Recently viewed movies

06/27/2009 - Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen

This is obviously the blockbuster that a lot of people were waiting for this summer. No, not gay vampires, no not mini-wizards or even frozen mammoths, sloths and sabre-tooth tigers (though I am seeing that one!) but Alien Robots that turn into GM cars and Megan Fox (oh, and Josh Duhamel for the ladies.)

As you are all well-aware of the "Romantic Comedy formula" there is also a blockbuster sequel formula - "Bigger = Better" (though it's debatable, that's the formula) and Michael Bay is a master of the HUGE summer blockbuster formula as well as the sequel formula, and this one does not disappoint!

More alien robots turning into vehicles (and the used the prototype Corvette in this one that is SICK!!!), more explosions, more Megan Fox and a new hottie that plays a decepticon babe trying to get so Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), killer fight scenes, killer explosions, the biggest decepticon ever and special effects that are downright amazing. I was a little ticked that the Audi R8 was a decepticon AND got killed by the corvette, but GM is desperate to get out of bankruptcy and so they're trying to trash Audi to get more Americans to buy American. We'll see if their plan works, I tend to think going negative doesn't work - focus on your own features and benefits GM, don't disparage others.

Some will say the story is lacking in this sequel. I have to say...SO WHAT? The story in the first movie was so compelling? No, the story is the same - good vs. evil and attractive people beating the odds and somehow surviving giant aliens trying to step on them or blow them up. It begs the question, are attractive people impervious to explosions? Are they able to dodge giant alien feet more easily than less attractive people? Frankly, I have no problem with that, it's just darwinism helped along by alien robots disquised as construction equipment (by the way, shouldn't the bad buy construction vehicles be called destructicons instead of constructicons? I mean they come together to be called Devastator! Just a thought).

Overall I'll give this movie a 3.5 out of 5. If you're not a big Transformers fan, or a big summer blockbuster fan in general, then wait for Red Box. The rest of the world will be there this week and Michael Bay will make an obscene amount of money - it's the payoff for the formula, and this one definitely fits the bill and it is pretty cool.

06/25/2009 - The Proposal

Went and saw the proposal with a group of friends. I'm truly not sure why we saw this movie, but it turned out to be pretty good.

I'm a fan of both Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, so it worked out well. It's actually pretty funny. I've always thought Ryan Reynolds was funny, ever since his stint on "Two guys a girl and a Pizza place". In fact, I'm going to go see if I can find it on DVD, it was hilarious.

So this movie follows the romantic comedy formula, and does it well - kudos to the guy who read "Romantic Comedies for Dummies" and created a fine example.

If you've seen the commercials for this movie, you know what's up - Sandra Bullock is Canadian and is going to be deported and lose her job, so she ropes her assistant, Ryan Reynolds, into marrying her. They go to visit his family, hilarity ensues. Of course, there is an old love interest back home for Ryan, so there is the requisite tension there, and Betty White is the crazy grandma and she is really funny. Good times.

So, if you have 2 hours to kill and $6 for a matinee, go see it. If you're on a date and it's too cold to go to Boondocks, go to this movie. If you're with a cute girl (or boy, depending on your preference), hold her hand. I'll give it a 3.5 out of 5 and a solid gold star for sticking to the formula.

05/31/2009 - Star Trek and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I've seen WAY too many movies lately! It's getting a bit ridiculous, but I like movies and some good ones have been coming out. I can't wait to see Land of the Lost, looks HILARIOUS!

Anyway, here are the reviews for today - Star Trek 2009 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Let's start with Star Trek.

To start and to be totally fair, some of the guys at the office hyped this movie SO hard, I don't know if any movie could have lived up to it. But, I did like it. I've heard people say it's this year's Ironman, and for my take, it's nowhere near as good. It was cool - and I know I'm waffling back and forth here, and here's why: The movie does a killer job as an homage to the original TV series. All the characters get really good background build-ups and that was pretty cool. I'm not sure if you would like this movie as much if you didn't know some of the things about the TV show. I did know a lot of what was being referenced, so it was cool in that respect. The story gets a touch crazy because JJ Abrams of "LOST" fame is the director and the time-travel thing plays a huge part in this and it gets almost as ridiculous as LOST trying to figure out who's from where and how he got there, etc. etc. etc. And that drove me crazy! But the action was excellent, the story was OK, and the acting was pretty good. I really liked the Scotty character, really funny. And O'Hura is in love with the LAST person I would have expected in this movie, and that was kind of funny.

SO, overall I'll give the movie a 3.5. I wish I'd waited for Red Box, but it was a good movie. If you're a HUGE Trekkie, you'll love it 100%. If not, your opinions will vary.
--------------------------------------------

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the story of a boy/man (Brad Pitt) who ages backwards. He's born looking like an old man and as he ages chronologically he gets younger physically. It's definitely a different film from any I've watched recently and despit the length, it was actually pretty good. I even managed to stay awake watching it late at night. Julia Ormond is also in this movie, so I immediately had flashbacks to "Legend of the Fall" and how boring it was. :-D I didn't think this movie was as boring. There is the predictable relationship with Cate Blanchett's character - Daisy (this part actually reminded me of Forrest Gump - But Brad Pitt has Tom Hanks beat for the ladies' interest all day I'm sure) but they both give a pretty good performance. I was curious that no one ever took a scientific interest in Benjamin. I would have expected doctors and scientists to want to check him out and learn about his condition, but it never happened. The movie is set in New Orleans and they have plenty of freaks there, so maybe no one really noticed :-D

Anyway, I'll give this movie a 3 out of 5. I'm glad I saw it on Red Box, but I didn't hate it. It actually had a few parts I really liked and there are some good messages in it. So if you like dramas with little to no action and some good acting, this is a good choice for you.

