Change Your Image
MovieLoonie
Reviews
Sherlock (2010)
One of the best adaptations of Sherlock Holmes to ever be put on film.
I am not a big mystery fan, or even a big sherlock holmes fan. Generally, i don't watch mysteries at all. However, when i read the television write up saying this was a 'modern day version of Sherlock Holmes, who proclaims himself a high functioning sociopath', I couldn't resist. I absolutely loved it. The way they show how Holmes makes his deductions is ingenious and highly entertaining. The scripts are funny and full of suspense. The mysteries are great too. Even though it is not my cup of tea, I do completely enjoy them and am glued to the set when it is on, trying to get one step ahead of sherlock and figure out the puzzle. Of course, this never happens, but it is fun to try. The modern day touch, adding in all the new technologies to the stories is really great. The updated Watson, instead of an aging doctor, is a much younger Iraq war veteran doctor. Sherlock is a student at the university. It's just brilliant and well worth your time to watch. I would recommend this series that airs as a part of PBS Masterpiece Mystery to everyone.
Trapped in the Closet: Chapters 13-22 (2007)
Very Fun!
I don't care much for rap -hip/hop music, but i caught this on cable and was Happily Surprised. Every chapter has a surprise ending to it. It's not pretentious and there are several funny parts. The singing and lyrics are amazing. Also i thought that R.Kelly was a really great actor, even a great comedic actor. Several comedians nowadays try to play multiple characters and it ends up coming off like a over the top characterization of real people that isn't funny. I think R. Kelly did a great job of playing different characters without making them so ridiculous it was unbelievable. The characters were believable with just enough parody to make them endearing.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Great movie - will be a lasting gem
I went to see this movie at the theater, not expecting too much. I was wonderfully surprised! So many things reminded me of my own home and growing up. Especially the ice cream scene. Very funny. There were several parts in the movie where i just couldn't stop giggling. My husband and my aunt were also laughing and enjoyed it very much.
The ending is great and its truly a feel good movie. I am going to buy the DVD. This is by far one of the best movies I've seen in a few years. A great portrait of real family life. Greg Kinnear is also just perfect in his role and does a spectacular job. Toni Collette is always good too. Everyone in this picture was just fantastic and endearing. A wonderful family movie for adults and young adults.
Without a Trace: Check Your Head (2006)
i loved this episode
I thought the writing was brilliant. I noticed that it was written by someone that is not listed as a writer. Spec script? I think the last name was Rodriguez, but i'm not sure. Anyways, whoever wrote this episode has a career in comedy writing, thats for sure. I thought this episode was hysterical. Nice for a change. It also dealt with an issue that is not widely accepted in some circles - as you can see from previous posts - homosexuality. I am a hetero, myself. But i thought that the subject was dealt with in a real classy manner. Not used as a punchline, or as something 'unnormal'. Love is love is love. I thought this was a brilliant episode, and i will be sure to watch every week now, looking for this writer. Hopefully he has written more than one episode. I look forward to following his career! The episode had a strange wrap up to the storyline - as far as what happened in the bowling alley -- but it was a beautiful ending. The girl finds her true love, the father accepts them, they sing 'that's amore'! What more could you ask for. It was such a wonderful episode. I have never commented on an episode of a TV show, but this one deserves recognition. Brilliant! Funny! Touching! Just top notch television. Without a trace has a new fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
walking and more walking
This is about one of the most boring films I have ever seen. I suppose if you read the book, you might be able to enjoy it, referencing back to characters thoughts and emotions etc. But for those of us who didn't read the book, it was a bunch of scenes of people walking. A wide shot of people walking. A close up of people walking. and not much else happening. I'm trying to figure out why everyone in these books has two names. (As if the plot isn't complicated enough for those of us who haven't read the book.) The only redeeming thing in the whole movie is that goblin thing that calls the ring 'precious'. (even he has two names) Hence I gave it a two, instead of a one. Sure the special effects were great. But great special effects does not mean the movie is great. I liked the first LOTR movie, quite a bit more than I expected, actually. I would rate that one much higher. But as a follow up this one was a disappointment. So much so that I didn't bother to see the third one. Thats how boring I thought 'The two towers' was.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
amazing! Brilliant! Realistic! Stylish!
A surprising find! One of the greatest films I have ever seen. Can be brutally real and shocking at times. Wonderfully stylized film in the stringing together of several stories that revolve around the main character. The fact that it is a true story is absolutely mind-blowing. Great writing, great cinematography, great stylistic directing, but not so stylistic that it seems not real or plastic. Still maintains its integrity. Great acting. The movie has nice quiet moments and shocking edge of your seat tension! Really a must see for any real movie lover. You won't be disappointed. I'm glad I bought it. You'll want to watch it more than once!
Citizen Kane (1941)
Brilliant
I would recommend getting the anniversary addition DVD and listening to the commentary and special features to those who didn't appreciate the movie. For its time it was a front runner. The 'star wars' of its day. As far as special effects and camera effects. Its hard to see all the innovation watching it today, because a lot of the innovations used in this movie are standard today. Welles is a genius, and was a stubborn genius at that. When they told him it couldn't be done he said 'watch me' and he did it. This movie is proof of that. I appreciated the movie and knew of some of the amazing things done for the first time in the movie, but when I watched the commentary, there was so much more that I was unaware of, I had a new found respect for the film and for the determination of the man behind it, who wouldn't compromise his vision.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
most brilliant satire ever made
I didn't see this movie for years, because the clips I had seen here and there didn't interest me. I finally saw it an realized I had missed out! What a brilliant, brilliant story. Very subtly witty and full of satire. Peter Sellers is amazing playing 3 different roles, each to perfection. One of the top ten best movies I have ever seen. I'm not Kubricks biggest fan, but for this one, he deserves all the praise he gets. Seemed to start a little slow, but stick with it. It gets more and more outrageous as the film progresses until you are mired in insanity. Peter Sellers has some of the funniest bits (although Slim Pickens has a great memorable moment himself) the one sided phone conversations of Sellers as the president talking to the premiere of Russia are a riot! a Must-See movie for any film lover.
Horror High (1973)
teen wolf meets jekyll and hyde
Really really bad movie. Fun to watch. Young bullied chemistry nerd accidentally becomes his own guinea pig. Movie is crazily stitched together. There is a large sequence that documents the personal life of his absent father and his rocky relationship with his girlfriend, just enough to make them seem like important characters, then the sequence arbitrarily ends and we never see them again. There is a janitor that apparently lives at the school and dresses like a homeless man. There is also another sequence that borders homo-eroticism that involves half naked football players in a circle playing 'keep away' against the nerd, who fruitlessly and limply throws his body mass at them in a halfhearted effort to get back his belongings. The English teacher is a sadist, and the police force is incredibly inept. Very strange movie, but a gem for people that love movies so bad they are fun to watch. This one is one for your collection. Truly beyond bizarre.
Night Fright (1967)
woods, woods, and more woods
This movie was painfully awful. Most of the movie consisted of people running in the woods, walking thru the woods, or dancing in the woods. More than half, at least. Then two kids who discover two 'horribly mutilated bodies' in the woods, return to the woods the very next night for a romantic walk. ????? There is no time continuity. its day, its night, its day, its really really night, its dusk, its pitch black, its day. All the woods scenes go on like this until you think you will lose your mind. really bad. The sheriff discovers a five foot claw print embedded in the dirt of the woods and theorizes that a super large alligator may have learned to walk upright. Really a silly movie with no real motivation written in for the characters. Might be entertaining for young kids, as an alternative to really graphic stuff.