Movies Archive

« Older Entries

Midnight in Paris

Posted June 4, 2012 By dorolerium

Midnight in ParisStarring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, & Tom Hiddleston

My Review: I’ve had Midnight in Paris on my Netflix list for awhile, but became more encouraged to bump it up on the list after recently reading The Paris Wife.  I found myself a bit enchanted with the time period and wanted to experience more of it, much like Gil (Owen Wilson) in the movie.  The basic plot is that Gil falls in love with Paris while  traveling there with his fiance Inez (Rachel McAdams), and is especially nostalgic for Paris in the ’20s.  By the magic of some weird taxi, the clock strikes midnight and he is able to go back in time to explore this period, meeting influential people like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Gertrude Stine.

Gil and Inez have very different ideas about what their ideal life would be – since he cannot live in 1920s Paris, he’d substitute modern day Paris in the rain as his ideal location.  Inez is more content to live somewhere in the states, probably Malibu, having Gil continue his screenwriting career instead of pursuing a career writing novels.  This is a bit of a struggle to watch, since it doesn’t seem like a scenario that will play out well in the end.

Woody Allen does a great job of portraying the time period in all its glory.  All accounts of the lives of these famous people show them as being a little wild and crazy, we even get to see a scene of Zelda wanting to jump into a river to end it all.  My only regret is that we don’t get to meet Hadley Richardson in the movie, who was Hemingway’s wife at the time.  I would have loved to see her there with all the rest of them, that practical voice to their extravagance.

I found myself surprised that I enjoyed the way this idea was presented: that there is always a “golden age” for every period, something they look back on and admire.  At first I found the method to be a bit irritating, but the ultimate way it came out was interesting.  And anything that throws in time at the Moulin Rouge is always a good time by me!

My overall impression of the movie is a bit difficult to nail down, because I really was hoping Gil would spend a lot  more time with Hemingway and Fitzgerald.  However, it was a good movie in the end, and one of the better of Woody Allen’s of late.  I think I like his current work better than things he was making 20 years ago, if for no better reason than he is no longer casting himself as the protagonist.

See this movie if: You’re a fan of the time period, or Woody Allen.  I think it will appeal to both kind of people.

My Rating: 3.5/5 – Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Tom Hiddleston (F. Scott Fitzgerald) played Loki in The Avengers which had a cameo by Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof played Wesley Wyndam Price on season three of BTVS

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

The Avengers

Posted May 21, 2012 By dorolerium

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon!!!The Avengers

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark Ruffalo, & Scarlett Johansson

My Review: I don’t know a whole lot about comic book heroes, all of what I do know I learned from watching movies and reading Wikipedia.  However, anyone who knows anything about me can attest to how much I absolutely adore anything Joss Whedon, so there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to see this movie.  I even watched all the other movies that sort of lead into this one, just so I could be prepared!

I went into this movie with all the back story movies fresh in my mind from watching them over the weekend, which in hindsight was a good idea.  Although I don’t feel like you necessarily HAD to watch those movies, it helped quite a lot.  Like the brief reference to Jane Foster only made sense because I watched Thor the day before.  And the whole goal of the movie was really just one big reference to Captain America, possibly the dullest superhero I’ve seen in a very long time.

My adoration of Joss Whedon aside, I did quite enjoy this movie.  RDJ as Tony Stark was as funny as it always is, and he alone can make me watch a movie I may not have been interested in otherwise.  I was also a bit amused by the idea that Nick Fury half expected all these people to get along – you get a group of super humans together and there are bound to be some ego clashes, not to mention physical fights.

I would have liked this movie regardless of Joss’ involvement, but I think him being at the helm pushed it over the edge for me in terms of getting me to the theater and loving the movie.  I’ve been wondering for a long time what Joss would do if given a full budget, and I can say it didn’t disappoint.  He managed to get me to enjoy a superhero movie enough that I will likely see it in theaters a second time – I haven’t done that since The Dark Knight!  I can definitely say that Joss Whedon made this movie for me, I probably wouldn’t have seen it in theaters had it not been for him.

There were a couple of things that I’m guessing Joss had direct involvement with that really made this movie for me.  First, I went beyond tolerating The Hulk to actually liking him.  Hulk is one of my least favorite characters because he’s just so dull and has somewhat pointless mayhem.  I’ve got a theory that Joss had a big hand in humanizing the Hulk, and it was just what that character needed.  Additionally, Mark Ruffalo was just fantastic and by far the best representation of Bruce Banner in the last decade.  I was actually really surprised by how much I adored that character, and I kind of hope they do a Hulk movie with him…although we so do not need another Hulk reboot anytime soon.

