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Posts Tagged ‘movie review’

  1. Film Student for Life: New Moon – Is it a music video?

    March 30, 2010 by me

    It’s like: that other Twilight movie.

    Stars you’d know: None, really.

    The Good: Italian settings. Followed the book pretty closely. Performance by leads were better than the first.

    The Bad: Performances by leads still leave a lot to be desired. The plot seemed to drag on (but then again, so did the book).

    The Final Word: The whole movie itself played like a music video montage–from Bella/Jacob bonding to Bella/Edward Italian adventure, everything was set to music to condense the plot, which I thought made the movie lack substance. But who needs substance when your teenage daughters will pay to see both boys with their shirts off? It was funny to see Oscar-nominated Anna Kendrick playing the valley girl best friend role, after having just watched Up in the Air. Kristin Stewart doesn’t bother me as much as she used to, but I still think there isn’t enough substance here. I liked the books, so I’ll watch the films, but there isn’t much to these…I’m still on Team Jacob though :)

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  2. Film Student for Life: Alice In Wonderland – Left me wondering.

    March 30, 2010 by me

    It’s like: Alice in Wonderland 2.0 meets the mind of Tim Burton

    Stars you’d know: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway

    Their tagline: You’ve got a very important date.

    The Good: The visuals were interesting…it made me wonder, “how’d they do that”, which I guess you really don’t want to do while you’re watching the movie…Depp was entertaining as always, and I was even entertained by Carter.

    The Bad: There is no plot, besides “what would happen if Alice falls down the rabbit hole when she’s older”. There is no real action. There really isn’t even enough color, at least for a Tim Burton film. And the 3-D? It really is a phase and you don’t need it to see this movie.

    The Final Word: Alice in Wonderland left me wondering why I’d pay extra to see another 3-D film that didn’t need it, and made me wonder if Tim Burton was getting soft. I wouldn’t recommend seeing this movie, not even on Netflix. I’m sure it was a blast to film and edit, but the energy in the storyline is lost.

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  3. Film Student for Life: (500) Days of Summer…a love story about the story of a love.

    January 9, 2010 by me

    It’s like: A Like Lot Love meets High Fidelity with a sprinkling of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind mixed with a great soundtrack.

    Stars you’d know: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

    Their tagline: Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t.

    My tagline: Every love story has two stories.

    Verdict: Loved Loved Loved it.

    Adding it to my list of “thought-provoking romantic comedies” (i know, that’s such a cliche). This ranks with Eternal Sunshine…and High Fidelity. Basically it’s a tour of a relationship through the course of 500 days…sometimes not in order, but very cleverly written to outline an entire relationship from magical beginning (who doesn’t feel like day 35 in a new relationship?!) to bitter end…with a little bit of destiny and fate thrown in, for the romantic skeptics that life has turned us into. The writing was beautifully executed, easy to follow, and there was a bit of whimsy thrown in, just to be different. I loved that they followed the guy’s point of view, cause all too often, they follow the “damsel in distress” which just makes me want to yak. Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt made me fall in love with them…their sincerity and playfulness mixed with subtle complexity was spot-on. It had everything this helplessly skeptical romantic could ask for: a well-written romantic script acted with subtlety and grace, mixed with a whole lotta irony and fate, backed by a killer soundtrack. It made me, once again, believe that every love story should have a story…and that every love doesn’t necessarily end with “happily ever after”. This one’s a keeper.

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