the last holiday

a pretty straight forward story of a woman who is told by doctors that she doesnt have much time to live. having spent all her life saving money and keeping to herself, she sees this as an opportunity to let loose her personality and her pockets. she goes to a ski resort and gains the confidence of a woman who just doesnt care what others think- why should she, she's about to die! queen latifah does a great job as the mousy woman who finds herself during her last days. this comedy isn't really very funny, but it is rather sweet. latifah is the real point of interest in the movie, playing innocent and confident equally well. the story is certainly beyond believable, but it is a fun ride none the less.

twilight

after all the hype and hoopla, diana wanted to watch it again and suckered me into watching it with her. i decided to try and enjoy it even though i know it's not meant for me (and by me, i mean my entire gender). turns out, its not as bad as i had expected- it's certainly not good, but its not terrible either. well, at least it wouldn't have been terrible if not for one big mistake: the director. the story itself wasnt that bad, its a rather harmless little tale of a sad little girl who falls for the wrong mysterious boy who happens to be a vampire. the vampires themselves are perfectly harmless. actually, they are a bit too harmless- they should be vampires, after all! this could have been a decent movie if they had gotten someone with any sort of skill to direct it. at every opportunity the director uses cheesy camera effects and terrible angles to catch the action. there is never any sense of perspective or understanding about where the action is taking place. if ive said it once, ive said it a million times- you need establishing shots!!! we are brought to different locations without really being shown where we are, the action is always close up so we never get any sense of scale or flow, and there are just too many shots of people standing around brooding. and dont even get me started on the lame dialog (granted, i know that's not really the directors fault, but i'm on a roll here...).i know my wife will drag me to the sequel, but at least i can take comfort in the fact that the next one has a different director!

congo

you know how sometimes when there are memories of things from our childhood that we really loved, but then if you actually revisit them you come to find out that they kind of sucked? that was fortunately not the case with congo!
this is a movie i loved and was obsessed with growing up, i had the poster on my bedroom wall, i had the action figures, hat, keychain, i even bought the movie's instrumental soundtrack (which is truly amazing- it features lebo-m, the guy who also sang on the lion king soundtrack). when the movie came out i went to go see it on opening day, and then actually convinced my dad, cousin, and uncle to go see it with me again the next day! i loved this movie, and rewatching it now, i still do! the story follows a group of people trying to track down a missing team that went in search of blue diamonds for a corporation. along the way they team up with a scientist who is trying to set free his sign language talking gorilla. as they try to get into the congo to find the team they come across a bunch of wild characters, the man who helps them at the airport, the military leader who must give them permission to enter his area, and the african guide to lead them where they want to go. though i have seen these actors in many different movies since this film, i still think of them in these rolls. and oh, the great lines! some choice examples: ernie hudson as their guide 'i am your great white hunter, even though i may be black', joe pantoliano as the airport checkpoint 'i just felt the money hairs on my neck go 'woo woo woo'!', and delroy lindo as the the military leader 'don't want nobody peeking...'. and, for goodness sakes, its even got bruce cambell! how can you go wrong? oh, that's right, by having terrible costumed gorillas and a lame sign language translator. oh, but all of the camp and cheese just add up to one of the most fun b-movies ever! i know this position will be in a very distinct minority, but i give it 5 stars! i've seen this one over a dozen times by now, and i look forward to the next dozen!

crank: high voltage

what a disappointment. i really loved the first one, but man, there is no excuse for this terrible follow up!
the thing that was so great about the first one was that it was over the top ridiculous, but it was fun. this second crank movie goes even further over the top, which would have been great, but it completely takes away any of the fun! in the first one its about a guy who has to keep his adrenaline going, and each thing that he does to keep it going is more and more outrageous. this time he has a pacemaker that has a dead battery so he must keep himself charged. he continually tries to create voltage through different methods, but each one is more terrible than the last. in this installment, the whole thing takes on an evil tone. where the first one was lighthearted and silly, this one is mean-spirited and angry. most of the time the violence has nothing to do with him trying to keep his battery going, its just there to cause pain to those around him. i have never walked out of a movie before, but this is the first time i was tempted to. i had been looking forward to this movie for months, talking it up with friends and everything. i had originally planned to see it with some of them, but i am really glad it didn't work out, i would have felt terrible for making someone else sit through this film.
i think i am going to just pretend i didn't see it at all, that way it wont taint my enjoyment of the first one...

the fugitive

ah, now this is a real movie! the story, often seen and often repeated, is a man wrongly accused of killing his wife, gets free from prison and is on the lam. he tries to track down the real killer while trying to evade capture himself. though the story has been told many times before, it has never been told so well. its always the details that make an old story new again. in this one its the spectacular acting by both harrison ford and tommy lee jones. ford, as the man who must find the truth about his beloved wife, and jones as the undeterred marshal who just wants to do the job right. the back and forth between the two gives this tale its heart. the solid storytelling also keeps it grounded and realistic. both men are flawed, but both are determined to do what is right. jones won an oscar for this film, and deserved every bit of it, the fact ford wasnt even nominated is the real shame here. an amazing film all around, its no wonder they tried the formula again a few years later, with less success, in 'u.s. marshals'.

two week notice

this is definitely a predictable chick flick. everything in the story is by the numbers, very bland. but i am a sucker for hugh grant! he is able to take something so boring and uninspired, and turn it into something charming and fun. in this one hugh grant's charms cover over a multitude of sins, but even he cant save this one from being less than mediocre.