It's Movie Night

Shrek 4

2010-08-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

After delaying this movie as much as I could, I broke down and took the kids to see it the dollar theater on fifty cent day. After watching Shrek the 3rd years ago, I was a little apprehensive about seeing the newest, and possibly, last installment of the Shrek franchise. After the movie was over, I walked out of the movie feeling pretty good that I finally saw it. By far, this movie put the last one to shame. I enjoyed the storyline of Shrek playing the "what if" scenario. I thought Eddie Murphy's donkey wasn't too over the top like he was in previous movies. I thought Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz did a great job in re-creating the characters that we all came to know and love from Shrek. All in all, the movie ranks in my top 5 of summer movies this year, even though I have probably only seen 5 movies this summer.

It's Complicated

2010-07-15T06:40:00.001-07:00

Coming from a person who isn't the biggest Meryl Streep fan, I have to say I'm starting to buy into how great of an actress she is. I thought Alex Baldwin was great as the ex-husband who wants a "friends with benefits" relationship with his ex-wife. My only problem with the movie was Steve Martin. While I like the character he played, I wished his character could of been funnier. I know that this is rather picky, but when he turns out genius roles in The Jerk, My Blue Heaven, and Parenthood, you kind of expect that in every other movie. Even in Father of the Bride, Steve Martin can play it straight and just have the comedy fall around him. Like I said, I know it's picky. All in all, the movie was good, buy not great! It does drag a little for me, but the ending doesn't leave you hollow, like most movies do nowadays.

Swing Vote

2010-07-15T06:32:00.001-07:00

For what I thought was going to be a blow off movie, I really enjoyed this film! I loved the premise about how two presidential candidates only need to campaign to one person to become president. Kelsey Grammer was excellent as The President of the United States, who would be willing to switch his party's direction to get Bud (Kevin Costner) to vote for him. I also thought, even though it was evident that he was on his way out, that Dennis Hopper came off as being believable as the Democratic hopeful. My only issue with this movie was Kevin Costner. His character was comparable to his character in Tin Cup. Bud and Roy McAvoy were almost the same person to me. That didn't deter me from liking the movie, however. I thought Madeline Carroll stole the show as Bud's daughter. This movie is a must see!

The Karate Kid (2010)

2010-06-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

This movie is truly a remake! Everything from the storyline to the dialogue, this movie is a copycat of the 1984 version of The Karate Kid. Even with the story taking place in China, as opposed to California, I was sitting there telling myself what the next scene would be. However, that's not a bad thing! Jaden Smith is a true star in this movie (God knows the last thing the world needs is for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett to have successful off-spring). Jackie Chan is, well Jackie Chan. While he's not as lovable as Pat Morita, he is enjoyable enough for me as Jaden's teacher. It's a great movie, and it will be interesting to see if they follow up with it.

Toy Story 3

2010-06-28T13:58:00.001-07:00

Far and above, the Toy Story franchise sets the standard of Disney animation. Toy Story 3 closes the chapter in one sense, but possibly opens a new book with this one. I loved the characters, as I did in the first two, and the story was very heartwarming. To be honest, I found myself tearing up a few times in the movie. By far, the best family movie of the summer. Hopefully, it's not the last of the series, but if so, it went out with a bang!

Wonderful World

2010-06-28T13:53:00.001-07:00

This movie isn't in my top 5 of Mathew Broddrick movies! Granted, I didn't expect Ferris Bueller, but I was looking for a little bit more than what I got. The story is pretty simple, lonely guy's roommate collapses, flies in sister, falls for sister, they break up, he finds himself throughout all of this. I thought he did a good job in the movie, but I was pretty bored with the love story. The biggest problem I had was the title. No where in this movie did I get the impression that this was a wonderful world for him. The movie is worth a shot, just don't get your hopes up!

I Think I Love My Wife

2010-06-27T13:18:00.001-07:00

Chris Rock doesn't normally make movies that make people gravitate to the theaters, and this one was no exception. As it was just starting on TV, I figured I'd give it a shot. This movie surely lacks Chris Rock's humor in it. The story was okay, watchable, until the end. The ending will make you wish you spent two hours doing something else. There were no "laugh out loud" moments for me, yet I was interested to know if he was going to leave his wife for Kerry Washington. All in all, this movie proves that Chris Rock is not a solid lead for movies.

Just Friends

2010-06-27T13:08:00.001-07:00

This was an okay movie for me. I love Anna Ferris, but after a while, I wanted her character to die. I wouldn't say that this was one of Ryan Reynolds' best role, but it didn't kill the movie for me. The story didn't drag for me, but I felt that the ending could of been a bit longer. After one hour and fifty-eight minutes of whether or not Ryan Reynolds was going to hook up with Amy Smart, it feels that the ending was rushed. It's a decent movie, and from the looks of it, will be a TBS classic in years to come.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2010-06-21T12:57:00.001-07:00

This movie sucks!!! I wish I could travel through time and stop myself from watching this god-awful movie. I couldn't follow this story at all. I got that Eric Bana travels through time and that Rachel McAdams is the girl he's destined to be with. However, the movie takes left turns after left turns constantly. I won't say it's the worst movie I've ever seen, but it's in the top ten!

Heartbreak Hotel

2010-06-18T19:26:00.001-07:00

For a movie that is around 20 years old, this movie holds up. Sure it's hokey with a ton of errors in it, but it's also a little nice, sweet movie about a teenage boy who would be willing to do anything for his mother, like kidnapping Elvis. David Keith was great as the King, bringing a sense of warmth to a man who, back then, had lost most of his charm due to drugs and too many peanut butter banana sandwiches. Don't except much from this movie, just allow yourself to be entertained.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

2010-06-14T15:01:00.001-07:00

A year ago, we introduced the kids to Disney world. Eight months ago, I introduced them to Bugs Bunny. When I told them that both Mickey and Bugs are in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, they seemed to be intrigued. After finally getting in on Netflix, we all sat and watched it. To be honest, the movie doesn't hold up. The kids seemed disinterested in it and the language was a little questionable for them. Kids will enjoy it still, but kids who are now adults will change the channel.

The River Wild

2010-06-14T13:33:00.001-07:00

Movie was alright, wasn't on the edge of my seat like I was told I'd be! Meryl Streep is great in the movie, although I didn't buy Kevin Bacon as the bad guy. I thought he was more of a villian in Hollow Man than this one. Descent movie though, worth the watch.

The Messenger

2010-06-14T13:29:00.001-07:00

The Messenger starts off great, slows toward the end, all in all, worth the watch. Woody Harrelson has come a long way since Cheers. I can see how he got nominated for this movie. Like I said, the ending trails off at the end, but that's what you get with most independent movies.

Toy Story 1 & 2

2010-06-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

Pixar's first movie is a big success! Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are pure greatness as the voices of Buzz and Woody. While a kid movie, every adult can enjoy this one.

Toy Story 2 is better than Toy Story 1. I loved seeing the Seinfeld villain, Newman (Wyatt Knight) and Fraiser's Kelsey Grammer play against Allen and Hanks in this one. Joan Cuzack's voice is annoying but the movie gets around that in total excitement. A must see!!!

The Blues Brothers

2010-06-07T12:04:00.001-07:00

You can't be a true fan of the 80's without loving this movie. Very few SNL characters can make the transition from SNL to the big screen. Even though it didn't dominate the box office back in 1980, it is a cult movie (thanks, WGN), that has stood the test of time. Belushi is awesome, Aykroyd is brilliant, and the music still kicks ass to this day. If you feeling nostalgic, take two hours out of your day and watch The Blues Brothers.

The Blind Side

2010-06-07T05:50:00.001-07:00

For what The Wrestler did for me last year, The Blind Side did for me this year. This movie was powerful. Sandra Bullock was deserving of best actress for this movie. Like I've said before, I haven't seen The Hurt Locker and I don't think Avatar is in my future. After watching The Blind Side, it is, by far, the best movie of 2009. A must see!

The Hangover

2010-06-01T15:17:00.001-07:00

First off, this is a funny movie, but not the funniest I've ever seen. As far as I'm concerned, The Wedding Crashers still takes the cake. However, this movie had quite a few laugh out loud moments for me. Like I've said before, when a movie is rated PG-13 when it could have easily be rated R, the quality of the movie gets tarnished a bit for me. This movie didn't pull any punches and it should be commended. However, I can honestly say, I've seen better!

The Tooth Fairy

2010-05-30T12:04:00.001-07:00

When you tell me that a pro wrestler is going to be in a movie where he is going to wear a tutu, my first thought is...this has been done before, remember Hulk Hogan in Mr. Nanny? So my thoughts of The Rock doing, yet another, kid movie to where The Rock is going to be wearing a tutu was pretty bleak. I expected nothing out of this movie, and quite frankly, I was surprised.

After The Scorpion King, The Rundown, The Gameplan, and even Wallkng Tall, The Rock has arrived in this movie. I believe this is his niche'. The days of replacing Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are gone. The Rock has found himself being the action hero for kids. As long as these movies make money, The Rock will be very successful in this genre. As for his part in The Tooth Fairy, his lines came off a little cheesy for me, but then again, I've seen him cut wrestling promos for almost ten years, so I can expect a little cheesiness. I found him to be entertaining, but it also helped that you had Billy Crystal and Julie Andrews in the movie. This was probably one of the first Ashley Judd movies to where she isn't so "in your face" and honestly, I kinda liked it. After watching Kiss the Girls, Double Jeporady, and A Time to Kill, she appeared to be more laid back in this one. As for the story line, it was smooth, easy to follow, and kids won't be lost in it.

For the type of audience that The Tooth Fairy is trying to reach, this is a plus. I really enjoyed the movie and I think you and your kids will like it too.

Up in the Air

2010-05-30T12:03:00.001-07:00

I was a little leary of this movie, considering how the recent George Clooney choice of movies has been. I wasn't a fan of Leatherheads, I fell asleep during Ocean's 13, and I wanted to throw up during Intolerable Cruelity. For me, ever since he dressed up as Batman, I've had a hard time watching his movies with an open mind. Granted, all the of the Oscar buzz for Up in the Air helped, but then again, I never saw Syrianna or Good Night, Good Luck because of George Clooney. After watching Up in the Air, I am back on the George Clooney bandwagon.

The first thing this movie showed me was that it was rated R, and for me, that is a big deal. Making a movie rated R means that you don't pull back from subject matter, material, and language. This movie was about a real guy who lived on the road, using airplanes and hotels as a place of residence. His job was to go into these corporate buildings and give hard working employees their walking papers. Instead of getting a Disney, possibly edited for TBS type movie, I saw real emotion. I also have to commend Clooney on a job well done. He was convincing as Ryan, the hired gun for fire (so to speak). I liked Vera Farmiga as the woman who meets Clooney out on road, and uses him for the escape that she feels that she needs. Anna Kendrick's character was a little bit of a beating for me, but she won me over towards the end. I'm not sure if I just didn't like her character or if I didn't like her, but in the end, her character didn't ruin the movie for me.

Having never seen the best picture, The Hurt Locker, yet, I was pleasentley surprised on how much I enjoyed this movie. In my opinion, Jason Reitman is 2 for 2 in great movies, Juno and this one.

Lucas

2010-05-24T15:33:00.001-07:00

Having an 80's flashback moment, my wife and I decided to watch an old 80's classic Lucas. With the passing of Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen's martial woes, and the biggest question of all, what ever happened to Kerri Green, we dove into Lucas. Let just say, times can surely change the outlook of a movie.

Considering the age of Corey Haim in the movie, I thought he did a remarkable job in the film, and, not to sound too weepy, I found myself tearing up a little as I watched him steal the scenes from everyone else in the movie. I thought Charlie Sheen was great as kind of a "big brother" to Lucas, even if I've gotten so used to his character in Two and a Half Men. Kerri Green was wonderful in her role as Maggie, the object of Lucas' affection.

The story felt a little dated, but that would be natural considering the changing of the times. The story had a very soft ending. I understand that the story was about a over achieving kid who was looking for acceptance and had a hard time getting it in a high school atmosphere. I find it hard to believe that all it took was for him to show up in a high school football game to get knocked out to get accepted.

Still, the movie is a classic and it helped put Corey Haim on the map. Too bad drugs knocked him out of this world.

Iron Man 2

2010-05-20T16:26:00.001-07:00

It's Summer time and for movie fans that means BIG SUMMER MOVIES. Movie studios make it a point to release sequels during this time, knowing that fans will all flock to the theaters in droves to see them. That brings me to Iron Man 2.

Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark/Iron Man and is awesome in his performance. While in the beginning, the movie appeared to be too busy, but after the first 15 minutes, the movie calmed down and the story developed. While Jeff Bridges gave a rather thankless role as the villain in the first one, Mickey Rourke gives a masterful performance as Whiplash. My only issue with this movie was that there wasn't enough Mickey Rourke in the movie. I found the Justin Hammer character to be annoying and wished that they would kill him off. While I like Don Cheadle as an actor and loved him in Ocean's Eleven, I missed Terrence Howard in the role as Rhodey. I was looking forward to seeing him as War Machine after the scene in Iron Man when he looked at the silver Iron Man costume and said, "Next time!" But that didn't ruin the movie for me! I liked the Captain America tie in as they used his shield as a lift. The action sequences were great, but I felt they could of been longer.

All in all, while I liked the movie, it's definitely not The Dark Knight! But with the tie in to the eventual Avengers movie, and potential superhero movies that Marvel keeps putting out on a yearly basis, they're still far and above the standard bearer when it comes to superhero movies.

The Backup Plan-T

2010-04-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've reviewed a movie, but this one was deemed blog-worthy, mainly because Melissa promised to blog as well...we'll see what happens there! While we didn't have any kids today and Iron Man 2 is still a week away, we headed to the movie theater to catch The Backup Plan starring Jennifer Lopez. With the wife being pregnant and also being a big J-Lo fan, we deemed this movie "theater worthy" for us, as Netflix and dollar movies have probably ruined us forever.

Let me state for the record, this movie was good. The story flowed nicely as we go through the Jennifer Lopez's pregnancy. We see the ups and downs of her relationship with a guy she just met after she was impregnated by a doctor. I was a little surprised that this movie was PG-13, seeing as how this movie include strong language and brief (and I do mean brief) nudity. For you Happy Days fans, you might see Tom Bosley in his last movie, seeing as how I didn't realize that he was still alive.

Here is my only problem with the movie. To me, this was like every other romantic comedy that Jennifer Lopez has been in, unless she is killed in the beginning of Jersey Girl. The movie had kind of a "been there, done that" feel for me. All in all though, I can look past that and focus what was good about the movie.

What might kill this movie is the timing of the release, seeing as how Iron Man 2 will kick the hell out of it next week. Guys, take my advice, take your lady to see this now, so they won't hold it over you when you want to see Iron Man 2 next week. The best part is, you won't be disappointed in this one.

Love Happens

2010-02-07T20:32:00.001-08:00

After seeing this movie a couple of days ago, I became very conflicted about what I thought of this movie. On one hand, I thought Aaron Eckhart did a great job of playing an "expert" on dealing with depression, while he himself had not taken the same steps he preached about. Jennifer Aniston, on the other hand, was pretty useless to me. She came off as a sexless, wooden person, almost Hayden Christian like. I felt zero emotional attachment to her in this movie as I did in Management. As for the story, I felt that the movie moved along nicely, dealing with Eckhart's demons one scene at a time. I do feel that the title is a misrepresentation of the movie. Love only happened in the end and that looked pretty forced for me. I think a better title could of been The Stairway to you Problems, Don't Practice what you Preach, or Using Big Word to describe how you feel. All in all, it's a nice movie, but don't expect a lot!

Saw III

2010-01-31T10:24:00.001-08:00

After really enjoying the first two installments of the Saw franchise, we received the third one, courtesy of Netflix. While it didn't live up to what the first two had, it wasn't bad by any means. There are some things I would probably change, for instance, I found the apprentice to be a a drag on the movie. I'm not sure how important her role is to the franchise, but I'm sure I'd figure it out the farther I go into watching it. With the exception of Tobin Bell, I think the acting was kind of half-assed. I can't wait to see what Saw IV has in store for us!

The Wedding Singer

2010-01-29T16:14:00.001-08:00

This was the break out Adam Sandler movie for me! While I think Big Daddy is the best one, The Wedding Singer proved to me that Adam Sandler can act. I loved the story that Sandler and Drew Barrymore had together. I also loved the little 80's details, such as Robbie's brother in-law saying, "I'll be there in a second, something happened to J.R He might be dead or something!" We see the Michael Jackson jacket and moonwalk, Miami Vice, and mentions of New Coke. We also get a sweet story about a guy who gets left at the alter, loses his edge to sing at weddings, and falls in love with a waitress who is, herself, getting married just to get married. From hair styles, to clothes, to sayings, this movie is great!

The Girlfriend Experience

2010-01-29T16:07:00.000-08:00

This is a sex-less movie, considering that the movie is about sex. Sasha Grey, a real life porn star, plays a girl who is in, I guess, a committed relationship with a guy who can't get a job. Her job is to sell the girlfriend experience to her clients, which would involve sex for most. Like I said, however, there is no sex to be had in the movie, leaving the movie to be nothing more than a swallow documentary about the secret life of an escort. I expected something more out of Steven Soderbergh. This movie doesn't deliver!

Griffin & Phoenix

2010-01-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

This was a nice little love story about two cancer patients who don't have very long to live. While this movie doesn't sound like a romantic comedy, considering that the two people in this movie are dying, there are some comedic moments that help levy the outcome. I thought both Amanda Peet and Dermot Mulroney were wonderful together as Griffin and Phoenix. While the movie gets sadder as the end draws near for the two of them, I loved how they ended it! Give it a shot!

Saw II

2010-01-29T15:55:00.001-08:00

I loved how this movie wasn't like the first one. I was thinking, here we go again. We're going to spend the next two hours of this movie digging into the victim's life to see how they ended up at the mercy of Jigsaw. Boy was I wrong! I loved how Jigsaw screwed with Donnie Walhberg throughout the movie. It's always good to see a sequel to where you don't say "been there, done that". Saw III just came to the house, can't wait to see it!

Trucker

2010-01-20T23:38:00.000-08:00

I came away from this movie liking it, yet wanting more! I felt the movie was somewhat incomplete. As a former truck driver, I could relate to how Diane Ford put her life on the road first, being an owner operator. I had a hard time understanding the dialogue between her and the guy who was trying to rape her. I didn't know if he was a former customer of her's (it was unclear if she used to be a lot lizard). All in all, this movie was what you could expect out of an independent movie.

Saw

2009-11-20T18:24:00.001-08:00

Over a month ago, when I was driving on the truck, Bubba the Love Sponge was conducting an interview with the owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning was on and the two of them were talking about the newest Saw movie that was being released in the theater. As they were talking about the Saw franchise, I became interested in the first movie.

This movie was great! Having never heard anything about this movie, I didn't know what to expect. While I would not consider this a horror, mainly because it didn't scare me at all, it did keep me on the edge of my seat. This movie had a lot of twists and turns they kept me wondering who the real puppet master was. While I won't give away the ending, I will say that it gave me a 'Sixth Sense' feel to it. What I mean is that after you see the ending of Sixth Sense, it would be cool to sit through it again to see how Jigsaw became the evil puppet master.

Ghostbusters 2

2009-11-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

After watching Transformers and giving the girls a bath, both girls were wired! I figured that we could try to mix in on more movie, perhaps helping putting both girls to sleep. We picked out Ghostbusters 2 from my movie case and began watching it.

Was this movie as good as the first one, not even close. But lets face it, most sequels pale in comparison to the originals. Having said that, I did like Ghostbusters 2! I liked how Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis "put the band back together" (stole that from a Blues Brothers reference) and put together a good film. I loved how it started five years after the first one and the Ghostbuster were disbanded due to the actions from the first one. It gave the movie something to look forward to. After they get back together and start capturing ghost again, the movie starts to follow the same formula that the first one had. Everything is going fine with the Ghostbusters, and then they get arrested. Then after the city almost crumbles, the mayor releases the Ghostbusters out to stop the madness. Rick Moranis adds some comic relief, a little more than he did in the first one.

All in all, Ghostbusters 2 is a nice little sequel! I just hope that Ghostbusters 3 is worth it!

Transformers: The Movie (1984)

2009-11-14T17:19:00.001-08:00

In Dakota's pick for movie night tonight was the original cartoon movie, Transformers: The Movie. While Transformers has returned to the big screen with live action movies, it's cool to take a step back and look at what started it all.

First off, the movie is what it is, an hour and a half version of the cartoon show, with a twist. We see the death of Optimus Prime, the transformation of Megatron into Galvatron, and the new era of Transformers, which was later explored in the cartoon shows. Second, I liked the voices that were used for the newer characters. Judd Nelson voiced Hot Rod, the eventual chosen one for the Autobots, and Leonard Nimoy (the original Mr. Spock) voiced the power driven Galvatron. With Orsen Welles voicing the planet eating robot, Unicron (which, before his death, stated that he hated the film), Finally, I loved the soundtrack to the film. Stan Bush's songs "Dare" and "You Got the Touch" really added the punch this movie needed.

Transformers: The Movie is a quality cartoon flick that fans of the cartoon will enjoy. While the newer generation will not understand how cutting edge this movie was, the older generation can watch it and remember where they were when the show would come on every day after school. I know I did!

Ponyo

2009-11-14T15:04:00.001-08:00

A few days ago, I asked Dakota and Cadence to see if they could find my PSP. I had misplaced it after I came home from being fired, and I wanted to get my Madden Football on! Dakota found the PSP, so I promised her that I would allow her to choose anything (with the exception of going to Going Bonkers) she wanted to do on Saturday. After a few days of thinking about it, and perhaps some pushing from Melissa, Dakota chose seeing Ponyo.

This movie sucks! Maybe it's me, but I just don't like Japanamation! The story is good for little kids, but here in the Hannah Montana generation, it doesn't rank. Let me see if I can make some sense out of this madness! A fish with a human face breaks free from a school and is found by a little boy, stuck in a jar. The boy saves the fish and places it into a bucket. From there, the fish begins to show affection for the boy, even going so far to tell the boy that it loves him. All of sudden, the fish grows feet and arms and is offically a little girl, with powers to make objects bigger (sounds like a porno). Then Ponyo (the newly named little girl/fish) begins to fall asleep at every moment they turn around. My guess, Ponyo was bored with the story too! As the movie moves along, Ponyo and the little boy must show their love toward one another (nevermind that this kid might be in kindergarden) in order for Ponyo to remain a human. While I won't give away the story, I will tell you this: at least Ponyo got a few z's in this one, I was fighting with Dakota to cut me a break!

While I can't get the last two hours of my life back, I can say with a clear conscience that I hope I never come across this movie again! I know that Dakota liked it, and to most fathers, that's the only thing that should matter. While she gave it a four star review to me in the car, I can honestly tell her that it's between a one and a two star movie for me, and quite frankly, that's being nice to her. For me, I'd rather sit through Hannah Montana again!

RV

2009-11-13T21:15:00.001-08:00

While sitting in my chair (because I'm too damn lazy to get my ass up), we were flipping through the channels and came across the end of The Wizard of Oz. While I would love to pick apart that movie, the movie that followed was RV with Robin Williams. I remember sitting through the movie over a year ago, but like Crash, I had no recollection of the movie. After watching it again, I remember a few moments of the movie, but all in all, it was like watching it for the first time. The movie is cute, but not one of Robin Williams best movies. It is a simple comedy of a husband and father who is forced to cancel a luxury vacation in Hawaii with his family because of his business. So in order to solve this dilemma, he rents an RV and attempts to spend quality time with his family, Griswold style! And just like the Griswolds, everything goes wrong on the trip. There are some funny moments in the movie, but all in all, if you seen Robin Williams act, you'll sit there and say, "I've seen this before!" It's a nice family film and that's all I can really say about this film.

Gran Torino

2009-11-13T10:53:00.001-08:00

After listening to all of the hype that surrounded this movie, and people saying that this is Clint Eastwood's best movie, I had to give this movie a shot. Let me first say, I have seen better Eastwood movies before, Heartbreak Ridge, In the Line of Fire, and Space Cowboys come to mind. However, this movie is good. I liked how in the begiinning of this movie, you hated Eastwood's character. He is stand offish, rude, and set in his ways. By the time the movie ends, you end pulling for him for sticking up for his neighbors, who, ironically, he treats better than his own family. While Clint Eastwood is getting older and older as time flys by, he is still credible as an action star and director, for that matter. I loved the way he shot the film. Sometimes he would shot the film as an overhead shot, and other times, he filmed it as an over the shoulder shot. My only problem with the movie was the title. While I get that the car itself was the main principle of what his neighbor tried to steal, thus having him help Climt out around the house, the car was a minor character. Only until the end does the car get mentioned again! Other than that, there isn't a lot of bad things to say about Gran Torino. Even if you don't like Clint Eastwood, you should like this movie!

