Emma. (2020)

★★★★

I happened to stumble upon this adaptation and now I wonder how many others I may have missed in the years since my Jane Austen fixation!

At this point, I'm afraid I can't remember many details from the book anymore, so I can't do my usual book-to-screen comparison.

I'll just say, I very much enjoyed this movie's humor and light-heartedness, as well as the elaborate costuming and gorgeous, beautifully-colored sets - and pastries! It was a lot of fun to watch. The servants especially were surprisingly comical.

Emma was well-cast, but Mr. Knightley being light-haired threw me off, I just always imagine him to be dark-haired. I really liked the casting of Harriet; she was simpler and lower class than Emma but not made out to be frumpy. Meanwhile, Frank Churchill came across kind of sleazy, I wasn't too fond of him, and the Jane Fairfax character was not fleshed out enough (which I know is harder to do in movie adaptations than in mini-series).

Tuck Everlasting (2002)

★★★★

I watched this movie only because I recently read the book, and straight from the beginning, I was pleasantly surprised.

I liked that Winnie Foster is older in the movie than in the book, and I liked that the Tucks were not caught completely off-guard by the strange man. I especially liked that Winnie spent an indeterminate amount of time with the Tucks, and so had the time to really get to know them. And I really loved how the sunlight streaming through the woods was beautifully captured on film.

I thought the sensual dancing in the woods was a bit much, though. And I didn't understand why the prison escape was changed. Why was it okay to reveal their secret to the prison guard?!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

★★★★

The opening scenes had a very Tim Burton feel, and I admit, I was wary. In the book, Willy Wonka's factory was mysterious, yes, but in the movie, there was also a kind of darkness about it, almost as if it was sinister in some way. Also, I expected Willy Wonka to be exuberant and jovial, but in the movie, he was mostly eccentric and wacky.

Still, Johnny Depp's portrayal grew on me. The visuals were impressive, and in many ways, the movie was delightful. I particularly appreciated Willy Wonka's various one-liners.

Interestingly, even while the movie adhered closely to the book, it also added to it in ways that I thought were meaningful. I liked the way the movie expanded on the faults of two of the children. Violet Beauregard didn't just chew gum, she was arrogant and cared only for winning. Mike Teavee didn't just watch a lot of TV, he was was disrespectful and violent.

Also, Willy Wonka was given a sad childhood with a strict and candy-forbidding father. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I loved the way it all came together in the end.

Big Hero 6 (2014)

★★★★

I really loved Baymax, and I would happily give him 5 stars!

But the movie on the whole I give 4 stars because of the sudden death scene and the truly evil-looking bad guy. Sebastien was very upset by both incidents, and we actually had to stop the movie so I could comfort him and help calm him down. He really cried full-blown tears! It's lucky we didn't see this movie in the theaters. I guess it WAS rated PG, so maybe I shouldn't fault the movie too much... But even for me, those two dark points were somewhat out of place for an otherwise charming movie about a boy and his huggable robot.

Lincoln (2012)

★★★★

On an educational and artistic level, I would give this movie 5 stars. All I knew about the Civil War I learned in high school, and I had no idea such politics were at play regarding the timing of the passage of the 13th Amendment and the ending of the Civil War. I also didn't know anything about Abraham Lincoln the person, and the movie's depiction of his wife and his interactions with his children and other people in general just really humanized him.

However, ultimately I'm giving this movie 4 stars because I just sometimes got so confused. Maybe that's more a statement about me than the movie - or how tired I was when I watched it - but I think I'm a fairly intelligent person, yet I still had trouble understanding what exactly convinced some Democrats to change their vote.

Also, for a movie titled "Lincoln", it seemed to have a relatively narrow focus. I think I expected a biopic, but this movie was more a snapshot of how Lincoln pushed through the 13th Amendment. We do get a glimpse of his personal life while he was in office, but we don't see or learn anything about Lincoln's childhood, or how he became the man that he was.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

★★★★

Entertaining and suspenseful. I even teared up a few times in the beginning.

It's been a while since I've read the book, but I think I like the movie better. I remember being not entirely comfortable with all the explicit violence in the book, but the violence depicted in the movie was not over-the-top or especially disturbing.

Epic (2013)

★★★★

Super kid-friendly! A fun and entertaining movie.

