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Movie Reviews

All movie reviews by keta:

Big Year, The
comedy drama, PG
keta
A
Story follows three competitors for the award for spotting the most birds on one year. Title of the movie is the title of the competition. Sounds like a funny these to base a movie on and starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson, you almost expect some slapstick. Not so. This movie was entertaining and warm with solid acting. A great family movie. (includes a nice moral as well - like an Aesops Fable) I loved the characters and was totally engaged throughout.
Descendents, The
adult drama, PG13
keta
A
This was a moving story about a man adjusting to (over a period of weeks in a coma) losing his wife after a freak accident and adjusting to becoming more involved in his family and to learning things about his wife and family. (not sure I got the rating right, but it's what I would consider it. Does include discussion of spousal cheating)
Elf
comedy, PG
keta
C
C because the story line is so corny and ridiculous, but our whole family looks forward to at least one dose of Elf each year. The kids loved it. It is one of my favorites of Will Ferrell's comedies.
21 Grams
drama, R
keta
A
This is a very well done movie. The acting is excellent and story line interesting. The movie follows the story of a man who needs and receives a heart transplant and the intersection with the donor and his family and others. This is not a happy movie, but it is an interesting window and I highly recommend it.
Stepford Wives, The
comedy, PG13
keta
B
Fun remake of a man & wife who move to Stepford where all the women are nice, sweet, sexy and great in bed and the men are all happy.... I especially enjoyed the twists at the end.
Mystic Massuer, The
drama, PG
keta
B
A pleasant look at the culture of the East Indians living in Jamaica. A young man desires to write a book, but needs to support his wife and self while doing so and so finds his true calling. The movie is a bit slow, especially at first. I especially enjoyed the linguistics.
Cat in the Hat, The
kids, G
keta
F
I didn't like this movie at all. It is bad bad bad. The jokes are lame and many are more adult/modern than I like my kids to be exposed to. I never really cared for the book either.
Zero Effect, The
psychological comedy drama, ?
keta
A
I recently saw this again and decided to up my review. Stars Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman before they were the big comedy stars they are now. This movie takes a look at the psychological makeup of the "greatest detective in the world (or is it the US?)", as he is looking at the last case he is to do with his assistant. Bill Pullman in particular is at his best in this movie.
Saved!
comedy drama, PG13
keta
C
I actually got a bit of a kick out of this movie. Perhaps because I "knew" many of the characters from my own youth. I felt it portrayed the Christians with an element of truth. The ending, while appropriate to the theme was a little to pat for me. I do think that Christians could learn from it by looking at how they come across to others and I also think it could show to non-Christians that Christians really do mean well even if they don't handle it well.
Garfield
kids comedy, PG
keta
D
Ugh! I found this movie quite annoying and not especially funny. On the other hand, the girls really enjoyed it and watched it several times. It is probably a little better than The Cat in the Hat.
Big Fish
psychological drama, PG13
keta
B
I really enjoyed this movie and I appreciated it more at the end. I barely noticed the base story of the estranged young man and his father. I did enjoy the concept of the incredible, exaggerated stories and older man might tell of his youth and the elements of truth in them.
Bend It Like Beckam
comedy, ?
keta
B
I really enjoyed this movie as well. I found the cultural struggle interesting and believable.
Ella Enchanted
kids, PG
keta
B
This is a silly, but fun fairy tale with touches of Cinderella & I'm sure other fairy tales as well. Ella is "blessed" with a spell as a baby that requires that she obey anything ordered of her. This makes her life very difficult. When her evil Step mother and Step-sisters realize this about her, she decides it is time to ask the fairy to take back the spell. In the mean time she has met the prince and fallen in love. Acting is mixed, but meant to be silly. The music is fun, late 70's. The girls loved this movie and would probably give it an A. For parents who are sensitive to such things, there is kissing and romance, not that atypical of any other fairytale romance. If you don't watch the whole movie, do watch the scene in the middle where Ella is told to "sing, sing louder, with more soul, dance" to the tune of Queen's "Send me someone to love" (title of song may be incorrect). It is hilarious and I'm sure they had a blast making the scene.
Second Hand Lions
kids, PG13
keta
A
My whole family loved this movie... A young boy is left by his flaky mother with his two hermit second uncles. The story is the developing of their relationships with each other. The uncles are said to have a large stash of cash and no one knows the truth of their history or the money. This movie includes gentle humor, beautiful photography, swashbuckling heroes, romance, mystery, nasty relatives, wisdom and a lion. I would recommend this movie to anyone.
About Schmidt
drama, R
keta
B
I thought this was a pretty good movie. It is sad. This kind of sad makes my stomach get all tight. I did think it was worth watching, though. Nicholson did a great job as an old man who, after retiremnent, finds himself unable to find any importance or meaning in life. This movie is his journey adapting to the new season in his life as well as the loss of his wife of many years.
50 First Dates
comedy drama, PG13
keta
B
This is a feel-good movie for a day when that's all you're looking for. I really enjoyed it.
Hidalgo
action drama, PG13
keta
B
I went into this movie at first with pretty high expectations. I was entertained. There was quite a bit that was formulaic, it was generally politcally correct unlike the times it was filmed to represent. Maybe that was part of the original story. Some of the cinematography was cool, especially the dust storm! The girls got to watch part of this movie and it did open up some interesting conversation in regards to culture and science (dust storms, locusts & desert nomads). There are a couple of violent scenes (killing of people and hurting of animals) that might be difficult for a sensitive child. And for the record, I did some research.. Disney was promoting this as based on a true story, apparently the only person to document this amazing story is the person who was the star of it and its truth is debatable.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
action, R
keta
B
I also liked this movie more than I thought I would. The cartoon violence was a bit over the top for me, but also entertaining in it's ridiculousness. I stuck it out to find out....something. I was looking forward to Kill Bill 2, but I guess that is another review... Tarentino does do a good job of picking an interesting musical score...
Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
action drama, PG13
keta
A
I give this one an A for fun and fantasy. We thoroughly enjoyed this movie and got a big kick out of looking for the references to the Disneyland ride (and vice versa when we were there recently). The girls took a little adjusting to the ghouls, but enjoyed the movie otherwise enough to see it a couple more times. Johnny Depp was a blast and Orland Bloom doesn't hurt the movie any either.
Whale Rider
drama, PG
keta
A
I missed the beginning, but I am looking forward to checking it out again. I really enjoyed this movie. I like the myth quality of it. I think this movie provides a very interesting cultural experience. Plus, gotta love the accents and scenery...
Spellbound
documentary comedy drama, G
keta
C
I heard this was an entertaining and gripping film. I thought Kyrena might enjoy seeing how the competition works and all the challenges. I was mildly interested and she was totally bored. Maybe you have to be in the mood for it.
School of Rock
kids comedy, PG13
keta
C
I take it up just a notch... While it is rather unbelievable, it is a fun movie. Jack Black had to be having a blast making it and I always love Joan Cusak. We did let the girls watch it (ages 5 & 7) and they enjoyed it immensly. We didn't feel there was anything to be too concerned about except for the obvious rebellion against ridiculous parents.
Memento
art action mystery drama, R
keta
A
I found this a very entertaining movie. We found it kept us guessing and discussing even after the end. I also found it rather sad.
Freaky Friday
comedy drama, PG
keta
C
Yes, this has been done before (about every decade). But, it has been updated for the times somewhat. Jamie Lee Curtis and the other girl did a pretty good job of looking like it was fun to pretend to be the other. the girls really enjoyed it (but then, they are easy to please) and I didn't find anything too damaging to their young psyches.

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