Practical Magic (Snap Case Packaging)
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Movie Reviews of Practical Magic (Snap Case Packaging)
Movie Review: VERY underrated movie! A must see!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this movie after it came out and pop it in every couple of months. "Practical Magic" is a wonderful, have-fun movie that is just right as a Halloween movie for any age (save maybe very, very young viewers.) I know because every Halloween party I've had, this movie has delighted my guests.Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are wonderful as two sisters in this movie. Their on-screen chemistry is amazing. You can't help but smile as they joke with each other and interact because it reminds you of how you were with a close sibling or how you wish you could be with one.
Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are amazing. As supporting actresses, they almost steal the show as they are described as the aunts who are "sugar and spice" by the director, Griffin Dunne.
The story is about two sisters who are very close who live with their aunts in what I assume is a New England town. They have the reputation of being "witches" who curse any man who dares love an Owens woman. Of course, Gillian (Nicole Kidman) and Sally (Sandra Bullock) get into a bit of trouble as Gillian's evil boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnjic) accidently ends up dead at their hands through self-defense that can be deemed suspicious by anyone else and they try to figure out a way to cover it up. Things get stickier when the Officer Hallet (Adian Quinn) shows up to find the wanted Jimmy and sparks fly between Sally and Officer Hallet. Do they try to send him away and risk Sally losing her one true love? Or do they let him stay and risk Gillian and Sally getting caught while Jimmy's ghost continues to torment Gillian?
This movie is based on a third of Alice Hoffman's wonderful book by the same name. For those of you who have seen the movie (spoiler alert) and are curious about the book, you won't be disappointed. Remember the woman that wished to take another woman's husband? Well, you get to find out what happens to her as well as the adventures that Sally's daughters get into as they grow up. In other words, the book is better than the movie, but the movie is just as fun as the book.
As for those of you who like DVDs and their extra features, it is chock-full of them. From the game of "find the ingredients to mix the love potion" you have to search through the various features in the DVD to click on "ingredients" and get clues as to mixing the love potion which opens up a whole behind-the-scenes featurette. It also contains trailers, bios, and other little tidbits that were artistically designed well and accompanied by wonderful little chimes and music.
This "witch" movie is not quite as dark as "the Craft" (or ridiculous for that matter) as not as sex-filled as "Witches of Eastwick" but genuinely wholesome, fun and delightful. Especially the "Midnight Margaritas" scene which will have you humming the tune for days. A good recommendation for a Halloween movie for most ages.
Movie Review: I adore it
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a movie that, since I bought it, I have watched over and over again. The first few months after I initially bought it, in fact, I would watch it every single Friday night without fail. The neat thing about "Practical Magic" is that it is many things - it is romantic comedy; it is paranormal; it is horror; it is about family; it is about surviving in a community where you are different - it is all those things and more. Beautifully imagined and acted, the story captivates while it carries you along with it.
Sally and Jillian Owens are the latest in a line of witches stemming from Maria Owen in the 1700s. She was set up as a witch and set to be hanged, but using her magic, she caused the rope to break. However, she was exiled to the island on which the current Owens' live; pregnant and alone, she waited for her lover to save her. When he did not, she cast a spell upon herself so that she would never love again; however, she became so bitter over time that it turned into a curse, one passed through the ages, causing any man that was truly loved by an Owens woman to die an untimely death. Jilly (played by Nicole Kidman) revels in her sexuality and role as a witch; Sally (played by Sandra Bullock) longs for a normal life. After Sally's first husband dies and she is just getting her life back together, she receives a frantic call from Jilly, whose boyfriend Jimmy Angelov has apparently snapped. She runs to Arizona to rescue Jilly, but they both end up being taken hostage by Jimmy, who seems completely off his rocker (I can't remember the actor's name right now, but the man who plays Jimmy Angelov is amazing). When he tries to kill Jilly, Sally ends up killing him instead. Desperately trying to come up with a way to get out of the situation, Jilly suggests that they raise him from the dead. This, of course, leads to unfortunate results and Sally is forced to kill him again, and they bury him out back. Gary Hallett (Aidan Quinn), a cop from Tucson, shows up shortly thereafter, looking for Jimmy.
That is a good bit of the basic plot - there is, of course, a great deal more to it and the ending is wonderfully sweet. Everyone who I have made to sit down and watch this movie with me has enjoyed it - even my husband. So, do yourself a favor and buy this movie!
Movie Review: A secret pleasure
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my secret pleasures. No matter how many times I've seen this movie, I can watch it again. It is the supernatural tale of two sisters and their aunts who come from a magical family.
One sister, Gillian, is a wild-child and thrives on mischief and drama, and the other, Sally, is exceptionally gifted witch who would give anything to be normal. They are guided and supported by two eccentric aunts--Frances and Jet--who make it a habit to "meddle in people's love lives."
The problems start when Sally's husband dies and Gillian is abused by her boyfriend. Somehow the two sisters must work together to save Gillian, get rid of the jerk who just won't go away, and give Sally the love that she's been seeking her whole life.
Unfortunately, the trailers are not an accurate portrayal of what the film is about, which is why some movie-goers were disappointed. The truth is that Practical Magic is about family and about sisterhood. In the trailers, you are lead to believe that the movie is about getting Sally a boyfriend even though she's a witch. While this is an element of the movie, you'll be disatisfied if you go into it with that expectation.
The movie is actually about becoming who you already are and finding true love. True love, in this case, goes deeper than romantic love; it's the love of a sister who is your soul mate, the love of your children and relatives, and the love of a man who accepts you completely as you are.
If you are looking for love with a little magic thrown in, then Practical Magic is great fun!
Movie Review: AN ENCHANTINGLY ENTERTAINING FILM
Summary: 5 Stars
A truly magical ancestress, a witch in very deed, escapes the hangman's noose only to place a curse on herself and her female posterity. What ensues is an enchantingly wonderful, though sometimes dark, tale of two witch sisters who live to deal with the family curse. Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock star as the witch sisters who approach their upbringing in magic very differently. Bullock's character, the level headed and pragmatic Sally, wants nothing more than to find true love and live a normal life while her sister Gillian (Kidman) wants to live it up and change the men in her life like most people change their socks.
The two join magical forces when one of Gillian's assorted men emerges as a sinister character played by Goran Visnjic. Their adventures seem to have gone well until a lawman (Aidan Quinn) shows up with all too many questions and seems all too familiar to Sally.
Perhaps even more appealing than Kidman and Bullock from the standpoint of screen presence, Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing star as a couple of enchanting -- almost Victorian -- aunts of our two heroines that are absolutely spellbinding and unforgettable.
Practical Magic, regardless of the theme, is not a Halloween flick like Hocus Pocus and should not be avoided by any who might think that it has seasonal appeal.
An enchantingly entertaining film!
Douglas McAllister
Movie Review: Enchanting!
Summary: 5 Stars
Pardon the pun. How else do you describe an incredible, fun, loving movie of two sisters who can't seem to help getting into trouble? Exactly. Enchanting.The movie begins with two doting aunts telling their orphaned neices the story of their heritige. It was a curse that "any man who dared love an Ownes woman was doomed to die." And it happened.
The neices are Gillian and Sally Owens, two sisters who are, well, witches, like their aunts. Their aunts take them in, and give them choclate for breakfast, no brushing teeth or hair, and teach them magic.
Well, it's not long before Gillian runs away, and Sally gets married. Then, Sally's husband dies, leaving her with two little girls-Kylie and Antonia. And Gillian gets into trouble...big trouble with a boyfriend.
Suddenly, with a whirlwind of magic and mistakes, they have a ghost, a possession, two angry aunts, a cop, and, oh yeah, a Phone Tree day.
This movie is a wonderful blend of fantasy, magic, and love.
This contains many good quotes, such as:
Gillian: Have you ever spread your arms up and spun around really really fast? Well, that's what love is like.
Sally: Since when is being a slut a crime in this family?
Now, I'm going to go read the book and leave you with the words of Aunt Jet:
"There's a little witch in all of us."