Movie Review: "Up In The Air" 09/05/09

This is a movie review for "Up In The Air", released September 5, 2009 at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, USA. I watched this on February 5, 2020 via Vudu.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Run Time: 1 Hour and 49 Minutes

Trailer

Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):

G / General Audiences

PG / Parental Guidance Suggested

PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned

R / Restricted

X

Not Rated

Notable Cast

George Clooney ... Ryan Bingham

Vera Farmiga ... Alex Goran

Anna Kendrick ... Natalie Keener

Plot

Ryan Bingham is a professional that travels across the country to help supervisors/bosses fire their employees. He smoothes it over and gives the newly fired person support, though they usually don't call him. After firing the employee, he packs up his bag and moves on to the next firing.

Ryan's boss tells him, one day, that they will be minimizing the staff flying out to these firing sessions because it is getting costly to send them out. He convinces his boss that the personal touch is necessary, so his boss gives him the task of showing a new employee how to do his job. Will he convince his boss to let him stay on as flying to each firing session? Will the new girl be able to handle the pressure? Can Ryan connect with his family while he is on the road?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

3/5 - *SPOILERS*

This was a "comedy drama" that was disappointing (especially wasn't very funny). It was more drama than anything.

As for the "romance" part of the movie, at the end, it turned out that Alex, Ryan's fling that is also a traveler, also had a family and was living a double-life. It was was terrible of her to string him along and then, to top it off, she says that she is "an adult" and he needs to grow up.

I thought it was great that he was able to send world-wide travel tickets to his sister but we never saw her reaction.

I was glad to see Natalie trying to do what she wanted to before Brian and that Ryan supported her as a reference.

It was sad to see Ryan get his 10 million miles and it being bland like "oh shit… well, that happened". I kinda wanted to see him go where he wanted to go with all of his miles or to be more active in his family's life but it just ended with a "well, I guess I will be in the air". I do like that the whole "supportive of family" came out at the end.

I liked that it talked about how to get through the tough times after being fired/unemployed. Considering how the movie came out in 2009 when the economy was crap, it might have been hard to watch because it would have hit very close to home but at the same time it could have been a breather and a reminder that "we're all in this together and there is purpose to live aside your job".

Typing this at the end of December 2020, I find it ironic that I had watched this movie about 40 days before the pandemic hit the world. Maybe it was a reminder to say that humans can get through a lot of sh*t? It was definitely coincidental but still...

Anyways, that's my movie review. I personally am content with only watching this movie once and never again, but that's just me. Thanks for reading! More reviews to come eventually.

~ Gracie Mae DeLunac

Contact me?

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Email graciemaedelunac@yahoo.com

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Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com

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Classic Movie Review: "Dumbo" 10/31/41

This is a movie review for "Dumbo", released October 31, 1941. I watched this movie multiple times as a child and rewatched this (via Disney+) on January 24, 2020 after watching the 2019 "Dumbo".

Genre: Animation, Drama, Family

Run Time: 1 Hour and 4 Minutes

Trailer

Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):

G / General Audiences

PG / Parental Guidance Suggested

PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned

R / Restricted

X

Not Rated

Notable Cast

Herman Bing ... The Ringmaster (voice) (uncredited)

Mel Blanc ... Dumbo (uncredited)

Edward Brophy ... Timothy Q. Mouse (voice) (uncredited)

Hall Johnson Choir ... Crows (voice) (uncredited)

Cliff Edwards ... Dandy Crow (uncredited)

Verna Felton ... The Elephant Matriarch / Mrs. Jumbo (voice) (uncredited)

Plot

Mrs. Jumbo is an elephant in a circus. One day, the stork delivers a baby to her. The child ends up being named Dumbo but Dumbo isn't an ordinary baby elephant - he has massively huge ears. The boys at the circus pick on him, as well as other animals within the circus. Mrs. Jumbo gets mad and wants to protect her child, but instead she is locked away and he is put to work as a joke of the circus ("look at those ears..."). Can Dumbo, with the help of his friend Timothy Q. Mouse, find a way to be accepted in the circus? Can he reconnect with his mother?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

2.5/5 - *SPOILERS*

This is the first time that I have watched this since childhood and the movie really doesn't mean the same now for me like it did then. Of course, your perspective changes as you age and you can pick up more things as an adult than when you were a child.

First off, what the heck were the creators thinking when they said "let's make an elephant pyramid"? It is not logical. Even just two layers of elephants is a dumb idea... And the elephants were going along with the idea?

