Reviews

I definitely think HOLES is worth the money you pay to get in, be it a matinee showing or a late night. The movie has humor, romance, adventure and mystery. It's been a long time since we've seen a 'clean' teen type of movie, especially one made by Disney.

The story is simple, though it takes awhile to realize that. Stanley Yelnats (notice the palindrome at work?) is a young teen, unjustly sentenced to serve some juvenile detention time at Camp Green Lake. Arriving there he discovers that there is no lake, that he is in the middle of Texas desert country, with a bunch of wild ruffians who spend their days laboring in the hot sun, digging holes (hence the title). As we are told about his time at the camp, we're also told amazing stories from the past-about Stanley's family history and curse, and another story about the history of Camp Greenlake. The stories all manage to wind themselves together, and you find yourself having an "Ah-hah moment" at the end as you figure out how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together exactly.

This is a wonderful tale of friendship. The young actors are all amazing. In a time where their witty sarcasm and silly exploits are all that we see of teens in movies, it was nice to see teens portrayed in a somewhat realistic manner. Granted it's not totally real, but very genuine at parts. The friendship that develops between Stanley and Hector is expecially so.

The movie is kind of jumpy at the beginning as it works to weave all the stories together. The scenes from the past are not the most historically accurate I'm sure, and that was somewhat bothersome, but after getting into the movie I didn't notice it as much. It's my major complaint about the film. The acting is superb as I said. Sigourney Weaver and Jon Voigt turn in some great performances.

Take the kids to see this one for sure. And heck, if you're an adult just wanting to be a kid for awhile, see it too. It's definitely worth it. 10 out of 10 stars!

I had the opportunity to see CHICAGO on stage a couple of years ago. It's not my favorite musical by any means (anyone seen RENT? LES MISERABLES???)...but it's full of winning numbers. Going into see the movie I looked forward to a few of them...ALL THAT JAZZ, CELLBLOCK TANGO, RAZZLE DAZZLE....but figured I'd be bored with the rest of the film.

Was I? Nope. Not for a second. The acting was pheonomanal. The choreography was top-notch. Overall the film is an easy 9, possibly even a 10. This high rating comes out of how incredibly smooth the film rolls along. The whole movie glides along, from number to number. It makes one realize just why this show has so many Tony's under it's belt, and hopefully now some Oscars.

A quick overview of the acting: Catherine Zeta-Jones IS Velma Kelly. She captures the glamour of that part in a way you could only hope an actress would manage to do. Not only that, but she can sing and dance too! So she's a triple threat! Go Catherine Zeta-Jones! Renee Zellwegger...what can I say about her? She's not my favorite actress. I honestly wasn't sure how she'd fit this role, but she proved that she could be Roxie Hart. As for Richard Gere, he hasn't looked so handsome in years. He carried Billy Flynn's arrogence like he was born with it himself. His singing wasn't the best, but the acting he did manages to make up for that. And how about that tap dance! Great! Queen Latifah was great as Mama Morton, fleshing out the character, bringing her to life. And John C. Reilly was probably the most perfectly cast in the nearly invisible role of Roxie's husband Amos. Loved his MR. CELLOPHANE.

Now for the film itself. The transition from song and dance numbers to 'real life' was done smoothly and usually was quite intricate with the numbers running at the same time as the 'real life'. I wasn't sure how they'd handle it after seeing the show, but I think the way they did it gave the movie an excellent sense of realism about it (something you can't see on stage where they mostly focus on the song and dance.) The film has smoke and mirrors, bright lights, color..... dancers....acrobats...got it all.

The only recommendation I would say is leave the kiddies at home. This is not a show for them. But for the rest of you (16 and up) it's a great show. There's a lot of laughs and the music will get your heals tapping.

This movie doesn't have much of a storyline. The intro giving the dark history of Darkness Falls is about the best part storywise. The acting is so so. There is not much depth to the characters so the actors did a pretty decent job with the characters they were given.

