Tag Archives: movie review

Oblivion

Movie Reviews, , , ,

Oblivion2013PosterWe’ve been waiting for a decent movie to come out so we could spend some of our movie gift cards we received at Christmas.

With no obvious good movie on the horizon, we took a drive to New Glasgow tonight to watch Tom Cruise in Oblivion.

I’m not really a Tom Cruise fan.  Neither is Jeff. But we love movies. And the preview was intriguing.

So now to rank it.

It definitely wasn’t a 5 star, and not even a 4 start.  I want to say it is a 2 star, but it wasn’t that bad, but it really isn’t a strong  3 either.  So maybe it’s like a 2 and 7/8ths.

It is a good length, just over 2 hours, but it was a little stretched and slow.  I’m guessing the people behind the movie wanted to spend a lot of time wowing us with the cool technology they had dreamed up for earth in the year 2070, but it seemed almost gratuitous, and not really that outstanding.

There wasn’t a character I really liked or identified with. But the story was okay, and it kept me guessing.

And now for the other fun parts of going out for the evening.  Two highlights.

1. Posing with some sort of lawn ornament in Canadian Tire that looked like the immunity idol from Survivor.

IMG_1052

2. Going for a quick pee before the long movie and having the button of my cotton pants fall off in my hands.   I spent the rest of the evening putting all my faith in the power of my zipper to keep me my husband from a totally embarrassing scene.

Les Misérables

Movie Reviews,

Les MiserablesI went to see Les Misérables on Broadway in Manhattan when I was in grade 10.  It was my first, and only, real big musical.

I enjoy plays that are live, in front of me, on a stage.  I hate musicals, except Les Mis.  Love the soundtrack.

Mom and Julie are here visiting and both said they were big Les Mis fans too so they were excited to go see it, and Jeff was even more excited that he didn’t have to sit through it.

I had no idea what to except. I purposely didn’t read a single review, but saw a few Twitter mentions from people who loved it and said it stuck with them for hours.

I didn’t know if it was going to be a full musical or if it was going to be a Hollywood movie with the music tied in here and there.

From the very beginning of the movie it was clear. It was a full blown musical…. that was also a Hollywood movie.  Breathtaking scenes, characters, costumes, Hollywood actors… only they were singing every line.

And every line was right out of the soundtrack I loved. It was the Broadway musical, but on a big screen with Hollywood sets.

I loved it. I shed a couple tears. Right eye.  I stretched out in my seat too, to give my bladder room to expand after consuming the movie sized Coke so I didn’t have to leave the room and miss a second.

It was amazing that they seemed to be singing live and that it wasn’t dubbed in later…seemed so raw and emotional. But the singing was also my biggest/only complaint.  I think they chose bigger Hollywood names over better singers.  They were all good, but not great.  Russell Crowe seemed uncomfortable and hesitant at times. I wanted him to belt it out more.  I had the biggest problem with the singing of the actor who played Marius.  It was like he was forcing his voice to singing in a range he couldn’t sing in and I found it awkward and weak. I suppose they chose popular actors/actresses to draw in crowds to pay for the movie.

The entire story is so passionate and emotional. I wonder though if someone didn’t know Les Mis if they would get every aspect to the story lines. I have the book (although unabridged and unfinished), watched the movie, and studying the storyline in school before going to NYC. I love how it is all woven together, in circles almost, pieces of music get tied into the movie over and again, and characters, I love that about Les Mis.

It seemed they altered so little from the original play. Any Les Mis fan surely has the soundtrack burned into their skull and would be distracted if the songs were recreated.  Smart move.

My review?  5/5 revolutionary flag waving for this one.

Luckily I have the soundtrack in my car on my iPhone so we got to listen to it all the way home :-)

 

Birthday Weekend!

What I've Been Up To, , , ,

Highlights of my birthday weekend:

Stacking Wood: It’s no secret that I’m shockingly out shape, so I look forward to stacking wood because it is awesome exercise.  Wood stacking was delayed for months this year. I was out of commission this summer after surgery, and Jeff has had awful foot problems this fall.  Finally conditions aligned yesterday and the ground was frozen enough so drive the ATV across the back yard so we started stacking.

We have 2 piles, 2 cords in each to get from the driveway over to the wood shed.  This wood is mostly for next year, but depending on how the rest of the winter goes, we may have to dip into it in a few months.

How this works… Jeff and I stand on either side of the wagon behind the ATV and we pick wood up out of the pile that was dumped there by a wood supplier guy, and we stack it up in the wagon.  When it is full and the small little rubber tires are bulging, Jeff drives it across the back yard and backs it up into the wood shed.

Then we take the wood and stack it up in the wood shed on top of wooden pallets.

It was cold and snowing, but a few winter clothes and there were no complains. Didn’t even drop a single piece on my toe. Although the wood was mostly frozen, and lots of it was stuck together. That made it a little trickier.

We did 9 loads over a few hours getting one of the 2 piles almost eliminated but then the ATV made us quit.

Something electrical seems to be wrong with the ATV and now it won’t reverse without cough and banging and backfiring and stalling. Jeff has an appointment for it tomorrow so it will need to be repaired.

Hopefully we have another semi-mild day or two so we can get the rest stacked.

Movie and Dinner:  After the wood stacking was cancelled for the rest of the afternoon, and it is my birthday weekend, we decided to go see a movie and go out for dinner in New Glasgow. It was snowing badly, but I tried to ignore it and Jeff couldn’t care less if it was stormy, so off we went.

We saw The Hobbit.  Jeff is a huge fan of the books. I am not. I tried to read the Hobbit a few times as a kid but I could never get into it.  But I knew he wouldn’t want to see any other movie, and I’ll watch almost anything.  So $40 later (movie tickets and popcorn and a pop big enough to do a back stroke in) we were watching The Hobbit. The theatre wasn’t even half full.  So either the snow kept everyone away, or they were all waiting for the 3D version that was starting 30 minutes later.

The movie was good. Beautiful scenery and interesting characters.  I’m glad I knew ahead of time though that it wasn’t going to end.  It was only part of 3 I think. They are all filmed, but I’m sure they’ll release them once a year just to soak every penny they can out of the series.

Jeff found it really blurry.  I did think a few times that it would have looked better on our TV. There is a lot of computer animated characters and scenery in it to, so that might have played a factor.

Dinner was a bit of a disappointment.  We’ve been waiting for weeks to hit Swiss Chalet for their festive special that I love, but the parking lot was full and the line was back to the door.  We decided to hit the Wendy’s drive-thru next door instead and headed back in the snow for home.  Wendy’s really isn’t very good.  Poor Dave Thomas would be so ashamed of his legacy.

Flowers: Both Mom and Jeff got me flowers for my birthday. I’m a huge fan of flowers and vegetation :-)

Birthday Gift: Jeff got me something for my birthday that I’ve been looking for for a long time. It is the Harrowsmith Cookbook that is long out of printing, and is hoarded like gold. Seriously. You should see some of the prices this big thick book is listed for in online bookstores. Somehow Jeff found one.  And now I will cook and bake :-) Or just read the wonderful recipes. Time will tell. I love it!

Brunch: Jeff was out of coffee cream this morning so we had to go to town so he could have coffee.  Instead of having breakfast, we decided to grocery shop first so we could have lunch out instead.  What a great time to grocery shop! Hardly anyone is getting groceries on Sunday morning!

After shopping it was still shy of 11am, so we went to the Prissy Pig.  Jeff had a farmer’s breakfast and I went for lunch and had a chicken wrap and garden salad.

Then I spent a couple hours on the phone and on Facetime getting birthday greetings from my family. I love Facetime.  My little nephew is so cute with his bare legs, munching on a pickle, wishing me a happy birthday.  And my niece always has so much to show me!

Then there is Facebook. The only day of the year that everyone wishes you well.  Love it!

Football: And now it is Sunday afternoon. This is the time of the week Jeff waits for all week.  His Broncos are playing, and we get it in HD, and he is so so so excited.  And that makes it all the much sadder that he is currently passed out on the couch, like a cat in the sun, and he is sleeping right through his Bronco’s game.

