Treydle's stats
- Review count108
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- First reviewNovember 10, 2011
- Last reviewJune 30, 2013
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- Average rating3.7
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- First review commentNovember 10, 2012
- Last review commentNovember 10, 2012
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![Mirror Mirror [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5585/5585245_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Imagine the oldest fairy tale there is. Have you got it? No, not that one. Have you got it now? Yeah, that’s it. Now ask yourself if it can be made into a movie, again? The brain trust at Relativity Media asked themselves that question and came back with a resounding yes.
Snow White (played by Lily Collins) is the only child of a benevolent king, referred to only as The King (played by Sean Bean) and his late wife who, except for the detail that she died while giving birth to Snow (Collins), is not referred to at all. The King was raising Snow so that she might one day rule over the kingdom, but he was consumed by a beast known to inhabit the woods long before that could happen. With The King gone and Snow not yet ready to take the throne, the duty passed to his wife Clementianna (played by Julia Roberts). With her husband gone, Snow is the only threat to The Queen’s rule, so she keeps her confined to the castle. When speaking to Snow, she claims it’s for safety reasons, but when her subjects inquire about the matter, she makes it appear as though the princess they’ve never seen is in a fragile state as a result of either physical or mental illness. All the while, her excesses have seen a once happy, wealthy kingdom turned into a fiefdom in dire financial straits populated by overtaxed miserable subjects. Her closest advisor, Brighton (played as an obsequious toady by the talented Nathan Lane) informs her that her best hope is to marry a Baron who has made numerous overtures in the past. But while the Baron possesses the wealth she desires, he is older and not particularly attractive. Then, as luck and uncreative storytelling would have it, a prince from a wealthy, faraway kingdom (played by Armie Hammer) is robbed, bound, and gagged by bandits inhabiting the woods, freed by Snow White, who has left the castle without the Queen’s permission, and then brought to the castle by the royal guard so that she might offer an apology and, of course, the King’s vacant seat in the throne.
Now, of course, there have been numerous successful films based on fairy tales. Tangled (based on Rapunzel), Beauty and the Beast, and the original Disney version of Cinderella in a film simply titled Cinderella. While the two older films may not have the same appeal with the youth audience that Tangled does, they have greater appeal with older audiences, not just because of nostalgia, but because they are quality films. So, if you’re a parent and your children have been begging you to buy this film on DVD, make whatever effort you can to convince them to watch the older classic film or the more recent Disney features based on other fairy tales. This one just doesn’t hold up.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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![Project X [Includes Digital Copy] [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5606/5606376_sa.jpg)
Must enter redemption code by expiration date to redeem UltraViolet offer. Does not include iTunes file.
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Did you spend your entire high school career as someone with few friends who will more than likely be forgotten by the student body moments after graduating? What could you do to change that?
Thomas (played by Thomas Mann) is turning seventeen and his parents are leaving town. His parents (played by relative unknowns Peter Mackenzie and Caitlin Dullany) fully expect him to throw a party in their absence and simply ask that it be kept under control. Still his friends Costa (played by Oliver Cooper) and JB (played by Jonathan Daniel Brown) believe that they can bring into being an epic gathering that will elevate their friend and themselves to legendary status simply through social networking and word of mouth. Unsure of what to expect, they encounter a former classmate who recently graduated and invite him only to discover he’s already planning to attend. And, every step of the way, Kirby (played by Kirby Bliss Blanton) is telling Thomas that Costa’s party is a bad idea. Kirby is apparently Thomas’s only female friend. Of course Blanton is quite attractive herself and while they’ve never been more than friends, Thomas entertains numerous fantasies regarding Alexis (another student played by Alexis Knapp) who has no idea he’s alive.
The title is terribly unoriginal, but it was initially intended to be a placeholder until it started to generate interest. Whether that was in any way related to the 1968 science fiction film of the same name or the 1987 comedy-science fiction-thriller starring Matthew Broderick, I can’t say. I will say that I and many others in the theater laughed out loud numerous times throughout the film. Some have called this film irresponsible and said it sets a bad example to high school students. Then again, a film that sets a good example would probably depict a party where no alcohol or drugs are consumed, no cigarettes are smoked, and everyone returned home and went to bed at a decent hour after, of course, helping to clean up. Would ANYBODY see that? I wouldn’t. It’s not revolutionary and there are no profound life lessons but it is unmistakably a good time.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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10of 11voted this as helpful.
