I have been so busy I have not rented a movie.  But I did got to Religilous.   The movie that was a project for Bill Maher.  

I think everybody needs to go to see this movie.  It is very funny.  I was expecting a religion bashing movie but found a comedy instead.  The movie makes you think along the same lines as Dogma.  

I LOVED Religilous.  Please go see it.  

Tin Man

I rented this mini series, that I had watched months ago.  I loved it when it had commercial breaks; but when there were no commercials to take breaks with the mini series got dull.  I had to stop my DVD several times to get stuff done and once I fell asleep while watching.

I like to watch long movies.  This was just too long.  When it aired on the Sci-Fi channel it took 4 nights to finish the series.  Maybe I should have done that.

I give this a Bad rating, unless you have the time don't waist it on this mini series.

101 Dalmatians

101 Dalmatians has my interest today. This is a cute Disney movie.  I watched it with my children today.

The plight of cute puppies trying to escape becoming a coat is a predictable slap stick kinda plot.  I liked the animation.  I guess there is not much more to say about this Disney classic.  

I give this a good movie statement.  Go rent is today.

Star Trek: Nemisis

I rented this movie with the fore-knowledge of a new Star Trek movie in production.  I missed watching this movie.  I can't explain how since I am an avid Star Trek fan.  Just missed watching the movie I guess.

I watched this movie with Picard's clone.  It had an interesting story line.  The actors did a great job as always but something seemed missing.

I watched.  I felt entertained.  But once again  I remember watching the previews, looking forward to the release, then forgetting to go. 

I am going to say this one was a bad Star Trek Movie.    

Police Academy 1-3

Well I watched these classic movies this weekend.   I went in order.  Here is what I thought.

Police Academy 1 it was good.

Police Academy 2 it was bad.

Police Academy 3 it was good.  This one was better than the first two.

My husband loves these comedy's from the 1980's.  He took over my video rental Que to get these.  I felt held hostage watching movies I had only seen once and did not have a strong opinion for, I guess.  

Police Academy 1 is when a group of misfits get trained.  Police Academy 2 is when they get assigned.  Police Academy 3 is when they have to train another group of misfits to save their academy.  I guess the police Academy movies are like a good apple cider, sometimes a cider tastes very sour; while other times the cider can be sweet and tasty. 

John Adams: HBO mIni series

I have watched most of the episodes and have been enthralled.  I have enjoyed this so much movie watching has been put on hold until I get to see the last episode.  

This is good.  It opens the eyes to what could have been happening during the revolutionary war and the forming of the country.  Since this is a dramatized fiction based on fact, I am glad to see some facts have made it into the mini series. 

I also like Abigail Adams.  She is a strong character.  The actress is doing a great job.

Well, that is all today.  Have a great movie watching time.

Labyrinth

This is the best Jim Henson movie ever.  Jennifer Connelly had her movie debut in this picture.

I watched it with my daughters and both enjoyed it.  This is a good movie.  

This movie also starred David Bowie.  It is fun watching movies over that I had seen when I was a child.  The puppets and the songs pull you in, I tend to tap my feet during "Dance baby Dance."

Okay I'm Back

Due to some party stuff for my son I have not had time to watch movies.  Since that is done, I am back.  I am looking forward to a movie watching week.

I hope to watch some good movies.

Children are under the weather.  I will post a movie review tomorrow.

Seeker

You know this was a promising rental.  I love fantasy.  I like the idea of good vs. evil.  I even saved this movie for my Easter watching enjoyment.  Boy, I wish I rented another movie.

This movie had passing problems.  It also seemed that since the movie was an adaptation from a book that something was missing.  I have not read the book but I know something huge was left out.

I watched this good vs evil movie to completion.  It is a bad movie.  I hope the film is shelved.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Appleseed

I rented the first movie and thought it was a great blue print for EX Machina.  I love the cg.  

