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15 December The Bourne Ultimatum"No, see, that's the mistake people keep making.
A - he is really good at staying alive.
And, B - trying to kill him and failing just pisses him off."
~Pamela Landy
Sadly, this line is in the deleted scenes and never made it into the movie. I can understand why this scene didn't make it in, but it would still have been a great line to keep.
Watched The Bourne Ultimatum tonight. Gotta say ... 4 stars. No, make that 5/5 stars. Amazing action. Made even better since I am not 6 rows from the big screen. When I saw the Bourne Supremacy that's where I was. The director shoots a large portion of the movie with hand held cameras. This makes for a much more "involved" viewing experience, but trust me, you don't want to be as involved as 6 rows back requires. You feel like you are actually running right behind Matt Damon as he runs across roof tops and beats the brains out of the bad guys getting in his way.
The action sequences, as expected, are amazing. Some truly amazing coreography ... because, let's be honest, that's not fighting. True fighting doesn't look that beautiful and poetic and would be utterly impossible to capture on film the way they do in these movies. Across the board this is a great movie.
The car chases are great ... the plot portions are even fairly easy to follow. Well, except for the whole "thing" with Nicky they tried to imply. There were a few scenes between her and Jason that seemed like they were involved before he joined Treadstone or right at the beginning or something ... but they never explain it. It never goes anywhere. Then she dyes and trims her hair and suddenly it looks EXACTLY like Marie, his dead girlfriend. Threw me off for most of the movie. Waiting to see if he was going to pursue that or if she was going to say anything or if they were even going to explain it. Just seemed like there was more to it than they explained. But even with that caveat, I would highly recommend this movie. All of that aside the plot is fairly easy to follow. There is a bit of tricksy sneakery with the timeline as it would appear that the final scene of 2 shows up half an hour into 3,but who's to say? right? Makes me want to go read the book to see if I can figure some more of it out. But I read the Supremacy and was not impressed enough to want to go get the rest of them. Maybe another day.
My only disappointment is that I didn't get to watch the other two immediately before this one. I much prefer to watch sequel movies in order. Sometimes this is almost necessary to follow the current movie, but generally you can remember enough to make it worthwhile. Pirates of the Caribbean was definitely a trio you need to watch all of in order or you definitely can get lost very easily in the 3rd movie. But I digress. Then again, it is 155 am.
I watched the deleted scenes and just HAD to share that quote and my short and quick review.
And, lastly, For those of you that care ... no sex scene of any sort, no implication, no kissing, nothing at all on that front. Almost no swearing at all .. in fact none that I can actually remember at all, so it can't be that bad if any of it is in there. Even the violence isn't grotesque. Fighting, a couple of bloody knuckles and some scraped faces and bleeding noses, but otherwise nothing much to imply the level of violence that is actually going on.
Final Verdict: 5 stars out of 5. ENJOY! 28 April Stranger than Fiction starring Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson . . ."Sometimes when we lose ourselves in fear and despair
in routine and constancy
in hopelssnesss and tragedy
we can thank God for bavarian sugar cookies
and fortunately when there aren't any cookies we can still find reassurance
in a familar hand on our skin.
or a kind and loving gesture
or a subtle encouragement
or a loving embrace
or an offer of comfort
not to mention hospital gurneys
and nose plugs
an uneaten danish
softspoken secrets
and fender stratocasters
and maybe . . . the occasional piece of fiction.
And we must remember that all these things,
the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties,
which we assume only accesorize our days
are here for a much larger and nobler cause"
This is an absolutely lovely quote I pulled from the movie "Stranger than Fiction." If it feels incomplete, that's because it is. I did not include every word of the entire quote because I did not want to give anything away in the movie. Honestly, hearing Emma Thompson's lovely british accent read these words almost brought a tear to my eye.
I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie. Very. I expected a standard, slightly oddball, Will Ferrell comedy. Instead I got an interesting idea put into a respectably well-done script and acted beautifully by some of the best talent for the part. If you can handle "odd" movies and don't always choose the standard "romantic comedy," "latest action" or standard genre, then you'll like this one. I watched it with a friend who is very standard, mainstream; and although she liked it, I don't think she was quite as impressed with it and touched by it as I was.
