Mel & Ray's Movie Reviews w/Guest Reviewers

So every week as I'm going through my fan mail, the same question keeps popping up...How is it exactly that I get out to see so many movies??
While there is certainly success in going at 10:30 on a Tuesday when no one even knows I'm gone...My movie calendar becomes quite full during football season with a little help from an invention called "NFL Ticket", offered by our satellite provider. Now, I don't claim to know how technology works, but I find it odd that we still don't have flying cars, or tele-transport systems, yet, a satellite in space can beam every football game in the world, to my living room.
All I really understand from it all is that it seems to matter less and less when I leave at night, and how long I'm gone.

Me: Hey, I was thinking I'd go to the movies tonight.
Rhett: Ok, when you gonna be back?
Me: Well, we might even catch two movies. You know, a double header. That okay?
Rhett: Uh, well--what?? Holding!! Are you kidding me? That ref is blind! Penalty! Oh man, Justin, did you see that?? Here, watch this again in slow motion and tell me that is not holding!

One could see how I might slip out for a movie (or two) undetected.

Here's a few for your consideration...

Post Grad

(w/guest reviewers Beth Ann and Gillian)

Whenever I see a movie like this, I always wonder if at a certain point in the film making process, the actors involved know pretty early on that they are making a bad movie, or if it's just a horrible realization at the premier. Is there just this moment when they have their popcorn, they're sitting with all their celebrity friends and then half way through their just like, "Oh. No."

I had been looking forward to this one for months, even though whenever I mentioned it to people, the most heard response was, "Huh. I've never even heard of that." I guess maybe it's a Gilmore Girls fan thing. If there is an Alexis Bledel movie, you just know about it. This movie was in a word: Random. No real meat to the story, no real direction, odd humor.

The trailer makes this film look darling. But at the end of the day, it's about a college grad who graduates with the idea of landing a dream job, and soon coming to see that life is hard and things don't just fall into your lap because you slaved away at school.

I guess if you enjoy watching a movie that highlights the obvious, this one would be a good one for ya. There is only so much you can do with a depressed, out of work college grad who spends most of the movie job hunting.

The burden then becomes: The movie can't be twenty minutes, Sooooooo, what else can we film for the other 70? The love triangle was too obvious and over done, even though Zach Gilford's performance was the highlight. Plus, according to Gillian, "The friend character was too good looking. In real life she would have liked him a long time ago!" If I had picked this up at a Red Box, I probably would have thought, "Eh. Pretty decent for a buck."

I gave it:

Gillian Gave it:

Beth Ann gave it: (I have converted yet another Prison Break fan.)



All About Steve

(W/Guest Reviewers Beth Ann and Gillian)

This ain't your mama's Sandra Bullock movie alright?? Let's just make that clear from the get go. One of my all time favorite movies is "While You Were Sleeping." If that is the Sandra performance you are looking for, you'll be a little startled by this one. But let me say quickly, we really liked it. And I liked it despite every instinct telling me I shouldn't be liking it. You kept expecting Sandra to be her usual adorable quirky self, and instead you kept wondering which side of the crazy line she was going to wind up on.
She plays a character who is a very very smart crossword puzzle designer, very socially oblivious, and spends the movie following Steve around, convinced they are supposed to be together. While the show is far fetched to be sure, I just started to really enjoy myself with it. The more you come to understand Sandra's character, Mary, the funnier the things that she does become, as well as the actions of others around her. While it certainly isn't going to be winning any Oscars, it definitely gets my vote for heart, a moral to the story, and keeping us entertained.

I gave it:


Beth Ann gave it:


Gillian gave it:


Julie and Julia

So, you will have to pardon us on a technical difficulty. One of the drawbacks to going to movies late on slow movie nights is that: no one at the movie theater cares about you. Sad but true.
You being there late on a Thursday is a thorn in their side. You don't always get heat. You don't always get a clean theater. You just get what they give you, and don't complain if the popcorn tastes chewy. Case and point. We were enjoying ourselves just fine at this movie, when with about 30 minutes left to go the sound went out. Us, and the two other people in the theater were very annoyed. And apparently, you are also not guaranteed management to stick around. We called, we knocked on doors, and could find NO ONE to help us. We ended up leaving, knowing that we wouldn't sit through it again just to find out what happened, but wanting enough to know what happens that we'll rent it when it comes out and fast forward to where we left off.
From what we can tell, this is a really fun movie. Meryl Streep is just fantastic as Julia Child, and while Amy Adam's performance pales a bit next to Streep's, (and who's wouldn't?) I enjoyed her as well. Maybe more so because she was a writer and a blogger. (So funny when she gets her "first comment.") It's based on two true stories, and had a lot of heart, and the fact that Julia Child's life was pretty darn fascinating was another surprise. So, if you go see it, hopefully you get a better projectionist than we did, and uh...let us know how it ends!

We think we give it:



Tyler Perry: I Can Do Bad All By Myself

I found myself on a rainy Saturday with nothing to do. Jackson's Tball game had been cancelled, Rhett and Justin were watching football, Drew was down for a nap and Hannah was invested in rewatching The Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. I ended up solo at this movie with zero expectations. I was just bored, and hoping for a good laugh. Not only did I laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more...I was blown away with what a touching, well written movie this was. The actors turned in moving performances. They were able to portray that desire to overcome one's shortcomings and be the person you want to be. Or should be. Or forgot how to be.

Not to mention that Tyler Perry could possibly be the funniest 450 pound African American woman on the planet. He plays the roles of Madea and her husband, and if I had one complaint about the movie, it's that I wanted more Madea than there was. The other characters truly stepped up though, and made this movie a wonderful balance of humor and silliness, and real gut wrenching emotion. The pastor in the movie gave a sermon that had me restraining myself from standing up and shouting, "Can I get an Amen?!" While some may not be a fan of the time that is taken for a couple of musical numbers (I for one enjoyed it) it's the most fun I've had at a movie in awhile.