Ten On Tuesday ~ Ten Fav Movie Characters

These are ten of my favorites. I've got a million favorites though. It's hard to narrow them down to just ten!

1. Jason Bourne (The Bourne Trilogy)~ One of my favorite characters ever!
2. Batman ~ Michael Keaton and Christian Bale are my favs in this role.
3. Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride & Prejudice) ~ He's almost the perfect man :-o)
4. Mr. Knightly (Emma) ~ I like him almost as much as Mr. Darcy.
5. Peter Parker (Spiderman) ~ He's sweet and innocent by day and courageous by night.
6. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective ~ So funny!
7. Michael Meyers ~ Still scares me to death! It's the mask.
8. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride & Prejudice) ~ Strong, smart, witty.....love this role.
9. 007 (Sean Connery) ~ The name's Bond.....James Bond.
10. Jane Eyre (from Jane Eyre)~ One of my favorite books and I love the movie just as much.

Who are your favorites? Check out more favorites at yanowhatimean.com. Enjoy!

Weekly Movie Reviews

Since hubby was out of town all week last week, I took the opportunity to watch a few movies to pass the time. There were a couple of good ones and a few that were not so good :-o) I'm finding that it's hard to find a well made movie these days.

My favorites were:

Things We Lost In The Fire ~ Synopsis: A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

**I really liked this movie although it started kind of slow. The story was sad, tragic, troubled, and in the end, healing. I really liked Jerry. It was nice to see him rise from the ashes and start dealing with his drug addiction. Halle Berry's character got on my nerves and I felt like this was some of her worst acting. However, someone else in this role could have made the movie even better. Apart from that, a good movie.

The Kite Runner ~ Synopsis: After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.

**This was another movie I really enjoyed. I haven't had the opportunity to read the book so I was excited to get to see the movie. Again, great story and a well made movie.

The others I watched and did not care for where:

• Georgia Rule - language and content was the biggest reason I didn't like this one.
• In the Land of Women - The leading male actor was funny but this was just an "I don't get it" movie for me.
• Jack & Jill (Freddie Prinze Jr.) - The leading actress in this one was terrible. It could have been a good movie. The story line was good and Freddie Prinze Jr. did a good job. Everything else was terrible.
• Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - I took the girls to see this one mid-week since the local theater has the summer movie thing going on. Admission was only $1 per person and that was great. The movie wasn't bad. I just don't care for most fantasies. Not terrible, not great either. Just mediocre for me.
• Blonde Ambition - Don't waste your time. Jessica Simpson plus movies......well, I should have known how that would go. Her acting killed the movie.

Keep in mind that I was trying to watch movies that I thought hubby wouldn't like since he was gone all week. Basically, almost all of the movies I watched while he was gone bombed. The only one that was even worth mentioning was Things We Lost In The Fire. He did watch The Kite Runner with me and he liked it pretty well. Overall, not a good movie week :-o) Maybe next week will be better.

What did you see this week?

Ten On Tuesday ~ Movies I'm Excited To See

1. Prince Caspian
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
3. You Don't Mess With the Zohan
4. Made of Honor
5. Iron Man ~ Ok, I saw this one while we were in Savannah and I liked it pretty well.
6. The Incredible Hulk ~ I really like Edward Norton so I have to at least try this movie.
7. The Happening
8. Hancock
9. Journey To the Center of the Earth
10. The Dark Knight

These are ten of the movies I want to see that come out between now and end of July. I'm sure there will be others. Check out what others want to see here.

What do you want to see?

Late Movie Reviews

I'm behind with everything this week. I've been running to doctor appointments for the past few days and that's thrown everything off. It's amazing how much of your day disappears when you have to visit the doctor!

We saw a couple of great movies this week. It's funny how we may see a couple of good ones and then the next five will bomb. LOL! I think I'm getting harder and harder to please where movies are concerned. There is just such a lack of good movies being made these days. Many of them have little to no meaning and I feel like I've wasted two hours watching them. Here are a few that get the thumbs up from me this week, and one that didn't:

Into the Wild ~ This movie was inspired by a true story. Christopher McCandless graduates from college and his parents have high hopes for him. They want him to go to law school and "do great things." Chris has other plans. He gives away his $24,000 life savings, leaves all of his possessions, breaks contact with his family, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live off the land. On his way to Alaska, he meets many people who will be inspirational in his life.

*This film was wonderful! To watch Chris leave everything behind and chase his dream was so inspirational. Along the way, he meets so many wonderful people who share their knowledge of life. Chris deals with many of his own emotional skeletons along the way; his parents rocky relationship over the years, the expectations they have of him, etc. He is determined to leave it all behind and make it on his own in the Alaskan wilderness. When Chris finally makes it to Alaska, I breathed a sigh of relief. However, this is when many of his challenges began. He took shelter in an abandoned bus sitting in the middle of the wilderness. I can't say much more without giving away a lot of the ending. What I will say is that this movie holds so many great life lessons. It is a long movie (over two hours). There is some language in the movie and there is a pretty graphic wilderness scene in which Chris has to field dress a moose. He is hunting for game and shoots this moose. He has to work quickly in dressing the moose so that he preserves all of the meat. I opened and closed my eyes through this because I've never been able to watch someone field dress an animal. Overall, a great movie with many wonderful lessons. I'm on a mission to read the book now.*

Reservation Road ~ Synopsis: On a warm September evening, college professor Ethan Learner, his wife Grace, and their daughter Emma are attending a recital. Their 10-year-old son Josh is playing cello -- beautifully, as usual. His younger sister looks up to him, and his parents are proud of their son. On the way home, they all stop at a gas station on Reservation Road. There, in one terrible instant, he is taken from them forever. On a warm September evening, law associate Dwight Arno and his 11-year-old son Lucas are attending a baseball game. Their favorite team, the Red Sox, is playing - and, hopefully, heading for the World Series. Dwight cherishes his time spent with Lucas. Driving his son back to his ex-wife, Lucas' mother Ruth Wheldon, Dwight heads towards his fateful encounter at Reservation Road. The accident happens so fast that Lucas is all but unaware, while Ethan -- the only witness -- is all too aware, as a panicked Dwight speeds away. The police are called, and an investigation begins. Haunted by the tragedy, both fathers react in unexpected ways, as do Grace and Emma. As a reckoning looms, the two fathers are forced to make the hardest choices of their lives. Written by Focus Features.

