reviews from a netflix addict

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2009-05-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

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What Pam Watches

Bottle Shock

2009-05-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Grade: B+

Premise: An English Wine Snob living in Paris decides that to increase business to his wine shop, he needs to do something big. He goes to Napa Valley to test wines and has a US vs French Wine competition. This is set in 1976 and is a true story.

Recommend?: I liked this a lot. Alan Rickman was fantastic as the English Wine Snob. Really nice movie.

Bottle Shock, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine

Angels & Demons

2009-05-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Grade: A

Premise: This is the prequel to "The DaVinci Code" (although the movie, references "The DaVinci Code" as being first). Robert Langdon is summoned to the Vatican to help find the four top replacements for the Pope before they are killed by members of an ancient underground organization. Anti matter created by the hadron collider is set to explode and demolish the Vatican by midnight.

Recommend?: I thought this book was much better than "The DaVinci Code" book and this movie is a lot stronger than the other movie. It is a faithful adaptation of the book. This time around, Tom Hanks' portrayal of Robert Langdon was true to the book character. The movie itself had a nice balance of action and puzzle solving. I would recommend it to watch. I don't think I need to see it again.

Angels & Demons, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Dan Brown, Ewan McGregor

Star Trek (2009)

2009-05-11T03:12:00.000-07:00

Grade: A

Premise: We are put back to the time where all our favorite Star Trek characters are just joining Star Fleet. There is a big baddie out there from the future who is threatening to blow up all the federation planets. Kirk and the team must stop him.

Recommend?: Oh heck yes! I like Star Trek but am not a "trekkie" per se. I loved this movie. Strong on action, story and character building. The whole time-space thing was a little tough to swallow but just go with it. I could see it again.

Star Trek,
Chris Pine,
Zachary Quinto

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

2009-05-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

Grade: C+

Premise: Connor Mead is a womanizing a*hole who is on his way to losing the woman he truly loves. The ghosts of girlfriends past, present and future run him through his life, he becomes a decent man and wins his girl back.

Recommend?: It's cute but not remarkable. I would rent it as there are a ton of great movies out right now. Lacey Chabert as the super Type A bride was great.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Jennifer Garner, Lacey Chabert, Matthew McConaughey

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2009-04-19T21:14:00.001-07:00

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Rating: B

Premise: Two girls go to Spain for the summer. One is getting married and the other is a bit lost. They both fall for the same artist. One girl still gets married and the other ends up living with him and his crazy ex-girlfriend. Then everyone breaks up.

Recommend: Yes/No. I watched part of it and then had to restart it. It wasn’t terrible but I’m thinking it just wasn’t my kind of movie. Penelope Cruz played crazy really well and Javier Bardem is always worth watching.

Technorati Tags: Vicky Cristina Barcelona,Javier Bardem,Penelope Cruz,Scarlett Johansson,Patricia Clarkson,Rebecca Hall,Woody Allen

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-04-05T13:29:00.001-07:00

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Rating: B+

Premise: A young man raised in the slums makes it all the way to the final question in the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and gets violently questioned on how he could be so smart.

Recommend: Yes. I thought this was really good. The little kid actors in this movie are the real stars. One gag-worthy scene at the beginning of the movie. Have to see the rest of the nominated movies before I decide if this was the best or just a nice bandwagon to jump on.

Technorati Tags: Slumdog Millionaire

The Visitor

2009-04-05T13:02:00.001-07:00

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Rating: B+

Premise: A lonely widower who is bored with his life as a professor arrives at his apartment in NYC to find that an immigrant couple have taken up house.

Recommend: Yes, definitely. This movie is highly character driven and everyone in it does a fantastic job.

Technorati Tags: The Visitor,Richard Jenkins

Rachel Getting Married

2009-04-05T12:59:00.001-07:00

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Rating: B-

Premise: Rachel is a rehabbing addict who goes home for her sister’s wedding and causes all kinds of family drama.

Recommend: Yes, but not to everyone. Anne Hathaway gives a great performance but the movie as a whole is quirky and a bit tiresome.

Technorati Tags: Rachel Getting Married,Anne Hathaway

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl

2009-03-10T16:26:00.001-07:00

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Rating: B

This is a story about one of the themed American Girls dolls. Kit is a child in Ohio during the depression. Her family has to make sacrifices when Kit’s dad loses his business. Kit, wanting to be a journalist, follows her hunches to discover a thief disguised as a hobo.

For a kids movie this was good. It could have gone straight to DVD or been a TV movie. The non-main characters were pretty good. Your young daughters will probably like it.

