jules32 Reviews

Georgia Rule (2007)

This movie was so much better than I thought it would be

[9/10 · 24 April 2008]

I watched Georgia Rule for the first time several weeks ago, fully prepared to be disappointed; I have now seen the movie several times and appreciate it more each time I see it. While it is by no means a perfect film, it is much better than the critics made it out to be at the time of its release, and deserved much better marketing that it received at the time of its release. There are flaws in the film, to be sure - inexplicable, jarring camera shots, and holes in the story that are never sewn together. But there are also many really good moments, and some terrific acting by Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, and especially, surprisingly, Lindsay Lohan. In a way, I get irritated when I watch this movie, because I see how good Lindsay Lohan is, and how she has the potential for greatness - and how her personal life seems to be eclipsing her considerable talent. It's a damn shame, and I truly hope someone can talk some sense into the girl, because after seeing Georgia Rule, I think she has the ability to be a fine actress - who knew?

Domino (2005)

Good film for what it was

[7/10 · 17 October 2005]

Is it just me, or does Mickey Rourke look much better in this movie than in his previous couple of films? (Not counting Sin City; everyone was messy in that one, but it was great!). Maybe his surgery swelling has gone down, or whatever, but I have always been a fan since "Rumblefish", and he didn't let me down here. If anything, I wanted to see more of him, but alas, it was not to be. Now on to the movie. I was not disappointed in "Domino", but then again, my expectations were not that high. I expected a film loosely based on the life of Domino Harvey, with a lot of blood and guns and explosions, and that's what I got. Keira Knightley was very cool in the title role, but surprisingly, the scene with the biggest impact for me was the end shot of the real Domino. Perhaps her recent death informed the scene with more emotion - who knows? The film was what it was; don't look for realism or accuracy, just some entertaining pulpy nonsense. And really, isn't that one of the reasons we go to the movies, for a little escape from reality?

A History of Violence (2005)

Unbelievably bad film

[1/10 · 1 October 2005]

I cannot believe the good reviews I am reading about this film - I thought the plot was full of holes, and the ending was laughable. In the beginning, I thought that there might be an interesting plot developing, but it was literally shot full of holes. Viggo Mortensen coming to terms with his past? Oh, just for a couple of minutes while everyone is killed. Then Viggo wants to "make peace" with his brother, William Hurt (who, by the way, got huge laughs...oops! I don't think we were supposed to be laughing, were we? Oh, well!), and everyone else is killed who wasn't killed in the first half of the movie. The subplots trailed off into nothingness, and the ending literally made me laugh, because it trailed off, too! If you want a good commentary on violence in society, try "A Clockwork Orange" or "Goodfellas" or ANY OTHER MOVIE (sorry, I'm a little excited!). Don't spend your money on this; it was a waste of many good actors' talents.

Broken Flowers (2005)

Delicate film

[9/10 · 10 September 2005]

About ten minutes into this movie, I began to get a little annoyed that I may have been taken in by reviewers; the last movie I saw by Jim Jarmusch "Dead Man" was so tortuously slow that I wanted to rip out my eyes so I wouldn't have to see any more. However, this film hooked me quickly after - I am a huge Bill Murray fan, and the work he has done here is some of the best I have seen by him or anyone. Everything happens in his face, even though he says little; it is such a subtle performance, and I was glad that I could slow myself down to take it all in. He is like a silent film actor - and what a lovely relationship between his character and Jeffrey Wright's character Winston. Jeffrey Wright is a tremendous actor; together, he and Bill Murray really made me believe that there was a true history between them. As the film unfolded, I grew more and more intrigued - it is great these days to see a film in which not every little thing is being explained to the audience, and in fact, is left to the audience's imagination (to the movie makers - thank you for understanding that there are those of us in the audience that can still use our imaginations!) This is not a film for everyone - some may be frustrated that certain questions are left unanswered. If you want to see a delicately constructed film with subtle shadings of emotion and feeling, along with humor, and enjoy using your brain when you see a movie, go see "Broken Flowers" now. You will not be disappointed.

Must Love Dogs (2005)

Classy and clever film

[8/10 · 30 July 2005]

"Must Love Dogs" is a terrific palate cleanser for those who are filled up with special effects,sequels, and remakes of old TV shows. Diane Lane is beautiful and handles comedy as well as drama. She has a great sense of timing, and her reactions to all the craziness from her family and the guys she dates are subtly perfect. John Cusack just gets better as he gets older - he and Diane Lane had some great chemistry together. Not sure who the writer was, but some great set-ups in the plot, and loved the banter!!! I also have to mention Ben Shenkman, who was very funny as Cusack's sidekick, and who we need to see more in many, many projects. The rest of the cast was just as great; Christopher Lee does such a fine job as Lane's father, and his reading of Yeats put me over the top. This is a remarkable film, funny and literate; my husband enjoyed it, even though he did say it was a bit on the chick flick side. There is quite a bit of truth in the movie about women and men and relationships; I found myself saying "Yay!" because someone got it right and got it on screen. Yay - movies with brains are not obsolete!

Sin City (2005)

beautiful in its monstrosity

[1 April 2005]

I had high hopes for Sin City, and I was definitely not disappointed. I have always enjoyed films by Robert Rodriguez; I love his dark humor and his appreciation of the grotesque. I think Sin City is a movie that pulls no punches - Mickey Rourke did a great job as Marv, shading his turn as a killer with degrees of humanity and pathos. Many other fine performances here; loved Bruce Willis, Rutger Hauer(creepy), Elijah Wood (creepier), and many others. The pulpy dialogue was perfect, and I couldn't take my eyes off the gorgeous cinematography. The violence was cartoonlike (what a surprise!); my husband and I laughed through most of it, and we weren't the only ones. If you have ever seen any movies by Robert Rodriguez, you know what to expect; he has an uncompromising vision that we could use more of in film today.

The Incident (1967)

where has this movie been?

[9/10 · 21 March 2005]

I caught this movie on AMC at 3 o'clock this morning (or so), and was blown away! What a tense, gritty drama - and what a cast! I was trying to figure out who was who, as they were all so young (Ed McMahon? Donna Mills? Ruby Dee without Ossie Davis? Wow!) Martin Sheen's baby face made his psycho character all the more frightening. To me, the movie is a great time capsule of the sixties, and of New York. I do have a complaint to register regarding the AMC channel - instead of squeezing the end credits to make room for commercials for the next movie, how about staying true to your movie fans who have a compulsive need to read the credits, and show them full-screen to the end? Who's with me on this one? Thank goodness for IMDb to get us through!

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

go see this movie now!

[28 January 2005]

I was close to giving up going to the movies this year, because I was so tired of being disappointed, bored, and disgusted by the poor films that the movie-going public is asked to accept as entertainment these days. "Million Dollar Baby" reminded me of how movies could be much more than just special effects, and cobbled-together screenplays that we've all seen before. Hillary Swank, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood are tremendously affecting; the movie is about a lot more than just boxing - I think it was an excellent film. Go see it now - it's a movie made the way movies should be made - with brains, heart, and class.

Troy (2004)

i can't recommend it

[15 May 2004]

Disappointing movie - technically, I thought the battle scenes were good, but there didn't seem to be anything that distinguished one scene from another; there was no emotion, no heightened sense of excitement as the movie progressed. I will tell you that I saw the movie with my husband and niece in a crowded theater, and there was a lot of laughter from the audience during scenes that weren't supposed to be funny, such as Achilles screaming "Hector!" over and over, just before Hector comes out to do battle with him. I will also tell you that when Achilles died, the twenty-something girl sitting next to me started to cry - which was amazing to me, as (sorry Brad),except for the scene where he learns of his cousin's death , I couldn't find one shred of emotion in Brad Pitt's performance that I could connect with.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

cheated out of twenty bucks

[12 July 2003]

I loved the first and liked the second Terminator movies; this one had trite dialogue, halfway fleshed-out characters, and no dramatic tension. Hollywood seems to not only have forgotten, but stopped caring about writing characters that the audience is going to care about. I am all for watching cars getting blown up, chase scenes, and smashing into buildings, and robots shooting everyone in sight - just make me care about what is happening to the people on the screen, OK? To be fair, there were some funny moments, and the face-off between Arnold and the female robot at the end was interesting, but unfortunately, by that time, it was too little, too late. What is really sad is to read how much everyone enjoyed the movie; it's too bad our standards for entertainment have deteriorated to the degree that quick editing, special effects, and constant movement without benefit of plot or coherent character development passes for decent moviemaking. I sound like an old fart (I'm not), but I do know the difference between a good action movie and this fraud that Hollywood asks us to believe is a good action movie. If I could, I would write to the studio and ask for my money back - too bad I can't get the two hours of my life back.