Movie Reviews

Bob wrote:

BobCat wrote:That wine stings when it comes out one's shnozzz!
PS - I was a bit surprised that our Suzzzz elaborated as much as she did about Arnold and his naughty bits!

This from the woman who sniggered about my magic 'dongle' phnarr

You simply HAD to know one of us would find the "dongle" line to be too hard to resist! (And yes, I had to word this response carefully too!)

Night of the Demon sounds familar...i need to imbd that one. (if its a horror flick i probably saw it at least a couple times growing up....i think i saw everything before 1975 on those old horror host shows;)....well, everything that wasn't rated "M" ....back before there was an X and long before an R there was M for stuff that wasn't just sexy but bloody/gorey).

RIght now i'm watching one of my fave movies....and yeah its got Jim Carrey in it. But it doesn't read like a Jimmy C flick. it could have been a movie Jimmy STEWART let get away. .....
The Majestic.....even if you're not into Jim Carrey you might like this story from the 50s (back during the 'red scare' times). Sentimental story,at least 6 kleenex needed. There's a cute little dog, lots of great big band and jazz music....and watch the cast for great character actors/actresses some whose names you might know (like Martin Landau) and a lot you probably don't.
(plus an extra for the lighting of the neon in front of the movie palace .....that takes me breath away every time i see it but then i'm prejudice. i dream of old movie palaces!)

and yeah...i guess i kinda relate to the guy who lives in the basement of the theater as well.

First, Shadow of a Doubt may be my favorite Hitchcock. I won't say anything about it either, because one should see it with pure innocence from the beginning. I'll just also say that The Birds, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder are the others of Hitch's that I (as one who can't bear psychotics or gore) can tolerate and venerate!

I've been trying to place The Magestic - it sounds so familiar - and realized it's in my Netflix queue. I just went to IMDb and watched the trailer. I'm definately gonna bump it!

Tonight I re-watched a movie I own, Duck. A gentle movie about the discards of society featuring an old man and a duck. That sounds silly, but it most definitely is not. Life throws crap at all of us, we can't control that. But, all the same, there are always choices to be made. This movie is so uplifting to me!

Sorry, I meant

Life as we Know it. A caterer and a sports director discover a mutual hatred of
each other. They have mutual friends that are killed in an accident and they have
been given guardianship of the friends infant daughter. I found the film uneven and even
boring at certain points. I've seen better in this genre. I'll give it

Suzzzz. If The Majestic is the film about the cinema then you must definitely bump it up the list. It's a beautifully made film.

The Majestic is about a guy who (to make it short)gets abnesia and is mistaken for a guy who went missing in the war. Martin Landau plays the father and Jim Carrey is the guy with the memory loss. They refurbish and reopen the father's old movie palace if that helps your memory. There's just so much i love about it that if i were only allowed maybe 6 movies to see for the rest of my life it would in that pile;)

as for another of those films i'd put BIG NIGHT. I know i've talked about it before. Its Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub as Italian brothers here in NJ trying to save their restaurant and to live the American dream. Its a more quiet film with few locations (mostly just the front and back of the restaurant). its another one of those movies with a bunch of great character actors and fabulous music. Louie Prima mostly .....and one of my fave Rosemary Clooney songs...Mambo Italiano;)
the Rescue Kitties and i give it: with a side of rissotto! (and do NOT order risotto and spaghetti together:) )

I have bumped The Majestic and added Big Night to the queue. Thanks!

After going wild over computer problems all day and spending HOURS on the phone with remarkably patient tech guys, I'm back online tonight. Whew! All this to explain that I re-watched one of my favorite "comfort" movies tonight, Last Holiday. It's a simple fairy tale sort of movie that doesn't ask anything of me but that I simply sit back and enjoy it. Besides, I adore Queen Latifah. The popcorn guys are perfect for this one:

"Make the pasta, make the pasta, make the pasta!" Gotta love Big Night, but it will make you hungry!

Forgot to say last night. After watching my movie Duck, I channel surfed a bit and came across Pollyanna, the old Disney movie with Haley Mills, and watched a bit of it. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I love that movie. I always think of it as quintessentially sappy Disney fare, but it really isn't. It's not great cinema or anything, but it's surprisingly good and always sucks me in. Okay, maybe it's just me that's sappy (I'll own up to that) but I'd love to own that movie.

oo i like that one too! i like The Three Lives of Thomasina (I had to google that to get the right name/spelling). its about the same as pollyanna...not a great movie, sad and happy ...but it sucks me in. plus it has a cat! its been decades since i saw that though!

Watched 'X-Men. First Class' today. I have to say that in spite of the hype I was left a little disappointed by it. I've read X-Men since day one and the way the script writers and directors play around with the established characters really annoys me.
Having said that there were a few good moments in it so I reckon it dererves

i missed the review of Last Holiday until tonight....i agree, that's a great movie to watch on an icky day...or a day when you're feeling icky. makes you feel good all the way through esp the end;) i really like Queen Latifah's movies...i'd love to see her go up with Madea someday:)


sidebar....she lives right here in my town though i've never seen her. she just goes about her business (folks upstairs saw her coming out of a bakery...not a fancy shmancy one just a reg old bakery a couple years ago with a cake and balloons for a party). i always expect to look up from the register and find her buying some Bayblades and Bubble solution;)

Queen lives in your town??? OMG. Well, I'm glad I don't. I'm sure I would embarrass myself something fierce by throwing myself at her feet every time I saw her. If she only knew, I'm sure she would be glad I'm so far away, too. Wow.

Watched The Majestic tonight and loved it! I can't thank y'all enough for urging me to watch it. It worked on so many levels. A "B" list movie, polished and burnished to such a shine that it blinds the "A" list! Flawlessly beautiful visually, character driven throughout, just edgy enough with real life to hook you, and a gloriously happy ending. Everything I want in a feel good movie! Told you I was sappy, but who cares? If I'm leaking happy tears at the end, I'm satisfied. Again, thank you.

Ok, I'm putting it on my to watch list. Now watching Casablanca.

ha ha ...i'm winning over people to one of my fave flicks..i love it;) ( and to think, they didn't even put that in the list of movies to pick 'which jim carrey character do you like best' for ETW).

as for Queen Latifah...even though she lives here, this is a really sprawling town and i've never seen her! though there are people who say they know where she lives and where her mom lives SOooooo if you did come here i could at least get ya to drive by so you could see where she lives:) i don't know the address but there's a house i go by every time i go to NYC that has a bus parked out front that i swear is a tour bus.

Lol! I think I'll spare Queen my fandom. She and I will be best content if I just worship her from afar.

One thing I really loved about Jim Carrey in The Magestic is that he played it totally straight. He didn't clown once that I saw. Proved what I already knew, that Carrey is a real actor who doesn't need his (admittedly amazing) talent for clowning to carry a role. It was like Jerry Lewis playing a completely straight role and carrying the day with it. I was impressed with Carrey for being willing to break with his trademark to play it that way. I'm sure it never made it to the "Character" list because he didn't play a character. He just played a man.

Watched most of The Art of The Steal tonight. (I say "most" because it turned out to be really long and I haven't finished it yet.) Utterly fascinating documentary. Got this from IMDb:

"'The Art of the Steal' is a documentary that chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art valued at more than $25 billion."--Film publicity.

To read more, go to IMDb and read the first review. Bobcat, if you read this, you might be interested to find that nearly every pic and old film of Dr. Barnes (the original collector) shows him with his constant companion, a lovely Papillon dog. Put me in his corner from the start!

i was watching something like that a few nights ago...i don't know who the person who collected the art in the show i was watching though...i only caught a chunk in the middle. in that one it was a man with a family who lived in a regular sort of suburban neighborhood who collected the art and had it around his house. even though it was very valuable he wanted to appreciate it. when he died he had someone they considered a famly friend take care of it (so to speak...he was supposed to get it appraised, maybe take it to museums etc) but the guy just took off with it.that wouldn't be the same family,would it?

