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

the boy in the striped pajamas

this movie is about this cute little boy named bruno. his family lives a very privileged life, and his father is in the army working for Hitler. the family has to move out to the countryside because bruno's father was needed to be stationed there. the transition is hard for everyone in the family, except the father it seems. bruno's sister becomes nazi-obsessed due to a cute soldier who works around the house. bruno is left to play on his own, isolated from the world.

bruno notices that there are kids at a farm that he can see from his bedroom window, and wants to go play with them. when his parents hear of this, they board up his window. bruno doesnt really understand it, and just wants to go adventuring.

as the movie goes along, bruno slowly sees his father for what he truly is. he secretly meets a little boy, shmuel, at the "farm" (concentration camp) and becomes friends. their relationship is very sweet, and sad at the same time. especially once bruno learns he isnt supposed to talk to people from the farm since they are all evil jews.

the movie portrays the Holocaust very well, and gives us a glimpse of how twisted life was then. it is heart wrenching, especially at the end. the whole film was done excellently, with great acting, sets, cinematography, etc.

a beautiful movie, i recommend it.

the grade: A

the taking of pelham 123

[sorry we havent posted a lot lately. we'll try to make it up to you]

in this movie, john travolta and his little gang hijack a subway train. denzel works as a train operator person (he sits at his booth and makes sure the trains are all going smoothly, etc). when denzel notices that train 123 is stopped, and shouldnt be, he tries contacting them by radio. finally, travolta responds and explains the hostage situation. they demand $10 million from the mayor, and have a time limit of an hour.

so first of all, there were so many unrealistic things that it made the movie seem stupid. for example, there was a sniper who was in position where he could kill a guy, but his superiors told him to wait. then, a rat goes up his pant leg and allegedly bites him, which causes the sniper to fire, kill someone, and gets all the the bad guys mad. ok, ever seen the movie shooter? snipers are trained to not let anything distract them!!

also, this movie was so typical that we were hoping for a twist. it just made it a little on the boring side. everything we thought could possibly be a twist didnt happen [and if it had, the movie would have been more interesting]. the only thing that could be considered a twist was something we all called near the beginning. therefore, not much of a twist. nice try tho..

most of the actions done by everyone in the movie just didnt make sense. characters would do something that was so stupid, or pointless, etc. one time they randomly showed the major do a little cough, and then cut away to another scene. we were all like what!? was that an editing mistake or something? it made no sense at all (like most of this movie).

i felt by watching this movie at least a few brain cells died. maybe several, im not sure. it was just weird, stupid, boring, etc. i dont really recommend it.

the grade: C-

Burn after reading

c...or watching. Look, I'm just going to cut to the chase on this one. This movie is terrible. Awful. Pointless. I should at least attempt to explain the plot to you, but I honestly can't...not in less that 10,000 words. It's a convoluted mess. I can definitely tell that the directors (who have had success with other movies, No Country for Old Men) think they are much smarter than I think they are. The plot goes round and round, all to end up with a big nothing. I kept thinking, "okay, this movie is all over the place....but just maybe, by the end, they are going to surprise me with a big twist that explains everything." Nope. Nada. The crazy thing is, most film critics gave it good reviews. Even one of my favorites, Ebert. If you don't want to believe me, fine, watch this movie, and waste a hour and a half of your life. By the way, can someone please tell my why Brad Pitt is an actor? He is actually quite awful. I'm really drawing a blank, can someone tell me the last time he played an interesting or believable character in a decent movie? [Note: Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Benjamin Button are coming to my mind now and those DO NOT fit under the categories I just listed] Anyways, avoid this stinker at all costs. The end.


D+

This is it

If you are a Michael Jackson fan, this is the movie to see. If you are a skeptic, and you wonder if Michael can really sing and dance like he used to, you should see this movie.
(answer: yes he can)
Shot over a 3 month period before his sudden death, This is it gives us a behind the scenes look at the practices for Michaels come back tour. He sings and dances to all his hits, and it sounds better than ever. He even gets a lot of laughs by his attention to detail. He is seen several times correcting the director or musicians. He has trouble with his ear monitors and the timing of songs, and wants to make sure every detail is checked. While watching the movie, there is no sign of fatigue....he keeps up with the much younger dancers the whole way through. After seeing this movie, you realize just how much of a shame it is that he is gone. This would have been the concert of the decade. This movie will only be in theaters for 2 weeks, so if you're planning on seeing it, don't wait too long.