05/13/2009 - Taken on Red Box

This movie was AWESOME! I'm not a Liam Neeson fan usually, but he is great in this flick. The show is practically non-stop action once it gets into the real story and it just goes! The story is pretty cool, they don't mess around with a lot of fluff - just getting down to business and some serious butt-kicking. I must have said, "this guy is a bad-a**" at least 5 times :-D

For complete entertainment from an action/drama I give this show a 4 out of 5 (I'm not exactly sure what it'll take to get a 5, when it happens, I guess we'll know!) Highly recommended and and excellent value on Red Box, of course!

04/26/2009 - Yes Man and The Spirit

Let's start with "Yes Man". I had heard that this was "Liar, Liar" all over again. Actually, "Liar, Liar" is probably funnier, but this movie had its moments. I chose the picture above because this was quite possibly one of the funniest scenes I've seen in the movies in a while. Luiz Gusman (left) is threatening to kill himself by jumping off the ledge. Jim Carrey, who has been saying YES to everything, including guitar lessons breaks out the "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind. For those of you who don't know it, the first line is "Wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend." Anyway, as he's singing, Luiz chimes in, the crowd below starts singing and then, of course, Jim pulls Luiz in from the ledge. It was clever and funny, and I like the song - so it was all good. Anyway, the movie has its moments, Zooey Deschanel is the love interest (and yes they follow the Romantic Comedy formula to the letter, you won't be disappointed with this one) and she's really good in it. For those of you who are "Flight of the Conchords" fans Jim's boss is played by Rhys Darby who plays "Murray". The role is very similar and very funny yet kind of sad, just like Murray.

For a Red box, it's worth the $1 and I was entertained for the most part so I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

The Spirit

This one is a bit hard to judge. I was constantly interrupted while trying to watch this one (darn Home Teachers!) and I didn't really get into it. I think that's because it was pretty boring. even when I was paying attention, I just didn't care that much. The characters weren't interesting, the storyline wasn't compelling, really. Samuel L. Jackson hasn't been in a good role since Pulp Fiction (ok maybe I'm exaggerating, but seriously, does the guy EVER say no to a role???? Maybe he has ridiculous bills and just HAS to work, who knows...) The point of all that is, he is annoying as "The Octopus" actually only slightly less annoying than the main character, "The Spirit". I'm usually pretty easy to entertain, but this movie just did nothing for me. Since it was only a buck at Red Box, I'll give it a 2 and I think that's being kind. I mean it wasn't crude or ultra-violent or anything that might preclude someone from seeing it, but it was just boring. rent it as a last resort on a day when you really have nothing else to do.

04/06/2009

Speed Racer on DVR.

Obviously this one has been out for a while if it's already on the movie channels, but I never saw it. I think someone back then told me it wasn't any good. Well, they were wrong, I actually liked it a lot! I liked the stylized way they made it kind of look like a cartoon while still using real-life actors (and a lot of CGI, I know, but it was good CGI). I like Emil Hirsch, he's a good actor, and even Christina Ricci is good in this. Plus John Goodman is usually good, but he wasn't funny in this one.

The story follows young Speed Racer as he becomes a professional race car driver in the shadow of his dead brother, who was also a race car driver. He is beguiled by the rich and powerful team owner, but rejects his lucrative offer and spends the rest of the show avoiding the attempts on his life as he races his car.

I'm not a Speed Racer afficionado, but I always thought Racer X was the bad guy who was trying to ruin Speed and his racing career, but in this he's a good guy. Matthew Fox plays Racer X, Jack for those of you who are LOST fans. He was good as well in the movie. Susan Sarandon plays Speed's mom and even she's tolerable, though usually I'm not a fan (not since Bull Durham anyway).

So, I'd go with a 4 out of 5. The story is a bit long, but actually I didn't mind as much as I thought I might when I saw it was 2 hours and 15 minutes long. For a movie based on a comic/cartoon, it was actually very well done and not cheesy at all. If you have the movie channels, it was on Cinemax I believe. If not, see if you can find it on Redbox, or I saved it on DVR if you want to come over, I'll definitely watch it again.

