Thelma & Louise
"An Arkansas waitress and a housewife shoot a rapist and take off in a '66 Thunderbird."
I thought IMDB would have more of a description than the above, but I couldn't find one anywhere.
Anyway, I think Thelma & Louise is a movie most people can point out for the ending alone. Two women on the run going over the edge of what I always thought might have been the Grand Canyon in a green '66 Thunderbird ending a high-speed police chase in a fiery inferno.
Harvey Keitel plays an Arkansas State Police officer trying to find them and bring them in for questioning. Brad Pitt, rather young in this movie, plays a hitchhiking burglar who eventually runs off with all of the ladies's cash. When he's caught by the authorities, he's only spent $100 of the amount he stole from them.
I never understood why some women drool over someone like Brad Pitt. I only really liked him with long hair, but even then I wondered what other women saw in him. He's so arrogant!
I gave this movie 4 stars because Geena Davis, and Susan Sarandon kick a$$!
The Note
"After a tragic plane crash, a local journalist discovers a note that she believes was written by one of the passengers. She seeks the note's intended receiver, but the journey is more revealing of her own past."
The Note touches everyone who comes into contact with it, and offers them all second chances in their own way. There are bread crumbs throughout the entire movie that gives the observant movie watcher clues as to who the intended recipient of The Note truly turns out to be. A very touching Christian novel turned movie. Watch it with a box of tissues! What more would you expect from a Hallmark movie?
I really enjoy Ted McGinley in the role of King, a Pulitzer Prize winning sports journalist turned love interest for Genie Francis's character Peyton MacGruder, fellow co-worker and finder of The Note. He supports her throughout her journey, and is essential in helping her find her potential as a columnist.
I gave this movie 5 stars!
The Lincoln Lawyer
"A sleazy defense attorney (Matthew McConaughey) has a crisis of conscience when he represents a wealthy client (Ryan Phillippe) who has a foolproof plan to beat the system."
I never liked Ryan Philippe much as an actor, and didn't even realize he was in The Lincoln Lawyer until I put the DVD in my player for the first time. His character in the movie is so arrogant and just drove me up the wall to watch because he spends the movie thinking he is untouchable because of daddy's money. I'm glad he didn't get away with what he did, and everything that he threatened his lawyer with.
I'm not afraid to admit that I bought the movie for Matthew McConaughey, and I was intrigued by his "office" being mostly in a Lincoln Town Car. Being a lawyer of course he has an actual office in a building, but he's rarely there because his clients always keep him on the go. I also liked the chemistry between him and his love interest played by Marisa Tomei and finally getting to see the "daddy" side of him with the child they produce.
I gave this movie 4 stars!
The Informant
"The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre."
Why Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) thought he could do what he did in this movie, and get away with it is something I will never understand. The fact that this movie is based on a true story astounds me. Sure the real Mark Whitacre is now out of prison, but what makes the Feds think he won't try to do it again?
I gave this movie 3 stars!
The Bourne Identity
"A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia."
The Bourne Supremacy
"When Jason Bourne is framed for a botched CIA operation he is forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin to survive."
My brother and I were trying to have a movie night where we played the entire Bourne trilogy, but only had enough time to watch the first two. One of my favorite series of movies to watch, but I haven't read the books yet.
I did read one of the Bourne books, but I can't recall which one it is right now. The newest Bourne book to be made into a movie is "The Bourne Legacy," but it doesn't star Matt Damon as Jason Bourne this time. I think they hired a new actor because the character is still supposed to be known as David Webb and not officially Jason Bourne yet.
I gave both of these movies 5 stars!
The Devil Wears Prada
"A naive young woman comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city's biggest magazine editors, the ruthless and cynical Miranda Priestly."
Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt are great in this movie. I can relate a lot to Anne Hathaway's character in the first part of the movie because I don't obsess over fashion like some women do, and I don't wear high heels with anything. The one and only time I tried to wear high heels, I ended up taking them off and walking barefoot the rest of the way home after twisting my ankle in them.
I do like the trip to Paris for the fashion shows, and Anne Hathaway's love interest as well as the cute freelance journalist trying to steal her away from her character's live-in boyfriend.
I gave this movie 5 stars!
Catch & Release
"A woman struggles to accept the death of her fiancé and the secrets he kept from her as she rebuilds her life."
I really like Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, and Kevin Smith in this movie. The chemistry between the three of them is so great which is probably why Timothy Olyphant and Kevin Smith were reunited onscreen in "Live Free or Die Hard" along with Bruce Willis.
Jennifer Garner plays a woman who found out her newly-dead fiance might've fathered a child by another woman while visiting his friend (Timothy Olyphant) on his business trips to Los Angeles. Jennifer Garner becomes roommates with Sam Jaeger and Kevin Smith after her fiance's funeral because she could no longer afford the rent on a house that they were set to move into after they were married.
I got a kick out of Kevin Smith's character working for the Celestial Seasonings Tea Company in Boulder, Colorado. His job was to file the paperwork to put famous quotes on the tea boxes (for example, Lemon Zinger.)
I gave this movie 5 stars!
The Wedding Planner
"Mary Fiore (Jennifer Lopez) is the wedding planner. She's ambitious, hard-working, extremely organized, and she knows exactly what to do and say to make any wedding a spectacular event. But when Mary falls (literally) for a handsome doctor (Matthew McConaughey) her busy yet uncomplicated life is turned upside down - he's the groom in the biggest wedding of her career! Will she help him walk down the aisle with his internet tycoon girlfriend, or will Mary finally get to be the bride herself? When it comes to love, you can never plan what's going to happen."
I watch this movie a lot when I need a dose of Matthew McConaughey or Jennifer Lopez as love interests. I do feel bad that Bridget Wilson-Sampras and Justin Chambers didn't end up with anybody in the end. Justin Chambers's character had such a great dynamic with Jennifer Lopez's character, but deep down I was glad they didn't work out. Joanna Gleason and Charles Kimbrough were a perfect match for playing Bridget's parents, and the few scenes with them had me laughing my butt off.
I gave this movie 5 stars!
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song
"Cyrano De Bergerac meets Cinderella. Over-worked, harried and terrified of being put back in foster care, 17 year old Katie (Lucy Hale) does her stepmother and step-siblings' bidding without complaining. Vocally gifted, Katie feels particularly upset when forced to lay down singing tracks so that her untalented stepsister, Bev Van Ravensway, can hopefully win a recording contract from Massive Records - who's company President, Guy Morgan, is scouting for new spectacular talent at a talent showcase for the Performing Arts Department at a prestigious private school."
Every time I watch this movie, I kind of like it better. There are still characters I can't stand, but that means the actors that play those roles are doing something right. I, as a viewer, am not supposed to like them. On the other hand, there are other characters that I like so much they keep me coming back over and over again. Someday I may be able to give this movie 5 stars, but it's still lacking for now.
I give this movie 3 stars!
Black Swan
"Portman delivers 'the performance of her career' (Vanity Fair) as Nina, a stunningly talented but dangerously unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her driven artistic director (Vincent Cassel) and the threat posed by a seductive rival dancer (Mila Kunis), Nina's tenuous grip on reality starts to slip away--plunging her into a waking nightmare."
