Movie Mini-Reviews

Lately I've been watching a lot of films in lieu of reading (all the fault of my boyfriend, although he's reading Jane Eyre, so it's win-win!), and I thought it would be nice to jot down some thoughts on what I've seen for my memory's sake, and also to see if any of my blog readers have thoughts on these films.  I'll start first with the less recent watch -

The Girl (2012)

Starring: Sienna Miller and Toby Jones

I love Hitchcock's films, so I thought I would love this behind the scenes look at the making of The Birds and Hitchcock's relationship with Tippi Hedren.  Even though I knew they didn't have a good relationship.  But wow, this film did not shy away from showing a disturbingly perverted side to Hitchcock.  I'm not sure how accurate this is, but it's definitely not how I want to think of Hitchcock.  The film itself moves a bit slow too, which didn't help with my overall enjoyment of it.  Also there were plenty of moments that showed off how creepy Hitchcock was towards Tippi, and I wish there had been more of an explanation/reasoning on why she decided to do another film with him after The Birds.  And I would have been interested to know more about Hitchcock's wife and what she was really thinking during that time.

The Lost Boys (1987)

Starring: Jason Patric and Corey Haim

This is a film I've heard a lot about, but never watched, so now that has been rectified.  It's kind of surprising it's taken me this long to see it, given how much I love vampire stories.  This one reminded me a lot of Fright Night with the tone, and the stand-off at the end.  This is a very entertaining film - it has all the hallmarks of an exciting vampire film - an innocent resistant to becoming a vampire himself, an allure and danger to the vampires, a beautiful girl in need of rescuing, and a surprise villain in the end.  And it has some very humorous moments! It was surprising to see a young Kiefer Sutherland too - he's very well cast as the dangerous, seductive vampire in this!

X-Men Apocalypse (2016)

Starring: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender

The X-Men film franchise is my favorite superhero franchise.  I just love the ensemble (made even better now that Michael Fassbender is a part of it!) and even though this film is not as good as the first two, I still really enjoyed it.  The Apocalypse concept is a little hard to understand for me (also I'm zero percent familiar with the comic books).  I did always like how X-Men made superhero powers believable with the whole genetic mutation thing, and the social implications of living with humans and mutants, that having this film start in ancient Egypt with an odd ritual to transfer bodies/power just felt off for the concept.  It was action-packed though, and the realism especially held for Magneto/Erik's storyline which was gut-wrenching.  I also absolutely loved Jean Grey's introduction into the story and how her powers were exhibited.  She was probably my favorite part of the film.

Independence Day (1996)

Starring: Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith

This is another film I've not seen before, that I needed to fix since the sequel is coming out soon, and we are planning to see it.  I don't know why I missed this one, I certainly heard enough about it.  For a movie that seems to be a part of our pop culture, I was surprised by how lackluster I often found it.  The different storylines made it stand out though, as the focus was not so much on the aliens but on how people would deal with a very terrifying situation. Not that I enjoyed all the storylines equally, but it did get better with all the switching, as things started to get more exciting.  The film is cheesy, but the premise is chilling, and I'm curious to see how it will play out in the sequel.  I'm hoping it will have a little more of an edge.  I am, however, most looking forward to seeing Brent Spiner (Data!).

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Starring: Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves

There's a theme here, as this is another movie I've never seen, despite it being so much a part of pop culture.  Time travel is a trope I always love, so I was eager to finally watch this one.  And that has to be a reference to Doctor Who with the phone box - excellent!  This is a very silly movie though, and it's pretty light on plot.  It feels more like a showcase for the jokes on history and culture, but they are very good jokes and I enjoyed seeing what time periods Bill and Ted would visit.  And the two leads are so memorable.  Their particular way of speaking does kind of get into your head. I'm very much resisting quoting from the film with their particular accent!

Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

Starring: Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman

Yes, another movie I hadn't seen before!  I really loved this one though - the dark humor, the progressively uncomfortable farcical situations and the great comic timing of the two leads made this so entertaining.  I knew the concept before watching, and I was wondering how you could pull off that a person is alive when they are not, but apparently it can be done, and it was hilarious.  The script is so well written too - all the moments for the characters pay off - from Richard's interest in Gwen and his awkward habit of lying, to Bernie's womanizing, and the hit man's shock when he thinks Bernie is still alive.  Farces are always fun to watch for me, and this one is pretty near perfect!

Back to School (1986)
Starring Rodney Dangerfield

Another comedy that was completely new to me - I hadn't heard of this one before, although seeing a film starring Rodney Dangerfield was appealing to me because I find his style of comedy fun.  It's clear he's not a great actor, but this film felt more like a showcase for his quips and for his personality and that made this good fun to watch.  The plot of Rodney going back to college to encourage his son to continue, as well as to prove that he can do it, was inspiring in a silly, comedic way too.  It's Rodney's personality though that really holds the film together.