Coming soon.....

I AM going to watch Ratatouille in the coming weeks and this week I have Enchanted AND August Rush on the schedule.....

Dan in Real Life

So, you know one of those movies that you aren't dying to see at all but there are so few interesting choices at the movie theater that you go just because somebody asks you? Yeah......that's what Dan in Real Life was for me.

But sometimes its best that way! Its never a bad thing when a movie exceeds your expectations, the other way around has happened too much for me to want to remember.

For the first time in a while, I wanted to go back to Rhode Island. That's the first thing.......the setting was quaint and matched the flow of the movie perfectly.

Being a Steve Carell fan on the Office, I decided to give him a chance in this movie. He came through with his strong sense of awkwardness, just in the right places. But it wasn't over the top like on the Office. It was just a perfect amount of awkwardness to make it real, and to have the audience really feel for him. I cried.....but well, that's not a big feat.

It was full of some HILARIOUS moments as well as some really touching moments.

It might be too real for some people to be a good movie, but it was a great way to spend my friday night.

Rating: 2.5
Expectations: they were low and they were exceeded.

Happy watching ya'll!

:)

The Bourne Ultimatum

So, out of the 184 reviewers at rottentomatoes.com, I'm going to go with the 173 who said it was great.

Yeah, I know you come here for more than a one word review, so here goes.....

When these movies came into being, the took a couple of the basic facts about the original books and ran with it. The first one was similar, the 2nd was different to distraction, and by the time the 3rd one had rolled around, it was so far gone that the books never even crossed my mind.

Jason Bourne has just gotten messed with too many times. At the beginning, they didn't give him the benefit of the doubt, the 2nd time around, some rogue guys framed him and tried to get him killed again, and this time, the added emotion to it, with him trying to find out his past.

The unfolding of the story, with both sides in the dark about most of the other side's involvement is amazing. And every moment that ticks by we find out more of the talents and training of Jason Bourne, aka David Webb.

Some people said the shaky camera work bothered them, but I barely noticed it, because I was so involved in the movie. I mean, fights aren't smooth!

This movie is one of those that grabs you and doesn't let go. Get ready for a fast moving, complicated movie, and you won't be let down.

Rating: 4 stars
Expectations going into the movie: They were high, but it almost exceeded my expectations.

Happy watching ya'll!

I'm back in America and seeing movies again!

So, first in line is....

Hairspray

I had never seen either of the other Hairspray productions, so I went into this movie a clean slate.

But for Adam Shankman (and writer Leslie Dixon), taking a non-musical movie and a very musical stage show, putting all of the previous ideas and songs into a Baltimore-wide musical movie looked like a pretty large feat in my eyes.

I must say, the publicist for this movie did a great job. I had the songs that I had NEVER fully heard in my head weeks before the release! Across the world in Italy!

So, we come to the cast. All the adults in the show....great. I loved Queen Latifah's boisterousness, and I loved Michelle Pfeiffer's evilness. But to the kids.......Zac Efron, he plays the perfect dreamboat, and I love his voice. Nikki Blonsky was so adorable....the only problem I had with her that maybe 2 more inches taller and she wouldn't have looked so UNBELIEVABLY short. Amanda Bynes, always love her.....and Elijah Kelly as Seaweed had just the right energy to make it work. Brittany Snow......I love her pretty much all the time.....and she keeps getting on these 60's dance shows! Yeah, I think she has that look.......ATTENTION all people who want to do ANY tv or movie set in a 60's dance show.......CAST HER!

I really was tapping my feet the whole time, and trying to sing along to the songs I only half-knew from all the commercials and such.

It was such a cheery movie! And good!

Rating (out of 4 stars): 3.5
Expectations going into the movie: They were pretty high, but they were met right where they were at when all was said and done

P.S. I saw the earlier Hairspray this past week, and compared to this one, was more cheesy and less cheery than this version. I really liked the development of Tracy and Link's relationship and how Amber and him fell apart.....

ok, so I have a handful of movies waiting to be reviewed, so hopefully with some encouragement, I can get to them :)

Happy watching ya'll!

The Long Awaited.....

BRAVEHEART

Finally, I put my foot down in more than one way, and Gayle and I watched it last weekend.....

Epic movies.....they have a following like no other....the gore, the love, the drama, and the battle of good and evil. Braveheart fits right in there with the rest of them.

Freedom. Us americans are drawn to it......its in our blood! That might be one of the reasons this movie grabs us and throws us right into the middle of it. The passion that Mel Gibson gives to William Wallace is convincing, and his screen presence is amazing. Its almost like he isn't pretending.

Braveheart doesn't take the route of the normal rise up against the bad guys and we win and that's it.......there is so much at stake, so many ambiguous circumstances that you don't know what's coming around another corner in this epic tale.

I didn't look at my watch until about 2 hours and 19 minutes into it, I was highly entertained....enthralled, if you will......all in all, great movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Expectations: I expected it to be more emotional, but I assumed it was a great movie and was right....

Happy watching ya'll!

Many Movies!

Hope ya'll didn't hold your breath,
because I have been slacking.......hardcore...

So, here I go...

BABEL

With the past success of Crash, and its ability to make me bawl and scream at the screen, I was looking forward to this movie experience. Big theater, many people, and an oscar nominated film looked to be a great moviegoing experience.

First things first.....it wasn't very enjoyable to me......

Ok, now that we've gotten that out of the way....

If you would rate the emotional involvement of Crash on a scale from 1-10.....it would be a 10. Babel might have been a 6 or 7.

I almost can't separate the awkwardness of this movie from the accomplishment of the production team. It was a very impressive movie.....made in a wide variety of locations, with many different storylines, all connected in some way, it treats time in such an interesting way, and everything about the overlying themes are amazing.

BUT

So very many awkward things.....

It may very well win an oscar, its that impressive.....but that doesn't mean I want to watch it EVER again.....

Only one word to describe this movie.....AWKWARD

Rating (out of 4 stars): 3
Expectations going into the movie: too high, it wasn't as enjoyable as I expected, however, it was a very well made movie

MEMENTO

One of those film class movies, those movies that has such a unique point of view, those movies that baffle you........Memento

Christopher Nolan took on the project as the screenplay writer and director.....I can imagine that's the only way to do it. With such a complex and convoluted script, it could quite possibly lose its power if the idea was transferred from a screenwriter to a director.

Guy Pearce is very convincing in this role, and does a good job of pulling the viewer in.

The story is amazingly complex and spirals from an outward view of the main story, into smaller circles, letting the viewer in on small details in order to discover what is REALLY happenning. It is the ultimate thinking movie, just don't see it with somebody who wants to predict the future or ask questions.

I do believe that Memento was SLIGHTLY over-hyped for me. I don't think I will jump at another chance to see it in the near future, mainly because of the fact that its a suspenseful movie that isn't as great once you know everything.

Rating: 3
Expectations: over hyped, but very intriguing

Happy watching ya'll!

We Are Marshall

"Fake 22 blast, with a backside George reverse!"

That was the play that was called for the T.C. Williams Titans to win their state championship game in Remember the Titans. Remember the Titans, along with many other sports movies, is driven by what happens on the field. The story comes from their games.

In We are Marshall, the games come from their story. The plane crash of the 75 players, coaches, and boosters near Huntington, Virginia is the most important thing in the movie, not the record of wins to losses.

Coach Jack Lengyle must have been an interesting character to interact with, because Matthew McConaughey did an amazing job of getting his quirkiness, his swagger, and even his unique way of speaking down in his performance. The rest of the cast, including Matthew Fox and Kate Mara, does an impressive job of bringing the audience into the movie, making you feel what the actual people felt. From anger, to rage, to hopelessness, to uncertainty, to joy, the director, McG (of Charlie's Angels fame) takes interesting viewpoints of the range of emotion in this film and through that, gives us a unique peek into the lives of the characters.

If you like sports movies, or if you have a thing for plane crashes like Matthew Fox, check out We Are Marshall. You'll get more than you bargained for.

Rating (out of 4 stars): 3.5
Expectations going into the movie: great, it definitely met my expectations

Happy Watching Ya'll!