Click (2006/I) - 4.5/5

Click (2006/I)

This is a very touching and moving movie to me. Maybe b/c it's an idea that's close to my heart of not wanting to waste a minute (though I don't consider staring at the wall or other such 'unproductive' activities necessarily a waste if done properly and chosen for purpose).

It's powerful for me to see someone miss out on such important things as your kids lives.

I think they do a great job of building the story and intensity and consequences of his choices throughout the movie.

SPOILERS:

I felt the end was really powerful. I'd hoped he wd have said to his son either at his wedding or later at the hospital "You're fired." to make a point.

Also, I felt the ending after the 'reveal' was too long - I felt it lost the emotional steam it built up from earlier. I think they sd have just had him go home, grab his family and tell them he quit his job or something. No need for details really. I guess they felt they needed to lighten the mood at the end, but I wish I had been left/dropped w/ the feeling before he woke up. And the remote from Morty at the end wasn't necessary either.

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) - 3.5/5

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Such a fun movie and it really shows Hanks and his 'fun' best to me. He's great in "Forrest Gump" of course, but this, to me, is when he really settled in to a great style.

Meg Ryan is great too in all her roles in this.

I love this...

Luggage Salesman: This is our premier steamer trunk, it's all handmade, only the finest materials. It's even watertight, tight as a drum. If I had the need, and the wherewithal, Mr. Banks, this would be my trunk of choice.
Joe Banks: I'll take four of them.
Luggage Salesman: May you live to be a thousand years old, sir.

Reservoir Dogs (1992) - 4/5

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

A great movie that started a great trend and career of Quentin Tarantino.

I'm still left w/ the question of: Who shot Nice Guy Eddie Cabot?

If you haven't seen it and that's a spoiler, you probably aren't going to see it.

The Da Vinci Code (2006) - 2/5

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Thin acting and a tough adaptation from the book. The theology is garbage, but the book does a decent job of making it a fun read. The movie only has time for the 'story' and such so it loses a lot.

A disappointment from Hanks and Howard.

Strangers with Candy (2005) - 1.5/5

Strangers with Candy (2005)

Pretty funny show, but weak movie. The story was very thin (at least on the show the overall story had a pretty funny premise).

It just felt like a 20 min show stretched over 90 mins w/ little more to it.

Kicking & Screaming (2005) - 2/5

Kicking & Screaming (2005)

Pretty much a let-down. Will Farrell is one of the funniest people IMO. However, playing a less silly character is harder for him to pull off. The silliness doesn't play as well and there isn't much else.

The story was predictable as you wd... predict, but I expected that.

There was a few good spots, but overall it's not worth it.

Over the Hedge (2006) - 4/5

Over the Hedge (2006)

Very cute and funny animated movie. A fairly moral and not too over-the-top environmental message too.

We're getting farther and farther away from a Disney-only animated movie world and starting to see more and more styles. I think "The Incredibles" might have been the biggest leap up to it's time.

Now we're seeing that type of jump in the animal animation world.

Anyway, this is pretty funny, very cute and quite clever in a lot of ways.

NOTE: This was the first movie my son ever watched w/ us. We hadn't tried before and were surprised he sat thru the whole thing.

Monster House (2006) - 3.5/5

Monster House (2006)

Good animation and very modern, technical technique. The story isn't the greatest, but that's not the point IMO. The kids are really good and funny characters.

They are CGI'ed over live-action acting which has to get a new name for that type of animation probably. It makes the action look more 'real' which isn't always the goal of course.

SPOILER:

Unfortunately I sorta guessed that Nebbercracker was trying to protect the kids, but I didn't know why. The idea that the woman was somehow joined to the house after she dies was a bit weak to me, but no biggie.

Miller's Crossing (1990) - 4.5/5

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Probably my favorite Cohen Brothers movie. The dialogue is so crazy rich I cd just read the thing. I use subtitles to make sure I don't miss anything and it's worth it.

The acting is right on and the camera work is pratically perfection.

This is a piece of art on film.

NOTE: My uncle is an extra in this movie. My dad has seen him in it, but I haven't. I usually forget to look for him. Apparently they pulled him out of the crowd to do a bit more in some scene that was later cut.

Casino Royale (1967) - 1.5/5

Casino Royale (1967)

Weak. Not a good spy movie and not a good spoof. Maybe in '67 it was better, but by today's standards, it doesn't hold up.

I'd seen it about 10 years ago, but didn't remember much.

Not much to say - don't bother.

Casino Royale (2006) - 3.5/5

Casino Royale (2006)

I felt the mood/feel of this movie was great: dark and tense. However, I felt the story was a bit thin and the action a bit small-scale.

I really wanted to like this one a lot and thought it had a lot going for it, but also some faults too.

The characters were pretty good, but...

SPOILERS:

Action - I felt it was too localized. The first action sequence of him chasing that guy. Who was he? Why did he want him? What was the point? I wasn't that tied into the action b/c I didn't know what the goal was and why. I felt most of the action was this way.

Characters - They were pretty good, but it always bothers me when they play cat-and-mouse w/ the villian. He's the bad guy, no she is, no this other guy new to the whole story is, wait...

Elf (2003) - 4.5/5

Elf (2003) As far as Christmas movies go, this one is a modern classic imo. It's irreverent and such which takes it out of a league of "It's a Wonderful Life", but it marries modern humor and style w/ a good, warm fuzzy making movie.

The Postman (1997) - 2.5/5

The Postman (1997)

...but a 4.5/5 on the cheese scale.

I liked the story, but I thought it was poorly told and acted. It felt rather low-budget too.

I thought there were various plot holes and such, but I won't bother going into remembering them.

SPOILERS:

I never really bought into the Postman being the Postman. I never believed he really cared. I always felt he was just a regular guy using something to get by. He was bold in his lie which also made me think he wasn't the caring type.

K-PAX (2001) - 3/5

K-PAX (2001)

It's a good movie trying maybe to be too much. The acting is good and the premise is interesting, but I didn't feel it really went anywhere. Also, I didn't feel like they tied the 'discovery' (of the lesson) into the other characters well enough.

So they set us up well and sorta left us hanging.

SPOILERS:

IMO, he's from K-Pax. He knew too much science, disappeared from the institution for a while, Bess was missing at the end, he was 'in character' even when hypnotized, etc. Hard to say, but that's what I'd have to guess. However, they clearly left it open for a reason so figuring out for sure isn't necessary to me.

Mission: Impossible III (2006) - 3.5/5

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Great job of making it dramatic and not just action. The action is good, the characters are good, the drama is very good.

However, it has become a 'James Bond' type franchise - it's all about Ethan Hunt. I'm not sure if the TV show was like that, but I think not.

I'm glad to see they turned from the route MI2 was going.

Young Frankenstein (1974) - 4.5/5

Young Frankenstein (1974)

I appreciate this much more the older I get. Very funny. Some of it's corny, but that's the point in a lot of ways.

I grew up watching Gene Wilder so I don't think I saw the genious at the time. Also, he wrote this movie for the most part so he gets most of the credit (as opposed to Mel Brooks) in my opinion.

Great scenes and quote. Just hillarious.

The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) - 3/5

The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)

This was creative and entertaining and certainly original. I remember seeing at least part of it when I was a teenager and thought it was ok. A lot of people talked about how funny it was and I thought I must have missed something. I guess I still do.

It's ok, but I wdn't say it's super special. It's interesting and good for it's time and, again, original which goes a long way, but not really far enough.

Rumor Has It... (2005) - 3.5/5

Rumor Has It... (2005)

I think this movie respected and blended well w/ "The Graduate." They were wise to explain that the book and movie based on the rumored story were close approximations so any variation cd be understood.

I believe the discovery of the situation was good and worked well. I had a lot of fun during the first have discovering w/ the characters what the reality was.

The second half wasn't quite as good. The discovery was gone and some events seemed inconsistent w/ the situation and characters.

SPOILERS:

I liked the early scene of Sarah explaining to her g'ma that she didn't want a normal like. I felt that naturally paralleled Benjamin's scene in "The Graduate" when he tells his parents he wants his life to be "different."

Also, the Casablanca night party in the movie told a bit about how Beau (like Ric), was in love w/ another man's woman, sdn't have her, shares her, is hurt and out for himself in most ways, but will need to sacrifice.

Shirley MacLaine was really good. That was going to be hard to pull off and cd have sunk it all, but she did great.

The late scene of Sarah going back to Jeff was awesome. It's rare to see a movie treat love realistically. This came about as close as you cd:

"I didn't come here to tell you that I can't live without you. I can live without you. I just don't want to."

The Break-Up (2006) - 1/5

The Break-Up (2006)

A somewhat dumb or at least overplayed premise about a couple that sdn't be together. She wants to make him jealous enough to change his ways by breaking up w/ him. Who's worse?

The situations are under played and fall short of potential. They pass up oppurtunities to make something actually funny out of a lot of scenes.

It's a poorly written, poorly directed weak story.

There are a few moments that are ok, but there's so much otherwise falling short that the whole is pretty bad.

The Matrix (1999) - 5/5

The Matrix (1999)

What can be said. Greatness.