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The Changeling, a review by Dragonfire

I don't have an image for this one.  I went to see Changeling on Tuesday the 11th.

Changeling

Based on a true story.

This movie tells the story of Christine Collins, a single mother living in Los Angeles in 1928 with her son Walter.  Christine, who worked for the phone company as an operator, was called in to work on a Saturday.  When she got home, her son Walter was missing.  She looked in the area for him and then called the police, only to be told that they wouldn't do anything until Walter had been gone 24 hours.  After five months, the police told Christine that her son had been found.  When she was reunited with him, she knew the child wasn't Walter.  The police wouldn't listen and then set out to discredit her and even went so far as to have her thrown into a mental hospital when all she wanted was to find her son.

My Thoughts

This is a very good movie.  The subject isn't a fun one, but the movie was still very good.  The fact that Walter vanished without a trace was upsetting enough, but what Christine was put through just because she was determined to find her son was awful.  The police was so corrupt at the time that they could get away with anything and they certainly didn't want to admit to a mistake when Christine said that the boy they turned over to her wasn't Walter.  The fact that all this happened at a time when women were still treated fairly badly in general probably didn't help matters either.  The pace was a bit slow, but I was never bored by what was going on.  Angelina Jolie was amazing as Christine. 

This movie deserves to be seen even though it deals with a very sad, upsetting story.

  - almost forgot this lol

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 14th, 2008)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a review by Dragonfire

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey



I went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on opening day.  I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson when they came out.  I saw the first movie without knowing that much about the story.  After seeing the first movie, I got the books and read them.  I got the theatrical versions on DVD and the extended versions...and last year I did a rare triple dip and got the extended versions on Blu-ray.  I also read The Hobbit and I've wanted to see a movie version for years - since long before it was confirmed that the movie was being made.

It has been a long time since I read the book so I don't remember everything and don't know exactly what has been changed for the movie.  I know that some things have been added since there are going to be three movies.  I know that some people have had ...concerns about it being turned into 3 movies, but I have kept an open mind.  I think that Peter Jackson is off to a great start with this movie.  It is a bit long, but I was never bored by what was going on.  The longer length, along with the fact that the book is being turned into three movies allows for more background and details to be shared. 

The movie begins with the older Bilbo when he is starting to write about his adventures.  Frodo is also briefly seen.  This little bit ties back into the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring.  I love that Ian Holm and Elijah Wood are back in the parts too.  After those first few minutes, the movie focuses on when Gandalf manages to get Bilbo to go with him on an adventure with thirteen dwarves who want to reclaim their home from a dragon, Smaug.  Things end in the middle of the journey,  like what happened with the original trilogy.

Middle Earth looks beautiful again, with some locations being visited again.  I loved seeing them again, along with the few returning characters.  The music fits perfectly with what is going on, and some of it uses bits from the first movies again.  The effects are very well done, especially for Gollum.  He looks a bit different, which makes sense since he is younger in this movie than he was the last time we saw him, though it is clear that his precious is corrupting him.  There is action in several scenes that is well done.  The action scenes help to keep things interesting. 

The characters are interesting, though most of the dwarves aren't that developed.  They do sort of blend in together at times.  Martin Freeman is wonderful as the younger Bilbo and it is believable that he is the younger version of Ian Holm's Bilbo.  I love Ian McKellen as Gandalf. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is wonderful and well worth checking out.  I've been ready to see the second movie since the credits for this one rolled.



I did post a longer review at Epinions after seeing the movie in the theater.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

(From The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on June 25th, 2013)

2016 TV Pilot Reviews, a review by DJ Doena

MacGyver Website
MacGyver @ Wikipedia
MacGyver @ IMDb

His name is MacGyver, Angus MacGyver. He doesn't like guns.

But that's OK, because his best friend Jack Dalton uses them plenty.

Mac and Jack work covertly for the government and their boss is Patricia Thornton.

The third team member is Nikki Carpenter, a computer hacker. But she gets killed on their latest mission and gets replaced with an ex-con by the name of Riley Davis.

Together they retrieve items and people from places where the government officially can't go.

It's MacGyver in name only. They try to do the same stuff like the voice-over by Mac and the technical gizmos, but it's just not the same. Just like the The A-Team movie was not The A-Team.

I don't think it was bad. It was certainly enjoyable to watch. But in the end it is a generic action show. It doesn't offend, it doesn't bring shame to the name. But it's also nothing special, nothing that screams "Watch me!".

Personally, I think Tristin Mays (Riley) is more beautiful than Tracy Spiridakos (Nikki). But I do find it weird that every single show needs at least one quota person of colour. Even when you only have three main actors.

I don't mind it, I never did. I never did mind Mr. T. Mr. T was awesome! But with the constant barrage of equal representation demands like #OscarsSoWhite I just notice it and wonder if a channel would ever dare to air a new show with an all-white cast.

I also watch The Carmichael Show which is an all-black show. No one demands equality there.

But a different topic: When will movie makers be able to make a CGI explosion not look totally fake?



(From 2016 TV Pilot Reviews on October 11th, 2016)