Z's Talk

The Princess and the Frog

I have to say this brought all the warm fuzzy memories of my childhood back. It was so good to see a 2D movie with musical numbers again. For me, the movie started to get really interesting once Tiana became a frog. That's where the real action,adventure and hilarity happen. On the way, to find a way to change them back into humans, Tiana and Prince Naveen meet a wide assortment of characters. A music loving alligator named Louis and a friendly firefly named Ray who help them by taking them to Mama Odie, a woman witch doctor who will have the sure fire way to turn them back. And the characters were done well.

I really like how Tiana was a strong, sophisticated, hard-working girl. She wasn't, let's say her best friend in the movie. A spoiled brat, who gets everything she wants, and does it all in poofy pink dresses. No no, Tiana is not like that. And thank god. She's a REAL woman.

Prince Naveen was kind of annoying at first. He's so slick. He almost comes off as being arrogant, since he thinks so highly of himself. I'm glad to say, he makes a change throughout the film. He suddenly realizes it isn't all about him, and he also finds out there is more to life than being rich or being a prince. I ended up liking him The scene where he attempts to propose to Tiana was sweet and heart warming.

Louis the alligator, was kind of like Bruce in Finding Nemo to me. He's this big scary guy, but who's really sweet inside. His dream to play in the band. So on the journey to seek Mama Odie, he decides he wants to be human as well. *SPOILER* He never becomes human, but does end up playing in the band. I kinda wish he was human. I kept trying what he would like.

Ray the firefly, was my favourite character. So maybe he's not all there in the looks department (note missing teeth) but it's part of charm. And I love how he goes on about Evangeline, his girl. He says that she shines brighter than any other firefly. And later you discover Evangeline is really a star. But they don't bother to set him straight, because you can see how happy he is. How happy is when he talks about her. And the scene where *SPOILER* he dies was so sad. I mean first of all, I was like I can't believe Disney killed him off, that's horrible, but during the funeral scene where you see become a star next to Evangeline was truly touching. I honestly started to cry.

My favourite song was Ma Belle Evangeline. First of all, the song itself was sweet because of the way Ray sings about his Evangeline, but it was also visually pleasing. With all the colours and the mood, it kinda reminded me of Kiss the girl in The Little Mermaid. It was very nice.

There was also a lot of other cute/funny moments. The Princess and the frog was a very fun and entertaining movie, that is for kids and adults alike. I wouldn't quite rank it up there with Aladdin or The Lion King, but its definitely worth a see.

Brothers

Not too shabby.Tobey Maguire does really well in this one.Kinda weird seeing Natalie Portman in a "Mom" role but anyway a pretty good flick if you are looking around for something to go see.

Brothers

Not too shabby.Tobey Maguire does really well in this one.Kinda weird seeing Natalie Portman in a "Mom" role but anyway a pretty good flick if you are looking around for something to go see.

The Stepfather

very predictable... Penn Badgley was verrry nice to look at though =)

Dedication

I honestly found the film a bit boring. It's a slow paced movie. I just kept expecting something exciting or different to happen. I don't think the script or directing was phenomenal. Not bad, a bit cute at times.

I think Billy Crudup did a very well job. He's really convincing as a person with OCD. Although I wasn't rooting for him in the beginning, because he was just so horrible to everyone. I liked how you see a change in him at the ending.

Mandy Moore was also good in this. I like how shes stepping into new and different roles, and getting away from that all american girl persona she usually plays.

That's all I really have to say. There wasn't much that interested me or made me think. It had it's moments, I liked the acting, and thats why I am giving it 3 stars.

The Uninvited

At last a very good suspenseful thriller in a similar mould to What lies beneath, The Number 23, Secret window. I wouldn't put this in the horror category although it has a few jumps along the way. A take on of a Korean film called A tale of two sisters. I really enjoyed this and thought it was a well made film with a good cast. It has a nice twist towards the end, although suspicious minds might make it out? Overall a very enjoyable film. If you like this type of thriller go see it soon!

Sling Blade

uh huhhhh, i strongly recommend this one.