*I was excited to see this film after seeing the previews. Between the great clips and Mark Ruffalo (I'm a huge fan) being in the film, I expected a lot. It did not disappoint. This film takes you into the lives of these two families and how they deal with this tragedy. I found myself feeling some of the same feelings the parents felt. I was sympathetic for both sides. I wanted things to just work themselves out, and they did in the end. There was some language in this one and then ending is assumed rather than shown. I didn't like that but I still thought it was a good film. It was predictable at times but again, I enjoyed the story line.

Dan In Real Life ~ Synopsis: Love strikes in the worst possible circumstances for widower, single dad and popular family advice columnist Dan Burns (Steve Carell) when he falls for a beautiful stranger (Juliette Binoche) in a bookshop -- only to discover she's the very same woman his charismatic brother (Dane Cook) is about to introduce as his incredible new girlfriend at their parents' annual get-together. As the weekend gets underway, Dan and Marie scramble to hide their mutual attraction to each other, resulting in a series of hilariously awkward situations. Yet, even under those circumstances, they can't help falling in love. Now, Dan is about to realize that -- no matter how many good suggestions he might have for other people -- when it comes to romance and family, the hardest advice for a man to follow is his own.

I had wanted to see this movie since the day I saw it in the video store. Finally, we were able to pick it up and sit down to watch it a few nights ago. The movie is still fresh in my head and I have to tell you, sometimes I laugh out loud just thinking about various parts of it. Steve Carell is not my favorite actor but he is growing on me. Sometimes his humor is a little to dry for me. He hit it big in this one though! The movie was funny, heartwarming, funny, sweet, funny, and funny. I can't tell you how many times I laughed during this one. I absolutely loved Carell's character and I'm a big Juliette Binoche fan. I think they were the perfect choice for their characters in this movie. The one negative that comes to mind is the attitude of the children in the movie. They are very sarcastic and bratty. Overall, I think it's definitely one to check out. I liked it enough that I'd probably buy it. This is definitely my favorite movie of the week.

Waitress ~ Not even gonna link to this one. I didn't like it. I hated the attitude of Keri Russell's character and I don't think watching this film is helpful or edifying in any way. While we were watching it, we were hoping a big change was going to occur and there would be a good turning point to the movie. However, most of the movie was how Russell's character hated her husband and how much she didn't want to have the baby she was carrying. I remember some months ago that someone told me this was a "cute" movie. Well, I must have missed the cute part :-o) Very disappointing. Russell's last two movies have been very, very disappointing to me. My opinion is to skip this one.

We've got a few lined up for the weekend so check back Sunday for those reviews.

Basketball & Movie Reviews

UT Lady Vols defeated LSU Lady Tigers last night!

This had to be one of the most exciting games I've seen in the ladies arena this year. Neither team played well and it was the lowest scoring game in Final Four history! The shooting stats for both teams was terrible but both sides kept it interesting. I was glued to the couch and was so nervous in the last 40 seconds of the game that I could barely stand it. When LSU scored with 7 seconds left, I thought it was all over for the Lady Vols. In true form, Candace Parker sprinted down court with the ball and tossed it off to Anosike, who missed a lay up. Thank goodness for Alexis Hornbuckle, who swooped in to get the rebound and threw it in for the easy 2. That gave us a 1 point lead with 0.7 seconds left. LSU threw a long inbound pass down court but it was intercepted by Hornbuckle as time expired.

I have to be honest here. With 7 seconds left and Candace Parker driving down the court, I wasn't looking. I had opened my computer in hopes of being distracted. I looked up about the time that Anosike missed the lay up and saw Hornbuckle flying through the air and tossing in the rebound. Hubby and I were elated! What an amazing finish to this game. I wished all of you loved NCAA basketball as much as me and Jenny!

Well, since I was way too busy watching the game last night, I failed to post movie reviews for the things we watched last week. In all honesty, we watched so much basketball that we didn't have time for many movies. We only saw two last week.

No Country For Old Men ~ This movie was so hyped and I think it even won or was nominated for a bunch of awards. I expected a lot and I enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones' character since I'm a fan. If I'm being totally honest though, I just didn't get this one. At all. The basic premise is this. A man is hunting and happens upon some dead bodies. It looks like a drug deal gone bad. He finds 2 million in cash and of course, takes it. What he doesn't know is that the "head" of the operation is looking for him and this man is a nut job. This character is the reason that I lock all my doors at home, even in the daytime. There's plenty of murder (which means lots of blood) and it's also peppered with language. It was just a really strange movie for me. I still have no idea why people have raved about it. My opinion is to skip it. And honestly, don't get sucked in from reading the synopsis. It sounds way better than this movie is.

The Mist ~ This one is a spin off of a Stephen King book and to some degree I enjoyed it. Hubby thought it was predictable and therefore didn't care for it. He also doesn't think King is a great writer so that's another reason he didn't care for it. As for me, I liked the basic story. It's hard for me to imagine mutated bugs that are ten stories high and I didn't really care about them. I think it could have been a good movie without the mutated "things" with something more believable as the problem. By the end of the movie, I have to agree with hubby. The ending was predictable but sad. In the movie, you see several people get killed by these "monsters" and there's language scattered throughout. It was really of no value and didn't leave any impression on me at all. I'm glad I've never spent time reading a Stephen King novel :-o)

There you have it. That's what we saw and hopefully next week's selections will be better. I've really been enjoying the Masterpiece Theater showings of the Jane Austen novels. Last night was the second part of Sense & Sensibility and it was pretty good. How about you? Have you watched anything good lately? Tell me about it. Come on, share the love!

