Archive
Movie Review: Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Summary:
Susan is about to get married when a meteor hits her, turning her into a giant. The US government quickly brings her to its monster facility, where she meets other monsters. Soon an alien invades Earth, seeking the material in the meteor that made Susan a giant. The monsters must fight the alien, while Susan tries to come to grips with her new life.
Review:
This is an awful movie. Down-right awful. It was so bad that even though it’s only 94 minutes long, I didn’t finish it. None of the jokes worked. The storyline made zero sense. I mean, the meteor landed on top of Susan. She definitely would have been crushed prior to being able to soak up any special substance. The way the monsters are handled completely misses all opportunities for humor. Omg they have super-powers but can’t seem to use them properly. Hilarious. *eye-roll* Then there’s the invading alien. I don’t even know if we were supposed to find him threatening or funny, but he was certainly neither. Dreamworks, how did you manage to go so wrong? Especially with the gift of such a talented voice cast including Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Stephen Colbert. This should have been epically funny, instead of an epic waste of time.
Save yourselves from this disaster, folks. There are plenty of other worthy animated movies out there to spend your time on.
1 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
Movie Review: Penelope (2006)
Summary:
The Wilhern family was cursed by a witch that the first daughter born to the family would look like a pig. It took hundreds of years for a daughter to be born, though, so Penelope’s appearance was quite the surprise to her family, and they reacted by ensconcing her in the house to protect her from paparazzi. Gaining love by someone of the blue bloods is the only way to break the curse, and Penelope’s parents are determined to find it via a matchmaker. Penelope, though, just wants to live and love like regular people.
Review:
I was expecting Penelope to be your average, predictable romantic comedy, probably because that’s how the previews presented it back when it came out. I don’t mind a romcom every once in a while, particularly if I’m having a girl’s night with one of my friends. However, I would not describe Penelope as a romantic comedy. It is a fairy tale in the classic sense of the word. It teaches a lesson, a beautiful one, and manages to completely surprise you at the moment it is unveiled.
The acting is pretty good all around. I had only seen Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to forget her as the mentally unstable Elizabeth. However, all thoughts of that movie quickly left my head, which is a credit to Ricci’s acting ability. Also of note is the fact that there is a little person in the movie, and the fact that he is a little person is of no relevance at all. He’s just a reporter who happens to be little, and I really enjoyed that.
The costumes and sets are stunning. I wanted to live in the Wilhern’s house and own their books. I want a library whose door is camouflaged by bookshelves! I want the dresses Penelope wears. *sigh*
There is a little something that held me back from totally loving the movie, though. I really liked it, but I didn’t love it, and I’m not sure why that is. I think maybe it has something to do with the special effects used for Penelope’s nose. It just didn’t seem all that bad to me. Also, I think there was some miscasting in the two male love interests. Neither of them felt quite right for their roles.
However, it is still an enjoyable movie to watch, and I particularly recommend it for teenage girls or for women who want a chick flick with a good message.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Netflix
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This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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