Worth watching

Music Reviews, ,

Great movies I’ve seen lately:

Moneyball – I am not a fan of Brad Pitt, but I really liked this movie. And I think Jonah Hill stole the show anyway. This is a great baseball movie, but without being too basebally. Toss together some economics, and computer-analysis with that baseball and you have Moneyball. It is a true story based on Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. I give it 4/5 stars.

Yogi Bear – I’ve had this one sitting on our PVR for months but hadn’t watched it. I actually assumed it was a cartoon movie, but it isn’t. Yogi and Boo Boo must be computer animated additions. I really enjoyed this movie. Probably the best part was the scenery. I hadn’t realized how much I missed a real forest and a campground – a place where trees are big and tall and thick. This would be a great movie for kids. Especially before a camping trip! I looked it up and it turns out the park where this movie was filmed is Woodhill Forest in West Auckland, New Zealand. Beautiful scenery!

TV shows that are totally not worth watching:

Flipped Off – I was a huge Russel Hantz fan when he was on Survivor each time, but this new “reality” show he stars in with his brother on A&E is just not watchable. They are supposedly flipping houses, and have no experience. Not a piece of it seems real, the entire thing seems hokey, non-original, staged, and sad. I’m really surprised this show made it on A&E.

What I’m watching these days:

It seems that there are so many shows I don’t watch, but there are a few series we record each week with our PVR to watch (and fast-forward through the commercials):

Bering Sea Gold – There isn’t a likable person on this show, but we’re still watching them suck up the floor of the Bering Sea hoping to catch a few little gold nuggets in their sluice box on their barges. Maybe we’re just trying to keep a little gold in our TV life until Gold Rush comes back next season. Gold Rush is way way better than this one

Deadliest Catch – This show might be getting a little old, but it still feels like real reality and we enjoy watching the men risk their lives for our crab leg dinners.

CBS Mondays – I tape 2 Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, and Mike & Molly on Mondays. I don’t know how CBS keeps viewers for these shows though because they only seem to air new episodes once a month. Back in the pre-PVR days this would have spelled instant failure. I hear May is another sweeps month though so maybe we’ll get a couple new shows. I like Ashton Kutcher on Two and a Half Men at the beginning of the season, but I’m just about done. I hate the woman playing his girlfriend, and it’s just so done and tired. 2 Broke Girls is still amusing, but it seems to have worn off a bit. It’s hard to remember storylines on all 4 of these shows when they are so rarely on.

Survivor & Amazing Race – of course I am still watching Survivor and Amazing Race. I am not that thrilled with this round of Survivor, but I always hang in. I think Chelsea is going to win. Amazing Race isn’t bad, but I could really do without Brendan and Rachel from Big Brother. Man do those two ridiculous people deserve each other. I love Mark and Bopper, but the show seems more and more rigged every time these fan favourites finish last on a non-elimination leg.

House of Bryan – We’re enjoying watching the mansion of a cottage Bryan Baeumler is building.

Wanderlust

Movie Reviews, ,

WanderlustI went to see Wanderlust at the theatre yesterday.

Jeff strongly opted out, so I went to New Glasgow and did a little clothes shopping before the movie.

As always, I made sure I got to the theatre super early so I could snag my favourite seat. Unfortunately there was another couple in the back row middle, so I took the left flank a few seats down.

For a 4pm Saturday show, I expected more people. I am not sure we made the double digits. I think I was the youngest. None of them laughed at anything, and one of them even asked a staff member to adjust the fan and heat levels before the flick.

Anyway, what did I think of the movie?

I like Judd Apatow movies. Wanderlust didn’t disappoint. It came complete with nudity (mostly male for once, although Jennifer Aniston does have a topless scene, although it was fuzzed out), drug use (even ayawaska), sex, crazy hippies, and to top it off – a “Babba Booey, Howard Stern” shout-out.

I wouldn’t say you have to run out and see it though. It is definitely a good movie for a DVD rental, or waiting for the Movie Channel airing on a rainy day.

The storyline was one-dimensional and predicable, but some of the scenes will stick with me for awhile (including the fly in the apartment, and the “I can fly” moment).

