour Krelboyne, a clumsy loner who works at a small plant shop in Skidrow. On the verge of losing his job, Seymour tries growing his own plant that is a hybrid of a venus flytrap and a seed found next to a chemical plant. Seymour decides to bring the plant to the shop to try and save his job, while attracting more customers. What he doesn't realize is the food that will make the plant grow, is human flesh. Throughout the film, Seymour struggles with feeding his plant, saving his job, falling in love, and dealing with his crazy hypochondriac mother. There is also a great and creepy cameo by a very young Jack Nicholson. The Little Shop of Horrors was hilariously sketchy, and I can fully understand why Steve Martin was in the remake in the 80's. The only thing that could make this film better was if it was in color, but then again the black and white adds to the overall creepiness.
If someone were to know just the cast of stellar actors in this film, that would be reason enough to watch The Departed. Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark Wahlberg did an amazing job at portraying violent men, each with something to prove or protect. Directed by Martin Scorsese, this game of cat mouse type of movie takes place in Boston where the police force has decided to place a mole within the highest ranking violent mob around. Frank Costello (Nicholson) is the head man in charge of said mob, who has also placed a mole within the police department. Billy (DiCaprio) was raised around violence and criminal activity, because most of the men in his family were apart of the mob scene. Even though Billy is nothing like his family when he joins the police department, he will soon have to follow in their footsteps to go undercover as the newest bad boy under Frank Costello.
Collin (Damon) was raised by Frank like he was his own son, therefor it's no surprise to the viewer when Collin joins the police force as a mole for Frank. The entire film is full of suspense, action, violence, and superb acting by everyone involved. Even Vera Farmiga, who plays the love interest of more than one main character, does an excellent job. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who appreciates a thrilling movie with hardcore criminals and silent heroes.
I'm sure there are many people who will disagree with me when I say that I could not stand The Tree of Life, but I'm sticking by my opinion. I had such high hopes for this film, because the cast and the scenery looked amazing, but when I sat down and actually watched it, it was indeed a struggle. I literally had to force myself to sit through the entire movie, just to make sure I wasn't missing something or having a bad acid trip. When I asked around to see how others felt about The Tree of Life, one of my closest friends told me she thought it was like watching a screensaver for two and a half hours, and she was completely right. Now, while there are plenty of people that will see this film for its "artistic beauty," I am not one of them. Sure, the scenes themselves were gorgeous, but I think everything just got carried away. At one point I was waiting for Morgan Freeman to start narrating, because I quite honestly felt like I was watching an Earth movie.
The Tree of Life is supposed to follow Sean Penn's character through his childhood, where his father (Brad Pitt) plays a controlling tyrant, while his mother (Jessica Chastain) attempts to be the peacekeeper in the family. I wish there would have been more dialogue and maybe more character development, there was probably an hour display of the creation of Earth, and random people walking around a beach at the end. I understand that there is supposed to be some deep symbolism with everything in this movie, but that was not what I wanted or expected from this movie. Overall, I would not recommend The Tree of Life, because it was boring and did not really make a definite point. Obviously people disagree with me, because this movie was just nominated for a few Oscars, including Best Picture. Take it or leave it, but I don't feel enriched at all by Tree of Life.
I'm not going to lie, I was a little skeptical about seeing Joyful Noise, because I am not a religious person what so ever. However, being southern means that I was raised on Dolly Parton's music, and she is one of my families' idols. My entire family and I went to see this movie on Friday, and I was happily surprised at how wonderful it was. Joyful Noise had a great message without being in your face about God and going to church. The cast was hilarious and amazing all the while belting out spectacular songs from Michael Jackson to Chris Brown. The rocky, love/hate relationship between Dolly and Queen Latifah's characters was the funniest part of the entire film.
When G.G. Sparrow's (Dolly) choir leading husband passes away suddenly in the beginning of the movie, Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) is then given the position of choir leader. Each woman is left with many tasks and obstacles to overcome in life. G.G.'s delinquent grandson shows up out of nowhere and decides to take a liking to Vi Roses' daughter. Vi Rose is dealing with her husband being away in the military, and her son's Aspergers syndrome. Joyful Noise manages to show the importance of traditions, while maintaining a balance between staying current with today's issues. I really enjoyed this film and was tearing up one minute and laughing hysterically the other. Dolly has some of the best one liners in the entire film, and made me feel like I was having lunch with my grandmas. I cannot say enough positive things about this feel good movie.
