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Jinxed (2013)
Bad Luck in the Story Department
This movie is a noble effort, but it makes choices or errors that are hard to overlook. One is that if the family really had a curse of bad luck, then nothing good would ever happen for them and that they wouldn't be able to really live happy lives at all. Despite that, I think the part about the dad finding errors in machines using the bad luck was really clever though, even though his bad luck should actually prevent him from doing so instead. Another is more of a criticism of a choice made by the writer, but still really matters. I know the writer was going for a moral of be who you are and staying that way will make you happy, but if the curse was created through the means of a dispute (for dumb reasons come to think of it) between the Murphys and the O'Learys/Murrays, then why not make it so that the resolution/reconciliation of that dispute by the ancestors would not just reverse the curse, but break it forever? If they'd had the coin fall into the fountain while Meg and Brett kissed and the curse be broken as a result, that would have worked so much better. Plus, the moral could have instead been that you're allowed to overcome the obstacles in life that prevent you from being happy as long as you acknowledge that you have to face them and not avoid them. Not acknowledging why that idea couldn't work in a convincing and believable way left me with a dissatisfied feeling in the end because of it. This didn't have to be a perfect movie in any way, it just needed to be more coherent. Swindle actually had much more consistent and thoughtful writing and that is what made it surprisingly good. It looks as though those who worked on Jinxed tried, but not hard enough.
Morning Glory (2010)
What's the Story? (Is "Morning" a "Glory"?)
What's the story? That is what one of the few draw-in lines and a few of the posters for the new movie Morning Glory have been saying and although the story is a fairly simple one, it succeeds thanks to the high entertainment value that it gives to the audience. The moment that I had finished viewing the movie tonight, I was debating with myself about what kind of grade to give it. I was stuck between either an A- or a B+ and I ultimately decided on the latter because even though I am reluctant to say that it was not a great movie, I had a lot of fun and I think that many other people would too. Don't get me wrong, I am still giving it three stars. I am just trying to say that it does not make a three and a half or four star rating because the approximately five to six hysterical moments that we get in the movie (one of them involving the use of a rain stick as a euphemism and the others revolving around the physical and manic humor that a supporting actor provides in his scenes) are all limited in the amount of time that they take up in the movie's almost two hour running time, but do help to carry the rest of the film since we enjoy watching the actors interact with each other and the use of these ingenious occurrences that achieve perfect executions thanks to the smart writing that went into the screenplay. Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller; a smart, but overachieving TV News producer who is fired from her from job as doing so allows them to bring in a seemingly more suitable replacement. Looking for work, she sends her resume every appropriate place possible until she persuades the skeptical IBS studio employer Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) to hire her as the executive producer for the fourth place morning talk show, DayBreak. After Becky fires a creepy and sexually-charged co-anchor, (Ty Burrell, of Modern Family) she begins to search for a reasonable and more-fitting replacement. She settles on a man who is a news idol in her eyes, Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). He is a very serious, over-the-top, and overly dramatic man that to a full-blown degree, he avoids light and whimsical stories at all costs, it comes to the point that he and his more flexible, but still negative and demanding co-anchor Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) are at each other's throats. Becky does find time, but very little, for romance with another studio worker named Adam Bennett (Patrick Wilson), but it is not really that well-developed or hugely delved into as the movie focuses more on the professional relationship between Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford, which is actually a more intelligent decision in my opinion. Morning Glory could definitely be seen as a movie that has multiple flaws, but it is purely a harmless entertainment flick that with the radical and unorthodox, but generally effective changes that Becky makes to the show, turns into a riotous, hugely entertaining, and tenderly heartwarming comedy that invests us in both the show and the characters who work at it. As to whether or not Harrison Ford will get an Academy Award nomination (his first in twenty-five years) is unclear at this time to me. From my perspective, I think he should since I did like his performance more than the Academy Award winning performance of Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side. He also has two great bring down the house scenes at the end of this movie that will both thrill viewers and leave them satisfied as well. Morning Glory is a don't miss delight that should definitely not be passed up for any reason at all.
Law & Order: Under the Influence (1998)
Always Do the Right Thing
When I first found out what Under the Influence was about, I had already seen the episode Aftershock. (This comment also contains spoilers from that episode.) I was hoping that I would enjoy this episode, I'm pleasantly surprised to say that Under the Influence, out of every episode that I have seen, is one of my favorite episodes. In the episode, a hit-and-run incident results in the deaths of three people. Those three people are a man, his young son, and another man. Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Rey Curtis and Lt. Anita van Buren are put on the case to find the driver. At one point, it is hinted that Curtis's wife was a victim in a hit-and-run, although it is not explored like another important plot point. When they finally do find the man, they discover that he hit the people to scare his girlfriend, also in the car. However, it is also revealed that he had about fifteen drinks in the airport bar before the killings occurred. This means that it is possible that his judgment was too impaired for him to have formed motive or intent. Executive ADA Jack McCoy, ADA Jamie Ross, and DA Adam Schiff bring the case to court. But McCoy teams up with Judge Gary Feldman to conceal the fact that the suspect was too drunk to think clearly. Feldman is doing it for political purposes, but McCoy is still enraged over the death of Ross's predecessor Claire Kinkaid, under similar circumstances. McCoy's moral sense of what's right and wrong returns when he realizes that the suspect is truly sorry and brings in the evidence to make sure the man gets a fair sentence, much to the disapproval of the angry Feldman. The episode is slow going at first, but the way it picks up is what made it great. With another beyond great performance from Sam Waterston, McCoy once again proves that he's not just doing his job, but also doing what he knows should be done. He may be the Executive ADA, but he's also a hero as well. Although he is still enraged over the injustice involving the drunk driver who killed Kinkaid, (only served 12 months) McCoy comes to understand that the man on trial is not responsible for that crime and that by trying to send him to an unlawful death would be an injustice in itself. He also genuinely forgives the driver, even though he doesn't give a formal apology. With the evidence of the driver's drinking (for lack of a better term) in the mix, McCoy offers the man a five to fifteen year sentence that is completely acceptable. The driver accepts and the sentence is past, therefore ending the trial. The episode triumphs in getting the audiences interested and keeping them interested throughout. Next time it shows up on TNT, take the time to give it a watch.
