"Songcatcher" (2000)

This movie was a story and concert integrated together--okay, so like a musical--except the music was integral to the story.  The music was interesting to listen to.  The story was interesting enough to keep watching.  The story wasn't necessarily an "award winner", but it was well-done.  One of the things I liked best is that all but maybe one of the musical performances were actually performed instead of mimed like is so often done.  If you enjoy folk music and/or Appalachian music, then I would recommend this movie as a creative concert.

This movie did remind me of Zora Neale Hurston's work to capture folktales.  That made it a pleasant connection for me.

"A Cinderella Story" (2004)--revisited

It's not the first time I've watched this movie, but it has been awhile.  In fact, I was only going to re-watch the first 20 minutes and ended up re-watching the whole thing.  This is what a good movie is to me.  Lots of happy endings and "sweet justice" but appreciated only after seeing the rocky times and heartbreaking moments.  And I'm a sucker for a well-done Cinderella story.

It had been long enough since I'd seen this movie that I didn't recall most of what was going to happen (setting aside the Cinderella story points, of course).  I did remember there would be a "light bulb" moment involving a wall, and scrubbing floors, and that had liked the movie the first time.  I liked the movie the second time, too.  I also realized that the actress playing the stepmother plays the manicurist in Legally Blonde--kind of fun to notice.

It was a good re-watch, and I'd do it again.

"Secondhand Lions" (2003)

A friend talked me into giving this movie a try.  I read the back cover--maybe yes, maybe no.  So, I conceedingly watched it.

So glad I did.  This movie I highly recommend.

Turns out, this is a movie where the back cover write-up doesn't do it any justice.  And if you managed to do a write-up that does do it justice, it would sound trite and cliche--which this movie is definitely not.  This movie also doesn't neatly fit into any particular genre.  It has touching parts.  It has amusing parts.  And it has lots of interesting parts.  I liked this movie a lot.  It has a nice blend of things, and it had a good ending.

Well-done!

"Shrek the Third" (2007)

It was enjoyable.  (So hard to find movies with my sense of humor.)  I did find amusing the music humor where Snow White is singing to the trees and then attacks them--maybe because I'm a music person, maybe because music humor is under-done, maybe some of both.

It was worth the watch.  It was fine.  I liked seeing "how are these characters doing now."

"WALL-E" (2008)

I've unfortunately become a pretty hard sell for what makes an enjoyable movie, but I did enjoy watching this movie.  This movie had a nice blend of "I know this story line" and "I dunno.  What's going to happen next?"  And the transition in the end credits was well-done.  It answered my typical "and then what?" questions.  I was surprised that I'd get emotional over a robot, but not when I thought about it further.

The devil likes to say that we're all worthless "junk" infested with sin.  We so desperately want to know that we're worth something, just as we are, that I can see why seeing Wall-E fixed with junk, and it working, would be a touching moment.  It's what we all want inside--to know that "junky" us is worth something to somebody just as we are.  The Good News is that God Does love us for who we are because He created us.  We didn't evolve.  He knit us together and KNEW us before we were even born.  You can't see a "love us for who we are" any better than that.  And THAT'S why Wall-E's "fix" at the end is so satisfying.  We'd like to think that there is hope for all of us.  There is.

Of course, the line in the movie "I don't want to survive, I want to live" must be understood in the context of the movie.  It certainly is a completely different piece of the movie to reflect on.  And I'm not sure that it's a line that's going to get completely unpacked here--at least not today.

It is also intriguing that "art" (in the form of a musical number from Hello, Dolly) is part of the definition of "living"--at least for Wall-E.  He looks to that video/art as his inspiration for "how am I suppose to 'live' my days?"

Two completely incongruent messages that yet fit together within this movie and in further dialogue with each other.  That dialogue is worth spending some time on.  And the movie was an enjoyable one to watch.

"Ice Age: The Meltdown" (2006)

I watched it.  Actually I watched the beginning, the ending, then the middle, then the ending again.  So, I watched it--more or less.  Not my style of humor which makes it a hard sell for me to call it a "good movie"--and I could justifiably be told to lighten up--but this movie mostly doesn't hit my humor.  Doesn't mean it's not funny, and I'm sure it was a delight to work on.  And notice, I did watch most of it (some movies I turn off).

I'm still partial to the character Diego.  Not sure why.  I  like him, though.

I'm not gonna say it was a bad movie, because it wasn't.  It was a really decent movie.  And if cartoon slapstick is your style of humor, then it probably is a very funny movie with a really good story line.

So there you go.  Good storyline.  Nice music.  And, for those with that kind of humor, it's even funny.

Next.

