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Constrasting Movie Reviews
Nov. 7th, 2009 08:46 pmThere might be spoilers in the comments but I am going to try to keep it pretty spoiler free in the reviews.
This weekend I went to see two movies. One with Peter which was The Men who stare at Goats and one with Caroline which was Astro Boy
The reasons we went to see The Men who stare at Goats were twofold. One there were the commercials which had us laughing and two there was the cast which was a whole bunch of actors that we have enjoyed their performances over the years.
The plot is tissue paper so don’t think too hard about it but the acting is just wonderful with strong performances by just about everyone in it. And then there is the odd meta to the entire piece having Ewan McGregor as a reporter interviewing a guy who claims to be a Jedi Knight which plays through the piece rather nicely. George Clooney impressed me again. Jeff Bridges is such an under rated actor. Every time I see him in something he impresses the heck out of me. Kevin Spacey did what he does best which is a lot with just a little material to work with. The only unfortunate scene is in the middle and there was no way that they could have known what was going to happen in the world the day that they opened. It snapped us out of the film for just a minute but we were sucked back in pretty fast.
Overall I enjoyed it a lot. It is not a film for everyone but I would say that if you are a fan of any of the men in the film, see it. If you enjoy seeing really good strong acting see it. I will say that it is one of those films that you don’t have to see on a large screen. Peter said that it had a cable movie feel to it and since the BBC and Starz were the producers, I could see how he would think that.
Astro Boy was something that I saw in my teens but enjoyed because of the kitschy nature and it was early anime. Caroline has enjoyed watching the episodes of the original series in her father’s lap. When she saw the first trailer, she informed us that she was going to see this movie.
Peter had taken Caroline to see it earlier in the week. She kept insisting that she wanted to take me to see it too. So this afternoon we went. And I enjoyed it. I was a little uncertain from the commercials if I would but it is quite a cute film. The animation style was not as off putting as I thought it was going to be. The pace was good and the story was good too. It kept me involved and Caroline involved as well which can be a real trick with a film that is family friendly.
The voice cast is good. Nathan Lane is over the top but when is Mr. Lane not over the top and it goes with his character. There were a number of voices that at the end while reading the credits, I said “Of Course.” The plot was fine. Donald Sutherland was a good villain of the piece. The origin of Astro was slight rejiggered but it made more sense than the original reason for his existence in the cartoon series. We had more of an emotional investment in him. It had the silly jokes for the kids and a number for the adults. This one does need the big screen for the scope of things. Nice movie. Not too scary for the younger folk and everything works out in the end.
I am grateful that I went to the movies with Peter and with Caroline.
This weekend I went to see two movies. One with Peter which was The Men who stare at Goats and one with Caroline which was Astro Boy
The reasons we went to see The Men who stare at Goats were twofold. One there were the commercials which had us laughing and two there was the cast which was a whole bunch of actors that we have enjoyed their performances over the years.
The plot is tissue paper so don’t think too hard about it but the acting is just wonderful with strong performances by just about everyone in it. And then there is the odd meta to the entire piece having Ewan McGregor as a reporter interviewing a guy who claims to be a Jedi Knight which plays through the piece rather nicely. George Clooney impressed me again. Jeff Bridges is such an under rated actor. Every time I see him in something he impresses the heck out of me. Kevin Spacey did what he does best which is a lot with just a little material to work with. The only unfortunate scene is in the middle and there was no way that they could have known what was going to happen in the world the day that they opened. It snapped us out of the film for just a minute but we were sucked back in pretty fast.
Overall I enjoyed it a lot. It is not a film for everyone but I would say that if you are a fan of any of the men in the film, see it. If you enjoy seeing really good strong acting see it. I will say that it is one of those films that you don’t have to see on a large screen. Peter said that it had a cable movie feel to it and since the BBC and Starz were the producers, I could see how he would think that.
Astro Boy was something that I saw in my teens but enjoyed because of the kitschy nature and it was early anime. Caroline has enjoyed watching the episodes of the original series in her father’s lap. When she saw the first trailer, she informed us that she was going to see this movie.
Peter had taken Caroline to see it earlier in the week. She kept insisting that she wanted to take me to see it too. So this afternoon we went. And I enjoyed it. I was a little uncertain from the commercials if I would but it is quite a cute film. The animation style was not as off putting as I thought it was going to be. The pace was good and the story was good too. It kept me involved and Caroline involved as well which can be a real trick with a film that is family friendly.
The voice cast is good. Nathan Lane is over the top but when is Mr. Lane not over the top and it goes with his character. There were a number of voices that at the end while reading the credits, I said “Of Course.” The plot was fine. Donald Sutherland was a good villain of the piece. The origin of Astro was slight rejiggered but it made more sense than the original reason for his existence in the cartoon series. We had more of an emotional investment in him. It had the silly jokes for the kids and a number for the adults. This one does need the big screen for the scope of things. Nice movie. Not too scary for the younger folk and everything works out in the end.
I am grateful that I went to the movies with Peter and with Caroline.
