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Its free. Just follow the directions after clicking on QuickTime download.
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| Movie | Philomena | Garrett | Betty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit |  |
| |
| As always we enjoyed the antics of this quirky pair.
They convey such a sense of pure innocent fun that one is left similing for a long time afterwards.
Too bad the Hollywood crowd can't duplicate this magic. Trailer | |||
| March of the Penguins | |
| |
| Good documentary. The young penguins are so cute its no wonder
the parents would walk seveny miles to conceive and bear one. Trailer | |||
| War of the Worlds |  |
| |
Trailer | |||
| Star Wars III | |
| |
| We went to see Star Wars II primarily because the series is such a cultural icon.
We didn't expect much so were not too disappointed when the movie proved primarily tedious.
Oh there were a few worthwhile moments here and there, but for the most part,
the story and actors were dull and forgetable and the technical effects overdone. Trailer | |||
| The Kingdom of Heaven | |
| |
| OK but a disappointment overall. We had expected a more engaging story.
The one presented was unbelieveable. A straightforward historical documentary would have been more interesting.
The actors, especially the lead Orlando Bloom, didn't do much to enliven the proceedings. Trailer | |||
| A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | |
| |
| We expected an unusual but entertaining sci-fi film. We were disappointed.
The story line, as presented, was incoherent. Earth annhiliation and recreation, meaning of life, hostile aliens, animals more intelligent than man, etc.,
all mixed up together without apparent links. The film thus turned out to be just a lot of rather boring special effects,
relieved by some sprinklings here and there of original humor. Trailer | |||
| Million Dollar Baby | |
| |
| We were not expecting much from this film but were very surprised to find it very engrossing.
The story is of a lower-class girl who overcomes huge obstacles to give a meaning to her life and of an aging fight promoter
who, having botched up his relationship with his own daughter, finds redemption in helping the girl achieve her dream.
The acting is superb, making the characters very real and moving. Trailer | |||
| Finding Neverland | |
| |
| A fine old-fashioned tearjerker. We enjoyed every moment even though we knew that the true story
couldn't possibly be as banal as presented. Trailer | |||
| The Aviator | |
| |
| OK in a mundane sort of way. Hughes was an original so a recounting of his feats
and eccentricities is always interesting. What made him that way, however, will not be
learned from this film. Oh, there is an initial scene that hints at some sort of twisted relationship with
his mother but all we got out of that was an explanation for him being afraid of germs.
DeCaprio was good as Hughes as were the others in their parts. But whoever cast the gal that
played Jean Harlow should be flogged for desecrating her memory. Trailer | |||
| Meet the Fockers | |
|
|
| This film had its moments but on the whole it just doesn't work. The humor is too obvious and forced.
But on the plus side, Hoffman, DeNiro and Streisand are always interesting to watch.
Trailer | |||
| The Incredibles | |
|
|
| Some amusing bits throughout, but on the whole rather boring.
The premise - obsolete super heros - appeared promising but its potential was exhausted afer a few minutes.
Trailer | |||
| What The Bleep Do We Know? | |
|
|
| A bunch of pretensious philosophical musings
by a variety of egg-heads and mystics. However, as evidenced by reviews
such as those reached
by clicking here,
it is a big hit with some. Trailer | |||
| Vanity Fair | |
|
|
| As usual Hollywood has aimed high and missed. Characters and situations come off as
unbelieveable. For example, why would the husband all of a sudden become enraged to the point of violence when he finds his wife in
a compromising situation with a wealthy benefactor from whom the husband has been accepting many financial and social favors?
Surely one of the English upper class of the time would not have been naive enough to believe that the favors were without a price.
Hollywood producers should leave the classics alone if they are not prepared to deal with the "truth" of the classics. Trailer | |||
| De-Lovely | |
|
|
| De-Lovely is De-Lousy! Couldn't make much out of the garbled love (?) story.
Still, the 20th's ambience, the costumes, and the Cole Porter songs rescued the film from being a total loss.
Trailer | |||
| I, Robot | |
|
|
| A very interesting speculation on some unintended consequences of advanced robots.
As usual these days, spectacular technical effects - undoubtedly very exciting for youngsters, but
getting to be quite boring for us adults. The word Robot, by the way, comes from the Polish word for work .
Trailer | |||
| Troy | |
|
|
| Usual unimaginative Hollywood treatment of a classic that is a mixture
of history and myth. As a result the actions and emotions of the characters
don't make much sense and there is no suspension of belief with regard to the mythical parts of the story.
Helen is such plastic beauty it is hard to believe that Ken much less Paris would want to run away with her.
Anyway we did enjoy the spectacle of it all.
