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Internet Movie Database
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04 Jan

Sweeney Todd

Grade: A-

Tim Burton, Stephen Sondheim and Johnny Depp – what a combination!  And wow, does it work!  It’s a stroke of genius to have Tim Burton direct the movie version of the popular long-running stage show, Sweeney Todd.  It’s the most macabre musical ever.  The story is of a barber, going by the name of Sweeney Todd, who has gotten out of prison years after being falsely accused.  Upon his release, he returns to London to seek revenge on those who ruined his life.  He does so by killing them with his barber’s blade!  The landlady, Mrs. Lovett, is infatuated with Mr. Todd and becomes his accomplice, making meat pies out of the bodies. Some interesting side stories going on which help to propel the action.  The lighting, costumes, make-up, sets, all spectacular.  The songs are amazing.  Johnny Depp can sing!  Helena Bonham Carter is Mrs. Lovett, a role played by Angela Lansbury on Broadway.  She is awesome, so convincingly smitten and dysfunctional, and gothicly (is that a word?) beautiful.  Tim Burton fans will absolutely love this movie.  Just be prepared, there’s a lot of blood, neon, splattering, all over the place.  The whole thing is so original, bizarre and creative – a must for future filmmakers.  It’s rated R for all the violence, definitely not for young kids, even if they’re Johnny Depp fans.
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04 Jan

Superman

Grade: B

The “new” Superman, Brandon Routh, looks so much like Christopher Reeve it really brought back memories.  He even acts like him!  It’s like no time has gone by at all, except of course, it has been about 20 years since the last movie.  In movie time, Superman was “away” for 5 years, and in that time, his true love, Lois Lane, had a baby boy.  The new Lois is Kate Bosworth with brown hair.  She’s ok in the role, but not as feisty as Margot Kidder was. Kevin Spacey is Lex Luthor, played alternately villainous and egomaniacally humorous. There are a lot of comparisons throughout of Superman and Jesus, as if Superman just might be the savior in more ways than one.  Since I just recently saw Spacey and Bosworth in “Beyond the Sea” I couldn’t help but think of that movie when they were in scenes together.

All in all an interesting movie.  At 2 1/2 hours I’d say it was about 1/2 hour too long.  It would have been better to pick up the pace.

Young kids might get antsy sitting still for so long – but the story is compelling enough for pre-teens to follow.
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04 Jan

Sunshine Cleaning

Grade: A-

Amy Adams and Emily Blunt star as down-on-their-luck sisters who start a hazardous waste cleaning company.  It’s pretty gross work, but someone’s got to do it, and the girls figure they can make it happen for the money.  They each have their personal issues to work out, and despite the challenges they face, they have that kind of moxie to rise above.  Strong characters, wonderful acting, great story, happy ending.  My kind of movie.
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04 Jan

Stranger Than Fiction

Grade: B

This is not your typical Will Ferrell movie… but I think it’s his best one yet.  There’s no slapstick, or running around naked – here Will plays a gentle, ordinary guy who happens to hear a voice narrating his life.  This takes the IRS agent out of his mundane existence and gets him questioning every move his makes.  Emma Thompson, the only person who has won an Oscar for both screenwriting and acting, plays the novelist who writes about this character.  Dustin Hoffman has a nice turn as an off-beat literature professor who assists Will in his struggle to find the author in question.  Queen Latifah comes in mid-way as the author’s assistant, sent to help her get over her writer’s block. Maggie Gyllenhal plays Will’s unlikely love interest.

Hard to peg, is it a comedy or a cdrama?  It’s a little of both. Thought provoking, and also fun.  Nice for teens, younger kids probably won’t get it.

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04 Jan

Stop Loss

Grade: B

Stop Loss is a really difficult movie to watch because it is so real, and so tragic to think that all of this is really going on right now.  Ryan Phillippe stars as Brandon King, a young soldier and war hero who has served multiple tours in Iraq.  His experiences in the war have left him disillusioned and heartbroken.  Just as he is about to complete his contract and be released, he is “stop-lossed” – meaning that he is to be sent back to Iraq to fight again.  He disputes this, and when his voice goes unheard, he runs.

Brandon’s war buddies are as shaken as he is by their experiences, but they each handle it in a different way. Steve, played by Channing Tatum, actually re-enlists, knowing that the war offers him job security as a sniper, a job he is good at.  His fiance Michele, played by Abbie Cornish, is tired of waiting around for Steve, so she dumps him, and ends up helping Brandon figure out what he is going to do.

