Tag Archives: Movie Review

[Movie Review] Alice in Wonderland 3-D

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It’s commonplace in the Hollywood machine of today’s world for long standing classic source material to be “re-imagined” every decade or so. I’m sure it has quite a lot to do with making money and knowing that the product already has a core audience that will be interested in it no matter what, but it sure doesn’t lend itself much to the creative process. The latest of these re-imaginings was released a couple of weeks ago in the form of Alice in Wonderland.

Now, I know quite a few people who loathe anything Tim Burton does, and I can find merit in their claims. I have seen a large number of his films, and most of them seem to be cut from the exact same cloth. The imagery is always stunning, but most of the films seem to spin their wheels quite a lot while trying to show us so much of the beautiful scenery. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] It’s Complicated

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I have a penis. Testicles as well. But you put a Nancy Meyers movie on a screen in front of me and I’ll enjoy it, girlfriend!

Okay, seriously. Without being overly dramatic, I enjoy her films a great deal. What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give, and The Holiday — these are films that are quintessential romantic comedy viewing. So how does her most recent effort, It’s Complicated, compare with her prior work?

It’s Complicated centers around Jane (Meryl Streep) and her budding relationships with her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) and her architect Adam (Steve Martin). It’s a pretty unique tale of a woman having an affair with her ex-husband, while simultaneously trying to move beyond the relationship. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Nine

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I’m sure  that if you’ve read my article on the Top 5 Films of the 2000’s, then you recognize my blatant hero worship of Daniel Day-Lewis. Characters like Daniel Plainview, Bill the Butcher, Hawkeye, and Christy Brown are so intimately personified by the man that I believe he could go method and play a rock and still make it a powerful performance. So, how does his latest film Nine stack up?

I’ll tell you. Poorly. Not because of DDL’s efforts, he is actually quite good as expected. It’s just that the film around him is so much less than the collection of its parts that it’s almost confusing how it got into such bad shape.

Obviously, this is a huge change of pace for DDL. In his last two major films he has played two very dark, very intense, very demanding characters. Here, we see him embody Guido Contini, an Italian film director who is struggling to prepare his next film “Italia”. Continue reading →

[Film Review] Up In The Air

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Movies that are topical without trying overtly to be are a rare breed.  They try too hard to have their fingers on the pulse and end up alienating their audience by slapping them in the face with patronizing themes and obvious developments. Up In The Air is not a film like that.

The film focuses on Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a corporate mercenary who fly’s around the country doing the dirty work for companies during these tough economic times, laying off their workers for them. He lives a life of isolation, choosing and actually relishing in living a mostly anonymous life. He is a preferred customer at Airlines and Hotels across the country, and loves the perks that come with his loyalty. His company then decides to implement a new technology that will ground Ryan and possibly force him to develop *GASP* a normal, stay at home life. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] World’s Greatest Dad

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I’m a big fan of Robin Williams. I think that he’s one of the most versatile actors working in Hollywood, and his performances in films like Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo, and Insomnia prove that although he does a lot of broad family comedies, he’s quite apt at pulling off emotional and much darker roles than what most might be accustomed to seeing,

World’s Greatest Dad is a film that centers on the life of Lance Clayton, a high school poetry teacher who’s struggling in his personal life, as he’s an aspiring yet critically unfulfilled writer. He has a 15-year old son named Kyle, played by Daryl Sabara, and their relationship is rocky to say the least. Kyle is an awkward teen, but one who is very into porn and has auto-erotic tendencies. He only has one friend, Andrew, who he also treats pretty badly, and he is genuinely disliked by everyone in his school. Continue reading →

[Doubleshot Movie Review] Paranormal Activity (Theatrical)

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It isn’t too often that a low-budget independent film gets the amount of hype and sees the amount of success Paranormal Activity has found. After its premier and its initial positive impressions as well as a few shots of audience reactions the internet film whores began building a hype train that no one could stop. An online feature that allowed people around America to “Demand” the film be brought near them showed staggering results, and as a result the movie is now playing in theaters nation-wide.

Unable to resist the hype, both Zac Pritcher and John Rogers decide to spend their hard earned money on a trip to local cinema to see if it’s worth all it has been cut out to be. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Where The Wild Things Are (Theatrical)

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Maurice Sendak’s Children’s Book Where The Wild Things Are is a staple of young childhood in the United States, as well as all across the world. A simple book containing fanciful illustrations of an imaginary world created when the main character, Max, gets sent to bed without his dinner. The book very concisely describes the adventure of Max and his imagination.

Since the book is fewer than 20 pages, I was curious to see what the film added to the book to create the cinematic experience. It turns out that not only did they add more material, but they also added a wealth of character development, emotion, and visual sensation to ensure everyone in the audience went home with a smile. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Whip It! (Theatrical)

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This movie has been on my radar for a few months now, and I was surprised to see the horrific Box-Office performance it had its opening week. I’m not sure what the factor was. Here, you have a very positively reviewed film with an indie film darling, and a completely fresh movie.

I’m usually not one for movies with all-female or strong female casts, and that’s not because I’m sexist. It’s because, as a viewer, I have a tough time sympathizing (usually) with female characters. Probably because after 24 years on this earth, I still have no idea how they think. It makes it tough to have a visceral reaction in a lot of films due to that lag of knowledge of my opposite sex. Continue reading →

[Doubleshot Movie Review] Zombieland (Theatrical)

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In this Doubleshot Review, Everyview EIC Zac Pritcher and newcomer Brandon Majors (who is not related to Andrew) went on a romantic date to catch the highly anticipated Zombedy film Zombieland in theaters. Popcorn, soda pop, and blue slushies in-hand, the boys prepared for what they hoped would be the first successful mainstream zombie-comedy since Shaun of the Dead.

Pro tip: It blows Shaun of the Dead out of the bloody, corpse-ridden water. Continue reading →

[Movie Review] Away We Go (DVD)

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away_we_goAnyone know who Sam Mendes is? The director of such films as American Beauty, Jarhead, and my personal favorite, Road to Perdition delivers this incredibly under the radar movie about to expecting parents (The Office’s John Krasinski and SNL’s Maya Rudolph) who realize they aren’t bound by anything in their current lives, and can choose to raise their daughter anywhere they want.

The film follows Bert and Verona on their journey across North America, trying to find the best possible place to raise a child. They head to Phoenix, where their old “friends” live. There they find a largely dysfunctional crew, (including a CRIMINALLY underused Jim Gaffigan), and hot weather, and easily decide this isn’t the place to be. Continue reading →