Ziti's stats
- Review count18
- Helpfulness votes3
- First reviewFebruary 19, 2009
- Last reviewJune 10, 2011
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.4
Overall rating
3
/
5
Amelia Needs A Better Flight Path
PostedOctober 25, 2009
As a female pilot myself, I wanted to love this film about the audacious aviatrix but instead found it disappointing. The production design, cinematography, costuming and actors are first-rate – Hilary Swank is an enthusiatic Amelia – but the dull, old-school script glosses over the woman's complexity and romanticizes it. For example, her Kansas girlhood and early flying life are shown only in flashback, so you miss her motivation. I got bored about halfway through.
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For truer depictions of Ms. Earhart, I recommend the 1976 TV biopic Amelia Earhart starring Susan Clark and PBS’s American Experience: Amelia Earhart – The Price of Courage.
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For truer depictions of Ms. Earhart, I recommend the 1976 TV biopic Amelia Earhart starring Susan Clark and PBS’s American Experience: Amelia Earhart – The Price of Courage.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Bravura Performance
PostedOctober 25, 2009
Aida live from the Met in the comfort of your local movie theater! What more could one want? This is a fabulous production: grand sets and staging (the second act is a stunner), evocative costuming and above all great singing. The Met Live series features superb camera work, subtitles, and backstage interviews and scenes. (Grand)parents, bring your kids to these shows. They rock!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
4
/
5
Foodie's Delight
PostedAugust 12, 2009
To make a delicious cinematic soufflé: Place two parts Nora Ephron (screenplay and direction), one part each Amy Adams and Meryl Streep, pinches of Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina with a touch of SNL into production; rehearse until smooth. Pour mixture into period sets and film until golden. Serve immediately in theaters. Bon appétit!
Warning: Do not watch if hungry. Love abundantly displayed (yay!).
The iconic Julia Child introduced French cuisine and cooking technique to America. God bless her for it. This tribute film will have you buying her seminal cookbook—and wondering if there is any role La Streep cannot play to perfection.
The audience clapped at the end. Me too. Loved it! Go see it.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
It Hurts, But Real Good
PostedAugust 5, 2009
NY Times critic A.O. Scott: “If this isn’t the best action film of the summer, then I’ll blow up my car.” Don’t.
IMO this is the definitive film about combat in Iraq and war as one soldier’s drug of choice. It’s an apolitical, intense and realistic portrait of EOD team members working under hellish conditions. (Not for children, sensitive types or first dates.)
Trust me: The Hurt Locker will be up for best picture, director, screenplay and actor (Jeremy Renner). See it now on a big screen.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
3
/
5
IMAX Yes, 3D No
PostedJuly 30, 2009
NOTE: I have seen the standard version and so have some basis of comparison.
See Harry in IMAX if you can! IMO the story is enhanced by better-revealed production design details; CGI and FX are even more startling; and the sound is spectacular. However, the 3D experience is a disappointment because it’s used only during the first 12 minutes of the film and nowhere else.
Did I miss the memo or expect too much? Was the process too expensive to include other parts of the film? Did the producers want to gauge reaction to 3D before using it more in the remaining films. Either way, I was annoyed and felt cheated by its truncated use here. Thus, the lower rating.
In summary: See Harry in IMAX but skip the 3D version if it costs more.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Harry Waves Another Magic Wand
PostedJuly 18, 2009
I really enjoyed the latest HP edition. The previous films’ ingredients – a script with wry humor, emotional appeal and dramatic suspense that’s true to the book, great sets, atmospheric cinematography, excellent FX and master-class acting by British pros – have been blended to create another potion of scary fun.
Michael Gambon is spot on as Dumbledore; Maggie Smith’s McGonagall speaks volumes with just one eyebrow; Alan Rickman as Snape is “a vulture lazily picking over entrails”; Rupert Grint shows more range with each outing as Ron; Tom Felton is growing into the role of Draco Malfoy; Frank Dillane makes Tom Riddle into an evil specter; and Evanna Lynch steals her scenes as Luna Lovegood.
Suggested: (Re)read the book before you go.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Enjoyable Childrens' Film
PostedFebruary 20, 2009
My 6 and 8-year old nieces just loved this comedy--and that's just who it's designed for. If you're an adult, just sit back and enjoy it as another cute and harmless Disney flick. Actually, there's a lot to like about the two imaginative, hard-working and resourceful teens trapped in the abysmal foster care system and their caring case worker (a classy Don Cheadle). For laughs you get dimwit wannabe rockers as foster parents (comedians Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon) and other IQ-challenged adults. And then there are all those loveable "stray" dogs to fall in love with. The ending is just fantasy but sure makes you wish the real world could be thus. Go, enjoy.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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Overall rating
5
/
5
Gran Clint
PostedFebruary 19, 2009
Another great, low-key and thought-provoking film by Eastwood. I was expecting Dirty Harry in Detroit but was charmed instead by the story's underlying tenderness and pathos. I was very moved by Clint's hardbitten, racially prejudiced Korean War vet who becomes a reluctant friend to his Hmong neighbors and then a sacrifical hero who saves them from a vicious street gang. The young Asian actors were as impressive as the star in telling their side of this deceptively simply story about the folly of prejudice. This is a film I want to add to my permanent collection.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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