Two strangers awaken together to discover they've gotten married following a night of debauchery in Sin City, and one of them has won a huge jackpot after playing the other's quarter. The newlyweds devise ever-escalating schemes to undermine each other and get their hands on the money – only to find themselves falling in love amid the mutual backstabbing.
This was your standard date movie. You pretty much know every single thing that is going to happen 20 minutes before it happens. These types of movies are usually made or broken by the "sidekicks" or best friends of the main characters. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz brought basically nothing to the movie. Their characters' friends, however, saved this movie and made it pretty watchable. Their scene stealing was the funniest part of this movie and really carried the first hour or so of this movie's humor. After that - the movie went in to serious mode and the formula factor really kicked in and I was just kind of waiting for the movie to end then.
I would lukewarmly recommend people checking this out. Its one of the better date movies to come out in a while, but thats not really saying much when you take a gander at what has come out. The big laughs at times in this one make it worth the viewing though.
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
In 1939 London, Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a middle-aged governess who finds herself once again unfairly dismissed from her job. Without so much as severance pay, Miss Pettigrew realizes that she must – for the first time in two decades – seize the day. This she does, by intercepting an employment assignment outside of her comfort level – as "social secretary." Arriving at a penthouse apartment for the interview, Miss Pettigrew is catapulted into the glamorous world and dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse (Adams). Within minutes, Miss Pettigrew finds herself swept into a heady high-society milieu – and, within hours, living it up. Taking the "social secretary" designation to heart, she tries to help her new friend Delysia navigate a love life and career, both of which are complicated by the three men in Delysia’s orbit; devoted pianist Michael (Pace), intimidating nightclub owner Nick (Strong), and impressionable junior impresario Phil (Payne). Miss Pettigrew herself is blushingly drawn to the gallant Joe (Hinds), a successful designer who is tenuously engaged to haughty fashion maven Edythe (Henderson) – the one person who senses that the new "social secretary" may be out of her element, and schemes to undermine her. Over the next 24 hours, Guinevere and Delysia will empower each other to discover their romantic destinies.
This is another one of those movies that is just kind of there. Its not bad. Its not great. Its watchable and sometimes even enjoyable but I simply found myself not that in to it and was easily distracted and/or wondering what other things I could be doing instead of watching the movie. Frances McDormand and Amy Adams were both good and they seemed to capture the costume and decor of the 1930s pretty well. I just didn't find myself captured by the movie in any way.
I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to rent this one. I'd say you'd be better off watching it on cable that way if you end up not in to it like me - you won't be mad that you spent the 5 bucks.
This is another one of those movies that is just kind of there. Its not bad. Its not great. Its watchable and sometimes even enjoyable but I simply found myself not that in to it and was easily distracted and/or wondering what other things I could be doing instead of watching the movie. Frances McDormand and Amy Adams were both good and they seemed to capture the costume and decor of the 1930s pretty well. I just didn't find myself captured by the movie in any way.
I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to rent this one. I'd say you'd be better off watching it on cable that way if you end up not in to it like me - you won't be mad that you spent the 5 bucks.
Street Kings
Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Crews). Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlo's supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Evans) to track Washington's killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two Detectives track down Washington's murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice.
This movie was essentially a lame and condensed movie version of The Shield on FX. If you haven't been watching that show for the last 5 or 6 seasons - you really should be. As for this movie - it was a blatant knock off of cop movies with the one cop trying to take down the corrupt cops. Keanu Reeves as anything outside of Ted from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is beyond a stretch so he pretty much is lame as the main cop in this. Forest Whitaker is basically the best part of the movie. Ironically, this role reminded me so much of the one he played on . . . . . The Shield.
I wouldn't recommend anyone rushing to see this. Its a decent cop movie, but you could totally save the 5 bucks and wait for cable.
