| Waitress:
Is a sharply sweet little movie
about a Southern waitress who is a genius at baking pies, but who has made a
mess of her life by a marriage to a controlling creep and an unwanted
pregnancy. Keri Russell has a fully realized performance as the
frustrated young woman who has to control her sharply honest tongue in front
of her husband, but who advises her friends and becomes involved with her
doctor. The other delightful performance is Andy Griffith as a
crotchety old man she befriends. The movie has charm and spark, makes
you laugh and anticipating what will happen next, and leaves you with a
smile at the end - what more can you ask for? The sad part is that
Adrienne Shelly, the writer and director, who also has a supporting role,
was murdered before the movie was released. But, the film remains a
lovely tribute to her talents.
seen 6/2/07
Some other movies with similar
storylines:
|
| WAKING NED DEVINE: Ian Bannen and David
Kelly portray a couple of rascally fellas who attempt to claim the lottery winnings of
their dead neighbor. The movie has a wonderfully wry humor and charm and the story
has lots of little twists and turns. I can honestly say that I was laughing loudly
with the rest of the audience. A winner. movie
seen 12/12/98 RECOMMEND: LOCAL HERO has much of the same whimsical note, although it is set in Scotland, not Ireland. It tells the story of an American sent to a small town to arrange a deal to drill for oil, who suffers from culture-shock as he is cleverly used by the natives to get the best deal for themselves. Bill Forsythe is a director who throws in funny little asides that don't further the story, but are amusing non-the-less. |
| Walk the Line:
centers on an powerful performance by Joaquin Phoenix as
Johnny Cash during his rise to fame in the 50's, addiction to drugs, and
passion for June Carter, solidly played by Reese Witherspoon. The fact
that they both did their own singing adds to the feel of the movie.
Although the storyline is as old as Hollywood, the performances, music and
intensity rises this movie and explains the award nods. Definitely a
winner and high recommend.
seen
2/11/06 RECOMMEND: The Buddy Holly Story has a surprisingly strong performance by Gary Busey as Buddy. He and the guys playing the Crickets did all their own numbers and is a charming winning little film about the artist lost tragically too soon. |
| War of the Worlds:
I must admit, I am not a Tom Cruise fan and this picture
doesn't help. Although I did find myself sitting on the edge of the
seat through many of the action scenes, the script was full of holes and I
found myself rooting for the aliens to wipe out Cruise's most annoying movie
family. So, this does not reach the level of "Jaws" or even "Jurassic
Park", but the special effects are fun to watch, so I am giving it a passing
grade. But, come on Spielberg - you are capable of so much better
work!! seen
6/30/05 RECOMMEND: Jaws II is one of the worst sequels ever made. I found myself cheering the shark when he got another stupid teenager. Go, Bruce, Go. |
| We Were Soldiers: Should
be shown in tandem with Black Hawk Down, as the films are
unfortunately both based on true tragic stories. This one is the tale of the first
battle of Americans in Viet Nam in 1965 and the focus is on the bravery and esprit de
corps of the soldiers in the face of negative odds. Mel Gibson, Greg Kinnear, and
Barry Pepper are standouts in the cast with solid performances, but Sam Elliott gets the
best lines as a crusty old sergeant (which adds some needed humor to the movie). The
scenes of the wives at home add the emotional level. Warning, the battle scenes are
intense and realistic, but necessary for the film to have its impact. I found myself
very moved by the movie. movie seen 3/2/02 Links to: U.S. 7th Calvary Site and Photographic site of the author of We Were Soldiers
Once...and Young RECOMMEND: Gettysburg is the film about the deciding battle of the Civil War. There are many standouts (in particular, Michigan's own Jeff Daniels) in the cast and the recreations of the battle scenes actually filmed in Gettysburg National Military Park are amazing. |
| Wedding Crashers:
Is pretty silly fun, but it is fun. Owen Wilson and
Vince Vaughn play a pair of pals who attend weddings to pick up chicks.
The scenes where they become the hit of every reception set the scene.
