Review: Avatar

Chick 1 says:

I have to admit that despite the fact that this was James Cameron’s first feature since the gargantuan Titanic, I really didn’t get what all the fuss was about. But imagine with me, if you will, a world where George Lucas still had all this amazing technology available to him but he hadn’t forgotten how to direct actors or how to tell a decent story.

The Basics: I won’t give more away than what’s in the trailers; a planet called Pandora with a native population, a crippled marine with the chance to live through another body, and some cool new technology (both in the movie & in the making of the movie). Read more

Posted on December 29, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 21 Comments

Review: Sherlock Holmes

Chick 1 says:

Merry Christmas to me! Sherlock Holmes is out & it stars 2 very attractive men. Hee, hee.

The Basics: I’m assuming you know Sherlock from all the books, movies, and slew of cultural references (my favorite being “No s**t, Sherlock.”). Here Guy Ritchie directs the latest update on the Victorian sleuth with Robert Downey Jr in the lead and Jude Law as Watson. Read more

Posted on December 28, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 93 Comments

Review: The September Issue

vogue Chick 1 says:

Apologies for the long silence. This fall I found myself searching for my first home in order to take advantage of the tax credit. I had no idea how much time that would take. Now we’ll see how much moving both my home & my office during the holidays will take!

Anyway, I have seen a few movies including this documentary on Vogue & its infamous editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. Read more

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 76 Comments

Review: Julie & Julia

Chick 1 says:

I actually came across the book that this movie is based on a couple of months ago in a thrift store. I bought it for $1 and read it pretty quickly. It’s a light, easy read. Was looking forward to this, especially seeing Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Yummo!

The Basics: Downtrodden & drifting Julie decides to write a blog, cooking her way through 524 recipes in Julia Childs’ Mastering the Art of French Cooking. We also see Julia Child’s time in Paris and her own journey from aimless housewife to one of the world’s most influential chefs.

What I Liked: Of course, Meryl Streep is magnificent. Read more

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 2 Comments

Review: (500) Days of Summer

Chick 1 says:

One of the smaller films on my I Can’t Wait! list, this Sundance entry took a while to come to a theater nearby. But I finally managed to see it and I was not disappointed.

The Basics: As the opening narration says, this is a story of boy meets girl but it is not a love story.

What I Liked: Pretty much everything. This is a fantastic lovely story, funny and touching. It showcases two of my favorite rising stars, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (that kid from Third Rock from the Sun) and Zooey Deschanel (the girl from Elf) and they both give wonderful performances. Read more

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 98 Comments

Review: G.I. Joe

Chick 1 says:

First off, apologies for the long silence.

Now on to G.I. Joe, which I can describe in one word, and I truly mean this as a compliment, …craptastic! OK, I totally stole that description of the movie from cinematical.com, but it’s completely accurate.

The Basics: Have no idea how to sum this up. Elite group of soldiers, bad guys, stolen weapons, secret training lairs, blah, blah blah. If you’ve watched the cartoon or read the comics, you know. If you haven’t, you’ll catch on quickly. Read more

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 206 Comments

Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Chick 1 says:

Based on the sixth book in the series, Half-Blood Prince is my favorite. We get loads of info on Voldemort thanks to Dumbledore and his cabinet full of memories and Harry finally gets a clue about who his true love is.

The Basics: When Harry returns to Hogwarts for his sixth year, Dumbledore begins to train him in earnest for a final showdown with Voldemort and gives him an important mission concerning the new Potions Master. Conveniently, Harry is acing Potions class with the help of a mysterious but ominous textbook. Read more

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 111 Comments

Review: Undercover Blues

Chick 1 says:

I have loved this movie since it came out. Watched it the other night with friends.

The Basics: Jeff & Jane Blue, played by Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner, are spies who have retired to raise their adorable toddler girl. Naturally, events conspire to pull them back into the undercover world, bringing new meaning to the phrase Baby on Board. Hilarity ensues.

What I Liked: A great deal of the humor in this movie comes from the charm of the players themselves. Dennis Quaid is sooo cute in this & delivers some great lines. He and Kathleen Turner have sparkling chemistry together, not to mention a great 90′s preppy wardrobe. Really, even the smallest roles add to the laughter and create some quite quotable lines. But no one steals the show like Stanley Tucci in a rather un-PC role as a lowlife thug and would-be assasin. “My name….is Muerte!” There are plenty of laughs all around and all the characters are just so much fun to hang out with.

What I Didn’t Like: Very little. The world in which this story takes place is rather innocent but I really like that. This is total popcorn entertainment. I must admit the action is a bit slow and dated at times. One fight where Turner beats up a kidnapper has to be the slowest non-slow-mo fight sequence on film since the 50s. You can almost hear the director say “Action!” at the beginning of each shot.

Bottom Line: Fun, light, clean entertainment with lots of laughs. Worth a rental.

Posted on June 29, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 1990s 1 Comment

Review: Up

Chick 1 says:

The Basics: I don’t really want to give you the basics of this one. It’s such a delight to discover the plot as it unfolds. You can see the trailer here if you like.

What I Liked: I was completely captivated by the lead character from the very first moment. As I’ve ranted previously, Pixar really does know how to tell a story and this movie is a great example of “show, don’t tell”. It was exciting, funny, and made me cry more than once. The animation is gorgeous. Some of the landscapes look real. Really all the characters are wonderful. It’s strange because some of the plot points I could see coming from a mile away but I still found it exciting and gasped more than once. I think that is because along with some great action sequences, the themes of the movie are really grown up. Again, I won’t go into detail but, in many ways, this isn’t a kids movie. Yes, it’s safe for kids and definitely whimsical but who says whimsical is a kid’s thing?

What I Didn’t Like: (crickets chirping)

Bottom Line: A delightful, touching, beautiful story. Bring your funny bone & some tissue.

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 2000s 116 Comments

Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chick 1 says:

The fifth and my favorite in the series so far, I watched this last night with a friend who hadn’t seen it yet. We were preping for the upcoming July release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth movie and number one on my I Can’t Wait List for summer.

The Basics: Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts is a bleak one indeed but he also begins to grow into the leader he’s destined to be. Read more