Showing Tag: "fantasy" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Beauty And The Beast (2017) – A Star-Studded Cast With A Tale As Old As Time & A Song As Old As Rhyme

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, In : 0.00% Water

Beauty and the Beast
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Bill Condon

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, and Emma Thompson

Disney is in the business of remakes. As if the Marvel and Star Wars dynasties were not enough, the industry titan has decided to bring numerous cartoon classics to life. In the last few years, Disney has released Cinderella and The Jungle Book to much success. Live act...

REVIEW: Exploring Newt Scamander's Suitcase, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Is All About Second Salemers, MACUSA & the Obscurian Child

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 19, 2016, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Directed By: David Yates

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, and Colin Farrell

I have sorely missed the magical world of witchcraft and wizardry for the last five years. Since everyone's favorite trio of Hogwarts students graduated from the big screen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 way back in 2011, there's been a certain, unmistakable kind of mov...

REVIEW: Alice Through The Looking Glass - A Plucky Heroine Battles Time

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Alice Through the Looking Glass
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: James Bobin

Starring: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall

When a film grosses over a billion dollars worldwide, it will undoubtedly spawn a sequel. In 2010, Disney released Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Despite being universally panned, the film became a blockbuster smash. Six years later, Disney has released ...

REVIEW: Stand or Fall Together Against Ravenna & Freya, The Love of Eric & Sara in The Huntsman: Winter's War Doesn't Conquer All

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, April 24, 2016, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Huntsman: Winter's War

Directed By: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon, and Jessica Chastain

I don't exactly frequent Rotten Tomatoes, but there seems to be no middle ground these days. Movies are either universally acclaimed or universally loathed. Hardly any movies are landing anywhere between 30% and 79% these days. Movies like The Jungle Book and Zootopia comfortably fall in the former category while Batma...

REVIEW: When Water Flows to Peace Rock Again, Man-Cub Mowgli Turns to the Red Flower & Dead Trees to Take on Shere Khan

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 16, 2016, In : 0.00% Water

The Jungle Book

Directed By: Jon Favreau

Starring: Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, and Neel Sethi

"Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

-The...

REVIEW: Pan Doesn't Exactly Mine the Pixie Dust of Neverland Into Movie Magic

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, October 17, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Pan

Directed By: Joe Wright

Starring: Levi Miller, Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, and Amanda Seyfried

I've said this time and time again. Getting a release date pushed back is a curse for a film. The proof is in the product put out by the studio when a film's release date is the hot potato nobody wants. Seventh Son was a great example of this earlier in the year. As fate would have it, this Columbus Day weekend offers another film that unfortunately fits this bill with Joe Wrigh...

REVIEW: Inside Out of Riley's Mind With Core Memories & TripleDent Gum Commercials, Joy & Sadness Take a Fun Ride Through the Islands of Personality & Imagination Land

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, June 21, 2015, In : 0.00% Water

Inside Out

Directed By: Pete Docter

Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, and Mindy Kaling

America could use a little happiness right about now. With the atrocities that took place in Charleston, South Carolina this week, I'm certain that many of our hearts are heavy. Regardless of what anyone in the media or the blogosphere says, racism and gun control are two of the crucial issues of our time. The desire to pick up a gun and go kill black people is not a mental illn...
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REVIEW: Tomorrowland Is Full of Dreamers Who Try to Feed the Right Wolf

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 23, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Tomorrowland

Directed By: Brad Bird

Starring: George Clooney, Hugh Laurie, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, and Keegan-Michael Key

Summer 2015 has brought with it a strong run at the box office so far. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pitch Perfect 2, and Mad Max: Fury Road have all made loads of cash at the box office. As we kick off Memorial Day weekend, I believe we've found our first duds of the summer movie season. Interestingly enough, one of them comes from Disney, on...
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REVIEW: A Near Miss at 87 Degrees, The Age of Adaline Needs An Electric Jolt Just Like the Dilla Comet

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, April 25, 2015, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Age of Adaline

Directed By: Lee Toland Krieger

Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Kathy Baker, Amanda Crew, Harrison Ford, and Ellen Burstyn

It's the quiet before the storm at the box office this weekend. The summer movie season is right around the corner! Earth's mightiest heroes are leading the charge. Avengers: Age of Ultron is almost here ladies and gentlemen. On this fateful weekend, we have just one new mainstream flick entering the fray, one that could potentially serve as c...
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REVIEW: Cinderella – Overshadowed By A Frozen Short

