90s Movie Review - The Witches

Director: Nicolas Roeg
Genre: Horror/ Family/ Fantasy
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 1990
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Jane Horrocks, Anne Lambton, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Brenda Blethyn, Charlie Potter, Sukie Smith, Rose English, Jenny Runacre, Annabel Brooks, Emma Relph, Nora Connolly

Description: A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.

Review: There are certain children’s movies, that aren’t actually children’s movies. “The Witches” is one of those, based on a book by Roald Dahl. There is more to it, things that kids would probably not understand or will overlook. Director Nicolas Roeg had to adapt his style. We know him from movies like “Don’t Look Now”, they are full of symbolic, double meanings and aren’t chronologic. In “The Witches” it’s all very clear and the story is told chronologic. The mystery isn’t in the theme, but the dark characters, beautiful camera work and special effects. The grand high witch, wonderfully played by Angelica Huston, is truly scary. As a kid, it freaked me out. And the two talking mice look realistic, especially for that time.
Character Luke is the typical Roald Dahl hero, a brave kid with a big heart. And grandma is likeable. Rowan Atkinson catches your eye as the clumsy hotel manager, but it’s Angelica Huston that shines. She portrays pure evil, someone that will haunt many children’s nightmares.
The camera work is very well done. The scenes with Luke and Bruno as mice are shot wonderfully, it’s seen from a very low perspective.
The negative is the ending. Director Roeg changed the ending. As a big fan of Roald Dahl’s work, that’s not appreciated.
All in all, “The Witches” is an excellent adaptation of the classic children’s book. A bit too scary for the little ones, but the story was very well executed.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 86: The Big Year

Director: David Frankel
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2011
Starring: Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin, Rosamund Pike, Kevin Pollack, Joel McHale, Dianne Wiest, Brian Dennehy, June Squibb, Rashida Jones, Tim Blake Nelson, Al Roker, Jim Parsons, Anjelica Huston

Description: Two bird enthusiasts (Jack Black, Steve Martin) try to defeat the cocky, cutthroat world record holder (Owen Wilson) in a year-long bird-spotting competition.

Review: Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin. With this cast the film will draw a crowd, but a movie can disappoint with high expectations. I didn’t expect much, but this movie was surprisingly fun. A movie about bird watching or birding.
Kenny Bostick holds the record of spotting the most birds in one year, which the call the big year. Brad Harris and Stu Preissler have the same passion for birds and decide to do a big year themselves. But they have to be one step ahead of cocky Bostick.
Most people are not that positive about “The Big Year” but I found it highly enjoyable and think it deserves a bit more praise. I really like the theme of the film and how it was executed. The cast is fun, all three actors are solid and I always love watching them work.
“The Big Year” is more a feel-good film than a comedy. The film develops slowly, but it never really gets comedic. But that didn’t bother me. The movie could have easily fallen into that ridiculous comedy trend, where everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. I found this really refreshing and I really enjoyed watching it.
“The Big Year” is a good movie, that surprised me.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 37: The Addams Family Values

Director: Barry Sonnefeld
Genre: Comedy/ Fantasy/ Horror
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1993
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Joan Cusack, David Krumholtz, Carel Struycken, Christine Baranski, Peter MacNichol, David Hyde Pierce, Nathan Lane, Tony Shalhoub

Description: A comical Gothic horror-movie-type family tries to rescue their beloved uncle from his gold-digging new love.

Review: If you love macabre humor, this sequel to “The Addams Family” is right up your alley. And “The Addams Family Values” manages to keep the magic of the first film intact.
The family welcomes a new member, baby boy Pubert. Gomez and Morticia are very happy with their new baby, but his siblings Wednesday and Pugsley aren’t. they are trying to do everything to get rid of him. The Addams family decides to hire a nanny, in the form of Debbie. In real life she is a serial killer, who marries rich men to then eventually kill them and take their money. Her eyes are on Fester this time. And Wednesday and Pugsley are send to summer camp.
Probably the best parts of the film are set on Camp Chippawa and Wednesday, played by Christina Ricci, steals all the scenes.
Director Barry Sonnenfeld is energetic and inventive. Great eye for detail and a wonderful way to bring this family to life. Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston and Christopher Lloyd are again great in their roles and Joan Cusack is a lot of fun to watch.
Again the story isn’t that complicated, but it’s a good move to let the kids of the family have their own adventure. “The Addams Family Values” is not as good as the first film, but it’s not very far from it.

Rating: 4/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 36: The Addams Family

Director: Barry Sonnefeld
Genre: Comedy/ Fantasy/ Horror
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 1991
Starring: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Dan Hedaya, Carel Struycken

Description: Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.