There were also several pop-culture references in this movie that could zip right over your head. Like a reenactment of that reporter who falls out of the grape stomper (see original). I caught a few of them, but I am not a Ray Liotta fan, so I don’t understand at all why he was in the last minute of the movie and what it was referencing.

I give it a 6/10.

The Help

Movie Reviews, ,

The HelpI took two senior citizens out for a date on Sunday night – Mom and her friend Jean.

(I can’t believe anyone would consider people my parents age senior citizens) (but the ticket prices sure were cheaper for the white haired!) (sorry Mom, SILVER haired).

I chose “The Help” and Mom and Jean were game.

I even taught them how to pick a good seat in the theatre.

(i.e. the back row. Best seats in the house, more leg room, no one is behind you, and usually no one else comes up that high)

(of course they both had to hold on to the seat backs on the way down the stairs – they aren’t as spry as they once were)

Anyway, we watched “The Help”, and I LOVED it!

I heard it got bad reviews, but I loved it, and can’t wait to watch it again.

Here is the description, in case you haven’t heard of this movie:

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, a southern society girl returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives -- and a small Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen, Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up -- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories -- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say.

I loved the characters, the insight to a life I know so little about. It was was courageous and inspiring. I identified with the character “Skeeter” in some ways.

I had to sush!! Mom a few times during the movie. The chatter-box!

So, I give The Help 5 stars out of 5. Highly recommended.

The Fighter

Movie Reviews, ,

I don’t enter many contests, but I get an email newsletter of coming movies and events on The Movie Network. A couple of weeks ago they were advertising a contest for movie passes to the screening of “The Fighter” on December 16th.

My birthday jumped off the page and I said to myself, “Hey, why not? Maybe I’ll have birthday luck!”

And I did! I won two passes to see the screener of the new movie, “The Fighter”, in Halifax last night, on the night before it is released across the country.

On the ticket it said no cell phones or recording devices would be allowed in, and that there are more tickets than seats given out to ensure a full capacity audience.

I did a bit of research online to see how this would work. The movie start time was 7pm, with doors opening at 6pm. The people online said you need to get there early to get your choice of a seat. Geez, I didn’t want to sit in the front row! We better get there early!

5:15 it is.

We found the theatre in the basement of a mall in Halifax. The box office at the movie theatre wasn’t even open yet, so we picked up a couple free coming events/Halifax news flyers and took a chair. People started gathering around, all with internet print outs. I did a bit of eavesdropping and speculation to deduce that they had internet print offs of the same official looking ticket I received by courier from the Alliance movie company.

As soon as a girl appeared near the ticket sale counter, I sauntered over and let her know I had a movie pass for The Fighter screener, and asked how it worked. She said the ticket was to be given to an usher and we could proceed downstairs to the theatres if we wanted. Well at that point it was 5:45 and with the doors supposedly scheduled to open at 6, I whispered the information to Jeff and we went downstairs. A young couple that had also been waiting came down and asked a lady who worked there where we go. She said it was going to be shown in theatre 8, and we could line up there whenever we wanted. I verified the information, and then I was off.

I smelled an opportunity and my hiking boots were in action. I didn’t look back for Jeff, I passed the other couple, and I marched myself down the long winding hallway to theatre 8 so I could be the FIRST person in line.

:-)

A line formed swiftly behind me. Jeff first, of course, followed by a few dozen other early birds.

But the odd thing was, every one of them was on a cell phone.

Huh? Don’t these people read their tickets? We left our smart phones, begrudgingly, in the car, under our seats. And here were all these people on cell phones. One guy even had his laptop, and another lady had an entire suitcase on wheels!

“She’s the one”, I said to Jeff. “If anyone is a movie bootlegger, it’s her.” She was a frumpy middle-aged woman, knit sweater, homely clothes. “I bet she’s got multiple cameras in that suitcase for her bootlegging operation.”

6pm came and went with the line of smartphone browsers getting longer. The lady who had told us to line up there returned, and she said she thought security would probably come to scan our tickets and let us in, so we should continue to wait.

