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Reviews
The Giver (2014)
Big Name Celebrities Give Little In Colorless Adaptation Of Lois Lowry's Award-Winning Novel
"The Giver" is loaded with big name celebrities and while Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift may be famous in the entertainment industry, they aren't exactly known for their acting abilities. Meryl Streep may draw die-hard fans to "The Giver," but they will be disappointed with Streep's performance and unavoidably distracted by her awful haircut in the movie. Based on Lois Lowry's award-winning novel, "The Giver" proves that A-list names won't deliver A-list performances in a film.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of "The Giver" is the sexualization of 17-year-old Odeya Rush, who plays Jonas' love interest, Fiona. This young girl is portrayed with pouty lips and bedroom eyes, like a younger, less quirky, version of Mila Kunis, and it felt downright inappropriate.
Read the rest of my review here: http://tinyurl.com/pk93e7s
The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)
Mouths Will Water And Hearts Will Melt In This Indian-French Fusion Of Food And Family
"Food is memories," Mumbai-born Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) says, while explaining to the beautiful French chef Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) that his favorite dish is one cooked by his late mother. Though the "Hundred-Foot Journey" plot of East-meets-West feels familiar, the surprising meld of scenes featuring exhilarating Indian dishes and classic French cuisine weaves together a story of two worlds colliding.
The nationalistic French are not very welcoming to immigrants and it seems this was even truer in the past. Fleeing the violence of Mumbai after a tragic loss to the family, Hassan the cook, his father (Om Puri), and four siblings head to Europe in search of a new home and potentially a place to rebuild a restaurant in the ashes of their Mumbai establishment. After driving through the hills of Europe, an accident forces them to spend a night in a quaint French village, where the townspeople are unfamiliar with people who don't look like them.
Read the rest of my review here: http://tinyurl.com/pcy8vtw
The Dog (2013)
A Gay Love Story About A Self-Obsessed Pervert Who Hates Al Pacino
Some people will do anything to get attention. John Wojtowicz - whose "dramatic love story" inspired "Dog Day Afternoon" starring Al Pacino - blurs the line between a man who would do anything for love and a man who would do anything for a great story to impress people with.
"The Dog" documents the love life of the late John Wojtowicz (March 9, 1945 - January 2, 2006), a man who is not afraid to say what he thinks - and what he feels. He describes his first gay experience in great detail (while he was a self-proclaimed Republican in the army), and has no shame in revealing his deep sexual hunger - for men, for women, for trans people. It made little difference.
Read my full review here: http://tinyurl.com/orrbgdk
Land Ho! (2014)
Two Old Men Fart, Bicker, And Smoke Their Way Through Iceland, Reminds Audience That The Elderly Are Boring But Sometimes Charming
I've always been suspicious of titles that end in an exclamation point ever since reading "O Pioneers!" in my high school English class. What makes a "!" necessary in a title? Is it to express excitement or a sense of urgency of what I'm about to experience? Or is it Sony Pictures Classic yelling the title of the film "Land Ho!" at me? The film's name could easily ditch the punctuation, as it was neither exciting nor titillating enough to deserve it.
"Land Ho!" is a story written and directed by Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens, telling the story of two old men; Earl Lynn Nelson plays a gruff Southerner named Mitch, while Paul Eenhoorn portrays Colin, a timid Aussie. The 60-something ex-brothers-in-law set off on a road trip through Iceland in an attempt to lift their spirits after failed marriages and tragic romances.
Read my full review here: http://tinyurl.com/k8gxjcv
Godzilla (2014)
Girls, You Can Enjoy 'Gozilla' Too - Here's Why
"Godzilla" 2014 may not be your top-choice movie to see this spring if you're into rom-coms or chick flicks. But trust me, girls - "Godzilla" 2014 is awesome. Go see it with your boyfriend/brother/nerdy uncle and you won't regret it. Here's why "Godzilla" 2014 is girl-friendly - even for girls who'd prefer to see Ryan Gosling make out with a buxom blonde than a dinosaur stomping around San Francisco.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is hot: Where did those muscles come from, Andy? We're guessing somewhere between prepping for his role in "Godzilla" as a soldier and getting ready to play superhero Quicksilver in the upcoming "Avengers" movie, Aaron Taylor-Johnson grew some guns. While his facial expressions (or lack thereof) and voice are nothing to fawn over, I was too busy staring at his pecs to care. And I'm sure you won't be able to ignore them either, ladies...
Read my full review here: http://tinyurl.com/m9m5z7n