Trailer | |||
| Day After Tomorrow | |
|
|
|
Spectacular technical effects - that's about all that recommends this one. Trailer | |||
| The Lady Killers | |
|
|
| This is a pale remake of the 1955 British original that starred Alec Guiness and Peter Sellers. All the characters in this remake are just too wacko to even have a hint of the sort of innocent charm the original had. Also one of the character's continuous swearing not only was not humorous but soon got downright boring and annoying. The humor, however, picked up somewhat in the last part. Trailer | |||
| The Alamo | |
|
|
| Another picture in which technical details are well presented and the acting is excellent but which lacks a compelling story. But it's an interesting history lesson. Trailer | |||
| Miracle | |
|
|
|
The victory of the underdog U. S. Olympic Hockey Team over the invincible Russian team in 1980 is the stuff of legend.
So we looked forward to seeing this movie. However, the movie treatment would lead one to believe that the coach was the only hero.
Missing was some explanation of how the boys came together to become a team. Can't beleive it was all due to the coach
being hard on them all of the time. Trailer | |||
| Cold Mountain | |
|
|
| Cold Mountain left us both kinda cold. While depiction of what life must have been like during the Civil War was well done and the actors, particularly Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman, were great, story development was flawed. The major shortcoming in this regard was that the we were not convinced that there was a "great love" between the main characters. Their struggles to be reunited therefore seemed pointless. Trailer | |||
| Big Fish | |
|
|
| Another noble attempt falling short. The story briefly concerns a journalist son who is averse to his father's tall tales and splits with him for three years because of them. While the embroidered life stories of the father are fun, the point of the story is unclear. The final reconciliation between father and son doesn't make sense. The father hasn't given up fantasizing and thus keeps his true personality hidden and the son hasn't come to any deeper understanding of his father's need to fantasize. But great acting. Trailer | |||
| Calendar Girls | |
|
|
| Mildly enjoyable film. We were disappointed though. We had hoped that the film would be along the lines of "The Full Monty" which we both thought was terrific. The motivations of the "girls" for posing nude was somewhat muddied and didn't quite ring true. The second part therefore seemed forced and became a drag. Trailer | |||
| Mona Lisa Smile | |
|
|
PG wanted to see this one because of some of her somewhat similar past experience. In her opinion,
the portrayed 50's ivy league culture and characters are rather stereotypical without much depth. As a somewhat
cliched story though it is OK (idealistic young teacher overcomes her young students' feminine mystique conformities to make them
realize that there is more to life than marriage, babies, and GE appliances).
Trailer | |||
| Elf | |
|
|
| The grandkids were the only reason we saw this one. The kids enjoyed all of it, but the story premise - a human raised by fairy tale elves and now as an adult trying to adapt to the real world in New York - failed to work for us adults. The last part of the movie - Santa Claus trapped in Central Park because his sled lost its levitation power - however was very funny. PG particularly got a kick out of the portrayal of the horse-riding Central Park Rangers as a fearsome, powerful band. Trailer | |||
| Something's Gotta Give | |
| |
| Garrett took a pass on this one. Betty and PG however enjoyed it.
Story is about when a charming old rogue who dates only women under thirty suffers a heart attack
and so is throw him into the company of older woman Dianne Keaton. Love, of course, eventually triumphs.
Wouln't rate it as great comedy, just as pleasantly
entertainling. Jack Nichloson is always a treat to watch. Dianne Keaton, however, is a little too flutterly for our taste.
Trailer | |||
| Bad Santa | |
| |
|
PG was led to believe by some reviews that this movie was of the W.C.Fields genre. But oh boy was she wrong.
This Santa is just plain, unremittingly mean and gross. His redemption in the final scenes therefore is unconvincing.
The incessant profanity also detracts. On the plus side, the boy played by Brett Kelly was appealing. Trailer | |||
| Secondhand Lions | |
| |
| A really enjoyable film. Story is about developments when a young boy is dumped by his dittzy mother
on his two eccentric great uncles for the summer. As played by Robert Duvall and Michael Caine these two great uncles
are cranky, funny, lovable, and interesting. Don't think the picture would have worked without them.
Also, we got a great kick out of the part where the uncles have shipped to their farm a lion in order to have
the excitment of hunting it. But the lion turns out to be a weary old lion who just settles
down in a nearby cornfield.
Trailer | |||
| Seabiscuit | |
| |
| Would rate this one a three star. The story is inspring and well worth knowing. We really enjoyed it.
The only criticism we would have is that the personal histories of the three main human characters were too long. The first
part therefore started to drag. The second half, however, was great. Great movie to take the kids to.
