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10 February 2007 @ 06:35 pm
Prey - cinematic drivel destined to land in Obscureville  
“Prey” is the arnch-tastic, bite-olicious, cinematic drivel destined to land in Obscureville or Makefunofland. This chomp-olistic mess is shamefully directed by Darrell Roodt and the downright pudency of writing is brought to us by Beau Bauman, Jeff Wadlow and Darrell Roodt.

When Dad the engineer is sent to Africa to work on a dam, he brings his two children, a pre-teen son David and teenaged daughter Jessica, and new wife Amy along for a trip of a lifetime. Jessica, played by Carly Schroeder, shamelessly goes after Amy, driving the my-mama-was-replaced-by-your-skinny-stupid-ass-sword deep into her with a series of uncalled for low blows and teenaged angst. After spending a night in their plush accommodations, Amy, Jessica, and David, head off to see African animals in their natural habitat as Dad goes off to work on the dam. When Jessica, gets annoyed she is seeing no animals, the ranger driving them around to see the animals decides to go off off-roading. David has to go to the bathroom and he and the ranger get out of the car. This is where the fun begins.

A lioness, hiding in the lion colored grasses appears and begins to stalk David. Luckily, the hawk eyed ranger helps David escape the jaws of the hungry lion. Unluckily though, the ranger is eaten, his blood poured all over the car in the mauling. Now stuck with no keys to the ranger truck, they are stuck waiting for someone to come and find them. Lion after lion attacks them, attempts to eat them and has no luck. Dad hires a private hunt guide, and attempts to find them.

I don’t know how the people in this movie even survived the birthing process they are so stupid. Every person who is killed in the movie is killed because they were being Gomer Pile stupid! They might as well kill a gazelle, roll around in its blood and walk up to a starving pride of lions, screaming. They constantly put themselves in the position to be eaten, try to outrun a lion, and drive like they’ve never actually been behind the wheel before.

The lions can’t even be consistent. They will attack a group of two but not a group of four but a little later they’ll attack a different group of four. They happily attack the toe headed blond Anglo folks but at first seem to have no taste for African people. The lions are also the most precise eaters in the history of the animal kingdom. During their feeding, people stay in their death position and when they’re done, there is a perfect and complete bloody skeleton left on the ground. Contrary to nature, in yet another way, the male lions even help in the hunts. Some of the lions will attack the truck but others will not. The lions are the only reason to watch the movie though; the acting isn’t going to draw anyone to the movie.

Amy, played by, Bridget Moynahan, gives a yawn inspiring performance. She is frightened when she should be calm and calm when all good sense says to be afraid. There are scenes where she is incredibly irrational even when she finally has the upper hand.

Dad, Peter Weller’s character, tries to be a bad ass but he couldn’t stretch his machismo around his waist. Oh yeah, and he is stupid. There is a scene where he drives to the top of a hill and he sees something at the bottom he wants to check out. Does he drive his car down the hill? Wouldn’t that be: Faster? Easier? Use less personal energy when in the dessert? Yes. Is it what he does? Not by the hair on his chinny-chin-chin. He runs down it, for what seems like a mile, through the lion colored grass. By that point in the movie I wished he’d be eaten by lions, drop from dehydration and have vultures eat his eyes while he was alive.

“Prey” needs to pray for a screen play, better actors, a better director… You know, I’m wrong. “Prey” needs to pray that no one remembers how bad this movie is! Is there such thing as retroactive production?

LaRae Meadows
www.justpressplay.net
laraemeadows@gmail.com
http://laraemeadows.livejournal.com
http://www.myspace.com/laraemeadows
http://blog.myspace.com/laraemeadows
 
 
10 February 2007 @ 01:57 pm
Marie Antoinette - Barf  

“Marie Antoinette”, left me fielding requests from my ears and brain to be strapped to excessive levels of dynamite and ignited. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, “Marie Antionette” gives us another example of why it is rarely a good idea to have all of the ideas coming from one person.
Yes, it sucked  )
 
 
10 February 2007 @ 01:57 pm
Marie Antoinette - Barf  

“Marie Antoinette”, left me fielding requests from my ears and brain to be strapped to excessive levels of dynamite and ignited. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, “Marie Antionette” gives us another example of why it is rarely a good idea to have all of the ideas coming from one person.
Yes, it sucked  )
 