In case you've never read any of my reviews before I try to add a "standard disclaimer." I am NOT a hollywood movie critic. I don't understand what most people mean when they say "bad acting" "poor plot" whatever other buzz words "real" critics tend to use. I write what I understand and what I felt based on being a 20-something, single, midwestern gal. So, take the remaining cent of my two cents with that disclaimer already known.
I thought the acting was very good. I only had a few moments where I realized Harold Crick was Will Ferrell. Usually because I was expecting some sort of standard "Will Ferrell"-ish move/action and then it didn't happen. But, he nailed Harold Crick very well. I had a bit of trouble with Harold and Ana (Maggie Gyllenhaal) because physically there appears to be too great of an age gap, but they played past it quickly and fairly well. I think Maggie looks great and very young. Will, I think did an excellent job. Especially towards the end. You can tell the character has really settled into his 'groove' and Will has found it too. Most especially at the end.
Dustin Hoffman was not superb or fantastic, but he did his part very well. It was pretty similar to a few other characters he's played, but there is nothing wrong with those characters. Pieces felt a bit forced, but that could simply be his character. I could see that possibility being true. I just couldn't really tell. Most likely because he was a side character and not a main focus.
Emma Thompson on the other hand was very very good. Of course, I'm generally a sucker for a British accent. And, although I'm sure I've seen her in other things and I'm certain I've heard her voice elsewhere, I can't quite place why I would already like her. Well, except for Nanny McPhee, which I never saw. Regardless, I think she played her character superbly. (Half because I just want to be able to say superb and that is the only adjective that my seriously overtired brain will come up with at this moment.)
Queen Latifah did well also. About what you would expect and similar to Dustin Hoffman in that they dont' have as much face time because they are not the main characters. Good choices for their parts, done well.
So, as for the story itself. I will NOT be giving anything away nor giving any spoilers at all. So, breathe easy. I will however warn you that the beginning is a bit slow and hard to follow if you're not paying attention or too sleepy. BUT it does come together if you give it time. I had to pause the movie for about 5 minutes at the 38 minute marker and my friend had already remarked on my odd choice in movies. She's mentioned this in the past and felt it pertinent to revisit. (God I love when I write great sentences with fabulous verbs and great vocabulary!! Especially when I haven't slep well in 2 days!!!) I offered to turn it off and watch something else. I have one more day before blockbuster is even looking for it and another week before they charge me a restocking fee for returning it after "purchase." She declined, mostly out of simple curiosity of where in the world the story was going, I think. I'm glad we did watch it.
If you can deal with the couple of small problems I've already mentioned, then you should really enjoy the movie. I give it . . . a 3. Not a classical greatest movie of all time that I have to own movie, but definitely a movie I may rent again, get for free or really cheap someday and would definitely recommend to friends who can handle slightly side of center movies.
Note: For my good Christian friends who might get nervous about the make-out "where is this going?" scene near the middle of the movie. Rest assured it's done in fairly good taste and is much like a 50's movie. Heavy kissing, cut to post-
 already in bed. No need to reach for the remote or your husbands eyes.  16 March Superfantastic Theory!An old college friend, Lori, has a blog, "How are you today? I'm Superfantastic." She put forth this theory that explains in whole the workings of the female mind. highly amusing, frighteningly accurate. Go read, you'll thank me. Especially if you have a Y chromosome. Thanks for the insight Lori! 4 February Yours, Mine and OursI just got done watching Yours, Mine and Ours (2005). Pretty cute. It was an almost predictable, but regularly amusing comedy. You had to expect plenty of slapstick style humor and getting dirty humor and kids stuff, and there was plenty of it. BUT, nothing that was really "already done." It was all a little bit new.
I did have a hard time keeping the kids straight, but I suppose that's okay. The older kids and the youngest were easy to keep straight, but I got lost with the middle ones. They did a pretty great job for kids.
Renee Russo was pretty great too. I wasn't overly impressed with Dennis Quaid, but his performance fit just fine. It didn't feel stilted or forced to me, just not spectacular either. But, he's not really known for spectacular. Renee, however, fit her part much better. In my opinion if you can play different types of characters and convince me, you're a great actor. I've seen her do that. Dennis Quaid's character's don't tend to vary too terribly much from a certain center point.