( as for Jim Carrey, my other fave of his is the Truman Show...if you like The Majestic you'd probably like that. ...for years i wanted a green jade bead bracelet and a cardigan with a plaid lining;) )

Suzzzz wrote:Watched most of The Art of The Steal tonight. (I say "most" because it turned out to be really long and I haven't finished it yet.) Utterly fascinating documentary. Got this from IMDb:

"'The Art of the Steal' is a documentary that chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art valued at more than $25 billion."--Film publicity.

To read more, go to IMDb and read the first review. Bobcat, if you read this, you might be interested to find that nearly every pic and old film of Dr. Barnes (the original collector) shows him with his constant companion, a lovely Papillon dog. Put me in his corner from the start!

He sounds like a prince of a fellow!

jeanebellini wrote:i was watching something like that a few nights ago...i don't know who the person who collected the art in the show i was watching though...i only caught a chunk in the middle. in that one it was a man with a family who lived in a regular sort of suburban neighborhood who collected the art and had it around his house. even though it was very valuable he wanted to appreciate it. when he died he had someone they considered a famly friend take care of it (so to speak...he was supposed to get it appraised, maybe take it to museums etc) but the guy just took off with it.that wouldn't be the same family,would it?

( as for Jim Carrey, my other fave of his is the Truman Show...if you like The Majestic you'd probably like that. ...for years i wanted a green jade bead bracelet and a cardigan with a plaid lining;) )

I don't think your show was The Art of The Steal but, in essence, the same thing happened to both collections, just on different levels.

When I was posting about The Magestic, I thought of The Truman Show. I didn't remember it well enough to include it in my post, but that's when I knew ol' Jim had more to him than just a funny guy.

waaaayyyy back (might have been just before or right at the beginning of In Living Color) Jim did a tv movie called Doing Time on Maple Drive. it was a totally straight drama. he played one of the kids in a disfuctional family. i don't remember a lot of it, but i remember there was an alcaholic or two in there. i've only seen it maybe three times, but it might be something deep in netflicks. Hmm....makes me want to go searching for it...i know i've seen it on ebay years ago but its one of those things i wouldn't mind having on a real dvd.
I'd give Doing TIme on Maple Drive but add another one just cuz its interesting to see a very young Jim Carrey being so serious.

Suzzzz, so glad you enjoyed 'The Majestic'. I caught it on TV a few years back and absolutely loved the characters and the heart-warming story.

Had a Netflix gap so got some movies from the library I remembered had some buzz. Unfortunately, both were meh.

Did You Hear About the Morgans
I got because I was tired and wanted something mindless, but good grief. This was the lamest movie I ever saw. The premise was standard, but hopeful: a warring couple is thrown together by circs beyond their control and end up re-connecting. I've seen it done quite well. But this thing was just a disjointed collection of rom-com cliches with no connection, depth or heart. I think it was just thrown together so people could look at Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant. Huge waste of time. I only give it one because Sam Elliot was in it.

Greenberg
Got this because I like Ben Stiller, but I have a very low tolerance for self-indulgent movies about a$$hole neurotics finding their way. At least Woody is usually funny when he does it! I give it one

I still have The Illusionist to watch. I'll probably view that on Sunday. I have much better hopes for that.

Have seen the other two but if memory serves me correct I've seen the Illusionist and I
think you will enjoy it. The movies you watched sound like Life as you Knew It. Great idea
poorly executed.

Finally got to see Toy Story 3 tonight (thank you, library). It was sweet and funny and distressing and exciting, all that stuff Disney/Pixar promises. Nice outcome. I have friends who say they cried buckets, but I just felt hopeful. I did tear up when they all held hands to go to their doom together. That was pretty powerful.

Suzzzz wrote:Finally got to see Toy Story 3 tonight (thank you, library). It was sweet and funny and distressing and exciting, all that stuff Disney/Pixar promises. Nice outcome. I have friends who say they cried buckets, but I just felt hopeful. I did tear up when they all held hands to go to their doom together. That was pretty powerful.

It was even more powerful in 3D, Suzzzz. I'd give it one more for that, along with a mention of a wonderful score by my favorite composer of all, Randy Newman.