"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Movie Review: Penelope (2006)

Hello, everyone!

I first watched the movie that I am going to review today back in 2009, so 10 years ago! I thought that I remembered it almost perfectly, but both my younger and older sister, who watched it with me, didn't remember it at all! A few weeks ago I was finally able to rewatch it with my older sister. I was right, I remembered pretty much everything (except the last 10 minutes). My older sister liked it, but still didn't remember seeing it before! I feel so old...

(Also, yay Netflix! I watched it both times on there).

Note: I was so excited to be watching it that I kept forgetting to write things down, but then I randomly would so these are out of context. Sorry!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.


Penelope (2006):
A long time ago, the Wilherns were cursed that their first born daughter would have the face of a pig. They never thought about it because they only had sons... until Penelope. The curse will only end when one of her own kind, a "blue blood", someone who has money and position, learns to love her. A reporter wants to make money by showing a photo of her to the public. He also has personal reasons for wanting a slight "revenge" because he got hurt when he previously tried to get a picture. Working with Edward, one of the few people who has seen her, they plan to hire someone to pretend to be a suitor long enough to get a photo. Penelope wants to see the world but it doesn't want to see her. Will she finally find a friend, or will they only run from her?
Genre: Low Fantasy (there is the idea of the curse, but all of it takes place in our world and there is no other mention of magic), Romance.
Length: approx. 104 minutes.
Costumes: 8, nothing brilliant, but nothing bad.
My favorite: I couldn't find any good pictures, but she has an awesome coat!
Script: 9, only one or two bad words!
"Once the queen's dead the king is useless." (Chess!)
Crew:
Directed by: Mark Palansky.
Written by: Leslie Caveny.
Starring:
Christina Ricci as Penelope Wilhern. "Plants are great, I just thought of you as a cop."
James McAvoy as Max Campion, "Johnny".
Catherine O'Hara as Jessica Wilhern.
Richard E. Grant as Franklin Wilhern.
Peter Dinklage as Lemon.
Simon Woods as Edward Humphrey Vanderman III.
Nigel Havers as Edward Vanderman II.
Reese Witherspoon as Annie.
Ronni Ancona as Wanda.
Richard Leaf as Jack the Bartender.
Michael Feast as Jake.
Cinematography: 9, at first I thought that it was a little weird, but I think it was just the screen that I was watching it on.
Cinematography by: Michel Amathieu.
Music: 8, if there was a score or soundtrack it didn't really stick out to me, but I love how they have the song "You Are My Sunshine" in there!
Music by: Joby Talbot.
Quotes: 9. "It's not the power of the curse, it's the power that you give the curse."
Storyline: 7, so there is death, suggestive things, mention of an affair, smoking, drinking (we see people intoxicated a few times), and gambling, but it is all mostly shown as bad.
"Will somebody call my mother?"
Good For: People who don't like how they look, who are scared of being seen, anybody!
Age Range: All ages! There are a few exaggerated drawings that might scare really little kids, and there is mild kissing, but that's it! Penelope is not scary at all, she is really sweet and pretty. She is uncomfortable with how she looks and it shocks people when they first see her, but would never be scary to anyone watching it.
Overall Score: 8.5!
Bonus thoughts:
How do I even begin to talk about this wonderful movie? It is so incredible sweet! This is one of those movies that makes you happy and encourages you, and one that I could watch all the time. This movie is so adorable! It has a very fall like feeling, so it would be great to watch this month (hint hint, you should!). The question of "Is beauty skin deep?" is one that I really like to see explored and see what people come up with. I can't stop saying how good this is!


Well, it's up to you, my readers, now! Have you seen this movie, what do you think? Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic

12 comments:

  1. I just watched this movie for the first time recently, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! They took something really weird and made it charming and funny. I thought it was sweet. Plus, it has so many actors I recognized in it, that I was surprised I hadn't watched it before!

    Fun review! :D

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes people come up with an idea that might be interesting, but they make it weird, and other times they have an idea that could turn out weird, but they make it really sweet! I'm so happy with how this one turned out! Same, I hadn't known all of those actors the first time I watched it!

      Thanks! I'm so glad to hear that you like it! :D

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  2. I really liked this movie! It's unique.

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  3. This is a great article! This sounds like a really interesting film. When was it made?

    I wanted to let you know that I nominated you for a Liebster Award: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/the-liebster-award-from-paul-batters/. At the end of the article, I invited you to join our blogathon next weekend. I look forward to hearing your response!

    Yours Hopefully,

    Tiffany Brannan

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    Replies
    1. Hey, Tiffamy!
      Thanks! It was made in 2006. There are the few things that I mentioned, but overall it is really clean, amd I think you might like it!

      Thank you so much for nominating me! I'm sorry that I haven't talked to you sooner, but yes, I would definitely be interested in joining your blogathon! I just can't decide what to do! There is a movie I might "breen", or I might watch a famous code film. I'll figure it out. Any suggestions?

      Delete
  4. Okay, I seriously need to see this.
    Christina Ricci is such a good actress, as is Reese Witherspoon (saw her in Legally Blonde).
    And it looks so interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you do! It is an amazing movie!
      If you are a fan of Christina Ricci this is the perfect movie for you. I had seen Legally Blonde before this, too, and it was fun to see Reese Witherspoon play such a different role.

      Delete
  5. Yes. She's such a good actress, and I like seeing her wide range of acting.
    It's always fun to see actors in different roles.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I want to see her in more things because I've liked everything with her so far. Same! My favorite actors are the ones who play such different characters each time!

      Delete

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"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles