Category: Three Sentence Movie Reviews

While this movie is a bit uneven in places, and probably very few people will see it because most of the reviews say “eh, it’s American Pie from a girl’s perspective,” I found this to be an enjoyable movie that was different from American Pie in several key ways.*  Graduates of the class of ’93** will enjoy this movie because there is a lot of attention to detail with clothes and props, so there’s a fun nostalgia injection there.  And main character’s transformation hits on a very good point that we don’t often see from a female perspective.***

Cost:  free due to passes.
Where watched:  Regal Lloyd Center 8, with Matt.

*Which are outlined in the forthcoming essay.  That’s right.  This movie made me write an essay.
**And graduates of the class of ’93 who lived in Boise, Idaho.  And graduates of Borah High School in particular.
***That said, it’s a raunchy sex comedy.  You’ve been warned.

Season Three pulled back a lot of the drama from season two, which I appreciated.  It also spent a goodly amount of time writing out characters, which I understand, but is still kind of sad.  But overall, it was a very good season with a brand new villain, who reminds me of George W. Bush, and all sorts of interesting twists and turns.

Cost:  free from library
Where watched:  at home, with Matt

Given that its subject was the incredibly un-sexy frustrations of a long-married, kind of boring couple, I’m actually surprised that this movie was even made.  But I’m glad it was, because Streep/Jones/Carell were all incredible to watch and I loved how my opinion of the main characters changed and grew as the movie progressed, just as the characters were changing and growing themselves.  This is one of the better examples of a “grown up” movie put out by the Hollywood machine.

Cost: free from library
Where watched:  at home.

I’m going out on a (very firm and stable) limb here and remarking that Computer Animation and Dr. Seuss are a win-win.  The computer animation world can bring to life the wild exuberance that is the work of Mr. Geisel.  Though I was surprised a lot of the content of this book made it to the big screen–it’s fairly anti-capitalism–I found it to be a very good adaptation.

Cost:  Free movie in the park in Vancouver.
Where watched:  In the park (it was a big one in East Vancouver out on 138th street or something) with Kelly

This movie had absolutely every single thing one could ever possibly ask for in a Fast & Furious movie* and thus I greatly enjoyed myself.  Everyone is up to their old tricks, everything moves in a fast and furious manner and every single part of the movie was great fun, especially recounting in dramatic fashion to the boyfriend, who despises these movies.  Which is to say, if you need me to convince you to see this, you are not already a fan and shouldn’t see it, but if you are a fan, you already have seen it.

Cost:  $4.00
Where watched: Jubitz

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2013/fast_and_furious_six.html

*Includes: stunts that defy every law of physics; people returning from the dead who are not zombies but nearly fully healed people; massive plot holes; Vin Diesel mumbling important lines**; plot points that are laughable at best; a street race IN LONDON, ENGLAND; Gina Carano wearing very low-cut shirts; super cool hand-to-hand combat (because they can’t just drive well, they can also fight, goddammit); jokey dialogue that is funny; funny dialogue that is supposed to be serious; cars traveling through fire; cars being destroyed every which way but loose; incredible lapses in time; and our team having absolutely no problem adjusting to the fact that the steering wheel is on the other side of the car!

**Watching a certain scene in this movie, I am quite interested in seeing if Mr. Diesel could pull off the lead in a dramatic love story kind of movie.  I think he could.  Thoughts?

I see a lot of Shakespeare and I mostly enjoy myself, but it can have a bit of take-your-medicine-quality, even in the more delightful plays, of which this is one.  However, I can say that this movie had not a whiff of cod liver oil about it and was the kind of charming where my front teeth dried out because I was smiling so much.  It was interesting to observe the cuts Whedon made* (I’ve seen this play a goodly amount, as it’s rather popular) and to watch the romances develop.

Cost:  $7.00
Where watched: Cinema 21, with Kelly.

*fear not, Whedon fans, he does not employ his usual Whedon trick of killing off favorite characters in dastardly and tragic ways.

I loved, loved, loved this movie, finding it a great time capsule of that mid-20s stage when embryonic adults* are just finding their way.  It was also quite funny and sweet and chock full of details that felt very familiar to me.  I can see how the main character might grate on people, but I fell squarely on the side of amused adoration.

Cost: $3.00
Where watched:  Laurelhurst

*granted, the main character was 27 and not super embryonic, but sometimes it takes time to find your way.  Believe me, I know.

I watched these backwards, the proper order is Torso, Bust, Arms* and I learned a lot.  Each video was 30-40 minutes and clearly showed the changes that could be made to ensure a perfect fit.  I’m thankful that my library carries these, as they are quite expensive (and not worth that amount of money) to buy.

Cost:  free from library
Where watched: at home.

*there is also waist and hips, but I’m doing a shirt so I didn’t get that one.

Just what the doctor ordered for a summer afternoon.  Good songs, solid story, mostly female focus and excellent performances by all.  It was also interesting to find out at the end of the movie that the actual people the story was based on were pretty big activists for aborigine rights.

Cost:  $3.00
Where watched:  Laurelhurst, with mom.