I wasn't sure about watching this movie at first because the previews frightened me a little bit. I bought it on the off-chance I might like it with the "I might like it if I try it" mentality, and Natalie Portman was in it. I've liked her roles up until now. Well, I was scratching my head for a few days after watching this.
"Nina's" sole purpose in this movie is to get the lead role of the Swan Queen in the ballet Swan Lake. The director thinks she has the White Swan role down pat, but needs to work more on her evil counterpart, the Black Swan. He gives her a chance, and everything goes downhill from there. The previous Swan Queen ballerina, Beth McIntyre (played by Winona Ryder), is being let go because she's at that age where she could retire without serious injury. The night that Nina is announced as the Swan Queen to the Theater people, Beth is walking home and gets hit by a car. She spends most of the movie in the hospital with Nina showing up once or twice to visit. That's awkward because they hardly know each other, and Nina spent most of her time stealing Beth's makeup from her dressing room. The closer and closer Nina gets to opening night, the worst things get. She starts getting really paranoid about Mila Kunis's character trying to take her spot, and it doesn't help matters any when she shows up at the Theater after her mother told them she was "sick" to find Mila Kunis rehearsing her part as a backup. One thing you find out about Nina is she used to scratch herself until she bled. Her mother starts worrying about her when she finds marks on her back that Nina had been trying to cover up.
I give this movie 2 stars.
Checked out from the library:
Saving Private Ryan
"Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action."
At the time I checked out this movie from the library, I was watching a lot of Clint Eastwood-related movies. Clint Eastwood directed Hereafter with Matt Damon, so naturally my thought processes took me to other Matt Damon movies I had never seen and Saving Private Ryan was one of them. I was also pleasantly surprised to see some other familiar faces besides Tom Hanks and Matt Damon: Nathan Fillion (drool, drool) as the Other Private Ryan, Vin Diesel (drool, drool) as Private Caparzo, Ted Danson as Captain Hamill, Paul Giamatti as Sergeant Hill, and Giovanni Ribisi as the medic.
SPOILER ALERT!
They kind of lost me when Private Caparzo was killed. I wanted Vin to be one of the few to make it to the end. When they mistook Nathan Fillion for Matt Damon's character, I sure thought Fillion blubbered a lot. That's a side of his acting I've never seen before, and I thought he really was over acting. That was another turn-off for me. Yet, I couldn't stop laughing as I was watching the scene with Fillion because it was so stupid and poorly done. I also laughed when Giovanni Ribisi died because he was a Medic that couldn't work on himself. The irony! The way the platoon reacted when their only Medic died also made me laugh because they were telling each other not to do anything that would get them killed or wounded IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR.
I gave this movie 3 stars!
Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
"This movie is an epic story of a young Genghis Khan and how events in his early life lead him to become a legendary conqueror. The 9-year-old Temüjin is taken on a trip by his father to select a girl as his future wife. He meets Börte, who says she would like to be chosen, which he does. He promises to return after five years to marry her. Temüjin's father is poisoned on the trip, and dies. As a boy Temüjin passes through starvation, humiliations and even slavery, but later with the help of Börte he overcomes all of his childhood hardships to become one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known."
I had an insane urge one day to want to watch a movie that mentioned Genghis Khan, so one Tuesday while I was helping out at the local library I decided to check out Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan. I really had no clue what to expect from this movie when I entered it into my DVD player, and the only thing I knew about the real Genghis Khan aside from that he was a Mongol who nearly conquered the world when he was alive was that his real name was Temudjin. I only know his real name because it was mentioned in a scene at a museum in The Shadow. In the movie The Shadow, one of the characters was a descendant of Genghis Khan.
Tadanobu Asano is great at humanizing Temudjin in the role of Genghis Khan. I went from not knowing whether I'd like GK or not to routing for him in his travels, and many successful attempts to save his wife and children and uniting the Mongol people as their leader along the way.
I gave this movie 5 stars!
Borrowed from a friend:
Happy Feet
"Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!"
After all the different movies I've been watching, it was nice to see Happy Feet for once. I felt like a child again while watching it, and I feel like the movie is starting to grow on me. When it was first released and I watched it, I hated it. Now, I don't hate it as much. Sometimes it takes me watching a movie several times before I like it at all.
I gave this movie 3 stars!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Monday, October 31, 2011
Trying to Play Catch Up
The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, and The Chronicles of Riddick
Pitch Black: A group of marooned space travelers struggle for survival on a seemingly lifeless sun-scorched world.
Dark Fury: This story opens with the new action hero and the two other survivors of Pitch Black already caught by a giant spaceship filled with dread. The sinewy leader has a unique--and creepy--jail for master villains and she has her sights set on Riddick. And Jack as they cross paths with a ship of body hunters and are brought on board. The captain of the ship, Chillingsworth has an interesting hobby - she captures wanted criminals and makes living statues of them.
CoR: 5 years after Pitch Black, the wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
Out of the three movies, the third one is my favorite to watch. My brother pesters me a lot to watch them, and once in a while I cave. But he has the mindset that if we watch one, we have to watch them all back to back. This time, there was enough hours in the day. I love Riddick's eyes in all three movies. Very nice special effects.
I give 5 stars to all three movies because there are aspects I like about them all.
Angels & Demons, and The DaVinci Code
A & D: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.
DaVinci Code: A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
Even though The DaVinci Code was the first Dan Brown book to be made into a movie, Angels & Demons was actually before it in the sequence. These movies seem to be so controversial, but I like them because I like any type of movie where I can follow the "bread crumbs" that lead to an exciting climax. I also like to try figuring out any clues as I follow along with the characters.
I give these movies both 5 stars!
Angel and the Badman
Quirt Evens an all round bad guy is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth a quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose from his world or the world from which Penelope lives by.
Before anybody gets excited, this Angel and the Badman is the original with John Wayne. I know this movie has recently been remade, but I refuse to watch the new version because I know it would be crap. No one can do the role of Quirt Evans justice, and it's hard to follow an act like "the Duke" at all. This is one movie I can't get enough of, and one of my all-time favorites.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Blue Steel
When Sheriff Jake sees a man at the safe and then finds the payroll gone, he trails him. Just as he is about to arrest him, the man saves his life. Still suspicious, he joins up with the man and later they learn that Melgrove, the towns leading citizen, is trying to take over the area's ranches by having his gang stop all incoming supply wagons. With the ranchers about to sell to Melgrove, the two newcomers say they will bring in provisions
Another John Wayne movie I have come to love. Need I say more? I usually watch this movie back-to-back with Angel and the Badman because my brother owns a double feature DVD with both movies on it.
I give this movie 5 stars!
From Paris With Love
In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.
