500 Days of Summer

The best word to describe this show is interesting (said in a sort of confused tone).

I really don't know if I liked it or not. I liked parts, I didn't like other parts. You aren't missing anything if you haven't seen it, and so here's a breakdown (spoilers included).

It was done in a different style, jumping forward and back over the space of 500 days. Guy meets girl. Guy falls in love with girl. Girl likes guy (and totally leads him on), but doesn't return the love. Girl breaks things off. Guy is depressed and miserable. Girl marries someone else. Guy still depressed and miserable, and gives up on the idea of fate and one person being out there for you. Meets someone else and realizes that he was wrong to change his mind.

I can't decide if I like Zooey Deschanel's acting or not. She sort of reminds me of Keanu Reeves (the lack of emotion part).

Where the Wild Things Are

I took my two-year-old and six-year-old to see a movie at the dollar theater today. We missed the one I wanted to see (running late and had the wrong time anyway), so we went to Where the Wild Things Are instead.

Here's my review:

*Not a cartoon

*Nauseating camera work

*Siblings don't get along

*Mom swears at Max for being bad

*Max runs away and steals a boat

*Left after about 20 minutes-very glad it was a Monday special and we were only out $2.25

The feel of the movie just wasn't good. Shouldn't children's movies be upbeat? No upbeat feelings during the parts we saw.

New Moon

It goes without saying that New Moon was made much better than Twilight. The special effects were 100 times better. The acting was better. The makeup was better, although I was still disappointed in Edward's makeup. The person over his makeup clearly needs to have their eyes checked. The lipstick was gross. And, I'm not sure if the eye color would fall under makeup or what, but the new golden color was odd. Think cat eyes.

It was a lot of fun to go with my sisters-in-law. This movie didn't have as much to laugh at. There were funny parts, but we were cracking up over Twilight (how could you not laugh at the escalator ascent up the trees and the sweaty looking sparkly effect?). In New Moon I think we pretty much just laughed at the parts that were supposed to be funny. Oh . . . well, we probably laughed at the part when Jake took off his shirt to wipe the blood off Bella's face, and for sure in Alice's vision of Bella and Edward.

When I read New Moon I didn't like it for the lack of Edward. But, as time has gone on I've decided I like Jacob's character more and more. It may be that I think Taylor Lautner made Jacob seem like a good guy. Someone who would be way better for Bella than Edward. I liked him in the movie, and felt really bad for him when Bella ran off to Italy. Yes, I knew it was coming, but I wouldn't mind at all if they made these movies with alternate endings.

The movie followed the book fairly well. No major things come to mind that were changed.

I would see it again, and I will most likely buy it when it is released on video.

If you've seen it, what did you think?

The Accidental Husband

Another RedBox email find, and I am happy to report that this was much better than My Life in Ruins. It wasn't the best show in history, but it was a cute story worth the dollar we spent to watch it.

A bride to be calls off her wedding after calling into a radio show and getting advice about her relationship and fears. The fiance heard the call and is devastated. He gets back at the radio personality by allowing his friend hack the state's marriage records, "marrying" him to Dr. Emma Lloyd. She tracks him down to try to clear up the error with annulment papers. And the story goes from there.

My Life In Ruins

Redbox sends me an email each week to let me know what new releases it has. About a month ago I saw that a show called My Life In Ruins was out. I'd never heard of it, so I googled the trailer. It looked pretty cute, and I've been trying to get it since then at Redbox. I think they hadn't really stocked the RBs here with it until the other day.

Anyway, yesterday I saw that it was available, so Matt and I watched it after the kids went to bed. It was pretty disappointing. It was rated PG-13 for sexual content, and that was definitely present in the show. The cute parts were overshadowed by the innuendos. Could have been done better if the writer had a cleaner mind.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Nate and I went and saw this movie for a date night. He was a little skeptical about seeing it, being a cartoon and all. It was so good! I want to take Joey to see it, I think he'll love it. Lots and lots of funny parts.

G.I. Joe

I LOVED this movie. It was awesome. I didn't really know what to expect, I just remember loving the cartoon when I was a kid. I was not disappointed. Lots and lots of action, cool special effects, and the acting and story line were good. There was very little swearing, a huge plus in my book and very little blood, another huge plus. There was your typically cheesy action-flick romance sequence where in the middle of all the fighting, the hero has to make out with the girl. (Insert eye-roll icon here) But it was a really enjoyable movie. I would probably own this one.

