guingel Reviews

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Somewhat infuriating

[7/10 · 24 June 2006]

While both Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are very good in this movie, I found it really annoying and difficult to watch. I'd heard so many things about the movie that I was really looking forward to it, but I was sadly disappointed. It was a screwball comedy, but more screwball than comedy. I only laughed once or twice.

Basically, I just don't have the right sense of humor for it. So I don't want to make anyone not watch it who doesn't share my sense of humor, because I'm sure most would enjoy it. However, if you do not like humor that is based on bad things happening to people, you probably won't enjoy this movie. And if you don't like humor and plots that are based on poor communication, especially people refusing to listen to each other, this is definitely not the movie for you. I happen to find the former upsetting and the latter infuriating, so I did not like Bringing Up Baby!

Beware--it is not for everyone!

A Chef in Love (1996)

Beautiful movie

[8/10 · 3 May 2006]

This is one of the most visually appealing movies I have ever seen. I love the style. It's very rich, with lots of rich colors and elegant scenarios and beautiful foods, but at the same time sort of spare, due to the severe landscapes and settings. Makes for a beautiful contrast. The actors also add to the visual appeal, they fit the look of the movie very well, have the same sort of unusual aestheticism.

The story is also an engrossing one, with a fulfilling and fascinating love story. Personally, I'm not that fond of the parts where the film gets figurative or symbolic, I just have a hard time getting meaning out of it--but it isn't too ambiguous, and the style of the film certainly makes it well worth a little confusion.

It's also very interesting to get to see Georgia, which provides an interesting perspective on some of the political events shown in the film. It's an unusual setting, very cool.

I just love to look at this movie. It's really beautiful. And the food always looks amazing. Overall, charming.

Hellboy (2004)

Fantastic movie that I'd recommend without reservation to the strong of stomach!

[10/10 · 3 April 2004]

I thought that this movie was absolutely brilliant. It was also supremely enjoyable. The whole thing was very exciting, as well as amusing and just entertaining. Any fan of the action genre should love this movie, as well as people who just want a good time at the movies. The only people who I would say should avoid this movie are the very faint of heart, as there were a couple parts that I found to be too much for me. However, it is a testament to the film that I plan to go and see it again and again, even though there are parts that have been giving me the heebie-jeebies (and I'll admit that I'm a bit of a wimp about some things).

I'm a huge fan of the comic, and normally in an adaptation like this, any deviation from canon drives me completely wild. But when I saw the movie, absolutely nothing bothered me at all, because it all worked so well for the movie. Everything was just exceptionally well done. It was faithful to the original without sacrificing the movie at all.

All the acting and the characters were also wonderful. While I missed tough-guy Abe from the comics, psychic Abe was loveable as well, and worked perfectly as a foil to Hellboy. Ron Perlman was unbelievable as Hellboy. It quite literally is hard for me to believe that someone could get so close to the character!

I loved the dialogue and the plot and the emotional aspects of the film as well. One-liners tend to crack me up, and these had enough of HB's dry matter of fact- ness to stop from being the extremely corny lines that you often find, that are out of place and make me wince. I guess Hellboy's personality is well adapted to one-liners.

The movie was a lot of fun to watch, and an excellent realization of the story.