The Kingdom

What's It About

Saudi Terrorist attack that involves attacking Saudis and Americans. The FBI gets involved and wants to go over and put an end to the terrorist that planned the bombing. This is where the story basically comes from. This movie has emotion and action bundled together in one tight package.

How'd They Act

Jamie Foxx does not disappoint with this film. He is his usual tough guy self like he was in Miami Vice, but he has a little emotion that shows here. I have to give Jennifer Garner credit for picking more serious roles lately. The Kingdom shows her ability to have a serious role and act a little butch at times. This is a little different from her usual characters and was refreshing. Chris Cooper actually seemed nicer in this film that most. Usually he is very dry and abrasive, but he is actually lively and fun in this film. Jeremy Piven makes me wonder in this film. I think that he was the man for the part that he played, but it didn't work well in my opinion. His character seemed over the top flamboyant. He still does a good job in The Kingdom, but I would not have been upset if he were not in it at all. Even his character seemed quite unnecessary to tell the story. It seemed as though his character was only there for some comic relief, but he wasn't as funny as he usually is. The acting was good overall, but there were not any performances that stood out to me.



Delivery

Peter Berg congratulations. I believe he has proved that he can direct with the best of them with this film. There was a good combination of emotion, comedy, action, and drama throughout the film. It seemed very balanced as though he took much care in making sure that no feeling was pushed over the top. The message came across easily without hammering it in to our heads. I found this movie refreshing in the directing category even though nothing stood out as being fantastic. This reminds me of simple good clean directing like Philip Noyce. You are not really impressed by the directing, but it allows you to be a part of the story while not getting to emotionally involved. In this case it is good (it makes it more of an everyone movie even though the story is difficult to swallow at times).



The Real Deal

I paid $16 to see this at the drive-in because I forgot cash and had to use the ATM, but it was worth every penny. I was glad to see a young director put together a solid movie with good actors.

The Skinny Version

Should you see it? Yes. 832,013 out of 1,000,000 Stars
Possibly a Sharon Movie.

The Kingdom

No I haven't seen it since it isn't out yet, but it looks like a well made film. The Kingdom comes out this Friday and I have to say that I am kind of excited about it. Jamie Foxx has proven himself time and time again for the past few years to be a great actor. I would never have thought that back in the TV show days. I am interested to see how well his acting goes this time and if he can keep up the good work.

The director, Peter Berg, even though he has not directed much seems to have a fairly good track record. Directing Friday Night Lights and some other smaller things makes me think that he has the potential to do a great job with this story. He has actually done a lot more acting than directing, but I guess you have to change you roles a little bit to make the big bucks in hollywood. It is great to see actors deciding to get into directing.

Some other notable actors and actresses in this movie include: Chris Cooper (isn't this guy in everything?), Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Jeremy Piven. These actors round out a great cast that could make the movie worth it in itself.

Year Of The Dog

What's It About

To be perfectly honest, I am still not sure what this movie was about nor do I care. Sometimes you get lucky and find a diamond in the rough, but that was certainly not the case with Year of the Dog. It is about a woman named Peggy (Molly Shannon) who does not have many real friends and only has a dog for a true companion. She is very lonely when her dog dies so she goes on a date with her next door neighbor (John C. Reilly) and realizes that the only ones she can trust are animals. As the movie progresses into its downward spiral, Peggy lets her life fall apart for the love of animals (mostly dogs). Mike White, who is known more for his acting probably, wrote and directed this sorry movie. He has has written lots of other scripts including School of Rock, The Good Girl, and Nacho Libre. His writing is usually pretty good and original judging by past films (maybe he should keep letting others direct his films).


How'd They Act

Molly Shannon has had a rough career and is often painful to watch. She is supposed to be funny usually and that is the problem with most of her performances. This role was actually played quite well by Shannon. She was not funny in any way and she seemed somewhat convincing for the majority of the film. This could have been one of her best performances so far. I can't say that I am a fan of her work, but she showed talent in this film. John C. Reilly is a man of many characters and is often entertaining to watch. His character was subdued in this film, but he still did a good job. I would like to have seen him in the movie more. The only other actor that seems worth mentioning at this point is Peter Sarsgaard who has been up and down in a lot of films. He is often odd and does a great job of being odd in this as well. Saragaard much just be naturally creepy. Enough said about acting.

Delivery

I am sorry Mike White, but this was horrible. Was this movie supposed to be funny, entertaining, sad, informative, political, or boring? There is only one of those adjectives that can describe this film and it isn't the first five. Mike White tried to be original and I will give him that, but the rest is like pulling teeth. Some quirky films like this have a quality that makes it shine like Little Miss Sunshine's comedy. I can't pinpoint any reason for anyone to like this film unless they are just an animal rights activist or something, but even then they should be ashamed at how poorly this movie was presented.

