Monster House

The Good:
The animation was pretty good - though far more cartoony than I tend to like these days.

Great voice acting.

Solid overall story with something everyone, even adults can identify with. I mean - come on - who didn't have that house in their neighborhood whose yard you just DID NOT go into - not even on a dare.

I think this teaches a very good lesson for kids - which can't be said for a lot of today's kid oriented films - animated or not.

The Bad:
It's no Pixar.

I think it was a little to scary at times for the age to which it was marketed. I know if I was the age it appeared to be geared toward, I would have been super freaked out after seeing it.

All in all:
Worth seeing - but not in the rush out and get it kind of way. Good solid just chilling on the weekend and want to watch something fun faire though.

Little Miss Sunshine

The Good:
Quirky, fun story with lots of heart.

Very well written and acted.

Ran the gambit of emotions from hysterical laughter to hysterical tears.

Absolutely stellar ensemble cast.

Abigail Breslin was wonderfully funny and equally heartbreaking and most importantly REAL. So often child actors are just so rehearsed it isn't believable. Not in this case. You really felt for her through all her ups and downs.

Greg Kinnear - who is so often hit or miss for me - was 100% on the mark this time. He was equally real as both the mumbo-jumbo spouting motivational speaking asshole and as the struggling father just trying to hold things together.

Toni Collette - who I think is so very underrated as an actress - breaks my heart here, and that is what she is meant to do.

Alan Arkin is both a riot and a jagged little pill as the haggard but lovable grandfather figure.

Steve Carell - though incredibly low key - has what I think is his best role so far.

And last, but certainly not least - Paul Dano almost steals the show with a role that has him not speaking for a better part of the film.

The Bad:
Olive's dance sequence was almost painful to watch - though I'm certain that's exactly how it was meant to be.

Mothers who push their children to be Skipper in the disturbing Little Girl Beauty Pageants have always nauseated me. This film does not help that.

All in all:
One of the few times I can honestly say I agreed with the critics and the Oscar committee. This was an excellent film. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I will say - if you like it, give Happy Texas a try. Another little known gem.

Dead Waves

The Good:
It had a definite creepy feel throughout.

The cover was very well done, again - sucked in by the creepiness of the cover art.

There were some genuinely well done creepy Asian effects.

The Bad:
Seemed a bit hokey - the whole concept - the TV show about the supernatural that really just exploited the people shown on it as some sort of side show circus freaks was about as close to anything rational or real as the movie ever came.

It just didn't make sense.

All in all:
Another one to file under "I have run out of things to see and just want to watch something weird and creepy" but don't seek it out.

The Fountain

The Good:
It was a pretty film.

The Bad:
Though I have enjoyed both Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz before - I found them both to be stilted, flat and boring in this film. I think it was mostly the subject matter given to them was a bit to hokey for even them to buy.

Though pretty - it was often nonsensical past the willing suspension of disbelief. It left you confused and not in the "that just wasn't explained clearly" kind of way.

All in all:
Unless you just have the need to see something pretty with no substance, don't bother. And even then - I'm sure there are better ways to use your time.

Day Watch

The Good:
The contrast between light and dark (not to be confused with good and evil) is brilliantly done here as in Night Watch.

The color, cinematography and effects were beautiful to watch.

I have become a big fan of Konstantin Khabensky just due to these films. The gritty humanity of Anton is really what draws you in - though everything else is amazing as well.

I also enjoy Galina Tyunina as Olga. The sequences between she and Anton are always entertaining.


The Bad:
I didn't like Svetlana when she was a minor part of the first film, and I liked her even less as a major part of the second.

I felt this film was much less powerful than Night Watch. It was by no means a bad film, and is worth seeing if you have seen the first - but it just wasn't as good.

What happened to the artistic subtitles? If you've seen the first film - you'll know what I mean.

Return to Oz

The Good:
I saw this movie back when it first came out and it became one of my favorites. I had lost track of and almost forgotten it for years until I stumbled across it again. It has not lost anything that made me first love it - and many things I remember from childhood often fail to stand up to the harsh light of adulthood.

Fairuza Balk is wonderful. Yes - I understand many people had problems with her in this role because they remember Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and cannot reconcile how the returning Dorothy could be younger than the initial visitor. Just look at them as separate entities and you will be fine. And if you want to get technical - Judy Garland's Wizard of Oz was way off the mark anyway - though I loved it as well.

Jean Marsh as Mombi with her interchangeable living heads remains to this day one of the most vividly frightening things I've ever seen.

The Bad:
I never did like this version of The Scarecrow. He's far too cartoony - as is The Cowardly Lion. I do think a lot of that has to do with the era during which this was filmed and not a failure on the part of the film itself.

The Wheelers are far to close to clowns - and I HATE clowns.

All in all:
I would still highly recommend seeing this if you never have, or even if you haven't in a long time. The only thing that I could see making people dislike this is if they are of the crowd who seems to think the technicolor old school Wizard of Oz is the bible for how all things Oz must be. To those of you, I say read the books - then watch this movie. Oz is much darker. Enjoy the Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland for what it is - a beautiful bit of childhood fluff.

A Tale of Two Sisters

The Good:
The directing, cinematography, acting and pacing of the film were well executed.

The Bad:
I didn't really "get" it. I tried - but I just didn't. I figured out the puzzle, but I didn't understand why it mattered and how everything else fell into place. I've read other reviews that said that "if you can't get this movie you're just lazy" - so I guess I'm lazy.

All in all:
I don't know - maybe see it if you like puzzles and don't mind the possibility that you could come out exceptionally confused.