This movie was essentially a lame and condensed movie version of The Shield on FX. If you haven't been watching that show for the last 5 or 6 seasons - you really should be. As for this movie - it was a blatant knock off of cop movies with the one cop trying to take down the corrupt cops. Keanu Reeves as anything outside of Ted from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is beyond a stretch so he pretty much is lame as the main cop in this. Forest Whitaker is basically the best part of the movie. Ironically, this role reminded me so much of the one he played on . . . . . The Shield.
I wouldn't recommend anyone rushing to see this. Its a decent cop movie, but you could totally save the 5 bucks and wait for cable.
Prom Night
Donna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life. After surviving a horrible tragedy, she has finally moved on and is enjoying her last year of high school. Surrounded by her best friends, she should be safe from the horrors of her past. But when the night turns deadly, there is only one person who could be responsible... a man she thought was gone forever. Now, Donna and her friends must find a way to escape the sadistic rampage of an obsessed killer, and survive a night "to die for."
This movie was absurd. I went in with bottom of the barrel expectations and this managed to go even lower than that. First of all - the movie starts with explaining how this girl saw her whole family get killed in front of her by some obsessed teacher three years ago and immediatly segways to her talking about her prom dress? What!?! I'm pretty sure that the kid would be rocking back and forth in the corner of a padded room somewhere after experiencing that, not talking trash about who's going to have a better dress. Then, there is the prom scene itself. I know its been a long time since my prom, but I'm pretty sure that it hasn't evolved in to something similar to showing up for the oscars. Seriously. These kids prom had red carpet entrances, paparazzi, and some sort of a dance floor out of a NYC club. It was ridiculous. And all of this took place in the first 30 - 40 minutes of the movie so that you are so annoyed by the time the actual scariness starts that you couldn't possibly care less. Even WW didn't enjoy this movie and she wanted to sooooooooooooooooooooo badly.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this movie out. It was beyond lame.
This movie was absurd. I went in with bottom of the barrel expectations and this managed to go even lower than that. First of all - the movie starts with explaining how this girl saw her whole family get killed in front of her by some obsessed teacher three years ago and immediatly segways to her talking about her prom dress? What!?! I'm pretty sure that the kid would be rocking back and forth in the corner of a padded room somewhere after experiencing that, not talking trash about who's going to have a better dress. Then, there is the prom scene itself. I know its been a long time since my prom, but I'm pretty sure that it hasn't evolved in to something similar to showing up for the oscars. Seriously. These kids prom had red carpet entrances, paparazzi, and some sort of a dance floor out of a NYC club. It was ridiculous. And all of this took place in the first 30 - 40 minutes of the movie so that you are so annoyed by the time the actual scariness starts that you couldn't possibly care less. Even WW didn't enjoy this movie and she wanted to sooooooooooooooooooooo badly.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this movie out. It was beyond lame.
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: The Best Of Both Worlds
Hannah Montana fans everywhere have a chance to see their favorite singer, songwriter and actress, Miley Cyrus, perform her sold-out concert tour on the big screen in Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. The film was shot during Cyrus's 54-city tour and is being shown in digital 3D.
I can't remember the last time I saw such total madness at a movie theater. Nobody promotes/markets things better than Disney and this might have been their best ever. This thing has morphed in to more of an event than a movie. It literally felt like you were going to the actual concert and not something that was on the screen at your local movie theater. Tickets for the movie have been sold out months in advance and the excitement level of all the children there to see it was priceless. Of all the Disney channel shows that the future steppie is addicted to, Hannah Montana has pretty much been my least favorite one. I had pretty much no desire to check out this movie but came away pleasantly surprised. The 3D effects of the concert and how it gave the stage so much depth was awesome and it turns out that Miley Cyrus has a lot more talent than I thought she did. I still fully expect her to turn in a crazy crack who-ra a la Britney Spears by the age of 21, but the kid is a pretty good performer. I could have done without the Jonas Brothers songs, but the experience ended up being worthwhile and most importantly - the kids loved it.