On more than one occasion I have had someone that knows me really well tell me they couldn't believe that I had never seen Under the Tuscan Sun, because they thought I would love it. Finally, I took everyone up on their advice and sat down to watch it. My best friend described it as "the original Eat, Pray, Love" (which I loved). When Tuscany, Italy is the backdrop to a moving and heartfelt film, it has amazing written all over it.
Writer/professor Frances (played by Diane Lane) has recently gone through a very messy and painful divorce, and is faced with the options of wallowing in self loathing or taking a trip to Tuscany courtesy of her best friends, Patti (Sandra Oh) and Grace (Kate Walsh). Patti and Grace are expecting their first child together and did not want to risk Patti flying while in her first trimester. Fed up with hating her current situation, Frances leaves for Tuscany, and once there makes a huge decision to buy an old villa and fix it up. One might call her a little insane, but slowly and surely Frances begins to find herself all over again through the friends around her and all the hard work put in to the house. There are many unforgettable characters in this film, and the lesson in the end is to love yourself before you love someone else. Under the Tuscan Sun is not your typical chick flick because it is so much deeper than that. This movie made me want to move to Italy and lock myself away until my novel is finished. Dare to dream. I recommend this movie to anyone who has ever felt less than worthy or unhappy with the way their life is going. Diane Lane did a wonderful job of bringing a real connection from Frances to the audience, and I absolutely loved her in this film. I would watch Under the Tuscan Sun again any day!
From the first time I saw the trailer for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I knew I wanted to see it as soon as it came to theaters. The cast looked amazing, and I have a soft spot for history related anything. So, naturally I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. It was definitely one of those films where not a whole lot seemed to make sense until the very end when everything was unfolded and the truth came out. Gary Oldman as George Smiley was superb, in fact everyone of the amazing actors in this film were excellent. To sum up the entire story line into just a few short words does not do the film justice, but I don't want to give too much away. Basically, George Smiley is one part of a team of veteran espionage agents, but is forced into retirement. However, it is brought to his superior's attention that there could possible be a mole within his old group. The entire movies revolves around Smiley trying to figure out who the mole is and how each person is involved. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy takes place during the Cold War so tension is high, and that shows through the actions taken by each party involved. The stellar cast in this film includes Colin Firth, Mark Strong, John Hurt, and the always swoon-worthy Tom Hardy, just to name a few. While this film may not be for everyone, it's definitely one where it could be watched multiple times and new things would be revealed each time.
Let me just put this out there: I can't stand Russell Brand. I don't think he is comical or suave at all. Now, that being said, I set all that aside to watch Get Him to the Greek because one of my best friends told me it was hilarious due to the fact that Diddy aka Sean Combs aka Puff Daddy aka P. Diddy aka whatever the hell, was the one that made the movie hilarious. So, going in I honestly didn't have high hopes, because I also think that (even though I love him) Jonah Hill seems to play the same scrambled hysterical character in all of his films. However, this movie was genuinely funny, and mostly due to Diddy. His one liners are what made the movie for me, and Jonah Hill even had some hilariously awkward moments. Rose Byrne (known to me as Helen from Bridesmaids) also had some funny scenes as she played Aldous Snow's (Russell Brand) ex lover/mother of his child/British pop star, Jackie Q.
Get Him to the Greek starts out with Aaron Green (Jonah) who works at a recording company where his boss, Sergio Roma (Diddy), gives him an assignment to get notoriously bad boy/rock star Aldous Snow from England to NY, then to LA in three days. Snow is supposed to perform at his 10 year anniversary concert at the Greek Theater in LA, and along the way make an appearance at the Today Show in NY to promote said concert. Of course madness ensues throughout the entire trip including Aaron having to smuggle drugs on a plane for Aldous, and all the while Sergio is screaming at Aaron to get Aldous where he needs to be. Overall, the movie was comical, but I don't think I will be watching it again.
I had heard about Midnight in Paris a while ago when it was in theaters, and had mixed feelings about wanting to see it. Owen Wilson is not one of my favorite actors, because I feel like he plays the same character over and over again. He's completely type casted in just about everything he is in and something about his voice rubs me the wrong way. However, I love Rachel McAdams, Woody Allen, and anything to do with Paris, so I wanted to give it a try. I decided to rent Midnight in Paris on Itunes and watch it in the car while traveling over the holidays. Of course, that didn't happen so I finally got around to watching this movie a few days ago when I got home, and boy am I glad I did!
