Tom Hanks Movie Review: ***Larry Crowne (2011)

Tom Hanks portrays Larry Crowne, a middle age man who has been let go from his job of over 20 years and is finding difficulty finding another job; so goes back to school.  Julia Robert portrays the speech professor, Cedric the Entertainer portrays his neighbor, Gorge Takei another professor and Gugu Mbatha-Raw a fellow student who eventually drops out of school to pursue her dream in clothing retail.  This is. aromantic comedy in which the professor falls for the student and vice versa.  For a great deal of the movie I wondered what's the point of this movie.  I found it mildly entertaining.

Movie Review: **** Wonder (2017)

Wonder is the story of a 10 year-old child going to school for the first time.  His mother has been teaching him at home because of facial deformities.  And as is often the case, the other children at school have a hard time accepting him.  The unexpected twist in this movie is that the story is told from the view point of several different people, Wonder, his friend, his sister and his sister's friend.  They could have included a bit more view point from the parents as well.  This is a feel good movie.  It is uplifting.  However it does cover the theme of accepting others.  Wonder (Auggie) played by Jacob Tremblay, starts wearing a space helmet to keep his face covered.  However by the end of the movie he no longer needs the helmet.  Julia Roberts portrays the mother and Owen Wilson plays the father.  His sister is portrayed by Izabela Vidovic and her friend by Danielle Rose Russell.  There are a couple other children who become friends with Wonder.  They are played by Noah Jupe and Millie Davis.  With all the movies at there this Christmas season, this on may be the best.  It is at least the most touching.  It moved me.

Movie Review: ***^The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief

 

This movie is proof that if you write something, bad things could happen. Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) writes a brief about why she thinks two Supreme Court Judges may have been murdered.  This is just a fly-by-night theory that perhaps a big oil person ordered the executions so the current president could appoint judges who are not so environmental friendly because they have a big environmental case which is going to reach the courts in four or five years.  Turns out for our story, the brief is very close to the truth.  It gets taken up by the head of the FBI who is going to investigate the allegations, until the president asks him not to.  

Everything is bad for the oil tycoon and his lawyers, as well as for the president.  What makes things worse is all of Darby's friends and contacts begin to get murdered.  She is next.

This is a very tense movie.  John Grisham has a way with telling a story, and the movie is very good at keeping that tension.  However, the book is better.  My major complaint about the movie is it doesn’t explain well how Darby realizes she is next, and she needs protection.  Her protection, or the person she trusts in the end is reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington).  

Shaw is so troubled and traumatized during this movie, I love the way it ends, with a Julia Roberts smile.

Movie Review: ****Hook

This is one of my favorite movies.  It is based on a continuing story, after Peter Pan (Robin Williams) has grown up.  He married Wendy's daughter Moira (Caroline Goodall) It starts with Peter Banning neglecting his children because he is too involved in business.  He misses his son's baseball game, and most of his daughter's play.  They travel to England to visit Grandma Wendy (Maggie Smith) and present a special award to the lady who adopted the lost boys.  Somehow Hook (Dustin Hoffman) is not satisfied with the way things have gone, and leaks through to London, where he steals Peter Pan's children.  This sets up a series of events in which Tinker Bell (Julia Roberts) must first remind Peter of who he is, teach him how to fly, and restore his confidence.  This will give Hook the satisfaction of battling a worthy opponent.  Peter must rescue his children.  In the meantime, Hook sets out to win Peter's children over to him, so he could take the parental role.  This almost works.  One of the cute scenes is where the pirates are playing baseball, and Jack, Pan's son, (Charlie Korsmo) hits a home run.  Hook says that's my boy, and Pan is left in the dark as his boy is losing his loyalty.  But it is when Pan gets his happy thought that the show reveals its theme.  His happy thought is his children.  That is what makes it so he can fly again.  John Williams wrote the music for the movie, including the theme sone, "When You're All Alone"

When you're all alone
far away from home
there's a gift the angel sent
when you're alone.

Everyday must end
but the night's our friend
angels always send a star
when you're alone.

At night when I'm alone
I lie awake and wonder,
Which of them belongs to me,
which one I wonder?

And any star I choose
watches over me
so I know I'm not alone
when I'm here on my own

Isn't that a wonder?
When you're alone
you're not alone
not really alone.

The stars are all my friends
till the night time ends
so I know I'm not alone
when I'm here on my own

Isn't that a wonder?
When you're alone
you're not alone
not really alone.

Pan's daughter Maggie, (Amber Scott) does a beautiful job with the song.  

Peter Pan starts out shaky in his relationship with the lost boys, but this develops and is one of the highlights of the movie.  Rufio (Dante Basco) plays a great modern rufian.

Movie Review: ***^Mirror, Mirror

This is the second movie recent movie which is a different take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  They both have similar changes from the Disney version, taking the Dwarfs from loveable miners to seven thieves who have been expelled from the community.  An interesting take here is the stilts the dwarfs use when fighting.  Snow White (played here by Lily Collins) in both movies is dispossessed and having to retake the kingdom.  Lily Collins gives the role a more innocent feel.  The prince is played by Armie Hammer.  The witch (queen) is played here by Julia Roberts.  Both movies do interesting things with the mirror.  Here it is in a house on a lake, and talks back to the queen, a reflection of herself, which also uses black magic on her behalf.  Snow White in this movie has interesting relationships with the dwarfs and the prince which make the story enjoyable.  I recommend this movie.
This is my review of Snow White and the Huntsman.
http://mmboebillywardle.blogspot.com/2013/10/movie-review-snow-white-and-huntsman.html