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 14, 2015, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Cinderella
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Lily James, Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett, Stellan Skarsgård, Holliday Grainger, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter, Nonso Anozie, and Hayley Atwell

Disney has always been adept at developing and selling princess fantasies. In 1950, Disney’s animated version of Cinderella garnered critical and commercial success, and Cinderella became a vital component of the Disney brand. But Disney did not stop with Cinderella and her prede...
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REVIEW: With Spooks & Witches But No Blue Spark, Seventh Son Poses the Wrong Question & Gets Wrong Answers

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 14, 2015, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Seventh Son

Directed By: Sergei Bodrov

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, and Julianne Moore

The first weekend in February was a disaster zone for big budget films at the box office. Just look to the failures of Jupiter Ascending and Seventh Son. As these two costly endeavors sank at the box office, SpongeBob SquarePants surprisingly rose to the challenge and is actually the one that finally vanquished American Snip...
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REVIEW: Into the Woods With Some Magic Beans During A Blue Moon, Rob Marshall Grants Moviegoers a Musical Christmas Wish

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 25, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Into the Woods

Directed By: Rob Marshall

Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, and Johnny Depp

Merry Christmas STMR readers! As happy as I am that the holidays have arrived, I'm pretty disappointed by the offering at the box office this week. For the most part, it's gloom and doom. Just look at this week's releases. We've got a self-hating blackjack addict throwing away tons of money in The Gambler. We've got an Olym...
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REVIEW: To Rescue His Exhibits After A Disastrous Night at the Museum, Dangly Bells Larry Digs Into the Secret of the Egyptian Tomb & Its Magic Tablet

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, December 21, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Directed By: Shawn Levy

Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Ricky Gervais, and Ben Kingsley

Sometimes, it can be difficult to disentangle life from art. What I mean by this is that it can be challenging to watch a film outside the lens of real world events, even if they have absolutely nothing to do with the tale at hand. This is definitely the case for me with Night at the Museum: Secret of the To...
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REVIEW: There and Back Again, The Battle of the Five Armies Takes The Hobbit Full Circle to The Fellowship of the Ring

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, December 18, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian Mckellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, and Orlando Bloom

There and back again. This hobbit's tale has been a tumultuous journey that has never quite taken us back there to that place of movie magic called Middle Earth in a way that The Lord of the Rings trilogy did ...
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REVIEW: For A White Hat & A Cheese Tasting, Red Hat Snatcher & The Boxtroll Exterminators Take on Eggs the Trubshaw Baby

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, September 28, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Boxtrolls

Directed By: Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi

Starring: Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade, and Tracy Morgan

Compared to last year, 2014 has been a relatively quiet year on the animated film front. How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Planes: Fire and Rescue were the only two titles to arrive at the box office this summer from the genre. As a single guy with no kids, I could personally care less, but...
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REVIEW: How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Hiccup And Toothless Take On The Alpha In This Action-Packed Sequel

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Monday, June 16, 2014, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

How to Train Your Dragon 2

SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Dean DeBlois

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, America Ferrara, Djimon Hounsou, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig, and Jonah Hill

This past weekend was more than just Jonah Hill’s one-two punch in theaters with 22 Jump Street and How to Train Your Dragon 2. In a world flooded with computer animated films, it is rare to see something new and fresh. How to Train Your Dragon 2 not only exceeds the original film, but it stand...

REVIEW: Maleficent – Jolie As Both Hero And Villain In This Sleeping Beauty Remake

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, May 31, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Maleficent
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Robert Stromberg

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville

The latest trend is for movie studios to reinvent old fairy tales by making them darker and edgier. Snow White and the Huntsman, Jack the Giant Slayer and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters are the most recent examples. Some adaptations have been successful, while others have floundered. On the one hand, it is refreshing to s...

