Director: Tyler Perry
Writer: Tyler Perry
Genre: Comedy/Drama

Although this was certainly a lot better than the play that it was a remake of, it was still not what I would call my type of movie. The film focuses on a few different life situations that people have to deal with and then presents the solutions as life lessons. The main problem with the film is Tyler Perry. Tyler Perry wrote and directed the film and stars as three of the main characters including Madea. This is sort of funny for a while, but gets old pretty fast and after seeing most of the play version and seeing Tyler Perry’s name posted on every billboard I have seen lately it just became quite a nuisance. There are some good messages throughout the film so it sort of makes up for the obnoxious aspects of the film.

The directing was decent, but I still do not feel like Tyler Perry has learned how to make his films feel more like a movie than a play. Maybe once he starts making more original works it will begin to feel more like something that was intended to be a movie. In the case of Madea Goes to Jail it just feels like there were a few things that Mr. Perry wanted to do that he was not able to do in a play and figured that he could make some good cash redoing his play as a film. Of course I am sure he did just what he had hoped to do, but this did not make for a great film. Sometimes it is even difficult to watch because I did not feel like there was much true emotion in it and most of the things that were going on were truly emotional situations. This did allow for a wider audience though and it is actually a comedy so it fits right in with a lot of other comedies I have seen over the years that may have had a few heartfelt messages, but didn’t really connect with it’s audience.

The acting was a great place for Tyler Perry to improve upon the play, but he failed to deliver. I am not sure why Tyler Perry wants to dress up like an old woman so much, but that is certainly his main selling point for the film. The film would have lost a lot of its laughs if it were not for Tyler Perry’s Madea character, but as I mentioned earlier it was just overused. Maybe it was long before I actually saw the film that I was sick of it because of all of the previews and billboards and Tyler Perry’s this and that. Needless to say it had already been worn out before the movie started for me. The other actors in the film did a decent job and some even a good job, but they are in the wrong place if they want to truly move their career forward. This was the Tyler Perry show.

A shout out to my mother-in-law in the green shirt.  She had a great surprise face when Madea forklifted a lady’s car in the Kmart parking lot

Overall I would have liked it more if it had not been made by Tyler Perry. That seems like a shallow thing to say, but he is so in your face all of the time that I really cannot see him as anything but stuck up and full of himself. That is a shame because he has no doubt made quite a name for himself by putting his name so prominently on all of his movie posters, but at this point it only feels like negative press. I like the filmmakers who don’t throw their name in your face and that you have to watch the movie and then think “who made this film, it was awesome”. The mystery of it almost makes the film more incredible. The laughs in Madea Goes to Jail were present though and in spite of Tyler Perry there were enough sincere moments that most of the messages of the film came across clearly. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheap laugh and is not already completely annoyed with the name Tyler Perry.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 644,092
Sharon Movie? No

Session 9 (2001)

With low expectations and high hopes I decided to give Session 9 a try. Fortunately it was able to live up to the low expectations, but the high hopes may have been a little out of reach. This horror thriller has a lot going for it in the creepy setting and eerie story, but the end was fuzzy at best. I really started to like it about half way in and the fact that most of the film becomes quite plausible by the end is a good twist. Don’t worry, I do no think that gives anything away. The best thing it has is the realistic feel. IF it had not felt like a story about real people then it would have needed a lot more crazy stuff going on. This was worth the watch for a little scare, but it wasn’t great.

Raw Score: 667,338
Sharon Movie? No

The Deal (2008)

William H. Macy can be one of the most obnoxious actors, but he can also really deliver if he needs to. I would say he played his obnoxious character in this one, but it still managed to give some laughs. The idea does not seem all that original since it is about a guy who writes a movie script and everyone changes it and tears it apart until it is nothing like it was originally. This is the constant voice we hear from writers out there; complaining about how their work is altered before it is released to the public. It is true though, this sort of stuff happens all of the time unless you are the writer, director, and producer of your film. The laughs were still there because of Macy’s wacky fast paced comedy. Just don’t expect the world from this one and it might entertain you enough for a late night.

