Santa Clause

Tis the season to be jolly! With Christmas fast approaching, now is the time to revisit all those holiday favorites!  So many to chose from, so very enjoyable.  One of my favorites is Santa Clause with Tim Allen.  

Santa Clause is the story of Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), he lives life for success, he is divorced and has a son, Charlie.  On Christmas Eve, Scott's ex-wife brings Charlie over to spend the night with his dad.  That night there "arose such a clatter," Scott goes outside, with Charlie close behind him to find Santa on the roof.  Not knowing what else to do, Scott yells up to Santa, causing him to fall off the roof.  Scott and Charlie climb up to the sleigh, Scott, reluctantly puts on the suite and the two embark on a journey to fill all the homes with presents from Santa. 

Charlie has the time of his life, while his dad would rather be at home in bed.  When they finished at the last house, Scott expected to go home, but instead they end up at the North Pole only to find that Scott Calvin is the new Santa Clause.  What a night. The rest of the film is the hilarious transformation of Scott Calvin to Santa Clause and the trouble it causes.

This film is a great holiday movie, its great for the family.  14-years later, I am still laughing! 

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

Match Point

Upper class British drama. takes itself too seriously, and makes Woody Allen look bad. His new found obsession with Scarlett Johansson shows here, where she plays "the other woman" in a rich young tennis-player's life.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a tennis player, climbing the ladder of success fast. He falls in love with two women at the same time; Chloe and Nola. But Nola (Johansson) is engaged. So he marries Chloe (Emily Mortimer). But then Nola breaks up with her fiancé, who happens to be Chloe's brother. Upset at his lost chance, Chris has an affair with her. For most of the movie, he does a pretty successful job at lying to cover it up. He is getting the best of both worlds, but complicates it for himself by impregnating Nola. He reassures her that he will break up with his wife, who seems unable to bear child, and seems more like a baby-wanting robot to him than a lover. But each time he tries, he is unable to tell her.
The story continues to spiral downhill, ending in desperation, claustrophobic relationship drama, and murder. There is no redemption, there is no justice. Evil triumphs.
I do not recommend this movie. Woody Allen completely disappoints. And the only thing keeping it going is the shock value every half hour, and waiting vainly for the happy ending. The dialogue, though believable, is very dry.
1 out of 5 stars.

Quarantine

A good way to start the Halloween season. Full of thrilling scares and creepy moments that make it all worth it.

The filming style is very similar to that of Cloverfield. The entire movie is from a news camera perspective. It is presented as discovered footage. But compared to Cloverfield, the camera is slightly less shaky, and the story is easier to follow. The thrills are scarier, and I think it was overall more enjoyable.

On the downside, the scary moments were pretty repetitive and predictable, and the camera was still pretty dizzying. (I don't mind it, but many do). It is very artistic in its own way, starting out with lighter sets, then moving indoors, then being darker, then the power goes out, then they move into the basement, and eventually they have to switch the camera to night vision mode. And somehow, in the crazy, jerky camera movements, there is some very clever and well-thought-out cinematography; some very expressive shots.

Not much can be said for the story or moral premise, as with any horror flick. But it definitely delivers on the expected entertainment value.

With zombie movies I expect zombies. I want zombies to literally be the "Living Dead" or "Undead". It always bothers me when it's really just an infection. In Quarantine, for most of the movie it is diagnosed as something like an extreme case of rabies. Therefore in my mind the killings are only justified because they are in self defense. But at the end of the movie, when the characters who were pretty much definitely dead come back to life, then we have the good old ZOMBIES.

3 out of 5 stars.

Appaloosa

A typical western, there are the bad guys, the good guys, and your leading lady. There is the pub bar fights, the showdowns, the horses, and the amazing scenery.

Appaloosa is the story of two men, the Sheriff, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his Deputy, Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen). They come into the small, quiet, seemingly peaceful town of Appaloosa to replace the Sheriff and his Deputy who had been murdered. This seemingly peaceful town is actually a town run through fear of Braggs gang of rugged cowboys. Virgil and Everett are strong, knowledgeble leader-like men. The first thing they do as the sheriff and Debuty of Appaloosa is to go into the pub and take care of a few of Braggs drunk, roudy men. Right then and there we know that Virgil and Everett are not only good at what they do, but they mean business.

