Rock of Ages is a fun movie with plenty of great music from the 80's.It succeeds because it does not take itself too seriously.
The music starts immediately with "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger--and who is Sister Christian ? Well, in this movie it is Sherrie Christian,played by Julianne Hough.The story and music revolve around her adventures and misadventures in 1980's LA.
There are plenty of quirky characters and situations to hang the songs on.Just enjoy the music and the silliness.If you like the music of the hair bands of the 80's,This will be a fun film to see.
Julie
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Movie Trivia - Casablanca
The scene at the airport at the end of "Casablanca" was filmed at the old Los Angeles Metropolitan Airport.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Upcoming Movie: J. Edgar
Based on the life J. Edgar Hoover,director of the FBI from 1935 until his death in 1972,this movie is set for release in November.Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo Di Caprio as J. Edgar Hoover,this movie will probably be an Academy Award contender in several categories.
J. Edgar Hoover remained one one of the most powerful men in Washington throughout his career as FBI director.He is an enigma;credited on one hand with making the FBI a well respected and effective crime fighting agency while feared by many for his secret files on the politically powerful and other public figures of note.
I think this will be one of the most interesting and powerful films of the year.
Julie
J. Edgar Hoover remained one one of the most powerful men in Washington throughout his career as FBI director.He is an enigma;credited on one hand with making the FBI a well respected and effective crime fighting agency while feared by many for his secret files on the politically powerful and other public figures of note.
I think this will be one of the most interesting and powerful films of the year.
Julie
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Sarah's Key
Directed by--Gilles Paquet-Brenner
Julia Jarmond--Kristin Scott-Thomas
Sarah (age 10)--Melusine Mayance
William Rainsferd--Aidan Quinn
Let me start this review with a warning.If you are looking for an easy viewing movie for simple entertainment then this is not the one.This is a very serious movie about a little known aspect of the Holocaust and it has a number of disturbing scenes.Although the characters are fictional,the historical event within which the story occurs was not.
This movie has a dual quest.Two time lines and two stories told in parallel, interlaced but related and ultimately blending to form the whole.
Young Sarah,a ten year old Jewish girl,lives in Nazi occupied Paris in 1942 with her parents and younger brother.The French police, willingly cooperating with the Nazis it seems,start a purge and roundup of Jews in Paris.They are removed from their homes and sent to camps.Ultimately they meet the same tragic fate as so many other Jews in World War II.
When the French police arrive at the home of Sarah's family,Sarah,intent on protecting her brother,locks him in a bedroom cupboard and keeps the key hidden.She is sure she will return witin three days to rescue him.Sarah's mother,reeling from the sudden arrival of the police,goes along with Sarah's lie.The French police have also lied,claiming the family will only be temporarily relocated for three days.
The film moves to 2009,where Julia Jarmond,an American born journalist and her French husband,an ambitious businessman, live and work in Paris.Julia is researching the tragic event of 1942 that forcibly removed 70,000 Jews from Paris and sent them to their deaths.She intends to write an article for her publication about the event.
The film shifts from the events of 1942 with Sarah;then back to Julia in 2009.The alternating story lines increasingly relate to each other,creating a complex montage of characters and events that reveal the fierce struggle of the two main characters of this film.Sarah's struggle to save her brother is symbolized by her key.Julia's struggle reveals her unequivocal devotion to the truth.
About half of the film is in French so be prepared for English subtitles.
Kristin Scott Thomas is wonderful as Julia and the young French actress,Melusine Mayance,is absolutely amazing as Sarah.The performance of all the cast members brilliantly contributes to this film.
This is a very complex film,filled with irony and intense emotion.The conclusion of the film is stunning.Bring tissue.
This film is rated PG-13.It could be really disturbing to some children.
I give this film an A.
Julie
Julia Jarmond--Kristin Scott-Thomas
Sarah (age 10)--Melusine Mayance
William Rainsferd--Aidan Quinn
Let me start this review with a warning.If you are looking for an easy viewing movie for simple entertainment then this is not the one.This is a very serious movie about a little known aspect of the Holocaust and it has a number of disturbing scenes.Although the characters are fictional,the historical event within which the story occurs was not.
