Sarentrol Masterful Cinema

Skunkyrate Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Executscan Expected more

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

krissyafite1979 I saw that movie because I read the books as a child and watched the television series (with Sarah Polly) as well, and loved both. I just wanted a little blast from the past and to just check it out. this series was adorable in some ways, but it could have been better. Celena Gomez is not a totally poor choice for an actress, but a bit older then Bezus even at her oldest in the books. Perhaps somebody like Abigail Bresin would be better. Also, they were kind of vague about the decade. The series was in the late 50s and 60s, but the movie did not modernize it nor did they make any reference to the decade. The cars and clothing looked modern, but the technology still seemed 1960s. Okay that could be left up to the reader I suppose, but I like to know what decade I am in. Additonally, they fit a bunch of parts from almost every book into one movie, so it was just like a bunch of scenes cluttered in one. The father mentioned the third daughter once, but she was born at the end of the book series, and she is not in any of the scenes, which I found confusing. When he was talking about how he was going to be an art teacher, but gave up school, he mentioned Bezus, romona and some other girls name I think. I understand changing the story a little, but cluttering everything onto one movie and changing things around just does not make sense, because the stories were so nice in the books and changing it changes the special quality of the books. All in all, not a terrible movie, the children were adorable and the acting was decent.

Neddy Merrill Early on in ?Ramona and Beezus? you come across a character mostly unused in modern popular culture ? The Decent Father. Most recent father characters fall into one of four archetypes in the following order of frequency: (1) Incompetent Dad ? Homer Simpson and Peter Griffen have influence a generation of screenwriters to portray fathers as dithering man-children ? Clark Griswald comes immediately to mind, (2) Superfluous Dad ? writers throw in a dad who has few lines, shows little emotion and are played by indistinguishable journeyman actors - ?The Blind Side? is the best recent example, (3) Absent Dad ? the father character is played as negative space, his absence a major plot point ? ?Precious?? is the best recent example and (4) Angry Dad ? the father is either openly evil or secretly evil ? an older example is ?Say Anything.? The father/child relationship has been so degraded that the most honest relationship portrayal out there is Miley Cyrus and her real father Billy Ray on their Disney television show. So even though the film is overly long, often dull and lacks a compelling overarching plot driver (there is the subplot about whether the Quimby?s will lose their house but it is half-hearted), I am going to recommend it. The film deals with real relationships (the parents fight), real problems (a record number of people are facing foreclosure) and job loss (15.7million people are facing this in the U.S. as of this writing). Let?s hope the film is successful and we see more of this type of light family dramedy.

phd_travel This family comedy is based on the recent economic downturn and is about how a little girl and her family cope with the bread winner being laid off. It's fun to see the effects of the financial crisis from a child's point of view with the little fantasy clips. The story is slightly more on the serious side because of this - not a laugh a minute for sure. The adult casting is good. John Corbett is likable as the father and Bridget Moynahan looks suitably unglamorous as a mother. Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel and Sandra Oh are likable supporting actors. Joey King as Romona is okay but a her disasters are a little annoying at times. Couple of faults. Strange casting of Selena Gomez, because of her latina look she doesn't look like she could possibly be the offspring of the very un-ethnic looking Bridget Moynahan and John Corbett. One problem with the ending. How are they going to live their previous lifestyle on a part time art teacher's salary?

Steve Pulaski Anybody who went to school knows Beverly Cleary and her wonderful series of children's novels. Besides the Ramona series of books, she wrote The Henry Huggins books and The Mouse and the Motorcycle. Along comes Ramona and Beezus, based off of her book Beezus and Ramona written in 1955. Not reading the book in years, I vaguely remember moments in it that weren't in this. I have researched to find that this film is based on the seventh book out of all the Ramona books but for some reason still has the title of the first. Strange.Moving right along, the story is about the plucky youngster named Ramona (King) and her older sister Beatrice (nicknamed Beezus, played by Gomez) trying to save their parents home by raising money to pay for bills. Their parents have been constantly fighting and their Aunt Bea has fallen for a man that she used to like when they were younger named Hobart (Duhamel).The film doesn't have one plot, it's a series of subplots that make up the entire film. The main story is just that there are two sisters, the youngster being unknowingly disruptive, and at times, a nuisance, and the other just trying to live her private life. It's a coming of age story to say the least.There are some G rated movies, you should just let be. You don't want to over critique them. Obviously they won't go into anything deeper than maybe "you loser," but sometimes you wish they would. I'm not saying vulgarity makes a movie any better, but sometimes when a movie like this is made, you want it to have some sense of realism. It can be done, but at a G rating, it's very difficult. This winds up having just enough.At least Ramona and Beezus doesn't wonder off into a cliché and bubbly world where everything is always nice. No, the statement comes up frequently, Ramona is a nuisance. She is an overactive child that needs to calm down sometimes. She means well, and doesn't want trouble, but trouble has a way of finding her. I can accept that.Beezus doesn't do much to improve the storyline. We don't really know if she really appreciates her sister or is holding back true feelings. At the beginning of the film, the relationship between them suggests they are very close, but throughout the whole film she goes back and forth to making fun of her and then loving her. Maybe a case of off the wall hormones.The premise is cute, the characters are lively, and the entertainment is here. Ramona and Beezus is what I call a "last minute movie." This is the kind of film you see a commercial for three days before it comes out on TV. Suddenly it becomes a movie weekend. This finds ways to be appreciated by all ages, and finds ways to have the right amount of realism while maintaining a squeaky clean image.Starring: Selena Gomez, Joey King, Hutch Dano, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Josh Duhamel, and Sandra Oh. Directed by: Elizabeth Allen.