Epinions Recent Reviews for mfontan

Aloette Cosmetics: Quality skin care products from a great company.

Thu, 8 Nov 2007 15:32:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - I just discovered Aloette and have fallen in love with the skin care items. They are very well made, contain natural, effective ingredients like Aloe Vera, and deliver on their promises. I have used skin care products from many different, very well known...

Emotional 'Sisterhood' Gives Chick Flicks a Good Name

Fri, 3 Jun 2005 10:50:18 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - Boys, get ready to squirm, because "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" is a chick flick in every sense - but in a very, very good way. While it certainly has all the elements of sap-filled storytelling - the dramatic plot arcs, the weeping, the...

Lavish 'Vanity Fair' Helps Witherspoon Bloom

Thu, 2 Sep 2004 11:34:53 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: B+ The opening scene in director Mira Nair's lavish period piece, "Vanity Fair," a little too obviously displays the underlying nature of its main character, Becky Sharp. As a young and clearly poor Becky plays with her puppets, looming over...

Bland Story and Acting Make for Drab 'Wicker Park'

Thu, 2 Sep 2004 10:49:16 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: D- Josh Hartnett has made it quite well known that he has a great distain for his public "hunk" persona, even turning down the role of Superman so he can focus on scripts that make better use of his craft. That may be why it's so surprising...

Disappointing 'Laws' Lacks Romantic Sparkle

Thu, 29 Apr 2004 21:46:57 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - The best romantic comedies have that... certain sparkle. Whether it’s perfect casting, witty dialogue or a sweetly surprising plot, we’re taken in and swept away. Unfortunately, "Laws of Attraction"-- the new film starring Julianne Moore and Pierce...

Rich Character Development Helps Make '747' a Sentimental Story Worth Reading

Wed, 7 Apr 2004 12:06:04 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - We all have one: The stack of unread books that continually piles up on our bedside table, mocking us with promises of escape, tales of adventure, mystery, romance and suspense just out of reach. "The Man Who Ate the 747," the debut novel by Ben...

'In Full Bloom': Chick-Lit with a Korean-American Sensibility

Tue, 23 Dec 2003 13:39:45 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - As a reader well ensconced in the predictable romantic plotlines of the famed "chick-lit" genre, Caroline Hwang's debut novel, "In Full Bloom," provides a much more cultured change of pace. Though our down-on-love heroine still lives in New York, still...

'Kiss and Tell' Sure to Delight Trivia Hungry 'S&TC' Fans

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 21:27:44 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - “Once upon a time, on a small island not too far away, there lived four smart, beautiful women who w...

Packer's Truthful Tongue Propels Novel to Greatness

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 21:19:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - When does young love stale? Where do you find the courage to step away from someone who has had your...

'Ring' Around the Pony: Disturbing Film Crafts Chilling Tale of Child-Spurned Horror

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 11:34:45 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: B-

You may not want to see “The Ring” alone.

In a nightmarish, nail-biting opening sequence reminiscent of “Scream,” two teenage girls, Katie (Amber Tamblyn) and Becca (Rachael Bella) -- home alone, of...

'Sweet Home' Explores Past Connections via Compelling Love Story, Heartfelt Plot

Thu, 19 Sep 2002 12:15:52 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: B

The opening flashback of director Andy Tennant’s ("Ever After") hopeful "Sweet Home Alabama" leaves its protagonist’s destiny remarkably transparent. As two blonde children race across a beach just before a southern summer storm...

'Read My Lips': See This Film

Wed, 14 Aug 2002 17:34:15 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: A

The seductive use of sound and camera work in French director Jacques Audiard’s ''Read My Lips'' easily transports viewers into the mind of the seemingly invisible-- and partially deaf-- Carla Bhem (Emmanuelle Devos).

An...

Psychological Thriller "Insomnia" Crafts Chilling, Twisted Tale

Fri, 24 May 2002 15:22:31 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - During Spring in Nightmute, Alaska, darkness does not exist. No setting sun marks the return of yet another evening, no stars twinkle in a midnight blue sky; instead, there is only constant, white-yellow rays of sunlight filtering from above, an anomaly...