"The Prince & Me" (2004)

I'm not sure I know what expectations I have for romantic movies, but I did enjoy this one.  My enjoyment was colored a bit in realizing I'd previously read an analytical film article over this movie (sigh), so there was a slight bit of "knowing what's going to happen."  Nevertheless, I settled back and quite enjoyed this movie.

The leading lady was the same actress as played "Nikki" in the Bourne movies.  So, it was good to see her in a different role.  I was also delighted that the college setting didn't include any crass scenes.  I was also glad that the movie didn't end at the first "then the boy got the girl" moment and lead through at least one "and then what?"

The forefronted music and end credits music was what I call "Back porch" music--which fit the Wisconsin girl roots very well, but didn't seem particularly memorable.

Overall, this movie did a decent job at telling the romance story.  Cheers!

"Up" (2009)

If the arts are what is a part of what it means to be human, this movie captures this--WITH A PASSION.  When I went to hit "play", I was in a pretty happy mood.  This movie managed to bring me to heart-felt tears 11 minutes into the movie.  What film manages to do such a thorough job in such a short amount of time?  And then, once that point was reached, knew what to do with story then.

(after watching the rest of the movie:)

Very nice film with a sweet ending--a comedy that needs a tissue box at the beginning and the end, and they were sweet tears at that. And the music award is well deserved!  

I thoroughly recommend this movie!

"Legally Blonde" (2001)

I think I may have seen bits and pieces of this movie in passing (which would make this review a "revisited" one) except I'm pretty sure I hadn't seen all of it together (making it the first I've seen the whole thing).

I enjoyed this.  Light enough to not be so heavy.  No "stupid" humor, yet comedic (if you wish to see it that way).  Serious moments to balance the humorous--making it seem "real."  And "Yeah!  Got 'em!" moments to feel the story is satisfactorily finished by the end of the movie.  End credit music is appropriate.

Nice job.

"Shrek 2" (2004)

I actually laughed out loud once or twice.  That's saying something.  I quite enjoyed this movie.  I'm not going to say I laughed all the way through, because I didn't.  (I know, I know.  Picky, picky.)  Nevertheless, I enjoyed this movie.  The moment that I remember laughing to?  Puss in Boots eyes, when he uses them against the castle guard.  Let's see, I probably enjoyed the use of the "Mission Impossible" theme.  And I enjoyed seeing Captain Hook as a piano player.  Nice.

Okay.  That was a nice watch.

"Bridge to Terabithia" (2007)

I know this movie was originally a book, but it is a book I haven't read.  So, not only can I not speak to how well it is adapted, I'll be talking from the perspective of evaluating the story purely from a movie-goer's view.

This movie was a real quality movie, and a tear-jerker.  Why don't they make adult movies of this quality?  Is it that such a task is impossible?

The heartbreaks of junior high life.  The ups and downs of a coming of age.  The balancing act of fancy and reality.

And why do good friendship movies end with one friend dying or leaving?

The heaven/hell theology was atrocious in that the view stated is the view the world would like to believe, not the truth.  However, in the context of the story, it isn't dwelt on aside from it being a natural question a grieving person would ask, and the person hearing what we--both the griever and the audience--want to hear in the context of the story.  Too bad.  It wouldn't have taken much to turn it true, but would turning the story true (as in carpentry straight) would Leslie's character been unable to hold up to being consistent and believable  herself?

It was nice to see a balanced boy bullies and girl bullies in the story.

(After watching author and director commentary:)

What a difference context makes.  The real life inspiration for the story for the author--that was missing information from my view earlier/above.  It makes the story sweeter now.  And I like the view expressed (paraphrased): "If the book gets to be too much, put it down.  It will be there later.  That's the nice thing about books."  (author)

The editorial/commentary/interview also illuminated Leslie's theology as something she was "poor" in to parallel Jess's financially poor state.  Hmm....

Overall, well done, guys.  Well done.

"Ice Age" (2002)

Regular readers of this blog will already know that I have talked about my dry sense of humor before.  Therefore, it shouldn't be a surprise that I didn't laugh at most of the humor here--the humor tries too hard, or my humor has gotten drier as I've gotten older.  That being said, the story is decent, even enjoyable.  I found the beginning (how the mammoth and sloth got together) a bit forced, but once past that, the story was enjoyable--even if the humor was, well, more for others' taste.  I did enjoy it, and liked the ending.

"Cloud 9" (2014)

It's a fluffy movie, at least at the beginning, it's a fluffy movie; but, it's a fluffy movie worth the time to watch it once.  And it was nice watching a girl pull out the winning big move at the end instead of the boy.  One plot surprise that wasn't surprising--I mean--I didn't see it coming, but when it happened it kind of rolled on by--it was in character--and therefore not surprising.  Anyways, it's a nice family movie.

Have fun watching other people play in the snow while you stay inside warm.

