Saturday, August 20, 2011

SPY KIDS, All the Time in the World, in 4D

Movie: Spy Kids, All the Time in the World, in 4D
Rating: 7
Time: 1 Hour 29 Minutes

Jan's Opinion: My Grandson and I saw this movie yesterday, his last day before school starts. He had seen the last 3 Spy Kids movies but I had not. He is the one who rated it a 7. It was cute, had a few laughs, and we both especially loved the robot dog. We saw the 4D version and as you probably know, you get SMELL along with 3-D. To get smells, the theater gives you a card with numbers one through eight and when that number comes up on the screen, you scratch the corresponding number on the card and you are supposed to get a smell. That didn't work too well. #4 smelled slightly like cinnamon and #5 smelled slightly like lemon; the others all smelled the same, not a particularly good smell. So, you might want to save some money there and just see the regular 2D version.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

THE HELP

Movie: The Help
Rating: 9
Time: 2 Hours 17 Minutes

Jan's Opinion: Saw this movie today with Cousin Bonnie and friends Patty and Kris and we all loved it. We had heard a few people say they didn't care for it so I think we were expecting a dud and it wasn't at all. I think the fact that it has been so long since we read the book that we had forgotten some of the details so did not miss them if they were forgotten. The cast gave outstanding performances! Octavia Spencer was delightful as Minnie, Emma Stone very genuine as Skeeter, Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard played the part of a real B____ in the movie, Sissy Spacek gave us several laughs as Bryce Howard's Mother, and Jessica Chastain was a real charmer playing the role of Celia Foote. All the characters gave great performances, I just don't know all their names. I'm sure everyone knows what this movie is about, how the whites treated their "help" in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's. We all agreed to give the movie a rating of "9" so hope you will enjoy it as much as we did.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

THE BEGINNERS

Movie: The Beginners
Jan's Rating: 4 (I'm being generous)
Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Jan's Opinion: My friend Laura and I went to see this movie at the Esquire last night expecting a good comedy because that is what the trailers made you think it was. However, it was anything but funny and was in fact a big disappointment. Christopher Plummer (only known actor in the movie) "comes out" when he is in his 70's after his wife dies, gets a young boyfriend, then gets cancer and how he (and his son) deal with that. Not exactly the feel-good movie of the year. My advice is to save your money and don't see this one. This is the 2nd dud I have seen in a week - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan being the last one. Come on Hollywood, can't you do better than that???

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN

Movie: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Jan's Rating: 4
Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

Jan's Opinion: Cousin Bonnie and I went to see this movie today and were very disappointed. Bonnie had read the book and said she had enjoyed it. It is about 2 young Chinese girls growing up in the 19th century, back when they taped their feet to keep them from growing, which was terrible to watch. Very cruel! The movie kept flashing from the present back to different times in the past and was very difficult to follow. If the movie had started in the past and moved forward, it might have gotten a "7" rating from me. My recommendation would be....don't waste your money on this one.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Movie: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Jan's Rating: 9
Time: 2 Hours 45 Minutes

Jan's Opinion: Took my Grandson to see this one on Monday and we both loved it. We didn't like it when they were being mean to the apes but kept telling ourselves that it was a movie and wasn't real. Then the apes got even at the end - great ending! A young man lives with his Father who has Alzheimer's disease. The young man is working on a cure for Alzheimer's and experiments on one of the apes. I want to tell you more but you will enjoy it more if you see the movie not knowing what is going to happen.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

CRAZY STUPID LOVE

Movie: Crazy Stupid Love
Jan's Rating: 9-1/2
Time: 1-1/2 Hours

Jan's Opinion: Cousin Bonnie and I saw this movie this week and we both loved it! I am normally not a fan of Steve Carell but really liked him in this movie; Julianne Moore was her wonderful great acting self as Steve's wife. However, Steve has become boring to her so she wants a divorce which breaks his heart. He starts hanging out at the bars and meets Ryan Gosling who shows him how to dress and act to attract women. All is well until Steve's daughter (Emma Stone) tells her father she is in love and introduces him to Ryan. It just gets better from there. I had not heard of Emma Stone until recently and all of a sudden she is THE actress to watch for. She is not a beautiful girl but is a good actress and has such a cute personality that you fall in love with her. See the movie, you'll love it!

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON 3D

Movie: Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D
Jan's Rating: 4
Time: 2 Hours 34 Minutes!

Jan's Opinion: My opinion of this movie is it was 2 hours too long. If I had had to watch another car turn into a droid, I would have left. I was totally bored, not my kind of movie. However, my 13 year-old Grandson loved it and gave it a 9, so I guess the younger people will like it.