Cast: Kare Hedebrant (Oskar) & Lina Leandersson (Eli)
For complete info, see IMDb's Let the Right One In page.
I doubt I would have known about this movie if a friend didn't tell me I should see it and even if I had found out about it, I probably would have avoided it, since it looks too violent. There were definitely scenes where I wished they were speaking English or Spanish so I could close my eyes and still understand what they were saying, but most of the movie wasn't too gory.
The story of Let the Right One In is very interesting and only overly predictable in one area (which I won't mention). The cast is good and the story of a vampire that concentrates on the issues of trying to exist in society without concentrating on the sexual aspect is refreshing.
I definitely recommend renting Let the Right One In.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, drama, fantasy, foreign, horror, movie, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clint Eastwood (Walt Kowalski), Bee Vang (Thao Vang Lor), Ahney Her (Sue Lor)
For complete info, see IMDb's Gran Torino page.
Clint Eastwood always makes amazing choices when he directs movies, so I wanted to see this in a theatre, but didn't get around to it. I was shocked when Gran Torino didn't get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture or at least Best Director. I'm even more shocked now that I've seen it. I wonder what Clint Eastwood did to upset the Academy members.
If you haven't seen Gran Torino, I highly recommend renting it. This movie about a completely racist Korean War vet is amazingly touching. I never thought I could watch a movie where the main character is so prejudiced and end up caring about him. The cast of Gran Torino is wonderful and Clint Eastwood did a great job.
Grade: A
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Asa Butterfield (Bruno), Zac Mattoon O'Brien (Leon), Domonkos Nemeth (Martin), Henry Kingsmill (Karl)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas page.
I don't want to give anything about this movie away, so I won't say much about it. My aunt told me to see this and that it was pretty depressing (so not a great movie to watch right before bed). She was completely right on both counts.
This movie is about a young boy who befriends a Jewish boy across the fence from him in a concentration camp. It's very moving and (as with all movies from this time in history) very sad. I definitely recommend renting this and watching it during the daytime when you can watch something cheery or do something fun afterwards to take your mind off of the disturbing movie.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, concentration camps, drama, Holocaust, movie, suspense, war, WWII
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Neil Patrick Harris (Billy), Nathan Fillion (Captain Hammer), Felicia Day (Penny)
For complete info, see IMDb's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog page.
I had heard a lot of wonderful things about Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and I love Joss Whedon and the cast, so I was very excited about seeing it. I didn't realize that it was free online or I would have seen it a long time ago. I had it first on my Netflix list as soon as it was coming out and had to wait a while for it because of the timing and my trip. Now, I have it on my Amazon.com list and will buy it the next time I place an order on Amazon.com.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is wonderful! It's classic Joss Whedon and the cast is amazing! It's so funny and witty. Even if you don't enjoy musicals, I think you'd enjoy the blog for the humor. It's wonderfully done. If you missed this, watch it online, rent it, or buy the DVD now. The tunes are catchy and the plot is perfectly ridiculous. I bought the soundtrack almost immediately after watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog the first time. One of the commentary tracks is even sung. Incredibly entertaining and a lot of fun.
Grade: A
Labels: 2008, comedy, drama, Felicia Day, Joss Whedon, musical, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 1 screams
Cast: Owen Wilson (John Grogan) & Jennifer Aniston (Jennifer Grogan)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Marley & Me page.
I read the book Marley & Me before seeing the movie, since I tend to prefer the books to movies. I think they did a good job selecting what to keep and what to cut out of the movie of Marley & Me. Clearly, not everything from the book could make the cut, but I think they did a very good job with the story. I was a bit surprised that they made John someone who hadn't had a dog before, but I can understand cutting out the sad opening of the book. I don't think that would work as well in the movie - especially the way it was marketed for the holidays.
If you enjoyed the book and are willing to accept that changes have to be made when making a movie, I think you'll like the movie. If you haven't read the book, Marley & Me is definitely a good heartwarming movie and well worth renting.
Grade: B
Labels: 2008, animals, book, comedy, drama, family, Jennifer Aniston, movie, Owen Wilson, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button), Cate Blanchett (Daisy)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button page.
