Moviemaeve's stats
- Review count49
- Helpfulness votes5
- First reviewApril 7, 2008
- Last reviewDecember 9, 2012
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating3.6
Overall rating
2
/
5
Russian History Revisited
PostedDecember 9, 2012
Moviemaeve
from San Diego, CA
Age:55 to 64
Gender:Female
Goes to the movies:weekly
Dialogue
2
/
5
Special Effects
4
/
5
Art Direction
4
/
5
Acting
3
/
5
Story
2
/
5
Camerawork
4
/
5
I LOVE this story, and really disliked this movie. I found the whole theatric setting confusing and unsettling, and found it difficult to skip between two stories. I did, however, love the costumes and consider the cost of the ticket just worth the feast for my eyes. Now, I owe my husband big time for sitting through this!
Cons too complex
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
1
/
5
"Master of WHAT?"
PostedSeptember 23, 2012
Moviemaeve
from San Diego, CA
Age:55 to 64
Gender:Female
Goes to the movies:weekly
Dialogue
1
/
5
Special Effects
1
/
5
Art Direction
2
/
5
Acting
4
/
5
Story
1
/
5
Camerawork
1
/
5
The. Worst. Movie. Ever.
Boring, too long, slurred unintelligent dialogue.
Fantasy scenes of sex, masturbation to try to hold one's interest; it fails miserably.
Save your money.
End of story.
Oh, one more thing. A monumental waste of great actors. They did a good job; just really, really, bad boring material.
Boring, too long, slurred unintelligent dialogue.
Fantasy scenes of sex, masturbation to try to hold one's interest; it fails miserably.
Save your money.
End of story.
Oh, one more thing. A monumental waste of great actors. They did a good job; just really, really, bad boring material.
Pros great actors
Cons slow
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Vanilla Ice Cream Cone with a cherry on top
PostedJuly 21, 2012
Moviemaeve
from San Diego, CA
Age:55 to 64
Gender:Female
Goes to the movies:weekly
Dialogue
5
/
5
Special Effects
2
/
5
Art Direction
5
/
5
Acting
5
/
5
Story
5
/
5
Camerawork
5
/
5
This was just the BEST movie. We had a major event going on in our big city which was impacting traffic, so we decided to go to the little local art house theater. We were SO happy we chose this movie. A warm, heartfelt story about a down-and-out handicapped writer, who has faced writer's block for the last several years, and his fledgling and then firm friendship with a family of "ladies", a newly divorced woman and her 3 daughters. We watch this lonely, bitter man turn away from the whiskey bottle and his sad memories, and learn to embrace life all over again. And believe me, he learned as much from those 3 daughters and their mother as they learned from him. Just a beautiful story. Go. Run. I hope it's showing in your city and it becomes the sleeper of the summer of 2012. Just what we need after the violence of this weekend.
Pros well paced, great story, great actors
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
3
/
5
Artistic Indeed
PostedFebruary 4, 2012
This is a beautiful movie; an homage to times past. The acting, the dancing were superb. Uggy, the dog, was especially appealing, in fact, he was the best part of the movie.
Now, the detraction of a silent movie: the man across the aisle who munched on his popcorn and rattled the paper bag throughout the movie. So you see, there IS a good reason for dialogue and music and noise.
Sarcasm aside, this movie held my interest MOST of the time. It dragged at times, and there were moments I sincerely wished it would end. But at the actual end, the movie had heart. It had love. It showed us what cinema was, once upon a time. No, I wouldn't want to go back there, but I did enjoy my brief interlude of silence. Now, back to the talkies!
Now, the detraction of a silent movie: the man across the aisle who munched on his popcorn and rattled the paper bag throughout the movie. So you see, there IS a good reason for dialogue and music and noise.
Sarcasm aside, this movie held my interest MOST of the time. It dragged at times, and there were moments I sincerely wished it would end. But at the actual end, the movie had heart. It had love. It showed us what cinema was, once upon a time. No, I wouldn't want to go back there, but I did enjoy my brief interlude of silence. Now, back to the talkies!
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Grievous feelings
PostedJanuary 22, 2012
"Extremely Loud...". This movie delivered, although it was not at all what I expected. I remember sitting through the previews, over and over, thinking, "What kind of mother lets her 12 year old child run all over NY City, unsupervised?" I mean, yes, everyone is grieving, but it just didn't make sense, such a lapse of judgment. However, this is answered very succinctly in the last 30 minutes of the film.
Many reviews mention the lack of Bullock's and Hanks' presence in the film. Well, this is the story of this little boy with a devastating loss and a devastating secret, rushing to find solution in the only way he knows. Obviously this is a unique child who does not think like ordinary little children, and so reacts to this grievous situation in a very unique fashion. I did not find it to be the tear jerker I anticipated it to be. I think back to the actual day of 9/11 and can still get upset about it, but this movie actually downplayed the actual event, rather bring it back to our memories only through nuances and actions of the characters.
All in all, a must-see movie. Great characters, great acting equals a great movie.
Many reviews mention the lack of Bullock's and Hanks' presence in the film. Well, this is the story of this little boy with a devastating loss and a devastating secret, rushing to find solution in the only way he knows. Obviously this is a unique child who does not think like ordinary little children, and so reacts to this grievous situation in a very unique fashion. I did not find it to be the tear jerker I anticipated it to be. I think back to the actual day of 9/11 and can still get upset about it, but this movie actually downplayed the actual event, rather bring it back to our memories only through nuances and actions of the characters.
All in all, a must-see movie. Great characters, great acting equals a great movie.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
WOW!