Only You

2009-11-12T07:16:00.001-08:00

While browsing through Netflix, we saw that Only You was available online. Having never seen the movie, and after loving Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man, I gave it a try. This was a sweet, romantic movie about a woman who believes in fate and flys half way around the world to meet the man she's supposed to marry. Of course, when she gets there, she finds out that fate has other plans! Marisa Tomei is great in the movie as a woman who loves to be swept off her feet. Bonnie Hunt, who always plays the wife or sister, is Marisa's sister-in law who goes with her to Italy to find Mr. Right! As for Robert Downey Jr., all I can say is....wow! What gets me is that during this time period, Robert Downey Jr. was spiraling out of control with drugs. To see him turn in a performance like this only tells you how great of an actor he is. If you haven't see this, give it a shot!

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

2009-11-12T07:15:00.001-08:00

While getting ready to enter back into the world of security, my family and I sat in front of the lap top and watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Kevin James is great in this movie as he plays the under appreciated security guard at a mall. As I kept watching this movie, I noticed that Kevin James has a lot of John Candy in him, which is a great thing. The sweetness that John Candy gave you in movies like Planes, Trains, and Automoblies, The Great Oudoors, and Uncle Buck come through in Kevin James. As far as a Sandler production, this movie didn't stack up with Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds, and Anger Management. As far as a Kevin James movie, the movie was pretty good! It's a good movie to watch with you kids, they'll love it!

Dance Flick

2009-11-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

As much as I liked this movie, the rating of PG-13 really bothered me. In this movie, we see a guy relieve himself while dancing and a woman's vagina perform a beat-box. While it is funny, I don't think kids who are 13 should be ready for this. I say this knowing that my 6 year old and 4 year old watched it, but we went into this movie thinking that the humor wouldn't be that crude. As far as the story, it picks apart Save the Last Dance as well as a few other movies. The Wayan's brothers are genius' when it comes to movies like this, and I thought Damon Wayan's Jr, was a spitting image of his dad. If you want a good laugh with no kids around, watch this movie!

Crash (2004)

2009-11-04T19:11:00.000-08:00

I remember watching this movie, shortly after it won best picture in 2004. As much as I enjoyed it then, I had a hard time remembering the chain of events in this movie before I rewatched it a few nights ago. While I don't remember the other movies that were nominated that year, which the exception of Brokeback Mountain, I do remember thinking that this movie was probably the best movie of that year. After watching it again a few nights ago, I still agree with that thought! This movie was great! I loved the story about the locksmith who tells his daughter about an invisible scarf that protects him from being shot and how that nearly played itself out in the movie with his daughter. I liked Don Cheadle's part of the story, and Trevor Howard is very underrated as an actor. I thought Matt Dillion did a great job of a cop who is tired of living in the polictical world of affirmative action. All in all, a must see!

American Pie: Beta House

2009-11-04T06:22:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago, I thought I saw the worst movie ever made, American Pie: The Naked Mile. Boy was I wrong! As bad as that movie was, it's sequel, American Pie: Beta House would be worse. Just like The Naked Mile, the only funny part of the movie was in the beginning of the film. Throughout the rest of the movie, you will fight like hell to find another laugh. Once again, Eugene Levy appears in this film, but even he can't save this film. Stay away from the this film, hopefully the madness of lesser American Pies can stop!

G-Force

2009-11-03T18:19:00.001-08:00

Let me tell you about the greatness of the dollar theater. Melissa and I took Dakota and Cadence to the movie theater to go see G-Force. On 50 cent Tuesday, we paid $2 to get in, and almost $6 for the popcorn. How often can you take a family of four out to see a movie for almost $8? Granted we brought our own drinks and candy, but that's beside the point! Of course, when going to see a Disney film, you get stuck with the kid previews before the movie. Just once, I'd like to see a trailer for Saw 16 right before Cinderella. Anyway, as we all got settled in, the movie began.

I really wanted to pan this movie! I thought I'd be bored with it, and that I would be rolling my eyes for every cheesy one-liner. Instead, I actually enjoyed the movie. Granted guinea pigs were top secret agents, and that alone would be enough for me to pass judgement on the movie, the story was pretty good! Both kids really enjoyed the movie, and in all honesty, that's who should love this movie, your kids! If you're a parent with kids and you need to get out of the house, go see this movie. While you at it, take advantage of the dollar theater, it will be worth it!

Halloween (2007)

2009-11-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

A few months back, I was in my truck, listening to the Stern show. His guest was heavy metal singer turned director Rob Zombie and his wife. They were promoting the sequel to the reboot of the classic horror movie, Halloween. Having never seen the original Halloween movie, I really had no interest seeing the newest version. However, as Rob Zombie was going into detail with Stern about his vision of the series, I became more intrigued. After watching the reboot of Friday the 13th, I was a little skeptical/ Two nights after Halloween, Netflix sends us the first Halloween movie of the Rob Zombie series.

This movie was great! Having never known the origin of Michael Myers, it was interesting to see how tormented he was as a child. With his stepfather being an out of work loser and his mother working as a stripper, he was in white-trash hell! It didn't help that he was picked on in school, and his older sister could care less about his needs. I also liked how they explained why he hid in masks. When the janitor tells him to live inside his own head, he takes it to heart and creates all sorts of masks. I thought Malcolm McDowell was excellent as the child psychiatrist who tries to treat Michael Myers.

Melissa mentioned this to me and I'm starting to agree. The art of horror movies isn't about the movie being scary anymore. I don't know if it's because the directors can't get the audience to jump, or that we've seen real scary moments in our lives that scary music and an unpredible death just isn't enough for us. Either way, I loved the story. I can't wait to see the sequel, even though I already glanced at the plot on wikipedia.org.

American Pie: The Naked Mile

2009-11-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

I remember this one time, in American Pie, when Jason Biggs' character heard that the inside of a women was as warm as sweet apple pie. So Jason's character, Jim, took it upon himself to have sex with an actual apple pie, to only be caught by his father. I remember this one time, in American Pie 2, when Jim, Stifler, and Finch were in some lesbians apartment and were forced to play a truth or dare game with the girls, granted it was more dare than truth. I remember this one time, in American Wedding, when Jim shaved his pubic hair and tried to throw it out the window, to only go all over his wedding cake and future in-laws. I remember this one time, before the American Pie franchise started, when no one heard of Sean William Scott and Eugene Levy was just a bit player in Steve Martin movies. Case in point, the American Pie franchise gave us many laughs over the last ten years. Then came the spin off years.

I don't really remember much about AP: Boot Camp. I never saw AP: Beta House. With the beauty of Netflix, we got to see AP; The Naked Mile. Let me just say this, it's time to close this franchise up. After the first five minutes of the movie, the funny moments were few and far between. My biggest problem with this movie was that they would keep with a scene about five minutes too long. The midget football game was a funny sight gag, but ten minutes of it was too much. Correct me if I'm wrong, but was Steve Stifler (Sean William Scott) a master cocksman in high school. If I remember correctly, he was the one who could throw the parties where OTHER people got laid, not him. Since when did the Stifler name meant that girls would fall all over you.

Imagine watching Lethal Weapon without Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Imagine watching the Ocean 11 movies without Clooney, Pitt, and company. Imagine going to see a superhero movie and not ever seeing the superhero. That's what this movie is, the American Pie name, no substance to follow.

Milk

2009-10-30T16:42:00.001-07:00

When the Oscars took place this past year, I was a little miffed that Mickey Rourke got looked over for Best Actor to Sean Penn for his protrayal of Harvey Milk. After watching Milk last night, Sean Penn was the obvious winner!

This movie was correctly casted! You don't realize that until you see the ending of the film! I thought Sean Penn did a wonderful job as Gay Activist Harvey Milk. Having never heard the story of Harvey Milk, I wasn't aware of how he died, with the exception that I knew he was assassinated. It was interesting to see what the chain of events were that led to his death. As a side note, earlier in the day, TBS was running the first Airplane movie and we hear Leslie Neilson make reference to Anita Bryant. Little did I know that Anita Bryant played a major part as oppostion to Harvey Milk. I will say that in the beginning of the movie, I was bored! As the film progress, I got more into it.

This movie is very topical in todays world. I found that while we have grown to accept the gay community, although there are people out there who still feel threaten by it. While the talk of gay marriage, gays adopting kids, and religious groups who picket funerals of gay people, this will always be a hot button for the world to grasp. Harvey Milk was one of those figures in American history who tried to break down the barriers for the gay community. Sean Penn did a wonderful job in this film!

Marley & Me

2009-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

For our second straight Jennifer Aniston movie, we checked out Marley & Me. For those who don't know, this is a film based on a book. A book that Howard Stern himself has claimed that made him cry. After a few months of Dakota having "dog issues", we decided to make it an evening movie for the family, granted Cadence bailed out after the first hour of the movie.

The beginning kinda dragged for me a bit, but picked up nicely after the dog got older. The movie picked up some speed as the kids were born and Marley got sicker. The movie had a few funny parts, but nothing that made us laugh out loud. Of course, everyone, including me, cried at the end of the movie!

Kids might have a problem watching this film do to the sex talk between Aniston and Wilson. Plus, some kids might not be able to handle the ending of the movie. I don't know how this movie compares to the book, but this movie was alright to watch. If you get a chance, check out this film.

Management

2009-10-29T06:03:00.001-07:00

Every review I've read says that this movie sucks! I am here to tell them that they were wrong! This movie surprised me! First off, it's hard to see Jennifer Aniston and not see Rachel from Friends. In the beginning, that was a problem for me. As the movie progressed and as you felt bad for Steve Zahn, who was head over heels for Jennifer Aniston, the Rachel character seemed to disappear. Steve Zahn, who I don't think had that great of range as an actor, pulled this one off! He was a creepy, albeit sad individual who follows his heart to chase after the girl of his dreams, or at least the first girl that put out for him. Woody Harrelson is in the movie as Jennifer's on again-off again boyfriend. Woody has come a long way since his days of tending bar at Cheers. All in all, this movie blew me away. It was a sweet story, mixed in with a little creepiness. The laughs were all in the right spots and the story didn't bore me. After you find a Blockbuster that hadn't closed yet, give this movie a shot!

Almost Famous

2009-10-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

After owning this movie for over eight years and never watching it, Melissa and I decided to give it a shot. I remember back in 2000, this movie was the buzz around Hollywood. Goldie Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, was given "the role of a lifetime". Anytime I hear "the role of lifetime", I'm reminded of Robin Williams getting the same hype for The Fisher King, and that movie sucked! As far as the movie itself, it's bark was bigger than it's bite.

Let me state first that the movie is alright. The story moved along nicely. There were moments in the movie that made me laugh. Here is where I had a problem with this movie. The "role of a lifetime" by Kate Hudson wasn't what I would consider a break out performance. Her story had nothing to do with the movie itself, yet her face is all over the movie poster. Another complaint I have about this critically acclaimed film is the ending. After watching one hour and fifty eight minutes of this movie, the last two minutes of the film almost killed the movie for me. I just feel that it left an emptiness in the movie.

Like I said earlier, this movie doesn't suck, but it didn't live up to the hype for me. The heartbreaking part about all of this is that I might only get $2 for it at Movie Trading Company.

Duplicity

2009-10-26T15:34:00.001-07:00

This movie sucked! Either this is one of those movies that only makes sense after the movie ends, or there was no point to the story what so ever! I'll go with the latter. After the first ten minutes of this movie, I was lost! I get that both Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are secret agents, but they're going after a hair solution? Really? I got really tired of the director finishing a scene, put the ending in a box, and watch it escape the screen. It's like he was photoshopping the movie. Try photoshopping a story! Is it me or does Julia Roberts disengage from the person she's talking to, and tries not to stare at the camera? As for Paul Giamatti, while I loved him in Private Parts, Cinderella Man, and Man on the Moon, my wife mentioned that he tends to overact in most of his movies. I didn't think so until I saw this piece of garbage. I wish I could comment more about this film, however, I dozed off towards the end of the movie. If you haven't slept well, go check this out! If you're a Julia Roberts fan and must see everything she does, trust me, avoid this at all cost.

