Reviews

Short Takes Revisits: LA Confidential

Chick 2 says:

Overall Concept:  A

Acting: A+  Some of the best.  When you began to realize just how good Russell Crowe would be.

Script: A+  It’s got it all and keeps you guessing.

Cinematography:  A  Oscar nominated.

Hotness of Cast:  B  Corruption is not that hot.

Wardrobe:  A

Location/Setting:  A

Climax:  A

Still one of the best there is.

Posted on by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 1990s 25 Comments

Review: Undercover Blues

Chick 1 says:undercoverblues

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.

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Review: Princess Mononoke

Chick 1 says:princess_mononoke

I’ve been wanting to explore a bit of Asian cinema, especially anime.  Many of them fall in my favorite genre, fantasy/scifi.  This movie, about a cursed prince who travels west to ask the Forest Spirit to heal him, had made quite a few Top Ten lists the year it was released.  It also has a lushous soundtrack that I had heard on the internet. Read more

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Review: Like Water For Chocolate

 Chick 2 says:like_water3

Like Water for Chocolate is a subtitled film typical of fairy tale fantastical stories from Mexican directors.  It’s the story of Tita, forbidden to marry her true love so that she can care for her overbearing mother, she pours all her unfulfilled emotion into her cooking.  Her true love Pedro, in order to be near Tita, marries her older sister and drama ensues.  It is a clever and cute story, but not sophisticated.  The second act seems long as you wait for a final resolution to all the hardship, and that resolution may seem dissatisfying to some.  Released sixteen years earlier, its story has similar characteristics but does not quite attain the magic of Chocolat.  Lumi Cavozos is very endearing as Tita, and her sister Gertrudis provides for some brief entertaining comic relief. 

IF you’re looking for a fun, fantastical rental, THEN go (rent it).

Posted on by Chick 1 in Reviews, The 1990s 33 Comments