PostedJanuary 15, 2012
I'll say what so many others have said about this "bio" of an amazing woman: "WOW". First of all, Meryl Streep IS Margaret Thatcher. It was uncanny, how she not only changed her accent and speech mannerisms, she totally immersed her appearance so one really had to look and think, "Is that really Meryl Streep?" I'll be a parrot here, and throw in my expectation that she will be nominated for an Academy Award.
The movie itself was wonderful. It would be impossible to turn a memoir of a living person into a 2 hour movie and not leave some things out. I think they did a great job of laying the ground work for those of us who did not know the back story: daughter of grocers, father's career and life in politics. Some things that were NOT said were captured in nuances, such as the scene where she tells her parents she's been accepted into Oxford. Her father embraces her, her mother turns her back and continues to wash dishes.
Yes, I will agree with many: there was too much time devoted to the tragedies of dementia. I walked away from the movie not liking all of her strong politics, telling my husband that if she were current today in America's politics, she'd be a Tea Party Advocate. But overall, this movie is a must-see, both from a historical and emotional viewpoint of a magnificent character.
The movie itself was wonderful. It would be impossible to turn a memoir of a living person into a 2 hour movie and not leave some things out. I think they did a great job of laying the ground work for those of us who did not know the back story: daughter of grocers, father's career and life in politics. Some things that were NOT said were captured in nuances, such as the scene where she tells her parents she's been accepted into Oxford. Her father embraces her, her mother turns her back and continues to wash dishes.
Yes, I will agree with many: there was too much time devoted to the tragedies of dementia. I walked away from the movie not liking all of her strong politics, telling my husband that if she were current today in America's politics, she'd be a Tea Party Advocate. But overall, this movie is a must-see, both from a historical and emotional viewpoint of a magnificent character.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Inspiring
PostedJanuary 8, 2012
This movie, "We Bought a Zoo", was FANTASTIC!! We had seen previews for this many, many times, being big movie goers, and I was really lukewarm about seeing it. I thought it would be overacted by the little girl, maudlin, and - I mean, how the heck does one buy a zoo?! Since it was hubby's choice, though, off we went. And I'm so glad we did. As many people have said in other reviews, this is definitely a family movie. My grandchildren are 6 and under, and would not enjoy this at all, since they would not understand the story line. Kids from about 10 on, though, would definitely see the magic of this story. The family ties, the loss, the slow gaining of trust between father and son.
Oh. And I mentioned how I thought the little girl would be over-acted? Not at all. She is just an endearing little girl, and they take great care to be sure she's not too cutesy.
This is based, loosely, on a true story. I looked it up on Google after we saw this, and there are many, many different things going on here, first of all, the location of the actual zoo is in England, and this zoo is in Southern California, the family ties in the "real" story are very different, but what the hey, they made a great movie! Thank you, Cameron Crow and your whole crew, and thank you, Benjamin Mee, for taking this extraordinary step with your family.
Oh. And I mentioned how I thought the little girl would be over-acted? Not at all. She is just an endearing little girl, and they take great care to be sure she's not too cutesy.
This is based, loosely, on a true story. I looked it up on Google after we saw this, and there are many, many different things going on here, first of all, the location of the actual zoo is in England, and this zoo is in Southern California, the family ties in the "real" story are very different, but what the hey, they made a great movie! Thank you, Cameron Crow and your whole crew, and thank you, Benjamin Mee, for taking this extraordinary step with your family.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
A Dead Bore
PostedDecember 31, 2011
Silence. Umbrella. An address on a building. Nuanced pauses in speech. Is this how the book "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was written? I didn't read it, so I don't know. I do know, however, that I was really confused by this movie. It did keep me on the edge of my seat....guessing who was who, what they were doing, who was bad, who was good. The first half of the movie was total confusion. Only after about the first hour, when a REASON for the fall in Budapest comes out, does the movie begin to make any sense. I wish I had seen War Horse. At least it's about a war that had clear good and bad characters. End result: don't waste your money unless you like being totally confused.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
1
/
5
Dunk it in the trash bin!
PostedNovember 22, 2011
At the end of the movie, Al Pacino takes serious offense to something, telling Adam Sandler's character to destroy every take, every copy, every hint that this ever existed. That's what they should have done with this movie. Bad, bad, bad. What were they thinking? I can't believe I spent $11 to see this. Thank God I slept through part of it. I seriously do not think I could have sat through the whole movie. Do NOT waste your money. Do NOT even bother seeing it on Netflix, or whatever you use for renting movies at a later date. Just be warned.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Overall rating
2
/
5
Sleepy
PostedNovember 13, 2011
First of all, in the movie's defense, I worked all day. That equals "tired". But, having said that, I had a hard time keeping my eyes open throughout periods of this movie. I found myself drifting into sleep constantly, and was confused by the seemingly seamless morphing of the flashbacks that were throughout this movie. The makeup on the actor playing Tolson was horrific; a plain old horror mask would have sufficed rather than the hours they probably spent making him up. I'm certainly old enough to remember parts of the reign of J Edgar Hoover, but have to confess that all these litte hidden nuances about his sexuality and stuttering were new to me. Maybe I'd have preferred ignorance. This was not a favorite movie for me. I think my husband liked it much more than I did; maybe it's more of a guy's movie with all the shoot 'em up and references to the violence of the earlier part of last century. And I read one review that hit that proverbial nail on the head: Unless a younger person is a history buff, or you're of a certain age, J Edgar Hoover may not be even a recognizable name anymore. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.
No, I do not recommend this movie.
Share:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.