Is There Anything More Romantic Than "Midnight in Paris" ?

Life was so much better back then...

The Story:

Gil (Owen Wilson) is a successful Hollywood writer, but he very much wants to try his hand at writing a novel.  He travels to Paris on a vacation with his girlfriend Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy).  Gil loves Paris and wants to ditch Hollywood and move to Paris, but Inez is dead-set against it.  They bump into Paul (Michael Sheen), an old acquaintance of Inez, and he wants them to hang out with him and tour Paris.  Gil isn't interested, and finds an excuse to ditch the party.  He wanders through Paris and at midnight, a car pulls up and he is asked to come along for a ride.  The next thing Gil realizes is that he is hanging out with Cole Porter (Yves Heck) and the Fitzgeralds (Alison Pill and Tom Hiddleston).  Maybe he's drunk, but Gil is finding life in the Roaring 20s everything he thought it would be.  How long will this time travel experience last?

Well, I have to admit, this may be one of the first Woody Allen movies that I've actually watched.  Looking over his prolific career, the man makes about a movie a year, normally as writer/director, or at least director.

I think I was turned off by Woody Allen by his performance in Scenes From a Mall.  It wasn't that funny, therefore it's easier to just chuck his career and move on.

Now that I see he didn't write or direct that movie, I may have to rethink my position on Mr. Allen's career.

Eventually.

: )

Now, back to the movie at hand.

This movie was very charming, if not a directly a paint-by-the-numbers formula.  You can tell immediately just by their reactions that Gil and Inez are not meant to be together.

That said, there's nothing wrong with following a formula, provided you do it effectively, and this movie does so.

The real question is, how will Gil figure this out?  Will he stay in the 20s and live out his life, retroactively?  Or will he learn that the only true golden age is the one he lives in right now?

It is fun to watch Gil put the pompous Paul in his place with facts about Paris that he is gathering first-hand on a nightly basis by hanging out with the actual players.

Good fun all around.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: A definite yes to rewatchability, and yes if the price is right.  I've got a million other movies to purchase, so prices and titles have to be aligned perfectly. : )

Fee Fi Fo Fum...This Movie Doesn't Smell Bad at All! "Jack the Giant Slayer"

This is the stuff of legend...

The Story:

Jack (Nicholas Hoult) comes into the possession of some magic beans, and naturally there is a beanstalk involved.  The princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) is whisked away to the clouds, and the King's men, including the captain of the guard (Ewan McGregor) and Sir Roderick (Stanley Tucci), her betrothed are on a mission to rescue her.  Feeling it was his responsibility, Jack goes along as well.  When they arrive, they must find the princess and escape the Giants, led by General Fallon (Bill Nighy).  Ah, but fairy tales are never that simple...

First, I intentionally made the synopsis much shorter than normal.

I would hate to give away everything that is charming about this retelling of the classic fairy tale.

I must admit that the opening of the story is very charming how it flashes between Jack and Isabelle growing up and learning the stories of the Giants.  It sets up the entire story in just a few short moment, introducing all of the players and the backstory of the giants and how they can possibly be defeated.

Then we immediately move to the present when the two are much older, and they bump into one another in the market while Jack is on his quest to sell the horse.

Fate naturally intervenes, and Jack gets the magic beans of legend, but again, like the rest of this story, even the beans have been fully fleshed out with how and why they exist, and like everything else, much thought and care was put into the entire backstory.

The scenery and special effects in the movie are absolutely beautiful to behold.  The actors are all really good in their roles.  While Jack and Isabelle were newcomers to me, Ewan McGregor seemed to be having a blast playing a supporting character and having a good time with it.  Plus, the always great Stanley Tucci is on hand to add a layer of slime to his performance as the bad guy who isn't a giant.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit, and I think the kids did too.  They didn't walk out anyway... ; )

Final Grade: B... maybe even B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I actually own a copy of this film, thanks to winning a contest!  That was pretty cool.  Makes me even more pleased that we liked it. : )

Zooming To The Top of the List of Worst Movies I've Watched..."Spring Breakers"

Uncle Walt would be spinning in his grave...

The Story:

4 college girls (Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and two other irrelevant actresses) want to go on spring break, but they don't have enough money.  So they rob a place to get the money...

And I turned the movie off.

ZzzzZZZzzzzZZzzzzz

9 minutes... I went fast forward from about the 2 minute mark wondering if any semblance of plot or characterization would develop.