It's not everyday you see John Travolta as a cue ball unless you watch this movie everyday for a year. He plays the American spy partnered with the personal assistant to the US Ambassador in Paris to stop a terrorist ring. There's a twist that I don't want to divulge, so I'll shut up now. I don't want to spoil anything. Watch this movie to find out what it is. Very action-packed.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Smokey & The Bandit
The Bandit is hired on to run a tractor trailer full of beer over county lines in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
One movie I will always deem a classic is Smokey & The Bandit. It takes my love of cars and big rigs to a whole other level. Jerry Reed is such a talented actor/musician. He wrote and performed all the songs in the movie. Sally Field and Burt Reynolds make one odd couple, but play off each other great. I watched this movie again because I was having a bad day and needed cheering up. Jackie Gleason playing Sheriff Buford T. Justice is hilarious! The Sumbeeyotch!
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.
A Halloween tradition for me every year is to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown at least once in the month of October. This year wasn't any different.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Note: There is a movie called Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown where the Great Pumpkin puts a bounty on Charlie Brown, and the rest of the Peanuts gang rush to be the first to kill him to claim a prize. Now I see why that version is not as popular. I saw it once on television a long time ago, but it's been decades since I've seen it. It came out in 1986 as a short film.
Bride Wars
Two best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day.
After the fiasco of both weddings being at the same time, one bride ends up not being married that day and ends up later marrying her best friend (and bride rival's) brother. I get a kick out of the ending when I watch it. The two friends meet for coffee to find out they are both pregnant, and due on the same day! Thus, the fun begins again. Shared baby showers anyone?
I give this movie 5 stars!
Pitch Black: A group of marooned space travelers struggle for survival on a seemingly lifeless sun-scorched world.
Dark Fury: This story opens with the new action hero and the two other survivors of Pitch Black already caught by a giant spaceship filled with dread. The sinewy leader has a unique--and creepy--jail for master villains and she has her sights set on Riddick. And Jack as they cross paths with a ship of body hunters and are brought on board. The captain of the ship, Chillingsworth has an interesting hobby - she captures wanted criminals and makes living statues of them.
CoR: 5 years after Pitch Black, the wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
Out of the three movies, the third one is my favorite to watch. My brother pesters me a lot to watch them, and once in a while I cave. But he has the mindset that if we watch one, we have to watch them all back to back. This time, there was enough hours in the day. I love Riddick's eyes in all three movies. Very nice special effects.
I give 5 stars to all three movies because there are aspects I like about them all.
Angels & Demons, and The DaVinci Code
A & D: Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican.
DaVinci Code: A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake the foundations of Christianity.
Even though The DaVinci Code was the first Dan Brown book to be made into a movie, Angels & Demons was actually before it in the sequence. These movies seem to be so controversial, but I like them because I like any type of movie where I can follow the "bread crumbs" that lead to an exciting climax. I also like to try figuring out any clues as I follow along with the characters.
I give these movies both 5 stars!
Angel and the Badman
Quirt Evens an all round bad guy is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth a quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose from his world or the world from which Penelope lives by.
Before anybody gets excited, this Angel and the Badman is the original with John Wayne. I know this movie has recently been remade, but I refuse to watch the new version because I know it would be crap. No one can do the role of Quirt Evans justice, and it's hard to follow an act like "the Duke" at all. This is one movie I can't get enough of, and one of my all-time favorites.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Blue Steel
When Sheriff Jake sees a man at the safe and then finds the payroll gone, he trails him. Just as he is about to arrest him, the man saves his life. Still suspicious, he joins up with the man and later they learn that Melgrove, the towns leading citizen, is trying to take over the area's ranches by having his gang stop all incoming supply wagons. With the ranchers about to sell to Melgrove, the two newcomers say they will bring in provisions
Another John Wayne movie I have come to love. Need I say more? I usually watch this movie back-to-back with Angel and the Badman because my brother owns a double feature DVD with both movies on it.
I give this movie 5 stars!
From Paris With Love
In Paris, a young employee in the office of the US Ambassador hooks up with an American spy looking to stop a terrorist attack in the city.
It's not everyday you see John Travolta as a cue ball unless you watch this movie everyday for a year. He plays the American spy partnered with the personal assistant to the US Ambassador in Paris to stop a terrorist ring. There's a twist that I don't want to divulge, so I'll shut up now. I don't want to spoil anything. Watch this movie to find out what it is. Very action-packed.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Smokey & The Bandit
The Bandit is hired on to run a tractor trailer full of beer over county lines in hot pursuit by a pesky sheriff.
One movie I will always deem a classic is Smokey & The Bandit. It takes my love of cars and big rigs to a whole other level. Jerry Reed is such a talented actor/musician. He wrote and performed all the songs in the movie. Sally Field and Burt Reynolds make one odd couple, but play off each other great. I watched this movie again because I was having a bad day and needed cheering up. Jackie Gleason playing Sheriff Buford T. Justice is hilarious! The Sumbeeyotch!
I give this movie 5 stars!
P.S. Convoy is another movie on the same lines as Smokey & The Bandit that I wouldn't mind owning someday.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.
A Halloween tradition for me every year is to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown at least once in the month of October. This year wasn't any different.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Note: There is a movie called Bring Me The Head of Charlie Brown where the Great Pumpkin puts a bounty on Charlie Brown, and the rest of the Peanuts gang rush to be the first to kill him to claim a prize. Now I see why that version is not as popular. I saw it once on television a long time ago, but it's been decades since I've seen it. It came out in 1986 as a short film.
Bride Wars
Two best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day.
After the fiasco of both weddings being at the same time, one bride ends up not being married that day and ends up later marrying her best friend (and bride rival's) brother. I get a kick out of the ending when I watch it. The two friends meet for coffee to find out they are both pregnant, and due on the same day! Thus, the fun begins again. Shared baby showers anyone?
I give this movie 5 stars!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Reliving my Childhood
Because my childhood was spent reading fairy tales, watching cartoons, watching old Batman reruns with Adam West, and playing with my brother's GI Joe's. This is a trip down memory lane for me.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie
Three lazy misfits - very timid Elliot (Larry the Cucumber), lazy Sedgewick (Mr. Lunt) and no self-confident George (Pa Grape) - dream of the day of putting on a show about pirates. With their own problems of might not having this dream come true, they soon find themselves traveling back in time into the 17th century and begin a quest to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant, and learn about being pirates.
Even though I'm a full-grown adult, I love watching VeggieTales. VeggieTales is simply Sunday morning values mixed with Saturday morning cartoons. They are vegetables that tell Bible stories, and teach kids how to be thankful, obey their parents, and learn to love God.
"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" first appeared in Big Idea's (VeggieTales production company) first full-length movie called Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie where they told a kid the story of Jonah in the Bible, so the kid would learn to show compassion and have mercy toward their friend they've been with. There was such a response that they decided to make their next movie project about the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, and give a background story to the lovable characters.
I give this movie 5 stars!
My brother and I borrowed the movies Cinderella and The Princess Protection Program from his friend. This version of Cinderella is the Disney cartoon from way back when. I hadn't seen it in a long time, so that's why I asked to borrow it.
Cinderella
When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.
I had no idea this movie came out in 1950. It was around thirty years before I was born! That doesn't seem possible.
By now it should be apparent that Cinderella is my favorite fairy tale (with Snow White coming in a close second.) I own a total of seven Cinderella-related movies, but I never found the original Disney version I saw once upon a time that helped me fall in love with fairy tales! I actually have eight Cinderella-related movies if you count Enchanted (which combines a bunch of different fairy tales into a movie; one of which is Cinderella).
I give this movie 5 stars!
Princess Protection Program
When a tiny country is invaded by a dictator, a young Princess (later known as Rosie) is taken into custody by the Princess Protection Program. She is whisked away to rural Louisiana where she must learn the ins and outs of behaving like a normal American teenager. In the process of adapting to her new life, Rosie gives her new friend and roommate, Carter, a few lessons in how to act with royal aplomb.
This movie stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez as Princess Rossalinda and Carter. It's a good movie for teens and the younger generation. I like Selena Gomez as an actress, but I can't stand Demi Lovato. They are both Disney Channel alums, and that's not always in someone's favor.
I give this movie 2 stars!
The Dark Knight
Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by a terrorist mastermind known only as the Joker, as he drives each of them to their limits.
It's sad to watch this movie sometimes thinking that it's pretty much the role that killed Heath Ledger (The Joker). He was on sleeping meds and having several problems because he went to a dark place for the Joker, and was having nightmares while making The Dark Knight. I'm also saddened by Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. How he goes from being one of the good guys to being manipulated by the Joker and inevitably turned into a villian. Rachel Dawes would not have liked what he became after she died.
Out of all the different actors they've had to dawn the suit, Christian Bale is by far my favorite Bruce Wayne. I'm glad to see him continue his role as Batman whenever I see a new one come out.
I give this movie 4 stars!
G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
I have always had a thing for men in uniform, and I still do. I was a major tomboy growing up, and loved to play with my brother's G. I. Joe's, toy cars, and other action figures. I was also found a lot of the time sitting next to my brother when the cartoon was on television.
The same can be said for Transformers also hence my watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon lately, and blogging about it. My favorite has always been Optimus Prime, but in regards to G. I. Joe my favorite character was played by Channing Tatum (Duke Hauser). I also thought Marlon Wayans played an excellent Ripcord.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Be on the lookout for G. I. Joe 2: Retaliation and The Dark Knight Rises in theaters 2012!
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie
Three lazy misfits - very timid Elliot (Larry the Cucumber), lazy Sedgewick (Mr. Lunt) and no self-confident George (Pa Grape) - dream of the day of putting on a show about pirates. With their own problems of might not having this dream come true, they soon find themselves traveling back in time into the 17th century and begin a quest to rescue a royal family from an evil tyrant, and learn about being pirates.
Even though I'm a full-grown adult, I love watching VeggieTales. VeggieTales is simply Sunday morning values mixed with Saturday morning cartoons. They are vegetables that tell Bible stories, and teach kids how to be thankful, obey their parents, and learn to love God.
"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" first appeared in Big Idea's (VeggieTales production company) first full-length movie called Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie where they told a kid the story of Jonah in the Bible, so the kid would learn to show compassion and have mercy toward their friend they've been with. There was such a response that they decided to make their next movie project about the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, and give a background story to the lovable characters.
I give this movie 5 stars!
My brother and I borrowed the movies Cinderella and The Princess Protection Program from his friend. This version of Cinderella is the Disney cartoon from way back when. I hadn't seen it in a long time, so that's why I asked to borrow it.
Cinderella
When Cinderella's cruel stepmother prevents her from attending the Royal Ball, she gets some unexpected help from the lovable mice Gus and Jaq, and from her Fairy Godmother.
I had no idea this movie came out in 1950. It was around thirty years before I was born! That doesn't seem possible.
By now it should be apparent that Cinderella is my favorite fairy tale (with Snow White coming in a close second.) I own a total of seven Cinderella-related movies, but I never found the original Disney version I saw once upon a time that helped me fall in love with fairy tales! I actually have eight Cinderella-related movies if you count Enchanted (which combines a bunch of different fairy tales into a movie; one of which is Cinderella).
I give this movie 5 stars!
Princess Protection Program
When a tiny country is invaded by a dictator, a young Princess (later known as Rosie) is taken into custody by the Princess Protection Program. She is whisked away to rural Louisiana where she must learn the ins and outs of behaving like a normal American teenager. In the process of adapting to her new life, Rosie gives her new friend and roommate, Carter, a few lessons in how to act with royal aplomb.
This movie stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez as Princess Rossalinda and Carter. It's a good movie for teens and the younger generation. I like Selena Gomez as an actress, but I can't stand Demi Lovato. They are both Disney Channel alums, and that's not always in someone's favor.
I give this movie 2 stars!
The Dark Knight
Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by a terrorist mastermind known only as the Joker, as he drives each of them to their limits.
It's sad to watch this movie sometimes thinking that it's pretty much the role that killed Heath Ledger (The Joker). He was on sleeping meds and having several problems because he went to a dark place for the Joker, and was having nightmares while making The Dark Knight. I'm also saddened by Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. How he goes from being one of the good guys to being manipulated by the Joker and inevitably turned into a villian. Rachel Dawes would not have liked what he became after she died.
Out of all the different actors they've had to dawn the suit, Christian Bale is by far my favorite Bruce Wayne. I'm glad to see him continue his role as Batman whenever I see a new one come out.
I give this movie 4 stars!
G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
I have always had a thing for men in uniform, and I still do. I was a major tomboy growing up, and loved to play with my brother's G. I. Joe's, toy cars, and other action figures. I was also found a lot of the time sitting next to my brother when the cartoon was on television.
The same can be said for Transformers also hence my watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon lately, and blogging about it. My favorite has always been Optimus Prime, but in regards to G. I. Joe my favorite character was played by Channing Tatum (Duke Hauser). I also thought Marlon Wayans played an excellent Ripcord.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Be on the lookout for G. I. Joe 2: Retaliation and The Dark Knight Rises in theaters 2012!
Friday, October 14, 2011
I watch too many movies...
Kate & Leopold
"Kate and her actor brother live in N.Y. in the 21st Century. Her ex-boyfriend, Stuart, lives above her apartment. Stuart finds a space near the Brooklyn Bridge where there is a gap in time. He goes back to the 19th Century and takes pictures of the place. Leopold -- a man living in the 1870s -- is puzzled by Stuart's tiny camera, follows him back through the gap, and they both ended up in the present day. Leopold is clueless about his new surroundings. He gets help and insight from Charlie who thinks that Leopold is an actor who is always in character. Leopold is a highly intelligent man and tries his best to learn and even improve the modern conveniences that he encounters."
My brother checked this movie out from the library a long time ago, and re-checked it out after our volunteer shift last Tuesday. He set it aside while working in the DVD section.
Kate & Leopold has an all-star cast including Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Breckin Meyer, and Liev Schreiber. Stuart (Schreiber) finds a time gap in the East River, jumps from the Brooklyn Bridge, and finds himself following around his ancestor Leopold (Jackman), the Third Duke of Albany in New York during 1876. He snaps as many pictures as he can before he's caught by Leopold and followed to the Brooklyn Bridge. The real story begins when Leopold ends up falling along with Stuart back into the present time. At that moment, all the elevators around the city stop working (Leopold invented the elevator in this movie, and named the first one Otis after his butler). As soon as Leopold and Stuart drop into his apartment during the present day, Kate (Ryan) goes upstairs to get back her Palm Pilot back and ends up meeting Leopold.
