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kristin_pettit
Reviews
Wolf Creek (2005)
The Not So Texas Chainsaw Massacre...
I swear, a couple of Australian producers got together and watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn and decided to make one of their own.. this movie does not quite live up to the standards of either, however.. I went to see this movie without knowing what it was about, so it is safe to say that my expectations were not pre-set.. PLEASE! Save yourself eight bucks and an hour and a half of your life and see something else..
See this movie if..
It doesn't bother you when the bad guy ALWAYS seems to know where his victims are hiding.. even in a vast, unoccupied country side..
If you buy into the "based on a true story" bit when I dare say there is no way to verify these facts so it must be VERY loosely based..
or, if you don't mind leaving with an unfulfilled expectation of something worthwhile actually coming from the film.
It is portrayed as a true story, and even has several iconic images from the newer Texas Chainsaw Massacre but with it's own Australian twist.. Still, it is NOT suspenseful, NOT disturbing, and is completely lacking in entertainment value.. it is a boring and unfulfillilng movie..
Walk the Line (2005)
Very Good
I am not usually entertained by biographies, and find many of them to be very slow. However, Walk the Line starts off with a bang and leaves you caring about the characters for the rest of the film. Joaquin Phoenix makes it very easy to relate with Johnny Cash, making him more than some celebrity in a movie. He becomes a very real person that you could imagine spending an evening with. Despite my usual indifference to movies of this nature, this movie was actually very interesting and entertaining. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have great chemistry and are sure to be nominated for Academy Awards. While I wasn't crazy about the guys that played Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley, the rest of the cast was quite good and made the movie very entertaining and easy to watch. Go see this film. You will not be disappointed.
In Her Shoes (2005)
Decent.. but not great.
I normally don't rate movies. However, before seeing this movie I had not seen the preview.. I read the reviews on IMDb and figured that because an overwhelming number of people gave it a ten (enough to bring its score up to a seven), it must be decent at worst.
Wrong! This movie is about the trouble between sisters and the unconditional love that manages to overcome these troubles. It is not exciting, touching, moving, or enlightening. I, myself, can relate to what the characters in the movie want to get across.. but in the most dramatic of scenes, it fails to connect.
Diaz's sister, whom they refer to as the "fat pig" is actually very average in size.. which made me wonder how the lady next to me felt (who weighed considerably more) while they repeatedly insinuated that she was too big to have a boyfriend, too big to dress nice, too big to do anything but be a smarty pants lawyer.. etc.. etc..
Something I really want to clarify for readers is that this movie is NOT a comedy, a romance, or a heart breaker. This is a very long and drawn out, two and a half hour drama, that still doesn't manage to tie together all of the loose ends.
For instance, the boyfriend starts off as a really likable, over-the-top, take home to mom kind of character. He has absolutely no sympathy or patience for what his girlfriend is going through, and she won't tell him.. he suddenly turns into this cold fish who displays none of his original qualities and leaves you wondering "who is this guy and why would anyone want him??" Then, there is the grandmother that so many have described as compassionate and loving. I honestly never got the feeling that the grandmother "wanted" to get to know Diaz. They say she looks like her mother, but if she looks at her and sees her daughter in her, they never expand on it. Then there is the man who wants Diaz to meet his grandson.. when she does, the conversation is all of one minute long, and you're left thinking.. "what was his point in the movie??" On the other hand, I am very thankful that they did NOT expand on this area or the already two and a half hour movie would have been even longer..
There are no moments in the movie where the long lost characters run to one another and embrace while the music in the background plays and brings tears to your eyes. It is not enlightening or uplifting, even to those who can relate. In fact, there is no progression of character whatsoever. These characters are supposed to be metamorphosing into better, more well rounded people.. and it happens, but it happens over night, in a way that it never could in real life.
I spent the first hour waiting for it to pick up, and the second hour praying for it to end, and the last thirty minutes in disbelief that I was still there..
The only way this movie is really one of the best people have seen this year is if it is the only movie they've seen this year. I will say that it isn't necessarily torturing to sit through.. but if you are looking for entertainment, save your money and your time.
Like I said, I normally don't post about movies unless I love them. But I saw this movie because of the reviews I was reading and anticipated Steel Magnolias or Friend Green Tomatoes.. I left feeling like I'd seen a different movie from the people who had reviewed it.
For people out there who are reading this.. know this - it isn't awful, but you could do better things with your money.
A History of Violence (2005)
Awkward
I have been reading other comments about this movie that describe it as "stunning".. "striking".. "brilliant", even..
The only thing stunning about this movie is how incredibly bad it is. I normally trust IMDb's ratings. How this movie managed an 8.1 I'll never know. It certainly isn't due to the direction, acting, music, or script.
I won't waste my time on the plot. Everyone knows what it is about. The important thing to know here is why you SHOULDN'T go see it. Reason number one, the sex scenes.. The first sex scene can only be described as "awkward".
I have never watched anything in my life where I felt so bad for the people acting out a scene as I did in the first sex scene (which occurs in the daughters bedroom while the wife dresses up in her daughter's cheerleading uniform.. tell me there isn't something wrong with that?!). I think at one point he actually says "woowee" or "oh boy" or something like that. But the part where she is standing in the doorway hiking up her skirt is not remotely seductive, sexy, cute.. it is painful. Painful, unnecessary, off-topic, and intensely awkward.
From then on, the movie is full of silence, grimacing expressions, and scenes that made you lose all respect for the director (or desires to see their future movies). The movie has great actors, but if it was your first time to see any one of them in a movie, you'd think they were no-names.. the acting is literally that bad.
Or how about the part in the hospital when he tells her about Joey?? There was nothing strange about that.. and the ending! They couldn't even give you a decent ending or some sort of closure. Your left with a "what the.." thought.. not so much because it is a thought provoking film, but because there is no closure. You sit through a painful ten minute silent dinner to find out that nothing happens.
This movie is literally one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Given the potential that it had in script and in casting, I can't imagine giving this more than a 3, and that is a stretch. I can only say that this movie was incredibly awkward, tasteless, and very difficult to watch. Do yourself a favor.. see another movie.. ANY other movie.
Just Like Heaven (2005)
Worth Seeing
I rated this movie a nine because I feel that it has really accomplished what movies like this should accomplish. It IS a chic flick, and it is not going to be nominated for any academy awards, but it is has a very solid story with a great cast and great chemistry. Unbelievable as it may be, the story is one that should be told, and was told well.
This is a movie that everyone can enjoy from beginning to end. It is entertaining, genuine, and original, bringing a fresh and worthwhile love story to life in a way that many others have tried and failed.
I would compare this movie more to films like 50 First Dates and A Walk to Remember than I would others such as Maid in Manhattan or Wedding Date...