Gillian Comments

[mavrock1]

James Garner, the star of “The Rockford Files” and “The Notebook” passed away at 86.- #Yahoo #Variety

1,433 COMMENTS of which every single solitary one was respectful and kind …. #JamesGarner #Maverick

[gilliancomments]

what an amazing actor! i'd always admired him and wanted to someday meet or work with him.

[gilliancomments]

Django Unchained

Alright. I'm torn on this movie. It stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Walton Goggins. And is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It's about a white man buying the freedom of a black man to help him in his bounty-hunting. Then their mission turns into saving the black man's wife from this awful rich white guy in the South.

So, usually, I am not the biggest fan of Quentin Tarantino's. I find his movies too long and violent and generally lacking the substance of better movies he's clearly emulating. But this movie. This movie I actually really loved. It did seem to drag a bit in places. And was really violent, but that's his thing. It had an amazing score and music, cool visuals, and the actors were fantastic. The lighting, the sets, the costumes, all of it was great. I actually wasn't upset when I found out all the awards it was nominated for.

I recommend this to action movie lovers, Quentin Tarantino fans, DiCaprio and Waltz fans, Sam Jackson fans, and anyone who likes revenge stories. Or anyone, just go watch it.

[gilliancomments]

A Good Day to Die Hard

So it's been such a long time and it's a new year, so I'm going to try to get on track again.

I LOVE the Die Hard series. So I was so excited to see the new one when it came out. It stars Bruce Willis (of course), Jai Courtney (as his son), Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, and Cole Hauser. Once again, we find John McClane in an awful position in his family. He travels to Russia to find his son, who he thinks is in trouble, when really he's just in the CIA and working a mission. McClane shows up and ruins his mission, so they team-up to fix it, unwillingly on the son's side. Of course there's something about old bombs that the bad guys want and a double cross you could see coming from the beginning. Everything that they drive or every building that they go into blows up. It's generally a good time, but after all the other ones, I was let down. For me, it's the worst one in the series, but I still love it. If they make another one, I'm definitely watching it.

So I think you could skip it, but I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys Die Hard, Bruce Willis, sleeper Russians, bombs, and things going BOOM.

[gilliancomments]

Les Miserables

Ok. So I know this was nominated for just about every award and everyone fauns over the story and songs of Les Miserables, but I have to say that it is one of my least favorite musicals. I think if I read the book I would be more invested in the characters and care about them, but in a three hour movie......not so much.

I do admit that the cast is amazing. It stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, and Samantha Barks. Directed by Tom Hopper. I was really happy that most of the cast, even the minor chorus people, were cast from the Broadway musical. That made it more special. But the extreme close-ups while they were singing were a bit off-putting. I actually got a headache from it being so close. And while Russell Crowe did so much better than I thought he would, it wasn't as great as everyone else. Personally, I think the best part of the whole long thing, was Aaron Tveit. His voice is so pure and meltingly beautiful that I wished he was a bigger part so I could hear him sing more.

Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who likes Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables (the musical or the book), and the French Revolution. And musicals. That's a big part of it.

[gilliancomments]

Jeff Who Lives at Home

So this interesting indie movie was directed and written by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass. And it stars Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, and Judy Greer. It's actually really touching and moving. I was also jobless and feeling lost when I watched this, so I related to a lot of the themes in it. But it was really quite funny. They're kind of estranged brothers that help each other out throughout this one day of crazy hijinks. Susan Sarandon plays their widowed mother that is hating her job and thinks about being a lesbian. Everyone is fantastic as their normal yet crazy characters.

I totally recommend this to people who like hijinks and fun indie movies. Also if you like Jason Segel. :)

[gilliancomments]

Jack Reacher

Wow. This movie. It stars Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, and Jai Courtney. And it was directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who also wrote the screenplay that was based on the book by Lee Child. I actually really REALLY liked this movie. I was ready to put into my collection of fun action movies that just blow stuff up, but the story was quite twisted and there wasn't too many extravagant blow-up scenes. I was really impressed and I mean to watch it again to help understand some of the twists. Maybe read the book too.

I recommend this to anyone who likes the Mission Impossible movies, Tom Cruise (since he's basically the whole movie), and fun spy-type stories.

[gilliancomments]

Wreck-It-Ralph

So I'm continuing with my way-too-late reviews.

