recontramil Reviews

License to Wed (2007)

Not so much

[2/10 · 4 July 2007]

This movie was a bit of a bore. I walked in rather neutral with my expectations, and after the first 10 minutes realized that this ball of cheese was not for me. I sat through it all, for the sake of the company I was with.

Mandy Moore and John Krasinski are cute, but very flat characters. There is little or no character development in this film. Robin Williams as Reverend Frank tries to save the show with his humorous antics, but was unfortunately cliché in his attempts. The little boy, Josh Flitter, does an excellent job as the annoyingly forthright "minister in training", as do the other children playing minor roles, but the overall attempt was bland.

The movie neither humorously avoids morals, nor does it end with moral enlightenment. The "lesson" in the end is weak and predictable.

If you're looking for something heartwarming, inspiring, or thought-provoking, turn elsewhere. If you'd like a few cheap laughs with a weak storyline, this could be your film.

I rate it a 2 out of 10.

Return to Me (2000)

Wholesome and captivating!

[10/10 · 5 September 2005]

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!

This beautiful, charming love story drew me in immediately with its lovable characters and heart-warming romance. I became so attached to the characters throughout the film that I felt as if I knew them personally. The storyline is very enchanting, and it brought me to tears in several touching moments. Duchovny and Driver have a very cute, chaste relationship that you can't help getting involved in. This one's worth watching more than once, and showing to all your friends. I'm just curious, why wasn't this a big hit?

I give this a 10 out of 10! Spectacular film! (And this is coming from a guy who thinks that 9 out of 10 movies aren't even worth watching.)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

An artful and creative adventure!

[9/10 · 14 January 2005]

I must say, I walked into this movie with my doubts, and wasn't really enjoying the first half hour, but once I started to see the talents of the children put to use, I couldn't help but watch with fascination and curiosity. A capturing mystery begins to unfold, and rather creatively I must add, that puts everything together and answers all the confusion experienced in the first half.

The baby is hilarious! If you're a big Jim Carrey fan, I'll tell you, his humor doesn't really shine here. If you can't stand him (like me) there's nothing to fear, his humor only really bothered me in the very beginning of the movie, but it wore off as the movie went on.

I'll just say, if you like watching three kids go through a wild suspenseful adventure together, you'll love this! This isn't the little kids movie it may appear to be, it's rather dark and dreary. The artwork was beautiful, the houses and environments were very tastefully designed :).

All in all, I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

Reality Bites (1994)

Funny and enjoyable, despite the glimpses of darkness

[9/10 · 11 July 2003]

I just borrowed this movie from my older sister and I must say I loved it. Though it's 9 years old now, I don't mind, I really enjoyed it. A very funny movie with pretty mature material and lots of good (but somewhat hollow) dialogue. Basically a couple of jobless losers enjoying themselves, rebelling, and realizing that this is a tough way to live life. Had the movie taken this course of going through their career problems and showing how things evolved from there, I would have liked it even better than the whole love story business, but I still enjoyed this movie tremendously. I give it a 9 out of 10.

A Goofy Movie (1995)

A rich and textured treat!

[10/10 · 25 February 2003]

This movie extracts the best from all worlds, and still maintains a young audience appeal while leaving something for those seeking depth and a real message. This movie is downright entertaining, funny, and the storyline flows like melted chocolate. This movie left prints on me from back in the day when I first saw it, and seeing it again just brought so much nostalgia back to me. It has an excellent soundtrack, brilliant voice casting, marvelous editing, smooth flow directed on screen. This movie creates a home environment, and really places you in the story right at the get-go. The character development is like that of a true Disney classic, and it really does deserve to be one. Every element of this movie is pure gold, I can't seem to put it all into words. I give this a 10/10!

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

This movie is not for me...

