Change Your Image
Thomps2525
Reviews
Cars (2006)
Scene-Stealing Scenery
Throughout "Cars", the scenery (including deserts, mountains, trees, and waterfalls) looks so realistic you'd swear the cars were digitally inserted into film footage! The overhead shot of the Los Angeles raceway and the scenes of thousands of cars in the bleachers are the most elaborate scenes that Pixar has ever done. The "starring" cars themselves are as anthropomorphic as Pixar could make them, a vast improvement over Disney's old cartoon,"Suzie, The Little Blue Coupe." Each car has a distinct personality. The best are Tow Mater, the tow truck, and Fillmore, the 1960s Volkswagen bus who, if he were human, would be referred to as an "old hippie." Lots of clever car-related gags too. And the closing credits, where the cars are watching movies at the drive-in, are the best part of the film!
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Tim Allen's third holiday film is excellent
Critics are paid to see movies and offer negative comments. We paid to see "Christmas With The Cranks" and found nothing negative to say about it. It was a novel premise with several interesting characters. Tim Allen played his role very similar to that of his "Home Improvement" character. It worked on television and it works in this movie as well. We could feel his frustration at seeing his holiday plans confounded. The movie is set in Riverside, Illinois, but the scene at the market was filmed in Verdugo City, north of Glendale, California, where snow never occurs without the aid of special-effects people. It was fun to see our local store--covered with "snow"--in the film. We enjoyed this film as much as we did Allen's two "Santa Clause" movies and recommend it for all ages. And pay close attention to Santa.
Uptown Girls (2003)
Upstaged by a pig?
Brittany Murphy tries way too hard to act ditzy in the first half of "Uptown Girls." Her pet pig is far more endearing than she is. Dakota Fanning is every bit as charming as she was in "I Am Sam", although her charm is not as immediately evident. She has a harsh exterior that has to be penetrated, and the way it's finally penetrated is quite touching. I'd give the film a B-plus, but Brittany's excessive acting style, which does get toned down near the movie's conclusion, compels me to knock the grade down to a B-minus. Dakota is, by far, the better actress here.
Bruce Almighty (2003)
Funny but perpetuates a myth
"Bruce Almighty" is clever, funny, thought-provoking, and filled with Bible-based sight gags that will easily be overlooked by those who aren't familiar with God's Word. Morgan Freeman's portrayal of God was done as righteously (pun intended) as a human could do it. I won't spoil the ending, but there are lessons learned about God and prayer and power, lessons that should far outweigh anyone's fears that the film is sacrilegious or blasphemous. My only complaint involved a reference to someone being "frozen stiff" like Walt Disney. This gag just perpetuates the myth that began shortly after Walt's death in 1966. Walt's body was not frozen but was cremated and interred in a Forest Lawn cemetery. Shame on the filmmakers!
Le peuple migrateur (2001)
You'll forget about the cameras
"Winged Migration" is playing at selected theatres in spring of 2003. It is well worth seeking out. You'll feel as though you're soaring right alongside the migrating cranes, geese, ducks, eagles, and other birds, and you'll completely forget about the fact that there had to be flying cameras close by. The scenery is majestic, the photography is beautiful, the birds' antics are often comical, and the baby birds are charming. Macaws, conures, puffins, penguins, and pelicans appear too. The only painful-to-watch scenes were those showing crabs attacking an injured bird and others showing hunters shooting ducks out of the sky. God instills in each bird the migratory instinct, and it seemed rather disappointing to witness that behavior shot down (literally as well as figuratively). Overall, the film truly deserves the often over-used adjective assigned undeservedly to far too many films---"Winged Migration" is awesome!