Igor

Another ehhh movie. It was OK in parts, but seemed to be pretty dark for being aimed towards kids. The part I really, really disliked about it was the swearing. Mild by today's standards but I firmly believe that there should be ZERO swearing in kid's movies, especially cartoons. I wouldn't recommend this movie, mainly for the two reasons I just listed.

Labor Pains

Eh. That is my review of this show.

Apparently it was initially made to be shown in movie theaters, but instead was shown on ABC Family in July, and then went out on DVD in August.

I'm not a huge Lindsay Lohan fan, and I'm actually surprised that this would have been shown on a family channel. It did teach that you should be honest, but on top of Lohan's character lying about being pregnant so she wouldn't get fired, she was also drinking and smoking, stealing, sleeping with her boyfriend, etc.

State of Play

What an interesting story with a very recognizable cast.

Crow and McAdams are reporters. Affleck is a Congressman working on a case against a private defense contractor. The spotlight is thrown on Affleck when the lead researcher on his staff dies, and it comes to light that he'd had a relationship with her. Crowe was Affleck's college roommate (although, that seemed a bit odd to me since they don't look anywhere near the same age). He is involved in a story the seems intertwined with Affleck's story, and tries to get to the bottom of the situation.

Very interesting with a bit of a twist.

The Soloist

Matt's friend gave us some movies the other day, and this was one of them.

Robert Downy Jr. plays a reporter who meets a homeless person (played by Jamie Foxx) on the street one night. Foxx is a very talented musician, and Downy learns from him that he went to Julliard. Downy is struck by how someone talented enough to go to Julliard could end up in the street. He decides to write an article about him. The movie is about the friendship they develop.

It was hard to see the street life, especially those with mental problems. Foxx's character had schizophrenia. The way the film depicted that was so sad. He kept hearing voices that told him how bad he was. His mental condition is why he left Julliard.

If you're looking for a comedy, this isn't the show for you. It was very interesting and heart warming at times, but also sad and somewhat depressing at other times.

Angels & Demons

Matt and I watched this the other night, and I thought it was pretty well done. Definitely some disturbing parts, but I liked the suspense and how Tom Hank's character could figure out the clues.

*Didn't love Hank's hair style. :)

I was surprised that Ewan McGregor was in it. Guess that's what happens when you don't watch TV and see movie trailers.

It's been a few years since I read the book, but I did notice several things had been changed quite a bit for the movie. These differences didn't ruin it for me, but some of them were pretty big things.

17 Again

I watched this the other night, not expecting much. Movies about high school actually tend to scare me. Are high schools really the way they are portrayed in movies? That is scary.

Anyway, overall I thought the theme of this show was great. We go along in life, and sometimes lose our focus on what really matters to us. It's important to take advantage of the bumps in the road that put things into focus.

Don't lose focus on the most important things in your life (ie your family)!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I had mixed feelings about this sixth Harry Potter movie. I thought it was well done. The special effects and videography were excellent. No problems with the acting. But, I was disappointed that almost all of the best scenes are those you can view on Rotten Tomatoes.

I got a kick out of how Harry acted after taking the "liquid luck" potion (those scenes aren't on RT). Ron's obsessed girlfriend was funny.

I was confused about Ron and Hermione. I saw a couple of interviews online about the characters kissing (and it being awkward because the actors have known each other for so long they're like brother and sister), but they don't kiss in this movie. Or, did I miss that?

There also wasn't very much in the show about Harry and Ginny. Seems like they were together a lot in the book, but there wasn't very much about them being together in the movie.

I had forgotten who the half-blood prince was, so that part was a surprise to me.

For being two and a half hours long, it didn't seem like that much happened. I didn't feel like it dragged on, but I wished there was more. Guess that's what happens with series though.

Up

We took the kids to see this yesterday. We all enjoyed it. Jonas even lasted the whole movie, but you could tell he was getting a bit restless at the end. He loved all the balloons and dogs in it.

I was crying several times. Matt laughed at me for that. Yes, I understand it was a cartoon, but cartoons can still have sad things in them.

Bridge to Terabithia

I thought this was a really cute show, although some of the make believe was kind of crazy. Zoie seemed to really like it. She and I both cried, although I was practically sobbing and her eyes were just watering. I'd recommend it.

New in Town

I think I would have liked this show better if it didn't have Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. (not my favorite actors).

Renée's character is a high up business woman that travels to Minnesota to make some changes to one of her company's plants. The Minnesotan accents and personalities were funny. It is a romantic comedy, so that's where Harry comes in.

Australia

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. I heard the critics didn't like it, but that regular people did.

Anyway, overall I liked the story. It was very long though. Some parts definitely not necessary. Matt said there were several holes in the plot.