So does that mean this is a horrible movie? No, not really. Granted it's not Oscarworthy by anymeans. But it is really scary! I am still kind of scared to walk anywehre that's in complete darkness. The movie is fast paced. There are scares from the very first. I think the best part of the movie outside of the Tooth Fairy's story is the beginning with the young boy who has lost his tooth.

Don't take the kids to see this. It's not for them. But all you adults out there looking to be genuinely scared out of your pants, check out DARKNESS FALLS. I'll give it a 3 out of 10 on the movie scale. But on the SCARY MOVIE SCALE (which is really a different thing), it defintely gets a 9 out of 10...the nine simply b/c it could do a tad bit more to satisfy its viewers.

I wasn't expecting much going into this movie. I have read numerous reviews of the movie and none had a positive word to say. I have to say for once I agree with those negative reviews.

It's not that the movie is that horrible. It's mediocre, but certainly not a horrible way to spend a couple of hours. The main problem is that for anyone who's seen any of the movie's promos, there is nothing left of the story that they aren't already familiar with. The whole plot is laid out by the promos, and nearly every major scene has been shown in one promo at least.

There, now that I have complained about that (a very common problem with many movies, but especially bad in this one) I can make the positive comments. Ashton Kutcher is good in a role that isn't a total doofus like the other movies/tv shows we've seen him in. I'd like to see him stretch some more of his dramatic acting chops. Brittany Murphey is cute in the movie. She's a great actress and not truly challenged by this movie, but she pulls off the cuteness very well.

I'm going to give the movie 3 out of 5. It's ok. There are laughs, but most are spoiled by the previews. The humor is mostly juvenile, but what could you really expect. This isn't Shakespeare.

Having seen THE TWO TOWERS I found myself fairly speechless. The movie delighted me. I thought I'd have an impossible time sitting through a three hour movie (even though I loved the first). I found myself to not be bored or even confused throughout the entire time. That in itself is an accomplishment. Peter Jackson did an amazing job of keeping the storyline clear amongst all the action. Often it's easy to lose track of what's going on, but TTT really avoided that problem. Overall I give it a 10/10. I realize a perfect rating is probably not the wisest to give. Because I have yet to see THE RETURN OF THE KING, I do not know if TTT is really the best of the trilogy. I did enjoy it even more than THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, if that is possible, though that movie is tremendously enjoyable too.

I'd like to comment on some of the other comments I've read. Regarding Erowen's large role in the film compared to the book. I have yet to read the books, so I can't really compare her place in each. I do think it's probably a shame that so much time was devoted to developing her relationship with Aragorn, causing much else to be left out. It stinks when movies add characters/create new events...but this is an adaptation of the books. Sometimes things in the books have to change to make sense on the screen. And sometimes Hollywood wants to flesh out interesting characters/scenarios that they think will play well on the screen, such as has been done with the trilogy. Also, this film lacks the character development that I thought it would have. Frodo clearly is slipping more and more into the evil grips of the ring, but that is not nearly as explored as it was in the first film. None of the other characters are explored as much either, although Gimli is given a chance to show his sense of humor (I do hope we get to see some depth in Legolas too, although the cold/distant feeling he gives off is really rather appropriate for an elf). These are issues with the movie, but seeing as how it was able to accomplish as much as it did in the time it did, they are easy to set somewhat aside.

Regardless of the many changes that have been made, I think the films are excellent. I am waiting in great anticipation for the final movie. I can hardly imagine how I'll stand waiting a year! I guess that's what the novels are for, right??

I recommend these movies to anyone over the age of 10 or so. They are great adventure stories. They're a little heavy on the violence at times, but outside of a few unique moves made by Legolas (i.e. when he mounts the moving horse, when he 'skateboards' down the stairs, jumps on the cave troll's head), the violance does not seem so stylized or glorified even, as it does in most movies. TTT is a film worthy of Tolkien's novels. I'm sure the changes would have pained him some, but seeing the characters come to life as fully as they did, seeing Middle Earth become such a reality, is truly breathtaking, something Tolkien might have appreciated as well.

