Harold and Maude

Year: 1971

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Starring: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles

Dave - 3 Stars - Cute story, and pretty funny but left me with nothing more than a "Yea, that was a good movie" feeling. Not something I need to watch again, but not something I would object to watching again.

Lexie - 4.5 Stars - Easily one of the most romantic movies ever, I am going to do my best not to gush too much about this movie. It's sweet, it's unique, and it's hilarious. It's worth seeing for no other reason than Ruth Gordon's performance, but fortunately, that is woven in with a number of other excellent facets such as Harold's mother and her sad attempts, the scenery, and the soundtrack. Bursting with film school goodness. Enjoy.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067185/

Havoc

Year: 2005

Genre: Drama

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Freddy Rodriguez

Dave - 2.5 Stars - Decent enough movie, and should be viewed as a PSA for all the punk kids in the Troy/West Bloomfield/Birmingham/etc. school districts. It was probably worthy of 1.5 stars, but Hector was a really good role and of course Anne Hathaway did a nice job as a skanky, bored, rich, attractive teenager. But all in all, really weak and more annoying than anything.

Lexie - 3 Stars - I appreciate any movie that tries to show spoiled, rich teenagers what can happen to them when they act up. I would hope the "don't be a poser because it can get you in big trouble" message will resonate with this one, but I'm not optimistic. Scenes are graphic, but not overdone to the point where they are unwatchable.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285175/

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Year: 2009

Genre: Fantasy

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon

Dave - 3.5 Stars - On it's own, away from the book I would give this a 4, but if you throw in all the plot that they left out, and the lack luster ending in comparison we fall down to a 3.5. I understand why there are so many people up in arms, because it did not do the book justice or build the suspense to Book 7 enough. Visually awesome, great casting for Slughorn and a good movie, but could have been so much more.

Lexie - 3.5 Stars - Even though I'm without the bias of having read all of the Harry Potter books, I was not as impressed with this movie as I have been with the others. While I thought the development of the students' relationships was fun and entertaining, I didn't feel as excited for the next movie in the series as I have in the past. One of the most important aspects of the previous movies, is that after watching one, you can't wait to watch the next one. I enjoyed the intensity and darkness of this film, but what I kept thinking was how I hope that the next film will bring more details together than this one did.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/

Coraline

Year: 2009

Genre: Fantasy/Animation

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Robert Bailey Jr.

Dave - 3.5 Stars - Cool story, well developed, but just didn't have the "it" to really make something special. It was visually awesome, and probably better suited for the living room big screen. The snowglobe of the Zoo was really neat, and of course how can you not like a guy wearing an MSU sweatshirt the whole movie. Good movie all in all.

Lexie - 3.5 Stars - It was not until after we watched the movie that I discovered the story was written by Neil Gaiman, so without that knowledge I was surprised by the adult themes and images in the movie. The animation was fluid and beautiful. The story started out as an engaging fairy tale, but I couldn't help but drift as it developed and I had a lot of "Wait, that doesn't work," moments. Overall, this is a good watch, even if only for the artistry of the execution.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/

The Uninvited

Year: 2009

Genre: Horror

Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel, David Strathairn

Dave - 3 Stars - Solely because of the sweet twist at the end. The mom just has a perfect look for an evil stepmother so she sucked you in from the start. Luckily I haven't seen the one that they "ripped off" so I can appreciate this for what it was....interesting enough to enjoy, with a sweet twist to get you to go "oh snap" at the end.

Lexie - 3.5 Stars - Though the "twist" at the end was eerily similar to the end of 1972's "The Other," it actually came together for me. Throughout the movie I couldn't help but feel the plot has been done; the sisters coping with their mother's death (one sister is fresh out of the mental institution) have a hard time dealing with Dad's new hot live-in girlfriend and they soon discover she is trying to kill them. Perhaps she has killed before? Perhaps not? Why do the girls friends start to disappear? You'll find out. It's worth it to stick out the first hour or so for the last 20 minutes of action and resolution.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815245/

Trivial

Year: 2007

Genre: Drama/Mystery

Starring: Sophie Marceau, Christophe Lambert

Dave - 2 Stars - A little too all over the place, and just not very memorable. Interesting idea, but just, well blah, like my review.

Lexie - 2 Stars - Many great elements were present here, but the story took entirely too long to unravel and when it did unravel, it was so complicated that I had to skip back and watch the explanations over again. "Whose kid belongs to who? He did what? His daughter? WTF?" These are just a few of the questions you'll be asking after being dragged around a seemingly endless runaround. The fact of the matter is, I don't believe there was enough motivation for this woman (who appears quite rational) to carry out the twisted plan she becomes involved in. She expelled entirely too much energy for someone who supposedly does not care. You won't care either.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0864918/

The Entertainer

Year: 1960

Genre: Drama

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright, Roger Livesay

Dave - 2.5 Stars - I would normally go a 2 but Laurence Olivier was pretty impressive with his ability to cover the spectrum of emotions throughout the movie. Story never really got anywhere, it was just a story of a guy who was down on his luck to start and just kept digging deeper. It would be a good PSA to people that were really worried about talking their kids out of being in entertainment or being with someone in the field because they are normally not very aware or concerned with the feelings and emotions of the people around them.

Lexie - 3 Stars - While I think the story of this movie was strong, something got lost in the adaptation from stage to screen. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters long enough to feel sympathetic, even though the story is quite sad from start to finish. I think it also failed to tie some of the main plot points together, and by the end I didn't feel as moved as I think I was supposed to be. This is a movie worth watching for the "classic" style and the characters of Archie and Billy Rice who I found to be quite viable despite some moments where I was lost.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053796/