He's Just Not That Into You

First things first. I wouldn't recommend this show.

I think the idea of it wasn't bad. It is interesting/funny that a lot of people don't get it when someone isn't interested in them. But, there was too much included in this show that wasn't great.

I'll share the best part with you so you don't have to waste your time watching the whole thing. There's this girl who never gets it when guys aren't interested. She always believes them when they say they'll call (and they never do). A bartender (who by the way is the Mac guy from the commercials-I like him better as the Mac guy) tries to make her understand all of these signals she's missing. They become friends and she often calls him to interpret situations for her. One such call she makes he tells her the guy is definitely not interested, and says she should hang out in her date's bathroom for awhile (where she was calling from). She hangs up and looks around to see what she can do to bide her time. She finds Crest Whitestrips in the medicine cabinet and decides to whiten her teeth.

I'm sure that doesn't really give explain the situation well, but that part was funny.

Mall Cop

I thought this movie was hilarious. It was pretty evident that it wasn't the greatest movie of all time, but after I watched it, I just kept thinking of all the funny things Paul Blart did and said. Dumb things like "just kidding, I can't grow a beard, but my uncle can!" were repeated to people who had never seen it, and when they didn't laugh it was like, oh, guess you had to see that part. So yeah, Kevin James is funny, and I couldn't repeat any of his jokes at all, so you guys will just have to see it. And the movie wouldn't be the same without him riding his Segway the whole time. He's got moves. I loved it :)

Bride Wars

Matt really didn't want to watch this with me, especially after seeing that it had a 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But, he did read by me while I watched it last night.

The main characters have been best friends most of their lives, and both dream of having June weddings at the Plaza Hotel. Both get engaged around the same time, and the rush is on the get the planning done in time. The wedding coordinator's assistant messes up and books the weddings on the same day. This causes a rift in the relationship, with each girl trying to mess up the others wedding plans.

I thought it was a funny show, and didn't mind most of it (which means I think it would have been fine without a scene or two).

Duplicity

We saw this recently and picked it because it was the only option playing at the dollar theater during the time we had a baby-sitter.

I'm not really sure what to say about it. It was slow, but not in the normal slow movie sense. I can't really describe it. It had a hint of Ocean's 12-ishness about it. But, it didn't work for this show (whereas I love Ocean's 12).

I felt like Julia Robert's character was so mean to the main guy character. Not sure why he stuck around.

I did like the ending. It seemed the bad guys got what they deserved (well, maybe not completely, but at least they didn't get what they wanted).

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

My review: Don't go see this. Ever. Unless you like movies about the sleaziest man alive, and more sexual references than you can count. The last 15-20 minutes of the movie were good, but the rest of it...not. Don't waste your money. Even if you get a chance to see it for free - DON'T.

Forever Strong

I saw this movie on my birthday back in February, and thought it was well done.  It is based on a true story.  The main character is a high school rugby star and has drug and alcohol problems.  He gets put in the Wasatch County Juvenile Detention Center (that threw me a bit because Wasatch County is not in Salt Lake--a detail it would have been nice to have correct).  It was a touching story about a coach that treated his players like family, and taught them to be strong off the field so they could be strong on the field.  It was filmed in Salt Lake, and I enjoyed seeing familiar locations.

Matt didn't think the acting was great, but I didn't notice anything bad with it.  I'd definitely recommend this film.

Bedtime Stories

My sister-in-law and I picked this up for my mother-in-law at the grocery store last night We've seen several things that say it's not supposed to be released until April 7th--someone at the store must have put it out early.

The story is about an uncle that has to watch his niece and nephew for a week, and the bedtime stories they make up together end up coming true (in a way) the next day.  We picked it up after the kids were in bed, so I'm not sure if they'd like it or not.  It was definitely more for kids than adults though.  By the end I was partially watching and partially playing on the computer.

P.S. I Love You

Matt's parents left this for us to watch the last time they visited.  I hadn't ever heard of it, so I didn't know what to expect.  If you read anything about it, you'd find out right off that the husband dies very early in the show (from a brain tumor I think).  Prior to his death he arranged for letters and things to be delivered to his young widow after his death.

This was a major tear jerker for me.  It is just over two hours long, and I must have cried for at least half of the show.  Afterwards when I was in the bathroom throwing away my sixth or seventh tissue, I noticed that my eyelids were totally swollen from all the crying.  Sheesh!

Overall, I thought the story was sweet.  There were some things that weren't recommendable in the show though.

