Movie Reviews on good movies that are compulsory viewing

This classic movie won an Oscar for the first time director Frank Darabont and you can see why.

It is based on a short story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King, and focuses on the life of a young banker Andy Dufresne played by Tim Robbins(The Player), after being found guilty of the murder of his wife and her male companion.

He protests his innocence, but the judge seeing his demeanour paraphrased, says “you strike me as a particularly cold and remorseless individual… ” and sentences him to two life sentences.

Whilst in prison he befriends the local prison smuggler, Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding played magnificently(who was nominated and many felt deserved the Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role) by Morgan Freeman. There is a scene that might leave many a little befuddled, as Andy askes Red if he can smuggle in Rita Hayworth, Red replies no problem, narrating that whenever anyone needed anything they came to him, and you are left in two minds on what exactly this means.

It captures the torment of prison, and the prisoners struggles as their humanity is eroded. There is a particular poignant scene played by the late James Whitmore(Give ’em hell Harry) as Brooks Hatlen who has been released into a modern world after fifty years in prison, writing a letter to his friends back in jail, whilst his voice narrates the letter we are shown him struggling to get to grips with the modern world, such as crossing the road to avoid the many motor cars, he hardly ever saw when he was a kid.

Along with having to serve time for a crime he didn’t commit Andy also has to help the corrupt warden, Warden Norton played wonderfully by Bob Gunton(The Lazarus Project) siphon money obtained from using the prisoners as cheap workers into private accounts, as well as the Warden’s enforcer Captain Hadley played by Clancy Brown(Highlander, Kelvin Inman in Lost) prevent the government from taking huge chunk of tax from his inheritance. While in prison Andy tries to take his mind over the wrongful conviction by focusing on projects such as a prison library, carving out chess pieces, and helping Tommy played by a young Gil Bellows(Ally McBeal) pass his school exams.

This is a well directed movie, with superb performances from all and it is truly a wonderful case of the “indomitable human spirit“.

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The models at the museum come back to life in this sequel, starring the main characters in the prequel, Ben Stiller(Tropic Thunder) plays Larry Daley again with Jake Cherry playing his son Nick, the fantastic Robin Williams(Good Will Hunting, can adequately handle comedy as well as serious roles) plays Theodore Roosevelt, Owen Wilson(The Wedding Crashers) as the cowboy Jedediah, Steve Coogan as the miniature Roman commander Octavius, Mizuo Peck as Sacajawea.

This time round, the museum is about to be closed, with more interactive virtual tours, and all the models and exhibit are to be shipped to the archives at the Smithsonian, separated from the life-giving tablet, Larry may never see them alive again, while our protagonist Larry is a CEO of his own company and has left the night guard business, by the time Larry tries to put a stop to it, it is already too late and the models and exhibits have already been shipped.

Not one to give up, Larry along with his son, launch an audacious bid to find the exhibits and put a stop to the developments in the museum.

There is a scene reminiscent of the cargo scene in Raider’s of the lost Ark, where the exhibits are being loaded in cargoes, and for a second you could almost hear the same theme music, that was played in Raider’s of the Lost Ark.

Matters are complicated when Kahmunrah(played by the very talented Hank Azariah [The Simpsons], with an impressive English accent) the brother of Ahkmenrah wants the tablet to unleash his army of the dead and rule over the world.

There is a hilarious scene where Owen Wilson’s Jedediah Smith character along with Steve Coogan’s Roman Centurion Octavius go around attacking the enemy, by stabbing them with their little knives, it is an amusing scene, as it is shot with a tongue in cheek attempt at the slow motion battle scene in 300, they are going through the same motions, but the effect since they are so tiny is amusing to the audience, as the enemy only feels little nicks on their feet, it is brilliantly shot.

Love interest for Larry is provided by the fabulous Amy Adams(Charlie Wilson’s war) who plays Amelia Earhart the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.

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This is an enjoyable family oriented movie, about a newly recruited museum guard by outgoing guard Gus played by the legendary Mickey Rooney(The Black Stallion), who finds that at night the models, and mannequins come to life, due to a life-giving tablet. Unfortunately they can only be alive up to sunrise, where they go back to their inanimate state, but that is ample time for them to chaos chaos to the museum, with Neanderthals, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Vikings and Huns and other malevolent characters to avoid.