Midnight in Paris starts off with Gil (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter working on a novel that no one really believes in, traveling to Paris with his fiance, Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her family. Gil cannot stop gushing about the city of Paris and how much he would have loved to be there during the 1920's, while his fiance and her family treat him like he's some sort of pathetic dreamer. One morning while eating breakfast at a bistro, Inez runs in to two of her friends, Paul and Carol and it's clear that Gil is not too fond of them. When Paul invites Gil and Inez to explore Versailles with them the next day, Inez insists that they join them, much to Gil's dismay. While walking around Versailles with Paul and Carol, Gil is extremely annoyed by Paul while Inez is completely taken with his knowledge of fine art and culture. That night, Paul and Carol invite Inez and Gil to go dancing after a wine tasting. Gil declines to go because he would rather walk around the city of Paris and get some air, while Inez takes them up on their offer. Once Gil is out on is own and able to explore everything that Paris has to offer at night, he finds himself being picked up by a car of exuberant characters that look like they came straight out of the 1920's. The car arrives at some sort of party where Gil meets the likes of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and Cole Porter. Gil leaves the party with the Fitzgeralds only to meet Ernest Hemingway at a hole in the wall bar.
Each night in Paris, Gil walks the streets and meets everyone from Salvador Dali, to Pablo Picasso and Picasso's "muse," Adriana (played by Marion Cotillard). Gil is even given the opportunity to have his manuscript read by Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). Soon he faces a choice of falling in love in the past or planning is life in the future. This film is full of lush scenes in Paris, sprinkled with colorful characters that are supported by an amazing cast. I cannot recommend Midnight in Paris enough, especially to anyone who is a dreamer and loves different eras from the past.
Oh goodness, could I gush about this movie forever or what? For Christmas my sister bought me a pack of Marilyn Monroe films, and while I have always loved her, I have never seen a majority of her popular movies. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was my first choice, and it was a great choice indeed.
Lorelei Lee, played by Marilyn, is a gold digging bombshell (in typical Monroe fashion) that preforms musical duets with her best friend Dorothy Shaw (played by Jane Russell). Lorelei becomes engaged to her extremely wealthy boyfriend Gus Esmond Jr (played by Tommy Noonan), whom she refers to as "daddy." When the two girls decide to take a trip to Paris via cruise liner, Gus' father hires a private investigator to follow Lorelei, because he does not think her intentions are true with his son. Once the ladies arrive on the ship, Lorelei discovers there is a man aboard that she might be more interested in. Sir Francis "Piggy" Beekman (Charles Coburn) has caught Lorelei's attention because of the not so simple fact that he owns a diamond mine. There are many mishaps, including Dorothy falling for the private investigator and Lorelei being accused of theft, that take place throughout this fun movie. And no musical would be perfect without amazing dance breaks (Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend comes to mind). I really loved this movie, and can fully understand why it is a classic. I recommend this film to any girl or gay that wants to get her/his ferosh on and gush over diamonds and glitter while singing show tunes.
Jason Sudeikis is one of my favorite products of Saturday Night Live, next to Kristen Wiig of course. So, when someone told me that I would like Hall Pass, and I saw that he was in it, I thought it was worth suffering through Owen Wilson. I also really like Christina Applegate and Jenna Fischer, so I was really psyched. While the story line was completely predictable, Hall Pass was a funny, silly movie about what would happen if two different couples were allowed to pretend like they were not married for one week. The husbands (Owen and Jason) have every intention of snagging the first single lady they see, but find it a little difficult since they have been out of the game for a while. The wives, however (Jenna and Christina) have much more luck. The film mainly follows the husbands and their shenanigans, and towards the end things get a little crazy for everyone involved. While I wouldn't say that I would watch this movie again, it was quite hilarious and made me realize that holy shit, Owen Wilson got old.
Oh boy, where do I begin. An acquaintance of mine recommended the Resident Evil movies, because she heard that I like zombie films. Um, wow. Boy was she wrong on so many levels. First of all, this was not in fact a zombie movie. Yes the dead "came back to life," but I don't care what people say, this was so not what a zombie film should be. Let me just say, that I really do like Milla Jovovich, and she was amazing in The Fifth Element. She was honestly the only decent actor in the entire set of Resident Evil. Everything about this movie was just wrong, from the plot to the graphics and actors. The story line of the movie is that there's an underground government facility that contains highly trained scientists along with their experiments, until one day when someone breaks in to one of the labs and steals a very toxic virus along with the antivirus. During this process, the thief purposely drops one tube of the virus, releasing it throughout the facility through the air vents. The entire facility is ran by a central computer system that starts killing people to stop them from leaving with the virus in their system. Of course, Milla Jovovich's character, along with Michelle Rodriguez, shut down the system and reboot it. When this occurs, all of the scientists that were killed by the computer system come back as "zombies," and start attacking whoever is left alive.
