Cast: Steve Carell (Barry), Paul Rudd (Tim), Zach Galifianakis (Therman)
For complete info, see IMDb's Dinner for Schmucks page.
I'm a fan of Steve Carell (except in The Office, for some reason) and Paul Rudd, so I was pretty sure I'd like Dinner for Schmucks. They didn't disappoint me. I laughed a lot and was entertained throughout the very silly movie. If you like comedies (especially those with Steve Carell & Paul Rudd), I highly recommend seeing Dinner for Schmucks. It doesn't need to be seen in a theatre, since there are no special effects and it'll lose nothing on the small screen, but at least add it to your rental list.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, comedy, movie, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:05 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Dileep Rao (Yusuf), Cillian Murphy (Robert Fischer, Jr.)
For complete info, see IMDb's Inception page.
What an interesting movie! I really enjoyed Inception and I'm glad it was the first movie I saw with a D-Box motion seat synchronized with the movie. There were some scenes the seat definitely improved for me.
I did have one HUGE continuity problem with this movie, which I won't mention, since I don't want to give anything away, but I think they really dropped the ball with the ending scene. If you'd like to know more after you've seen it, contact me and I'll explain.
For the most part, I liked that Inception was a fairly complex movie that entertained and surprised me quite a bit. It's a pretty long movie (2:20), but I think most of that is necessary for setting up the story and going deep enough into the complexity of the plot. I didn't sit there wondering when the movie would end and probably wouldn't have realized how long Inception took if I didn't know it was long heading into the movie.
If you like Sci-Fi action movies, Inception is one you should definitely see in a theatre. I'd suggest going for a theatre with perfect digital clarity and D-Box motion seats or the closest IMAX theatre. I'm sure both will enhance the experience of Inception greatly.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2010, action, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, Tom Hardy
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Angelina Jolie (Evelyn Salt), Liev Schreiber (Ted Winter), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Peabody)
For complete info, see IMDb's Salt page.
If you like action movies, Salt is a good choice. It was interesting and had some great special effects. There were some good plot twists and the story was entertaining. Is it plausible? Not really, but it's a movie. Since movies are designed to help us escape from every day life for a bit, I see no reason to expect them to play by the rules of what could/should really be able to happen. Salt was enjoyable to watch. I recommend seeing it on the big screen, since the special effects are well done.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, action, Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Liev Schreiber, movie, New York, Spy, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:35 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kristen Stewart (Bella Swan), Robert Pattinson (Edward Cullen), Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black), Billy Burke (Charlie Swan), Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Twilight Saga: Eclipse page.
In ways, I think I enjoyed The Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie better than the original Twilight movie. Though I thought it was horrible that they recast the role of Victoria, I do think Bryce Dallas Howard did a much better job as Victoria. Also, they clearly spent a lot more money on the special effects for New Moon and Eclipse than they did the original movie. Since they followed the story of the book as well (if not better), the result was definitely a more enjoyable movie.
They did a great job with the story and didn't leave out as many key components as they seemed to in the first movie. I'm really looking forward to the Breaking Dawn movie when they release that. If they do as well with that movie, it should be amazing.
If you like the Twilight series, you've probably already seen this movie, but if not, see it soon. It'll probably leave most IMAX theatres this weekend when Inception is released. So many more movies are being released in IMAX these days. They're clearly trying to get to people like me who don't see many movies in theatres that aren't released in IMAX and/or 3D.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, Anna Kendrick, Ashley Greene, drama, fantasy, IMAX, Kristen Stewart, movie, Robert Pattinson, romance, sci-fi, Stephenie Meyer, Taylor Lautner
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear), Joan Cusack (Jessie), Ned Beatty (Lotso)
For complete info, see IMDb's Toy Story 3 page.
I'm a huge fan of Pixar, so I'll see anything they do as soon as possible on the big screen. Naturally, I had to see Toy Story 3 in IMAX 3D while it was still available, which didn't give us much time before Eclipse opened.
Toy Story is one of my favorite animated movies and I enjoyed Toy Story 2, but Toy Story 3 was the only one of the series that got me to tear up near the end. I liked Toy Story 3 more than the second movie and will definitely be there for Toy Story 4 if they make it.
I know John Lasseter will never allow them to make a Toy Story movie without a great story and Toy Story 3 definitely lived up to my expectations. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend checking it out. Pixar knows how to make animated movies adults will enjoy as much as kids and they're keeping that tradition alive with Toy Story 3.