Unfortunately the life giving tablet has fallen into the hands of Ahkmenrah who wants to use it to get out of the confines of the Museum and be able to live outside of it’s realms past the sunrise.

Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder) plays Larry Daley the Museum guard with Jake Cherry playing his son Nick, Ricky Gervais(The Office) plays Dr. McPhee the manager of the museum.  Rami Malek plays Ahkmenrah, Steve Coogan as the miniature roman Octavius, Owen Wilson(The Wedding Crashers) as the cowboy Jedediah.

The always dependable Robin Williams plays Theodore Roosevelt, constantly on horse back and has his eye for Sacajawea played by the lovely Mizuo Peck.

Larry has to prevent many of the animated characters from causing havoc to the museum, notably a Capuchin monkey called Dexter, and he also has to tolerate one of the workers at the musuem Rebecca, who doesn’t take him seriously played by the lovely Carla Gugino(Snake eyes), after constantly having to battle wits with Dexter, Larry is amused when Rebecca the next day describes the Capuchin monkey as one of the most generous creatures.

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This is a nice family oriented romantic comedy starring the lovely red head Isla Fisher(Wedding Crashers, Fiance of the notorious Baron Sasha Cohen more widely known as Ali G. and Borat ).

Isla Fisher plays Rebecca Bloomwood of the title, whose childhood desires has given want to spending more than she really should in adulthood to the desperation of her flatmate and best friend Suze, played by the lovely Krysten Ritter(What happens in Vegas) .

Matters come a pivotal moment for Rebecca when she applies for her dream job at a fashion magazine headed by Alette Naylor played by the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas(The English Patient) unrecognisable with her French accent, but in the process ends up working as a financial journalist headed by Edgar West played by John Lithgow(3rd Rock from the sun) and run by Luke Brandon played by Hugh Dancy(Blood and Chocolate), the initial first bad impressions aside, Luke gives her a chance, and she proves a hit with her column “The Girl with the green scarf” giving tidbits and common sense approach to spending for all who can’t help but use their plastic.

Her column becomes so popular that it is featured on television, and in the midst of all this, a debt collection man has been after Rebecca for some time for obviously some unpaid credit card debt, he happens to turn up at her work place, where Rebecca tells her boss that he is a stalker, he promptly has him thrown out, but the more popular she becomes the closer her gets to confronting her about the unpaid debt, which Suze, and her parents Jane and Graham played by Joan Cusack(Arlington Road, something about her smile just brightens up any scene) and John Goodman(Roseanne, Evan Almighty) have been advising her to do.

Realising that she has to do something about her escalating debts, cheered on by her best friend and flatmate who is soon to be hitched, she joins the equivalent of Alcoholic Anonymous for Shopaholics, but will it be too late before the debt collector exposes her in front of her boss and the media?

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This is a deeply disturbing drama, that is based on true events although a great deal of liberty was taken with the truth, as often happens when movies are made based on such events. Nonetheless this is a deeply engrossing poignant drama.

It stars the superb Kate Beckinsale(Underworld) as Rachel Armstrong, a high flying journalist that has revealed the identity of a CIA agent Erica Van Doren played by Vera Farmiga(Running Scared), the government are none too happy about this, and have a federal prosecutor Patton Dubois played by Matt Dillon(absolutely brilliant in Traffic) in on the case, to get Rachel and her newspaper to reveal their source, he is at first charming to Rachel in a Southern manner, but then begins to place governmental pressure on Rachel and her employers on every area to get them or her to reveal her source, or else face federal indictments that could land her in prison.

As not being able to divulge their sources is key to the openness many journalists are able to benefit with regarding their potential sources, she refuses, backed by her boss Bonnie Benjamin played by AngelaBassett(What’s love got to do with it, Malcolm X), and her top notch lawyer Alan Burnside played by Alan Alda(What women want).

Matters come to a crescendo as the CIA operative whose cover had been blown confronts Rachel on a number of occasions to reveal her source, and the strain on her life at work and home is beginning to tell especially with her husband Ray played by David Schwimmer(Friends).