03/26/2009
Quantum of Solace

watched Quantum of Solace on Red Box last night (by the way, I discovered that 9 out of 10 of the Red Box codes I had are no good. The only one that works is "Redbox" if you've never rented a Red Box movie on that particular card before).Anyway, I'm a Bond movie fan. The Pierce Brosnan movies got a little hokey, so I'm a huge Daniel Craig fan. His Bond is way tougher, way more manly, and not so goofy. I know some Bond fans will say that the character is supposed to be suave and debonaire but I don't care, I like the tough-guy Bond that Craig has brought to the last 2 Bond films. I bet I've watched Casino Royale 10 times or more, it's a great flick. So, I was pretty excited to rent Quantum of Solace, which is a great name for a movie, in my humble opinion. And I liked the movie. I'm not as big of a fan of this one as I am of Casino Royale, but it was good. The whole idea is Bond is trying to get revenge (or a Quantum of Solace ;-) ) for the death of his girlfriend from Casino Royale. He gets mixed up in some international schemes to make ridiculous amounts of money, of course, as usual, but at the same time he is trying to find the people responsible for her death. He does have one "Bond girl" in this film, but her role isn't important - quite a departure from the old Bond movies.

Unfortunately, the Aston Martin only makes an appearance at the very beginning of the movie and it gets torn up (nearly brought a tear to my eye :-D ) and later he drives some Ford model we don't have here in the US. So, the whole thing with cars, women and gadgets that defined the older Bond movies is not a part of this movie and I like the change.

I'll give this movie a 3 out of 5, worth the $1 Red Box rental, but remember this isn't the old Bond, if that's what you're looking for, rent something older.

03/25/2009
Transporter 3

I've always liked the transporter movies. The second one has some RIDICULOUS stunts in it, and the story is kind of lame, but I still like it. In fact all 3 story lines pretty much go the same way - Handsome Rob (actually Frank Martin, but Jason Statham will always be handsome Rob after "The Italian Job" just ask my sister :-D ) has a sweet car (in this instance an Audi V-10 S6!!!), he gets into a crazy fight where he beats up like 10 guys, he gets a job but he ends up breaking his own rules and "opens the package" he's transporting and then gets chased by the bad guys. He beats up ALL of the bad guys except the lead bad guy, who he tracks down and beats him up (or kills him) and everyone lives happily ever after and Handsome Rob goes back to his beachside home in the South of France to await the next call for a Transporter!!!!

So, yes it's true I like the movies for the cars and the car chases. I also like the fight scenes even though they're crazy! And I don't really care that the stories are SOOOO dumb. Plus Jason Statham is pretty cool, I've liked him as an actor since he was "Turkish" in Snatch (if you haven't seen that one and you watch Rated R movies, you MUST watch it, it's Brad Pitt's best performance ever!!! It is so dang funny!) So, I can't give this movie a super high rating, but for mindless entertainment I give it a 3 out of 5. For a Free redbox rental, it's definitely worth it!!! :-D

02/24/09
Seven Pounds
We went and saw the movie "Seven Pounds" at the dollar movies in Sandy. It stars Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. I like both of them for the most part, so I didn't mind seeing this movie even though I knew almost nothing about it.However, before I begin, I have to say something about movie theatres. I'll admit, and I'm sure most of you will agree with me, that I (we) have been spoiled by the stadium seating of modern movie theatres - clear view of the screen, reclining seats in a lot of cases, plenty of leg room, etc. The dollar movies in Sandy are the old style theatres with just a slight decline in the seats toward the screen. While the theatre was at least clean, sitting in regular seats for a movie just doesn't work for me anymore. 1) you're too close to all the people around you. Where in a stadium seating arrangement people are above and below you, in the old style it feel like they're all on top of you - and when they're smokers, it's just gross. Oh, and when 1/3 of the theatre has a cough, it's even worse. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic! :-D 2) it feels like you have to look up the whole time, even when you're in the back of the theatre, that MAY have been because this was the smallest theatre I've ever been in, I swear it was smaller than the Towne Cinema in PG. 3) there is no legroom, it's worse than being on an airplane (pre-space-expansion). So, while many people wonder how we ever got along without cellphones and the internet, I wonder how we ever say through 2 hour movies in these cramped little theatres? I mean, I'm OK with going there, because it's only $1.50, but if given the choice I'll take stadium seating all day. Thank heaven for innovation! (and if you're going to the movies, do us all a favor and open the windows to your car as you smoke so it doesn't linger on your clothes so badly that I can feel cancer growing on my own throat just from sitting behind you! Thanks!)Back to the movie. It was good. And I'll tell you why. I think it was as unique a movie as I've seen in a while. 1) I love it when there is no happy ending, at least not completely happy. That's not because I'm a pessimist, you probably know I'm not, but it's because sometimes life doesn't end happily and I like to see it sometimes in the movies. 2) I like it when a movie is a little twisted. I don't like sick-out movies like Saw or garbage like that, but when the plot twist is a little messed up, it seems a bit more real I think. 3) I like it when you get done with a movie and you can't help but shake your head and say, "I can't believe that".Seven Pounds has all that. It is a BIT slow in places, it's a drama after all and they use the length for dramatic effect I think. And me being SO impatient, I had to fill in some spots with thoughts of the Jazz, Manchester United, the Utes, the girl next to me, etc. ;-) ANYWAY, Will Smith is pretty good in this and I think Rosario Dawson is excellent - very believable! Will Smith does his "I'm thinking difficult thoughts" face a bit too much (same as in Hancock) but it's probably appropriate. It just looks like he's having a stroke or something??? Anyway, it's well worth the $1.50. Definitely worth a Red Box rental when it comes out (recommended since you can keep smokers out of your house if you so desire)! I'll give this a solid 4 out of 5 rating! Enjoy, and when you see it tell me it's not just a bit twisted ;-)