Raw Score:642,093
Sharon Movie? Yes

Stardust (2007)

Seeming more like a kids movie, Stardust manages to bring a decent story to life even if a bit childish at times. It was surprising to see De Niro in this one. Sometimes I think he has gone completely soft, but Righteous Kill was able to prove me otherwise. The sad thing is that I really think Stardust could have been better if it had been a little more serious about itself. This is often my complaint about movies for the younger crowd. It is almost like they just don’t try to be really good or do not think that it is necessary. Stardust was still fun to watch, but they need to push for more effort if they want it to be a well made movie. Check it out for a good adventure and some decent story telling.

Raw Score: 659,019
Sharon Movie? Yes

The Lost Boys (1987)

A classic 80s flick provided by Kiefer Sutherland and Joel Schumacher. Vampires seem all the rage right now with Twilight and all the other recent vampire shows and movies. I still haven’t found vampires that interesting. I always liked zombies better just because they are funnier. However, The Lost Boys was funny a lot of times even if it was more because it was made in the 80s. The classic vampire stuff is all here, but they of course have their own convenient way of making it more interesting that will likely make you laugh towards the end. I enjoyed it until the end, but it was never something that made me laugh enough. It really does feel more like one of those 80s films that you really can’t put in a genre. It is light and fluffy, yet it bounces back and forth between comedy and horror. I would have to lean towards comedy though.

Raw Score: 681,889
Sharon Movie? No

Watching the Detectives (2007)

Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu are terrible together and their characters in this film are as well. I kept expecting their to be some sort of identifiable connection, but it just never happened. The good part was that it was a comedy so the pain did not last long. I really liked Cillian Murphy before this film, but after I am less impressed. Lucy Liu was never in my good book and this did not change a thing for that. The plot of this one still doesn’t mean a thing to me. It should have made me care about the characters, but instead it made me dislike the characters and not care when bad things happened to them. Pass this one unless you are looking for something with no substance at all and has a weird match up between Liu and Murphy.

Raw Score:544,990
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Ron Howard
Writer: David Koepp and Akiva Goldsman
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller

Anticipation of the expected controversy of Angels and Demons after seeing The Da Vinci Code left me with complete disappointment. Not to say that Angels and Demons was a bad movie or that The Da Vinci Code was a great film, but Angels and Demons was certainly not as interesting as Da Vinci Code. Still this film managed to be well made and well acted from almost all respects. What it lacks is simply a compelling story.

Angels and Demons made attempts in the previews to make it seem as though it would be controversial and exciting, but in the end it was a mediocre thriller/drama. Ron Howard still directs with confidence and the cinematography was beautiful. The acting was excellent by Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor even if a little laid back by Hanks. Hanks has certain style that is universal across all of his films and that is part of what makes him so great. He looks comfortable in his characters and that is what true acting is about. McGregor almost seemed out of place as McKenna, but he still comes through. Unfortunately the directing allowed some of the things that were supposed to be more subtle in the acting shine their ugly head out on the film. You can quite easily see what is coming next and if you can’t then you will likely feel like it was obvious once you see it played out.

In spite of its flaws it does manage to be entertaining. The most frustrating thing about the film is how it feels like everything just plays out so perfectly. It did not feel like Hanks had to do much to figure out the next move of the antagonist. Every move we are one step behind, yet so close. It almost feels like if they had just taken a couple more minutes trying to figure something out they could have caught the bad guy earlier on rather than stringing it out into this huge spectacle. But alas, then there would not be a movie. Drama? Yes. Thriller? Well, maybe. It has its exciting moments and it is fast paced, but it almost runs more like an action adventure like Indiana Jones or National Treasure. This is not what I expected at all.

