Real Movie Review-Movie Reviews, Movie Quotes, Movie Trivia

Starring: Kurt Russell, Martin Short, Mary Kay Place, Benjamin Salisbury, Meadow
Sisto
Director: Thom Eberhardt

This is an entertaining feel-good movie that will make your mind wander to the last time you visited the Caribbean, or to dreaming about the first time, kinda like the song Kokamo. I can be a sucker for a comedy in paradise and I own this movie to watch on crappy weather days. Kurt Russell seems to have a knack for pulling these off .
Martin Harvey (Martin Short) inherits a sailboat and decides that he and his family will sail it home from the Caribbean, themselves…with the help of a hired captain. Enter Kurt Russell, as Captain Ron, a long haired, one eyed, big hearted, down on his luck sailor, who talks fast, kisses ass like an office champ and soon leaves them a little unsure of his seamanship, as he takes them on a funnier-for-us-than-it-is-for-them journey through hell in paradise. Wow, that was one long ass sentence.
This one is worth seeing on TV or on a special rental shelf. The performers are good, particularly Russell (what can’t this guy do) and a lot of the jokes work providing a happy distraction for 90 minutes that should run in a continuous loop in travel agencies. Just a thought.

Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench.

Director: Marvin Campbell

I was skeptical. I heard it was great, but like so many frustrated Bond fans I had turned my back on this tired franchise. He had an invisible car in Die Another Day for Christ’s sake! Come on. I figured the next Bond would have time travel or aliens or some such shit. Then, I heard they were re-doing Casino Royale but setting it in present day with yet another actor as Bond. I was skeptical. And I was wrong.
Casino Royale is a fantastic movie. If I could put blasphemy and nostalgia behind me, I would probably say it is the best Bond ever. From the edgy opening to the best movie foot chase scene ever, to the poker duel (Ok, I admit I’m biased. I love poker almost as much as movies), this is a great movie. The story is good with action and twists aplenty combined with good dialogue, though the ending gets a little hard to follow. Most of the supporting characters could have a little more depth, but Craig sizzles as a colder, meaner Bond and Dench steals scenes right and left, as his non-supportive no-nonsense boss.
If you have turned your back on Bond, love quality action efforts or are a sucker for good poker scenes this one is well worth your time and money.

Director: Susannah Grant

Starring: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Kevin Smith, Juliette Lewis

I am going to nominate Catch and Release as the movie least likely to be remembered by anyone at this time next year. The entire effort is mediocre with some decent acting built on top of a story that should be dark, but isn’t and tries to be funny but isn’t very good at that either. It’s not like it’s a bad movie. It isn’t. They just couldn’t find a way to step out from the pack.

Jennifer Garner is Gray Wheeler and the movie begins at the funeral of her fiancé. The film manages to keep a fairly light tone as she tries to adjust to her loss with the help of his three best friends, Fritz (Olyphant), Dennis (Jaeger) and Sam, who is played by Kevin Smith in a rare acting role in a movie that he didn’t direct and he provides a lot of the comic relief, here. The story really gets going when Gray discovers that she didn’t know her lost loved one as well as she thought and that his friends have a few things to share with her, as well.

Nothing special here. Jennifer Garner is cute and Juliette Lewis plays the same character as always. They manage to keep pulling surprises out of the story, but it’s not enough. If the previews appealed to you, or if you are a Jennifer Garner groupie then this one will be to your taste. If you are a Kevin Smith fanatic, this is a safe one to miss. If you do see it, I’m guessing that you will have forgotten the title by Monday.

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Amy Adams,
Martin Sheen.