Big Daddy

2009-10-24T21:47:00.001-07:00

I can't believe this movie is ten years old! It feels like it was yesterday when I went to Cinemark in Plano to watch this movie. I remember how funny it was and how pissed I got when the power in the theater went off and we were given passes to catch the movie at a later time. I finally saw the rest of the movie back then, and I thought the movie was gold! Ten years later, my wife and I selected it as the movie of the night for us. I got to tell you, the film still holds up!

Big Daddy taught us a few things that we can carry with us. McDonalds stops serving breakfast after 10:30 am, spiking can goods in the supermarket can save you half off the price, and if you ever need to make fun of a place, Hooters is there for you! Adam Sandler was great as Sonny Koufax, a bright guy who's life is a mess, but he chooses to cover it up with newspapers. While I actually enjoyed Cole and Dylan Sprouce's performance as Julian, let me go on record and say what I think every other father of two girls wants to say: I hate Zack and Cody! I liked the pace of the movie as the story never stalled for me. Definately, this movie is one of Sandler's best!

Obsessed

2009-10-21T10:57:00.001-07:00

As the second part of our Netflix double feature, we checked out Obsessed. After watching The Proposal last night, I wasn't sure if Obsessed could complete a successful double feature. This movie blew me away!

This movie reminded me of three different films, Disclosure, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, and Fatal Attraction. What I liked most was that the guy, who is a victim in this movie, didn't have sex with the crazy bitch. In Disclosure, Michael Douglas did have sex with Demi Moore, and in Fatal Attraction, Michael Douglas had sex with Glenn Close. In this movie, Idris Elba plays a business man named Derek Charles, who is targeted by an office temp named Lisa Sheridan, played by Ali Larter. As Derek's life spins out of control, by no fault of his own, his wife, Sharon, played by Beyonce', has a hard time believing that Derek was faithful, since she used to be his secretary at his office who he hooked up with. The farther Derek and Sharon grow apart, the crazier Lisa gets.

It's been a while since I've seen a thriller where I was on the edge of my seat. This movie is a must rent.

The Proposal

2009-10-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

In my first DVD rental from Netflix, Melissa and I got the Sandra Bullock movie, The Proposal. After the crap that we watched last night, my expectations were low! Lucky for us, this movie helped!

Melissa felt that Sandra Bullock was miscast in the role of a bitchy boss, feeling that it didn't fit her. I, however, thought she did a remarkable job! I thought the relationship with Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) character was great. It was nice to see how, in the beginning, she had control in the relationship and how towards the end, she completely lost it. Betty White is in the movie as Andrew's 90 year old grandmother, which led me to say, "She's in everything these days!" Either way, I loved her character.

After the middle of the movie, I started drawing comparisons to an earlier Sandra Bullock movie, While You Were Sleeping. I saw a few similarities, but it didn't detour my opinion of the movie. All in all, it's a good rental.

If Love Hadn't Left Me Lonely

2009-10-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

Normally, I would start off with a long, huge backstory into how I ended up watching a certain movie. Quite frankley, this movie is so bad that the backstory is completly useless. In reviewing a bad movie, the interesting part is how you rip it apart. So here goes!

In almost nine minutes of the movie, the lead character (Mr. French) falls head over heels for a show dancer (not stripper) Lexie (Cindy Herron). From there, the cheesiness begins. How the phrase, "You must be exhausted because you've been running through my mind" didn't make it's way into the movie, I'll never know. We find out that Lexie is going through a divorce and can't get a foothold on her situation because her.....soon to be ex-husband's mother is demanding that she give her daughter over to her son. That's right, the mother of the soon to be ex-husband is making demands that apparently handicaps Lexie's situation. *Just a side note, we never see the over-bearing mother in the movie, which would have been a huge plus! Anyway, Mr. French writes a song about Lexie and then tries to get back into the music business by trying to be old-fashioned with his music. While Mr. French runs into some opposition into selling his music, Lexie, who had played hard to get throughout the first part, is now comfortable with him enough to sleep with him. Ten seconds later, she's back with her husband. I always hate it when ten seconds in a movie goes by and in the story it's been 3 weeks. I got a kick how they were going to promote a huge concert featuring old music and new music together. I was thinking the event would take place in a huge stadium or concert setting, instead we get a stage that the Addison Improv can squash. I suppose putting Ice-T and Gary Busey in the movie tried to lend some credibillity to the movie, while in reality, it didn't! Of course the biggest WTF moment for me was when David Alan Grier, who wasn't even in the movie, shows up in the credits. Melissa said, "Where was David Alan Grier?" One second later, he shows up being interviewed about Mr. French's music.

The ongoing joke between Melissa and I was we orginally thought this was a lifetime movie, due to the pauses in the movie that would signal a commerical interruption. Then we heard the F-word, and that put that to rest. In some scenes you couldn't hear Mr. French talking, while the person he was talking had a booming voice. From WTF moments to Mr. French fighting like William Shatner's Captain Kirk to noticing that the couch from Mr. French's house was the same couch in the studio, this movie was horrible!

Race to Witch Mountain

2009-10-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

During my first day of retirement (or between jobs), the wife and I decided that whatever movie I grab at Blockbuster tonight, it had to be kid friendly. After going around the store a few times, I had five titles in my hand to choose from. I called Melissa and read off the titles, and we all agreed to watch Race to Witch Mountain.

After watching The Rock vs. Space Invaders.....I mean, Race to Witch Mountain, I came away with a few thoughts on the movie. For someone who has been taken hostage by aliens, Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) really seemed to go along just fine with everything. The special effects looked cheaply made (possibly feeling that if Disney doesn't shell out a lot for the movie, they can keep the cost of the movie down and possibly make a profit on the movie). The movie did seem predictable for me, for instance, knowing that when a car is on a train track, it's only a matter of time before a train starts coming towards the car.

The story is very kid friendly. Both of my kids were able to sit through the movie and stay somewhat interested it. At the end of the day, if your kids watch this movie, it shouldn't warp their little minds and wish they had a power rifle and a tower to shoot from!

Mr. Deeds

2009-10-12T19:43:00.001-07:00

As part of a double header for me one night, feeling in a light-hearted mood, I put on Mr. Deeds. Adam Sandler has really made of career of playing the soft spoken, down to earth guy, and Mr. Deeds is just another one of those movies.

Adam Sandler plays Longfellow Deeds, who finds out that his uncle left him 40 billion dollars after his death. Along the way he meets the woman of his dreams, who apparently isn't what she protrays to be. The movie keeps a pretty good pace to itself and plays out well for a typical Sandler movie.

Wedding Crashers

2009-10-12T19:34:00.001-07:00

I remember going to see this in the movie theaters with my buddy, Bo. Everytime we saw a movie that featured two leading actors, Bo would turn to me and ask, "Okay, which one's you?" For this one, I chose to be Owen Wilson's character. At about the half point mark of the movie, Bo turned to me and said, "Come on, dude, switch with me!" Vince Vaughn's character went through hell in movie, which provided great comedy for me. Years later, out on the road with my mother, I put the movie on again so my mother could see it for the first time. The movie holds up, for sure.

The story of how two guys who do horrible things at weddings, to only later, try to play it straight, had me laughing throughout the entire movie. Owen Wilson's character, John, starts to see how sleazy he's been over time and starts questioning his morality. Vince Vaughn's character, Jeremy, lives and dies by the rules of wedding crashing and, in a small twist of fate, finds a girl who is more f'ed up than he is. Rachel McAdams plays Clara, the girl who John was orginally trying to trick into sleeping with him, to apparently falling in love with. The irony is that Clara starts falling for John, but is committed to someone else. The twist and turns of this movie kept me on the edge of my seat.

Biloxi Blues

2009-10-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

As a kid, I remember sitting in the living room and watching Biloxi Blues with my parents. I remember liking it a lot back then, and I even used a few of the scenes in the movie in my theater arts class in high school. But that was 1991! Here in 2009, Biloxi Blues is not as great as I remembered it.

While Matthew Brodrick was the main figure in the movie, the main star of the film was Christopher Walken. The way he played Sgt. Toomey in the movie as a nice guy who can flip the switch at any time was great! I loved it when he'd pick on Brodrick's character, Eugene Jerome, just to ensure discipline in his troop. As for Brodrick's role, I see it more as a stage character, not a movie character. Granted this movie is a stage play, but you would think they can Hollywood it up a little. While the beginning of the movie helped set the movie the right direction, the movie changes right after Eugene and a the guy head to a whore house. The ending itself was a little anti-climatic as it ends how it started, with everyone on the train and Eugene's dialogue finishing up the movie.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is watchable, but it is wierd to love a movie when you're a kid and then later on watch it and go, "When is this going to end?"

Rocky IV

2009-10-02T10:39:00.001-07:00

A couple of nights ago, I got to one of our terminals in Lebanon, TN, and inside the break room, the channel was on the Spike network. Getting ready to start was an 80's classic for me, Stallone's fourth installment of the Rocky series. Even though I have seen the movie a billion times and could probably quote all of the movie, I feel that I should give my crtique of the movie.

Story wise, the movie is pretty stellar! You have the obivious hero in Rocky, the low-key heavyweight champion. You have the villian, Ivan Drago, the massive Russian who is ready to try his hand in professional boxing. You have the best friend, Apollo Creed, who thinks that he can beat the unknown Russian, but as we all know, dies in the ring. The choregraphy in the boxing matches are great, even if every punch sounds like a shotgun blast. As far as dialogue, obviously Stallone didn't work all that hard what was being said. From Apollo's lame excuse to get back into the ring, to Rocky's lame speech after he defeated the Russian, you just want to shake your head and laugh. Unlike the other Rocky movies, Burt Young's character, Paulie, is a non-factor in this movie, which is a bad thing. Talia Shire's character, Adrian, is not the driving force for Rocky as she was in previous movies.

In the end, all that matters is that Rocky wins in the end and the fight makes up for a really bad script.

Hannah Montana the Movie

2009-09-26T22:12:00.000-07:00

Before I give my review of this movie, let me first turn in my MAN CARD. For Cadence's 4th birthday, we decided to enter into the Blu Ray universe be getting her Hannah Montana the Movie. Honestly, not my first choice! I was hoping for Star Trek, Superman, or even Star Wars to kick it off. Instead, I get Hannah Montana. I suppose my saving grace is that we still don't own a Blu Ray player yet. When Melissa bought the movie, it came with a DVD version of the movie, which brings me to my review.

I was well aware of how campy the Disney show is, so I was expecting the same kind of campiness. To my surprise, the movie didn't go there, at least not enough to get me to roll my eyes and wish I had a gun to end it all. Sure there were a few moments where I would ask Melissa, "How can this happen?" For instance, while during a Mrs. Doubtfire moment, Miley is alternating between a governor's dinner and a date. During one of the switches, she returns after changing clothes and keeping the lobster bib on. Would that of been taken care of during her changing clothes? Another moment for me was when towards the end, Miley is on stage singing a song that she just wrote and was going to debut it in front of a live crowd. It was safe to assume that her band never heard of the song before, but apparently knew how it was going to go and performed it without any practice. Despite a few of the movie's inconsistencies, the storyline was pretty good. I enjoyed the fish out of water moments that Miley had going back to her grandmother's farm. As much as I can do without Billy Ray Cyrus, I thought his role was used enough to not completely hate him.

All in all, your kids will love the movie! I think it's safe to say that adults could tolerate the movie, even if they're sick of the Hannah Montana craze. The movie is safe, and so is the franchise.

Friday the 13th (2009)

2009-08-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

With Rob Zombie making new Halloween movies and the fact that horror movies are becoming scarier, I was intrigued to see the newest, revamped verison of Friday the 13th. Let's just say, while I enjoyed the movie, I couldn't find one scary moment in the movie. I did like how they revamped Jason. In previous Jason movies, Jason would just be a mindless killer who just killed for no reason. In this one, Jason seemed to know what he was doing. As for the rest of the cast, you get the same old story. You can almost predict who was going to die first, and how they would die. All in all, the movie didn't suck, but in my opinion, it could of been better.

The Natural

2009-08-17T15:24:00.000-07:00

After hearing that the Texas Rangers took two of three from the Boston Red Sox, I got in the baseball mood and wanted to catch an old baseball classic movie. I haven't seen The Natural in a real long time, so we rented it from Blockbuster and brought it home to watch. Seeing as how Dakota never saw the movie, she watched it with me.

Here's my take...

This is, in my opinion, the greatest baseball movie of all time. The story of a young boy with natural baseball talent, who struggles to get to the big leagues after 16 years. Robert Redford is great as Roy Hobbs, and middle aged rookie who knows that the clock is ticking on his baseball career. From every home run he hits to the struggles he went through to get to the final game, the story was captivating. For the baseball fans out there, this is the movie to check out.

