Cast: Katherine Heigl (Jane Nichols), James Marsden (Kevin Doyle), Judy Greer (Casey), Malin Akerman (Tess Nichols), Edward Burns (George)
For complete info, see IMDb's 27 Dresses page.
I always thought the concept of 27 Dresses was a great one. I also thought that they had a great title for a movie about someone who was always a bridesmaid (or, in this case, always a maid of honor) and never a bride. In spite of thinking it was a cute concept, 27 Dresses pleasantly surprised me. I think this is one "chick flick" that even guys can enjoy.
The story behind 27 Dresses is clever and definitely puts a few unique spins on the standard romantic comedy. Besides, I think everyone can appreciate the fact that there have been some hideous bridesmaids dresses out there (whether they looked like they looked better at the time due to the fashion, or not). Most women have had to wear them, but everyone has been to at least one wedding where they've shuddered at the idea of the poor women having to walk down the aisle (and hang out through the entire reception) in one of those horrible dresses.
The cast is amazing and the dresses are over the top and wonderful! If you missed 27 Dresses in a theatre, I highly recommend renting it now.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, comedy, Edward Burns, James Marsden, Judy Greer, Katherine Heigl, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Julie Andrews (Narrator - voice), Amy Adams (Giselle), Patrick Dempsey (Robert Philip), James Marsden (Prince Edward), Susan Sarandon (Queen Narissa), Timothy Spall (Nathaniel), Idina Menzel (Nancy Tremaine), Rachel Covey (Morgan Philip)
For complete info, see IMDb's Enchanted page.
I wasn't sure what to expect from Enchanted. It looked really cute, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too much, even though Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz did the music and the cast was wonderful. Enchanted far exceeded my expectations of a cute Disney movie that I'd want to see once. The music is wonderful. The characters are completely lovable. Although they used aspects of almost every main Disney princess story (the apple and hag from Snow White, story book intro & ending used in many, the carriage and shoe from Cinderella, etc.), I thought the overall feel was very much like Sleeping Beauty, my favorite Disney movie. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed Enchanted so much.
I highly recommend renting Enchanted if you missed it while it was in theatres. It's on my list of movies I need to own on Blu-ray DVD (when I get a Blu-ray player) and it's one of the few movies I watched twice before returning it to Netflix.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, adventure, Amy Adams, animated, comedy, Disney, family, fantasy, Idina Menzel, James Marsden, Julie Andrews, movie, Patrick Dempsey, romance, Stephen Schwartz, Susan Sarandon
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: John Travolta (Edna Turnblad), Nikki Blonsky (Tracy Turnblad), Michelle Pfeiffer (Velma Von Tussle), Christopher Walken (Wilbur Turnblad), Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton), Zac Efron (Link Larkin), Queen Latifah (Motormouth Maybelle), James Marsden (Corny Collins), Elijah Kelley (Seeweed)
For complete info on the amazing cast and crew, see IMDb's Hairspray page.
I love musical movies and I'm very happy that the genre is thriving again. A movie based on a Broadway musical based on a movie is an amusing thought, even though they did the same thing with The Producers. The cast they chose for the Hairspray revival really could not have been better. While I agree with many who say that Harvey Fierstein should have been in the movie and is a big enough draw for the movie (Heck, did they need more of a draw? Look at the rest of the cast.), John Travolta did a wonderful job as Edna Turnblad!
The crowd at the movie theatre was ready to enjoy the movie. They were applauding at the beginning of the movie and cheered throughout the movie for some of the better scenes. It was definitely the right theatre to enjoy Hairspray, since it's such an outrageous movie.
Nikki Blonsky did a wonderful job in her first movie. I'm glad that they found the star of the movie much in the same way they found the star of the Broadway show. Tracy Turnblad being played by an amazingly talented unknown actress just seems to fit the part at this point.
They did an amazing job bringing the Broadway adaptation of the original movie back to the big screen. If you like musicals, you definitely need to see this one. Hairspray is a fun movie with a very good message.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Christopher Walken, comedy, dancing, drama, James Marsden, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, movie, musical, Nikki Blonsky, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Brandon Routh (Clark Kent/Superman), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), James Marsden (Richard White), Parker Posey (Kitty Kowalski)
For complete info, see IMDb's Superman Returns page.
Since I only saw this movie in the IMAX 3D version, so I can't comment on the regular screen versions, but seeing it from the ideal location (center of the row and not too far up) for an IMAX theatre, this movie was incredible!
I wasn't sure how to feel about a new Superman movie. The originals were favorites of mine when I was younger and I wasn't sure I was ready for them to replace Christopher Reeve or Gene Hackman.
That being said, I think this cast was amazing! The addition of Kitty Kowalski (brilliantly portrayed by Parker Posey) really pushed this movie over the top to greatness - she was the perfect comic relief! I'm surprised that Tristan Lake Leabu who played Jason White (Lois's son) has never done anything before. I think we'll see him in a lot more. He was very good!
It was nice to see that during his time away Superman really improved his costume. The material is much better now and the look is definitely far superior to the original. You can tell Louise Mingenbach took a lot of time figuring out what to do for this costume. Very well chosen design.
Of course, it will always amaze me that Superman has such a horrible cover. I wear one contact most of the time, but sometimes I wear glasses. When I do, everyone still recognizes me. Occasionally, I get the "You wear glasses?" question, but I've never had anyone ask who I am if they already know me. *sigh* But, that isn't something those who created this movie, or the original, are responsible for, so I can't knock the movie for it.
I was glad to see a couple people seem to be starting to figure out that Clark Kent just MIGHT be Superman... Perhaps someday they'll put two and two together.
I highly recommend getting to an IMAX theatre to see Superman Returns if you can, even though only 4 scenes are in 3D (which I didn't realize until we got into the theatre - I guess that's the down side of not watching TV ads or listening to the radio much). The entire movie is in IMAX and seeing Superman Returns that was is definitely the best way to go. Of course, it wasn't filmed in IMAX (which they don't tell you till the movie is starting either), but it was still amazing. Heck, I even thought seeing a non-IMAX movie on that giant screen was worth it when they've done that in the past, so I would highly recommend it even if the IMAX company wasn't involved. The quality is definitely better with IMAX, though - you can't deny that.
I'm sure Superman Returns will be in theatres for a while, but definitely make sure you catch it while it is! This is one where the special effects really make seeing it on the big screen a must!
Grade: B+
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
If you haven't seen the movie and don't want any spoilers, stop reading now.
It bothered me a bit that Superman's son was such a weak child (on an inhaler and countless other medications). But, then I thought about it a bit.... and I figured that a couple options are possible and both of them work enough for me to be okay with it.
1. He could take a while to grow into his powers. And, perhaps didn't get enough sun when he was younger to be fully healthy, since a son of Clark's would get extra energy from the sun.
2. He could be over-medicated because the doctors don't understand him. If you think about how quickly doctors toss medications at kids (look at all the kids on ADD, many of whom are probably just too advanced for their teachers or need to be moved into the next grade), and adults for that matter. I'm not saying all doctors do this, but I definitely think our society as a whole is pretty over-medicated. Since doctors probably wouldn't understand any of Jason's blood work, they would be likely to think he needed medications. And those might have even made him weaker to some extent.
I know, I over-analyze some things in movies too much. I thought the movie was wonderful!
Labels: 2006, 3D, action, adventure, comics, fantasy, IMAX, James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, movie, sci-fi
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:15 PM show | 0 screams