Technorati Tags: Kit Kittredge,American Girl,Abigail Breslin,Christ O'Donnell,Juliette Binoche,Wallace Shawn

Stepbrothers

2009-02-27T01:42:00.000-08:00

Grade: C

Premise: The parents of two forty-something year old me who still live at home get married. The two boys have to share a room. First they hate each other and then like each other.

Recommend?:Yes/No. It wasn't offensive or anything but this movie never needed to be made. Both Will Ferrell and John C Reilly can do much better than this. These types of movies are getting boring.

Stepbrothers, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly

The Wedding Date

2009-02-17T17:46:00.001-08:00

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Rating: B

Premise: NY Girl has to go to her sister’s wedding in London. Surprise! Her ex-fiance is the best man. She hires an “escort” to be her boyfriend for the weekend. Of course they fall in love. Of course.

Recommend?: Yes. I’m not a Debra Messing fan but I was told this was cute. I actually bought it before watching and I think it definitely has rewatchability (mostly due to Mr. McDermott). Definitely a chick flick/rom-com. Cute and sweet. Amy Adams bugs in it though – suprising.

Technorati Tags: The Wedding Date,Debra Messing,Amy Adams,Dylan McDermot

New in Town

2009-02-15T17:21:00.001-08:00

Grade: B

Premise: Career oriented gal from Miami gets assigned to become a plant manager for a plant in Minnesota. Hates it at first but then finds love in Harry Connick Jr.

Recommend?: Yes, definitely a chick movie. Unfortunately, after only being out two weeks, this was down to one showing in my entire area so I'm thinking it will be out of the theaters soon. I thought this was cute. Totally predictable as most rom-coms are but there are some very funny moments. Started off a little slow but the shenanigans in Minnesota were laugh out loud funny.

New in Town, Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr.

Leatherheads

2009-02-15T09:34:00.001-08:00

Grade: B-

Premise: Story about an aging pro-football player in the 1920s having to deal with the new "rules" of football. Along the way he falls in love with a reporter.

Recommend?: Yes. This movie won't win any awards but it is pretty cute. George Clooney is a timeless actor - strong Cary Grant feel in this film. When he isn't muddy. Good dialogue.

Coraline

2009-02-13T19:13:00.001-08:00

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Rating: A-

Premise: Coraline Jones is ignored by her parents and is very bored at her new home. She discovers a secret door in her living room that takes her to an “other” alternate life. Things seems dreamy until her other mom gets a little needy. Then it gets creepy.

I love this book. It is creepy and scary but doesn’t back down like most children’s books. The movie is a good adaptation of the book and really brings the characters and images to life almost exactly how I imagined them. There is this great sense of creepiness from frame 1. The animation is fantastic and so seamless that I forgot it wasn’t computer animation but stop motion. The story drags a little but overall I liked this a lot. Got an A- for the quality of the animation. I saw this in 2-D but may have to go find a 3-D showing.

Technorati Tags: Coraline,Neil Gaiman,Henry Selick,Dakota Fanning,Ian McShane,Teri Hatcher,Keith David

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2009-02-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

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Rating: B

Premise: Rebecca Bloomwood, 16k in debt due to her shopping habit, gets a job at a Savings magazine. Then she falls in love with the cute editor.

I think they did a decent job of adapting the book into this movie. The books are much better but this was a fun chick movie. Isla Fischer is adorable and is a good Rebecca. Hugh Dancy was good but a little miscast as Luke Brandon…a Clive Owen type would have been better. Go see a matinee or rent when it comes out.

Technorati Tags: Confessions of a Shopaholic,Isla Fisher,Hugh Dancy,Joan Cusack,John Goodman

Bride Wars

2009-02-08T07:42:00.001-08:00

Grade: B

Premise: Two BFFs who have dreamed of being June brides at the Plaza accidentally have their weddings scheduled on the same day. Bridezilla chaos ensues.

Recommend?: Yes, for girls only. This is such a serious chick movie I think that it has testosterone repellent oozing out of the screen. You can see where the storylines are going with this one a mile away but it is still worth a watch. Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson are a scream with the "wars" part of bride wars. Glad to see Steve Howey from "Reba" in a movie.

Bride Wars, Anne Hathaway, Kate Hudson, Candice Bergen

Last Chance Harvey

2009-01-19T19:21:00.000-08:00

Grade: B+

Premise: Harvey is a washed up man who is about to lose his job. He goes to London for his daughter's wedding and finds out she has asked her stepdad to give her away. Then Harvey meets Kate, an unhappy middle aged single woman, and both of their lives are changed for the better.

