Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa

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

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)

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

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

Coming soon...

True Lies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?