Queen of the Desert

2015

Morocco, USA

Directed by: Werner Herzog
Written by: Werner Herzog (screenplay)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis, Jay Abdo, Jenny Agutter
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): PG-13 for brief nudity and some thematic elements

Synopsis (from Rotten Tomatoes website):

...the extraordinary true story of a trailblazing woman who found freedom in the faraway world of the Middle East. Gertrude Bell (Kidman) chafes against the stifling rigidity of life in turn-of-the-century England, leaving it behind for a chance to travel to Tehran. So begins her lifelong adventure across the Arab world, a journey marked by danger, a passionate affair with a British officer (James Franco), and an encounter with the legendary T.E. Lawrence (Robert Pattinson). Stunningly shot on location in Morocco and Jordan, Queen of the Desert reveals how an ahead-of-her-time woman shaped the course of history.

My Thoughts:

I had doubts going into this, since Nicole Kidman is not one of my favorite actresses and I'd read that she was in virtually every scene. She was not terrible, but I do think the movie would have been better with someone else in the lead. Kidman is very wooden, too old for the early part of the story, too stiff for the rest. And she's taller than just about everyone else in the film. You'd think they could have put some of the other actors on a box or something. Still, the desert was absolutely gorgeous and was, after all, the real star of the show.

My Rating at the IMDb: 5 stars out of a possible 10

Sherlock Holmes

2009

USA/UK 

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Written by: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg (screenplay); Lionel Wigram (story)
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong

Synopsis:

Sherlock Holmes (played by Robert Downey, Jr.), along with his trusted ally Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), investigates a string of brutal ritualistic murders in this 2009 effort from British director Guy Ritchie. When Holmes and Watson arrive upon the scene just in time to prevent the aristocratic villain, Lord Blackwood, from doing away with his latest victim, the evil lord warns them that death has no power over him. And, seemingly, he's right about that: After Dr. Watson witnesses Blackwood's hanging and pronounces him dead, Blackwood reappears in London and continues on his murderous path. Scotland Yard is flummoxed, but Holmes is back on the case. And as they search London for Blackwood in order to put a stop to his evil shenanigans, Holmes and Watson are involved in a world of dark arts and dangers more deadly and surprising than any they've faced before.

My Thoughts:
Boring movie, really; nothing but special effects – and extremely annoying special effects, at that. The characters of Holmes and Watson were completely unrecognizable, but since the film obviously was aimed at an audience that had never read the Conan Doyle stories, I guess that really doesn't matter. I suppose the fact that the movie was based on a comic book version of the Holmes tales (by Lionel Wigram) should be a good indication of what to expect. I know I'm fighting the entire trend of the 21st Century here, but I really long for the days when movies had real sets, real locations, and real actors.

And about those real actors – Robert Downey was as watchable as ever, but even his performance couldn't save this one. And Jude Law seemed to have abandoned Dr. Watson in favor of a sort of stiff-upper-lip portrayal of Wilde's Dorian Gray. I'm afraid the rest of the cast wasn't very memorable, but then they had all those special effects planted firmly between them and the audience.

We watched this one on DVD, so maybe the experience of seeing it on the big screen might have improved my opinion. But I doubt it.

Nutshell Review: The best thing about this movie was the poster.

My IMDb rating: 4 stars out of a possible 10

Cloud Atlas

2012

Multi-National Production

Directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Writers: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski
Cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, James D'Arcy, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Keith David, Xun Zhou
MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use

Story: 

????? (see below)

My Thoughts:
The Internet Movie Database says this is "An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution."

Well, if you say so.

My husband had recently read the novel by David Mitchell and gave me a brief synopsis before we watched the movie. But if I hadn't had that bit of info, I would not have had a clue about what was going on in this one. If you're going to see it, it's probably a good idea to be familiar with the novel first. Otherwise, it's all just a picturesque jumble of fleeting images. A little too cartoon-y for my tastes. But it was fun watching all the actors playing different roles and having so much fun with the costumes and makeup. 

My IMDB rating: 3 stars out of a possible 10

Triangle

2009

UK/Australia

Written and Directed by: Christopher Smith
Cinematography: Robert Humphreys
Cast: Melissa George, Joshua McIvor, Jack Taylor, Michael Dorman, Henry Nixon, Rachael Carpani,  Emma Lung, Liam Hemsworth, Bryan Probets
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language

Story:

During a weekend sailing trip, a freak wave capsizes Greg’s yacht, forcing him, single mother Jess (Melissa George) and a group of his friends to board a passing ocean liner. Onboard the mysteriously empty ship, all the clocks have stopped, the ‘Shining’-like corridors are spookily silent, and Jess has an uncanny feeling that she’s been here before. Then a hooded figure starts hunting them down and killing them one by one. Shotguns are fired, fire axes are wielded and bodies pile up on the decks. Fiendishly constructed, this plays like a dark, disturbing ‘Twilight Zone’ episode. Events repeat themselves but are subtly different each time, so we share, as well as observe, Jess’s spiralling sense of dislocation. [--Nigel Floyd, Timeout.com]

My Thoughts:
This was actually not the waste of time I thought it would be.  There's something oddly karmic in the continual replay of events, with each iteration showing us the story from a just slightly different angle.  I generally don't like movies that repeat the same action over and over (with the glorious exception of Groundhog Day) -- but in this one it works. 

My IMDb Rating: 5 stars out of a possible 10

Super-8

So, new blog. Guess I'll jump right in and start with the latest movie I've seen (watched this one on DVD from Netflix).

Super-8
2011

Written and Directed by J.J. Abrams
Produced by Stephen Spielberg (among others)
Cast: Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, AJ Michalka, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Gabriel Basso
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use

Story:

While making a super-8 movie in the summer of 1979, a group of middle school students in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly afterward, unusual and inexplicable events begin taking place. As the local deputy sheriff (father of one of the young film-makers) tries to uncover the truth, the kids begin to realize that something terrifying may have escaped during the crash.

My Thoughts:
Cute film. Sort of a marriage of Stand By Me and Aliens.

My IMDb Rating: 6 stars out of a possible 10