I think it was closer to 6:30 when another lady came to let us in. All she did was rip our pass in half and let us in. No security check. No camera check. Nothing. So off we charged for my favourite seats.

Backrow centre baby!

And the seats were ours! Woo hooo!

Here we were at my first movie screener, with free entrance, I was the first in line, AND I got the seats I wanted. Could my birthday get any better?

Quickly people started packing in. Jeff took our ticket stub and left to get popcorn and coke for us.

At 7pm, when we figured the movie previews would start, a guy ran to the front and said he was from a local radio station. I gather that several passes were given away on the radio. All the passes were actually free, but you need a code to order them online, or you could win them, like I did.

He introduced the movie, and the actors, and then him and another guy ran around the theatre tossing out t-shirts! WOW! AWESOME! Except we were in the middle of the back row, so no t-shirts made it back to us.

The guy then introduced the other guy as being from Alliance, the company that is distributing the movie. He had a The Fighter prize pack, and did anyone have a birthday today?

HELL YEAH I DO!!

But unfortunately another girl did too, and she was up near the front standing, and although Jeff was yelling that I did, and I had my arms up in the air, they asked her to run down and show her birthday ID.

Aww well, wasn’t meant to be.

But then a minute later, either she was lying, or couldn’t prove it was her birthday, and I was ON!!

He said HURRY DOWN HERE WITH ID, and I grabbed my bag, made my way to the end of the aisle, and ran down the stairs to the front. I whipped out my Nova Scotia driver’s license, listened to the Alliance guy say his birthday was on Saturday, and to the lady who told us where to line up an hour ago say “Oh I’m so glad it is you, you’ve been here from the start”, and then was passed a black bag.

WOO HOO!!

I ran back up the stairs like I was Stallone in Rocky.

As I made it back to my seat, I had about 3 seconds to survey the bag’s contents before the lights dimmed.

A hoodie, a water bottle, a headband, and a set of earphone ear plugs for my iPod, all with “The Fighter” written on them!!

The day couldn’t get better!!

And then the movie began – without any previews!!

It was a really unique movie. It had elements of a drama, a comedy, with a dash of a potential cult classic, all woven together.

Mark Wahlberg played the main character, but the support actor role that Christian Bale played was award-winning.

I highly recommend going to see this movie in the theatre. The sound was fantastic – I looked around a few times to see if everyone around me was clapping, or if it was on the movie (it was on the movie).

I don’t want to give anyway any of the plot, or storyline, except to say it is a boxing movie, but it isn’t like any other boxing movie you’ve ever seen.

Go watch! It opens today in a theatre near you!

Rating: 5/5 stars for its uniqueness

Me and the Movie Channels

Movie Reviews

With Jeff out of town, and the weather cold and wet, I decided to hibernate this weekend.

Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing worth watching on TV.

So I ordered the movie channels.

I am years behind on my movie watching, so I grabbed a comforter, turned on the stereo speakers, and starting watching.

Let’s see if I can remember all that I watched so I can rate them for you!

Up in Air – 4/5 – I liked looking in on the life of business travelers. Brian V. you should watch this one for travel reward tips. HA

The Hurt Locker – 4/5 – I hate war movies, but this one had more of a documentary feel to it and less of a Hollywood feel. Maybe it was the shaky camera shots. Whether it was an accurate portrayal of the bomb disabling teams or not (likely not), it felt like an inside look at the ridiculous war America is fighting in Iraq so I stayed up past midnight last night to watch this one.

Couples Retreat – ?/5 – Unlike The Hurt Locker, this one didn’t seem worthwhile so after watching the first 30 or so minutes on Saturday night, I packed it in and went to sleep.

XXX – 3/5 – This was a Vin Diesel movie, full of action, and and a ridiculous furry trimmed coat. Not what I’d usually select to watch, but I liked it.

Rock Paper Scissors: The Way of the Tosser – 1/5 – I tried, way way way longer than you would, but this movie sucked SO bad I feel silly giving it a 1. I bailed out, but it is too embarrassing to report how long I hung in, so I won’t.

If Lucy Fell – 2/5 – This was an older movie with Sarah Jessica Parker. It was sucky, and predictable, but I stuck through the entire thing.