It is brilliant acting all through, and you are never quite ready with the what has been laid out for the finale.
Beckinsale) with left, her lawyer Alan Burnside(Alan Alda) and the prosecutor Patton Dubois(Matt Dillon)”>

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This is a great family movie, with some hilarious moments all the family will enjoy.

It stars Adam Sadler(Don’t mess with the Zohan) as Skeeter Bronson a hotel handyman whose father previously ran the hotel but has been swallowed up by a conglomerate headed by Richard Nottingham played by Barry Griffiths(Venus, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) Skeeter although promised a long time ago by Barry Nottingham that he would manage the hotel on account of his father by Marty played by Jonathan Pryce(Pirates of the Caribbean),, unfortunately that promise has not come to fruition, as well as his manual duties he is looked down upon by the antagonist Kendall played by the dependant Guy Pearce(Death defying acts).

The good news for Skeeter is he gets to babysit his adorable nephew and niece Bobbi and Patrick respectively, played by Laura Ann Kesling and played by Jonathan Morgan Heit who have made a wish, and the wish is whatever story he reads to them somehow some of that story comes to pass, in Skeeter’s life.

This is where the uniqueness of this movie comes into play, as you keep wondering what could happen, as does Skeeter when he realises whatever story they make him read come to pass. Things are complicated when the regular baby sitter Jill played by the lovely Keri Russell with very warm eyes(Mission Impossible: III), as inevitably Skeeter starts to fall for her, and she for him albeit his first impressions didn’t go down so well, Skeeter hopes to manipulate the bedtime stories to his benefit, but as usual in this realm things never quite go to plan.

It is a great family movie, all will find bits to enjoy.

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This is a lovely teen comedy the family will enjoy, it tells the story of a typical teenager Danny Stein played by Steven Kaplan(a young Patrick Dempsey lookalike) preparing for his big prom night, except he hasn’t found a girl to go to the prom with, there is the obvious girl he really should go to the prom with, who he has known all his life, they get on well, and even do school projects together, as her sister says “he is practically a brother“, with, Camille played by the lovely Alia Shawkat, his entire family and hers think that they should go together, but as most teenage boys he is looking for something a little outside his immediate surroundings, notably a very pretty girl Alice played by Ashley Benson, strangely enough he wants to ask her out to the prom even though he suspects he is just a tease, and even contemplates Camille’s sister Gerties(played by the very pretty Katie McClellan) as opposed to herself.

Embarrassingly for her Camille even sends him a letter to take her to the prom, which he lets her down gently that he has the eyes for someone else.

Matters come to a head when the local geek(complete with the big double rimmed glasses) not only has a date for the prom but a room hence the title, much to the shock and amazement of his entire family, his mother played by the lovely Cheryl Hines(Robin William’s wife in RV) and his divorced dad complete with a nice looking perm played by the dependable William H. Macy(Boogie Nights), his dad is trying to find a date for himself, and there is a funny sequence where he takes his date to a restaurant along with Danny still asking for advice on if the girl of his dreams should be asked to the prom, based on his father’s good natured meaning but awkward in the current circumstances, his date makes an excuse that her toddler needs the bathroom, and notably speeds off in her car, while the two are discussing the issue of Danny’s potential prom date.

Mixed with his desire to have his parents reconciled, amidst the new man in his mother’s life who is nice enough but his dad although not as rich as him will not have his son’s affections taken by another guy.

It is a nice sweet family movie, and you could tell there are aspects of it if not the whole thing biographical.

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This is an absolute riotous comedy helped along by the brilliant performances of the cast.

It stars Ashton Kutcher(Punk’d, Bobby) as Jack Fuller and Cameron Diaz(Charlie’s Angels) as Joy McNally, two mis-matched individuals heading off to Las Vegas to forget their troublesome home life, Joy fresh from a break-up from her ex-fiance and Jack just been sacked from his job by none other than his dad Jack Williams Sr. played Treat Williams(The Devil’s own)(there is a hilarious sequence where Jack challenges his father to a basketball match in order to keep his job, of course he lot pretty easily too).

