unstoppable

we saw this movie on thanksgiving with my parents. as you can tell, we're more than a little behind on our movie blogging. i apologize! we're working on updating them!

this movie was entertaining, and it kept you interested the whole time. it was suspenseful in that you were kind of anxious as to what was going to happen.

basically, there's a runaway train that is unmanned, and has tons of hazardous material so it's considered very dangerous. Denzel Washington (Frank) and Chris Pine (Will) are having a normal day until they hear that this train is headed right towards them. they need to get off the track so they don't collide with the unmanned train.

the runaway train is heading towards a large populated city where the railroad tracks has a large S curve, and the train is going so fast that it would derail at the S curve and could possibly destroy the whole city. this is a movie full of courage, stamina, and goodwill.

Both Denzel and Chris are excellent actors, and you really start to feel for their characters as you learn more about their personal lives throughout the movie. we thought this movie was good/okay. It's pretty exciting and entertaining, but it didn't blow us away or anything. It isn't a movie that we would purchase when it came out, or watch it again, but it was good for the entertainment value.

the grade?
C+/B-

The Social Network

Isn't it crazy that I'm posting a review about the facebook movie, and it will automatically show up as a post on Jess' facebook page? Or the fact that when we got home from this movie, we both immediately got on our facebook pages? (Not b/c we had just seen the movie, but b/c that's what I usually do when I first get on the computer)

Seriously, this website has consumed our lives....weird.

Anyways, on to the movie. When I first saw a preview for this movie, I turned to Jess and said, "umm, a movie about facebook?....paassss"

Then, the reviews from all the movie critics came out....straight A's. I couldn't believe it. They all said things like, "the first Oscar contender" Well, that got me interested.

This movie very loosely follows Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of facebook, as he creates his now global mega website. There's a whole lot of fiction thrown in there, but let me tell you, that just makes it better. We get to watch Mark as he allegedly steals the idea of facebook from 3 other Harvard students. They end up suing him (and so does his business partner). The acting is great, the music is really cool, and the story is interesting. It was one of those movies that went by really fast to me....I could have watched more. Oh, and in case you didn't know, this guy is now my age and is the youngest Billionaire ever...yeah.....

So what are you waiting for??? Go see this movie, b/c I couldn't agree with the critics more.

A

Paranormal Activity 2

"The most anticipated horror event of the year".....??? Well of course I had to be in attendance! Ooookay, let's get into this one.

First off, I'm just going to assume you've seen the first one. If you haven't and you want to see this one, rent the first. It's not like it's extremely necessary, but this one will make more sense if you have.

The story of this movie takes place a little before the first movie, and a little after. Thanks to titles that pop up on the screen, you'll have an easy time figuring out how things fit together. I don't want to give too much away, but basically, this story involves a family who, just like the couple in the first movie, are haunted by some sort of demon. Lots of craziness happens....and like the first movie, lots of nothingness happens.

Overall, I liked the movie...I'll just say that. It's a movie that's kind of fun to get in to. So if you liked the first movie at all, you'll enjoy this one.

Now, here's my problems with it.

1. It's too similar to the first movie. Everything starts off happy, then slowly gets creepy, then gets insane by the end. Much too similar.

2. There are several times in the movie where it leaves you saying, "that is NOT what a person in this situation would do!!"

3. While I like how creepy the movie is, it still just relies on jumpy moments to scare you. This is NOT true suspense. Here is an example: Remember watching the movie "The Ring"? (My favorite scary movie by the way) Think of the scene where the main character returns to the creepy dad's barn/house and sneaks in at night. The house is dark and the lighthouse light keeps shining in. Then she finds the tape of crazy Samara in the nut house? Remember how scary that scene was? It's scary b/c the whole time you're thinking, "Get out of that house!!" It was scary b/c you can imagine yourself there.

That is true horror. This movie isn't like that. You may be scared, but you're only scared b/c you're waiting for the next [Extremely loud] jump out scene. Make sense?

Anyways, overall, I liked it. There was one scene that made us all want to pee, so I think you'll like this movie.

B-

Devil

Sounds scary right? Well, not really.

Think back to the summertime when you first saw the preview to this movie. You remember where you were. You were sitting in the theater, getting ready for Inception to start.

(Side note: if this doesn't ring a bell, there is something disturbingly wrong with you)

Anyways, you were probably a little intrigued until you saw the phase, "From the mind of M. Night Shyamalan"

Then you probably laughed, or as I said, "Next"

It's true, Shyamalan is pretty awful....but the good thing is, he only wrote this movie, he did not direct it.

Okay, okay, on to the review. Basically, this movie involves 5 people who end up on the same elevator at an office building. We soon learn that all of them have a shady past. As we hear a narrator explain, every now and then, the Devil takes the form of a human to torment those that are not living right. All kinds of craziness happens in that elevator, but for me, it wasn't that scary. It was interesting in parts and creepy in others, but overall, not the scariest movie I've seen.

In the end, there is a good message to this movie, although you wouldn't catch that from the previews. The movie moves quickly, and at only 80 minutes, you won't be in the theater for too long. Overall, I would say that you should see this movie...but maybe just rent it. It's definitely better than Shyamalan's last 3 movies, but it's not quite like his first. Oh, and watch out for the devil.

B-

Easy A

in this movie olive (emma stone) is "anonymous" in her high school. she has one good friend, who is sort of unbelievably...crazy? weird? i'm not really sure how to describe it, but she was a bit of a stretch if you're going for a high school girl. anyways, the fact that olive was anonymous was one of the things josh and i found to be another bit of a stretch. emma stone is super pretty, so honestly...how would she be anonymous? oh well...

so one day olive told her weird friend that she had a hot date with a college boy, to sort of get her off her back about what she did that weekend. olive talked up this little fake date and then her friends' imagination went wild. she accused her of sleeping with him, and olive didn't deny anything. of course her loud-mouthed friend started spreading it around that olive lost her virginity, and instantly she became the most talked about girl in school.

olive kind of liked the attention for a bit, and used it to a friends advantage (as you've seen from the previews, her friend is gay and was getting a lot of crap at school about it. so they hatched the plan to make it seem like they did the dirty). so then olive became even more talked about at school. in english class they were learning about the scarlet letter, and olive felt like she had a special connection with the book. she started wearing lingerie-influenced tops with a bright red A sewed on. in the less-popular-crowds, it got out what olive had done for her gay friend. she became a little entrepreneur, and started accepting gift cards so people could say they hooked up with the school hottie/harlot.

eventually her reputation got a little bit too much to handle, and she was put in some sketchy situations. she was blamed for things she didn't do, and lost her best friend in the process. the rest of the movie is how she deals with that, and this ultimately ties in to how the movie is presented.

i really liked how the movie was laid out, and how it all tied together in the end. olive makes some references to wanting life to be like an 80s movie (say anything, 16 candles, etc) in the movie, and this also ties in to the movie in its entirety. it's almost like they made an 80s movie, set in modern times. i loved it. [sorry that's hard to explain, but if you see it you will get what i mean]

besides the few unbelievable character traits (weird/crazy best friend; hottie being anonymous; religious freak amanda bynes not being as good as religious freak mandy moore in saved, etc), it was a good movie. enjoyable to watch, laugh out loud funny, and endearing. we definitely recommend this movie. the grade?

B

guest review: eat pray love

review by emily

i really, really liked this movie. i had heard different things from different people but all in all i was thoroughly impressed. the beginning was a bit confusing and i found myself asking, "why are you freaking out?" there wasn't too much of an explanation there-- but when she goes to italy it gets good and i found myself completely intrigued. i think i might have to read the book now!

[editors note: my mother-in-law said the same thing about her freaking out at the beginning of the movie. it's explained more in the book but apparently they didn't preface it enough in the movie. she even said that people were laughing in the theater about it!]

yes, i do like almost every movie i see. and yes, i do lovejulia roberts and javier bardem...but let's just pretend that wouldn't affect my review of this movie. go see it! :)

the grade:

B+

babel

where to even start....?! this movie came out in 2006, but we had never seen it. i didn't even remember it coming out but josh said he remembered it vaguely. anyways, we saw this movie the other night at a friends house. this movie got pretty good reviews and won awards, etc- so we were expecting a pretty good movie.

two and a half hours later we were wondering why we didn't turn this off after the first ten minutes. we all agreed we were waiting for it to get good. which it didn't... this movie was weird and all over the place. there were four different stories that were "interconnected" but really their connections were vague and not always very meaningful. a lot of scenes we were just baffled by, and wondered how they were even important to the movie. it was kind of just a big mess.

when i think of interconnected stories in a movie that are trying to make a point, i think of crash. that is a quality movie. babel, in comparison, is an absolute train wreck. honestly by the end i wasn't even really sure what point the movie was trying to make. i wish we would have turned it off.

i don't really know what else to say about this movie. the stories seemed unrelated, there were weird and awkward scenes that were unrealistic, the point of the movie wasn't clear, and it was too long, boring, and lame. if you have seen this movie please let us know what you think. i'm curious as to why it got such good reviews...

our grade:

D / D-

Going the Distance

You've probably already been laughing out loud at the previews for this movie. I'm not gonna lie, this was a funny movie. Romantic comedies are definitely not my thing, but I would call this movie more of just a regular comedy.

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long meet at a bar and start dating. The only thing is, Drew is only in New York for 6 weeks....after that, let the long distance relationship begin.

Let me just say this, Drew Barrymore is looking old. That's really not relevant, but i'm just saying....yikes. She kind of looked like Justin Longs mother.

Moving on.

I'm telling you, this movie is funny. Christina Applegate plays Drew's sister, and I think she's the funniest part. She's really neurotic and she doesn't like Justin Long's character. It causes several funny moments. Okay, so I've noticed that this review isn't going anywhere. The point is....this movie is funny. The end.

B

Children of Invention

hey! jess here with another indie movie. this movie was an official selection at 2009's sundance film festival. i think it was recommended to me on netflix, but i can't remember. i was intrigued though, and watched it one day while i was sewing or something of that nature. anyways, about the movie:

this movie is about a single mom with two young children who immigrated to america from asia (i forget where exactly, sorry). the father is still living out of the country, and doesn't do much to support his kids except answer the phone most sunday's when they call. the family gets evicted from their apartment because they can't pay the rent, and they end up squatting in a model apartment (they are friends with a guy in real estate). the mom is trying to find a good job so she can afford to go back to live in a real place, and to improve their life in america. the majority of the movie is about the family's struggles being immigrants, finding work, being a single parent, and the children's forced independence. it is very interesting, and the kids are absolutely charming. i love the little girl, tina.

the movie title comes about from the entrepreneurial mind of the older child, raymond. he is always inventing new products and enlisting his sister to help him. when the mom doesn't come home one night from work, the kids have to figure out what to do. it's interesting to see how the kids work through this dilemma, and what the outcome is. it's definitely an interesting movie. at times it can be a little slow, but it all works together. the ending is sort of abrupt and you almost feel like the story is unsolved, but i like it because i think it reflects their reality.

overall i was fairly impressed with this movie. like i've mentioned before, sometimes you never know with indie movies. this movie is humorous, complex, touching, and out of the ordinary.

the grade?

B-/B

Defiance

well hello james bond! well, ok, he isn't james bond in this movie, but he's just as tough. this movie came out in 2008 so we're a couple years late at watching it, but i'm glad we did. this is basically a holocaust movie, but not of the typical variety. also, it is based on a true story. [like a legit true story, not some fake "true story" like the strangers or the fourth kind]. Daniel Craig plays Tuvia, the oldest of four brothers. the nazi's kill his parents, and him and his brothers flee to the woods to hide. more and more jews come into their camp, and everyone has to figure out how they are going to survive. this movie is about their struggles as jews, as family members, as leaders, and more.

like the caption on the movie poster reads, "Freedom begins with an act of defiance." watch how they maintain their freedom in this movie, and you will be amazed at the story. even though there were times when josh and i were going, "wait, who is that? whose side are they on? what?!?" it was still good to watch [i guess maybe we need to brush up on our history? haha]. you will grow to love and respect the characters, and become engrossed in their story. i even cried a little, i won't lie. so go watch this movie to be both inspired and entertained.

what do we give this movie?

B/B+

TiMER

hello, jess here! so, random fact about me. i like watching random movies sometimes. like indie films or smaller known movies. before netflix i would just walk around blockbuster and look at almost every new release, especially if i hadn't heard about them before. sometimes this just results in watching duds, and other times you find some quality randoms (gigantic, love and other disasters, pheobe in wonderland, lars and the real girl, factory girl, etc). now that i have netflix i get to do this online and it's so much easier. so the other day i strolled upon the movie TiMER. it had an interesting concept so i watched it:

there is this company that produces a product/service that you get installed in your arm and it will tell you down to the day that you will meet your one true love. there's all this scientific stuff that proves that it always finds your soulmate. when you get your timer, if your "one" doesn't have a timer yet then your timer will be blank and it will be the waiting game. if your "one" does have a timer, it will tell you how long you have until you will meet them. and when you do cross paths, your timers beep. so you know.

so the main character Oona, Emma Caulfield, is turning 30 soon and is stressing that her timer is still blank. every guy she dates and feels like it could be serious: she brings to get them a timer. obviously, it always turns out that he's not the "one." her quirky step-sister (and best friend) has the attitude of dating anyone for fun, regardless of what their timer says. after a rough day oona is at the grocery store and gets hit on by a cute younger guy, and decides to take a walk on the wild side. the rest of the movie is how she deals with the problems of falling in love with someone who isn't the "one," finding the "one," and worrying how much faith she really should put in the timer. it's pretty interesting, and even delves into some ethical dilemmas and interesting social situations.

the ending is kind of abrupt, and doesn't answer every question (which some people hate), but i don't really mind that so much. i would recommend it if you want to watch an interesting and fun comedy/romance/drama. the grade?

B-

It's Complicated

Oh, it most certainly is. Hi.....yikes. Okay, where to begin? First off, this is definitely not a movie I would normally watch. But, since Meryl is in it, I decided it might be worth our time. Oh dear....

Meryl Streep plays Alec Baldwins ex wife. The premise of the movie is this: 10 years after getting a divorce, Alec is re-married and Meryl is still single. After they see each other for their sons college graduation, they end up having an affair with each other. It all becomes a jumbled mess after that. It was previewed as a comedy, but it really wasn't that funny. Don't get me wrong, Meryl was excellent in it (she always is and I would never say anything bad about her), but still, this movie was ALLLLL wrong. And no offense to my older readers, but It just creeps me out to see old people flirting with each other. Nothing is more fun to watch than Alec Baldwins hairy chest/man boobs.

........................................

excuse me while I clean up the vomit off my computer.

Anyways, this is one of the only times I'll tell you to miss a Meryl Streep movie. Pass.

D+

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Let me just say this....if you don't have Netflix....get it. It's cheap, and it has a million movies to choose from. That's all. [You're welcome for the plug Netflix. I'll accept my check please]

This is an older movie from the early 90's (older?) starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. I've decided that Leo is my favorite male actor. He plays a mentally handicapped brother in this movie, and it's scary how believable he is. Johnny depp plays the older brother in this semi-disfunctional/loving family. Set in a small town in Iowa, this drama shows that even in bad circumstances, your family can still be there for you in the end. Wait, is that the real message? Okay, so I didn't really get the message, and I didn't love it. But I enjoyed watching it the whole time, and I would recommend it.

All the acting is excellent and the story really pulls you in, so you shouldn't be disappointed. Anyways, go ahead and get Netflix and then you can stream it instantly from your computer or PS3. You're welcome.

B

Salt

...needed a little pepper. (ba dum cheeee) Ha ha ha. Tacky? mehh. Anyways, what to say, what to say?

I've been looking forward to Salt for a long time now. I've grown to like Angelina as an actress, and this movie looked like it had the prospect of being amazing. Word is the role was originally written for a guy. (Tom Cruise actually. Thank goodness Angelina got the part instead. She's a better actor and much more manly) But I digress.

Angelina plays Salt, a CIA agent who is accused of being a russian spy. She's pretty much running the whole movie and easily fighting off every bigger, stronger guy that gets in her way. The movie has great action, and extremely cool stunts. Here's the problem though. I wanted this movie to be a lot darker and more complex. It was just missing something. They try to trick you and confuse you, but there really is no mystery to this movie. It's obvious "who salt is" from the minute she starts running. It was a fun ride anyways. Go check it out. If you like the Bourne movies, you'll like Salt.

B-

Paranormal Activity

So. I really like scary movies. I figured, since jess is gone, this is the perfect time to rent one that I've been interested in seeing for a long time. I had seen all the previews for this movie and I thought It would be scary and fun to watch. The movie is shot with a handheld camera by the couple in the actual movie. It's all from their perspective. ( at least thats how it's made to look) Basically, the girlfriend in the movie has been seeing things since she was a little girl. She thinks a demon of some sort is haunting her, so her boyfriend sets up a camera in their bedroom in order to catch all the happenings. Sounds scary enough.

So heres the disclaimer: I watched this movie at about 4 in the afternoon all by myself. I really think this movie would have been 10 times scarier to me had I watched it with someone else, in the dark, at night.

That being said, this movie was honestly boring to me. I think it could have been scary had I been in the right situation, but it just wasn't all that exciting.

Night #1: you hear footsteps

Night #2: you hear banging on the walls

Night # 8: the door slams shut

......see where I'm going? It's just not that exciting. There were about 3 nights where cool, scary stuff happens. Other than that, it's a bunch of nothing. Tiddy was scared b/c it would go from being really quiet to really loud sometimes, but he's just a cat so his opinion doesn't matter. In my opinion, if you're gonna see this movie, see it with friends and make sure you really get into it so it will scare you like I think it could.

C

Inception

Finally, the first great blockbuster of the summer. Inception has been extremely hyped and deserves every bit of it. Let me just say this, I really like Christopher Nolan. He's a great director. (The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Memento) This movie is up there with all of them, and passes them in most instances as well. Leo, he's solid as always, as he has been in some of my other favorite movies. [ Check out Blood Diamond, The Departed, or Shutter Island ] Every actor in this movie is and all the characters are interesting and entertaining.

The plot is complicated, so I'll just give you the basic premise. Leo is in the business of going into people's dreams and stealing information. Things get a little more crazy when he tries to pull off Inception, or planting an idea in a persons mind while they are sleeping. Let the complexity and mind boggling effects begin.

Really, it's an extremely well made movie, and it's exciting the whole time....even when you don't have a clue whats going on. The best part is, it doesn't feel like a copy of any other movie. It took the director about 10 years to write the thing. Honestly, I don't know how he wrote it, or how he got the actors to understand it and star in it. At any rate, GO see this movie. Oh, and don't worry if you miss the previews. They were all pretty terrible, including a new stinker from M. Night Shyamalan. Close your eyes during that one, otherwise you might try and kill yourself and miss out on this years best movie so far.

A

Alice in Wonderland

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....oh I'm sorry, that was me waking up from the middle of this movie. Not a good sign.

Okay, so this is Tim Burtons new Alice and Wonderland creation. I'm a Johnny Depp fan, as well as a fan of Helena Bonham Carter, so I had decent hopes for this movie. But here's the deal.....I thought this might be dark or disturbing (at least that would have been entertaining), but no, it was really just a snooze fest. Everyone in this movie kept changing heights and body size, it was so confusing. I could never tell what height was regular and what was small/tall. One guy had a normal human head, but an odd computer generated body. It was just strange. Plus, Johnny Depp just wasn't that good in this movie. He was annoying and kind of hard to understand. When Alice first meets the Mad Hatter (Depp), they have a conversation at the dinner table. At the end of the scene I turned to Jess and said "what in the world is going on, what were they saying?" Jess goes, "I have no idea" But worst of all, the movie is just BORING. I'm having a hard time finishing this post b/c I'm getting distracted by re runs of "The Hills".....that's how boring this movie was. I fell asleep near the end and when I woke up I just said, "is it over yet". Anyways, if you must see it, see it, but it's really just a waste of time. Go rent the original Disney version instead....and that's coming from a person who doesn't really like kids movies..

C

Knight and Day

First off, I know...it's been forever since we reviewed anything. Sad, b/c we've watched at least 50 movies since the last review. Oh well, time to get it together.

I had mediocre hopes for this action movie. I don't hide the fact that I DO NOT like Tom Cruise. He's strange and really doesn't make that great of movies. But, I'd heard decent things about this movie so I had an open mind.

Tom Cruise plays a CIA agent who has gone rogue (ala Sarah Palin). He runs into Cameron Diaz and the craziness begins. There is a LOT of action throughout this movie, and while I usually don't like movies like that, I really didn't mind it. You have to understand, most of it is incredibly unbelievable. But, there's enough humor to make up for it. Cameron Diaz is especially funny in her "I'm a ditzy blonde who is scared of weapons, but by the end of the movie I can shoot a gun while riding a motorcycle backwards" role. She plays it well.

This is one of those movies where the main characters are never in any danger....at lease you don't feel like they are. They literally walk around sometimes while being shot at. If you can get past things like that, you'll enjoy the movie. Plus, they go to all kinds of cool locations like Spain and Germany. Overall, I liked it. It's nothing spectacular, but it's a fun movie to watch.

B-

Date Night

With tina fey and steve carell starring in your movie, it's kind of hard to go wrong. Date Night definitely got it right. This comedy centers on Phil and Claire Foster, an everyday couple that have gotten in the same old same old marriage routine. Nothing is really exciting in their lives. Just work, and taking care of their kids day in and day out. Until, that is, they decide to have a fancy night out at a New York restaurant. They steal the reservation of another couple and the chaos begins. That couple just happens to be wanted by the mob.

The plot and story line isn't all that deep. I mean, basically they get chased around all night. What makes this comedy work, is the actors. Tina Fey is funny as ever. She always makes situations funny, even if they normally wouldn't be. Steve Carrell is the same way. They MAKE this movie. If you liked Baby Mama, or if you like The Office or 30 Rock, you'll like this movie. Trust me, as soon as you hear Tina yell "I don't want the kids to live with your mother....she's awful!!", you won't stop laughing.

B+

Zombieland

What a title, huh? So lets get some things out of the way. Yes, there are zombies in this movie....and yes, they are gross. And or course, lots of zombies die. But if you didn't already know, this is a comedy. It's set in the future, where some sort of virus has turned most humans into zombies. There are humans scattered throughout the country, trying to survive in a world full of human eating zombies. In order to live in zombieland, you have to follow the rules. (for example, you have to be good at cardio in order to run from the zombies)

The movie follows a group of people trying to make it to a California theme park that is allegedly a zombie free zone. While there is plenty violence and zombie craziness, you'll be laughing the whole time...especially during a well timed cameo by Bill Murray. Check it out.

A-

julie & julia

so, obviously this review is pretty late, considering it's been out for a while and all the hype has died down a bit. the thing is, we had NO desire to see this in theaters. and, since we aren't real movie critics, we dont get paid to see the movies. i honestly thought i would probably never see it. but the other day i was at work and decided to see what was streaming on netflix, and voila! the funny part is, after like 10 minutes i was bored and going to turn it off but then my coworker came in and said she liked it, so naturally i had to finish it.

as you may know, this movie is about julia child, and some random chick who was obsessed with julia child. i'm sorry, i mean blogged about cooking her recipes. the story of julia child was very interesting since i didnt really know much about her, and meryl streep was of course AMAZING. for a while i really thought i was watching julia childs, because she acted and sounded exactly like her.

so even though a few parts of julia's story were a little boring, it was nothing compared with julie's parts. i was disappointed because i actually like amy adams, but she acted horrible in a horrible role. it was like it was some lowly soap-opera-level-actress trying to be amy adams. julie is a modern day woman who is in a slump in her personal life and then out of nowhere decides that she's going to cook her way through the whole julia child's cookbook and blog about it. she gives herself a timeline for some bizarre reason, and starts immediately. as the story goes along she changes from "oh boohoo only my mom reads my blog" to "oh my goodness my readers NEED me!" and it's really quite annoying.

overall, the only reason i even remotely liked this movie was because of meryl streep. she is amazing, and really should have won some awards for it. the negatives are summarized as follows: the movie is extremely long (unnecessarily so!), slow in [a lot of] parts, annoying (julie's parts), and a bit boring. it will, however, make you want to cook and look into julia's cookbook.

the grade?
C+

The Box

Hands down, this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. It's so bad, I almost don't want to even attempt to explain the plot. In fact, it's hard to do so anyways. Here is a quick run down. A mysterious man drops off a box on the doorstep of a young couples house. Yes, they even say the title of the movie within the first 5 minutes. "What is it honey? I don't know, looks like a box!"......yeeaaahhhh. The box contains a button. They are told if they press the button, they will receive 1 million dollars, and someone in the world, that they don't know, will die. Sounds interesting enough......it's not. Oh, it's also 1976 and Cameron Diaz has a terrible southern accent. I was laughing for half the movie every time she opened her mouth. It was awful.

Overall, the acting was just bad. BADDDD. And the music throughout the movie? Even worse. Even though we just finished watching it, I still couldn't explain what went on. It went from science fiction, to drama, to action, to random scenes that didn't fit it. I didn't know what was real and what was going on. Seriously, You might as well just take a hammer to your own head before you try and watch this. It makes NO SENSE!!! Stay away. It's not even one of those movies that's bad, but you want everyone else to watch just so they'll know how bad it was too. No, just stay away altogether. Wait, I should end this review with a movie critique cliche'.....when it comes to this movie, don't open the box, and don't push play. Did that make you want to barf?....welcome to my world.

F

Brothers

You might have never even heard of this movie. It came out in December of last year, but kind of got lost in the mix of all the holiday movies. We watched it today, and I liked it a lot. It's a drama, and it definitely lives up to that title. Here's the deal.

Natalie Portman is married to Tobey Maguire. Tobey's character is in the military and is being deployed overseas once again. Jake Gyllenhaal is Tobey's bad news brother. He's just gotten out of jail and has a rocky relationship with his family. After a little time, Natalie receives the news that her husband has died at war. Overtime, she and her husbands brother become closer. They never really get together, but they become emotionally close, and her daughters grow to love him too. A few months later, they find out that her husband, Tobey Maguire, is actually alive. He had been kidnapped by the terrorists and made to do terrible things. He comes home, terribly disturbed, and can't seem to get back to normal. Let the drama begin!

This is a great movie. Lots of craziness. The only letdown might possibly be the ending. I won't say anymore. Check it out if you want.

B

Surrogates

Poor Bruce Willis. He hasn't made a truly good movie since....hmmmm. Quiz Time!!! Who can name the last good movie Bruce Willis was in. And to make things more difficult, you can't use "The Sixth Sense". GO!

(i think my answer would be...The Original Die hard?...good grief, he has really been in a lot of awful movies) Anyways, I digress.

This movie is set somewhat in the future. The entire worlds population has started living their lives through surrogates, robots who look like their human counterparts, except without flaws. (One might argue that Bruce Willis' surrogates' disgusting, wig-looking hair is a serious flaw, but that's neither here nor there)

With surrogates roaming the earth, and the humans hooked up to machines in their homes, crime has ceased. By using a surrogate, humans can do whatever they want without consequence. There are villages of humans left around the country who think the surrogates are immoral and should all be destroyed. Bruce Willis plays a detective who must investigate the first case of a human being killed after its surrogate is murdered...something thats not supposed to happen.

Confused yet? I'm having a hard time typing it. Look, the movie fails on so many levels. At best, it's a good made-for-tv movie. I mean, I was slightly entertained throughout it, but it's nothing special. After seeing movies with amazing special effects, like Avatar, this movie is quite lackluster. Plus, even a "perfect" looking, surrogate form of Bruce Willis looks aged and out of place. If you're looking for a sci fi movie to watch with friends, go ahead and rent it. Just remember that this isn't a groundbreaking movie that's going to impress you at all.

C

Oscar Review 2010

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges "Crazy Heart"

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about this movie. I haven't seen it, and quite honestly, I don't really have a desire to see it. So Kudos to Jeff Bridges. Besides, I don't think I saw any of the movies that the other nominees were in either. (I know, shame on me, the movie critic)

Who I thought should have won: Morgan Freeman.....just b/c I like him.

Best Acress: Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side"

Shocker, we haven't seen this yet. We've wanted to since the previews first started back in the summer, but the movie came out at a time that just somehow didn't work for us, so we missed it. Don't worry, we'll see it. BUT, I've heard great things about it and I really like Sandra Bullock, so I'm happy she won. She had a great year, so I'm okay with it.

Who I thought should have won: Meryl Streep.....she's the best and everyone knows it (and agrees). It's a shame that she's been nominated 16 times and only won 2. Stop nominating her if you aren't going to pick her to win, thats RUDE!!!!!

Supporting Actor: I don't even know his name, nor do I care. (this is obviously a biased review) "Inglorious Basterds"

I didn't see the movie. I will in a few weeks.

Who I thought should have won: meh, didn't care.

Supporting Actress: Monique' "Precious"

I've been dying to see this movie. We finally got it on Netflix today and we're watching it tomorrow. This one wasn't my fault. Provo showed the movie for about a week and we were out of town....and luck. Monique is supposedly amazing in this movie. We'll review it soon

Who I thought should have won: Monique'

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow "The Hurt Locker"

Like I said in the review of this movie, this is a great war movie. It doesn't take sides, it just presents a story....and it's good. Definitely was one of the best directed movies of the year, and very deserving.

Who I thought should have won: Kathryn Bigelow: she earned it.

Best Picture: "The Hurt Locker"

Of all the nominees (10 this year), The Hurt Locker was the best in my opinion. All around, it was entertaining, interesting, and intense. Okay, lets take this opportunity to deal with the Avatar fans. You'll notice I gave Avatar great reviews. It was a great movie. I loved how Avatar looked, I loved the story, I loved all of it. The problem with Avatar is two-fold. 1: It's a science-fiction movie, and those types of movies always have a hard time winning awards. Who knows if that's fair, but that's how it is. 2: (more importantly) Honestly, Avatar was not very original. Yes, James Cameron created his own world and his own language....but the story has been told before, and told better. Watch Dances with Wolves, you'll understand. In a nutshell, Avatar is about a soldier joining a group of people that are different and looked down upon. The soldier eventually becomes one of the people, and fights against his former military unit. Ring any bells? So yes, I loved Avatar, but I wouldn't consider it the Best Picture, b/c Dances with Wolves already won for telling that story.

Who I thought should have won: The Hurt Locker. Although, I would have loved to see District 9 win....even though it probably didn't deserve it as much. But I loved that movie, so I was glad to see it nominated.

THE END. Agree? Disagree? Meh, who cares.

Shutter Island

Last night we went to see the new Martin Scorsese film, Shutter Island. Set in 1954, this thriller stars Leonardo Dicaprio as a U.S. Marshall who is investigating the disappearance of a patient at a mental institution for the criminally insane. This institution just happens to be off the coast of Massachusetts on a creepy and secluded island.

Things begin to unravel for Teddy (Dicaprio) when it seems that no one at the institution will help him. Everyone is suspicious, and nobody seems eager to help with the investigation. Over time, Teddy begins to believe there is some sort of conspiracy going on at Shutter Island. I don't want to give away too much, so suffice it to say, lots of crazy stuff goes down.

If you read different reviews of this movie, you'll notice that the critics are really divided about it. Some love it, some hate it. I can see where they are all coming from. Personally I loved it. There are parts of the movie that "cheat" the audience, but I think it was appropriate. The acting is wonderful, you won't be disappointed there. Plus, it's incredibly eerie and suspenseful....not scary though. Okay, some people will say it's scary, but......it's not. Overall, I think you'll like it. We're going again tonight.

A-

Shooter

We watched this movie in Blu-ray, so I enjoyed it that much more. Shooter stars Mark Wahlberg as a former miliary sniper. Years after his last mission, when he has already left the military, he is visited by high ranking officials who have a job for him. They have news that a sniper might try to kill the president of the U.S. and they want Wahlbergs character to scope out the sight of the Presidents speech to tell them where he thinks the sniper might be.

Lots of twists and turns happen after this, which I won't discuss as to not give away the ending. What I can say, is that this movie is cool. Lots of action, good acting, and plot twists make this movie a step above your average action flick. Wahlberg does a great job. You'll like it, I promise.

B+

The Hurt Locker

For someone who doesn't really like war movies (that would be me), this is the war movie for you. This movie features a relatively unknown cast, but has become all the buzz for the Oscars.....it's nominated for Picture of the Year.

This movie is about a group of soldiers fighting in Iraq. Actually, they are on a bomb squad, a group of men who locate road side bombs and hopefully, disarm them. There is a lot of tension throughout the entire movie, so it will definitely keep you entertained throughout. Plus, this story is true, as in , there are real people out there doing this job.

The acting was great, the story was interesting, and the suspense was there the whole way through. Like I said, I really enjoyed it and i don't usually like war movies. A real contender for movie of the year.

A-

sherlock holmes

i really dont even know how to start this review... everyone knows the story of sherlock holmes, even if you learned it from wishbone like i did. so basically, you know the premise of this movie. sherlock holmes (Robert Downey Jr) is a detective, and his sidekick is dr watson (Jude Law). they solve crime together.

the strange thing about this movie is that it deals with the supernatural. lord blackwood (mark strong) is convicted of murdering at least 5 women, and dealing with black magic. he is convicted and hung, but its what happens after his execution that makes things interesting.

in this movie, holmes and watson's relationship is quite amicable, and really quite funny to watch. it makes it feel like they are bff or brothers or something. it is pretty entertaining. the one thing that seems a bit off with holmes' character is that they portray him as being crazy. not only crazy, but also a martial arts master. of course sherlock holmes is supposed to be kind of quirky and interesting, but they make him seem downright looney, and quite obsessive. also, asking people who have read the books, i have learned he doesnt really fight people. but i guess they felt they had to throw in an element to keep the audience interested or something.

the major thing that bugged me about this movie is that you saw holmes doing kooky things at crime scenes, but you just thought he was being crazy. then at the very end you find out that they are all important clues, and how [most of them] fit together. it is very frustrating, and makes it hard to follow along at times. the whole movie you were just being stringed along, and then the last 5-10 minutes it all miraculously comes together. but even when it was all explained, sources of information were not always clear, so it was a little muddled.

all together, this movie was only so-so. i wouldnt really recommend it, especially if you are a fan of the books. my parents liked it less than we did, and it was because they felt it really didnt do justice to the true characters and the books.

the grade: C+

avatar

have you seen this movie yet? no!?! GO SEE IT!!! personally i recommend not seeing it in 3D, but that is because i am not a fan of 3D and i want to go back and see it in 2D. but whichever way you see it, know that it will be amazing, awesome, incredible, fantastic, etc. i had my doubts, i wont lie, but josh said it got rave reviews. so we went and saw it on christmas day.

the main character in this movie is Jake Sulley (Sam Worthington), and he is an ex-marine who is paralyzed. he had a twin brother who was part of the avatar program, and who died. because they were twins, the DNA was satisfactory to have Jake replace his brother in the program. While his brother had done years of research and preparation, Jake was simply thrown into the program. He was sent in, looking like the indigenous people, to learn more about their culture. He also had an alternative mission to learn how to penetrate the indigenous peoples' main housing area in order to refine the natural resources it was placed on.

while Jake worked in the avatar program he became increasingly involved with the people and their culture, and his views on his alternative mission change. in order not to spoil the movie for anyone, that is as far as i will go into the plot.

this movie is amazing. the CG is literally out of this world. this is a movie that will revolutionize filmmaking. not only does it have a good plot and good actors, it leaves you feeling good. i hate when you see a movie and you leave feeling disappointed or flustered. everything is resolved in avatar. there are no apparent plot holes or loose ends. in the world the movie creates, nothing seems unrealistic or far fetched.

the movie is long, almost three hours, but it isnt a pain to sit through (compare to say, benjamin buttons...pure torture). you enjoy all of it, and the CG enhances the movie to its full potential. avatar is definitely a must see, and i cant wait til it comes out on blu-ray!

the grade: A