Review: In this satirical film, we meet the Addams family, an eccentric family with an extraordinary lifestyle and interested in death and destruction. Most people find them weird, but they are a surprisingly loving family. Father Gomez has been looking for his long lost brother Fester for years. Con artists see this as an opportunity to get money out of them.
Actor Raul Julia plays the role of Gomez formidable. He is a decadent gentleman who loves his wife to death. Angelica Huston plays his wife Morticia. Calm and collected, with perfection. Christoper Lloyd plays Uncle Fester, and it shows that he had a lot of fun doing it. A very young Christina Ricci portrays daughter Wednesday, a very down and morbid girl with intelligence. She is probably my favorite character of the family.
The story isn’t complicated, but the execution is done very well. The cast rbings the family to life and the décor and costumes are amazing. “The Addams Family” is a timeless comedy that is now just ast entertaining as it was in the nineties.

Rating: 5/ 5

Movie Favorites: 50/ 50

Synopsis: Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a 27 year old writer of radio programs and is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. With the help of his best friend (Seth Rogen), his mother (Angelica Huston), and a young therapist (Anna Kendrick) at the cancer center, Adam learns what and who the most important things in his life are.

 

 

Unique Selling Point: It always amazed me how they could tell a story with such a heavy theme so light and with humor. It isn’t a sob story, it’s a movie with a lot of heart. And the cast is outstanding.

Most Valuable Player: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who else? Movies like this hardly ever get an Academy Award nomination, but they missed one here. It was an Oscar worthy performance, very sincere and he made Adam Lerner one of the most likeable characters in movie history.

Best Moment: Adam is about to go into surgery. His parents are there and Adam realizes this could be the last time he sees them. He’s scared. It’s really a heartbreaking moment, I just wanted to hug him.

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 9: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Director: Wes Anderson

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 118 minutes

Year: 2004

Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noa Taylor, Bud Cort, Seu Jorge, Robyn Cohen

Description: With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife (Anjeica Huston) , a journalist (Cate Blanchett), and a man who may or may not be his son (Owen Wilson).

Review: “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” has a lot of elements: drama, humor, romance, fantasy. But it’s a typical Wes Anderson flick.

The movie doesn’t have any obvious, hilarious jokes. Bill Murray gets room to exploit his dry, cynical humor, which fits Anderson’s style perfectly. It’s an amusing atmosphere, that will make you chuckle at times because of its innovative comedy and look.

An eclectic group of actors. Off course Bill Murray, who is in probably every Wes Anderson movie ever made. Willem Dafoe plays the somewhat simple, manic depressed buddy of Steve Zissou. Owen Wilson plays Zissous son Ned, who has a more neutral role in the movie. His humoristic impulses are tempered, it seems a little bit off. Jeff Goldblum is fun, but not present enough. The same goes for Anjelica Huston. Cate Blanchett is good as journalist Jane, but here role didn’t really add a lot to the story. She has the unfortunate task to be the romantic object.

My favorite part of the movie is where we are introduced to the ship, the Belafonte. Due vertical and horizontal shots we get to see every single room on the ship. I love those shots in Anderson movies.

“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” is again a pleasure to watch, because of the style, humor and cast. But it’s not one of Anderson’s masterpieces.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

In the Picture: The Characters from "50/50"

This is the way a story like this should be told. Not over-dramatic, but with a touch of humor. “50/50” is such a fantastic film with some great characters. Here they are.

Adam Lerner
Played by: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Adam works as a radio journalist and is 27 years old when he discovers he has a rare form of cancer in his spine. His chances are 50/50. He sees it as a burden that his girlfriend, his mother and his best friend have to take care of him. Adam is a kind man who wants to enjoy the little things in life and tries to enjoy it even though he’s sick. He finds that very hard, but he realizes that his mom, Kyle and his therapist Katherine are there for him all in a different way.

Kyle
Played by: Seth Rogen
Kyle is Adam’s best friend and mister positive. He thinks the odds of Adam surviving are good and better than expected. Kyle tries to make Adam still enjoy life by taking him out and getting him laid. When Adam is sick of being sick, he gets mad at Kyle for trying to make him forget about the illness, Adam finds a book that Kyle is reading “Fighting Cancer Together”.

Katherine McKay
Played by: Anna Kendrick
Katherine is Adam’s young therapist. At first Adam doesn’t think much of Katherine, because she is only 24, but they develop a close relationship. Katherine is very sweet and caring, though a bit insecure about how to deal with Adam. Soon Adam Realizes that Katherine is a fantastic woman and he wishes she was his girlfriend.

Rachael
Played by: Bryce Dallas Howard
Rachael is Adam’s girlfriend and very demanding and a bit selfish. When she first hears about Adam’s sickness, she says she wants to take care of him. Rachael can’t deal with it though. Kyle sees Rachael with another man and tells Adam. Rachael says it was hard on her to deal with the illness, but she doesn’t seem to realize how hard it is on Adam. They break up.

Diane Lerner
Played by: Anjelica Huston
Diane is Adam’s mother and is married to an Alzheimer patient. She is broken up about the fact that Adam is sick. Adam doesn’t allow her to take care of him, because she already has his dad to take care of. Diane feels powerless.

Favorite Character: Adam Lerner