By: CARMEN GAEBE
Staff Writer
- When Harry Met Sally
Synopsis: When Harry Met Sally is a romantic comedy made in 1989 it stars Sally and Harry who meet while going on a car ride from their college in Chicago to New York played by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal the story follows them meeting back up accidentally every few years and eventually becoming friends until something happens and they question if they can ever be friends again.
My Review: Everyone should watch When Harry Met Sally at least once. It’s the pinnacle of a classic Rom-Com. It has a good amount of adult humor without being too crass and allows the audience to see a big transition as the characters’ relationships transition. There are tons of heartwarming scenes, but not without the typical romantic comedy fights. It also brings up a major question throughout the film “can men and women really be friends” that these two characters explore thoroughly throughout the movie and I think end up answering in a way I found less than satisfactory.
Random Fact: In the first draft of the script, Harry and Sally didn’t end up together.
Number rating: 7/10
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
Synopsis: The Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop motion family comedy directed and co-written by Wes Anderson. The movie follows Mr. Fox (George Cloney) and his family including his wife Mrs. Fox (Meryl Streep), his son Ashton (Jason Schwartzman), and his nephew Kristodderson (Eric Chase Anderson) who visits the family after his father becomes sick. Mr. Fox makes a promise to his wife to stop stealing chickens when they get caught together, but after moving the family to a new tree across from the three most vicious farmers in Great Missenden, he returns to his life of crime for 1 final heist
My Review: The movie had a lot of deep questions for a children movie which I found to be inspiring this movie exemplifies that just because a movie is made for children or families doesn’t mean it has to be a bad movie it has deep meaning and an interesting plot however it does become a bit repetitive around the hour mark but quickly picks back up into an interesting movie with the reintroduction of my favorite character Rat.
Random Fact: Wes Anderson used his suit fabric for Mr. Fox’s suit
Number Rating: 6/10
- Jennifer’s Body
Synopsis: Comedy meets sadistic teen killer in Jennifer’s Body starring Megan Fox. Best Friends Jennifer and Needy Lesnick go to a bar when Jennifer disappears with a strange band and when she returns the next day she has a serious taste for blood after a demon took over and possessed her body. Jennifer then goes on a killing spree of men leaving an unknowing Neddy to wonder what’s going on with her town and her best friend.
My Review: This movie aged pretty well since its release in 2009. Jennifer’s body conveys woman empowerment without all the virtue signaling and being insensitive. Going into this I believed it to be just another softcore, ultra-erotic teen slasher film that is only still known for Megan Fox, but in reality, it’s a surprisingly unique and self-aware movie that had me intrigued by its preposterous plot twists and turns. It was pretty ahead of its time. The cinematography, color palette, and soundtrack really sell this film’s style; it toes the line between parody and teen-horror conformity almost perfectly.
Random Fact: Diablo Cody took the title Jennifer’s Body from a HOLE song
Number Rating: 7/10
- Ladybugs
Synopsis: Ladybugs is a 1992 sports comedy starring the wildly wacky Chester Lee played by Rodney Dangerfield. Chester’s goal is to get a promotion at the company he works for, so he can marry his fiance Bess (Ilene Graff), but his boss Dave Mullen (Tom Parks) won’t give it to him unless he coaches his daughter’s championship soccer team; The Ladybugs. The movie follows Chester who has no idea how to play soccer and his grand idea to make his hopefully new stepson Mathew (Johnathan Brandis) dress up as a girl and play on the team.
My Review: One of many questions I had, when the movie was over, was who was this made for there was an uncomfortable amount of adult humor and some uncomfortable scene between Chester and the girls on the soccer team as well as Mathew that felt as though the director tried to play off as funny and just him being a caring male figure. Also, the concept of a teenage boy dressed up as a girl and then almost going skinny dipping with a group of unknowing girls wasn’t the quirky awkward situation the movie tried to make it out to be and was instead just pretty gross if you think about it. The production quality and acting were meh at best and felt as though it was made for children.
Random Fact: This is the second movie in which Rodney Dangerfield appears in drag. The first was Easy Money.
Number Rating: 3/10
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
Synopsis: In the 1930s, the Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave’s friend and protege. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel’s guests. When one of Gustave’s guests dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder.
My Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel has an amazingly skilled cast that makes the movie not only enthralling to watch but is just awe-inspiring. The Cinematography and Set design alone are enough to make a person never want the movie to end. The dialogue and carefully choreographed scene filled with amazing irony, juxtapose the deeper more surprisingly serious scenes that are normally unexpected from a Wes Anderson movie
Random Fact: It took 5 hours to apply Tilda Swinton’s old lady makeup.
Number Rating: 10/10
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Synopsis: After his partner is eaten by a Jaguar shark Steve Zissou (Bill Murry) and his team set out to find the shark while filming a documentary. Zissou’s long-lost son Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) joins the crew as well as Zissou’s estranged wealthy wife (Anjelica Huston) and a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett) who promise him the front page.
My Review: The movie was really boring. The only thing that saved it was the occasional scene with Jeff Goldblum who was quite hilarious. Of course, it had an amazing set design, great visuals, and the jaguar shark at the end of the movie was beautiful, however, the dialogue and a lot of the scenes except for when the team was kidnaped, I found myself spacing off and checking my phone.
Random Fact: Team Zissou’s sound man, Renzo Pietro, is played by the movie’s actual sound mixer Pawel Mdowczak. In many of his scenes, he’s carrying a live microphone to capture real-time audio from each take.
Number Rating: 4/10
- Bruce Almighty
Synopsis: When Bruce Nolan (Jim Carry) doesn’t get the job he wants and his entire life starts to crumble down, he blames God (Morgan Freeman) for making his life miserable, so then God gives him all of his power and asks him if he can do it better. Bruce accepts and goes on a spree, using his newfound abilities until he realizes the prayers of the world are going unanswered.
My Review: Bruce Almighty to my surprise was a quite religious movie that I should have probably guessed from the name, but I didn’t know anything about it except for it starred Jim Carry. I thought the ending was terrible as I didn’t agree with Grace’s decision to get back together with Bruce and found it insanely hard to root for Bruce at any point during the movie. Through the movie, Bruce made everyone’s lives terrible with powers he didn’t deserve, and then through the power of prayer everything ended up working out for him is not really the message that this movie made it out to be.
Random Fact: Bruce Almighty has been banned in Egypt for impinging on God’s sacredness. It was deemed offensive by the state-run censorship body.
Number Rating: 3/10