keithlovesmovies
Joined Jun 2012
Badges4
To learn how to earn badges, go to the badges help page.
Ratings81
keithlovesmovies's rating
Reviews81
keithlovesmovies's rating
When their parents Buck and Deana Ellis (James Brolin and Diane Wiest) place the family home on the market, siblings Maura (Amy Poehler) and Kate (Tina Fey) learn that they have one weekend to clean out the junk from their old bedroom. Unhappy with the news, the recently divorced Maura and her hotheaded sister Kate make plans to throw one final bash to recapture their glory days with their former classmates. As the raging party begins to spiral out of control, the girls soon realize that there may not be a house left to sell once the dust settles.
This film definitely had a lot of promise considering the stars at the helm, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They've had a lot comedic success individually and this the second time they've done a movie together (the first being a film called Baby Mama which I haven't seen). The story for this one is a little predictable considering the film's title but the film is about two sisters Maura and Kate (Poehler and Fey) who must come to terms with where they are in their lives during a weekend where they must clear their childhood bedroom so her parents can sell their house. They decide to throw a party in order to try to reclaim their glory days. So the underlying story is something you've probably seen before many times but you easily forget that here. The reason for that is the chemistry between Poehler and Fey. Poehler and Fey who are friends in real life (as far as I can see) and it shows here as it looks like they're having fun here. They get to play characters that were not used to seeing (I would have initially guessed the opposite). It was initially weird to see them in those positions but I got used to it. Poehler here is the "straight man" Maura to Fey's more crazy sister Kate but to try to subvert the initial predictability, it does not quite stay that way which was also predictable but I still liked. The whole family stuff, wasn't as great and came off as a little cliché but Brolin and Weist at least made it bearable. This film is, after all, a comedy and it did have its moments. The film had some jokes, most of them worked and some of them did not work. The jokes that I found did not work as much were when the film tried to be raunchy and crude. These jokes followed along these lines and I did not find them as funny because it just seemed weird to me coming from Poehler and Fey. The party scenes near the end are all about regaining past glory and featured mostly middle-aged people being crazy which worked for the most part except for an overused gag of a character named Alex (Bobby Moynihan). The film also tried to introduce a love interest to Poehler's Maura in the form of a man named James (Ike Barinholtz) which I guess gave Maura something to do but these scenes did not work for me since I didn't think they had any chemistry. I also enjoyed the addition of SNL cast members woven into the plot in supporting roles such as: Maya Rudolph, Moynihan, Rachel Dratch, Kate McKinnon, and Chris Parnell who each added to the film. Overall, this was a good comedy which was elevated by the actors involved.
Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com
This film definitely had a lot of promise considering the stars at the helm, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They've had a lot comedic success individually and this the second time they've done a movie together (the first being a film called Baby Mama which I haven't seen). The story for this one is a little predictable considering the film's title but the film is about two sisters Maura and Kate (Poehler and Fey) who must come to terms with where they are in their lives during a weekend where they must clear their childhood bedroom so her parents can sell their house. They decide to throw a party in order to try to reclaim their glory days. So the underlying story is something you've probably seen before many times but you easily forget that here. The reason for that is the chemistry between Poehler and Fey. Poehler and Fey who are friends in real life (as far as I can see) and it shows here as it looks like they're having fun here. They get to play characters that were not used to seeing (I would have initially guessed the opposite). It was initially weird to see them in those positions but I got used to it. Poehler here is the "straight man" Maura to Fey's more crazy sister Kate but to try to subvert the initial predictability, it does not quite stay that way which was also predictable but I still liked. The whole family stuff, wasn't as great and came off as a little cliché but Brolin and Weist at least made it bearable. This film is, after all, a comedy and it did have its moments. The film had some jokes, most of them worked and some of them did not work. The jokes that I found did not work as much were when the film tried to be raunchy and crude. These jokes followed along these lines and I did not find them as funny because it just seemed weird to me coming from Poehler and Fey. The party scenes near the end are all about regaining past glory and featured mostly middle-aged people being crazy which worked for the most part except for an overused gag of a character named Alex (Bobby Moynihan). The film also tried to introduce a love interest to Poehler's Maura in the form of a man named James (Ike Barinholtz) which I guess gave Maura something to do but these scenes did not work for me since I didn't think they had any chemistry. I also enjoyed the addition of SNL cast members woven into the plot in supporting roles such as: Maya Rudolph, Moynihan, Rachel Dratch, Kate McKinnon, and Chris Parnell who each added to the film. Overall, this was a good comedy which was elevated by the actors involved.