There were some good lessons to be learned. A couple of motto's "Homes are for free expression, not for first impressions." being one of them. The standard "We're better together than apart" and who could forget, "Don't do things rashly." Those last two aren't actual movie lines, but the first was. There was something else said towards the end of hte movie that I thought made a good motto and was going to include it, but now I've forgotten what it was, so I'm just going to leave those.
All in all a decent, family movie. Granted, you may not want your kids to watch it if you don't want them to get new ideas for destruction or decide that the family pet should be a pot bellied pig, but other than that, I didn't see much wrong with it. I'm not actually a parent myself, so that may not mean much, but you can take it for what it's worth.
On a slightly side note. What is up with the previews??? I usually skip the previews. Once in awhile I watch them just to see if there were any movies I've missed that I wanted to see. So, today I decided to watch these previews just to check that. The first one was rated pg-13, the second pg. AND, the crazy thing was that one of them was for AEONFLUX. that is not a children's movie or family movie in any sense of the phrase! What in the world is it doing on there??? These are the questions of life I will never figure out. :sigh: That's okay.  15 January The ClassI love this show!!! I watched yet another fabulous episode today. Seriously,
I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!
I don't know if it's the writers or the actors, probably a combination of both. Almost every line that is supposed to be funny cracks me up!
I wanted to say more, but now that I'm here I said what I wanted. I've got a few other things to do now, so I'm going to go and do them.  30 December New Category, The Devil Wears PradaI decided awhile ago that I should "Review" stuff and post it here. I'm a basic, down-to-earth, Midwestern girl who likes basic, down-to-earth things. I posted once awhile ago about the things every person should have by the time they're 40 and most of them were ABSURD. This would be my answer to that. Now, I can't do a year in review because it's 1130 and i'm too tired to bother with a whole list. If you really want it, I could see about doing the "Best of 2006," but only if you ask for it.
In the meantime, I'm going to try to start reviewing whatever I want to. Movies I like or don't like. Products I like or don't like. Restaurants or places I like or don't like. If you want me to try something for you, just let me know, I can probably accommodate. I will also admit, I'm hoping to build enough of a following that maybe, possibly, someday I could make a little money off this. Don't ask me exactly how, since I have no idea, but a girl can always dream, right? So, I give you:
"The Devil Wears Prada"
So, I just got done watching The Devil Wears Prada. I liked it. I enjoyed it. Meryl Streep did a great job as did Anne Hathaway and the rest of their supporting cast. Stanley Tucci was fabulous. I love him. My opinion of a good actor is someone, anyone who convinces me of the character. If they can make me sorta forget that they're an actor, great job. All of them do so greatly. I can't say much for the Emily character only because I don't think I've seen her in anything else.
New York is great. As is Paris. More movie stuff that makes me want to go see the place portrayed in the movie. Especially Paris. Half because I've just finished a book set in Paris. Doubles the desire to go and see the place.
It was not actually that close to the book, which I read first. It's the first time I watched some of the extras and wished I hadn't. Usually I love all the extras. Having read the book I know that Miranda is supposed to be utterly hateful. In the movie she was a lot closer to human. I could have dealt wtih that, but then, listening to the featurettes and how they did that on purpose, just annoyed me. If you're going to makea movie out of a book, stick closer. A few things they said made sense that it couldn't translate to a movie. They tried to make it a story about how Miranda is not so nasty as she seems and is human and has her human side etc., However, that is not her character at ALL in the book. The book was entirely focused on Andi and how she figures out how to navigate her life in a world she wasn't used to. Plus, there were some FABULOUS interactions between Miranda and Andi, most especially the last one, and they were removed completely. Made me sad. On the up side I don't think Anne could have pulled off all the swearing that would have been required for her to be the charcter in the book. I saw the previews and then read the book beforehand on purpose. First page there is swearing and I immediately wondered how Anne was going to pull that one off.
Again as a stand alone it was good. And, as most of us want in a movie, there's a big red bow at the end, i.e. all the loose ends are tied up and every one lives happily ever after. Just don't expect too much of it if you've already read the book, or watch the movie first and then read the book and decide.
It's become a 50/50 shot whether you should read the book first or watch the movie first. I usually try to read the book first, but The Deep End of the Ocean did the same thing. So did Lord of the Rings Two Towers. Oh, well. I'll probably keep reading first and then being disappointed. I like reading more.
And that's all I have to say about that. For now.  |
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