I wasn't really looking forward to this movie at all. I haven't seen a lot of Rob Schneider, but what little I did see was usually grossout. Needless to say I was expecting more of that with this little flick.

The movie though turned out to be...well pretty awesome. It's not going to win an oscar, but it's certainly far from the movie I expected to see. Sure there were the cliches (popular blonde cheerleaders, fat chicks with food in their hands at all times, scary goths)...but somehow they worked together. It turns out that those cliches are simply empty pictures that we get of other people. Who know a Rob Schneider movie could manage to point that out??

As for Mr. Schneider....well he was pretty darn good. I thought it would be incredibly silly watching him as a girl. It was at times, but overall I think this movie pulled out some of his best comic acting. He was able to be sensitive and funny and pull it off believably. I'd like to see him at least nominated for his role ;)

The other actors in the movie...mostly a bunch of nameless beauties...also pulled their weight. The characters were pretty well fleshed out (which was nice to see since my last movie was MAID IN MANHATTEN where no thought at all seemed to have been put into character development.) Matthew Lawrence was looking hot as usual :)

I give the movie 9 out of 10 stars. See it if you want to laugh. It's actually worth the money :)

Well here it is Christmas Day and I was just flipping through the channels. We don't have cable, so there wasn't much to choose from. I happened to stop on the end of a showing of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and by chance I decided to see the next movie that was showing-29th STREET.

This is a great movie, 10 out of 10. I have to say that first of all. I'm assuming this isn't the most well known of movies because it's not something I've ever heard of. I recommend it though. Despite some rough language (which was edited out of the tv viewing I got to see), it is a great family film. Did you like MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING? This film manages to capture that same ethnic family feeling, though in this film it is Italian, not Greek. The family, with Danny Aiello as the father, is charming in all it's quirkiness. I laughed a lot at the subtle humor that came out of the daily lives of the Pesce family.

The acting in the film is terrific. The characters are well developed in the writing and the actors used this to the fullest in bringing them to life. I was amazed to see that Frank Pesce actually plays in the movie in a fairly large role as the brother Vito. He does a good job. Anthony LaPaglia is excellent too. You'd think he'd really grown up in NYC with that accent of his.

If you happen to catch this on tv or see it at a movie rental place, don't pass it up. The story is simple-the world's luckiest man as he grows up. The ending runs high with emotion as you come to see the results of the decisions that this lucky man and his family makes. In the end though, it's a great holiday film, showing the true love that families have. It's great to see men (fathers) with lots of love and emotion for their families!

Check this out :D

Normally I have a lot to say about the flicks I see. This one, I don't really have much to say except for SEE IT. This movie totally rocks!! It is funny and sweet. Adam Sandler is such a babe in this movie. Normally I don't go for him, but he won my heart in this flick. Winona "Noni" Ryder gives her usual good performance. It's nice to see her in a comedy for once. And the always wonderful Steve Buscemi is not one to be missed.

This movie is one of the few Sandler flicks that doesn't hit you in the head with stupid humor. There are a few decent laughs.

Trust me. You'll enjoy it. 4 and a half stars out of five.

I have not read Tolkien's trilogy so I cannot judge THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS on how accurately it portrayed the story in the novel. What I saw of it was amazing and captured my imagination so that I want to pick up the trilogy, plus THE HOBBIT and read about the wonderful world of Middle Earth myself.

I was expecting the movie to jump around a lot and have a week plot, seeing as how it's an epic tale, and an epic is hard to accomplish in just under 3 hours. Had I read the novel first I imagine I would have to say it jumped around. But since I did not, I can say as a movie, THE FELLOWSHIP stands strongly on it's on. The plot flows surprisingly smoothly, with not many plot holes.

