Reviews by Claudia

Yet again Johnny Depp and Tim Burton created one of the best movies ever made, completely different from the original one. I still really liked the 1970s version, but this was just completely amazing to be, easily more enjoyable than the original. Johnny Depp couldn't have aced the role of Willy Wonka any better, the voice.. the look.. yes he may look a little 'different' than he normally does, but you just have to admire his extraordinary talent for making this film highly enjoyable.

Ahem. Unfortunately... I've seen this. I think they tried to make it so stupid, it would be funny. But this was just so stupid.. it was almost unwatchable. So they threw in a few big names like Cedric the Entertainer and Lucy Liu, hoping to be a bit of a success. That's the way I see it anyway, for me this was a disaster from the minute it started. The jokes were lame, and so NOT funny at all, not even ones I'd smile at. Some people could say that this is entertaining and fun to watch, but I'm over the idea of comedy movies with a few Hollywood stars that end up being uninteresting and dull.

They captured the right idea of having Cedric the Entertainer as the brainless person in this, he's have to be clueless to think this would be a success. And that's exactly what his character, Jake, is. Were they trying to do a take off of the 'Bourne' movies and make it funny? Because really, it's the same storyline of him waking up and not knowing anything, and thinking he's part of some top secret agent stuff. Obviously they add in heaps of goof's to take up the time, but maybe that's where they were coming from. It's not obvious or anything, but I guess these days you can make comedy movies about anything or everything you want these days. The cover looks stupid, but I told myself not to judge a movie by it's cover.. sometimes I end up really liking flicks that have the worst covers, so that's why I saw it. Hopefully most people would avoid something like this, but if you're thinking about it, I'm warning you.. the cover is better than the actual film!

So Cedric the Entertainer had a few funny *cough cough* lines in this. Well, lines the screenwriter/s wanted to be funny, but I didn't even smile. Lucy Liu has no acting skills at all, all she does is try and make herself look good on the screen and seem cool that she's in a movie like this. The lines that were supposed to be funny from her, every time she said they you could tell she just wasn't supposed to be in this movie. Nicollette Sheridan was absolutely disgusting in the worst way you could imagine. I felt sick in the stomach whenever she was on the screen. How on earth did she become an actress? DeRay Davis was the only funny actor/character in this flick. Not laugh out loud stuff, but he's the only one that made me smile.

Avoid this for as long as you can, definitely not worth seeing.

"Wiping out the human race? That's a great idea. That's great. But more of a long-term thing. I mean, first we have to focus on more immediate goals."

Brad Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, I sure won't forget. He's insane, delusional and psycho.. exactly what he is meant to be. This flick is not your average Bruce Willis movie, nor is it something that Terry Gilliam always comes up with. The movie itself is really strange, it's 'different' to any other movie I've seen. It's even complicated at times, this mystery/sci-fi/action film was interesting to watch.

Like I said, I've never really seen a film with a plot like this before. It's hard to explain everything that goes on in this film, but it's really about time. The past, the present, and the future. In this flick Bruce Willis's character, James Cole, explores all of these. Everything seems to link to a deadly virus that will be responsible for the deaths of most of the world's population, and James Cole must travel in time to find a cure and save the humans from extinction. Sounds a bit dull, and I admit there were some parts in this that didn't have my full attention. Most of the time though, I was wrapped in the ideas this film produces and the possibilities it shows. You can tell it's dated from the quality.. and what about the music? That really annoyed me.

So once again, the invincible Brice Willis played his part to perfection. He was a strange character for him to play, to me it seemed like he couldn't say more than one sentence at once. Sometimes James Cole seemed a bit dull, but for the most of the movie he was definitely an interesting character. Brad Pitt was incredible. This flick shows what an amazing actor he is, and how he was the perfect weird, crazy character. Madeleine Stowe was pretty mediocre, while the other actors were average.

Again, the best word I can find for this is 'interesting'. It is unusual, and some people won't like it as much as others. I though it was well above average, but these sci-fi movies aren't usually ones I enjoy. If you haven't already, see this for yourself.

"You guys are the biggest fuck-ups in the history of dope dealing. That's a huge fuckin' statement."

I loved this, it was fun to watch and a seriously entertaining and funny movie! The tag-line 'A comedy that goes to your head.', I sure agree with. This had an A-list cast, an original and hilarious plot, plus some very funny quotes and moments I definitely won't forget. This was sure worth seeing, and I'd be up for a second viewing!!

The story circles at first around three guys, Jack, Carter and Harlan. They are working on their boss' marijuana plantation in northern California, until they find Malcolm dead, murdered. It was only the three of them there, so they decided to keep it quiet for a while and try to take over the business themselves.. without anyone else knowing Malcolm was dead. But this proves to be more difficult than they thought, as they find themselves dealing with some of the most dangerous people around, being wanted dead, and owing millions of dollars. But that's only some of the complications that arise when the trio start to take things into their own hands...