Movie Review Sunday ~ March 30

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. We spent our time doing a number of things. Friday, hubby left for an overnight trip to NC. The girls and I attended a church dance and had a lot of fun. The girls enjoyed doing the Patty Cake Polka and the VA Reel. We got home around midnight and I crashed. We hung out at home on Saturday and in the afternoon, I ran several errands in town. Hubby got home around 8:30 Saturday night and we went to visit our niece, Hannah. She just got her own apartment and she wanted us to come check it out. We had fun visiting with her for about an hour and then we came home to settle in. Today, we enjoyed worship and afterwards we went to pick up my in-laws. Today is their 51st wedding anniversary so we wanted to honor them and take them to lunch. Their favorite restaurant is Cheddar's so we took them there and ate way too much :-o) We had a great time. Of course the weekend wouldn't have been complete without NCAA basketball. I think I watched about every single game that was on, men and women. I love March Madness!

This week, we've seen a few things although none of them have been great.

Atonement ~ There has been so much hype about this film that I couldn't wait to see it. It was supposed to be an "epic love story." I must have missed the memo that stated that it was very overrated. Don't get me wrong. I liked this film but it was not an epic love story. It was really the story of one woman's quest for forgiveness.

There are a couple of spots in the movie to warn you about. The first thing I'll mention is a graphic letter. I'm not sure why it was necessary to throw it in but alas, they did. The second thing is when a young girl walks in on her sister and a young man in a "questionable" situation. Again, I'm not sure why this needed to be thrown in. I would have loved to see the relationship of the two main characters develop into something wonderful. The movie was a little hard for me to get into and it was just a sad, sad story line. It could have been a great movie but my opinion is that it's just ok. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

The Valley of Elah ~ This movie stars Tommy Lee Jones, a father who finds out that his son was murdered. Because his son is in the military, details of the crime are not fully disclosed. The father tries to enlist the help of the local police and they meet many obstacles while trying to solve the murder. That is a really brief description of the movie but covers the main theme. Apparently this movie is based on actual events. It is a sad tale of life for some soldiers after coming home from Iraq. Tommy Lee did a great job in this one and I really felt connected to the story. There are some graphic scenes during the discovery of the murder victim and there is language scattered throughout the movie. I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

Michael Clayton ~ This movie was a little hard to get into at first and a bit of a strange role for George Clooney. I liked it but many may find it hard to follow. I don't recall how much but I'm sure there was some language in it. It dealt with corrupt companies and lawyers and showed just how far some are willing to go to save face. In the end, Clooney breaks that cycle. This is a tough one but I'd give it a 6 out of 10. You may find this one a bit boring.

Saving Sarah Cain ~ This was a pretty good movie although the acting was terrible. It was a clean movie and our children were able to watch it. The basic premise is this. There are two sisters. One marries an Amish man and adopts the Amish way of life. Her sister is a career girl living in the big city and harbors hard feelings toward her sister for marrying. The two do not speak for a number of years. The Amish sister looses her husband and a few years later, she dies. Upon her death, her sister (in the city) is called to decide the fate of the children. She struggles with wanting to keep them but also feeling like she can't raise 5 Amish children. *I liked this movie pretty well although I felt it could have been so much better. The acting was mediocre at best and this was a little distracting. Having read several Beverly Lewis books, I was looking forward to seeing this one. It could have been better with better acting. Again, it was clean and the story line was a good one. I'd give it 8 of 10.

Beowulf ~ It took us three days to watch this movie. Every time we put it in, we seemed to get tired and fall asleep. LOL! I had heard several negative things about the movie so I wasn't thrilled to watch it anyway. There are plenty of things to warn you about so here goes. You'll see plenty of half naked CGI characters, plenty of sensuality from Angelina Jolie's character, a low regard for marriage, and tons of sin. Again, this is one of those movies that could have been entertaining if it had left out all of the garbage that added nothing to the movie. I think Jolie's character could have been just as convincing without the sensuality. And the half naked CGI characters....what's up with that? I don't get it at all. It's almost like Hollywood cannot put out a movie unless it has lots of nudity, sensuality, and language. It's very disappointing. I'd give this one a 4 of 10. As I said, it could have been entertaining. Instead, I found myself trying to weed through all of the junk just to get through the story. Many of you will probably want to skip it.

I think that's all we watched this week. We normally check out movies before watching them over at Christian Spotlight. We read the reviews and the reviewers comments and evaluate what to rent based on many of those opinions. There are times that we might take a chance on a movie if we forget to review it or something like that. As with any movie or book, I think it's best to evaluate the reviews beforehand as much as possible. Use your own judgment and stick to your guns. One day, I'm hopeful that Hollywood might make some good quality movies without all the filth.

Movie Review Sunday....A Little Late

Well, after about two weeks of Netflix, we switched back to Blockbuster online. I'm so happy. It's so nice to be able to go into the store and exchange the movies instead of sending them all back after watching them.It just makes movie watching easy and lots of fun! Of course, with March Madness going on, I can't seem to watch much of anything besides college basketball! Why can't every month be March?

This week we've seen a couple of good ones.

Martian Child ~ (Synopsis from Moviefone): The romantic drama 'Martian Child' stars John Cusack as a recently widowed science fiction writer who forms an unlikely family with a close friend (Amanda Peet) and a young boy he adopts that claims to be from Mars. The new couple ignores some sage parenting advice from the widower's sister (Joan Cusack) and gets more than they bargained for when a series of strange occurrences lead them to believe that the child's claim may be true. Based on an award-winning short story by sci-fi luminary David Gerrold, 'Martian Child' is directed by Menno Meyjes and produced by David Kirschner, Corey Sienega and Ed Elbert.