The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
Cute, clean, and clever
Hilary Duff is cute, so naturally her movie is cute too, although there are far too many shots of her merely reacting instead of acting. "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" will not disappoint fans of the TV series. Unlike kids' movies produced by other studios, this film has the humor we expect from Disney, namely, clean and good-spirited. Most of us have gone through embarrassing situations, although perhaps not as extreme as those that befall Lizzie, and most of us have been intimidated by a school authority figure similar to Miss Ungermeyer. Therefore, feeling sympathetic to Lizzie comes naturally, and identifying with the lead character is the first requirement for a good movie. The climactic scene involving Hilary and Paolo includes a couple very clever twists that I didn't anticipate, and I truly felt happy for Hilary's character. The music is fun too. My vote, for whatever it's worth, is a 9 out of 10.
Holes (2003)
Flashback-filled but fun
Not being familiar with the book that "Holes" was adapted from, I was unprepared for the extremely high number of flashbacks and sometimes even a flashback WITHIN a flashback. By the end of the film, though, every confusing aspect of the plot has been satisfactorily explained. The character of Mr. Sir is particularly entertaining, and of course we just KNOW that he'll get his comeuppance. My only complaint is one that Disney's special-effects crew should have fixed---a rainstorm didn't appear very believable because sunlight still covered the ground and everyone cast shadows.
Kangaroo Jack (2003)
Original and hilarious
A measly one-half star was given to "Kangaroo Jack" by the reviewer for the Daily News, and the Los Angeles Times reviewer hated the movie too. They must have just been in a grouchy mood. We saw it and laughed out loud at several places, something we seldom do with any movie. The plot was truly original, the scenery was breathtaking, and the characters were unique. Jerry O'Connell and Anthony Anderson remind us a lot of Nickelodeon stars Kenan and Kel. A hilarious scene involving an airplane restroom had a string of double-entendres that could have fit in an "Austin Powers" movie. Out of ten stars, heck, we give "Kangaroo Jack" all ten of 'em, mate!
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Believable but contains goofs
"Catch Me If You Can" is such a meticulously crafted movie that seeing it makes me wish I had read Frank Abagnale's book first. Leonardo DiCaprio is not only believable as the "con man" (Frank), his character is downright impossible to dislike. Tom Hanks is excellent as the no-nonsense but somewhat inept FBI man trying to nab Frank. When friends are anxious to hear him tell a joke, he obliges...sort of. That scene can not be told here. Unfortunately, the careful attention to re-creating the look of the 1960s failed in two places: a scene set in 1967 shows a girl singing the 1969 song "Leaving On A Jet Plane", and in a 1969 scene Frank's dad is wearing a "U S Postal Service" jacket depicting a horse on the sleeve, even though the "Post Office Department" did not become "Postal Service" until 1970, at which time an eagle logo replaced the horse. Aside from those two goofs, the film is engrossing and enjoyable, although I'm certain that the real Frank Abagnale was not so skilled at all the fakery as the movie makes him out to be. All the con jobs are accomplished without anyone seeming the slightest bit suspicious. The old image of "shooting fish in a barrel" comes to mind. The movie's character should have had more obstacles to overcome instead of achieving his cons so facilely. At the end, a part of me was left wishing that Frank could have gotten away with all his stunts. For me, "Catch Me If You Can" catches three and a half stars out of four.
Hansel & Gretel (2002)
A kids TV show on the big screen
The Brothers Grimm wrote a short story called "Hansel & Gretel." Tag Entertainment did a fair job at converting it into a movie, although the film probably would play better on television. The film switches back and forth between the actual story of Hansel & Gretel and the father who is reading the Hansel & Gretel story to his kids. The kids, one of whom is Dakota Fanning (from "I Am Sam") are far better actors than the adults. Delta Burke's character, in particular, is very exaggerated and over-the-top, in the style of Edie McClurg. The woods that Hansel & Gretel get lost in are painfully obvious indoor sets. Trees in the background are flat paintings and, in the more distant background, there appears a blue wall where there should be dense stands of trees. Kids won't notice, though, and the movie is aimed at kids. The Sandman, as portrayed by Howie Mandel, comes across as buffoonish and silly and not very likable. And why oh why does almost every kid-oriented movie have to contain so many farts and belches? But of course "Hansel & Gretel" made no promises to greatness, and the average kid will enjoy it.