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jake14rh
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American Hustle (2013)
Disappointed, well acted, but story just not there
I was really looking forward to see this movie as soon as I saw the first preview.
I thought they got the look and feel of the 70s right on. Great job with wardrobe, hair, make-up etc. I also thought the performances were very good, especially Bale and Amy Adams. The problem with this movie was the story. It just didn't move. It seemed that from the beginning, they were sure to point out that this was not supposed to be a true telling of the Abscam scandal. It starts with a line saying, "Some of this actually happened." A clever way of telling us that "we embellished the story a lot". Great, they can get creative. The problem is, you didn't feel like you were getting a history lesson, but you also didn't get an entertaining story. It was too slow, too long.
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
Very disappointed
Wow, I'm not sure where to start with this. Firstly, if you're a parent bringing young children, I would reconsider. There's just not much here for kids. I went with my wife, our 8 year old son, and our 11 year old daughter and her friend. The overall mood, tone, and look of the movie are all dark. I'm perfectly fine with having a kids movie that's not all sappy and doesn't necessarily have a moral or lesson. But this is just brooding and meandering. When I think of Where the Wild Things are, I think of "Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!" (It is "begin" in the book, right? I thought it was odd that they said "start" in the movie.) Anyway, that's what I think of, give me some Rumpus! Well, you get about 5 minutes of Rumpus. The rest is monsters bickering and revealing their social issues. The sequel of this movie should be the therapy sessions that explain each of their problems and their sources.
As far as the movie being visually appealing, I'm torn about that. The CGI is terrific. Visually, the movie is dark and Garey like the book is, so I'll give them points for recreating the look of the book well. The costumes are well done. I did find that I was constantly wondering if the projection was out of focus in many sections though. It did become distracting to me. I'm not sure if it was our theater or what.
Let's talk about plot. The short of it is, the book does not have much of a plot, and the movie stuck to that. Usually, when a movie is made out of material that is short, more is added to the story to be able to carry it for 90 minutes. They simply didn't do that. I thought the beginning was well done setting up Max's sad view of his life, but it carried on just a bit too long. I found myself thinking
OK, I get it, the kid feels lonely, let's get to the Rumpus! We get to the island, and surprise, there's not just monsters, these monsters are complex and unhappy. I think a previous reviewer hit the nail on the head, it's the Breakfast Club with Monsters, well said! You have a quick Rumpus, a well done done dirtball fight containing one moment of levity, and outside of that, it's a lot of wondering if something very bad is going to happen to Max. The tone always made me feel that Max was in danger from the very beginning. I kept thinking, nothing REALLY bad can happen, this is a children's book. The tone, the look, and the soundtrack kept a dark ominous feeling. I found it to be WAAAAYYY too much. I was waiting for some sort of storyline to develop, something out of a child's imagination. It was just conflict and darkness. It goes on and on, really meandering, and then as if the writer looked at his watch, it was time for Max to leave. He left, went home, saw mom, hugged mom, the end.
I just thought it was too ominous and dark for too long. It definitely seemed self-indulgent to me. "Look, I can take a story and keep it dark and menacing even if it was a children's book!" Congratulations, you did that. That would make an interesting 20 minute featurette, but it carries on way too long here without any payoff. My 8 year old didn't like it at all, and my 11 year old daughter and her friend said it was OK. As an adult, the book was entertaining and the movie was not.
I Am Legend (2007)
Great idea, but they forgot a compelling story
I never read the book or saw the first movie, so I had no pre-conceived notions going in.
It starts out very well, with scenes of a post-apocalyptic New York that is very well done. Intrigueing. They also do a good job of building what it's like to be a person in his position, thinking maybe he is the last "person" on earth. It seemed to me that they just kept building, and building, and never got to a compelling story. I was waiting for some twists or developments, but just found myself becoming annoyed when it never came. Spoilers******* Then the woman and boy show up, and I'm figuring, here we go, now we'll learn some things. Ahhh...no. We drove up from Delaware. Great. Let me finish my cornflakes before I ask you any questions. By the time the point came where they entered his house, I didn't really care if he died.