Not long into the movie we meet our western's leading lady, Allison French (Renee' Zellweger). She instantly falls in "love" with Virgil Cole, but sadly enough falls in lust with nearly every other man who gives her attention. She constantly needs to be "with" a man. Eventually Virgil becomes ok with this, meaning he is not going to be the one to leave her.

This movie is about friendship, about what is right, about rules, about trust, but mostly about the wild west.

Of course, as in every western, it ends with the cowboy riding off into the sunset.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Shining

Classic horror. Stanley Kubrick stars Jack Nicholson in this thrilling masterpiece. It is a Stephen King book adaptation, with all the usual differences a movie adaptation typically has, and still carries with it Kubrick's unmistakable style; very artistic, very slow, very deliberate and eerie. There is not a lot of blood and guts, but more suspense.

The most well-known moments of the film are really the only ones that make the movie worth the two and a half hours: "Here's Johnny!", says Jack, the hotel keeper who is going insane, due to his long seclusion. "REDRUM!", says the little voice posessing the family's child. And the twin girls that haunt the hotel keep showing up... I lived for those moments when that tricycle would round the corner and see the ghosts standing there.

Some people say it's "funny". I think it's worth it, but I like the weird, artistic style, and I have a soft spot for suspense and classic horror. It's not an intelligent film, but it's entertaining in it's own way. An aquired taste.

3 out of 5 stars.

Martian Child

“Is it okay to be like other people?”

This is the story about a little boy who just doesn’t fit in. But the question is, should he? Which is worse; trying to fit in, or being your bizarre little self? So many times people say, “just be yourself”.

Dennis is a little boy who thinks he’s from mars. He lives in a box to avoid the sunlight. He will eat nothing but Lucky Charms. He takes photos of everything, and steals passports, keys, odds and ends from strangers, because, he claims, he is doing research on our planet so he can take it back to Mars.
The story goes, a writer is brought into the situation. John Cusack writes Science Fiction. Someone thought he would be a good choice to adopt the boy and try to help him, because he can more easily touch upon the sci-fi mind of the child. He adopts the boy, and grows to love him.

At one point, Cusack is speaking to the boy, and voices aloud one of the film’s central points: In this huge, crazy universe, with the planets all rotating around the sun, and the forces of nature at work, and being such small, insignificant beings, it’s amazing to think that any two of us reach out to try to help each other. Why on earth do you need to be from Mars?
Children come to the earth, and it’s so new, it’s like they’re aliens. This is never clearer than this story of a child trying to discover the world in a way that we never thought of before. And it’s a way I believe we should all witness.

There are also a couple instances where they tease your imagination, and pull you into the alien world of Dennis’s imagination. For instance, he says he can taste color; Cusack tests him with some M&M’s, and it appears to be true. It is a very clever way of teasing our fancies, and it really adds a special dimension to the film.

It is a story about the adopting father trying to help the boy, and slowly becoming almost his playmate, but at the same time, learning more than he bargained for. If you watch the movie, I believe you will find yourself in the same fix.
Fascinating, funny, quirky, sweet… this movie is all these.

4 out of 5 stars.

The Prestige

Are you watching closely?

The Pledge:
Many magicians open their shows by letting two birds fly forth from their sleeves, out over the audience. This film is about two theatrical magicians. (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) They worked together, but eventually competed against each other, and end up working across the street from each other, each trying to learn the others secrets, and put the other down. A fairly simple story.