The story lagged in the middle, that is why I called it a blue print.  The story seemed more about the set up of the world then development of characters and relationships with technology.  It was worth renting.  I want to watch EX Machina again.

It is a good movie.

Enchanted

Enchanted is a good movie.  I bought my copy before it's release.  I won't do that again.  I normally buy wide screen and I got a full screen from the Disney Store.  Unless all of the movies released were full screen, I am a bit disappointed.  

Now for the review, I love Amy Adams performance!  She is cute.  This is an actress to watch in the next few years.  She starred in the hilarious Wedding Date.  And she has other movie credits to her name that I have not seen.  

Enchanted is neat in a lot of aspects.  Susan Surandon's character said it best, "You must be the Damsel!"  She said this to Patrick Dempsey becasue the princess was going to rescue him.  

This is a good movie.  

Atonement

This movie sucks and did not deserve the critical reviews nor the Ocar Nominations.  Once again writers are trying to use gritty story telling to make a romantic point.  I don't find this movie romantic, it is offensive.

It is a bad movie.

The Mists of Avalon

I watched this take of the King Author legend yesterday.  I loved it!  It is from the perspective of his half-sister Morgaine and how she perceives what is done to her to gain power to keep Avalon alive. 

This movie was based on the best selling novel of the same name.  Normally, I don't like adaptions from really good reads.  I loved this movie.  It stars the brilliant Julianna Marguilies, Anjelica Huston, and Joan Allen.  All three of these actresses gave life to their parts.  And I have to admit anything that Anjelica Huston does I have a tendency to like.

Camelot is a rugged utopia.  The politics are woven delicately with the onslaught of a new religion.  The story proves that philosophies can be woven together at the end.

It is a good movie.

Appleseed:Ex Machina

Wow! Fantastic!  I was blown away.  I rented this movie for my husband.  I am interested in cartoons but when he put it in the DVD player, I was more interested in my Disney Vacation Planning than watching a movie.  But from the first scenes of this blockbuster that never reached the big screen.

Appleseed is a manga book and video game.  It has a movie that came out in 1995, and Appleseed: Ex Machina is a sequel.  I never would have guessed that it was a sequel!  The animation gave the characters life, the voice acting was great.

This is a sci-fi that can stand up there with other sci-fi's.  I loved this movie so much I don't want to give away any of the story.  It is a good movie, go out and rent it today!

Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger Star in this snooze movie.  Yes, I felt sleepy while watching this.  I am not the audience this movie was looking for, it was meant for my almost two year old daughter.  If this movie came straight to DVD, I think it would still be a dull movie.

The movie, in a nut shell, is how one bee can't change a system.  Wow, how anti-democratic.  The main character does not like the life of bees and he finds out that human's are stealing bee honey.  HE sues and wins.  Then all the bees get their honey back, since they don't have to work, all the flowers in the area die.  

The bee learns he was wrong trying to change things and the happy ending is that all the flowers get pollenated.  Sometimes it is good not to change a system, other times it is bad to let the status quo continue.  This movie, should be taken as a fun kids movie, but I can't.  I did not like it nor the underlying subversive political message. 

Bee Movie is a bad movie.

Goya's Ghost

Goya a Spanish painter meets a girl.  He paints her picture.  She gets accused of being a Jew and is put to the "Question", a Catholic form of water boarding and told she will be on trail for her confession.  She is raped by another main character and bares a child.  Goya feels that he is responsible for the girl after she gets released from the Inquisition...

Okay now that you understand the story, you know what I could follow this but it lead you  in a fashion of where... what... how?  But history or historic adaptations are not linear.  Sometimes I felt bored watching this movie, other times I was wiggling because I was uncomfortable.  Who wouldn't be when watching the girl being hung with her arms behind her back screaming in pain?

Natalie Portman plays the girl, Ines, she also plays her daughter Alysia.  The daughter was conceived by the rape.  Javier Bardem was the monk, turn revolutionary, and Stellan Skarsgard played Goya, all of the performances were stiff and hard to watch.  

