The Campaign

Movie: The Campaign
Major Actors: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Akroyd
Rating: R
Best Audience:  Teenagers about age 15 and up would enjoy this, as well as adults that have an immature sense of humor.

Review:

This is one of those movies that is funny and entertaining, but not great.  If you are bored and would like a few stupid laughs, it is worth seeing.  Go with low expectations, and it will probably not disappoint.  The humor is on the immature side, so it definitely a movie men would enjoy more than women. 

One thing I do like about this movie is how even though it is "political," they do not really "take sides" with a political party.  The movie criticizes the entire American electoral process, especially the act of essentially "buying a candidate," or "buying an election."  The movie also distinguishes that there is a difference between a good political candidate and a good person, and in order to be one, you can't be the other.



People Like Us

Movie: People Like Us
Major Actors: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience:  Adults would enjoy this, and maybe some emotionally mature teenagers.

Review:

This is a heart-warming movie reminiscent of movies like Elizabethtown, Rain Man, Garden State, and Jerry Maguire.  Like those movies, this one features a career-focused, socially-detached main character who meets someone that makes him value personal relationships and family.

In this case, the main character (Chris Pine) discovers after his father's death that he has a sister he never knew about and that sister has a son.  He embarks on a journey of getting to know them, but does not tell them who he is (which inevitable leads to confusing emotions).  He also discovers the reasons behind their separation and the dark family secrets. 

Even though I feel like I've seen this movie before (since it is a frequently used plot), I really did enjoy it.  I would recommend it, especially for a wonderful performance by Elizabeth Banks, who steps out of her usual comedic role to play a damaged single mother.  However, I felt the movie left a big plot-hole and unanswered questions involving the main character's career.  If you liked Elizabethtown or Garden State, you will most likely enjoy this movie.

Total Recall

Movie: Total Recall
Major Actors: Colin Farrell, Jessical Biel, Kate Beckinsale
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Most audiences would enjoy this, even older children.

Review:

If you like a lot of action in a movie, you'll like this remake of Total Recall.  I'm not much of an action person, but I still enjoyed it, especially the first 30 minutes, which was largely exposition of this futuristic distopia.  Beyond the first 30 minutes, the rest of the movie is almost exclusively chase-scenes and fight scenes.

This movie has everything...for women, it has Colin Farrel; for the men it has Jessica Biel.  You do not have to see the original Total Recall (with Arnold Schwarzenegger made in 1990) to see this one, but if you have seen it, there are some references to it.  Overall, I think this movie is entertaining and alright, but not great.

On DVD- W.E.

Movie: W.E.
Major Actors: Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, James D'Arcy
Rating: R
Best Audience: Older adults would find this somewhat interesting, especially if they enjoy history.

Review:

The first 15 minutes of this movie were incredibly confusing because it took me a while to figure out what was going on.  I thought the movie would be just about the affair between King Edward and Wallis Simpson in the 1930's.  However, there was a modern girl thrown in there and the movie proceeded to jump back and forth in time.

It turns out the movie is really about a modern girl who is obsessed with the affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward.  Her own marriage is failing and she is looking to a love story that has what her marriage doesn't.  However, she learns in studying the story further that Wallis Simpson had to suffer so much to be with Edward and that no love story is perfect.

Once you get past the confusing jumping through time, this does turn out to be a pretty good movie.  Nevermind the fact it was directed by Madonna, I did find it worth seeing.  Just be aware of the plot before you watch it, so you don't get confused.

On DVD - Contagion

Movie: Contagion
Major Actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Demetri Martin
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Adults would find this interesting.  It's obviously okay for pre-teens and teenagers, but they may not find it as interesting.

Review:

I was very impressed with this movie.  The movie focuses on what happens when a new and fatal virus spreads throughout the world.  Scientists employed by the Center for Disease Control work to find out where the virus began, what it is, and try to make a vaccine for it.  This movie demonstrates how quickly a disease can spread (especially with air travel).  It also demonstrates how often people touch germ-infested surfaces and each other.  I found this film fascinating and frightening.

The acting was superb in this movie, and the movie contains a fabulous list of some of my favorite actors.  If you are interested in mystery and somewhat suspense, you'll enjoy this movie!

The Hobbit

This is not a review.  This is a rant! 