Grade: A
Labels: 2010, adventure, animated, comedy, Disney, family, Joan Cusack, movie, Pixar, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:21 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Liam Neeson (Hannibal), Bradley Cooper (Lt. Templeton 'Faceman' Peck), Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (B.A. Baracus), Sharlto Copley (Murdock), Jessica Biel (Charisa Sosa)
For complete info, see IMDb's The A-Team page.
I was a big fan of the television show The A-Team, so I was pretty excited when they said they were making a movie out of it. I pictured all they could do with the budget of a blockbuster film and thought it could be a lot of fun to watch. The movie didn't disappoint me.
The special effects were well done, the story was decent, and the cast was wonderful. I definitely recommend seeing The A-Team in a theatre if you like movies with good special effects and enjoyed the television show. They did a very good job with the story and I hope they'll make another. I'd definitely be ready to see a sequel.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, action, adventure, Bradley Cooper, drama, Jessica Biel, Liam Neeson, movie, suspense
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:55 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Amanda Seyfried (Sophie), Vanessa Redgrave (Claire), Vanessa Redgrave (Charlie), Gael Garcia Bernal (Victor)
For complete info, see the IMDb Letters to Juliet page.
I haven't read the book and I don't think I will, though it's probably better than the movie. Letters to Juliet was pretty much what I expected - a typical chick flick. I enjoyed it for the most part. The music was good, the cast is really good, it's a sweet concept. The movie was a bit too predictable (and not just the main story line - I knew that would be completely predictable). So many times when a character walked into the room you knew they'd end up doing something that was clearly set up by the scene and that got a little annoying by the end of the movie.
Still, if you like romantic comedies, I'd recommend renting Letters to Juliet, which is what I would have done if I hadn't had a girls night out and ended up seeing it in a theatre with friends.
Grade: B
Reviewed by Kat at the 5:10 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Moya Angela (Effie Melody White), Syesha Mercado (Deena Jones), Chester Gregory (James "Thunder" Early), Chaz Lamar Shepherd (Curtis Taylor, Jr.)
For complete info, check out the Dreamgirls website.
I'd never seen Dreamgirls live before. I knew the music and had seen the movie, but hadn't seen the live show. The most important thing in Dreamgirls for me is that Effie has a great voice, since And I am Telling You I'm Not Going is my favorite song from the show. I thought Moya Angela did well, but I definitely wasn't wowed by her performance.
Judging by the reaction in the crowd, a lot of people were really impressed with Chester Gregory. I think he played the character well enough, but his performance didn't blow me over. The story of Dreamgirls, loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes, is fairly interesting, though it's not super gripping. If you want a lively and highly exciting show, this is probably not it. However, the music is really good and the cast of the touring production does a good job, so if you haven't seen Dreamgirls it's worth checking it out on tour. If you have, you can probably skip this one.
Grade: C+
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Mia Wasikowska (Alice), Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen), Anne Hathaway (White Queen)
For complete info, see the IMDb Alice in Wonderland page.
I love Tim Burton, but perhaps I had heard too many good things about this Alice in Wonderland. I'm glad I didn't spend a ton of money to see it in IMAX 3D. Seeing it in 3D was nice and there are parts of the movie that are visually stunning, but it wasn't nearly as good as I expected from Tim Burton. Wonderland gave him so many opportunities to shine - perhaps I expect too much of Tim Burton at this point. I'm a huge fan of his work, so maybe I needed to look at the movie a bit differently.
I like what they did with the story and found it interesting. The cast was great, of course, and it's definitely worth seeing this Alice in Wonderland in 3D if you like 3D movies. If not, renting it would work, too.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2010, adventure, Anne Hathaway, comedy, family, fantasy, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast Elizabeth Stanley (Clio/Kira), Max Von Essen (Sonny), & Larry Marshall (Danny Maguire, Zeus)
For complete info, see the official Xanadu on Broadway website.
Xanadu is just a fun musical. They added more plot than the movie had, yet it's still a short one act musical that's fun to enjoy. The music is still great and the tour cast is very good. Larry Marshall made Danny Maguire/Zeus much more enjoyable to watch. I'm a big fan of Kerry Butler, so I don't think anyone could live up to her performance, but Elizabeth Stanley does a great job. Max Von Essen also does well as Sonny, though Cheyenne Jackson seemed to fit perfectly in that part, in spite of the fact that he wasn't originally supposed to play Sonny on Broadway.
If you get a chance to see the show and you enjoyed the music from the musical, it's a lot of fun and a nice light musical night out. :-)
Grade: B-
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:30 PM show | 0 screams