"Fireproof" (2008)

While there are traces of decision theology within--mainly hinted at in one scene--this movie is really nice.  There's not many romances that I warm up to--and even fewer that I'll watch more than once, but maybe they're like my books.  For sheer numbers, the romance books that I enjoy are ones that God is in, too.  And this movie does that.  In fact, if I twist the words some, it says how can you truly love another human without having received God's love.  Maybe that's how I look at it--how can you have a romance story without having the ultimate romance of God for mankind included?  And even if such a story exists without God in it, only God's love and truly change someone, from the inside.

Movie has a couple of fire rescue scenes and lines from the firehouse that work to parallel the marriage journey.

Good to see Ken Bevel again.  I've enjoyed both roles that he's played.

As for sound--must have done an awesome job underscoring and being invisible because I only remember it during the montages and the end credits, and it was great both places.

And fun moments?  Taking the baseball bat to the computer, and reactions from the neighbors.

"Zoom: Academy for Superheroes" (2006)

Okay, I've pretty much conceded that they just don't make movies with my sense of humor (sigh).  That being said, I know comedies are tough!  And awards get-ups should acknowledge the differences more.  Think about it.  When action movie people want action, or want more action, they add more action--many times dictated by the kind of genre being written.  Same goes for mysteries and dramas.  But for comedy, you have so many different kinds of humor that it takes real talent to add all of them in there.  While this movie pretty much doesn't have my kind of humor, it does a nice job of balancing a number of other kinds.

First off, they have the politically correct number of super heroes--two boys, two girls, two teenagers, two kids--totaling a team of four non-adults.  And as such, they have the token romance--okay double romance.  They have what I call the "stupid humor" scenes that others so love--and that I'm guessing must appeal to kids more.  After all, if you're going to have little kids, then you've got to have the humor that tends to appeal to them--or at least must seem to appeal to kids, because they sure build a lot of kids' movies and kids' TV shows with that style of humor.

So, this movie has a nice balance of characters, of humor, of story parts for the super hero genre, is pretty family-friendly, and has an overall story line geared for family watching.  It does fit into superhero movies on the perimeter--it wasn't the line of story I was hoping for--but it was interesting enough that I watched all the way through and quite enjoyed about 96% of it--which is a nice high percentage for me.

As for any "accusations" along the line of "What's wrong with the movie?"

First, nothing.  I've mentioned the humor.  The humor's fine.  I personally don't go for the "stupid humor" scenes (most of the 4% I took off), but it wasn't overbearing and I know a number of folks like it.  So, the humor is fine.  I won't say no complaints (I have high standards for personal tastes), but nothing worth going on and on about.

Second, if I can't find the movies I want to see, then I really should work on honing the skill to write the scripts for such.  I seem to remember reading something about Toni Morrison saying that's part of how or why she started writing novels--she was tired of not reading what she wanted to read.  So, really I should do the same thing.  If I'm tired of not watching what I want to watch, maybe I should work on writing it. (Publishing it or producing it is obviously a whole other matter.)  

Third, if this movie were to hit the "100% and I totally loved it!" mark, then the movie would maybe be less light in places which then would feel like missing the mark for some folks' definition of a "good" family movie.  And I don't want it to miss the mark for them.  I'm just spending a lot of time searching for movies to hit my mark.  (Okay, I'm spoiled by great literature and I know what intrigues me about stories.  What of it?)

I often have grudges about how a movie starts and ends, but this was at least well-rounded (for lack of a better term).  I can live with that.

Another sign this was a decent movie that I enjoyed?  I want to know if there will be a sequel--or TV show spin off.

The "Cindy"/"Princess" character was great!  And I liked what the story line spun for "Dylan"/"Houdini".

"The Brooke Ellison Story" (2004)

An amazing story (that I'm assuming is true) about the journey of a girl (along with her mother and the rest of her family) from age 11 to college graduation from Harvard.  [I just spoiled the ending there for you.]  Amazing lady.  Amazing mother and family.  Brooke Ellison is a quadrapelic (or maybe it is paraplegic).  Brooke Ellison is a summa cum laude Harvard graduate (or maybe that was just her senior thesis?).  At the time that the film was made, she was working on her doctorate.

I think that qualifies for "inspirational story".

The movie is biographical.  End messages connect to the Christopher Reeves Foundation (which makes sense since it was directed by Christopher Reeves).

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening.  Just not much more to say about it.  Maybe that means the movie speaks for itself.

Maybe watch it on Mother's Day.

"Peter & the Wolf" (2006)

This is a half hour film--Polish, I believe--of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.  Now, I grew up listening to Leonard Bernstein's Peter and the Wolf.
I can't tell you how much I listened to that as a kid and how delighted I was to find that old record on a CD as an adult.  I couldn't but hear Bernstein's voice in my head.  Nevertheless, adaptations of familiar works are a good thing.  This adaptation certainly made me wonder how much of Bernstein's version was Bernstein's two cents and how much was Prokofiev's.  No dialog in this version; so you don't need to worry about Polish or subtitles.

