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All reviews - Movies (316) - TV Shows (17) - DVDs (21) - Books (221) - Music (8)

Mel Gibson.... Action!

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 10 July 2007 10:48 (A review of Apocalypto (2006))

I must agree with Midnight's review, as well as Prelude76's.

This film is excellent, despite all those violent scenes. I've stomached quite a few violent films, but this one particularly affected me more. I can handle violence but gross, no. (Apocalypto is *not* gross.)

It IS unfortunate that the movie is subtitled, but then again, so was Mel Gibson's the Passion of the Christ. It would seem that Gibson is fascinated with using subtitles in his recent productions. I for one have no problem with that since I always prefer watching a film in its original language. However, as Midnight says, many people will miss a great action film if they don't want to read subtitles.

Hats off to Mel on this one well-done, well-directed, beautifully photographed picture.


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fresh

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 10 July 2007 02:42 (A review of Snow Cake)

Recently released from prison, Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) picks up Vivienne Freeman (Emily Hampshire) along the road. An accident happens, in which Vivienne dies and Alex survives. Traumatized, he meets Viv's mother, Linda (Sigourney Weaver), a high-functioning autistic woman. This drama focuses on their friendship.

Not knowing autists well, I can't say whether Weaver's performance is well-done, but it certainly looked decent enough to be believable.
Her character Linda is careful about being friends too quickly, she's independent but also dependent ("remember to take out the garbage!")... Alan Rickman is excellent as Alex, who is not as reserved as he seems in the beginning of the film.

Good script, good actors, good directing. A movie about people and life.

I didn't know anything about the film at all when I watched it - and if I had known what it was about, I probably would not have watched it. So this was a nice surprise.

A recommended, exhilarating drama with funny and sad moments. A "fresh as snow" movie.


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good and unpredictable

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 9 July 2007 11:49 (A review of Fleeced (Regan Reilly Mysteries))

This is the fifth book in the Regan Reilly Mysteries.

Los Angeles P.I. Regan Reilly is going to NY to attend a crime conference organized by her mother, famous author Nora Regan Reilly. She has a new beau, Jack "no relation" Reilly, who works in law enforcement in NY.
A family friend, Thomas Pilsner, president of the Settlers' Club on Gramercy Park, needs Regan's help in locating four missing diamonds, whose proceeds would have gone to the Club if only the two owners would not have died of unusual circumstances.

Carol Higgins Clark's writing style remains simple, but her plots are becoming less and less predictable - a good thing!

The novel involves a certain number of characters that are fun to read.

A nice little adventure that reads fast.


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the worst comic film ever

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 9 July 2007 11:43 (A review of Ghost Rider)

Upon discovering his father has terminal cancer, motorcyclist Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) signs a pact with Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda), giving his soul for his father's health. The devil deceives him and his father dies in a motorcycle accident. Johnny leaves everything, even Roxanne, his girlfriend (played in later years by Eva Mendes).
Years later, now a famous motorcyclist, Johnny gets a proposal from Mephistopheles: he will release the contract if Johnny becomes the 'Ghost Rider' and defeat his son, Blackheart (Wes Bentley), who wants 1,000 evil souls and hell on earth.

I've never heard of the Ghost Rider comic, so when I started the movie, I didn't realize what I was getting into. Now as a comic book character, Ghost Rider is all right although he is not that interesting.

The plot is one that many movies have already shown. Nothing original there.

The actors!! Oh my. This honestly looked like a made-for-tv movie. Nicolas Cage was just too lousy. The way he was delivering his lines! It looked like he was suffering half the time.

The special effects are not that stunning. They're okay by my book. Nothing out of the ordinary.

My family and I watched this together last night, and we all particularly agreed that this was a stupid, badly done movie. I name it the worst comic film ever. (And I've seen most of the recent productions.)

If you must watch it, do so at your own risk.


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an improvement

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 8 July 2007 12:48 (A review of Twanged (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 4))

This is the fourth installment in the Regan Reilly Mysteries.

P.I. Regan Reilly is getting ready for her vacation in the Hamptons' with her parents, Nora and Luke, and best friend, Kit. However, Regan is called at the last minute to become new singing sensation Brigid O'Neill's bodyguard. Brigid has received a fiddle (said to have magic powers and engraved with the initials CT) from Ireland. It seems that if taken out of Ireland, the fiddle will not bring luck but... an accident, and even death.
In the meantime, Chappy Tinka is planning to steal the magic fiddle and replace it with an exact copy. He believes that the CT initials are for his name.

Numerous characters are part of this novel: Duke (Chappy's accomplice), Chappy's wife Bettina and her dog Tootsie, Bettina's live-in guru "Peace Man", Ned the feng shui specialist, Claudia the theatre's architect, Louisa the fact-checker... and the list goes on.
Everyone is important in this book and ultimately will help Regan in solving this mystery.

Carol Higgins Clark's style is getting better with each book, and this one has again, an unexpected ending.


