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: 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: Hugh Jackman (Drover), Nicole Kidman (Lady Sarah Ashley), Brandon Walters (Nullah)
For complete info, see IMDb's Australia page.
Though I enjoyed Australia, there's definitely a reason it didn't garner any Oscar nominations and didn't do amazingly well in theatres. When they refer to Australia as an epic film, they refer as much to it dragging on in some parts as they do to the amazing scenes with wonderful imagery.
I've seen longer movies (Braveheart and Hamlet come to mind), but I don't know that I've looked at the time remaining in a film that many times before. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Australia more if I'd been in a theatre environment, though the overall ratings on Yahoo don't really suggest that others did.
I think Australia is definitely worth renting and I'm glad I rented it in Blu-ray. However, I'm no longer sad about having missed it in a movie theatre. I think it was destined to be a rental and it works well there.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2008, adventure, drama, Hugh Jackman, movie, Nicole Kidman, war, western
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Cruise (Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg), Kenneth Branagh (Major-General Henning von Tresckow), Bill Nighy (General Friedrich Olbricht), Tom Wilkinson (General Friedrich Fromm)
For complete info, see IMDb's Valkyrie page.
World War II dramas have always interested me and Valkyrie is very well done. I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but he did a very good job in this movie. The rest of the cast is also wonderful. In spite of all the information available and the many documentaries, I didn't know much about this particular plot to stop Hitler, so I found Valkyrie very informative and entertaining. I definitely recommend renting this movie if you don't catch it in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, Bill Nighy, drama, history, Kenneth Branagh, movie, thriller, Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:25 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Robert Redford (Professor Stephen Malley), Meryl Streep (Janine Roth), Tom Cruise (Senator Jasper Irving)
For complete information, see IMDb's Lions for Lambs page.
I didn't know what to expect from this movie, since I hadn't seen any previews. As soon as I saw that Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, & Tom Cruise were in it, I was sure I'd see the movie, regardless of what it was about. I really like the way the movie went back and forth between the different story lines and how it tied everything together. The cast is amazing and the story is well told.
There were definitely a few slow points and I'm glad I didn't rush out to see it in a theatre, but Lions for Lambs is definitely worth adding to your rental queue.
Grade: B
Labels: 2007, drama, Meryl Streep, movie, Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Cate Blanchett (Charlotte Gray), Billy Crudup (Julien Levade), Rupert Penry-Jones (Peter Gregory), Michael Gambon (Levade)
For complete information, see IMDb's Charlotte Gray page.
This story about a woman who joins the French Resistance during World War II really intrigued me. I've always been interestedin World War II, though. If you like movies about WWII with a spy or two and a bit of romance thrown in, you'll enjoy Charlotte Gray. It's not incredibly unique, but it did have me wondering who was on what side from time to time and held my interest.
The cast is wonderful and other than Cate Blanchett & Billy Crudup, I didn't recognize most of the cast. The one thing that was a bit confusing to me is that everyone spoke with the same general accent and there was no speaking of German or French. While I understand that the movie was made for an English-speaking audience, it would have made a few things a bit clearer if there had a been small portions with subtitles or at least with more distinct accents speaking English.
Like most war films, Charlotte Gray is hardly a cheery movie, but it is very well done and I recommend renting it.
Grade: B
Labels: 2001, Billy Crudup, Cate Blanchett, drama, movie, romance, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Hanks (Rep. Charlie Wilson), Amy Adams (Bonnie Bach), Julia Roberts (Joanne Herring), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Gust Avrakotos)
For complete info, see IMDb's Charlie Wilson's War page.
The cast of Charlie Wilson's War was amazing, so there was no question that I would rent it. I didn't know much about the movie, since I avoid news on a movie once I've decided to see it (I'd rather see it for myself than hear all about it first) and was surprised by how much this movie moved me.
Movies like this based on real people with real flaws (and Charlie Wilson had plenty, it seems) always interest me. This movie shows the real events that took place in Afghanistan in the late 80s and shows how Charlie Wilson helped the Afghans. If you like biographies and/or war movies, you should definitely rent this one.
Grade: B
Labels: 2007, Amy Adams, biography, drama, Julia Roberts, movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Hanks, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Keira Knightley (Cecilia Tallis), James McAvoy (Robbie Turner), Saoirse Ronan (Briony Tallis, age 13), Romola Garai (Briony Tallis, age 18), Vanessa Redgrave (Briony Tallis, older)For complete cast info, see IMDb's Atonement page.