I loved this movie!! I went into it not really excited for it. I didn't think there could be much of a story arc from what I saw in the trailers. Looked a bit sad and straight forward, but far from it! It stars the voice talents of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, and Alan Tudyk. All of whom are amazing, but can I just say that Alan Tudyk is amazing at voices. I couldn't even tell it was him.

Ok, so now to the movie itself. I actually really fell in love with the world they created. I loved how you could go through all the different games, even if they aren't supposed to. I actually wanted to see more of the worlds they made and for them to go into more games, but...maybe in a sequel. It's a cute story about fitting in and finding people that accept you.

Loved it! Go see it if you love Disney movies and video games.

[gilliancomments]

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D

So I love Cirque du Soleil. I used to watch them all the time on PBS and I've seen several shows, so I was super excited for this movie. I did see it in 3D. It was beautiful to watch, absolutely stunning scenes and colors. They tried to have a continuing love story go through several shows. It was a bit hard to follow the story and they combined them by making all the shows different tents in a circus. It was hard to follow in general and there were a lot of cuts and close ups that brought me out of the scene. It was beautiful to watch and the performers were fantastic, but I didn't quite like being taken out of the story all the time and losing the over-arching story of the lovers.

I'd recommend it if you like Cirque shows and beautiful compositions and colors and scenery. And the Beatles.

[gilliancomments]

Goon

This is a wonderful story about a bouncer becoming a hockey player. It's based on a true story and couldn't be more comically touching. The screenplay was actually written by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg and Jay Baruchel also stars in it. The cast also includes Seann William Scott, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Eugene Levy, Marc-Andre Grondin, and Kim Coates. I love how sweet and simple and touching Seann William Scott was. He's frustrated that he's not good at anything and then finds that he's good at hitting people, and then he gets a career out of it. He is so loyal to his team and will suffer anything for them. It's quite remarkable how he makes such a basic character really lovable and charming. But one of my favorite parts is just hearing Alison Pill curse so much. All in all, I loved it. I've watched it three times now.

I recommend this to anyone who likes hockey movies, Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, cute love stories, and true stories.

[gilliancomments]

Tucker and Dale VS Evil

So I have to preface this with the statement that I hate scary movies. Just can't do em. Get nightmares and freak out at the smallest noise. But I really liked this movie!

It stars Alan Tudyk, Tyler Labine, Katrina Bowden, and Jesse Moss and directed by Eli Craig. I like that it takes the story of a bunch of college kids on a camping trip in creepy woods and it turns it on its head. Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine are country friends fixing up their cabin in the woods and these kids see them at a gas station and follow them to see if they're killers. Then all the kids start accidentally killing themselves, which the others mistake for the two friends killing them. One girl is saved by them and realizes that they're not killers. Then comes another twist when we learn that one of the college boys is a son of a killer and is a killer himself now. He wants to prove himself by killing the stupid country friends. Needless to say he doesn't, thank God. It's actually quite hilarious with two bumbling country friends being terrorized by college kids just killing themselves around their cabin and woods. Plus I love pretty much anything Alan Tudyk is in.

I recommend this movie for anyone that likes stupid scary movies, Alan Tudyk, and graphic gory scenes.

[gilliancomments]

You've Got Mail

I LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!! So much so that I thought I would review it just to say how much I love it. My real review would be close to a ph.d dissertation so I'm going to try to keep it brief :D

This fabulous movie was written and directed by Nora Ephron, who is incomparable to any other romantic comedy director and writer. It stars Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Parker Posey, the late Jean Stapleton, Steve Zahn, Heather Burns, Dave Chappelle, and Dabney Coleman. So with that cast it's hard to miss in the first place. It's a remake of The Shop Around The Corner, which is a story about two pen pals that fall in love, but don't realize that they've met and work with each other and can't stand each other. The man realizes it's her and slowly begins to make her fall in love with him in person. I know. It sounds really cheesy and awfully romantic. I must say it's predecessors were, but You've Got Mail is FANTASTIC!!! I'll have to write my spiel on romantic comedies later. Suffice it to say that this is one of my ultimate favorite movies that I quote all time.

I recommend this if you love Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Nora Ephron, good writing and directing, and New York.

[gilliancomments]

Remember the Daze

So I did see this a while ago, and was not that completely impressed. I LOVE movies where they follow a gang of friends on a 24 hour adventure, even if it's not really adventure. Like The Breakfast Club, The Hangover, Dazed and Confused, etc. This was not up to those standards. It stars Amber Heard, Alexa Vega, Leighton Meester, Melonie Diaz, Douglas Smith, Wesley Jonathan, and a bunch of other kids and parents. Moira Kelly is even in it. I love her from The Cutting Edge, but even she couldn't save it. There's cheating, drinking, lesbians, new love, and graduation all in this story, but it just wasn't that well written or acted.

