Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Saturday, March 29, 2014 - ,,, 2 comments

Noah the Movie

I am reminded once again of the wisdom of seeing a movie before reading the book. I just returned from a viewing of the new movie Noah.


So, here is my standard disclaimer about spoilers. Continue to read at your own risk. However, anyone who has tried to read the Bible probably knows a bit about Noah. His story comes pretty early on in Genesis.

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to tell you that I have a Master of Theological Studies for Christianity. Therefore, I have a passing familiarity with the story of Noah though I admit that I hadn't looked at it closely in quite a while.

I'll say that I expected a little bit of editorial license with the story. Stories in the Bible are typically very short with very little embellishment. After all they come from an oral tradition, and they were written long before the printing press. Materials were at a premium.

Clocking in a little over 2 hours, they had to do something to fill the time. However, I feel that the went a little far from the text.I've heard quotes from the filmmakers that they stayed true to the new spirit of the biblical narrative, but I don't remember anything about Noah prohibiting his sons from bringing fertile wives on to the Ark with them, in order to end the human race, quite the contrary. And I certainly don't remember anything about Noah threatening to kill his two granddaughters.

It's like they were trying to merge or borrow a bit from the Abraham and Isaac story in this movie about Noah and his family. Abraham was asked to sacrifice (read kill) his long promised son but was given a reprieve at the last second. You'd think that all the debauchery and lawlessness that led to the flood would be drama enough. Then there's the desperation of the people realizing that their only hope is to make it all to the Ark or being shut out. There's the excitement of all of the animals on the Ark. But apparently that wasn't good enough. They had to invent whole new and disturbing story lines. Who knows perhaps these story lines were developed in the Jewish Mishnas.

Leaving the biblical accuracy aside, was it a good movie? I would say that it was okay. It reminded me more of a futuristic post apocalyptic fantasy movie like The Road Warrior or something than an ancient period piece. On the other hand The Road Warrior was meant to portray a future that socially looked more like our distant anarchist past. Maybe that means that they got the look and feel exactly right.

Here's the trouble. I never liked The Road Warrior. I will admit that Noah had its poignant moments. I did occasionally have to wipe a tear from my eyes.

Bottom line? If you are trying to educate someone about the story of Noah from the Bible, I would say no. Looking for a halfway decent action adventure flick? I would say a definite maybe. There is a fair amount of violence. It is rated PG 13 after all. Overall, if I knew then what I know now, I'd probably wait for the dvd .

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - ,, No comments

Downton Abbey Season 4 Review

I'm a little behind the curve when it comes to Downton Abbey reviews. The last episode in the United States was broadcast two Sundays ago.


The fact that Season 4 wasn't my favorite hasn't stopped me from watching the "Christmas Episode" over and over again for the last two weeks. I can't figure out whether it's because of the new locale or the special guest stars or the wrapping up of several threads that makes me appreciate it the most.


But I'm getting ahead of myself. I came a little late to the Downton Abbey party. It wasn't really until Season 2. They were running some episodes on PBS from Season 1, and I think I caught the last part of the last episode. It left enough of a cliffhanger that I decided to check it out next week. With Season 2, I really fell in love.

I had to check out season 1, so I would understand the relationship between the characters, especially the sisters of Mary and Edith.

I have loved to see the scenery from this stately home. I've loved seeing the fashion how it's changed over the years, and I mostly love watching the development of the characters.


 This season it just seems like they ran out of gas. They started repeating plotlines, and the characters seem to be stuck. Naturally, we want some things to remain the same about our favorite characters, even the ones we love to hate, but we don't want them to remain static. Life is about change.


They did try one different story line. Naturally, I hated it. The beloved long-suffering character, Anna, was violently raped. I found that particularly upsetting, but that's more of a personal preference thing. I find it hard to watch violence against women. However the way the producers justified it was that they wanted to explore a woman having to go through that experience. Unfortunately, they didn't do that. It became about how it emotionally affected her husband and making sure he didn't do something foolish in response.


The last couple of weeks were less objectionable, and of course, we continue to have the house and the fashion to look at, even if it was a bit boring and repetitive story line wise.

Now, we're on to the US season finale and why I keep watching it. They do have a lot of characters close together in a town house. And you know what they say, familiarity breeds contempt, and there's quite a bit of contempt, especially between Violet and Cora's mother, Martha. Where there's contempt sparks fly!


Of course, the show is Downton Abbey and therefore the house actually has the starring role in the series. So, I guess I consider the London house as Downton South. There's a whole new house to explore. There are all the parties. There are, what I consider, the really inaccurate characterizations of Americans namely Cora's mother and brother. However the actors are really fabulous, and they seem to be able to make the most of their limited scripting.