Stop Loss is heartwrenching.  It’s a story that needs to be told, and it should be eye-opening for audiences.
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04 Jan

Step Up 2 The Streets

Grade: B-

Step Up 2 The Streets is a combination of Fame and Flashdance, set in present day Baltimore.  Instead of “gangs” there are groups of dance teams called “crews” and they challenge each other to dances.  When the kids are dancing, the movie is phenomenal.  When they talk, the script shows, and it’s trite.

The funniest line in the movie is when the new crew in town performs and gets heckled – someone in the crowd yells out: “This isn’t High School Musical!”

Greg and I were the oldest ones in the audience.  There were a few other parents there probably because they drove their kids.  Mostly young teenagers.  Some great messages about friendship, being true to yourself.
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04 Jan

Stealth

Grade: D

I have to struggle to find something good to say about “Stealth.” I liked the locations. But other than that… yikes. It was a total cliche – a combination of “Top Gun” and a movie of Kit the car from “Knight Rider” as a plane. Josh Lucas’s character is a macho jerk – and what the heck was Jamie Foxx thinking when he took this movie right after Ray??? We’ve got a strong female lead in Jessica Biel’s character, but then we see her pining away over Josh. Why would she even like him? The special effects make it seem like we’re watching a video game – and there’s so much shaky stuff going on I had to keep looking away because it was rattling my brain. Pass on this one.
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04 Jan

State of Play

Grade: B+

It would be great if there were more movies like “State of Play.”  This is actually a movie for grown-ups.  Smart dialogue, interesting plot, multi-dimensional characters.  This is really Russell Crowe’s movie – he plays an old-school investigative journalist who writes for a high profile Washington paper.  His college roommate, Ben Affleck, is now a senator, and when Ben gets caught up in a scandal, he goes to his buddy for help.  Add to the mix Helen Mirren as the newspaper editor, Rachel McAdams as the fresh-faced blogger girl, and Robin Wright Penn as Ben’s neglected wife and you’ve got an amazing cast.  Some nice twists.  Worth seeing.
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04 Jan

Stardust

Grade: A-

Stardust is a fairy tale for adults.  The movie brings us into a magical, mystical world full of wonder, and lets our imagination play.

Fairy tales are traditionally violent, so that is the caveat here – this movie is not for young children.  Teens will adore it, but young kids will likely find the scenes too frightening, even though most of the “gore” takes place off-screen, and thus, in our minds.

This is a story of transformation.  A young man goes on a journey to please who he thinks is his true love.  He ends up discovering his real true love, and himself, along the way.  Claire Danes is the star who falls from the sky and is looking for her way “home.”  Michelle Pfeiffer is the witch who wants to cut out the star’s heart so that she can be immortal.  Robert DeNiro is the in-the-closet pirate who helps the young couple.  They’re all really good, and over-the-top in the kind of way that you should be in a fanciful fairy tale.

Truly delightful –  I loved it!
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04 Jan

Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith

Grade: A

I am proud to say that I have now seen every one of the Star Wars movies, in the theatre! There’s a whole new generation of kids who have seen Star Wars on video or DVD, but I remember when the first series hit theatres, and what a huge impact it had on pop culture. And movie-making has never been the same!

And now George Lucas has done it again. This last, and supposedly final film in the Star Wars saga, wraps it all up for us, answers all of our questions, and parades out all of our favorite characters. It’s a classic. What I love so much about this particular movie are the characterizations. We really get to know Anakin, and his motivations, and his fears – what led him to the “dark side.” It’s quite a character study, and Lucas is brilliant in the way that he brings it to life.

One caveat: Star Wars 3 is rated PG-13. It’s the first movie in the series that got that rating, the others are just PG. I’m sure this rating is for the violence. So, just be prepared if you want to bring your kids. I think probably age 10 and up can handle it, especially if they’re already familiar with the Star Wars stories. Younger than that I would think seriously before taking them.

Hayden Christensen is marvelous as Anakin – a role that he’ll be forever associated with. He’s a fine young actor, and I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of him. Natalie Portman already has an Oscar nomination under her belt. She is destined to be one of the most memorable actresses or her generation.

Expect to see a few Oscar nominations for this one – certainly for special effects.
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