Passenger 57 – 2/5 – Another older movie. I stuck through it, hoping there were snakes on the plane, but no such luck. Just some nasty terrorists.

21 Grams – 2/5 – I was on the phone during a good chunk of this movie, so it was on mute, but I don’t think I really missed too much. It jumped around way too much with the timeline, back and forth, and I felt very manipulated as a viewer. Glad it didn’t get my full attention.

Love Happens – 4/5 – I watched this movie in the theatre, and remembered that I liked it, so I gave it another watch. This movie made me change my mind about Jennifer Anniston and now I like her. And for some reason, in this movie, she really reminded me of my godmother Helen. Can’t explain it.

Ghost Town – 3/5 – I’m sure this story line has been done before, but I’m a sucker for a non-scary ghost movie. In this one this grumpy dentist dies for 7 minutes during his colonoscopy and then can see ghosts who need his help to tie up their loose ends.

Kitt Kittredge: An American Girl – 5/5 – The winner of my movie marathon. This is a PG family movie about a girl in the depression years. I loved it. Watch it. It’s like a good old fashioned Disney movie in a way I guess.

The Girl in the Park – 2/5 – Older movie, with Sigourney Weaver. Her daughter is abducted as a child and she spirals into recluse, until she mothers a troubled child 16 years later who she thinks is her lost daughter. Not really worth watching unless you are trying to pass the time while your husband is away and you need to zone out and pass the time.

4 Christmases – 2/5 – Another Vince Vaughan selection. I was also on the phone during 2 of the Christmases and watched it without sound, but I don’t think I missed any crucial plot points. It was predictable even without volume, but I don’t think it was meant to be a stellar piece of cinema.

Lassie – 5/5 – I watched the original old Lassie movie on the classic movie channel. I’ve never seen it! Wow it was good, and made me cry. Any movie where a dog dies or gets hurt or is separated from its loved one rips my heart out.

Earthly Possessions – 2/5 – Older, 1999 movie. Susan Sarandon is a housewife who is kidnapped and turns out to love the thrill and sticks with the way younger criminal for an adventure. Nothing new or earthshattering here.

There. Did I remember them all? Whew. I told you it was a movie marathon. It was SO nice to not have commercials that I think I’m ready to drop a bunch of our other tv satellite subscriptions that have nothing worthwhile on, ever, and keep this movie package around for awhile. ($21/month)

Hot Tub Time Machine

Movie Reviews,

Hot Tub Time MachineFinally, out of the 4 movies I rented on Friday, the last one was the best!!

I have heard Hot Tub Time Machine compared to The Hangover, and it wasn’t even close to that funny, but it was hilarious and had me laughing and screaming out loud, and in one place, I almost suddenly vomited!

I love John Cusack in everything, so that alone made this movie a winner. And I didn’t know that Chevy Chase was going to be in this movie – nice surprise.

Lots of laughs, but don’t watch it if you consider yourself too mature for such humour B)
I am not, and laughed loudly.

4/5 stars!

Precious – why didn’t I learn my lesson last time?

Movie Reviews, ,

Precious
I watched Precious this afternoon. I think I felt like I had to watch it so I could vaguely keep up with pop culture.

I should have known better.

Anything ever recommended by Oprah is garbage.

And I think they all have the same story line.

Black young woman, repeatedly raped and beaten and abused and can’t read and write finally finds salvation in an alternative school with a sweet patent teacher who will change her life.

But, as any Oprah favourite, it refuses to have a good ending because her father has impregnated her twice, and as a bonus, also gave her HIV.

Did I wreck it for you?

Good, don’t watch it. It’s awful.

Plus, I don’t know if it was just for this role, or if the actress Gabourey Sidibe normally talks like this, but I could have used subtitles. She mumbled like she had a mouth full of marbles and I almost turned it off twice in the first 15 minutes out of pure annoyance. I easily missed half of her lines in this movie.

Who needs a movie like this? It’s not a true story, so someone, somewhere (Oprah?) thinks that this is entertainment.

My rating? 0/5

Please remind me to stay away from anything with an Oprah recommendation!!