I was just informed they are making the movie "The Hobbit" into a trilogy.  It was set to be two movies, this year's "The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey" and the next one would be "The Hobbit:  There and Back Again." 

Now, I was surprised they were putting it into two movies.  Peter Jackson pulled off making each Lord of the Rings book into one movie and all three of those were longer and more dense than "The Hobbit."  As an avid LOTR fan, I felt it was unnecessary, but nice, to have "The Hobbit" in two movies.  However, it is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS to put them into three.

I love what Jen Chaney from the Washington Post said about this.  She said, "My only concern is that Jackson is skipping over the swiftly edited version of 'The Hobbit' and going right for the extended edition, which may mean he’s getting bogged down into much detail."  I can pretty much guarantee you she is right about that.  I loved the extended editions of LOTR as an avid, obsessed fan surrounded by other avid obsessed fans.  But for a more diverse audience of both fans and casual movie-goers, you have to make sure you don't over-do it!  That is exactly what he is doing!  He is making this into three movies to satisfy the hardcore fans and now casual movie-goers are going to have to deal with all that detail. 

If "Return of the King" can be one movie, "The Hobbit" can be one movie.  He could have done an awesome extended edition to be released next year like he did with all the other ones. 

I am complaining a lot right now for the sake of practicality and quality of the films, but as I've said, I'm a HUGE fan and I'm probably gonna be super-excited to see all three films. 

The Watch

Movie: The Watch
Major Actors: Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, Richard Ayoade, Rosemarie DeWitt, Will Forte
Rating: R
Best Audience: Even though it's rated R, teenagers 15 and up would enjoy this. 

Review:

The Watch was funny, but not the funniest movie I've ever seen. It reminded me of a less funny version of "Hot Fuzz" with aliens added. The jokes were mostly phallic in nature, and I have a feeling the writers were obsessed with that part of the male body. It did have some good human interest parts in the movie, like with Vince Vaughn's character and his daughter, and with Ben Stiller's character and his wife. The major plot twists were easily predictable. At best, this is a just-for-fun movie. I believe this would be a great movie to see with your guy friends. It's a total "guy comedy;" most men would be wildly entertained. I do think the movie was very entertaining, just not great.

Classic Movie Moment of the Week

This was an awesome revenge scene and ending to the Academy Award Winner for Best Picture of 2006:  The Departed.  If you have not seen the movie, don't watch this because it does spoil the ending.  PAYBACK!

On DVD - A Dangerous Method

Movie: A Dangerous Method
Major Actors: Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightly
Rating: R
Best Audience: Strong sexual language and scenes...only appropriate for adults.

Review:

This movie was incredibly interesting.  A case of a disturbed young woman brings Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) together to discuss the role of sexuality in psychoanalysis.  Their relationship is complicated in the movie.  Freud and Jung seem like friends at first, but it becomes clear their differences in how they practice psychoanalysis quickly prevent them from being friends.  The conversation between them turns from a discussion of sexuality in psychoanalysis to the role of what Freud calls "mysticism" in psychoanalysis, including subjects such as religion and telepathy. 

However, the person that really stood out in the movie was Keira Knightly, who played Sabina Spielrein.  This woman started out as a patient of Jung's with intense bouts of anxiety that came from her father's abuse.  However, Jung notes her interest in medicine and enlists her help as a way to give her something to do.  Eventually, she goes to medical school and becomes a psychiatrist herself.  She does have a illicit affair with Jung, which shapes both of their futures.

Keira Knightly was almost not recognizable as Spielrein.  She had the accent of a Russian Jew (which is what Spielrein was) and was able to pull off being severely mentally disturbed in a way that disturbed me.  I've never seen her act better in a movie.

If you are interested in the rift between Freud and Jung in psychoanalysis, or if you're interested in history or psychology, you will find this movie fascinating. 

The Dark Knight Rises

Movie: The Dark Knight Rises
Major Actors: Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordan-Levitt, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Most audiences would enjoy this movie.  If you're going to take children, I'd say it would be alright for kids 8 and up.

