Cast: Michael McKean (Arthur Przybyszewski), Jon Michael Hill (France Wicks), Jane Alderman (Lady Boyle), and a great cast - complete info can be found at the official Superior Donuts site.
Not the best play and the fight direction (in spite of being done by a group that's choreographed many wonderful Broadway fights) needed a lot of work. The cast is great and I liked the story. I'd definitely recommend seeing it, especially since it's always available at TKTS. Tickets are expensive now. Enjoy an entertaining play with a great cast.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2009, Best Play, Broadway, comedy, crime, drama, Jon Michael Hill, Michael McKean
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clint Eastwood (Walt Kowalski), Bee Vang (Thao Vang Lor), Ahney Her (Sue Lor)
For complete info, see IMDb's Gran Torino page.
Clint Eastwood always makes amazing choices when he directs movies, so I wanted to see this in a theatre, but didn't get around to it. I was shocked when Gran Torino didn't get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture or at least Best Director. I'm even more shocked now that I've seen it. I wonder what Clint Eastwood did to upset the Academy members.
If you haven't seen Gran Torino, I highly recommend renting it. This movie about a completely racist Korean War vet is amazingly touching. I never thought I could watch a movie where the main character is so prejudiced and end up caring about him. The cast of Gran Torino is wonderful and Clint Eastwood did a great job.
Grade: A
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clive Owen (Louis Salinger), Naomi Watts (Eleanor Whitman), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Wilhelm Wexler)
For complete info, see IMDb's The International page.
From the one preview I'd seen for The International, I had high expectations. I'm glad I saw how everyone was reviewing the movie before I got around to renting it. Had I expected it to be as good as it looked in the preview, I would have been a lot more disappointed. As it was, I still thought the characters were way too stupid at times. Considering how much they figured out, there were a few basic things that always seemed to shock them.
It was also a bit sad that the best part of the preview was the best part o the movie, so it wasn't as interesting as it would have been if you were seeing it for the first time as part of the movie. On top of that, The International just ends. I suppose part of the point of the movie is that nothing they do can change the way things work, but I was still a bit surprised by the end of the movie. I just looked at the screen and said, "That's it?"
Worth renting, but I'm not sorry I missed seeing The International in a theatre. It wouldn't have been worth rushing out to see immediately.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2009, Clive Owen, crime, drama, movie, Naomi Watts, suspense, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dev Patel (Jamal K. Malik), Anil Kapoor (Prem Kumar), Freida Pinto (Latika)
For complete info, see IMDb's Slumdog Millionaire site.
If you haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire yet and it's not on your rental list, you should add it. There is definitely a reason it won so many awards. I'm still not sure I'm happy about it winning best song, but I can understand the Academy voters getting caught up in the movie. It's definitely not a movie you need to see on a big screen (in fact, some of the scenes made me pretty happy I was seeing the movie on a smaller screen than theatres offer) and it's a very well done story about an average guy trying to reconnect with the woman of his dreams. The story is very well done and the acting is amazing. Everyone in the movie is sure to get a big boost for their acting careers.
Be sure to watch the credits. They were just as good as the movie (in fact, I watched them twice).
Grade: A-
Labels: 2008, crime, Dev Patel, drama, Freida Pinto, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:45 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Liam Neeson (Bryan Mills), Maggie Grace (Kim), Famke Janssen (Lenore)
For complete info, see IMDb's Taken page.
I think Liam Neeson is a wonderful actor, so I'd see him in just about anything. Fortunately, Taken is a very well done movie and well worth watching in a theatre. If you have a chance to catch this before it leaves theatres (probably soon), I highly recommend it. If not, add it to your rental list.
This movie about a retired spy working to save his daughter is very well done. The story is well executed, the cast is great, and the movie kept me interested until the end.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2009, action, crime, drama, Famke Janssen, Liam Neeson, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:25 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Steve Carell (Maxwell Smart/Agent 86), Anne Hathaway (Agent 99), Dwayne Johnson (Agent 23), Alan Arkin (The Chief)
For complete info, see IMDb's Get Smart page.
