Welcome!

I've been spinning this idea around in my head lately to have a movie blog, so here it is.  I may channel Leonard Maltin for this task, so be forewarned.  I have no idea how many movies I own, but I know for sure it's in the hundreds.  DVDs and VHS alike although more DVDs than VHS these days.  There are some movies I refuse to watch, some I refuse to watch but I like when I give it a chance, and some I can't wait to buy or rent.

I'll start off by reviewing the movies I've watched within the last few days:

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.

Natalie Portman said in an interview about her role in Black Swan that it was really hard for her to grasp at times, and took her to a dark place within herself.  She even had to take some time off afterwards from doing movies to rest and "rehabilitate herself."  She was in a facility for a couple months afterwards because of the strain doing the part had put on her.

I give this movie 2 stars.

Tooth Fairy


"Dwayne Johnson stars as Derek Thompson, one of the toughest hockey players around -- until he's sentenced to two weeks hard labor as the world's most unlikely tooth fairy!  Even though he must sport frilly wings and learn the magickal tricks of the trade from his silver-winged superiors (Julie Andrews and Billy Crystal), Derek's determined to do the job his way and prove he's got what it takes!"

I love this movie!  It's not everyday that someone gets to see Dwayne Johnson in a tutu and wings unless they spent a year watching this movie everyday.  Julie Andrews is great as the Fairy Godmother, and Billy Crystal is great as the gadgets man: he supplies amnesia dust, Cat Away, invisibility spray, and shrinking paste.  Take my word for it, this is one funny movie you have to see!

Note: the back cover of the DVD had stated he only has "one week" of life as a tooth fairy for dissolution of dreams, but in the movie he's given two because his nickname in hockey is "the Tooth Fairy" because he loves knocking out other players teeth and spends a lot of time in the penalty box.

I give this movie 5 stars!


Jersey Girl


"Ollie (Ben Affleck) is a smooth and successful big-city publicist who has the life he's always wanted--until things take an unexpected turn and he finds himself an unemployed single father back living with his dad (George Carlin) in the suburbs.  But just when he thinks his life has hit rock bottom, a sexy, no-nonsense video store clerk (Liv Tyler) enters his life and shows Ollie that sometimes you have to forget who you thought you were and acknowledge what really makes you happy."

I loved this movie for it's sentimentality.  My favorite director, Kevin Smith, acknowledge this movie was made in memory of his father at the end.  Jennifer Lopez has a short role in it as Ollie's wife who dies right after giving birth to his daughter.  Jason Bigg's plays an associate that works under Ollie until Ollie's fired for calling the press "jerk offs" at a press conference for Will Smith, who never shows up.  His career is ruined even further when he tells the press pretty much that Will Smith's music or movie career won't last.  I practically shit bricks when Ollie runs into Will Smith seven yearslater in a waiting room of an organization Ollie's trying to get a job at.  Will Smith had just come off "that robot movie," and they spent most of the time talking about their kids.  It was great!  Before Ollie left, he recommended Jason Biggs's character as a non-shitty publicist Will might like.

I give this movie 5 stars!


I have one more movie to talk about, but I need to give the computer a rest.  Be on the lookout for Runaway Jury coming to a computer near you!