Then there was the stylish direction where shots were continually weaving in and out of focus...

Nope.  Just girls frolicking in bikinis, getting high at every conceivable opportunity.  It seems like the director's voyeuristic fantasy, and it just felt creepy.

Apparently Hudgens and Gomez wanted to break free of their Disney image, because yes, why be grateful towards a company that made you a bit of cash in your lifetime and turned you into a star?

I hear people say that James Franco was amazing in his role.

Congratulations James Franco, you're apparently the best part of a movie I couldn't stand to watch.


Yes, I think MacGruber has been saved from being the worst movie I've seen so far this year.

Final Grade: F

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor:  To quote Vince McMahon "No Chance in Hell!"

This is My Boomstick...Perfect For Fighting an "Army of Darkness"

Groovy!

The Story:

Ash (Bruce Campbell) is transported back in time to 1300 A.D.  Seen as their savior, Ash is sent on a quest to recover the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead.  With that, the kingdom can stop their enemies and they can send Ash back to the future where he belongs...  as long as Ash remembers just 3 little words...

The big question:

Do you need to have seen Evil Dead or Evil Dead 2 first?

No.

No you do not.  In fact, you will likely be better off just jumping in with this film, and going from there.

Blasphemy from some fans, I'm sure, but I don't care.

That's what I did!

In fact, I am not sure if I saw either of the first 2, or if I saw part of one and didn't really care for it.  Or saw both, and thought they were the same movie.

But Army of Darkness is a whole different story.

In fact, Army of Darkness is a great story.  It's horror...drama...comedy...period piece...science fiction, all in one.

It's also director Sam Raimi's best film, period.  Yep, I've just checked his credits, and I stand by that assessment!

It's also the role that cemented Bruce Campbell forever as one of the truly greatest cinematic characters of all time.  The guy has been coasting on this character for 21 years.

I have no problem with that at all.

Now, I've never been able to break the kids into the horror genre.  That whole "overprotective mom" trumps me at every turn, but if I could pull one off, I think this could be the movie that could do it.'
:)

We'll see.

And don't let her know I called her an overprotective mom, or I'll be in big trouble!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Amazingly I do not own a copy of this film, even though there are about 817 different versions out there.  I may have to finally rectify that problem!  I wonder if they have it at S-Mart?

High School is Full of "Mean Girls"

Sharpen your claws...

The Story:

Cady (Lindsay Lohan) is the new girl in school.  Here she meets the clique, "The Plastics": Regina (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) and Karen (Amanda Seyfried) the prettiest and most popular girls in school.  Also the bitchiest.  Hatching a plan with outsiders Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese) Cady is to infiltrate the Plastics and spy on them from within.  However, once Cady gets involved with the Plastics, how long can she maintain her innocence before she goes to the dark side?

Yep, another teen chick flick.

Thank heavens for little girls, otherwise I would miss out on a ton of funny movies.  But as a dad, it's my job to dutifully watch the animated movies with them when they are young, and then endure the genres with them as they grow older.

Luckily, I've seen much better films by their sides than I've seen terrible flicks.  Oh, and the kids have a cross between my movie taste and their mom's, so that means we usually see only the best of the bunch.

And this is  a great one!

Adapted for the screen, and also starring Tina Fey, the movie is a probably more accurate look at high school life for girls than people want to admit.

The cast is exceptional, from top to bottom.  It was Amanda Seyfried's first movie role, though she wouldn't become a superstar until Mamma Mia a few years later.

Rachel McAdams is in top form as the bad girl in her 2nd big screen role.  Naturally, she would go supernova with the release of the Notebook the same year.

Then there was Tina Fey who exploded upon a national audience with this film, where fans of her work on Saturday Night Live were already familiar with her skills, now the world was aware, and things have been looking up for her ever since.

Conversely... there is Lindsay Lohan, the star of the film.  Well... this was the last good movie she made, to be quite honest.  She was actually on a bit of a role with this capping off the terrific remake of Freaky Friday, the okay Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and she capped off the trifecta with this film.

And then life happened, she lost her mind, and has been a complete train wreck during the intervening decade.

Sad.

Thankfully, we've got this gem to remember the good times before she lost her mind.

: )

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Already own... watched it quite a bit... hilarious every time.  A special shout out to the underrated abilities of Tim Meadows who kills as the principal in his few scenes. : )

Money or Family? To Have Both is Just "Greedy"

Bloodsuckers.

