AllTheMountains Reviews

Once (I) (2007)

Touching, not easily forgettable

[9/10 · 31 December 2007]

Oh, what a charming film.

I saw this in the theater and was, at first, very put off by the general grainy and shaky look to it; such a large visual difference to the standard Hollywood fare. But this is no Hollywood film in the first place, and any of the reservations I had for this movie were pushed away rather quickly. This movie isn't Hollywood at all; it is raw and very real, and heart wrenchingly beautiful.

However much the movie is about creating music (the music here is not for the majority, but I enjoyed it immensely), it's also very much about finding a soul mate. There's a certain magic and intensity about those aspects and they're done incredibly well.

Sometimes, I'm often put off by "indie" movies, as this one is. The pretentiousness, mainly. But Once is not even close to that. There is nothing self conscious about this movie in the least.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

Decent film

[6/10 · 31 December 2007]

National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a decent film. Nothing more, nothing less. I came out of the theater content, and yet by the next hour I'd forgotten much of what had taken place. Such is the case for most films now, however.

Compared to the first film, the plot is weak (certainly not as tightly drawn as the former) but the energy is the same and the humor is the same, and overall it's still as watchable as the first. Helen Mirren and Ed Harris were also very good, and somewhat surprising, additions to the cast.

Essentially, the movie is on the ridiculous/unbelievable side, but it's worth a watch. I don't think I'd pay another 10 dollars to see it again in theaters, but waiting for a rental will do.

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

An amazing movie

[10/10 · 27 December 2007]

I was lucky enough to catch this movie on cable's On Demand TCM section today; sat for nearly 3hours or so completely enthralled by the whole thing. Each particular story (that of Homer's, Al's, and Fred's) was incredibly poignant, and often times very moving.

I was disappointed to see the user ratings of females under 18 for this movie was a mere 2.8. As a 17 year old girl, I beg to differ with that. I don't know whether it's because it's b&w or simply because my generation doesn't understand good movies-- or what, but I do believe it's place on the IMDb 250 list (which should be higher) and the AFI list is well deserved.

This is one of my favorite movies now and I'll be purchasing it on DVD quite soon.