I loved the TV show, so I was a little wary about the Get Smart movie. The fact that The Pink Panther was so horribly done made me even more cautious. I didn't get around to seeing Get Smart in a theatre, but it worked out really well. I got to watch it with my dad (who had introduced me to the Get Smart TV show). Both of us really enjoyed the movie. They did a very good job bringing this movie to the big screen. They kept the all the quirky aspects of Get Smart that I loved and I appreciate that. Steve Carell did a great job as Maxwell Smart - the whole cast was well chosen.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, action, adventure, Anne Hathaway, comedy, crime, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, movie, mystery, romance, Steve Carell
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: James McAvoy (Wesley Gibson), Morgan Freeman (Sloan), Angelina Jolie (Fox)
For complete info, see IMDb's Wanted page.
I was bummed that I didn't get around to seeing Wanted in a theatre, but the special effects weren't quite as impressive as I'd expected from the previews. The cast is great and it's a good story. The idea of a guy who works in an office and is sick of his life finding out that he's the son of an assassin and has the same skill with special killing abilities really interested me and I think they did a good job with the story.
Grade: B
Labels: 2008, action, Angelina Jolie, crime, drama, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Will Smith (John Hancock), Charlize Theron (Mary Embrey), Jason Bateman (Ray Embrey)
For complete info, see IMDb's Hancock page.
I rented this movie based solely on the fact that Will Smith was in the movie. I'd see anything he does, really (and clearly many fans agree with me on this one, since his movies do very well - every genre). Hancock was better than I anticipated, since the plot didn't really look that interesting from the little I'd seen in previews.
The thing I like most about the previews for Hancock is that they do not give away the entire plot of the movie. Though this made it seem like I'd be less interested in the outcome of the movie, I appreciated the fact that I didn't know most of the details of the plot before seeing the movie.
Hancock is an action movie and a comedy, so clearly it's not an intellectual film. Though the special effects would have been better on a big screen, Hancock is more of a rental for me and I think I made the right choice. There's a bit more to it than just a super hero who has a bad reputation, so it's worth renting if you didn't think it was worth seeing in a theatre.
Grade: B
Labels: 2008, action, Charlize Theron, comedy, crime, drama, fantasy, Jason Bateman, movie, Will Smith
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Angelina Jolie (Christine Collins), John Malkovich (Rev. Gustav Briegleb), Gattlin Griffith (Walter Collins), Jeffrey Donovan (Capt. J. J. Jones)
For complete info on this amazing cast, see IMDb's Changeling page.
Other than the fact that Changeling is based on a true story and that Christine Collins' son got kidnapped and the wrong boy was returned, I didn't know anything about the true story portrayed in this movie. Though I've seen many movies involving the corruption of the LAPD around the time the events of Changeling took place, I was still blown away by the things the police were able to get away with doing. The fact that Changeling is based on a true story really blows me away.
Renting Changeling would have definitely been fine and was my original plan. A friend really wanted to see it before it left the theatre, so we checked it out on the big screen instead. I definitely highly recommend renting Changeling or seeing it in a theatre. In spite of all the blockbuster movies that have opened up recently, Changeling is still in theatres.
Angelina Jolie really shows her range in this movie, which she doesn't always get to show in her action movies. A Mighty Heart and Girl, Interrupted also display Jolie's talents very well, but Girl, Interrupted was almost 10 years ago and although I thought it was a good movie, A Mighty Heart didn't do very well.
I definitely recommend adding Changeling to your rental queue if you don't see it in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Angelina Jolie, crime, drama, John Malkovich, movie, mystery, true story
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:40 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Heath Ledger (The Joker), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent/Two-Face), Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Dark Knight page.
This movie is as good as everyone else is saying it is. Go see The Dark Knight (preferably in IMAX, so it takes over almost your entire field of vision) in a theatre! I thought the switch back and forth between the scenes filmed for IMAX (which take up the entire IMAX screen) and the rest of the movie. Due to the fact that the film was very well remastered for the IMAX screen, the difference is not as drastic as it would seem and most of the scenes that were filmed in IMAX are the scenic skylines, Batman flying in, etc. Fortunately, a couple fight scenes and the one big chase scene were also filmed in IMAX and those are amazing!