 
10 February 2007 @ 01:12 pm
The Painted Veil - A lovely movie  


“The Painted Veil” is a beautiful movie about the power of anger as shown through a wife and husband who travel to rural china to treat a cholera epidemic. Director John Curran uses beautiful scenery and sets to frame great acting and a well written story based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
China, Cholera, Walter, Kitty )
 
 
10 February 2007 @ 01:12 pm
THe Painte  


“The Painted Veil” is a beautiful movie about the power of anger as shown through a wife and husband who travel to rural china to treat a cholera epidemic. Director John Curran uses beautiful scenery and sets to frame great acting and a well written story based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
China, Cholera, Walter, Kitty )
 
 
07 February 2007 @ 10:51 am
The Last King of Scotland-sticks in your mind and heart like a battle scar!  

“The Last King of Scotland” based on the book by Giles Foden, is the intense story of charismatic and horrifying Ugandan leader, Idi Amin. Exceptional writing by Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan, acting, and directing make a must see movie that sticks in your mind and on your heart like a battle scar.
King me!  )<a href=" http://www.foxsearchlight.com/lastkingofscotland/” >Official Site</a> LaRae Meadows www.justpressplay.net laraemeadows@gmail.com http://laraemeadows.livejournal.com http://www.myspace.com/laraemeadows http://blog.myspace.com/laraemeadows
 
 
24 March 2006 @ 01:14 am
V For Vendetta  
Director: James McTeigue
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving
My rating: 5/5

Remember, remember the 17th of May. And now that the obligatory bad pun has been made, I shall move on to the reviewing.

Big Ben went out with a big bang )
 
 
Current Mood: cheerful
 
 
20 January 2006 @ 06:13 pm
Underworld: Evolution  
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman
Rating: 18+
My rating: 3/5

So... Yeah. Remember how it felt when The Matrix: Reloaded came out? That's how I feel about U:E. All the flashiness of the original with none of the cult classic quirkiness. But, you know, Kate in a black cat suit and constantly topless Scott Speedman, what else were we expecting? The plot of the movie is rather simple: Celene and Michael do the sex, then go into Super Sayian Mode, then face off against Marcus the Batty and William the Psycho. And then they live happily ever after and have more sex, I guess.

Read )
 
 
03 November 2005 @ 12:25 pm
Harry Potter and the Goblet of RAWK  
I feel compelled to re-post this (from my journal) because I know some many of y'all are waiting anxiously for Nov. 18. No real spoilers; there's plot stuff, but I promise not to ruin anything. Although if you really don't want to know anymore, DO NOT CLICK THE CUT.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire )
 
 
Current Mood: dorky
Current Music: The Beach Boys: God Only Knows
 
 
16 October 2005 @ 03:42 pm
Elizabethtown  
Elizabethtown

Written and directed by Cameron Crowe

Starring: Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst, Susan Saranden, Judy Greer and Alec Baldwin

Rating: PG13

My rating: 3 out of 4 stars

This movie seems to be getting a mixed bag of reviews from all the pros, but for this ordinary person watching a movie about success and failure, life and death, despair and love, it was a very real mix of elements that are so hard to define and categorize and yet is so very recognizably human. Life is, after all, messy and hard to contain in one little neat description.

Read more... )
 
 
06 September 2005 @ 04:35 pm
The Brothers Grimm, ****  
Director: Terry Gilliam

Starring: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Lena Headey, Monica Bellucci, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare

Rated: PG-13 for violence, frightening sequences and brief suggestive material.

Get ready for a twist on your classic fairy tale. Coming forth are the brothers Grimm, Ghost Busters of the olden-golden days, to slay all of your pesky ghosts, witches, trolls, and etc. From my perspective, Damon and Ledger did one wonderful job performing it.

and perhaps the most interesting thing... )
 
 
16 August 2005 @ 03:56 pm
Land of the Dead, ****  

Dir: George A. Romero

Starring: Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, Robert Joy, and an awful lot of dead people.

