Saving Mr. Banks (2013)

★★★★★

Really eye-opening!

I LOVE Mary Poppins the movie, but I haven't read the books (yet). I had heard before that the movie was quite different, but I had no idea that the original characters were based on P.L. Travers's own family. No wonder she was so upset to see her family members re-cast in completely different ways. I truly felt for P.L. Travers, both when she was young and when she was grown.

A must-see for any fan of the movie or books. And now I really need to make time to read the books!

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (#3) (2014)

★★★★★

Wow! A continuous adrenalin rush. Aptly named "The Battle of the Five Armies", as the entire movie pretty much consisted of one battle scene after another. I don't care what the critics say, I enjoyed the movie, and I'll take Legolas any time he wants to show up.

I liked the movie so much, I'm going to re-read the book again!

(I suppose I should include a small disclaimer acknowledging that this was the first movie Ken and I have seen in the theaters together in who knows how long. We had a great dinner out beforehand, and probably I was so giddy about being out of the house on a date night that I was primed to enjoy whatever movie we saw!)

Lee Daniels' The Butler

★★★★★

Loosely based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served in the White House for 34 years.

Stylistically, Ken said this movie reminded him of Forrest Gump. The main character meets numerous U.S. presidents, and we see how American fashion, music, and culture changed over many decades.

Content-wise, this movie was a lot heavier. A boy raised on a cotton plantation uses his "house nigger" skills to land a job in a hotel, then in a fancier hotel, and finally at the White House. He spent his life trying to protect his sons from the violent racism he experienced in the south, but his older son chooses to move to the south and devote his life to the civil rights movement.

An inspirational story with a feel-good ending. Every American should see it.

Frozen (2013)

★★★★★

*** WARNING: This review contains spoilers!! ***

I think my rating is overly generous because it was just so much fun going to the movies!! I hadn't been to a movie theatre in months, and it was especially nice going with just Isabelle and me.

Excitement aside, I do think this was a good movie. Instead of the usual girl-meets-prince-and-gets-married plot, we have girl-meets-prince-and-falls-in-love-only-to-find-out-later-he's-a-scoundrel! It actually has a very good "Don't rush into relationships!" message.

This movie was also interesting because, besides the prince-turned-scoundrel - the revelation of which only occurred towards the end of the movie - there really was no evil villain. There was one guy who was not exactly nice, but he wasn't an evil mastermind, and was more of a nuisance than anything else. The "badness" that propelled the story stemmed from a princess having been born with ice powers that she didn't know how to control. A really great twist on the usual Disney MO, I thought.

Also, I loved that the "true love" that saved the kingdom was not romantic love, but sisterly love. Plus, even though this movie does have romantic love, Elsa was just fine without it.

And of course, there's also a comic sidekick, and in this case, I really did enjoy Olaf the snowman!

Anne of Green Gables (1985)

★★★★★

After reading Anne of Green Gables, I thought it would be fun to watch the movie with Isabelle. At first, she didn't want to watch it because she's not really into movies in general. But, I talked to her into it, and she loved it!!

It's actually a mini-series about 3 1/2 hours long. We took a break for dinner, and Isabelle wanted to go right back to it after eating. We ended up watching it straight through bedtime!

I've seen the mini-series on PBS a number of times, but no matter how many times I watch it, it never fails to make me cry. A lot. :P

I love that the movie follows the book so closely, and any time additional scenes were added, I thought they were very fitting.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (#1) (2012)

★★★★★

So, as we know, The Hobbit, the book, is a prequel to the LOTR series, and it is shorter, simpler, and more approachable than any of the individual books in the trilogy. I have to admit, then, that before seeing the movie, I wasn't entirely sure that dividing the film version into three parts was a good idea.

But, come on! What did I have to be skeptical about?! This is Peter Jackson, who gave us the amazing LOTR trilogy on the big screen! (I have just now realized that I never rated those movies, but of course, they all would get 5 stars!)

I was practically giddy just watching the movie, it was such a great adventure! My only complaint now, about there being three parts, is that I have to wait to see the sequel!

I haven't recently read the book, so of course a re-reading is in order, but my impression is that the movie follows the book pretty closely - lots of the scenes were familiar.