Iron Man

2009-08-09T07:33:00.001-07:00

I was sitting in the truck one night, bored out of my mind. As I was looking online, I came across a You Tube video of the upcoming Iron Man 2 movie, due out in 2010. That got me wanting to see the first Iron Man movie!

The Good: Marvel Comic movies are really on their game. Iron Man reminded me of how I felt after seeing the first Spiderman movie. The story was excellent, the acting was superb, and the action sequences were awesome. Robert Downey Jr. reminds us on how great of an actor he is. Jeff Bridges was great as the main villian in the movie, a role that I normally don't see him in. While I'm not a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, I thought her role in the movie was enough to not hate her. The funny thing is that after I saw the movie, I went to Wikipedia to learn about the origin of Iron Man. I liked how they took the origin of Iron Man and adapted it to our current situation in the Middle East.

The Bad: The only bad thing about this movie for me is that it wasn't long enough. They gave Superman Returns two and a half hours and it sucked! This movie could of added an extra 30 minutes and not dissappointed me.

The Verdict: Jon Favreau was on the Howard Stern show after Iron Man was released and Howard kept telling him to not make any other movies and just make Iron Man movies. Favreau has taken a forgotten comic figure and brought him to life that other comic book heroes haven't had. Iron Man is a keeper, and Iron Man 2 looks like it's going to rock!

One Fine Day

2009-07-12T08:30:00.001-07:00

Obviously, on a day where I have nothing to do, movie watching is my little getaway. Sitting in my truck until my delivery for tomorrow, I broke out the laptop and started throwing movies in. Here is what I thought about One Fine Day.

THE GOOD: This was a real sweet movie! Michelle Pfeiffer is great as a single-working mother who, unfortunatly, puts her job ahead of her son. George Clooney is great as a newspaper writer who gets his daughter thrown into his lap as his ex-wife is off for her honeymoon. To watch these two come together and deal with their jobs and babysitting all in one day, while falling for each other, was real sweet. At the end of the movie, you end up rooting for these two to get together.

THE BAD: There's not a whole lot of bad I can add to this movie. For some people, when the movie ends, you want to know what happens to these two, but in my opinion, the movie is called One Fine Day, so tomorrow is left wide open.

THE VERDICT: Every now and then, Hollywood can take a concept, not spend a whole lot of money on it, and come out with a nice little movie. That's what One Fine Day was.

The Dark Knight

2009-07-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

The dark knight returns in....The Dark Knight, and the movie killed it at the box office. Granted, everyone wanted to see Heath Ledger's performance, and they were in for a treat. His portrayal of The Joker was rivating. He mind The Joker a mindless killer, mixed in with Joker mannerisms. He was deserving of the Academy Award he won, although he wasn't alive to recieve it. As for Christian Bale, while I like his verison of Batman better than George Clooney, Val Kilmer, and even Michael Keation, he obviously isn't the main attraction in the movie. The Dark Knight is more about the villian in the movie, which worked for other superhero moves. After all, Gene Hackman got top billing over Christopher Reeve in Superman and it worked. The Dark Knight is a knockout, and it will be interesting to see how the third one plays out.

Live Free or Die Hard

2009-07-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Very rarely does a sequel out do the original. In the case of the Die Hard movies, the movies get bigger and better everytime. I was sitting in Canton, OH this weekend and going through my movie collection on the truck. I picked out this movie, and was blown away!

THE GOOD: Even though this movie is all about explosions and fighting, you have to hand it to the writers of this movie. Bruce Willis can throw out one-liners in this one and the laughter doesn't feel forced. The one thing that the Die Hard franchise has always done is made the villians cool. Plus, I liked how they incorporated computer hackers and the dangers of the internet as a form of terrorism.

THE BAD: Not that this was bad but I thought Justin Long's character ran his course with me after the first hour. I know that McClane had to carry him around for the whole movie, but I was ready for a terrorist to kill him off. Other than that, it's hard to find a bad thing about this movie.

THE VERDICT: In the last five years, we have seen Hollywood heavyweights from the 80's bring back their signature characters. We saw Stallone brought Rocky out of retirement and Rambo back into a war. We saw Harrison Ford, unsuccessfully in my opinion, bring back Indiana Jones. We even saw Arnold Schwarzenegger bring back the Terminator in an underrated sequel to the Terminator series. I think Live Free or Die Hard puts everyone to shame.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystral Skull

2009-07-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

After 19 years, and countless times we heard Spielberg, Ford, and Lucas say that Indiana Jones IV was coming out, this is what we get. I thought George Lucas kinda lost his edge with the latest Star Wars movies, but after watching this movie, I question if he really had any kind of edge at all.

THE GOOD: I had to really watch this film close enough to find any GOOD in it. The action scenes were nice! The special effects were good. I was wondering how they were going to answer for Sean Connery and Denholm Elliot not being in the movie, and they answered it nicely by seting the story in the 50's, letting them pass on naturally. After that, there's not much else.

THE BAD: Where do I begin? Whoever wrote the dialogue for this movie should of been fired! The lines came out campy and forced! One of my biggest problems I had with National Treasure and the earlier Indiana Jones movies is that Indiana Jones is a big know-it-all. You would think that through all the things that we have seen him go through, you would think that he could afford to forget a few things. But no, he knows the story to every carving on a wall, different languages in diaries, and so on. I felt that bringing back Karen Allen as Indy's love interest from the first movie was a bit forced. Tying them together with Shia Labeoff of Transformers was a bit much. Then there's Harrison Ford! I am a hig Harrison Ford fan, but he is too old to be Indiana Jones. His punches were very telegraphed. His quick comebacks aren't so quick! I just didn't buy it anymore from him. It reminded my of Stallone in Rocky Balboa. During the fight scene, Stallone just looked too old!

THE VERDICT: I'm sure you've heard the old saying that sometimes you just can't go home! That's I felt during this movie. If you have an Indiana Jones craze one night, just remember the three other masterpieces he made in the 80's. Those would blow you away before this one would.

Hollywoodland

2009-07-12T07:23:00.001-07:00

My travels took me up to Canton, OH last night. After I got settled in, I picked out a few movies I was going to watch that evening. I picked out two completely different movies and got started. The first one on the list is Hollywoodland. It was the story about the mystery of the death of George Reeves, the 1950's Superman.

THE GOOD: This movie should of been considered one of the best movies of 2006. I liked how they played up the many ways George Reeves died. Adrian Brody's character, while being fictitious, takes us through the hell that George Reeves went through, trying to become a major actor. I liked how they showed how George Reeves hated playing Superman for fear that he would by typecasted and not well received in other projects. One example was when he sat in a movie theater while they were previewing From Here to Eternity, a movie that George Reeves was in. When the crowd saw that Superman was in the movie, the laughter started and Reeves was cut out of the movie. The movie did remind me of the movie Wired, the movie that had Bob Woodward trace the steps of John Belushi before his death. Unlike Wired, however, this movie was thought provokiing, interesting, and kept you on the edge of your seat. Diane Lane has a great performance as Toni Mannix, the wife of the head of MGM, who is George Reeves' girlfriend. She, alone, should of been nominated for an Academy Award for her role.

THE BAD: They focused a little too much on the Louis Simo's (Adrian Brody) life. They were trying to compare both lives of Simo and Reeves and, quite frankly, I don't think it was needed. The movie does drag a bit, but they could of cut down some of Simo's story and focus on the investigation of the Reeve's death,

THE VERDICT

This is a must see! While the ending of the movie won't be resolved (after all, this is one of the biggest mysterys in Hollywood), it will take you on a trip into the showbusiness hell that most actors go through.

Superman Returns

2009-07-11T14:58:00.001-07:00

For those who don't know or have been living under a rock for the last 20 years, I am a huge Superman fan. I loved the original Christopher Reeve Superman movies (well, at least the first one). I am glued to Smallville when it airs during the fall season. I even own the Lois and Clark TV shows on DVD. In 2005, I heard that they had cast the new Superman movie, I was intrigued! When the movie came out, I took Dakota to see it when she was 3 and a half. I remember defending the movie against the Spiderman fans, saying that the love story between Superman and Lois was no different than the love story with Spiderman and Mary Jane. Now, after further review, I have changed my stance on the movie.

THE GOOD: I thought that casting an unknown (Brandon Routh) as the Man of Steel was great. I thought Brandon played the role of Clark Kent to perfection. He still needs to work on the Superman character, but I don't think he was given much help with that. Plus, he was replacing Christopher Reeve. That's kinda like Danny White replacing Roger Staubach or Quincy Carter replacing Troy Aikman. I feel he did as good of a job as Danny White and no where near of a job as Quincy Carter. I thought casting Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther was genius. While he wasn't as funny as Gene Hackman was in the original, he made me feel like Lex Luther could be a viable enemy for Superman. I loved how CGI has come so far from the original. I thought the flying sequences were great! The scene that sticks out in my mind is when Superman stopped the airplane from crashing into a baseball stadium.

THE BAD: This story sucked! They kept the same storylines from the original. Lex Luther was in search of land. Superman and Lois have already been together (the kid didn't help either). After watching Spiderman's 1 and 2, Batman's storying beginning, and the X-Men taking shape, you would think that we could see The Man of Steel throw ONE punch! I thought that Lois Lane was miscast. Kate Bosworth didn't have the flair that Lois Lane for getting stories. I felt like the entire movie was trying not to step on the toes of the Donner films. I even thought the Superman outfit was too dark. I know that Marvel and DC Comics like to have dark superheroes, but Superman is red, blue, and yellow, not marroon, dark blue, and gold.

THE VERDICT: Here we are, 2009, and we have seen a Batman sequel win an oscar. We have seen Iron Man become a bankable hero. We even saw a re-boot of The Incredible Hulk that made the first one look like a bad made for TV movie. You would think that Superman would of been up there with these movies. Honestly, I don't see how a movie can make $280 million and be considered a failure. However, when you spend $300 million to make the movie, it is not a commerical success. The movie is watchable, but if you want to see a great superhero movie, stay away from this one.

Transformers (2007)

2009-07-08T13:39:00.001-07:00

After seeing the sequel to the 2007 spectagular, I wanted to revisit the first movie to compare both movies. Before I got back in my truck, I loaded my truck up with a few movies, Transformers being one of them.

This movie blew me away with everything! First off, you can't say enough about how real the robots looked in this picture. They have come a long way from the cartoon animated version, and with CGI, the magic of Spielberg's movie, or whatever you call it, this movie was fantastic on all fronts. I thought it was brilliant to bring in the cartoon voice of Optimus Prime to the live action Optimus Prime. While some of the Autobots and Decepticons weren't the same as they were in the cartoon, I feel that they did a remarkable job establishing who's who in this movie. While Bumblebee was the breakout robot in the movie, Optimus Prime still dominated the movie. I found Shia LaBeouf's character brought some believablity to the movie. While I was upset that Megatron's character was under utillized, all in all, the good outwieghts the dissappointments. Just like in the sequel, John Turtorro steals the show in this one.

While the sequel was very good about advancing the storyline for the Transformer's franchise, the first one still stands head and shoulders above it. While the violence and language in this movie might be a bit much for kids, it carrys well for those who grew up on the cartoon.

Robots

2009-07-05T17:21:00.001-07:00

Last night, it was Cadence's turn to pick a movie of her choice. She chose Robots, the animated movie with Robin Williams, Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, and Mel Brooks. I hadn't seen the movie in a while, so the four of us (actually three, Melissa was on the computer) sat around watched the movie.

I found the movie as enjoyable this time as I did when Dakota and I saw it in the theater. I thought the story about a young robot wanting to meet his hero was good. When Rodney's (McGregor) folks were going to make a baby, I laughed out loud on how that meant actually making a baby (from a box). I found other little moments that made me laugh. When on robot puts a voice box in his system and comes out sounding like Darth Vader for Star Wars, I told Dakota that Rodney's voice is done by Obi Wan Kenobi, and she laughed. The story itself is pretty basic, but the dialogue and humor helps the movie along.

The comic relief from Robin Williams' character added to the movie. I'm almost convinced that I prefer an animated version of him than the real person. Greg Kinnear is funny as the villian who wants to replace old parts with new parts. The fact that he is so power hungry, yet a mama's boy was hillarious. Other voices included are Drew Carey, Jennifer Coolidge (Stiffler's mom from American Pie fame), and Paul Giamatti.

