thumpergirl03 Reviews

Ruffian (2007 TV Movie)

Wonderful except...

[10/10 · 11 January 2008]

I saw this movie when my mom rented it from Netflix. I never actually saw Ruffian race in life (i was born in 1988) I've read all about her and saw the actual footage of the match race when i watched the document about Barbaro on abc. the film perfectly depicts her life though short. The whole battle of the sexes theme carried to the extreme was kinda stupid but i guess it was the major thing of the times with the Bobby Riggs vs. Billy Jean King showdown and all the feminist movements and all. The only other complaint that i have is that the horses chosen to play the parts were plain in comparison to the real Ruffian who was tall, very leggy, and well muscled. I got the DVD for Christmas and there's thing on the bonus features where you can watch an On the set Documentary. In it the director says that they had to experiment with some dye in order to get the horses the right color a near black. Why not just find horses who are naturally brown/black. Of course it might kinda hard considering that there has never another filly quite like her since. The other horses that played her rivals throughout her career were well selected Overall I loved this film and would recommend it to any horse/animal lovers.

Dreamer (2005)

Mediocre

[5/10 · 11 January 2008]

Let me start off by saying that i wasn't totally disappointed with this movie. I'm a big fan of thoroughbred movies (i liked Seabiscuit and Ruffian)i don't know maybe it's because i'm an animal lover. But I will say that a lot of the scenes were very predictable (horse gets injured old trainer/veterinarian offers to nurse her back to health owner is your typical a****** bad guys are Arabian sheiks who knows how they got rich). The scenery and racing scenes were beautiful. The music mediocre only. The relationship between father and daughter comes of as more of a father son relationship. I will say that i don't like Dakota Fanning especially after War of the worlds. She acts beyond her years in this film, like an urban teen/young adult instead of 10 year old girl. Her feeding the horse Popsicles every night was stupid. And lastly anyone should know that a horse falling on its neck like that would cause more damage than just a broken leg. I won't give away the ending but all in all just a mediocre film.

The Christmas Shoes (2002 TV Movie)

Wonderful

[10/10 · 27 November 2007]

I rented this movie from my church and just got finished watching it. I never read the book but I've heard the song on the radio, and cried the first time i heard it. The acting was superb especially Rob Lowe as Robert Layton (he's one of my favorite actors). The boy who played Nathan was excellent his acting was so good and realistic that I cried with him. It's especially sad that his mom died at Christmastime. The choir who sang outside the home were beautiful they sounded like a professional choir. I'm not gonna ruin it for people who haven't seen it but I will say that I definitely recommend it to people who believe in miracles and how the smallest ones can change your life.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Excellent to top off the series except ...

[9/10 · 12 November 2007]

Let me just start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. I like the ride at Disneyland and Disney World. I've noticed that as i've read the comments, there are no OK's. Either people hate it or they love it. I went to see this movie the second or third day after it came out and just loved it! To be honest after Dead Man's Chest I just stopped caring about understanding the storyline and just started to enjoy the special FX and entertainment. Jonny Depp delivers his famous role fabulously as usual as do Orlando Bloom and Ms. Knightley. Goeffrey Rush has a lot more character development as Barbossa than he did in the original.Bill Knighey reprised his role also Davey Jones and some of the other less important characters. The soundtrack is probably the best movie soundtrack i've ever heard (some times i get He's a Pirate stuck in my head) although it's at a bit faster pace in this one. My only spoiler is Keith Richards as Jack's father, maybe it's because i hate the Rolling Stones. Other than that an excellent movie!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

A little different from the book...but still very good

[9/10 · 16 July 2007]

Okay I'll admit that bookwise, my favorite is The Half-Blood Prince. But seeing as how that one has yet to be made into a movie, I'll talk about The Order of the Phoenix. I just went and saw the movie today (and I hope to see it in Imax sometime). Micheal Gambon actually made a very good come back as Dumbledore unlike in Goblet of Fire. Granted quite a few scenes were cut from the film, they still did a very good job at keeping the story together, so even if you haven't read the books (which no one in my family has except me), you still can understand it. Rupert Grint as always was excellent as Ron, although he could show a little more emotion. Emma Watson topped it off as Hermione being annoying as she sometimes is. And of course Daniel Radcliffe as Harry also gave a good performance. Sometimes the look on his was a little creepy as well as intriguing. I also liked Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, despite him having a relatively small part in the story.

Over all except for a few minor complaints about it, they did a great job at getting the story across even with taking out some scenes. The cast was great.

Black Beauty (1994)

Beautiful

[10/10 · 19 July 2006]

I have seen this movie about 2 or 3 times, and i just love it. The scenery in it is just beautiful and Black Beauty's voice is cast very well (thought i don't know who it is). Also the costumes and homes seem to fit the time period very well. Sean Bean although having a fairly small part in this film, carries out his role nicely as does the rest of the cast. The horses were beautiful and i felt for them. I'm a horse person. As i said before, the scenery of the British countryside was very nice and the houses were very authentic. I've read the book, and must say that they followed it pretty closely, with the exception of the absence of a few of the horse characters and human characters. The music is nice and fits the mood for the scenes.

Overall i recommend this film to children and adults both. For those of you who think it would be too boring, if you just give it a chance, i think you would find that it's very delightful and has a good message.

Kingdom Hearts II (2005 Video Game)

Absolutely beautiful...

[10/10 · 4 July 2006]

I love this game! As a huge fan of KH1,i must say that KH2 carries on the story perfectly. The graphics have improved, and i must say that i like the extended version of The nightmare before Christmas. It also has more songs from the movies, including Part of your world, and Beauty and the Beast (after you defeat Xaldin). I think Hailey Joel Osment is perfect as Sora, Christopher Lee is brilliant as Diz, and all the other voice overs are good as well. And there's more worlds too including the fabulous Pride Lands, and Mulan just to name a few. The only complaint i have is that you don't hear the Circle of life in the Pride lands. By the way the new characters are just as likable as the familiar ones.

All in all, this is my most favorite PS2 game and like KH1 it's a good game for Disney and FF lovers alike.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

total DISAPPOINTMENT

[1/10 · 8 August 2005]

And yes I meant for it all to be capitalized. It's really annoying that there are so many good reviews about this film. I agree with all you who gave it nothing but a 1. I saw this movie a few weeks ago and I must say I didn't walk out with smile on my face. For starters, the special fx were overdone and hardly any of the movie looked real. The fact that the oompa loompas were all played by Deep Roy is just plain creepy, and their songs...yuck! The music was so loud it was hard to hear the lyrics. And now for Depp.. He should never of even thought of taking this role. I know this has been said before, but he was too much Micheal Jacksonesque. It just didn't have the magic of the 1971 Gene Wilder original. The thing I missed most was the classic oompa loompa song which was cute and childlike. But no Danny Elfman had to come in and completely mess it up. The humor of Charlie's dad stealing the toothpaste cap (or whatever it was) wasn't right. None of the kids seemed to have learned from their mistakes, and their parents didn't show any emotion about whatever was happening to the kid ( Augusta's mom didn't scream when he was being sucked up the pipe) like she did in the original, And Veruka's dad instead of being thrown in the "bad egg" shoot with her, was carried along by the squirrels following her.

Overall Freddie Highmore as Charlie was OK but that's it. If you enjoyed the original I would suggest don't bother seeing this piece of garbage.

Fantastic Four (I) (2005)

Fantastic BORE...

[2/10 · 3 August 2005]

And yes I meant for all the letters to be capitalized. I went to see this supposed good action flick, with my mom and cousins, and instead got this utter piece of garbage! The only character who shows (or at least attempts to show) any real emotion is the Thing. Micheal Chiklis' was reasonable as him. The CGI fire for the Human Torch was good. But other than that everything was unexciting. Couldn't they at least come up with a better mask for Von Doom? And try to make his voice sound more menacing, something like the Green Goblin? The whole engagement ring scene was laughably stupid and unforgivable. The soundtrack is extremely annoying. And nothing in Reed's lab looked real. There is no love shown in Von Doom's proposal to Susan. I don't have time to mention every mistake/cliché or I would.

All I can say is that this movie is totally clichéd. The only reason I gave it a two is because as I said before I thought Micheal Chiklis was pretty decent,but that's it. Everything in it is nothing that hasn't been done or seen before. Please don't waste your time or money on this, instead give it to something well worth it.

