Movie Review #5 - "Mad About Mambo" (2000)

Movie Review #5 - "Mad About Mambo" (2000)

On IMDB:  "Mad About Mambo"

First question you are probably asking is "Why is Benny reviewing a dance movie when he clearly cannot dance?"

Well, you are absolutely right.   I can't dance.  I don't think the "Lawnmower", "Sprinkler", or the "Gigolo" qualify ... And I'm usually pretty well intoxicated if I am dancing ... So, it's not a pleasant sight to behold.

But, I really have a crush on Keri Russel ... I was again cruising Netflix and came across this.

Benny's Rating:  7 / 10 Tabasco Peppers

Plot Synopsis:  Story takes place in Ireland with a young lad (Danny Mitchell played by William Ash) in the American equivalent of High School.  I have no clue how that works in Ireland.  He is a very talented football (soccer) player who lacks focus.  His favorite team "United" recruits a Brazilian player who is really good.  The Brazilian player states the "rhythm" is the key to his good football skills.  He even comments that they learn to Samba before they can walk.

Enter Keri Russel as Lucy McLoughlin.  Lucy wants to be the best Latin dancer.  Lucy's boyfriend, who Protestant, challenges Danny's Team that all Catholic to a friendly (football match for fun).  During the game, Danny breaks Lucy's boyfriend's foot.  So, Lucy's boyfriend (her dancing partner) is out ...

So ... Danny challenges Lucy to be his dancing partner... There are bumps along the way and ... typical love story.  They fall in love. (Wait, I spoiled the ending).

Acting:  Keri Russel was a 24 years old when this was filmed.  However, she plays the part of the high school girl very well.  Again, I have a crush on her.  So, I  am a lot biased.  William Ash (Danny) does a decent job, but then again, pick your unknown Irish actor and it would have still worked.

The big surprise for me was Brian Cox.  He's been a character actor for years.  You would probably know him from the "Bourne" series.  He plays the older Treadstone Project Leader.  I love his work.  There is a special quality that I really enjoy.

Screenplay:  Different, but the same stupid love triangle romantic comedy/drama.  There aren't any memorable lines to speak of.  It's not that it was bad.  It just wasn't great.  "Notting Hill" and "Love Actually" are good screenplays.  Anything by Cameron Crowe is usually good.  I still enjoyed it.

Cinematography:  Definitely pre-HD days.  There were not any shots that were like "Wow, I'd like to do that".  In my little film making career, I don't think I would borrow a shot from this film.

Overall Recommendations:  It's a feel-good, snuggly, warm in the blanket movie.  If you like Keri Russel at all (Felicity, August Rush), you will probably like it.  I like football (soccer), so I would have liked it anyway.  It's a good cozy film to watch if you have had a bad day.  Also, decently kid-friendly for the 13 years old and above.

Movie Review #4 - "Apollo 18"

Movie Review #4 - "Apollo 18"

First before I start my review, I really love the idea of space and space travel.  When I was a small child, I wanted so badly to be an astronaut.  I love the idea of space travel.  Chartering the unknown seemed like such a fantasy.

Now, I have a niece that works for NASA.  I have been fortunate enough to see some really cool things ... Like the simulator for docking and moving the shuttle arm on the now defunct space shuttle ... Very cool stuff.

I love good movies in space ... "Apollo 13" ... "Serenity" ... "Star Trek" ... "Star Wars" ... "Titan A.E" ... just to name a view ...

So, once again ... cruising Netflix for a movie to watch ... and .. "Bam" ... "Apollo 18"

Benny's Rating:  7 / 10 Tabasco Peppers

On IMDB:  "Apollo 18"

Plot Synopsis:  The U.S. Government has hid the "final" mission to the moon.  The Department of Defense sets up a classified mission to the moon to place detectors in case of a Russian attack.  So ... The journey begins ... The crew flies to the moon like we saw the previous 17 times, except this one was not public.  They land on the moon and set up the detectors. 

When they are exploring, they come upon a Russian spacecraft on the moon ... Then, it begins with the rock collection coming to life, finding a dead Cosmonaut, and eventually everyone dies by the "rock disease".

Acting: Most people are going to hate the acting to be honest.   However, I was completely engaged in the story.  I even stopped playing games on my Nexus Tablet to watch.  The lead actors, Warren Christie as "Ben" ("the main story teller), and Lloyd Owen as "Nate" make the story somewhat believable.  The rest of the characters, even the orbiter pilot, were flat and really undeveloped.

Screenplay:  The premise of the screenplay is really interesting.  The dialog seems appropriate for the story.  However, the "moon rocks" becoming alive.  Really?  That's the best you've got?  That was the big let down.  The rocks eventually turn into these space creatures that really scared the crap out of me.

