Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 24

Holiday weekends, and vacation weeks, provide excellent opportunities for movies to be seen. One of the surprise hits (surprising to me, not to Leah) was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which has four starring actresses who have had, or still have, TV series of their own. [Amber Tamblyn was Joan of Arcadia, Alexis Bledel was the daughter, Rory, in Gilmore Girls, America Ferrera is Ugly Betty (and not at all ugly), and Blake Lively is in Gossip Girl] You'd have to hate emotional dramas to dislike this movie.

Of course, when I saw it, a tear-jerker was quite cathartic. But it really was still very good.

Tomorrow Never Dies	61	Choosing a media mogul as a megalomaniacal mastermind makes sense. We have Rupert Murdoch, after all. This perhaps was the most believable technological threat in the pre-Daniel Craig Bond movies. It’s fun, Bond is Bond. Not particularly memorable , but good for diversion.
Great Escape (The)	83	It’s amazing I hadn’t seen this before, but I sure am glad it was on PBS when I had time to watch it. Some of the third act was surprising, but then I learned it was based on a true story, and that made the whole thing even better. I really liked a young Richard Attenborough.
World Is Not Enough (The)	53	I think this is the weakest of the Brosnan Bond films. Confusing story. Sophie Marceau is a worthy Bond girl, but Denise Richards distracted with a meager performance. At least “M” got involved, but it didn’t really matter.
Waitress	72	There are some truths, some lives, some realities, that can be best described through drama. This film was brimming with them. Through the pies invented, baked and served by Russell’s character, we got a view of the desperation, sadness, and trampled hopes that filled her life. Through the people who loved her, we saw her value and tried with them to figure out she might get the life she deserved. Good writing, good performances, good movie
Love in the Time of Cholera	39	I suspect this was a good adaptation of a story other people would like quite a bit – it was an Oprah Book Club book, after all. Unfortunately, the story was not very interesting and the kind of consuming love represented in the hero looked more like obsession and craziness to me. I imagine it’s recommendable to some class of viewer – I just don’t know who.
Happening (The)	52	Worth seeing once; M. Night Shyamalan knows how to film suspense. But the story hinged on a sci-fi concept that could have been told much more effectively. “We’ll never really know” can be spooky, but here, it wasn’t.
Noise	58	What if something that happens every day drove you to distraction? That’s the problem Tim Robbins’ character has with noise. Car alarms in particular. Not good if one lives in New York City. How he doesn’t deal with it, and then tries to deal with it, make for an interesting story. It’s not for everyone – it’s rated R for a reason – but it’s well told.
Wall E	81	Wonderfully surprising story. Disney takes the “Last Man on Earth” story from science fiction and produces a fun, beautiful film which builds in interest and drama. Not just for kids, but certainly appropriate for everyone.
Producers (The)	70	Quite funny, with songs to make you laugh, and performances that are just right. At times Broderick sounded just like Gene Wilder, but for the most part, he was his own Leo Bloom. Uma was a knockout!
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (The)	87	Excellent! Touching. Real; coming of age in the 21st century, and the power of friendship. Each of the young actresses demonstrated range; made me believe and made me care. The stories fit together without being TV-drama parallels. Easily one of the best movies I’ve seen recently. Worth owning.