Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin (Gigi), Scarlett Johansson (Anna), Bradley Cooper (Ben), Justin Long (Alex), Ben Affleck (Neil), Jennifer Aniston (Beth), Jennifer Connelly (Janine), Drew Barrymore (Mary), Wilson Cruz (Nathan), Kris Kristofferson (Ken Murphy)
For complete info on this amazing cast, see IMDb's He's Just Not That Into You page.
Initially, I thought a movie based on the hilarious book He's Just Not That Into You wouldn't be done well enough. Then, the cast was announced and I thought there was no way they'd get that many well-known cast members if the script wasn't well done. Turns out, I was right.
Other than using the title at an appropriately timed place in the beginning of the movie, the title is never used. No one actually says, "He's just not that into you," though they say similar things throughout the movie. I think it was very well done and is a hilarious movie worth seeing (in a theatre or renting it). If I hadn't had friends interested in going, I probably would have rented He's Just Not That Into You. It won't lose anything on the small screen, but I'm still glad I saw it.
One thing I really like about the movie is that it's NOT all women misjudging men. There are guys who don't necessarily get it, too. It helps to show that misunderstanding the (often very clear) messages from the opposite sex is something men and women both have to handle.
I also really loved seeing Greg Behrendt (most public author of the book) in the movie as the minister in a scene. He didn't say anything, but he looked right at the camera and I think it's good that he was a part of the movie. I'm sure it helped to keep the movie on target and funny.
Clearly, it won't be nominated for any awards, but He's Just Not That Into You is a very enjoyable chick flick.
Grade: B
Labels: 2009, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, comedy, drama, Drew Barrymore, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connelly, Justin Long, Kris Kristofferson, movie, romance, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:15 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Natalie Portman (Anne Boleyn), Scarlett Johansson (Mary Boleyn), Eric Bana (Henry Tudor)
For complete information, see IMDb's The Other Boleyn Girl page.
Since I LOVED the book The Other Boleyn Girl and was very excited by who they chose for the cast (the book my friend let me borrow actually had the cover with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, & Eric Bana, which probably helped). The costumes and sets looked like they were very well done and I was hoping they'd done a good job with the story. I rushed out to see the movie, since I wanted to be sure to see it on the big screen and period pieces don't always do too well in theatres. As far as the costumes, sets, and cast were concerned, I have nothing but good things to say and I suppose seeing the beautiful costumes on a big screen was worth the effort, though I have a pretty big TV, so I'm not sure about that.
As for the story... Wow. The movie started a bit earlier (in the book, Mary Boleyn had been married for a couple years, I think - I'm trying to remember exactly how long after her wedding the book started) than the book, ended at the same point, and skipped a lot of important detail.
Since I'm accustomed to seeing books made into movies, I think I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to changes in plot though I can't handle the addition of a love story (Jurassic Park) or elimination of a love story (The Pelican Brief). I understand that movies are only a couple hours long and it's impossible to cram an entire novel into that time. That being said, there are certain things you really shouldn't skip and they seemed to pick many of these when they wrote the screenplay for The Other Boleyn Girl. The most egregious error made when they adapted the book for the screenplay was removing the death of one of the characters' husbands (I won't explain further, since I don't want to give anything away for those who haven't read the book and will see the movie). This wouldn't seem like a big plot point, but this character does still end up with her second husband, meaning that she's now married to two men (according to what you've seen on screen). When leaving the theatre, I actually asked my friend who went with me (who had not read the book) if I had missed this man's death, but I hadn't. They just skipped it. They also left out a lot of the births and other things that happen in the book, making the movie only worth watching for the scenic and costume design.
If you love period pieces and haven't read the book, The Other Boleyn Girl is probably a pretty good movie. If you have read the book and aren't really enthralled by costumes and sets, don't bother wasting your time with The Other Boleyn Girl. If you really love costume and scenic design, it's probably worth renting the movie to see those, but don't expect much from the story. The movie was very disappointing.
Grade: C
Labels: 2008, drama, Eric Bana, history, movie, Natalie Portman, romance, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Scarlett Johansson (Annie Braddock), Nicholas Art (Grayer), Chris Evans (Harvard Hottie), Donna Murphy (Judy Braddock), Alicia Keys (Lynette), Laura Linney (Mrs. X)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Nanny Diaries page.
I love Scarlett Johansson and she was great in this movie. As was Nicholas Art, the adorable boy who plays Grayer. The movie was entertaining. Definitely not the best I've seen (even that day, since we saw The Bourne Ultimatum earlier), but it was enjoyable and worth watching. I had this on my rental list and that's where I'd recommend you put it. Not worth seeing in a theatre, but cut and worth renting. Add it to your Netflix list.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2007, comedy, drama, Laura Linney, movie, romance, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Hugh Jackman (Robert Angier), Christian Bale (Alfred Borden), Michael Caine (Cutter), Piper Perabo (Julia Angier), Rebecca Hall (Sarah Borden), Scarlett Johansson (Olivia Wenscombe)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Prestige page.