Rated: R for pervasive strong violence and gore, language, brief sexuality and some drug use.
In Australia, it's MA (suitable for those aged 15+)

Tagline: The Legendary Filmmaker Brings You His Ultimate Zombie Masterpiece

Night of the Living Dead showed us that the recently deceased just didn't have the good sense to stay down, the stakes were upped in the next two installments of Romero's Dead saga, and now forty years after Night was released, the fourth is now here.  The dead have taken over the world at large, while the remnants of humanity survive in heavily barricaded cities.  The wealthy live in a well-protected skyscraper, while the poor are left to fend for themselves on the streets, though a good living can be made raiding the countryside for supplies so the rich can remain in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed.  The problem is that is that the country is infested with zombies.

So, what could possibly go wrong? )

Romero completely blows the Dawn remake out of the water, showing us just how a zombie movie should be made.  He should know, he's the guy that created the genre.

I am one very happy zombie fan.

>:)=

 
 
Current Mood: braaaiiins
Current Music: Angel - Massive Attack
 
 
07 August 2005 @ 09:00 pm
Stealth  
Stealth ***1/2 out of ****

Starring: Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx
Directed by: Rob Cohen
Rating: PG-13

You know what I learned by watching Stealth? I learned that Thailand is the pretty and I want to go there! Also, Josh Lucas has gorgeous blue eyes, Jessica Biel needs to learn to close her mouth fully, and Jamie Foxx's Oscar...

Spoilerific! )
 
 
Current Mood: chipper
 
 
07 August 2005 @ 01:08 am
The Island, ***  
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johannson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ethan Phillips, Brian Stepanek, Noa Tishby
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexuality and language.

I must begin by saying that when I first heard of this movie, the very thought of two Ewan McGregors walking around made me squee like a fat kid with candy. However, when I actually went to see the movie, what I found was much more than just sexy.

that's right, blowing things up )
 
 
05 August 2005 @ 10:25 pm
Spiderman 2, *** 1/2  
Spiderman 2 (2004)

Starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Donna Murphy, Daniel Gillies

PG-13, for stylish stylized action violence

In short: The rare sequel that actually improves on the original (from 2002).


For you spoiler worrywarts out there, this first paragraph took only the first fifteen minutes of the movie:

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) just can't keep up with his double life - nerdy, stressed Peter Parker by day, web-slinger-in-colored-undies by night. His grades are falling, he can barely keep his two jobs, one as a pizza delivery boy and one as a newspaper's photographer (paper run by J. Jonah Jameson, a hilarious J.K. Simmons), he's nearly broke and his obnoxious landlord (is that redundant?) keeps demanding rent, *gasp for breath* his best friend Harry (James Franco) is going alcoholic and is bent on killing Spiderman, and did I mention the love of his life Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst) is sorely disappointed in him?

*nerdiness* )
 
 
Current Mood: nerdy
 
 
04 August 2005 @ 07:35 am
Sky High  
Sky High

Rated PG for action violence and some mild language
Directed by Mike Mitchell
Starring Michael Angarano, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Danielle Panabaker.

My rating: 3 out of 4

The first thing I did upon coming out of the movie theatre was get into a disagreement with my husband over the merit of this movie. He was not all that amused, while I got exactly what I wanted.

I anticipate the primary question is: was it cheesy?

The answer: Why yes, yes it was! Delightfully so! If this movie is made into a sitcom, I will be quite happy to add to its rating; provided Steven Strait resumes his role as Warren Peace to add a spicy hotness to the cheese. (And those who have already seen this movie will know that I made a pun!)

Follow the smell... )
 
 
10 May 2005 @ 12:19 pm
Kingdom of Heaven  
Review for Kingdom of Heaven

Directed by Ridley Scott

Rated R for strong violence and warfare

Starring Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Ghassan Massoud

My rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars



At what price comes peace? At what price comes war? What is Jerusalem, this Kingdom of Heaven, worth?

Nothing. Everything.

Director Ridley Scott tackles a controversial subject and presents a perspective of the Crusades that is not going to sit well with everyone. Because there is not a “good” or “bad” side – only good or bad people. The choices they make determine what side of the line they fall on. And under the cloak of religious beliefs the reality of politics and ambition are at the heart of the matter. There are fanatics from all denominations, and there are good men who would live in peace with their fellow man. Men of honor and conscience, the disillusioned who once believed in something and now live with the reality of a flawed system, and men corrupt and power hungry.
Read more... )
 
 
27 March 2005 @ 03:35 pm
Be Cool (2005)  

Be Cool

Directed By: F. Gary Gray
(Director of The Italian Job)

Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Danny DeVito, Vince Vaughn, Robert Pastorelli... and more people than I have room to mention

Rating: **** 1/2* out of 5

This movie just made playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon a lot less of a challenge...