REVIEW: With Stout Wooden Ships & A Tidal Wave of Heroes' Blood, Themistocles Unites a Free Greece Against the Rise of Artemisia's Empire & Can Sit at the Table

Posted by James Brown on Friday, March 7, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

300: Rise of an Empire

Directed By: Noam Murro

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, and Rodrigo Santoro

"It begins as a whisper... a promise... the lightest of breezes dances above the death cries of 300 men. That breeze became a wind. A wind that my brothers have sacrificed. A wind of freedom... a wind of justice... a wind of vengeance."
-Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey)

With the Oscars now in our rearview mirror, we can fully focus on what lies ahead this year. More ...
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REVIEW: In the City of Justice, Everything Is Connected by Starlight Except the Winter's Tale of Peter Lake & Beverly Penn

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 15, 2014, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

Winter's Tale

Directed By: Akiva Goldsman

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe, Eva Marie Saint, Will Smith, and William Hurt

We've got no originality at the box office this Valentine's Day weekend. Three of the movies arriving in theaters are remakes of films from the 80s. While I certainly don't mind the new RoboCop, three remakes in the same weekend is a bit much. However, that's not enough for Hollywood. There's another film arriving in theater...
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REVIEW: For the Shadow-Kissed Dhampir Rose Hathaway Bound to Royal Moroi Lissa Dragomir, Weird Doesn't Begin to Cover It in Vampire Academy

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, February 9, 2014, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Vampire Academy

Directed By: Mark Waters

Starring: Zoey Deutch, Danila Kozlovsky, Lucy Fry, Dominic Sherwood, Olga Kurylenko, Cameron Monaghan, Sami Gayle, Ashley Charles, Claire Foy, Sarah Hyland, Gabriel Byrne, and Joely Richardson

With the Harry Potter franchise wrapping up almost three years ago and The Hunger Games series concluding in the very near future, studios are on the hunt for the next big literary adaptation. 2013 boasted mostly mediocre additions to the niche genre including Beau...
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REVIEW: With Gargoyles Ascending & Demons Descending, I, Frankenstein Is All About Adam Finding His Soul & His Higher Purpose

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, January 25, 2014, In : 0.09% Cocktails

I, Frankenstein

Directed By: Stuart Beattie

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Yvonne Strahovski, Miranda Otto, Socratis Otto, Jai Courtney, and Kevin Grevioux

Harvey, Harvey, Harvey Dent. What has happened to Aaron Eckhart’s career since The Dark Knight? His most notable credits since his turn as Gotham's White Knight include The Rum Diary, Olympus Has Fallen, and Battle Los Angeles. That's not saying much at all. The same can be said for Miranda Otto, whom most may remember as Eowyn in...
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REVIEW: The Desolation of Smaug Is All About the Burglar Hobbit Stealing the Arkenstone From the King Under the Mountain on Durin Day

Posted by James Brown on Friday, December 13, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, and James Nesbitt

"The lord of silver fountains. The king of carven stone. The king beneath the mountain shall come into his own. And the bells shall ring in gladness at the mountain king's return. But all shall fail in sadness, and the lake will shine and burn."
-Bard the Bowman (Luke E...
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REVIEW: With Clary, Jace, and Bach, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Offers Some Pretty Mundane Shadow Hunters

Posted by James Brown on Friday, August 23, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Directed By: Harald Zwart

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, CCH Pounder, Jared Harris, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Casting can make or break a movie. That's never been more apparent than this weekend. With the announcement that Ben Affleck will be donning the cape and mask of the Dark Knight in the Man of Steel sequel, there has been a swift and harsh ...
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REVIEW: Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters – Rick Riordan’s Second Book In The Olympians’ Series Comes To Life

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, August 10, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Thor Freudenthal

Starring: Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Leven Rambin, Stanley Tucci, and Nathan Fillion

In 2010, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief debuted in theaters and grossed just over $226 million dollars worldwide. The reception to the first installment of the film adaptation of Rick Riordan’s best-selling book series was mixed at best, and it did not have the success of juggernauts li...