Trailer | |||
| Pirates of the Caribbean | |
| |
| A mildly entertaining film. Could have been a good film - it has a good story - but it was done in by Johnny Depp's weird
interpretation of the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow and an over load of technical gimmicks. Depp's campy Jack Sparrow
made the movie neither scary nor very funny. The technical wizardry also did not enhance scariness, only the boredom.
Trailer | |||
| Spy Kids 3 | |
||
Garrett took a pass on this one. PG viewed it with the grandkids. She didin't
expect much, but was really surprised. This movie is more than a kid's film. There is a philosophical theme -
something about technology prevented from getting out of hand by the "family" (which includes the whole world).
Development of the theme was difficult to follow, however, because of relatively poor writing
(How would one handle a philosophical theme in a picuture for kids?) and the gimmick of 3D.
The 3D effects didn't add anything to the movie, were distracting and the glasses were very hard on the eyes.
But it was something differrent and the kids enjoyed the novelty. Too bad they didn't just strive to make this an adult movie. | |||
| Bend It Like Beckham | |
|
|
| Very interesting, wothwhile picture, especially for young girls.
Story involves a first generation Indian girl and a middle class English girl and their common problem.
Both love the sport of soccer and are good enough at it to become serious players. But both
their families view the sport as a diversion from the serious business of attracting a husband.
Picture conveys well the pressures these young girls have to overcome to follow their dreams of competing
in important soccer competitons.
Picutre generally well done. Interesting and enjoyable presentations of Indian and middle class English life. | |||
| The Pianist | |
|
|
| Worthwhile picture in that it reminds us to never forget
what horrors mankind is capable of. (Teenagers would be advised to see this picture
as well as to read "The Diary of Ann Frank.")
As for the picture's artistic impact - a good documentary. Would have been a better picture if the
the German officer's rediscovery of his humanity because of the artistry of the pianist was developed more. | |||
| Anger Management | |
|
|
| We were bound to see anything with Jack Nicholson, especially a comedy.
We were dissappointed however. Jack and the rest of the actors were OK, but somehow
the movie premise - an anger management psychiatrist from hell - didn't work too well.
There are funny moments now and then however. The segment where the Doctor (Jack) and his
victim patient (Adam Sandler) incite violence in a Buddist monk colony particulary struck
our funny bones. Trailer | |||
| City of God | |
|
|
| This is a rough movie - all about how violence is spawned and perpetuated
in the slums of a Brazil city. Can't say that it was particularily enlightening however. Why did one boy
resist all of the negative pressures and make something of his life? The only thing the movie would suggest
is that he discovered photography. Nothing more profound than this? PG not convinced. Anyway, the
producers and directors did try for some meaningful statement. Too bad they didn't succeed. Trailer | |||
| About Schmidt | |
|
|
| This is about a man entering his "golden years" who is trying to find some meaning to his life.
The theme was executed much more powerfully earlier in the Japanese film "Ikiru." For one thing the final "ray of hope"
in this latest version is an unconvincing easy cop out. However, Jack Nicholson is a fantasic actor. He does convey
the deep malaise of of a man confronting the result of a life spent conforming to everyone's expectations of him. Trailer | |||
| Bowling for Columbine | |
|
|
| This movie is about the gun mania gripping a certain portion of our population.
Don't know if it will convince the "true believers," but for those of us who are already gun shy, the movie does
give us a lot of facts and figures to counteract arguments. Moreover Michael Moore's style is always fun.
His tripping up Carlton Heston in his own arguments showed just how illogical these gun nuts are. Trailer | |||
| Catch Me If You Can | |
|
|
| Enjoyable movie. All of the shenanigans of the character Frank Abagnale passing himself off as a teacher, pilot, doctor, and lawyer while still in high school were fun. The motivation for him doing so, however, doesn't make sense. The movie would have it that his escapades were caused by his parent's divorce. Duh? Trailer | |||
| Gangs of New York | |
|
|
| Good documentary. As far as the story goes, its only OK.
Presentation of key story elements left a lot to be desired. For example, the
opening scene is a priest going through some shaving ritual. A small boy is
watchng him intently. We learn the boy is his son. No explanation is given for
this circumstance. How is it that a priest has a son? Is the priest really a priest?
We are never enlightened. Also we missed the significance of the symbolism of
the priest giving the boy a blood stained razor. The movie continues on with numerous such puzzlers. Is the butcher a real butcher or is her only a guy who likes to cut up raw meat? We also missed why the butcher was so respectful of the priest as an adversary.
