Friday, September 28, 2012

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

Movie Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green: Great Family Film

A for the cast
A for the filmography
A for the ending
B for the message and family friendly atmosphere
F for the cheesy scenes, squirmish-ness

This movie is about a husband and wife who are not able to have children and suddenly end up "adopting" a 10 year old boy.  Perhaps I am being too cynical?  But parts of this movie were way too cheesy for me.  That aside, it was a great family flick.  Leads me to ask - it is possible to make an awesome family movie that is not cheesy?  I would say yes but I really cannot think of one off the top of my head.

I will say that this movie was better than I thought it would be.  The whole idea of the underdog, being different, "Don't Worry Be Happy," be who you wanna be no matter what people think, overcoming challenges, don't need to keep up with the bragging Jones's - very appealing to me and I love it.  It's not always done in a concise, non cheesy fashion, but in this movie it mostly works out well.  I mean, I did get choked up in parts, and that means something.

I loved the cast.  It's nice to know that even if a movie has stupid parts, you can always fall back on the entertainment value of some of your favorite actors and actresses.  My favorite character was the ultra serious lady who played the Pencil Museum boss.

At least the ending did not stink.  Generally, if the movie is great but the ending is bad, I give it a 1 or 2 out of 10, possibly a 3.  Since this movie was so so and the ending was good, I give it a ...

gleenobly's rating 6/10

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Don't Sweat It!

I remember hearing a very nice story once.  I don't recall who told it, but here it is:

There was a large family eating dinner at the table.  They had a few guests over, one of them I'll call James.  A little boy, I'll call him Adam, spilled his milk – as you can imagine, it went all over the table and everything.  The dad, Bob, got so upset.  He yelled at Adam, talked down to him, demeaned him.  People were scared and did not know what to do or think.  It was awkward to sit there and eat and watch this unfold.  Then suddenly James stood up.  Stared Bob straight in the eye.  Took his own glass of milk and proceeded to spill it on purpose all over the table.  Then asked Bob if he was gonna yell at him too?  Bob eventually got the hint and I am sure that everything worked out well.

Wow, what a powerful message!  Motto: don't sweat the small stuff!  Don't sweat the big stuff either!  “Don't Worry, Be Happy” as the song goes :).

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Movie Review: Matchstick Men: Wait, Whoa, Wow!

A+ for plot structure.
A+ for the cast.
A+ for suspense.
A+ for quirky humor.

1, 2, 3 ... pygmies!  Enter Matchstick Men, a funny movie about 2 con men played by 2 of my favorite actors Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell.  By one of my favorite directors - Ridley Scott.  Based on the book Matchstick Men by Eric Garcia.  I won't write too much about this movie because nearly anything I say will spoil it and I don't do that.  I will just say that I loved it, hands down.  This is a plot that can be done so wrong -- well, they nailed it.  Tis a symphony orchestra, an intense chess game, a marvelous myriad of conflict, giggles, the ridiculous, and the right flavor of disappointment and happiness.  Kudos!

gleenobly's rating: 10/10

Unusual Town Names - 1st Place: Toad Suck, Arkansas

Friday, July 20, 2012

Movie Review: Black Death: Ouch!

A+ for the cast.
A for the medieval theme and scenery.
D for the plot.
F for fepression.  I mean depression.  Being too depressing.
F for the ending.

Ohhh look - two movie reviews in a row.  Yay!

Ohhh look - my lowest rating to date - ouch!

I watched Black Death first, then I watched the Repeaters.  My intention was to watch a comedy, however I sucked myself into watching two depressing movies in the same day.  Great job me!  Well, they appeared to have a lot of potential, but fell flat.  Things don't always work out, you know?  At least I am in a good mood anyway.

Black Death was about men who attempt to figure out what is going on with the plague and supposedly catching the culprit.  This remote village was interesting.  Reminded me of medieval Stepford Wives.  This movie is a classic example of how a bad movie can still have one of my favorite actors in it - Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones).  This is my first time watching Eddie Redmayne in action - great job!

Gleenobly's rating: 2/10

Movie Review: Repeaters: Too Dark

A+ for the acting.
A for dealing with topics that make you uncomfortable.
B for ending.
F for severity.
F for being too depressing.