This was worth watching once.  It was a bad movie, but worth watching that first time.  I did not like this one.

10,000 BC

Okay, I reviewed Star Gate yesterday, so here is my review on 10,000 BC.

There was something I could not wrap my head around when I watched this movie in the theater.  It was familiar.  Then I figured it out.  This was the prequel to Star Gate.  I mentioned that in yesterday's blog.  Once I realized this, the movie made sense.  This movie was about the war between man and RA. 

Okay, I know that is a stretch.  But since the writer/ director was the writer on Star Gate, the similarities were very coincidental.  A monster was kidnapping workers to build a pyramid in 10,000 BC.  The pyramid had to be built for the alien to land in Star Gate and the alien in Star Gate needed slaves.  The people in 10,000 BC won.  The people in Star Gate won after 10,000 years of waiting.  

Well, if you are a fan of Star Gate then you will enjoy 10,000  BC.  If you are a history fan, you won't.  Since I am of the Star Gate ideas, I thought 10,000 BC was a good movie.

Star Gate

I decided to watch this movie after seeing 10,000 BC.  My review for that movie tomorrow.  

I wanted to watch the first pyramid movie that was written by the Director, Roland Emmerich.  Something about star gate was in 10,000 BC.

Star Gate starts as a simple movie but builds to epic levels.  The hero, Daniel, is just a mild mannered scholar who helps lead a military cue on another world.  What got my attention was the history that Daniel read on the walls.  That history in my opinion was the movie 10,000 BC.

I love watching Star Gate which spun off into a successful television series Star Gate SG-1 and Star Gate Atlantis.  

It is a good movie, staring Kirk Russell and James Spader.

The review on 10,000 BC tomorrow.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

This slightly depressing but hopeful movie was what was on my movie watching radar last night.  This movie stars Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, and the scene stealer Jason Bateman, who play's "the mutant".

The movie starts out slow, then gets dark, then brightens up in the end.  The pace of the story is slow.  I could read a blog while watching the movie.  Natalie Portman plays a woman not sure of her gifts, something a lot of people can identify with, including me.   Dustin Hoffman plays a long lived man, Mr. Magorium who has worn out his last pair of shoes.  He is about to leave the world so he hires "the mutant" to get his estate together.

I don't want to give too much of this movie away.  I liked it.  It is a good movie for adults.  But I would not watch this with the children, unless you are ready to discuss death.  

Jason Bateman held this movie together.  He played the straight man.  I don't think he knew that he stole scenes, as the lovable character the accountant.

Top Secret

This is an 80's movie that stars a very young Val Kilmer.  

I watched this dud last night.  The movie is trying to be a spoof movie like Hot Shots or Airplane.  But the jokes don't work.  I think Val Kilmer was trying funny movies at this time.  It worked for him in Real Genius but not in this Spy movie.  He plays a good goof ball serious guy but not a dumb person.  This character seemed restrained.  Maybe it was the director fault that the performance was stiff.

My movie tastes are all over the place because I love to watch good movies.  Once in a while a bad movie creeps in.  There is not much more to say about this 80's dud.

No movie Today

I did not watch anything last night.  I got consumed with watching youtube and Disney resort footage from average film makers.  The movies were helpful.

Pride and Prejudice

The version I am reviewing today is the one done for A&E.  This version stars the handsome Colin Firth and pretty Jennifer Ehle.

I own this on DVD and I watch it at least once a month.  I love this version.  When the opening music chimes and Mrs. Bennett starts shrillingly talking I smile.  The direction of this piece was super.  I love this movie.

There has been a recent Pride and Prejudice done staring Kira Knightley, that movie captured the essence of the book but left out tons of juicey detail that this version I am reviewing has.  

If you are a Jane Austin fan, pick this one up.  Pride and Prejudice is a good movie.