A

Quarantine

This is a horror movie, based after a Spanish version called [REC]. The movie is shot in the hand held camera style.
A reporter and her cameraman are following a group of firefighters into an apartment building where there has been a 911 call. One of the residents has been screaming in her apartment. Basically, there is some sort of rabies virus that turns people into zombie-like animals, and it is spreading throughout the building. The tenants (and firefighters, reporter, ect) are then locked in the building by the center for disease control, thus preventing them from escape. Let the madness begin.

Okay, so that wasn't a very good explanation of the movie. Here's what you need to know:
-The camera is not nearly as shaky as some other movies shot in the same way.
-Lots of people die
-This movie is very cool.

Granted, you will have to like horror movies to enjoy this, but it's pretty intense and exciting. Rent it...if you dare. Muah ha ha ha......But seriously, check it out.

A-

The Invention of Lying

This movie was extremely hilarious and everyone should go and watch it......wait, that was a lie. Here's the deal. I thought this movie was going to be good, and it simply didn't deliver. The story is clever enough: The people live in an alternate reality where there is no such thing as lying. Everyone just says the truth. The problem is, the writers didn't think this one through. Instead of people just telling the truth, this reality actually involves people just blurting out random thoughts from their mind. Example: if you walk up to someone and think they are ugly, you are not telling a lie if you don't say to them "hey, you are ugly". If they asked you how they looked, then you could say it, but if they didn't, you would have the sense not to say it. Get the idea?

The story is all about this man who suddenly discovers how to lie. His life becomes so much better. He becomes wealthy and popular, but still can't seem to get the girl. She won't marry him, even though she admits she loves him, because he is "fat with a stub nose". She's actually quite rude to him throughout the whole movie, but he still says she's the nicest girl he's ever met. blaahahh. So ridiculous. How can we, as an audience, root for a couple that do not work together. We all wanted to yell at him, get rid of her! Anyways, the dialogue is funny for a while, then gets old. The jokes are okay, and you will be somewhat entertained throughout, but all in all, the invention of this movie should have never happened.

C

Gigantic

as most people should know by now, i love zooey deschanel. i found this movie on netflix, and i decided to see how it was. paul dano (little miss sunshine) is the main character, and he works at a mattress store. one day an interesting man (John Goodman) comes into his store, and dano sells him a top of the line mattress. before he leaves, he says that "he'll send his girl over later to do financing," and then leaves as quickly as he came in.

later, "the girl" comes in, Happy, who is goodman's daughter (deschanel). her quirky charm intrigues dano, and they start to develop a relationship of sorts. things turn sort of awkward when it comes out that dano's goal his entire life has been to adopt a baby from china. he's been saving up and going through the application process for years, but when he starts dating deschanel, it gets put on the back burner.

the only thing i didnt really like in this movie is that they would randomly show this homeless guy that would come beat up dano and hurt him pretty bad. really, i think it is just trying to symbolize some sort of mental instability, or demons in his head, because there is no real homeless man who's mission in life is to kill dano. his injuries are real though, so somehow he is really just harming himself. this whole theme is pointless, and never is resolved in the movie. it never expounds upon it except for showing him get hurt a few times, and being stalked by the homeless man.

besides these weird dillusions that occur every so often, the movie really is excellent. funny, interesting, engaging, and just plain good. i wont give away anything, but i highly reccommend it.

the grade:
B+

phoebe in wonderland

who knew dakota fanning had a younger sister, and that she was so talented?? in this movie, elle fanning plays a young girl named phoebe. she was raised to be a little different from the norm, and to also love "wonderland" (as in alice in wonderland).

as the movie goes on, phoebe's behavior becomes progressively worse and uncontrollable. after a few incidents at school (example: spitting at a classmate), she is sent to therapy.

family dynamics are very interesting, as phoebe's mother fires the therapist and blames herself for raising her daughter poorly. the mother thinks that phoebe doesnt know she loves her, which causes more angst and drama within the family.

the only place phoebe seems to thrive is at play practice. she got the role of alice, in alice in wonderland. phoebe's theater teacher, mrs hodgins (patricia clarkson), seems to be permanently living in wonderland, but her character inspires the children--especially phoebe. the principal doesnt ever seem to fully trust mrs hodgins, and questions her behavior, and her influence on phoebe.

as phoebe struggles with her actions, which she does not want to do but can't help doing, she also starts seeing characters from alice in wonderland. the red queen and alice are seen most frequently. this development concerns all parties involved (parents, principal, and therapist).

i wont spoil the movie, but seriously i really liked this film. all of the roles were well developed, had excellent acting, and were very interesting. phoebe's story will keep you entranced throughout the entire movie. there were even a few times i laughed out loud, and other times when i might have gotten a little teary. i feel that this movie has something for everyone, and is very well done.

the grade:

A-/A