The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Rated: PG

Cat Says:

I'll start off by saying I'm not much of a Ben Stiller fan. Like most of the comics that are so popular out there like Jim Carrey, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler, I hate their comedy and love their drama roles. So I was hopeful for this one when I was finally able to get out to see it today.

Yes, I saw the original version with Danny Kaye and liked it, but this version is more like saying you like Apple Pie but this one is Chocolate Creme. They are both pie, both good and both the same and very different at the same time. And I have to say I love this one more.

In this version Walter works for LIFE Magazine which is coming to the end of it's paper magazine run and going all digital. He's been working there for 16 years and is the only contact to their prime outdoor photographer (played in a great cameo by Sean Penn), Sean O'Connell. Sean has sent in a roll of film which has the final cover photo film frame for the magazine. Only, it's not there. Not in the can, not on the roll, not in the envelope. Not there. Walter panics since, if he has any hope of staying on with the company through the transitioning period, he must deliver this final negative for the final cover. Having lived a very safe life up to this point, Walter is forced out of his comfort zone and into panic mode zone where you will do anything to get the job done. He feels a loyalty to this photographer as well as to his magazine. The new girl at the magazine (played by Kristin Wig), Cheryl, whom Walter already adores from afar, encourages him to try to track Sean down and see if he has the negative. Walter takes her advice, knowing he has a very short time to get the negative, and it's an adventure from there.

Like the original, while living the "safe" life, Walter often takes leaps of fantasy and "zones out" as his fantasy life allows him to do things he would never dream of doing. This is a problem when the new transition manager comes into the picture. Adam Scott plays the jerk so well that you begin to wonder if that's who he is in real life because he has the role down! The manager uses Walter's zoning out as a weapon against him but it works for his love live with Cheryl. In this version the fantasy life is just an example of how he checks out of life and doesn't really see even what is in his immediate world. Not quite the scene stealer it was in the original.

Fairly quickly Walter is dashing all over the world in search of the photographer and this missing negative. When trip after trip fails his own life at home in New York kicks up a notch. He connects more with him mom (Shirley MacLaine, wonderful as always) and sister (Kathryn Hahn)  as well as with Cheryl and her son, Rich. As his work life is going downhill and his search for this photographer gets harder he starts to really experience life and the people in it and stops fantasizing instead. It is a wonderful blossoming.

When he, at last, does catch up to Sean you are treated to one of the best scenes in the movie. It is here that you really start to feel the heart of the film. Puzzle pieces come together for Walter and transforms him to the point where he finally "gets" it. Life. 

As a photographer this was a beautiful film to see (and maybe why I was so taken by it). As a movie watcher there are tons of holes that you have to overlook in this film. But it was the heart of the film that made me like it and, by the end of the film, love it. When Walter is forced to see the beauty of the world outside of his cubicle, so are we. When he is forced to see that your heart encompasses a lot more than you think it does, then so are we. It's sweet, tender and funny. There is a side story with Patton Oswald that leads you to one of the funniest lines in the movie. I won't spoil it for you. But it is this side story that helps Walter see where he's going as well as ties into the bigger picture in the end. If I were to look at the holes too closely this film would get a 7. Because of the beauty and heart it gets and 8.5. Great movie, no. It misses the mark by this much. But a very good movie that I will own and I will watch again and again. 

Barbara Says:

Watched ``The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty''' not long after it came out by myself.  I went just to have something to do really. Because I had been taking my breaks for lunch in the theater showing it and had not been real impressed. For those who do not know me, I work in a movie theater.  First, let me say I am not a fan of Ben Stiller.  Now for what I did like.  The scenery was beautiful all the way through the film.  I enjoyed seeing Shirley MacLaine ply her craft again as Walter`s mother.  It was interesting for me just to see all of those countries on the big screen.  The story line is not anything special except for the wallet he is sent by a famous photographer to thank him for doing right by his photo`s over the time he has been with LIFE.  This magazine is now closing down and this will be the photographer`s last photo. He tells Walter it is very, very important that it be on the front page of the last issue. Walter cannot find it..anywhere.  So he tries to find the photographer instead because he thinks it was left out of the envelope.  

If the story had been on that theme alone I would have liked it better.  Did not care for the trips off into stupid day dreaming scenes.   But this movie will appeal to a lot of people and as I said before, beautiful countries to look at no matter what.  The ending I was pleased with and so will you be when you see what the important photo showed.  Best part of the story line to me. I give this a 10 out of 10 for the wonderful scenery.  I give it a 6.5 for story line and an 8 for the ending. So I am all over the board on this one. Make up your own mind here by seeing it for yourself. If nothing else, you get to travel.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Rated: PG-13

Cat Says:

Let's start off by letting you know that I'm a huge fan of the books by Tom Clancy. I was very disappointed when Alec Baldwin bailed on the character after The Hunt for Red October. Happier when they brought in Harrison Ford to continue the series even if he was too old for the part. I enjoyed Patriot Games and to a lesser extent A Clear and Present Danger but, as mentioned, he was too old for the part so it could only go just so far. 