There's not much to scare a little one. Characters do die, but not in very scary ways. Bad guys do look ugly, but they are more "yucky" than frightening. The only weapons - other than magical powers - are swords and bows and arrows.

There is a bit of romance, but the story doesn't revolve around love like a Disney princess movie.

Occasionally, I laughed out loud. There are some pretty hilarious bits of humor ("I hurt my elbow!"), and the comic reliefs Mub and Grub - a slug and a snail - were my favorite characters.

The Lego Movie (2014)

★★★★

Fun characters in a cute and clever story. I must be getting old, though, because some of the action sequences seemed so fast-paced, with so many LEGO pieces flying every which way, that I sometimes felt like I couldn't even process all the images in a scene.

I didn't know a thing about the plot going in, and I was pleasantly surprised at how everything came together at the end.

Sebastien seemed to get bored about 3/4 of the way through the movie, and I think a lot of the jokes went over his head. But there was a LEGO Star Wars appearance, and he said he liked it.

Argo (2012)

★★★★

Wow! This movie fascinated me. I was only 3 when the Iran hostage crisis occurred. My high school U.S. History class only got up to WWII, so I only had a vague understanding that Americans were held hostage in Iran during Carter's presidency, that they were not released under his administration, and that the crisis contributed to why Carter wasn't re-elected. I had no idea that there were 6 Americans who had escaped being taken hostage and who had to remain in hiding until they could somehow get out of Iran.

For most of the movie, I thought I would give it 5 stars, but the final sequence of the escape was so over-the-top - obviously intended for dramatic effect - that it seemed unbelievable.

Any time a movie is based on a true story, I want to know how much the movie deviated from the actual events. In this case, I definitely recommend reading up on the historical inaccuracies. Mostly, it seems that too much credit was given to the CIA, and not enough credit to Canada, England, and New Zealand.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

★★★★

Really interesting movie, and of course, afterwards, I had to Google which parts of the movie were true. I appreciated that it was sensitive about not including explicit images of neither 9/11 nor Osama bin Laden.

Ballet Shoes (2007)

★★★★

Die-hard fans of the book may be disappointed with all the liberties taken by the movie. Quite a few changes were made, presumably with the intention of adding more drama and tension. While the book focused pretty much entirely on the girls, the movie made Sylvia a more central character. Madame in the book seemed rather warm, but Madame in the movie was quite stern. Still, I liked her. I'm usually a stickler for movies adhering to books, but in this case, I thought the movie version was really well-done.

The only thing I really disliked was the ending. It was too abrupt, just like the ending of the book. At the end of the movie, I felt primed to watch a new series or a sequel.

Isabelle said she liked the movie, but she liked the book better.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

★★★★

*** WARNING!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! ***

I was never a big fan of the original Star Trek series, but after watching Star Trek Into Darkness, and knowing that the new series is meant to be an alternate reality of the original series, I decided to watch the original Star Trek movie with Khan.

I really didn't get why Khan and his men didn't wear shirts, and it just seemed to me that a man with "superior intellect" would simply take Genesis and not waste his time with revenge - as a couple of his people tried to advise him to do. But, it did make for an interesting plot, and I loved Spock's big scene at the end. The ending made the whole movie, and if I didn't already know that Spock lives a long and prosperous life, I would be pretty darn upset!

Seeing a young Kirstie Alley was fun, too!

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

★★★★

*** Warning!! This review contains spoilers!! ***

Wow, am I really giving this movie 4 stars?! I totally got sucked in way more than I thought I would. Little Caesar was so cute, so human, that I couldn't help but root for him - even though I knew that his rise would mean the fall of the entire human race! 

Caesar's sense of "humanity" was moving - and by "humanity" I mean his kindred connection with his fellow primates, and his respect for human life.

I know it's sci-fi, but I actually got a little worried, wondering how the U.S. National Guard might take down a powerful mob of intelligent primates. I expected the human race to fall at the hands of the primates, so the way it actually unfolded at the very end was an interesting twist. If a super virus really was on the loose - well, okay, I'd have to assume that in real life, Franklin would have been quarantined immediately after having been exposed to the gas, so it wouldn't actually have had a chance to spread. Alright, alright, I know, it's just a movie - I just can't believe how much it sucked me in!

The Flowers of War (2011)

★★★★

As beautifully stylized as would be expected from a Zhang Yimou film, but also terribly graphic. Sadly, it was probably not an exaggerated account of Japan's Rape of Nanking.

Christian Bale plays a shameless American mortician who, in order to survive, impersonates a priest. Amid the atrocities of war, he finds his courage and his moral compass.

In times of war, there are heroes, big and small. Not all are well-known or publicly lauded, but that doesn't make their deeds any less honorable or brave.

A few details compel me to give this movie a less-than-5-star rating. Towards the end, Christian Bale's character started to open up about his past, but his back story wasn't fleshed out; it was just enough to make you curious and then leave you hanging. Rather than adding to his character development, it seemed superfluous. Also, at one point, two people managed to leave the cathedral, which seemed incredulous given the armed guards outside. Even the characters in the movie repeatedly asked, "How did they get out?!" but no answer was ever given.

Conviction (2010)

★★★★

An amazing true story. If only we all could be so lucky as to have someone like Betty Ann in our lives - someone who is always on our side, who believes in us and fights for us, against all odds. Uneven Boston accents are a bit distracting, but the pace is good, and so is the acting. I really like the clever title, too.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4, 2005)

★★★★

I really liked the entertaining portrayal of the dynamics of teenage relationships, and I loved the excitement surrounding the Yule Ball. Plus, it was fun to see a pre-Twilight Robert Pattinson! There was a lot going on in the story - a lot to keep track of - and this being my second time watching the movie, I definitely had an easier time following everything.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3, 2004)

★★★★

I really enjoyed this movie, mostly because of the introduction of Sirius Black and Lupin. I love their characters, the strength of their relationship with James and Lily Potter, and the special bond they have with Harry.

The Road (2009)

★★★★

A well-made and thought-provoking film, but it's kind of slow and a real downer. I'm with Charlize Theron - what's the point of living in a world like that? Good guys turning bad, even when they don't mean to, is pretty depressing. I suppose the uplifting message is supposed to be that goodness can prevail, and that one should always keep a little room in one's heart for hope and trust. Then again, I thought the ending was pretty lucky - the boy could just as well have been overtaken by bad guys.

I'm kind of surprised I rated this one so highly. All through the movie, I kept thinking I should go to bed. And who needs to spend valuable free time feeling depressed? I guess part of the reason for my high rating is that despite the fact that I wanted to stop watching it, I couldn't actually tear myself away.

Pride and Prejudice (1940)

★★★★

This movie was light-hearted and fun, and I was surprised by how much I liked it!

Of all the Jane Austen screen adaptations, this one deviated the most from the novel - in dialogue, scenes, and character introductions and omissions. At times it didn't even try to condense the story, but rather, it created new scenes entirely. Interestingly, though, it seems to me now that deviations from the original source are most unforgivable when the adaptation for the most part tries to adhere to the book, but then veers away drastically for brief moments. On the other hand, it appears that I don't really seem to mind when a movie as a whole is interpreted differently, as long as it stays true to the spirit of the original story and characters - and then, in that case, any time the movie does briefly adhere closely to the book, I am pleasantly surprised.

The movie is well-acted and well-cast. At first the women's costumes (which were more in the style of antebellum American South than British Regency) were distracting, but once I got past that, it was a pleasure to watch.

Northanger Abbey (2007 TV Movie)

★★★★

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit! Almost all characters were perfectly cast, save John Thorpe, who looked even more lecherous than expected. The fantasy sequences did a good job portraying Catherine's fondness for Gothic romance novels, and the production as a whole was well-done. Even the music was a good fit.

Unfortunately, besides the usual shortcuts taken to introduce characters or condense the story, and a few omitted scenes, the movie also took some liberties. In the book, Henry Tilney is so perfectly the gentleman that he takes pains to ease Catherine's mind about a folly over which she is mortified, and when she leaves Northanger Abbey, it is clear that no fault lies with her. In the movie, however, Henry's reaction is more severe, to the point that we aren't sure if maybe Catherine's behavior might have had something to do with her departure. The book's ending also allows for some reconciliation between Henry and General Tilney, which the movie does not incorporate.

Despite these discrepancies, and even with the movie's splash of 21st century dramatization, I was pretty well-satisfied with this screen adaptation.