MusicalMagpie Reviews

Ira & Abby (2006)

A waste of time

[4/10 · 2 July 2010]

My husband picked this title out of a bin of discount DVDs, hoping for a light romantic comedy. What we got was not light, definitely not romantic, and while it had funny moments, it left a bitter taste in the mouth.

Ira is a young man with no direction in life. After 12 years of therapy, he cannot even decide what to order at a restaurant. Then he meets Abby, who seems to have all the answers. Or does she?

The movie seems to be trying to make a point about love vs. chemistry, sex vs. love, and whether marriage is viable in this day and age. The director cannot seem to decide whether this is a heartwarming love story or a satire about therapists. Excellent performances by a stellar cast do not make it any easier to figure out what the point might be.

There are a few magical moments, but they don't seem to go anywhere.

Pi (1998)

One of the most depressing movies I have ever seen.

[4/10 · 14 September 2009]

This film was broadcast on Space Channel tonight. After checking reviews here I approached it with an eager and open mind, but found it disappointingly pointless and painful to watch. Two hours of watching a guy suffer from migraines and scribble numbers on bits of newsprint? Perhaps I am superficial, but I like my films to have a plot...rising action...perhaps even the occasional humorous or romantic moment. Maybe if I had managed to stick it out to the end, I would have had a more positive opinion...but after the first hour I was beginning to develop a migraine of my own.

The $60,000 budget (which seemed to impress many reviewers) did not come as a surprise to me. I would just like to know what they spent it on.

My husband liked it.

I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)

well and good, but...

[20 December 2008]

rules are all very well and good, but why should I have to write at least 10 lines about a movie when others have extensively critiqued it already, and all I want to do is disagree with the bad reviews? Sheesh. I almost didn't watch this film, after reading some of the comments here, but as it was on TV and I had nothing better to do, I ignored the bad reviews and was glad I did. Sure, it is lightweight and the plot is a bit far-fetched, but so what? It is a Christmas movie, folks, nothing more, nothing less. Jonathan Taylor Thonas strikes just the right note as a college student trying to get home for Christmas, and learning to shed his selfish, self-centered attitudes as he does. There were some genuinely funny moments, a lot of touching moments, and the only fart joke I have ever laughed at. The great scenery (parts of BC and Alberta pretending to be various locations in a cross-country race across the USA) added to the enjoyment of the film. I was just going to say "Ignore the bad reviews, I liked it" but I had to pad it out . IMDb, don't you know that brevity is the soul of wit?

Plenty (1985)

A waste of a good evening

[5/10 · 17 November 2007]

The kid was at a sleepover. Ahhh....for once we could watch a grownup movie. What about that Meryl Streep film I picked up the other day, the one with the glowing accolades on the cover: "one of the greatest performances of her career"... "brilliant"..."fiercely intelligent"... sounds like another "Sophie's Choice"..... but no. It turned out to be a waste of a good evening.

After reading many 10-star reviews of this film, I can't help wondering why my husband and I got absolutely nothing out of watching it. It did not engage us in the least.

The movie is obviously adapted from a stage play, as the scenes are static and episodic. The transition from one scene to the next is often unclear, as the story jumps ahead in time and moves all over the map. One minute Susan is sharing a cramped flat with her girlfriend; the next minute she is in a comfortable apartment. Now she is dating diplomat Charles Dance. Now she is trying to make a baby with a man she despises - but who bears a marked resemblance to her long-lost airman. But wait - now she is married to Charles Dance. When and why did this happen? (this is not explained until much later in the film).

The dinner party scene is awkward and Susan's outbursts (and language) seem out of character. While John Gielgud's performance is delightful (and he has some of the best lines), his relationship with Susan is never really developed - so why is she so upset when he dies?

We are great fans of Meryl Streep, but we were puzzled and disappointed by her performance in this film. It was difficult to understand what she was trying to do with her character. Madwoman? Selfish bitch? Disillusioned idealist? Her extreme swings of mood - from passivity to scenery-chewing - were not believable (I do not buy the "bipolar" theory for a minute); nor was her friendship with Tracy Ullman (whose role vacillated between free spirit and wise woman).

I found myself longing for "Postcards from the Edge" or "Sophie's Choice" or "Death Becomes Her" or even (God help me) the mess she made of Miranda in "The Devil Wears Prada". At least with these roles you knew where she was going.

It has been suggested by several reviewers that the key to liking this film is repeated viewings. Frankly, I am not willing to sacrifice another evening for the experiment.

Maid in Manhattan (2002)

Well, I liked it!

[7/10 · 9 October 2007]

So many people have already written reviews of this movie, which has been out for five years now, that I am not going to go into detail about the plot, or the acting, or whether the storyline is predictable, or how cute Ty Posey was. I am merely going to say that I watched it tonight for the first time with my 13-year old daughter and we both enjoyed it immensely. I found Jennifer Lopez a bit stiff in places, but overall she handled the role well. I do not understand why so many people had problems with Ralph Finnes in this movie, I found him not only believable but incredibly sexy, and I hope he gets the opportunity to do more romantic comedies! Bob Hoskins stole every scene he was in. Stanley Tucci chewed scenery. Natasha Richardson was suitably selfish and blonde. New York was lovely. The dog overacted shamelessly. The movie was not perfect, but it was delightful. The only wrong note was the series of magazine covers at the end, showing what happened to the characters; it was much too "cute" and rather unbelievable (all three of her maid friends become hotel managers?) And I was rather disappointed that - for all the film's brave talk of crossing social barriers - the movie ends with nothing more than a magazine cover with the headline "A year later, they are still together". I felt cheated.

Invaders from Mars (1953)

Scared the spit out of me when I was a kid!

[5 August 2005]

I was only a year old when this movie came out, but I saw it on TV when I was around 8 years old, and it made a deep impression on me. In fact, when they brought out that long needle, my sister and I hid behind the couch and screamed for our mother to come turn off the TV! As a result, I did not know how the movie ended until I saw it again as a teenager. The special effects may seem cheesy to the jaded audiences of today, but they were effective enough to give me nightmares for years. (In one dream I am being carried by my own mother, who is walking stiffly, with a fixed smile.) I believe what makes it work is that the entire film is seen from the point of view of the boy. The director capitalizes on the insecurity of young children, and the way they relate to the world around them. All the best horror and science fiction movies succeed not because of CGI, costumes, rubber prostheses and fake blood, but because they focus on basic human fears and insecurities.