I've heard a lot of people talking about Heath Ledger getting the Oscar this year and I can definitely see why he would. So far, I haven't seen a performance I'd rank higher this year. I don't see as many movies in a theatre as I used to see, but I do still rent a lot of movies. One of my friends argued that he didn't think Heath Ledger should win, since he's dead. Although I don't think the fact that he's dead should increase his chances of winning, if Ledger had the best acting performance of the year, he deserves the Oscar. Can you imagine anyone wanting to win the award this year if they didn't actually do a better job than Ledger? They'd always be thought of as the one who won the Oscar, since Heath was dead. That makes no sense to me. Award the best performance whether the person is alive or not at the time of the awards ceremony.
The costumes, makeup, scenic design, orchestrations, acting, ... are all wonderful. I'm sure if you love Batman you've already seen The Dark Knight at least once, but if you've somehow missed it, go see it now. It's great!
There are also many amazingly funny lines in The Dark Knight, which I won't ruin for you. Enjoy!
Grade: A
Labels: 2008, Aaron Eckhart, action, Christian Bale, comics, crime, drama, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, movie, mystery, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kevin Bacon (Sean Nokes), Billy Crudup (Tommy Marcano), Robert De Niro (Father Bobby), Minnie Driver (Carol Martinez), Dustin Hoffman (Danny Snyder), Ron Eldard (John Reilly), Jason Patric (Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra), Brad Pitt (Michael Sullivan)
For complete info on this amazing cast, see IMDb's Sleepers page.
When a friend mentioned Sleepers to me, I was shocked that I'd never heard of it. I only listed the major characters above (and not even all of them) and look at that cast. How could I have possibly missed all information on this movie? Yes, it was just after I got out of college, I moved twice that year and got married, but that's no excuse for missing all information on Sleepers.
If you somehow managed to miss this movie, too, I highly recommend that you rent it. Definitely not an upbeat movie, but this story about boys who pull a prank that goes way too far, leading them to experience horrors in a detention center that scar them for life and the revenge they get 10 years later is very well done. The cast is beyond amazing. The story is gripping and heart wrenching. It's also never been proven either way, so it's possible the events in the movie actually happened. That possibility makes it much more horrific.
Grade: B+
Labels: 1996, Billy Crudup, Brad Pitt, crime, drama, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Kevin Bacon, Minnie Driver, movie, Robert DeNiro, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 9:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Diane Lane (Agent Jennifer Marsh), Billy Burke (Detective Eric Box), Colin Hanks (Agent Griffin Dowd), Joseph Cross (Owen Reilly)
I had fairly high expectations of Untraceable and was very sad I missed it in a movie theatre, since I thought it would be a lot better there. Now that I've seen it, I'm not sure I would have been able to tolerate it in a theatre. From the first act of the serial killer, I knew I had to look away until the end of the scene. I can tolerate a lot of violence in movies. I even watched Saw & Saw II. I can't handle violence towards animals, though.
From the ads, I expected Untraceable to focus on finding the killer and not have as much gore. I was completely wrong. The movie concentrated too much on the murders and not enough on finding the killer and the suspense aspect. I really don't like horror movies and the amount of gore was a bit more in line with a horror movie than a thriller for my tastes.
The story itself had a good basis, but I didn't think there was enough of a focus on finding the serial killer. Untraceable wasn't nearly as interesting as I expected. It's a good thing I watched it at home where I could do other things and not have to concentrate on the movie. It's amazing how quickly movies are released on DVD these days. Untraceable was released in less than 4 months. No wonder I go to theatres so rarely.
Grade: C-
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jodie Foster (Erica Bain), Terrence Howard (Detective Mercer)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Brave One page.
I'm not sure what I expected from seeing the preview of The Brave One a couple times when it was about to come out in theatres, but it wasn't as good as the movie I got to watch. I should have known from the cast (Jodie Foster & Terrence Howard tend to pick great movies) that it would be more interesting than it appeared from the preview.
I didn't expect the movie to be very deep, I expected a fairly standard revenge thriller, but The Brave One was definitely not typical. I don't want to ruin anything in the movie, but I really did not expect what happened near the end and it's always good when a movie catches me off guard a bit.