Director: Steven Spielberg

I read this book several years before the movie came out and remember thinking “Wow, this would make a great movie”. I was right, especially if Steven Spielberg takes the project, gets a fantastic script and fills it with great actors as he did with this effort. The pace is fast, the characters are well-developed and the result is one of the best movies of 2002.
The true story of Frank Abagnale is as fascinating as the movie. They actually had to leave out lots of good stuff, so if you feel like an easy, entertaining read, catch this one, but enough about the book. Frank Abagnale is a 1960s high school student who finds his life torn apart by his parents’ divorce. Unsure of how to conduct himself in this strange new world, he falls into a gypsy life of check forgery and impersonation to survive. He does considerably better than survival, with money and women filling his life like snow on my front sidewalk. Hanks plays Frank Hanratty, a FBI agent obsessed with catching this ‘paper hanger’.
This project comes together through the combined talents of many of Hollywood’s finest. The result is a don’t-miss flick that is one of my all-time favorites that has me gushing like a teenager at a Justin Timberlake fan meeting.

Director: Mike Akel

Starring: Shannon Harragan, Chris Mass, Jannelle Schremmer, Troy Schremmer

Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) produced this wonderfully innovative mockumentary about educators learning their craft in the bloody trenches of high school. Don’t be fooled by the cover, though. Mr. Spurlock didn’t write, narrate or appear in this feature. Movie rookie, Mike Akel directed, and co-wrote, the finely-crafted feature and did a great job, though there are a couple scenes where they step out of the mockumentary style that, while entertaining, hurt the overall flow. All of the performers, from the four leads, to all of the students, are amazingly natural and convincing, with an impressive script and story.

Chalk tells a documentary-style story about the school year of four fledgling educators that include a 1st year history teacher (Troy Schremmer), 2nd year PE teacher (Janelle Schremmer), 3rd year history teacher, Mr. Stroope, and a 1st year Asst. Principal (Shannon Harrigan). The movie starts out in an optimistic September, and follows the four of them through a variety of challenges as the year progresses.

This is an extremely entertaining film for those with any interest in the subject area and is better than most mockumentary features. It is sometimes frightening, often funny, and occasionally uncomfortable, but it is always engaging and entertaining. Teachers will love it, and spend a lot of time, both nodding and shaking their heads and students will feel like they are getting a sneak peek into that mysterious staff room (if they care).

Starring: Dominic Scott Ray, Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, John
Cleese,

Director: Gary Winick

Okay, I admit a soft spot for Charlotte’s Web. Mrs. Winters read it to my fifth grade class and it holds a special place in my lexicon of children’s literature. Besides, I have to review some kids’ movies, so why not start with this one? This movie is well done and loaded with big names doing little voice over roles of the animals.
This is the story of a charming, young runt pig, Wilbur (voice of Scott Ray), who is saved by a soft-hearted little girl (Dakota Fanning) and finds friendship with the other animals in the barn, particularly with a female spider named Charlotte (voice of Julia Roberts). Early on, Wilbur learns of his seemingly inevitable fate as lunchmeat, but Charlotte promises to find a way out of this inevitable bovine danger. The tale is as charming as ever, but the real treat here is dialogue of the animals that makes up much of the film and included enough clever jokes to keep me entertained.
Kids should like it. Parents should find it entertaining and the graduates of Mrs. Winters grade five class will find it a lovely reminder. As for the rest of you? There is a touching story about friendship and some clever if-animals-could-talk jokes. Even you were not in Mrs. Winters’ grade five class, maybe this story holds some special place in your lexicon, as well. This review is dedicated to Mrs. Winters and all the other teachers that each of us remembers in tiny ways all the time.

Starring: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Claire Hope-Ashitay, Michael Caine, Charlie
Hunnam, Peter Mullan

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

This movie came out with a blast of hype; something about being the only movie that will be remembered in 50 yrs or something. A pretty bold claim and I don’t know anything about it carrying the film studies flag for future generations, but it is a good movie, with a kind of Blade Runner vision of a dark future for humanity.
In 2029, women have been struck by infertility. The youngest people are 18 years old and society is breaking down with political, scientific, religious and terrorist groups sprouting up and clashing with each other and an increasingly authoritarian government. In England this also includes a savage crackdown on illegal immigrants. This policy is carried out by a dept. called Homeland Security in the year’s most unsubtle analogy. In this environment, a pregnant illegal immigrant is a complicated issue that many groups want control of. Who should Earth’s last mother (Chiwetel Elijofor ) trust to get her and her unborn child to safety? She chooses a cynical ex-activist named Theo Faron (Clive Owen).
Usually films that attempt grand futuristic visions stumble over the size of their target, but this one manages to pull if off without gaping plot holes. It has a tense well-written story and very good performances throughout, even by the many actors with small roles. This is made possible by a script that creates no stock characters, but individuals. Even Owen’s character is virtually one of a kind; an action hero who doesn’t use violence. This is an intelligent action movie and well worth seeing, but it is far from simple. Follow along carefully to enjoy it.