Cinematography:  Visually stunning.  I really enjoying the shots used for emphasis.  Tight shots of the characters when they were frightened or tense.  Wide shots to show the expansive of space.  The flashbacks to the 1960s in the old Kodak 8mm reels ... Nicely done.

Director:  Gonzalo López-Gallego does an outstanding job here.  I really like the flashbacks shots and the overall feel to the picture.   I really liked how it started out like a typical "spy" movie then turned on a dime to a horror film.  Great work.

Overall Recommendations:  If you are on Netflix and are looking for a decently suspenseful film, I would recommend it.  If you are looking for horror gore and seat of your pants adrenaline rushes, then you will probably be disappointed ... I liked it and hope you do as well.

Movie Review #3 - "Gravity" 

Yes ... Finally a movie still playing in the theatre ...

On IMDB:  "Gravity"

 
Plot Synopsis:  People are working on the Hubble Telescope from the Space Shuttle.  Things go awry and they are blasting by space debris ... Three astronauts are dead and Lt. Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and Mission Specialist Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) are floating through space, trying to figure a way home ...

I don't want to say more ... because I'll spoil the movie ...

Benny's Rating: 8 / 10 Tabasco Peppers

Cinematography:  I went to see this movie in IMAX 3D.  It was INCREDIBLE.  Yes, it's a lot of CGI.  Yes, it's not really the mechanics of space.  But ... WOW ... Stunning shots ... I love the wide shots they used for isolation, vastness of space, beauty of space, etc.  The tight shots of the characters were perfectly timed.  It was visually stunning ...

The bad part about the 3D experience is the stupid gimmick ... Pens floating in space, Marvin the Martian Figure ... Really?  Was that really needed? 

The tears rolling off of Sandra Bullock's face, then floating were eye-catching and really impressive ...

While I couldn't find the company name of the Special Effects, Set Builders, 3D Designers, etc., there is a long list of people who did the work ... And it was worth seeing this.

Acting:  Going into this, I had very low expectations of both Clooney and Bullock, especially Bullock.  Sandra Bullock as an astronaut?  I don't think so.  But ... She really did an excellent job.  I didn't see any of her previous roles show in this movie.  She's such a pro and did a fantastic job.

Clooney was so-so ... I like Georgie-boy, but he seemed again like "Danny Ocean" from "Ocean's Eleven"... He seemed a little too comical for the part ... He's a good actor and all, but I didn't like his approach. 

Others ... Well .. There are none.  Voices from Houston's Command Center ...  Dead astronauts ... Not much ...

Bullock carried this film and did a great job with it.

There's a good back story with her character that I wish they would have spent a little more time, not only developing, but closing the pieces of what they put out ...

Screenplay:  Different for a change.  And good different.  It was a drama filmed in space.  Not a space movie so much.  And the acting backed it up.

The pace was perfect as far as I am concerned.

Overall Recommendations:  Go see it.  Is it worth the $17 US that I paid to see it in IMAX 3D?  Debatable.  I have a problem spending more than $10 US on a film.  Period.  However, I'd like to see it again.

This one you will want to see in the theatre.  It will not be a good film to watch at home.  The visuals are stunning, the acting is good, and the conclusion brought home a certain faith in humanity that I didn't expect to feel.

One last thing ... After I left the theatre, I was actually a little wobbly in the legs ... That's how good the special effects, 3D, and overall cinematography was ...

Movie Review #2 - "The Last Days of Disco"

On IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/find?q=The+Last+Days+of+Disco&s=all

Before you start, I got lost on Netflix.  Again, I tried to find the "right" movie to review ...

Benny's Rating: 1 / 10 Tabasco Peppers

Plot: (I'm really stretching here).  Two girls and a bunch of guys go dancing and somewhat explore their feelings, sexuality, drugs, etc.  Mostly, dancing and long boring diatribes about college ramblings, friendship, (yawn) ...

Why did you review this?:  I really like disco music in the '70s and early '80s ... I am a horrible dancer, but back then most of us were ... The casting for this movie seemed pretty interesting ... Kate Beckinsale (Sarah from Serendipity), Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson from House), Michael Weatherly (Tony from NCIS) ...

I thought ... Well, I like Kate ... I loved the "Wilson" character on "House" ... Robert Sean Leonard is also in a movie I like called "Driven" ... And my wife loves NCIS, so I have become fond of Michael Weatherly ...

The good:  Not a whole lot ... Some of the music was good ... done.