It is strange to see Dumbo get drunk and have a hallucination afterwards of pink elephants [kinda like Pooh's hephalumps and woolies]. Is this a testament to children that your brain goes fuzzy when you're drunk or high?

Oh, and BEWARE the strobe during the drunk hallucination sequence!

The portrayal of the crows being obnoxious black men could be seen as offensive if you look at it hard enough and get butt hurt over small things but I found them kinda cute.

Per disney.fandom.com: 

Dumbo is often criticized as "racist" for the inclusion of the black crows as African-American caricatures; specifically the naming of Jim, which is an ironic and sarcastic reference to the infamous Jim Crow laws with the intent to mock them. However, many critics, pundits and personalities reject these criticisms, noting that the majority of the crows are portrayed by African American actors (with the exception of Cliff Edwards) and their lead animator described them as being spoofs of many black entertainers at the time, with their clothes being based on 1930-40s fashion, such as Jim's derby hat and spats. The crows, however, have been viewed as protagonistic, being sympathetic to Dumbo's tribulations, and work with Timothy to perfect Dumbo's flying ability.

Many times in the movie, I paused and thought "did they do this just to show off skill / for the heck of it" or were the creators just stoned off of their a**es?

Ending was vague with "he's famous and now has his own caboose trailer for him and his mom".

Aside these little points, this is a cute short classical movie by Disney. I don't see the harm of letting children watch this without parent supervision but some may disagree.

Anyways, that's my movie review. Thank you for reading! More reviews to come eventually.

~ Gracie Mae DeLunac

Contact me?

Twitter @gracie_delunac

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Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com

"Everything Wrong with Dumbo 1941"

Credit: @CinemaSins

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Movie Review: "Dumbo" 03/29/19

 This is my movie review for "Dumbo", released March 29, 2019. I watched this January 24, 2020 via Disney+.

Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Run Time: 1 Hour and 52 Minutes

Trailer

Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):

G / General Audiences

PG / Parental Guidance Suggested

PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned

R / Restricted

X

Not Rated

Notable Cast

Colin Farrell ... Holt Farrier

Michael Keaton ... V. A. Vandevere

Danny DeVito ... Max Medici

Eva Green ... Colette Marchant

Alan Arkin ... J. Griffin Remington

Nico Parker ... Milly Farrier

Finley Hobbins ... Joe Farrier

Plot

Holt Farrier, having lost one of his arms in the war, returns home to the circus run by Max Medici. He finds out that his wife (also his partner for the circus act) passed away while he was at war but his children are still alive. He reunites with them and tries to be the father that they need, though he is also trying to figure out how to deal with the loss of his arm (since his act was a cowboy with a lasso) and his wife. 

Since Holt is disabled, Max gives him clean up duty after the animals. As he is taking care of the elephants, one of the females gives birth to a baby elephant. The mother elephant attacks someone when they get close to the baby and she is sent away for the safety of the circus workers. Holt's children Milly and Joe start getting close to the baby elephant and tell him that they have lost their mother too, so they know how it feels.

It turns out that the baby (Dumbo) can fly when he has a feather in his possession. (Why? No idea; let's call it magic.) As Max is getting really tight on funds, an offer by a bigger circus company gets more tempting. Max sells out to Vandevere, Dumbo being the main selling point.

How can Dumbo, Holt, Milly, Joe and the rest of the Medici circus family survive? Will commercialism be the victor over family? Can they ever find Dumbo's mom?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

3.5/5 - *SPOILERS*

There were some of the original songs from Disney's "Dumbo" (1941) but they weren't too prominent. This version tried to incorporate scenes from the original but changed them: for example, the dancing pink  bubble elephants were still in this movie but it wasn't because Dumbo was drunk (but it still seemed really trippy). 

Pink Elephants (2019):

Pink Elephants on Parade (1941):

I get that they were trying to make a nod to the old movie but the 2019 version of the pink elephants were really outrageous and didn't make sense to me. I understand that the whole pink elephants thing was something Dumbo saw when he was drunk but try to take that to the circus in a sober setting? Wtf....

As far as the animals not talking nor singing, it works and doesn't work for this version of the movie. I kinda missed the mouse helping Dumbo out but that was what the kids Milly and Joe were there for. I did like the fact that the other elephants were not able to pick on Dumbo in this movie because that was a bit too much for a little guy like him, in my honest opinion. The friendship between the mouse and Dumbo was lost, though, and the friendship between Milly, Joe, and Dumbo was just not the same; sure, they were there for him but the fuzzy feelings weren't as strong as the friendship between the mouse and Dumbo in the 1941 version.

