Spy (2015)

"Uh, did you forget? I am undercover because you are not supposed to be here!"

"Well I make a habit out of doing things that people say I can't do: Walk through fire, waterski blindfolded, take up piano at a late age."

Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is a CIA analyst, working out of a rat-infested basement.  She works closely with top agent Bradley Fine (Law) as the voice in his earpiece and surveillance.  While infiltrating Rayna Boyanov's (Byrne) home to find a nuclear bomb, he is killed.  Rayna knows all the identities of all of the CIAs top agents.  Susan volunteers to go into the field to track Rayna, as she has field training and no one knows her.

CIA boss Elaine Crocker (Janney) agrees, despite protests from agent Rick Ford (Statham) and sends Susan to Europe to provide video surveillance of Rayna's activities.  Susan's friend Nancy Artingstall (Hart) is the voice in the earpiece and Italian agent Aldo (Serafinowicz) is her backup.  Can Susan avenge Fine and save the day?


For director Paul Feig's third film (after Bridesmaids and The Heat), he turned to the spy genre.  With Melissa McCarthy, the breakout star from his previous films, in the lead, they set out to make a female-centered spy spoof.

From the opening moments, it is clear that the film won't be like other spy spoofs.  It sets up a solid story, basic spy plot, and then flips it upside down.  It is a comedy James Bond.  The opening credits are an obvious homage to the traditional Bond opening credits.  McCarthy is a female Bond, with impressive skills... while Jude Law plays the traditional, suave Bond.  And Jason Statham's character, as described in the film's press kit (found on the IMDb.com Trivia Page), is described as a cross between Rambo and Inspector Clouseau (from the Pink Panther films)... but is probably the best description for the character.  Statham is best known for his tough-guy action films, and it is fun to see him in something a little different.

The plot (also written by Feig) moves at a nice pace and has a great twist.  It also benefits from a stellar cast, who all throw themselves into the parts.  British actress Miranda Hart is great as Nancy, and hopefully this jump starts her film career (she is hilarious in all the TV roles I've seen).  Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne are just the right amount of evil to be good villains.  And Peter Serafinowicz is ridiculous, but great, as Aldo.

It won't be for everyone, but I really enjoyed this film.

Spy (2015) 119 minutes
Rating: R for language throughout, violence, and some sexual content including brief graphic nudity
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper
Jason Statham as Rick Ford
Rose Byrne as Rayna Boyanov
Jude Law as Bradley Fine
Miranda Hart as Nancy B. Artingstall
Bobby Cannavale as Sergio De Luca
Allison Janney as Elaine Crocker
Peter Serafinowicz as Aldo

Pitch Perfect 2

"Aca-Wiedersehen bitches!"

The Barden University Bellas are 3-time national champions and preparing to start their senior year.  All that comes crashing down during their performance for the President's birthday, when Fat Amy (Wilson) has a wardrobe malfunction.  They are barred from competing at a collegiate level and are not allowed to recruit new members.  They are still allowed to compete in the World Championship of A Capella, and if they win they will be reinstated.

With the stakes high, Chloe (Snow) wants everyone to commit 100% to the group and find a way to win.  A US Team has never won, and the competition is fierce.  Their main competition is the German team, Das Sound Machine, led by Kommissar (Hjort-Sorensen) and Pieter (Borg), who took over the Bella's championship tour.  Beca (Kendrick) has an internship at a recording studio, but keeps it a secret.  Can the Bellas pull together and win the title with the help of their newest member, legacy Emily (Steinfeld)?


I loved the original Pitch Perfect and was excited for the sequel.  I was especially excited to see Pentatonix (winner of The Sing-Off Season 3), Penn Masala, and the Filharmonics in their small roles.  It was a good film, but not as good as it could be.

Most of the original cast returned for this film.  But the new characters were not all welcome additions.  The two new Bellas felt like a waste, when it meant that the Bellas from the first film had less to do.  Chrissie Fit's Flo was pointless and Hailee Steinfeld's Emily was annoying for most of the film.  Each had a few nice moments, and Emily has a great voice, but it wasn't enough.  The quirky characters from the first film, like Ester Dean's Cynthia Rose, Alexis Knapp's Stacie, and Hana Mae Lee's Lilly, barely had any lines and I missed their characters.  Also, Kelley Jakle's Jessica and Shelley Regner's Ashely still barely did anything and I wish their characters had been explored further.  Even Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow don't get to do as much in this film.

Like the first film, the Riff-Off is the best scene.

I also enjoyed the camp scenes and their random medley of songs (also the return of Anna Camp).

The finale is a bit of let down, it's good but not awesome.  The main guys from the first film are back again, this time they are just the boyfriends and only sing a few times.  Adam DeVine's Bumper has a bigger role, but he is funnier as the villain.

It's not a bad film, but when compared to the original Pitch Perfect, it just doesn't hit the right notes.  A third film is planned for 2017, and scribe Kay Cannon (who wrote all of the Pitch Perfect films) is penning the script, with the main cast set to return.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) 115 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for innuendo and language
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick as Beca Mitchell
Rebel Wilson as Fat Amy
Hailee Steinfeld as Emily
Brittany Snow as Chloe
Skylar Astin as Jesse
Adam DeVine as Bumper
Katey Sagal as Katherine
Anna Camp as Aubrey
Ben Platt as Benji
Alexis Knapp as Stacie
Hana Mae Lee as Lilly
Ester Dean as Cynthia Rose
Chrissie Fit as Flo
Birgitte Hjort-Sorensen as Kommissar
Flula Borg as Pieter Kramer

The Nightmare Before Christmas

"The job I have for you is top secret. It requires skill, craft, cunning, mis..."
"And we thought you didn't *like* us, Jack."

Jack Skellington (Sarandon) is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town.  After another successful Halloween, Jack laments that something is missing.  He is bored with the routine and longs for something more.  While taking a walk, he discover several trees that are doors to other holidays.  He goes through the door to Christmas Town and is charmed by everything he sees.

Back in Halloween Town he tries to explain what he saw, but doesn't understand it.  He decides that he can do Christmas better and gathers the citizens of Halloween Town to assign tasks for their version of Christmas.  He sends the troublemaking Lock (Reubens), Shock (O'Hara), and Barrel (Elfman) to Christmas Town to kidnap Santa Claus (Ivory).  Against Jack's wishes, they give Santa Claus to their boss Oogie Boogie (Page) the gambling boogie man.  Sally (O'Hara), a rag doll made by Dr. Finklestein (Hickey), is worried that something terrible will happen, but no one else shares her fears.  Will Christmas survive?


In the 1980s, Tim Burton was an animator for Disney and wrote a 3 page poem titled "The Nightmare Before Christmas".  He wanted to turn the poem into a TV special, narrated by Vincent Price.  He also showed the story to fellow animator Henry Selick.  After leaving Disney, he started directing films.  In 1990 he found that Disney still owned the writes to the story and worked with Selick to get a film approved.  Burton was busy directing another film, and left the directing duties to Selick.  He worked with Malcolm McDowell to write the story and asked composer Danny Elfman to write original songs so the film would be a musical.

This film was Selick's directorial debut, even though most people attribute the film to Burton.  Selick went on to direct other stop-motion films, James and Giant Peach and Coraline.  Burton later directed stop-motion film The Corpse Bride.

Some of my best friends from middle school and high school love this film, so it holds a special place in my heart.  It is an interesting concept, and unique design.  Stop-motion was the perfect format for this story.  It is a nice mixture of dark/ macabre, while still funny and relatively tame.  The songs are infectious and memorable, and it can be viewed at Halloween and/or Christmas.

This film has become a cult classic.  In 2008, to celebrate the 15th anniversary, Disney released "Nightmare Revisited", with the songs from the film covered by various punk, indie, and metal artists.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 76 minutes
Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington
Danny Elfman as  Jack Skellington (singing), Barrel
Catherine O'Hara as Sally, Shock
William Hickey as Doctor Finklestein
Glenn Shadix as Mayor of Halloween Town
Ken Page as Oogie Boogie
Ed Ivory as Santa Claus
Paul Reubens as Lock

Zombibi: Kill Zombie!