The bad:  The entire screenplay.  Whit Stillman ... On my GOD! ... While I like manicured dialog and good camera angles, I got completely lost when I spent several minutes listening to a conversation about "Lady and The Tramp" and its relationship to feminism.   I wanted to stick a pencil in my ear and burst my eardrums... Yes, both of them ...

Then, towards the end of the movie, Random Male Character gives a 60 second monolog about the era of disco and how they were apart of such a great movement.  Not only was it corny, but it was also extremely overacted. 

Overall Recommendation:  Don't ... Don't click the "Watch Movie" on Netflix for "The Last Days of Disco" ... Please ... Save your 113 minutes for a good nap, ironing shirts, or cleaning the cat box ... I guarantee more enjoyment than watching this .... Even though Kate Beckinsale is in the movie ...

Movie Review #1 - "We Bought A Zoo"

On IMDB: We Bought A Zoo (on IMDB)

Benny's Rating : 6  / 10 Tabasco Peppers 

Your first question is "Why the heck did he start with this movie?"

Believe it or not, I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out what the ideal movie was going to be first my very first review ... Well ... After tossing between one of my favorite movies, "Caddyshack" and one of the worst, "Xanadu" ... I just grabbed out of the pile of DVDs and grabbed this movie ...

On to the review:

The STORY:  A married man loses his wife to cancer and has to take care of his two children.  He's an adrenaline junkie journalist that seems out of touch with the real world.

The story starts like a typical cliche with the father (Damon) as a depressed man trying to figure out what to do with the kids.  He's overly protective of his daughter, but lacks the same focus with the older son.

The daughter, Rosie, played by Maggie Elizabeth Jones, does a remarkable job just by being adorable.  She, at times, takes on the "Mother Hen" role of the family.

The story takes the first turning point with the son being depressed and causing mischief in school, the daughter frightened of the neighbor's loud parties.

So, they decide to move to a quieter setting.  The Real Estate Agent, played by J.B. Smoove, is one of the highlights of the film.  I wish that they would have given him a bigger part in the film.

So ... They bought a zoo ... Yawn ... I had to watch the movie twice just to get a feeling of the characters.  This is the part of the movie that basically became flat and one-dimensional with the characters.

Enter the Zookeeper, played by Scarlett Johannsen.  She holds her own in the film but the lines were too predictable and unfortunately, the love interest was not particularly engaging.

Long story short because I lost interest in the "making the zoo open to the public" was fairly uneventful.  If I wanted to watch people build and work, I would have watch "Mike Holmes" on HGTV.

CAST:  
Let me begin by saying, I truly appreciate Matt Damon's acting ...  However, this is NOT an Academy Award performance.  One thing that is really starting to annoy me about Matt Damon is that he doesn't seem to laugh much.  Not just this film, but most of his work.

Maggie Elizabeth Jones stole my heart.  She plays the young daughter.  Her smile just warms your heart ...

Scarlett Johannsen.  Easy on the eyes, but definitely "Called this one in" ... The acting was weak and  the lines were pretty lame.

LINES WORTH REPEATING:

Matt's character (Benjamin Mee ... very forgettable name) ... takes the son and daughter to school ... When the son, (don't even remember his name --- the forgettable name) says "Whatever" to Matt's character ... Here comes the mini-monologue for Benjamin on the word, "Whatever" ...

"Whatever is over" ... in reference to the current generation's overuse of the word ...

The only other line that was worth repeating was Benjamin Mee stating that "it only takes 20 seconds of courage" to accomplish anything ... It's a good line ... However, not emphasized enough to carry a cohesive tone in the movie.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
So-so ... Nothing great ... I did like the use of somewhat natural light.

Overall Recommendation:
It's a wholesome family movie that everyone will enjoy.  Will you watch it twice?  Probably not.  If you want to check it out, it's available on Amazon to purchase (no rent option) ...

We Bought A Zoo - On Amazon

It's $9.99 ... I wouldn't pay that much ... Check the public library ... They might have it ...

Day 1:

My first blog ... 

I have been watching movies ever since I can remember ... Even as a youngster, I would sit gazed upon the movie screen or the little screen in my house watching ... for hours ... and sometimes the same exact movie ...

The path led me to writing a screenplay in Elementary School, directing Shakespeare in high school, then attempting to become a filmmaker in my late 40s ... (hopefully that isn't done yet) ...

But ... I want to start keeping a journal of my thoughts and pondering as I watch some of my favorite movies, movies that most people would never watch, and some that are ... well ... horrible ...

I hope to have a journal entry each day of the week ... Well ... At least 3 days a week ...

Each movie will have a "Benny" rating ...  You'll have to read the blog to see what it will be ... Also, there will be a link to IMDB and/or a link to Netflix or Amazon to watch it ... 

Hope you enjoy and post ...