What a cast! So many faces I recognised in this flick.. too many to name. Again for me Billy Bob Thornton was funny as always, a great performance from him. I loved Ryan Phillippe's character, he was so clueless and funny.. he was perfect. Hank Azaria was also hilarious, making the trio a great mixture of actors. John Lithgow was also in this, not a significant role, but he was still quite good. Kelly Lynch was mediocre.. I didn't partially like her. Jon Bon Jovi I really liked in this movie, heck.. he can sing and act!

This was a great watch, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a great way to spend the duration of this movie in stitches from laughing so hard. A great comedy that everyone should enjoy!

Whoa.. what a disappointment. This is supposedly a successful blockbuster movie, but to me if was just a disaster. It's a long film.. about three hours. To me it was like two different movies; the first half was just a love story. An unconvincing love story involving Kate Beckinsale, Ben Afflek and Josh Hartnett. What do they expect viewers to think when this is advertised as an account of the Pearl Harbour bombings.. when the first half has almost nothing to do with it? I wouldn't be surprised If some people stop watching the movie during the first half.. it was just dull, boring, weak and unimpressive.

During the second half, however, it picked up speed producing the action movie that I was expecting to see. It still wasn't satisfying as you can imagine, watching one and a half hours of people frantically trying to survive the horrifying bombing of Pearl Harbour. For that last half of the movie we witness many people dying tragic deaths as well as hundreds of people suffering and being taken to the hospital for their last dying moments. It was horrible how this really happened, and yet even the ending, which was supposed to be, wasn't satisfying for me. They tried to show some light at the end, showing the characters a few years later, yet it just didn't do it for me..

For me it was obvious that Ben Afflek's character survived longer than the first half an hour. Why else would he be the main character? His acting was mediocre, apart from the death scene towards the end, he didn't really convince me. Josh Harnett was better, he wasn't amazing but certainly the best of the cast in my opinion. Kate Beckinsale was.. only just tolerable. I didn't like her or her character in this. That's just the honest truth.

It's probably too late for most people, I know that this was a success so many people have seen it.. and if you haven't maybe you should, it might give you a bit of an understanding of what happened at that time. If you can, I'll give you some advice - skip the first half.

"Look, Doc, I spent last Tuesday watching fibers on my carpet. And the whole time I was watching my carpet, I was worrying that I, I might vomit. And the whole time, I was thinking, "I'm a grown man. I should know what goes on my head." And the more I thought about it... the more I realized that I should just blow my brains out and end it all. But then I thought, well, if I thought more about blowing my brains out... I start worrying about what that was going to do to my goddamn carpet. Okay, so, ah-he, that was a GOOD day, Doc. And, and I just want you to give me some pills and let me get on with my life."

That was a quote from Roy, Nicholas Cage's character in this film. You can probably tell already that he's not an average guy.. he's a con artist, a matchstick man. But there's certain things wrong with him, like he doesn't like being outdoors. He can't stand the sunlight, he fidgets and blinks a lot, lots of things distract him.. that's why he is an interesting character and makes the movie interesting to watch. It's not just him either, I loved the character development in this flick, each character had a vital role and was portrayed brilliantly. That's just one reason I loved this movie.

The movie revolves around Roy and his life. He spends the mornings cleaning his house and making sure everything is spotless before he leaves. He puts his shoes on, (no shoes on the carpet) and then leaves to meet his business partner, Frank. They are con artists, they trick people into thinking they're getting a prize or money, and end up walking away having lost nothing. But things get more complicated when Roy meets his daughter for the first time, just in time for him and Frank to try and pull of an 80k con. It seems pretty straightforward, but it's not. This flick is full of twists and turns that I had no idea where coming, they were surprising and clever how they fitted into the plot.

Nicolas Cage was great for his character, apart from a couple of scenes at the end of being on the verge of tears, everything else from him was convincing enough for me. I really like Sam Rockwell, and for me he was brilliant in this movie. He perfected his character, a great casting choice there. Alison Lohman as the daughter was also great, I haven't seen her in a lot of flicks, but in this I really liked her. Bruce Altman was also great, other than that the cast was so-so.. nothing brilliant.

I am really glad I saw this, and I recommend this to anyone. Yes, anyone. Whether you think you'll like this or not; you really should see it for yourself. Hopefully you'll like it as much as I did!

"When I was a kid, they used to tell me that I could be anything I wanted to be, no matter what... and maybe I am insane, I don't know, but I still believe that."

The Astronaut Farmer is an amazing and inspiring movie that should leave you satisfied at the end. It is a story about keeping your dreams and never giving up, it has a strong message and a great cast to support it. It's movies like this that should be seen by more people, it certainly kept me watching intently throughout the whole movie, just waiting for Charlie Farmer to accomplish his dream.

Billy Bob Thornton is Charlie Farmer in this movie, a man with a dream to go into space and orbit the earth. But he doesn't want to go up the normal way, instead he spends his time building his own rocket in his barn. He's not an average guy either, he has great engineering skills so that keeps it more realistic. We find out that he was going to go into space through NASA, but pulled out because his Dad was sick. Ever since he has had a dream to go up into space and look down on the earth, it's his dream that he never gives up. But things get more complicated, his family's money is scarce and the bank threatens to take his property, and even worse, the FBI start investigating. It's one of those movies that you just want him to get up there in space and accomplish his dream.

