Bridget Jones's Baby
The 3rd installment of Bridget Jones (first since 2004), we have Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth again, along with Patrick Dempsey playing the Hugh Grant character.
"Characters" is the best way to describe this universe. Some many plot devices all rolled into one - the TV career woman, the uptight lawyer, the millionaire handsome playboy, the American in England, the unexpected pregnancy, the entire 9 months, the rushing to to the hospital.
Very similar plotline to Mamma Mia (also with Colin Firth). The mystery as to who is the father of the baby. Bridget has two flings with both men and can't for the life of her figure out who's baby it is. Of course, both of them want to be the father - some healthy competition. No pesky wives or girlfriends for Bridget to contend with.
Good dialogue, good music, an enjoyable movie. Interesting how Firth's character is Mr. Darby - a little Pride and Prejudice story connection.
* * * of 5
"Characters" is the best way to describe this universe. Some many plot devices all rolled into one - the TV career woman, the uptight lawyer, the millionaire handsome playboy, the American in England, the unexpected pregnancy, the entire 9 months, the rushing to to the hospital.
Very similar plotline to Mamma Mia (also with Colin Firth). The mystery as to who is the father of the baby. Bridget has two flings with both men and can't for the life of her figure out who's baby it is. Of course, both of them want to be the father - some healthy competition. No pesky wives or girlfriends for Bridget to contend with.
Good dialogue, good music, an enjoyable movie. Interesting how Firth's character is Mr. Darby - a little Pride and Prejudice story connection.
* * * of 5
Braveheart (1995)
When you have a child born in 1994, you don't get to see all the movies of 1995. Years later, you get around to the cleanup. Start with the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as Best Director, Best Cinematography, etc.
Mel Gibson plays William Walllace, the common matter fighter leader of 13th century Scotland. We start when he is young, seeing the horrors inflicted on his friends and family by the English invaders. As he grows to be a fighting man, the dreaded invaders kill his wife Marron as well in graphic fashion after she had the nerve to fight back.
This of course is too much and Wallace leads a commoners' rebellion and wins a battle. But can he lead this bunch against the King's armies?
I can see how many men call this their favorite movie. Like The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption, you've got a story of a regular man put in intolerable conditions, personally harmed and fighting and winning against a much stronger foe.
The big screen treatment never looked as good here. Like Lawrence of Arabia or the Lord of the Rings (also a regular man put in intolerable conditions...) the sweeping vistas and mountaintop shots are very appealing to watch.
* * * * *
Mel Gibson plays William Walllace, the common matter fighter leader of 13th century Scotland. We start when he is young, seeing the horrors inflicted on his friends and family by the English invaders. As he grows to be a fighting man, the dreaded invaders kill his wife Marron as well in graphic fashion after she had the nerve to fight back.
This of course is too much and Wallace leads a commoners' rebellion and wins a battle. But can he lead this bunch against the King's armies?
I can see how many men call this their favorite movie. Like The Godfather or The Shawshank Redemption, you've got a story of a regular man put in intolerable conditions, personally harmed and fighting and winning against a much stronger foe.
The big screen treatment never looked as good here. Like Lawrence of Arabia or the Lord of the Rings (also a regular man put in intolerable conditions...) the sweeping vistas and mountaintop shots are very appealing to watch.
* * * * *
Sully
With a news title like "Miracle on the Hudson" it's amazing it took so long to make a movie of it. Clint Eastwood as director can take a historical story and turn it into a great movie (Flags of Our Fathers, Invictus, Jersey Boys). He does the same here. It will make you Proud to be an American.
Capt. Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) starts the story in a hearing from the National Transportation Safety Board. Michael Brown would be a perfect choice for this job ("Brownie's doing a heckuva job") We know the plane has been landed safely but that's not good enough. As First Officer Skiller (Aaron Eckhart) noted, when an expensive plane is lost, there's going to be an investigation and a price to pay.
From there the story goes from Sully walking through the airport, getting ready and starting the takeoff. It was interesting to see how short a time it was from takeoff to landing. 208 seconds.
Some good lines they used in their defense. "Engineers say you could have landed at La Guardia" Sully noted, "First, engineers are not pilots. Second, they're wrong. Third, they weren't there"
And Skiller said later "You're just not used to an investigation where there's a successful outcome"
The flight scenes were realistic and well done. Very similar to the 747 flyover in Invictus.
All in all, an excellent movie, telling a story that should be repeated. Hats off to the whole crew who save all 155 people on Flight 1549.
* * * * * (highest)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
A good look back at a fun movie - I took a little time off today and this made it seem just right for its time.
Taxi Driver (1976)
For an iconic American movie, I thought Taxi Driver was a Middle Aged Loser movie, with the crisis coming in earlier in Travis Bickle's life than expected. Washed out of the Army in Vietnam, Travis (Robert DeNiro) gets a job as a cabbie in New York City (of course) and spends his time driving aimlessly and getting upset at the crime and grime he sees. He decides to take matters into his own hands. Violence results with no apparent consequence.
Perhaps it was a product of its time, Post Vietnam, Pre 9/11, in the era of anger at the system. If he could yell "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore", he would. But Network preceded this one - that line was taken.
I though the Cybill Shepard/Albert Brooks parts were the best - normal people contrasting against this burning fuse.
Just didn't get the allure. Perhaps its the names: DeNiro/Scorsece. Not my type.
* * of 5
Perhaps it was a product of its time, Post Vietnam, Pre 9/11, in the era of anger at the system. If he could yell "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore", he would. But Network preceded this one - that line was taken.
