TheMovieRhino's stats
- Review count647
- Helpfulness votes412
- First reviewNovember 16, 2008
- Last reviewMay 26, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
2
/
5
Potiche is too long of a film about very little...
PostedJune 5, 2011
...and could have been made a lot better by shortening the movie by 20 minutes. There were a few moments when I thought it might be going somewhere and taking us to some interesting places .... and then it didn't really go anywhere original, funny or all that fascinating. This is a slow, plodding tale of a woman thrust into a role of independence who hits a few bumps along the way. It felt like a TV light comedy-drama from the 1970's with a stretched thin plot. The best part of the film was simply seeing Deneuve and Depardieu on screen. Deneuve is still gorgeous and "sparkly". Depardieu is always interesting to watch and there is a lot of him to watch here - he has really gained some heft. Wanted to like this one .... but cannot recommend it. A rhino horn down.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
X-Men First Class - You Should Attend!
PostedJune 4, 2011
6 months ago you could rarely find anyone in the "movie critique media" that had anything positive to say about this movie. Even the comic book geeks and fan-boys were derisive. Then, about 6 weeks ago, as more evolved trailers and posters began hitting the market, you could feel the "aura" shifting. Over the last week the metamorphosis is complete - 75%+ are loving what they see .... and with good reason. Director Vaughn has done a remarkable thing by producing a great summer action superhero flick for the fan-boys that "lurk" in most of us on one level or another. X-Men First Class can be almost equally enjoyed by the non-comic book educated viewer as the story on screen has real universal, historical and sociological implications - for all of us. I was a consummate comic book collector geek myself back in the late 1950's through my college years in the late 1970's. I had every issue of X-Men, Spidey, Fantastic Four, IronMan, Thor, Dr, Strange, DareDevil, Hulk, Captain America, Ghost Rider, Blade, AntMan, Avengers, Defenders, Captain Marvel, etc. I have those artist, writers (usually Lee, Kirby, Ditko, Colan, Buscema, Ayers and Romita ... of course), stories, covers, evolutions and assorted details enmeshed into my memories and subconscious. I guess this provides me with a certain perspective on the superhero movie genre of the last 25 years. That said - X-Men First Class is right up there with some of the best made superhero films of all time. Not a masterpiece but very well done indeed! Kudos to Vaughn, his amazing cast, writers, special effects pros and cinematographers! A glowing red mutated rhino horn up!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Small Town Murder Songs is a well-done Eerie Lilt
PostedMay 31, 2011
TheMovieRhino's favorite thing is finding a little gem of a movie hidden in the cinematic silos of re-done riff-raff and poorly made fast food movies of our era. Small Town Murder Songs is just such a gem. Only 76 minutes long it just missed being officially labeled a "short". The length is perfect for the tale. This movie is now my favorite for its genre: "Mennonite murder mysteries with heavy spiritual overtones and musical scriptural interludes". Love movies that say a lot without talking (talk is cheap). Director-writer Gass-Donnelly and his excellent cast have done splendid work here. Kudos to all. A rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Meek's Cutoff is Mesmerizing ....
PostedMay 31, 2011
... and it will suck you into it's world .... if you let it. This is is not a film to see in a noisy theater with rustling popcorn bags and cell phones ringing. Director Reichardt's old west wagon train masterpiece is atmospheric, stark, scenic and nuanced. We were thankful that only once did a cell phone go off in our showing. The theater was packed and after the first 5 minutes you could tell that the most of the audience was right there with the adventurous settlers traversing on the open prairie towards the unknown (or at least the barely known) and their dreams. This is gritty, contemplative, courageous, original film-making - and, I think - at its finest! The enigmatic ending felt natural to me even though I felt the tug inside of me that wanted everything neatly tied up in a bow. At the end the audience was mixed in its response - there was a smattering of applause seasoned with a few "whats?" and some "frustrated chuckles". That's okay - everyone was engaged. Highly recommended for the mature movie goer that likes their movies textured and original .... and likes to "feel what a movie brings" as well as view it. A dusty old tumbleweed adorned rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Midnight in Paris is a Magical, Musical Must-see!
PostedMay 29, 2011
We relished every nuanced "crumb" of "Midnight in Paris". This is Woody Allen at his best - fresh, original, whimsical, layered, textured, beautiful to look at and listen to, "nebbish vs. the world-as-we-know-it" great movie story-telling! Our last "most-favorite" Woody Allen film was "Mighty Aphrodite" ...and now we have a new most recent favorite! Owen Wilson is a better Woody Allen... than Woody Allen! He channels Allen's neuroses and insecurities in a way that seems more natural and understandable .... more connecting actually .... than when Allen himself does it! The theater was large and jam-packed and at the end of the movie there was spontaneous applause from most of those in attendance. It has been a long time since we have heard this kind of voluntary expression of appreciation at the end of as film - and here it is well-deserved. A near-perfect movie that the vast majority of mature movie goers will find most pleasing. An Eiffel tower scrimshawed rhino horn up. See it!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
Hangover 2 - Weirder does not mean Funnier .....
PostedMay 29, 2011
and here is cinematic proof .... in all of its "monkey-smoking", frontal nudity, "Bangkokian grunge" glory. Yes - there were some laughs and some groans and some shivery "can't believe they touched that" moments BUT ... when compared to the originality and near constant laughs of the first Hangover movie .... this one falls far short. Cannot even recommend renting this one down the road. It would be better to simply re-watch the original "Hangover". You will laugh more and enjoy it more - even as a "re-run". A big old Asiatic rhino horn down.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Kung Fu Panda 2 3D earns a Black Belt in FUN ...
PostedMay 28, 2011
... for the entire family. An enjoyable, fun new romp with Po and crew that expands our understanding and empathy for everyone's favorite "Kung Fu Panda". In KFP2 3D the 3D does indeed enhance the experience as the adventure is as kinetic and colorful as you could make it and there are all kinds of organic opportunities to "make objects pop off of the movie screen". As good as any high end animated feature made over the last few years .... or better ....maybe, even (dare I say) the best! We laughed often, we were never bored, always rapt with attention for the story and character interaction and there was even a moment near the end when these cartoon creatures in this fictional world drew a lump into our throats and some tears in our eyes! My only prejudiced complaint is about not giving the rhino warrior(s) some more screen time?! :) A classic not to be missed in 3D on the big screen. A "rhino master's" horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
The Beaver will Gnaw at you - A Tiny Masterpiece!
PostedMay 23, 2011
I have yet to hear a major critic not say that Mel Gibson's performance was amazing - even if they did not care for the overall movie - and they are all correct about Gibson - even if they miss the boat on the overall film. The Beaver is a complex look at what our complex lives can sometimes lead to .... a dam clogging up the "river of our lives". We should all be so lucky to find our own solutions to the oft paralyzing, suffocating weight of the "pressures and responsibilities of life" .... our personal "beavers" to cut through the bramble of "stuff" that clogs up our lives. It's not the complete answer as this movie so well points out but it can be a piece towards putting the puzzles of our lives together. Perhaps Mel Gibson's greatest role ever! Not sure if anyone else could have come close to "pulling this role off". The rest of the cast are all a-one and the side story explains the nature of man's curse - passing on our sins to the generations that follow. It takes something as crazy (or crazier) as a "beaver hand puppet" to really change course some times and get back into a real-world life. Kudos to Jodi Foster and her team! We enjoyed every morsel of The Beaver. See it!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Legend of the Fist kicks you know what ....
PostedMay 23, 2011
.... most of the time! Great fight scenes, war scenes and cinematography throughout! The movie bogs down a bit when the action ceases. In Chinese with English subtitles. There are 3 fight scenes in this movie that I will never forget! They are that memorable. It took me most of the movie to understand some of the tensions between the Japanese and the Chinese but I got there eventually. Not the movie's fault. If I were fluent in Chinese it would likely not been a problem. A red sun-drenched rhino horn up!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Pirates - Stranger Tides - Good but not Great Ride
PostedMay 23, 2011
Rob Marshall and his team of buccaneers tries to squeeze one more adventure on the bounty with Captain Jack Sparrow and friends. Mostly he succeeds but there are weaknesses in this latest pirate extravaganza on the high seas. First - we must remind ourselves that this entire series is based on a twenty minute ride at Disneyland - it is not based on classical literature written by Dumas or Defoe. That said the best parts of Pirates have always been the kinetic shenanigans by Captain Jack himself and the "tension" that builds between the gold-toothed captain's appearances on-screen. This is the biggest weakness in the latest installment - Captain Jack is almost always on-screen .... and often he is simply talking .... so much talking! More action, more predicaments and less on-screen Jack would have served number IV well. More mermaid back-story, more screen time for Blackbeard and more screen time for Jack's dad .... less yakity yak by Cap'n Jack .... would have made this one a 5star flick. A salty, kelp-covered rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.