It has been 5 months since my last movie review.  So here's another - finally :).

In the spirit of the classic, fabulous Groundhogs Day movie - we have the Repeaters.  A movie about 3 twenty-something year olds in drug/alcohol rehab who find themselves having to deal with their vices, demons as they get stuck in a day that repeats itself.  This movie is NOT at the same level as Groundhogs Day.  While I do not recommend the Repeaters - if you are an indie flick junkie like myself and you insist on watching it anyway - be prepared for extreme darkness, violence, sadness.  I would line up a decent comedy to watch right after - such as Groundhogs Day :).  Also, this is not a movie for children!

I will say that I appreciate the acting, camera work, and scenery.  I especially appreciate the conflict, ridiculousness, and dealing with uncomfortable topics.  Some people found this movie confusing - I am happy to report that I had no issues following it whatsoever.  All-in-all, though, meh!  You do not have to go to such extreme for a movie to be good.  You can still touch on abuse, alcoholism, abandonment, etc without going overboard.  Watch Radio Flyer!

Gleenobly's rating: 4/10

Friday, July 6, 2012

Fireworks Oops



Oops! - can I still keep my job?  :)  Hopefully people were able to live and let live.  Mistakes happen!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Stop Signs

So I was at a four way stop today.  Nobody moved.  We all sat there staring at each other.  I was --not-- the first to stop.  However no one else was doing anything so I went.  Sigh.  lol.  Ever do the press the gas a lil then hit the breaks, press the gas a lil then hit the breaks.  Because there are times when you are at stop signs and EVERYONE wants to go.  Sigh.  lol.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Movie Review: Moneyball: Triumphant

A+ for the message.
A+ for a great underdog story.
A+ for the cast.
A for cinematography.
A for the A's (da duh bump)
B for airport scene.

I am not a sports person, but I must say that I love sports movies.  Moneyball is no exception.  While it didn't have that extreme wow factor, it was still very inspiring, especially being a true story.  I am a fan of history and learning about things; it was nice to learn more about the Oakland A's.

What a spectacular message this movie delivers.  There are a lot of nay sayers in life.  It is important to be flexible, but generally we as people are creatures of habit.  We say we embrace change but we don't really mean it.  You really have to put your mind to it to genuinely be open to change.  We see that true and true in the characters that Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill play.  And, as we learn in movies like Blindside and Pursuit of Happyness, don't ever give up, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't.

I love the plot.  The dichotomy between flashbacks and present time.  And family struggles, like Brad's character being divorced but still wearing his wedding ring.  And having to talk to his wife's husband.  And trying to raise his 12 year old daughter.

The only thing that I can think of that this movie needed to improve on is the airport scene, which, mind you, is very very very minor.  Just that this occurred in late 2001 and 2002 and beyond, which is post 9/11.  Meaning that you wouldn't be able to greet or say goodbye to your loved ones right at the plane gate.  What with the advent of the TSA.

I am delighted that this movie introduced me to Mrs. Lenka Kripac.  And her lovely song The Show, which I can definitely relate to at this time in my life.  I think it is very cool that she is half Australian and Czech.  And she shares the same birthday as a friend of mine.

I do not like Brad, but I respect his success and I enjoyed him in this movie.  I love Jonah - he is a big reason why I saw this movie in the first place.  Cool to see the following people: Robin Wright (Beowulf, Unbreakable, Princess Bride), Reed Diamond (Journeyman, 24, Dollhouse), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Mission Impossible 3), Glenn Morshower (24, Transformers, Xman).

Gleenobly's rating: 8/10

Monday, January 23, 2012

Wise Words From Dr Suess

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Suess.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Movie Review: The Darkest Hour: Impressive

A+ for the impressive, frightening, amazing plot.
A+ for the right amount of conflict and tension.
A for the cast and characters.
C for a few holes.

I went into In Time with high hopes and walked out disappointed.  I went into The Darkest Hour with low hopes and walked out surprisingly pleased.  I love end of days stories and this movie definitely delivered!  I loved it and I cannot wait for sequels.

Gotta love the Faraday Cage.  Reminded me of Daniel from Lost.  Brilliance!

gleenobly's rating: 8/10