movie review

“Z” is for Zack and Miri Make a Porno

| rachelhamm
source: imdb.com
source: imdb.com

Watched: April 29, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingZackandMiri

Year Released: 2008

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks

Run Time: 101 minutes

Description (from IMDb): Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.

source: timetoputonashow.tumblr.com
source: timetoputonashow.tumblr.com

Obviously, this movie was stupid. So, obviously it was hilarious and I loved it.  I didn’t realize until after I watched it and went on IMDb for my usual trivia check that Kevin Smith wrote and directed it.  I should have, though, because “Jay” actor Jason Mewes was in it.  And really, does Jay ever do anything without his hetero lifemate, Silent Bob?

This month, I’ve watched several romantic comedies, who woulda thought my favorite ones would be about abortion (Obvious Child) and porn?

I’m really proud of myself that I actually finished the A to Z challenge.  I thought watching 26 movies, live-tweeting them, and writing a short review about each would be super easy, but it was hard (no pun intended).  I didn’t always have the time planned to watch the movies, and some nights I didn’t have the energy to tweet.  But, I managed it.  It’s all done.  Will I be this ambitious next year?  Possibly, if I can think of another fun topic that sounds like it will be easy!

source: comedycentral.tumblr.com
source: comedycentral.tumblr.com

For all of my tweets about Zack and Miri Make a Porno, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingZackandMiri

 

“Y” is for Young Frankenstein

| rachelhamm
source: movies.io
source: movies.io

Watched: April 27, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingYoungFrankenstein

Year Released: 1974

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn

Run Time: 106 minutes

Description (from IMDb): Dr. Frankenstein’s grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits granddad’s castle and repeats the experiments.

source: fuckyeahmelbrooks.tumblr.com
source: fuckyeahmelbrooks.tumblr.com

I had trouble finding a “Y” movie that I’d both heard of and hadn’t seen yet, so when I saw Young Frankenstein at the library, I decided to give Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder a second chance after the monstrosity that was The Producers.  After all, I LOVE Robin Hood: Men in Tights, which is Mel Brooks, too.

This movie was definitely more my speed, but I don’t think it was as good as Men in Tights.  There were certainly funny moments, but I think a lot of the humor was either over my head, or possibly just didn’t age well.  The song and dance in the gif above was my favorite part, with Madaline Kahn’s Bride of Frankenstein hair at the end being a close second.  I’d definitely watch again, and I have a feeling I’d get more of the humor out of it the second time around.

source: gifsoup.com
source: gifsoup.com

For more of my thoughts on this movie, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingYoungFrankenstein

 

“X” is for X-Men: Days of Future Past

| rachelhamm
source: xmenmovies.wikia.com
source: xmenmovies.wikia.com

Watched: April 26, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingXMenDoFP

Year Released: 2014

Genre: Action / Superhero

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart, Ellen Page, Halle Berry

Run Time: 131 minutes

Description (from IMDb): The X-Men send Wolverine to the past in a desperate effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.

source: teenagefanatic.blogspot.com
source: teenagefanatic.blogspot.com

I loved this movie.  I’ve loved all the X-Men movies I’ve seen (with the exception of Wolverine), but this was definitely my favorite.  I tend to enjoy time-travel and I really appreciated how it was handled in this film.  The action scenes were great, as always, and I loved the focus on character relationships.  Plus, the CAST. I mean, do you see the list above? All amazing actors, and not bad on the eyes.  At one point I was distracted by all the pretty before me on the screen.  Who do I love more, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Fassbender, or Peter Dinklage? I can’t choose! I even love Peter with his terrible 70s style glasses and pornstache.

Can’t wait for Apocalypse in 2016!

source: tumblr.com
source: tumblr.com

For more of my thoughts on this movie, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingXMenDoFP

 

“W” is for Warm Bodies

| rachelhamm
source: gigapan.com
source: gigapan.com

Watched: April 25, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingWarmBodies

Year Released: 2013

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Paranormal

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer

Run Time: 98 minutes

Description (from IMDb): After a highly unusual zombie saves a still-living girl from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

source: teen.com
source: teen.com

Many of my friends recommended this movie to me and I had such high hopes for it, that I actually bought the dvd without watching it first.  I’m not sure if my expectations were met or not.  I certainly enjoyed parts of the movie – I thought the acting by the two leads was fantastic.  Nicholas Hoult really inhabited his character and his voiceover was hilarious.  When he was telling himself not to be creepy (see Gif above) or to say something human, I found myself relating so much.  Because who doesn’t need to be reminded now and then to be human?

