If you like reality shows, you will find this as another extension of the concept. This movie is about a woman who decides to get off her medication that treats her borderline personality disorder. She wins an $86 million lottery jackpot and purchases time in a flagging infomercial T.V. station so she can air her own show featuring anything and everything about her life and troubles. This is not really a laugh-out-loud comedy; it is more of a portrayal of a mentally unstable person who makes decisions that produce (un)intentional, comic results. Kristen Wiig plays the troubled woman’s role, supported by Joan Cusack, James Marsden, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Wes Bentley. Continue reading
movie reviews
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (a movie review)
That Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is based on a true story is one of the reasons I decided to watch it because I never knew such an event took place. I was curious as to whether the kidnappers were successful. The movie is set in Amsterdam, where five childhood friends conspire to kidnap the local tycoon, who is the heir (played by Anthony Hopkins) to the Heineken beer empire. One of the friends is played by Jim Sturgess, an actor I like and probably the main reason I found myself wanting him and his friends to succeed in getting away with the ransom money. Continue reading
Mortdecai (a movie review)
I didn’t finish this movie because it was mortifyingly dull. I thought Johnny Depp was miscast as Mortdecai, a nearly broke British aristocrat with a budding mustache that repulses his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. The opening scene is Johnny, as Mortdecai, talking to a group of Chinese hoodlums. When Johnny was talking, my immediate thought was the movie was trying to be like the Pink Panther remakes in which Lieutenant Clouseau is played by Steve Martin, who mangles the French language. Johnny Depp’s British accent sounded forced; he didn’t pull it off like Steve Martin did with his funny French accent in the Pink Panther movies. (I wish Steve Martin would star in a new movie. I’ve seen all his movies, but that’s another list.)
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Two Night Stand (a movie review)
This is a fun movie to watch. Clever lines and a nice take on one night hook-ups. As the movie title indicates, what starts as a one night stand becomes more because the two get trapped together in the man’s apartment the morning after due to blizzard conditions.
Set in Brooklyn, NY, the man’s apartment is the main setting, where the couple gets to know each other, warily, at first. The main actors, Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton, have a good chemistry between them and are believable within their characters because they look average and have concerns that are relatable. Each is experiencing hurt from their respective long-term relationships that they later realize are with the wrong people.
The movie doesn’t get maudlin and it’s just the right amount of patness when they see they have more in common with each other than they thought. An uplifting movie for anyone who just got out of a relationship.
The Gambler (a movie review)
Even though the storyline of a movie could be better crafted, I will sit through the movie because I like the cast. Such is the case in The Gambler, which is about an English professor, played by Mark Wahlberg, who leads a double life going to an underground casino and gambling on borrowed money. Certain scenes did not seem to fit in the movie, and the events that lead to an ending that explains the main character’s motivation seem exaggerated in their gravity. Continue reading
Ghoul Movies Ranked
When the main scare is a ghoul that teases its way in and out of the scenes, I would classify such a horror film as a ghoul movie. Expressionist artist Edvard Munch’s The Scream embodies the basis of a ghoul for me—a creature with a long, pale face racked in pain. With that foundation, add to it long hair straggled over the face, or eyes sewn, or even an eery expression. Then, have the ghoul pop out at the least expected moment and you’ve got its grisly image burned into your psyche. I ranked below (1 – the best, the last – the worst) such movies I’ve seen to date, and will update if I recall or view another ghoul movie, so periodically check in by clicking the “ghoul movies” tag.
1. The Ring
2. Ringu
3. Sinister
4. Insidious 2
5. Insidious
6. Insidious 3
7. Out of the Dark
8. Woman in Black
9. Woman in Black 2
Zombie Movies Ranked
I am not much of a discriminating viewer. If the synopsis sounds interesting, I will watch it. I’ve sat through more movies than walked out on them. I think it’s because either the story is so interesting that I forgive some bad acting, or the acting is so good that I overlook the thin story line. Here I’ve ranked the zombie movies according to which is the best I’ve seen to date (1 – the best, last – the worst). Continue reading
Karina Pinella 