TheMovieRhino's stats
- Review count647
- Helpfulness votes412
- First reviewNovember 16, 2008
- Last reviewMay 26, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.9
Overall rating
4
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5
One For The Money - Two For The Show ....
PostedJanuary 29, 2012
...and by that I mean this film is best appreciated when you go with your best buddy female friend (in my case my bride of 34 years) who happens to have read the Stephanie Plum books. My honey bunch commented during and after the movie that it stayed true to the books .... and she liked that. What I liked was some of the quirky small town humor aspects ... including the family dinner scenes and grandma scenes, etc. I also liked Katherine Heigl here much more than I have in recent movies. I liked her down hominess, her brunette hair and her down - not out & fighting back personality that she imbues the central character with. Very well done. For the genre this comedy caper movie is above average. It's not "Shakespeare" and it does not pretend to be. A date movie that will please most of the female persuasion while not being a burdensome sacrifice for their opposite sex. A rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is ....
PostedJanuary 22, 2012
... a tale of loss, grief, discovery, healing and moving forward. More than anything it is a movie that explores perceptions. There are times when the emotional "manipulation" is very "in your face & obvious" and, the truth is, I was okay with it. I was able to relax and enjoy the journey in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by accepting and embracing all of the quixotic characters in the movie (all of the characters are quirky and interesting). Yes - there are a few scenes that felt a bit "forced". Yes - the central "mystery" seems a bit overly concocted. Yes - many of the personality traits within the primary character - 11 year old Oskar Schell - (so perfectly portrayed by young first time actor Thomas Horn) seem conflicted and impossible to exist together in one young boy. All that said ... what an incredible journey the movie takes us on .... mysteries, discoveries, adventures .... and so many fascinating people ... many with a last name of Black. An Oscar worthy performance by veteran thespian Max Von Sydow .... known for his eloquent orations .... and here he does not utter one word. Amazing! Hanks, Bullock, Goodman, Viola Davis .... and all of the cast give A+ performances. Don't let critical noise or distance keep you from seeing EL&IC in a theater. It is worthy of your time & movie dollar investment. A key chain draped rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
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5
Red Tails Soars!
PostedJanuary 22, 2012
George Lucas and director Anthony Hemingway should be applauded for their WW II historical actioneer ... Red Tails! The story is mesmerizing as the USA military allows the formation of a group of all-black fighter pilots to help America and our allies defeat the Nazis in Europe. Yes - there are times that the dialogue feels a little "cookie-cutter" and there are times the action sequences seem a bit "too clean and perfect in their visual choreography" ... but the story, the historical truth of it and the overall cinematography, musical score and editing are a glorious triumph. A big kudos to all of the Red Tails crew! Magnifique! We can all feel proud of the heroic escapades of the famous Tuskegee airmen of WW II! We owe them much. A big, polished, gleaming rhino horn with a red-painted base up ... up ...up!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
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5
Underworld Awakening Might Put You To Sleep ....
PostedJanuary 22, 2012
...in this most recent incarnation of the Vampire legend. Beckinsdale is always good in her role as the rebel vampiress but I just do not get the werewolf CGI. It's horrible! It always looks so cartoonish and fake. Semi-hairless werewolves that do not look wolf-like and really do not look menacing or frightening....they actually look sick .... like werewolves on chemotherapy. Between the awful werewolf visuals and a story that cuts too many corners I just cannot recommend Underworld Awakening 3D ....this, in spite of my proclivity to look favorably on horror/monster movies (I have a soft spot for them). A fang-shaped rhino horn down.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
/
5
Haywire Gets It's Wires Crossed ....
PostedJanuary 22, 2012
.... in this action suspense movie. Gina Carano does a commendable job as the heroine the story is "wrapped around" but that does not fix the problems with dialogue, pacing, editing and within the story itself. With so many well-known A-list actors appearing in Haywire it would be easy to assume that the story would be better, the dialogue more nuanced and the film, in general, of a higher quality ... than it turns out to be. I kept thinking that director Soderbergh might be going for a 2dimensional grindhouse feel .... but it fails in this arena as well .... never going over the top as we want our fave grindhouse reels to do (as often as possible). I would give 5 stars to 4 action sequences that total about 30 minutes and the rest of the movie gets 1 star ... maybe some honorable mention stars for the interesting musical score that is intriguingly fun at times in it's incongruity. A rhino horn with some snagged barb wire dangling from it down.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
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5
The Iron Lady is Riveting - Thanks to Streep ....