I know this film is based on a book and I’m now interested enough to want to read it.  I wonder if there’s more explanation for certain things, like how the apocalypse started, and why “R” was so much more aware than the other zombies seemed to be.  All and all, I’ll watch the movie again, if only to see if I like it better when giving it my full attention (live-tweeting certainly does divide my focus).

source: rebloggy.com
source: rebloggy.com

For all of my thoughts on this movie, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingWarmBodies

 

 

“U” is for Up in the Air

| rachelhamm
source: geektyrant.com
source: geektyrant.com

Watched: April 22, 2015 on DVD

Hashtag: #WatchingUpInTheAir

Year Released: 2009

Genre: Drama

Starring: George Clooney, Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga

Run Time: 109 minutes

Description (from IMDb): With a job traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham enjoys his life living out of a suitcase, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a new hire and a potential love interest.

source: giphy.com
source: giphy.com

This is another DVD borrowed from my mother.  She’s got a thing for George Clooney.  She thinks he looks like my dad.  Not the other way around, not that my dad looks like George Clooney, but that George Clooney looks like my dad.  Spoiler – he doesn’t.  They are pretty close in age, though.  Dad is about 2 weeks older than George.

My dad (holding my niece), not George Clooney.
My dad (holding my niece), not George Clooney.

Okay, sorry for that detour.  My thoughts on this movie – I really enjoyed it!  I thought Clooney’s acting in this movie was much better than in The Descendants, probably because he was really able to tap into his own experience.  He played a man who didn’t really believe in commitment, and there was a scene where Anna Kendrick’s character was trying to convince him that relationships were important and didn’t he want to get married someday where you could almost sense him winking at the audience.  After all, at the time the movie was made he was a serial bachelor.

But then, towards the end, he gets his heartbroken by the woman he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with, and you can see those walls he’d put up crumbling down.  It was lovely.  And as always, Anna Kendrick is Queen.

My one grip was the “cool girl” character.  The put a twist on her at the end, but she was still annoying.  Newsflash, saying you are not like “other” women is a shitty thing to say.  All women are awesome.  Implying that there is something wrong with the way “other” women act or think, but you’re cool because you act like a man, is horrid.  Every woman should be proud of herself and love herself just the way she is.  Don’t be like a man or a woman, just be you.

source: wifflegif.com
source: wifflegif.com

As always, you can check out all of my tweets from this movie by following me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and searching for #WatchingUpInTheAir.  Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of tweets from the later half of the movie, because my phone lost service 😦

 

“S” is for The Silence of the Lambs

| rachelhamm
source: lipmag.com
source: lipmag.com

Watched: April 19, 2015 on Netflix

Hashtag: #WatchingSilenceoftheLambs

Year Released: 1991

Genre: Thriller

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins

Run Time: 118 minutes

Description (from IMDb): A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

There will be no gifs or funny pictures for this post, because this movie is too disturbing to produce any.

This was the one movie I was most concerned about watching because I do NOT do horror, but luckily it was definitely more of a thriller.  I think I had the misconception because I read somewhere that it was the only horror film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.  It was definitely CREEPY, though, even if it wasn’t really scary.

It was a very good movie, and I definitely understand the hype, but I do wish the case against Buffalo Bill had been more of a focus.  In the first half of the movie, it seemed more like an afterthought.  I also never fully understood why the FBI would send in a cadet to deal with Hannibal Lecter, that part just didn’t feel believable.  Even if she was his type.

All, in all, though, I give it 2 thumbs up.  Very well made and interesting to watch.  I only had a few moments where I had to look away from the screen (the poor cops – you know what I’m talking about).

 

I actually didn’t have a lot of tweets for this movie, but if you do want to see the rest of them, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingSilenceoftheLambs

“R” is for Reservoir Dogs

| rachelhamm
source: pixshark.com
source: pixshark.com

Watched: April 18, 2015 on Netflix

Hashtag: #WatchingReservoirDogs

Year Released: 1992

Genre: Crime/Drama

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi

Run Time: 99 minutes

Description (from IMDb): After a simple jewelry heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

You may want to get yourself in the mood with this song. Press Play before reading the review.

source: threttassessment.wordpress.com
source: threttassessment.wordpress.com

Okay, so I didn’t realize Reservoir Dogs was another Quentin Tarantino film until I hit ‘play’ on Netflix.  Serves me right for not doing my research, huh?  But actually, I enjoyed Reservoir Dogs more than Kill Bill, which surprised me.  You’d think I’d be all about a movie which was all about the bad-assness of strong ladies, rather than a movie that was all about the weakness and craziness of stupid men, but in the end, the gore and fight scenes in Kill Bill were just a hair worse than those in Reservoir Dogs.