Some films can have an extremely unrealistic plot and make it work through execution and details, but this was not one of those films. Nothing in this movie made believe that this could really happen, and it was all done so poorly that I still don't understand how there are so many sequels. The moral of this story is, Milla Jovovich should have just said, "No."
I had really high hopes for this exorcism based horror flick, but was unfortunately let down. Based on the trailer for The Devil Inside, one would think that the film would be extremely suspenseful and mysterious. However, this was not the case. To me, the scariest part of the entire movie was when a dog randomly jumped up and started barking behind a fence, which was a cheap shock. What was meant to come off as horrifying, became comical and did not even make me want to cover my eyes.
In addition to failing miserably at terrifying the audience, The Devil Inside ended so abruptly that it seemed like the creators ran out of money in the budget. It literally ended at the climax of the entire film. This movie seemed unorganized, and severely lacking in what makes a great exorcism picture. I left the theater somewhat angry, because basically the most "thrilling" and "suspenseful" parts of the movie were in the trailer. Maybe there was too much hype before it came out, and the film itself just couldn't live up to the trailer. Really the only good thing I can say about this film was the up-and-coming actors that played the main characters were not too terrible. However, the extras were atrocious. Save yourself the money, because I would not recommend this movie to anyone.
Guy Ritchie has been one of my favorite directors for a while now. In fact, in my eyes, the only mistake he ever made was marrying Madonna, but that's a whole different blog. I absolutely loved the first Sherlock Holmes film, so when A Game of Shadows came out, I knew I wanted to see it immediately. Of course, I realized that when the movie would be coming out, I would be in a very small town on top of a mountain in North Carolina with my family. The local movie theater has one screen and shows one movie at a time. However, as luck would have it, that one movie was Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and I dragged my family out in 20 degree weather just to see it.
Compared to the first Sherlock Holmes film, A Game of Shadows was much more intense and fast paced. We all knew that no matter what he said, Dr. Watson would return to Holmes' side. So much of this film focuses on their friend/relationship, and how that effects each of their lives. Rachel McAdam's character, Irene Adler, did not have as big of a role as the first one, which makes me think there will definitely be a third movie where she makes a return. Jared Harris, also known as Lane Pryce from Mad Men, plays a genius professor (James Moriarty) who doubles as the evil villain. Moriarty's plans for global rule and extreme wealth, which is always the main priority of evil doers everywhere, are actually very well planned out and intelligent, but evil none the less. It's up to Holmes and Watson to figure out Moriarty's plans and stop them before the world is in real danger. There's also a new female lead character introduced who has become my new idol. Noomi Rapace plays Madam Simza Heron, a gypsy vigilante. Madam Simza joins Watson and Holmes to stop Moriarty and help save her brother who has become entrapped in Moriarty's evil plans, and is quite a badass while doing so. This movie kept me in suspense half the time, and laughing hysterically the other. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law were magnificent as always, and Jared Harris was the perfect slimy evil genius. The end of the film leaves the viewers in suspense, and it seems to me that there will definitely be a third movie. *Fingers crossed!*
I have always been a huge fan of Johnny Depp, but when the movie Rango first came out, I wasn't really interested, because it seemed like another generic children's movie. However, my uncle (who is in his late forties) confessed to me that this was his favorite movie of 2011, and saw it three times in the theaters. Keep in mind my cousin (his son) is 22 and did not see it with him. So, I decided to give Rango a chance, because if my uncle would risk looking like a creeper three different times at our small town movie theater, then I could at least try to watch it.
What starts off as a somewhat "Finding Nemo" type of story line, turns in to a play on an old western comedy. The main character, Rango, is a chameleon that is accidently thrown from his owner's car in the middle of the dessert. Upon meeting a very quirky type of lizard named Beans (played by Isla Fisher), Rango is then taken in to her town where he meets some intimidating characters. Trying to mask his fear of these new strangers, Rango puts on a front as an outlaw and through a chain of pure accidents, becomes the towns local sheriff. His first task is finding more water for the town, which is their form of currency, and overthrowing the major and his bandits. Without giving too much away, this movie has a cute and happy ending with a hidden lesson of overcoming self doubt and finding yourself. Pretty heavy stuff for little kids, even if they don't get it. Anyway, Rango was better than expected, but not a movie I would probably watch again. Sorry Uncle Freddie, you're alone on that one.