If you missed The Brave One in theatres, I recommend renting it.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2007, crime, drama, Jodie Foster, movie, Terrence Howard, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Morgan Freeman (Frank Carden), John Cusack (Ray Keene), Jamie Anderson (Chris Keene)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Contract page.
The cast of The Contract is great. That's probably why I expected more from this movie. They call it a thriller, but I definitely wouldn't go that far. Perhaps at times it was a bit suspenseful, but it was definitely not a thriller.
I'm glad I only watched this on my computer through Netflix, rather than bothering to even get the disc at home. If you're bored one night and you've watched most of the other things you wanted to see in the Netflix watch instantly section, you might want to watch this. I did finish the movie, so it definitely could have been worse, but I wouldn't recommend The Contract in spite of the cast.
The story was pretty boring and nothing exciting really happened.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2007, crime, drama, John Cusack, Morgan Freeman, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Tom Wilkinson (Arthur Edens), Tilda Swinton (Karen Crowder), Sydney Pollack (Marty Bach)
For complete info, see IMDb's Michael Clayton page.
I didn't really know what to expect from Michael Clayton, since I don't watch reviews and I disliked No Country for Old Men, which beat it for best picture, so much. The fact that some of the people I know who had seen it really liked it did help, but I was a bit wary. I normally like George Clooney, but he has done a few in the last couple years that I didn't like very much.
This movie is described as a thriller, but I don't get that one. I'd say it's sometimes suspenseful, but it didn't have me on the edge of my seat or seriously worried about any of the characters at any point, so I would say thriller is stretching the definition quite a bit.
Michael Clayton is a very good dramatic movie and I definitely recommend renting it. The movie was interesting and reminded me of the John Grisham books and movies (the ones that were well done - The Firm, The Pelican Brief, etc.). If you like that kind of a movie, you should definitely rent Michael Clayton.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2007, crime, drama, George Clooney, movie
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dennis Quaid (Thomas Barnes), Matthew Fox (Kent Taylor), Forest Whitaker (Howard Lewis), Bruce McGill (Phil McCullough), Edgar Ramirez (Javier)
For complete information on this amazing cast and crew, see IMDb's Vantage Point page.
From what I hear, this movie wouldn't have been nearly as interesting if I'd seen the trailer, since they give something major away. Fortunately, I didn't see the trailer. I thoroughly enjoyed Vantage Point. It was a much more exciting movie than I anticipated from the brief blurb we read about it before deciding to see it. I'm very glad I saw Vantage Point in a theatre, since there were a lot of special effects from many different angles and I think the movie was a lot more exhilarating on the big screen than it would have been at home.
If you have time, try to catch Vantage Point in the theatre, even if you saw the trailer. It doesn't spoil everything and it'll still be a very entertaining movie. If you haven't seen the trailer, avoid it at all costs and see the movie. In spite of seeing the same event over and over (and over ...) again, I was interested in the plot until the very end and didn't get bored, since there was new information revealed as you saw the scene from the various vantage points.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2008, action, crime, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Matthew Fox, movie, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 12:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jason Statham (Terry Leather), Saffron Burrows (Martine Love), Stephen Campbell Moore (Kevin Swain), Daniel Mays (Dave Shilling), James Faulkner (Guy Singer)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Bank Job page.
The Bank Job was just as interesting as it appeared. I always enjoy exciting movies based on real events in history and this movie was no exception. The Bank Job was very well done and kept me interested and entertained the entire time. I did keep thinking "Why didn't they do it this way?" However, I realize that this movie is based on real events, so the fact that the police do stupid things couldn't be prevented. If they'd done it my way, they would have never made a movie about it, since it wouldn't have been nearly as exciting, so I suppose that's the good side.
I definitely recommend catching The Bank Job on the big screen if you can. If not, add it to your rental list.
Grade: B
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:50 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Judy Kaye (Mrs. Lovett), David Hess (Sweeney Todd), Edmund Bagnell (Tobias), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony), Lauren Molina (Johanna), Keith Buterbaugh (Judge Turpin)
For complete info on the great touring cast, see the official Sweeney Todd on tour site.
