Reads to Reels With Angela :): Movie Reviews

Showing posts with label Movie Reviews. Show all posts

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Movie Review: Cloud Atlas

"Everything Is Connected"

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Site

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time.

Release Date: October 26, 2012
DVD Release Date: February 5, 2013
Running Time: 172 minutes
MPAA Rating: R

Cast:
-Tom Hanks
-Halle Berry
-Jim Broadbent
-Hugo Weaving
-Jim Sturgess
-Doona Bae
-Ben Whishaw
-Keith David
-James D'Arcy
-Xun Zhou
-David Gyasi
-Susan Sarandon
-Hugh Grant

My Thoughts:
Sometimes, it happens rarely give the state of current authorship, but sometimes the film is better than the book.

I recently started dating again after my breakup and a friend decided to take me to see the film Cloud Atlas. I didn't know much about what I was going to see. So, I didn't have any real expectations from the movie. I wasn't prepared for the single most life altering film experience I had ever had.

The film begins slowly, but at the same time dives into a world of reality and fiction, past, present and future to give you a feel for what's in store. The films score is magical, it evokes feelings of utter sadness and loss, mixed with the angelic ting of hope. The film itself plays out like a symphony of words, images and thoughts.

Needless to say it was for me a life altering experience. I no longer thought my problems, my life, myself was something singular unto myself. But after seeing this film it became all to apparent to me that I am part of the past, the present and the future. That every decision I make will effect the world in some way no matter how minute. That every decision made before me has affected me and caused me to be who and what I am.

Cloud Atlas is 3 hours long but it feels like a blip of time because the view becomes so entangled with the action on screen. It is visual poetry and musical history. It is love, life, humanity, cruelty, death, loss, pain and hope. This film is more human than many of us could feign to ever be. I urge everyone to see it. Learn from it. Live it.

Screenshots :)

Have you seen Cloud Atlas?

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Movie Review: Hope Springs

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Movie Site

Release Date: August 8, 2012

DVD Release: December 4, 2012

Plot Summary:

Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple's specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy.

Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough - the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.

Cast:

-Meryl Streep

-Tommy Lee Jones

-Steve Carell

My Thoughts:

This is a must see for Meryl Streep fans. I really love her, I think she is one of the most amazing actresses ever. This movie was however pretty sad because their marriage is getting boring and she desperately wanted to spice it up and help it out a little, but he is so old fashioned. He didn't want to go to therapy, he didn't want some random guy telling him what to do in his marriage. But it really worked out for the best.

It had it's serious moments and lots of funny moments. I think everyone should watch this movie.

Reasons To Watch It:

- It has Meryl Streep.

- Who doesn't love old people in love?!

- Tommy Lee Jones still has it.

- It's a feel good film.

Screenshots :)

Are you a Meryl Streep fan?

Did you watch Hope Springs?

If not, is it on your list?

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Movie Review: The Man With The Iron Fists

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes

Amazon - Official Movie Site

Cast:
-RZA
-Rick Yune
-Russell Crowe
-Lucy Liu
-Dave Bautista
-Jamie Chung
-Cung Le
-Byron Mann
-Daniel Wu
-Zhu Zhu
-Chia Hui Liu
-Andrew Ng
-Kuan Tai Chen
-Yoyao Hsueh

Release Date: November 2, 2012
DVD Release: Unknown

Plot Summary:
On the hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier descend upon a village in feudal China, where a humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers.

My Thoughts:
About a week ago I went with my ex boyfriend to see a film by one of his favorite artists, the RZA. For those of you who do not know who RZA (that is pronounced Riz-ah) is I will do my best to explain. He is the badass Shaolin monk ass nigga who is the current head of hip-hop super group Wu-Tang Clan. Those fans of Rap surely have heard the name before or his alias Bobby Digital. Either way he's well known in the music community.

RZA is a multifaceted man. Not only does he produce music, he is a screenwriter, occasional actor, and most recently a director. His directorial debut The Man With The Iron Fists was, in my opinion a first-rate piece of cinema. It harkens back to earlier grind house Kung-Fu films but with a touch of swag.

The music in the film, also done by RZA is of course amazing. Most of it is heavy beat and hip-hop based but it works well with the subject matter and cinematography. The film is one fluid kick ass piece of art.

The film was a collaborative effort between RZA, Quentin Tarantino, and Eli Roth. Roth, as always, brought the blood and gore to the picture. And I'm sure Tarantino was just there for moral support and to inject wildly unconventional cut-scenes, like he does in most of his own films. What ever the correct mixture of work and input these men make one helluva killer Kung-Fu cocktail for viewers to ingest.