The movie is kid friendly with a positive message for kids. While animation movies are starting to run together for me, this one stands out in for me.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

2009-07-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

The day finally came. Dakota and I went off to go see the sequel to Transformers. Going into this, I had an idea that this movie would be non-stop action and very little storyline. Being a fan of the original cartoon and movie, plus the first live action movie, I was skeptical about this one. After the first 15 minutes of this movie, I had nothing to worry about.

While the movie is over two hours long, the movie keeps a nice flow of both story and action. Like the first movie, I always thought it was pretty cool that they kept the same voice actor (Peter Cullen) to do the voice of Optimus Prime in the movie as he did in the cartoon. Sometimes, as a movie goer, it's nice to have that familiarity with the characters, even if it's just the voice. Shia LaBeouf is great as Sam Whitwicky, the human who the Autobots trust. Dakota told me after the movie that Bumblebee is still her favorite, but she agreed that there were a few other robots that stole the show. As for Megan Fox, she does what brought her to the dance: look hot! Of course, John Turtorro is excellent as Agent Simmons. I found it to be nice that they introduced the Matrix of Leadership to the storyline. For those that saw the cartoon movie back in the 80's, the Matrix was the device that dominated the movie and new episodes that followed it.

It looks like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will give Star Trek a run for it's money at the box office. As for me, while the movie isn't as strong as Star Trek, it is right up there as far as one of the best movies of 2009.

The Bucket List

2009-07-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

I saw this movie when it was in the movie theater back in January of 2007. I was staying in a hotel room in Memphis, recovering from a broken arm I suffered from falling out of my truck. While I was up there, I was doing workman's comp stuff and had the company car on the weekends. I decided to get out of the hotel room and go catch a few movies. I remember liking the movie then. A year and a half years later, I finally see it again!

Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are great in this movie. Both men are dying in the movie, and decide to close out their life on their terms. I found that the story dragged a little bit in between different tasks, but made up for it by excellent writing. I liked that as both men were trying to complete each task, both knew that the end was near. I think Morgan Freeman is on of the finest actors to ever come down the pike. I thought Sean Hayes was really good in the movie as Nicholson's assistant.

I think that The Bucket List is a good movie, with two of the best actors in the business, with an accomplished director (Rob Reiner) at the helm. Go check it out!

Air Force One

2009-06-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

I can remember seeing this movie in the theater when it came out. My father thought this was going to be another movie that Harrison Ford would walk through (obviously not a fan). My friend Chris was with me and he was the biggest Harrison Ford mark out there. I remember when Harrison Ford said, "Here comes the good guys," after the U.S. fighters showed up to defeat the Russian Migs, my friend Chris let out a big, "Yes!" Maybe that's a reason I'm not friends with him. Enough of my trip down memory lane, on to the review.

For as chessy as the lines are in the movie, and for how robotic Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, and William H. Macy may have been, this was an awesome movie. What saves this movie, for me, is Gary Oldman, the Russian millitant. He can play just about everything, from Lee Harvey Oswald to Comissioner Gordon, this guy is a great actor. Don't get me wrong, Harrison Ford has his moments too, but just like the Die Hard movies, in order to like the good guy, you got to really hate the bad guy. As for Harrison Ford, he didn't walk through this movie and turned out a great performance. I didn't care for his dialogue, but he makes up for it in the action sequences.

If your walking through Blockbuster and nothing looks good, head over to the action section and pick up this movie. You won't be dissappointed!

Analyze This

2009-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

I was going through my movie collection and I icked out Analyze This one night. I got to tell you, very few movies have me laughing out loud, and this one is one of them.

Robert DeNiro plays a gangster (big shock) who is having a mental breakdown over the events that have transpired over his life. Billy Crystal plays a shrink who is bored to death of his profession. When these two meet up, the comedy doesn't stop. From DeNiro crying to Crystal's quick wit, you will be laughing your ut ass off as these two Hollywood legends exchange words with one another. Lisa Kudrow is also in the movie, but her part is only there for Crystal's obsticle throughout the movie.

The story itself is hillarious! One thing is for certain, Harold Ramis hardly directs a bad movie. With Groundhog Day, Multiplicity, Caddyshack, Vacation, this movie ranks right up there as one of his best movies!

Life

2009-06-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Eddie Murphy used to be one of those actors whose movies would sell out nation wide. For those of you who forget, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hrs., The Nutty Professor, and Coming to America were big box office draws for him. He has since made movies like Meet Dave, I Spy, Showtime, and Vampire in Brooklin. All were major misses for him. So where does a movie like Life rate: probably somewhere in the middle.

Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence team up again in a buddy movie about two strangers who are brought together to pay back a club owner in New York City. Along the way, they appear to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as they are convicted for murder which ends up sentencing them to life in prison. Martin Lawrence is great as Claude Banks! He blames everything on everyone as Eddie Murphy's Ray Gibson is always planning their next escape. The late-great Bernie Mac is also in the movie.

While I wouldn't put Life up there with Beverly Hills Cop, I would put it in the Boomerang, Metro, Dr. Dolittle catagory, movies that hold up on their own. I did like the reference that Eddie Murphy said when he told a big guy, "I know a bitch named Della that hits harder than you," referring to Della Reese when they played together in Harlem Nights. For Eddie Murphy fans who long for a good Eddie Murphy movie, check this out!

National Treasure

2009-06-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, Disney gets it right in my book! In National Treasure, they do what Indiana Jones 4 couldn't do! They made a fun,action packed movie with not a lot of bells and whistles, and they deliver the goods. It is a good movie for those who follow history. It's a good movie for those who like movies that take you on a roller coaster ride. Plus, it's a good movie for kids (if you can break them away from Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers).

Nicolas Cage is Benjamin Franklin Gates, the man who thinks there's a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, and ends up stealing it! I like the character he played, with the exception that he comes off as a know-it-all. Justin Bartha steals the show as Riley. Riley is a smart mouth sidekick who doesn't keep up with the history, but knows his way around computers.

This movie does what Indiana Jones 4 didn't do! It kept me entertained! From the beginning to end, you'll laugh and cheer for the heroes to make good.

Rambo

2009-06-28T08:04:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "You can't go home again!" Sylvester Stallone has proven that some saying just aren't true. He proved it in Rocky Balboa, and he proves it again in Rambo.

Unlike the three previous Rambo movies, this one has a different edge to it. Since Rambo 3, movies like Saving Private Ryan have redined war movies. With Stallone at the director seat for this one, Rambo takes the new direction of war movies and turns the volume up! Like other Rambo movies, the situation evolves around a real life conflict, this time hitting on the genicide of Burma.

Everytime I see a Rambo movie, I figure that Stallone has at least one page of dialogue to read from as the movie progresses. Stallone looks a little hagered in this movie, granted he is around 60. He gives another masterful perfomance as John Rambo. While Stallone doesn't get the acting credit he deserves, you have to at least agree with the fact that of all of the characters he has played, he knows Rocky Balboa and John Rambo better than anyone.

As for the story, it seems pretty simple! A bunch of do-gooders want to go to Burma to help out with the injured and poor, and of course, they don't listen to Rambo when he tells them to go home. They go anyway, end up getting caught, and get tortured! So it's Rambo to the rescue, with the help of a few mercenaries.

If you are still a Stallone fan, this movie is a must. If you think Stallone is washed up and can't draw a crowd like he used to, check this one out and see for yourself. If you have no interest in this movie, Rambo isn't for you!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

2009-06-22T16:32:00.000-07:00

It's summer movie season, and the big dogs have come out! For the first major movie to be released, Marvel Comics gives us another X-Men movie, this time focusing on Wolverine. Hugh Jackman is back as the iron clawed hero, and I've got to say, the movie was good.

While the movie wasn't the typical superhero movie for me, the story is pretty sound. While I am not familiar with the comic verison of Wolverine, the plot of the story is good enough for me to hold my interest. It focuses on the beginnings of how Wolverine came to be, before he joined the X-Men. The action was great, the fight scenes were well done, and fans of Marvel Comics or The X-Men should be pretty pleased!

Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine and gives a solid performance. It always amazes me when actors from other countries can mask their true voice and speak perfect English. In his fourth protrayal of Wolverine, he enters Christopher Reeve territory. Christopher Reeve played Superman in four movies and was typecast for the role. Hugh Jackman can always bank on the Wolverine character to generate big box office for him.

While the movie was a nice start to the 2009 summer season, it didn't set the bar for summer movies this year, Star Trek took care of that the next week. However, for comic book fans, this movies doesn't miss the mark.

Kung Fu Panda - M

2009-06-22T16:30:00.001-07:00

Coming soon...(hopefully)!!!

Kung Fu Panda

2009-06-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

Just saw this movie last night before I hit the road and let me just say, this movie sucked! I know that in the world of animation, anything is possible, but this movie takes way too many advantages.

Where do I start? Let's begin with Jack Black! Personally, I don't get him! I know that he is this comic genius who always strikes gold in movies, but to me, he's a lot like Jim Carrey. Jim Carrey can be a one-trick pony some times, but at least when he's asked to act, he delivers! Jack Black is annoying as hell to me. I know, you can't see Jack Black in the movie, but the panda was annoying enough.

The story itself had one major hole in the movie. They never explained how a panda could be the son of a bird. I kept waiting for a Steve Martin-The Jerk moment when the dad explains that Poe (the Panda) isn't his natural born child. Instead, we get noodle jokes!

All in all, while the movie does have some funny moments, I wouldn't call the movie a must-get! If you are at your local video store, take my advice, don't rent this movie!

Dirty Work

2009-06-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Having listened to the Howard Stern show for years, I have come to love Artie Lange. His role on the Stern show is cruical to the success of that show. Every once in a while, during the Stern show, Artie would always tell stories of the making of Dirty Work, before he came on to the Stern show. After years of hearing him talk about it, I decided that if I ever get a chance, I'll watch it. As luck turned out, I found the movie on Hulu.com. For the record, I'm glad I never bought the movie.

Let's start with the acting. Norm McDonald should never be the lead actor in a movie....ever! His dialogue is so dry, his words come out forced, almost making it look like he's reading from cue cards. Artie Lange is okay in the film, but in all honesty, he wasn't ready for prime time! Chevy Chase is sad in the movie. I remember loving to watch him in the Vacation movies, now he's resorted to playing bit parts. The only memorable moment in the movie for me is when Don Rickles plays the movie theater owner. His line to Artie, "Look at you, you Baby Gorilla," was classic! On a side note, Chris Farley looked pitiful in his final performance. Knowing that he died of drug overdose after this movie doesn't help!

As for the story, it was pretty vanilla. You can almost predict whats going to happen next during each scene. While the movie does have some laugh out moments, but it's not enough to save the movie. Plus, how many times do we have to see Norm McDonald thrown into a trash can before we get the fact that he can't defend himself. If that wasn't bad enough, we see them using the same tricks twice. In the beginning, Norm and Artie put popcorn kernels in a car engine and the popcorn ruined the car. Later, they do the same thing to a tractor. On another trick, they break into someone's house and leave fish everywhere. Later on, when they are vandelizing a building, they do the same thing. It's almost as if the writers ran out of ideas.

All in all, while the movie does offer a few laughs, it's not enough to make this movie a hit. As for Artie Lange, I wouldn't talk about this movie being one of your big highlights.

Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa

2009-05-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

It was Cadence's turn to pick a movie for "Kids Movie Night", and she picked Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa. We saw this in the movie theater back in 2008, but didn't a forum to review it. So here we go!

The story of Madagascar 2 was really good! Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, and crew start to head back to New York, but ended up crash landing in Africa. As it turns out, Africa is more like home to them than New York! Alex (Ben Stiller) meets his parents (voiced by the late Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd), Marty (Chris Rock) runs with a herd of zebras, Melman (David Schwimmer) fights for Gloria's (Jada Pinkett Smith) attention from Moto Moto (Will I Am). Just a side note, if I ever go back into pro wrestling, I'm taking the Moto Moto song, Big and Chunky with me. Of course, the peguins steal the show!

This one holds up to the first one real well. I thought Cadence made a real good choice on Friday night.

Star Trek (2009) - Interview with Dakota

2009-05-16T17:56:00.001-07:00

I took my daughter to see the new Star Trek movie this afternoon. After having to give up three upcoming movies of her choice, she agreed to see the movie. I thought it would be cool to get her take on the movie.

T: How did you like the movie?

D: It was great!

T: What was your favorite part?