![21 Jump Street [Includes Digital Copy] [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5426/5426099_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
What happens when you take an overweight, intelligent, socially awkward “adult” and put him in the same police academy with same emotionally stunted athlete who made his life miserable all through high school?
Morton Schmidt (played by Jonah Hill) had dyed-blonde hair and braces in the twelfth grade so, naturally, when he attempted to ask out his high school crush, he choked and was shot down anyway. While this was devastating to him, Greg Jenko (played by Channing Tatum) found it hysterical and made no effort to hide it. The shoe was eventually on the other foot, however, when the principal revealed that Jenko (Tatum) would not be allowed to graduate. Years later, in the police academy, Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko meet again, they decide to help each other overcome their respective shortcomings and, in so doing, graduate. But a screw-up results in their first arrest being invalidated and, as punishment, they’re reassigned to a program that was discontinued in the 80’s and brought back because “the guys upstairs ran out of ideas years ago”. Their new headquarters: 21 Jump Street. Under the direction of their captain (Ice Cube), they’re sent undercover as high school students to find the supplier of a new drug that recently caused the death of a white high school student after he’d posted a video of himself under the influence of said drug and posted it on YouTube.
The inside jokes about the basis for this movie being a television program from the 80’s and cameo appearances from two former cast members are hilarious. Also entertaining is the sharp contrast in youth culture between today and ten years ago. Hill is basically playing a role he’s played several times before, ditto for Tatum, and Ice Cube, playing a role that even the cast admits is cliché, is fantastic. If you haven’t already, see this movie.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![We Need to Talk About Kevin [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5425/5425072_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Could you stand to have the entire course of your life defined by one horrific act? If so, imagine said act being committed by someone else. In fact, not just someone else, but your own son.
The film opens on a dream sequence that I struggle to see the relevance of even now and, when it ends, we are introduced to a waking Eva Katchadourian (played by Tilda Swinton). Eva is living in a run-down house that has recently been vandalized along with her car. Rather than report it, Eva (Swinton) merely cleans the windshield and departs on a search for employment. She was once a successful travel writer but has experienced great difficulty finding work since her son Kevin (played by Ezra Miller) took it upon himself to carry out a massacre in his high school. Kevin was a difficult child from infancy, crying incessantly at all hours while Eva’s husband Franklin (played by John C. Reilly) is out of the house working. As Kevin grows older, the difficulties only increase. He doesn’t speak or appear to understand when others do as a toddler. When he finally does speak, he refuses to be toilet trained. This frustrates Eva till she throws Kevin against a wall, breaking his arm. It wasn’t clear, at least to me, whether it was intentional or not, but Kevin claims he fell and returns home willing and able to use the toilet. Franklin (Reilly) is amazed and delighted while Eva is consumed by guilt. When their second child is born, things only get worse.
Swinton’s character is far from perfect, but on some level, the audience sympathizes with her. Both as a mother whose son is clearly more disturbed than her husband is capable of realizing and as the widow being harassed on a nearly constant basis for a crime she didn’t commit. Reilly’s character is infuriating, but only viewing the problem from Eva’s eyes makes it a lot easier to see than it would be for someone spending most of the day outside the home. Prior to watching this film, my only knowledge of Miller’s acting was when he guest-starred as the precocious son of a wealthy, absentee father with substance abuse issues on the USA Network show Royal Pains. That character was highly likeable in addition to being entertaining and the total opposite of Kevin which he plays perfectly.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![The Artist [Includes Digital Copy] [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5388/5388914_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
With every change in technology and popular tastes, there are those who are left by the wayside when they are unable or unwilling to adapt. And, in contrast, there are those who quickly find themselves better off than they were before. We, of course, know what happens to the latter, but what of the former?