They then become entangled in Christopher Walken's goofy family and the
hilarity really sets in. It is very adult humor and though Wilson and
Rachel McAdams are a sweet couple, the stand-outs are Isla Fisher and
Vaughn, who really push the outside of the envelope. (And Jane Seymour
gives a surprising wild little performance.) I give it a
recommend. seen
7/16/05 RECOMMEND: You Can't It With You is one of Capra's better movies that won the Oscar for 1938's best picture. Jimmy Stewart falls for Jean Arthur despite her family of "individualists". It is very funny and of course very sweet. |
| Whale Rider:
Has a mythical feel to the story of a young Maori girl who is a surviving
twin from her sad birth that took her mother and twin brother. Her
heartbroken father leaves her to be raised by her grandparents. The
conflict of the story is with her grandfather who although he has come to
love her, still resents that she isn't a male who can follow in the
leadership traditions of their family and tribe. Although I found the
dialect sometimes hard to understand, the photography and performances are
so compelling that the storyline can be easily followed. Also, I found
fascinating the telling and performing of the traditions of the family and
its contrast to our modern world. A truly wonderful movie that I can't
recommend enough for the entire family. Keisha
Castle-Hughes is terrific as the dignified girl. movie seen
9/19/03 RECOMMEND: Hawaii is a long movie epic of the 1960's that features Julie Andrews in a non-singing performance as the wife of a very rigid missionary (Max von Sydow). What gives the movie heart is the sweet performance by Jocelyne LaGarde as the Queen of the Islands who welcomes the missionaries. While watching Whale Rider, I was reminded of the opening of Hawaii that told of how the first people came to the Islands and the storyline of the clash of cultures. There are some very nice moments in the film, including a good score by Elmer Bernstein, but unfortunately doesn't quite work as a whole. But, I do have a fondness for it just for those good parts. |
| WHAT LIES BENEATH: Has
some very nice parts to it - unfortunately they are nice parts from other movies (I was
waiting for Hitchcock to do his cameo appearance). So, it is a retread, but Michelle
Pfeiffer gives a warm performance as a woman who goes from the perfect family to fearing
she is being haunted. Unhappily, Harrison Ford walks through his performance with
none of his usual quiet charm. There are mysteries and surprises in the telling and
many red herrings (like that stupid bloody sandal - what happened there?) In
conclusion, I found it watchable, but in the end pretty forgettable. movie seen 7/22/00 RECOMMEND: Presumed Innocent is an earlier Harrison Ford movie in which he is falsely accused of the murder of his lover. Nice performances and an adroit ending make it worth seeing. |
| WHAT WOMEN WANT: is
Mel Gibson at his most charming, turning from a chauvinist jerk to a caring man, when
after an accident he discovers can actually hear what women think. There are many
nice moments in the movie - but my favorite is when he does a darling little dance number
to a Frank Sinatra song. It is also fun to watch the faces of the women when their
true thoughts don't match the smiling expression on their faces. movie seen 12/16/00 RECOMMEND: Legal Eagles is a romance/mystery with Robert Redford and Debra Winger as conflicting attorneys who come together. Redford has a particularly nice moment dancing by himself while watching a late movie. |
| White Oleander: Is
like a well-done chick flick on the Lifetime channel. A young girl is sent into
foster care when her mother kills her lover. The girl's experiences start out well,
but get progressively worse each time. There are solid performances in the movie
that give it strength and make it watchable, though I did find it a bit over written.
movie seen 10/12/02 RECOMMEND: Where the Heart Is is a movie I kept thinking about that began with a teenage mother who gives birth in Wal-Mart. It is on the corny side, but I enjoyed the performances and the quirky storyline that goes from funny to sad and touching. |
| THE WHOLE NINE YARDS: Is
a dark comedy that combines the mob with ordinary citizens, but unfortunately no hilarity
ensues. Oh, there are some laughs, but not enough to recommend the movie. It
is too bad, because there were a lot of good performances especially by Amanda Peet in a
breakout comedy performance as a wannabe hitwoman, but, frankly, Matthew Perry didn't add
to the movie in his key role. movie seen
4/1/00 RECOMMEND: Get Shorty is a mix of the mob and Hollywood that stands up, mainly for John Travolta's confident, standout performance as Chili Palmer. I have actually found it funnier the more times I have seen it. |
| Wild Hogs: Is a pretty funny farce about four guys who decide to hop on their motorcycles to see America, while in truth trying to escape their loser lives. The humor relies on obvious jokes and physical pratfalls, but the good-natured humor and chemistry with the actors makes it work. (William H. Macy gets the best laughs.) The theater was packed on the Friday evening I saw it, so knew it would be a big hit. Not a classic, but a fun hour and half that I can recommend. (The tie to Easy Rider (1969) is very obvious, as you will see.) seen 3/2/07 |
WILD WILD
WEST: The failure of this picture is not due to the strange casting of Will
Smith as Jim West. He has a strong screen presence and looks at home in the western.