Screenshots :)

I give the film five stars, go see it!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

MSMC #4: Grown Ups

This is just a thing I created for myself as a sort of challenge. There are a lot, and I mean a lot, of movies that people would call "must see movies" that I have not seen. So whenever I watch one of the movies on my must see list I'll do a post on it and tell if it really is a "must see". And hopefully they are all wonderfully epic movies :)

If you have any suggestions on movies I should put on that list, please leave a comment and tell me about it!

[IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Movie Site]

Plot Summary:

Thirty years after graduating from high school, five former basketball teammates gather at the lake house where they celebrated their biggest victory to mourn the passing of their late coach. Over the course of the Fourth of July weekend, the five friends realize that just because they've all grown up and started families doesn't mean that they've lost that old spark. Adulthood is what you make of it, and no one at the lake house is eager to be the grown-up of the gang.

Release Date: June 25, 2010

DVD Release: November 9, 2010

Cast:

-Di Quon

Favorite Scenes:

-The tree rope.
-Fixing the car.
-The water park.
-The arrow in the foot.
-The basketball game & fireworks.

My Thoughts:
I don't know why I never watched this movie. Everybody was talking about it when it came out, I heard it was good and hilarious and all these wonderful things. Now I finally see why... If you haven't watched this movie yet, you need too.

I thought it was going to be mostly all jokes, but it wasn't. It's actually a really good family movie. And you know those parts in movies when you want certain characters to be better or ahead of others, so bad stuff happens to them and then you feel horrible. Stuff like that never happened. And I loved it, because it really kept it an all around good movie. I was happy the entire movie, there were several laugh out loud moments, but mostly just happy.

I guess I was in need of this movie, because I honestly can't find anything wrong with it. I loved all the family things all of them did, especially because they showed how a lot of kids are now days. All consumed by cell phones, iPod's and video games. It was nice to see good ole fashioned outside family fun. It's making me want to take my kid out and have some real fun.

I really loved all the jokes they made towards each other. They were really good jokes. The ones that you would say "Ooooooooo" to, but nobody ever really got offended and that really kept the movie light and didn't cause any conflict.

Screenshots :)

So, the question I always ask

in my Must See Movie posts...

Was it epic?! I'd say YES!

If you haven't seen it, you must

go borrow/buy/rent it soon!

I really think it's a movie that

the whole family will enjoy!

Have you seen it? What'd you think?

Monday, August 20, 2012

MSMC #1: Office Space

This is just a little thing I created for myself as a sort of challenge. I was pretty sheltered as a kid and fortunately haven't seen most of all the "must see" movies that everyone always talk about. I say fortunately because I can now watch them as an adult and most likely enjoy and understand them better :) With that said, I've started making my list, but I need some help. If there are some movies that you think are must see, then please leave a comment and tell me.

I was looking at IMDB's Top 250 movies of all time list. I kind of used this list as a guideline for what most people consider "classic" or "must see" movies. I didn't list everything on there that I haven't seen, because that would be a lot of movies. But here are the ones people seem to talk about most that I have not seen.

In no particular order:

-The Godfather

-Harry Potter #4 & on.

-Pulp Fiction

-Schindler's List

-Any of The Lord of the Rings

-Any of the Star Wars

-Goodfellas

-The Matrix

-Any of the Indiana Jones

-Casablanca

-Citizen Kane

-A Clockwork Orange

-The Breakfast Club

-Reservoir Dogs

-Some Like It Hot

-2001: A Space Odyssey

-Pan's Labyrinth

-Die Hard

-The Departed

-Jaws

-Snatch

-The Sixth Sense

-Hotel Rwanda

-Scarface

-The Wizard of Oz

-Donnie Darko

-V for Vendetta

-Million Dollar Baby

-Stand by Me

-A Beautiful Mind

-The Truman Show

So my plan for Must See Movie Monday -- I will watch one of them and then talk about it. And tell you all if I thought it was truly epic or not. And my first pick was Office Space.

Comedic tale of company workers who hate their jobs and decide to rebel against their greedy boss.

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon

Release Dates:

Theaters: Feb 19, 1999

DVD: Aug 31, 2000

Cast:

Favorite Parts:

-The O face.

-Michael Bolton rapping.

-All of the incidents with the printer.

-Every other part of the movie.

My Thoughts:

So YES! This movie is completely and utterly hilarious! It is totally epic! I have no idea why I never watched this movie, but I am so glad I did. I was thinking about it for days (I watched it last week & just now came up with the idea for these posts) and I'm still thinking about it. I almost want to watch it right now. One thing that made it funny was to see how things were so different. And this was only in '99! But their glasses and clothes. Wow. Hilarious.

Screenshots :)

Have you seen Office Space?

Do you consider it a "must see" movie?

Did you think it was funny? Stupid? Both?

Or are you like I was and haven't seen it yet? You should!

And for the people that think they know Office Space like the back of their hand. I found this online quiz, I thought it was fun. I didn't do too well though, considering I've only seen it once. Enjoy!