One thing that surprised me is that there was no effort at all to individually introduce all the dwarves - Thorin and Balin had more prominent roles, and Kili and Fili stood out as well, but all the rest just blended together. Afterwards, I realized that I didn't even know which dwarf was Gloin, which would have been fun to know just because he is, of course, Gimli's father.

The Three Musketeers (1948)

★★★★★

*** Warning: This review constains spoilers! ***

I love this movie!

Great costumes, great casting - it's a beauty to watch. Especially the swashbuckling! Even the scenes of galloping horses were exciting. I also saw, for the first time, a beautiful young Angela Lansbury. Really, just an all-around very entertaining movie!

This screen adaptation is, for the most part, delightfully true to the book. Buttercup, the Count de Warde, and Kitty are included, and we see that all four lackeys exist, though Planchet is the only one with a major role, and Grimaud is the only other one mentioned by name.

My prudish sensibilities actually appreciated some of the efforts to "purify" the story. Madame Bonacieux in the book is Mademoiselle Bonacieux in the movie, and she is d'Artagnan's landlord's niece rather than his wife. Instead of talking about "rich mistresses", the movie has "rich widows".

As the story progresses, it gradually starts to deviate from the book, mostly to simplify and condense the story. It is, after all, only a 2 hour movie. There is no siege of La Rochelle, and Lord de Winter and John Felton are omitted. In a nice twist, Constance is sent by the Queen to the Duke of Buckingham in England for her safety (rather than to a French convent), and she ends up being Milady's jailer. There is no "Hollywood ending" for Constance or Milady - there the movie is completely faithful to the book.

I liked this movie so much that I watched it again the very next day, and enjoyed just as much the second time!

50/50 (2011)

★★★★★

You'd think a movie about a 27-year-old being diagnosed with cancer would be a real downer, but somehow, it's actually a feel-good movie. We should all be so lucky as to have a friend like Kyle looking out for us, breaking the tension, and making us laugh.

Persuasion (1971 TV Mini-Series)

★★★★★

What a delightful surprise! I admit, I didn't have very high expectations for this adaptation, what with having already been less than impressed with the other mini-series from the early 1970s. This is the last Jane Austen adaptation on my list, and I'm glad to end my viewing project on a high note.

Every character was very well-cast, and Mrs. Clay and Lady Russell had more significant roles than in other adaptations. I was especially pleased to see that this production went so far as to try to explain why Lady Russell persuaded Anne not to marry Capt. Wentworth so long ago, and why Anne let herself be persuaded.

The adaptation was extremely faithful, and many excellent details were included. The ending even did a good job closing out the Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Clay storyline. Only one major scene was noticeably absent - the one in which Mary's son has an accident, and Anne nurses him through dinner to avoid meeting Capt. Wentworth. But - oh, well! Anne had to see Capt. Wentworth sometime, Mary's indignant nature was well-depicted in many other scenes, and Anne's reluctance to see Capt. Wentworth again was also made clear in other ways.

Emma (1996 TV Movie)

★★★★★

Despite being less than half the length of the more recent mini-series, this adaptation is far superior, in my opinion.

At least one minor character was omitted, but every other character was so well cast! Every single one, but especially Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill. Maybe I wish Mr. Knightley had darker hair, but he did have the proper air and presence that I expected. Not surprisingly, scenes were condensed, but the result is a very well-paced movie. Obvious omissions did not detract from the development of the story, and I was pleased to see many of my favorite lines included. The harvest festival that concluded the movie was not in the book, but I liked the scene, and I actually much prefer the way the movie left Emma and Harriet's relationship over the way it was left in the book. The final scene even had me tearing up!

Sense and Sensibility (1995)

★★★★★

I had read so many positive reviews of this movie beforehand that I was afraid it might not live up to expectations. Thankfully, it did.

The film was well-paced and lovely to watch. The story is faithful to the book, and even though liberties were taken, I actually didn't mind them. In fact, I dare say the screenplay managed to improve upon the book! The movie far better justified Elinor's fondness of Edward and Marianne's developing esteem for Colonel Brandon. It even did an impressive job of incorporating Margaret more so than the book. Scenes and conversations were much condensed, but not in any way that detracted from the story. I always like it when movie dialogue is taken directly from the book, and there were at least a few instances of that here (though one of my favorite lines, referencing a flannel waistcoat, wasn't included).

