Monday, December 26, 2011

Tintin is Great Adventure



My daughters do not remember reading the Tintin graphic novels like I do.  My wife has never read them and probably would not like them if she did.  But we ALL loved the Tintin movie.  There was great action that got the whole viewing audience to almost rise outta their seats, at times.  The visual effects were excellent, with the 3D actually making a positive contribution to this movie.

Perhaps some Tintin fanatics, those that loved the books, will not like how this movie looks and feels.  Afterall, no movie can compare with a child's imagination that accompanies the reading of a good book.  But I suspect that this movie will be pleasing to most Tintin fans and also to those that are completely unfamiliar with the time-honored character.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Arthur Christmas is an Instant Christmas Classic


I  predict that Arthur Christmas will be a regularly watched movie for many many Christmas's to come.  My family thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I don't think that 3D added anything to the show -- the cleverly told story and perfectly depicted characters are enough to make it a must-see, even in 2D.

I recommend this highly for all family members.  Nice humor, some small dramatic tension, nothing embarrassing to adults in front of the kids, and little tearfulness all combines to produce a heart-warming story that is fun to watch in every scene.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Moneyball is a Homerun

We weren't sure what to expect, maybe more comedy.  But what this show did deliver was a refreshingly honest and well-acted story.  While the bare facts of the story are rooted in true history, enough drama and tension has been realistically injected into the show to make it an engaging viewing.  Brad Pitt was great fun to watch.  This movie is well worth a ticket.

Friday, January 7, 2011

True Grit

I first thought, who would DARE to remake a John Wayne classic? After having seen this movie I have to say, Well Done!!!!!

I remembered the original, but not as well as I thought I did until this remake reminded me.  And then it did better than that by being a more realistic depiction.  That Jeff Bridges is not John Wayne is a blessing to this film, as he retained the Grit while eschewing the drunken-macho-buffoon persona that saddled the Duke's every performance.

The characters were spot-on, the action was brisk, and the dialog was quirky and engaging.  The film was also visually stunning, as to be expected from the Cohen brothers.



Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tron Legacy

Great movie for the whole family.  The younger generation liked the action well enough and the parents loved the nostalgia and the continuation of a long-past sci-fi fantasy.

Jeff Bridges did himself proud. The younger new hero was very watchable.  The graphics and the action was quite well done. The storyline was -- well, who really cares in a movie like this one.  The "miracle" was implausible, impossible, irrelevant.  Go and see it for the fun and the special effects. 

Well done, Legacy!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Date Night

This movie was everything that we could have hoped it would be. It was fun, clever, predictably happy-ended, and it got the psychology of our demographic (late 40s, married with kids, average in most every way) just right. Steven Carell and Tina Fey were great together. The action sequences were thrilling enough, but they were also imbued with enough humor to make the audience howl. Oh, yeah, Mark Wahlberg had a relatively small, but endearing, role to play in the absolute success of this movie.

My wife pointed out that the movie used some very adult language, at times -- not profanity, exactly, but adult. Many parents would not be comfortable with their teens watching this movie, even though it is rated PG13.

This movie was great fun and we left the theater saying to each other, why aren't there more movies like this one?

Saturday, January 2, 2010

The Blind Side

RuthAnn, Steve, and Courtney saw this movie and all loved it. Everyone will love this movie. It is a feel-good movie that manages to drum up some drama without the anguish of any really painful plot line.

The movie became especially poignant after the conclusion when pictures of the actual persons were juxtaposed with those of the corresponding movie characters.

This movie will sell many dvds and everybody will like watching it.