Wow, where to start? This was possibly the funniest thing I've seen since Blue Colar Comedy Tour and Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again, and one of the most intelligent stupid movies ever. Sequel to Get Shorty, this movie probably has hidden jokes that would make sense had I seen the first one, but stands on its own rather well. The first line? "I hate sequels." I generally don't try to think of these movies in terms of just how good they are, they're not meant to be films or cinema, but this one truly deserved the four and a half out of five stars I've given it. THe plot can get a little convoluted, hard to coherently explain that is, but the acting was absolutely amazing.

John Travolta reprises his role as Chili Palmer, an ex-gangster turned movie producer, on the streets of California looking for his "next big hit", but in the music business instead of movies. He's sick of the movies-- "You know that in order to keep a PG-13 rating, you can only use the word 'fuck' once?" and is looking to get out and in to movies. His friend Tommy Athens (briefly and wonderfully portrayed by James Woods) asks him for coffee and to produce a movie about his (Tommy's) life. In the midst of a discussion about the pointlessness of such a task, Chili gets up to go to the men's, leaving Tommy to death by Russian mafia.

Christina Milian (singer of "Dip It Low") makes a stunning screen appearance (granted I haven't seen Man Of The House, but just about her debut to me) as Linda Moon, a struggling singer with soul and jazz roots discovered by Tommy and rescued by Chili from a skeezy club where her manager Raji (Vince Vaughn) and his bodyguard Eliot (The Rock) watch to make sure she doesn't get stolen away.

Hilarity ensues )

Granted that's not my most coherent movie review ever, but I'll leave it that I'm still just laughing so hard I can't even begin to explain what made this so funny. The only problem with the movie was that the end wrapped up a little too quickly to be as neat as it was. 118 minutes left it just short of two hours, so I appreciate that they wrapped it up, but it was a little too easy. It keeps the extra half star, though, because it wasn't sloppy and they threw in a few more awesome cameos.

Good times and great laughs, a fabulous Saturday night movie that kept me laughing so hard I almost peed a little.
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Current Mood: procrastinatory
Current Music: room noise
 
 
27 November 2004 @ 01:10 am
Alexander (**)  
Alexander
Directed by Oliver Stone
Starring Colin Farrell, Rosario Dawson, Johnathan Rhys-Davies, Jared Leto, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Hopkins
My Rating: Two Stars (**), one for the lions


Alexander, the greatly awaited epic written, directed, and produced by Oliver Stone (writer, director, producer: Any Given Sunday) fell flatter than a flan on the floor. An A-list cast and big name producer promises much more than the film delivers, showing us only that these actors can do great things with horrible scripts...

Now, are they talking about the city-state Sparta or the port city Sparta? )

Final Verdict:
If you like your irony and you like your fake dusty battles, then this is the movie for you. As for me, once was enough. I considered digging through my purse for a clock more than three times and that's way too many. (To give you a clock reference, I looked during the 3rd LOTR when Frodo and Sam started floating down the lava river) No matter how funny the Scottish actor talking about the barbarians as a Greek is, no matter how much the sexually ambiguous Persian freaked us out, and no matter how much wine was imbibed or young men's asses pinched... I wouldn't pay more than $5 to see this movie the first time around and I did. I think I may have to shoot myself now. *tick* Oh, and look, I have a facial tick now!

(btw, sorry if the format's not correct, haven't posted in a while, so I'm kinda playing by ear!)
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Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Suddenly Susan
 
 
03 September 2004 @ 06:54 pm
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement  
**/*****

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Chris Pine, John Rhys Davies

Six years have passed since The Princess Diaries introduced us to the reluctant, unlikely princess, Mia Thermopoulis(Anne Hathaway.) Mia is all grown up now and has gone from a reluctant princess, to a princess determined to keep her throne at all costs. If you're expecting another sweet tale about how every girl has a princess in her, this isn't your movie. Princess Mia has grown up selfish and shallow and she has a movie to match. Even Anne Hathaway's considerable charm can't save this stinker.

Enter the product placement )
 
 
Current Mood: indescribable
Current Music: Aqua- Barbie Girl