If you liked the book Atonement, you're sure to enjoy the movie. They did a very good job putting Atonement on the big screen. I always worry when a very good book is made into a movie. Will they cut out my favorite part? Will they cast someone who looks completely different from my view of the character and distracts me throughout the movie? Will they add or remove a love story or major plot line? Fortunately, the answer to all of these questions for Atonement is "no." They did a great job with the movie. The time period is achieved beautifully and the cast is wonderful.
I think Atonement will appeal to anyone who can enjoy a period piece. The book is wonderful and the movie is a very well done adaptation.
Did Atonement deserve to be nominated for best picture? I'm not sure. I saw so few movies in the theatre this year and I still haven't seen the winner or the other 3 nominees. It is one of the better movies I saw that was released in 2007, though. I definitely recommend renting it if you didn't see it in a theatre.
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Angelina Jolie (Mariane Pearl), Dan Futterman (Daniel Pearl), Archie Panjabi (Asra Q. Nomani)
For complete information on this great cast, see IMDb’s A Mighty Heart page.
This is a very well done movie based on the true story of Mariane Pearl and her husband Danny, a Wall Street Journal reporter. Danny’s life and death is a very compelling story and they did a very good job with it in this movie. There were times when Angelina Jolie didn’t even look like herself. It was a complete transformation. I can’t imagine anyone seeing this movie and not being touched by the horrific story. The fact that it actually happened is so sad and really blows my mind. It’s amazing what goes on in the world during times of war (which seems to be almost all of human existence).
I highly recommend renting this movie if you missed it in theatres, though it’s definitely a movie you can only watch when you’re prepared for a very sad story.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2007, Angelina Jolie, biography, Dan Futterman, drama, history, movie, thriller, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ken Watanabe (General Tadamichi Kuribayashi), Kazunari Ninomiya (Saigo), Tsuyoshi Ihara (Baron Nishi)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Letters from Iwo Jima page.
Letters from Iwo Jima is definitely an intense movie. Not for those who can't handle subtitles (though David chose the movie from the Netflix DVD's we have, he wasn't prepared to have to read it). I heard that this movie was better than Flags of Our Fathers. I don't agree with that, though it was very well done. I'm a big fan of Ken Watanabe and he and the rest of the cast are amazing, but for me it wasn't quite as good.
If you liked Flags of Our Fathers, I definitely recommend renting Letters from Iwo Jima if you haven't seen it yet. If you didn't like Flags of Our Fathers, you should probably skip the second movie in the set.
Grade: B
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ryan Phillippe (John "Doc" Bradley), Jesse Bradford (Rene Gagnon), Adam Beach (Ira Hayes), John Benjamin Hickey (Keyes Beech)
For complete info, see IMDb's Flags of Our Fathers page.
I'm not normally a fan of war movies. I was one of those people who were thrilled when Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love for best picture of 1998.
Flags of Our Fathers does have some war scenes that lasted a bit too long for me, but the story was amazing, the cast was wonderful, and the sets and costumes were very well done. It's a very moving story and I can't wait to see the follow-up movie Letters from Iwo Jima. Since it was nominated for best picture, it's sure to be even better. If you missed Flags of Our Fathers in theatres, I recommend renting it. Add it to the Netflix list now.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2006, drama, movie, Ryan Phillippe, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Alexander Gemignani (Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Eponine), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Aaron Lazar (Enjorlas), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thenardier), Gary Beach (Thenardier)
For more info about this revival, see the official Les Miserables website.
For the most part, the cast of the revival of Les Miserables is amazing. The staging and sets are mostly the same. The orchestrations have been changed a bit, but are wonderfully done.
Daphne Rubin-Vega didn't impress me in the original Broadway cast of Rent, but she was much better in that than she is in this revival. She was by far the worst Fantine I've seen in the 5 Les Miserables productions I've seen. Sometimes when I saw it, characters were so bad that I looked forward to them dying. This feeling was never as strong as it was for Fantine when I saw Les Miserables this year. I kept counting down till her part would be mostly over. The sad thing is that everyone around us who had seen the show more than once was in complete agreement on this part of the show.
The other annoying thing (though this was true in every production I've seen) is that the wheels for changing the sets out make a ton of noise. It'd be nice to see them minimize that a bit more.
