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: Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw), Cynthia Nixon (Miranda Hobbes), Kristin Davis (Charlotte York), Kim Cattrall (Samantha Jones), Chris Noth (Mr. Big), Jennifer Hudson (Louise), David Eigenberg (Steve Brady), Evan Handler (Harry Goldenblatt), Jason Lewis (Jerry 'Smith' Jerrod)
For complete information, see IMDb's Sex and the City page.
This movie was really well done! I thought that Sarah Jessica Parker wouldn't do a Sex and the City movie if it wasn't a good story that did justice to the amazing show. Fortunately, I was right. My faith in her was well placed.
I think this was a wonderfully done movie. I didn't need to see it in a theatre, which I knew before seeing it. I had planned to see something like the new Indiana Jones movie or Iron Man. Something where the special effects and action sequences will be so much better on the big screen. I ended up seeing Sex and the City instead because of the timing and I really enjoyed it.
Every woman will probably see her best friend doing a few things during this movie. At one point, I just thought "James would totally do that for me!" It warmed my heart, made me tear up in a few points, reminded me why I loved having HBO while Sex and the City was on TV.
You don't need to see this in a theatre, but if you're going out with the girls, it'd be a fun part of a night out. I definitely recommend renting this movie when it comes out in theatres. Even if you didn't see the TV show, they recap enough at the beginning that you probably won't feel as attached to the characters, but you'll know who they are and where we left them at the end of the TV show.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, comedy, Cynthia Nixon, Jennifer Hudson, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, movie, romance, Sarah Jessica Parker
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:20 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jamie Foxx (Curtis Taylor Jr.), Beyonce Knowles (Deena Jones), Eddie Murphy (James 'Thunder' Early), Danny Glover (Marty Madison)
For complete information, see IMDb's Dreamgirls page.
I was excited about the Dreamgirls movie being made, since I'd never seen the musical, but knew many of the songs well. When I heard about the initial casting (Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Anika Noni Rose, ...), I thought they were doing a great job. Then, they mentioned Eddie Murphy (who I normally avoid as much as possible) and I thought they'd ruined the movie. Fortunately, Eddie Murphy plays a character that you're meant to hate, so it works out okay. He's also got a decent singing voice and (for the most part) doesn't do too many of the things I associate with Eddie Murphy on film.
Beyonce Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Sharon Leal, Danny Glover, and the rest of the cast are amazing. The costumes and wigs are perfect! I can't compare this to the original show, but from what I've heard of it, they did a great job.
It's nice to see some movie musicals doing really well (the theatre we were in was PACKED). I hope this trend continues, since it's a way for the whole country to enjoy a show even if they can't get to Broadway and shows rarely tour in their city.
If you like musicals, go see this! If not, you might want to wait for it to come out on DVD, but you'll still enjoy the show.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2006, Beyonce Knowles, dancing, drama, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, movie, musical
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:50 PM show | 0 screams