Recommend?: Yes. The movie starts out s l o w l y but after the Harvey/Kate thing starts rolling the movie gets stronger. It's bit predictable but Emma T and Dustin H make it worthwhile. There is a side story with Kate's mom that is a scream..stay through the beginning of the credits to see that story line wrap up.

Last Chance Harvey,Emma Thompson,Dustin Hoffman

Teacher's Pet

2009-01-04T10:37:00.000-08:00

Grade: B

Premise: A reporter from the “school of hard knocks” sits in on a journalism course and falls in love with the teacher.

Recommend?: Yes, I love most things Doris Day and with the addition of Clark Gable and Gig Young, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I didn’t. This is a cute movie with an outstanding performance by Gig Young as Dr. Pine. Look for a young Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunning ham) as Doris Day’s secretary. If you like old rom-coms, you’ll like this a lot.

Teacher's Pet
Doris Day
Clark Gable
Gig Young

Marley & Me

2008-12-27T17:41:00.001-08:00

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Rating: A+

Movie based on John Grogan’s best selling book of the same name. Story of a man and the “world’s worst dog” Marley.

I loved this movie. It has comedy, drama and plenty of moments that call for tissues. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are both great in this. This may not be great for kids but both guys and gals will really like it.

Seriously, bring tissue.

Technorati Tags: Marley & Me,John Grogan,Owen Wilson,Jennifer Aniston,Alan Arkin,Kathleen Turner,World's Worst Dog,Marley

When Did You Last See Your Father?

2008-11-30T16:52:00.001-08:00

Rating: B

A son examines his relationship with his father. The father is dying.

I liked this. It was definitely not lighthearted and if someone you were close to has passed away recently you probably don’t want to watch this. Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent were great (as usual).

Technorati Tags: When Did You Last See Your Father,Colin Firth,Jim Broadbent,Juliet Stevenson,Gina McKee

Fred Claus

2008-11-27T20:05:00.001-08:00

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Rating: C+

Fred is the older brother of Santa Claus and has spent his entire life resenting the goodness of his sibling. Now his brother needs him and he has to sort out his life and get over it.

I didn’t think this movie was too bad. Gave it a C+ because it was completely predictable and not anything outstanding. I thought the actors did a good job. This is a great idea with average execution.

Technorati Tags: Fred Claus, Vince Vaughn, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, John Michael Higgins

Baby Mama

2008-11-27T19:59:00.001-08:00

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Rating: C+

A 37 year old career woman decides that her bio clock is ticking and the alarm is about to go off. Having been told that her uterus is not hospitable she decides to engage a surrogate. The experience changes them all.

Well, I didn’t love this movie but there were a few good parts in it. It all ends up so perfect and predictable and you can guess the ending from a mile away. Definitely a renter. Steve Martin is pretty damn funny though.

Technorati Tags: Baby Mama, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Steve Martin

Twilight

2008-11-23T15:12:00.001-08:00

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Rating: B-

This is the movie based on the first book of the “Twilight” series. Bella moves from Phoenix to Forks, WA and meets Edward. Too bad Edward is a vampire, a nice one, but still. Then she gets chased by a not-nice vampire, James. And then they go to prom.

Well. I have read all four books and the book wins over the movie. I thought the movie was well-done but not worth the huge hype. Of course, this is probably the next Titanic with the teen-age girls repeating their trips to the movies and the supersonic rise in fame of Robert Pattinson – who plays Edward quite well. I’m not sure what I was expecting but what I got was a faithful adaptation of the book. Kristin Stewart’s Bella got on my nerves…everyone else was pretty good. Go see it but don’t expect to be amazed.

Technorati Tags: Twilight, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Cam Gigandet, Taylor Lautner

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-16T14:50:00.001-08:00

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Rating: B

James Bond is out for revenge. He wants to get the man responsible for girlfriend/traitor, Vesper’s, death. He ends up in South America as a rogue spy and uncovers a plot to hoard water.

Huh?

Well, overall I liked this film. I have major bones to pick with whomever decided to do all kinds of quick cuts for the action scenes. It would have been nice to have actually seen what I suppose to be cool action bits. Also, the story was very hidden. Who was he looking for? How did this all fit together? It was very loosey-goosey. Major critics will have a field day with this one and I’m thinking that the second weekend drop will probably be at least 50 – 60%.

But, I can’t help it. I enjoyed it. Giancarlo Giannini could have used more screen time – he’s wonderful.

Technorati Tags: Quantum of Solace, James Bond, Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Marc Forster, Paul Haggis, Mathieu Amalric