Fortunately, the majority of the cast was the best or second best person I've seen playing the role. This definitely makes the revival of Les Miserables a good show to see. If you've been missing Les Miserables since it left Broadway or (like my husband) you didn't get around to seeing it during the long run on Broadway or the tours, I definitely recommend this production. If you can, try to find out when the standby is going to be in for Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, Best Musical, Broadway, musical, original, revival, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Marissa Chibas, Judith Delgado, Tanya Perez, Christian Barillas, Matt Gottlieb, & Matt Gottlieb
For complete information, see The Laguna Playhouse Sonia Flew page.
There were a lot less people at Sonia Flew than at Shear Madness (the first show of the series). I'm not sure if that's because it's a drama (my mother-in-law's theory) or because the summer is over. Either way, I hope that more people get to Sonia Flew later in its run. Definitely not an upbeat show. I first cried around the time when I was able to correctly pin down the time frame of the first act (I tend not to read much about shows before we see them). Sonia Flew is a very emotional play that shows the similarities in different times of war. The first act takes place in the post-9/11 America and the second in 1960's Cuba as Fidel Castro was rising in power. Although not depicted in the present day of Sonia Flew, the horrors of World War II were also tied in to the story by the grandfather in Act I.
Everyone in this talented cast plays a different part in the two acts. Finding people who could successfully play a fairly modern American family and a 1960's Cuban family and their friends must be difficult, but The Laguna Playhouse did a wonderful job. Sonia Flew is a fabulous play and I highly recommend getting to The Laguna Playhouse to see it by October 15th. If the show we saw on a Friday night was any indication, tickets are still available, but hopefully word will spread. Catch Sonia Flew while you can!
Grade: A
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Eric Bana (Avner), Daniel Craig (Steve), Ciaran Hinds (Carl), Mathieu Kassovitz (Robert), Hanns Zischler (Hans)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Munich page.
Do I think Munich deserved to be nominated for best picture? Nope, but it was better than Good Night, and Good Luck., so I guess I can see why it was. Also, Steven Spielberg said he thought it was better than Schindler's List (which I strongly disagree with, but they are his movies...), so how could the academy not nominate Munich for best picture when a film Spielberg thought wasn't as good in his library of films won best picture? I can see how it happened. I'm very glad that the academy seems to agree with me that Schindler's List is the better picture, since Munich didn't win any Oscars.
Munich was a very good movie, but it definitely dragged in parts. We had it from Netflix for over a week before watching it, since neither of us ever seemed to be in the mood for a movie we knew was going to be very sad. This is the same reason I didn't get to see it before the awards this year. Of course, unlike many years, I was no where close to seeing all the nominiees this year, so it wasn't as big of a deal. Hopefully, I'm doing better with the 2006 nominees. Now that movies come out on DVD so quickly, it's getting easier and easier to be up to date in time for the Oscars.
I think Munich is worth renting, but I'm glad we didn't see it in a theatre.
Grade: B
Labels: 2005, Daniel Craig, drama, Eric Bana, history, movie, thriller, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Len Cariou (Joe Keller), Laurie Metcalf (Kate Keller), Neil Patrick Harris (Chris Keller), Amy Sloan (Ann Deever), Chris Payne Gilbert (George Deever), Morgan Rusler (Dr. Jim Bayliss), Robin Riker (Sue Bayliss), Liam Christopher O'Brien (Frank Lubey), Megan Austin Oberle (Lydia Lubey), & Sterling Beaumon (Bert)
I had never seen Arthur Miller's All My Sons before and was excited to see it with such a wonderful cast. All My Sons instantly shot to the top of my list of favorite plays. Proof is still my favorite, but All My Sons is right behind it. Arthur Miller was an amazing playwrite and I'm so glad that the Geffen Playhouse put on this production of All My Sons.
Although I was expecting the moment at the end of the third act, it still caught me by surprise a bit when it happened. Something about waiting for a moment throughout the whole play seems to do that to me. I didn't know much about the story going into the play, since seeing the cast and a play by Arthur Miller was all I needed to know to buy the ticket.
I highly recommend this production in LA. It's playing at the Geffen Playhouse until May 21st, so there's still time to catch it if you're in the LA area. If not, I recommend that you see it if there is a production nearby in the future. So far, All My Sons is my favorite of the plays I've seen by Arthur Miller. It's a very well written and powerful play about what one man does to do what he thinks is necessary to provide for his family during the war. Years later, everything is uncovered as his son is about to marry his partner's daughter. The way the truth is revealed and how everyone handles it makes the play interesting.
