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Reviews
Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot (2004)
Favorite at our house!
"Journey to Joke-a-lot" is a thoroughly enjoyable family film, with catchy music, witty jokes, and a good lesson at it's core. It deviates somewhat from the parameters of the original Care Bears world, but it very enjoyable nonetheless.
This movie helps kids examine the balance between being responsible and having fun. The story centers on Funshine Bear, who leaves Care-a-Lot after some of his jokes provoke Grumpy Bear to get hurt and, well, grumpy. After leaving his home, Funshine stumbles upon the Land of Joke-a-lot, where he is declared king based on the word of the steward of the kingdom, Sir Funnybone. When his friends come to find him, Fushine has to decide between his friends and Care-a-Lot, or being king of a people who live to have fun. Meanwhile, Sir Funnybone the rat is hatching his plan to steal the royal jewels of Joke-a-lot.
While fans of the old-school Care Bears will miss certain elements, such as the Care Bear Stare, the Cousins, and really creepy bad guys, this movie has a lot of heart, and deals with learning to have a good time, but not at the expense of other people's feelings.
The music is a lot of fun. Had some of these songs been written with different lyrics, they certainly would get air time. We own the soundtrack as well, which has the five songs from the movie plus eight new tracks,and the music always gets our family up and dancing.
The CG animation is good, and helps add a really cute roundness to the Bears (it's pretty funny to watch their tummies move as they breathe). The gags, jokes, and one-liners are pretty funny (until King Funshine's coronation speech; I think these jokes are purposely written to be old hat, and therefore are not funny, but the Joke-a-Lotters laugh anyway. Also, adults may note the in-jokes: references to "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Bill Gates, for example.
If you enjoyed the Care Bears the first time, I think you will really like this new incarnation, and if you didn't like them before, give this a try. The movie blends a lot of the best of the old with some great new stuff.
Autumn in New York (2000)
This was awful!
My husband and I saw this in the theater when it came out, and it was so terrible we nearly left! Much as I like Gere and Ryder, they have no chemistry whatsoever, and never mind that the age difference made me slightly nauseous, the fact that he had had a relationship with her mother just made it really twisted. I never really learned to feel sympathy for his character, or for the love that they supposedly shared; I never felt connected to them at all, and I really didn't much care that she died. Richard Gere is far better when paired with a female character/actress who is as flamboyant as he is reserved (think: Julia Roberts). As for Autumn in New York, Long, Dreary, Highly Annoying Winter in New York would have been a better title.
In Good Company (2004)
Subtle, Integrity, thumbs up from me.
"In Good Company" very much captured a slice of real life in film. The story follows two men who are both needing to grow; Dennis Quaid as a 51-year-old with two daughters, one in college and one in high school, plus a baby on the way, and Topher Grace as a 26-year-old with a marriage that lasted less than a year, who due to corporate merging has become Quaid's boss. He also has an affair with Quaid's eldest daughter, which does nothing to improve the father's opinion.
Both men turned in very good performances as the characters realize that they both have something to learn. The movie captures those times in our lives when we seem to have trial after trial to build our character. In the end, both men grow and change. Topher Grace is especially wonderful as a young man who is both cocky and yet feels inferior. And, thankfully, he doesn't get the girl, because that would have been very contrived.
In the end, he is left with no marriage, no girlfriend, and no job. But finally, he has a sense of self, and a sense of integrity, thanks to his interaction with Quaid's character. And Quaid learns to deal with changes in the status quo. There is also a good dose of karma for Grace's boss.
This film is very subtle. It is not in-your-face funny, but shows an important aspect of real life: adults growing up. I think it is intended for a somewhat mature audience who will "get it." (Note: mature meaning mature and not old; I am only 26 and I still found it very poignant.)
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Disappointing
Several things really bothered me about this movie, but the biggest was that there was no real suspense created. The movie gave away pretty much all it's secrets right away. I was unfamiliar with what it was going to be about and found it highly disappointing. Even when I see movies I know the end to I expect more suspense than this offers.
I thought all of the actors turned in brilliant performances; Nicole Kidman was emotionally driven, and all the other actors seemed to really do a nice job, including the Wives, who had to act perfect in unison. Even the oft-criticized Matthew Broderick made a good mediocre husband to his powerhouse wife, and I could see him wrestling with his decision, but it created very little drive for the story.
I think the bulk of this movie's problem seemed to be how it was all put together. It could have explored a lot of issues deeper, it could have been a lot more engaging, but it wasn't. The film couldn't make up it's mind what it wanted to be, and wound up being nothing.
Plus there was the robot/microchip inconsistency...