Second, and I’m positive Joss was one hundred percent responsible for this, was the inclusion of both Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse) and Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse), who are Whedon alumnists.  It’s quite possible that the friend I went with was the only other person in the theater who recognized Enver as a Whedon man.  This is one of my favorite things about Joss – he reuses actors he likes, who are people I can’t help but like because he creates such amazing characters.  I appreciate that he made the effort to do this, especially in a movie where his main cast was already basically established, with the exception of Bruce Banner.

So, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a sequel, since they did set the end of it up for something new.  Assuming that’s the case, it’ll be a little while because each of these main characters (Ironman, Captain America, & Thor) all are rumored to have their own movies coming out in the next couple of years.  If nothing else, I think this means very good things for Joss in the future, and of course I love that!

See this movie if: You either like comic books, summer blockbusters, or Joss Whedon.  I think this movie would appeal to most people, honestly.

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline amazing!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
It’s so easy I’m not even going to run this one for you!

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

The Hunger Games

Posted March 31, 2012 By dorolerium

The Hunger GamesStarring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, & Lenny Kravitz

My Review: Like many people, I was pretty excited for this movie to come out.  The anticipation of waiting for it was almost enough to make me burst!  Especially since I deliberately waited until about a month before the movie came out to read the books, knowing I wanted the story fresh in my mind before seeing it come to the big screen.

I enjoyed this movie adaptation, a lot better than I thought I would.  I’m often disappointed with movies based on books I’ve read, there are usually so many details missing that I get quite wrapped up in that fact and can’t enjoy the rest of the story.  And there were definitely missing or changed details in this one, but it wasn’t bad enough that I felt like it took away from everything else.

One of my favorite things by far was the casting, particularly Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz.  They did a great job of embodying the characters they portrayed, and I honestly wish there could have been more of them in the movie, especially Lenny since Cinna is my favorite character in the books.  Jennifer Lawrence was also pretty fantastic, she was everything I would hope Katniss to be.  And as a Peeta fan from the start, who is also a little obsessed with Josh Hutcherson right now, I quite adored him as well.

I don’t normally see a movie on opening weekend, so I think it says a lot that I made a serious effort to do so.  I really couldn’t wait any longer than that!  I think I’ll probably see it again, in fact, once the hubbub has died down a little bit.  I know there will probably be some complaints from fans of the books, and I do think it would have benefitted from being split into two movies, but overall, it was a pretty good adaptation.  I’m sad I’ve got to wait for the other two!

See this movie if: My uncle says this was a borderline “chick movie” – I disagree, but that being said, I don’t think the target audience is men.  Anyone who has read the books will probably like this, or if you’re looking for a fun movie during an afternoon, go see it!

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline amazing!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Josh Hutcherson was in The Kids Are All Right with Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo is playing Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming movie The Avengers, which is written and directed by geek god Joss Whedon, aka the creator of BTVS

Filed in Movies | Tagged:

Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire

Posted January 28, 2012 By dorolerium

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, & Rupert Grint

My Review: Oooooh Harry Potter, always getting yourself into trouble!  This time, Harry is mysteriously and illegally entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament – which he shouldn’t be able to enter as he is not yet 17.  This proves to be problematic both from the tournament perspective, and personally, as many of the students believe Harry tricked the Goblet into allowing him to enter his name.  Unfortunately, Ron is among them and it causes a big rift between him and Harry.

Obviously, the book was better than the movie.  These books are generally pretty thick, and it’s hard to get everything necessary in for the movie.  They hit all the important points, but I did feel like the animosity between Harry and Ron wasn’t felt as much in the movie as it was in the book.  Probably because we get hundreds of pages on it during the novel, but the movie is a little more than two hours and it just doesn’t compare.

That being said, I liked the movie fine.  The most important things that take place are covered well enough that I didn’t have too many complaints, and as Lord Voldemort is one of my favorite characters, anything that features him is good with me.  Plus this book/movie contains one of my favorite lines of the series…

Kill the spare!

On the whole, while I didn’t love it and do wish this one had been split into two movies, it definitely could have been worse.  The cast does a good job, as you would expect from this cast, and by this point I think we’re all invested in the characters enough to feel the pain they’re all going through during the tournament and the other drama that surrounds it.  That being said, I highly recommend that you read the books in addition to seeing these movies, because the magic you’ll experience through the reading is beyond words, and the movies cannot do them justice.

See this movie if: You’ve seen the others, and want to continue the series.  Don’t watch them out of order unless you’ve read the books, though!

My Rating: 3/5 – Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Robert Pattinson (who plays Cedric Diggory) was in Water for Elephants with Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon was in Cruel Intentions with Sarah Michelle Gellar

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

Scream 4

Posted January 27, 2012 By dorolerium

Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, & almost every other young star in the book

My Review: To an extent, I had somewhat high hopes for this movie.  It’s a bit crazy on my part, since Scream 3 was so absolutely horrible that the only thing I can think about it is how I liked Sidney’s jacket, the rest is just a blur of blah.  But I knew that Kevin Williamson was back as the writer for this one, and I trust him since the first two movies were so good.

I don’t want to go so far as to say that trust was misplaced, but this movie was definitely NOT as good as Scream and Scream 2.  The opening scene in these movies is crucial to me, and they opted to take the fake openings of the supposed last two Stab movies (the movies within the Scream world that are based on what happened, sooooo meta) before they show their actual opening scene.  I think this was simply so they could throw in some cameos from people like Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell.  Obviously since I don’t know Kevin Williamson, I don’t have the opportunity to ask him if he thought this would be awesome, or if he was taking the chance to mock some of the conventions of horror movies that are out now.  I’m hoping it’s the latter.

The next thing that got me was that holy cow is this a big cast.  You’ve got Sidney, Gail, and Dewey obviously.  But the whole premise is that Woodsborough is happening all over again, so you’ve got your entire high school cast again.  For me, none of them managed to reach the same level as the original cast in that particular situation – the boyfriend wasn’t as annoying or charming as Billy Loomis, which is saying a lot because I don’t find Skeet Ulrich to be attractive at all.  The new version of Randy wasn’t as fun, throwing in a gay character simply for the sake of having one bored me, and I didn’t really buy Hayden Panettiere as the quirky best friend as much as I did Rose McGowan.

Everything in this movie just had to be BIGGER & CRAZIER than in the original.  Maybe my reaction is a sign of me having just moved on from the target market for this movie, I definitely don’t watch the popular horror flicks of today like I did back when I was in high school.  The original Scream has a soft spot in my heart, I probably still watch that movie at least once a year, and it never gets old for me.  But hey, at least they seem to have moved past the idea of Sidney ever having a good relationship!  Actually, I bet if Patrick Dempsey hadn’t gotten so popular in the years since Scream 3, they would still be together.

All that being said, this is the third best movie in the series, because almost anything is better than the previous one.  I read that the ultimate idea was to possibly start a second trilogy if this movie did well enough, which would be interesting but I’m not sure how it would go.  Would they essentially retire our beloved Sidney & Co?  Or would those people continue to have smaller and smaller roles?  As a fan of the series overall, I would still see those movies and I’m curious as to what they may come up with.

See this movie if: So I don’t NOT recommend this movie, but I don’t exactly recommend it either.  It was okay.  Since it’s out on DVD now, you may want to rent it, or wait until it’s on cable.  I plan to rewatch once it finally hits HBO.

My Rating: 3/5 – Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Obviously, since Sarah Michelle Gellar was in Scream 2, this is an easy link.  The nice thing is it adds a link for a whooooole bunch of people that I see in other things!

Filed in Movies | Tagged:

Valentine’s Day

Posted May 27, 2011 By dorolerium

Starring Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, and tons of other people!

It’s impossible for me to watch this movie without thinking of He’s Just Not That Into You, which I haven’t reviewed on here, but I intend to because I love it.  So with that in mind, I watched this movie with reasonably high expectations.

And ultimately ended up wishing I could make some changes with the cast to maybe make this one better, Justin Long instead of Ashton Kutcher being the biggest thing I would change.  And in turn I would love to have thrown Topher Grace and Jennifer Garner into He’s Just Not That Into You, in place of the dude from Entourage and Jennifer Connely.  Anyway, enough of my casting decisions – on to the movie!

There were some story lines that I loved, particularly the gay Eric Dane cuz of how I love gay men so much, and the Anne Hathaway/Topher Grace section.  I’m just in love with Topher Grace anyway so I basically adore him all the time.  Hell, I even liked him in Spider Man 3.

