Movie Micro-Reviews: Edition 84

Stardust	76	A light fantasy that had plenty of interesting ideas mixed in with the comfortable fairy-tale frame.  De Niro was quite good, but I enjoyed Claire Danes even more.
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring	100	What can I say.  The mood is perfect.  The story hangs together.  The characterizations are charming and thrilling.  The effects enhance and draw you in, rather than amaze or distract.  Fantastic. [We wanted an “old favorite” on as we spent our last night on Spring Break.]
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	98	The Ents are not silly!  The orcs are mean.  The slightly lower rating is for confusion they could have worked a bit harder to clear up.  But still near perfection! [We couldn’t get all three watched on our final night of Spring Break for the three of us, but Leah hadn’t seen the super-extended Blu-Ray versions.  So we saw two of them.]
Jesus Christ Superstar	91	What can I say.  Excellent music.  Great setting.  I always want to see it during Lent, and it never disappoints.
Pirates of the Caribbean	94	Set the bar for adaptations of concepts into story.  Casting Depp was critical to the success, and he created a character which will live forever.
V for Vendetta	93	Such atmosphere!  Such a message!  And “V” is one of the most memorable characters ever. This film gets better each time I see it.  So many lessons about the price of freedom, and the power of fear.
Hunger Games	71	Considering the subject matter – children killing children – it was remarkable how accessible this was.  I am willing to give dystopia stories some latitude, and Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Katniss Everdeen helped.  She’s a good young actress.
Social Network	78	They completely convinced me that Mark Zuckerberg is a jerk.  And showed how a big thing can come about in today’s internet.
Star Trek	90	A thrill-ride.  By the time we were 30 minutes in, I was already convinced I want to see more of this cast in these characters.  Yes, it’s a re-visioning of the characters.  But it fits.  It’s great fun! [And it might be the movie that pushes me to buy Blu-Ray.  It just might!]