Score: 7.5/10 keithlovesmovies.com
After arriving safely home from their unprecedented victory in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) discover that they must do a quick turnaround and begin a Victors Tour. As she and Peeta travel throughout the districts, Katniss senses a rebellion is stirring. However, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) proves that he is still very much in control when word comes of a cruel change in the rules for the upcoming 75th Hunger Games.
So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in the second film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.
So this is the next one. Katniss and Peeta are now champions of the 74th Hunger Games and now they get to flaunt this around in a tour across all the other Districts. President Snow (Sutherland), however, is sensing a rebellion developing amongst the districts so he tasks them to try to ease the unrest or risk the death of each of their families. Once they fail, Snow devises a plan to put each of them back in the following year's version of the Hunger Games by altering eligibility rules by making former champions of each District the only ones who can compete (this is how they keep Katniss and Peeta involved, I guess). The familiar cast of supporting characters are back for this one, President Snow, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' mother (Paula Malcomson), Katniss' sister (Willow Shields), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). They are all joined by two new additions, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman). I though the returning cast, as in the first film, were good here and the new additions were good as well, especially Claflin who had some good lines and some real scene presence. The stars, Lawrence and Hutcherson, were better here than the previous film because of more experience with the roles. I appreciated the fact that we got to spend more time with Katniss and Peeta during their own lives as the idea behind the whole "Hunger Games" thing just seemed and still seems silly to me. There was still a Hunger Games here but it was secondary to the District civil unrest storyline. The first film had some of this but this was expanded much more here. I was always much more interested in this storyline than the other. I also liked the suspenseful aspects revolving around this as found myself pleasantly entertained. Of course not all of my suspicions were answered (especially by the ending) but I didn't mind because there are two more films left. The actual Hunger Games themselves were better than the previous film because it was more exciting as there was more action, more special effects in the this one's landscape and the monsters which they had to face, and there was more camaraderie amongst the participants. Overall, this is definitely an improvement over the previous film as it started to stray away from its original story and heads towards what is hopefully a satisfying conclusion.
Score: 8/10 keithlovesmovies.com
So I didn't see any of the movies or read any of the books but I am still aware of the series and all of its three (and almost four) films so far. I think I must have been the only one who hasn't yet. It's human nature for things in the second film to not seem as climactic when you've previously known things about films past and future. This review will be based on this.
So this is the next one. Katniss and Peeta are now champions of the 74th Hunger Games and now they get to flaunt this around in a tour across all the other Districts. President Snow (Sutherland), however, is sensing a rebellion developing amongst the districts so he tasks them to try to ease the unrest or risk the death of each of their families. Once they fail, Snow devises a plan to put each of them back in the following year's version of the Hunger Games by altering eligibility rules by making former champions of each District the only ones who can compete (this is how they keep Katniss and Peeta involved, I guess). The familiar cast of supporting characters are back for this one, President Snow, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' mother (Paula Malcomson), Katniss' sister (Willow Shields), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). They are all joined by two new additions, Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman). I though the returning cast, as in the first film, were good here and the new additions were good as well, especially Claflin who had some good lines and some real scene presence. The stars, Lawrence and Hutcherson, were better here than the previous film because of more experience with the roles. I appreciated the fact that we got to spend more time with Katniss and Peeta during their own lives as the idea behind the whole "Hunger Games" thing just seemed and still seems silly to me. There was still a Hunger Games here but it was secondary to the District civil unrest storyline. The first film had some of this but this was expanded much more here. I was always much more interested in this storyline than the other. I also liked the suspenseful aspects revolving around this as found myself pleasantly entertained. Of course not all of my suspicions were answered (especially by the ending) but I didn't mind because there are two more films left. The actual Hunger Games themselves were better than the previous film because it was more exciting as there was more action, more special effects in the this one's landscape and the monsters which they had to face, and there was more camaraderie amongst the participants. Overall, this is definitely an improvement over the previous film as it started to stray away from its original story and heads towards what is hopefully a satisfying conclusion.
Score: 8/10 keithlovesmovies.com
Held captive for years in an enclosed space, Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) finally gain their freedom from a man known only as Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time alongside Joy's mother and father (Joan Allen, William H. Macy) and her mother's friend Doug (Matt Gordon).
So this is a big one. I was interested in this ever since I saw a trailer a few months ago. I thought it looked good enough but I never thought it was going to be this good. So the film, based on the novel of the same name, is about a mother and son, Joy and Jack, forced to live in what amounts to a single room. This room consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Joy has been living in it for over seven years and the room, or "Room" as Jack calls it is all he has ever known since he is yet to experience the outside world. Room is what is normal to him and how he sees the world has been influenced by it. The world to him is only what is inside of the room and nothing more. Once he and Joy finally escape the room, they (mostly Jack) must readjust to their new lives outside the room. Jack must reshape his view of the world and also must relearn what is real and what isn't. The story may not seem as much but it really is a story of fear, hopelessness and hope and most importantly a film about redemption and family bond. The film definitely pulls you through the range of emotions: sadness, happiness, anger, nervousness, etc (I will admit to almost crying at a few moments). I will not give anything away here in order to not spoil these moments. The story which was told mostly from Jack's perspective, follows Jack's evolution and his changing view of the world. He uses his five-year-old imagination to make the best of out where he is and what he knows. There were plenty of moments in the film where Jack goes on some "imagination tangents" where he would come up with his own stories and they were infectious. You can tell that these were happening from the child-like music and the change in the camera. Besides all of that, the film is about the relationship between Joy and Jack and later with them and Joy's (nameless) mother. What sold me with all of this was the amazing acting from Larson and Tremblay (and to a lesser extent Allen). I thought they had great chemistry with one another and it showed (mostly in the beginning when it was just them in a room). The cinematography here was amazing here as it helped bring to life Jack's imagination which mostly served to advance the plot. What also helps by telling the story from the kid's perspective, it lightens up the rather dark subject matter in the film (and it is very dark). I was not a big fan of the ending but I can't give it the benefit of the doubt by not having read the film's source material. Overall, this is a great film driven by a great story and great acting and should not be missed as it surely likely to earn some awards.
Score: 9/10 keithlovesmovies.com
So this is a big one. I was interested in this ever since I saw a trailer a few months ago. I thought it looked good enough but I never thought it was going to be this good. So the film, based on the novel of the same name, is about a mother and son, Joy and Jack, forced to live in what amounts to a single room. This room consists of a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Joy has been living in it for over seven years and the room, or "Room" as Jack calls it is all he has ever known since he is yet to experience the outside world. Room is what is normal to him and how he sees the world has been influenced by it. The world to him is only what is inside of the room and nothing more. Once he and Joy finally escape the room, they (mostly Jack) must readjust to their new lives outside the room. Jack must reshape his view of the world and also must relearn what is real and what isn't. The story may not seem as much but it really is a story of fear, hopelessness and hope and most importantly a film about redemption and family bond. The film definitely pulls you through the range of emotions: sadness, happiness, anger, nervousness, etc (I will admit to almost crying at a few moments). I will not give anything away here in order to not spoil these moments. The story which was told mostly from Jack's perspective, follows Jack's evolution and his changing view of the world. He uses his five-year-old imagination to make the best of out where he is and what he knows. There were plenty of moments in the film where Jack goes on some "imagination tangents" where he would come up with his own stories and they were infectious. You can tell that these were happening from the child-like music and the change in the camera. Besides all of that, the film is about the relationship between Joy and Jack and later with them and Joy's (nameless) mother. What sold me with all of this was the amazing acting from Larson and Tremblay (and to a lesser extent Allen). I thought they had great chemistry with one another and it showed (mostly in the beginning when it was just them in a room). The cinematography here was amazing here as it helped bring to life Jack's imagination which mostly served to advance the plot. What also helps by telling the story from the kid's perspective, it lightens up the rather dark subject matter in the film (and it is very dark). I was not a big fan of the ending but I can't give it the benefit of the doubt by not having read the film's source material. Overall, this is a great film driven by a great story and great acting and should not be missed as it surely likely to earn some awards.
Score: 9/10 keithlovesmovies.com
Insights
keithlovesmovies's rating
Recently taken polls
4 total polls taken