Howl's Moving Castle

Enchanting! I enjoyed watching this movie with my daughters.  They watched the wizard Howl, the Witch of the West and Sophie with avid admiration.

This movie is animated.  The animation is well done. The vioces acting was well done by: Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall Blythe Danner and Billy Crystal (he was a fire named Calsifer).  

The director was Hayao Miyazaki and he is a great story teller. His eye for detail is fantastic to observe.

But all that technical information is not what you want to read.  You want to know if the movie was good or bad.  As you can read I enjoyed it, this was a good movie.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Funny thing happened last night, I took my seven month old infant daughter with me to watch this movie.  I sat there with a quiet child through all of the previews.  I saw two movies I want to see in the previews.  

Then as the opening credits show, my daughter starts baby babbling.  I watched for ten minutes, enraptured by the performances of Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.  But my baby kept talking.  

I stood up to watch Ann get her assignment from her father after her sister Mary gets married.  Then I left the movie.  It is a rare time when I leave a movie but I was enjoying the movie a whole bunch.  I did not want to spoil a GOOD movie for other patrons.

I liked what I saw and will wait for DVD to finish the movie.  It is a good movie. I liked what I had seen.

2012:DoomsDay

Looking over the many full shelves at Blockbuster, I came across this movie, 2012:Doomsday.  Well once in a while I feel the need to watch a movie about the Apocalypse.  So this one, being a newly released movie, was right up my alley.

What a disappointment. First if you have tan skin and an accent you die.  If you are white with bleach blonde hair, you live.  Then, where was the research?  Sometimes research is required; especially if you are using land marks like Chitzen Itza. A person who wants to watch the movie might know something about the Mayan human sacrifices at that location, which I think Christ would not participate in. 

On the cover of the back of the movie it states that this movie was like Left Behind and The Omega Code    I have seen both of those, good movies and have to disagree with the advertising.  This movie does not hold a candle to Kirk Cameron's version of the best selling novels.  I loved that movie.  It was well made and thoughtful.  It had good research.

Left Behind is worth the time to sit down and watch, even if you are not a believer in the dogma.

Do not waste your time, like I did.  This was a bad movie.  

Beowulf

The animated adventure was enthralling.  I loved watching this movie.

The voice acting was engaging.  The animation meddled well with the acting.  You could see where the director was taking the story, even though some of the epic poem must have been on the cutting room floor.

The director, Robert Zemeckis, took really tough material and made it art.  

Beowulf is a hero for the vikings.  He is the "killer of monsters".  After hearing about Grendel, he crosses the sea to take on the monster for king Hrothgar.  After he kills the monster he goes to take on the Mother but finds himself seduced.  The problem transfers from Hrothgar to Beowulf.  

The actors, Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins, and Ray Winstone (Beowulf) give themselves to their roles.  I give a special good job to Robin Wright Penn who gives her small roll as queen life.  

I think this is a good movie.  It came out on DVD Tuesday.

Barbie:Mariposa

This was a straight to DVD animated movie, I watched with my daughters last night.  It came out yesterday and I was excited to watch this film.  My daughter likes fairies, so do I but there are not that many fairy movies out to watch.  

The movie is about a butterfly fairy named: Mariposa.  She has to find a cure for a poison to save her queen.  She finds more than that, she finds that she is okay with herself.

This is a cute feel good movie that is safe to watch with the children.  I loved the CG.  The characters were believable for a children's movie.  

This is a good movie.  Go out and rent it today.

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

This was the first movie in an epic movie series.  This movie is good.  There is not much more I can add.

I watched this in the special edition form.  This means scenes were added to the original motion picture.  The scenes blended into the movie and made more sense to the story.

I love the books and the treatment of them was done with respect.

Peter Jackson did a good job, now there is a rumor that New line Cinema is doing a two part Hobbit.  This book was the first released.  I hope Peter Jackson directs.

Well that is the review for the day.  Have a great movie watching day!