**My Review**

After losing his wife, David, a successful sci-fi writer, decides to adopt Dennis, a young boy who thinks he is from Mars. Dennis has emotional problems and struggles to accept the fatherly love David shows to him. He is kicked out of numerous schools, steals, and when pushed, starts to talk about his home on Mars and how he will be returning there soon.

I think the thing I liked about this story is that I could relate to Dennis. He was scared, alone, felt abandoned and unwanted by his biological parents, and unworthy of love. He struggled with being loved and truly wanted by David, which caused him to act out. I could also relate to David. He was doing all he could to show Dennis his love and make him feel at home. Both of them were hurting and they really needed each other. It was a touching story. I don't remember any language in this one and felt comfortable with letting my children (13 and 9) watch it.

Rendition ~ (Synopsis): Isabella El-Ibrahimi is the loving American wife of Egyptian born Anwar El-Ibrahimi. Anwar lands in Washington, after returning from a business trip to South Africa. Upon his arrival in the US, he is whisked away, unexplained, by government agents. Accused of being a terrorist, he is taken out of the US and thrown in a prison, where he is beaten and tortured in hopes of gaining information. Isabella grows suspicious when her husband does not return and starts her own investigation into his disappearance. With no help from the US government, it's likely she may never know what has happened to her husband.

**My Review**

I was so excited about seeing this film. I waited for it to come to DVD and the first opportunity we had, we rented it. We settled in to watch it and I could hardly wait. An hour into the movie, I was scratching my head. The plot develops very slowly in this one. While I enjoyed the basic premise of the movie, nothing seemed to have any real order. The movie bounced around and never really made you feel as if you knew any of the characters. Even at the end of the movie, I was waiting for some kind of real closure, which never came. The scary thing is that this kind of thing probably does happen with our government. I wanted so badly to love this film but I only slightly liked it. This would have been a great role for Reese Witherspoon if the film had been better. There was language and torture scenes in this one that earned it an R rating.

Awake ~ (Synopsis): Clay is the son of a wealthy businessman and is in love with his mother's personal assistant, Sam. He also has a life threatening heart condition that requires a heart transplant. Clay struggles to tell his mother of his relationship with Sam, fearing her disapproval. The two are quickly married but shortly after, Clay must prepare for heart surgery. While on the operating table, Clay suffers "anesthetic awareness" and overhears the doctors plot to kill him for money. Just when things couldn't get worse, Clay hears his wife, who is involved in the murder plot. Helpless to do anything, Clay mentally retraces his steps in search of answers.

**My Review**

This was a pretty good movie. The plot is good and the story develops well, with a few surprises thrown in. There were a few parts that made me turn away because of my weak stomach. There's a bit of language. Overall, this one is worth watching if you like thrillers.

What have you seen this week? Share it with me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Movie Review Sunday

Jindabyne

Synopsis:

Stewart Kane, an Irishman living in the Australian town of Jindabyne, is on a fishing trip in isolated hill country with three other men when they discover the body of a murdered girl in the river. Rather than return to the town immediately, they continue fishing and report their gruesome find days later. Stewart's wife Claire is the last to find out. Deeply disturbed by her husband's action, her faith in her relationship with Stewart is shaken to the core. She wants to understand and tries to make things right. In her determination to help the victim's family Claire sets herself not only against her own family and friends but also those of the dead girl. Her marriage is taken to the brink and her peaceful life with Stewart and their young son hangs in the balance. The story of a murder and a marriage - a film about the things that haunt us.

My Review: This movie made no sense at all. In my opinion it is of no value and it ended terribly. Skip it. That's all I can say about it.

No Reservations

Synopsis:

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is the master chef at the trendy 22 Bleecker Street Restaurant in Manhattan. She runs her kitchen at a rapid pace as she coordinates the making and preparing of all the fantastic meals and personally displays the food to perfection on every dish. She intimidates everyone around her, so her boss sends her to therapy. Kate hates to leave the kitchen when a customer wants to compliment her on one of her special dishes, but she is ready to leave the kitchen in a second when a customer insults her cooking. Kate's sister is killed in a car accident and her nine-year old daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin) moves in with Kate. With all of Kate's problems, the boss hires a new chef to join the staff. Nick (Aaron Eckhart) is a rising star in his own right and could be the head chef of another restaurant, but he wants to work under Kate. Kate begins to feel threatened by Nick, because he has a different style of running the kitchen. Nick loves to listen to opera when he cooks and to make the staff laugh. With all that is going on in Kate's life, falling for a man is the last thing she was looking for. There is some kind of chemistry between Kate and Nick that can only go one way. Yet life will hit her in the head when Kate's boss offers Nick the head chef job.

My Review: This movie was very cute. The story tugged at my heart as this little girl dealt with the loss of her mother.It is a remake of the German film Mostly Martha, which I have never seen. I loved the story and the actors did a good job. I like Aaron Eckhart and he did a great job as Nick. I don't remember any questionable material in the movie or language. I really enjoyed this one.

The Game Plan

Synopsis:

Rugged superstar quarterback Joe Kingman (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), whose Boston-based team is chasing a championship, is a 'serial bachelor'. Kingman is living the ultimate fantasy: he's rich, famous and the life of the party. But this dream is suddenly sacked for a loss when he discovers the 7-year-old daughter (Madison Pettis) he never knew he had -- the product of a last fling before parting years ago with his young wife.

Now, during the most important time in his career, he must figure out how to juggle his parties, practices and dates with the newfound ballet classes, bedtime stories and dolls that come with his daughter.