From what I've seen on IMDb and some other sites, it seems that the majority thinks The Prestige beats The Illusionist in the battle of the magic-based movies in 2006. I disagree. I found parts of The Prestige interesting, but it was much more predictable than The Illusionist and didn't have a story that really intrigued me. The fact that some of the movie is a flashback makes it a bit more interesting, but the story and special effects don't impress me as much as those in The Illusionist
I'm glad we watched The Prestige. It's a pretty good movie, with an exceptional cast. I'm sure when it's on HBO and other movie channels in a few months that I'll watch it a few more times, but The Illusionist is the one we'll own on DVD (once the Blueray/HDVD battle is settled).
I definitely recommend renting The Prestige if you missed it in theatres. There aren't many special effects, so you can easily enjoy the movie at home without thinking that you're really missing out on seeing the special effects on the big screen. The story is interesting and the cast is wonderful.
Grade: B+
Labels: Christian Bale, drama, fantasy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, movie, Scarlett Johansson, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Hugh Jackman (Peter Lyman), Scarlett Johansson (Sondra Pransky), Ian McShane (Joe Strombel), Fenella Woolgar (Jane Cook)
For complete information, see IMDb's Scoop page.
I'm not a fan of Woody Allen, but since I enjoyed Match Point so much, I thought that Scoop had a chance of being okay, even though he is in this one. Fortunately, I was right. Scoop is a very entertaining movie.
The cast is wonderful. Even Woody Allen wasn't too annoying. The story is interesting and very well developed. I highly recommend renting Scoop if you missed it when it was in theatres.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, comedy, fantasy, Hugh Jackman, movie, mystery, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:49 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ewan McGregor (Lincoln Six Echo/Tom Lincoln), Scarlett Johansson (Jordan Two Delta/Sarah Jordan), Djimon Hounsou (Albert Laurent), Sean Bean (Merrick)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Island page.
The Island starts off pretty slow and has a lot of exposition for this sci-fi world. I'm glad we stuck with it, though. Who can argue against a movie that has two Ewan McGregors (or for the guys two Scarlett Johanssons)? The plot being slow means that you're always ahead of the characters and figure things out quite a bit before them, which is a bit annoying. Once it gets going, the story is pretty interesting and well done. I think if they'd trimmed some out of the exposition and made it more of an hour and 40 minute movie instead of over 2 hours, it would have been better, but it was still interesting once it got past the exposition.
The cast of The Island is amazing. Almost every time a new major character was introduced I was pleasantly surprised to see who had been cast in the roll. Glad that we kept this on the rental list, but it's definitely worth renting.
Grade: B
Labels: 2005, action, drama, Ewan McGregor, movie, Scarlett Johansson, sci-fi, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers (Chris Wilton), Matthew Goode (Tom Hewett), Emily Mortimer (Chloe Hewett Wilton), Scarlett Johansson (Nola Rice), Brian Cox (Alec Hewett), Penelope Wilton (Eleanor Hewett)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Match Point page.
In spite of the amazing reviews (I read only titles, but the titles were clear), I was wary of Match Point for two reasons. 1. I'm typically not a Woody Allen fan (at all) and 2. A friend of mine told me it was a great movie with a horribly depressing soundtrack and if she had to see it again, she'd do it with ear plugs, since the opera was in every scene and too depressing. I really can't stand opera, so I worried that I might feel the same way, though I thought she was being a bit melodramatic...
Turns out that I loved Match Point. It's definitely not a happy go-lucky movie, but I didn't expect it to be from the little I had heard. I'm certainly not going to rush out and buy the soundtrack (which was all opera), but I thought that the opera was very fitting to the movie. The story is amazing. Quite frankly, I can't believe it was written by Woody Allen. I was blown away. There are so many twists and I really predicted a few other things to happen. The way they connected the intro to the end of the movie was beautiful. The cast is amazing, which I knew before seeing Match Point, but they show their depths even more in this movie.
I highly recommend you see this in movie theaters if you can still catch it. If not, it's definitely a must for your rental list!
Grade: A
Labels: 2005, drama, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, movie, romance, Scarlett Johansson, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:15 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Scarlett Johansson (Charlotte), Bill Murray (Bob Harris)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Lost in Translation page.
I really should have stuck with my initial instincts on this movie. I saw it as a rental from the moment I saw the first preview, but the critics raved and it got nominated and I prefer to see all the nominated films before the Golden Globes and Oscars, so we saw it.
The movie never really got interesting. Lost in Translation did have a couple funny moments, but most of those were in the previews.
Grade: C
Labels: 2003, comedy, drama, movie, romance, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Robert Redford (Tom Booker), Kristin Scott Thomas (Annie MacLean), Sam Neill (Robert MacLean), Scarlett Johansson (Grace MacLean), Dianne Wiest (Diane Booker)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Horse Whisperer page.
After a horrible fall, a special horse trainer is in to help the daughter and horse work through their problems and get back out there. Parts of The Horse Whisperer were so beautiful cinematically. Parts of it were wonderful and touching and very interesting. And parts of it seemed to drag on forever.
I thought that there was enough of a mix of the beautiful and interesting portions of the movie to see it, so it's definitely worth renting, but with a runtime of almost three hours, don't expect it to be like Braveheart where you barely realize that you were there for over an hour. At times, you will really feel how long the movie is.
Grade: B
Labels: 1998, drama, Kristin Scott Thomas, movie, Robert Redford, romance, Scarlett Johansson
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:20 PM show | 0 screams