Shrek 2 (2004)

Better than the first!

[9/10 · 10 July 2005]

I first saw this in the theater, and now have probably seen it at least 6 times! How can anyone say it's not as good as Shrek? The plot is reasonable, the script is decent enough, and the soundtrack is excellent! The animation is even improved and (in my opinion) the color is richer. I only noticed several mistakes such as when Shrek and Fiona are about to kiss at the ending, when the clock strikes twelve, and Shrek didn't turn into his original self, like the potion said he would.

Overall, I only gave it a 9 because of the mistakes I mentioned and I'm looking forward to Shrek 3!

War of the Worlds (2005)

Extremely disappointing...

[2/10 · 9 July 2005]

When I went to see this, I was expecting to see a good action/sci-fi thriller flick. The previews were deceiving! Instead I get this totally plot less movie, with a terrible script, and almost emotionless characters (with the exception of Dakota fanning's character whose constant screaming was extremely annoying). Ray however is an "a**hole" father and gets worse and worse throughout the film. Was the throwing the peanut butter sandwich at the window totally necessary? The script is just plain uninteresting. Tim Robbin's character was okay. But I mean come on, if they aliens are as intelligent and advanced as they supposedly are, then they would know that Ray and them are hiding behind the mirror. And all the electricity is out but a guy still manages to use his camcorder?Huh? Overall, the only reason I gave it a two is because the special effects were pretty decent, but that's it.

Cinderella Man (2005)

Loved it!

[10/10 · 9 July 2005]

I recently saw this movie with my mom and a friend, and I must say it was well worth the time! I expected to see a Rocky type movie even though this one's a true story. What I got was even better.They couldn't have chosen a better actor play Mr. Braddock, (even though Russell Crowe probably needs some anger management classes now), but I won't go into that. The script was well written, and it actually had a good plot (unlike WOTW). The characters showed their emotions well.Rene Zellwegger does an excellent job as Mrs. Braddock, and I like it how she supports her husband, but at the same time is against it. The soundtrack was decent and I think added on to the emotion of the film. The part where he teaches the little girl (forgot her name) how to punch is cute.

Although I've seen other Ron Howard films and I didn't care too much for them, I can truly say this one was entertaining.

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Awesome..One of the best animated movies ever

[10/10 · 19 March 2005]

When I first saw this movie I'll admit I was truly amazed. I'm a Christian,and though it might not be as Biblically accurate as the Ten Commandments, it still remained true to some things. My favorite part would have to be the burning bush. It still gives this feeling of God's presence. To me the all-star cast and the unbeatable music is the highlight of the movie.

Spoilers

Although I truly think this is an awesome movie, I noticed a few errors in the film:1.Why didn't they show all 10 plagues? 2. Although this could've very well happened, the Bible says nothing about Moses and Ramses chariot racing.

Overall animation:10 Music:10 Plot: 9 actors: 10

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Excellent...Even better than the first

[10/10 · 11 March 2005]

When I went to see Spider-man 2 in the there's last summer with my grandma, I was amazed when it was over. I think the energetic feel (this is just my opinion) is better than in Spider-man. The acting was exceptional, especially Afred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius (a.k.a. Doc Ock). Also, I like how MJ moving on with her dream of acting and her marrying that other guy ( I forgot his name). The CGI and special effects are outstanding and the plot although predictable, is still good. I recently got the DVD for Christmas and I've seen it about 3 times already! Overall I would say that to me it's one of those rare movies where the sequel is actually better than the first!

Treasure Planet (2002)

A okay but questionable movie

[7/10 · 23 December 2004]

I have the VHS and have seen it about 5 times. Overall i thought it was a pretty good film , but not the best animated film out there. *SPOILERS* As with every movie i noticed what i thought were a couple of errors: First of all why didn't they give the morph a funnier name, instead of naming him what he is? Secondly why where Jim and his mom the only humans on the planet? And most importantly of all what's with the relationship between Jim and Silver. It seems that one minute Silver likes Jim, and the next minute he wants to kill Jim. I seriously don't get that.

Overall i thought the animation was okay but not the best, and the characters were passable. Animation:6 Music:1 Characters:9