This is something you'd expect from Billy Bob when he's not making those insanely funny comedy movies, he's great in roles like this. Apart from just few scenes, to me the whole cast were amazing. As Charlie's supportive family, his wife is played by Virginia Madsen. She wasn't half bad, but I really liked Max Thieriot in his role in this movie as Charlie's son Shepard. Bruce Willis also had a role in this movie, I would have liked to have seen more of him but it was great to see him in this film. Just because it is something different to what he normally does, and he had a great character personality too..

This is satisfying and fun to watch, as well as being inspirational this is a pleasure to see, I recommend this to anyone who likes these types of films, you won't be disappointed.

"She brought you something special when she came here, didn't she? That's what you hold onto. That's how you keep her alive."

If I hadn't been given the DVD then I would never have chosen to watch this, It was lucky I got it because wow.. this really surprised me. I expected it to be one of those childish movies, but this is much more. It's emotional, inspiring, sad and pleasing to see.

Okay, honestly I hated the look of this movie from seeing the trailer in the cinema. It just looks like another kids Disney movie that I wouldn't like any pretty much waste my time seeing. So from that, I had no intention that I would ever see it.. and somehow I found out the ending, so that made me even more disinclined to see it. But hey, look at me now, I've seen it and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't at all just a kids movie, and I think that it would be hard for some kids to take in the tragic incident towards the end of this movie, therefore it would be hard for some kids to understand all the elements of this film. There I can understand that they might not like it.. but for someone like me, it's incredible how all of the elements come together and create this wonderful movie and satisfying ending. You have to understand and have an open mind to see this and enjoy it.

It was extraordinary how the two main characters, kids, could come through so well with the actors. Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb were brilliant together in this, both of them giving amazing and inspiring performances that shouldn't be missed. Robert Patrick was also in the cast, I felt he had a pretty important role for someone that isn't on the screen for as long as others.

This really was a magical story and one that should be seen no matter how old you are, hopefully you will find something special hidden within the story that you won't forget.

I went to see this with an open mind, I had no idea what I was about to see. I think that was what it needed, if I expected to see something and it didn't have it, I might have been disappointed. But seeing it and not knowing what to expect.. I really enjoyed it. It was fun, enjoyable and an entertaining 91 minutes of my day.

It had my type of humour, so I easily got some laughs out of this. The story is of three brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) who try to re-unite their family bonds by going on a trip around India together, on a train called 'The Darjeeling Limited'. As you can imagine, along the way they come across various problems which eventually lead to them appreciating the time they had together and the experiences they have shared. I loved Wes Anderson's directing, the camera views etc. were brilliant.. I should really check out his other films. Some of the jokes in this were just ones you would smile at, while others I could hardly stop laughing. But this isn't all comedy as it may sound like, it's actually an emotional drama movie at the same time.

It was nice to see Owen Wilson do something different (well at least, different from the movies I have seen him in), though the humour was really what you would expect from him. I really liked Adrien Brody's character, and of course he portrayed him extremely well. Jason Schwartzman was also funny, but then again his serious side to the character was great too. Two thumbs up from me to casting them as the main characters! Anjelica Huston was.. pretty much the only actor I dislike in this film. Sorry, she's just one of the few actors I don't like. Bill Murray and Natalie Portman were great for their short roles, it was good to see some actors like them for those characters.

I'd definitely recommend this; it's funny, different, original and compelling.. if you ever get the chance, do yourself a favour and see this unique comedy film.

This wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, in fact it was pretty much the opposite of what this looked like just from the cover and synopsis. To me this looks like a comedy movie, with some great actors like Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson.. I thought it would easily get some laughs out of me. It ended up being average; not bad, just not as good as I would have thought. For me the jokes were just ones I smiled at, I think I only laughed out loud once. Still, this was worth seeing for myself.

Luke Wilson is Wendell Baker in this film, who to me came across as a nice, laid back guy that didn't think much about what other people would think about him. But when he is caught for making fake drivers licences with his friend, it's when he is sent to prison that he realises how much his girlfriend means to him. During the time he is behind bars, she leaves him for a grocery store worker. Once Wendell is out, with the help of some friends at a retirement hotel that he starts work at, he tries to get her back as well as fighting hotel corruption.

I had some doubts about Luke Wilson in this movie, only because the past few films of his that I have seen turned out to be.. well.. not exactly my type of movie. But he proved me wrong in this, he truly was great for the lead role. Somehow he perfectly fitted the character of Wendell Baker. Owen Wilson's part was smaller than I expected it to be, but he did make the most of it and made some scenes more enjoyable. Other's in the cast were so so.. nothing spectacular but then again no one unbearable.

Overall this was a pretty enjoyable movie to watch, but I wouldn't choose to watch this again anytime soon. If you like this type of movie then it shouldn't be disappointing, I just would rather watch something different. Still, I'm glad I saw it.. so if you haven't already, maybe you should see this for yourself.