Good acting by Daniel Day-Lewis and DeCaprio. Too bad current day directors do not know
to use the film medium to tell a story.
| |||
| Barbershop | |
| |
| Enjoyable film overall. Gives one an insight into some
inner city problems and copings. One feels great empathy for those trying
to rise above their environment to better themselves. Quite funny in spots, but we could have used less of
the loud music and all the shouting and screaming. The picture is flawed, as so many
these days are, by not orienting the audience at the beginning as to who the characters are
and what the shown action is all about. Takes about a fourth of the picture to catch on to the theme.
| |||
| Sweet Home Alabama | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Mildly entertaining film. OK to see if there is nothing on TV. Story is rather stale
- sophisticated, phoney girl from New York rediscovers true values and love back home in Alabama.
The leads don't do much for the picture, but Candice Bergen, as Mayor of New York, is great.
| |||
| K-19: The Widowmaker | |
| |
| A powerful, intense film. Its based on the true story of a Russian nuclear submarine that
encountered technical problems and almost caused a nuclear disaster of global proportions. Raises many basic questions about (a)
the incompatibility of high tech and politics and (b) individual responsiblity
with regard to conscience and duty to country. The power of the film, however, is the basic humanity of the crew it conveys. One's heart breaks for those courageous young boys who exposed themselves to lethal doses of radiation to fix a cooling leak in the nuclear reactor. They could just as easily have been American boys. One thus wonders why everyone can't agree that war is stupid.
We both left feeling exhausted but very profoundly moved. When a film can have such an effect, it transends the
usual movie ratings systems. This film is Art.
| |||
| Simone | |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Very interesting theme - how we mistake image for reality, in fact actually reject reality and embrace image.
The picture raises the question in PG's mind of how many times can we be removed from reality without totally losing perspective.
In the picture "Victor, Victoria" Julie Andrews played the role of a woman playing the role of a man playing the role of a woman. In the case of "Simone"
we have a real woman playing the role of an image playing the role of a real woman.
PG thinks that from now on we are going to have a hard time believeing that the real actress is real.
Presentation fairly well done. Think it would have had more impact if the creator, Viktor Taransky, of the virtual Simone had himself
started to believe in her reality. The actress playing Simone, Catherine Keener, was kinda cute.
| |||
| Signs | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Another one, aiming high but missing the mark. Too bad because the theme could have had a profound impact.
Problem with this film as with so many others these days is the way the story is presented - not linearly but in flashbacks whose connection to anything
immediately going on is not at all clear. As a result for most of the picture we were confused. Also, we know our hearing is probably not be all it should be,
but the speech of the little girl was almost unintelligible. Anyway, the acting and suspense were good.
We were disappointed that more explanation and exploration of the phenomena of crop circles was not attempted. | |||
| The Road to Perdition | |
| |
| Just misses being a great movie. Powerful acting by Hanks and Newman, but again the flaw that we didn't relate to the characters on an emotional level. The recreation of the 30's environment and the photography were supberb however. Especially noteworthy was the photogrqphy of a slow motion sequence in the rain. Parents be warned this is not a movie for kids. The violence is really raw and the values portrayed not what you would want kids to be exposed to. | |||
| The Importance of Being Earnest | (Lukewarm) |
| |
| Pleasant bit of fluff if you are, like PG, a fan of MasterpieceTheater. If not you'll hate it. But PG has to admit that the Oscar Wilde work seems heavily contrived, even in this day of sappy TV sit coms. | |||
| My Big Fat Greek Wedding | |
|
|
| Pleasant, light entertainment. PG & Betty, being first generation Americans of
Polish descent, related to the theme of the picture very well. Like the heroines's family, our Polish
family always pressured us to marry Polish boys. Betty obliged by marrying a nice Polish boy - Phil.
PG, however, like the movie's heroine married a Polish outsider. Also, Betty's wedding was much like
the wedding portrayed in the picture, except not on quite as large a scale. At Betty's wedding barriers
between the Polish relatives and the medical professionals of Ann Arbor soon broke down and everyone
had a rip-roaring good time dancing the Polka til the wee hours of the night.
