http://www.viewpoints.com/aboutme/divinerebel Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:01:58 GMT Reviews by divinerebel http://www.viewpoints.com/Walt-Disney-World-Orlando-FL--24548-review-d6103 I hate DIsney. I hated it when my parents draggedme there at the age of 17 (my brother was 12) and I hated last November when my aunt chose it as our Family Reunion Destination. — — Growing up, I watched THe Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday evening and still claim Dumbo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary poppins as some of my favorite movies. But Mickey Mouse and the gang? Never got it - they are not funny, not that cute, and just planin unentertaining to me. I loved Warner Bros.! Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck over Donald any day of the week. — — At the gate, the employees upsell parents out of any semblence of "affordable" deals to the park - multiple passes, unecessary packages, you name it. And they are not veryinformative, either. I can't remember which park has the stuff I like and which doesn't... The Magic Kingdomis mostly for little kids, and I was there that day with my husband and my parents - all adults. And halfway through that... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:01:58 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Walt-Disney-World-Orlando-FL--24548-review-d6103 divinerebel 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Georgia-Rule--136816-review-7df1 Honestly, I only saw the last twenty minutes of this film on a plane. But that was enough to show me how horribly wasted these actresses were in a muddied, befuddled script! It seems to me that there may have been to many hands in this pot - no clear vision, no strong direction... too many voices striving for different ends. — — This mess surprised me, because huffmn, Fonda, and even Lohan are all talented actors with a pretty strong history of good films (except for maybe Fonda's Monst-in-Law...). And Gary Marshall is an experienced filmmaker with a good eye, but... something went wrong here. — — This would most likely have gone better with less money and more focus on allowing the characters created to tell the story more naturally. It just came across as contrived and forced. This was the most painful twenty minutes of film I have seen since the Coen Bros.' The Ladykillers. Avoid at all... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:14:27 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Georgia-Rule--136816-review-7df1 divinerebel 1 http://www.viewpoints.com/Catch-and-Release-review-49f71 This movie was alright, but a bit too long. I like the idea behind the story - finding out the secrets Jennifer Garner's fiancee kept from her, after he dies pre-wedding. — — The acting was good. I love Jennefire Garner. Kevin Smith shoed range, and Juliette Lewis was everything she should have been and more (Someone give this girl more work!). Timothy Olyphant, whom I usually like, didn't seem to fit in here. I think he was miscast. In fact, I forgot he was in it - I had to look up the lead male actor as I wrote this. I don't  think he had any chemistry with Garner, either. — — So, if you like romantic comedies, adilt dramas, or any of the cast members, see this movie. I am not a chick flick fan, but I rented this because of the good critical reviews. Mildly disappointing. —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:03:25 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Catch-and-Release-review-49f71 divinerebel 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Driving-Lessons--28186-review-c0c00 Very funny and sweet tale of a shy teen played by Harry Potter's Rupert Grint. Laura Linneyis excellent, as always, as his uber-Christian over-protective and controlling mother. Julie Walters is incredible as Evie, the aging reclusive actress diva that befriends Grint's Ben, after hiring him for odd jobs. — — This movie reminded me of the classic Harold & Maude, but without the sexual relationshio. Instead, Evie helps Ben find himself, stand up for himself, and stand up to his mother. These are important teps to a healthy adulthood. — — I love comng-of-age films, and this one is up there at the top of the list, right next to Cinema Paradiso. —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:54:49 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Driving-Lessons--28186-review-c0c00 divinerebel 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Skeleton-Key-review-1519 Wow, I know I saw this movie sometime last summer or whenever it came out, but I completely forgot about it. Voodoo... old photos... decent story with adequate acting but pretty predictable and un-memorable. — — If I think hard about it, I remember liking the characters well enough.There was also an interesting back story of the Black slaves that brought Santeria to Louisiana and how they helped form the history of New Orleans. But the plot itself did not have the twists or turns I wanted it to have. — — If this comes on TV, I'll probably watch it again, but I don't feel the need to re-rent it or buy it. — ... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:43:08 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Skeleton-Key-review-1519 divinerebel 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Surfs-Up-review-54f32 When I first saw the ads for this, I thought, "Great... another penguin movie. And what the heck are they doing surfing?!?! How stupid." — — I was wrong. — — This was hilarious! If you'v eever seen any of those surfer documentaries or Warren Miller movies, you'll love this. Even if you haven't (I'm not actually a surfer or skiier),  you'll get most of the references and you will laugh. Silly jokes, slapstick, zen humor... it's got it all. — — Jeff Bridges basically reprises his Big Lewbowski role of The Dude as a retired surfer, mentoring Shia LaBeouf's young admiring protege surfer. Many other voice talents lend their charms to this sweet and funny film about growning up and following your dreams. — — —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:34:59 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Surfs-Up-review-54f32 divinerebel 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Beowulf-2007-review-98392 Okay, let's get this out of the way: —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:59:23 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Beowulf-2007-review-98392 divinerebel 5 http://www.viewpoints.com/Borat-Cultural-Learnings-of-America-for-Make-Benefit-Glorious-Nation-of-Kazakhstan-review-0e7e0 When this was in the theaters still, I wnet with my husband, best friend, and parents. I was somewhat familiar with Sascha Baron Cohen from Da Ali G Show, and knew my mom would not enjoy this, but she came along anyway. — — My dad, friend, husband and I laughed so hard we all were crying throughout the entire film, which is hard to do. Yes, this movie is over the top, gross at times, and vulgar most of the time, but is DAMN funny. It is also original, smart, political, anthropological, thought-provoking, and brilliant. And those are qualities that are hard ro come by in our advertising-driven Hollywood Machine day-and-age. — — I will put up with a little fat-hairy-men wrestling to walk away with such a head full of wonder and a belly full of laughter. —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:42:37 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Borat-Cultural-Learnings-of-America-for-Make-Benefit-Glorious-Nation-of-Kazakhstan-review-0e7e0 divinerebel 4 http://www.viewpoints.com/Hairspray--21104-review-19890 Um.... what can I say? I am a huge fan of John Waters, Divine, comedies, and movies. There are several musicals that I love, but many that drive me nuts. This one is leaning towards the latter... — — Let's start with the good points: —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:33:37 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Hairspray--21104-review-19890 divinerebel 2 http://www.viewpoints.com/Knocked-Up--134596-review-36c00 Yeah... — — Not my cup of tea. I love comedies, I don't mind gross-out comedy when it's done right, and I like the cast of this film. But overall, I did not find it funny. — — Also, Judd Apatow's previous hit, 40 Year Old Virgin, I thought it was a well-told story and a decent movie, but NOT funny. So it was with this one. (Superbad, however, made me laugh.) — — Most of the humour was too pregnancy-oriented. I know, the movie was call "Knocked Up", but still... The ONLY laughs I had were at some of the jokes made about the character growing the beard all year. Those were funny. The rest, was just okay. I won't watch it again. —... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:09:55 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Knocked-Up--134596-review-36c00 divinerebel 3 http://www.viewpoints.com/Firefly-The-Complete-Series-review-c607 Televison execs need to start giving shows a chance before they cancelthem. It used to be that a show had a REGULAR time slot, week after week, and was given a FULL season, if not more, to buikd an audience. These days, shows are often yanked after just a handful of episodes, before viewers even knew it was there, or evern where it was inthe schedule. — — Firefly was a victim of such mismanagement. The shows were NOT aired in sequence, and therefore viewers had no chance of following the plot. ANd it had a built-in audience of Buffy and Angel fans, so the network REALLY bungled this one. They could have had another long-running sci-fi hit on their hands in an instant, but for whatever reasons, failed. — — Luckily for us, Firefly was one step up from other lost series, because we did get some clodure in the movie form of Serenity. Hopefully, there will another movie made, but probably not. — — Joss Whedon is a great storyteller, and this... Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:00:46 GMT http://www.viewpoints.com/Firefly-The-Complete-Series-review-c607 divinerebel 5