topdog-5 Reviews

Marley & Me (2008)

An OK movie but not as great as I'd hoped

[5/10 · 22 April 2009]

As a dog lover, I expected to really love Marley & Me but I didn't really relate. I've had dogs my whole life and sometimes we've had difficult dogs but they can be trained - at least to not be as unmanageable and destructive as Marley is for far too long. It was hard for me to believe that the characters kept buying new couches and cleaning their carpets and were naive enough to bring babies into a house with such an uncontrollable dog.

Still, it was a well done film. I did enjoy the acting although Owen Wilson seemed to be playing Owen Wilson as usual. It was good light entertainment and certainly not unpleasant, just nothing I would watch again. And actually, the only part that made me cry was when Jennifer Aniston's character had a miscarriage near the beginning.

The Family Stone (2005)

I did not expect to enjoy this film so much

[8/10 · 11 March 2007]

I admit, I only rented this DVD because I like the Wilson brothers and one of them (Luke) is in it. I don't even remember this film being in the theaters. But I loved it! It was one of the most entertaining movies I've seen in quite awhile. Cinematically, it was nothing impressive, but the writing and the acting was quite good and the end actually made me cry (that's pretty hard to do). It is a rare movie where I can honestly say, everyone in the cast did a great job. And the screenwriters did a great job too. One problem with a lot of Hollywood films, for me at least, is the unbelievability of the characters or the one-sidedness of characters. All of the characters in this film were believable and had good and bad aspects to them. I guess if you are looking for a more fantasy-based storyline, this wouldn't be the film for you. The interactions are all very realistic and it plays out like a realistic holiday that could occur in just about any family. You won't come away from the film learning any great, deep lessons, but you will come away feeling entertained, and wishing that you could keep in touch with the characters to see where their lives take them.