Why was he hunting deer? What was the deal with the lead zombie? So how exactly did this small woman and kid save him from so many crazed zombies at night? Good idea, good special effects (the zombie CGI didn't bother me), but lacking in a story. Yes, I get it, it's hard being the last person, but something needs to happen. A big disappointment.
The Polar Express (2004)
Stunning, absolutely stunning
I saw this movie two days ago, and I must say that I'm very surprised at the current low rating of 7.0.
I was amazed by this movie. I saw the IMAX 3-D version. I really suggest that you see it this way. I have never seen such a spectacle in a theater. I have never seen a movie more than once in the theater, but I may see this one again, because that experience can't nearly be duplicated at home.
I thought they did a fantastic job with this wonderful children's book. I really am surprised at the negative comments from people. I don't know maybe in a normal theater it would just be a very good movie. Many people are commenting about the lifeless look of the characters, I guess that is somewhat true, but it didn't bother me at all. I think the actors did excellent work with the voices. That brought them to life for me. Tom Hanks is so good.
I went to the movie with two families, 4 adults and six children ages 3,4,4,6,10, and 10. There were some parts that I think can be scary for small children, but none of the ones in our group had trouble with it. My three year old son hid his eyes during the scene where the toy came to life and yelled at the boy, but it was over quickly, and he went back to enjoying the movie. I must say though, that I think it's a shame to have scenes in a movie like this that can potentially scare young kids. It's just unnecessary. Why put doubts in parent's minds?
I think anyone of any age (above 3) would LOVE this movie. Go see it in IMAX. I think it's an instant classic.
Man on the Moon (1999)
Interesting, but not that entertaining
Deciding whether or not to see this movie is relatively simple. If:
1) You are a big Andy Kaufman fan, or 2) You've heard about this Kaufman guy and want to know more about him, or 3) Want to see an excellent performance by Jim Carrey,
see it.
If you're just looking for an entertaining movie, skip it.
It's not really a funny movie. It's more of a serious movie about a really strange guy's life. The basic point of the movie was that Kaufman's career was really geared towards making himself laugh rather than his audience. For most people, Latka, Mighty Mouse, and the Jerry Lawler bits were funny, but beyond that, most of Kaufman's stuff was just funny to him. I found it interesting to see the whole story because I grew up during the Kaufman era and vaguely remember much of the stuff in the movie.
Interesting from a biographical perspective, but not that entertaining.
The Paper (1994)
Simple, A pretty good movie with many stars.
It's a simple, decent movie. 7 out of 10.
Don't expect too much just because of all of the very good actors in the movie. It's a simple story about a power struggle at a newspaper, between one side trying to get the story right, and the other just trying to do their jobs.
This movie could have been alot better. The general storyline is good, but not much was done with it. The middle does drag a little bit, and not much drama is introduced until a very good sequence at the end.
The performances were very good but the script was so-so.
Face/Off (1997)
Very cool idea, pretty good movie, ridiculously long ending
7 out of 10
I loved the idea of this movie. Sure it's kind of silly to think that just switching two peoples faces would make them look just like the other, but it's an action movie, let it go.
I thought this was a pretty good movie, but the ending just ruined it for me. How many shots do you think they fired at each other? After about 10 minutes of that, I found myself looking at my watch to see when it was going to end. Make the ending good, not excruciatingly long!
Random Hearts (1999)
What a disappointment!
3 out of 10
The previews looked good. What an interesting idea, a plane crashes and two people find out that their spouses were travelling together as lovers.
Good idea yes, good movie, NO.
If your expecting drama, it's not there, if you're expecting romance, look elsewhere. 45 minutes into this movie, I was really wondering where it was going. I was expecting some plot twist to add some intrigue. After an hour and a half, I was expecting that the two story lines would be brought together somehow. Neither ever came.
It's funny, I'm not a movie critic. I don't examine the dialogue to judge a script, but the dialogue just jumps out as really bad. I don't know how many times my wife and I looked at each other at the same time wondering how what a character just said made sense. I never turn off a movie before it's over because you never know how the ending will change or explain things.
Movies like this make me think rethink that strategy.