I though the Cybill Shepard/Albert Brooks parts were the best - normal people contrasting against this burning fuse.
Just didn't get the allure. Perhaps its the names: DeNiro/Scorsece. Not my type.
* * of 5
Hell or High Water
No Country for Old Men meets Thelma and Louise is how I might recap this according to the famous pitches in The Player, an underrated 90s movie. Two hapless brothers (Ben Foster and Chris Pine) plan to rob banks for the important reason of saving the family farm and catching up on Little Brother's child support.
The Texas Ranger Marcus (Jeff Bridges) uses his aw-shucks intuition to track the robbers and who early on states "They must be trying to raise a certain amount of money". His partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham) plays a much more interesting role but there's only room for one star here. Too bad. He was the most interesting character.
A somewhat point-to-point story with a number of well-worn plot points (the aging lawman facing retirement, getting shot but only wounded, robbery gone awry, close calls with the police, the final showdown). In that respect it did remind me of Heat, another bank robbery movie with a strong if interchangeable connection between predator and prey.
The larger point made was the dying frontier, that Last Picture Show, (also starring Jeff Bridges as Duane) an aspect which the cinematography showed well. Even the area of Archer City, Olney is the same as the fictional town of Thalia made famous by Larry McMurtry.
As well was the struggle of the 99% in a world of payday lenders, greedy bankers and the plight of the poor. A good point, also made well by a similar movie 99 Homes.
* * * * * of 5
Cousin Jon had a strong review and cannot believe anyone would rate it lower that he did. See for yourself.
The Texas Ranger Marcus (Jeff Bridges) uses his aw-shucks intuition to track the robbers and who early on states "They must be trying to raise a certain amount of money". His partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham) plays a much more interesting role but there's only room for one star here. Too bad. He was the most interesting character.
A somewhat point-to-point story with a number of well-worn plot points (the aging lawman facing retirement, getting shot but only wounded, robbery gone awry, close calls with the police, the final showdown). In that respect it did remind me of Heat, another bank robbery movie with a strong if interchangeable connection between predator and prey.
The larger point made was the dying frontier, that Last Picture Show, (also starring Jeff Bridges as Duane) an aspect which the cinematography showed well. Even the area of Archer City, Olney is the same as the fictional town of Thalia made famous by Larry McMurtry.
As well was the struggle of the 99% in a world of payday lenders, greedy bankers and the plight of the poor. A good point, also made well by a similar movie 99 Homes.
* * * * * of 5
Cousin Jon had a strong review and cannot believe anyone would rate it lower that he did. See for yourself.
Peter Sobczynski now writes the movie reviews for the RogerEbert.com website. What he recently penned about the movie ' Hell or High Water ' probably had Roger turning in his grave. I can picture Mr. Sob. . . playing the Gene role and Roger responding " Gene you are clueless as this is not only one of the best movies of the year , it is one of the best movies in years. "
So the last part of the faux quote is a stretch , but I'm biased. ' Butch Cassidy ' is my all time favorite movie so I really enjoy western themed movies. When I saw the trailer for ' Hell or High Water ' a few months back I knew I had to see the movie.
Trailers are often deceiving so I rarely see a movie without first reading some critical reviews ; Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb are my references. However , this time around I was only interested in the statistical numbers. I did not want to read any potential spoilers. A simple confirmation to the idea of a modern western would do. And though it is rare for a movie intended for mass release to score near a 100% , ' Hell or High Water ' kept its 98% rating.
I will not offer any details. It is a tight and well crafted script which touches on multiple themes. Plus it does it without the usual dwelling so common in most movies. Hit it , knock it out of the park and move on. The acting is on point. Chris Pine does a great young James Kirk , but Pine is phenomenal as Toby Howard. Jeff Bridges deserves another Oscar too. Some less known actors / actresses really nail their bit parts. Like waves on a beach the movie has a wonderful ebb and flow. The action is dispersed amongst scenes of west Texas ; though technically it's New Mexico. No roll on floor jokes , but some funny lines and scenes. Country music makes up the soundtrack.
I have since read a lot of the professional reviews. Basically I wanted to find out what morons ; 3 outta 144 are clueless professional critics ; didn't like the movie. Though the movie would be alright on DVD it really deserves a big screen viewing. In fact I am going back for a second helping this coming week. It's that good !
Popcorn rating = leftovers ( and that's the tops )
September movies
Its Labor Day weekend and not much is new in theaters this week. Today I am here in Madison, WI which is on par (more like bogey) with McAllen, TX as Multiplexland. So nothing of note is available to see. So that makes me turn toward the upcoming movies:
Sully - September 9 - the story of the Miracle on the Hudson starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood. A must see in my book:
Southside with You
The Sundance take on the first date of Barack and Michelle Obama
Snowden
Directed by Oliver Stone - the story of Edward Snowden - should be a good thriller a la No Way Out or All the President's Men - 2 of my favorites
Deepwater Horizon - September 30
Hopefully this will break the Mark Wahlberg jinx that I have. I'm willing to give it a try
Sully - September 9 - the story of the Miracle on the Hudson starring Tom Hanks and directed by Clint Eastwood. A must see in my book:
Southside with You
The Sundance take on the first date of Barack and Michelle Obama
Snowden
Directed by Oliver Stone - the story of Edward Snowden - should be a good thriller a la No Way Out or All the President's Men - 2 of my favorites
Deepwater Horizon - September 30
Hopefully this will break the Mark Wahlberg jinx that I have. I'm willing to give it a try
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