Some characters in the book were omitted from the movie, but those that were included were well-portrayed and true to the book. I was especially delighted to see Dr. House and Prof. Snape make their appearances!

Pride and Prejudice (1995 TV Mini-Series)

★★★★★

I guess this isn't exactly a movie, it's a TV mini-series, but I'm going to review it anyway.

I borrowed this DVD from the library thinking it was a movie. I did notice that it included two discs, but I just figured the second one might be some kind of special feature disc. I didn't realize it was a mini-series until the first DVD ended, but the story was only half over! By then I was already 3 hours invested into the series, but I couldn't possibly stop, so I watched all 5 1/2 hours of it in one sitting. I was up way past my bedtime!

I was so very pleased with this adaptation! It was extremely faithful to the book, and it took very few liberties, and then only very small ones. I was a bit disappointed that a handful of memorable lines in the book were omitted from the script, but since a vast majority of the dialogue was taken directly from the book, I suppose I can't blame the screenwriter for leaving out a few passages.

I appreciated that the series every now and then included a brief scene or bit of background that helped to further show the lifestyle of the period. Also, while Kitty and Mary were constantly in the background in the book, the series actually did a remarkable job of integrating them into the story.

Cars (2006)

★★★★★

I must have watched the first half-hour of this movie at least a dozen times with my kids. Sebastien loves Lightning McQueen, but he would always eventually lose interest. Finally one day I was able to see the movie all the way through by starting it with Sebastien and then finishing it with Isabelle. I love it! Reminiscent of more than one Michael J. Fox movie, but it works for me. It had a couple nice surprises, and I actually teared up towards the end.

Invictus (2009)

★★★★★

Finally! It feels great to see a good movie again. Even though I was in college during Nelson Mandela's presidency, I'm embarrassed that I know so little about him. Ken says he remembers talking about South Africa a lot in school, but I can hardly recall any conversations at all - in or out of the classroom. This movie was not only inspiring - at times, I got goosebumps and/or tears in my eyes - but educational to boot. Makes me want to go out and find a good book about Nelson Mandela. Rugby players grunting in slow motion was a little weird, but the musical soundtrack made up for it.

Temple Grandin (2010)

★★★★★

A great feel-good movie. Very eye-opening, not just about autism, but, interestingly, about cattle, too! Really gives the viewer a feel for how at least one autistic person perceives the world. Also, the mother's struggle to deal with Temple's autism was well-portrayed; if it's difficult to raise an autistic child now, in an era of autism awareness, imagine how challenging it must have been in the 1950's, when even the "experts" didn't know what they were talking about. Temple Grandin's life is inspiring, not just for people with autism, but for all people.

Avatar (2009)

★★★★★

What fun! I went into this movie reluctantly - Ken dragged me - but I left a huge fan. My first 3D experience! Actually, the 3D-ness was not central to the movie, it just made it a cool movie-going experience. Though unfortunately, this 3D movie was riddled with 2D characters. The plotline was not unique, and some story elements paralled current event issues, as often happens in sci-fi. Still, I loved the avatar conceit, and liked how Pandora (the alien world) closely resembled the Outlands in World of Warcraft, Zangarmarsh especially! So, despite its shortcomings, I'm giving it 5 stars because it was just so entertaining!

Dirty Dancing (1987)

★★★★★

Just watched this for the first time in YEARS with two friends from high school. What a great movie! The songs really take me back in time. My rating is probably based more on nostalgia than the actual merits of the movie, but what's not to like!?

Star Trek (2009)

★★★★★

What fun! Entirely entertaining. I'm not even a real fan of the original series, and I loved it. Action, humor, Leonard Nimoy - what more could you ask for?! And Sulu kicks some butt, to boot!

Mongol (2007)

★★★★★

Beautifully filmed. Sometimes graphically violent, sometimes quite tender. Genghis Khan was not made overnight. Don't know about the factual accuracy, but I think the broad strokes are true. Supposedly the first in a trilogy, and I'm looking forward to watching the sequels - even though I don't think they've been made yet.

National Treasure (2004)

★★★★★

I can't help it, I love this type of movie. It's not art, just pure entertainment. A nerdy protagonist, a comedic sidekick with throw-away one-liners, and minimal romantic distraction. With suspended disbelief, what's not to like!? Whee!