D: The beginning. The ship blew up and Captian Kirk's dad died. Captain Kirk was born!

T: Who is your favorite character?

D: Scotty! He talks Scotish!

T: Would you be willing to watch some of the old Star Trek T.V. shows or movies after watching this film?

D: No! They might be old and boring!

T: Which movie was better: Star Wars or Star Trek?

D: Star Trek, it was action-packed!

T: Was there a time in the movie to where you felt lost during the movie?

D: No!

T: Were you scared during the movie?

D: Yes! When the monster came, I think it was a dinosaur or something. It was chasing Kirk!

T: What was the funniest part of the movie?

D: It was funny when Dr. McCoy was putting shots in Kirk's neck.

T: Would you ever watch it agian?

D: Yes!

T: If a sequel came out, would you want to go watch it?

D: Maybe!

T: Do you think Mom would ever watch it?

D: No! Not likely!

T: On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the best, where would you rate this movie?

D: 6!

T: Does Dad still owe you three movies of your choice?

D: Yes! I would make you see Ariel (The Little Mermaid). I want you to see Princess movies, like Belle (Beauty and the Beast). We can rent a Barbie movie!

Star Trek (2009)

2009-05-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

If I could sum this movie up into one word, it would be "Wow!" J.J. Abrams is able to take the movies where no Star Trek has gone before in the eleventh version of Star Trek. In 43 years, after five different Star Trek T.V. shows and countless numbers of books and games, Star Trek finally gets the correct face-life that it needed.

For one thing, it's good to see all of the characters, not named Kirk and Spock, to have an intragale part in the movie. I'm sure George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig are happy to see the characters they created getting more movie face time than they had. Anton Yelchin plays Mr. Chekov as a young, 17 year old, genius, still trying to wok around his Russian accent. John Cho brings George Takei's Mr. Sulu back to life with his own characterization. Zoe Saldana plays a more noticeable Uhura as she plays the love interest of Mr. Spock (didn't see that one coming). Simon Pegg,. while not a complete replica of James Doohan's Scotty, brings his own sense of style to the character. Karl Urban caputres the Dr. McCoy character a bit differnetly than DeForest Kelley's intrepretation, but makes it work with humor. Zachary Quinto plays Mr. Spock, the logical, unemotional (unitll pissed off) firt officer of the Enterprise. While not as stoic as Leonard Nimoy's version, it actually puts Spock in a better light so the audience can relate to him. Then that lead us to Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine. He plays Captain Kirk with his own style, not so much of William Shatner.

I feel the movie is probably one the best movies I've seen in three years. The special effects are fantastic, the scenes with The Enterprise are far different than those in the earlier movies. I do like how after the first 20 minutes of the movie, the Star Trek universe isn't the same as we last had it. This will allow the makers of next Star Trek movies a chance to branch out into different areas, without crossing over to the mythology of Star Trek. If you are not a Trekkie, just because the movie is Star Trek is not a good reason to not see it. It is a roller coaster action thrill ride from the first scene to the last. Like Captain Kirk says later on in the movie, "Buckle up!" You'll love the movie.

Twilight

2009-05-08T23:29:00.001-07:00

My friend Julie has been raving about the Twilight series of books for months now as well as almost every other woman I know, so I decided to rent the movie when I was browsing Blockbuster for something to watch the other night. I'm not really a big fan of vampire flicks, so I think that is why it took me so long to consider watching the film. I do have to say that I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the movie.

Yes, it is about a family of vampires that are living among humans, but the movie didn't really dwell on the whole vampire thing, thank goodness. It was more about the highly intense relationship between high school junior, Bella, and her classmate Edward, the vampire. I liked how the vampires were portrayed as regular people instead of monsters that were obsessed with sucking the blood from humans. Okay, so there were a few bad vampires that hunted down humans, but every good movie needs a villain.

I loved how the movie had a dark feel to it created by the music, the roaming night forest shots, and the lack of bright colors. The special effects were pretty amazing, especially the way the vampires could move at lightning speeds on the ground and through the trees. I felt like the casting for Bella and Edward was spot on. I am truly shocked how much I liked this movie, and I really can't wait for New Moon to be released this fall.

Brother Bear 2

2009-05-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...

True Lies

2009-05-03T16:35:00.001-07:00

I was sitting home with Melissa and the kids today, just flipping through the channels. I came across the movie True Lies being played on A&E, put the remote down, and watched. I can remember when my dad took me to go see this movie in the theater back in the summer of '94 and loving every moment of it. Here we are in 2009, and the movie still holds up for me.

This was not your typical action movie. It has some comedy moments all through the movie. Tom Arnold stole the show with his cynical views about marriage, kids, and crazy one-liners. Arnold Schwarzenegger is to action movies as what Jack Nicholson is to...any movie he plays in. He can play the serious agent to Tom Arnold's sideshow antics. Bill Paxton has a funny part in the movie, too big to be a cameo though.

The movie is not boring at all! From the beginning when Arnold tangos with Tia Carrere, to the end of the movie when Arnold and Jamie Lee Curtis tango with each other, the movie takes you on a roller coaster ride of action and comedy mixed together. Probably the last, really good movie Arnold did before becoming Governor of California.

Nights in Rodanthe - M

2009-05-03T13:41:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to see Nights in Rodanthe since before it came out in theaters, and we finally rented it tonight. I'm a big fan of Nicholas Sparks' story telling, especially Message in a Bottle and The Notebook. This movie had a great story to it as well that was filled with love, self-realization, and turmoil.

I think Diane Lane and Richard Gere need to leave their real life spouses and get together, because they just light up the screen with their chemistry. I loved them together in Unfaithful, and I was happy to see them do another film together. The relationship between Gere's 'Paul' and Lane's 'Adrienne' did seem to get comfortable too fast, but I bet the book would be able to describe what they were feeling more than a movie could do.

There was a goof that I noticed in the film. The big hurricane blows through, leaving all kinds of damage in its path, and Gere steps into his fancy car the next morning that had the window rolled down. Um, wouldn't his car interior have been flooded from the rain if the window was left down?

A few of the shots in the film really played to my love for artistic and unique views. I loved the way the camera circled all around the inn on the beach and then entered the front door. The scene where Diane Lane calls the airport for info about Gere's flight also sticks in my mind. We see her profile while she was on the phone, and the camera ever so slightly zoomed in as the intensity grew, the longer she remained silent.

I really enjoyed the scene towards the end with Lane and Mae Whitman, who played her daughter. They are sitting on the porch having a heart to heart about the kind of love that Lane had for Gere and how she wished that her daughter would hold out for a love like that. What a great mom and daughter bonding moment, and mom realizes that her baby is growing up enough to handle the truth.

I enjoyed this movie, and even though the ending was a bit hard to manage, it was written very well. It reminds me so much of Message in a Bottle, so if you liked that movie, then you should enjoy this one as well.

Nights in Rodanthe - T

2009-05-03T13:38:00.001-07:00

After watching movies where people are getting shot, terrorist are kidnapping the hero and his wife, and foul language is all over the place, it's nice to take a step back and tell a simple story. This movie is just that!

Richard Gere and Diane Lane reteam together in a heart warming drama about two people who find each other through each other's problems. Richard Gere plays a doctor who comes to Rodanthe to make amends with the husband a patient that died during surgery. Diane Lane plays a seperated mother, being asked to run a bed and breakfast inn on the beach. She is in a rock and a hard place when her husband, who she is seperated from, asks to come back into her life.

In the beginning, I made the joke that Richard Gere is still pissed at Diane Lane for what she did to him in Unfaithful. Even though Richard Gere has had his share of bad movies, Dr. T and the Women come to mind, he is a brilliant actor with such range. Diane Lane is flawless on screen. You watch her and you can feel the pain she is going through during the entire movie. James Franco appears as Richard Gere's son in a limited, but important role. Scott Glenn plays the husband that Richard Gere drives out to meet. For all of you Law and Order junkies, Christopher Meloni appears as Diane Lane's estranged husband.

For those that haven't seen it, the ending will shock you! It may not be the ending that you want, but it does give the audience the lesson: Life moves on! Guys, this is not your usual chick flick! Trust me, it's worth the two hours to watch!

The Departed - M

2009-05-02T22:54:00.000-07:00

The best thing about the Departed, for me, is the cast. You have Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin. Too bad they didn't get a well known actress to play the part of Madelyn. I guess the budget was already too big. :) You would think with a cast like this, the movie would be incredible! Eh. I thought it was just okay.

I struggled to make sense out of most of the scenes. Some of the clips seemed so pointless, almost like a piece of the puzzle that didn't fit. Mark Wahlberg had a few good one-liners that made me laugh. Thank goodness for those because they brought me back to the movie when I started to lose focus. I got so confused with so many rats and informants throught the film. I even had to think sometimes who was who because Damon and DiCaprio looked so much alike in some of the scenes. I was shocked when DiCaprio got shot coming off the elevator. I was really hoping to see him make it to the end of the movie.

I get that this was a movie about the Irish American gangs in Boston, but what was with all of the Irish bagpipe music? I felt like getting up and dancing an Irish jig. The movie had WAY too much background music that I found super distracting and completely unnecessary. I guess I just don't get what was so great about the movie that it won a best picture oscar? It seemed to lack in so many areas, and I just didn't find it very special. Sorry, Scorcese, but I think your movie could have been better.

The Departed - T

2009-05-02T22:38:00.001-07:00

Once again, Melissa and I sat and watched another Academy Award winner, this week being The Departed. After spending 2 and a half hours watching this movie, I was begging them to shoot me. This movie was awful!

Don't get me wrong, the acting was great! I thought Leonardo DiCaprio played his part well. I found Matt Damon's character interesting, seeing as how he was playing both sides. Mark Wahlberg has his moments despite throwing the f-word around like it was going out of style. Finally, you have Jack Nicholson! Jack was...well, he was Jack!

Here are my issues! For around 90% of the movie, there was always a song playing in the background. It didn't hit me until half way through the movie, I told Melissa, "They haven't had a scene without any type of music playing. For a movie that lasted 2 and a half hours, maybe 75 minutes of it made sense. The other time was used to show meaningless scenes that led to nowhere. Finally, there were too many questions left over for me when this movie ended. Was Colin the real father of Madolyn's child, or was it Costigan's? How did Dignam know Colin was corrupted towards the end of the movie? Finally, was Nicholson an informant for the FBI?

All in all, there were times in this movie I really wanted to like it. There were times in this movie I started to figure some things out. However, in the end, it left me wondering...when was the last time the Academy Awards ever gave out the Best Picture award to a movie that made total since from beginning to end? As for Martin Scorsese, his time to win the best director award should of came with Goodfellows, not this movie. This wouldn't be my first choice to see!

Hotel For Dogs

2009-05-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

While Trey took Dakota to a Texas Rangers game tonight, I took Cadence to see Hotel For Dogs at the dollar theater. She brought along her dog buddy, Ruffy, and we both had a great time.

Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin play an orphaned sister and brother who are determined to stay together. Lisa Kudrow stars as their wannabe rocker foster mom who would never let them have any pets in her place. So, their beloved dog named Friday takes to living on the streets and sneaking into their bedroom at times. Along with three other young teens, the dog saving brother and sister duo make it their mission to save every stray dog they can find.

I enjoyed the family friendly movie, and it was so nice to see a film with no foul language, no violence, and zero sexual themes. I even teared up a bit at the end when Don Cheadle's character defends the kids' actions and announces who their adoptive parents will be. I have a ton of respect for the animal trainers that worked on this set. It must have been a difficult task to get so many animals to perform. The contraptions that Austin's character builds were very cool. I would definitely recommend this movie to kids of all ages.

Here is a post movie interview with Cadence. I apologize in advance for her unlady like actions, but the video was too cute to not post.

The Wrestler - M

2009-05-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

The Wrestler was one of the movies that was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar for 2008, only to lose to Slumdog Millionaire. I think that it was probably a pretty tight race. Mickey Rourke impressed me with his portrayal of the washed up wrestler, Randy 'the Ram' Robinson. You really feel for his character who finds himself all alone in the world, because of the poor choices that he continues to make on a daily basis.

The movie has a fabulous cast with Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood playing the two women that drop in and out of Randy's life. I, too, enjoyed the way the camera sort of follows behind Mickey's character for many of the scenes. It felt like I was seeing everything through his eyes. I was not expecting this wrestler's life to be so pathetic though! It was neat to see Hollywood make a movie where the old guy doesn't come back to light up the stage and make a big comeback. Randy was just a regular guy who keeps messing up in his life, and only returns to the wrestling ring because that is the only place where he feels like he belongs.