Equally perplexed is his hard-edged mega-agent, Stella (Kyra Sedgwick), herself without a parental bone in her body. Despite the often hilarious misadventures that come with being a new father, Joe discovers that there's more to life than money, endorsements and thousands of adoring fans: the love and care of one very special small fan is the only thing that matters.

My Review: This was a cute movie about a self-centered sports hero who has trouble putting anything before himself. When Joe finds out that he has a daughter, he is caught off guard and is disinterested. Joe quickly discovers that there is more to life than money and fame. I also really liked this movie. Again, I cannot think of any questionable content. "The Rock" does a wonderful job as Joe and was actually pretty funny in several scenes.

That's it for this week. Have a good one!

Movie Review Sunday

I've only got a couple to tell you about this week. As always, if you've got movies to review, sign mr. linky below so I can come visit.

~Evelyn ~

Synopsis: Desmond Doyle is devastated when his wife abandons their family on the day after Christmas. His unemployment and the fact that there is no woman in the house to care for the children, Evelyn, Dermot and Maurice, make it clear to the authorities that his is an untenable situation. The Catholic Church and the Irish courts decide to put the Doyle children into Church-run orphanages. Although a sympathetic judge assures Desmond that when his financial situation reverses, he will be able to get his children back; money is hard to come by. During that time, Evelyn and her brothers suffer the abuses of living in orphanages while Desmond struggles to secure finances. Now he must battle the courts to get his children back.

***My Review***

Pierce Bronsan did a wonderful job as Desmond Doyle. When Desmond finds himself abandoned by his wife and without work, the Irish government places his children in an orphanage. His daughter Evelyn is treated cruelly but remains confident about her father's return to take her away from this place. Evelyn is a wonderful example of faith and hope and I fell in love with her character.

When Desmond finds work and gets himself back on track, he returns to retrieve his children only to find that the Irish government will not allow it. Because of a clause in the law, Desmond's runaway wife must sign papers that will allow the children to come home. Desmond takes on the government in order to put his family back together. I can't say much more without giving away the story but Desmond's journey is one of courage and love. We loved this film.

~The Hoax~

Synopsis: Early in 1971, McGraw-Hill passes on Clifford Irving's new novel. He's desperate for money, so, against the backdrop of Nixon's reelection calculations, Irving claims he has Howard Hughes's cooperation to write Hughes's autobiography. With the help of friend Dick Suskind, Irving does research, lucks into a manuscript written by a long-time Hughes associate, and plays on corporate greed. He's quick-thinking and outrageously bold. Plus, he banks on Hughes's reluctance to enter the public eye. At the same time, he's trying to rebuild his marriage and deflect the allure of his one-time mistress, Nina Van Pallandt. Can he write a good book, take the money, and pull off the hoax?

***My Review***

I have to admit that I was not in the mood to watch this last night. However, I'm glad hubby insisted. This is a strange role for Richard Gere but he is very convincing as Clifford Irving. Gere is one of my favorite actors and I love his versatility. I was fascinated with Irving's ability to convince a publishing house to publish a book under these strange circumstances. I'm still fascinated with Howard Hughes' ability to remain incognito for such a long time. This movie won't be for all of you. It worked for me because I love to read biographies. That's what this film felt like to me.

~The Heartbreak Kid ~

I'm not even going to link to this one. We watched it without reviewing it first and it was just wrong. I have nothing good to say about it. There were a few funny moments but overall, I would not recommend it.

That's all for this week. Remember to sign Mr. Linky if you've got movie reviews to share.

Movie Review Sunday #2

My sweet 13 yo daughter is having a lot of fun learning to use Photoshop. She made me this cute little graphic for Movie Review Sunday. I think she did a great job since this is her first one. Oh, and did I mention that she just started using Photoshop about an hour ago? Smarty britches! Anyway, here's what we've seen this week and my two cents about them! Enjoy!

Live Free or Die Hard

Synopsis:

Hacker Matt Farrell (Justin Long), not knowing who he is working for, finishes work on a computer program and sends it to Mai Linh (Maggie Q), who advises her boss and lover, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), that they can now proceed with their evil plan. The criminal mastermind begins killing the hackers he hired by exploding their computers by means of a virus he has implanted, and commencing the initial stages of a computer attack on US government networks.

We liked this one pretty well. I know I've seen some of the earlier Die Hard movies but it's been a long time. I really wasn't in the mood to watch this but half way through the movie, I was glad hubby suggested it. This one has lots of action and a pretty good plot. If you've seen the other movies and liked them, you're sure to like this one. I like Bruce Willis in these types of films. Overall, good action movie.

Ocean's 13

Synopsis:

When senior Ocean member Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) gets double crossed by the scheming Willie Bank (Al Panico), the Ocean team decide it is time to get even, but this time, with the help of an old enemy.

Together, they decide that the goal here is not to take Bank's money, but make him loose it and his Five Diamond awards. Through a series of scams, they rig every game in the casino, making everything pay out to any player there. Underground, they create an earthquake, causing everyone in the casino to evacuate, removing Bank's chance of winning it back.

Through out the movie, the Five Diamond reviewers time at the casino is sabotaged through various means (chicken pox-like infection on his towels, laxatives in his food, terrible smelling insence being burned in his room, and overall bad service) and he reviews it very poorly, taking Bank's chance at winning another Five Diamond with him.

At the end, after successfully pulling off the heist, Rusty (Brat Pitt) rigs one last machine in the Airport, letting the reviewer who they un-willingly put through all the problems hit the jackpot before boarding his plane.

I was a little disappointed in this movie. Hubby liked it but I didn't feel that it was as good as the first two. I love all the characters but I found this one lacking. I think I even slept through parts of it. I missed Julia Roberts nagging Clooney in this one. Overall, I was not thrilled.

