Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Triple Movie Review

So I've seen three movies in the last month that I thought were worthy of reviews. Two are new, one is a little older but I just got around to renting it. So here are my reviews of Up, The Proposal, and Seven Pounds:


Up. In a word, "cute." It's Pixar, so of course it will be a creative, well-written, charming movie. I can't say this was my favorite Pixar ever, but it was definitely cute. I think the character that stole the show was neither of the main characters, but the big bird-creature in South America. And the dogs with the human speech collars...well, that was ingenius. It gives you a glimpse into what dogs would talk about if they could use our words. As for the 3-D option, don't bother. It's not traditional 3-D, with the blue and red glasses. Only a few of the scenes are actully in 3-D. I spent most of the movie with my horribly uncomfortable glasses (which don't fit children, by the way...what were they thinking???) off. Only for a few scenes did the 3-D turn on and I had to wear the glasses to get the full effect. And the full effect was, to be honest, only about half full. Or would that be half empty? It didn't pop out of the screen and come at you like you expect 3-D to do. It was more of a really sharp, clear picture with a bit more roundness to the objects. Honestly, just go see the regular version. You'll like it and you won't have to deal with the awful glasses. I give this movie 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.




The Proposal. I have to admit, the commercials for this movie did nothing for me. I thought, "Oh wait. I've seen this movie before. A couple of times. Mix together Sanda Bullock's movie Two Weeks Notice with Green Card and you get The Proposal." But I won free tickets, and so I went. And I have to say I was actually pleasantly surprised. The dialogue wasn't as trite as I'd expected, Ryan Renolds did a suberb job both of acting and looking hot, and there were quite a few funny parts where I laughed out loud. Far more than I'd expected from this movie and worth going to see if you like light romantic comedies. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.




Seven Pounds. This is a movie that looked interesting to me when it first came out and then I didn't hear anything more about it. It seemed to stay a very short time in the theaters. When I saw it at the video store, I was intrigued, so I checked it out. But Big Daddy told me when I got home that it had gotten terrible reviews and was supposed to be very confusing. So I went into it with pretty low expectations. And I have to say, I liked it better than I expected to. In fact, I'm surprised so many people hated it. Yes, there is a bit of enigma in the first 1/3 or 1/2 of the movie because there is a twist. They can't reveal it too soon or it will lose its punch. So the viewer has to suspend her curiosity for a while, wondering how the events are going to be pieced together eventually. But once they are, the movie all falls into place and becomes a lot more satsifying. The end of the movie also got a lot of flack from critics. It's a controversial ending, it's true. It isn't necessarily a fairly tail ending like you get in Hollywood a lot. But I like that sometimes. It's nice to have a movie make you think and depict people who might make different choices than you would. Or to present you with philosophical ideas to chew on. This one definitely did that. It was somewhat dreary at times, but I still give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Have you seen any good movies lately, or are there any you are looking forward to?

10 comments:

Kristina P. said...

I am looking forward to seeing the one with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. It comes out today, and I can't think of the name!

I do want to see The Proposal. I'm glad you said it's not as cheesy as you thought.

rychelle said...

i need to go see UP. i've been hearing really positive things about it.

i enjoyed the proposal. in fact, i saw it twice. once in UT once in NV.

i pretty much agree with you on seven pounds.

mCat said...

I really want to go see Up. Sugar Daddy's cousin is the founder of Pixar so we are usually supporting opening night, but for some reason, we slacked with this release. Would Sissy sit through it do you think? Did you take your little guy?

And definitely intrigued by Seven Pounds.

And Sandra Bullock? I would like her if she did nothing but read the phone book.

So many movies, so little time.

Financial Aid for College said...

GREAT MOVIE- STAR TREK, I've seen it 4 times, and liked it better every time. But then I'm a trekkie, and I got a lot of the terrific humor that would go right over your head if you didn't know the original plots and characters. Yes, I'll even go see it again, and probably buy the video. No, Wait! My kids will buy me the video for some holiday or other.

I heard THE PROPOSAL was full of swearing and bitter sarcasm and other crappy stuff. Those who know me know I have about 2 out of 10 tolerance for profanity, and 0 for potty humor. So how does it rate on those scales? Write Lndavis@burgoyne.com and let me know, please, please, please. Is it?

If so, I'll rent and watch it on my ClearPlay CD player. Wonderful gadget! When I saw TWO WEEKS NOTICE in the theater I was so offended and distracted by the potty humor and swearing I didn't really like it. But when I saw it on ClearPlay I thought it was the most CLEVERLY written romantic comedy since Tracy and Hepburn. UTTERLY SCINTILLATING DIALOGUE, if you can catch it between the 4-letter-bombs. Did I say bombs? It was a war zone! (How can ANY kid grow up pure in mind or body in the sewer of the 2000's? That's a deep and serious worry for me. We're going to lose a LOT of kids in even the BEST families.) I read an interview with Bullock where she said she would only make this movie because her character was mean and profane. She used about 10 F-bombs in the interview. (With dashes, of course)

Nicki said...

I loved Up - we didn't see it in 3-D so I think that helped :) We're going to see the Proposal tonight! I love Sandra Bullock...I think she's hilarious.

Devri said...

I loved 7 pounds. I don't get out much, didn't like up as well as I thought, good, but not that good!

WE did rent Taken. have you seen it. I liked it, a little much fighting for me, but I like it.

Sher said...

7 lbs was just lame. and stupid.
And I totally loved The Proposal. I thought it was hilarious, with minimal gooey romantic crap. And Ryan Reynolds is MY boyfriend. He's so hot!!

We have yet to see UP. My kids have been begging but I'm too cheap. Waiting for the $$ theater.

We did see the Hannah Montana movie this week for 50 cents! I'd say it was worth at least that much.

Shawn said...

I loved Up! So funny and tenderhearted---bittersweet.

And Ryan's body in The Proposal----Gag me!! I was drooling and had to wipe up afterwards!!

Am looking forward to Johnny Depp also---he is one of my favs!!

Notme said...

Havn't seen any of those, not yet anyway. Really want to see the Proposal, really have to have a babysitter first :)

Anonymous said...

Up was really cute and we'll probably end up buying it, but lately, I haven't seen a movie that I thought was fantastic. After July's over I'll be renting season's of The Office.