The real sparks start happening when Stuart has an accident, and ends up in the hospital for several days leaving Leopold in his apartment alone to walk Stuart's dog. Leopold also befriends Charlie (Meyer), Kate's out of work actor brother who's staying with her to get a break from life at their parents house. The twist happens when Leopold returns to his time, and Stuart comes to the realization through the pictures he developed from his time travel that Kate is also supposed to go back in time to marry Leopold, becoming Stuart's great-great grandmother in the process.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Sneakers
"Complex but lighthearted thriller about computers and cryptography, government and espionage, secrets and deception and betrayal."
My brother also checked this movie out from the library on Tuesday. He's been waiting for it to return for a long time. It's very popular and gets checked out all the time, but then again it is Robert Redford! The only problem I had with this movie is Dan Aykroyd's roll as "Mother," and the fact Redford's character wasn't caught in the beginning along with his so-called friend. A true friend wouldn't of let him take the fall alone, but then again the movie wouldn't really exist the way it did if they had it any other way.
I give this movie 4 stars!
Analyze This and Analyze That I found at a local supermarket as a double feature DVD for $9.99. Before I found this DVD, I only had Analyze This on DVD whereas Analyze That was on VHS only.
Analyze This
"A comedy about a psychiatrist whose number one-patient is an insecure mob boss."
Analyze That
"Mobster Paul Vitti is released into Dr. Ben Sobol's care, where only more chaos ensues."
All I can say about Analyze This and Analyze That is whoever thought of casting Billy Crystal, and Robert De Niro in a movie together, let alone two movies, is a genius. They make the most unlikely pairing as mob-boss Paul Vitti (De Niro), and his psychiatrist who needs a psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal).
Analyze This is pretty much used to set up the sequel in my opinion. A car accident occurs between Dr. Sobel and Vitti's henchman Jelly where Sobel leaves Jelly business card if he wants to contact him later for insurance purposes. When Jelly meets up with Vitti, Vitti talks about the possibility of needing a "shrink" to deal with something personal. Jelly just happened to have a shrink run into him, and hands the business card to Vitti. The next day they go to the doctor's office, and that's the official meet for the craziness that ensues throughout the entire movie. At the end of the movie, Paul Vitti is arrested and thrown in jail for a long time.
In Analyze That, Vitti's up for parole but keeps getting denied. He thinks someone is trying to kill him, and he would be dead eventually if he doesn't get released from prison soon. He hatches a plan where he continuously sings and dances to all the songs from West Side Story for several days until they call his shrink to pick him up. Dr. Sobel isn't too happy when the mobster is released into his care, he finds out Vitti was faking it, and his private practice in his home temporarily becomes licensed as a federal institution. What Sobel never knows is while Vitti was in jail, one of the guards used a gun to shoot up his mattress while he slept. It surprised the guard that Vitti was still alive the next morning.
I give both of these movies 5 stars because they have hilarious moments!
Herbie Fully Loaded
"Maggie Peyton, the new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor."
I grew up watching Herbie, the Love Bug, so when this movie came out I had to have it! I don't enjoy everything about this movie. Mainly, the way they've animated my favorite Bug by making his sleepy eyes move, and move his grill to smile. In the good ole days, they didn't need all the newfangled contraptions to make Herbie awesome. He's awesome just being himself.
I give this movie 4 stars!
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song
"Cyrano De Bergerac meets Cinderella. Over-worked, harried and terrified of being put back in foster care, 17 year old Katie (Lucy Hale) does her stepmother and step-siblings' bidding without complaining. Vocally gifted, Katie feels particularly upset when forced to lay down singing tracks so that her untalented stepsister, Bev Van Ravensway, can hopefully win a recording contract from Massive Records - who's company President, Guy Morgan, is scouting for new spectacular talent at a talent showcase for the Performing Arts Department at a prestigious private school."
The saga continues in regards to A Cinderella Story in this newest installment about a girl with a great singing voice forced by her step-mother to sing in a talent search show for her untalented stepsister. I did think a lot about Cyrano De Bergerac while watching this movie, and it hampered my viewing experience because that was the entire plot line. This movie isn't as good as those that came before it. Cyrano De Bergerac and Cinderella are great stories on their own, but try to meld them together and it's disastrous.
I give this movie 3 stars!
Pure Country
"Dusty Chandler (Strait) is a super star in the country music world, but his shows have the style of a '70s rock concert. One day he takes a walk - out of his overdone concerts to find his real country roots. He's helped and hindered by friends and staff, but pushes on in his search for a real music style as well as a real romance."
I got this movie from my mom for my birthday, and I was surprised how much I liked it. I'm a fan of country music, and George Strait (Dusty Chandler). It was really weird seeing him in long hair, and wearing a ponytail for the the first half of the movie, so when he cut his hair I was like "There he is. That's the George Strait I'm used to seeing." He doesn't look good in long hair at all, and he was virtually unrecognizable until the hair cut. The story overall was very touching, and I identified with the fact that Dusty Chandler had to temporarily walk away from his career in order to keep what was left of his sanity. I know what it's like to feel overworked, and I rejoiced when he walked away from it all. I didn't really think he was ready to go back to work so soon, but I couldn't jump into the television set to stop him.
I give this movie 5 stars!
"Kate and her actor brother live in N.Y. in the 21st Century. Her ex-boyfriend, Stuart, lives above her apartment. Stuart finds a space near the Brooklyn Bridge where there is a gap in time. He goes back to the 19th Century and takes pictures of the place. Leopold -- a man living in the 1870s -- is puzzled by Stuart's tiny camera, follows him back through the gap, and they both ended up in the present day. Leopold is clueless about his new surroundings. He gets help and insight from Charlie who thinks that Leopold is an actor who is always in character. Leopold is a highly intelligent man and tries his best to learn and even improve the modern conveniences that he encounters."
My brother checked this movie out from the library a long time ago, and re-checked it out after our volunteer shift last Tuesday. He set it aside while working in the DVD section.
Kate & Leopold has an all-star cast including Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Breckin Meyer, and Liev Schreiber. Stuart (Schreiber) finds a time gap in the East River, jumps from the Brooklyn Bridge, and finds himself following around his ancestor Leopold (Jackman), the Third Duke of Albany in New York during 1876. He snaps as many pictures as he can before he's caught by Leopold and followed to the Brooklyn Bridge. The real story begins when Leopold ends up falling along with Stuart back into the present time. At that moment, all the elevators around the city stop working (Leopold invented the elevator in this movie, and named the first one Otis after his butler). As soon as Leopold and Stuart drop into his apartment during the present day, Kate (Ryan) goes upstairs to get back her Palm Pilot back and ends up meeting Leopold.
The real sparks start happening when Stuart has an accident, and ends up in the hospital for several days leaving Leopold in his apartment alone to walk Stuart's dog. Leopold also befriends Charlie (Meyer), Kate's out of work actor brother who's staying with her to get a break from life at their parents house. The twist happens when Leopold returns to his time, and Stuart comes to the realization through the pictures he developed from his time travel that Kate is also supposed to go back in time to marry Leopold, becoming Stuart's great-great grandmother in the process.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Sneakers
"Complex but lighthearted thriller about computers and cryptography, government and espionage, secrets and deception and betrayal."
My brother also checked this movie out from the library on Tuesday. He's been waiting for it to return for a long time. It's very popular and gets checked out all the time, but then again it is Robert Redford! The only problem I had with this movie is Dan Aykroyd's roll as "Mother," and the fact Redford's character wasn't caught in the beginning along with his so-called friend. A true friend wouldn't of let him take the fall alone, but then again the movie wouldn't really exist the way it did if they had it any other way.
I give this movie 4 stars!
Analyze This and Analyze That I found at a local supermarket as a double feature DVD for $9.99. Before I found this DVD, I only had Analyze This on DVD whereas Analyze That was on VHS only.
Analyze This
"A comedy about a psychiatrist whose number one-patient is an insecure mob boss."
Analyze That
"Mobster Paul Vitti is released into Dr. Ben Sobol's care, where only more chaos ensues."
All I can say about Analyze This and Analyze That is whoever thought of casting Billy Crystal, and Robert De Niro in a movie together, let alone two movies, is a genius. They make the most unlikely pairing as mob-boss Paul Vitti (De Niro), and his psychiatrist who needs a psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal).
Analyze This is pretty much used to set up the sequel in my opinion. A car accident occurs between Dr. Sobel and Vitti's henchman Jelly where Sobel leaves Jelly business card if he wants to contact him later for insurance purposes. When Jelly meets up with Vitti, Vitti talks about the possibility of needing a "shrink" to deal with something personal. Jelly just happened to have a shrink run into him, and hands the business card to Vitti. The next day they go to the doctor's office, and that's the official meet for the craziness that ensues throughout the entire movie. At the end of the movie, Paul Vitti is arrested and thrown in jail for a long time.
In Analyze That, Vitti's up for parole but keeps getting denied. He thinks someone is trying to kill him, and he would be dead eventually if he doesn't get released from prison soon. He hatches a plan where he continuously sings and dances to all the songs from West Side Story for several days until they call his shrink to pick him up. Dr. Sobel isn't too happy when the mobster is released into his care, he finds out Vitti was faking it, and his private practice in his home temporarily becomes licensed as a federal institution. What Sobel never knows is while Vitti was in jail, one of the guards used a gun to shoot up his mattress while he slept. It surprised the guard that Vitti was still alive the next morning.
I give both of these movies 5 stars because they have hilarious moments!
Herbie Fully Loaded
"Maggie Peyton, the new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor."
I grew up watching Herbie, the Love Bug, so when this movie came out I had to have it! I don't enjoy everything about this movie. Mainly, the way they've animated my favorite Bug by making his sleepy eyes move, and move his grill to smile. In the good ole days, they didn't need all the newfangled contraptions to make Herbie awesome. He's awesome just being himself.
I give this movie 4 stars!
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song
"Cyrano De Bergerac meets Cinderella. Over-worked, harried and terrified of being put back in foster care, 17 year old Katie (Lucy Hale) does her stepmother and step-siblings' bidding without complaining. Vocally gifted, Katie feels particularly upset when forced to lay down singing tracks so that her untalented stepsister, Bev Van Ravensway, can hopefully win a recording contract from Massive Records - who's company President, Guy Morgan, is scouting for new spectacular talent at a talent showcase for the Performing Arts Department at a prestigious private school."
The saga continues in regards to A Cinderella Story in this newest installment about a girl with a great singing voice forced by her step-mother to sing in a talent search show for her untalented stepsister. I did think a lot about Cyrano De Bergerac while watching this movie, and it hampered my viewing experience because that was the entire plot line. This movie isn't as good as those that came before it. Cyrano De Bergerac and Cinderella are great stories on their own, but try to meld them together and it's disastrous.
I give this movie 3 stars!
Pure Country
"Dusty Chandler (Strait) is a super star in the country music world, but his shows have the style of a '70s rock concert. One day he takes a walk - out of his overdone concerts to find his real country roots. He's helped and hindered by friends and staff, but pushes on in his search for a real music style as well as a real romance."
I got this movie from my mom for my birthday, and I was surprised how much I liked it. I'm a fan of country music, and George Strait (Dusty Chandler). It was really weird seeing him in long hair, and wearing a ponytail for the the first half of the movie, so when he cut his hair I was like "There he is. That's the George Strait I'm used to seeing." He doesn't look good in long hair at all, and he was virtually unrecognizable until the hair cut. The story overall was very touching, and I identified with the fact that Dusty Chandler had to temporarily walk away from his career in order to keep what was left of his sanity. I know what it's like to feel overworked, and I rejoiced when he walked away from it all. I didn't really think he was ready to go back to work so soon, but I couldn't jump into the television set to stop him.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Monday, October 10, 2011
"As You Wish"
The Princess Bride
"The Princess Bride" Reunited
As I was watching the movie this time, I couldn't help thinking of all the actors on it that passed away: Andre the Giant, and most recently Peter Falk. Not a lot of people realized Peter Falk played the grandfather in it. One thing I noticed different from the book that irritates me when I watch the movie is Montoya's first name. In the book, he's Indigo. In the movie, he's Inigo. I know it's only a difference in one letter, but why couldn't Rob Reiner and the writers keep it the way it was?
My favorite scene in the movie: the Fire Swamp, of course. I always jump when the ROUS (a big a$$ rat) starts going for Westley.
I give this movie 5 stars!
This is another movie I own based on a John Grisham book. It's about this Tulane law student (played by Julia Roberts) who writes a legal brief regarding the assassination of two Supreme Court justices. She inadvertently unearths the truth, and ends up running for her life as anybody who knows about the brief drops dead around her.
I watched this movie tonight because I needed a dose of Denzel, and I haven't watched this movie in a while. Every time he came on the scene though, I couldn't stop thinking about The Book of Eli. I may have to watch that again soon, too. He's awesome in it.
I give this movie 5 stars!
No Reservations
"The life of a top chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece."
This movie has Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Kate, an executive chef at a restaurant whose world is turned upside down when her sister dies, leaving Kate custody of her niece Zoe (played by Abigail Breslin). Things tend to come full circle for this thrown together little family unit when Aunt Kate starts dating a co-chef (played by Aaron Eckhart) in her restaurant.
I love watching the scenes with Kate in therapy sessions because she uses her therapist (played by Bob Balaban) as a guinea pig for her new cooking inventions. She is forced to go to therapy by her boss that threatens to fire her if she doesn't have regular appointments due to anger management issues.