And no, this isn't a movie about vampires!

The Story:

Uncle Joe (Kirk Douglas) is a multi-millionaire.  Naturally, all of his nieces and nephews (Ed Begley Jr., Jere Burns and Phil Hartman among them) are waiting for the old guy to bump off so they can get their hands on their money.  There is no love in the family, except for the almighty dollars that Uncle Joe holds over their heads.  Now with a live-in nurse, Molly (Olivia d'Abo) who isn't a nurse, and the family fears she's simply there to get his money, they turn to a distant cousin, Daniel (Michael J. Fox) a struggling pro bowler to try and get Joe's money so they can all split it.  Will Daniel fall in with his relatives...turn against them and leave Uncle Joe and Molly...or try and get all of the money for himself?

Every once in awhile I find a movie that came out ages ago, I meant to see it... but never did.

Greedy is one such movie.  Nearly 20 years old, I happened upon it while flipping around Netflix the other day.

So I watched, and I laughed.  Always a good thing for a comedy.

It has a great cast, starting with Michael J. Fox and Nancy Travis as his girlfriend.  They use the relationship as a secondary storyline as Daniel's greed as he gets around his uncle and crazy family begins to drive a wedge in their relationship.  Will Daniel choose love or money?

Follow that up with a great bunch of money-hungry cousins, especially Phil Hartman.  I've always found Hartman to be hilarious since back in the Saturday Night Live days, so it was nice to see another performance from him that I had not watched before.  And no, he doesn't disappoint as the vocal ringleader of the family.  Boisterous and yappy, as only Hartman could do so well!

Finally, Kirk Douglas has a great role as the puppet master over the entire three ring circus unfolding under his roof.  He is equally indifferent, amused, mean and scheming, all at the same time.

The movie has an elaborate third act that is completely satisfying for the story, and I was impressed with how well they wrapped everything up.

Glad to have finally seen it after all these years.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: As long as it's streaming I don't need to own it, and I would have no problem watching it again.

She's Hardly a "Wild Child". More Like a Spoiled Brat.

Where's Mrs. Garrett when you need her?

I now realize that joke has sailed over the heads of at least a generation, maybe more, of people.

:: sigh::

The Story:

Spoiled girl Poppy (Emma Roberts) is driving her widowed dad (Aidan Quinn) up the wall.  When her latest stunt pushes him over the edge, he ships her off to an English boarding school to learn some manners.  The headmistress, Miss Kinglsey (Natasha Richardson) has her work cut out for her, because Poppy has no desire to be there, and is going to push the limits and try to get expelled.  However, the more she pushes, strange things begin to happen, and Poppy is on her road to discovering some things about herself, and her family, that will change her forever...

Hopefully for the better.

Well, this movie is only 5 years old, so we've returned to more recent cinematic history.

Don't get too comfortable, if you've learned anything reading these reviews, I'm all over the map with what gets viewed. : )

First, this is a bittersweet movie to watch because it is Natasha Richardson's last performance.  She was a great actress who suffered a terrible skiing accident that robbed the world of decades of more of her work.  She comes from the Redgrave line of actresses, so you know you're getting quality whenever she was onscreen.

Second, there are movies that men, by design, are not the target audience for.  If I was single, or had only boys or no children, the odds of me watching this, or a thousand other teen girl comedies would likely have never entered my head.

Lucky for me, I have some wonderful girls, and I get to watch this, and other films like it with them.

Like all genres, there are some that absolutely stink up the joint.  Then there are classics that I could watch anytime, say Clueless or Mean Girls for example.

Then you have a little charmer like this one that falls short of greatness, but rises well above putrid. :)

Much of that credit has to go to Emma Roberts, whom I enjoy as an actress as much or more than I dislike her Aunt Julia for doing the same profession. : )

She plays a spoiled brat really well, but not one that is so far gone that you cannot believe the change of heart she has as the movie goes on.

To have a totally unlikeable lead character would have done this movie no good, and she balances the role nicely with that of her goody two-shoes version of Nancy Drew that she had done previously.

Yes, I've seen that one too, but that's a review for another time.

: )

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Watched it again for the first time in five years.  I knew I had seen it before, but it was like watching it for the first time.  Not rushing out to buy it, but I suspect I'll see it again in a few years as the next girls in my house get older.  No objections. :)