I bet Trey thought that I would hate this movie, since I am always voicing my opinions on how much I dislike watching pro wrestling. This movie did not really have that much to do with wrestling though. I actually liked it. How about that?

The Wrestler - T

2009-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” shows that, in both movies and wrestling, the line between reality and play-acting may be less clear than we assume. Shooting his battered hero mainly from behind, as if you were seeing the world through the wrestler’s eyes, makes a convincing show of brute realism. The supermarkets, trailer parks, V.F.W. halls and run-down amphitheaters of New Jersey are convincingly drab. But the story that emerges is disarmingly sweet, indeed at times downright saccharine — a familiar parable of squandered hopes and second chances.

Randy "The Ram" Robinson, played by Mickey Rourke, is anything but a phony. His real name, which he can’t stand to hear, is Robin Ramsinski; his muscles are puffed up with steroids, and it’s highly doubtful that his flowing mane is naturally blond. But this careful fakery is, to some extent, what certifies Randy as the real thing, an authentic, passionate, natural performer. The description fits Mr. Rourke as well.

Now, 20 years later, he — Randy, that is — has been relegated to shabbier halls. He has trouble making the rent on his trailer, and his health is failing. His professionalism, however, is undiminished, and the most moving and persuasive scenes in “The Wrestler” show the Ram backstage with the men who are his comrades and rivals, working out the finer points of their routines with a warmth and respect completely at odds with the viciousness they display in the ring. While the fights are choreographed, the pain and the blood are frequently real. We are privy to tricks of the trade, like the tiny bit of razor blade that Randy uses to open a cut on his face in the middle of a bout.

But Randy’s real problems are outside of the ring. He is estranged from his daughter, Stephanie, (Evan Rachel Wood), whose anger when he tries to reconcile suggests some major mess-ups in the past. He also has a crush on a stripper known as Cassidy (Ms. Tomei), whose lap dances and friendly chitchat he interprets as signs of reciprocated interest. Randy and Cassidy (it’s not her real name, either) are both performers, both expert at faking something the customers desperately want to believe is real. The wrestlers don’t really hate one another, and the stripper doesn’t really love you.

Wrestlers like “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, Jake “the Snake” Roberts, and Bam Bam Bigelow are all embodied in Randy “The Ram” Robinson. They were wrestlers whose better days are behind them, and wrestling doesn’t pay the bills anymore. For some of them, death came too soon. In this brillant movie about a guy who can’t let go because the outside doesn’t want him, Mickey Rourke may finally bring the one thing that professional wrestlers have longed to receive: Respect! This is a must see!

17 Again - M

2009-04-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Mike (Matthew Perry) suddenly finds himself as a seventeen year old again (Zac Efron). He thinks that he is being given a second chance to change his own life and the choices he made in high school. Later in the movie, he realizes that he did indeed choose the right path. He just didn't try hard enough to make it the best path that it could be. I really liked how they didn't have him actually go back in time. Instead, Mike is living in present day, posing as a teen, and going to school with his own kids. He even helps out his own estranged wife, Scarlett, who is amazed at how much this new kid resembles her soon-to-be ex.

I found the movie to be quite entertaining. There were several laugh out loud moments, and I felt that it never crossed the line into being stupid humor like so many teen flicks do in this day and age. I did think that the way he actually transformed into a teenager and then back to an adult was kind of lame. He became young by falling in a river after seeing a janitor that doesn't really exist, and he goes back to adulthood simply by leaving a basketball game and running down the hall. At least Back to the Future had the cool DeLorean with the flex capacitor that needed electricity from the lightning bolt to return home...way cooler! The movie did have a scene almost straight out of Back to the Future when Mike wakes up in a bedroom with his daughter Maggie. She is there to soothe him after he got punched out. Maggie begins to hit on him, causing Mike to become extremely uncomfortable just like Marty in BTTF feels after the teenage version of his mother starts to hit on him in the bedroom.

The whole storyline between his genius best friend Ned and the hot principal had me laughing until we discover that she is a sci fi geek as well. I'm sorry, but an attractive grown woman like her would never really be into all of that trekkie, cyborg, video game stuff. One of my favorite scenes had to be when the young Mike shows up to his divorce hearing to read a note to Scarlett. I KNEW the paper would be empty, and I'm a sucker for a man pouring out his heart to his lady. It was so sweet to hear about the memories that Mike had of the first time he fell in love her.

17 Again (Interview with Dakota)

2009-04-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, Dakota and I had a movie date at Cinemark to see the new Zac Efron movie, 17 Again. I thought it would be fun to post an interview I did with her, to see what a 6 year old thought about the film.

M: On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best, how good was this movie?
D: 9

M: What was your favorite scene?
D: (When Mike is talking to Scarlett's friend Naomi) Hey Nyomi. Naomi! I don't care!

M: What was your least favorite part?
D: When she (Scarlett) was chopping the trees down in the backyard because it was loud.

M: Did you think that the character named Ned was nerdy or cool?
D: Nerdy, because he likes Star Wars and he has a lot of swords and light sabers.

M: Can you tell me what the movie was about?
D: It was about him (Mike) when he was 37 and he went back in time to change his life and he makes friends with his kids and he likes the kids' mom.

M: Do you think Mike should have chosen to be a basketball player instead of marrying Scarlett?
D: He should marry Scarlett because he loves her. He made the right choice and bailed on basketball.

M: If you were in high school, would you date a guy like Stan?
D: NO! He wanted to do sex but they're not married yet. (That's my girl!!)

M: Who is cuter...Zac Efron or Joe Jonas?
D: Zac Efron because he is sweaty and has hot pecs. (WHERE does she get this?)

M: Tell me your favorite movie snacks.
D: Reese's Pieces, hot dogs, and popcorn

W.

2009-04-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

This review is not based on how I feel about former President Bush’s eight year term as our president. This review is about Oliver Stone. In years past, he has made a few eye opening movies that made the public think, such as Platoon, The Doors, and Wall Street. However, he’s made some clunkers as well . Natural Born Killers, Any Given Sunday, and U-Turn come to mind.

As far as movies about U.S. Presidents go, to where JFK and Nixon were well put together, this movie, W., missed the mark for me. While Stone showcases certain parts of Bush’s life, the feud that exists between Bush Sr. and W. felt a little made up.

The movie does depict W.’s inconsistency to hold a well paying job, his run as the minority owner of the Texas Rangers, his run as Governor of Texas, and his eight years as President of the United States. While Josh Brolin does a remarkable job portraying Bush, the scenes jump around so much that you lose track as to where they are in the story. Richard Dreyfus portrays Vice President Dick Chenney, but unfortunately plays him in a forgettable role. As someone who has lived in Dallas his whole life, it was nice to see Dallas Cowboy play-by-play man Brad Sham have a brief cameo in the movie, but that’s not enough to keep my interest.

Oliver Stone can direct many powerful movies like World Trade Center. If you're thinking of giving W. a try, stay away!

Beer League

2009-04-21T20:35:00.000-07:00

If you are a Stern fan, you’ll like this movie! If you are an Artie Lange fan, you’ll love this movie. If you don’t like either one of them, this movie is not for you. Artie Lange, who has talked about his life on the Howard Stern show, gives his fans another reason to root for him in this movie.

The humor is sophmoric, but Artie is just being Artie! It is filled with gay bashing, drug humor, lots of T&A, and oh yeah, they try to play softball throughout it. This is not a Bull Durham, Major League, or The Natural movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun.

Ralph Macchio is n this movie as Artie's best friend as he is planning to marry a woman who flat out hates the best man, in this case, Artie. Laurie Metcalf plays Artie’s mom who, if you listen the Stern Show, plays what Artie considers to be a close second to his real mother.

The movie also has a few former SNL’s who cameo in the movie, Jim Florentine (Robin Quiver’s ex boyfriend in real life), Jim Breuer, and even Tina Fey. As for Artie Lange, he’s not going to win any acting awards in this one, but honestly, I don’t think he’s looking for that.

Being a Stern fan, I can honestly say…..this one’s not for everyone, but like I said, if you love Artie Lange, you’ll love this movie.

Private Parts

2009-04-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

I recently saw this movie again for the first time in a long time. While the movie doesn’t hold up due to the fact that Howard is remarried and is no longer on free radio, it does show the human side of a man who may just be misunderstood. For those who have Sirius, and who have been listening to Howard, know how much of a radio genius this guy really is. Plus, if you’ve listened to the History of Howard Stern, you know the whole story of how Howard worked his way to the top.

Private Parts takes bits and pieces from the History of Howard Stern and shows us how one man could do so much with no true backing from his own employers. The movies starts with his upbringing in New York. For those that have listened to him talk about his parents on the air, get to see a funny reinactment of Ben and Ray Stern, It shows how he met his first wife Alison at Boston University. Then it show the stations he worked for, along the way meeting the people who would later become part of the Stern show, Fred Norris and Robin Quivers. From Hartford, to Detroit, to Washington, and then to the (at that time) mecca of radio, WNBC in New York, we see how Howard Stern became the radio legend that he is today.

The movie does leave out a few things however. While signing to go to WNBC, the people at DC-101 let him go after he tried to call Air Florida after one of their planes crashed into the Potomiac. While the WNBC years focused on the Pig Vomit years (Pig Virus in real life), they left out the Incubus years, the other program director who gave Howard a hard time.

All in all, it was a delightfull, funny movie that, quite frankly, aren’t made anymore!

No Country For Old Men - M

2009-04-21T19:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I REALLY was not looking forward to watching this movie. Just the title alone sounds like a boring film to me. The movie started out to be somewhat interesting when the police officer gets choked by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) with his handcuffs. But the next scene is where the movie lost me. Josh Brolin, who plays Llewelyn Moss, spends an ungodly length of time walking around the desert finding dead bodies, abandoned vehicles, tons of weapons, and the suitcase of money. It just dragged. Then, I didn't get why he goes back in the middle of the night to bring water to a guy who had probably already died from his wounds. He knew that there was a chance that he would not return alive, so why did he risk it?

The movie has a few interesting scenes. I liked when Chigurh sets the car on fire in front of the drug store and then just walks in and helps himself to the medicines and supplies that he needs to treat his gunshot wound. It was also fascinating to follow Chigurh's psycopathic killing spree as he hunts down Moss.

The rest of the movie was weird, pointless, and confusing. Tommy Lee Jones' character seemed unimportant to the plot. He looked like a lazy cop that didn't care to follow up on any leads himself. Woody Harrelson's character also seemed pointless. There were so many holes in the movie.

Then, the final scene plays, the screen goes black. and I looked over at Trey completely baffled. WTF kind of ending was that? I asked him to replay the final scene because I just didn't get it. I kept waiting for the title to make sense. It was one of the worst movies that I have ever had to sit through. I spent about half an hour after the movie googling the reviews online trying to figure out (1) Why so many people loved the movie, (2) What does the title mean, and (3) What was the point of the whole thing?

One thing is for sure...I will not be watching this movie ever again to figure out the answers. It stunk!!

No Country for Old Men - T

2009-04-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

This. Movie. SUCKED. They say a dollar doesn’t go far anynmore, and they’re right! If you are at Blockbuster or your local rental store and you see this movie on the shelves, stay away.

The story starts with the bad guy, played by Javiar Bardem, already in custody, manages to escape, after killing the officer that arrested him. He then goes on a killing spree using an air gun. Then we see Josh Brolin’s character, who finds 2 million dollars in a bag from a drug deal done wrong. He takes the money and runs, thus telling his wife to get out of town.

Then we find the sheriff, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is searching for the meaning of life, or somethinig like that. Quite frankly, the Tommy Lee Jones character is a thankless role, and the movie could of lived on without him. The Josh Brolin character turns out to be a thankless roles as he is killed off without a warning. As for the Javiar Bardem character, it reminds me a role that Sly Stallone played back in the 80’s…John Rambo from the first Rambo movie. The difference is that the audience could understand what made Rambo tick. Bardem’s character is just moving through life, killing everyone in sight. Granted, that might just be the character. Towards the end of the picture, after Tommy Lee Jones gives a long winded speech about his dreams, the movie ends!

The Academy Awards got this one wrong! The movie felt incomplete for me. I get that the cinematography was great. I even get how Javiar Bardem could get nominated. But where’s the story? What’s the point? If you have a dollar on you and you go into your video store, stay away from this movie!