My favorite scene, though, has to be when a patron is complaining about his steak not being rare enough, so Kate finally gets fed up after the seventh one has been sent back and arrives at the table to stab a raw, uncooked steak in front of the man with a steak knife. Kate's boss tells the man they'll get a new tablecloth for him right away, and Kate continues her rampage by pulling the knife from the table and taking off the tablecloth in one go without dropping any dishes. The woman sitting with the man is holding her wine glass, and impressed by the tablecloth trick. It's hilarious!
I give this movie 5 stars!
The Ghost Writer
"A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy."
I don't like a lot of Pierce Brosnan movies, but I thought I'd give this one a try because Ewan McGregor is in it. Ewan McGregor plays Ghost, a well-known ghost writer that's hired to proofread and enhance a former Prime Minister's memoirs by a New York publisher solely because he does great work, and he can work fast if he had to. At first he's given a month to work on the manuscript and ready it for publication, but unforeseen circumstances bring up the release date so he only has two weeks to get the job done.
Me being an author myself, the title is what intrigued me the most. I don't particularly like the ending, but everything leading up to it is pretty suspenseful. I'm also intrigued that the character's name is just Ghost, and nothing like John Smith or something like that.
I give this movie 4 stars!
The Book of Eli
"A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind."
After watching The Pelican Brief, I realized I needed a little more Denzel to satisfy my thirst and watching The Pelican Brief did make me think of this movie a lot. When that happens, it's an inevitability that I'd watch it. I can't seem to get enough of The Book of Eli because the movie is masterfully made. Gary Oldman as Carnegie makes a great, albeit misguided villian, and Mila Kunis as Solara is awesome (She ends up kind of discipled by Eli during his quest.) I think it's great that Eli possesses the last Bible in existence, and he doesn't really need it once Carnegie gets his hands on it. He's been traveling with it for 30 years! Reading it every night, he has it memorized word for word by the time it gets taken from him. I love how when Eli is finished with his quest, Solara is just starting hers.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Little Fockers
"Family-patriarch Jack Byrnes wants to appoint a successor. Does his son-in-law, the "male nurse", Greg Focker have what it takes?"
I tend to like the first two movies in the Meet the Parents trilogy more than this one. I do enjoy seeing Barbra Streisand, and Dustin Hoffman return as Roz and Bernie Focker. The casting person made an excellent pairing with those two. I like that they gave Roz her own sex talk show (that made me think a lot of Sex Talk with Sue Johanson). Jack Byrnes is up to his old tricks again when he thinks Greg is cheating on his wife with pharmaceutical rep Andi Garcia (played by Jessica Alba). I like how "Santa" Jack gets turned down when he calls into the CIA for help because the new guy is by the book, and Jack's been retired for way too long. The new guy tells Jack to try Googling the information he wants which ends up opening a whole new world for Robert DeNiro's character.
I give this movie 3.5 stars!
"A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing (as read by a kindly grandfather)."
I watched this movie shortly after Peter Falk died, and watched it again for my birthday yesterday. What brought on wanting to see it again was a video I saw of the cast reuniting on Good Morning America.
"The Princess Bride" Reunited
As I was watching the movie this time, I couldn't help thinking of all the actors on it that passed away: Andre the Giant, and most recently Peter Falk. Not a lot of people realized Peter Falk played the grandfather in it. One thing I noticed different from the book that irritates me when I watch the movie is Montoya's first name. In the book, he's Indigo. In the movie, he's Inigo. I know it's only a difference in one letter, but why couldn't Rob Reiner and the writers keep it the way it was?
My favorite scene in the movie: the Fire Swamp, of course. I always jump when the ROUS (a big a$$ rat) starts going for Westley.
I give this movie 5 stars!
This is another movie I own based on a John Grisham book. It's about this Tulane law student (played by Julia Roberts) who writes a legal brief regarding the assassination of two Supreme Court justices. She inadvertently unearths the truth, and ends up running for her life as anybody who knows about the brief drops dead around her.
I watched this movie tonight because I needed a dose of Denzel, and I haven't watched this movie in a while. Every time he came on the scene though, I couldn't stop thinking about The Book of Eli. I may have to watch that again soon, too. He's awesome in it.
I give this movie 5 stars!
No Reservations
"The life of a top chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece."
This movie has Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Kate, an executive chef at a restaurant whose world is turned upside down when her sister dies, leaving Kate custody of her niece Zoe (played by Abigail Breslin). Things tend to come full circle for this thrown together little family unit when Aunt Kate starts dating a co-chef (played by Aaron Eckhart) in her restaurant.
I love watching the scenes with Kate in therapy sessions because she uses her therapist (played by Bob Balaban) as a guinea pig for her new cooking inventions. She is forced to go to therapy by her boss that threatens to fire her if she doesn't have regular appointments due to anger management issues.
My favorite scene, though, has to be when a patron is complaining about his steak not being rare enough, so Kate finally gets fed up after the seventh one has been sent back and arrives at the table to stab a raw, uncooked steak in front of the man with a steak knife. Kate's boss tells the man they'll get a new tablecloth for him right away, and Kate continues her rampage by pulling the knife from the table and taking off the tablecloth in one go without dropping any dishes. The woman sitting with the man is holding her wine glass, and impressed by the tablecloth trick. It's hilarious!
I give this movie 5 stars!
The Ghost Writer
"A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy."
I don't like a lot of Pierce Brosnan movies, but I thought I'd give this one a try because Ewan McGregor is in it. Ewan McGregor plays Ghost, a well-known ghost writer that's hired to proofread and enhance a former Prime Minister's memoirs by a New York publisher solely because he does great work, and he can work fast if he had to. At first he's given a month to work on the manuscript and ready it for publication, but unforeseen circumstances bring up the release date so he only has two weeks to get the job done.
Me being an author myself, the title is what intrigued me the most. I don't particularly like the ending, but everything leading up to it is pretty suspenseful. I'm also intrigued that the character's name is just Ghost, and nothing like John Smith or something like that.
I give this movie 4 stars!
The Book of Eli
"A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind."
After watching The Pelican Brief, I realized I needed a little more Denzel to satisfy my thirst and watching The Pelican Brief did make me think of this movie a lot. When that happens, it's an inevitability that I'd watch it. I can't seem to get enough of The Book of Eli because the movie is masterfully made. Gary Oldman as Carnegie makes a great, albeit misguided villian, and Mila Kunis as Solara is awesome (She ends up kind of discipled by Eli during his quest.) I think it's great that Eli possesses the last Bible in existence, and he doesn't really need it once Carnegie gets his hands on it. He's been traveling with it for 30 years! Reading it every night, he has it memorized word for word by the time it gets taken from him. I love how when Eli is finished with his quest, Solara is just starting hers.
I give this movie 5 stars!
Little Fockers
"Family-patriarch Jack Byrnes wants to appoint a successor. Does his son-in-law, the "male nurse", Greg Focker have what it takes?"
I tend to like the first two movies in the Meet the Parents trilogy more than this one. I do enjoy seeing Barbra Streisand, and Dustin Hoffman return as Roz and Bernie Focker. The casting person made an excellent pairing with those two. I like that they gave Roz her own sex talk show (that made me think a lot of Sex Talk with Sue Johanson). Jack Byrnes is up to his old tricks again when he thinks Greg is cheating on his wife with pharmaceutical rep Andi Garcia (played by Jessica Alba). I like how "Santa" Jack gets turned down when he calls into the CIA for help because the new guy is by the book, and Jack's been retired for way too long. The new guy tells Jack to try Googling the information he wants which ends up opening a whole new world for Robert DeNiro's character.
I give this movie 3.5 stars!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
"More than meets the eye..."
Another Cinderella Story
"A guy who danced with what could be the girl of his dreams at a costume ball only has one hint at her identity: the Zune she left behind as she rushed home in order to make her curfew. And with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of him, he sets out to find his masked beauty."
I talked about this movie a little bit the other day as I reviewed the Hilary Duff movie "A Cinderella Story." Well, here I am after watching the sequel again. What I like best about this movie is how it focuses around a lot of dancing, and the fact that there are kind of two Cinderella's in this adaptation. The main Cinderella-esque character, Mary Santiago (played by Selena Gomez) and her best friend, Tami (played by Jamie Kennedy). While Mary ends up with a Pop star Prince Charming, Tami ends up with the Pop star's Manager. There is a mirror dance sequence near the beginning that is one of the best scenes in the entire movie. It's a MUST SEE kind of thing.
I give this movie 5 stars!
With my sister spending my birthday week visiting me, last night she came home from going around town with a couple b-day presents for me. We opened them up and watched them last night. They were:
"The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets."
There were so many intense action sequences in this movie that I wondered how much the actors were getting paid for it because it's probably not enough. I wasn't sure if I'd like Megan Fox's replacement as Sam's girlfriend (played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), but she turned into this power house character that really held her own under the circumstances. I was taken aback when I saw a couple new faces to the franchise: Patrick Dempsey and John Malkovich! I'm still scratching my head and wondering how the heck they landed in a "Transformers" movie.
John Malkovich plays Shia LaBeouf's boss, and Patrick Dempsey plays Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's boss who also helped Sam (Shia) get his job working for John Malkovich. My favorite part is when Bruce Brazos (Malkovich) ends up doing Sam's bidding by providing him with whatever he needs to help the Autobots. It's funny seeing Malkovich grovel to a 20-something kid right out of college. Don't even get me started on the jalopy that's Sam's replacement car while Bumblebee is out on missions with the other Autobots. LOL!
I give this movie 3 stars!
There were so many intense action sequences in this movie that I wondered how much the actors were getting paid for it because it's probably not enough. I wasn't sure if I'd like Megan Fox's replacement as Sam's girlfriend (played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), but she turned into this power house character that really held her own under the circumstances. I was taken aback when I saw a couple new faces to the franchise: Patrick Dempsey and John Malkovich! I'm still scratching my head and wondering how the heck they landed in a "Transformers" movie.
John Malkovich plays Shia LaBeouf's boss, and Patrick Dempsey plays Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's boss who also helped Sam (Shia) get his job working for John Malkovich. My favorite part is when Bruce Brazos (Malkovich) ends up doing Sam's bidding by providing him with whatever he needs to help the Autobots. It's funny seeing Malkovich grovel to a 20-something kid right out of college. Don't even get me started on the jalopy that's Sam's replacement car while Bumblebee is out on missions with the other Autobots. LOL!
I give this movie 3 stars!
and
"Dominic and his crew find themselves on the wrong side of the law once again as they try to switch lanes between a ruthless drug lord and a relentless federal agent."
I wasn't sure if I'd like Dwayne Johnson joining the "Fast and the Furious" team, but he added some great elements to the movie and was a great match for Vin Diesel. It was pretty even during a fight scene, but then again they both were wrestlers at one time. Dwayne Johnson still wrestles every so often. Vin Diesel comes out on top during the fight, of course. Cars didn't seem to be in the forefront of this action packed movie as in the previous four installments. They were still there, but most of the movie focused more on the chase between the FBI and Dom's crew. In the end, the FBI ends up helping Dom and the Team capture a mutual person of interest. Johnson is still going after Dom in the end, but graciously gives him and Brian a 24-hour head start for their cooperation in bringing down one bad dude.
I give this movie 5 stars!
SPOILER ALERT: Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson are already signed up to do "Fast and the Furious 6!" And Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) returns from the dead! She died in the fourth movie, but it turns out she faked it. That's all I know for now.
I give this movie 5 stars!
SPOILER ALERT: Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson are already signed up to do "Fast and the Furious 6!" And Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) returns from the dead! She died in the fourth movie, but it turns out she faked it. That's all I know for now.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Lion Sleeps Tonight...
That's right, I watched The Lion King and The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride in the last couple days. My brother borrowed the DVDs from his friend a couple weekends ago, and his friend won't return a couple of my movies until he gets his back.
The Lion King
"Tricked into thinking he killed his father, a guilt ridden lion cub flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King."
I haven't watched the original Lion King in a long time, and it was nice to see it on DVD for a change. I own the VHS only. (Yes, people still have videocasettes!) I've liked this movie for a long time because I used to have a major crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (voice of young Simba), but I've grown out of that now. It's still nice to watch once in a while for a chance at remembering a simpler time.
I give this movie 5 stars!
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride
"Simba's daughter is the key to a resolution of a bitter feud between Simba's pride and the outcast pride led by the mate of Scar."
Okay, so this movie came out in 2008 and tonight was my first time actually seeing the entire thing. I've seen bits and pieces of it when it came on television. It had my family and I tearing up by the end of it. Really great movie! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Matthew Broderick was the voice of Simba, and he could sing!
I give it 5 stars!
Tooth Fairy
I know I watched this movie, and reviewed it a few days ago. My sister is visiting from Madras this week and she hadn't seen it, and I haven't watched it enough to be sick of it yet. She enjoyed it!
I had previously stated Derek Thompson had to serve two weeks as a tooth fairy, but he actually had a third week tagged on during the movie for a botched assignment.
The Lion King
"Tricked into thinking he killed his father, a guilt ridden lion cub flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King."
I haven't watched the original Lion King in a long time, and it was nice to see it on DVD for a change. I own the VHS only. (Yes, people still have videocasettes!) I've liked this movie for a long time because I used to have a major crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas (voice of young Simba), but I've grown out of that now. It's still nice to watch once in a while for a chance at remembering a simpler time.
I give this movie 5 stars!
The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride
"Simba's daughter is the key to a resolution of a bitter feud between Simba's pride and the outcast pride led by the mate of Scar."
Okay, so this movie came out in 2008 and tonight was my first time actually seeing the entire thing. I've seen bits and pieces of it when it came on television. It had my family and I tearing up by the end of it. Really great movie! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Matthew Broderick was the voice of Simba, and he could sing!
I give it 5 stars!
Tooth Fairy
I know I watched this movie, and reviewed it a few days ago. My sister is visiting from Madras this week and she hadn't seen it, and I haven't watched it enough to be sick of it yet. She enjoyed it!
I had previously stated Derek Thompson had to serve two weeks as a tooth fairy, but he actually had a third week tagged on during the movie for a botched assignment.
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