The fact that Mrs. Jumbo couldn't sing pushed the song "Baby Mine" to a circus worker, which kinda works but also makes it seem like it was placed there when Dumbo sees his mother, which distances the relationship between Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo. (The circus worker isn't even singing to a child!) In the 1941 version, however, the song doesn't start until after Dumbo has arrived at his mother's cage and they have connected.

"Baby Mine" 1941:

"Baby Mine" 2019:

It was sad that Holt came home from the war to find that his wife had died from influenza while he had been gone and that the circus wasn't doing very well. However, the circus troupe came together almost like a real "family" and helped reunite, and free, Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo.

I do have an issue with the fact that they release the two into the wild because wtf. Mrs. Jumbo probably wasn't a wild elephant in the first place, so that could be a death sentence to the both of them. Good intention but why in the world would you just be like "BE FREE IN THE WILDERNESS" considering how many people hunt elephants, and natural predators, and is that even the setting they need to be in if they are wilderness-compatible? And how does that help protect them? Why couldn't they have just kept them in the Medici troupe and move onward down the road/railway? (Ending was lacking, obviously.)

In general, it was a good movie. It was darker than the 1941 version because of the reality they put into the human aspect of the movie (as the 1941 version only dealt with the viewpoints of the animals) but it was decent. I liked the fact that Milly and Joe stood up for Dumbo because people should stand up for the well being of animals. I liked how they all got together to get Mrs. Jumbo and Dumbo reunited, though releasing them might not have been the best idea. It was sad to see the corporate corruption in the movie, but that's what human life is, right?

Anyways, that's my movie review. I'd personally say that you should have parental guidance/observation when having children watch this movie for the first time, even if it isn't as gruesome as "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" (2018), because of adult/human themes. {I'm referring to the greed and animal punishment, thank you.}

Thanks for reading! More reviews to come eventually, so keep an eye out!

~ Gracie Mae DeLunac

Contact me?

Twitter @gracie_delunac

Email graciemaedelunac@yahoo.com

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Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com

"Everything Wrong with "Dumbo" 2019 in 12 Minutes or Less"

Credit: @CinemaSins

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Movie Review: "Bad Times at the El Royale" 09/27/18

This is my movie review for "Bad Times at the El Royale", released September 27, 2018 at the Fantastic Fest in Texas, United States of America. I watched this on January 23, 2020.

I originally was interested in this movie because of Jeff Bridges (who also played The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" and Kevin Flynn in "Tron: Legacy") and Chris Hemsworth (Thor in the Avengers/Thor movies).

Genre:  Crime, Drama, Mystery

Run Time:  2 Hours and 21 Minutes

Trailer

Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):

G / General Audiences

PG / Parental Guidance Suggested

PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned

R / Restricted

X

Not Rated

Notable Cast

Jeff Bridges ... Father Daniel Flynn / Dock O'Kelly

Cynthia Erivo ... Darlene Sweet

Dakota Johnson ... Emily Summerspring

Jon Hamm ... Laramie Seymour Sullivan

Chris Hemsworth ... Billy Lee

Cailee Spaeny ... Rose Summerspring

Lewis Pullman ... Miles Miller

Nick Offerman ... Felix O'Kelly

Xavier Dolan ... Buddy Sunday

Shea Whigham ... Dr. Woodbury Laurence

Mark O'Brien ... Larsen Rogers

Plot

Seven strangers end up at a hotel on the state borderline between California and Nevada. The El Royale hotel lets you stay either on one side of the hotel or the other. Each side has its own style, which gives it more appeal. However, these strangers are going to end up having more troubles than just merely "staying at the hotel". Who is telling the truth? Are there murderers amongst the guests? When push comes to shove, what will happen?

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

2.5/5 - *SPOILERS*

Piecework movie that did not make much sense. How come all of these small stories were put together? Just to put them together because "all roads lead to the El Royale". One of the worst things was the fact that the clerk was watching through a mirror from a hidden hall behind the rooms. It really made me think of movies like "Vacancy" and "The Resident" where someone was watching someone, either via a hidden hall behind the wall or via a camera. It is really freaky but was unnecessary in this movie.

Chris Hemsworth was pretty hot without the shirt on but his character was terrible and had very little depth aside a jealous cult leader. Jeff Bridges was pretty good for an aging actor playing a guy who has Alzheimers.

The ending was pretty crappy - everyone turned up dead except the singer and the father/robber; the two ended up going to her gig job in Reno so that she could sing even if they had the money that the father/robber had extracted from the hiding spot he had put it in many years ago after a robbery. 