I had forgotten (until the show started) that they had set this revival of Sweeney Todd in an asylum. It definitely makes for an interesting backdrop for the show. The characters playing their own instruments was a bit more distracting for Sweeney Todd than it was for Company (which I missed on Broadway, but caught on PBS and will definitely own on Blu-ray DVD at some point) for some reason - perhaps that's because there are actual sets in a typical production of Sweeney Todd or because the set of this production kept being rearranged to make the different locations of the musical. Either way, I still really enjoyed the show. The cast of the tour of Sweeney Todd is great! It was really nice to finally get to see Judy Kaye perform in person.
The way everything worked out so well with the right cast members being available to play the right instruments (and having them delivered to them or getting to the right place on stage) was really impressive. The way the show was choreographed & organized was just as impressive as the show itself.
I definitely recommend catching the tour of Sweeney Todd, while it's still at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA, or as it makes the rounds throughout the country.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, crime, drama, musical, Stephen Sondheim, thriller, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:58 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett), Alan Rickman (Judge Turpin), Jamie Campbell Bower (Anthony Hope), Jayne Wisener (Johanna), Laura Michelle Kelly (Beggar Woman), Ed Sanders (Toby)
For complete info on this great cast, see IMDb's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street page.
As a huge fan of musical theatre, any time they're making a great musical into a movie (even if it's one that was already a movie, like The Producers), I worry that they might not do a good job. I go into them with open minds and have really loved what they've done with Rent, Hairspry, and many others. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is Sondheim, though... this raises the bar some, since I think Sondheim is probably the best musical theatre composer ever. His scores are always complex and many of the parts in his shows are challenging, which makes it more difficult to find a good cast for any production of one of his shows. I've always loved Sweeney Todd, though I've never been able to see a live production. I've seen the Original Broadway Cast on video (thank goodness they recorded it!) and that's it. I was very excited about the concept of Sweeney Todd as a movie.
I think they did an amazing job with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! I think that even those who don't generally enjoy musical theatre can appreciate the movie, but those who love musical theatre will really like this movie. I'll definitely purchase this one on DVD as soon as it comes out and I'm going to buy the CD, too. The cast is wonderful, the make-up, costumes, and sets were all very well done... Sure, a lot of stuff had to be cut out musically. That's always the case with a musical made into a movie, since they don't want to alienate the non-musical theatre lovers. The only song that I really missed in the movie version of Sweeney Todd was The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. They played the music from it at times, but never actually played the song. I expected them to use it in the credits (as they did with my favorite song from Hairspray, which they skipped in the movie), but they just played orchestral music, nothing with lyrics. Oh well, since that's the only thing I truly missed in the movie and I understand why it wasn't there, they did a great job. I'm glad that Johnny Depp got best actor for a musical or comedy in the Golden Globe Awards and that the movie won the best musical or comedy. The movie is wonderful and they deserve to be recognized.
If you haven't seen this, try to catch it on the big screen. It's still playing here at almost all theatres. Check it out before it goes away!
Grade: A
Labels: 2007, Alan Rickman, crime, drama, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, movie, musical, Stephen Sondheim, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 5:33 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Denzel Washington (Frank Lucas), Russell Crowe (Richie Roberts), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Huey Lucas), Josh Brolin (Detective Trupo)
For complete info on this great cast, see IMDb’s American Gangster page.
I’ll see almost any movie with Denzel Washington, so I was sold on this movie from the start. After seeing American Gangster, I think I’m going to have to read the book, since the story really intrigued me. Real-life stories like this always grab my attention. The movie was very well done. It had an amazing cast and really made me jump in a couple points. It seemed every time I was ready for something bad to happen it didn’t and when I least expected it, *bang*… It always impresses me when a movie can do that throughout the story, since I’m not exactly stupid and normally I catch on quickly. The way American Gangster was directed, it kept me on my guard for the whole movie, which is rare.
The true story behind American Gangster interested me and the movie made me a lot more curious about the real story. I highly recommend seeing American Gangster in the theatre or renting it when it makes it to DVD, which doesn’t seem to take long these days.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, crime, Denzel Washington, drama, movie, Russell Crowe, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams