Women in Trouble movie review

Women in Trouble (2009)

Short review: The main characters are all female and the story follows their struggles to cope with the situations that life deal them. And аlthough "Women in Trouble" is obviously women-oriented, it can be enjoyed by the male audience as well. It's an amusing, sexy and provocative movie, with warm and often touching multiple stories, where numerous characters are directly and indirectly connected. The dramatic and comedic elements sometimes work, and sometimes don't. Nevertheless this film is an enjoyable ride. The cast is excellent - Carla Gugino, Marley Shelton, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Adrianne Palicki, Cameron Richardson are not only beautiful, but they also portray their characters well, bringing them to life on the screen and making them seem very believable. "Women in Trouble" makes you laugh much more than expected, but most importantly, it has a heart!

• My Rating: 5.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 29% (4.3/10)
• IMDb: 5.9/10

Don't Go in the Woods movie review (2012)

Don't Go in the Woods (2012)

Brief review: It's only the beginning of 2012, and we already have a serious contender for the worst horror movie of the year. Blending horror and musical successfully is not ans easy thing to do, not to say it's nearly impossible (well, unless if you're Tim Burton), and actor-turned-director Vincent D'Onofrio fails miserably in his attempt to mix these genres properly. There's too much music and not enough terror in this sloppy slasher, and if the singing was good that would've been okay, but sadly, apart from one particular song sang by an Asian girl around the campfire, the rest of the songs are absolutely terrible. And there's like 20 of them. The typical "a group of teens go into the woods and bad things happen to them" scenario promises boredom, and this is exactly what we get. Generally, nothing happens during the first hour or so, and later on when the massacre begins, it doesn't really make any sense, because the kills are sudden, yet hardly shocking, and we never get to know who the killer is and what his motives for murdering are. Plus, the film is full of pointless dialogues and annoying characters, and despite its short running time, it feels like watching paint dry. The camera work is bland, the editing is lazy, and the direction as a whole is pretty generic and unimaginative. The gore effects are quite decent, but they're not enough to compensate for the absolute lack of scares and suspense.

Overall summary: Dumb, preposterous, amateurishly-executed and completely devoid of any scares at all, Vincent D'Onofrio's crappy debut feature, "Don't Go in the Woods", is both one of the worst horror movies of the decade and one of the worst musicals in film history.

Trespass movie review (2011)

Trespass (2011)

Brief review: The mediocre director Joel Schumacher brings us another of his uninspired projects, and this time it's all about home invasion. Basically, "Тrespass" contains every single cliche ever used in any home invasion film, which makes it laughably obvious, often boring and constantly uninteresting to watch. Having said that, the movie is far from awful and it has its moments, but those good moments are very few and far between and overshadowed by the nastiness of it, and the unbelievable selfishness of its main male character. "Тrespass" is also aggressive and quite violent, but not in an entertaining sort of way, plus it's so loud and screamy, it may cause you a headache. Visually, "Тrespass" is an absolute lackluster as well. Although it's set in a big, modern, luxurious house, the cinematography is so dull and muted, and the lighting is so low-key, you'd wish you had a flashlight. Schumacher's direction is very straight-forward and lacking in versatility, which lets the film down even more. Aside from Nicolas Cage's unlikable character, the performances are great. Nicole Kidman delivers as the anxious mother, Cam Gigandet is surprisingly decent in his role, and Liana Liberato steals the show as the willful, yet clever daughter Avery.

Overall summary: Thoroughly predictable, annoyingly loud and often nasty, "Trespass" is a big bloody mess of a thriller that mostly relays on its A-list cast, but that cast, while capable, can't compensate for a cliched script, the lack of actual thrills, and the overall ugly nature of the film.

"The Movie " Blog Awards 00!

"The Movie 411" Blog Awards 2010

are coming soon!

Dempsey Sanders and Christian James at The Movie 411 organize this amazing online event, where you can nominate your favorite movie blogs for the category you think is the most deserving. To Enter and Submit, all you need to do is E-mail themovie411@live.co.uk with the url of the blog site you want to nominate, or in case of the Best Post Award, submit the url of that particular post. You can now also nominate by filling the online form over at The Movie 411. You can only nominate one blog per award, with the maximum of 4 nominations per blogger. Blog sites and posts that have been nominated and that are in the running for a award will receive an e-mail with a badge for the award they have been nominated for, and they have to display the award badge on their site. The badge will link to how to vote and nominate for the award. For more information, click here.

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The categories you can nominate for are:

Best Newcomer
Best Design
Best Post
Best Gossip Blog
Best Animation Blog
Best Action Blog
Best Comedy Blog
Best Disaster Films Blog
Best Horror Blog
Best Oscar Discussion Blog
Best Zombie Blog
Best Sci-Fi Blog
Best True Stories Blog
Sexiest Male Author
Sexiest Female Author

+ 2 Special Awards

Gold Movie Blog Award
The Special Achievement Award

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CineMarvellous! has been nominated in 3 categories so far:

Gold Movie Blog Award

Nominated by Ali Saeedian at Dark Blue Jeans

Thank you, Ali!

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Best Horror Movie Blog

Nominated by Jaccstev at Movie Cafe, who says:
"Simple but thorough and informative yet stylish,
it's always interesting to read every
horror movie review from this blog."

Huge thanks, Jaccsy!

Nominated by J-SON at SON:sation

Thank you, J-SON!

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Best Action Movie Blog

Nominated by Alex J. Cavanaugh

Thank you, Alex!

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You can nominate CineMarvellous! (or any other blog you like)
in other categories! Thanks for the support!

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Voting begins on November 20th 2010, and the blogsites, posts and authors that receive the most nominations per category will proceed to the final stage, an online voting poll. They will battle it out with the top 5 highest nominations in each category which will also be revealed on the 20th. See you there! :)

In Time movie review (2011)

In Time (2011)

Full review: Set in 2161, Andrew Niccol's latest sci-fi thriller is all about time. Literally. In the not-so-near future, people earn time, sell time, loan time, steal time, pay with time and trade with time, because their life literally depends on time, and conceptually, this premise is as just as intriguing and original as it sounds. Although this idea is hard-to-execute, Andrew Niccol manages to pull it off excellently. The director represents the future in a very believable way, where the world is divided into two categories - very rich and very poor. Those who have centuries of time on their 'counters' live like kings, and those who doesn't, live day by day in constant stress and fear. Having said that, the film is not without its flaws, there are some unnecessarily extended scenes and a couple of dull moments, but apart from that, "In Time" never fails to entertain and captivate the audience, but most importantly, it makes you think about what if something like this happens in real life? In terms of style and concept, there are some similarities between "In Time" and director's 1997 sci-fi hit "Gattaca". The latter remains one of the sci-fi masterpieces of the 90s, but Niccol's latest effort, while still creative and original enough, feels clearly inspired by its predecessor. That's not a bad thing by any means, because on one hand, it's an intentional reminiscent of "Gattaca", and on the other hand, it showcases the director's signature style and arsenal of inventive ideas. Thanks to the polished production design and slick cinematography, visually, "In Time" is as stylish as it's authentic. The poor areas of the world are grim, plain and gloomy, while New Greenwich, the city of time 'millionaires', is posh, lavish and sophisticated, and this visual juxtaposition represents the two very different types of life amazingly well. Since the characters in the movie are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25, what you can expect from the cast is only young, fresh and pretty faces, and it feels great to watch a movie full of beautiful people. Justin Timberlake is a hit-and-miss type of an actor, but he really doesn't disappoint this time around. The role suits him perfectly and he does a capable job of portraying his character's aims and struggles. Amanda Seyfried is just as talented as she's beautiful, and she delivers a fantastic performance as the spoiled, yet smart daughter of a time magnate, Sylvia. The supporting cast shines as well. Cillian Murphy gives a solid performance as the humble and loyal timekeeper, and his character is probably the most sympathetic of all. Alex Pettyfer is the biggest surprise here. No one would have guessed that Pettyfer could play a bad guy so convincingly, and believe me, he does it with a bang. Maybe for first time in film history Olivia Wilde's presence is not that annoying (Sarcastic quiz: Can you name a movie she doesn't star in? LOL.), but that's probably due to the fact that her screen time is very limited.

Overall summary: Although it gets a bit tiresome towards the end, and it's far from perfect, Andrew Niccol's futuristic thriller "In Time" still dazzles with its original premise, inventive script, atmospheric visuals and engaging cast, and it feels like a breath of fresh air among the sea of remakes and sequels that Hollywood continuously spews these days.

Numerous QuickRatings PART : Movies - the 0's

Fair Game (2010)

QuickRating: Although it suffers from Doug Liman's unfocused direction and an inappropriate jerky camera work, and it's often hard to follow, at the end of the day "Fair Game" is an unpredictable, finely-crafted, intriguing and incredibly gripping political thriller, acted marvellously by its top-notch cast.

My Rating: 6.50/10





I Am Love (2010)

QuickRating: Set in different stunning locations, "I Am Love" is a beautifully-shot and solidly-acted drama about doomed lovers, that dazzles with its exquisite settings, stylish direction and rich, deeply saturated color scheme, but it never fully delivers, because of its sluggishness and tedious narration.

My Rating: 6.50/10




Of Gods and Man (2010)

QuickRating: Subtle, honest, gorgeously photographed and smartly-written, if quite monotonous and often boring to watch, "Of Gods and Men" fails to deliver any emotional impact at all, despite its deep, thought-provoking premise, Beauvois' skillful direction, and the great performances by the actors involved.

My Rating: 6.50/10

Just Wright movie review (2010)

Just Wright (2010)

"Just Wright" is the latest romantic comedy starring the lovely Queen Latifah, and it revolves around Leslie, a physical therapist who falls for the basketball player she is helping recover from a career-threatening injury. Things are further complicated because her Leslie's closest friend, Morgan, is also pursuing him. While riddled with cliches and pretty straight forward, "Just Wright" is sweet and charming, with a decent enough story to make it worth watching. Unlike most romantic comedies this year - "The Bounty Hunter", "The Back Up Plan", to name a few, the two leads actually have great chemistry in this film. Their connection seems so strong, and believable, you might those two fell in love, while shooting the film. Queen Latifah's naturalness is her strongest asset! Latifah is so sincere, natural and easy-going, she's simply captivating to watch. Her remarkably unaffected performance is "Just Wright"'s highlight for sure. Common does a good job as the popular basketball player Scott McKnight, although his character look a bit silly and naive at times. Another problem is that Common is way too short to play a NBA player, and even Queen Latifah is taller then him, which looks a bit strange and might evoke some laughs. Paula Patton looks gorgeous, but acting borders on.. well, overacting. Although, a little bit predictable and cliched, I found "Just Wright"'s appeal very refreshing: if you're comfortable with yourself and if you have enough patience, you might find someone that is comfortable with you too, and loves you for what you are.

• My Rating: 5.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 49% (5.2/10)
• IMDb: 3.7/10