Renaissance: Paris 2054

I don't normally hate a movie right away.  But this one, which has a tricky animation style gave me a headache.  You don't dream in black and white.  And I do enjoy some classic black and white movies, such as Gaslight, Casablanca, and any Busby Berkeley films.  But this movie is just black and white, no gray accept for the blood.

I get migraines, and this movie caused one.  I wanted to rent this movie because it stars Daniel Craig, the newest 007 from Casino Royal.  This was a poor follow up to the 007 role.  This movie has too many writers that were full of their need to write and not considering their audience.  And the animation is poor even for a CG movie.

This is a bad movie! And I hate getting head aches.

40 Days and 40 Nights

This movie review is dedicated to all Catholics, including myself, who sacrifice something for Lent.  40 Days and 40 Nights was supposed to be a cute movie, at least I thought so, but it was insulting.

The script is not well written and it is full of the standard, "let's put down Catholic" jokes.  If someone made a movie like this with white supremest undertones this would have been squashed.  But since this movie is about a people who are taught to feel guilty and turn the other cheek, it is okay to pick on them.

Okay, this is about a Catholic man who gives up sex for 40 days and 40 nights.  He falls for a woman and she thinks he is gay (another group who should be offended by this movie) because he is not "jumping her" the minute they are alone.

If you want to see this movie do it at your own risk.  It is a bad movie!

Aeon Flux

Okay, I know another DVD review.  But I had to review this action adventure science fiction.  I watched this DVD and was pleasantly surprised by the well thought out story.

Charlize Theron, plays Aeon, a character that was first developed at a cartoon character for MTV.  She is apart of a secret group trying to bring down the government of a post apocalyptic society.  She finds that she is a clone and then blows up the DNA storage facility.

The stunts were thrilling and the CG was not noticeable.  I liked the whistling for the tiny bombs.

This story took me in, I watched with great joy and curiosity. This was a good movie, pick up the DVD today.

Ann of the Thousand Days

Excellent movie!  Oh I mean good.  This movie is a classic made in 1969.  I watched it yesterday on cable.  

This movie stars Richard Burton and Genevieve Bujold.

The movie is about the spunky Ann Boleyn and how she was sought by King Henry the 8th.  The acting was great to watch.  The costumes drew you in.  The story was the meat to be devoured.  

I liked watching this movie and will do so again. 

I am looking forward to the release of the new movie, staring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, The Other Boleyn Girl.  I will review it here!

Aladdin

This is a personal favorite.  I watched this movie with my daughters for the first time.  I love Jasmine's spunk and Aladdin's survival instincts.  

This Disney movie was made during a time when they had a great composer in  Allen Menken. My husband's and my courting song was "A whole new World."  

The animation was top notch.  The voice acting melded well with the picture.  What else can I say?  

This is and always will be a good movie.

Sweeny Todd

Okay, I walked into a movie theater with high hopes for this movie: Sweeney Todd.  Hey, it had Johnny Depp and was directed by Tim Burton, so it had to be good right?  It was the biggest disappointment to my movie going life.

I watched, when I was a kid, Sweeney Todd, when it was broadcast on PBS.  I also sat in the Performing Arts Center, to see Sweeney Todd, when it came up to Anchorage, Alaska. When the chorus starts in the first act and builds you feel the tension. 

 Then when Angela Lansbury enters the stage, you find humor in dislikable subject matter, which was carried into the stage play that I saw in Alaska.  This did not translate into the film version.

Tim Burton's version of the Cannibalism, Revenge and Sloth that Sweeney Todd represents was done over too much.  He went too far.  He focus on the main character of Todd and not Mrs. Lovett was shocking.  Mrs. Lovett, in the broadway play, was humorous.  You could love the character.  I found I hated the Mrs. Lovett, in Tim Burton's movie.  

I like the actress that played Mrs. Lovett, Helen Bonham Carter.  She is an actress that could take on very dramatic rolls, but she did not play Mrs. Lovett well.