The acting in the movie adds to its greatness. I've always been a fan of Elijah Wood, so I was looking forward to seeing him portray Frodo. He did an amazing job presenting the young, idealistic Hobbit who's given the task of a lifetime. The other Hobbits were awesome as well. I thought they were all quite adorable. Their non-Hobbit companions were also well acted. I've never thought of Elves as being tall beings, but now I've got to change that way of thinking :D I admit at times I was frustrated by the lack of power which Gandalf (played by the always brillian Ian McKellen), but that is not the actor's fault, but my own high expectations of the power of wizards.

The world of the Hobbits and other Tolkien creatures, is an amazingly beautiful one. I can't wait to visit New Zealand!! Although much of it is obviously computer generated or enhanced, it is one of the most visually beautiful movies with it's landscapes during some of the 'lighter' scenes.

The movie does have a lot of violence, but it's not extremely gory. There are several fight scenes which can get tedious, but they are part of the plot, so it's hard to complain too much about them.

Overall I rate the movie a **** and a half stars out of *****. I have to take the half star away because I feel the plot and characters could have been stronger, though it would have surely added another hour or so to the movie. From what I know of the books, the movie does seem to do a good job of bringing the themes of Tolkien's novel to the screen. It's always nice to have an 'action' movie bring up some deeper points.

I'm looking forward to the next two movies in the trilogy. I hope they do so well that THE HOBBIT is even brought to the screen. And for all of you who took the time to read my long review :D I hope you enjoy it too. It's a modern classic that has a lot to teach! Enjoy!!

I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, so going into SIGNS I was not sure how I would like the movie. I knew that I loved THE SIXTH SENSE and that was enough to give M. Night Shyamalan's latest flick a try. I'm glad I did.

The movie is not about aliens in the way you might be expecting it to be--explaining their origins, their circles in the crops, why they're coming to earth, etc. So if that's what you're wanting in a movie you're sure to be disappointed. Rather, the aliens provide an excellent backdrop to the story of Father Graham Hess' (Mel Gibson) rediscovery of something very precious that he lost (what that is I won't divulge.) Their coming to earth gives Hess the chance to understand some things about life and come out of the myst of sadness and despair that had clouded his life.

That said, I'd like to point out some of the excellent points about the movie. First of all--the acting. It is very well done. Mel Gibson is awesome as kind of a spooked out guy trying to find out what is real and what is imagination (reminded me of his character in CONSPIRACY THEORY in a way.) Joaquin Phoenix, who plays his brother, also does a good job. He was able to bring the quirky brother to life. And the two kids are excellent...the best part of the movie I would say. Rory Culkin isn't exactly Haley Joel Osment, but he had me hooked by the end of the movie with his believeable innocence. And Abigail Breslin as his younger sister is also excellent in her believeability. After the acting comes the humor. That was not something I expected to find in the film, but it was there....a silly quirky humor. It made the film roll along. The audience would literally jump out of their seats in horror and then be laughing till their eyes teared a minute later. It was nice after the total seriousness and dryness of THE SIXTH SENSE.

Speaking of which, THE SIXTH SENSE is the better of the two films, but Shyamalan still managed to create a winner with SIGNS. Using the tension and horror of an alien invasion, he showed how a man was able to regain his soul. Shyamaln definitely has a talent, and I will be sure to see his future films.

See the movie, know it's a fun little flick, one that may make you think a bit. If not, at least you'll get some laughs, some screams, and even a few tears.

Enjoy!! **** out of *****

Ok, ok. So it's not Shakespeare. If you're expecting that than might I suggest you not spend the money on a ticket.

But it is a FUN movie. Lighthearted, silly, and at times scary fun.

It isn't gory which is a plus...I mean who really wants to see a giant spider eat a person? But it still has thrills--from the jumping spiders chasing the moterbikes, the mall battle, and well...other interesting moments.

David Arquette rocks in his new-found leader role. He isn't his usual goofball character...but man can he scream! The supporting cast also does a great job of running, screaming, and providing the occasional one liner to lighten up the mood.

I won't tell you how it ends. I mean come on...it is as predictable as those 1950's ATTACK OF THE GIANT ____ that it spoofs....but a lot more fun. That's a promise.

If anything...you'll never look at spiders the same way ;)