I was rather disappointed in this movie. The trailer sounded interesting but it just fell short. This is not a movie for children because there is a lot of violence. If you want a movie with a small location and a handful of stories coming together, I would suggest "Identity" (2003).

Anyways, that's my movie review. Thanks for reading! More reviews to come, so keep an eye out.

~ Gracie Mae DeLunac

Contact me?

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Email graciemaedelunac@yahoo.com

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Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com

587.

Movie Review: "Into the Woods" 12/17/14

This is a movie review for "Into the Woods", originally released at the Dubai International Film Festival, United Arab Emirates, on December 17, 2014. I watched this on January 20, 2020.

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Run Time: 2 Hours and 5 Minutes

Trailer

Official MPAA Rating (According to IMDB.com):

G / General Audiences

PG / Parental Guidance Suggested

PG-13 / Parents Strongly Cautioned

R / Restricted

X

Not Rated

Notable Cast

Anna Kendrick ... Cinderella

Daniel Huttlestone ... Jack

James Corden ... Baker / Narrator

Emily Blunt ... Baker's Wife

Christine Baranski ... Stepmother

Lilla Crawford ... Little Red Riding Hood

Meryl Streep ... Witch

Johnny Depp ... Wolf

Billy Magnussen ... Rapunzel's Prince

Mackenzie Mauzy ... Rapunzel

Plot

A baker and his wife are unable to have children. They learn from a witch (neighbor to the baker) that it is because of a curse placed on his father for stealing from the witch's garden. Because of the theft of her garden (especially for some special beans), the witch made the bloodline unable to have children. She tells the baker and his wife that if they retrieve four items from the woods by the end of three days, she can break the curse.

Four items: cow as white as milk, cloak as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, slipper as pure as gold. As the baker searches for these four items, we realize that the other items are connecting other Grimm story tales: cow as white as milk (Jack and the Beanstalk), cloak as red as blood (Red Riding Hood), hair as yellow as corn (Rapunzel), and slipper as pure as gold (Cinderella). Of course, somehow, everyone ends up in the woods. What will happen? Will everyone's wishes come true? Will the baker manage to break the curse?  

Rating Criteria

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around. – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.

2.5/5 - *SPOILERS* 

Interesting story but the wrap up of the movie left so much in question. It was interesting to see at least 3 well-known stories pull together in a Grimm way but it still left a lot to be desired.

If you don't like musicals, stay away because it really is music-centric. Depp's song of the Wolf regarding Red sounded super pervy like a pedophile. I get that the Wolf is thinking about eating her and Granny but the way he describes Red is just so pedophilia....

Another song that I liked that got me interested in this movie (thank you, Pandora radio) is "On the Steps of the Palace". Watching it in the movie was less interesting than I thought it would be but I still think it is a decent piece.

The bad of this movie? Well, Cinderella's Prince (that she marries) is a player and, while in the woods, made out with the baker's wife. Of course, some birds find out and tell Cinderella later and she goes "why did you cheat?". The baker's wife has a moment of "wtf.... What was that? What should I do?". 

She ended up deciding to go on to the life of "Or" (the baker or the Prince) and returning to her husband, not forgetting the moment with the Prince. The worst thing about this is that she dies right after making this decision... And she never gets to go back to her husband and tell him how much he means to her. But that's life, right? Tell everyone what you think of them when you have the chance because you may never get to again...

There were a lot of things that were not addressed at the end though I thought it was great that Cinderella's step-sisters had received physical pain (from their mother and from birds) as retribution for what they had been like to Cinderella. Making Jack's mother die was dumb and didn't make sense. The baker taking on all of these children with Cinderella's help was a lame idea... What happened to the kingdom?

Anyways, this is not a children's movie, in my personal opinion. The way that this movie is put together is very dark and has a lot of adult-themed ideas (cutting off parts of the stepsisters' feet to make them fit Cinderella's glass slipper, the crows attacking the stepsisters and making them blind, the baker's wife making out with the prince, etc).

In general, it was an interesting idea of combining the stories into one but I personally would not want to watch this one again.

Anyways, that's my movie review. Thanks for reading! More will come eventually.

~ Gracie Mae DeLunac

Contact me?

Twitter @gracie_delunac

Email graciemaedelunac@yahoo.com

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Skype gracelyn2019@yahoo.com

"Everything Wrong with Into the Woods in Fairy Tale Minutes"

by @cinemasins

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