Movie #386 - Heartbreakers

Heartbreakers
2001 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 3 min
Director: David Mirkin
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, Ray Liotta, Jason Lee, Anne Bancroft, Jeffrey Jones, Nora Dunn, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifiankais, Shawn Colvin, Michael Hitchcock

Mother-daughter con artists Weaver and Hewitt are pretty well paired in this movie.  While it's not the best of films, the relationship between them has all the right elements. They're slightly competitive, they love each other, they trust each other, but they have way too much in common sometimes.  Shame on Weaver's character for bringing her daughter up to be a con, but I guess it's like they say about that apple and the tree.

There's not much too exciting about this one, save Sigourney Weaver's accent, and the whole Jason Lee as a love interest thing just doesn't make sense in my head.  But it's nice to see at least that Hewitt tries to make it legit by the end!

Movie #371 - Dave

Dave
1993 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank , Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, Charles Grodin, Laura Linney, Bonnie Hunt, Faith Prince

Clever concept here, with a stand-in taking up the helm when the president has a massive stroke.  Dave is the guy replacing the Prez and he takes some liberties as he gets more and more comfortable in his borrowed dress shoes.  Who knows if presidents really have body doubles or not, but it does make a really good premise.

Add Sigourney Weaver as the estranged wife who helps put on a good show for the cameras.  Of course she figures it out, it's only a matter of time... right?  And what happens when the game is over and Dave can't carry on anymore?  The end of this movie seems a bit contrived (SPOILER ALERT), since I really can't see a presidential look-alike being able to mount his own campaign for a political office.  Won't people get confused? Won't conspriacy theorists catch on?  I'd think they'd give him his own private island somewhere or something like that.

Oh well.  If you watch this one, check out little Ving Rhames.... if it wasn't for the voice, I'd never recognize him!

Movie #227 - Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II
1989 - Rated PG - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Peter MacNicol, Harris Yulin, David Margulies, Kurt Fuller

Yay, they're back! Even Slimer is back!

This movie finds the Ghostbusters in some legal trouble that's quickly solved by a ghostly attack. Cool.  Sigourney Weaver is in trouble again, or her baby is, and this makes me worry for her future.  This poor woman! Will it ever stop?

On a side note, the baby on a ledge scene now makes me nauseous, thanks to motherhood.  Seriously.

As a sequel, this movie holds up well.  It revisits these well-loved characters without overkilling the jokes or self-indulging too much.  They face new problems and come up with even bigger solutions. I cite the "Libby" hijacking incident--a step above and beyond the Stay Puft marshmallow man.  But strangely, it works.

It was fun to watch these back to back, something I'd never done before.  Good times were had by all... or....me. Yay.

Movie #226 - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters
1984 - Rated PG - 1 hr 45 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, William Atherton, Ernie Hudson, David Margulies

Classic.  Really, this movie is a classic.  I'm not sure how "technical" all that ghostbusting equipment really is (though I'm guessing most of it's imagined), but they make it seem like the real deal, in terms of how they attempt to explain and use it.  Scientific or not, you really want these guys to find and "bust" some serious ghost ass.

Watching the movie this time, I was impressed and surprised at how good the effects are.  They're not as good as they would be today, but for 1984, they're not bad at all.  Actually, the "streams" are decent and, as long as the creatures aren't moving, most of the ghosts/demons look okay.  It's not CGI, but it definitely doesn't distract you.

Anyway, what I love about this movie is the campy approach.  They don't take it too seriously and they embrace the weird concept.  A movie like this was ahead of its time, considering the ghost tv show craze that's happening now. Did they make it trendy to hunt for ghosts? I don't know about that, but they did make it look almost fun.

Movie #220 - Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest
1999 - Rated PG - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Dean Parisot
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, Daryl Mitchell

This movie's so cheesy, it's good.  The premise is cute: what would happen if an alien society found episodes of a space-travel show and thought it was real? What if they came to earth to find these "space travellers" and ask for their help?  Seems ridiculous, but it allows for some awkward humor and a great adventure story.

If you've ever been a Trek fan, this one will be especially fun for you to watch.  The expendable crew member tags along on the adventure, and provides a great little subplot. Will he live or die? Will he ever get a last name?  And Sigourney Weaver's character laments her pointless job: repeating what the computer says. 

Your life might not be changed by this movie, but you'll probably laugh. Sometimes, that's good enough.

Movie #45 - Baby Mama

Baby Mama
Universal Pictures
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 39 min
Director: Michael McCullers
Starring: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Greg Kinnear, Dax Sheppard, Romany Malco, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Maura Tierney


Two movies in a row about women preparing for babies! Weird.


Anyway, this movie is pure insanity, mostly because of Amy Poehler and Dax Sheppard. Tina Fey plays her typical character - work-driven, wants to become a late in life mother, hopelessly awkward in a social setting, wears glasses. Poehler does the same, but with some extra spunk. She takes "crazed white trash" to a whole new level. And then sells it to you.


If you watch this movie, you're mostly watching it for the two of them and their priceless interactions. Romany Malco is pretty funny as Oscar, the doorman. And Greg Kinnear is his usual handsome, chipper self. The plot is fairly predictable and has a nice neat ending, where everyone gets something. Don't watch it to analyze, just watch it to laugh,

And don't be surprised if you find yourself quoting it later.

Hey... "I don't know your life!" Ok?

Movie #43 - Avatar

Avatar

Twenthieth Century Fox

2009 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 42 min

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovani Ribisi, Joel Moore

I have a feeling there's going to be some backlash about the following comments... but oh well.

Avatar is many things... James Cameron's CGI dream world, a commentary on Americans' total disregard for ecological fragility, a visually pleasing attempt at racking up Oscars in art director etc, a romance for giant nerds, and largely overrated.

Yup, I said it. I think Avatar is overrated.

Now, before you start attacking me (Fong), hear me out. I really, really enjoy watching this movie. It's pretty to look at, the actors are great, the CGI unbelievable, and even the concept is very unique. The whole human-to-Avatar-body connection could probably be better explained, but it's not really necessary. The point is the concept - it's just cool. Something we probably wish we could do (and so much more exciting than Surrogates). Anyway, there's lots of action, gorgeous rolling hills, even a nice little love story.

But the number of people who said "You. Have. To. See. Avatar." to me was insane. I thought this movie was going to change my life eternally. Maybe I'm just not getting it.

Not to be nit-picky, but there were a few things that drove me insane about this movie. First of all, they're drilling and ripping apart this gorgeous planet for an element called UNOBTANIUM. Oh, really? Does that mean it's unobtainable? James Cameron, you clever bastard, you. If we're calling it that, why don't we just forget about calling the planet Pandora (actually, that right there, myth-o-philes, is a pretty obvious allusion). Instead, so everyone else gets it, why don't we just rename it Rainforestia?

Also, did anyone else notice that this movie is just a CGI version of Disney's Pocahontas, with elements of Ferngully? Except, instead of Native Americans or fairies, we've got blue aliens. Giant. Blue. Aliens. Who use their hair extensions as power cords to plug into their animals.

Alright, alright. I really do like this movie, I just get frustrated when directors get preachy or audiences go nuts over some pretty pictures. Good movie. End of story.