The Hungry Hungry Writer

Sometimes brief, sometimes detailed… here’s the list of movies reviewed on this blog. (in alpha order)

“40 Year-Old Virgin” (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
Hella, hella, hella funny! And it wasn’t just funny but good writing and story. (more)

“Aliens” (1986)
My Rating: 9/10
One of the best action movies ever!!! - in my opinion of course. Is it horror? Sci-Fi horror? Action/Horror? Maybe. Probably. Regardless, it is an awesome Action/Sci-Fi/Horror film however you want to class it. Of course Sigourney Weaver was awesome in it. (more)

“Armageddon” (1998)
My Rating: 5/10
I use to like this movie… alot! Sure, you have to buy the whole astroid destroying the earth scenario first, you know - suspension of disbelief - which I did, but man, what was it that I liked about this movie anyway? (more)

“Bad Santa” (2003)
My Rating: 4/10
Talk about on the nose on the nose on the nose… OK ALREADY… I GET IT! He’s bad! He’s BAD SANTA. It was as if they spent half this movie trying to convince the audience that yes, this Santa is truly bad. You know, like the title suggests. You know, if he cusses at kids, if he drinks a lot and screws women in dressing rooms, and yes, robs the mall, he’s bad. (more)

“Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries” (2003)
My Rating: 9/10
Excellent, excellent, excellent! I watched it all in one sitting! (more)

“Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
My Rating: 8/10
Did I just give this movie an 8/10 rating? Hmmm, I thought I was going into this review thinking it was a 7. I mean, I don’t understand all the hype. If it wasn’t a gay love story there wouldn’t be much hype. Films with similar ideas of not being able to be with your one true love are out there, just as good and heart felt, but ‘straight’, don’t get this much hype of course. (more)

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe” (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
Based on the book by C.S. Lewis, I last read this book (and the series) in 1990. It was my second read of the series after reading it in high school. So I’m 16 years removed from the story. And what I got on film was better than I remembered. I hate to admit it, but I enjoyed this movie more than the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. (more)

“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” (2002)
My Rating: 6/10
I grew up watching “The Gong Show” and always loved seeing Chuck Barris on TV. He was funny and crazy. This movie is based on his ‘life’ or the book he wrote about his life. It’s a very dark tale. The performances were great. Sam Rockwell did a wonderful job portraying Barris it was uncanny. Clooney’s direction was awesome. He has a specific style and that style really works well with this type of dark, character driven storytelling. (more)

“Cry Wolf” (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
A fun movie overall. Kinda scary. Kinda mysterious. Kinda “Usual Suspects” storytelling but not in the same league at all so I’m not comparing - just as far as twists are concerned it’s, well, similar. Maybe that’s a bad example. Forget I even said it. Lets start over… (more)

“Elizabethtown” (2005)
My Rating: 8/10
This is truly an inflated rating. 8/10 is a better rating than it should be. But I’m biased because I love Cameron Crowe films. This movie was a collection of Cameron Crowe’s favorite music hits. And that’s what I love about his movies. The music. Yes, the stories are good, but the music really makes it. (more)

“Failure to Launch” (2006)
My Rating: 9/10
What a surprise! This movie was way funnier than I thought it was capable of being. Matthew McConaughey & Sarah Jessica Parker were great together and the story was believable to a degree. It was the actors that made it work! (more)

“Fever Pitch” (2005)
My Rating: 3/10
Jimmy Fallon is so funny. But he isn’t in this movie… or any other movie he’s done. Drew Barrymore couldn’t save this movie which she’s so perfect for. Where’s Adam Sandler when you need him? I get the point… Sacrifice in the name of love. And I also get the point of how Barrymore could fall in love with a guy who is so passionate about something like the Boston Red Sox… BUT… (more)

“Hidden Fortress” (1958)
My Rating: 6/10
I only watched this because it was part of the inspiration of George Lucas’ vision of Star Wars. At least some of the characters were. The music was also reminiscent of Star Wars. But… it took about five tries to get through this long movie. I guess that was also inspirational because this movie dragged on and on. And on and on. (more)

“Hitch” (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
This movie took a long time to get going. I was looking at my watch around the 18 minute mark wondering if I’d make it through to the ‘hook’… was there a clear cut hook? To be honest, I’m not really sure. The ‘boy-meets-girl’ hook wasn’t much of anything really. It was just expected that Will Smith will end up ‘hooking’ up with the girl sooner or later and the movie will start. (more)

“Ice Age 2: The Meltdown” (2006)
My Rating: 7/10
I probably gave Ice Age (the original) a rating of 8 o r 9. It was smart, funny and entertaining. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown was funny… I guess… it was entertaining… I have to think about that… it was smart… NOT like the first it wasn’t. What I remember most about the first Ice Age movie was the internal conflicts each main character had. They tried to play that angle just a little in The Meltdown, the whole ‘family’ thing, but it really didn’t work that well. (more)

“Into the Blue” (2005)
My Rating: 6/10
Was Jessica Alba in this movie? You can barely tell. She really didn’t have a significant role. Maybe she was just used as a device. They could have used anyone. But why not use her and have her hold some power. Instead of a piece of ransom that in the end, didn’t need anyone to get away from the bad guys? (more)

“Match Point” (2005)
My Rating: 8/10
Woody Allen has done some great RomComs as we all know. He has also done some drama and here’s one you might not want to miss. The acting, the setting, and the story were all excellent. It’s almost like the ‘Scott Peterson’ movie with a twist. (more)

“Memoirs of a Geisha” (2005)
My Rating: 8/10
I just remember that someone gave me a ‘reading’ and told me that I was a TWIN SISTER in a past life and we were Geisha. Weird huh? Anyway, Donna and I watched this movie Saturday night and we REALLY liked it. Well, I enjoyed it. Donna really liked it. It could have been better. 8/10 rating is a little high rating for me but I’ll stick to it since the performances were pretty good. I thought this would have done better at the box office. (more)

“Midnight Run” (1988)
My Rating: 8/10
Great structure, great buddy-buddy movie, great everything! It was funny but wasn’t really a comedy. (more)

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith” (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
Two good looking, er, great looking people in a mindless action comedy. More Vince Vaughn could have helped the comedy and far fetched action. It was fun to watch but I question, ‘with these two powerful actors, why can’t there also be some depth?’ I mean, they tried, but it was dialog driven drivel that touched on feelings and emotions. (more)

“Must Love Dogs” (2005)
My Rating: 2/10
I’ve been in the mood for romantic comedies lately. And the last two, including this, sucked! No heart, no character no nothing! NOTHING! And has Dermot Mulroney ever done anything good? I loved ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ but thought he sucked in it big time. My feelings of Mulroney’s inability to carry a role is reemphasized in this movie. (more)

“Monster In-Law” (2005)
My Rating: 1/10
I couldn’t finish this. Totally absurd, horribly acted, not enough comedy… it was not as bad as Must Love Dogs or whatever that flop was, but it wasn’t good either. (more)

“My Best Friend’s Wedding” (1997)
My Rating: 9/10
One of my all time favorite RomComs of all time. The writing, the acting, the story… the structure, the comedic timing, the directing… everything was spot on. Except for Dermot Mulroney. (more)

“Over the Hedge” (2006)
My Rating: 7/10
Uh… From what I saw it was pretty funny. But kinda flat. Yeah, I fell asleep somewhere in the beginning. I don’t know for how long. Could have been as short as 5 minutes or as long as 15. I didn’t miss much to be honest. I would have been the first to jump out of my seat to take the kids to the bathroom. (more)

“Shop Girl” (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
I read parts of the book. Kinda boring. Steve Martin’s style didn’t really turn me. The only problem I had with the movie was Steve Martin’s voiceovers. Not that it was a bad thing, but he was talking about his character in the third person when we knew good and well who the person speaking was. Also, the voice over wasn’t great. Simple stuff, nothing too emotional or informational, just probably excerpts from his book that he had to include for pretentious reasons. (more)

“Sin City” (2005)
My Rating: 7/10
Just like the graphic novel when it first came out and I read it. Wow but, huh? All good, breakthrough, but… what page was I, did I miss something, should I rewind? Both managed to be the same, cool, but not the rave. (more)

“The Squid and the Whale” (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
I haven’t seen a movie this good in a while. The directing and cinematography wasn’t all that great but the writing was brilliant and the acting was superb! Some shots seemed to set the tone well, but it was inconsistent throughout. I guess that’s what you get from a writer who directed his own script. (more)

“The Third Man” (1949)
My Rating: 6/10
It was okay. There were tons of holes, unbelievable character situations, story, meh… but it was okay. If you want a classic film noir, try it out! (more)

“Ultraviolet” (2006)
My Rating: 1/10
Uh… yeah… 1/10 rating for Ultraviolet. I’m all for action packed, female superhero films. It’s fun, it could be entertaining, and the fight scenes could be exciting. The VERY first action scene of Ultraviolet did it for me. It was few seconds of action. But was it entertaining? Was it exciting? (more)

“Underworld: Evolution” (2006)
My Rating: 6/10
I’m a huge fan of Underworld (the first movie). But this one was very disappointing. A little confusing and not enough tension, jeopardy and thrills. Scott Speedman’s character was absolutely useless and they could have done without him. (more)

The Virgin Suicides (1999)
My Rating: 5/10
I was interested in watching Sofia Coppola’s first film. I mean, what do you do on your first film anyway? Dale and I always joke around that all filmmakers should make a suicide flick just to get it out of the way. Its so… writer-y. But you do it, and shelve it. Not actually ‘do it’. (more)

“Weatherman” (2005)
My Rating: 9/10
This was BETTER than I expected. Great characters, great writing, great story… pretty damn good! (more)

“Wedding Crashers” (2005)
My Rating: 8/10
Funny-funny-funny. Yeah, you got to get WAY past the, how would they get away with that angle, but after that, laughs after laughs after laughs. What more can I say about the movie except what its about. (more)

“Wimbledon” (2004)
My Rating: 8/10
I didn’t know anything about this movie except the story revolved around tennis. And what I got was a movie about tennis. But what I also got was a very feel good, romantic (comedy of sorts), movie that really surprised me as a very good movie. It’s been a while where I watched a romance that made me feel good at the end. (more)

“X-Men” (2000)
My Rating: 9/10
I loved the X-Men growing up. And this movie DID NOT disappoint. It is awesome. I’ve seen this movie several times and love it each time. The characters were perfect… ALL of them. er… Except for one. The character is great, the actor who played her is totally over-rated. And that’s Halle Berry. (more)

“X2: X-Men United” (2003)
My Rating: 8/10
Some story lines and characters weren’t all that great. I mean, Bobby Drake (Iceman) doesn’t have a brother!!! Not that I know of. He was only used to get Bobby in trouble in the movie. Of course there are other abnormalities in the 1st and 2nd movie but I will overlook those. I just couldn’t sit in the theater squirming in my seat thinking, wait, did I miss something growing up as an XMEN fan? Does Bobby have a brother? (more)