Jack and his hilarious sidekick Hater played by the infectious Rob Corddry and Joy and her best friend Tipper played by the lovely Lake Bell find out that they have been mistakenly booked in the same suite. Determined to make the most of it, even though none of them get along at first, they decide to go out for a night to drown their sorrows, but somehow end up getting married in a drunken stupor.

The next day realising the mistake they are eager to call the whole thing off, until Jack’s spin at the wheel lands him a fortune, and as you know man and wife are legally obliged to share everything, much to their initial disappointment they are made to live as man and wife for several months by a judge, who doesn’t believe in quickie divorces, and beliefs the matrimonial vows should be kept to.

The longer they stay together under the same roof, the inevitable attraction begins, and it turns out to be a very warm romantic comedy.

The camaraderie and sparks between Tipper and Hater steal every scene, and the highlights are the end, is even more hilarious then the whole movie.

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This is a very strange and engrossing movie, starring Russell Crowe(Gladiator), Jon Foster, and a brilliant Sophie Traub(The interpreter).
It tells the story of a recovering psychopath Eric Poole(Jon Foster) having his record exhumed for killing his religious parents, because in his mind, he didn’t really do anything, according to the detective who has made him his own special pet project, Detective Cristofuoro(Crowe),
he is addicted to the “tenderness” of the kill, and remembers nothing of the incidents.

Cristofuoro has made Eric his “pet project” partly because he has nothing else of interest in his life, his wife is terminally ill, and stopping Eric is all he looks forward to.

On his release Cristofuoro meets him telling him, he is a psychopath, and will kill again, and they both know this, and he(Cristofuoro) will be watching him to make sure it doesn’t happen.

Prior to this meeting we are introduced to the young, often effervescent, typical teenager Lori(Sophie Traub), who is having some problems at home opening up with her mother and her new boyfriend, she finds escape with what seems romantic notions about Eric, and soon after his release makes the trip to go and see him, hiding in his car, as he goes on a road trip, telling his aunt Teresa(Laua Dern, Jurassic Park), he is off to view some colleges.

During the road trip we find out that Lori had met Eric before although he is having problems remembering, there are some well acted tense moments, when you wonder what on earth Lori has got herself into, as Detective Cristofuoro paraphrased would say “he will kill again it is only a matter of time“, but the alarming reality for Lori is she knows all about Eric with an angst ridden typical teenager, innocent manner “loves” him, much to his confusion.

We also get an insight on how Eric views people, notable Detective Cristofuoro who he regards “as a small beans cop with a vegetable for a wife“, he tells Lori he only has to ask about his wife to “shut him up“, she replies that isn’t this how people generally are, the look of nonchalance on Eric’s visage speaks volumes.

This is a brilliant suspense thriller, and a solid performance from all, the star of the movie notably without a doubt is Sophie Traub and she is sure to be a rising star.

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This is another funny Jim Carrey movie(can’t say I have ever seen one that wasn’t intrinsically hilarious in some way).

The plot is of a tired sales man Carl Allen(Jim Carrey), who happens to wander into a feel good seminar where everybody says “Yes” and accepts whatever life throws at them, any questions, any requirements from anyone for anything just say “Yes” to it. The guru of this new age feel good ground is Terence Bundley played by the superb Terence Stamp(General Zod in Superman returns).

Despite Carl’s objections he agrees to Terence’s advice to just say yes to absolutely everything for a whole year, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, or strange the request, but as cosmic logic goes(especially in the movies), once he has said yes he can’t back out. There is a hilariously funny segment that sums Jim Carrey at his most funniest, having to entertain an elderly lady Tillie played by Fionnula Flanagan, who is surprisingly adept, as I am much more familiar with her as the sullen elder Eloise Hawkings in Lost.

Love interest for Carl is provided by Allison played by the lovely Zooey Deschanel(Live Free or Die, something about her seems very familiar, she has that look of familiarity that you have seen her somewhere but can’t quite pin it), the meet in a hilarious segment as Allison’s rock group are bumbling around making songs as they go along as Carl somehow becomes a fan as opposed to the other solitary fan in the bar. Allison sees Carl’s willingness to say yes to everything as a true rebel, and someone to look up to, and the inevitable romance begins.

It has some absolute classic moments especially the scenes with Carl and Tillie which will go down as one of the scenes of the year for rib tickling laughter.

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