REVIEW: Unfortunately for Vampires Clara and Eleanor, Neil Jordan Throws the Pages of Their Story at Byzantium to the Wind

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, July 14, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Byzantium

Directed By: Neil Jordan

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Arterton, Sam Riley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Caleb Landry Jones

As prevalent as vampire movies are, it's difficult to find a good one. The ones we've gotten in recent years say enough. Just go torture yourself with Twilight, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, or Kiss of the Damned. Like the horror genre as a whole, it's bad, but it just keeps on going. When Neil Jordan, the director who created the delightfully devilish show The B...
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REVIEW: The Epic Clash Between Leafmen & Boggans Over a Pod Proves That There Are Many Leaves But One Tree...Plus a Couple of Stompers

Posted by James Brown on Friday, May 24, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Epic

Directed By: Chris Wedge

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Colin Farrell, Beyoncé Knowles, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, and Steven Tyler

Is it me or are animated films more violent these days? I'm going to date myself by saying this, but I grew up during the Second Golden Age of Disney with movies like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. I grew up when films were told with a song and dance, not a sword and shield. Just look...
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REVIEW: Blancanieves - A Silent Film Turns Snow White Into A Bullfighter And Brings New Tragedy To The Fairytale

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Sunday, April 28, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Blancanieves
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Pablo Berger

Starring: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina, Pere Ponce, Macarena García, and Sofía Oria

As of late we have been inundated with reinvented fairytales. Snow White’s story has been of particular interest to filmmakers, and two movies tackled the legendary tale last year: Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. Mirror Mirror was colorful, but ultimately unimaginative and a little too sweet. The Huntsman was ...

REVIEW: In Upside Down, Pink Bees and TransWorld's Inverse Matter Are the Cure to All Adam and Eden's Double Gravity Woes

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, March 17, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Upside Down

Directed By: Juan Diego Solanas

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kirsten Dunst, and Timothy Spall

Originality is something that's desperately missing from movies these days. Everything is a sequel, a remake, an adaptation, or a true story. This is a sad state of affairs for cinema today, but the blame cannot be totally hoisted upon the shoulders of studio execs in Hollywood. We as moviegoers share a good chunk of that blame as well. We buy into it. Of the highest-grossing movies of 2012,...
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REVIEW: With the Help of China Girl, the Sour Puss Nook, and One Funny Flying Monkey Named Finley, the Con Man Oz is Indeed Great and Powerful

Posted by James Brown on Friday, March 8, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Oz: The Great and Powerful

Directed By: Sam Raimi

Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobbs, and Joey King

Anything is possible. If you had asked me a few years ago whether we'd ever go back to Oz on the big screen, I would have laughed in your face. I would have thought that no filmmaker would have the guts to deal with their work being forever in the shadow of Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz, an untouchable classic. As this weekend demonst...
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REVIEW: Jack The Giant Slayer 3D – Between Heaven And Earth, Jack And The King’s Guardians Battle Some Pretty Ruthless Giants

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, March 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Jack The Giant Slayer 3D
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Bill Nighy, and Ian McShane

"Fee Fye Foe Fumm. Ask not whence the thunder comes. For between Heaven and Earth it's a perilous place. Home to a fearsome giant race."
–King Brahmwell (Ian McShane)

Jack the Giant Slayer is the latest movie to update a traditional fairy tale into an action adventure film. Because X-Men and Usual Suspects director Bryan Si...

REVIEW: Light or Dark, Caster Lena Duchannes Doesn't Exactly Take Gatlin by Storm in Beautiful Creatures

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 16, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Beautiful Creatures

Directed By: Richard LaGravanese

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis, Emmy Rossum, Thomas Mann, and Emma Thompson

It's Valentine's Day weekend, so there's plenty of love to be found at the box office. Sappy moviegoers (and their unfortunate boyfriends or husbands) are making the obvious choice and going to see Safe Haven. Action junkies can strangely find John McClane offering a healthy dose of fatherly love in A Good Day to Die Hard. Final...
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REVIEW: The Sorcerer And The White Snake – A Cheesy Martial Arts Meets Demon Fantasy Tale

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, February 16, 2013, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Sorcerer And The White Snake
SoberFilmChick

Directed by: Ching Siu-tung

Starring: Jet Li, Eva Huang, Raymond Lam, Charlene Choi, Zhang Wen

The Sorcerer and the White Snake is a 2011 Chinese film that was not released to U.S. theaters until 2013. As a Jet Li fan, I was enthused to see the film—although all I really knew about the movie was that Jet Li was a sorcerer fighting a thousand year old demon. While that sounds ridiculous on its face, Li has successfully dabbled in the fantasy ...