Unfortunately, the story has a mean spirit to it and the supporting characters are
either disgusting or surprisingly weak, especially disappointing in the case of Kevin
Kline. The reason the TV series was so successful was it had wonderfully
tongue-in-cheek humor and fun villains (it was patterned after the 1960's James Bond
movies and had that same flair.) The director of this stinker should have forgotten
all the silly contraptions and nasty script and just done a straight western. movie seen 7/3/99 |
| Windtalkers: Director John
Woo tells the story of the W.W.II Navajo code talkers who used their native language to
relay secret war information. Nicholas Cage is the wounded, war weary Marine
assigned to protect the "code" first, who fights feeling any camaraderie with
his code talker (unfortunately, this is a standard performance for him). Adam Beach
and Roger Willie bring dignity and warmth to their performances as the Navajos who must
fight prejudices from the other soldiers. The battle scenes are loud, violent, and
very bloody and frequently very disconcerting in relationship to the quiet, more
thoughtful elements of the film. A bad sign was that I often found myself checking
my watch wanting the movie to be over. So, many good elements, but just didn't tie
it all together for me. movie seen
6/20/02 RECOMMEND: Billy Jack is a 70's culture icon of a film that has a part-Indian veteran fighting the prejudices of a small town. It combined a hippie commune attitude with martial arts and violence to create a true phenomenon for that era. I can remember myself and friends going back several times to see it. Now I actually find it more amusing that insightful, but still remains truly unique movie. |
| WONDER BOYS: is
a movie that has many elements that should have made it better, such as a great cast,
including Michael Douglas as a professor who has been working on his follow-up novel for
years with no end in sight. He becomes involved with a disturbed student played by
Tobey Maguire and the film follows their long day of misadventures. However, I found
myself bored, not absorbed by the telling and wanting the movie to end quickly. movie seen 3/4/00 RECOMMEND: Falling Down is another sharp performance by Michael Douglas as man who blows his cool one day while stuck in traffic. This is a caustically satiric view of a disenfranchised man who takes his revenge on the inanities of the world. Unfortunately, the weak ending diffuses the strength of the movie, but many wonderful scenes make it worth watching. |
| World Trade Center:
is a bit like taking off a bandage too soon, it hurts as much
as the original wound. I found myself getting emotional from the
beginning of the movie and I could the entire audience sniffling the entire
two hours. We all left the theater in deep silence, yet it wasn't
really depression. The movie centers on two policeman who were the
18th & 19th of the 20 survivors pulled from the rubble after the attacks on
9/11. Ably played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena (following up a
terrific performance in last year's "Crash" as the locksmith), you follow
them from the beginning of a normal day through their entering of the
hellish scene at the towers and their eventual imprisonment in the remains
after the towers' implosion. Oliver Stone has managed to craft a movie
that actually uplifts us in remembering that common everyday individuals
will risk their lives to save strangers - an ultimate act of good in this
world. I can highly recommend this film. seen
8/12/06 RECOMMEND: San Francisco, is a classic 1930's epic with Clark Gable at his most roguish charm level, romancing Jeanette MacDonald with his buddy, Spencer Tracy, as the local priest. The movie is pretty soap opera and silly (seeing Jeanette trying to "swing sing" San Francisco is pretty hilarious), but is elevated by the amazing scenes of the San Francisco earthquake. I get chills every time I see that sequence - it is brilliantly done and when you realize that of course they had no computers back then, it really high-lights the skills of film-making that had been achieved. It is finally out on DVD for old film buffs like myself. |