The fact that our country is again at war makes All My Sons very timely in spite of the fact that it was written about 60 years ago. If you can get to see the production at the Geffen Playhouse, you won't be disappointed.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, Best Revival, drama, Neil Patrick Harris, play, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Tom Cruise (Ray Ferrier), Dakota Fanning (Rachel Ferrier), Miranda Otto (Mary Ann), Justin Chatwin (Robbie Ferrier), Tim Robbins (Harlan Ogilvy)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's War of the Worlds page.
I didn't see the original movie, but (like just about everyone), I know of the HG Wells story. With Steven Spielberg directing, Tom Cruise & Dakota Fanning starring, and such a great supporting cast, I must admit that I expected more. I expected to be really impressed with the special effects, to get grabbed by the movie immediately and fear for the characters, etc.
As much as I love Dakota Fanning (and will probably always see anything she does) and enjoyed the rest of the cast (with the possible exception of Tim Robbins for whatever reason - I normally like him, too), I really wasn't impressed with the movie overall. The story just wasn't that great. The plot seemed a bit erratic and sketchy to me. The special effects were good, though, so I guess it was worth seeing in theatres for that.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2005, action, adventure, Dakota Fanning, movie, remake, sci-fi, Tom Cruise, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Don Cheadle (Paul Rusesabagina)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Hotel Rwanda page.
Wow... This movie struck me to the core. I thought I understood quite a bit about the wars and struggles in Africa, but I definitely had rose-colored glasses on where it was concerned. Hotel Rwanda was so realistic that I often found myself trying to hide from the screen and I cried at many points.
Terry George did an amazing job directing this talented cast. Knowing that many of the actors in the movie lived through this actual experience, it blows me away that they were able to act in Hotel Rwanda after going through such horrible things in real life. I can't imagine living through something like that once, let alone re-creating it. What they did is really impressive. I'm sure they knew that this story had to be told and were willing to put themselves through the horror in order to spread the word. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been.
Hotel Rwanda is definitely the kind of movie you want to see when you are doing something totally fun and uplifting that night (in my case, playing with my fiance's nieces). I would not recommend seeing Hotel Rwanda at night, since leaving the theatre to a dark night might prolong the depression caused by the movie, but it is definitely a movie that needs to be seen to be believed. I'm glad I saw this before the award shows and hope that everyone in the film is rewarded for their amazing performances.
Grade: A
Labels: 2004, Don Cheadle, drama, history, movie, thriller, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:55 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Colin Farrell (Alexander), Angelina Jolie (Olympias), Anthony Hopkins (Old Ptolemy), Connor Paolo (Young Alexander)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Alexander page.
Since the story interests me, the cast was very well done (in spite of the fact that Angelina Jolie is only a couple years older than Colin Farrell), Oliver Stone was directing, and everything else seemed to be perfectly aligned, I had high hopes for Alexander. Apparently, that wasn't wise.
Seeing this movie on Thanksgiving before going over to dinner was not the best idea, either. Before we even touched food, we were already tired. Alexander is a LONG movie (even for those in the almost 3 hour range, it dragged).
They seemed to spend too much time on things that meant little to the story and not enough on some of the key interesting parts of the story. I definitely wished we'd waited till it was on DVD. Perhaps we could have fast-forwarded through the boring parts. And if not, we could have at least been multi-tasking.
Oliver Stone really disappointed me. He had amazing actors and could have done so much with a movie about Alexander. Instead, it seemed like a wasted 3 hours.
Grade: C-
Labels: 2004, action, adventure, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, drama, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:40 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: For complete cast info, see IMDb's Fahrenheit 9/11 page.
Such a great movie! Perhaps if more people had seen this Bush wouldn't have been re-elected. Then again, that's a moot point anyway, since enough people didn't see it and Bush is the president again. Only a few more years till 2008...
Until then, study up on what Bush did so that we think about whether anyone he endorses can be trusted with our country in times of crisis.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2004, documentary, history, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Clive Owen (Arthur), Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot), Hugh Dancy (Galahad), Keira Knightley (Guinevere)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's King Arthur page.
I've always liked the story of King Arthur, so the latest version of the story interested me. The cast was amazing, as were the costumes and the music (I love Hans Zimmer). This King Arthur movie demystified the legend. It took out all the "magic" and concentrated on nature and relationships.
I enjoyed this version of the King Arthur legend, though I think that it could have been better done. Definitely worth renting.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, action, adventure, Clive Owen, drama, Hugh Dancy, Keira Knightley, movie, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams