Julie D's Reviews

This movie is in my "All Time Favs" Top 10
Jimmy Dolan is all about winning. He played sports until he blew out his knee, then he became a coach's assistant. He can't stand the young athletes that are just in it for the money and he can't resist a challenge. The head coach says he isn't a team player and he's about to be passed up when the head coach retires. That's the movie's setup.
Jimmy gets a wild idea (after drinking too much) to head to Africa and find a extremely tall basketball playing native he saw on a documentary.
Jimmy pushes all of his boundaries, stretches all of his limits and at the end he has to chose between doing what is best for himself or doing what is best for the "team."
Well, the reason this is one of my favorite movies is that I feel it's the best portrayal of what Peace Corps experience is like (forget the dumb movie with Tom Hanks & John Candy that is NOTHING like Peace Corps). It's a great movie that will have you literally jumping out of your seat at the end (actually, jumping up and down, as high as you can go!)...we've tried to find it on DVD for years.
Review Date: 7/11/2008

Definitely a keeper...one we watch again and again!
I like the wealth of child empowered movies out in recent years...the "believe in yourself" and "follow your dreams messages" are terrific!
And the music is so awesome we're on the wl for the soundtrack! In the meantime, we can slip in the movie and scene select the music...which my son did for a couple hours tonight, until I sent him to bed.
And the deleted scenes were all great; I wish it had the feature to watch all of them in the movie...they were all valuable bits!
Tha casting was great...can't get enough of this kid...his best movie so far! And the Wizard character was fantastically complex (Robin Williams)...loves music, cares about the kids, but grew up on the street and has a pile of baggage; anger issues, control issues, abuse issues, legal issues; drops all his ethics and forgets the joy of music in the pursuit of $$$$ but ultimately does the right thing (in the deleted scenes).
Review Date: 10/14/2009

Not really what I expected at all...an enjoyable romance...but thoroughly enjoyed what it was - definitely epic! I often find movies made around historical violence and racism to be too painful & haunting to watch; this was well done AND it was a pleasure to watch. I appreciated the humor as well as the drama. Hugh, and yeah (begrudgingly) Nicole, were hilarious to watch. Great sparks and acting. But without a doubt, Nullah stole my heart!
I lived in Australia in the 80s. So, I understood some of what had happened. I didn't realize how recently the government had apologized...it was still on everyone's minds; they wanted to repent and recompense better than the USA has with it's 'native population.' Still 40 years of wrong-doing and 30 years to apologize...damn! And?!
Well, obviously, I recommend the movie. At about 2 hours you'll think, why isn't this over? Because there was the happy ending...and it kept going. But the best of the drama was in the last 1/2 hour. It was almost like watching the sequel immediately afterwards! So be prepared for a long one.
Review Date: 6/6/2009

I just received my copy through the WISHLIST here...
What an amazing and wonderful movie! For those who don't know, Cameron worked and waited years to make this movie after his previous successes...and this is his best! He had a message to share and I can only hope you were listening!

This is not a typical war movie, as another reviewer stated. This isn't about war. This is about respecting indiginous cultures that are in tune with life around them. This is a comment about our disposable and destructive culture. The Euros spread out colonizing the world and treating natives like "monkeys" (I'm 3/4 Euro, so I can say what I want and that was a reference to the "blue monkey" comment in the movie), treating them like they knew nothing because they valued nature instead of velvet underpants! And as Jake put it "there is no green left," in other words, the Eurocentric vision destroyed the Earth. No I'm not targeting one group or over-simplifying...we are all in this together. Heck, the Euros are way ahead of us in trying to solve the problem now. The point of this movie is pay attention, hello! We can either be part of this planet or destroy it. But don't think we can just go and take someone else's planet afterward!
So if you are looking for a war movie, move on. If you are interested in some awesome character development, scenery and a wonderful story - this is the movie to see!

There wasn't any part of this movie that I didn't think was excellent. I watched it with a 10 yo and enjoyed his comments. Exploring a new world, the glow-in-the-dark steps, the dragonrides, and the jackasses he loved seeing get theirs! (Hard to tell him not to call people names when they act like that, sorry) One thing that bothered him was when Col. Miles incited the base to declare war and the soldiers all cheered the idea; he wondered why they would be so happy about it. I thought that was a really great teachable moment...that all military/governments/corporations/religious orgs act the same...and pointed out that the Col. only told them they had something to fear and an enemy, he didn't give them all the info to make their own decisions and that it takes a huge amount of courage and insight to think for yourself. I also pointed out the point of no return, when people where dying and there was no way to stop it...at that point it was all about trying to live through the day; that's one of the worst things about war and a darn good reason to avoid it. A lot of good people died on both sides of that battle, most of them thinking they were doing the right thing. There's never a right thing in war except bringing it to an end. And I absolutely loved the planet taking a stand and defending itself!!!!
If you haven't noticed, ours is doing the same thing.

Thank you Cameron, for holding to what you believe in and finding a way to get the message out, for what it's worth. And thanks for making it a great ride!
Review Date: 6/19/2010

With the exception of the bus scene, which is disturbing...this movie is fantastically delightful! The characters are enjoyable. Plenty of humor. Romance...typical and not so. And if you like Depp even a little bit...delicious! Aidan is pretty sweet, too! Most of the soundtrack is wonderful, too...the upbeat stuff. My friends and I have played this style of poker and its a kick! (chocolate is always an acceptable substitute!) One of my all time favs!
Review Date: 7/1/2009

What I hate about this movie...is that it stops right in the middle of the story! Completely unsatisfying! They were obviously planning a sequel...but they have taken so long, nobody is interested anymore (well, okay one person; see other reviews). I mean, it's not as if it was The Lord of the Rings, which has decades/millions of dedicated readers!
If they had actually done a complete movie, I would have enjoyed it a lot. As it is I've told people not to even bother with it.
Review Date: 7/22/2008

Spectacular! The only reason it wasn't a keeper for me...too much violence for family viewing. But the message is...worth listening to!
I highly recommend this movie, but don't want to give anything away...it's a journey.
Review Date: 7/22/2008

I gave this 4.5 stars. I'm writing a review as an alternate opinion.
I thought this movie was wonderful! I thought it had a great message for kids...and that is to think for yourselves. It was exciting and adventurous and I would definitely watch the sequel! Nicole was downright scary...
Anyway, my one complaint is that it definitely left you knowing the story wasn't finished...and because of the religious "are you talking about me?" hysteria...it probably won't get finish, and that's a real shame. Gee...if you have to ask! Anyone that doesn't know that both the government and religion control and manipulate people in the name of taking care of them...well...enough said! This movie did NOT bash religion, btw, only government. ;)
Review Date: 4/7/2010

Because there are no reviews presently, I thought I'd take a moment. Because I loved it! I would give it 7* if I could!
The science was mostly understandable & I learned something, but especially learned how to communicate what I'd learned before.
Guessed "surprise" or mystery ~1/2 way. But even then it was an "aha!" moment.
It was a long movie, but I was on the edge of my seat after the long intro. I cried hard twice. A couple "Ha" moments, not really lol. LOT of "Shit, shit, shit!!!" (sorry, but that was the word I was shouting, ooops!) It was really strong on the constant action once it got going, hardly a breather.
NO Villian! Yay! (maybe that's why it didn't do better?) No, sorry, there was that crazy "survive at all cost...to you" Dr. At least they were human psychosis, rather than true villians.
And the end was a very good surprise.
This movie gives you nearly a complete journey & lifetime. It feels complete, and it was too long to keep going...they picked a good way to end it.
So, if you feel like being entertained for close to 3 hours...well, I'm planning to watch it again!
Review Date: 1/6/2016

First I have to say this is a keeper. BF does a great job...he was barely attractive at all, which is saying a lot for his acting ability. JH was awesome...amazing kid! Great ride...I didn't really laugh at the jokes already in the trailer...but they had a few that weren't and I almost hyperventilated one time!
My one gripe is that I was looking forward to 3D...but I don't find it. Unless I'm missing something, this is just a ws/fs disk. We were also hoping for more special features.
Review Date: 3/1/2009

We LOVE this movie. We are watching for the 93rd time. And though I'm a rather quiet mom...I join in whooping at the action and singing to the rockin' soundtrack!
It didn't get great reviews and I think they dropped the planned sequels because the box wasn't so great...but I have no idea why! Fire the promoters! This movie ROCKS!
Matthew is quite sexy & witty...pretty normal fare. But Steve - awesome!!! I've only ever seen him as sort of a brainless sidekick...it takes a few minutes to realize it, but he carries half this movie and has some fantastic lines! Great humor! And he's far from dumb...which is a role he really deserves! Penelope was a great choice and works fine for the damsel in distress...great character that holds her own. All the other characters, as well, especially the admiral and Rudy as just as good; the cast is A+
A little mystery, a lot of action, almost as much humor, no overt sex, a little MacGyver-ism...this is ManFlick, but this ChickFlicker enjoys it so thoroughly that every time the guys want to watch it, I say sure! I wish they'd make a sequel of the same quality! I'd own it! Needless to say, this will never leave our keeper shelf.
How many times can I say it; We LOVE this movie!
Review Date: 11/6/2009

This movie is in my "All Time Favs" Top 10
I remember going to the movies with my mother and aunt (I was a teen). The place was packed, but I hadn't even heard of it...a matinee. By the end of the movie, the whole place was chanting "Willow!" Not just the kids; it was my only experience like that. Hard to imagine it ever called a disappointment!
There is so MUCH humor in this...and good messages! Plus my favorite line from any movie is in Willow "And it went away?!" And the action! My favorite part is the wild ride down the ice mountain. Ron captured the baby's expressions beautifully, too. It was the first movie that I actually like Val Kilmer...
Review Date: 7/11/2008

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