The Turn:
But like any magic trick, it is not that simple. In fact, the film is riddled with twists and turns that leave your head spinning, and most people I see walk away from it are not sure if they liked it or not. It has a dark, treacherous taste to it. You feel like you are walking backwards; the more the movie progresses, the more lies are unveiled. Soon you are not sure you know what is going on. True, it is riddled with all the anticipated magic tricks, but they are almost too complex; not unlike the movie. There are tricks involving giant apparatuses and complex machines, there are several emotional relationship issues at stake, being threatened by the magician's competition.
One of the strongest issues addressed is that of obsession. Christian Bale plays a cheating, aggressive, more unlikeable character, who accidentally murders Jackman's wife in a magic trick, but ducks out of it, and forgets "which knot he tied". Jackman loses his wife, his success, his name, and his friends. Bale loses his fingers and his family. But when given the choice, each reveals himself to be concerned more with his work than his life. Scarlett Johansson's character is helping Jackman get the diary of his rival, and he lets slip the line, "I don't care about my wife, I just care about the secret!" She stops in her tracks and stares at him, dumbfounded. He gathers his hat and leaves. (She becomes the "other woman" with Bale's character, later.) It builds to the point where one is willing to kill anyone, even himself, just to win. As Jackman says, "There's nothing like seeing the faces".

The Prestige:
You can't just make something disappear; that's not a trick. That's annoying. You have to bring it back. But you have to keep your audience guessing. When Michael Caine's character brings home what he claims to be "real magic", the show owner says, "you have to give the audience something to doubt it. You can't just show them magic." The film successfully delivers, but it's delivery is in a style that somehow rubs the wrong way. It doesn't feel right. It is a great film, brilliantly written. But be careful; it's not afraid to get its hands dirty. It tends to sneak up behind you.

Watch closely.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Wizard of Oz

"There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home."  Famous line, from Judy Garland in MGM's 1939 hit, "The Wizard of Oz."  The tale of a young woman, Dorothy (Judy Garland) who wants to run away, to find a place where there is no trouble.  In a sudden, Kansas tornado, Dorothy, her dog Toto, and her house get swept off the ground and lands in Munchkinland on the wicked witch of the east.  Here, she meets the munchkins and Glinda, the good witch of the North.  They are all pleased that her house landed on the witch, saving them from her wrath.  Of course, what would a movie be without a villain, suddenly, the wicked witch of the west appears and is not to pleased to see her sister's powerful ruby slippers on Dorothy's feet.  At this point, all Dorothy wants to do is go home.  The munchkins and Glinda point her in the direction of OZ, where the wizard can help her.  She waves goodbye and begins her journey down the yellow-brick-road.  

Dangers all over, Dorothy must steer clear of the wicked witch of the west.  

With the help of the Scarecrow, the Tin-man, and the Lion, her three companions who want to go with her so that they may ask the wizard for a brain (Scarecrow), and heart (tin-man) and courage (lion) she is able to escape the witch several times.   The final escape from the witch ends in the witch's death as Dorothy tosses a bucket of water at her "melting her."  

The Wizard awards her with a ride home in his air-balloon.  Of course, the balloon accidently takes off without her and she is stuck in OZ, when all she wants is to go home to Auntie Em and Uncle Henry.  Glinda, comes to her rescue.  She helps send Dorothy home with three 

clicks of her heels and the famous line, "There's no place like home."  Dorothy wakes up with her family sitting around her bed, OZ was only a dream, she was home all along.

This movie has long been a family favorite.  It is a movie that everyone knows, and nearly everyone has grown up with.  It is about family, about friends and about believing in yourself.  

In conclusion, Dorothy realized that she always had the ability to go home, she had to believe in herself and her heart. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Braveheart

One of the most epic films of all time. Braveheart is a story of love and revenge, honor and disloyalty. And love.

Mel Gibson stars in and directs this academy award winning film about William Wallace and his great battles against the Brits. There is a great scene near the beginning where shirtless, kilt-wearing Gibson competes his childhood friend at a wedding reception. They are throwing boulders to test their strength. Wallace loses the strength contest, but points out a lesson he was taught earlier in the film; the key is to be strong in the head, not in the arm. He then challenges the man to throw a boulder at him. It misses by inches. The festive audience laughs and cheers. Gibson picks up a small stone, and takes out his giant friend with it in the forehead.
The scene is a brilliant summary of the rest of the film.

Wallace shows, in battle after battle, that if he uses his head, he can beat the giant. His character is so likable by everybody, showing incredible screenplay writing; he is all man, complete lover, warrior, patriot, funny, smart, and on top of it all, he's Sco'ish!

The battles are very graphic, showing, well, everything you could imagine to happen on the battlefield. It's all very fast, but it leaves you saying, "Ooh, ow, that was...gnn!" after every battle. A recurring theme is women's honor. It is ravaged brutally by the british, and in stark contrast, Wallace treats the ladies with respect; even when it is an emissary from England. She offers him money to come to their side. He refuses, but makes such an impression on her, that she lets him keep the money anyways.

Braveheart is one of the best of the Academy Award Winners. It is a film that everyone should see before they die. There is the Crispen's Day speech, where Wallace tells his troops that it is all worth it. He tells them not to be afraid, because if they die, at least it will be a noble death, and if they run, they will always regret it. He tells them:

"True. Fight and you may die. Run and you will live... at least awhile. And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!"

5 out of 5 stars.

Hostage

Brutal and brilliant. Hostage is the story of Jeff Talley (Bruce Willis), a cop. After losing three people to a hostage situation Talley sets aside life as a hostage negotiator to become a regular small CA town cop. However, he can never seem to get away from the action. A hostage situation takes place in this small town and Talley takes command, to save the family in the hostage situation. Stakes were raised for Jeff Talley when his family were taken hostage as well. Since the father of the hostage situation is part of a "mob" group, he can't make the run to drop off an important DVD. The men he is supposed to take it too put Talley in charge, holding Jeff's family hostage until the DVD is uncovered.

The movie itself thinks it is a bit more 'epic' than it really is. Grandiose music and slow-motion, expensive shots fill the screen, when the story, the characters, and even the production management (the look of the film) were those of a much more bitter, tense, and dark thriller.

For example, at the end, while the ambulance is driving away, the music carries you up and away, and plunges you deep into emotional chorus for the credits. When It really should have just been a mellow, eerie tune, like something from the movie se7en.

This movie is a high stakes movie. It is an edge of your seat film. The casting was ideal, from Bruce Willis as the cop, to the three boys who were holding the family hostage. The boys cast fit their parts well. There was the spastic, nerves take control of action guy, the younger brother who actually has a conscience and the creepy guy who enjoys killing people. Film is supposed to bring out emotions in the audience, and this film definitely did that. I was creeped out by the boys, and I was terrified for both families; I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Great with the family values and decision making themes; "Nobody dies today", Willis says, when one of the police snipers has a shot at a villain. Excellent.
There was, however, some intense language. Cursing and swearing were the "norm" for this film, and the violence was pretty intense. It is also a movie, some have said, that was "over-produced," music tracks cover the film and make you want to laugh just a little at the placing and song choices, and the locations are almost distractingly expensive.

Overall, the film was entertaining, and fun to watch with a group of people. I recommend the movie if you enjoy the thriller type, edge of your seat film.

3 out of 5 stars.

Vantage Point

 Recently I saw "Vantage Point."  This movie is about people who witness the shooting of the president from different vantage points.  We see the shooting through the eyes of a secret service agent (Dennis Quaid), a civilian (Forest Whitaker), and a few others.  Only through their eyes do the pieces come together as we figure out who is responsible for the shooting. 

The entire movie is told and retold through each perspective.  I can't tell you how many times the lower left corner read 12:00:01 p.m..  Obviously if the movie is told from different vantages it would have to start from the beginning.  The movie had some twists and it seemed

 through every Vantage the stakes were raised just a little bit.  The casting was well done, with Oscar winner, Forest Whitaker and Oscar nominated Dennis Quaid.  Both actors, as well as other cast members played their roles well.

The film's script seemed to work well, it flowed nicely and made sense.  However, the ending was lacking.  Through out the whole film, the stakes were constantly being raised.  With all these high stakes constantly heightening through out, the climax just seemed dull.  The movie went from being suspenseful, exciting, and kept me questioning to just an abrupt climax resolution.  It needed more.  

I give Vantage Point

2 out of 5 stars.  

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a wonderful film! Listed in my top 5 favorites, It's a Wonderful Life truly is an amazing movie. The story of George Bailey whose dream of traveling the world ends when his father dies. With his father's death, George takes over the family banking business giving up his own dream. His life after that seems dull, and pointless, he has trouble supporting his family of 6. Ultimately George goes into depression and wishes he had "never been born." His guardian Angel Clarence comes and shows him what life would be like without George Bailey. George realizes he truly has a wonderful life.

All his life George dreamed big. He wanted to lasso the moon, travel the world, go to college to "see what they know". He wanted to move out as soon as he could. Unfortunately, he had to postpone his dream when his brother came home married, expecting help in the

family business. Bailey started a family, still planning to move out and live his dream. He was good at his job, and good as a family man. But despite his social successes, he still wanted to

live his dream. Until his business partner loses the envelope of money. Then he can't. Then he almost goes insane as he sees his dreams come crashing down before his eyes.

It is a brilliant depiction of defining the purpose of life; of seeing life as it should be seen.

It brings to mind the true meaning of life. It makes real the rash statement some people say, "I wish I'd never been born". This film points out how important each person's life is. We are all here in the world for a purpose, and if any of us stopped existing it would change

the lives of nearly everyone else in some way. If one stops and thinks about that we all would see the importance of our existence.

"It's a Wonderful Life" also shows how important family is. Whether it is a mother, father, husband, wife, a neighbor, or a friend. Family is always there to hel

p you through the rough times. George was there when his father died to take over his business and keep it from Potter's hands. Mary, George's wife, was there for him through his rough moments. Family is important, they are always there when you need them, through thick or thin

, better or worse.

This is a fantastic film and I recommend it for all ages!

5 out of 5 stars :)

Pleasantville

Fun and entertaining, in a way. A story about two siblings who are sucked into an old television show. The boy (Toby Maguire) loves it, but the girl (Reese Witherspoon) hates it. As the characters grow and change, colors start to come into the black and white world. And the residents don't know what color is...
It seems simple enough at first, but I started to notice some interesting things. For instance, there is a scene where Maguire's character starts to like one of the girls. They drive off to the "lover's lane", and in the scene there, she plucks an apple from a tree, and gives it to him. Later, when he is asking the TV guy, "What did I do wrong?", the TV guy (Don Knotts) shows him an image of him eating the apple, and says, "That! You don't think that's wrong?"
The first color appears when Witherspoon kisses a flirtatious boy at the school. His ideas of heavy flirting are limited to holding hands and giving her his pin. She introduces him to modern flirting. And it rocks his world. When she leaves, he sees a rose. And it is red.
The teenagers of the town discover the world of lovemaking in old convertibles under the stars. It is their way of breaking out of the monotony and repetetive, boring perfectness of their black and white world. And when they have done it, then the next morning, they are colored. When Witherspoon teaches the mother how to have fun without her husband, the mother becomes colored. She has changed. In the end, the people who are opposed to breaking out of the norm are still in black and white. They create rules opposing "colored" people. (An obvious reference to racism). But the colored people rebel, and start deliberately vandalizing the town with color. They laugh at the list of rules they must follow, and throw it aside. (...the ten commandments?)
Reese's character, although she was the most promiscuous of all the girls in the town, was still in black and white. She did not change until she took an interest in books, and actually declined a date.

I recieved mixed messages from the film; it promoted rebelling, and put intercourse on a pedestal of happiness that is unrealistic to love. It also seemed to point out that the point is to be happy. And if the rules do not make us happy, then they can be ignored.
On the other hand, it showed the silliness of racism, and the fact that just because everyone else is doing it does not mean that it's the right decision. (Shown in Witherspoon's new love of books.)

But in my book, the cons outweigh the pros for this movie. There is much innuendo and many suggestive parts. It is not something I would feel comfortable allowing my children to watch.

2 out of 5 stars.

Introducing a couple reviews

Welcome to Tossing Flowers, Throwing Eggs. Here you will find reviews and critiques of a wide variety of movies. Old DVDs, and new theater releases alike. You will read the review of two young college students who make and watch movies for their life.
Put together, we have seen every movie ever. And our opinions, combined, will allow for different angles on it. You read it, you decide.