On video - you lose the whole 3D thing, so I don't think adults would like it as much, but I would definitely recommend that people with kids check this out. Hannah/Miley is apparantly like crack to kids.
I can't remember the last time I saw such total madness at a movie theater. Nobody promotes/markets things better than Disney and this might have been their best ever. This thing has morphed in to more of an event than a movie. It literally felt like you were going to the actual concert and not something that was on the screen at your local movie theater. Tickets for the movie have been sold out months in advance and the excitement level of all the children there to see it was priceless. Of all the Disney channel shows that the future steppie is addicted to, Hannah Montana has pretty much been my least favorite one. I had pretty much no desire to check out this movie but came away pleasantly surprised. The 3D effects of the concert and how it gave the stage so much depth was awesome and it turns out that Miley Cyrus has a lot more talent than I thought she did. I still fully expect her to turn in a crazy crack who-ra a la Britney Spears by the age of 21, but the kid is a pretty good performer. I could have done without the Jonas Brothers songs, but the experience ended up being worthwhile and most importantly - the kids loved it.
On video - you lose the whole 3D thing, so I don't think adults would like it as much, but I would definitely recommend that people with kids check this out. Hannah/Miley is apparantly like crack to kids.
Smart People
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant – but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy. His teenaged daughter (Ellen Page) is an acid-tongued overachiever who follows all too closely in dad's misery-loving footsteps, and his adopted, preposterously ne'er-do-well brother (Thomas Haden Church) has perfected the art of freeloading. A widower who can't seem to find passion in anything anymore, not even the Victorian Literature in which he's an expert, it seems Lawrence is sleepwalking through a very stunted middle age. When his brother shows up unexpectedly for an extended stay at just about the same time as he accidentally encounters his former student Janet (Sarah Jessica Parker), the circumstances cause him to stir from his deep, deep freeze, with often comical, sometimes heartbreaking, consequences for himself and everyone around him.
This is one of those artsy "comedies". It is nowhere near laugh out loud funny. Actually, its not really funny at all. Its a character piece with some really good actors and that's the only thing that makes it end up being watchable. Its one of those movies that's just sort of there. You can't for the life of you figure out why someone deemed it necessary to make - but they did and good actors signed up for it so you watch it and keep pushing through the moments of boredom because you figure that it has to get better. But it never really does. Its just kind of there.
I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to check this movie out. Its not that its a bad movie. Ultimately, it is watchable but you definitely find yourself going over a checklist of things that you could be doing instead of watching it.
This is one of those artsy "comedies". It is nowhere near laugh out loud funny. Actually, its not really funny at all. Its a character piece with some really good actors and that's the only thing that makes it end up being watchable. Its one of those movies that's just sort of there. You can't for the life of you figure out why someone deemed it necessary to make - but they did and good actors signed up for it so you watch it and keep pushing through the moments of boredom because you figure that it has to get better. But it never really does. Its just kind of there.
I wouldn't really recommend anyone rushing to check this movie out. Its not that its a bad movie. Ultimately, it is watchable but you definitely find yourself going over a checklist of things that you could be doing instead of watching it.
Nim's Island
Anything can happen on Nim's Island, a magical place ruled by a young girl's imagination. It is an existence that mirrors that of her favorite literary character, Alex Rover- the world's greatest adventurer. But Alexandra, the author of the Rover books, leads a reclusive life in the big city. When Nim's father goes missing from their island, a twist of fate brings her together with Alexandra. Now, they must draw courage from their fictional hero, Alex Rover, and find strength in one another to conquer Nim's Island.
This was a cutesy movie for kids. It had its moments for the parents that have to take them but not enough to make it truly enjoyable for the adults. Abigail Breslin, who plays Nim, is a great young actor and pretty much carries the movie. I don't really know how in the blue hell Jodie Foster ended up in this and Gerard Butler has gone from the dictionary definition of bad ass in 300 to a pretty big joke of a supporting character to a 11 year old. The one really good thing that this movie accomplished from a parenting standpoint was in the first half of the movie when they conveyed reading a book and seeing it all play out in your imagination. I loved watching Stinka and her friends take this in and hope that it will stick with them. Unfortunately, the movie went on to show that the adventurer that Nim loved and worshipped in the books turned out to be a scared to leave her house author. Hopefully, this didn't put out the fire in the kids' imaginations that the beginning did such a good job of starting.