Aziz (Gaier) is having a bad day.  His dream girl, Tess (Poeschmann), wants to go on a date, but he gets fired from work when his brother Mo (Radi) keeps calling.  Aziz joins Mo at a party, where they get arrested when Mo gets into a fight with the inept bouncers Jeffery (Hasselbaink) and Nolan (Arnhem).  The next morning they discover Amsterdam-West has been hit with a zombie outbreak.

Through a news broadcast by Jan de Hoop (Boszhard), they learn that a Russian satellite crashed into Aziz's office building and the green substance that was on board has infected people and turned them into zombies.  The army has a safe zone and there are plans to blow up the satellite.  Everyone is encouraged to get to the safe zone.  Aziz gets a call from Tess, she is trapped in the office and fighting for her life.  He wants to save her, but the rest of the group, including officer Kim (Gaier) and shady Joris (Deelen), want to survive.  Can they make it the safe zone, or will the zombies get them first?


I discovered this gem through Netflix instant streaming.

The film is in Dutch with English subtitles (although they mostly curse in English), and is directed by first-time director Martijn Smits and Erwin van den Eshof.  Smits and van den Eshof must have enjoyed working together, because they directed together Popoz in 2015 (which Smits wrote and is based on the Netherlands TV show Popoz).

This was my first film from the Netherlands, so I didn't necessarily understand all of the little cultural jokes.  There is a cameo by Ben Saunders, who won the first season of "The Voice of Holland" in 2011, which has a great pay-off.  The script plays with zombie conventions, and has a lot of oozing green slime (which every character wears at some point in the film) and plenty of gore / blood (without going over the top).  It is a comedy and has some hilarious moments.

I enjoyed the film, and the cast, and look forward to diving into more films from the Netherlands.

Kill Zombie! [Zombibi] (2012) 90 minutes
Director: Martijn Smits & Erwin van den Eshof
Starring: Yahya Gaier as Aziz
Gigi Ravelli as Kim
Mimoun Ouled Radi as Mo
Sergio Hasselbaink as Jeffrey
Uriah Arnhem as Nolan
Noel Deelen as Joris
Nadia Palesa Poeschmann as Tess
Carlo Boszhard as Jan de Hoop

Get Hard

"Go back to where you belong!"

"I don't know where I belong!"

James King (Ferrell) is a successful and wealthy hedge fund manager.  He lives in a mansion and is engaged to the beautiful Alissa Clark (Brie).  Alissa's father, Martin (Nelson), is James' boss and just made James a partner in the firm.  While everything in James' life is going well, Darnell Lewis (Hart), who runs the car wash business in the parking garage, is struggling to find the funds to move his family.  He and his wife Rita (Findley) want to move to a better neighborhood so their daughter Makayla (Neal) can attend a better school.  At a James and Alissa's engagement party, the FBI arrested for fraud and embezzlement, and James is sentenced to 10 years in San Quentin.

He is given 30 days to get affairs in order before going to jail.  He is terrified of prison and hires Darnell help him "get hard" for prison.  Darnell knows nothing about life in jail, but agrees to help.


There is a skeleton of a biting comedy in the vein of Stir Crazy... but it doesn't come even close.

This is Etan Cohen's directorial debut.  He is a screenwriter, who co-wrote Tropic Thunder, and co-wrote this film as well.  The plot is all over the place, focusing mostly on profanity and the threat of rape, which just feels sloppy.  Odd-couple comedies and comedies about prison are nothing new.  And the overall premise of the film is similar to Rob Schneider's Big Stan.

Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart have excellent chemistry.  Ferrell is playing the usual shtick, a clueless but wealth/successful man, but he does it well.  Hart is ball of energy and excels at rates/yelling, which he gets to do frequently in this film.  The funniest scene is Hart acting out 3 different characters in a mock jail fight, bouncing off Ferrell to change characters.  They are the only characters that are really fleshed out.  The female characters are caricatures: Alison Brie is the shrew, Dominique Perry is the hot girl.  Edwina Findley and Ariana Neal somehow manage to escape that, and feel like actual people.

There are some funny moments and Ferrell and Hart are great together, but overall this film was just disappointing.

Get Hard (2015) 100 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive crude and sexual content and language, some graphic nudity, and drug material
Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell as James King
Kevin Hart as Darnell Lewis
Craig T. Nelson as Martin Clark
Alison Brie as Alissa Clark
Edwina Findley as Rita Lewis
Ariana Neal as Makayla Lewis
Erick Chavarria as Cecelio
Tip "T.I." Harris as Russell
Paul Ben-Victor as Gayle

RocknRolla

"I'm sorry. I thought you might've liked a bit of company."

"I'm dead, Pete. What does that tell you? It tells you that dead people don't like company."

Lenny Cole (Wilkinson) runs the London underground.  He favors old school techniques and is ruthless.  He uses the Councillor (Misty) to get his way legally, and his right-hand man Archy (Strong) enforces the rules.  Russian billionaire Uri Omovich (Roden) needs Lenny's bureaucratic connections for his latest deal and agrees to pay a large price.  As a sign of faith, he gives Lenny his favorite painting until the deal is closed.

Meanwhile, small-time criminals One-Two (Butler), Mumbles (Elba), and Handsome Bob (Hardy) owe Lenny a sizable sum.  They are contacted by Uri shady accountant Stella (Newton) with details about how to steal several million dollars, which they do.  They are able to pay Lenny, but Uri cannot fulfill his end of the deal with Lenny.  Uri's painting is stolen from Lenny's home by musician and junkie Johnny Quid (Kebbell).  As the stakes get higher, who do you trust and who will survive?


After enjoying Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I was eager to watching another film by director Guy Ritchie.  I was planning to watch Snatch next (as it was Ritchie's second film), but due to complications I had to jump to this film.  This was Ritchie's fifth feature film and followed two commercial failures.

Like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels this film is a crime film revolving around low-level but ambitious criminals. Both also feature a narrator who is also a character in the film.  It is a fast paced film with plenty of action, violence, and comedy to keep you entertained.  There are several interconnected plot lines that take a bit to understand, but they are far from predictable.  Part of the fun, is seeing how your assumptions are proven wrong over-and-over.  This Ritchie's third crime film, and all of very similar to each other and feel like repeats of each other.


There is a large cast of intriguing characters.  The cast is list is impressive and the leads have all gone on to bigger things and become recognizable names. 

Ritchie planned to make a trilogy with these characters.  In the end credits there is title card that says "Johnny, Archy and the Wild Bunch will be back in The Real RocknRolla".  Apparently he has written the sequel, but at this time nothing further has happened.  The film received mixed reviews, so it may take some time before anything happens with the sequel.  The characters are interesting and I wouldn't mind a sequel exploring what these characters do next.

I enjoyed the film, but Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was definitely better.

RocknRolla (2008) 114 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language, violence, drug use and brief sexuality
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Gerard Butler as One-Two
Tom Wilkinson as Lenny Cole
Mark Strong as Archy
Thandie Newton as Stella
Idris Elba as Mumbles
Tom Hardy as Handsome Bob
Karel Roden as Uri Omovich
Toby Kebbell as Johnny Quid
Jeremy Piven as Roman
Chris Bridges as Mickey
Jimi Misty as Councillor
Matt King as Cookie
Geoff Bell as Fred the Head
Dragan Micanovich as Victor

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

"Is he dead?"

"That's the problem. He was dead to begin with."

In 1799 New York City, Ichabod Crane (Depp) is a police constable trying to convince his peers to embrace new investigation techniques.  He is sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders.  The four victims were all decapitated and the heads were never found.

Ichabod is welcomed into the home of the wealthy Baltus Van Tassel (Gambon) and charmed by Baltus' daughter Katrina (Ricci).  The people of Sleepy Hollow claim the murderer is the legendary Headless Horseman.  The Horseman was a Hessian mercenary that liked to decapitate his victims.  He was finally killed a few miles outside of town years before, and is back from the dead to plague the town.  Ichabod is skeptical and believes the real culprit is flesh and blood.  The leaders of the town are not convinced and the death toll continues to rise.  Can Ichabod uncover the truth and save the town?


"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story by Washington Irving that was published in 1820.  Irving's story takes place in 1790 and focuses on a superstitious teacher named Ichabod Crane.  The story is immensely popular and has been used in various TV shows and films.  My earliest memory of the story is from Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which offers an animated version of the story (paired with a retelling of "The Wind in the Willows").  Most recently it was turned into a TV show Sleepy Hollow for FOX in 2013.

The story is perfectly suited for director Tim Burton.  The screenplay, written by Andrew Kevin Walker and Tom Stoppard, uses Irving's legend as a starting point but isn't constricted by the original.  The characters are the same, along with some of the action... but as a whole, it is a new story.  The body count is high, along with the amount of blood.

From the opening moments, it is clearly a Burton film.  The cinematography, costumes, scenery, etc all work together to achieve his stylized vision.  They used a blue filter to control the colors on screen, which makes the blood prominent (according to IMDB.com, the blood was bright orange so that it would appear the correct color in the screen).  He envisioned the film as a homage to the classic horror films by Hammer Film Productions, Roger Corman, and Mario Bava.

The film is filled with Burton regulars.  Danny Elftman did the music.  Most of the cast appeared in other Burton films.  This was his third collaboration with Johnny Depp (after Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood), who was his first choice for the role.  Together they breathe new life into the character of Ichabod.  The cameos are excellent, along with the reveal of the Horseman (who is brilliant).  Burton convinced Michael Gough (who also appeared in Hammer films) to come out of retirement for this film.

I didn't love the film the first time I saw it, but I think it gets better with time.  Each time I see new things that I didn't notice before, and I enjoy it a little more.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) 105 minutes
Rating: R for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane
Christina Ricci as Katrina Van Tassel
Marc Pickering as Young Masbath
Miranda Richardson as Lady Mary Van Tassel
Michael Gambon as Baltus Van Tassel
Casper Van Dien as Brom Van Brunt
Jeffrey Jones as Reverend Steenwyck
Richard Griffiths as Magistrate Samuel Philipse
Ian McDiarmid as Dr. Thomas Lancaster
Michael Gough as Notary James Hardenbrook

Corpse Bride

"Please, there's been a mistake. I'm not dead."

Shy Victor Van Dort (Depp) is preparing for his arranged marriage to Victoria Everglot (Watson).  He is nervous, but his social-climbing mother Nell (Ullman) and fish merchant father William (Whitehouse) insist.  Victoria longs to marry for love, but her aristocrat parents Lord (Finney) and Lady (Lumley) Everglot insist that love is overrated.  There are sparks when Victor and Victoria first meet, but nerves get the best of Victor during the rehearsal and he runs into the woods to collect his thoughts.

As he practices his vows in the woods, he places the ring on a branch.  The branch turns out to be the finger of Emily (Carter) the corpse bride.  She accepts and takes him to the Land of the Dead to celebrate their marriage.  Will Victor find a way back to life?


This is the third stop-motion film Tim Burton has produced (Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, both were made for Disney and directed by Henry Selick) and the first he has directed.  Like Burton's other stop-motion films, this is a musical with songs by his frequent collaborator Danny Elfman.  Elfman even voices one of the characters, skeleton Bonesjangles who sings the title song.  The songs are entertaining, but aren't quite as memorable as the ones in Nightmare Before Christmas

The story is based on a Russian folk tale, with a Burton twist.  It is a stylized, macabre/gothic world.  The living are rigid and have a muted color palette (mostly grays), while the dead are more colorful (physically and as characters).  The dead characters are much more interesting than the living characters.  The cast is littered with Burton regulars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, Albert Finney, Michael Gough, etc.

The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2005, but lost to Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were Rabbit.  It is a decent stop-animation film, but definitely not the best... and it is not Burton's best.

Corpse Bride (2005) minutes
Director: Tim Burton & Mike Johnson
Starring: Johnny Depp as Victor Van Dort
Helena Bonham Carter as Emily the Corpse Bride
Emily Watson as Victoria Everglot
Tracey Ullman as Nell Van Dort
Paul Whitehouse as William Van Dort
Joanna Lumley as Lady Maudeline Everglot
Albert Finney as Lord Finis Everglot
Richard E. Grant as Lord Barkis Bittern
Christopher Lee as Pastor Gallswell
Michael Gough as Elder Gutknecht

I Know That Voice

A look inside the world of voice actors, that gives a face to the voices behind beloved characters.  John DiMaggio, best known as Bender on Futurama (among many other roles), gathers his friends and peers to discuss the voice industry.  They provide a history of the craft, beginning with animated TV shows in the 1930s (like Looney Toons) and the way the industry has changed over time.

The actors talk about their careers and what it takes to have a career in voice work.  They talk about animation and video games, along with Comic Con.


I grew up loving animated shows.  From an early age, we watch Looney Toons and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, along with other animated shows that my parents grew up watching.  We also loved the animated Batman shows (and Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc).  Watching these shows with my niece and nephews now, I am more aware of the names in the credits.  I also try to pay attention to the names in animated films, and sometimes I recognize names, but I didn't know anything about voice actors.

I discovered this documentary through Netflix and wanted to see what voice acting was really about.  It is a fascinating film, produced by DiMaggio (and Tommy Reid).  It was interesting to see the men and women behind iconic animated characters.  It was also interesting to learn the terminology and see what really goes into crafting the voices (it's more than just having a funny voice or imitating a voice).  The actors interviewed span generations of animated material, and the people that helped get them there.  I enjoyed hearing how actors takeover characters (ex: Looney Toon characters, Batman characters, etc that span decades and have multiple people breathe life into the character).

You can't look at animation (TV or film) or video game voices the same way again.

I Know That Voice (2013) 90 minutes
Director: Lawrence Shapiro
Starring: John DiMaggio as Himself / Narrator

48 Hrs.

"You're gonna be sorry you ever met me!"

"I'm already sorry."

Convict Albert Ganz (Remar) escapes from prison with help from Billy Bear (Landham), an old friend.  They kill several guards while making their escape.  Their first act is to visit other men from their group, killing one and kidnapping the girlfriend of the other for motivation.  They are found by the cops, which leads to a shootout that kills two of the officers.  The third is Jack Cates (Nolte), who loses his gun to Ganz, and is motivated to put them back behind bars.

Cates finds the last member of their group, Reggie Hammond (Murphy), is still behind bars.  Cates and Reggie agree to work together, but only have 48 hours until Reggie has to be back in prison.  Can they put aside their animosity and trust each other long enough to meet the deadline?


This film is credited as being one of the first "buddy cop" movies.  This film was also Eddie Murphy's film debut.  Originally the story was conceived as a vehicle for Clint Eastwood and Richard Pryor, but sitting on the hold for 2 years it was revamped for Nick Nolte and SNL breakout Murphy.  This film launched Murphy into stardom... he followed it up with two more extremely popular films: Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places.

The film works due to a strong cast, with Nolte and Murphy playing off each other well.  The female characters don't really have a purpose, except to motivate the plot, but they are mostly one-dimensional.  James Remar is menacing as the villain, with Sonny Landham also bringing that edge.  It is a well-made, well-written, well-acted film and worth the accolades it received (and still receives).

The film was a success and endures as a classic buddy cop film.  In 1990, Murphy and Nolte returned for a sequel Another 48 Hrs. (with Murphy's name appearing first in the credits), again with Walter Hill in the director's chair.

48 Hrs. (1982) 96 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language, violent content, sexual references and brief nudity
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Nick Nolte as Jack Cates
Eddie Murphy as Reggie Hammond
Annette O'Toole as Elaine Marshall
James Remar as Albert Ganz
Sonny Landham as Billy Bear
David Patrick Kelly as Luther
Frank McRae as Captain Haden
Brion James as Ben Kehoe

Miss Congeniality

"I would so love to hurt you right now."

"As long as you smile."

Gracie Hart (Bullock) is an FBI agent, stuck on desk duty after her actions resulted in another agent getting shot.  All that changes when they receive a bomb threat for the Miss United States beauty pageant.  The FBI decide to send an agent undercover as a contestant in the pageant.  The team is led by Hart's partner, Agent Eric Matthews (Bratt) who chooses Hart as the undercover agent.  Hart is a tomboy and things pageants are ridiculous.  She is sent to pageant coach Victor Melling (Caine) for a makeover and to learn pageant etiquette.  He has two days to turn her into a lady.

She enters the pageant as "Gracie Lou Freebush, Miss New Jersey," and immediately clashes with Kathy Morningside (Bergen), a former Miss United States winner and the current director.  Kathy thins Hart will turn the pageant into a mockery.  As Matthews' team provides surveillance, Hart reluctantly goes through the motions of the pageant.  Can she protect the ladies, without losing who she is?


I love this movie.  I probably shouldn't, but I can't help it.  Sandra Bullock is a gem.  The majority of her roles in the 1990s-2000s were in romantic comedies, and those are the films that helped make her a star. Bullock uses her considerable charisma to breathe life into Gracie Hart.  She does a little bit of everything in the film: beat up her costars (she did many of her own stunts), have awkward/clumsy moments (she falls a lot), get a makeover, etc. 

Michael Caine gets to swap insults with Bullock, while still maintaining an air of dignity.  Benjamin Bratt is the eye candy, obvious love interest, and sparring partner, and he does well with the part.  William Shatner is endearing as the slightly clueless Stan.  Candice Bergen is a strong antagonist.  The rest of the cast fill out their roles well.  The script doesn't ask much from many of the cast members.  It might not be the best film, but it is entertaining and is often featured on TV.

I loved this movie when it first came out, when I was in high school.  Watching it now, I still enjoy it... but most of the reviews I just read weren't impressed with the film.  Despite that, in 2004 they released a sequel Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, that got rid of most of the characters from the original and there was no love interest.

Miss Congeniality (2000) 109 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sexual references and a scene of violence
Director: Donald Petrie
Starring: Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart
Michael Caine as Victor Melling
Benjamin Bratt as Eric Matthews
Candice Bergen as Kathy Morningside
William Shatner as Stan Fields
Ernie Hudson as Harry McDonald
John DiResta as Agent Clonsky
Heather Burns as Cheryl Frasier, Miss Rhode Island
Melissa De Sousa as Karen Krantz, Miss New York
Steve Monroe as Frank Tobin
Deirdre Quinn as Mary Jo Wright, Miss Texas
Wendy Raquel Robinson as Leslie Davis, Miss California
Asia De Marcos as Alana Krewson, Miss Hawaii

La Leyenda de la Nahuala

In 1807 Puebla, New Spain, there is an old abandoned house.  According to legend, it is haunted by the spirit of Nahuala (Medina).  Leo San Juan (Santini) is terrified of the legend, especially when his older brother Nando (Coronel) teases him.  Leo is forced to face his fears when Nahula captures Nando.

Friar Godofredo (Robles) believes Nahula is trying to finish a ritual that involves killing Nando.  Leo runs into the house to save his brother.  Along the way he is helped by the spirits of Xochitl (Higareda) and Teodora (Cordeiro), the girls that were killed when Nahula previously tried to perform the ritual.  He is also helped by two sugar skulls, Alebrije (Inclan), and old knight Don Andres (Bustamante).  Can Leo overcome his fears and save his town?

A while ago I discovered the sequel to this film on Netflix.  I was intrigued by the story and animation style, but it went off Netflix before I could finish it.  With Halloween coming up, I searched for it on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised to find this film.

The film is from Mexico, and is based on traditional Mexican legends.  The film is interspersed with important aspects / symbols from Mexico, like sugar skulls and alebrijes.  Obviously, the film is in Spanish.  I watched with subtitles and absolutely no knowledge of Mexican traditions / legends.  And I loved it.

The animation is great, it stands out from other popular styles.  The characters are entertaining; I was captivated by the sugar skulls (the only characters that don't talk).  Leo is a good lead and you definitely enjoy him more once he takes the lead.  The story is funny and energetic, while still embracing the horror.  It is supposed to be a kids film, but might be a bit too much for younger kids.

The film was popular enough to garner 3 sequels (La Leyenda de la Llorona in 2011, La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato in 2014, and La Leyenda de las Momias de Guanajuato in 2016) which take Leo and his friends to tackle more Mexican legends.

La Leyenda de la Nahuala (2007) 82 minutes
Director: Ricardo Arnaiz
Starring: Fabrizio Santini as Leo San Juan
Andres Bustamante as Don Andres
Jesus Ochoa as Santos
Rafael Inclan as Alebrije
Martha Higareda as Xochitl
Maria Teresa Cordeiro as Teodora
Ofelia Medina as La Nahuala
Luna Arjona as Nana Dionisia
Bruno Coronel as Nando San Juan
German Robles as Friar Godofredo
Maria Santander as Tonita San Juan