Cast: Cameron Diaz (Amanda), Kate Winslet (Iris), Jude Law (Graham), Jack Black (Miles)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Holiday page.
Jack black in a movie that has so many serious moments? Who would have guessed? In spite of that choice (great for the comic moments, sometimes not believable in the serious parts), I really enjoyed The Holiday. I thought it was a very entertaining and sweet story.
This story about women who are running away from their personal and professional lives and who find love where they least expect it is well worth watching. I definitely recommend renting The Holiday if you missed it in theatres.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2006, Cameron Diaz, comedy, drama, Edward Burns, Jack Black, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kate Winslet (Sarah Pierce), Patrick Wilson (Brad Adamson), Jennifer Connelly (Kathy Adamson), Jackie Earle Haley (Ronnie J. McGorvey), Gregg Edelman (Richard Pierce), Sadie Goldstein (Lucy Pierce), Ty Simpkins (Aaron Adamson)
For complete info, see IMDb's Little Children page.
Now that I've seen Little Children, I'm upset that Babel won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture instead of Little Children. I still think The Departed deserved to win for Best Picture, but I thought Little Children was quite a bit better than Babel. I also think Jackie Earle Haley deserved to win best Actor in a Supporting Role, since he was really amazing in this movie.
The documentary styled voice-over in Little Children is pretty bizarre and it took me a little time to get used to the way Little Children was narrated. However, I think the concept worked very well for the movie, since Little Children is definitely not a typical movie. It's a complex movie that, in spite of many scenes not involving the children, revolves around the children throughout the story.
The interwoven story lines in Little Children kept me interested for the entire movie. This story would not have been nearly as interesting without all of the components being so wonderfully joined. Little Children is definitely more of an intellectual movie and a drama, so be sure you're in the mood for that before watching it (I'm not sure my husband was and that may have affected what he thought of the movie overall).
If you missed this in the theatre, I highly recommend renting Little Children to see it now. You'll miss nothing on the smaller screen and Little Children is a very well done movie with an exceptional cast.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, drama, Jackie Earle Haley, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Winslet, movie, Patrick Wilson, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Sir James Matthew Barrie), Kate Winslet (Sylvia Llewelyn Davies), Julie Christie (Mrs. Emma du Maurier), Radha Mitchell (Mary Ansell Barrie)
For complete info on this great cast, see IMDb's Finding Neverland page.
It's always great to see a movie that truly deserves the nomination for best picture get it, even when it's not an epic tale. This story about the author of Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie) and his friendship with the family who inspired him to create the story is a wonderful escape from reality on one hand, while it addresses the harsh reality of life and death on the other. The way Allan Knee (author of the play) and David Magee (author of the screenplay) interweave reality and fantasy is very effective in Finding Neverland. Marc Forster does a wonderful job with the directing and the cast is amazing. I was particularly impressed with the children, since I hadn't seen most of them before and they did such a great job. I'm used to expecting great things of Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet and they delivered again here.
I highly recommend this movie. It didn't get as wide of a release as I think it deserved, but it is definitely a bit artsy for some of the regular movie crowd. If you missed it, try renting it. You might be pleasantly surprised and if nothing else, the scenery, music, and acting are amazing.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2004, drama, Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kevin Spacey (David Gale), Kate Winslet (Bitsey Bloom), Laura Linney (Constance Harraway)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Life of David Gale page.
This movie interested me right away because of the cast and the subject matter. The idea of someone who is against capital punishment (and an activist against it) being sent to death row is so perfect for a movie. What unfolds in The Life of David Gale is even more interesting than I could have imagined based on the previews.
This story continues to twist and turn throughout the movie, so you're never really sure exactly which way is up. I love movies that keep you guessing and The Life of David Gale did a great job with that, even though I often figure out movies too early.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2003, crime, drama, Kate Winslet, Kevin Spacey, Laura Linney, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:20 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson), Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater), Billy Zane (Caledon 'Cal' Hockley), Kathy Bates (Molly Brown)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Titanic page.
Although I don't think Titanic could ever live up to the hype, I thought this fictional account of what might have happened in the ship's last hours was very interesting and that most of the special effects were very well done.
I think Titanic is worth seeing for the special effects or the love story. When you combine the two, it really is a great movie. The idea of giving up everything for love is such a romantic notion, that it makes the movie very worth while.
Forget what really happened and remember this is a movie. A romanticized notion of the events is presented with fictional characters added in with the historical characters to create a combintion of fact and fiction.
Grade: A
Labels: 1997, Best Picture, drama, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet), Kate Winslet (Ophelia), Julie Christie (Gertrude), Judi Dench (Hecuba)
For complete cast, see IMDb's Hamlet page.
There have been so many versions of Hamlet on screen that it's hard to count. This version is by far the most complete and, in my opinion, the best. It took a long time to finally be able to see it, since it wasn't very widely released. When we did get around to seeing it, we had to sit in the front row to see it (the next movie would be over 3 hours away due to the length of the movie and it only beeing shown in one theatre), but it was worth the minor torture.
Kenneth Branagh did a wonderful job adapting the play, directing, and starring as Hamlet. I'm not sure how he managed to keep everything straight while doing so many things on the set of Hamlet, but he did a wonderful job. The rest of the cast is also superb. It's nice to see such a complete version make it to film. Perhaps it would have been wise to have an intermission in this movie, since it is about the full length of the play and there is no intermission, but there have been long movies before and audiences have survived.
If you like Shakespeare, this is a must. If you don't, you should probably skip this version of Hamlet, since it is the most complete of the movies out there and that won't interest those who don't like Shakespeare.
Grade: B+
Labels: 1996, crime, drama, Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, movie, romance, Shakespeare
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:50 PM show | 0 screams