H Movies
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Who’s in it
Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Rupert Grint with Jason Isaacs
What was good
Such a beautiful imagination and universe. I saw the first movie and was less than impressed. But as these movies get darker and older they appeal to me more. The magic, the wizardry with all of today’s great technology rolled into one, very visually stimulating and you are held there wanting to know where it is all leading.
What sucked
Not too much. I didn’t give this a perfect rating because I think, this is definitely a translation of the books and unless you know what is up with the books, you may be lost. There were parts where things jumped around and were left without resolution that I know the readers got it, but I imagine had to be cut to get the movie shorter. That is fine though, make it more entertaining and force people like me to read the books, that is how it should be.
Who should go see this
Everyone. There is a little of everything. Romance, spellbinding worlds of creatures, magic, props, locations, everything is just head spinning. This one had more of a Lords of the Rings feel to it for me, and I don’t know why, so there is another audience who may enjoy this. I think it is truly a magical movie and concept and everyone should at the very least start in on this series with this movie.
The Hot Chick (2002)
Starring Rob Schneider, Anna Faris, Matthew Lawrence, and Rachel McAdams, this is a Happy Madison movie so you know that it is going to be goofy but fun.
Basically, these mystic earrings that McAdams(Jessica) steals from a jewelry store have ancient powers, able to switch two bodies of the two people who each wear one earring. By a silly set of circumstances Jessica and Schneider switch bodies, putting the girl in a man’s body. This is the running gag the whole movie, how a girl would react to being in male form, especially a superficial one.
This movie was decently funny, I rented it for Rachel McAdams, but this was one of her first movies and she was barely in it, acting mostly as the drunken criminal Schneider whose body she was stuck in.
Adam Sandler has a bit part, as a white reggae who likes weed and to bang on the drums. If you like Sandler’s movies through his product company, you may want to see this one. It isn’t the funniest, but it is a decently entertaining Friday night popcorn movie. If you found like Van Wilder, Dude Where’s My Car, and Mr. Deeds funny, you’d like this. Minus the girls who all want to see “the package”.
Hostage (2005)
Wow! This was one heck of a movie. Hostage, as you would get from the previews, has a dual meaning. Bruce Willis is a retired negotiator whose family is taken hostage so that he may negotiate the proper setting in a hostage situation with a family to help out your corrupt bad men.
Three boys on what seems like a joyride end up at a mountain side home of a rich man, and two of them decide to steal his car. But as it always happens, this escalated very quickly into something much more. Soon they were in the house, taking a family hostage, and then a cop checking on the house is killed and an alarming situation is taking place.
Bruce Willis, haunted by his past, haunted by the people he believes he has let die, is a sheriff in a small town. He gladly turns over jurisdiction on the hostage situation to state authorities. But then some corrupt men who need information out of the house take his family hostage and he is forced to take hold of the situation, and make sure that the area is secure until more evil men can arrive.
This movie is extremely violent. On the edge of your seat, nervous, I was never sure what was going to happen. One of the boys inside turns out to have some sociopath ic qualities and quickly becomes more than anyone can handle. Bloodthirsty and beyond creepy, Ben Foster really steps it up to make this character unbelievable, after his first couple of movie roles where he played wimpy characters.
Bruce Willis gives such an emotional performance, as does the whole cast, the whole thing seems a little to believable. An awesome movie, that is hardly a warm and fuzzy but more of a jaw dropper, if you can take the violence, this is a really sweet movie with an original story.
Hitch (2005)
A truly funny and original movie. Will Smith and Kevin James are a more natural pair up then it would seem.
Will Smith plays “Hitch”, a dating doctor of sorts. He makes opportunities for his clients to be noticed by a woman that they are interested in. He then coaches them as how to treat them and keep them long term. Kevin James is an accountant who is in love with a celebrity socialite, and is one big clutz.
I haven’t ever seen Kevin James in a movie, but he does a nice job of toning down the over the top fat guy from his “Kind of Queens” to a believable and hilarious middle aged man without a clue. Eva Mendes (Smith’s interest) is an intelligent sexy girl who plays the guarded hurt girl that is unattainable. She does a great job, and this was one of her better roles, as “Stuck On You” was not. Oh, and she’s easy to look at.
As the movie nears the end, we find that Smith is not only trying to help guys with the opposite sex because of a scar he has from a past relationship, but that it also gives him the chance to be indirectly involved with a woman, without getting hurt. He is wary of letting women get to close, and although isn’t fake, has a certain persona that he holds during most of the movie.
Smith is the suave guy every man wishes he was, and Kevin James is the hope that any loser can get a great girl. A great movie, every person should see this one. The only reason that I didn’t give this one a full five is that the ends gets a little mopey and sloppy. It may have needed it, but the end seemed really cliche.
Harold and Kumar Go To Whitecastle (2004)
I tend to like these type of silly movies. College aged movies that are silly and a little grotesque in humor. But this was pretty stupid even for my standards. I was hoping for a level of funny silliness like “Dude, where’s my car?” but no such luck.
Harold and Kumar have limited small character fame as “That Indian Guy” from Van Wilder and “The Asian guy who invented MILF” from the American Pie movies.
They are both at college, looking for some fun, and after smoking up determine they need some White Castle and all sorts of random things happen. But even though I can take random, like a “Road Trip” or “Eurotrip” movie, but this didn’t even make sense.
It was bad enough to not even barely write a review. I laughed a couple of times, but that was it. And even though I didn’t find a movie like Dodgeball funny, I could appreciate it. This, just sucked. Don’t see it.
How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days (2003)
I can remember seeing previews for this movie and thinking that it looked like one of the stupidest movies ever made. Over Christmas break we had a lot of relaxing time so we popped this in for free and gave it a chance. I actually laughed my head off.
The movie is about a quirky girl who works for a fashion magazine that is writing an article on how to do all of the classic dating mistakes to scare off of a guy in ten days. On the other end, is a guy who owns an ad agency that is trying to land a large diamond account and work his way into advertising for the world of jewelry. He makes a deal to prove how much he understands women, that he could make a woman of someone else’s choosing fall in love with him in ten days. With some insider information, he has this very girl picked for him.
The rest of the movie is all of the terribly awkward types of things that could happen in a serious relationship, from calling too much, to barging in on guy’s night, to buying pets together, they’re all there. I about busted a gut seeing all of these things, and Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey were the perfect leads of cute and southern charm.
Fun movie with a girly ending, I think that you can watch this if you are a secure guy, and laugh at all of the crap he puts up with to win a bet.
Hero (2004)
The previews for this movie made it look vibrant, action packed, and based in reality, like a little more down to earth with some Matrix type feel to it. The last hour of the movie, I was just praying for the end. Even if I didn’t hate reading my movies, this would have still been about the silliest piece of crap I have ever seen. By the end I was just like, "What the Hell?" those goofy asians. That is about the extent of it, that’s all, that’s it. If you like flying people dressed in really dynamic flowing and colorful clothing saying silly things, then see this movie. Otherwise, there are many other movies already on video where Jet Li is looking stern faced and not saying very much.
