The Odd Life of Timothy Green 2012

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     Cindy and Jim Green have wanted a child for a long time.  Their doctor says everything has been tried and is no hope.  Cindy decides in order to move forward, she must give up all her hope.  Jim cannot let go of his hope yet.  They spend the night writing down the qualities they would like in their child.  They take the papers and bury them in the garden.  That night there is a lot of rain, lightening and thunder.  In the morning there is a surprise.

     This film has a lot of sweetness and melodrama but with good intentions and a good heart.  This is almost a Hallmark movie but produced by Disney.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

105 min, Fantasy directed by Peter Hedges, with Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams, Dianne Wiest, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.5 out of 10, 38% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.  

Total Recall 1990

     Doug Quaid is a construction worker, he’s happy with his life and his marriage of eight years.  He’s very fascinated by Mars and he would like to travel to a colony there with his wife.  She doesn’t want to go, he learns about a company that can give you a dream vacation of your choice.  The dream doesn’t go as planned and his entire world changes.

     Some of the details about Quaid’s life are the same as in Total Recall 2012 but everything else is very different except for the same large amount of broken glass.  He was married seven years in Recall 2012.  I’m surprised this movie was remade since the original is so laughable.  It’s really a comedy now with hokey special effects and dialogue.  Some of the scenes, car and spaceship models and ideas are ridiculous.  

113 min, SciFi directed by Paul Verhoeven with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, Michael Ironside, Marshall Bell, Mel Johnson.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 ½*, imdb 7.5 out of 10, 84% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.  

Special Notes:  At least Schwarzenegger is much younger and you're able to get it out of your mind that he was the Governor of California for two terms.  Sharon Stone looks very young also.  Her clothes and all the women’s hairstyles are funny.  Interesting that he’s called Doug in 1990 and Douglas in 2012?

Total Recall 2012

     Douglas Quaid is a factory worker in a futuristic Earth.  He’s trying to get a promotion off line work but the position is given to someone on the outside with more education and contacts.  He seems to have the “almost” perfect life with his hardworking wife of seven years but he’s heard about an experience called Total Recall.  There is a shop you go to and they give you different memories.  You can take your choice of different selections, it just cannot be a real memory.  He’s been having the same dream over-and-over, he thinks Total Recall may be able to give him different memories to make this dream go away.

     OK, Quaid wants to go to a shop where they are going to mess with your mind, is that a good idea?  Your wife and your best friend have warned you not to go there. Everything changes drastically as soon as he’s hooked up in the chair.  LOTS of action, the only complaint I have about this type of movie is the backgrounds are always dark.  The purpose is to keep the computer animation from looking bogus but it just makes it less clear.  I would like to watch the 1990 original version for comparison.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

118 min, Action directed by Len Wiseman with Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Kate Bekinsale, Jessica Biel, Bill Nighy, John Cho, Will Yun Lee.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.3 out of 10, 31% critic 46% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Looper 2012

      Loopers are a group of killers who work for the mob and they time travel.  It’s illegal to time travel and only available on the black market. Victims are sent back from the year 2074 to the year 2044.  They are killed in the later year so their bodies can be disposed of in the earlier year.

     I didn’t like the first half of this film and I almost didn’t watch the second half.  In the beginning, I didn’t care about the characters and Levitt seems like a robot with his facial features made to look like a younger Willis.  I read some of the details for my review and decided I would finish the film to see how everything was brought to a conclusion.  It is a good movie when you put it all together.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

119 min, Action directed by Rian Johnson with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon.

Note:  imdb 7.7 out of 10, 94% critic 87% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Damsels in Distress 2011

     The male students dominate seven Oaks College, an American university.  Violet and her two friends try to adjust the balance.  They run a Suicide Prevention Center and their advice is very unusual.  They expand their group by including Lily, a transfer student.  Their romantic relationships with guys threaten their friendship and sanity.

     I can say that this film is different and there is a lot of dialogue.  What could be stated in just a few words gets the grand treatment of flowery expansion.  Too much so, it seems haughty and pretentious instead.  After a short time, you just don’t want to listen anymore, not very much is happening and it’s not a comedy.  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)  

99 min, Comedy directed by Whit Stillman with Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Carrie MacLemore, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ryan Metcalf.  

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.0 out of 10, 75% critic 42% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Hide Away 2011

     A broken man buys a run down sail boat to think about killing himself.  He lost is wife, son and daughter and doesn’t know if he wants to or can live without them.  He starts working on the boat, slowly but surely, it was purchased in “as is” condition and there are a lot of things that don’t work.  A waitress and sail maker try to help him heal through the winter.

     I didn’t like the ending, seemed to be a cop out or a cut off?  Details of what happened to his family are not forthcoming until late in the film too.  Did Nicholas Sparks write this?  3* (This movie is OK)

88 min, Drama directed by Chris Eyre with Josh Lucas, Ayelet Zurer, James Cromwell, Jon Tenney, Taylor Nichols, Casey LaBow.

Note:  Imdb 4.9 out of 10, 36% critic 48% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

I Heart Shakey 2012

    This is a family film about a widowed father and his ten-year-old daughter.  They have a dog, Shakey and he’s a big part of the family.  The dad, J.T. O’Neil, has always dreamed about leaving their small town for a chef’s job in Chicago.  Chandler, his daughter, encourages her dad to follow his dream even though it will be hard for her to leave where they live.  They are surprised and happy that the apartment they’ve rented is in a very tall high-rise building.  They are also surprised to learn that dogs are not allowed?  What about Shakey?  The manager is not very receptive to anything not in the rental contract!!

     A good premise but very watered down and predictable.  Seems like a lot of life has been sucked right out of it?  2 ½* (This movie is so-so)

90 min, Comedy directed by Kevin Cooper with Beverly D’Angelo, Steve Guttenberg, Steve Lemme, Rylie Behr, Alfonso Arau, Michael Yurchak.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 3.8 out of 10, 38% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.