This movie about a man (Benjamin Button) aging in reverse was more interesting than it sounded to me initially. I really only rented it, since Brad Pitt & Cate Blanchett were in the cast and they normally make good choices. Some of the aspects of aging in reverse were done differently than I expected and at times they made choices that seemed to contradict with the idea. However, the story was well done and if you're going to buy into the idea of someone aging in reverse, why not buy into the parts that may not make complete sense?
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is worth renting if you missed it in a thetare.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, drama, fantasy, movie, mystery, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Will Smith (Ben Thomas), Rosario Dawson (Emily Posa), Woody Harrelson (Ezra Turner), Michael Ealy (Ben's Brother)
For complete info, see IMDb's Seven Pounds page.
The only thing I really knew about Seven Pounds before seeing it was that it looked pretty sad at times and was starring Will Smith & Rosario Dawson. That was enough for me. I'd see Will Smith in almost anything. He rarely seems to make bad choices when it comes to movies. Seven Pounds was no exception to this rule. I can't say too much about the movie without spoiling parts of it, but Seven Pounds is definitely very sad at times. It's inspirational, but not a happy film. I highly recommend renting it if you didn't see Seven Pounds in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, drama, movie, Rosario Dawson, Will Smith, Woody Harrelson
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dakota Fanning (Lily Owens), Queen Latifah (August Boatwright), Jennifer Hudson (Rosaleen Daise), Alicia Keys (June Boatwright), Sophie Okonedo (May Boatwright), Paul Bettany (T. Ray Owens), Tristan Wilds (Zach Taylor)
For complete info see IMDb's The Secret Life of Bees page.
I really enjoyed the book The Secret Life of Bees and was happy when I heard the cast announcements, since they got an amazing cast. I figured that the cast wouldn't have signed on to do the movie if they hadn't done a good job.
I think they did a wonderful job making The Secret Life of Bees into a movie. If you liked the book, I think you'll enjoy the movie. If you didn't read the book, you may enjoy it a bit more, since you won't already have a certain picture in your mind that the movie might not match. Personally, I think they chose the cast very well and did a great job with making the book into a movie.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, adaptation, Alicia Keys, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, movie, Paul Bettany, Queen Latifah
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dustin Hoffman (Harvey Shine), Emma Thompson (Kate Walker), Eileen Atkins (Maggie Walker), Kathy Baker (Jean), Liane Balaban (Susan)
For complete info, see IMDb's Last Chance Harvey page.
Dustin Hoffman & Emma Thompson are wonderful in this movie. It's a very touching story about a man whose life is falling apart until he finds someone who turns his life upside down. You definitely miss nothing by seeing this on the small screen, since it's all about the relationships. Traveling to London for a wedding from America is stressful any time, but when it's for your daughter's wedding and she seems closer to her step father, I think the trip would push almost anyone to the edge.
I definitely recommend renting Last Chance Harvey if you missed it in a theatre.
Grade: B
Labels: 2008, drama, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kathy Baker, London, movie, romance, weddings
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Meryl Streep (Sister Aloysius Beauvier), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Father Brendan Flynn), Amy Adams (Sister James), Viola Davis (Mrs. Miller)
For complete info, see IMDb's Doubt page.
I thought the play was great, so when I heard they were making Doubt into a movie, I was a little concerned. Fortunately, the author of the play (John Patrick Shanley) also wrote the screenplay and made sure that they stuck to his original idea. The movie was very well done. Definitely not a happy subject, but if you're in the mood for a drama, I highly recommend this play. It's a great play and they did a good job taking it from stage to screen. The cast is amazing and they used their locations well.
Grade A-
Labels: 2008, Amy Adams, Best Play, drama, Meryl Streep, movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman, play
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:15 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: John Travolta (Bolt), Miley Cyrus (Penny), Susie Essman (Mittens), Mark Walton (Rhino)
For complete info, see IMDb's Bolt page.
