November Movie Reviews

***** Outstanding, Loved It, Will Watch Again
****   Great
***     So So
**       Blah, and Barely Tolerable
*         I Want To Poke My Eyes Out


Bang Bang Baby is a very strange spoof on 1960s musicals mixed with a Rocky Horror Picture Show strangeness. It's about a girl who wants to be a singer, but the local chemical company has a spill and everyone is infected with toxic chemicals that create mutations and fantasies. Yeah. There is no way to make that sound rational. So bizarre, but I DID watch the whole thing! *

Eight Days is about human sex trafficking and a sixteen-year old girl who is kidnapped through an acquaintance at school and sold to traffickers. It opens with scenes of children being sold by their drug-addict parents or kidnapped, young boys and girls, to be used in the sex industry. Very sad. Then it follows with the story of the sixteen-year old which is based on true events. I think. Not quite sure. It was made for public education. I think. Again, not quite sure. The story is valuable, but the script and acting were REALLY, REALLY BAD. OUTSTANDINGLY, SHOCKINGLY BAD. **

The Falling was weird, slow, pointless, but it did have lovely scenery of English lakes, oak trees, and autumn leaves. I turned it off right about the time the main character (Ariel from Game of Thrones) was getting felt up by her brother. I wasn't sure where they were going with that and it wasn't going anywhere before that. *

NOTE: I did discover Hoopla through my library system, an online service that has a limited selection of free movie downloads along with music and audiobooks. I like free services. I hope they add more titles to their collection. They are currently lacking.

Spider-Man 2 has a rating description called Stylized Action Violence. That means there are lots of long, drawn out action scenes...that are violent...and stylized. In other words the computer digitalization of the characters turns humans into cartoons and cartoons can do a whole lot of stuff real humans can't. Maybe they needed those long, drawn out digital sequences since the bad guy is much uglier in this movie than in the first. I prefer less sci-fi action and more humanness. I like it when Tobey McGuire cries, but I'd like him to cry more. All the same characters and actors have returned which is a bit unusual for a sequel. Usually someone bails.  ***

Spider-Man 3 ...lots of Stylized Action Violence in this one, too, but I have to admit I liked it a little more. Really cool air maneuvers on skateboard/surf board contraptions, flips, and close calls.. I'm still unclear how humans can live after falling from 20 stories and hit pavement or being slammed against a brick wall, but that's part of the fantasy. Tobey McGuire cries at least five times so I liked that and he plays a slightly evil Spider-Man which was delicious. I like a hero who takes a walk on the dark side. ****

The Amazing Spider-Man.   This movie was made about five years after Spider-Man 3. Totally different cast including Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Sally Field, Martin Sheen among other heavy hitter celebrities. I'm not sure why a studio would create the exact same storyline as the previous Spider-Man series nor why the studio would justify the financing for it. I wonder if they made any money on it? Garfield is a passible Spider-Man, a little too skinny and tall for the part and his hair is wildly unmanageable. He did cry a few times, but Tobey cries better. The action wasn't quite as stylized, more realistic yet less graceful. The people still fall from 20 stories and are able to get up and walk away from it. Different villain, not as realistic as the stylized ones. It looked more like an actor in a Godzilla suit and lacked good special effects especially when he spoke. There are a few scenes that are really cool showing Spider-Man's perspective as he's swinging through the streets and this movie addresses WHY this spider bite made the kid part arachnid. Still, I prefer the Tobey MacGuire movies. Something about him just fits the character. Tobey maintains an innocent geekiness throughout the series that is consistent and charming. Andrew's Spider-Man is uncomfortable in his own body, less geeky, more misfit that makes the viewer not trust him and worry if he'll snap and shoot up a school or movie theater. Tobey's movies have a humor style that is more comic book and there is less blood since everyone just bounces and never really gets too hurt. **

It was a superhero kind of month...

Welcome to Me was kind of mesmerizing in the same way an auto accident on the freeway makes you want to slow down an gawk. Kristen Wiig plays this seriously bipolar woman who never turns off her TV, watches Oprah talk show videos to the point of memorizing Oprah's self-help monologues, and goes off her meds. If she expects any kind of confrontation she is ready with a "prepared statement" that she pulls out of her fanny pack. That fanny pack alone is pretty funny. Then she wins $86 million dollars in the California Lottery! Her "prepared statement" for accepting the money includes, "I have been using masturbation as a form of relaxation since 1991." LOL. She uses the money to buy her own talk show so she can talk about herself and do reenactments of her life's worst moments. You'd think those reenactments would include traumatizing events like child abuse or serious injuries, but instead focus on girls stealing her make-up at camp or girls spreading rumors about her. The producers let her do whatever she wants because the studio desperately needs the money until the subjects of her reenactments start suing the production company. Lots of well-known supporting actors which is always fun, but it's really a great movie because it's so mesmerizing. You never know what she's going to do next and the anticipation is delightful. I hate stupid humor and I expected that's what I'd get with this, but it was more like a drama with smart comedy. ****

I'm starting on the fourth season of ER.