I would lukewarmly recommend parents checking this out with the kids. Its not atrocious and you could probably stick it out for your kids, but its not the most enjoyable viewing either.
This was a cutesy movie for kids. It had its moments for the parents that have to take them but not enough to make it truly enjoyable for the adults. Abigail Breslin, who plays Nim, is a great young actor and pretty much carries the movie. I don't really know how in the blue hell Jodie Foster ended up in this and Gerard Butler has gone from the dictionary definition of bad ass in 300 to a pretty big joke of a supporting character to a 11 year old. The one really good thing that this movie accomplished from a parenting standpoint was in the first half of the movie when they conveyed reading a book and seeing it all play out in your imagination. I loved watching Stinka and her friends take this in and hope that it will stick with them. Unfortunately, the movie went on to show that the adventurer that Nim loved and worshipped in the books turned out to be a scared to leave her house author. Hopefully, this didn't put out the fire in the kids' imaginations that the beginning did such a good job of starting.
I would lukewarmly recommend parents checking this out with the kids. Its not atrocious and you could probably stick it out for your kids, but its not the most enjoyable viewing either.
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay
Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo marks the triumphant return of these two hilarious, slacker anti-heroes. The movie stars John Cho as Harold and Kal Penn as Kumar, two stoners who can't seem to get a break. Their last adventure found them traveling across country to find a White Castle hamburger in order to satisfy a weed-induced case of "the munchies." This time, the boys get themselves in trouble trying to sneak a bong onboard a flight to Amsterdam. Now, being suspected of terrorism, they are forced to run from the law and try to find a way to prove their innocence.
There is sophmoric humor and then there is just idiotic humor. This movie flys over the line in to idiotic and you find yourself wondering why in the blue hell this movie was ever made. When you think of sequels - Harold & Kumar are nowhere near the radar of sequel worthy. I can't even review the whole movie because I stopped watching about 20 minutes in. That's how big of a pile of poop this movie really was. I smiled once in that 20 minutes. There wasn't even a laugh.
I wouldn't recommend anyone ever checking this out. Not on video. Not on cable. This is totally pointless dung that should simply never be viewed.
There is sophmoric humor and then there is just idiotic humor. This movie flys over the line in to idiotic and you find yourself wondering why in the blue hell this movie was ever made. When you think of sequels - Harold & Kumar are nowhere near the radar of sequel worthy. I can't even review the whole movie because I stopped watching about 20 minutes in. That's how big of a pile of poop this movie really was. I smiled once in that 20 minutes. There wasn't even a laugh.
I wouldn't recommend anyone ever checking this out. Not on video. Not on cable. This is totally pointless dung that should simply never be viewed.
Never Back Down
Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler, a tough kid who leads with his fists, and, often, with his heart. Jake Tyler, played by Sean Faris, is the new kid in town with a troubled past. He has recently moved to Orlando, Florida with his family who has relocated to support his younger brother's shot at a professional tennis career. Jake was a star athlete on the football team at home, but in this new city he is an outsider with a reputation for being a quick tempered brawler. Making an attempt to fit in, at the invitation of a flirtatious classmate, Baja (Amber Heard) Jake goes to a party where he is unwittingly pulled into a fight with a bully named Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet). While he is defeated and humiliated in the fight, a classmate introduces himself to Jake and tells him about the sport known as Mixed Martial Arts. He sees a star in Jake and asks that he meet with his mentor, Jean Roqua, played by Djimon Hounsou. It is immediately apparent to Jake that MMA is not street fighting, but rather an art form he wants to master. Roqua will take Jake under his wing, but it is up to Jake to find the patience, discipline, willingness and reason within him to succeed. For Jake, there is much more at stake than mere victory. His decision will not just settle a score; it will define who he is.