The verdict is that it is mediocre. It is not at all controversial like the Da Vinci Code was (which is what that one had going for it) and it is not as thrilling as most thrillers. The fact that it follows The Da Vinci Code may be its biggest downfall. I was expecting more and received less. Ron Howard is not always the best, but he is fairly consistently good and he happens upon greatness from time to time. Unfortunately we will have to wait until Howard’s next film to see if we can have greatness again. As far as the whole family being able to watch Angels and Demons it is pretty close to that clean. There are certainly some intense scenes and a little bit of blood, but it isn’t Die Hard or anything especially from a language aspect. This is a take or leave type movie; don’t rush to see it.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 702,091
Sharon Movie? No

Director: Stephen Daldry
Writer: David Hare (screenplay) and Bernhard Schlink (book)
Genre: Drama/Romance

The Reader will shock most with it’s harsh narrative and surprisingly steamy romance, yet it still manages to deliver a hard hitting and compelling story. The Reader follows Michael Berg (David Kross younger and Ralph Fiennes older), a young man who happens upon a lonely older women who helps him when he is very sick.  He is able to make it home where he is bed ridden for weeks.  Once Michael recovers from his terrible sickness he goes to thank the woman, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet). She at first seems very stand offish, but suddenly everything changes and they have a long affair. Later they part ways, but Michael cannot stop thinking about her and when in law school observes a WWII war-crime trial in which she is a defendant. Now Michael must watch his first love be questioned in the court and decide if he will help to defend her with knowledge he has gained from their relationship.

The story of The Reader, although not an uplifting one, is quite compelling. After getting through the steamy beginning of the film you are left with an emotional drama working its best to get your eyes watering. Thankfully, the earlier part of the film establishes the characters enough to make you feel for them and connect with their stories. This forces relevance on the emotion of the later portion of the film. Aside from emotion though, the story is interesting to watch unfold. You do not just accept each part as it happens and figure out what is going to happen next; instead you are forced to think about what you would do if presented with the same situation and wonder what the characters in the film will do. Engaging and masterfully written.

The acting is likely the largely talked about aspect of the film especially due to Kate Winslet’s excellent performance. Seemingly emotionless for most of the film, Hanna (Winslet) occasionally provides chilling expressions. A perfect portrayal of a person so determined to keep a secret that she will sacrifice everything else that she has to do it. David Kross is no light weight in The Reader either though; delivering powerful lines and a dynamic character of passion. Ralph Fiennes, even with the large credit on the movie poster does not have the hard hitting role in this one until just near the end and really only briefly. When he delivers he delivers with excellence though. Although Fiennes and Winslet are expected to be great they out do themselves and Kross shows he can perform with the best of them. Tremendous acting in a difficult story to act out.

Overall it was the mixture of story and acting that made the film. The directing and editing of the film created a good flow to present this masterpiece which I dare say is not going to be liked by many people. I say it is not going to be a film most people will like because it is just so sad. There are redeeming moments, but most are in the beginning and after you are torn apart throughout the middle and end of the film there is not much left for a smile. I love movies that really get to your emotions whether it be happiness, sadness, anger, or fear does not really matter to me unless I am just in the mood for one in particular. Make no mistake though, The Reader should (if you let it) leave you in a dreary state. I could not help but be excited about how well made it was and how great the performances were so that was enough for me to be happy. However, the casual moviegoer beware this is not a movie for happy entertainment.  In addition if you are offended by nudity be warned that Winslet, as in a lot of her films, bares all and David Kross isn’t shy either.  I highly recommend to those that are a fan of the book or are looking for a well made movie with great acting in it.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 873,009
Sharon Movie? No

Slumdog Millionaire
Milk
Angels and Demons
Marley and Me
The Reader
The Invasion of the Bodysnatchers
Incendiary
Powder Blue
Bride Wars
Chaos

That is just the list of movies that I have watched and need to review that I have not added to my list of movies to review. That list is nearly 80 films and they are sure to be drifting from my overstocked memory banks. If you see a film above that you would like to have reviewed first please let me know and I will try to get to that earlier than the others.

Don’t worry, I will pull myself together one of these days. Getting our house on the market was more work than I could have imagined. Hopefully after getting that finished I will have more time to pour into DMR.

