movie saturday: dvd reviews

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It's a well-known fact I adore awards. I'm not sure why, as I often disagree with them, but I do enjoy  being well enough informed to vigorously debate. This week, the Golden Globe Award nominees were announced. The Golden Globes are my absolute favorite award show. Why? Book awards aren't televised, and the Golden Globes highlight the best in television and movies. On a personal note, thank you Hollywood Foreign Press, for announcing your nominees at the end of the semester so I can indulge in copious movie watching over the semester break.

I had only seen three of the nominated films: Julie and Julia, Precious and Invictus. Nomadreaderboy and I have been watching the films already on dvd this week. For your viewing pleasure, some mini movie reviews.


Coraline is nominated for best animated movie. I haven't read the book by Neil Gaiman, but I was excited to see the film. Visually, it's absolutely majestic. The storyline is not quite as exciting as the art on screen, but it is a movie meant for children. Overall, I enjoyed it. The storyline dragged a few times for me, but honestly, I could have watched it on mute and enjoyed the movie. 4 stars (out of 5 stars)




Up is also nominated for best animated movie. Clearly, I am behind on animation, as I found this movie to be absolutely visually stunning. It too, was magical. I loved it as an adult, and I can only imagine how much more fun it would be to watch it as a child. I won't say much about the story because you either probably already know or don't want to know. I knew nothing about the story going in, and I loved being surprised. 4.5 stars (out of 5 stars).





Julia Roberts is nominated for Best Actress in a comedy for Duplicity. Duplicity is the latest movie written and directed by Tony Gilroy (I loved Michael Clayton). I will tell you only the barest of details because if ever there is a movie you should nothing about it is this one: Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are spies. This film is a sexy, suspenseful, funny and smart spy caper. I loved it throughout, and I loved it even more when it finished. Julia Roberts was good, but I'm surprised it wasn't nominated for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) too. Go watch it now. 5 stars (out of 5 stars)



For some reason, Sandra Bullock was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for The Proposal. The Proposal is an average romantic comedy. Perhaps there is more comedy than romance, but none of the comedy is particularly original or smart. No new ground is broken. If you like romantic comedies, you will probably like it; if you don't, you probably won't. The movie could serve as a commercial for Alaskan tourism (or wherever they actually filmed the Alaska scenes.) The geography was breathtaking, and there were a lot of talented actors with very little to do. 2.5 stars (out of 5 stars)


As an Amazon Associate, I will receive a small commission if you purchase any of these dvds from Amazon.com. Thank you!

Comments

  1. Nicole (Linus's Blanket)December 19, 2009 at 8:15 AM

    I loved Duplicity. I though it was so funny and clever. I still think about it and the ending.

    I loved the proposal too. It was unoriginal and all the things that you mentioned but I had some good laughs in spite of all of that. Plus, I think I am just partial to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds is easy on the eyes- so I had no complaints.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmusedDecember 19, 2009 at 3:10 PM

    I've seen Duplicity and the Proposal and agree with you on both of your reviews!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christy (A Good Stopping Point)December 19, 2009 at 3:40 PM

    Duplicity was great. I had no expectations going in, so that was a pleasant surprise. The humor is rather understated but quite effective, such as the scene where the two fellow industrial spies gleefully recount their favorite parts of a taped conversation between Clive Owen and Julia Roberts' characters.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marie CloutierDecember 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM

    I don't think I've seen any of these movies. My mother in law had an extra part in The Proposal so I'm supposed to go see it but haven't yet! :-)

    ReplyDelete

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