Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

Genres

Horror, Thriller

Director

Joseph Sargent

Country

USA

Cast

Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young, Judith Barsi, Michael Caine, Lynn Whitfield, Mitchell Anderson, Roy Scheider, Cedric Scott, Charles Bowleg, Melvin Van Peebles, Mary Smith, Edna Billotto, Fritzi Jane Courtney

Storyline

After the encounter with the shark at Sea World, the Brody family yet again has to face the shark.

Opinion

As if Jaws 3-D wasn't bad enough, someone at the Universal Studios thought it would make sense to make another film starring the killing shark. And it does, but only from a money-making point of view because Jaws: The Revenge sucks on every level and manages to be even and a lot worse than its predecessor.

It has one of the most ridiculous plots of all time, a shark taking revenge on a family, that couldn't care less about what was said in one of the previous films that being sharks do not take things personally. I guess the writers not only know nothing about sharks, but they haven't seen the other movies of the series either.

The shark hunting down the Brody family (which by the way wouldn't have happened if they used their grey cells and did not go on vacation to the Bahamas) isn't even the most non-sense thing going on if you consider that the focus of the movie shifts on Mrs Brody for no reason whatsoever and it's she that attempts at killing the shark.

However, that plot, the flat characters, the terrible performances from the cast and the dreadful dialogue are far from being the tip of the iceberg. That's easily on the dull special effects, the lack of suspense and tension. And the lack of scares. Lorraine Gary's hair is probably the most frightening thing in the movie.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Genres

Animation, Fantasy, Musical, Romance

Directors

Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Odgen Stiers, Angela Lansbury, Bradley Pierce, Rex Everhart, Jesse Corti, Hal Smith, Jo Anne Worley, Mary Kay Bergman, Brian Cummings, Alvin Epstein, Tony Jay, Alec Murphy, Kimmy Robertson, Frank Welker

Storyline

An arrogant young prince (Robby Benson) fall under the spell of a wicked enchantress who turned him into a beast until he learns to love and be loved. His only opportunity arrives when he meets Belle (Paige O'Hara).

Opinion

The new Disney live-action film left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and to fix that I rewatched this classic version. And, while I'm still not a big fan of it, this Beauty and the Beast is way better than Condon's dull movie.

The story, although simple, predictable and really nothing more than a love story, is charming, it has a nice pace and it's well executed. Also, it is engaging and it'll probably move you, even if you are a heartless bitch like me.

What truly stands out in this film, just like in any other Disney movie, are the characters. The two main characters, Belle and the beast, are nicely developed, but the most charming are easily the minor supporting characters such as Mrs. Pots, Chip and Lumiere. The villain though is a bit weak and not charming at all (the only thing the live-action did better in my opinion).

And the animation is great too. Actually, it's quite astonishing and along with the wonderful songs, it gives the film a magical feel.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Charles Herman-Wurmfeld

Country

USA

Cast

Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, BRuce McGill, Dana Ivey, Jessica Cuauffiel, Alanna Unach, Bob Newhart, Luke Wilson, Bruce Thomas, Mary Lynn Rajskub, J. Barton

Storyline

Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) joins the staff of a congresswoman (Sally Field) in Washington D.C. in order to get an anti-animal testing bill passed.

Opinion

I know what you are thinking, Legally Blonde was terrible, why did you bother watching the sequel? The truth? I actually enjoy watching terrible movies because I love seeing how far stupidity can go, and Legally Blonde 2 sure knows what I'm talking about. Calling this film stupid is actually a compliment.

What's truly alarming it's that the writers somehow managed to come up with an even more stupid story. The plot is beyond ridiculous, a disaster to say the least. It's so stupid it makes the topic the film deals with - animal cruelty - look equally stupid and shallow. Such an important matter deserves way better than this horrible plot. Not to mention all the pointless, meaningless and absolutely stupid subplots. Like the guy dog plot, what's even the point of that?

This time around, the character of Elle Woods also seems to be more retarded than ever. She is very irritating because she acts just like she did at the beginning of the first film. And at the end, since the character had no development whatsoever. The rest of the characters are just as bad. There's too many of them and they are not interesting.

And since it's recycled like everything else in this film, the humour doesn't work either. The first time was silly funny, this time is just plain annoying.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Genres

Comedy, Drama

Director

Lasse Hallström

Country

USA

Cast

Helen Mirren, Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Rohan Chand, Charlotte Le Bon, Amit Shah, Farzana Dua Elahe, Dillon Mitra, Aria Pandya, Michel Blanc, Shuna Lemoine, Clément Sibony, Juhi Chawla, Vincent Elbaz

Storyline

After leaving India due to a fatal tragedy, the Kadam family settle in a small town in southern France where they open an Indian restaurant right across the road from a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Opinion

I love food, I love eating and I love cooking and I guess those are the reasons why I was able to enjoy The Hundred-Foot Journey because, honestly, it isn't that good of a film (on paper).

The story is very simple and predictable and manages to be quite a mess because there are too many plots. There's the rivalry between the two restaurants - which I thought was going to be the focus of the film but I was wrong -, there's Hassan's (one of the members of the Kadam family) success, there's Hassan's love story with a French woman, and there are the passion and love for food. Too many stories to tell and none told decently.

And yet the film managed to keep me interested and engaged from start to finish. There are moments where nothing is really happening, but somehow I wasn't bored by that.

I guess it's all on the comedy. The film has a light-hearted humour that comes out quite naturally, especially from Om Puri who has a great comic timing.

Overall, The Hundred-Foot Journey isn't the best comedy out there, nor it is the best comedy revolving around food, but it's just fine for when you want to switch off your brain.