I was pleased with this adaptation.  It's primarily puppet (no puppet strings, just orchestra ones) with digital assist.  (That's how I read it.)  I was intrigued by when she chose to start the music in this story.

And that cat!!!  Garfield has nuthin' on this fat cat.  Trust me, this is one, fat. cat.  And there are a couple of moments that made laugh out loud.  And suspense of story--even for a familiar story--came from some interesting places.  I also definitely didn't guess that ending.  Thought I knew.  Nope.  Quite the duck.  Only actor who could have carried off that part, I guess, in spite of what is typical of ducks in general (tongue in cheek).

That cat!!!  :D




[According to IMDB, this movie won an Oscar for best animated short film.  Director and writer is Suzie Templeton.]

"Shrek" (2001)

"Hollywood" needs more accents.

I don't care for "stupid humor".  Although, I do appreciate that for many people, stupid humor is the perfect way to relax.  For us "dry humor" folks, dry humor seems hard to find.  ("There's 'um... Well, there's...um...or maybe....)  Yeah.  Not sure this movie fits the "dry humor" label, but it was fun to watch the humor built on cultural references and to watch a movie that wasn't loaded down with the humor that I have trouble laughing with.  I don't try to be hard to please.  Maybe dry humor is in the minority part of the population.  Anyways...

It was nice having a main character with an accent other than the "American Standard Midwest".  I liked hearing that little bit of different in Shrek's voice.  (Scottish?)  Not that the donkey is midwestern, but City Eddy is a well known flavor.

And of all the different renditions of Robin Hood that have been put into to film, I'm not so sure that the cameo appearance in this film isn't closer to the original flavor of the book than all the rest of the full fledged adaptations.  (Okay, I haven't seen all the versions yet.  So, my opinion could easily change.  I can think of one version I haven't seen that could be a challenger.)  Robin Hood dramas are nice--and understandablely a good selection for an adaptation.  At the same time, most of the book is much lighter "ha ha pulled a fast one", "let's swap stories" stories.  And Shrek's Merry men appearance is definitely on the lighter side.

Let's see.  Nice to have a lady dragon.

This movie was good fare.  A nice watch.

"Aeon Flux" (2005)

Female lead.  Lots of acrobatics.  I think the movie does a fine job submitting its own answer to "How would a female action lead look?" meaning, how would she fight different, to prove she is all woman, but still show "She can do it, too" just like a man?  (Here come the criticisms launched at the accusation that she should even have to be compared to a man--either as what she is as like him, or as what she is not in relation to him.  A sign as the negative of the picture to show that she is or isn't the positive--or both is AND isn't.)

So, how about instead the beauty of a body in fluid motion--a dance for something other than a dance competition.  And any screen fight instructor will tell you that fights are choreographed, a word used for dancing.

Interesting use of color throughout the movie.

I think for me, it's just the pleasure of seeing a capable woman who didn't need to be rescued/saved by a man during the fight.  And yet, as a Christian, we're ALL saved by a man.  It's what mankind--men and women--all realize inside them somewhere, that we're in need of a savior.  And even Aeon Flux--you find out at the end--is saved by a man, an old man.  Although, he saved her because he saw something worth saving.  And Christ's bride--the church--has nothing as part of her own self worthy of being saved; and yet Christ loved his bride enough to die for her.  Our need for a savior is buried deep inside us.  It can't BUT come out in what we create.

And Aeon Flux is just a nice action movie to watch on a Saturday night--enough shoot 'em up action with fluid motion acrobatics to keep you watching, with enough Sci-Fi to make things interesting--without so much gore you get sick of it or too much science mumbo-jumbo to scramble your brain.

"Night at the Museum" (2006)

I think this is probably a great movie for certain audiences--young audiences, families, and those who enjoy this style of humor.  I watched the start of this one and can see that it was done well, and I probably would enjoy the heart-warming parts of this movie.  However, my sense of humor is on the dry side, and the movie seems to cornerstone on slapstick.  So, for those audiences that this is geared for, those scenes probably are great, but for me, just seem slow.  And if I was handed an instruction manual for a job, I'd be reading it.  I realize then that would cut off part of the humor and sense of discovery.  Also, movie included (and butchered) a quote from Twelfth Night.  It just doesn't sell me watching it to the end.

I believe this to be a very good movie.  I just didn't watch it all myself.

Later:
I found that there was a enough charm to this movie that I pulled it back out and watched the rest of it.  The humor was still "stupid" humor, but the charm of the movie was enough to make up for it.