Love Happens
Well, as it "happens", this is really bad. Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart are talented enough actors, but apparently have either horrible agents who cast them in long, predictable, plotless movies, or maybe by the time they recognize a bad script, they already have grown attached to the extra chunk of change in their bank account. I saw this with a group of girlfriends (Xela, Gillian, Lauren, Beth Ann, Jenn) who all tried to find the positive parts of the movie at first. It only took about 15 minutes of post movie discussion to decide mob style that indeed their was nothing redeeming at all about it. Don't even rent. I promise. It's harsh, but sometimes the movie industry needs some tough love.
We all agreed on this:
The Blind Side
Not only was this one of the best movies of the year for me, but you should have seen the look on Rhett's face when I came home and said, "Did you know that the defensive left tackle is the second highest paid position in the NFL? Lawrence Taylor was really the one who changed the game in that respect."
It was priceless.
Based on the true story of Michael Oher from the Baltimore Ravens, this story plays out like fiction and you are invested from the first few minutes. I didn't know it was possible to like Sandra Bullock in a role more than my all time favorite of hers: While You Were Sleeping. ("I should've got the blue spruce. They're lighter.) But she has outdone herself here. All the characters do an amazing job balancing the line of drama and realism. Talk about a feel good movie. You leave seeing people and their circumstances in a whole new light; Asking questions long after the show is over how you can make more of a difference. How long has it been since a movie has made us feel like that?
I gave it:
Raleen gave it
Twilight Saga: New Moon
While you may be tempted at first to judge me for seeing this four times, and it's been out barely a month--i will prove that there is a method to my madness.
First Time: While I could never not go to a midnight show with the energy of hundreds of Twilight fans, it's admittedly not my favorite viewing. I'm so anxious with expectations; are they going to act well? Is it going to do the book justice?, that I'm stressed out the whole movie. I'm a ball of nerves every scene, stressed that it's not going to be good. By the time I leave the theater my back hurts from tensing.
Second Time: I usually choose a matinee for this viewing. Less teeny boppers screaming at Edward or every time Taylor Lautner (Jacob) goes shirtless. And lemme tell you. It's ALOT. I can relax and just enjoy it for what it is. One of my favorite series come to life. I catch little things I didn't before, and the actors, who really aren't the characters in my head, get a chance to grow on me a little more.
Third Time: Now I'm hooked. I just want to pick up on little things I've missed. Pick out the songs I liked from the soundtrack, and remember parts I want to go reread in the books. Be a little more critical of the parts I wish they would not have left out.
Fourth Time: Alright. I'll admit I wasn't keen to see it a fourth so quickly, but Raleen felt my resistance and said she'd buy my ticket and my Coke if I'd go with her again. Hey. I never said I couldn't be bought.
I ended up sitting next to a mother and daughter who's mother had clearly never read the books. Her constant, "Oooh! Wow! He's a wolf?" and "Why is he leaving her? Is he lying?" were followed up by her daughter shushing her and telling her to stop being so loud and to just watch. Sitting next to a newbie was so great. You remember when it was you getting hooked and excited for the first time.
So see? While four times may seem excessive, you can see how it was infact justified. If you are a fan, I think you will really love it. SOOOO much better than the first. Amazing what a bigger budget and better director can do. And if you haven't read the books it's hard for me to judge objectively but if you find yourself being taken (or dragged) by a significant other to it, don't fret too much. Loud mother newbie seemed to really enjoy herself.
I give it:
Raleen gives it:
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
We saw this with the kids when Rhett's parents were visiting a little while back, and we all enjoyed ourselves for the most part. My suggestion would be to not see this with any sort of full stomach. Seeing that much food all at once got my gag reflex going more than once. And while the bulk of the movie is entertaining, I found myself dissatisfied with the ending. If animated kids films teach us little else (and they don't really) it's that you can have as many fart and parents are lame jokes as you want, as long as you give us a life lesson at the end. The moral of this story seemed to be: You can dream big and be whatever you want to be, even if you aren't that great at it, and you end up ruining lives in the end. But whatever kids, do what you want to do! Watch it and tell me I'm wrong.
I give it:
Planet 51
This movie thought it was way more clever than it had any right to. So bad I can barely form a sentence with enough adjectives to describe the level of pain this movie caused me. We took the kids over Thanksgiving break, and Rhett and I were practically arm wrestling about who GOT to take our misbehaving two year old out. The premise of an American astronaut landing on an alien planet only to be considered by all the aliens as the actual alien seems on the surface as an interesting plot. Unfortunately movies require good pacing and jokes that are actually funny to be considered good, so, you know, that would rule this movie out. Even the less refined tastes of my kids didn't like it. And they like shows with names like "Chowder" and "My Gym Partner's a Monkey." I mean, really.
