Last Chance Harvey

Last Chance Harvey

Who's in it: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson

What's it about: A long life of loneliness has followed Harvey(Hoffman) after his divorce. His lost family found a new father and he has been, in his mind, replaced. After losing most of any touch with his family, his daughter is getting married. He is invited to the wedding but finds out that he will not be the father giving his daughter away. On top of all of this, Harvey has one more chance at his commercial music job. He finds a wonderful woman, Kate(Thompson), who helps him to find himself. When love settles in, Harvey realizes that this is truely his last chance at life.

What I Think: Hoffman and Thompson are the perfect duo! The connection between the two was genuine and magical. Their years of acting experience showed so much in this movie. I thought the movie was going to be one way because of the previews, but it was completely different than I had imagined. The British setting was gorgeous and I think that the crew had perfect shots at perfect angles the entire movie. The story wasn't too realistic, but it made me think of how romantic it would be to have a relationship like that. Everything was great!

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux

Who's in it: Matthew Broderick, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman

What's it about: In the beginning, Roscuro(Hoffman) was a respected rat. He loved to stay with the cook of ships and make friends. When he came to a new world where soup was famed and almost worshiped, he ruined the bond between humans and rats. Rats were banned from the city forever as was soup. Despereaux(Broderick) was born and always seen as a small troublemaker. He never acted the way a real mouse should and always was curious about he world around him. He meets Princess Pea(Watson) and forms a relationship that will heal the bond that was broken by Roscuro and bring the pleasure of soup back to the city.

What I Think: Matthew Broderick amazes me. He is old, yet his voice is that of a young child. It stuns me how he can be a bumbling adult or an inspired child. Emma Watson has come a long way from being Hermione. I was impressed by her flexibility. I love Hoffman's voice most of all. It's so distinct and you can always relate to his character alot. I love that he always gets the best character and that was one of the best performances. I think that this was all in all a good movie and great for the entire family. Haven't read the book that it was based on by Kate DiCamillo, but I hear that it's good as well.

Kung Fu Panda

Kung Fu Panda

Who's in it: Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, David Cross, Ian McShane, Randall Duk Kim

What's it about: Po(Black) is a panda working in a noodle shop. His dream is to be the greatest Kung Fu master in all of China. After he is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior by Oogway(Kim), he is to work with Shifu(Hoffman). Shifu has trained the Furious Five, which includes Tigress(Jolie), Mantis(Rogen), Viper(Liu), Monkey(Chan), and Crane(Cross). When Tai Lung(McShane) escapes from prison, the village is in deep peril. Po must learn the way of Kung Fu quickly before Tai Lung arrives. The only problem is that not only Po, but Shifu also, doesn't believe that Po can live up to the title he'd been given.

What I Think: I first saw this movie in theatres. I loved it then and I love it even more now. There were so many things that I missed the first time around and then I got the DVD and was able to really inspect some of the things. I listened to some of the commentary and it was amazing how many things I didn't catch on to! Anyways, Jack Black is always awesome and I loved him doing a big, fat panda. His humor and way of distorting his voice made everything really fit. You felt as if he were really the panda. Hoffman I didn't even notice wasin the movie until the credits. I knew that I recognized the voice and then it hit me when I saw the name.

Rain Man

Rain Man

Who's in it: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino

What's it about: Based on the true story, Raymond Babbitt(Hoffman), or more well known as Rain Man, is an autistic genius. He is stole from his asylum home by his newly found brother, Charlie(Cruise). Along with Charlie and Susanna(Golino), Raymond sees the world for what it is. He experiences things that he'd never knew existed in the 30 years he'd been living. In a fight to get custody of his brother and the estate left to Raymond by their father, Charlie changes his ways in response to the ways of his childhood hero, the Rain Man.

What I Think: This story was so great. I was impressed by Hoffman's performance as a highly intelligent, yet mentally challenged man. To show that such a wonderful man could change one of the most deceitful men in only 2 hours time, is an amazing feat for a film maker. Cruise did an amazing job as the jealous and younger brother. I was impressed at Hoffman's consistency of the actions he had to perform to be Rain Man. Great movie of a great man.