This movie is essentially a remake of The Karate Kid. New guy comes to town, likes the town tough guy's girlfriend, gets embarassed by said tough guy, befriends the lovable sidekick, meets a mentor, trains, gets the girl, beats the tough guy, and works through his past demons. I found myself expecting someone to yell "put him in a bodybag, Johnny!" That being said - the movie is definitely watchable. Its formula and the acting beyond horrid, but you end up rooting for the kid no matter what and Djimon Hounsou was a good enough wannabe Mr. Miagi.
I'd lukewarmly reccomend people checking this movie out. Its not a must see by any means and there isn't a single thing that will happen in this movie that you didn't know just from watching the trailer, but it gives you the typical route for the underdog feeling.
This movie is essentially a remake of The Karate Kid. New guy comes to town, likes the town tough guy's girlfriend, gets embarassed by said tough guy, befriends the lovable sidekick, meets a mentor, trains, gets the girl, beats the tough guy, and works through his past demons. I found myself expecting someone to yell "put him in a bodybag, Johnny!" That being said - the movie is definitely watchable. Its formula and the acting beyond horrid, but you end up rooting for the kid no matter what and Djimon Hounsou was a good enough wannabe Mr. Miagi.
I'd lukewarmly reccomend people checking this movie out. Its not a must see by any means and there isn't a single thing that will happen in this movie that you didn't know just from watching the trailer, but it gives you the typical route for the underdog feeling.
Doomsday
A lethal virus spreads throughout the British isles, infecting and killing millions. To contain the threat, acting authorities brutally quarantine the country as it succumbs to fear and chaos. The quarantine is successful. Three decades later, the Reaper virus violently resurfaces in a major city. An elite group of specialists, including Eden Sinclair, is urgently dispatched into the still-quarantined country to retrieve a cure by any means necessary. Shut off from the rest of the world, the unit must battle through a landscape that has become a waking nightmare.
This is one of those movies where I'm going to just blatantly talk about what happens. If you don't want to know because you plan on seeing this and don't want it spoiled - just skip to the last paragraph to see whether or not I recommend doing so.This movie started off really good. I was shocked. It was kind of like a mix of 28 Days Later and War Of The Worlds. It was still really good when the team first went in looking for a cure. It was like a zombie movie combined with that kick a$$ scene in Aliens when they are trying to get back out of the medical area with the Aliens attacking them. The violence during all of this was totally hardcore and incredibly gory. Guilty pleasure wise - I was loving it. Then the movie started to shift in to a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome mode and it just got totally over the top and retarded. The psycho leader guy came out to some sort of a ridiculous stage show entrance while Good Thing by the Fine Young Cannibals was playing and then his entourage danced around to the can can. Seriously. This actually happened. I had to literally pick my jaw up off the floor because of how absurd this scene was. They then cooked one of the soldiers. Again . . . . seriously. Cooked him. Over a fire. Cut off pieces of his flesh and threw paper plates out in to the crowd. Jaw once again on the floor. Somehow the soldier girl and her buddies manage to escape these crazies, get on a train, start it up and take the train to some random tunnel off in the woods. After coming out the other end of the tunnel, they literally stepped in to a scene from Gladiator. They now had to fight their way out of this and find another tunnel. This time the tunnel had bad ass sports cars, cell phones, and weapons. Please remember that none of this is made up. They then went driving around really fast until the Terrordome crazies caught up with them so that they could attempt to re-enact that car scene from that movie. The "cure" was helicoptered out of the quarantine zone but the crazy soldier girl decided to stay behind and become the leader of the terrordome people. Did you follow all of that? This was some of the silliest crap I've ever seen. However, the fact that it was so horrible along with the crazy violence/gore made me actually want to see how it ended instead of blatantly campaigning to leave early. Still . . . . it was poo.