This movie does not deserve any critical awards.  Johnny Depp's performance was stiff.  He was seemly uncomfortable playing the serial killer Sweeney Todd.  Maybe it was that he was singing... his voice is passable so it can't be it.  He did not rise to the challenge of breathing humanity in a serial killer.  Without a good Mrs. Lovett, he could not play straight man to the humor of the female lead.

This movie was a bad movie and a waste of time.

Evolution

This movie is about a community college professor who finds a rapid evolving creature and what happens when the government does not do things right.  

It stars Julianne Moore (Children of Men), Orlando Jones ( He was a voice in Halo 2! Pretty cool!), David Duchovny (X files) and Sean Williams Scott (American Pie).  All the performers did their best in silly roles.

This movie was an Ivan Reitman Film. Ghostbusters would be its grandfather movie. <---I know Ghostbusters is not that old! 

Evolution was funny.  It entertains, but it is forgettable.  I had my son pull this one out randomly.  He loves this movie.  He watches it as much as he can, but he is thirteen and the humor seems to be directed at his age group.

So this movie gets a mixed review, for the teen set, It is a good movie.  For people of my generation, the Ghostbuster gen, pass this one up.

Transformers: The Movie (1980's)

This is the version where Optimus Prime dies and the planet eater, Unicron, threatens Cyberton.  I liked this movie when I was a kid.  After watching it again as an adult, I like it.  So it's a good movie.

For some reason I have been a bit into looking backwards lately when it comes to my movie watching.  Some things I did not know about this picture were Casey Kasem, Orson Wells and Leonard Nimoy did voice work in this movie.  

The only thing I found funny was that  it had been based in the future: 2005.  I snickered so hard when I realized that I am living past that future: it's 2008.  I guess when writing sci-fi sometimes the future is not that far away.

If you want to visit a cute fantasy animated movie, I recommend this one.

Bed Knobs and Broomsticks

The classic Disney picture is about a witch in training taking care of misplaced children during World War II.  I watched this on the weekend and was  entertained.  It is a good movie.

Angela Lansbury as a young lady, not looking for dead bodies (<---Murder She Wrote reference) was a nice sight.  I never knew she was a young lady.  This actress is good.  She also played as Mrs. Potts in the classic Beauty and the Beast.

The movie takes you to the island of Naboo to find a star with a spell on it.  This blends animation with live action really well. There is a funny soccer game or football to Europeans. 

If you want a light picture, rent this movie. 

Dungeons and Dragons

When I watched this movie, Dungeons and Dragons, my first reaction was, there needed to be more dragons.  My husband who plays the roll playing game said, there were too many.  This movie causes different reactions based on what a person brings into it.

Since I am a novice at playing D&D, I thought this movie was a good movie.  My husband, as a gamer agreed.

This movie starts with two thieves, trying to steal the power to control a dragon.  Oh, sorry a monk and a Mage, trying to steal from a dragon.  The main two characters are thieves.  A young female Mage helps find a scroll that will lead to another weapon that can control magic, she takes the to main characters with her on this wonderful well rendered movie.

There is a second movie that came out straight to DVD, if you liked the film that was released into the movie theaters you will not like the second movie.  

Why I have not posted.

I just got over the flu, and I did not watch any movies during my sick time.  I was sleeping. Sorry readers, I will post a new movie review tonight.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Why haven't they made a movie this good?  Most of the movies out today are not this in depth with story and action.  Steven Speilberg and George Lucas made this picture.

Harrison Ford stars as Indiana Jones a grave robber, oh I mean Archeologist.  He goes from quest to classroom fluidly, and then gets hired to find the "lost ark of the covenant".  He finds that this quest tests his endurance.  

Movies like this compel a person to root for the hero and boo the bad guy.  You cheer at the end when the "bad guys" get melted by the spirits from inside the box.

I revisited this classic, since I have seen some bad movies lately.  It is a good movie.    