[4/10 · 31 December 2002]

This movie was just not my kind of movie at all. The whole plot was NOT MAGICAL!! It's simple and predictable, just the way you would expect. Of course, no one looks at the plot for this movie when there's all that music.. had I seen this in the theatre I'd totally have walked out. the whole level of maturity of everything going on just seemed way too toned down... the cartoon sound effects that happened all the time were picking at my nerves, ewan mcgregor's plastic smile and singing voice were bugging as well, just about every character in this movie is engineered to annoy, ya this movie was not for me. if you're looking for some deep thoughtful meaning, this movie is as far as you can get from that. if you want a trite love story and some redone music, come right over. i'd give this a 1 out of 10, but they put so much work in it that it must deserve a 4. Come What May also scored it some bonus points for me :)

Rain Man (1988)

Paper-thin and predictable

[3/10 · 18 November 2002]

This movie was very linear and you could see where it was going right from the start. The characters are very stereo-typed and not deep at all, and maybe it might be that this movie came out only a few years after my birth, but this was flat-out boring. Nothing really grasps your attention, you know that Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) is "magical" and that Charlie (Tom Cruise) underappreciates that. Charlie's impatient butthole personality gets really old and annoying right from the beginning, and it continues on for hours. This whole movie felt like a waste of my time, the only thing worth watching was Dustin Hoffman's acting. But honestly, retard movies just really bug me (The Other Sister was, to me, unbearably annoying). If you wanted to see it because you heard it's a classic (like me) don't waste your time. Trust me. This movie is as dry as they come, you can't juice anything out of this fruit. I give it a 3 out of 10.

Stealing Harvard (2002)

So sloppy that it's a shame..

[1/10 · 11 November 2002]

What a great disappointment. I was hoping to see another great Jason Lee movie, but I can't tell if it was the screenplay or just the whole air of the film but every single character was flat and predictable. Nothing developed here, nothing was funny. Tom Green was a disaster, I really wanted to just stop watching this film but I couldn't do that to my pal Jason :). It's too bad that he wasn't able to shine in this film, it just wasn't meant for his level of talent. Poor guy has to get this ugly stain on his record of great movies (Almost Famous, Heartbreakers, Big Trouble, Vanilla Sky). This movie was written very poorly in my opinion and just has nothing holding it together. The drag queen dress-up thing could almost have been funny had I at least been set up to laugh from the beginning. And that whole fate theme, that just didn't pull together. Again, Tom Green destroyed this movie; I think had he not been in it the other actors wouldn't have had to adapt to his mold and they could have expressed themselves more.

If you want to see Dennis Farina really do well, I recommend the movie Big Trouble. THAT is what I call a comedy. This.. it needed some more thought and effort, and better casting. I'm surprised this made it as far as it did. Shamefully, I hardly heard of Big Trouble but this was all over the place. It's too bad the garbage movies are more popular than the true gems. I recommend Big Trouble over this movie, but that's just me :). Don't watch this, save yourself the agony.

I give this movie ZERO stars.

Kate & Leopold (2001)

Innocent, pure, and pleasantly simple

[9/10 · 10 November 2002]

Though this movie has a rather linear storyline and not much intertwiningly complex plot, that just helps it shine where it should. It is heartwarming and nice, and fills you with happiness :). Your classic chick flick except where the girl doesn't believe the guy until finally it's too late and then she sacrifices all she's ever lived for to be with him. Hugh Jackman's innocently perfect personality is totally fake but hey, when you need a movie to cheer you up why bother throwing in the bad stuff? A nice movie to walk away from that though it may bug the average male in its simplicity and spotless purity, it left me with a happy feeling inside. This is one of those happy ending movies that could cheer just about anybody up. And make your average easy-to-please girl laugh. I gave it a 9 out of 10 but only because I was in the right mood. This is one of those movies you just have to see when you are seeking something happy.

Run Lola Run (1998)

Crazy Cool!

[9/10 · 26 October 2002]

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It is very original (at least I've never seen anything like it) and it just has a lot of creative stuff to it. Little things I enjoy like the snapshot scenes of people's lives as Lola bumps into them, the animation in the TV of Lola running down the stairs, the way her limp changed the outcome of the whole day, the little confusion about if she learns throughout the repeats of the day (things like how she knew how to use the gun)... I don't know, I'm really soft and easy to please when a movie is creative and fun. The stuff that I didn't think was totally cool I thought was funny, so no matter what the scene, I got enjoyment out of it. The whole plot was something I enjoy talking about after a movie is done; the whole theme of the movie, the decorations, the scenery and stuff, was just right for it. I think that the movie being in German just makes it that much cooler, and that much more authentic. Just a few minor things here and there that I didn't LOVE are what made me give this a 9 out of 10.

Knockaround Guys (2001)

A rather shallow movie

[1/10 · 24 October 2002]

I did not like this movie. I'm sorry, but when people make rated R movies intended for little kids seeking role models, I get sorely disappointed. It had a choppy storyline and plot flow, the flow was not smooth to me. The whole thing was just boring and slow, and you never really had any incentive to keep watching. There was nothing holding this movie together, it was just a group of friends being introduced one by one, then being shown together in almost all the scenes following. These friends work together (hardly) to get back money from policemen, and it seems as though each piece of the storyline that creates the bulk of the story should have been omitted. It ends with the simple moral about living up to your parent's expectations and not always trusting in others. Vin Diesel is portrayed as a perfect and spotless character: tough, loyal, caring, strong enough to defend you from any danger... Ya, this movie was basically meant for little kids who need someone to look up to, hoping that Vin Diesel can create a role model for them. If you are looking for a real mobster movie, Road to Perdition is MUCH MUCH better. Though I myself didn't like Road to Perdition too much, it's multiple times better than this. If you're thinking of walking out of the theatre mid-movie, you won't miss much, don't think too hard, don't waste your time.

Sadly, there does not exist a rating below a 1 that I can give this movie, so 1 out of 10 will have to do. Maybe I'll make that a 1 out of 20...

If you seek muscle pictures of Vin Diesel, this is a place to go. If you seek a good wholesome, thought-provoking movie, steer clear of this. Sorry for not mentioning much good about this movie, it was just far from my type entirely. The movie takes place in three days? Nothing is clear to me in this movie, and things just happen out of nowhere. Anything you could actually predict you have predicted, and I was unable to understand the point of Marbles' plane burning down and the reason why the "charming" buddy had to get shot for doing something wrong but not Vin Diesel. EVERYBODY likes Vin Diesel, how could he possibly die in this movie? Of course, all the other buddies die... Ugh... Being that I was thoroughly annoyed, I can ramble on for a while about things with this movie that bugged me, but I feel sorry for the people involved in making this movie if they read it. I must say, the camera was pretty steady the whole way through, and the Montana scenery was fantastic ;).

Shared Secrets (1998)

Great Psychological Thriller!

[10/10 · 15 October 2002]

This movie was great!! So much to discuss afterwards, and it's a real thinker/puzzler. If you love murder mysteries and enjoy psychological thrillers, you have to love this movie. I give it a 10/10, despite any flaws it may have. This movie was excellent, it was great, I loved it. It has an authentic feel to it and I just love the whole storyline. I consider this a masterpiece. A few sex scenes here and there, maybe some filthy language, nothing that should really stop you from seeing it :P. I loved this movie, I really did. It has a nice twist and flows very smoothly.

Big Trouble (2002)

What a ride!

[10/10 · 13 August 2002]

This movie was excellent!! Very funny all the way! I'm surprised it didn't get a lot more hype... I've seen it twice and it's great. Great performances, great jokes, and I love the storyline: fast and exciting, but with substance. I enjoyed mostly all the jokes, and it's just my kind of movie. I give this a 10/10! My favorite movie besides Office Space :). Don't miss it! Even if you don't like Tim Allen, even if there's something tiny in it you think might bug you, don't fear; you'll love this movie. I guarantee it to just about anyone. No graphic sex scenes, not THAT bad of language, and nice and toned down violence. No blood, no guts, nothing graphic and ugly. Good clean fun! Go see it!! I can't wait until it comes out on video to buy it for myself at home! Don't think that just because it didn't get too popular that it's not good! I only saw it because I'm a big Jason Lee fan :), but that's beside the point. It's a great funny movie. Go see it!!

Kundun (1997)

A slow, but authentic movie.

[3/10 · 17 September 2001]

I found this movie to be a bit too slow for my taste. It starts off just plain boring and then just moves on with no particular conflict. I can see it is hard to work around a history like this and make it fun for everyone, but they hardly even tried.

I did, however, love the music. It is very authentic and was done very well. The tribal dances seemed authentic (I have never seen one in person) and the entire setting worked well. I found this to be much more educational than entertaining.

I found the younger two Dalai Lama actors to be very annoying, but they did well for little kids. I can almost see where the nomination of this movie for best picture came from, but I would never have let this win. Maybe I just am one of those people who does not find Tibet's history to be interesting.

I give it a 4 out of 10.