I really wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Some people might feel the same way that I did and think that it was watchable based on the meter of horridness, but I couldn't ever see myself recommending this to anyone.
This is one of those movies where I'm going to just blatantly talk about what happens. If you don't want to know because you plan on seeing this and don't want it spoiled - just skip to the last paragraph to see whether or not I recommend doing so.This movie started off really good. I was shocked. It was kind of like a mix of 28 Days Later and War Of The Worlds. It was still really good when the team first went in looking for a cure. It was like a zombie movie combined with that kick a$$ scene in Aliens when they are trying to get back out of the medical area with the Aliens attacking them. The violence during all of this was totally hardcore and incredibly gory. Guilty pleasure wise - I was loving it. Then the movie started to shift in to a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome mode and it just got totally over the top and retarded. The psycho leader guy came out to some sort of a ridiculous stage show entrance while Good Thing by the Fine Young Cannibals was playing and then his entourage danced around to the can can. Seriously. This actually happened. I had to literally pick my jaw up off the floor because of how absurd this scene was. They then cooked one of the soldiers. Again . . . . seriously. Cooked him. Over a fire. Cut off pieces of his flesh and threw paper plates out in to the crowd. Jaw once again on the floor. Somehow the soldier girl and her buddies manage to escape these crazies, get on a train, start it up and take the train to some random tunnel off in the woods. After coming out the other end of the tunnel, they literally stepped in to a scene from Gladiator. They now had to fight their way out of this and find another tunnel. This time the tunnel had bad ass sports cars, cell phones, and weapons. Please remember that none of this is made up. They then went driving around really fast until the Terrordome crazies caught up with them so that they could attempt to re-enact that car scene from that movie. The "cure" was helicoptered out of the quarantine zone but the crazy soldier girl decided to stay behind and become the leader of the terrordome people. Did you follow all of that? This was some of the silliest crap I've ever seen. However, the fact that it was so horrible along with the crazy violence/gore made me actually want to see how it ended instead of blatantly campaigning to leave early. Still . . . . it was poo.
I really wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. Some people might feel the same way that I did and think that it was watchable based on the meter of horridness, but I couldn't ever see myself recommending this to anyone.
21
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is a shy, brilliant M.I.T. student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds the answers in the cards. He is recruited to join a group of the school's most gifted students that heads to Vegas every weekend armed with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. With unorthodox math professor and stats genius Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leading the way, they've cracked the code. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signals, the team can beat the casinos big time. Seduced by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and by his smart and sexy teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn't illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos' menacing enforcer, Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).
Although this movie was beyond formula, it was very enjoyable. Kevin Spacey is a phenomenal actor and Jim Sturgess seems to be well on his way to getting to that level. Most important for me actor wise in this movie though was that Laurence Fishburne finally returned to the tough guy demeanor that he kicked ass at in The Matrix before becoming such a whiny little side kick in the two Matrix sequels. I still don't understand how people can count cards after seeing this movie even though they blatantly explain it at one point. I also still question how lame their signals to each other were when working the tables. I also don't understand how Jim Sturgess was starting to be recognized upon entry in to the different casinos even though I thought he was under different personas every time. Regardless of all these nagging issues, I still found myself totally enjoying this movie from start to end with all the twists and turns even though I pretty much saw every one of them coming.
I'd recommend people checking this bad boy out. Its a pretty good watch and worth your time.
Although this movie was beyond formula, it was very enjoyable. Kevin Spacey is a phenomenal actor and Jim Sturgess seems to be well on his way to getting to that level. Most important for me actor wise in this movie though was that Laurence Fishburne finally returned to the tough guy demeanor that he kicked ass at in The Matrix before becoming such a whiny little side kick in the two Matrix sequels. I still don't understand how people can count cards after seeing this movie even though they blatantly explain it at one point. I also still question how lame their signals to each other were when working the tables. I also don't understand how Jim Sturgess was starting to be recognized upon entry in to the different casinos even though I thought he was under different personas every time. Regardless of all these nagging issues, I still found myself totally enjoying this movie from start to end with all the twists and turns even though I pretty much saw every one of them coming.
