Movie Reviews

Herbie Fully Loaded – 4/5 Really Liked It
Watched this because Tonia and Tanner were watching it for the 17th time one evening. It was surprisingly fun to watch. It had that mac guy in it (who was great) and Lindsay Lohan showed what could have been had she not taken the paths she took later in life.

The Constant Gardner – 4/5 Really Liked It
Slowly paced but in the end you’ll be happy you saw this one. It’s a great love story, as well as a great testament to taking action against injustice. To my surprise there was very little gardening going on.

What Would Jesus Buy? – 3/5 Liked It
Could have been so much better. I agreed with the premise, and I even laughed a few times, but it was lacking that punch that could have made this a real winner. It did reinvigorate my quest to kill santa however.

Walk Hard – 3/5 Liked It
I laughed out loud a lot during this movie, especially during the first 30 minutes as they parodied Walk The Line. But then they started showing male appendages and I did a few dry heaves. It also seemed to drag on there at the end, which is weird for a 90 minute movie.

Kite Runner – 5/5 Loved It
It took a good 10 minutes to get used to the sub-titles, but this was a great movie. I may end up reading the book even though I know how it turns out. It’s just a well done movie of a really great story.

Punch-Drunk Love – 3/5 Liked It
Quirky movie, but after it gets rolling the second half is pretty good and you find yourself enjoying the characters. Adam Sandler did a really good job in this one.

Stealth – 2/5 Didn’t Like It
A Tonia special—she loves the action flicks. Too bad this movie sucked. It’s hard to imagine given the stellar cast, but man… so bad. Possibly the worst ending line in a movie ever. I did have fun laughing at it with Tonia though.

The Insider – 4/5 Really Liked It
How can you go wrong with Russell Crowe and Al Pacino? I’m not sure how I missed this movie nine years ago, but it didn’t disappoint. It’s kinda scary how powerful the tobacco companies are. Major props to guys like Jeffrey Wigand who are willing to put their lives on the line for what’s right.

Filed under: Adam Sandler, Al Pacino, Apple, Culture, Jesus, Johnny Cash, Lindsay Lohan, Love, Movies, Reviews, Russell Crowe, Santa Clause, Tobacco

Movie Reviews

I’m getting a little behind in these, so brevity ensues.

Live Free or Die Hard — Awesome. My kind of movie. The jet scenes could have been cut, but otherwise I loved it. The mac guy was a perfect addition.

The Mist — Not my genre but I tried it anyway. Eh. It was alright. I didn’t get freaked out, which was good, but I really hated the ending. What a downer!

American Gangster — Not recommended for anyone who might get offended by violence, drug use, language and nudity. Otherwise it was a great movie based on a true story. And at 2 hours and 40 minutes long, you sure get your money’s worth!

Army of Darkness — I know this was intended to be cheesy, but I must have been too tired to like this one. That “Gimme some sugar” line was great though.

Just Like Heaven — I enjoy most of Witherspoons work. This was alright. Way too predictable though. Jared Hess was a welcomed surprise.

Memento — This one will give your brain a workout trying to keep up. It wasn’t bad. Jason says you can watch a version that plays the scenes in chronological order. I think I’d like to try that sometime.

Filed under: Bruce Willis, Culture, Denzel Washington, Die Hard, Jared Hess, Movies, Reece Witherspoon, Reviews, Russell Crowe, Stephen King

Movie Reviews

Cinderella Man — Well done Ron Howard! This is probably going to go in the must own list. It was über inspirational and further distinguished Russell Crowe as a great actor. And Paul Giamatti was a hoot. Again, I just love true stories, and the backdrop of this movie (the great depression) made me really appreciate what I’ve got. I couldn’t help but look around my house at things I could sell. We live in such a spoiled society. I wonder if it will take another depression to make us realize how much we really have.

Spiderman III — I really didn’t like this third offering. I think Jason nailed it when he said they just added too many story lines trying to make it bigger and better. The whole Sandman sideshow was such a waste, and out of place. The first Spiderman was a great movie. It’s a shame it morphed into this, but for a whole lot of this ADHD generation, this must be what they want… oh well. And I can’t remember who asked me this recently, but when did Spiderman turn into Superman anyway?

World Trade Center — The will to live, and the goodness of the human spirit are the morals of this story. A few things hit me while watching this movie. One, I truly think you can will yourself to stay alive in certain circumstances, and this movie really did a great job of displaying that. Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was how willing people are to sacrifice their own lives for others. Underneath all our tough and complicated layers, we are truly capable of some serious good. It’s nice to see that tapped into occasionally. And for the record, I’m very happy that Oliver Stone didn’t take this opportunity to introduce conspiracy theory into his film.

Breach — Yet another true story. Going in I had no expectations, but I really got into this movie. Chris Cooper is a great actor, and Ryan Phillippe is slowly moving up the ranks. Spy movies rock in general, but this one being based on a true story made it a little more interesting. I can easily recommend this movie. When you watch movies like this, you need to remember to check out where they took fictional liberties, because you could really look silly thinking that these are 100% accurate.

The Illusionist — I think the cinematography here was the best of the bunch. I watched The Prestige over the summer, but never got around to watching this one. I was very surprised to see how star-studded it was. Ed Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Beil were all great. While I really liked The Prestige, I think this one was a better overall film. It had all the mystery and magic of the other, but also contained a nice little love story. This ended up being a great date movie.

Filed under: Culture, Movies, Paul Giamatti, Reviews, Ron Howard, Russell Crowe, Spiderman