pumishmumi Reviews

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Equivalent of Godfather Part III

[7/10 · 3 January 2012]

I was terrified at first by the thought of another movie after seeing Indy and everyone ride off into the sunset in the third movie, but after a while I finally warmed up to the idea of it and watched on Netfilx. I really like this movie and I really hate it.

Like: They somehow got the majority of the original cast, which is amazing in my eyes. They also kept true to a lot of traits that Indy had that made up his personality.

Dislike: The plot is a bit ridiculous. Granted, Indy always goes up against the unusual, but I never did think of aliens as something that would qualify. Despite the original cast and good CGI, this movie didn't have to exist.

But overall, I'm glad it exists anyway.

Toy Story (1995)

This is where the nostalgia in me kicks in.

[9/10 · 30 December 2011]

This is the first movie I can remember watching as a kid, and judging from other ratings it turns out this is a great start. Much like Andy, I loved toys. Looking back at this, I really would like to see this entire from Andy's perspective. The story in this movie is amazing, as told by Pixar's plaque outside their building: "No amount of technology can fix a poorly told story". Andy alone has a lot to him, having to move and losing his most beloved toys in the process. What I remember most from this is one particular scene: Where Woody and Buzz are flying over the moving truck and into Adny's box. That scene, for whatever reason, has remained a part of my memory forever.

Overall, I still love this movie, even if you take away the nostalgia.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

If you like movies that make you think...

[8/10 · 30 December 2011]

This is your gift from God, thinkers.

This movie takes on the challenge of bringing the life of the mentally unstable to a full view for everyone to see. Everything goes on as normal (as the movie portrays it): Nurse Ratchet and crew monopolize the mentally ill in this 'institution' until a certain Mr. McMurphy comes in, rebellious, lazy, but also smart enough to get around, and almost sees the place as an easy target.

I'm going to skip to the end for a second because that's where all the uncertainty comes up. McMurphy sees one of his new friends dead (did he kill himself? That question may have just come from me not paying attention) and he turns on Nurse Ratchet, trying to choke her. After all the trouble he has caused, this is the final straw. They do 'something' to morph McMurphy into what they wanted, so now he is more ill than the rest of the mental patients. Right at this moment, I stopped the movie. I had already seen the very end where the Chief kills him and runs off on a different occasion. So many questions popped into my head.

I don't want to ask one without asking them all, and asking them all would break the 1,000 word limit, but watch the last half-hour, and really think about it. Who was the bad guy? McMurphy or Ratchet? That's question 1 of over 50 I thought of when I saw that part.

Be ready when you watch this movie. It will leave a lasting impression.

The Godfather (1972)

Cinematic perfection, why not 10/10?

[9/10 · 16 December 2011]

The Godfather is one of maybe 3 or 4 of those 'perfect movies'. The ones where no matter how many times you watch it, you can't nit-pick anything wrong, unnecessary, even if your life depended on it. It has an amazing story, incredible (and subtle) acting, great cast overall, and it is consistently gripping for the 3-hour run time. There is no trace of any laziness or mistake.

So why shouldn't I give this a perfect rating while we're at it? Well, two reasons mainly.

The first is universal: Despite it's Cinematic perfection, the way I see a perfect movie is if no one hated it. If ANY human being watched this movie from start to finish, they would be on the edge of their seat for 178 minutes (and I mean ANYONE who watched this, not one person left behind). It seems a little like splitting hairs if one person would lean back for a second and no longer calling this movie 'perfect', but when I hear that word, I expect people to mean what they say. And judging from the few hateful reviews I've seen on this one, it just doesn't quite make the cut.

Second, I would be one of those people who happened to sit back for a portion of the movie, mostly after Don Vito came back from the gunshot scene. I was thrilled and angry at the same time, but seeing as how he went on with business as before, I figured it was a break in the movie for everyone to re-cap so far. Bottom line, I got lost a little after that.

Again, if the Godfather were perfect, then it would have a prefect 10/10 overall rating as well, and not the 9.2 it currently has. Still, I recommend anyone who likes movies to watch this one. It will most likely be worth your while.

The Return of Jafar (1994 Video)

Oh, the things you can live through...

[7/10 · 11 December 2011]

I thought this was a great sequel. Probably my favorite of the millions of sequels made by Disney.

Jafar is definitely a much better villain in this one than in Aladdin. He has a much stronger motivation and much greater powers on his side. Despite all that, however, Disney can't help but limit themselves as to how good a movie can be. The ending, in my opinion, was cheesy even by kids movie standards.

The genie isn't quite as entertaining as before either, but he still made me laugh a lot.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoyed Aladdin.