Lincoln

Lincoln

November 23, 2012

4 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

3.5 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my own personal entertainment

My Suggestion:  DVD

The gist:  This is the story of President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.  He is caught between trying to negotiate a peace agreement to end the war and trying to pass a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.  He is torn between the two as he knows it is an impossibility to have both. 

My take:

I want to start off talking about my favorite part of this film and that was the acting.  I am guessing there will be at least 3 Oscar nominations for Daniel Day-Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field who were all incredible.  Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Abraham Lincoln as a shrewd leader full of charisma.  I enjoyed his performance a lot but not as much as I enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones portrayal of Thaddeus Stevens.  I found myself smiling every time Jones’ character was on screen.  He embodies grumpy old man and it really works.  Sally Field was inspired as Mary Lincoln and her performance brought a real truthfulness to the movie.  There were several other notable performances including:  David Strathairn as William Seward and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Robert Lincoln and Gulliver McGrath as Tad Lincoln.  All gave great performances.

I enjoyed the character building in the first half of the film, we really got to know all the main players and their loyalties.  I was enjoying the performances so much but then something happened about an hour and a half into the film, it started to drag on and on.  Okay we get it, Lincoln is witty and full of personality and stories.  He is a genuinely good person with a true passion for the country.  We didn’t need 150 minutes to figure that out.  I love Stephen Spielberg, but what is it with the 2 ½ hour movies??  The movie centers around the civil war, but we didn’t see any war.  In my opinion a little action may have saved this film.  If you are someone who enjoys action movies, this film may not be for you.  If you like long, drawn out period pieces…..go for it!  In my opinion the acting was superb but the film was lacking something important.   

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

ATTN:  MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED

The Twilight Saga:  Breaking Dawn Part 2

November 18, 2012

2.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

3.5 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my own personal entertainment

My Suggestion:  DVD

The gist:  Bella begins exploring her new world as a mother to Renesmee and as a vampire.  She enjoys her new family and new powers, but when it becomes threatened by the Volturi she must take action to save her daughter.  The Cullen’s began rallying their vampire allies to convince the Volturi that Renesmee is part human and part vampire and therefore not a threat to their power.  Jacob, who imprints on Renesmee, also rallies the wolves to fight to protect her.

My take:

I will start off by saying I am a HUGE Twilight fan; I have read all the books and seen all the movies.  Some of the books I liked more than others and that is also the case with the movies.  This movie was alright.  I really enjoyed the first half hour of this film and the last half hour but the rest was a jumbled mess.  The beginning when Bella is learning about being a vampire and bonding with her daughter was great.  The ending scenes with the battle with the Volturi is great too, l love the twist they added.  At the very end of the film they played a recap of the past films and Bella and Edward’s love story which was also wonderful.  The sucky part was the middle (which unfortunately takes up most of the movie).  Once the Cullen’s discover the threat posed by the Volturi they began rallying their vampire friends together to stand with them.  There is a mish mosh of vampires who come from all different countries.  The problem is we don’t get to know or care about any of them deeply and after a while it becomes a parade of new vampires that gets boring.  I realize this was all building up to the final battle but it was uninteresting.  There also wasn’t much in the movie about the wolves and I found that I missed Jacob’s presence throughout the film.

The acting was as it always is, although I thought that Kristen Stewart did a great job as the confident, beautiful, vampire Bella.  Robert Pattinson was great and gorgeous!  The rest of the cast is pretty forgettable as far as acting is concerned.

I am not sure the general public will like this film as much as I did and like I said, I thought it was just alright.  I would watch the last half hour again if given the chance, but wouldn’t want to sit through the rest of the film to get to the good stuff.

Skyfall

ATTN:  MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED

Skyfall

November 17, 2012

4.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

4.5 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my own personal entertainment

My Suggestion:  Theatre

The gist:  Bond is back and this time his mission comes close to costing him the ultimate price, his life.  When his associate takes a shot at their enemy and hits Bond instead he is believed dead.  When M16 and M herself are attacked Bond feels obliged to return to the job to help save the agency and M’s life.  Through his search to find the attacker he meets the villain, Silva, an ex-agent with a personal vendetta against M.  Things become personal and Bond goes on a one man mission to save M’s life before it is too late.

My take:

I absolutely loved this film; it was one of the best Bond movies I have ever seen.  It was on the same level as Casino Royale with the fast paced story line and it also played homage to the older Bond flicks.  My favorite part of the movie was the villain, Silva, he was truly evil!  The acting was wonderful and Daniel Craig outdid himself as the tough, no nonsense 007.  Javier Bardem who plays Silva is incredible.  He is scary and a MONSTER.  There is no one better to play a mad man then him.  I enjoyed the new Q who is played by the young Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes has a great role and I have a feeling we will be seeing more of him in the future Bond films.  The new Bond girls were great, but the true female star of the show was of course Judi Dench.  She brings a hardness to her character that few others could deliver.

There were many tongue in cheek references to vintage Bond films which I enjoyed thoroughly.  (think shaken not stirred, Bond…..James Bond and Astin Martin’s) The car he drives in the last part of the movie is amazing as is Skyfall (don’t want to give too much away so I won’t say exactly what that is.) 

My only complaint about the film is that it was just TOO LONG!!  I love a great action flick but why do so many of them have to be 2 ½ hours long.  There were several scenes that could have been cut to bring the film to the 2 hour mark.  It is a must see for Bond fans and action junkies alike.

Flight

ATTN:  MOVIE SPOILERS INCLUDED

Flight

November 4, 2012

My Opinion:

4.5 out of 5 bags of popcorn for the overall movie

4 out of 5 boxes of milk duds for my own personal entertainment

My Suggestion:  Theatre or DVD

The gist:   When an airplane flight begins to go terribly wrong, but is miraculously landed by pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) he is quickly regarded as a hero.  The investigation into the crash unveils alcohol in Washington’s blood and he goes from a hero to potentially being accused of manslaughter.   With the hearing looming Washington goes on a downward spiral as he tries to maintain his innocence and weaves a web of lies to protect himself.

My take:

This movie was very different from what I was expecting.  I am not saying that in a bad way, it was just not what I had imagined.  From the previews I envisioned Denzel Washington as a heroic pilot who had made an error in judgment, which lead to his accusations surrounding the plane crash.  BOY was I wrong!  This movie is about addiction and the lies one weaves to cover it up.  As the movie progresses you feel sorry for Washington’s character and also angry.

I have to mention that the plane crash scene was one of the most scary I have ever seen.  I found myself gripping the chair rails next to me and dreading the flight I have to take this coming Friday.  There were a few moments that I had to look away and I was grateful to have a friend there with me.

The cast is wonderful.  Denzel Washington is on the top of his game and comes across with just enough magnetism that you can’t help but kind of like the guy.  He also has a heavy dose of self-loathing which adds to his characters depth.  He is one of the best actors of this generation and it was amazing to see him shine in this role.  John Goodman plays Washington’s best friend, Harling and he adds the perfect amount of hippie, druggie, and humorous moments to keep his character very interesting.  Kelly Reilly who plays the character Nicole gives the performance of a life time.  She is raw and edgy and has us wanting to give her a BIG hug and tell her everything is going to be okay. 

I think that audiences on the whole will definitely love this movie.  The reason I rated it a 4 for myself is that I found the whole thing to be a little too depressing and that wasn’t what I wanted from the movie.  I still highly recommend this movie and wouldn’t be surprised if Washington is up for an Oscar for his amazing performance.