Director: Jeremiah Chechik

Starring: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’ Angelo, Juliette Lewis, John Galecki, John Randolph, Diane Ladd, Randy Quaid

Chevy Chase leads the way in this, the third chapter of his legacy Vacation film series. The movie moves pretty fast, relying on lots of physical pratfall comedy in the what-else-can-go-wrong style. Series staples, Beverly D’Angelo and Dennis Quaid are back and the film sticks pretty close to the same formula as its predecessors. It works, though and the result is a warm, funny, good-hearted comedy that is sure to give you a little Christmas spirit on top of a few chuckles.

Chevy Chase is, once again, the well-meaning, but obsessive and oblivious Clark Griswold. In this installment, Clark is determined to have an old-fashioned family Christmas in his home, but, predictably, things go wrong from the start and soon Clark is wrangling a Christmas tree, playing electrical engineer to enough lights to guide the space shuttle back to Earth, among other things, all the while dealing with the stress of having relatives visiting and a missing Christmas bonus. The interplay between Chase and Quaid is always great and look for Julia Lewis-Dreyfus in a supporting pre-Seinfeld role.

I enjoy the Vacation series, well except for that sorry European sequel, and this a good one. It is clichéd, and there isn’t too much here that you don’t see in the usual seasonal comedy, but Chase does it well and it should give you a little boost in Christmas spirit as it entertains.

Director: Joe Roth

Starring: Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, M. Emmet Walsh

Now, here is something I’ll bet you didn’t know. The writer of this film, which represents much of the very worst of the Christmas movie genre, is none other than the Ernest Hemmingway of courtroom literature, John Grisham. All I can say about this one, however, Mr. Grisham, is I object. I usually like Tim Allen, but his guy-next-door humor couldn’t save this one. Jamie Lee Curtis overacts and the story is all over the place and largely unconvincing.

Empty nesters, Luther and Nora Krank decide they will save the money and work involved in celebrating Christmas, and head off on a cruise, instead. It seems like a good idea, until they find themselves facing resistance from their neighbors, lead by Vic Frohmeyer (Dan Akkroyd), who find this anti-social behavior unacceptable. Militant tree-selling Boy Scouts, commando carolers, and persistent Frosty fans all make life tricky for the non-conformist couple.

The strong experienced cast here is wasted by a meandering script, that can’t decide if it wants to be edgy or sweet. The idea of suburban characters resisting the status quo is a good one and could have made for a comical, Chocolate War, kind of battle of wills feature, but for dark humor to work, it needs more courage, and a sharper edge, than we have here. The result is a bland, messed up attempt at a formula film.

Cinderella Man (2005) *****

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, Connor Price, Ariel Waller, Patrick Louis

This Ron Howard creation from Cliff Hollingsworth’s screenplay is the best boxing movie since Rocky and one of the best sports movies of all time. Crowe and Zellweger are excellent in leading roles, while Giamatti’s Oscar-nominated performance is worth the price of admission all on its own. The fight scenes are gripping and the realities of life in New York during the depression have rarely been so poignantly captured on film.

The touching true story of depression era boxer, James Braddock, played by Crowe, is the basis for this story. A contender for the heavyweight title, Braddock went on a losing streak and finds himself struggling to support his wife (Zellweger)and three children during the darkest days of the depression. This gets worse when he loses his licence to box and things have become desperate when his manager, played by Paul Giamatti, comes to him with a proposal.

This is a wonderful movie about the difficulties of the life during the depression and the strength of character needed to survive it. It is a movie about a boxer, but transcends pigeonholing as a sports movie. It is a well-told, splendidly-acted and impressively-directed film that appeals to the viewer on several levels.