90s Movie Review - The Virgin Suicides

Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 97 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Josh Hartnett, Danny DeVito, A.J. Cook, Hanna Hall, Leslie Hayman, Chelse Swain

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2024 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 45: A FILM FROM A DIRECTOR KNOW FOR THEIR CHARACTER-DRIVEN NARRATIVE
 
Description: A group a male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents (James Woods, Kathleen Turner) in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s.

Review: Cecilia Lisbon is only 13-years-old when she attempts suicide for the first time. She and her four sisters live a very protected life with their strict and religious parents.

Director Sofia Coppola manages to show the audience what this strict life can do to teenage girls. The five sister all deal with it in a different way, eventually ending in the same fate.

It’s beautifully filmed and it focused on the sisters. The story told from the perspective of the boy next door, twenty five years later.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Monster House

Director: Gil Kenan
Genre: Comedy/ Animation/ Advenure/ Family
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2006
Starring: Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Catherine O’Hara, Fred Willard, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Kathleen Turner, Jon Heder

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2022 CHALLENGE
WEEK 38: A MOVIE STARRING A CHILD
 
Description: Three kids discover that their neighbor’s house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.

Review: Right across the street of young DJ’s house, is the old, run-down house of Mr. Nebbercracker. Nebbercracker is a grumpy man who always takes kids toys that end up on his lawn, never to return them to the owner. The night before Halloween, he and his friend Chowder play basketball and the ball ends up on Nebbercracker’s lawn. As usual, he takes it from them, but this time Nebbercracker collapses and ends up being taken away with an ambulance. But even without Nebbercracker being home, the house doesn’t seem empty. Or is it the house that’s alive?

“Monster House” uses the performance capture technique, just like “The Polar Express” did. There the character looked very realistic. In “Monster House” not so much. But nevertheless, it’s a very enjoyable film to watch, for the entire family during spooky season. It’s somehow a family-friendly take on the haunted house trope.

Rating: 3/ 5

80s Movie Review - Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Genre: Animation/ Comedy/ Crime/ Adventure
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 1988
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleisher, Stubby Kaye, Kathleen Turner, Alan Tilvern

Description: A toon-hating detective (Bob Hoskins) is a cartoon rabbit’s only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.

Review: In 1988, director Robert Zemeckis brought us a very special film where people and cartoons live in the same world. The movie is set in 1947. Private detective Eddie Valiant is hired by cartoon boos R.K. Maroon, to spy on Jessica, wife of cartoon character Roger Rabbit. Eddie follows her in a nightclub and catches her with funny guy Marvin Acme. Roger Rabbit is completely devastated when he finds out the news about his wife. The next day, Acme is found murdered and Roger Rabbit is the main suspect. He asks Eddie for help to proof his innocence.
The great this about “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” is the wat the cartoon world and the real world are put into one film. You van see that a lot of work went into this movie. As a result we get a modern film-noir, with comedy and sympathetic characters.
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an unique film, with both animation and live-action. Even today it still holds up and is a guarantee for an entertaining movie night. Loved it as a kid, still love it today.

Rating: 5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Moms

Sunday is Mother’s Day and I thought it would be fun to share the best movie moms with you. Here are my favorite mothers in movies (not necessarily good moms, but very iconic).

5. Jules & Nic (Julianne Moore and Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”)
Two moms, lesbian moms, who have two kids together. Super cool. One relaxed and a younger soul, the other serious and strict.

4. Mom (Kathleen Turner in “Serial Mom”)
Probably the worst mom to have, because whenever you do something to her kids or family, she will kill you. Literally!

3. Rosemary Penderghast (Patricia Clarkson in “Easy A”)
For me, Rosemary Pendergast is iconic, because of her parenting style. She is modern, hip, sometimes a bit awkward yet a chill mom to have.

2. The Bride/ Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill Vol.2”)
Thinking her daughter has died, after she was in a coma for four years, motherhood eventually comes natural to her when Bride first meets her daughter Bebe.

1. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”)
Sarah Connor is traumatized by something nobody believes really happened. She is estranged from her son John, who brings her right back into that nightmare she once fled. But this time the Terminator is here to help Sarah. And Sarah does everything to save her son.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field in “Not Without My Daughter”), Helen Parr/ Elastigirl (Holly Hunter in “The Incredibles”), Eva Khatchadourian (Tilda Swinton in “We Need to Talk About Kevin”), Sophie (Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice”)

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 16: Dumb and Dumber To

Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 105 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Laurie Holden, Kathleen Turner, Bill Murray, Rachel Melvin

Description: Twenty years since their first adventure, Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) go on a road trip to find Harry's newly discovered daughter, who was given up for adoption.