This movie has a dual quest.Two time lines and two stories told in parallel, interlaced but related and ultimately blending to form the whole.
Young Sarah,a ten year old Jewish girl,lives in Nazi occupied Paris in 1942 with her parents and younger brother.The French police, willingly cooperating with the Nazis it seems,start a purge and roundup of Jews in Paris.They are removed from their homes and sent to camps.Ultimately they meet the same tragic fate as so many other Jews in World War II.
When the French police arrive at the home of Sarah's family,Sarah,intent on protecting her brother,locks him in a bedroom cupboard and keeps the key hidden.She is sure she will return witin three days to rescue him.Sarah's mother,reeling from the sudden arrival of the police,goes along with Sarah's lie.The French police have also lied,claiming the family will only be temporarily relocated for three days.
The film moves to 2009,where Julia Jarmond,an American born journalist and her French husband,an ambitious businessman, live and work in Paris.Julia is researching the tragic event of 1942 that forcibly removed 70,000 Jews from Paris and sent them to their deaths.She intends to write an article for her publication about the event.
The film shifts from the events of 1942 with Sarah;then back to Julia in 2009.The alternating story lines increasingly relate to each other,creating a complex montage of characters and events that reveal the fierce struggle of the two main characters of this film.Sarah's struggle to save her brother is symbolized by her key.Julia's struggle reveals her unequivocal devotion to the truth.
About half of the film is in French so be prepared for English subtitles.
Kristin Scott Thomas is wonderful as Julia and the young French actress,Melusine Mayance,is absolutely amazing as Sarah.The performance of all the cast members brilliantly contributes to this film.
This is a very complex film,filled with irony and intense emotion.The conclusion of the film is stunning.Bring tissue.
This film is rated PG-13.It could be really disturbing to some children.
I give this film an A.
Julie
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Formula for a good action movie
"Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guys, save the world" --an actual line from one of the Mummy movies of around 1999-2001;spoken by Brendan Fraser.If you think about it,practically every good action movie has these basic elements.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
More Than One Drought
As everyone knows, there has been a shortage of rain here in Texas. I think that's not the only drought however. The big screen releases of the last few weeks offer precious little in any promising movie entertainment.The trailers I have seen when I was at some of the movies I have already reviewed showed little hope of a good movie evolving from their highlight scenes. I hope I can find an independent movie somewhere soon that would be a possible choice to see and review.
Julie
Julie
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Cowboys and Aliens
Directed by--Jon Favreau
Jake Lonergan--Daniel Craig
Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde--Harrison Ford
Ella--Olivia Wilde
Cowboys and Aliens is an interesting concept for a movie and when I first saw the trailer for this movie I knew I would go see it.Sometimes though the promise of the trailer does not develop into the movie we hope to see.This is the case with Cowboys and Aliens.
The mood of the Old West was nicely set in a haunting opening scene and we are captivated by the stranger who knows not his name or from where he came.He awakes with an unusual bracelet firmly attached to his arm and despite his loss of memory he is self assured and seemingly in full control of the powers of his magical bracelet.
Making his way into the town of Absolution,Arizona Territory circa the late 1800's,he is met with less than a friendly welcome.One woman,Ella, is very interested in his presense and his unusual arm bracelet.She crudely assists in his capture,assuring herself that he will stay in town.
The sheriff has other ideas and quickly arranges for Jake Lonergan (our stranger who has now been identified by a wanted poster) to be transported for trial for crimes he has committed with his gang of outlaws.Also being transported with Jake is Col. Woodrow Dolarhydes son who managed to shoot a citizen of the town while he was confronting Jake on his arrival into town.The rough hewn Col. Dolarhyde is none too pleased that his iron grip on the town is being challenged and his son has been placed in a paddy wagon to be transported for trial with Jake.
Suddenly the aliens arrive in strange flying craft,blasting town buildings and citizens with powerful light beams and lassoing some citizens to be hauled to their secret lair.Six shooters and rifles have little effect on the "demon" interlopers and it is only when Jake escapes the paddy wagon after a light beam blasts a hole in it that we see the true power of the bracelet as he takes aim with it,blasting alien craft from the sky.