I give it:
Vampire's Assistant
Well, for starters, don't impulsively go to a late show of this movie by yourself. Believe me. It's scccaaaarrry. I finally had to guilt trip Raleen into coming up to the theater at 11 o'clock so I wouldn't be left alone in a theater with some freakishly brave 12 year olds. Don't go taking the whole family to this one. There is a computer generated spider in it that about sent me over the edge. All I'm saying CG people is that, just because you can make something look super realistic and freaky, doesn't always mean you should, alright?
I'm just saying.
While this movie was overall enjoyable, I didn't realize going in that it was a series. All my white knuckling to get through the show, and there wasn't even a satisfying resolution as a reward. I have a sneaking suspicion that the books are better than this movie, but it was by no means a bad show. I just saw the word vampire in the title and decided to go and ask questions later. A solid rental in my opinion.
I give it:
Raleen gives it:
Couples Retreat
Well. It's a Vince Vaughn movie to be sure. For those who watch his movies, that probably says more right there than if I expounded. While Vince's character was pretty hilarious, the rest of the cast didn't quite work. The other character's personalities felt a bit contrived and ranged from awkward to downright crude. Plus, the story quickly goes from doable to unbelievable, and the more unrealistic it becomes, the more time you have to focus on just how uncomfortable you are, and checking the time every 5 minutes. I've heard some who have really liked it, but, what can I say: if you're here for my advice, I say skip.
I give it:
Raleen gives it:
Fame
I find my self speechless trying to review this one. Mainly because it's really hard to review a movie with zero plot. So. Forgive me. Call me crazy but I really thought this would be good. One of my favorite dancers from So You Think You Can Dance was in a leading role. As it turns out she can infact dance, just not act. At all. Which, as I understand the movie industry is kind of an important element. It was just this hodgepodge mess of random storylines revolving around them all attending Juliard, but beyond that, it's anyone's guess what the point was. I did download a few great songs from the soundtrack if you are one of those glass half full types.
I give it:
Invictus
Everytime I tell people that I really liked this movie, it has almost always been followed up with the comment: "Really? Because I heard it wasn't good." So maybe it's not a heart attack a minute action packed film that our caffeine induced attention defecit society so badly needs everytime from a film...but it was a genuinely great story, and one we enjoyed watching very much. Besides, have you SEEN a rugby game before? They are INSANE. How those guys walk away to play another game is beyond me. Based on the true story of South Africa at a height of political and racial unrest, newly released from prison, President Nelson Mandela taps into the devotion and unity that comes from people coming together for their team, to help heal his country. Nothing blew up, and no one ended up really being a robot alien in the end or anthing, but it was inspiring and fun to watch. Matt Damon's performance was top notch, and Morgan Freeman turned in a performance as compelling and convincing as he did in Shawshank Redemption.
I give it:
Raleen gives it:
Did You Hear About The Morgans?
Probably not, cuz their pretty boring. I saw this with my mom, sister Caroline, and sister in law Natalie. At the end of the movie we kind of all turned to each other and pretty much at the same time Natalie and I said, "I hated it." while my mom and Caroline were saying, "What? I loved it!"
So, sorry, not the most helpful review on the planet. For me, the chemistry between Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker was--oh wait, did I say chemistry? Oh that's right. There was none. Grant's trademark bumbling English charm that I usually adore in his films, felt forced and fell flat against very non charistmatic and boring Parker. The story dragged a bit, only to come to it's predictable end. I can see how it was cute in parts, and I even remember laughing a little, but all in all not worth your drive to the theater or your 9 bucks.
I gave it:
Natalie gave it:
Caroline gave it:
Mom gave it:
Avatar
In my most sophisticated movie reviewer analysis I would say that this movie....rocked so much!!!!! Talk about expectations...as a card carrying Sci-Fi geek, I have been pumped about this movie since I saw the trailer months ago. The hype surrounding it has been unreal, which is usually a red flag to me that it's actully not that great, but the studio has obviously pumped a gazillion dollars into it, so advertise the heck out of it so we can attempt to get some of our money back. We're here to tell you: Believe the hype. Visually it is just stunning. Add to that a cast that is made up mainly of unknown yet super talented actors and you are instantly drawn in to this amazing world. I may not be super knowledgable in the world of computers and technology, but even the lamest of us can recognize how far CG has come. More often than not I had to remind myself that the majority of the film was CG. That is light years away from just 10 years ago being able to recoginze CG the instant it's on the screen. The story itself is well told with layers of thought provoking story line. The movie doesn't overthink itself and the result is some of the best the movie world has to offer, both in presentation and content. I saw it in 3D and I can't imagine seeing it any other way, but both my brothers whined about it burning their eyes. Wimps. Takes about 5-10 min for your eyes to adjust and you're fine. Go see it!
Seriously. What are you still doing here reading this. Get, Go!
I give it:
Caroline gave it:
Natalie gave it:
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