I'd recommend people checking this bad boy out. Its a pretty good watch and worth your time.
Penelope
Penelope is the story of a young woman, Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci), born to wealthy socialites (Richard E. Grant and Catherine O'Hara). Penelope is afflicted by a secret family curse that can only be broken when she is loved by one of her own kind. Hidden away in the family's majestic home, she is subjected to meeting a string of blue-bloods through her parent's futile attempt to marry her off and break the curse. Each suitor is instantly enamored with Penelope (and her sizable dowry)... until the curse is revealed. When a willing mate cannot be found, mischievous tabloid reporter Lemon (Peter Dinklage) hires Max (James McAvoy) to pose as a prospective suitor in hopes of snapping a photo of the mysterious Penelope. Max, who is really a down-on-his-luck gambler, finds himself drawn to Penelope and not wanting to expose or disappoint her, disappears and leaves Lemon in the lurch. Fed up by this latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope breaks free from her family and goes out into the world in search of adventure - curse be damned.
This was actually a sometimes funny fairy tale type movie. Its totally predictable in every way, but the run for your life reaction to when people see Penelope's nose and especially her reactions to simple things happening in real life generate some really good laughs. Plus, this movie has Peter Dinklage in it (the "little person" from Elf) and I love that guy.
I'd recommend people renting this. I wouldn't have told people to bother going to the theater for this, but its worth the rental.
Step Up 2 The Streets
Step Up 2 the Streets is the follow-up to Step Up. When rebellious street dancer Andie (Briana Evigan) lands at the elite Maryland School of the Arts, she finds herself fighting to fit in while also trying to hold onto her old life. When she joins forces with the school's most popular dancer Chase (Robert Hoffman) to form a crew of classmate outcasts to compete in Baltimore's underground dance battle The Streets, she ultimately finds a way to live her dream while building a bridge between her two separate worlds.
This is one of those completely formula movies. You saw the preview - you saw the movie. Regardless, I didn't go to see this for my own enjoyment. Future steppie Stinka really wanted to see it and I decided to sacrifice two hours of my life for my little buddy. She absolutely loved the movie and to be completely honest - it wasn't the worst two hours I've had to sacrifice. The choreography of the dance scenes was actually really good and there were some pretty enjoyable supporting characters in the movie, namely "Moose" - the doofy sidekick guy. He was great. This was by no means a good movie, but was a lot more watchable than I thought it would be walking in.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone that was interested in seeing it and/or enjoyed the first Step Up. Outside of those people or those of you willing to make sacrifces for the teens/pre-teens in your life - I'd recommend that you stay away from it. Those of you with younger kids be warned that there is a lot of scenes with annoying ghetto talk.
This is one of those completely formula movies. You saw the preview - you saw the movie. Regardless, I didn't go to see this for my own enjoyment. Future steppie Stinka really wanted to see it and I decided to sacrifice two hours of my life for my little buddy. She absolutely loved the movie and to be completely honest - it wasn't the worst two hours I've had to sacrifice. The choreography of the dance scenes was actually really good and there were some pretty enjoyable supporting characters in the movie, namely "Moose" - the doofy sidekick guy. He was great. This was by no means a good movie, but was a lot more watchable than I thought it would be walking in.
I'd recommend this movie to anyone that was interested in seeing it and/or enjoyed the first Step Up. Outside of those people or those of you willing to make sacrifces for the teens/pre-teens in your life - I'd recommend that you stay away from it. Those of you with younger kids be warned that there is a lot of scenes with annoying ghetto talk.
