MadMania

Faith, Books, and Stuff

Tag: movies

Review: Captain America: The First Avenger

I loved almost every minute of Captain America. I had high hopes for it, and Joe Johnston (who also directed The Rocketeer) did an amazing job with it. It was both faithful to the original story as well as new and unique. The cast was amazing: Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, and that […]

Movies better than their books

People usually say that books are always better than the movies made from them. I can think of a few exceptions, whose movies are markedly better than their source material. I don’t intend to provide any justification for my view; it’s just a list: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, based on Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by […]

Review: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

It was Heath Ledger’s last film (he died during filming), and it was directed by Terry Gilliam (Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Brothers Grimm). It also stars Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Christopher Plummer. I realized going in that Terry Gilliam films are guaranteed to be weird, that […]

Review: Fantastic Mr. Fox (movie)

I really can’t say enough good things about this movie. I love the story, direction, music, animation, and acting. I went into this movie with no preconceived notions (I barely knew a thing about it, not even that it was based on a Roald Dahl book), and it was awesome. George Clooney is hilarious as […]

Review: Ladyhawke

Heather and I both remember loving this movie, and we rented so we could watch it with the girls. It was not the best around. The movie was directed by Richard Donner (Superman, The Goonies), so I was expecting better. Matthew Broderick is the only great part about the movie: he is totally natural and […]

Review: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (movie)

I saw this movie before I had read the book. In fact, I had barely even heard of the book. So I had no expectations going into it, either good or bad. It wasn’t very good. The very first conversation in the movie already seems out of place–stating a situation that already seems to defy […]

Review: Alice in Wonderland (movie)

The new Alice in Wonderland movie is not terrible, but it is not that great either. The basic premise is that 13 years after her original adventures, as recorded by Lewis Carroll, Alice falls down a rabbit hole and returns to Wonderland, finding it a much darker place, and must fight to save it from […]

Review: Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Unfortunately, yes. Heather and I went out on a date Saturday afternoon and saw the aforementioned romcom. It was not that great. The premise is that native New Yorkers Paul and Meryl Morgan (Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker) are a couple that have been separated for three months. Paul is trying to make up […]