Starring: John Candy; Dan Aykroyd; Annette Bening; Stephanie Faracy
Director: Howard Deutch
Ebert's Review- DNR (Did Not Review)
Leo's Review- 2 ½ Stars
I was not able to find an actual written review by Roger Ebert for "The Great Outdoors", but I was able to find a video of Siskel & Ebert giving their thoughts about it on their show "At The Movies". Both of them hated this movie-Thumbs down. Written by the late John Hughes, "The Great Outdoors" is a buddy comedy about Chet Ripley (Candy) as the family man and Roman Craig (Aykroyd) as his wall-street business brother-in-law; on a vacation with their families.While camping in the woods crazy things happen like Candy out of control on water ski's and bears climbing on cars. For me this movie was on the up side of the 2 ½ Stars. Candy has always made me laugh. The man was just a great comedic actor. I feel the movie is about him and shows his ability to charm an audience. He has many fun moments; Telling a scary story about a bald bear or my favorite- when he eats a large steak to get a free meal! Aykroyd plays a good slimey brother-in-law who is not meant for the outdoors but more meant for his 20th floor office. It is not a great movie by any means, in fact it had potential to make me laugh more but falls short. Not to mention a really stupid side story about the oldest Ripley son falling in love for some girl he meets on vacation. It is not "Uncle Buck" and it is not "Blues Brothers", but it is a fun movie to watch. I did laugh very hard at the ending, which I will not spoil!
Starring: Jodie Foster; Mel Gibson; Anton Yelchin; Jennifer Lawrence
Director: Jodie Foster
Ebert's Review- 2 ½ Stars
Leo's Review- 2 ½ Stars
If I was going to write a movie about a husband who has become depressed and reached the end of his rope to the point where he talks through a beaver puppet to get better- I would cast Mel Gibson. "The Beaver" was a controversial movie before it opened in theatres (it was delayed it's opening date because Mel Gibson was in the news for being convicted of assaulting his ex girlfriend, recorded phone conversations, drunken tirades leaked on Larry King, etc. etc. etc.). We all know that Gibson has many life problems post his "Braveheart" days. Surprisingly though this movie is not bad. There are some awkward scenes with Gibson and the puppet (not sure if any woman would let their husband bring a hand puppet to bed) and Jennifer Lawrence's character gives a graduation speech in the end that is as depressing as a funeral. Mel Gibson plays Walter, a father of 2 boys, husband, and head of a toy company. He is a very depressed man and has reached a point where alcohol and suicide are his only options left. In order for him to start over-after finding a puppet beaver- Walter starts using the beaver as his alter-ego. Jodie Foster pulls double duty by directing the film and plays Gibson's wife, Meredith. She was impressive to me as a mother struggling to keep her messed up husband together while trying to care for a troubled teenage boy and a young son. Anton Yelchin plays the oldest son Porter trying his best to not be like his father. "The Beaver" is a two and a half star movie that leans toward 3 stars. Gibson is good at playing depressed and uses a Cockney accent for the beaver which is at times funny. It is not a great movie but I would say "see it" just so you can talk with others about it.
Starring: Ivana Baquero; Sergi Lopez; Maribel Verdu; Doug Jones; Ariadna Gil
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Ebert's Review- 4 Stars
Leo's Review- 4 Stars
Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" is what I would call "A masterpiece"! It combines imagination with real life tragedy. War with fantasy. It is not a children's story, but our heroine Ofelia, is a little girl who loves fairy tales. She is forced into a world with pain. The time is 1944 WW2 Spain. Ofelia and her mother go to stay at an old mill that is a Spanish headquarters with her new husband, the evil Captain Vidal. Ofelia's father has passed away and now her mother is carrying the Captain's son. Saying that Captain Vidal is evil is an understatement. He is an angry man who abuses his power. The only reason he shows care for Ofelia's mother is because of the baby. On the way to the cottage Ofelia sees what looks like a flying praying mantis or what she views as a fairy. Soon after, the insect is in her room and with the shake of its body it turns into a fairy. We are then following Ofelia through the Labyrinth and meeting some very magical characters like "The Faun", a key spewing "frog", and the very scary "Pale man". The Pale man is a figure with eyes in his hands and loose hanging skin. He may give you nightmares. It is the best scene. To indulge more would tell too much. This is a movie that Ebert called "one of the greatest of all fantasy films, even though it is anchored so firmly in the reality of war." He is so right!
Starring: Brad Pitt; Cate Blanchett
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Ebert's Review- 4 Stars
Leo's Review- 4 Stars
In Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Babel" you get a film that turns up the intensity on life. It is a 4 star movie all the way! It is a film about 4 different stories and how they are all connected.The movie portrays a message of "bad things can happen to good people". Sometimes, we do bad things on purpose to hurt others, and sometimes we make mistakes that had no intention of harming or hurting anyone. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett play Richard and Susan Jones, a couple with 2 children on vacation in Morocco. They are in Morocco to get away from the stress at home that came from Susan having a miscarriage some time before. We then meet two children from Morocco whose father has recently acquired a rifle to kill any jackals that could harm their goats. It is needless to say that the boys become careless with the gun and some mistakes are made. Then there is also the tale of the Mexican nanny that is watching Richard and Susan's children in San Diego while on vacation. The nanny is put in a tough situation since she cannot find anyone to watch the children for her while her sons wedding is taking place in Mexico. She is then forced to bring them along. And lastly, there is the Chieko, the teenage Japanese girl who is both deaf and mute. She is connected to these people through her father and we see how her language and speech barriers affect her life. It is the 3rd style of film from Inarritu that is based on characters that are connected without really knowing it-"21 Grams"(2003) and "Perros" (2000) are the other 2. "Babel" is an excellent film! It is one of the best I have seen in months!
Starring: Mark Wahlberg; Tim Roth; Helena Bonham Carter; Michael Clarke Duncan; Paul Giamatti
Director: Tim Burton
Ebert's Review- 2 ½ Stars
Leo's Review- 2 Stars
My review on this movie is basically just 2 Stars for makeup. I can tell you that the best thing about this movie is that the apes look pretty cool. Especially since actors such as Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, and Michael Clarke Duncan are the actors playing the apes. They look real, strong and play the role of primate with reality. Other than this, Tim Burton failed to make this movie the cool sci-fi film it could have been. Mark Wahlberg plays Captain Leo Davidson, an astronaut in the year 2029 who goes after an ape that his crew was training and testing to fly its space cruisers. When the ape and his ship mysteriously disappear Davidson goes after him. On his way to save the other ship he hits a wormhole that takes him into another dimension (or time). He lands on a different planet and survives what should be a dangerous crash(no eject button on that ship?); he instantly finds out that the planet is being controlled by apes and humans are being hunted for capture. Wahlberg's character is boring and seems to be unfazed by the fact Apes can talk and ride horses. His only main objective for himself is to get back to his ship and off the planet. Along the way he meets Ari the sympathetic Chimpanzee (played by Bonham Carter) who leads them on a journey to find a ship signal so Wahlberg can get away. Paul Giamatti is the comic-relief as Limbo, the ape who tries to sell humans for the "right price". He has funny moments but does not bring much else. Tim Roth as the evil Thade, is very angry and plays the villian well. Other than this...not much else. As I said, the makeup is what is best about this movie. It does look cool and Burton knows how to put together a set. The plot overall just confused me and did not have anything to it other than a twist in the end that seemed to confuse me more. I can only assume that the original is much better.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: Would you rent or watch the movie "The Beaver"? Or has Mel Gibson ruined his entire career so much that you would never support or watch his movies again? Can he ever get back the status he was at winning Best Picture for "Braveheart"?