College Road Trip
Choosing which college to attend can be the most exciting and thrilling time of a young woman's life... unless your overprotective father isn't quite ready to let you go. In the Disney family comedy, "College Road Trip," Melanie (Raven-Symone) is eagerly looking forward to her first big step towards independence when she plans a "girls only" road trip to check out prospective universities. But when her overbearing police chief father (Martin Lawrence) insists on escorting her instead, she soon finds her dream trip has turned into a hilarious nightmare adventure full of comical misfortune and turmoil.
This was a totally formula family film from Disney. Even though it was so textbook, it was still very enjoyable and had some huge laughs. Casting Raven as Martin Lawrence's daughter was brilliant and their physical/facial humor played awesomely off of each other. The younger brother and the pet pig were also very entertaining from a silly standpoint. They spare nothing at all when it comes to pulling the heartstrings at the end of this movie and anyone with children that they will have to "let go" of one day as part of the growing up process will be brought to tears.
I'd recommend people checking this one out. Its worth the trip to the theater - especially for those of you with children. Its not too often that you get a rated G family comedy nowadays.
This was a totally formula family film from Disney. Even though it was so textbook, it was still very enjoyable and had some huge laughs. Casting Raven as Martin Lawrence's daughter was brilliant and their physical/facial humor played awesomely off of each other. The younger brother and the pet pig were also very entertaining from a silly standpoint. They spare nothing at all when it comes to pulling the heartstrings at the end of this movie and anyone with children that they will have to "let go" of one day as part of the growing up process will be brought to tears.
I'd recommend people checking this one out. Its worth the trip to the theater - especially for those of you with children. Its not too often that you get a rated G family comedy nowadays.
Shutter
For photographer Ben (Joshua Jackson) and his new wife Jane (Rachael Taylor), his new assignment - a lucrative fashion shoot in Tokyo - was supposed to be a kind of working honeymoon. With this exotic professional opportunity and the limitless possibilities of a new marriage, Ben and Jane arrive in Japan. But as they make their way on a mountain road leading to Mt. Fuji, their new life together comes to a crashing halt. Their car smashes into a woman standing in the middle of the road, who has materialized out of nowhere. Upon regaining consciousness after the accident, Ben and Jane cannot find any trace of the girl Jane believes she hit with the car.Shaken by the accident and by the girl's disappearance, Ben and Jane arrive in Tokyo, where Ben begins his glamorous assignment. Having worked in Japan before and fluent in the language, Ben is comfortable there, and he eagerly reunites with old friends and colleagues. Jane, a newcomer to the city, feels very much like a stranger in a strange land as she makes tentative, unsettling forays through the city. Ben, meanwhile, has discovered mysterious white blurs - eerily evocative of a human form - that have materialized on an entire day's work from the expensive photo shoot. Jane's concerns escalate as she believes the blurs in Ben's photos are the dead girl from the road, who is now seeking vengeance for them leaving her to die.
This is another one of those Japanese horror remakes a la The Grudge and The Ring. Unfortunately, this one was more in the league of One Missed Call and The Return. I didn't find myself anywhere near as creeped out as The Grudge or The Ring. I was able to pretty much figure out all the twist and turns long before they actually happened and had lost all interest in the movie less than half way through it. They really need to hold off on some of these types of movies. When there is one coming out every two to three months, they all become a big giant blur of creepy oriental woman with long black hair looking at you creepy and it loses all effect.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this bad boy out. Its not the worst thing I've ever seen but its pretty much just a big waste of time.
This is another one of those Japanese horror remakes a la The Grudge and The Ring. Unfortunately, this one was more in the league of One Missed Call and The Return. I didn't find myself anywhere near as creeped out as The Grudge or The Ring. I was able to pretty much figure out all the twist and turns long before they actually happened and had lost all interest in the movie less than half way through it. They really need to hold off on some of these types of movies. When there is one coming out every two to three months, they all become a big giant blur of creepy oriental woman with long black hair looking at you creepy and it loses all effect.
I wouldn't recommend anyone checking this bad boy out. Its not the worst thing I've ever seen but its pretty much just a big waste of time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)