Evan Almighty

Synopsis:

In director Tom Shadyac's raucous follow-up to the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty (also helmed by Shadyac), God (Morgan Freeman) summons narcissistic newscaster turned congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) to build an enormous ark in preparation for a devastating flood. Unfortunately, Evan's perplexed family interprets his latest hobby as a midlife crisis gone wrong rather than as a divine assignment from the man upstairs.

Pretty cute movie. Great family movie. I don't remember any questionable material in this one. Steve Carell is not my favorite actor because he has a dry sense of humor that I just don't get. He did a pretty good job in this one though. So overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

Masterpiece Theatre: Mansfield Park

I love Jane Austen. I really do. I'm just not thrilled with these versions of her work. Many of these versions are only 90 minutes and you just can't cover her work in that length of time. One of the things I love about Austen is her sense of humor and her sarcasm. I feel the movies are lacking in this, which makes them only mediocre for me. Because I love her work, I will watch all of these versions but I don't expect my opinion of them to change. (If you miss these movies on Masterpiece Theatre, they are available for purchase). The movie coming on tonight, "Miss Austen Regrets, " looks very promising.

If you have movies to review, please let me know by signing Mr. Linky below. You can also grab the button if you'd like!

 

Movie Review Sunday

We don't watch a huge amount of television around our house unless it's football season. When the season is over, we watch basketball and the occasional tv series. We do watch movies. That's one thing Jeff and I really enjoy and we really enjoy that time together. We started out with a Netflix subscription several years ago. We loved it so much. A few years down the road, Blockbuster came along and started their online subscription so we switched. The thing we loved about BB was that you could take the movies into the store and trade them for new movies. We were able to watch a ton of movies each month for a very reasonable rate. Then they went and did it. They slowly started to raise rates and take away all of the advantages to the program. First, the monthly subscription fee went up. Then, instead of having an unlimited amount of trade in movies, you could only bring five per month in and trade them for in store movies. Basically, we had a really sweet deal when we first started out and in the end, it was just, uh, crappy!

I should tell you, we are a very principled family. So, what were we to do? We had to say enough is enough. BB was taking advantage of us now. Last week, we decided to ditch BB and go back to Netflix. I'll have to say, I wasn't really excited about this. However, I'm slowly warming up to Netflix again and I really love the feature they offer where you can download and watch movies on your computer. The kids have taken advantage of this twice this week. Anyway, my point is to say that because we do watch movies quite often, I want to start mentioning those each week. I want to share my two cents worth in hopes that it might be helpful to those of you who like to watch movies and haven't seen the ones I mention. Without further ado, here's what we've seen this past week.

3:10 to Yuma ~ Synopsis:

Rancher Dan Evans heads into Bisbee to clear up issues concerning the sake of his land when he witnesses the closing events of a stagecoach robbery lead by famed outlaw Ben Wade. No sooner or later, Wade is captured by the law in Bisbee and Evans finds himself one of the escorts who will take Wade to the 3:10 to Yuma train in Contention for the reward of $200. Evans quest for taking Wade to the station is not only for saving for his land but an inner battle that he can be more than just a naive rancher in the eyes of his impetuous and gun slinging son William Evans. The transport to Contention is hazardous and filled with ambushes from Indians, pursuits by Wade's vengeful gang and Wade's own conniving and surreptitious demeanor that makes the ride all more intense. (Plot summary by commanderblue)

*I'll have to say, I really enjoyed this movie. The guy in the video store ranked this one up there with Tombstone and while I enjoyed it, I think he was dead wrong. Tombstone is a classic. This film is a one time watch at best. I enjoyed the story and I like both Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. This is a real "shoot em' up" kind of movie and may be too much if you dislike that kind of thing. I don't remember how much language was in the movie but I know there was at least a little. It is, after all, a gun slingin' western. My favorite part of the movie was the ending. I can't say much more because I'll give it away. If you like westerns, you'll probably enjoy this one but don't set your expectations too high. It was just ok.

The Hunting Party ~ Synopsis:

A young journalist (Eisenberg), a seasoned cameraman (Howard) and a discredited journalist (Gere) embark on an unauthorized mission to find the no. 1 war criminal in Bosnia; they find themselves in serious jeopardy when they are mistaken as a CIA hit squad and their target decides to come after them.

*We just finished this one and I have to say, I was surprised. I really enjoyed this one. The story is set in the middle of war torn Bosnia, with three reporters trying to find the most wanted war criminal in the world. The storyline was interesting and the actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters. I'm convinced that Richard Gere could play any role. This one was no exception. There is a lot of action and language in this film. The language garnered it its R rating. There was also several scenes showing war torn areas, which included murdered civilians in the streets. In the end, the reporters realize that all of the authorities (the UN, the United States, the Hague) supposedly looking for this criminal are actually allowing him to remain free. They determine that they must come up with a plan to expose this and catch this horrible man. This was a surprisingly good movie, despite the terrible language and graphic scenes of the aftermath of war.

Griffin and Phoenix ~ Synopsis:

Ed Stone's bittersweet drama Griffin & Phoenix concerns Griffin (Dermot Mulroney), a divorcee suffering from cancerous lesions in his chest that give him a life expectancy of less than two years. He falls in love with academic advisor Phoenix (Amanda Peet), and the pair decide to 'live life to the fullest' by fulfilling all of Griffin's childhood fantasies, from painting water towers to sneaking into movies to hopping freight trains. But a secret of Phoenix's threatens to damper the joy of their time together.

*Oh my. What can I say about this movie. It caught me totally off guard. Jeff and I had wanted to see this for awhile but could never catch it at the video store. We put it in our online BB queue and it finally came last week. This is the most emotional movie I've seen in a very long time. Your heart goes out to Griffin as he learns of his illness. Later on in the movie, he meets Phoenix and she brings joy to him. About this time, you get blind sided by what happens next. All I can tell you is that you'd better have a really big box of kleenex handy. I'm not sure who cried more, Jeff or myself. It was that emotional! This is definitely an adult movie and one that will make you think about your life and what you would do if you were in Griffin's situation. I remember that after the movie went off, we turned the tv off and just sat there in silence for a few minutes. For days afterwards, we talked about those "what if" situations. My opinion is that it's a great movie in spite of its less than perfect circumstances. Don't say I didn't warn ya!

300 ~ Synopsis:

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, "300" is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite against their Persian enemy, drawing a line in the sand for democracy. The film brings Miller's (Sin City) acclaimed graphic novel to life by combining live action with virtual backgrounds that capture his distinct vision of this ancient historic tale.

*I'm going to try and be nice here. The story is a great one. This movie is, uh, a not so great one. I'm not sure I liked anything about this movie. There was a lot of battle scenes in which men would get their heads chopped off. They actually showed it and it was almost funny. It looked so fake and I just don't understand the need for showing it. Fake or not, it was just too much for me. I admired the Spartans courage and their "fight to the death" determination. However, I think this movie missed the mark and definitely could have been made better. To put it nicely, I could have just as easily slept through this one and been just fine :-o)

Masterpiece Theatre (PBS) ~ Jane Austen movies

Six of Austen's works will be presented on Masterpiece Theatre on Sunday evenings for the next several weeks. I have already watched Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Tonight they will feature Mansfield Park. So far, I have not been terribly impressed with these. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but I've decided that you can't fit Austen's work into 90 minutes. The first movie that PBS featured was Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. It was excellent. Because it was very good, I expected all of the Austen works to be equally as good. That hasn't been the case but I still wouldn't miss them.

I think that's it for this week. Right now we've got Ocean's 13, A Mighty Heart, and Live Free or Die Hard. Check back next Sunday for my reviews of those!

 

Beyond The Gates

Genocide: the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.

We all know what genocide is. It's horrible. It is stomach turning. It's brutal. It's hard to believe that it goes on around us even today. Last night, hubby and I had the opportunity to watch Beyond The Gates . It is the best movie we've seen in a very long time. It's brutal so if you have a weak stomach, maybe you should skip the movie and just research the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Synopsis:

Based on true events and filmed in Rwanda with genocide survivors as cast and crew, BEYOND THE GATES tells their shared story of humanity in the most inhumane circumstances.

In April 1994, a secondary school in Kigali, Rwanda called the Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO), being used as a UN army base, became a refugee camp. Belgian UN troops, school children, NGO workers and over 2,500 Tutsi citizens and their sympathizers took refuge against a raging genocide while the Hutu militia, clad with machetes, clamored outside the school gates.

Five days later, the UN troops withdrew from the school, taking the whites with them. Within hours, almost all of the Rwandans were dead.

BEYOND THE GATES is about the choices we make when we are free to choose. In the tragic circumstances of the Ecole Technique Officielle, would you have left with the UN troops on the fifth day or would you have stayed?

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring John Hurt, Hugh Dancy and Clare-Hope Ashitey, BEYOND THE GATES was co-produced by David Belton, Pippa Cross and Jens Meurer. Belton who also co-wrote the original story was a former BBC Newsnight correspondent stationed in Rwanda during the genocide.

End of Synopsis

This was such a moving story. It made me hopeful at times. It made me sad. It made me angry. It made me question our government, the United Nations, and humanity. I found myself laying in bed last night thinking about the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi. It is an age old conflict centered around the status of each group. The Tutsi were in power; the Hutu were considered poor. The poor got tired of this and decided to kill all Tutsi, to snuff out the group so that Hutu would be the only remaining group. There's so much to ponder. There are so many questions. There are so many emotions. I just can't say enough about the quality of this film. It was so moving that it made me want to do something, anything. Since I can't go to Rwanda and do relief work, I decided that I will educate myself on the subject so that I might share it with others when the topic comes up.

I think as Americans, we sometimes feel we are beyond this type of situation.We think there's no way a civil war could break out here and people behave so brutally. Last night, my husband reminded me that this sort of thing is not beyond us. This country suffered terrible loss in 1861. Abraham Lincoln started a "civil war", not because slavery was his main concern, but because he would not have states secede from the Union.

This is just a well done movie and I can't say enough about it. As I mentioned above, the movie does show the brutality of the situation so use your own judgment when viewing it. We watched it without our children but will have our 13 year old watch it when we cover Rwanda in history. I hope if you watch this movie, that you are as moved by it as I was.

 

Best Movies~The Past Six Months

I saw this over at In Pursuit of Proverbs 31 and wanted to share my list of the movies we've enjoyed over the past six months, whether in the theater or through renting them.

Things We've Rented

• The Bourne Trilogy ~ I really enjoyed the story. The action was crazy at times and made me dizzy but I like Jason Bourne. I liked all three movies equally.
• Star Dust ~ I normally don't go for these types of films but I'll have to admit it was better than I thought it would be.
• Shooter ~ Wonderful movie that I enjoyed very much.
• We Are Marshall ~ Great movie but heart wrenching.
• Amazing Grace
• Masterpiece Theatre: Jane Eyre Part One ~ Didn't rent this but watched it on PBS recently. Part Two will be coming on this Sunday. I had never seen this version and it was really good. Can't wait for all of the Jane Austen ones to come on in the coming months.
• Reign Over Me ~ A little strange for Adam Sandler but a story that many can relate to.
• Pan's Labyrinth ~ Not my normal type of favorite but this one had a pretty good story.
• Bridge to Terabithia
• 1408
• Ratatouille
• Copying Beethoven
• Miss Potter ~ Maybe the best movie we've rented in ages! Loved, loved, loved it.

Things We've Seen At The Theater

• Enchanted
• I Am Legend
• Nancy Drew

I'm certain I've forgotten a few but these are the ones that come to mind. We do not watch tv much, besides football or basketball, but we do have an online movie subscription with Blockbuster. It allows us to see quite a few movies but they've recently changed the subscription rates and decreased the number of movies you can trade in-store. That is not good and we may move back to Netflix. I wish these companies would do their homework before they give you a really great deal and then slowly take it away.

 

Latest Movie Reviews

Since I haven't written about movies lately, I wanted to share what I've seen and my thoughts. During the month of December, we love to watch Christmas movies and shows as much as we can. This year has been pretty slim picking due to the appropriateness of the things on ABC Family. You heard me right...I've had to filter ABC Family! Isn't that a shame? The girls have been unable to watch a lot of the movies on that channel because of the content. I'm amazed at how much innuendo and bad moral behavior is thrown into the movies on this "family" station. We've turned to Hallmark for many of the Christmas movies we've watched this year. We found a few things there we could watch, such as The Christmas Card.

Hubby and I have rented a few things recently that have been ok. We saw Lucky You a few weeks ago and it was pretty good. There was way too much emphasis on the game of poker and not enough on the relationships in the movie. I wanted to see more of the father/son relationship. It could have been a great movie but I could never feel the characters.

We took my mom to the movies on Thanksgiving evening to see Enchanted. It was a light hearted movie that we all enjoyed. It had several funny moments and I really enjoyed Amy Adams as Giselle. She was very entertaining and has a lovely voice.

A few nights ago, we rented The Nanny Diaries. I read this book several months ago and was very disappointed. It was harsh, sad, and filled with bad language. It's funny because it didn't add to the story at all so I wonder why the writers felt the need to throw it all in. The book was a depressing look inside the world of a family from the Upper East side of Manhattan, where the nanny did all of the child rearing while the stay-at-home mom kept up her "me" time. The movie followed the book but had a happier ending. The book ended, in my opinion, without the necessary resolution :-o) While the movie was good, it wasn't what I had hoped. I had hoped for more comedy because watching the trailer, you think you'll be laughing the entire time. This was not the case for me.

Saturday night, we watched Love's Unfolding Dream. This is the latest in the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. All of the movies in the series have been wonderful to this point. I was a little disappointed in this one. It was good but there was a lot of "girl power" going on in the movie. Now, don't get me wrong. I think girls are great. We're raising two of them :-o) It's just that lately I've become acutely aware of how feminism creeps into everything and I'm tired of it. It gets old really quickly. Anyway, I've read that the books are very different from the movies so I am eager to read this series of books.

How about you? What have you seen lately?

Whose Your Favorite Johnny Depp Character?

I love movies. We watch movies on a weekly basis. I like all kinds of movies and many different actors. I must admit that I am a Johnny Depp fan. Who doesn't love Johnny Depp, right? He's played so many different roles and he's so strange. I think that's why I like him.

One of my favorite Johnny Depp movies is Edward Scissorhands. In this movie, Depp plays Edward, a man created by an inventor who dies before completing his creation. Edward is left with scissors for hands and is eventually befriended by the local Avon lady. She takes him home to live with her family and Edward falls in love with her daughter. At first, everyone is afraid of Edward but they soon grow to love this sweet, gentle man. There are so many great scenes in this movie. I love the scenes where Edward is cutting hair or the hedges into various shapes. If I had met Edward, I would have brought him to live with us too.

Another favorite movie is Secret Window. Depp plays a writer, Mort Rainey, who is going through a terrible divorce. On top of that, he has writer's block and starts to go a little mad. A stranger shows up at Rainey's door and accuses him of plagiarism. He demands that Rainey pay and starts to torment Rainey. This was a strange role for me to watch Depp play. He seemed absolutely nuts!

If I had to choose between the two, I'd have to say that Edward Scissorhands is my favorite Depp movie. That may change this Christmas when Depp's new movie, Sweeney Todd, is released. Depp plays a man who is unjustly sent to prison and looses everything. He vows revenge on the judge who sent him to prison when he comes back to reopen his barber shop. He becomes known as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His customers are never heard from again after their visit to him. I fully expect to like this film since it is based on an award winning musical thriller. I can't wait to see it!

If you are interested in learning more about this movie, visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site . You can also visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace .

 

Stephen King Flicks

One movie that I enjoyed watching a few years ago was Storm of the Century. I was shocked to learn that Stephen King wrote it. I'm not sure how I missed that but I didn't realize it until today. The movie had a sad ending but overall, it was an enjoyable movie. I liked the suspense in the movie and the courage of the captain of the ship. Of all the things King has written, that's probably my favorite one. I remember watching Pet Sematary many years ago and it scared me to death. It gives me shivers thinking about it now because we have 5 cats and in that movie, the family cat was killed but came back to life and was not very nice. I also remember reading Thinner at some point in high school.

I mention all of this because I was watching the movie trailer for The Mist by Stephen King earlier today. I guess I should also say that these types of films are hard for me to get into. As a kid, I was totally fooled. As an adult, I tend to laugh at the creatures in sci-fi movies or thrillers like this one. I do enjoy the suspense in these types of films. The Mist looks like it may be entertaining but I'm a little worried about the lady in the trailer with the Bible. She seems to be portrayed as being a little "off her rocker". I'll be interested to see how her character is played out. If you like these types of films, go check out the trailer to see what you think.

Discover New Films

One of the things we enjoy as a family is movie watching. We are somewhat picky about the kind of movies we like and sometimes it's hard for us to find anything at the video store. We have found several low budget and foreign films that have turned out to be some of our favorites. It isn't easy to find these gems either, since the store shelves are full of movies pushed by Hollywood.

Film Fresh is a small company, dedicated to bringing you the latest information about movies made across the world. Through their web site, you can find new movies, purchase movies for home delivery, or even download movies. You can talk with other interested viewers about these films and you can even find reviews through the Film Fresh blog. For movie lovers like us, Film Fresh will help us discover new films and weed out the ones we aren't interested in.