Humorously, many of you have sent me emails asking my views on the most recent movies - I am beyond flattered! Since summer travels have lightened up somewhat I have been able to enjoy a few flicks...so here are my official reviews! : )
BATMAN BEGINS: A-
Really enjoyed the information leading up to the evolution of our caped crusader - I thought Christian Bale made a fabulous Batman. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman provided a wonderful supporting cast and Gary Oldman was so good I didn't even realize it was Gary Oldman! My only complaint were the fuzzy fight scenes - it was difficult to follow who was winning and who was losing which I found quite frustrating. It's as though every fight scene had smoke, fire, fog, you name it covering up the actual action! It was almost as though they couldn't afford a fight choreographer but they could afford more smoke! Other than that I found it to be an enjoyable movie definitely worth seeing.
The War of the Worlds: A-
I remember watching the original War of the Worlds (reruns of course) with my Dad and being truly frightened...it was quite a scary movie for it's time. This remake didn't exactly follow the script of the original but kept my attention never-the-less. These aliens were much more violent than the ones I remember from the original, definitely not a movie to take children to (I certainly jumped a few times). Tom Cruise did his usual excellent job portraying the action hero and Dakota Fanning did a marvelous impression of Faye Raye. The Aliens did a fine job as well! Although I must admit it's a little hard to believe those aliens had been buried all those years and no one ran into them accidentally while building a condo, drilling for oil or something along those lines!
Dark Water: C+
Those of you who know me know that I am quite the scary movie fan - so I was eagerly anticipating the release of Dark Water. Perhaps I set my expectation level too high - but I was definitely disappointed. There were very few surprises awaiting us here although Jennifer Connelly did a great job with the script she had. I heard the original Japanese version was quite good, and was looking for a movie at the same par as The Ring. Not even close! Great actors - bad script.
Must Love Dogs: B-
If you're looking for a low stress date movie with a few easy laughs, then this is the one for you. I must admit it was really tipping the "chick-flick" meter but my date admitted he enjoyed it as well so it didn't completely tip the scale over. I'm a fan of Diane Lane and enjoyed her performance. John Cusack was great as usual...once again it's the script and direction that's to blame here. i definitely felt this was a movie more suited for TV, with the exception of the star power. The plot was quite contrived and no one is really shocked at the ending...although it's hard to believe that after only one official date these two could be so madly in love without each other - and miserable without each other...(am I just being too realistic here?).
So there are the official Lynn Allen reviews - (per your request)...Don't worry - I won't quit my day job!