REVIEW: Though Not a Burglar, Hobbit Bilbo Baggins Goes on an Unexpectedly Funny Adventure Through the Misty Mountains

Posted by James Brown on Friday, December 14, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, and Andy Serkis

There's something that's so right about visiting Middle Earth in December. Since The Lord of the Rings trilogy came out a decade ago, I have made it an annual ritual to revisit director Peter Jackson's adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic fantasy literature dur...

REVIEW: As a Hobo, Motion Capture Actor, & Leprechaun, Monsieur Oscar Likes to Punish Others in Holy Motors, Including Us

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, November 22, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Holy Motors

Directed By: Leos Carax

Starring: Denis Lavant, Édith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue, Élise L'Homeau, Michel Piccoli, and Jeanne Disson

I have seen some weird movies this year. Up until this point, Lee Daniels's The Paperboy held the crown for the strangest film of the year. After all, watching Nicole Kidman give John Cusack an imaginary blow job and urinating all over Zac Efron is some pretty crazy stuff. After seeing Holy Motors though, my opinion changed. The Paperboy i...

REVIEW: Believe in Rise of the Guardians Because the Moon Said So

Posted by James Brown on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Rise of the Guardians

Directed By: Peter Ramsey

Starring: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law, and Dakota Goyo

It's hard to believe that 2012 is coming to a close so quickly. It seems like just yesterday when some of the year's top flicks were arriving in theaters. What's even harder to believe is that we've arrived at the final animated film of the year, Peter Ramsey's Rise of the Guardians. This team-up of fantasy legends is a fitting film to lead us through th...

REVIEW: With the Merchant of Venice and the Loch Ness Monster, Breaking Dawn Part 2 Almost Breaks the Crappy Twilight Mold

Posted by James Brown on Friday, November 16, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2

Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, and Michael Sheen

It's finally over! After three novels, four years, and countless bad performances, the Twilight plague is finally over! After enduring the first four films, I came to the final installment The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ready to break out the shot glasses. I had every right to be. After all...

REVIEW: Snow White and the Huntsman — Not Your Mother’s Fairytale

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Saturday, June 2, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers

Snow White and the Huntsman
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Rupert Sanders

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, and Ian McShane

Finally! Something has come along to erase the memory of Julia Roberts’ lackluster Snow White tale Mirror, Mirror from earlier this year. If we had to ask the mirror on the wall which was the fairest film of all based on Snow White, The Huntsman would win by a landslide. With sweeping cinematography, interesting characters, and a heft...
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REVIEW: Blood Is Thicker Than Water, But Barnabas Fights on for the Collins Family in Vain in Dark Shadows

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, May 12, 2012, In : 0.09% Cocktails

Dark Shadows

Directed By: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Bella Heathcoate

When 21 Jump Street came out back in March, we all thought it was just another adaptation of a TV show to the big screen. What was the point of bringing the 80s show back to life? When Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum proved us wrong however, we couldn't have been happier. I was hoping Dark Shadows, an adap...
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REVIEW: Mirror, Mirror – Decent, But Not The Fairest Of Them All

Posted by SoberFilmChick on Friday, March 30, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine

Mirror, Mirror
SoberFilmChick

Directed By: Tarsem Singh

Starring: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane, and Sean Bean

I have to admit, it was hard for me to get excited about seeing Mirror, Mirror. After all, trailer 2 for Snow White and the Huntsman was recently released and it looks 10 different kinds of awesome. While the films are obviously drastically different and should not necessarily be compared, it is hard not to compare two films about the same fairy tale released ...
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REVIEW: Like Bella, I Have Nightmares. Last Night, I Dreamt About Twilight

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, November 19, 2011, In : 0.12% Hard Liquor

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner

I always try to see the best in movies, but sometimes films are just so crappy that they're downright nightmarish. In my first official review of a Twilight film, I wanted to give a decent review. I wanted to be nice and not piss off those diehard Twilight fans, but the temptation to trash this crappy film is just too great. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part...
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REVIEW: The Magic of Harry Potter Comes Full Circle in a Spectacular Finale

Posted by James Brown on Tuesday, August 2, 2011, In : 0.00% Water

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Directed by: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon, and Maggie Smith

We have patiently waited a decade for this moment in film history. We have been on a long, long journey with our three young stars and some of the greatest British actors of our time. We have enjoyed this storied franchise and unflinchingly supported it throughout seven films. At last, I...
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