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: 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: 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: Queen Latifah (Georgia Byrd), LL Cool J (Sean Matthews), Timothy Hutton (Matthew Kragen), Giancarlo Esposito (Senator Dillings), Alicia Witt (Ms. Burns)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Last Holiday page.
This is a really fun movie about someone who lives life a bit too conservatively until she finds out that she's going to die. Then, she does everything she's ever dreamed of and lives her life the way she's always wanted. She cashes in all of her savings and uses it to do everything she can!
The writing of this romantic comedy is very good. I've always enjoyed Queen Latifah and this story really allows her to have fun and it shows! Seeing LL Cool J again is always a treat, too. The cast is great and the story is wonderfully enjoyable.
Georgia Byrd is the life of the party and this is even more true when she decides to spend all the money she's been saving, since she's only got a few weeks to live. People gravitate towards her (some because they think she's someone famous that they just can't place and some because of her amazing personality).
I think everyone can use a reminder that life is too short. Living a little is important - no matter how much time you have left to live. Waiting for someday normally means you won't ever get there. Live now! And enjoy the movie.
Grade: B
Labels: 2006, adventure, comedy, drama, movie, Queen Latifah
Reviewed by Kat at the 9:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Steve Martin (Peter Sanderson), Queen Latifah (Charlene Morton), Eugene Levy (Howie Rottman), Joan Plowright (Mrs. Arness)
For complete info, see IMDb's Bringing Down the House page.
With a cast including Steve Martin, Qeen Latifah, and Eugene Levy, it was no surprise that I laughed a lot during Bringing Down the House. This movie is very funny and enjoyable to watch. Rent it and enjoy. It's a great light popcorn flick!
Grade: B+
Labels: 2003, comedy, movie, Queen Latifah, Steve Martin
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:10 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones (Velma Kelly), Renee Zellweger (Roxie Hart), Queen Latifah (Matron Mama Morton), Richard Gere (Billy Flynn)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Chicago page.
With a couple minor exceptions, I think they did a great job taking Chicago from stage to screen. They somehow managed to include more of the back story while only cutting out one major song. Amazing!
I think Velma Kelly could have been better cast, but other than that, the cast was amazing. They also changed the reporter, which I thought was too bad, but it wasn't a major plot point in the musical.
I'm so happy that movie musicals are coming back and doing well in movie theaters. With this and Moulin Rouge starring major movie actors, perhaps the genre will continue to grow again. If you like musicals, I highly recommend that you see Chicago and if you don't, this may be a good way to start liking them.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2002, Best Picture, comedy, crime, drama, musical, Queen Latifah, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 AM show | 0 screams