Bolt is the best non-Pixar animated movie I've seen released in years. This is by far the best Disney animated movie created for a long time. Having seen some of the really horrible animated movies Disney has released in the last few years, I was amazed at how well Bolt was done! It's clear that John Lasseter (head honcho of Pixar, now running all of Disney's animation department) is having a positive effect on Disney's Animation Studios. The only animated movies I've seen in a theatre in recent years are all the Pixar movies (the last one being WALL-E). If this is a sign of things to come from Disney, I may occasionally see a regular Disney animated movie in a movie theatre now. A couple years ago, I would have never thought I could think a Disney movie made without Pixar would be worth putting near the top of my rental queue, let alone seeing it on the big screen.
Bolt is a great story, it's well animated, they have amazing voice talents... It's definitely a must see movie. If you missed Bolt in theatres (and I don't blame you, Disney's animated movies had been horrible lately), rent it and enjoy. Thankfully, Bolt was released on Blu-ray, so the quality of watching it at home is better than many movie theatres would have had.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2008, animated, comedy, Disney, family, fantasy, John Lasseter, John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dev Patel (Jamal K. Malik), Anil Kapoor (Prem Kumar), Freida Pinto (Latika)
For complete info, see IMDb's Slumdog Millionaire site.
If you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet and it's not on your rental list, you should add it. There is definitely a reason it won so many awards. I'm still not sure I'm happy about it winning best song, but I can understand the Academy voters getting caught up in the movie. It's definitely not a movie you need to see on a big screen (in fact, some of the scenes made me pretty happy I was seeing the movie on a smaller screen than theatres offer) and it's a very well done story about an average guy trying to reconnect with the woman of his dreams. The story is very well done and the acting is amazing. Everyone in the movie is sure to get a big boost for their acting careers.
Be sure to watch the credits. They were just as good as the movie (in fact, I watched them twice).
Grade: A-
Labels: 2008, crime, Dev Patel, drama, Freida Pinto, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Queen Latifah (Nina Brewster), Diane Keaton (Bridget Cardigan), Katie Holmes (Jackie Truman), Ted Danson (Don Cardigan)
For complete info, see IMDb's Mad Money site.
This movie was more enjoyable than I expected. I like the cast a lot, but the previews I saw didn't look interesting enough. It definitely wasn't worth seeing in a theatre, but I'm glad I bothered to watch it with Netflix instant (isn't that a great feature?). Mad Money isn't something you need to see in high definition, so you can just watch it online and skip making sure you get it in Blu-ray format, but it's an enjoyable comedy with a great cast. Definitely worth adding to the queue if it's not there already.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2008, comedy, Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes, movie, Queen Latifah
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Meg Ryan (Mary Haines), Annette Bening (Sylvia Fowler), Eva Mendes (Crystal Allen), Debra Messing (Edie Cohen), Jada Pinkett Smith (Alex Fisher)
For complete list, see IMDb's The Women page.
The Women was a movie I was torn about watching. On one hand, it has a cast that is mostly full of amazing actresses. On the other hand, Meg Ryan is in it. To say I'm not a fan of Meg Ryan's is putting it mildly. I tend to try to avoid her in movies. The rest of the cast (Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, etc.) are women I tend to like in movies.
Perhaps I enjoyed this movie, since part of me was expecting the worst. However, I thought the movie was well done and I enjoyed it. I'm glad I rented it and didn't bother to see it in a theatre, but I'd say that The Women is definitely worth renting. The relationships between the women could have been displayed a bit better, but the movie was well done overall.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2008, Annette Bening, comedy, Debra Messing, drama, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meg Ryan, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Anne Hathaway (Kym), Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel), Mather Zickel (Kieran)
For complete info, see IMDb's Rachel Getting Married page.
Anne Hathaway and the many nominations for Rachel Getting Married got my attention and I was glad I got it quickly from Netflix. It's definitely a dark movie, so you have to be in the mood for a bit of a rough ride, but Rachel Getting Married is very well done. The cast is amazing and the story is very well done and very realistic.