On the other hand, I had a very hard time feeling bad for Ashton Kutcher’s character through his whole thing, cuz he drives me insane.  And I’m not super thrilled about the idea of someone proposing to me on Valentine’s Day in general – men of the world take note: I don’t want a proposal on any holiday or my birthday.  Proposals should be completely separate of any other special occasion.

The truth is, I don’t love this movie.  Among other things, I feel like the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon angle is a bit far fetched – I have a hard time believing all these people are connected in some way in a city as large as LA.  As a result, that particular aspect feels rather forced to me.

I think there are some cute elements to this movie, but it somehow lacks the charm that I had hoped it would have.  I think it would have done better if a few of the stories had been taken out, like maybe not so much Queen Latifah (even though I LOVE her) and lose some of the Jessica Biel stuff too.

See this movie if: You’re bored and want a cute lil rom com to get you through the evening.  On the whole, it’s not bad, it’s just not awesome either.

My Rating: 3/5 – Two thumbs up, fine holiday fun!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Topher Grace was in Spider Man 3 with Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire was in Pleasantville with Marc Blucas and Danny Strong
Both of whom were in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Did you know that Danny Strong is the only non-regular cast member to appear in all seven seasons of BTVS? There’s your Buffy trivia for the day!

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

Vicky Christina Barcelona

Posted April 15, 2011 By dorolerium

Starring Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, & Penelope Cruz

I’ve had this movie sitting at home for awhile, I got it from Netflix and have been holding off on watching it a bit.  I’m not huge on Woody Allen in a general sense, so I think I was just a little reluctant to watch it.  Now I can say I’m not sure why I waited so long.

Let me tell you kids – you should not be hesitant with this one.  I really had lukewarm feelings going into it, I like the people who are in the movie so that’s really the only reason I ever put it on my list.  But moments into the movie, I was wrapped up in it…it’s a little over an hour and a half and I really had no concept of the passage of time.  I even forgot that I was watching Scarlett Johansson, which doesn’t usually happen for me!

A movie like this makes you forget that dating an artist is really so unrealistic.  See, I would totally be the Vicky in this movie, looking at the practical side of things and thinking of the future.  For a little while, I wanted to be in love with an artist, to be carefree like Christina, and go wherever the wind would take me.  Including to Barcelona…I’ve never really been super interested in Spain, but oh how I fell in lust with that city!

As much as I am similar to Vicky in this movie, I also see a bit of myself in Christina with the not knowing what she’s going to do and never exactly being satisfied.  I feel like some day I’ll find that future, but in the meantime I should have fun trying, just like Christina did in this movie.

There were also points that made me get teary, partially because this was a somewhat new storyline for what I watch movie wise, and because I did just enjoy the story.  Honestly, the work Woody Allen has been doing in the past few years is really a breath of fresh air to me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what else he comes up with.  This movie even made me think Javier Bardem was sexy, which is normally not how I feel about him.

See this movie if: I can’t really think of a reason to skip it, although if you’re a dude who likes action movies this is probably not for you.  There was some sex stuff, but no actual nudity beyond a bit of Javier Bardem’s chest.  Which was nice to see ;)

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline Amazing!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Scarlett Johansson was in He’s Just Not That Into You with Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore was in Scream with tons of people who were in Scream 2 with Sarah Michelle Gellar

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

Jane Eyre

Posted April 5, 2011 By dorolerium

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, & Judi Dench

Like any book lover, I went into this with high expectations and more than a little apprehensive.  While I haven’t actually seen another Jane Eyre adaptation all the way through, I know what it is to be disappointed by a film version of one of your favorite books, so I didn’t really know what was going to come of it.

Obviously it’s difficult to capture every detail from a book when you’re turning it into a movie, and while there were some things missing, on the whole I felt this was a pretty good adaptation.  The passage of time throughout the movie wasn’t really thrown out there, giving you the impression that everything in Jane’s adult life happened in a year or two, but in terms of everything that needed to be covered, it wasn’t so bad.

A good rendition of both Jane and Mr. Rochester are very important to any fans of the novel, and I really liked the actors as well as the interactions between the two.  Jane is such a stoic character in the book, and Mia Wasikowska did a fantastic job portraying Jane as I think of her.  It also helped me that these actors, with the exception of Judi Dench, aren’t well known (at least to an American audience), so there wasn’t a lot of preconceived notions of them to affect what I was seeing.