On his way into the theater for the premiere of his latest film, silent movie star George Valentin (played by Jean Dujardin) encounters young aspiring starlet Peppy Miller (played by Berenice Bejo) and the two are photographed by the many reporters by the entrance. By the next day, Miller (Bejo) is on the cover of Variety with the headline “Who’s That Girl?” Valentin’s spouse, Doris (played by Penelope Ann Miller) is annoyed while Peppy (Bejo) is ecstatic. When she auditions for a role in Valentin’s next movie, the studio is hesitant while Valentin is insistent. Over time, Miller’s popularity increases to the point where she no longer needs Valentin’s patronage. In the same amount of time, Al Zimmer (played by John Goodman), the head of the studio holding Valentin’s contract, announces they will be halting production on silent films in favor of sound. Valentin believes sound is a fad and decides to produce his next silent film without the studio. Only to have the opening go unnoticed thanks to Peppy Miller’s latest offering being released on the same day.
I haven’t seen any of Dujardin’s or Bejo’s previous films. And, while I recognized members of the supporting cast, their roles were much less significant. Also, given that the majority of the film is silent, it was an unusual experience. I was tempted to switch on my iPod at times, but somehow I didn’t think AC/DC was compatible with the tone the film was trying to set. Leaving all that aside, this is a brilliant film and I enjoyed it immensely. Though I would hope it’s not the beginning of a trend as silent films could be disastrous in the hands of less competent professionals.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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7of 7voted this as helpful.
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Is there progress to be made in depicting the war on terror in film? What if you depict events in that war starring the brave individuals who are actually fighting it? Crazy, right? But crazy enough to work?
The film opens with voice-over of a man reading the always heart-wrenching last letter. Later we’re introduced to two CIA operatives deep inside an organization with ties to terrorists. Lisa Morales (played by Roselyn Sanchez) and Walter Ross (played by Nestor Serrano) are acting as aid workers in a small town in Mexico while investigating the town’s benefactor, commonly referred to as Christo. Christo (played by Alex Veadov) is a smuggler with ties to a Muslim extremist by the name of Abu Shabal (played by Jason Cottle). When Morales and Ross (Sanchez and Serrano) are discovered, Ross is killed and Morales is kidnapped and held hostage so that she can be tortured for information. Once those in authority discover signs of a struggle in Morales’ residence, a crew of Navy SEALs is called in to perform a rescue mission. Revealing any additional details would give away too much of the story.
Now, having only seen the film once, character names and story arcs are kind of a blur. Also, as the names of the lead “actors” in this film are being withheld for security reasons, any praise or criticism of any particular cast member is pointless. Of course, these men are not actors. Then again, I’ve seen plenty of highly-paid actors star in films that weren’t half as interesting. Every action scene was a thrill a minute and those moments in-between were a welcomed relief. I urge all of-age action fans to see this movie at their earliest possible convenience.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Like Crazy [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/4818/4818327_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
What if the one person you loved more than anyone was no longer allowed in the country? How do you maintain a relationship with limited financial resources and nine time-zones between you?
Just before graduating from college in Los Angeles, Jacob (played by Anton Yelchin) meets and falls in love with Anna (played by Felicity Jones), an exchange student from London. Her student visa is about to expire, but rather than leave as she is required to, Anna (Jones) elects to spend the summer with Jacob (Yelchin) and returns home only to attend a family function. When she flies back to LA, she is detained at the airport for violating immigration law, sent home, and told she will no longer be allowed to enter the United States at any time for any reason. The couple’s relations strain as the longing and obstacles to communication become more and more insurmountable. Over time, Jacob’s resolve weakens and he begins a relationship with a co-worker, albeit with Anna’s blessing that she later retracts.
As a small, independent film, it took a great deal of time for Like Crazy to arrive in a local venue and even with less-than-stellar reviews from the majority of critics, I was anxious to see it. I should’ve been better prepared for the continuous agony and discomfort the story and its characters brought. There are worse films out there, without question. But there was so much promise and it just didn’t come into being.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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![Safe House [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5273/5273783_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
You’re in a position that requires very little of you and have been for some time. Then you hear your significant other is getting a new job nearly 6,000 miles away and begin angling for a transfer but before you can get it you are dropped in a situation unlike any you’ve ever been in. What do you do?
Matt Weston (played by Ryan Reynolds) is the guardian of a CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. While he is required to conceal the true nature of his workplace and his employer, once he’s entered the office, turned on the lights and locked the door behind him, he’s done just about everything he needs to do that day. Meanwhile, the Agency’s most wanted fugitive, CIA agent turned traitor Tobin Frost (played by Denzel Washington) has been arrested in a nearby embassy while trying to escape the men who’d already murdered his business contact. Senior management at the Agency is stunned and determined to find out what Frost (Washington) was running from in addition to ascertaining the true extent of the damage he’s already done since going rogue more than ten years earlier. However, before Frost cooperates, hostile forces break through the facility’s defenses and assassinate Frost’s armed escorts. Soon Weston (Reynolds) is on the run with Frost in tow all while trying to keep them both alive and deliver Frost to the intended destination.
If you’ve seen Enemy of the State, Man on Fire, Unstoppable, or Spy Game, you’ll no doubt recognize the directing style of Tony Scott in this latest film starring Denzel Washington. The problem being that the director of this film is a man by the name of Daniel Espinosa and while I am a fan of Scott and his films, it shows a considerable lack of imagination on Espinosa’s part to direct his films in a near-identical manner. Putting that aside, Washington is exceptional as he often is, Reynolds is surprisingly good and spares us the sarcasm we’ve come to love and expect from him, and supporting players Brendan Gleeson, Vera Farmiga, and Sam Sheppard make the sub-plot almost as interesting as the main story. I enjoyed it a lot.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Red Tails [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/5121/5121734_sa.jpg)
Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Could you love a country that abused and mistreated you? Could you fight, kill, or die for it? That question is answered with a resounding “yes” by the characters portrayed in this most recent film about the first all African-American unit of fighter pilots in World War II.
The film opens with three pilots encountering a suspicious train which they believed to be carrying armaments to the Axis forces. The more reckless among them, Joe “Lightning” Little (played by David Oyelowo) disobeys orders and attacks from the front destroying the engine and the train itself while causing not-insignificant damage to his plane. This caused great distress to the mechanic charged with repairing “Lightning’s” plane while his disregard for the chain of command is the primary complaint of his group leader, Martin “Easy” Julian (played by Nate Parker). And in the background there is constant politicking from those who believe the group is a failure and a waste of resources while others like Colonel A.J. Bullard (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) are making efforts to secure more important assignments and the superior aircraft they would need to complete them.
The story of The 332nd Fighter Group is an inspiring chapter in American military history. So inspiring, in fact, that it’s already been told once before in 1995 HBO film The Tuskegee Airmen. While the HBO effort was not without its problems, overall it is a superior film. True, the dog fighting scenes in Red Tails are very well-done and highly entertaining but at the time HBO was not the powerhouse it is today and if there is one thing George Lucas knows, it’s aerial battles. And I was happy to see him produce something that wasn’t designed to capitalize on already successful and creatively exhausted franchises. Still, this is the lesser of two films on an important subject. As the 1995 film is available to rent on Netflix and available for purchase at prices cheaper than that of a movie ticket, see The Tuskegee Airmen instead.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Posted by: Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Could you stand to have the entire course of your life defined by one horrific act? If so, imagine said act being committed by someone else. In fact, not just someone else, but your own son.
The film opens on a dream sequence that I struggle to see the relevance of even now and, when it ends, we are introduced to a waking Eva Katchadourian (played by Tilda Swinton). Eva is living in a run-down house that has recently been vandalized along with her car. Rather than report it, Eva (Swinton) merely cleans the windshield and departs on a search for employment. She was once a successful travel writer but has experienced great difficulty finding work since her son Kevin (played by Ezra Miller) took it upon himself to carry out a massacre in his high school. Kevin was a difficult child from infancy, crying incessantly at all hours while Eva’s husband Franklin (played by John C. Reilly) is out of the house working. As Kevin grows older, the difficulties only increase. He doesn’t speak or appear to understand when others do as a toddler. When he finally does speak, he refuses to be toilet trained. This frustrates Eva till she throws Kevin against a wall, breaking his arm. It wasn’t clear, at least to me, whether it was intentional or not, but Kevin claims he fell and returns home willing and able to use the toilet. Franklin (Reilly) is amazed and delighted while Eva is consumed by guilt. When their second child is born, things only get worse.
Swinton’s character is far from perfect, but on some level, the audience sympathizes with her. Both as a mother whose son is clearly more disturbed than her husband is capable of realizing and as the widow being harassed on a nearly constant basis for a crime she didn’t commit. Reilly’s character is infuriating, but only viewing the problem from Eva’s eyes makes it a lot easier to see than it would be for someone spending most of the day outside the home. Prior to watching this film, my only knowledge of Miller’s acting was when he guest-starred as the precocious son of a wealthy, absentee father with substance abuse issues on the USA Network show Royal Pains. That character was highly likeable in addition to being entertaining and the total opposite of Kevin which he plays perfectly.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Treydle's Review Comments
![The Amazing Spider-Man [Includes Digital Copy] [DVD] [2012]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/6836/6836709_sa.jpg)
Overall
4 out of 5
4 out of 5Great superhero film
By Treydle
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Can you reboot a franchise that once held the record for largest opening weekend in history? Can you create something original using a character who was first introduced to the world in 1962?
Peter Parker, age 4, (played by Max Charles) is playing hide and seek one night when he discovers someone has broken into his father’s study. His father, Richard (played by Campbell Scott) sees this and takes some important papers, his wife Mary (played by Embeth Davidtz) and his son to the home of his Aunt May (played by Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (played by Martin Sheen). Peter is left in that home for his own safety and never sees his parents again. At least a decade later, Peter (played as a teenager by Andrew Garfield), is being bullied by an athlete named Flash Thompson (played by Chris Zylka) and has a crush on a student named Gwen Stacey (played by Emma Stone). When Peter returns home at the end of the day, bruised and beaten by Flash, he finds papers in his father’s briefcase that show he once worked with a man named Dr. Curt Connors (played by Rhys Ifans). Connors works at a company named Oscorp, so Peter disguises himself as an intern to gain access to the lab and, hopefully, Connors. Little did he know, the tour for new interns was led by Gwen Stacey. She knows immediately that the ID badge that Peter’s wearing belongs to someone else, but allows him to continue on the tour regardless. Peter sneaks away from the group and finds a lab filled with genetically-modified spiders that are producing biocable. As is often the case with people who bother animals for no reason, Peter gets bitten. Security eventually finds him and escorts him out of the building. While on the subway, he discovers that he gained far more than knowledge from his visit.
Now, I saw the 2002 Spider-Man film starring Tobey Maguire and the 2004 sequel. I liked it initially, but over time, I grew tired of it. I thought 2004’s Daredevil was a much better film, despite mixed reviews from moviegoers and critics. Not to mention, I believe Kirsten Dunst gave a less-than-stellar performance as Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson. Not to mention the irony of having blonde Kirsten Dunst dye her hair red to play Mary Jane Watson and then having redhead Emma Stone dye her hair blonde to play Gwen Stacey. Forgetting all that for a second, this was a much better film than the one we got from Sam Raimi. Director Marc Webb and company have created something with a much darker, more serious tone, a better story, and a solid conclusion. I enjoyed this film very much.
Treydle
Saratoga Springs, NY
Answer
November 10, 2012
Not on Sony's payroll. Or anyone else's for that matter. As for Sam Raimi, I have great respect for his work as the writer/director of "Evil Dead 2", "Army of Darkness", and "The Hudsucker Proxy". The "Spider-Man" film series, on the other hand, turned webbing into something that just came along naturally with the spider bite and turned Mary Jane Watson into a damsel in constant distress who spoke in a whisper most of the time. Whether Dunst was chosen by Raimi or forced on him by the studio, I believe the film was worse as a result. As for having a pleasant day, while it has little if anything to do with you, that seems unlikely. At any rate, I appreciate you saying that you respect my opinion and find my comments well-written. Perhaps you could submit a question with regard to a film on which we are of like minds. To sum up, feel free to respond or not and thanks for the input.
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