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better than the first 2

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 8 July 2007 12:39 (A review of Iced (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 3))

This is the third title in the Regan Reilly Mysteries.

P.I. Regan Reilly is going on vacation in Aspen, where million-dollar paintings have been disappearing. A friend of Regan's, an ex-con Eben Bean, has vanished and is thought to be the paintings' thief. Regan believes in Eben's innocence and is out to prove it.
In the meantime, Geraldine, a seventy-something lady, has hired another P.I. to discover a shocking secret.

Carol Higgins Clark has a simple writing style.
In this book, nothing was predictable, and the ending delivers an unexpected twist.

An enjoyable novel.


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action, action, action

Posted : 16 years, 8 months ago on 8 July 2007 12:29 (A review of Shooter)

After his unit leaves him and his best friend Donnie, to die in Ethiopia, former military sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg) goes in exile in the Rockies. Three years later, he gets coaxed back into action by Colonel Isaac Johnson (Danny Glover) who requests that he finds a way to plan the President's assassination in one of three cities.
In the end, Bob Lee is double-crossed and framed for the attempt. Soon he becomes a fugitive trying to prove his innocence.
Naive cop Nick Memphis (Michael Peรฑa) just "knows" Bob Lee's not responsible for the events. Even though he's on the verge of getting fired, he still wants to help Bob Lee as much as possible.
Together they will find the truth.

Wahlberg shows signs of good acting.
I felt that Danny Glover spoke like Daffy Duck, it was hard to understand him at times.
Peรฑa is excellent as the naive police officer.

The shots with heads and arms flying all over are well made and impressive.

The script is believable. Bob Lee obviously has no respect for the government, and it is even more apparent when he realizes he's been set up. Even better, Bob Lee was trained to kill, but also how remove weapons from people's hands in order to survive.

An engaging, enjoyable movie with a lot of action.


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watch for the actors

Posted : 16 years, 9 months ago on 5 July 2007 02:14 (A review of Notes on a Scandal)

Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett), the new art teacher, meets Barbara Covette (Judi Dench), the history teacher; they soon become friends. Barbara is lonely with her cat while Sheba has a husband (Bill Nighy), a son with Down Syndrome, Ben (Max Lewis) and a teenage daughter, Polly (Juno Temple).
One night, Barbara discovers Sheba's relation with 15-year-old student Steven Connolly (Andrew Simpson). Barbara will also embark on an inappropriate relationship with Sheba.

I can not for the life of me, figure out *why* Sheba would be interested in Steven. There is no magnetism between them, and Simpson's character evidently has no appeal, no charisma...

Despite this, those were great performances by Dench and Blanchett, although at times it seemed that they overacted.
Nighy is an excellent actor, whom I've never seen before. (I'll have to find out what else he played in.)

The plot itself was way too basic and dull to be interesting - however I watched for the actors' not for the story. The ending was predictable, too much so for a 'thriller'. (I consider this more a drama than a thriller.)

Worth watching only for the actors' performances.
(I watched for the Dench-Blanchett match, and a match it was!)
8 stars for the actors.


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watchable

Posted : 16 years, 9 months ago on 4 July 2007 10:24 (A review of A Good Year)

Max, a banker (Russell Crowe), lives in London; he soon receives news that his uncle Henry (Albert Finney) died. So, Max inherits the winery in Southern France. He goes to France with the hopes of selling the winery, but what he will find, will make him hesitate.
Of course, he will meet two girls, one being the illegitimate daughter of Henry, and the other a local girl, Fanny Chenal (Marion Cotillard) with whom Max possibly will fall in love.

This movie certainly could have been better, however with a simple plot like this one, it is very doubtful.
What is expected happens, no twists there!
The acting is horrendous - except for Finney and Highmore (young Max). Crowe tends to be a little stuck-up at times, and Cotillard looks disgusted when Crowe and she kiss.
The viewer doesn't get to see much about wine, wineries. The sites shown of Southern France aren't enough to make the viewer visit the area.
The story is based on a book by Peter Mayle... and that, to me, says it all. Mayle = boredom. Therefore this movie couldn't have been a great one.

Watchable once... if you really want to. Otherwise, pass and move on to something more interesting and worthwhile.


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entertaining

Posted : 16 years, 9 months ago on 2 July 2007 11:46 (A review of Snagged (Regan Reilly Mystery Series, Book 2))

Miami. Two conventions: panty-hose and funeral. Regan Reilly, daughter of novelist Nora Regan Reilly and funeral director Luke, is down in Miami for her friend Maura's wedding. Her seventy-something uncle, Richie Blossom, has just invented *the* perfect panty-hose, and is trying to sell it to big companies to save his home, the Fourth Quartet.
Attempts are made on Richie's life, and Regan will chaperon him, until he is safe.

The second in the Regan Reilly Mysteries, SNAGGED is an effortless read.
Carol Higgins Clark's character development improves in this book.
Simple writing, good descriptions, an easy plot are the ingredients of this book, which is a funny, entertaining mystery that reads fast.


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