The actors all were good. PG especially liked John Corbett who played the lead as Ian Miller. PG thought the picture would have been improved, however, if the mother and father characters were more Greek-looking. | |||
| About a Boy | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Pleasant, mindless kind of entertainment. Hugh Grant very good as a shallow, easy-going fella who finds a more meaningful life getting caught up in a 12 year old boy's troubles. Think the picture would have been more powerful if the motivation for the shallowness of the Hugh Grant character was provided. | |||
| Changing Lanes | |
| |
| Garrett really hated this one. PG found its commentary on our society's moral values presented in an interesting and thought-provoking way. The commentary, by the way, is quite cynical. The heros(?), however, redeem themselves in the end because they find life under current, prevailing values just too brutal. | |||
| The Rookie | |
| |
| Standard Disney Pollyanna, and the theme is almost identical to that of "October Sky" (son overcomes father's discouragement of dreams). But good acting and the magic of baseball make for enjoyable entertainment. (One caveat, too many prolonged scenes of Dennis Quaid being awe- or question-stricken.) The ballet grace of the game is conveyed well. | |||
| The Count of Monte Cristo | |
| |
| Good old-fashion, entertaining movie. Such a joy to be able to once again enjoy a good story. We don't get too many good stories in movies these days. It a little simplistic but satisfying (values such as education, love and loyalty are deemed noble and justice is done in the end). | |||
| Amelie | |
| |
| PG really loved it. Garrett liked it but the subtitles kind of turned him off. Now this a lovable quirky movie. What a bunch of neat funky characters! The plot too is a relief from all the usual sex and violence (Parent be advised though - there is graphic sex in the movie but it is funny). Amelie (played by Audrey Tautou - she has an Audrey Hepburn kind of quality) is adorable. She is a romatic who decides to emulate Princess Diana and do good deeds for the world. Her good deeds are on a smaller scale but imaginative and clever. In the course of her do-gooding she meets and pursues her soul mate in a very unusual way. | |||
| In the Bedroom | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Maybe it is just us. Again we found the actors good and the theme interesting, but somehow the emotional impact was flat. The parents involvement with their son didn't come off as particularly deep, so subsequent events were not emotionally understandable. Maybe this was because not enough time ws spent at the beginning of the movie establishing the relationships of the characters to one another. It took awhile to figure out who was who, which probably led to our lack of emotional involvement. | |||
| The Lord of the Ring | (Lukewarm) |
| |
| Guess the movie would be very enjoyable for those who have read the book. For those of us who haven't, however, it was rather boring - one battle after another, on and on like forever. On the plus side, good acting and interesting special effects. | |||
| Gosford Park | (Lukewarm) |
| |
| Too many characters and subplots - confusion as to what is going on is the result. Good acting and what could be followed was enjoyable. Too bad the movie wasn't cut more. | |||
| The Royal Tennebaums | (Lukewarm) |
| |
| Tries to be a quirky comedy. Its quirky alright, like a dysfunctional Adam's family would be. However the characters don't come off as cute-quirky or likeable-quirky, just quirky, so the viewer is left indiffernt to them. | |||
| A Beautiful Mind | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Good movie, good acting by Russel Crowe. But somehow misses being a great movie.
For one thing couldn't make much of his paranoid schizophrenia except that it was too bad for him.
More interesting had the movie explored the following theme
(from the website http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/nash.htm) "However, Nash himself associated his madness with his living on an "ultralogical" plane, "breathing air too rare" for most mortals, and if being "cured" meant he could no longer do any original work at that level, then, Nash argued, a remission might not be worthwhile in the end. As John Dryden once put it:
Great wits are sure to madness near allied, | |||
| Ocean's Eleven | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Bah! A lot of good actors wasted in silly, unbelievable plot. We are asked to believe that a
bunch of losers (some of whom were dumb enough to have been jailed) can concoct and execute a robbery scheme
that would take the skill and precision of an army of rocket scientists. The original with Frank Sinatra at least had the sense not to
take itself seriously. Anyway enjoyed the acting by Andy Garcia (real neat villain), Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. Julia Roberts was OK but her lips (apparently injected to achieve a youthful fullness) made her appear grotesque. | |||
| K-PAX | (Lukewarm) |
(Lukewarm) | |
| Good movie for the most part. Kept our interest. But the ending left us both puzzled and unsatisfied. | |||
| Osmosis Jones | (Emphatically) |
(Emphatically) | |
| Major disappointment. Reviews sounded intriguing. PG always did appreciate Bill Murray's style of comedy and even in this movie she enjoyed his portrayal as a slob ( he can do slob like no one). But the total movie is one that only slobby, eight-year olds might enjoy. | |||
| AI-Artificial Intelligence | |
(Luke warm) | |
| Gives one lots to think about. Brings t o mind an earlier movie - "Short Circuit" - which was a comedy, quite enjoyable, but not a think peice like AI. | |||
| The Score | |
(Luke warm) | |
| Good suspense. Reminds one of the French picture (in the 50's or 60's) in which the robbery occupied about an hour without any dialogue at all being spoken. Can't remember the name of the picture | |||
| Shrek | |
| |
| Good movie for the kids. | |||
| Castaway | |
| |
| Chocolat | |
| |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | |
| |
| Traffic | |
| |
| O Brother, Where Are Thou? | |
| |
