Tag: Emma Thompson

Dolittle

Robert Downey Jr. sheds his Marvel Universe Super Hero persona to play Dr. John Dolittle, who is an eccentric doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England.

After losing his wife seven years earlier, Dr. Dolittle became a hermit, hiding away from the public eye. His only companions are the animals that he previously cared for. He talks to them and plays with them.

A messenger from the Queen summons Dr. Dolittle when the young queen falls ill and no one is able to determine what is wrong. Once Dr. Dolittle diagnoses the symptoms the queen exhibits, he then goes on a journey to locate a cure. The story unfolds from there…

“Dolittle” is definitely not Robert Downey Jr’s best work. During most of the movie the dialog from Robert Downey Jr. is not understandable. There is some comic relief that comes from the animals, but there aren’t any other redeemable qualities about the movie. It seems like it was just thrown together with no thought about a plot.

Young children may find “Dolittle” entertaining, but the movie is not worth the price of admission. The paid critics did not like “Dolittle”. I should have skipped it.

This is a 1 Star Movie!!

Last Christmas

From the trailers “Last Christmas” looked like it would be a fun movie, so I decided to give it a look.

Kate (Emilia Clarke) is a walking accident in London waiting to happen. She meanders endlessly through her days without much direction. Then along comes Tom (Henry Golding) who seems too good to be true. After many semi dates with Tom, Kate let’s her hair down and wants to get close, but Tom can’t let that happen. Kate thinks Tom is rejecting her but that is not the case. The story unfolds from there…

“Last Christmas” ends up having a very interesting twist. You have to weed through most of the movie to get to the real meaning. The story starts off a bit disjointed. There is a sort of comic relief to some of the events that occur. While the movie is fairly decent, its not a memorable Holiday movie that will have a lasting effect. While watching “Last Christmas” I felt there were undertones to “Bridge Jones Diary”. There were scenes that kept reminding me of that movie.

Check out “Last Christmas” if you dare. Although it is worthy of waiting for it on cable.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Late Night

“Late Night” is about a Late Night Show host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) and answering the Diversity question when she hires her first female writer, Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling) and the interactions that occur with the “All Male” writer staff. At first the men think Molly is an office assistant until they are told that she is a writer and will be working with them. This does not go over very well at first. The men actually use the restroom marked “Women” among other things.
Show host, Katherine Newbury is in danger of losing her job due to ratings so she is hoping that Molly can help find that spark again so that the ratings will climb back up. But Katherine and Molly clash due to a generation and cultural difference. The story unfolds from there…

There is a lot of real-world workplace scenarios that are played out in this movie. We are living in a time where Diversity is a big deal. A Woman working in an all-male group/department is becoming a thing of the past. This movie illustrates that.

All of that aside, the movie is fun and there is definitely comic relief. Great acting from Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling make this a good choice.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Bridget Jones’s Baby

Renee Zellweger is back as the delightfully funny and awkward Bridget Jones that we all came to love in the 2001 Franchise installment.

In this third installment Bridget Jones soon finds herself in an unexpected situation. She is pregnant and is not sure who the father is. However there are only two choices, the baby’s father is either Jack (Patrick Dempsey) or Bridget’s long time crush Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).

Bridget needs DNA samples from both men. This ensues a number of crazy and hilarious situations that unfold at Bridget’s place of employment. Soon both men find out that they could be the father of Bridget’s Baby. The story unfolds from there…

This third installment is so much better than the second installment, but not quite as good as the 2001 Franchise installment. The movie is funny, zany and very entertaining.

Although Hugh Grant is missing from this installment, the continuation with Colin Firth was very well done.

I found “Bridget Jones’s Baby” to be delightfully hilarious! I am glad to see Renee Zellweger reprise the role. The door was left open for a fourth installment.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!

BURNT

Bradley Cooper is Chef Adam Jones a celebrated 2 star Michelin Winner and celebrity among the Paris Restaurant scene. He loses everything because of his “Bad Boy” ways. In order for Adam to obtain his own kitchen again and win a third Michelin star he will have to clean up his act and leave his “Bad Boy” ways behind him. The story unfolds from there…

The story has bones, but starts off dis-jointed and continues throughout the movie. There are too many elements missing and you have to piece it all together yourself. That’s not why we go to the movies. We want the story to unfold and all of the parts to be there. We should not have to guess or assume anything.

“BURNT” is a bit funny and heart-warming, but is incomplete.

“BURNT” is best viewed on cable. It’s not worth the price of a DVD or Blue Ray.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie

Saving Mr. Banks

Walt Disney promised his daughters that he would obtain the rights to make a movie from the bestselling novel P.L. Travers “Mary Poppins”. The only problem is that it would take over 20 years to accomplish.

Author P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) wasn’t really interested in allowing her book and beloved magical nanny Mary Poppins to become part of the Hollywood Mauling machine.
But after a while the book stopped selling and finances became a strain so P.L. Travers agree to come to Holly wood to meet with Walt Disney. The story unfolds from there…

The story is very well told. We see P.L. Travers childhood through her eyes throughout the movie via flashbacks that she has during her time at the Disney Studios.

This is a very delightful movie. It’s sweet in that Disney way, but not too sweet. Just think “Saving Mr. Banks” is a Disney movie about the making of a Disney movie. How can you go wrong with that?