Josie_Crosby Reviews

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The Ending Ruined It

[6/10 · 4 January 2007]

Being a Journalist student who's dream job is to work at Vogue, I was told that "The Devil Wears Prada" would be an appropriate film for me to watch. I rented it, since I never read the book, and loved it, until the end.

The performances here are great, especially Anne Hathaway as Andy and Emily Blunt as Emily. Meryl Streep was amazing and believable as the cold Editor in Chief Miranda Preistly, who would do anything to save her job. Stanley Tucci was adorable. The plot really interested me as well. And the clothes were absolutely fabulous. The ending just didn't seem believable to me at all. Naive Andy knew what she was getting into when she stepped foot into the building, and the fact she is even the least bit surprised at what she did to Emily after Miranda points it out is nuts. What got me even more is that she decided to leave. As numerous characters pointed out, hundreds of girls would kill for that job, and she was lucky enough to get it. The fact she would walk away from it peeved me off greatly, since this would be a job I would do anything for.

This was a great film, but, as stated before, the ending just wasn't believable to me.

Gandhi (1982)

My Hero

[10/10 · 21 February 2006]

Being of Indian descent, I've known about Gandhi since I was incredibly young. He was a hero, someone who helped India become what it is today. However, I have never seen the movie. My mother liked the movie, but said it brought back too many memories about how badly India was treated. So I was eager to watch this in my World Religions class.

Sir Ben Kingsley gives the performance of a lifetime as Gandhi, "The Little Man in the Loin Cloth". Never have I seen such dedication to a film role. His Oscar was well deserved. The other performances are wonderful and memorable as well. Once of the best movies ever made. Gandhi is my hero.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

4th Visit to Hogwarts....and its the best by far

[10/10 · 18 November 2005]

As an avid fan of the Harry Potter books, I feel like its my duty to see the movies, even if I don't like them, such as the third one. So, needless to say, I wasn't expecting a lot for this one. But am I ever glad I went. This is by far the best Harry Potter movie. In the third one, it seems they cut out a lot of the important things, and left in the not so important things. But with the fourth one, they kept in most of the important things, and left out the things that would weigh down the movie.

New additions, which include Brenden Gleeson as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Mad Eye Moody and new comers Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory, Katie Leung as Cho Chang, Stanislav Ianevski as Viktor Krum and of course Ralph Fiennes as the much talked about Lord Voldemort among others, are wonderful and play up the returning characters, including Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and of course Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.

The best actor from the three young stars is probably Grint, who, with his facial expression and knack for comic timing, seems he can go far after Harry Potter is over. But the breakthrough is Radcliffe. It seems he's finally been given proper material to work with, and seems to delve deep and finally becomes the hero that was hidden under fear for so long.

I recommend this film to anyone, fan or not, because it will please you if you never picked up a Harry Potter book, and satisfy you, if you are a die hard "Potthead".

Shopgirl (2005)

A Charming Little Gem

[10/10 · 30 October 2005]

I went into Shopgirl with high expectations, and, unlike some other films that dissappoint me, all the hype was right this time. I loved this movie. Claire Danes was perfectly cast as Mirabelle, and seems able to pull off the "torn- between- two- men" role. Jason Schwartzman, who plays Jeremy, the first of the two men to fall for Mirabelle, is adorably goofy, and effortlessly slips into character. And Steve Martin, who plays Ray, the second (and *MUCH* older) man to fall for Mirabelle, is the kind of character who you want to dislike, but can't help falling for. I recommend this movie to anyone. It's an adorable, charming little gem of a film.

Closer (I) (2004)

Not Your Average Love Story

[10/10 · 8 September 2005]

With movies like "The Notebook" coming out, it annoyed me that all these movies had a typical "happily ever after" ending. Yes, I'm only 16, but I want to see what relationships are truly like, not the sugar coated versions. Then I rented Closer. A couple of my friends tried to talk me out of it, saying it was too crude, not realistic and just hands down horrible. Thankfully, I didn't listen to them. I'm not going to summarize it, because others already have, but this is what I wanted to see in movies. Closer is sharp witted, sad, and crude, but this is exactly what I wanted to see.

I've seen almost every Julia Roberts movie out there, but this one is probably my favourite. This is not the average Julia Roberts movie. Her one scene with Clive Owen made me hold my breath. As for Clive, he is spectacular here. So is Natalie Portman. This is Natalie's breakthrough role. Her portrayal of Alice is so real, it's hard to imagine her as a character. Jude Law's Dan annoyed me, honestly, but he played the character well, as he usually can't annoy me. I'm glad I didn't take my friends advice on this one. This is a movie that can't be missed

The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Not the Best Film of the year, but definitely not the worst

[7/10 · 4 September 2005]

I saw Brother's Grmm today, and I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed. Not that this wasn't well done, but I think there could have been more done, script wise. The jokes, although funny, were hard to catch onto, and a lot of the times, the accents got in the way. However, the performances were awesome, especially by Matt Damon and Heath Ledger. Monica Belluci is beautiful in it as well, and Lena Headey (whos bears such a resemblance to Keira Knightley, it's scary) is wonderful in it as well. And the special effects, especially in the beginning, were so well done, it would be a shame if they didn't get an Oscar nomination (as well for costume and set design). This is definitely not the best film of theyear, but it certainly isn't the worst, and I do recommend it to anyone who loves any of these actors.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Fun Summer Treat

[10/10 · 17 July 2005]

I'll admit right here, I am a HUGE Johnny Depp fan, and that was probably the main reason I wanted to see this film. However, I HAVE read the book, and seen the original, and didn't really think the original movie was anything like the book. That was the number two reason I saw this movie, since I heard it was an adaptation of the book. I was also a little hesitant to see it though, because of the rumors that the main character was based on Michael Jackson. But I still went to see this movie, and was blown away. The cinematography in the movie is great, and all the actors do magnificent jobs, especially Freddie Highmore, as Charlie Bucket. He is no doubt adorable, but he doesn't depend on his cuteness to act. He can act. Johnny Depp was great in this movie as well. His take on Willy Wonka is no Captain Jack Sparrow (his best character to date, IMO) but is still memorable and adorable, with a childish demeanor that's too cute. This movie isn't expecting to win Academy Awards (although one for set design would be great), and is all around a fun summer treat.

War of the Worlds (2005)

Excellent...I cried out of pure terror

[10/10 · 30 June 2005]

I saw War of the Worlds opening day with three of my friends, and each one of us liked it. I was a bit hesitant going in. Despite Tom Cruise being one of my favourite actors ever, I normally don't like big budget movies. However, my friends convinced me that it would be a good movie, so I went. And was I glad I did. This is one of Tom Cruise's best performances. He seems genuinely scared, and will do anything to save his children (played by Dakota Fanning and newcomer Justin Chatwin, who also give amazing performances). There isn't much of a supporting cast, as everyone gets incinerated by alien lasers, but Tim Robbin's performance as Ogilvy, a semi- crazy man who believes he can stop the aliens with the help of Tom Cruise's Ray, is stunning. If it were up to me, he would get another Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Definitely the best movie I have seen in 2005 so far. I haven't cried from being scared in a movie ever. It terrified me