Review:

I had read many reviews and listened to many reactions of people that saw this before me.  Their reactions were usually, "It's alright, but it's no Dark Knight."  Therefore, I must be the only person that thought this movie was WAY BETTER than the Dark Knight.  And I loved the Dark Knight.  I just thought this one was so much more epic and brilliant.  This was a great movie to wrap up the latest Batman trilogy.  It really tied the three movies together, bringing a lot of the plot line back to the first movie, Batman Begins. 

As far as the actors go, this is my favorite portrayal of Selina Kyle ("catwoman") I've ever seen.  They really didn't over-do the "cat" thing.  Anne Hathaway's only "cat ears" were sunglasses put back on her head.  I also thought she was true to the complexity of the character, which with the character of "catwoman" has always been, "Is she good or bad?"  Bane was a perfectly evil villain. Everyone seems to be talking about his voice.  I thought it was a wonderful "evil villain voice."  However, I thought the stand-out character of the movie was ironically Joseph Gordan-Levitt as Blake.  He was so endearing and heroic, you just couldn't help but love him. 

There are a lot of what I call "little surprises" in the movie, that I won't discuss on here so as not to spoil anything, but each one of them made me very excited, especially the "cameos" and twists. 

To discuss some of the hype surrounding the movie, Rush Limbaugh said that naming the villain "Bane" is a "liberal conspiracy" against Mitt Romney's company, Bain Capital which is a symbol to many liberals of the failures of capitalism.  Well, I hope Limbaugh sees this movie and becomes incredibly embarrassed at his comment because the main plot line of the movie is ACTUALLY anti-communist, not anti-capitalist (as Bane creates a pseudo-communist society in Gotham).  So I thought that was funny.

I must also add that it is truly tragic that 71 people were shot, and some killed senselessly because they were huge fans wanting to see the most anticipated film of the year. It is very hard for most people to believe that something so tragic will forever be remembered alongside this movie.

On DVD - Friends With Kids

I am going to start reviewing some movies that are at the video store on DVD.  I wasn't going to do this at first, but now I think I will. 

Movie: Friends With Kids
Major Actors: Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Whig, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns
Rating: R
Best Audience: This is a good date movie, especially for married couples, maybe not for dating couples.

Review:

This movie says a lot about what having kids does to a couple's relationship.  The lead two characters want to avoid the relationship pitfalls that come with having children, so they decide to have a child together while trying to keep their relationship platonic.  This is complete with awkward and uncomfortable moments that actually made me hide my eyes a few times because it was so embarrassing. 

The main couple is played by Adam Scott and Jennifer Westfeldt.  Their chemistry is great in this movie, but I had  HUGE PROBLEM with Jennifer Westfeldt's speech.  Half of the time, you couldn't understand anything she was saying because she mumbled!  I thought actors were supposed to be articulate!  Kristen Whig played it straight in this movie, playing wife to Jon Hamm's character, who was a total jerk to her.  It was interesting to see her play such a dramatic role, but I am a huge fan of Kristen Whig and think she can do anything.  Chris O'Dowd (who played the cop in Bridesmaids) is also in this movie, and he was sort of the "comic relief," with spot on comedic delivery. 

I liked the movie.  Like I said, it is good for married couples, but if you are just dating, it is probably too serious and may make your partner uncomfortable.  The thing that I didn't like was that the big "movie moment" at the end was kind of ruined by obscene language.  I don't mind obscene language in movies, but not in the big epic ending!  I just feel like that kind of language doesn't have a place in that moment and kind of ruined the sweet, romantic mood. 

Classic Movie Moment of the Week

This week's classic movie moment is an epic scene from Return of the King.  There are many good moments from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this scene can stand alone as amazing in and of itself.  It has a great "movie speech," a great movie line, a heartwrenching moment with epic music in the background.  That is what makes this movie moment perfect!

The Amazing Spiderman

Movie: The Amazing Spiderman
Major Actors:  Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Rhys Ifans
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Even though it's PG-13, I would say young children (especially young boys) would still enjoy it.  So really anyone from around age 5 to adults would enjoy this.

Review:

I must admit, I was one of those people that was highly confused when I saw the trailer for this movie.  I believe thinking "Why are they remaking a movie that just came out 10 years ago?" is a completely normal reaction.  However, this Spiderman is truly better than the three predecessors of this past decade. 

