Runner Runner
- (affiliate link) Starring Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck. Now I'm no Affleck fan (nor a hater) but I likes da Timberlake and am always ready to give him a chance in a flick. Richie (Timberlake) is an affiliate for an online gambling syndicate recruiting students and professors alike at Princeton for their gambling addictions. When a student turns him in, he's warned to stop by the dean and reminded of his substantial tuition due in a week. He decides to try to get in with the big boys (Affleck) and hijinks, drama and such ensue with a pretty cool ending. Would this be a top pick? No but it exceeded low expectations and I like to be pleasantly surprised.Thanks for Sharing
- (affiliate link) This one stars Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Pink and Gwenyth Paltrow. This centers around a sex addiction group and the struggles they face on a day to day or even minute to minute basis. What it takes to get out there and forge into normal relationships when your life is anything but normal. It sounds like a downer but in addition to being a drama there's a lot of great comedy in it as well and I have to say Pink nailed it. She was really funny and a great actress. There are even some scenes relatable to food addiction that are interesting. This was another one that was a pleasant surprise and I'd recommend it if you want something to rent during a new release dry spell.Now we move on to last night's rentals...Carrie and Enough Said.
Carrie (2013)
- (affiliate link) Starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Julianne Moore and Judy Greer. When I saw Chloe was attached to this movie well over a year ago, I couldn't wait to see it. While I'm not a fan of "reboots" (actually I LOATHE them) I thought Chloe could do it justice if retold properly. She does a great job and the backstory of her mother and why she was so nuts as well as the deeper investigation into her telekinesis were interesting spins. Julieanne Moore does a stellar job as the wacko mother giving her way more depth than the original. Oh and you know THE scene? The scene you think of when you hear the movie "Carrie?" There is an interesting twist with that scene as well, specifically the role the bucket plays afterward. (Though we are NOT fans of the fact they showed the blood dump three times. That was the only irritant for both of us. Well that and the bully's day of reckoning was a little lame.) Then the very end, there's another twist with the final character. So if you've seen the original, definitely rent this one if for nothing more than for comparison but Carrie purists might respect the enhancements made to this version. I know we did!Enough Said
- T(affiliate link) his one stars James Gandolfini, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Catherine Keener. The trailer pulled us in on this one since we're not major fans of the lead actors. It started out promising but then I realized I already saw four things I laughed at in the trailer in the first 25 minutes. It started getting a little odd when the twist came in because it just got painful to watch her character be swayed. Then the ugliness kind of crept in and it became uncomfortable to watch. The ending gave no real pay off.I'd say three out of four ain't bad.
Seen any good movies lately?
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It was a good run of movies. 3 out of 4 is pretty good for us. Carrie was especially surprising. I am not into reboots either but it is a movie that kind of needed some updating and making closer to the book did it justice.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's certainly above average for us. We're usually 50/50. LOL We'll have to watch the original Carrie soon so we can make closer comparisons.
Delete3 out of 4 is definitely good odds. We watched a horrible one a 2 weekends ago, proving that I will sit through anything the Danny Trejo is in. I go into his movies knowing they are "B flicks" but this one was more like a "D". The last few rentals were ok but not great - mostly we've been catching up on the dvr.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the worst when you get a movie because someone you like is in it and it's not very good. We've done that quite a few times and sometimes just shake our heads and say "the things we watch for _______"
DeleteWe're more into story than actors, although that said, I'll sit through anything with Bruce Willis and a few others. We seldom "go" to the movies, but a local discount theater is playing Ender's Game, and it had two things going for it, for me. One, Harrison Ford is one of those actors, and two, it's one of my all-time favorite books. It bombed at the box office, I've heard, but for me it was good. It stayed as close to the book as a movie can, and I thought the special effects regarding weightlessness and the battle scenes were good. Best of all, I liked that they nailed what the book was about, which wasn't battles or science fiction, but about the psychology of the boy, Ender. I'm sure that was because the author was one of the producers. I think I'd actually like to own this one and see it again.
ReplyDeleteI want to want to see Ender's Game but I know I'm not interested but the Mr might want to go there. I'm not a sci-fi gal but it's good that it followed the movie as close to the book as it could. That's so rare these days since Hollywood likes to take creative license.
DeleteIt's interesting that the one movie that has been critically praised (Enough Said) was the movie you didn't like. I hadn't heard of those first two, but they sure sound interesting. I wonder if they'll eventually come to HBO or Showtime (my two premo channels), I sure can't go to my local Blockbuster and rent them, can I?
ReplyDeleteI did actually go to a theater movie, last month. Husband and I saw "Nebraska." I loved it and so did he. It's a movie about a father and son, and perhaps it touched us because the son is so patient and understanding of his father's physical shortcomings and dementia. I would say it's a really good movie for those of us in the senior-citizen class, as Du said, "I remember family gatherings like the ones they showed in this movie." I do too. I was sure disappointed when it won no awards at the Golden Globes. But it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this wonderfully quiet and touching movie.
It was!? I don't know why but if I'd known that I might've stayed away since the critics and the Mr and I rarely have the same views. LOL I will say I'm irritated that the rental place ticked me off by raising their rates this year...double...because of Blockbuster going out and no other physical video rental stores.
DeleteI've heard great things about Nebraska but I'm glad you said it was dementia related. I can't handle media of any kind with that subject matter anymore. :-\ Glad you enjoyed it though!
I'm interested in seeing the Carrie movie. Usually I hate reboots also, but I'll give this one a try. I love Julianne Moore! Oh, and I got one of those blog awards, and I had to pick others to nominate, and since you're in the top 10 blogs I read, I nominated you. :) http://www.fatmom-tofitmom.com/2014/01/awesome-blog-content-award-and-sunshine.html
ReplyDeleteThe Secret Life of Walter Mitty---pretty darn good..going to see "Her" this weekend
ReplyDelete