Wow, I have not kept up on this! Over 6 months since an update??? Jeez. Well, here are 2:

02/14/09
Well, Payce, Gwen and I went to see "Paul Blart - Mall Cop." I'd been told it was really dumb, but I'm a fan of Kevin James and Payce wanted to see it and Gwen...well Gwen came along because Payce was there but she didn't want to see this show :-D

The movie was...too long. I think the concept is pretty funny, Kevin James was funny for about 30 minutes worth of film - not 90. It would have been a funny SNL skit or something. So, that's about all I'm going to say about this flick. I hadn't done a movie review in a while, so I threw this together real quick. I'd give it a 2 out of 5 and recommend using "DVDONME" to get this rental for free from Red Box (yep the code works once per credit or debit card at Red Box.) I'm not sure $1.08 is even worth it...

Nick and Norah's infinite playlist (on Red Box)
This is a pretty good movie. The main guy Michael Cera is the kid from "Arrested Development" (George Michael Bluth). He is very funny (though he plays the exact same character in every movie or show I've ever seen him in) - see "Juno". Anyway, he's in a band, his cheater girlfriend just dumped him and he meets Norah and the rest is about finding a band they both love called "Where's Fluffy." It's clever, unique (though is does have a bit of the romantic comedy formula in it, you just don't notice it as much...) I'd give the movie about 4 out of 5. It's definitely worth the $1.08 for the Red Box rental.

8/4/08

I went and saw Batman - The Dark Knight and it was awesome. I really liked it. It was a good sequel to Batman Begins - though I think I liked "Begins" better than this film, this one was still REALLY good. "Begins" was one of the best movies I've ever seen, it was excellent. Anyway, Christian Bale was really good as Bruce Wayne/Batman (hope I'm not giving anything , away there :-D ) Michael Caine is solid as Alfred again, Morgan Freeman is good as Lucius Fox, Aaron Eckhart is good as Harvey Dent, etc, etc, etc. I'm not a real Big Maggie Gyllenhall (sp?) fan, but she's good as Rachel Dawes! Gary Oldman was good as James Gordon. The only weird casting was Nestor Carbonal as the mayor of Gotham (which, is in CHICAGO! I always thought it was New York) - that def did not fit.
Anyway, the movie is dark, but not as dark as the first movie. I'd say it's a bit more violent than the first. The thing that made this movie really memorable, and I'm sure you'll hear this from just about anyone who sees it is Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker.
He was SO good, SO believable, and just SO much into the role, he is truly creepy and scary. If ever this type of movie would draw Oscar nominations, I'd say he deserves one for Best Supporting Actor. It's really too bad he's dead (of course, since he was so young!) because this role could really have defined his career (way more so than "Brokeback Mountain" hopefully...)So, don't take your kids to this one, take someone brave with you if you get easily scared, and really enjoy this movie, it's really well done. Don't drink too much cuz it's long and you don't want to miss anything!!! Def 4.5 out of 5!!!

Review 6/6/08:

Griff and I went to see Kung Fu Panda! I'd say we both enjoyed this movie a lot. There were times Griff could not stop laughing, so I was happy about that.
Jack Black was so funny as Po the Panda. He has some great lines, and since it's Jack Black, you can just imagine him saying these things so it makes it all that much funnier. At one point he takes a shot to the privates and he calls them his "tenders" and I about fell out of my chair, as did just about every adult guy in the theatre, where the kids just thought it was funny that he got smacked. I would put this movie on par with like Surf's Up, which I also liked a lot. Way more kid-oriented than say Bee Movie, and not as dumb as say Ratatouille (neither of us were really fans of that one).
So, great kid movie, and if you're a Jack Black fan at all, you adults will enjoy it as well. I'll give it 4.5 out of 5. I'd watch this one again and again. So, enjoy! B-)

Review 5/25:

Sean and I went and saw Ironman, it was AWESOME! Lately the comic books turned movie haven't been very good, but this one is different. Big props to John Favreau for creating a really good movie - not only for comic fans, but really for anyone who likes a really good action/adventure movie.

I'm not a big Robert Downey Jr. (I think the last thing I really liked him in was The Breakfast Club - yeah, it's been that long!) but he was really good in this. His little attitude really comes over well at Tony Stark and it works perfectly. Gwenyth Paltrow wasn't bad as Pepper Potts, I'm not a huge fan of hers either, but she was good in her role and didn't look completely boring, like she usually does. It was probably the strawberry blonde hair, which I happen to like a lot :-)

Jeff Bridges is really good as Obidiah Stane, though I didn't even recognize him right away. Carlee Bobby was in it as was the guy who plays Pinter in Seinfeld, so that's always good.

Anyway, the movie was well worth the early-bird $5.50 at the Cinemark and I would highly recommend it to any action/adventure fan.

New movie review - 5/14/08:

What happens in Vegas - at the theatre. This is Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as two hard-luck individuals who decide to go forget their problems in Vegas (GREAT idea!) They get way too drunk and get married (BAD idea!) and hilarity ensues! Actually, Kutcher's character's friend is by far the funniest part of the movie. Here's the kicker with this movie - I actually thought they had broken the romantic comedy formula and there wasn't going to be that sad part where one of the individuals misinterprets something and gets mad at the other and they "break up" but then get back together, you all know what I mean...the movie had gotten to the point where I thought it was ending and BAM! There it is, the formula holds true. And over a pretty dumb thing, I think they actually threw it in JUST to keep the formula in place. I was a little let down, I was really excited that they weren't following the formula and then they just pulled the rug out from under me. SO, overall - I'd say the story was pretty funny, both Kutcher and Diaz were good, the supporting cast was excellent too - Dennis Miller is the judge, he's pretty funny; the formula holding up was disappointing (have I said that yet?), and the ending was pretty funny - though plenty of sappiness too - KEY to the successful romantic comedy :-D I'll give this one 4 out of 5 stars, as I laughed a lot and enjoyed the movie.

I swear my next movie is Ironman, someone PLEASE go with me, as I really need to go to a Testosterone-driven action-adventure flick PRONTO! LOL


OK, two movie reviews for today!

1: Made of Honor - Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan are a couple that have been friend forever but have never had a romantic relationship. They go through some funny situations when Michelle gets engaged to a Scotish guy while on a business trip to Scotland. Dempsey decides he loves her and gets down to business trying to disrupt the relationship and stop the wedding. There are plenty of funny situations for this romantic comedy, and it wasn't bad, even for a guy - good date movie! In the pantheon of recent romantic comedies, I would say this wasn't as good as Hitch or Failure to Launch, but better than a lot of movies that have come out in this genre. I liked it, I wish they hadn't shown so many of the funny parts in the previews, but they do that a lot with recent movies. I'd give it about 3.5 out of 5 stars.

2: The movie we saw today was - Baby Mama. This is Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as a successful single, childless business woman who hires the other - a "trailer trash" woman to be a surrogate mother. I'm a fan of both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from when they did the news together on Saturday Night Live, they're a pretty good comedic combo. Not quite Farley and Spade, but more intelligent. Poehler also did a turn on my favorite sitcom - Arrested Development, so I like her. Anyway, this movie is loaded with pretty big name actors in funny roles, which I always like - Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, Greg Kinnear, Dax from "Punked" (though he's not SO big as the others of course) and others. So, the two ladies end up living together while Poehler is pregnant and it becomes kind of an Odd-Couple type relationship, but they both have those learning moments that are so important in comedies, right? Anyway, the movie is well written, very good acting (though it's not an Oscar movie, so don't expect Shakespeare), and some very funny situations. I laughed in this one way more than in Made of Honor, so I'll give this one a 4 out of 5 stars. This is one I could actually watch again and enjoy. Yet another good date movie.

Guys, I am open to go to Ironman, anyone interested, let me know, though I'm guessing my next movie will be "What happens in Vegas" Stay tuned!!!! :-)


Wow, I haven't been to the movies in a while! Well here's the latest:

04/07/2008:

Went and saw the movie 21. It looked pretty good in previews, and I would say the movie didn't disappoint!

It's the story of some really smart kids from MIT who decide to count cards in Vegas to win big sums of money. I won't give away any of the story but it's pretty good. The language isn't as bad as you might expect, in fact it wasn't that bad at all (this is PG-13). The sex is minimal, the violence is minimal, but the story is good and the movie keeps you engaged most of the time I would say.

Definitely not a kids movie, but a good date movie! I'd give it a solid 3 out of 4 stars. If you see it, I think you may be able to figure out why it doesn't get 4 stars, but the movie is still worth seeing.

Update 02/26/2008

Wow, I went a month without updating the movie reviews. Honestly, I hadn't seen anything worth reviewing. Daddy Day Camp - I think Griff laughed ONCE, and he's easily amused like his dad. There have been a couple of other really forgettable rentals (I can't even remember them LOL).

We did go see Fool's Gold in the theatre and it was pretty funny. Matthew McConaughy (sp?) and Kate Hudson make a pretty good pair, though I'm not a huge fan of either. Malcolm Jamal Warner was in it, and he has gotten BIG! He gets killed though, so he's not a big player in the movie. This one was kind of similar to Deep Blue (was that the one with Jessica Alba?) Anyway, the story is pretty predictable, of course, but it was entertaining. Nothing too exciting, but I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time watching it. It was fun and it did make me want to go to the Caribbean! I am ready for a cruise!!! :-)

Update 01/26/2008

Unaccompanied Minor (On DVD): A couple of funny parts, a harmless kids movie, Lewis Black - I have no idea why he's doing movies like this, you don't get how funny he is in this type of fluff film. Anyway, Wilmer Valderrama is in it as is the kid from "Everyone hates Chris" - he's pretty funny. Overall, the movie is ordinary, you know what's going to happen, but it's slightly entertaining. The dad that has a Mercedes that runs on Bio-Diesel that has to drive a HumVee is pretty funny, but he has a small part. It's a decent rental for the kids.