'Scorpion King' Sting: Action Tries to Redeem Awful Acting, Screenplay

Mon, 22 Apr 2002 11:15:14 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: C-

You won’t find Brendan Fraser’s eager hero hiding amidst the ‘rock’ hard imagery featured in the latest empty action flick to grace the screen, "The Scorpion King."

High on testosterone, low on plot credibility, this...

Tedious 'Numbers' Plays By the Book

Fri, 19 Apr 2002 17:21:54 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: C-

Sandra Bullock should have paid closer attention to rival Julia Roberts’ career.

Though Roberts is currently the hottest, highest-paid actress in her field, six years ago she made the mistake of stepping too quickly into...

Film's Low-Brow Humor Lacks 'Mary' Sweetness

Thu, 18 Apr 2002 11:42:29 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - The “sweetest thing” about Cameron Diaz’s candy-coated new starring vehicle — aptly named, um, “The Sweetest Thing” — lies in its comparisons to another infamous Diaz-branded romantic comedy, “There’s Something About Mary.”

That film’s...

Film's Low-Brow Humor Lacks 'Mary' Sweetness

Tue, 16 Apr 2002 15:39:21 GMT

Judd's emotional development can't redeem choppy 'Crimes'

Mon, 8 Apr 2002 11:17:53 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: C-

Talk about standing by your man.

"High Crimes," the latest film from director Carl Franklin, brings new meaning to that phrase females have heard and probably shunned thousands of times. But Claire Kubick (Ashley Judd), a...

Inspiring 'Most Wanted' Explores Complexities, Sources of Love

Fri, 5 Apr 2002 12:34:19 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - What kind of limitations does society place on love? Do we choose a mate, life partner or lover based on the individual, or based on pressures from our environment, peers and-- God forbid-- our own selfish desires? Love makes us weep with passion, forges...

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Anniversary Re-Release): Masterful 'E.T.' Arrives Home Again on the Big Screen

Thu, 21 Mar 2002 12:02:26 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - When Steven Spielberg’s "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" originally opened in theaters in June 1982, I had only just recently celebrated my fourth birthday.

I didn’t see the film until years later, when Drew Barrymore was already on the cover of...

Feeble 'Flowers' Lacks Soul, Visionary Clarity

Tue, 19 Mar 2002 13:54:41 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - The real life kidnapping and subsequent murder of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl casts a dark, eerie shadow over French director Elie Chouraqui’s first American film, "Harrison’s Flowers."

Set in the early 1990s, when the Balkan...

Disappointing 'Dragonfly' Reduces Death to Ghosts, Symbols

Mon, 25 Feb 2002 18:33:57 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - Grade: D-

Kevin Costner’s ability to pick strong, character-driven, riveting scripts seems to be receding right along with his hairline.

Not since 1991’s "JFK" has the Oscar winner managed to gain any sort of critical acclaim for...

Witty 'Pink Slip' Explores 20something Heart Aches, Mother Pains

Tue, 19 Feb 2002 18:49:18 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - Lisa Diodetto, the sarcastic 25-year-old narrator of Rita Ceresi’s witty, subtly romantic "Pink Slip," is a fiercely independent working woman with no suitable husband in sight… much to the disappointment of her annoying Sicilian mother. But while the...

Hallstrom's Soulful Direction Carries Earnest 'Shipping News'

Tue, 18 Dec 2001 17:48:50 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - The scared, timid little boy desperately trying to keep his head above the lake’s sun-tinted surface in the opening moments of Lasse Hallstrom’s "The Shipping News"-- his arms flailing haphazardly in the deep water, his cries for help unheeded as his...

Soderbergh's Calming, Amused Direction Helps 'Ocean's' Remake Score

Wed, 5 Dec 2001 17:00:25 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mfontan - GRADE: B+

Surprisingly enough, the best aspect of the classic heist caper "Ocean’s 11" isn’t its cast, but its sense of humor.

While director Steven Soderbergh certainly packs enough star-wattage (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia...