Cast: Liam Neeson (Hannibal), Bradley Cooper (Lt. Templeton 'Faceman' Peck), Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson (B.A. Baracus), Sharlto Copley (Murdock), Jessica Biel (Charisa Sosa)
For complete info, see IMDb's The A-Team page.
I was a big fan of the television show The A-Team, so I was pretty excited when they said they were making a movie out of it. I pictured all they could do with the budget of a blockbuster film and thought it could be a lot of fun to watch. The movie didn't disappoint me.
The special effects were well done, the story was decent, and the cast was wonderful. I definitely recommend seeing The A-Team in a theatre if you like movies with good special effects and enjoyed the television show. They did a very good job with the story and I hope they'll make another. I'd definitely be ready to see a sequel.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2010, action, adventure, Bradley Cooper, drama, Jessica Biel, Liam Neeson, movie, suspense
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:55 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Tommy Cahill), Natalie Portman (Grace Cahill), Tobey Maguire (Capt. Sam Cahill)
For complete info, see IMDb's Brothers page.
The previews I'd seen of Brothers led me to expect quite a few things that didn't happen in the movie, which was good. Brothers is definitely a very realistic drama (too realistic at times - I couldn't watch the screen for the entire movie). I'm not generally a fan of war movies. I have no interest in seeing The Hurt Locker in spite of the fact that it won Best Picture and I was glad when Saving Private Ryan didn't win. However, I think Brothers is a very good movie and totally worth renting. I cried at parts and it was very moving, but it was well done and when you're renting a movie it's easier to look away (or even fast forward, if necessary) through the parts of the movie that are a bit too much to take for the violence or other issues you may have.
The cast is wonderful and the story of Brothers is very well done. I definitely recommend renting the movie if you haven't seen it yet.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2009, drama, Jake Gyllenhaal, movie, Natalie Portman, suspense, tear jerker, Tobey Maguire, war
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: Asa Butterfield (Bruno), Zac Mattoon O'Brien (Leon), Domonkos Nemeth (Martin), Henry Kingsmill (Karl)
For complete info, see IMDb's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas page.
I don't want to give anything about this movie away, so I won't say much about it. My aunt told me to see this and that it was pretty depressing (so not a great movie to watch right before bed). She was completely right on both counts.
This movie is about a young boy who befriends a Jewish boy across the fence from him in a concentration camp. It's very moving and (as with all movies from this time in history) very sad. I definitely recommend renting this and watching it during the daytime when you can watch something cheery or do something fun afterwards to take your mind off of the disturbing movie.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, concentration camps, drama, Holocaust, movie, suspense, war, WWII
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 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