The Blind Side

a feel good story that rings true......recommended.

Elmer Gantry

a tour de force performance by Lancaster.............

A Perfect World

Blackboard Jungle

Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evan Hunter.
The movie is hard hitting and probably a better representation of juvenile delinquency in the nineteen fifties than Rebel Without A Cause or The Wild One. The story revolves around an idealistic teacher on his first job in a tough urban all male high school.
Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) is the teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils, led by an African American student, Gregory Miller (Sidney Poitier), frequently engage in anti-social behaviour. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both the school staff and the pupils. He is subjected to violence as well as duplicitous schemes; he first suspects Miller, but later realizes that Artie West (Vic Morrow) is the perpetrator, and challenges him in a showdown-type scenario in the classroom.

The film has also been credited with sparking the rock and roll revolution by featuring Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock", over the film's opening credits, as well as in the first scene, in an instrumental version in the middle of the film, and at the close of the movie, establishing that song as an instant classic. Popularized by its use in the film, "Rock Around the Clock" reached number one on the Billboard charts, and remained there for eight weeks. The music also led to a huge teenage audience for the film, and their exuberant response to it sometimes overflowed into violence and vandalism at screenings. In this sense, the film has been seen as marking the start of a period of visible teenage rebellion in the late 20th century.
The film marked a watershed in the United Kingdom. When shown at a South London Cinema in 1956 the teenage teddy boy audience began to riot, tearing up seats and dancing in the aisles. After that riots took place around the country wherever the film was shown.
Blackboard Jungle was the first of what would become a popular genre: the film in which an idealistic teacher is confronted with a class of cynical teenagers, who have disengaged from conventional schooling. As so often in later films, issues of race and class lie at the heart of the dynamics. Subsequent films that exploited the theme include:
Blackboard Jungle was a shocking film for its time and several cities banned the movie which only served to contribute to its success. Some cities banned it because of its multi-racial content while others did it because of fear that it would spark violence. Even today it is a disturbing film.

Hunger

no one could ever forget that almost 30 minutes conversation scene (in which 20 minutes of it consist of one unedited single shot)...Just Brilliant.

The Mighty Ducks

I know it's mostly sentimental, but I absolutely love this movie! One of the last good films Disney's made.

Seven Pounds

What 27% critics liked it? WTF? 77% flixster liked it, that proves we are better than them! ;)

Seven Pounds is a touching movie, dramatized till the max, but hey.. i enjoyed it; more less my parents enjoyed it! Narration, directing is great - they keep you on the edge till the end, you will have a lot of expectation for the finale, but well imo the finale was average. Will Smith proves once again, why after decade he is still one of the best; Rosario Dawson should get appreciated - her acting is fantastic! 2 hours package; worth it.

8/10.

The Transporter

Once in a while there would be some brainless, cool action movie that comes around and The Transporter is it! Love the movie, watched it years back just get around the DVD. Jason Statham is the new Bruce Willis, he is damn awesome. As for the story not too shabby, they don't over dramatized it.

7/10.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

great acting, soundtrack, story, cinematography and direction = a classic.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

I loooooooooooooove it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slumdog Millionaire

It's a really interesting concept. I liked the plot of how Jamal knew all the answers because it happened in his life. However, I found the film quite boring. I mean I wasn't invested in these characters. Like I just didn't care what happened to them. The film didn't grab me. The only time it got interesting was towards the end, where you see the host try to give him the wrong answer and how Latika finally escapes and is able to talk to him on the phone, how he wins and the end, they are re-united. That was the only good, interesting part for me. Oh plus the song and dance at the end was good too.

I did like the direction and the cinematography. So I suppose that Danny Boyle did deserve his oscar. And I think the song "Jai Ho" deserved the oscar as well. But I personally don't think it deserved every other award it won.

This wasn't a bad movie, but it wasn't good enough to get any emotion out of me, whether that was something like crying or laughing.

Surveillance

A pretty decent straight to DVD thriller with a familiar cast. It's quite entertaining but really relies on the twist, which is good but most film fans will probably work out early on. Still a nice change from the norm.