Review: Comedy sequels happen seldom and there is a reason for that. They hardly ever work and are rarely funnier or as funny as the first film. The same goes for “Dumb and Dumber To”. It’s fun to see Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels team up again as the stupid Lloyd and Harry, but it’s much of the same and not as funny as “Dumb and Dumber” was.

“Dumb and Dumber” came out in 1994, which was a very good year for Jim Carrey. He also gave us “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” and “The Mask” that year. It was also the movie that put directing brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly on the map. Both the Farrelly brothers and Jim Carrey haven’t made any successful movies recently, so it’s not that odd that they join forces again. Luckily for them Jeff Daniels wanted to join in too.

In “Dumb and Dumber To”, Lloyd and Harry go on another trip, this time to find Harry’s daughter. He just found out about her and she was given up for adoption. They also have to deliver an important package. Sound familiar? Well, in “Dumb and Dumber” they traveled miles for a woman Lloyd was in love with and they were carrying an important briefcase.

And that’s not the only repetition we get. Off course they did this to make it fun for the fans of “Dumb and Dumber”, but this way it’s not as interesting or surprising. Or as funny, because a lot of the jokes aren’t as funny.

This all doesn’t mean this is a total failure. There are many jokes that are enjoyable, although they are very juvenile, but come on, it’s Jim Carrey.

Overall “Dumb and Dumber To” didn’t break the curse, it’s not a very good comedy sequel. Fun for one time, when you’re in a silly mood.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Moments: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

I’ve seen this movie so many times when I was a kid. I loved it then and I still love it now. It’s so sad that Bob Hoskins passed, but whenever I think of him, I think of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and the great times I had watching it.

Moment # 1: Meet Roger

We meet cartoon hero Roger Rabbit, who’s in the middle of shooting a cartoon with Baby Herman. As always Roger has to deal with a lot of crap.

Moment # 2: Jessica Rabbit

Eddie Valiant is a cartoon hater and that’s exactly what he has to deal with for his new case. But meeting Jessica Rabbit might change everything.

Moment # 3: Affair?

Eddie show Roger some pictures of wife Jessica, which assumes that she’s having an affair. Roger goes nuts.

Moment # 4: The dip

Eddie meets Judge Doom. Doom shows him ‘the dip’ which is feared by all toons. We soon find out why. Doom picks up an innocent cartoon shoe and puts it in the dip. It melts…

Moment # 5: Hiding Roger

Eddie decides to cuff Roger, so he doesn’t go anywhere. Instead the two are cuffed together. When Judge Dooms weasels arrive, looking for Roger, Eddie needs to find a way to hide him. It isn’t that easy, because they are chained together. So Eddie pretends to do the dishes, while Roger is under water.

Moment # 6: Hiding for Judge Doom

While Judge Doom visits Dolores’ bar, Roger hides in the back. When he looks though the little peepholes, he knocks over a bottle with his eyes. Doom knows Roger is in the building and he knows exactly how to find him.

Moment # 7: Benny the Cab

When Eddie and Roger are on the run, they try to drive off. When Eddie’s car doesn’t work they decide to take Benny the Cab. He’s a very talkative cab, who says what he thinks.

Moment # 8: Yosemite’s gun

Eddie tries to use the gun he got from Yosemite Sam. It’s a toon gun, so it’s not your normal handgun. The bullits all have their own personality and qualities.

Moment # 9: Toontown

Eddie is about to enter his biggest nightmare: Toontown. He needs to go there to find Jessica Rabbit. When he thinks he has found her, it’s not quite Jessica. But the girl really likes Eddie. How to get rid of her? Just listen to laws of toon physics.

Moment # 10: Singing sword

While fighting Judge Doom in the Acme factory, Eddie tries to do everything to beat him. Acme holes, giant magnets, you name it. The most useless is the sword, that sings. It’s not dangerous at all.

Moment # 11: The end of Judge Doom

He showed Eddie himself, the easiest way to get rid of a toon is to use ‘the dip’. That’s exactly what happens to Judge Doom. And all the toons are happy!

 

 Favorite Moment: Moment # 10: Singing Sword