As a bonus, Daisy gets to have a little romance. I'd really have to say though the the main draw is seen the "coming out" custom of the young ladies. They have been talking about this since the beginning of the series in one form or another. I've been curious. Then there's also seen the staff in a new locale. For the final scene, they even get to go to the sea even though Mrs. Hughes had to do some heavy duty manipulation of Carson to bring it about.


Julian Fellowes, the writer/creator of Downton Abbey really hasn't written a television show before, as far as I know. He has primarily worked in film. He hasn't had to creatively come up with this volume of material.

Maybe this season was a learning curve. I've heard some talk how Julian is working on a US version Downton Abbey, so maybe his focus is divided. Bottom line is that a 5th season has been approved. They're working on it now. If they haven't started filming it yet, they will soon.

Perhaps, the 5th season will be better. Maybe they will finally allow Edith to have more than one night of passion with a man she loves.


Maybe, they will let Thomas be a little less of an ass. In any case we still get to see the house and what the ladies are wearing. I'm not ready to give up on it yet. I can always keep the sound down if I have to.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sunday, July 21, 2013 - ,,,,, 2 comments

RED 2

I've admitted it before, and I'll say it again. I've had a crush on Bruce Willis since I was at least 16 years old.  It was only a couple of weeks ago when I found out that he had a new film coming out RED 2.  I fell head over heels for the original RED, so despite lack of forewarning I cleared my schedule.


For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, I'll cut to the chase. 5 out of 5. I loved it. I may even like it better than the original. From here on out consider this your Spoiler Alert.


Read more »

Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday, April 22, 2013 - ,,, 4 comments

Oblivion Review

Thus far there haven't been too many movies that have interested me this year. I really got spoiled last year. I probably wouldn't have even considered going to see Oblivion last year.

The basic premise is that Tom Cruise is a maintenance man on a post apocalyptic, effectively abandoned, Earth. We were attacked by aliens. We won the war, but the Earth was made uninhabitable in the process. Cruise maintains the surveillance drones that keeps track of what's going on. His vehicle is slick and cool. He lives in the clouds. Pretty, but the trailers left me a little, Meh.

However, I've been suffering through movie theater withdrawal, so I decided to give it a try.
I was pleasantly surprised. It delivers as a "Tom Cruise Action Adventure" flick. Spectacular? No, but a solid effort. There are lots of intriguing twists and turns, so I'm not going to get into it too much here. But, I can tell you that it's more than just pretty.

It prompts some interesting questions. Here's one that won't give up too much away. We've considered what would happen if an asteroid hit the earth in movies like Armageddon and even the asteroid that passed by and meteorite that hit the Earth recently. But what if a large meteor hit and altered the orbit of the moon around the Earth? How would it affect life on Earth? There are several others that also captured my attention.

What I can tell you is that I had a good time. I was invested in the characters enough to be a bit teary eyed at the end. I left it intrigued about our expectations with extra-terrestrial life forms, about how we know what we know, about trust, loyalty, and skepticism. A movie that can make me think without making me feel like I've been preached to is one that I think is worth seeing.

I would give this 3-1/2 stars out of 5. Life altering perfection? No, but, like I said, a solid effort.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Friday, February 15, 2013 - ,, 6 comments

Downton Abbey 2013

Preconceived notions, anticipations, they're an interesting thing. Regardless of how hard we try, we can't keep from having them. I scrupulously tried to avoid all the preview shows for this season's Downton Abbey. I can tell you it was also hard to stay away from all the talk from Britain where it was broadcast in the fall.

Season 3's Cast Photograph

Despite all this I heard a snippet here and there. It ranged from describing the season as the worst of the three to the best of all. I didn't know what to expect, but I prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Actually, I considered not watching it at all. Silly girl.

It's terrible to say, but I found Shirley MacLaine's performance a bit wooden.

Fair warning: Spoiler Alert from here on out. ;)

I was pleased that they updated the maids uniforms to the 20th Century.

My biggest concern was whether Lady Mary and Matthew would finally get married.  It's not that I really care about these kinds of things so particularly. However, from the very beginning they've been teasing us with a "will they or won't they" kind of game. After half a dozen impediments, I was going to be very upset if they were going to try to string us along much longer.


Shirley MacLaine & Maggie Smith, could be the battle of the Titans!

You can imagine that I was on pins and needles until they finally got through the ceremony in the first episode.

Mary & Matthew, married at last.

After that, I've been enjoying it quite a lot. My only "real" objection is a loss of continuity across the seasons in one particular area. Back in season one, an "older" gentleman, about the age as the parents, was fixed up with Lady Mary as a potential suitor. She found him boring, and Lady Edith went after him. Sibling rivalry ensued, and no one got married that season. But, at the time Sir Anthony was a perfectly acceptable suitor.

Some new staff this season. This one reminds me of  Simon Baker from The Mentalist.

Six years later and after a war that was particularly lethal to Britain's young men, Sir Anthony is back in the picture. He did suffer from a permanent injury to his arm from the war, and that was sufficient to tip the scales to make him completely unacceptable as a husband for Lady Edith. She forced the issue, and they got all the way to the church.

At least Lady Edith got to wear her wedding dress.


But, it seems that Sir Anthony couldn't stand the strain and left Lady Edith at the alter. It was one of those, "I love you too much to allow you to be burdened by me." I just don't get it. Besides, in that day and age, I would think that a May-December romance would not be such a big deal. In this case, it was more like a May-September thing anyway.

The only thing that I could think of is that Edith is the middle child, and she seems to have had more than her share of "middle child" grief from her parents. That's the only internally consistent way that they can get away with their arbitrariness, but it was really pushing it for me. Not that I have an opinion or anything. ;)  Luckily, that story line ran itself out a couple of  episodes ago.

A little mugging for the camera.

Now, I'm just enjoying the ride, but I don't get to enjoy it for much longer. This Sunday is the season finale. Luckily, my VCR has been working very well. If you want to catch up, you can still watch most of the episodes on the Masterpiece Classic website, through at least March 3, 2013.

And  yes, they've already green lit season 4. :)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - ,, 5 comments

Downton Abbey


I'm probably the last person to finally get on board with this British Edwardian Era period piece, but I'm already instantly addicted. It's only in the last couple of weeks that I was even able to pull in my local PBS station.

I was trying to figure out why I avoided Downton Abbey last year. It wasn't because I didn't have access. Even though I was deep in thesis writing, it was the winter break between semesters, so I even had access to cable and everything! lol

Yet, I remember purposely avoiding it. I heard the buzz, but I was getting some kind of negative vibe. You know how people can pretend to like something "artistic" because they're "supposed" to like opera or modern art? That's what it sounded like to me, like people were trying too hard. I also had a bad taste in my mouth about the last couple of Masterpiece Theater selections that I'd seen. There was a bit too much child abuse and child exploitation. I'm aware of it, but I can't watch that kind of stuff for entertainment.

But I digress ... The show is set at the country estate of the fictional Earl of Grantham. It follows the lives of its residents including the Earl, his wife, and his three daughters as well as the many household staff.


I could tell you that the house is magnificent, the costumes stunning, and that it is "beautifully photographed."  All of that is true ...



But those things did not drive me to the Downton Abbey website at PBS to see if I could watch the past episodes. It was the story and development of the characters that made me stay up to the wee hours of the morning as I caught up and came to understand why the people treated each other as they did.

One of the things that I liked was watching the relationship between family and staff. The fact that there even is a relationship depicted seems rather unusual for one of these films. What that does for me is humanize everyone. It helps me to have sympathy for Lady Mary, despite all of the despicable things she does, when she arranges for one of the staff to visit his mother on her deathbed.

Of course, it's terribly romantic. I am cut to the heart when two of the staff who are very much in love constantly have roadblocks put in their path. It's a wonder that I haven't gone through a box of tissue yet.


But it's not all romance. There's plenty of politics, economics, and intrigue that plays out on the screen though I'll admit that the vehicle for that bears a striking resemblance to romance. However, if you really think about it, it's really a social commentary about how women had to use manipulation because it was the only form of power they had over their own lives.


So, if you like that sort of thing, this is one of the best examples of the genre. Don't miss it. I certainly don't intend to.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Friday, August 07, 2009 - 7 comments

Julie & Julia: A Biographical Duet

I just returned from watching the new film Julie & Julia: Based on Two True Stories.

Julie and Julia The theater was full of people (yes, guys too) who decided to pass on G.I. Joe, also opening this weekend.  I was kind of surprised and delighted.  I came in after the trailers had already started, and I had to take a seat way down at the bottom.  Didn’t really expect that for a film without sex (not too much anyway) and violence, unless you include the death of three innocent lobsters.

The film stars Meryl Streep, whose reputation proceeds her, and Amy Adams, one of my favorite actresses.  (If you haven’t seen her in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, you must do so immediately!)

The premise of the film is following Julie as she sets out on a quest to make every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking within a year and blog about her journey.  Meanwhile, we are also treated to Julia Child’s adventure from learning to cook to getting that book published.

The whole thing is delightful and charming as we switch back and forth between story lines seeing the trials and tribulations.  (Anyone who has spent any time in the kitchen knows that the path is not always smooth.)  We get to share in their successes and failures, both in their projects and their personal lives.  That gave it a sense of realism that connected me to the film in a profoundly emotional way.

It was a feast for the eyes, if you’ll pardon the pun.  The scenery, especially in the shots of Paris, could be considered a character in the film to my way of thinking, just a delight.  Meryl Streep was magnificent as Julia Child.  And what can I say, I’ve had a girl-crush on Amy Adams for quite some time.  She did not disappoint.

The only problem with writing a rave review is that it leads to over-inflated expectations.  So, go see the film, but pretend that I said it was really bad. ;)  LOL

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