3:10 to Yuma

Why did they make this slow, slow, slow, okay I think I made a point, movie.  I did not finish it.  

I was looking forward to a Western  like those greats from the past, Tomestone, Young Guns, How the West Was Won and any John Wayne movie <---too many to mention.

This movie stunk.  It was bad.  I could not sit through it because it was putting me to sleep.  Russel Crowe should stick to historicals from Europe and not try to tackle an American Accent.  And Christian Bale should stick to cute period romances or his Batman franchise.  

The character were contrived and not likeable.  There were too many writers on this script.  So, maybe the actors could have done a better job if the writers:Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas actually did some dialect research.  SOme times more writers make something better, but other times less is more.

I can't say anything more about this bad movie.

Sydney White

I have had a couple days of recovering from watching this cute stinker.  Amanda Bines makes very cute young adult pictures.  Cute and entertaining most of the time but Sydney White was different, than her other cute movies.  

Sydney White is loosely based on the Snow white fairy tale.  This one should have not been adapted.  Snow white is not the story that screams remake me! Sydney starts out at a sorority that her mother pledged to and ends up in a run down home with seven dorks.  

Luckily the dorks were not too stereo-typical.  But this movie did not know what it was. Was it a princess picture? Was it a romance? Was it a comedy?  Since I had to ask these questions even I could not categorize this picture.

This was a bad movie.  And I wish I had not rented this DVD.

Rob-B-Hood

This cute import is what is on the movie menu tonight.  

A Jackie Chan movie is always hit or miss for me.  Some of his work fantastic.  Other works not so great.  And then there are a few where you go ouch!  This little film was a hit, or should I call it good.

This movie was about to small time robbers getting the big score.  They are offered seven million to kidnap a baby.

This film was packed with characters.  The acting was fantastic and the dubbing not bad.  If you want action, you have it; if you feel like a love story, its there; and if you like morals at the end this, movie has that too.

Rob-B-Hood was a pleasant surprise, rent it today!

Murphy's Law

I just posted something here that was supposed to go on my other Blog!  That is Murphy's Law right?

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger a great actor died today.  Movie reviews, out of respect, will take a few days off.

The Ice Storm

I guess I am going to review this because what happened today where I live.  And I Just watched it.

This movie about growing up during the seventies has a tragic ending, where the boy gets electrocuted. 

 The movie featured great acting, by Kevin Klien (In and Out), Segourney Weaver ( Alien Movies), Christina Ricci (Adams Family), Toby Macguire (Spiderman), Joan Allen (Bourne Supremacy) and many more talents such as Elijah Wood (Lord Of the Rings).  The cast works well together, and you believe that these characters live in the world they created.

The bowl of keys scene was the first time I have ever been exposed to wife swapping and that is an issue for another article.  Plus, the political turmoil of the time period influence each of the people's lives is interesting to watch.

I would say this movie was good. I enjoyed watching the characters being developed right on the screen.  

Little Mermaid

Since this wonderful cartoon has been transformed into a Broadway musical, I have decided to review this tonight.  

This wonderfully rendered movie was crafted by some of the best artists of its time. My rating is good.  

When the ship comes into view with the sailors singing, you know you are going to be in for a good entertaining experience.   The drawings and the songs merge together in perfect timing.  I guess there is not much more to say about this because everybody knows.

But I think that translating this into a Broadway Musical could be the best way to renew interest in this movie franchise.

Good Work Disney!

Golden Compass

This imaginative roller coaster ride has more downs than ups.  I went to see this today and left feeling entertained, as one is supposed to after watching a movie.

The movie follows a little girl who can read a golden compass.  

The end was of course a cliff hanger.  

I would not bring little children to this movie, due to some of the long dialogue scenes that set up the actions scenes.  Okay, I guess I have mixed feelings on this film.

Nicole Kidman, of course, did a fantastic job.  But something was missing in the picture.  Maybe it's just me, but I think this movie should have stayed a book.  I hesitate in saying this one was bad, because it was entertaining.

Star WARS Episodes 4-6

Star Wars introduced the world to the imagination of George Lucas.  The characters he imagined reined on the silver screen in 1976 and has lasted many developments of technology.

Now before the enhancements Stars Wars was a good movie.  I guess I am a purist because I did not like the classic movies with the digital enhancements.  

There was something sweet with the costumed beasts and stop motion photography.  It was the best for its time period.  

I remember sitting on the front seat of my father's pick up and watching on the drive-thru screen.  The garbage scene scared me.  The space fights took my breath away.

When George Lucas decided to enhance the original movies with digital effects, it was like adding color to beautiful black and white motion pictures.  The color took away the shadows and the ambiance of  the black and white motion pictures.  It should have never been done.

The enhancements made the movies bad.  But the originals are still good if you watch them with out the digital enhancements.

Magnolia,Legend and Top Gun

This movie reviewer last night watched Magnolia, this movie was a huge snooze. Tom Cruise trying to make a long moralistic movie did not stand. He played as a self awareness guide. <---and that is being nice.

The movie was simply bad.

But since I had nothing to say about Magnolia, I will review two of my favorites.

First, "I have a need, a need for speed." And since I live on a Navy Jet Base with jets screaming over head, I am living the dream. I am not speeding around learning the art of dog fight at the Naval Top Gun School but as a young girl sitting on the living room floor with my girl friends we swooned. This movie has a special place in movie history, it made girls want Naval Pilots. This was/is a good movie.

Second, My all time favorite and they have not made one quite like it, LEGEND. With Ona the fairy having a crush on the boy (Tom Cruise), who would rescue a princess (Mia Sara) from goblins, this movie was made to tickle the brain. It purely entertained with Tim Curry's deep voice under the huge devil horns. And the unicorns. I wish they made more movies with unicorns. Oh well, this girl has favorites. This movie was/is good.

But why could Tom Cruise not pick great movies likes these, Top Gun And Legend, so far he has become too commercial. This might make movies but it does not make true fantasy art.

The Last Legion

I watched this DVD this weekend. I was happy to see Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Ria in this action adventure.

The movie is about the rescuing the last emperor or is it about traveling to get Excalibur or is it a love story?

The movie has great actors but I don't think this was the story to be made into a movie. If I watch a movie and have to look up the details a couple of days later, it is a bad movie.

I like the actors. Especially Aishwarya Ria, but the story had action and dialogue but the action got in the way of the dialogue or the dialogue was getting in the way of the action. The movie was confusing and it did not have good pacing.

This is a movie that if you just want mindless watching, go ahead and watch it.

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure

Taking my son into the large IMAX theater I was excited to see the 3-D movie, Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure. The opening draws you into a world that lived.

You bounce from present to past rapidly. Going from fossil to living creature. You follow from birth to death a pair of sea monsters. At one time a long necked sea monster using the 3-D technology has its face right in front of you, I decided as a joke to tickle it underneath its chin.

Yes, I know tickling a 3-D image is not quite doable. It's not really there, and you know what I am glad that toothy monster was not real or I could not write this blog.

The IMAX experience was worth seeing. This was a good movie.

But there is one complaint, after a few weeks you tend to forget that you watched this movie.

Dragon Wars

A large snake trashing LA, that is my kind of movie. Based on a Korean Legend, a snake or Imoogi comes from heaven to join with the soul of a young woman to become a dragon.

There is a snag an evil snake called Buraki wants to have the powers of being a Dragon to destroy Earth and Heaven. The girl is killed 500 years in the past and her soul is reborn.

This movies should have been name"Snake Wars" but that is my only complaint.

The twists and turns in the movie are great, the CGI rivals some resent monster movies made i.e. King Kong, and the end was a bit of a surprise to me. I think this is a good movie. It is nice to see other countries legends translated into a major motion picture.

The DVD was released this week.