So with this reboot, and yes, it has all the hallmarks of a reboot, they started off with someone young (Chris Pine) to play the role of Jack Ryan. This starts at the beginning of his career showing the helicopter crash alluded to in The Hunt for Red October as well as when he meets his wife Caroline "Cathy" Mueller (Keira Knightly here) as she is training to become the eye doctor she will be by the time you see her in The Hunt for Red October. (don't ask me how they make the leap from Caroline to Cathy...makes no sense but they are trying to tie things to the books and previous movies) So you get a good background on this character before the real secret agent work begins. 

Unless I've completely forgotten this story from the books, this is a brand new story about Jack Ryan. As I warned you...reboot here. He's a new analyst, barely out of PT from the helicopter crash, and pulled into the CIA by a senior agent (Kevin Costner) to work undercover in a certain financial institute after 9-11 to find terrorist accounts. When he does find something suspicious it is from Russia and his boss okay's Ryan to take a trip to Russia for an audit of the accounts and the CIA is never happier to help him out. It begins smoothly enough and then all hell breaks loose and Ryan goes from analyst to agent in a matter of hours thanks to Costner's support and back up help. Things really go wonky when Cathy arrives thinking she's catching her fiance in an affair and instead finds him embroiled in espionage! The action is great and Pine is good in this role so you won't have any issues there.

What you will have issues with are Kenneth Branagh as the bad guy. He's playing the Russian businessman who is actually the terrorist that Ryan is sent to "audit" by his company and bring down for the CIA. While I think he did an awesome job as director of this film, his acting is very flat in this movie. Maybe he thought he was playing deeply hidden emotion that bubbles to the surface from time to time but it comes off as his character having a bit of life to him from time to time! Maybe the job of directing and acting was too much for him this time. No clue but he's the weak link here. There are a few plot holes but, hey, it's an action flick, my plausibility levels are suspended for those. That they went back to Russia is a bit off. That country is having enough issues without focusing in on the US to attack. But then, they don't pin it on the government here, just one group of men so maybe that's how they explain it away. The other issue here is that Pine is already the current hero in the Star Trek series...and does a great job in those too so how much back and forth are we going to be able to do between the two if this reboot takes off? It's a question that bounced around in my head as I realized that this reboot is really very good.  

There really is nothing beyond the usual "Mission Impossible" type of violence here for the 10 and up set. Younger than that and it might be too much and the story too hard to follow. There is a whole "sleeper cell" thing going on here that might lose them completely. No sex here but one scene where Jack and Cathy are waking up in bed together in the morning so if living together before marriage is a big one in your family then you may have questions to answer. I don't remember a lot of swearing so there must not have been a lot. The rating is all violence based. But for this genre this is well done. I give it an 8.5 out of 10. Do you have to see it on the big screen? No...it will play well on your tv too. But if you are looking for a fun action flick to go see then head on out to see this one!

Barbara Says:

A new Jack Ryan movie.  This has been an interesting series. What with Alec Baldwin starting it off with ``The Hunt for Red October'' many years ago and then we had Harrison Ford taking over for a few really good ones too.   Now we have Chris Pine.  Have to admit I was a bit leery about him being Jack Ryan. Not that I don`t like him because I do.  He has already proved he can do action movies and do them well. It is just that it is hard to take over a well acted role behind the above stars mentioned.  But you know what?  He did it. He did it very well too. This is Jack Ryan in college when the towers fell and he signs up for the Marines.  Bad helicopter crash later he ends up in hospital trying to walk again. Because he sent repeated E-mails and made calls to higher ups about things he saw while in the battlefield he comes to the attention of the CIA. And as the saying goes``the chase was on''.  The hospital is where he meets his later to be wife, played by Keria Knightly.   The bad guys are really bad in these movies and you feel for a young Jack who goes to Russia to do an audit at a Russia bank. The American bank he works at under cover is in business with this bank and he has found huge accounts hidden .  He reports to his CIA boss, played by Kevin Costner and it is fixed so he goes to check it out.  There he almost ends up dead right off the bat. He kills a man in hand to hand combat. His first time and it unsettles him that he could really kill like that. Will keep that out so you are surprised when it happens. He meets with the head guy the next day who is played very well  by Kenneth Branagh as a really bad guy indeed.  Fast  moving action movie after that and well done too. We all three enjoyed it and the theater was packed. We had to sit two rows from front and were worried about being so close.  It was fine. We didn't even notice it at all. Fun evening and a good movie. Out of 10 I would give it a  8.5 because it was well done.

Lone Survivor Rated: R

Cat Says:

I'm a big fan of Mark Walberg and feel he often gets shafted for his acting career because of the "fluff" he had for jobs when he started his career. The bad low comedy movies he does from time to time doesn't help matters. But when you see him in a role like this one you are reminded of what an amazing actor he actually is.

The film centers around 4 Navy Seals who are dropped into Afghanistan for a mission to identify the location of an al Qaeda leader that has taken over this one small village. The villagers are not happy about this take over either and that saves our Lone Survivor in the end. This is a true story so that isn't a spoiler. Neither is the fact that Walberg's character is the only one to survive this mission.

Part of the time you are waiting, basically, to find out how the other 3 die but what you get along the way is the opportunity to get to know these guys as people and not just supporting actors to Walberg's survivor. They are all base and heroic in their own ways. The movie shows three things very clearly. That their training is why there was a survivor at all, that not all citizens of those war torn countries support the rebels who are causing the violence and that war isn't ever anything that someone should desire. It's a nightmare. A living nightmare.  The performances of Walberg, as Marcus Lutrelle, Taylor Kitsch (of John Carter fame) as Michael Murphy, Emile Hirsch (of the recent tv mini series Bonnie and Clyde) as Danny Dietz and Ben Foster (of Six Feet Under) as Matt Axelson, as well as the performances of the villager who steps in and the little boy who helps him, Ali Sulaman and Rohan Chand, that helps you to see the film in a bigger picture sort of way. The supporting cast is amazing as well and includes Eric Bana, Alexander Ludwig, and Peter Berg who wrote the screenplay from the book as well as directed. Berg also produced this film along with some big names like Matt Damon and Mark Walberg. Quality all of the way.

Warning here...this is for older teens and adults only. It's war. Truly represented with all of the violence and gore and ruthlessness that is war. There were times I had to look away and I was very thankful that the beheadings were not replicated for the film. Think Full Metal Jacket and Platoon when you think of the violence represented here. Also think of them when you consider the quality of this film.

I give this a 9 out of 10 and will tell you to stay for the credits where the real soldiers are honored in a montage. It's beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Barbara Says:

The one thing going through my head was ``Why do so many men think war is so great''.   Lone Survivor is a movie that is hard to watch and if you cannot stand violence then do not see this movie.  But since it is a true story and these things happened (and are still happening) you must face the truth of it.  Mark Walberg is one of Hollywood's under-valued actors.   He can be so funny and sooooo serious. He can make you feel this mans pain and horror at what is happening to him and his friends. This film shows that not all people are the same. That some retain the decent morals they learned and follow them. I am not just talking about the Seals but the men in the village that saved his life at the cost of their own. They stood up to the bullies that would sweep their lives away into the Abyss. Have you noticed I am not naming any one country?  Because this goes for so many countries that are destroying themselves from within by true believer killing another true believer because they believe differently.  Americans, see your self here in a few years if we cannot come together and help each other just because we are human beings.  That is what the people of this village did.  Each one of these Seals did what they were trained to do and I, for one, thought they made the wrong choice on that mountain top.  Not saying to kill certain people but to keep them from running down the mountain to relay info that resulted in their deaths. How this man lived with what he went through, I have no idea.  But so hope he has come to the knowledge that when you cannot change something you must except it and move on to make the best of your life because you were the Lone Survivor. I give it an 8 out of 10.

Walking With Dinosaurs Rated: PG

Barbara Says: 

It was interesting, funny, very funny, and a learning experience.  A beautiful movie with Dinosaurs my friend and I had never heard of before. My 12 year old grand son enjoyed it too. The movie tells a story with the main character, a baby Pachyrhinosaurus, and a bird who comes to guide him. It shows the difference between him and his siblings. The long drive to another area at the changing of the seasons.  The awful things that can and do befall them.  The love between Pacha and a female he meets. The growing up of Pacha as they travel and the death of his father defending him and his brother and the loss of the rest of their family to the T-Rex even though they do not show it. Thank goodness. It starts with real humans going to a dig and the young teen who is not interested but bored....until a talking bird lands next to him and begins to tell an interesting story about the area where he is standing. There were very young children 3-to 5 there and they seemed quite content to watch too. As said,the colors were beautiful and the roaring of the pachyrhinosaurus and all the fast moving actions kept the eye moving. Very much enjoyed it and can recommend it to others who like touching films with a learning curve thrown into the mix.  Out of 10 I give it a 8.

Saving Mr. Banks Rated: PG-13

Cat Says:

We've said it before here, we are a "Disney" family. I was born just a hop and skip from Disneyland and we've seen every Disney movie ever made. So I was really looking forward to seeing this one about the making of Mary Poppins. 

The trailers are a bit misleading, making you think that the movie is about Walt Disney but, in fact, this movie is about P.L. Travers who wrote the book Mary Poppins and the collaboration between her and the team who created the movie. Walt had a lot to do with that and Tom Hanks does a wonderful job with his portrayal but you see Emma Thompson and her amazing job of acting the role of P.L. (Pamela) Travers so much more. You see where the story of Mary Poppins came from, her childhood told in flashbacks as she struggles to "let go" of her precious Mary Poppins for the Disney treatment. The journey changes her life and you feel that change.

In the flashbacks you get to meet her father, played to perfection by Colin Farrell, her mother, played by Ruth Wilson to heartbreaking perfection as well as Annie Rose Buckley as her as a child. The story is a hard one which is what makes this movie more for older teens and adults than the little ones. This is a "Disney" film but not a cute happy fairytale. 

There are many laughs, mainly brought on by the team of Don DaGradi, played by Bradly Whitford, who was the screenwriter for the film as well as the songwriting duo powerhouse of Robert and Richard Sherman, played here by B.J. Novak and Jason Schwartzman bouncing off of the very staunch and proper P.L. and it is in those scenes where the magic truly is made.

The one role here that took my breath away was the one of the chauffeur, Ralph, played with such sincerity, warmth, love and humor by Paul Giamatti you will wish you could hug him yourself. He is P.L.'s driver the entire time she is in Los Angeles and these scenes are some of the most touching and heartfelt of the film.

I won't give away the ending except to say that it ends very well indeed and you will want to have a kleenex at hand for it. If I could give an 11 for a film I would. Instead I just give it the full 10 and urge you to get yourself to a theater to see it as soon as you can. It's a no miss event!

Tory Says:

I had no idea that there was a whole story behind Disney’s Mary Poppins film. Imagine my surprise when I first saw the preview for “Saving Mr. Banks.” I thought that due to the previews, it would be about Walt Disney trying to save his Mary Poppins movie by getting P.L. Travers to sign over the rights…in which case he would “Save Mr. Banks.” Wow…was I ever wrong and in a wonderful way!

This film for one thing, is not really about Walt Disney. It is almost entirely about P.L. Travers, her fear of letting go of the rights to Mary Poppins and what this character meant to her. It is an AMAZING story. I can’t stress enough how much people should watch this movie. Emma Thompson is a phenomenal actress but this one for me, really proves it. She has so much range!! Don’t get me wrong, Tom Hanks is wonderful as Walt Disney. He really nailed this performance but Thompson honestly outshines him.

For me, Paul Giamatti as her chauffeur driver for the week she is in LA, is my favorite character. He starts off as just this charismatic, funny driver but has a heart of gold and an entire back story. The relationship between them is wonderful…truly wonderful.

I dare you not to cry (or at least tear up) during this film. There are so many personal touches and moments in it, that you feel you really get to know the people being portrayed. You really understand why Mary Poppins was more than just a character to her and why it was so hard for her to let her “go”.

I don’t think children will enjoy this film because it has a lot of dialogue and situations only adults will understand. The humor is there but nothing goofy or silly for the most part. I don’t feel they would “get” the dry English humor. I’m about to be 30 and I think even 10 years ago I would have found this a bit boring…only because I didn’t fully know how to appreciate the “lesson” in this film. So I would say at least 17 and over. There is nothing crude or offensive just a lot of dialogue. I hate how it was marketed as a movie for the whole family…because it isn’t. Mary Poppins is but not this one. Still I give it an 8.5 out of 10.  A wonderful film that I hope is nominated and wins many awards this season!

Barbara Says:

How many wonderful things can I say about the movie ``Saving Mr. Banks''? Tom Hanks does his usual great job of acting and Emma Thompson is super as always. Colin Farrell was very good as the father who left such love and guilt in his daughters life that it took a film to open her eyes to it.  She fought Walt every step of the way on the making of Mary Poppins because of that guilt. Only when he came to see why she reacted as she did and said so to her did things change. Because he told her his story of childhood. Every bit as terrible as hers but he still loved his father anyway..as did she love her father even though he drank too much and could not hold a job. The acting in this film is top notch by all and should be put up at the awards. Too often though lesser films get the notice and these wonderful movies are over looked.  This is a movie for adults above 16 years though, as a great deal of it is about human relations. Just because it was about the book Mary Poppins does not make it a film for children.  There were two 7-10 year olds just down from us and they were restless not more than an hour into the film. So leave the kids with Gramma or sitter and take an evening for yourselves and enjoy a very good movie.  It is most definitely a 10.