Mercury Rising (1998)
Hot on Drama, Hot on Suspense
After I saw Domestic Disturbance, I wondered what other movies Harold Becker had directed. I looked him up and I found out he had directed Mercury Rising. I saw most of the movie last night and I finished it this morning. I thought I would like it, I loved it. I compared it to movies such as Firewall and 16 Blocks. I came to the conclusion that it was better than both of them. Bruce Willis does a very good job at playing the movie's caring and FBI hero. Alec Baldwin has a good on-screen presence as the villain who goes overboard when a government secret is exposed. Miko Hughes who I recognized from Full House does a great job as the autistic kid that the hero takes under his wing. Finally, Bruce Willis and Miko Hughes have a great on-screen chemistry together. After I finished watching the movie, I watched Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review the movie. I thought at least one of them would have agreed with me. Then I read Ebert's full review where he talked about the villain's predictable death. The death involves him being wounded by the hero and then tumbling off the top of the building. He didn't complain when it was used in Hollywood Homicide because he liked that movie. I, however, love that cliché and welcome it with open arms. The film may have been overlooked by the critics, but it was not overlooked by audiences. I highly recommend Mercury Rising.
Poseidon (2006)
Critics have been misled.
Last night I found myself having the experience I had when I first saw Titanic. I liked this movie almost as much as Titanic which I consider to be one of the best movies I've ever seen. The critics, including Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, have said that the story and characters were not developed enough and the main characters were all too good. Well I have to say this. The story and the characters were developed enough and it didn't have to have any human antagonists because the messed up ship is a big enough antagonist for the whole movie. The biggest heroes in the film are Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell) and Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas). But I consider the biggest hero of the whole movie to be Robert because without the sacrifice he made that cost him his life, Dylan could not have saved the rest of the survivors. This movie was a good movie despite what Ebert, Roeper, and the rest of the critics thought.
Click (2006)
Best Movie This Year So Far
Today is my fifteenth birthday and I got a present I'll never ever forget. My mom took me,a friend,and my brother to see this movie. When Click had first come out,people thought it was gonna be just a goofy comedy. But as the ending comes closer it turns into a provocative drama. I watched Ebert and Roeper review the movie before I saw it. Roger Ebert said "The movie is being sold as a comedy,but you know what? This isn't funny." Richard Roeper said "I think if you're going to have a David Hasselhoff type of character and you're going to have the flatulence type of humor,then just go in that direction. Don't try to put in all this sappy stuff." The comedy in the film was entertaining and the emotion was very powerful. How powerful? I cried after I saw the final conversation he had with his father and how he was mean to him. I also cried during the scene at the end when he himself was dying. I didn't cry when I saw Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith,but I cried when I saw Click. After seeing this movie, I wanted to hug Adam Sandler and praise him. This is by far, the best movie of this year so far and my favorite Adam Sandler movie.
In Good Company (2004)
Out Bad Company (SPOILERS)
How come when a person sees a movie they don't expect disappointment? I didn't expect to be disappointed when I saw In Good Company. The film is about a businessman who becomes the associate to a man half his age. When the boss meets his associate's daughter,they have an understanding and then a relationship. When the associate (Dennis Quaid) finds out about his daughter's (Scarlett Johansson) relationship,he goes nuts.So she breaks up with his boss (Topher Grace). Then because of the stupid CEO's sellout,Topher Grace looses his job and starts a new life. I'm saying that this movie didn't meet my expectations. I liked the movie up to the part where its ending began. The things that I wanted to see happen were: I wanted to see him get his job back,I wanted to see them get back together,and I wanted Dennis Quaid's newborn baby to be a boy.If you listen to the critics about this maybe you'll like it. But I listened to the critics and it got me this disappointment. The ending to Firewall which I liked and other people didn't was better than this ending. The movie wasn't disappointing,just the ending. That's all I have to say.
Firewall (2006)
Very Enjoyable
On 2/23/06,I saw Firewall at the theater and the critics are dead wrong about it. A lot of people think that Harrison Ford is getting too old to be an action star,but I'm not one of those people.People also SPOILERS thought the ending wasn't good enough,and I'm not one of those people.When I first see a movie,I expect it to be really good and it usually is.I recommend that when you see this movie if you haven't already,you try to enjoy it. If you don't try to enjoy it then you'll be unsatisfied.No one and I mean no one wants to be unsatisfied.Now do they? Harrison Ford's character Jack Stanfield was a good hero and Paul Bettany's character Bill Cox was a good villain.