When Marnie Was There

When Marnie Was There

Studio Ghibli

19 July 2014

Anime, Drama

DVD
B

A twelve-year-old falls in love with the ghost of her grandmother.  OK, not exactly, but there's an awful lot of blushing and secrets and declarations of love for your standard "kid meets a cool ghost" story.  Either way, this is the first Studio Ghibli anime I haven't rejected.  The scenery is gorgeous, the story is compelling, and the voicework is solid.  Yes, I would've liked a different ending, but the one they offer is still moving.

Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi co-adapted the novel by Joan G. Robinson.

Monster House

Monster House

Sony Pictures etc.

July 21, 2006

Children's, Animation, Comedy, Horror

DVD
C-

I feel like I tried to watch this before, maybe upon first release, but I wouldn't swear to it.  Anyway, it's OK for what it is.  Gil Kenan directed.

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Paramount etc.

December 17, 2004

Comedy?

DVD
C

I watched the whole movie in the theater and I do recall listening to the Snicket commentary before, but this time, sigh.  I'm sorry, I just can't get past Jim Carrey being annoying, and not in a way that enhances the movie.  This is based, loosely, on the first three books in the Daniel Handler series (which I've read more than once), and directed by Brad Silberling.

Killers (2010)

Killers (2010)

Lionsgate

June 4, 2010

Action, Romcom

DVD
D+

I could actually see this working, with much better writing, since the two leads have decent chemistry, and O'Hara and Selleck would've done with well with stronger material.  Robert Luketic directed.

Home Alone

Home Alone

20th Century Fox

November 16, 1990

Comedy

DVD
C

I didn't have any strong feelings about the first fifteen or twenty minutes of this movie that I of course heard of at the time but had never actually watched before today.  I lost interest once Kevin realized he had the house to himself.  John Hughes wrote and Chris Columbus directed.

Frankenweenie

Frankenweenie

Disney

October 5, 2012

Animation, Sci-Fi

DVD

C-

While this is somewhat reminiscent of Burton's Corpse Bride, the look, story, and characters aren't nearly as good.

Best in Show

Best in Show
Warner Bros.
October 20, 2000
Mockumentary
DVD
B

Guest directed and with Levy co-wrote this movie, and the two of them play two of the main characters in it, although each set of dogs & owners gets moments in the spotlight.  I saw this movie at the time and maybe once again in the intervening almost twenty years, and I do think it holds up well, in both humor and story-- all the more impressive considering how much of it was improvised-- but I don't think it has the extra oomph that This Is Spinal Tap (1984, and reviewed here https://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2014/11/this-is-spinal-tap.html) has.  By the way, I think Begley's reference here to a rock band he can't say by name is a Spinal Tap joke. 

I actually forgot which dog won and thought it was Hubert the Hound, but it makes narrative sense for it to be the Flecks' Winky, because that family, especially Gerry (Levy's character), are most the (sorry) underdogs.  And the funniest performance here is Larry Miller's cameo as one of O'Hara's many exes, which surprised me because his humor can be hit or miss for me.  The "not the same Starbucks" line remains classic.

I had to leave Patrick Cranshaw out of the crowded tags, but I will note that he was then 80 and had been playing old men for about thirty years, like on Mork & Mindy.