I highly recommend renting Rachel Getting Married. There's a reason it was nominated so many times.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Anne Hathaway, drama, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Hugh Jackman (Drover), Nicole Kidman (Lady Sarah Ashley), Brandon Walters (Nullah)
For complete info, see IMDb's Australia page.
Though I enjoyed Australia, there's definitely a reason it didn't garner any Oscar nominations and didn't do amazingly well in theatres. When they refer to Australia as an epic film, they refer as much to it dragging on in some parts as they do to the amazing scenes with wonderful imagery.
I've seen longer movies (Braveheart and Hamlet come to mind), but I don't know that I've looked at the time remaining in a film that many times before. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Australia more if I'd been in a theatre environment, though the overall ratings on Yahoo don't really suggest that others did.
I think Australia is definitely worth renting and I'm glad I rented it in Blu-ray. However, I'm no longer sad about having missed it in a movie theatre. I think it was destined to be a rental and it works well there.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2008, adventure, drama, Hugh Jackman, movie, Nicole Kidman, war, western
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Robert De Niro (Ben), Bruce Willis (Actor), Stanley Tucci (Scott Solomon), John Turturro (Dick Bell), Kristen Stewart (Zoe), Robin Wright Penn (Kelly), Sean Penn (Himself)
For complete info, see IMDb's What Just Happened page.
Considering the fact that great actors like Sean Penn & Robin Wright Penn played fairly minor roles in this movie, I was really surprised at how much What Just Happened disappointed me. Perhaps, I should have known it wouldn't be very good, since they chose not to put the question mark on the end and leave "What Just Happened" looking like a statement, rather than the question "What" makes the sentence.
I'd say skip this one, or at least put it low on your Netflix list. I watched the whole thing, but if I hadn't had other things to keep me busy, I probably wouldn't have bothered.
Grade: C-
Labels: 2008, Bruce Willis, comedy, drama, Kristen Stewart, movie, Robert DeNiro, Robin Wright Penn, Sean Penn, Stanley Tucci
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Cruise (Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg), Kenneth Branagh (Major-General Henning von Tresckow), Bill Nighy (General Friedrich Olbricht), Tom Wilkinson (General Friedrich Fromm)
For complete info, see IMDb's Valkyrie page.
World War II dramas have always interested me and Valkyrie is very well done. I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but he did a very good job in this movie. The rest of the cast is also wonderful. In spite of all the information available and the many documentaries, I didn't know much about this particular plot to stop Hitler, so I found Valkyrie very informative and entertaining. I definitely recommend renting this movie if you don't catch it in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Bill Nighy, drama, history, Kenneth Branagh, movie, thriller, Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:25 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keira Knightley (Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire), Ralph Fiennes (Duke of Devonshire), Dominic Cooper (Charles Grey), Hayley Atwell (Bess Foster)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Duchess page.
I really like Keira Knightley & Ralph Fiennes and enjoy period pieces, so I was looking forward to The Duchess. The cast is amazing, the costumes and sets are wonderful, and the story is very interesting. If you like period films, I highly recommend The Duchess. If not, I doubt you'd even consider it, but you should probably stay away. It's really amazing when you think about what women had to go through back then. Movies based on true stories are always interesting to me and this one is very well done. If you missed it in a theatre, I highly recommend renting it.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Dominic Cooper, drama, Hayley Atwell, history, Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Steve Carell (Maxwell Smart/Agent 86), Anne Hathaway (Agent 99), Dwayne Johnson (Agent 23), Alan Arkin (The Chief)
For complete info, see IMDb's Get Smart page.
I loved the TV show, so I was a little wary about the Get Smart movie. The fact that The Pink Panther was so horribly done made me even more cautious. I didn't get around to seeing Get Smart in a theatre, but it worked out really well. I got to watch it with my dad (who had introduced me to the Get Smart TV show). Both of us really enjoyed the movie. They did a very good job bringing this movie to the big screen. They kept the all the quirky aspects of Get Smart that I loved and I appreciate that. Steve Carell did a great job as Maxwell Smart - the whole cast was well chosen.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, action, adventure, Anne Hathaway, comedy, crime, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, movie, mystery, romance, Steve Carell
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:00 PM show | 0 screams