I only recommend this to people who also like those 24 hour adventure movies. If not, skip it.

[gilliancomments]

Silver Linings Playbook

So since I first saw this before all the awards, I was thoroughly touched and impressed with everything in it. But I felt like it was the under dog, so I kept rooting for it. Then it won almost every award out there! :D it was gratifying, but then I started to doubt whether I really still liked it. I watched it again recently, and I have to say. It was still so moving.

It stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, and Chris Tucker. It's masterfully directed by David O. Russell. It's a beautiful portrayal about real problems with mental health. What I realized is that David O. Russell also showed that the people that aren't really diagnosed with mental problems are just as crazy as those that are diagnosed. It was a beautiful story and the cast is completely wonderful and fully committed to their characters. I cried, I laughed, I yelled, I sighed, I got attached. :)

I recommend this movie to anyone, really. If you like movies, watch it. You won't be sorry. Unless you don't like laughing, crying, and good stories and people. Watch it!

[gilliancomments]

Bernie

So it's been forever since I've reviewed something. I've been keeping a list of things to review, so here goes, even though I saw it a long time ago.

Bernie stars Jack Black as Bernie Tiede, who is a mortician in a small town in Texas. He gets involved with an older woman there, played by Shirley MacLaine. She's pretty abusive and controlling to him and he gets pushed to a point where he kills her, sort of, by accident. But he hides it from everyone in the town because he's so respected and liked. Matthew McConaughey plays the lawyer that takes him down.

It's really a fantastic movie. Everyone plays their quirks perfectly. I have never been more impressed with Jack Black and was so happy that he was nominated for it. Matthew McConaughey's portrayal of a small town big lawyer who wants fame, is amazing. And how can you ever not love Shirley MacLaine, even when her character is such a mean old pensioner. Richard Linklater directed this amazing true story so beautifully. Even though it's a movie with a lot of dialogue (which isn't seen a lot lately) he makes you sit on the edge of your seat.

I recommend it to anyone who loves Shirley MacLaine, true stories, and a look into the psychology of killers. Amazing!

[gilliancomments]

Rise of the Guardians

Finally!!! I get to review it! I was lucky enough to see the premiere of Rise of the Guardians at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I've been excited for it since the first poster with Santa's tattoos came out. So I finally got to see it in 3d before almost everyone else in the world. To say I was out of my mind happy is an understatement. And I didn't feel disappointed by the movie at all. It was voiced by Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law, and Dakota Goyo as Jamie, the little boy who is the last to believe in the Big Four and sees Jack Frost first. It has a beautiful score by Alexandre Desplat. I love the animation by Dreamworks, but what I think made me really fall in love with the movie was it's ability to make me feel like a kid again. It made me believe in all those characters again. It made me feel like a kid waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. It's definitely going to be another annual Christmas movie for me. I recommend it for kids of all ages from 1 to 99, for people that love animation, and people that want to believe in magic again.

[gilliancomments]

The Life of Pi

I saw the Life of Pi recently and was astounded. It was directed by award winning director Ang Lee. It was based on a best-selling book by Yann Martel. It stars Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gerard Depardieu, and an amazing tiger. This movie is absolutely stunningly beautiful, but I was so stressed out during the whole thing. You immediately care about the main character and then he's put in a life and death situation every ten minutes. Even when he's not in danger, I'm waiting for something bad to happen. I was so anxious the entire time. But, oh my god, the visuals were amazing. I totally recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see a good story, a good moral, a good question, good visuals, and amazing acting from newcomer Suraj Sharma. ENJOY!

[gilliancomments]

Pitch Perfect

So it's been a while. I saw Pitch Perfect finally a while ago and absolutely loved it. Mostly cause I had fun singing along and laughing. It stars Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, and Rebel Wilson. The story is basic: girl doesn't want to participate in singing group, has to make friends because her dad says so, joins and changes the dynamic of the group, falls for guy on the opposite team, happy ending. Seen it a hundred times, but there were some really hilarious moments and Rebel Wilson had me crying I laughed so hard. Really, it's awesomely fluff and really cute. I'd watch it again and again. The only downfall is that they sand a Miley Cyrus song.

I'd recommend it to anyone who likes musicals, Anna Kendrick, a capella groups, and college humor. enjoy!!!