This movie had more of Peter Parker's back story than the other movies had.  It may be confusing to the casual movie-goer, but the girlfriend played by Emma Stone is not the same character Kristen Dunst played.  Kristen Dunst played Mary Jane.  Emma Stone in this new movie plays Gwen Stacey.  Both of these characters were in the comics but Gwen Stacey was his first girlfiend. 

I really liked Andrew Garfield (who was in The Social Network) as Spiderman.  He was very endearing and relatable.  I thought the dynamics between he and Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) were excellent scenes.  The complex relationship between Gwen Stacey's father and Peter Parker was also an interesting dynamic to watch.  However, I'm going to guess most people will enjoy the action sequences in this movie, which are quite captivating. 

Classic Movie Moment of the Week

Once a week, I'm going to post a classic movie moment and this week, it is the "You complete me/you had me at hello" scene from Jerry Maguire.  This scene is heartstopping to any woman.  It is the perfect "movie speech" and contains not one, but two famous movie-lines.  As a matter of fact, 3 out of the top 20 most famous movie lines are from Jerry Maguire (the other one being "Show me the money"). 

Every woman wants to hear something like this after a fight, guys.  Take notes. 

Ted

Movie:  Ted
Major Actors:  Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi
Rating: R
Best Audience: This has an R rating, so only 17 and up can get into the theater to see it.  It can be crude and offensive, so if you can get past that, you will enjoy the comedy.

Review:

Similarly to what I said in my review for The Dictator , adults who are not easily offended and enjoy crude comedy will like this.  Seth MacFarlane's style is very similar to Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40-Year Old Virgin) in that it is crude comedy, with very serious drama added in there too. 

Ted was very funny, and I enjoyed it.  I was surprised at how much drama was in the movie.  The relationship conflict was very real.  The talking teddy bear played by Seth MacFarlane had most of the jokes, however a lot of funny moments in the movie came from Joel McHale (Community), who played the boss of Mila Kunis's character. 

If you enjoy Judd Apatow movies and the show Family Guy, you will probably enjoy this movie.

Prometheus

Movie:  Prometheus
Major Actors:  Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce
Rating: R
Best Audience: Obviously, this has an R rating, so only 17 and up can get into the theater to see it, however, probably 13-year olds and up would enjoy it.  You also have to appreciate Sci-Fi to enjoy it.  And of course, fans of the movie Alien will definitely enjoy it.

Review:

I found this movie to be quite awesome.  Even though it is *technically* a prequel to the movie Alien (with Sigourney Weaver), you do not have to see Alien to enjoy it.  The movie answers the question from the Alien movies of "From where do the aliens come?"  However, it also raises way more questions than it answers.  It talks about a theory about where homo sapiens come from as well.

For the casual movie-goer, this would be a little difficult to follow.  However, if you like a movie that makes you think, and also has a lot of action and suspense, this would be for you.  Also, if you are a fan of the Alien movies, the last 10 seconds of the movie are for you!

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed Prometheus, but I recognize it isn't for everyone.

Madagascar 3

Movie:  Madagascar 3:  Europe's Most Wanted
Major Actors:  Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Francis McDormand, Jessica Chastain
Rating: PG
Best Audience: Children 3 and up would enjoy this.  Some adults might also enjoy it.

Review:

Obviously, kids will love this.  It isn't the best kids movie I've seen, but it is entertaining for a summer afternoon.  I like that the jokes were aimed at children (unlike many kids movies that have embedded adult-oriented jokes in them).  My favorite thing about this movie was the circus imagery, which is awesome in 2-d and 3-d. 

Snow White and the Huntsman

Movie:  Snow White and the Huntsman
Major Actors:  Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Sam Clanfin
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: This movie could be for anyone.  Older children (like 8 and up) would enjoy it, as well as adults.

Review:
Everyone kept saying that this movie was a "dark version" of the famous fairytale.  Actually, I found that this story followed the fairytale rather closely.  It added some things and changed some things, but overall it was a lot closer to the original fairytale than they let on.  One of the best parts of this movie is that it is very visually stunning.  Great imagery and cinematography. 

I'm not typically a fan of Kristen Stewart (she always has this look on her face like something smells bad).  But she actually did a great job at portraying the innocence and purity of Snow White.  Charlize Theron did an excellent job at seeming like pure evil.  This movie was well cast. 