Admittedly after many weeks of having Madea Goes to Jail available to watch, I only recently was able to bring myself to actually try and watch it. Unfortunately I was not able to make it through it in its entirety. I will definitely sit through all of the movie version of the play, but this one was just not worth my time. I could tell from the parts that I watched that the story had a few good life lessons to present and was going to try hard to present them, but after watching the first five minutes I knew it was not something I wanted to watch. This also means that I really cannot give it a rating, but I will say that I do not recommend it to anyone unless they are looking for a video recorded play with awful sound and stage props. This is just not my thing; I do not like to watch live performances most of the time because I get nervous for the actors. I worry about them messing up and in fact there were a few moments where these actors stumbled over their lines and had to recover. I really takes me out of the whole experience and keeps me from relating to the characters and feeling like the story has real meaning. Again this is just how I feel about it and really most any plays so if plays are something that you enjoy you should give it a chance.

Man Overboard attempts to get you excited about boats and salesmen, but leaves room for improvement. Although it was funny for the most part and never overly obnoxious or offensive, it lacked a little bit of direction. It tipped from family friendly light comedy to slightly offensive adult only comedy. If only it were to take out a few of the offensive scenes and some of the language it could easily be rated close to PG or PG-13. If I had one recommendation it would be to edit it towards family film. The problem with the other direction is that it feels to light at times to come close to being edgy or offensive humor.

The directing, although nothing remarkable, gets the job done quite cleanly. At times the scenery seems sparse and a bit set up, but of course budget constraints are likely the culprit. The directing mainly came down to the family versus adult edgy aspect which if one direction was strongly chosen it would have been much better. It is almost like the director and writers may have been torn a little about which way to take it and in the end found themselves somewhere in between. The writing was capable and some of the lines were quite good and most importantly funny.

The cast mainly made up of TV actors was another source of the almost sitcom feel; the set seemed set up and the actors almost played into the audience applause or laughter which was actually not there. The acting was only suspect on a few occasions though, and certainly did not take away from the film. Were the film to be done by movie stars it would have been better, but not significantly.

It all boils down to the fact that it was a low budget film made by mainly TV actors and it felt like it too. The reason it did not leave a lasting impression is that it was not harsh enough to get a rise out of me and not clean enough to watch with the whole family. It felt very much like a TV show with the F word thrown in from time to time just to remind you that it was not a TV show. It was worth the watch though, and definitely funny enough to make me laugh. Good for a light afternoon comedy.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 589,110
Sharon Movie? No

Like Minds or Murderous Intent as released in US was a quiet thriller that will not sweep many off their feet. The first time I saw the film I liked it, but apparently not enough to remember it. When this review was requested I picked up a copy to give it a try only to find that I had already seen it. It was worth the second watch fortunately since I had forgotten it mostly and it is a pretty good film. Even though I think it is a good film there was a certain emotion or intensity that seemed to be missing.

The story follows a young man who is charged with a murder of one of his friends. While the cops try to determine whether he is actually guilty of the crime or not we are taken through his take on what happened leading up to the incident. At first the film is quite slow and really only picks up from time to time. This is the main factor that will likely turn away most. Although it has a good story and good acting, it fails to really bring home the excitement. I liked it in spite of this, but it is certainly worth a mention for those considering picking it up.

The acting may well have been the high point of the film. Although the story holds its own, it was the acting that made the film what it was. The debut of Eddie Redmayne was great. He took all of his stage acting talent and adapted it nicely into this film. Toni Collette, who is always the one that blends into the film makes her presence in this one, but still manages to create a truly sincere character. Mainly Redmayne and Tom Sturridge filled the screen. The two worked quite well together to make believable and interesting characters as well.

The directing was more on par with what a debut film is like. There are always exceptions to the rule and some of the greatest films are those first films that a director has made, but Murderous Intent was still missing something. If only it had had more controversy or emotion to move it along, maybe that would have been enough. All this to say that the directing was good, but not great.

Overall, there are enough story twists and turns to keep you watching, but not enough to astonish. The acting was good, the story good, and the directing was decent, but it was not enough to make it great for the mainstream. It is worth the watch, and I liked it, but it is hard to recommend the film to a large audience. This is my kind of film and yet it did not have enough impact to stay with me. The second watch was still good and did not lesson the value of the film by much. Of course you do know what happens at the end, but it is like Sixth Sense where the second time around you are looking harder for the deeper meanings and how everything is pieced together.  Two times is likely enough and hopefully I will remember it so that I do not watch it again.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 714,098
Sharon Movie? No

Director: John Patrick Shanley
Writer: John Patrick Shanley
Genre: Drama

John Patrick Shanley takes his play and adapts it into a film with two of the best actors of our time. Meryl Streep, who almost fit the role too well, was an excellent choice. She is certainly good at playing the character with no remorse and who will stop at nothing to get her way. Philip Seymour Hoffman also fits his role with excellence, but it is undoubtedly an opposite role. The two were a perfect match; throw in an Amy Adams and you have a stellar cast. There is no question why the play that this film is based off of won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2005. The story is the strong foundation for the accomplished film.