The importance of Jake and his non-removable bracelet is instantly apparent to the townsfolk and to Col. Dolarhyde whose son has been lassoed by the "demons." Soon the townsfolk,Col. Dolarhyde and his men,Jake,and the mysterious loner Ella set off to locate the aliens and rescue their people.As you can see the story has already become quite complex and this seems to slow the pace of the movie.
The complexity grows as the group encounters Jake's old gang of outlaws and a tribe of Indians while enroute to their encounter with the aliens.They ultimately must work together to rid the world of these gruesome creatures.What have the creatures come for ? Ella knows and you will too if you see the movie.
I think that a significant weak point of the script is that the aliens have no apparent leader and they seem to be more like an ant colony than an alien civilization.I'll elaborate on this notion a bit and give an example of why an antagonistic face to the threat of an enemy coalesces story form.Think of the movie "Star Wars." What would The Empire be without Darth Vader ?
So our story moves toward conclusion, abeit slowly, having lost energy dragging around flashbacks and backstory like a literary ball and chain.A good start,a muddy middle and a somewhat lackluster end make this mega million effort less than it could have been.I give it a C.
Julie
Jake Lonergan--Daniel Craig
Col. Woodrow Dolarhyde--Harrison Ford
Ella--Olivia Wilde
Cowboys and Aliens is an interesting concept for a movie and when I first saw the trailer for this movie I knew I would go see it.Sometimes though the promise of the trailer does not develop into the movie we hope to see.This is the case with Cowboys and Aliens.
The mood of the Old West was nicely set in a haunting opening scene and we are captivated by the stranger who knows not his name or from where he came.He awakes with an unusual bracelet firmly attached to his arm and despite his loss of memory he is self assured and seemingly in full control of the powers of his magical bracelet.
Making his way into the town of Absolution,Arizona Territory circa the late 1800's,he is met with less than a friendly welcome.One woman,Ella, is very interested in his presense and his unusual arm bracelet.She crudely assists in his capture,assuring herself that he will stay in town.
The sheriff has other ideas and quickly arranges for Jake Lonergan (our stranger who has now been identified by a wanted poster) to be transported for trial for crimes he has committed with his gang of outlaws.Also being transported with Jake is Col. Woodrow Dolarhydes son who managed to shoot a citizen of the town while he was confronting Jake on his arrival into town.The rough hewn Col. Dolarhyde is none too pleased that his iron grip on the town is being challenged and his son has been placed in a paddy wagon to be transported for trial with Jake.
Suddenly the aliens arrive in strange flying craft,blasting town buildings and citizens with powerful light beams and lassoing some citizens to be hauled to their secret lair.Six shooters and rifles have little effect on the "demon" interlopers and it is only when Jake escapes the paddy wagon after a light beam blasts a hole in it that we see the true power of the bracelet as he takes aim with it,blasting alien craft from the sky.
The importance of Jake and his non-removable bracelet is instantly apparent to the townsfolk and to Col. Dolarhyde whose son has been lassoed by the "demons." Soon the townsfolk,Col. Dolarhyde and his men,Jake,and the mysterious loner Ella set off to locate the aliens and rescue their people.As you can see the story has already become quite complex and this seems to slow the pace of the movie.
The complexity grows as the group encounters Jake's old gang of outlaws and a tribe of Indians while enroute to their encounter with the aliens.They ultimately must work together to rid the world of these gruesome creatures.What have the creatures come for ? Ella knows and you will too if you see the movie.
I think that a significant weak point of the script is that the aliens have no apparent leader and they seem to be more like an ant colony than an alien civilization.I'll elaborate on this notion a bit and give an example of why an antagonistic face to the threat of an enemy coalesces story form.Think of the movie "Star Wars." What would The Empire be without Darth Vader ?
So our story moves toward conclusion, abeit slowly, having lost energy dragging around flashbacks and backstory like a literary ball and chain.A good start,a muddy middle and a somewhat lackluster end make this mega million effort less than it could have been.I give it a C.
Julie
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