I surprisingly enjoyed this movie.  I truly, truly did not think I would.  I went because there was nothing else out I wanted to see and so I wasn't very enthusiastic and I was very pleasantly surprised. 

What to Expect When You're Expecting

Movie:  What to Expect When You're Expecting
Major Actors:  Jennifer Lopez, Rodrigo Santoro, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Banks, Cameron Diaz, and many more.
Rating: PG-13
Best Audience: Even though it's PG-13, I would say mostly women and couples ages 16 and up would enjoy this movie the most, just because I think it would not be interesting to 13 year olds.

Review:
Okay, this is one of those movies where they pile a bunch of stars into one movie, that all have different story lines under the blanket of being in the same general subject matter.  Previous examples of this phenomenon are (my favorite movie) Love Actually, He's Just Not that Into You, Valentines Day, and New Year's Eve.  Now, let's digress for a moment.  I believe I have figured out the formula to why some of these movies work and some don't:

1.  What to Expect When You're Expecting (the movie I'm reviewing), Love Actually, and He's Just Not that Into You are good movies.
2.  Valentines Day and New Year's Eve are horribly bad movies.

I believe this is because with the movies I mentioned in #1, the stories occurred over a long period of time, so there was time for both character and plot development.  In the movies in #2, they both occurred in one day and had too many story lines happening in one day to have any development in characters or plot.  They were a mess.

Let me get back to my review.  What to Expect When You're Expecting is excellent.  It is heartwarming and hilarious.  I loved all the story-lines in it.  I feel like it really covers the different types of pregnancies and most of the possible things that could happen to you when you're expecting.  The actors do a great job and are both comedic and relatable.  I highly recommend it!

The Dictator

Movie:  The Dictator
Major Actors:  Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris
Rating:  R
Best Audience: Adults who are not easily offended, and who can take serious subjects extremely lightly.  You have to have an easy-going sense of humor.

Review:
This movie was outrageous, but actually pretty funny.  For those of you familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen's work, it is no Borat, but it is worlds better than Bruno.  The Dictator is probably in between those two movies.  Although funny, it is at times a "stupid" kind of funny, and ALWAYS offensive.  Cohen's characters have a way of offending people indiscriminately.  I guess if you have to offend, that is the best way.  So you have to have be light-hearted, easy-going, and not take life too seriously to enjoy this.  Also, the movie has a lot of language, nudity, sex, and other things that give it the R rating.  So, like I said, it is funny, but you must be prepared for all the things I just mentioned.  And if you don't like those things, don't see the movie.

Dark Shadows

Movie:  Dark Shadows
Major Actors:  Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter
Rating:  PG-13
Best Audience: I agree with the rating here.  Most people over 13 would enjoy this movie.  I wouldn't take young children to see it, but if you want to take young children, it really doesn't have very many bad things in it, it's just up to you as a parent.

Review:
I love Tim Burton, but I feel as though it has been a while since he's done something great (Sorry, Alice in Wonderland).  But Dark Shadows is definitely worth seeing.  I was a fan of the soap opera when I was three years old (according to my parents).  I don't remember much about the soap opera, but I do know the movie is more of an homage to the soap opera, rather than trying to be just like it.  It definitely has elements of the original show, such as campiness, twists, and random outrageous supernatural occurences.  However, I think this movie can definitely stand on its own as a great movie.  It is a good story, funny, the characters are interesting and well-developed. 

My main criticism of this movie would be casting.  And its actually not because the casting is bad...it's completely wonderful.  However, Tim Burton has used Johnny Depp and his own wife Helena Bonham Carter in so many of his movies.  I love both Johnny and Helena, but I'm sure there are plenty of other actors that I would love too.  They are not the only ones on the planet, Tim.  I would like to see Tim Burton do future films with actors you wouldn't expect him to work with.  Challenges are fun.  I hope he does it.

Movie Reviews!

I am very excited to start doing a movie review blog!  I definitely see enough movies to write on this subject.  I am going to do every single entry in an organized format to include all the information you'll need to decide if it's a movie you'd like to see or not WITHOUT including spoilers.  If I do include spoilers, I will do you the courtesy of putting it behind a cut. 

My main blog is Woman of All Ages which discusses practical living for modern women with a historical point of view (mostly).  Check it out.