Category: Three Sentence Movie Reviews

Three sentence movie reviews: Eat, Pray, Love


It strikes me this movie was made as a way to make a few more dollars off the legions of people (mostly women) who have read and loved the book as I think this would not at all be compelling if you hadn’t had the reading background first. It was fun to see who was cast as which character, but the book, sprawling and mostly internal dialogue, was greatly compressed to make this movie. Even in compressed form, it felt pretty long.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2010/eat_pray_love_ver2.html

Three sentence movie reviews: The King’s Speech


I can’t recall the last time I enjoyed greatly a movie and simultaneously felt incredibly uncomfortable the entire time. Excellent acting all around. Wonderful settings and do ignore its “R” rating, it’s really a PG movie.

http://www.impawards.com/2010/kings_speech_ver5.html

Three sentence movie reviews: True Grit


It seems that if one is going to both read the book and watch this version of the movie,* one should do that in the opposite order than I did, which was book first, then movie. This was a funny, well-acted movie that departed heavily from the book’s plot. This confused me in several places, as I had read that this version followed the book much more closely than the John Wayne original and found myself thinking more than once, “but nothing like this was in the book!”

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2010/true_grit.html

*and I do think if you like the movie, you should read the book because the dialogue, which seems to be everyone’s favorite part, is even better in the book.

Best movies watched in 2010

While the book committee was meeting and deciding about all the best books of 2010, the movie committee spent time agreeing on the Best (and worst) movies seen by Patricia in 2010. Here are their results:

Movie that I totally got more out of as an adult than I did as a teenager:
Some Kind of Wonderful

Movie with great performances by the actors, but overall left me feeling empty:
Up in the Air

Movie that I just loved because everything about it was well done:
An Education

Slow moving, but incredibly enjoyable love story that happens to involve a monarch:
Queen Victoria

Movie that I avoided because the premise annoyed me but which won me over anyway:
The Blind Side

Incredibly funny stop motion animated movie that you must find and see, but not watch after you’ve had surgery because you will laugh so hard your stitches will fall out:
A Town Called Panic

Movie I didn’t get around to seeing for a long time, but enjoyed so much I didn’t want it to end:
Stardust

Movie that never really explained how the main characters were so fabulously wealthy and so I was distracted the entire time:
Also
Movie where John Krasinski perks up every scene he is in:
It’s Complicated

Movie that should be boring but, instead was so incredibly funny and gripping that you should see it.
The Informant!

Best movie that I appeared in:
Raw Faith

Movie that reminded me once again how incredibly dumb it was to cancel Firefly:
Serenity

Movie where Matt leaned over four separate times and reminded me that it was my pick:
Hot Tub Time Machine

Best movie that passes the Bechdel Test:
I’ve Loved You So Long

Best movie I had low expectations for and really enjoyed much more than I though possible:
Date Night

Movie where the DVD extras are almost funnier than the film:
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Best movie about family life that you can watch with your church-going grandmother:
Dan in Real Life

Best use of visual effects I’ve ever seen:
Inception

Best movie about Desert Storm without very much war:
Also
Another good movie where John Krasinski perks up his scene:
Jarhead

Movie that was much funnier than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be pretty funny:
Also
Best bit parts ever by Samuel L. Jackson & The Rock:
Also
Best credits that actually try to make an important point to the viewing audience:
Also
The movie with the best new twist on the obligatory drunken celebration scene:
The Other Guys

Clever movie where I learned it is very hard for me to stay awake past 10 pm:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Best modern teen noir I’ve ever seen:
Brick

Oh my god, so incredibly slow it sucks the life out of the story:
The Bridges of Madison County

Best movie to watch with the boyfriend after we’ve attended four weddings (and no funeral):
Four Weddings and a Funeral

Most uncomfortably juxtaposition of characters:
Happy-go-lucky

Best movie starring “twins” played by one person, thank goodness. For if there were two men that good looking in the world I don’t know what I would do with myself:
The Social Network

Best funny premise that stays funny pretty much the whole movie:
Also
Best movie where Ricky Gervais‘ sad sack character actually worked for me:
The Invention of Lying

Best mini-series I watched all year and perhaps ever:
Also
Best movie to get me to actually read and finish the book on which it is based:
Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Movie with the best script whose message left me a bit uncomfortable, but which I ultimately loved:
Easy A

Movie where my expectations were low, but which I really liked:
The Town

Best movie I could hack and you should see it too:
127 Hours

Best funny movie that apparently was in the theaters for a blip, but many people discovered and appreciated on DVD:
Idiocracy

Best montage:
The Wedding Crashers

Three sentence movie reviews: Youth in Revolt


Should I ever need a nom de plum, Francois Dillinger will be it. Overall, this movie was a bit slow, but with some delightful scenes that are worth sitting through the whole thing. The “dark” Michael Cera, not surprisingly, is much like the “light” Michael Cera, but with an amusing edge.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2010/youth_in_revolt_ver3.html

Three sentence movie reviews: Brokeback Mountain


I wasn’t hugely in love with this movie while watching it, but over the next few days, scenes kept coming back to me and I think they will for a very long time. Heath Ledger’s performance was so convincing I forgot he was Australian. Aside from the excellent acting in all corners, I also thought the set design and cinematography was fabulous.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2005/brokeback_mountain.html

Three sentence movie reviews: The Wedding Crashers


My favorite part of this movie is the wedding crasher montage at the beginning. My second favorite part of this movie is when Vince Vaughn goes on one of his babbling soliloquies. My third favorite part of this movie was the reveal of who was the original wedding crasher.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2005/wedding_crashers_ver1.html

Three sentence movie reviews: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button


The length of this movie kept me from seeing it when it was in the theaters, as well as the massive amounts of CGI used on the actors. However, when I actually watched the film, I was not at all distracted by either of those things. It’s been out long enough that I completely missed–until the last scene–that the hurricane was Katrina.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2008/curious_case_of_benjamin_button.html

Three sentence movie reviews: The Ice Harvest


Despite the presence of John Cusack, this was not a very fun movie. I didn’t ever attach to any of the characters, so I didn’t much care what happened to any of them. This is one of those movies that I watched so you don’t have to.

poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2005/ice_harvest.html