This movie also did a great job of really showing the growing relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester.  I was worried that it would be difficult to show how Jane fell in love with him, because it’s a bit cloudy as it is, but I definitely found myself falling in love with him as time went on…even with parts of their interactions missing!  There’s simply something magnetic about that man, and Michael Fassbender was excellent in the role.

I very intentionally did not read the book again before seeing the movie, I didn’t want to affect my review of the movie by having the book super fresh in my mind.  I’m sure I would have been annoyed by more if I remembered what else had been omitted, so I feel like I made the right choice by waiting to read it.  I intend to reread later this year, and hope it won’t change my opinion later on.

See this movie if: You like a good period piece, or are a fan of the book.  I think I was the youngest person in the theater, but I would love it if more people under 40 were interested in it!

My Rating: 4/5 – Borderline amazing!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Mia Wasikowska was in Defiance with Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber was in Scream 2 with Sarah Michelle Gellar

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog V.2

Posted March 25, 2011 By dorolerium

Starring (My Future Husband) Nathan Fillion, Neal Patrick Harris, & Felicia Day

I’ve been on a small Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion kick in my watching lately, and then I was reminded of how hysterical Captain Hammer is, so I decided I totally needed to rewatch this thing.  After all, the hammer is his penis ;)

This was the first time my dogs got to watch Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and their attention was pulled in from the start, where NPH is practicing his maniacal laugh.  And then they stared at me as I laughed maniacally at things like,

It’s not about making money, it’s about taking money!  Destroying the status quo.  Because the status is NOT quo!

If you don’t think that’s funny, you haven’t seen this enough.  Also, I think Joss Whedon consulted my cat, The Chairman, before writing this because NPH also says, “The world is a mess, and I just…need to rule it.”  That’s totally a line out of The Chairman’s book.  Maybe The Chairman should be a counterpart to Dr. Horrible should there ever be a sequel.

I tried super hard to do a semi play by play recap, but I was laughing so hard I just couldn’t.  I haven’t laughed this hard since watching some of An Idiot Abroad or The Ricky Gervais Show.  Captain Hammer’s disgust with the homeless, the birds, making a whirlpool in the lake, all hilarious.  And NPH’s jealousy over Penny’s budding relationship with Captain Hammer, taking a front stage half the time to his PhD in Horribleness.  And Captain Hammer threw a car at his head!

This entire show is just fantastic, I really don’t know why the whole world hasn’t seen it.  It’s one of those shows that I can’t pick a favorite part, because I love it all.  Tons of fabulous quotes, laughs around every corner, plenty of eye candy – it’s completely awesome.  And I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m totally a Captain Hammer groupie.  I might even dress up like one of them for Halloween!

In closing:

You give my regards to St. Peter.  Or whoever has his job…in hell!

My Rating: 5/5 – Did I say cool? Make that awesome!  (Yes, this one has been upgraded since initial watching!)

Filed in Movies | Tagged: ,

Dead Like Me: Life After Death

Posted February 27, 2011 By dorolerium

Starring Ellen Muth, Callum Blue, & Jasmine Guy

Alright, so while I didn’t hate this movie, I also didn’t love it.  I guess I had high hopes for what this movie would bring, closure to a series that I really enjoyed and miss, but the movie really just felt like an extra long episode of the show.  And even a not good one.

Maybe I would have liked it more if they’d made more of an effort to get Laura Harris back as Daisy, or if they had managed to get even a small bit with Mandy Patinkin so there was some closure with Rube, but these were key elements that I missed.  And that aside, as much as Daisy was a hot mess on the show, her actions in this movie were just over the top, even for her.

What I really wanted for this movie was to give George herself some more closer, maybe even get to see her cross over or something.  I feel like they were leaving this open for the off chance that they’ll get to make another movie, or even bring the show back.  But if this is what any follow ups for this show are going to be like, I’m not really interested.

I own the two existing seasons of this show, and I think I’m just going to pretend that the final episode of the second season was the resolution.  It seemed at that point that they knew the show was being canceled anyway, and it was a better ending point than this movie gave us.  It’s just sad, it really felt like they put little effort into this, and I’m honestly sorry I took the time to watch it.

My Rating: 2/5 – Did I fall asleep?

See this movie if: I honestly can’t recommend this one, so take it off your lists!

Six Degrees of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Callum Blue was on Smallville, which also starred James Marsters
James Marsters played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Filed in Movies | Tagged:
« Older Entries