The Real Deal

I did not pay for this movie, but I wish I had gotten paid to sit through it. Stick to writing and acting Mike White.

The Skinny Version

Should you see it? If you want to cry. 254,534 out of 1,000,000 Stars
Not a Sharon Movie! Or anyone for that matter!

Good Luck Chuck

What's It About

Dane Cook is Chuck, a dentist that gets all of the girls, but they are always finding the love of their life after they break up with him. Jessica Alba is the one girl, Cam, that he finally falls in love with, but does not want to ruin it with this curse that he thinks that he has. Good Luck Chuck is a Romantic Comedy in the R rated category.

How'd They Act

Dane Cook did a great job in this movie as compared to other movies that I have seen him in. I might just have a better respect for him after seeing some of his standup, but he seemed a lot funnier in this movie than others he has done. Dane is funny in this movie if you like his type f comedy. Comedies are tough and that is why it is always important to note that you could love it or hate it. Jessica Alba also did a good job being a clumsy penguin lover. She acts very clumsy in this movie, but sometimes it seems a little over the top. Obviously this is more of a directing issue.

Delivery

How did Mark Helfrich do at directing this movie you ask. I am not going to lie to you, he made a funny movie. IT is great that the movie was funny since it was a comedy, but there are a lot of things that I did not like about the movie. First off, it was rated R which meant that it was probably going to be rough around the edges, but this was over the top for most of the movie. You start to feel kind of bad about all of the stuff that you are seeing. Some things are disgusting and others are just too far over the top, but mainly they seem completely unnecessary. This is always that part of movies that disturbs me the most. Why do directors think that we have to see a lot of sex to want to see the movie. There were a few parts that were just plain wrong, but the movie was still funny. It is sad that the movie could have been much funnier if it were PG-13 though.

The Real Deal

I paid $18 for the tickets plus $5.50 for the nachos since we had to rush dinner, and I don't think that I would do it again. I felt a little deprived from seeing a movie in the theaters, so the experience was worth it, but the movie was not.

The Skinny Version

Should you see it? Not it theaters. 612,108 out of 1,000,000 Stars
Not a Sharon Movie!

What Is This Site All About?

Although it is very obvious what this blog is all about, I thought it might be useful to revisit how I go about reviewing movies and make sure the focus of this blog is reemphasized.

I started this blog with the intention of writing movie reviews for friends and family to read. I love movies and so this seemed like an obvious choice, but I am new to blogging and have become very busy lately, so I feel like I have let some people down. I am going to continue with the blog, but it is changing in focus to more than just reviews of movies. I am going to do more discussions on movies that are going to come out and things that are happening in the movies industry. The actual reviews will still be here, and I will start working on a way of organizing them, but due to the time and effort involved in the reviews, I will have to slow the review pace down for now.

For the reviews themselves, I believe that it is important to not a few things that are different from most other reviews of movies. I try to give an overall rating of the movies, but I am a sucker for great cinematography and directing, so this will often have a great bearing on the overall rating of the movie. I do try to analyze movies on how good I believe they are rather than on how much I liked them. I also note how much I liked the movie and whether it was worth the price that I paid, but the raw score is based on how good the movie was in my opinion.

One more item of note is the "Not a Sharon Movie" factor of the review. My sister Sharon has a certain movie taste as does everyone, but since she often asks about movies I came up with a way of letting her know whether she should see it or not. I often go on and on about how great a movie is when talking to Sharon, but then I have to give her the confirmation that it is either a Sharon movie or Not a Sharon Movie. This is how this came about, but to figure out what this really means you will have to read the reviews and see the movies and see for yourself what it means to be a Sharon Movie or Not a Sharon Movie.

Although I probably should have, I am sorry to say that I did not get a chance to edit this post. Sorry for any spelling and grammar errors along with anything that just sounds plain dumb.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Finally the fourth Indiana Jones Movie is going to come out. We have been waiting for years for there to be another one, but thought that it was not going to happen. Harrison Ford has decided to be Indy one more time. Steven Spielberg directs and is sure not to disappoint.

There are already a couple of interesting actors in the line up now that the movie is in production. Shia LaBeouf, who has been landing a few very big roles lately with Transformers and Disturbia lands a spot in this movie. He has been proving that he is a good actor and learning to pick better roles. IMDB does not say what his character is yet, but there has been rumor that Indiana Jones will have a son in this movie which would make Shia a good possibility. Also, Cate Blanchett, who is arguably one of the best female actresses out there right now is in this film. I think that it will be very interesting to see how this movie turns out.

"Indy, cover your heart!"

300

What's It About













How'd They Act








Delivery





The Real Deal

I believe that is enough said about 300. Don't rent, BUY!

The Skinny Version

Should you see it? Buy it. 901,381 out of 1,000,000 Stars
Not a Sharon Movie!