Movie Reviews

aka Ash

aka Ash

New Member
My family and I watch alot of movies (we don't have cable or any form of television, other than the movies we buy.) I thought this would be a good place to review movies that we watch, to help each other pick or not pick a movie to watch. I have noticed some PG-13,ie Young Guns II (nudity, sex, language, violence) movies are worse than R rated movies sometimes, ie. Young Guns I (language, violence). So now many times I have to watch a movie twice within a day or two, once to preview it for the kids, and once if I feel the children can watch it. I have also wasted money on some movies.
So maybe as we watch a movie, we can write our review/ opinions on the movies.
 
The Visitation

The Visitation.

Watched on Saturday (8/26/06)
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, viloence/terror, disturbing images

There's not many big names in the movie....Kelly Lynch, Randy Travis
It's based on the novel by Frank Perretti...which I own, but haven't read yet.


Maybe it should say Spiritually Mature thematic elements as well as just mature. It deals with false prophets and spiritual warfare. I really enjoyed it though. I would caution anyone under the age of 18 to watch it. You need to be "spiritually ready" for it in my opinion. It is disturbing, and evil seems to be winning through almost the entire movie. The story was well written, and the acting was ok. Randy Travis plays a Pentecostal Preacher so I can't help but like him :) If you're looking for a good thriller, with a Christian basis, I recomend it. I do caution against letting children/teens watch it, unless they are mature, emotionally as well as spiritually.


My opinion: B+
 
The Posieden

The Posieden

watched Saturday 8/26/06
Big Name-Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfus

Rated Pg-13 for "intense prolonged sequences of disaster and peril"

Just what it is, a big action film that tried to make alot of money. Didn't notice anything bad about it (except Richard Dreyfus plays a gay architect, all my kids missed that one, it was only briefly mentioned that his lover didn't love him any more. "He just kind of fell out of love" or something like that.). Acting was ok, not the best by any of the three big names, but ok.Character development was shallow, and plot was basic. But....I often times found myself holding my breath...lol....Action sequences were good. So if you are looking for a good clean action movie, this one is cool. All my kids watched it and enjoyed it (except my nephew, he was in bed already). I won't mind watching it again.


My opinion: C+++
 
Memoirs of a Geisha

Watched a couple of weeks ago.
Rated PG-13 for mature subject matter and some sexual content.
According to IMDb: Won 3 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 26 nominations

This movie isn't in the theaters any longer, but it is readily available for rental.

We've all seen depictions of those Japanese ladies with the excessive makeup and beautiful costumes. But who exactly were the 'Geisha', and what exactly was their place and purpose in Japanese society?

After seeing this movie, I can't say that I really know. It is not by any means a 'documentary', nor does it present any historical context for the development of 'Geishadom'. It is very focused on the life of one Japanese lady who does eventually become a Geisha at the very sunset of Japanese high society, immediately before the atomic bombing and occupation of Japan at the end of World War II. Everything you learn about the Geisha is shaded through her point of view, her biases, her limitations. While this might be a drawback in some ways, the poignancy and drama of her story as well as her personal abhorance/avoidance of sexual contact with her clients (presumably because of her love for someone else) make me glad this approach was used. This movie is based on a book which is supposed to be very good, but I haven't read it or encountered any reviews of it.

This movie contains little or no language, rare for a PG-(Profanity-Guaranteed) 13 movie! But it does have sexual content mainly in two particular scenes. One involves what seems to be an attempted rape of a Geisha, where a client strips off some of her clothes (but it is made clear later that she was not actually raped). Another is a scene following a nude hot-tub soiree between Geishas and US Army officers, where sexual intercourse is about to be initiated but the couple is interrupted. Thankfully, neither scene depicts any actual nudity, but they are very intensely adult in nature and would lead me to warn off even the most mature teens, as well as any adults who find rape scenes to be erotic. (I'd also have to warn off the foot-fetish crowd, but we won't get into that. :D )

The only other objection I can find is that the occupying Americans are depicted very badly - they are brutal, sexual, debauched, drunk partying invaders. You also see American tanks and armored vehicles cluttering up the once-beautiful streets. It isn't an entirely unfair depiction - but it certainly isn't balanced by showing the aggression of the Japanese military and its own militarization of once beautiful Japanese towns. And of course there is not even the slightest hint to the REASON for American occupation and the atomic bombing of Japanese cities. With that said though, the atomic bombing is only mentioned in passing and Memoirs of a Geisha largely avoids degenerating into a political 'message movie'.

In summary, I think this movie deserves its laurels. It is beautifully filmed and costumed and well acted, and the music is masterfully composed by John Williams. But most importantly, the story is interesting and compelling (for me, the beginning was a LITTLE slow). And though much of the last part of the movie is a bit tragic and depressing, it isn't a wholly tragic or unsatisfying ending.

My opinion: A-

}aul
 
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I get all my movie reviews from www.screenit.com. They have pop-up ads, but I have firefox so I don't get any, and even if you DO get pop-up ads, the content on the site is worth them (rare that I say that). Or you could do their yearly subscription thing and not deal with any ads at all, which is what I do, though mainly for the purpose of supporting the site's sole reviewer.
 
Hoodwinked

Hoodwinked

PG for mild action and thematic elements.

Big names-(Voices)Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Jim Belushi, Anthony Anderson, Xzibit, David Ogden Stiers, Andy Dick, And of course Patrick Warburton (Of course in my opinion, any time you have Patrick Warburton...you are going to laugh)


This is the "true story" of Little Red Riding Hood. In my opinion it was absolutely original, hilarious (especially thanks to Patrick Warburton), and thoroughly enjoyable. I can't think of an occasion where it was innappropriate off hand, so if there is some innuendo,(which is in almost every CG movie nowadays), it was quick, brief, and my children missed it, as did I. (And I have one, 10 yrs old, that picks up everything, the only line he remembers perfectly in Spiderman 2 is "it's a little tight in the crotch). If it was there I do appologize.This movie showed the story of Little Red Riding Hood through the point of view of all the main players. It was really cool how it all came together at the end to provide the "true story". Fun for kids and adults alike, I recommend this movie highly. Voice acting was done very well, and the plot, while kind of simple, was still original for the fable that we all thought we knew. Did I mention that I thought Patrick Warburton was hilarious?:) (go Kronk)


My Opinion-Solid A
 
Click

Rating: Rated PG-13 for language, crude and sex-related humor, and some drug references

The main character (Adam Sandler) is an architect who is trying to get ahead in his career. Like a lot of people, he wants to give his family all the "stuff" that he didn't get to have because they didn't have the money when he was a kid. In his frustration to "keep up with the Jones" he goes out to purchase a universal remote. He never expected it to be this universal. He can fast foward, mute, and skip chapters in his life. There is a catch to the remote though, it remembers the choices he makes. Will he be able to live with the choices he made in his life?

I would not recommend this as a family movie. There is a LOT of language. There is some sexual inneundo, and there are a couple scenes with women in low-cut shirts, and tight clothes. My husband and I saw it on our date night. I would say that it is a good movie to sit down and watch with your spouse.

Overall rating-B -great message, but it is so laced with sexuality and language it takes away from the message.
 
Great review notashamed. It's a shame a movie wish such great potential had to sink to such lows... but then again most movies now-a-days do.

:(
 
It doesn't seem fair to me to have some guy decide he wants his movie to target 25 year olds, and throw a bunch of language and sex in there to get that R rating. Arrgh...

But I don't mind violence at all... does that make me weird?
 
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