That’s not to say there wasn’t gore or fight scenes in RD. In fact, I almost turned the movie off during the infamous torture scene because it was AWFUL – I literally thought I was going to puke if Mr. Blonde set the cop on fire.  But, Tarantino reigned himself in little bit.  There wasn’t blood spurting everywhere and the torture scene was at least interesting for being broken up with the music and dance number (in the gif above) and the long shot where Mr. Blonde walked out to his car and then back inside.

I was just telling some friends of my mistake in watching a second Tarantino film for this project and realized I had to admit that I respect him as a filmmaker.  He is original and takes risks and uses music really well, I just don’t particularly care for the stories he tells.

Also of note, there is not a single female speaking role in this movie. It was his first movie, and as I said above, he did go on to showcase really awesome female characters in future movies, so while it irks me, I’m not going to hold it too much against him.

source: wifflegif.com
source: wifflegif.com

To see all my thoughts on this movie as I was watching it, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingReservoirDogs

“Q” is for The Quiet Man

| rachelhamm
source: en.wikipedia.org
source: en.wikipedia.org

Watched: April 18, 2015 on Netflix

Hashtag: #WatchingQuietMan

Year Released: 1952

Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance

Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara

Run Time: 129 minutes

Description (from Google): In an attempt to escape his past, Sean Thornton (John Wayne) returns to America to reclaim his homestead. Once he is home, his eye is caught by Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara), a poor maiden with an ill-tempered older brother named Will. Their relationship is constantly on attack by Will (Victor McLaglen), which forms the main plot line, with Sean’s past as the undercurrent.

source: tumblr.com
source: tumblr.com

Here’s what I got out of this movie: I’m super attracted to John Wayne in a tailored suit and I will now need to watch all of his westerns to see if I feel the same way about him in cowboy attire.  Also, while I loved Maureen O’Hara in the original Parent Trap, I did not care for her in this movie.  She was scared whitless of this man (John Wayne’s character Sean Thornton), then he kisses her once (without any prompting or permission) and suddenly she’s in love with him.  I realize there probably weren’t a ton of character options for women back in the 50’s, but I mean, COME ON!  Of course, it could have just been the tailored suit she was so enamored with, in which case, I semi-forgive her.

After watching the film, I read the trivia section on IMDb, as I always do, and found out that the studio wanted the director (John Ford) to cut at least 9 minutes out of the movie to get it under two hours and he argued that he’d already trimmed all the fat.  Well, I’d like to argue with him on that.  There were so many gratuitous shots of green valleys and hills, and superfluous minor characters that he could have EASILY cut another 15-20 minutes from this film and not lost a bit of story.  I agree with the studio, it was TOO long.

I mostly enjoyed it, except for the length and the terrible Mary Kate character, but I doubt I’ll watch again.

source: doriantb.blogspot.com
source: doriantb.blogspot.com

 

 

For more of my tweets from this movie, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingQuietMan

“P” is for The Producers

| rachelhamm
source: imdb.com
source: imdb.com

Watched: April 16, 2015

Hashtag: #WatchingTheProducers

Year Released: 1967

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder

Run Time: 88 minutes

Description (from IMDb): After putting together another Broadway flop, down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock teams up with timid accountant Leo Bloom in a get-rich-quick scheme to put on the world’s worst show.

source: celluloidfire.tumblr.com
source: celluloidfire.tumblr.com

This movie hurt my feelings because it was so awful.  Okay, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but I did not like this movie. It was loud and obnoxious and I didn’t find it at all funny.  I was surprised because I like Gene Wilder and I like Mel Brooks, but this movie just didn’t work for me.  I don’t really have anything else to say about it, except that I was pretty close to turning it off halfway through and I’m not thrilled that I stuck it out!  I’m sure this is considered blasphemy, but I cannot believe this is considered a comedy classic.

 

source: celluloidfire.tumblr.com
source: celluloidfire.tumblr.com

 

For more of my tweets from this movie experience, follow me on Twitter @RLHammAuthor and search for #WatchingTheProducers