Flash of Genius

I really liked this movie. It's the true story about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wipers. You know, the ones where you can have a 3 sec, 8 sec, etc. delay. So he invented it, took his idea to Ford Motor Company, and then they took his model and never called him back basically. A couple years later he sees his wipers on the new Mustang, and the rest of the movie is him trying to get Ford to admit they stole his idea.

One of the reasons I really liked it, is because I get really into stories where something is insanely and tragically unfair. I remember crying in The Little Princess when I was like 9 for the same reason.

I would recommend it. It's pretty family friendly with maybe 3 swear words, although I'm sure it would bore children. It's a good one to watch with the hubby anyway.

HSM 3

I rented this for my five-year-old because she saw the other two and really liked them. Also, it's rated G, so I figured it would be "safe".

It followed suite of the others, and was CHEESY! I was a bit surprised that it was rated G with all the lovey-dovey stuff between the two main characters (there was even a bit of KISSING).

But, the kids seemed to like it, and joined in with the dancing sometimes.

Bolt

This is one of the few movies I went to the theater to see with the kids. My kids LOVED this movie. The hamster was particularly cute, as well as the pigeons. It was a very funny story of a dog who is in show business and takes it all very seriously. Then he gets thrown into the real world and realizes he really doesn't have super powers, and has a hard time dealing with it. It was so funny and had a good moral in the end. I recommend this one.

An Unfinished Life

This movie came out a few years ago. It is about a single mother who needs to get out of a bad/abusive relationship. She turns to the only family she has, her dead husband's father. Robert Redford is the man, he lives on a ranch in Wyoming, and his friend is played by Morgan Freeman. It was such a wonderful movie, and it really surprised me at how much I loved the characters. It was very funny, sad, endearing and in the end very very good. I hope you can watch this one!

Nights in Rodanthe

Don't laugh, I am doing a lot of posts, I can't sleep tonight for some reason...

This movie was sad! I like Richard Gere, and he and Diane hit it off pretty good in this movie. I just couldn't get that into it for some reason. It was adapted from a book by Nicholas Sparks (he wrote The Notebook too). The beach house it was filmed in was gorgeous, and it had some good conversations in it, but in the end, I didn't like it that much.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian... where do I start. I didn't see a post on this movie. We watched it in January and I am still thinking about it. I loved it. It had quite a few war scenes, and I am not quite sure if I'd let my kids watch it yet. The message of the movie was quite powerful. A lot of good lessons to learn from it, about believing in yourself, and believing in those you love.

The soundtrack was beautiful, and the scenery was amazing. I need to go to New Zealand. I highly recommend this movie :)

I am Legend

I haven't posted to this forever, and I read your comments all of the time. So I had better contribute. Mark and I watched this movie last night. First of all, I didn't realize it was a zombie-esqe movie. It was scary! Well, I am easily scared, mostly because you don't know what is going to jump out at you around the corner...

A so-called cure for cancer is found, but it turns out to be a horrid disease that spreads all over the world, turning people into these crazed zombies that want to kill everything. Will Smith's character's blood is immune to any of this and he searches high and low for a cure. Most of the movie it shows him roaming around a shut down New York with his dog. It was scary, and in the end it left me wanting.

Deja Vu

This is one of those movies that totally keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Many twists and turns that you never would have thought of. I enjoyed the movie, but parts of it we had to watch twice to figure out what happened. I can't really explain much about the movie without giving the cool parts away though.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom on the Crystal Skull

This was a lot like your typical Indiana Jones movies (but maybe it was just that song they play that ties them all together). I have to admit that Shia LeBeouf didn't bug me like he does in every other show I've seen him in. I think it was while watching this show that I saw a connection to MacGyver.

Anyway, it was descent. There were a few parts I closed my eyes for, but I have to say the way things turned out at the end were a bit crazy, and so much not Indiana Jones. I liked the bantering between the good guys. Kept the show from being too intense.

Seven Pounds

This movie was nothing like what I thought it would be (all preconceptions were based on Will Smith's appearance on Leno), but it was amazing.

The exposition is really hard to follow at first: You aren't sure what is a flashback or what's present time or what. It seems really confusing, however, if you're patient, it all begins to make sense and I think it was really effective.

I am fairly sure every person in the theater was bawling by the end, especially this one girl I saw in the bathroom afterward just sobbing. I cried. My mom cried. I heard sniffles throughout.

It really makes you think...and it's not light-hearted at all, even though that's what Will made you think when he came on Leno and showed the only scene that was even a little comedic in the whole movie. :)

Anyway, I really liked it. A fantastic story about guilt, love and redemption.