The story is about a catholic priest (Hoffman) who is the head of a school. He wants to make the school and church more inviting for the community and to actually help the students and families that are involved with the church. When the first black student begins getting special treatment from the priest, the nun principal (Streep) becomes suspicious of the relationship between the two. She will then stop at nothing to uncover the truth. The only problem is that there is no evidence that the priest has done anything wrong. In spite of the lack of evidence, the principal is dead set on taking the priest down.

The somewhat slow flow of the film allows the characters to develop seamlessly while the story unfolds. Although the basic story of the film as well as the topic seem commonplace, the film is quite powerful and emotional. A lot of this power and emotion comes from the great actors and actresses, but the directing obviously drives this home. Shanely takes the play and makes it into a masterpiece of a film. The camera work is key to making it feel more a like the film it is rather than the play that it is based off of. Often the camera is set on a diagonal so that it makes even subtle scenes seem much more interesting.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep are still great. Hoffman keeps getting better with each film that he does and this role was great one for him. I do not usually like Streep and this film did not change that since she is still the character that is impossible to like. It is like taking her performance in The Devil Wears Prada and adapting it to a nun; weird when you think about it, but it works perfectly. Amy Adams played a great innocent nun and school teacher to round out the cast.

The film as a whole was excellent; taking a different approach to an otherwise worn out topic. I loved how it focused on stereotypes and how they can drive people to think things about others that they would otherwise have no reason to think. It allows the viewer to take a step back and think about whether they would really base all of their assumptions on purely stereotypes that the society has created rather than logical reasoning. The film creates all of the emotion and drama while being quite clean also; the PG-13 rating is only for thematic material. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good drama with some excellent acting.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 822,091
Sharon Movie? No

Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
Genre: Sci-Fi/Action

Although it is not as much of an “everybody” as it is being made out to be, it certainly is leaps and bounds closer to that than other Star Trek films in the past. I have to hand it to J.J. Abrams for truly reviving the series and making it possible for a wider audience to enjoy. Even though it is much more universal in its presentation, it is still a Sci-fi movie. If you do not like Sci-fi then it will still not be for you, but if you can tolerate Sci-fi then this is a great film. The action, drama, comedy, and adventure of the film will likely offer enough to appeal to most.

The journey in this film starts before the originals with the main characters as they were first getting involved in the space missions. This was certainly an interesting approach which allowed the film to feel very fresh and at the same time stay true to its roots. The actors are younger and hipper than previous films, allowing the younger crowd to appreciate the film even if they have not seen any other Star Trek film. I must admit I have not seen all of the Star Trek films or watched all of the shows, but I have seen enough to know that this film gives a lot for the new crowd and the old crowd.

The action is clean and fast paced and the way the film is shot makes Star Trek look better than it ever has before. Even the character development was strong with the well constructed script and storyline. There were a lot of relationships that had to be established in this film to make it feel like it fit into the series and it was more than able to accomplish that goal. The acting was rarely suspect and most often really good. Although none of the parts seemed to require a very challenging role, the acting was solid. The directing also aided in making the character interactions flow well with the story and mood of the film.

Overall, you will not find a Star Trek film with as much action, drama, and comedy all together in one package. Combining that with the universal appeal of the film quality and actors makes this true genius on the part of J.J. Abrams. I can’t wait to see more films that he is involved in because he is not afraid to take real risks and break the mold that has been set before him. The film is even PG-13 without sacrificing much in the way of action and thrills. If you are a Trekkie or have never seen anything even related to Star Trek you have a good chance of liking this film.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 838,112
Sharon Movie? Yes