Barbara Says:
This one has some good star power. It has Colin Farrell as a thief in long ago New York working for Russell Crowe . Crowe is a truly evil man with a horde of evil henchmen to do his bidding. It has Jessica Brown Findlay as the beautiful young woman who Farrell's character falls in love with when he goes to rob her house. Only he finds she is dying, and soon too. William Hurt plays her father who only wants her to be happy during her last days. The spider in the web is Crowe`s mean nature because he wants to kill Farrell and now the woman he loves too. We soon come to see this is a movie about good and evil. It is about the demons and the angels here on Earth. About the fight to win against each other in the battle for human souls. It has a white horse who is an angel sent to help Farrells character win against Crowe. Someone is going to perform a miracle and Crowe plus the devil, played by Will Smith, want to stop it from happening. Only they misunderstand who is going to have the miracle and how far in the future that miracle will happen. It has some beautiful scenes taken during the winter and a love story saddened by lost. It has its start in the late 1800`s and on to the early 1900's, but then travels to 2014 for the finish. So fantasy is the core of this movie as well as the good against evil. Out of 10 I have to give it a 6 simply because of the religious angle that sweeps through the whole movie. It has its moments and is a watchable film. It is a movie to go see if you are religious or just need something to do.
Cat Says:
I have to say I was more than a little hesitant to go see this movie. I figured I could either go with it or there would be a whole lot of eye-rolling going on. Turns out it was somewhere in the middle.
The story is a full out fairytale about Good and Evil and how we all have some of each in us but how we can choose which to give in to and how we use it for ill or good. There is a Demon and his minions (no, not the cute ones) as well as an Angel, miracles, time travel and even Lucifer (played by Will Smith in modern clothing). The whole movie plays like an off-Broadway play. So if you go into the movie knowing those details then you may be able to get past the eye-rolling.
The movie begins with Peter Lake (played by Colin Farrell who seems to have mostly abandoned his bad boy persona for a more romantic one) who works for the Demon, Pearly Soames (played by Russell Crowe...warning, this role won't elevate his career any) as a thief. He's been raised by Soames after his own parents, denied entry into America, are forced to set him in a sail boat to float into New York from just off shore. But, at this point, Peter has decided to make a few mini scores and then get out of town, with Soames chasing him. The first encounter with Soames, cornering Peter in an alley, is the first time you are made aware that there is a whole lot of magic and evil going on here. Peter escapes and finds himself at the home of the very ill and dying Beverly Penn, (played sweetly by Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay) thinking he's going to make one more hit before leaving town. He finds love instead. Soames gets wind of this and starts to panic that Peter will use his one miracle to save Beverly.
Now, not wanting to reveal all of the twists and turns I will just say that Soames catches up to Peter and tries to kill him by throwing him into the East River. Instead it simply transports Peter to modern day where Soames is still very much in power and Peter is frantically trying to remember who he is and why he keeps drawing a red-headed woman on the sidewalks of Central Park. As his memory starts to return to him he ends up entangled in the lives of a woman and her terminally ill daughter (played by Jennifer Connolly and Ripley Sobo) as the final act in the battle between good and evil puts them all in danger and Peter left wondering how his miracle can finally save someone he loves.
If you are already rolling your eyes just reading this review then perhaps you should wait till it's on cable on a rainy afternoon to give it a try. But if you love fantasy movies and the whole battle of good and evil (and need another reason to loathe Russell Crowe) then head out for a 2 hour diversion. I give it a 6.5 out of 10. I might watch it again on a rainy afternoon but won't be heading out to see it again.
Cat Says:
I loved the idea of this story from the moment I heard about it. I had heard about Hitler and the Russians stealing art from Italy and France during the war but no idea about these guys who helped to save a lot of it. I know that there are efforts, to this day, to have pieces returned to their countries of origin. So it's a good story. It's not a huge story. More of a "slice of life" type thing. They don't save the world, they don't save the war, they save some art. So for those looking for some huge blockbuster, this isn't it. It's a sweet little story about some good guys who do something and risk their lives for the betterment of all. And this movie tells that story very well.
This is George Clooney's project and he acts, directs and even wrote this film. Once you see it you will understand why he was so drawn to it. It begins with him getting together a bunch of guys from all over the US as well as one from the UK and one from France to help them find this art that Hitler and the Nazi's have stolen and hidden and then return it back to where it belongs. But as the war ends Hitler delivers a proclamation that says that if he dies or Germany falls then ALL of the art is to be destroyed. As Clooney's character says in the movie, to destroy a culture's art is to destroy themselves. So the urgency of finding and saving this art is more important than ever as the film progresses.
The entire cast is wonderful in this. Clooney as the ringleader is sweet and earnest and determined, Matt Damon as his friend and the one who gets the most information out of a French woman, played by Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, who has one of the most touching scenes of the film, Hugh Bonneville (from Downton Abbey) as the dedicated art historian determined to save the Madonna and Child sculpture, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin (from The Artist) as a couple of guys trying to track down a shipment before it's all over with, and Bob Balaban as the "private" who truly learns what life is all about.
You can tell by the music score that this isn't a "War Picture" and it isn't supposed to be the grim depiction of war but rather the mission of this band of art historians, curators and artists to try to save what they love and what they deem important enough to risk their lives. I have to totally disagree with the critics on this one and give it a 9 out of 10. I went into the theater expecting a great story about men trying to do the right thing and that is exactly what I got. Not for a second was I bored or felt like the film dragged. It was entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking and always wonderful to watch. Do you "have" to see it on the big screen...probably not but some of the places they visit on their search will take your breath away on the big screen so if you can go see it then DO go see it. Hang around for the end credits where you will be treated with photos of the real Monuments Men. I will own this one as soon as it comes out on DVD.
Barbara Says:
Had a very good time at the movies on Sunday. Saw Monuments Men with a cast to behold. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett. There were other very good actors in this but those are the highlights. This is based on a true story of a group of men in their 30`s and 40`s that during WWII formed a crew to get back famous artifacts stolen by the Nazis. These pieces were hidden by the Nazis to be put in a museum that Hilter wanted built after he took over the world. But it turns out that he also put in writing that if he lost the war everything was to be destroyed.
It seems a friend of George`s bought the book about this in an airport shop. Thus was the start to a very good movie about it, as far as I am concerned anyway. I, along with everyone I have spoken to, had no idea this ever happened. Even the daughter of one of the men involved did not know. This is a small band of men who set out to find these treasures taken from museums and homes all over Europe. This film is endearing, funny, sad (two of the men died) and heart felt. I wish there were more movies like this made. Out there, in real life, are so many true acts of heroism that should be shown on film. Instead of all this stupid crap we get buried in every year.
One scene was more then interesting because I had actually been there. There is a castle of King Ludwig, Neuschwanstein, that the Nazis stored statues in and on my trip to Bavaria we toured it. The most amazing castle you could ever imagine. All in all, I really liked this movie. It had heart and it made you think about a piece of history. The acting was the kind of work these men always turn out and the scenes were very real looking. If you want to spend some time learning something of value and seeing some good actors do their stuff then see this movie. If you are into stupid humor and nonsense, then this is not for you. Out of 10 I give it a 10. I will most definitely watch this one again.