Update 01/25/2008

Cloverfield (In the theatre): I wanted to see this movie because the previews were great - they didn't give away anything! I really like that as opposed to the stinkin previews that show every funny thing, then you get to the movie and you're like - "I Saw all the funny parts for free!!!!" Anyway, the movie was shot in first person - on a video camera. Sean and I were up in the front row of the upper level so we could put our feet on the bar there, but we only lasted about 3 minutes there and we were getting sick. So we went up top, and even there my neck was getting tense from trying to watch this movie. That said, I don't think it would have been as good with a steady camera - the 1st person POV made it much more intense and suspenseful. I'm not going to ruin the movie for anyone, let's just say exploding people (behind plastic sheets fortunately) will kind of gross you out, but the movie does quite a bit in a very short time. If you wait and get it on DVD, make sure you have a BIG TV and can sit far enough away to not get motion sick. I'd say I liked it. I liked it better than "I am Legend." This one was kind of scary in a couple of places, the one really gross part, but mostly it's just suspenseful. Fortunately, the guy shooting the video is kind of funny so you do get some comic relief. That's good. Over all I'd give this one maybe 3 out of 5. Pretty entertaining, but not GREAT.

Game Plan (on DVD): This one is pretty funny in parts, but I don't know how I feel about the Rock doing a fluffy movie. It's good for the kids, Griff thinks it's hilarious, and that's why I got it. So for kids - I give it 4 out of 5, for the Rock playing a girlie role, two thumbs down :-D

Update 01/21/2008

Hmm, it's been a while for a movie review.

Juno (In the theatre): I started off be embarassing myself by presenting the passes Grandpa gave me for Christmas at a Non-Cinemark theatre, yeah, that was funny. I'd heard good things about this movie from several people, Stacy, Danica, and it looked pretty good from the previews, so I had some hopes here. This was easily the best movie I've seen in a while in the theatre. So funny, so well written, great characters, good story! The one-liners from the main character were great, Alison Janney's character has a moment or two that are really funny, Michael Cera is his normal shy, funny self (he may need to do a horrow film or something to get out of this type-casting, but whatever pays the bills I guess!) the only characters I had a hard time with because they were very out of character for what they normally play were Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner. It was weird to see Garner play cold and stoic, and a lot less heart-felt than I would have expected, and it was very weird after Arrested Development to see Bateman play kind of a self-centered jerk.

This movie almost felt like Napoleon Dynamite with a better story (or "A" story, depending on who you ask) and more dialogue, but then it added a more sincere piece to it as well that made it feel less of a comedy and more of a drama almost??? I like that it was hard to categorize and yet it was entertaining and meaningful rather than just "indy-feeling" for indy-sake (not pretentious at all like a lot of indy films these days). So, overall I'd give it 2 big thumbs up, I really liked it.

Mr. Woodcock (DVD) I wasted $4 on this, that's all you need to know - I wish I had 2 more hands so I could give this one 4 thumbs down!



Update 01/10/2008

Rescue Dawn (on DVD)

Again, I had low expectations of this movie because I didn't even remember it being in the theatres. It stars Christian Bale (who was GREAT in Batman Begins) and Steve Zahn. It's the story of Dieter Dengler's hardships in a Laotian POW camp. The acting is horrible. I think the movie is produced by a German company (not that there's anything inherently wrong with that but...) and the quality is not very good. The build up to Dengler being shot down on his first bombing flight is short so that is nice. The time in the POW camp was interesting and hard to watch sometimes, but the acting, again, is very poor. It's weird seeing Steve Zahn in a serious role and it's not very believable. There are a couple of violent scenes but nothing graphic (at least not shown, but definitely implied). I won't give away the movie in case someone wants to see it. I'd say the better rental might be "Behind Enemy lines." While Owen Wilson in a serious role is just as hard to believe as Steve Zahn in this one, the production quality is a lot better. I'd give this movie about a C+ and I'd never sit through it again, just not THAT good.

Update 01/08/2008

Balls of Fury (on DVD)

I had NO expectations of this movie, but there was nothing else at the rental store. It looked REALLY dumb but it has Christopher Walken in it so it has to be good! It did not disappoint in the dumb department but it actually had some pretty funny parts. It's all about the cut-throat world of competitive ping-pong! The best part of the movie to me, other than Walken's always droll delivery, was the Def Leppard soundtrack - Randy Daytona comes out to the tournaments to Rock of Ages, which is totally awesome! He wears the Def Leppard t-shirts and named his paddle Def Leppard - all top notch comedy! It's also pretty funny that he acts like he's at a rock concert when he wins matches. George Lopez plays a smaller part but throws in some good comedy here and there. Maggie Q (Of "Live Free or Die Hard" fame) plays the love interest, which is completely ridiculous in and of itself, but funny none-the-less. And there are some other mildly famous actors in the show. The one really huge black guy who can robot like nobody else (he was the burger guy in the remake of "The longest yard") was in it and did his thing, always good for a laugh.

So, dumb movie with some laughs, rent it if there is just nothing else and you absolutely have to rent something ;-)

Update 12/26/2007

Griff and I went to see "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" (in the theatre)

I was pretty sure I'd be doing a lot of texting during this one while Griff ate his Large popcorn and drank his Medium Lemonade. Surprisingly enough, this turned out to be a pretty good movie. I recognized a couple of the actors, but for the most part they were Scots that I didn't recognize, but that didn't really matter at all. I do enjoy a movie full of a Scottish accent - as we all know "If it's not Scottish, it's CRAP!"

Anyway, the story takes place during WWII and there are some other nice secondary stories going on that are only touched on the periphery by the story of the water horse until the end, of course. Griff got a little worried a couple of times when people weren't nice to the water horse but for the most part he really liked it and paid attention almost the entire time. There were a couple of funny moments, but for the most part it's a kids' drama. As I mentioned, I thought it would be pretty dumb, but I enjoyed it and it appeared the other adults in the theatre did too. Shoot, I'd say this is about the best movie I've seen in the theatre since I started this review.

So, if your kids are old enough to understand some real life stories, not just animation and fart jokes, they'll enjoy this movie and you just might like it too when you take them.

Update 12/25/2007

I am Legend (in the theatre)

Will Smith was really good in this, he really showed some acting range I think. I haven't ever seen any of his dramas, so I wasn't a firsthand witness of his acting abilities, other than in movies like "Hitch" which I really liked btw.

The movie is pretty intense, you're always expecting something to happen - I left needing some serious massage therapy in my shoulders - they were tensed up the whole time! It's not that the movie is scary, it's really not that bad, but it's suspenseful, and you never know when something is going to jump out!

I think they could have done a little more with the back story, but they didn't so you're left having to figure things out on your own for lot of the movie. They do end up explaining a lot, but not everything in real clear detail, so that's a little annoying. Other than that, I liked the movie. I don't think I'd buy it on DVD, but if you have some time to kill and you want to see something that's a little scary and suspenseful, then it's pretty good. If you wait til the dollar movies, I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.

Update 12/21/2007

Simpsons Movie on DVD

I thought this movie was really funny in the theatre, and I was right, and it's even better the 2nd and 3rd time! Yep, I re-watched it twice today and I don't regret it! From Green Day dying in Lake Springfield (and playing Neared My God to thee on violins as they go to their watery grave) to Ned Flanders saying, "Thank you Lord for this bountiful P*nis" and Rod and Todd repeating it when Bart splats on the window of the Krusty Burger (see the pic on the Blog front page :-D ) to Comic book guy wearing Marge's pregnancy pants and saying he'd never known comfort like this! This movie is chock full of really funny one-liners and funny situations.

Now, as Homer says, we're probably all idiots for paying to watch something we get for free every day on TV, but the movie is very funny. I think my favorite part is when the family is escaping through the sink hole and Homer dives in flipping the double-bird to everyone but he gets stuck so starts digging with the middle fingers while the angry mob scratches at his head until her finally falls through. SO dang funny.

If you're a Simpson's fan, you'll love this movie. If you're not a huge fan, you will still like this movie, you don't have to watch the show religiously to understand the movie, though it might help in understanding some of the characters.

Hey, and don't forget about "Spider-Pig!!!!"

Update 12/19/2007

Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End on DVD.

It took me a few viewings to really love this movie. It was a bit long and had a bit too many things going on, but ultimately I liked it and I'd watch it again. I think my favorite part is when they shoot Jack Sparrow (the monkey) out of the cannon! His fur is on fire as he flies off the Black Pearl toward the Flying Dutchman.

I like the story of Calypso, but it feels like something shoulda/coulda happened a bit more once she was released? Maybe the Pearl couldn't have "defeated" the Dutchman without the Maelstrom. Anyway...

Does anyone else think Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are WAY too pretty as a couple in this show? Almost as glaringly pretty as Becks and Posh! Orlando does come off a lot more masculine in these movies than Lord of the Rings - the Elf character is just a bit too feminine. And It APPEARED that Keira has put on a few pounds, rather than looking ridiculously thin, so that's a good thing.

I'd definitely recommend this movie. I almost want to watch all three back-to-back-to-back. Maybe I'll do it after I watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (I've been thinking of doing that since "Return of the King" came out on DVD, so don't hold your breath for either of those reviews).

Update: 12/14/2007

I took Griff to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. This one was actually pretty funny. I'm not sure why Jason Lee is doing goofy kid movies all of the sudden??? I guess since Kevin Smith quit making movies (and started acting in them - "Live Free and Die Hard," he's the digital Jedi - Warlock), Jason has to do something to make money. Anyway, the cast is pretty good. I'm not 100% sure about Lee as Dave Seville, but it doesn't hurt the movie. Cameron Richardson plays the love interest, and she's pretty easy on the eyes, and then the antagonist is David Cross who is usually pretty funny (see: Slow Donny from "Just Shoot me!" - hilarious). The best part about going to funny kid movies is hearing all the kids laugh at fart jokes and then repeat them loudly during the movie (Griff goes right along with this :-D ) Anyway, everyone knows the Chipmunk songs, and you get plenty of that, but it's also pretty funny when they sing other tunes. Their version of Funky Town was funny.

There was some good parent humor to keep the big people interested, one scene in the grocery store with a mom, was pretty funny. The parents reading this will recognize it when they see it. There were several other times that the parents all laughed and the kids had no idea. But the kids did laugh a lot more in this one than they did during Bee Movie, for example.

So, I'd give this one two thumbs up for the kids. It has a good moral (for the slightly older kids who might understand that), and there isn't anything you have to be concerned as a parent, which is always nice.


Recently I've seen several movies and I thought I'd give you my critiques. Many who read this will know that my movie tastes skew to slapstick and Action Adventure. However, I like certain actors and I'll see their movies based on previews, which you think I would learn isn't a good indicator of movie quality.

SO, I recently saw "Dan in real life" with Steve Carell. Steve Carell is SO funny in the Office, and the "Almighty" movies. However, this movie wasn't funny. It was sad. Seeing Steve play a sad-sack father of 3 difficult daughters, participating in a Family reunion where everyone treats him like a total loser get old fast. There were a few good lines, but all of them were available for viewing on the previews. Aside from Carell, Dane Cook was also in this movie as a weird brother to Steve's character and he wasn't funny for one second! He was an aerobic kick-boxing instructor dating the woman that Steve's character had fallen for - yeah, you can see what's coming there - let the hilarity ensue! I realize that every movie doesn't have to be funny start to finish. I realize that every movie doesn't have to have explosions every other frame, however let's do a better job with casting shall we? I guess a certain percentage of people will see this movie expecting Carell to be funny (ME!) and they'll be disappointed.

Overall the story isn't horrible, but the casting is, and ultimately someone needs to convince these comic actors that playing boring isn't going to get them an Oscar - doing musicals will!

Next I saw Fred Clause. This one looked really funny in the previews that I've been seeing since this time LAST YEAR! I'm a fan of Vince Vaughn, I think Paul Giamatti is a fantastic actor, so this was a no miss right? WRONG! I'm not sure I laughed once and I wasn't even that tired. I'd rather watch Operation: Runway than sit through this again. Want to see a really good comic Christmas movie? Go rent or Borrow from Paul - ELF! "Do you like syrup?" "Is there sugar in syrup?" "Yes" "Then, Yes, I like syrup!" Pure genius! :-D

Just don't waste your money on Fred Clause til it hits the dollar movie if you must see it.

I watched "Fever Pitch" on DVD. For some reason, I never wanted to watch this movie, probably because I was SO sick of the "Red Sox Nation" crap, but I had a really good excuse to watch it finally. And guess what??? It was pretty good. Jimmy Fallon is so funny and I don't mind Drew Barrymore at all. The story is a formulaic romantic comedy (boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy screws up - girl breaks up with him, boy apologizes and girl takes him back and they live happily ever after - check it against just about any RC) but it's funny. The interaction with Fallon and Barrymore had some chemistry, maybe she just has chemistry with any comedic actor, cuz I liked her in 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler too. Anyway, the movie is funny, if you haven't seen it, it's a solid rental, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

As kind of a side note, I am going to write a romantic comedy with NO sad part in the middle - I HATE THAT!!!!! I think I'll write it about a group of kids who go to Colorado Springs to sell Dish and the youngest one drives an hour every night to see a girl he's interested in (they get married of course, just like we told him they would LOL) - nothing sad about that story, other than all the stinkin' customers who don't qualify for the service once the kids have spent hours selling it... I SMELL AN OSCAR!!!!!

Griff and I went to see Bee Movie a couple of weeks ago. It was really funny. However, it's not really a kid movie. I think Griff laughed once when Patrick Warburton's character yelled "Oooooo, Poo Water!!!" when Barry caused toilet water to get on his face. I, however, laughed a LOT. It's very much adult humor - not that it's crude or anything, it's not, but it's subtle Jerry Seinfeld-like humor (naturally, since Jerry play Barry). One of my favorite things was a Bee in the hive holding a paper with the headline, "Frisbee hits hive, Internet down." :-D Chris Rock plays a Mosquito - very funny, but short lived part, and Renee Zellweger (sp?) plays Barry's "love interest." I'd recommend it to any adult who likes animated movies - just don't expect your kids to love it. Griff mostly just ate nearly an entire large popcorn and a medium lemonade.

Griff and I also saw Mr. Magorium's wonder Emporium. Let me just say, it's been a LONG time since I fell asleep during a movie at the theatre. Once again, Griff was more interested in his popcorn, and rightfully so this time. This movie was SO boring. It had a lot of potential and it is THIN. The story could have been much better, the zany antics of the emporium coulda, shoulda been more the focus of the movie, at least for a bit longer than they were. There are a couple of funny lines, and I'm a fan of Jason Bateman, though this is nothing like Arrested Development, so that was a disappointment (not that I really expected it to be ;-) ) Natalie Portman was much better as Princess Amidala, and Dustin Hoffman, well he was pretty well cast in his role.

So there you go, I'll keep a running log of movies seen and the "Ryan Critique." On deck, I'll talk about Live Free or Die Hard, but it'll require it's own post as it's quite possibly the greatest guy flick of all time.