PostedJanuary 15, 2012
.... who once again gives us an utterly amazing performance .... this time as Margaret Thatcher! The first 15 minutes of this film are some of the best opening 15 minutes of any movie made in the last few years .... simply on the strength of Meryl Streep's performance as a current day older Thatcher. You get a firm glimpse into Prime Minister Thatcher's personality, current life and younger life. It is subtle and so well-told. This movie is not perfect. It is not the greatest biographical movie ever made .... but it is "bloody good". What drives the film to be a must see for most adults is Streep's performance and physical transformation into "The Iron Lady". It is an astonishing combination of actress, complex and perfect makeup, script & dialogue and camera angles. The film is only lacking in showing us even more about her private life and inner governmental life...and I would have liked that. Overall "The Iron Lady" earns a rhino horn carved in granite up! My mug of stout is raised in celebration.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Joyful Noise is exactly that - "Joyful Noise"!
PostedJanuary 15, 2012
The Hollywood left and non-Christian movie critics will begin to savage this fun, church-choir oriented movie well before they lay their eyes & ears on it. It is their very nature to do this. For Christian and open-minded film buffs who do not always need something edgy and psychologically deceptive ....for most of us.....we will thoroughly enjoy the joyful noise in "Joyful Noise". It seems to get more difficult every year to make a creative, enjoyable & entertaining G, PG or PG-13 movie. Here is proof that it can be done ... and done well indeed. The story is not perfect and the dialogue can sometimes feel a bit forced .... but the music, the humor, the warmth and the story itself all get high marks. Kudos to icon Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah and the entire cast. We were laughing and tapping our feet and emotionally engaged for the entire 2 hours! It is possible that Dolly & the Queen may just be the perfect modern movie road team. The 21st century answer to Hope & Crosby! Here is hoping that they team up again...and often! A rhino horn with floating halo up ....up....up! Want to feel good? Feel good now ....and want to feel better? The answer: simply run down to your nearest cineplex and see Joyful Noise. It's a good bet it will be the "cure for what ails ya'!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Contraband Does Not Hide the fact That ...
PostedJanuary 14, 2012
... it is a movie in the escapist-suspense genre of recent well-made movies like "Taken" & "Drive", etc. A redeemed bad-boy must cross the line and do the impossible in order to save his wife and children. During his exotic endeavors things go wrong and he needs to improvise in order to survive and complete his objectives. Meanwhile, back at home, the bad guys are getting itchy & funky and begin to threaten his loved ones. Can he accomplish his impossible mission? Can he defeat the bad guys? Can he save his wife and kids? Who will live....and who will die? We go along for the ride. There are twists and turns galore. Liked the action and the musical score. Cinematography gets a C+ (could have been much better). Dialogue over does the casual F word ... especially in the beginning of the film. Script is a little loosey-goosey. Pacing a bit slow at times. Overall - TheMovieRhino says that this is an above average suspense-action flick .... perfect for adults wanting to ride a Mark Wahlberg-centric cinematic roller-coaster on a Friday or Saturday night. A "hollowed out rhino horn stuffed with smuggled diamonds" up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
2
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5
The Devil Inside "Possesses" little to recommend..
PostedJanuary 8, 2012
..seeing it. Better to grab an ice cold bottle of holy water, settle down in a comfy chair and pop in your blu-ray copy of the original "Exorcist". The truth is it will be a more worthwhile investment of your entertainment dollars and your ever-decreasing bank of leisure time to see "The Exorcist" for the umpteenth time than see "The Devil Inside" once. It's a shame that the entire movie could not live up to the suspense, effects and quality displayed in that one scene in the basement where we see the first attempt at an exorcism. That 10 minutes was not bad (better than "not bad" even) .... but 10 minutes does not a worthwhile film make. And - note to director - the shaky, hand-held camera, horror movie thing has been done a lot now and it has been done very well. It's quite boring to see it these days ....often irritating....unless there is something else original and powerful accompanying it. An alb draped rhino horn down.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
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5
Carnage Brings the Audience into the...
PostedJanuary 2, 2012
...autopsy "room from Hell" as it pertains to the relationships between two couples perfectly portrayed by some of filmdom's current top A-List actors. An original black comedy - somewhat reminiscent of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe" - we will all recognize ourselves at times and people we know and are close to ...and often at moments that are less than flattering .... sometimes completely disgusting! We laughed, cringed and shook our heads ....often at the same time. This risky adult dark comedy by Roman Polanski is worth a theater viewing. A scuffed up, in need of polishing, rhino horn up.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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